Ridgeway Cottage anyhow

After putting my heart and soul into the Pink Ladies WI, I have discovered just why many WIs are made up of older ladies, it takes over your life. Not one for doing things half heartedly, I have dedicated hour upon hour to the inspiration of women and it is sadly time I do not have. Perhaps in 20 years when my children have left home and I no longer have to work, then I would be able to devote my time and energy, but there are so many other things I want to do. It's time for me to step aside and hand over what was always just going to be a temporary role.   It has been a total blast and the wonderful ladies I have met along the way have made it utterly worth every single second. I've made the best friends ever and shed several tears agonising over the decision but when it's time to go, it's time to go.   Cheers lovely ladies Thank you for having me.   Posted with Blogsy

Ahh to lie around in the sun flicking through magazines.... what better way is there to enjoy life. Maybe a cold beer, a sprinkle of magic dust to transport me back to any one of my camping excursions this year and a good magazine. For me it's all about the way it looks , the style of the photos, the illustrations, yes that's right I want to look at beautiful images. When we arrived back from our latest adventures at Wellington Country Park Campsite, my two favourite magazines were waiting for me (I love it when the postman brings good stuff). Mollie Makes is a total craftfest, with every page full of the stuff I love and Anorak magazine is for the kiddies. Charlie and I have read Anorak every night since. Mr Bumblechucks is our favourite in the current issue so far. In my mind I can see my finished hexablanket laid out on the grass covered in all the magazines I dream of owning but I know are way beyond me. These are the serious interest magazines for artisans who don'...

  We've been on a couple of camping trips recently and both have been lakeside locations. Vast areas of tranquil waters are beautiful whatever the season, I just love the light and reflections, come rain or shine. 5 things I love about being lakeside 1. The early morning sun than glistens on the rippling surface. 2. The stillness of water despite the approach storm   3. Mist rising from the cool water in the warm of the rising sun.   4. The hypnotic effect of water and clouds. They even work on the dog.   5. Even seven year olds aren't too old to feed the ducks                   Posted with Blogsy

The Killing doesn't really sound very summery, but it's more a new way of watching TV than the subject matter. Technology has changed our viewing habits greatly and stuff like Netflix is ideal for someone like me who never remembers or knows when great stuff is on. Watching a series on Netflix works perfectly with crocheting a blanket in the summer holidays. By the time I have finally wrangled the kids into to bed after all the feeding and entertaining of small people, I'm seriously ready to sit around crafting and escape into a dark shadowy world of make believe crime and murder. Last summer it was Breaking Bad, episode after episode, there whenever I was ready. No waiting until the following week to discover what happens next. Jesse Pinkman and Heisenberg were part of my life. This year work on the hexablanket is accompanied by the gloomy rain drenched Seattle based drama, The Killing. There's something comforting about being so warm on a summer's evening watchin...

In a perfect world there should be a vast amount of idleness about in the summer. Since the children have finished school though, I feel that I have been rather busier than usual organising this and sorting out that. The garden always seems to require my attention and the feeding of the smalls involves enough activity to fill my days. My Summer has been rammed with an active type of idleness but I dream of being busy doing nothing. It seems a while since I have sat and simply stared at the sky without having to resolve arguments, think about what I'm cooking for lunch or watch out for potential issues that might shatter the peace.     We are going camping twice more before the end of the summer and I plan to be as idle as possible. I intend to sit by the lake, stare at the trees and lie around cloud watching.       Posted with Blogsy

When I started my summer project back in the middle of July I simply had a couple of bags of bargin charity shop yarn and a bit of a dream. With weeks of summer ahead and plenty of resources I thought I could easy crochet a blanket and had my eyes on the prize.   The hexagons began to pile up, Josie named the project the hexablanket and I knew I was on the right track because an eleven year old didn't like the colours because they were too granny-ish.   I timed how long it took to make one hexagon (15 mins if I did it non-stop without any interruptions from demanding children), did the maths and worked out how long it would take to do each row in relation to the time I would be able to devote to crochet. As the weather got hotter and hotter it did seem rather absurd to be making a blanket in a bikini. And then I got distracted by embroidery (see E is for embroidery ), entertaining the kiddos and life. I remembered how epic crocheting a blanket can be. Not epic in the sense...

I've never had a guinea pig of my own or any of the smaller fluffy pets that are kept in cages, but this will be the third summer that we have had them to stay as guests. We will be looking after a couple for a friend for a week which will be just about bearable for my husband so probably the only chance my kiddies will get of the little snufflers. Today we sadly discovered that the second of a guest piggies from last year had died and were at a little bulb planting and seed scattering event for Henry when we were asked to be pet sitters, which cheered up my children and the little girl who has now lost both of her pets. As a seven year old with his limited experience of the world, Charlie has yet to learn the sobriety of such occasions and made us laugh by asking inappropriate questions. Will there be food at the funeral? How about drinks, there should be at least drinks? Now their guinea pigs have died can we have their cage for Sherlock (our dog)? This is Henry enjoyi...