Ridgeway Cottage anyhow

This week my life has been bathed in sunshine, following the shivery camping trip last weekend, I could always do with a heat wave and it is never too hot for me. Sherlock and I now go for a run every morning. It is so much more fun going running with a dog and even better when the sun is shining, there is no - one else around and the world is beautifully peaceful. He also did a rather good job at sunbathing on the ground I'd prepared for the runner beans. Maybe it's lucky for a black and white dog to lie on the earth before you plant up the area and I'm now assured a bumper crop. Despite the glorious weather, Charlie was delighted to discover that his mud pie was still glupey, 24 hours after making it. There are times in your life that are so fabulous that you would like to stay there forever. I stood perfectly still and watched how wonderful life can be in the sunshine whilst Charlie mixed his mud pie, Josie read in the deck chair and Sherlock threw his teddy bear ar...

I really do admire those people who stick to their guns, make promises to themselves and keep them. I live by a series of inconsistencies, always changing the rules and am very easily distracted by some new fabulous creative endeavour. I do not finish what I have started, execute my plans or ever set myself realistic achieveable targets. I would dearly love to follow some of those blog challenges that I enjoy reading about. One of my favourites is #amonthof and I also like 52 weeks of happy, both of which have Facebook groups and both of which I've tried and failed to keep up with. This month #amonthof theme is colour, which is one of the best subjects ever and today, no. 17 is fuchsia so here's mine.     Even as I write this post I'm not even thinking about how it would be great to just manage to follow the next couple of days (reasonable and manageable) but no, instead I am distracted by the unrealistic daydream that I could crochet something in a different ...

Doesn't time just fly, I had to check on my calendar that I really should be on week 7 and that I hadn't got carried away and ahead of myself. There are days when I do wish that there was a pause button so I could hold things there for a moment, really get a chance to be in that moment before it slips through my fingers. No. 1 I sat on the beach, knitting a blanket for my baby nephew and watched the sun set. It was one of those times that I knew would never happen again and it was one I wanted to hold on to as long as possible or at least until the sun went down. No. 2 the seagulls in Australia are much smaller than their English cousins. My children thought it might be that they aren't as greedy and lazy as our chip stealing Kentish gulls No. 3 all good things come to an end and although the prospect of leaving my Aussie family didn't really make me happy, returning to my own children and husband did No. 4 it was over 30 years between my first trip to Austr...

I'm still catching up with all the happiness. It really is quite bizarre being tucked up in my cosy bed with snow flurries dancing outside the window whilst I put together a collage of photos from just a few days ago when I was in Australia, basking in the glorious sun, swimming in the surf and enjoying the soaring temperatures. No. 1 swimming in the sea after school in our dresses with my adorable niece No. 2 an early morning run along the coast line at sunrise No. 3 trekking through the rain forest and battling against the outback on a beautifully maintained footpath approximately 150m from the visitors centre at Fitzroy Falls No. 4 cuddles and kisses with my brand new nephew, I love him so much x   Posted with Blogsy

I am behind with my posting about my weeks of happy but definitely not lacking in happy events and lovely, lovely photos to include. I am almost exploding with happiness after my brief trip to Australia for the birth of my new nephew and then returning home to my wonderful husband and my own crazy kidlets. Goodbye England - I left England at lunch time on 30th January 2013 with a mixture of tears, excitement and expectations Sydney - I flew into Sydney as the sun rose on 1st February Bronte - I went straight from the airport to Bronte to the beach, dropped in on my brother and had a play with my Aussie nieces and nephew Kiama - I finally arrived at my destination late in the afternoon     Posted with Blogsy

I love other people's blogs, they are just so jammed packed full of inspiration that I have to limit myself to just a brief glance now and again otherwise I could quite easily spend my whole life gathering wonderful bits of loveliness. Even more fabulous is that very few people mind if you copy their ideas, in fact in some cases it is encouraged. For example take the brilliant idea 52 weeks of happy from over at Little Birdie ... who wouldn't want to post four things that have made them happy that week? I am a massive fan of focussing on what makes you happy, it's how I like to live my life and there it is in black and white, an invitation to join in all this weekly happiness from the lady herself. The wonderful thing about the happy world of blogging is that I can join in and I can let Jen (I talk as if I know her which sounds a little cheeky) know that I have joined in and you never know she might even take a look at what made me happy this week. 1. Dressing up 2. W...