Ridgeway Cottage anyhow

In April we bought a new tent. We got the whole kit, new tent, extension (for rainy days), sleeping bags and air beds. We have been going camping since Charlie was a baby, with a fabulous tent that my father in law bought us, but it had definitely seen better days and we love camping so much that we invested in a new one. We got a lovely new tent and then it rained and rained and rained. It was cold and the weather was really just not the right kind of weather for camping. Then it changed, the sun came out and the summer began.This weekend was the perfect for camping at Kingsdown Campsite near Deal Kent. I have recently dipped my toes into the world of craft blog linky parties where wonderfully creative people share their ideas, makings  and fabulous stuff with other people. You are allowed to comment and ask questions and even copy. I think that they may well be quite addictive. There is also the added excitement that someone may well even visit your post and leave a co...

By the time it comes to tea time on most days, my brain has pretty much turned to mush. What with getting up early, work and the battle of the school run, I am not really capable of any in depth thought, even after a cup tea. That "What's for tea?" question used to give me a bit of a panic attack but then I sorted out a menu planner. I wouldn't say that I was exactly qualified to give good mummy advance but when you have an eating machine like my Charlie, being a little bit organised seriously reduces the amount of stress. If they want to know what is for tea, I look on the fridge and that is what's for tea, no discussion, no negotiation and no arguing and because my husband is such a complete star and does the shopping, everything I need to cook what the fridge tells me, is in fact in the fridge. There is a little bit more to it than that, like deciding what meals are going to go in the menu planner and writing the shopping list, but I am so grateful to have the ...

For the third night this week I have escaped to the allotment after tea and it is so lovely. There really is nowhere that I would rather be on a glorious evening in May. On Monday this whole area was covered in weeds and waist high nettles. My lupins (now in their 2nd year and truly established) have room to breathe and flower and I have a lovely view of the river. If the weather continues to be warm and sunny, then these lupin spikes will flower and I will just be so happy. Lupins are truly majestic and I do love them especially because I grew these ones myself from seed. I have finally replaced the strawberry patch that Charlie destroyed the first year we had an allotment. As a toddler he picked strawberries by pulling out the whole plant, eating the ripe strawberries and then pulling the plant apart. He has learned a lot about strawberries since then and even knows which ones are strawberry plants just by the leaves. I did love him, when in the middle of winter, he wa...

I love my bike. I use it almost everyday. It's not fancy although it has had a make over (check it out here ). I did think that the make over was complete but I have recently added a crocheted seat cover and embellished the bike lock with crochet stitches. The bike seat cover The bike lock I have been riding around with a little one on the back for 8 years so I was really very sad recently when I finally admitted that Charlie is now too big to ride in the seat on the back as it is way to dangerous.   I started teaching Charlie to ride a couple of weeks ago but then it rained a lot and last weekend was devoted to Josie's birthday and roller skating so on the second day of actually trying to teach him, he has pretty much got it. I do have to push him to get him started but I am looking forward to riding bikes in the summer holidays.

April and May have been rather wet, resulting in an explosion of growth at the allotment. I have two rhubarb plants, one is only a year old but the other I inherited with the plot and it produces the most enormous stems. Rhubarb likes rain and stinging nettles seem to grow really well around the rhubarb so with the huge amount of growth over the past few weeks, the nettles have kept the sunlight off the stems. This means that not only to I have giant rhubarb but the stems are a beautiful dark pink colour. Last year the rhubarb champagne I made was not as explosive or as nice as the year before. I couldn't work out why until I checked my blog post from last year for the recipe and it was not the one from my recipe book. So I thought I should share the more explosive recipe because it is delicious and has been known to make holes in people's ceilings. I am very proud to say that out of the 5 ingredients needed to make rhubarb champagne, 80% were sourced from the UK. Up...

Seriously by the middle of May, I really think there should be a little more sunshine and warm weather. I know... how very British of me to be talking about the weather but I do like to spend time in the garden and there is a whole host of summery dresses that I would like to be wearing. Ever since our Yellow Day last summer, I have been rather enamored with yellow , probably because it is such a sunny colour. I've recently made a couple of yellow hair clips in preparation for the summer. This one is a made from an old t-shirt and some left over yellow ric rac.   And this is one is crocheted lemon yellow roses I've added these to my Etsy shop and whilst I was there I thought I might as well make a treasury of all the lovely yellow things on Etsy that I love but can't afford.  Check it out here

I recently discovered a blog, with brilliant titles for each of the posts, either witty or a play on words and I was really quite envious. Inspired, I thought that Rollerama was an accurate title for a blog about Josie's birthday weekend. The suffix -arama, originates from Greek and has something to do with a display or exhibit and there has definitely been a huge display of roller skating since Josie got some roller skates for her birthday. Yesterday was her roller disco at Herne Bay Arena. I was slightly disappointed that the roller rink is no longer at the end of the pier but now located at the local high school. However once I was whizzing around, I could have just as easily been at my first roller disco in Australia 1980. This is Josie outside the arena, trying to create our own special Xanadu moment. Actually Charlie paid Josie a genuine compliment which I have to record for posterity as I doubt that in the future he will always be quite so lovely (I've heard the ...

There is a difference between Josie's birthday tea and those that are made for Mark, Charlie and I; the garden is filled with flowers that can be cut and placed with pride on the table. The weather is not always glorious, but there is a lushness and a freshness about May that is just not there in November, December or February. I sincerely believe that if you wish to be happy, fill your house with freshly cut flowers. It works, well it does if you like flowers and of course it is relative. If you are feeling sad already it will cheer you up but if you are happy, it will intensify the feeling. Flowers for Josie's room For the window on the stairs And for the tea table Josie asked for cheese and biscuits and Charlie wanted salt and vinegar crisps and yes, those are party rings. I do love aquilegia in May Happy Birthday Josie

I do actually do quite a lot of reading and research about blogging. Photography and the camera  seems to be at the top of the tips list and really important to most of those other bloggers I admire. I did not have a fancy camera but as the time has gone on, I have been thinking and considering how lovely it would be to take those fabulous photos I love to look at. Any one who knows my Charlie will appreciate that he is a whirling dervish of Charliness, destroying everything in his path or eating it or embellishing it or just simple putting his special touch on things. When I gave him my camera yesterday and foolishly said "Don't break it", I really should have saved my breath. Apparently it fell off the table whilst he was trying to take a picture of himself. So it was a bit of an accident that I got a new camera, more out of necessity than desire but that doesn't mean to say I didn't want one or love my new camera. And I do love it and can't wait to get...

Yesterday the children were off school because it was a staff development day. It was raining and I had had a busy week so we decided on a home day but by mid morning, they were craving my time and entertainment. Children are never interested in how many jobs you need to do: they care very little about the piles of laundry, the washing up or the untidy house so we decided to have a button competition. This cleverly allowed me to complete another unfinished project; Josie's noticeboard which is the final part of her bedroom makeover that I did for her last birthday. And just like that an hour of our lives flew by as we all worked on our separate button project right next to each other in the front room. Each of us, admiring the exquisite vintage buttons, sharing nicely and commenting positively on each others work. Initially there was a lot of talk and speculation about what the prize for the competition but as we worked and talked, we collectively agreed that this was the pri...