Day 239 - August 27th

Today Lara did some sewing.

I gave her a Quick-stitch Dolly kit which came free with a copy of Crafts Beautiful magazine.

The pieces all came printed on once piece of fabric which ust needed cutting out and stitching together.

Lara was quite chuffed that I let her use the sewing machine although she needed to do the finishign off by hand. The dress proved too tricky for her thoguht - the pieces wouldn't match up properly so that's been left for me to try and figure out!

Day 238 - August 26th

I went for a quick walk round the garden this afternoon. Most of the flowers are well past their best but there are still a few that continue to bloom.

There are several Fuchsias.

Hydrangea.

And some pink flowers .... not sure what they are.

Day 237 - August 25th (Bank Holiday)

Today's Bank Holiday was a washout! Any plans we mights have had were quickly abandoned and apart from a quick trip to the shops we stayed indoors in the dry. I found time to make a quick birthday card.

Day 236 - August 24th

We went for a long walk over the fields this morning.

Lots more berries in the hedgerow....

..... including blackberries. 

We tried the blackberries and although they weren't as tart as those we sampled in Wales, they did have more taste than those we found last year. Hopefully a good sign that this years berries won't be as disappointing as last years.

Forecasters had said that today would be the best day of the bank holiday weekend and they weren't wrong. Look at that lovely blue sky. 

(Unfortunately tomorrow is forecast to be the worst day! Wayne and I have tickets to go to an open air 'Sundown Cinema' but we've just found out it's been cancelled - presumably because of the heavy rain predicted tomorrow)

Now instead of walking footpaths through the fields of crops, the footpaths are clear and we walked on straw.

Some of the fields have also already been ploughed which makes walking across them more of a challenge.

Day 235 - August 23rd

Today Wayne and Christopher went fishing at Poppy Hill. Often they go and catch very little and what fish they do catch are very small, but today Christopher's catch included a rather nice Carp.

Whilst patiently waiting for the fish to bite, a critter decided to settle for a little sunbathe on top of Wayne's hat!

I think he's a Common Darter - one of the most common dragonflies in Europe

Day 234 - August 22nd

Today I collected a new pair of glasses from the opticians. They contain Occupational Multifocal lenses and I think they are going to take a bit of getting used to!

Day 233 - August 21st

Today Steven got his GCSE results. It's been a long wait since he took his last exam but this morning I drove him to school to pick up the envelope containing a list of the grades he'd achieved. He did REALLY well and comfortably got the grades he needed to be able to return in a couple of weeks to start his A level courses. Well done Steven.

Lara also had a parcel arrive in the post today. The parcel contained a new glasses case bought online and will no doubt provide he with hours of entertainment in class when she returns to school as demonstrated in the photo below!

Day 232 - August 20th

Today Lara and I made some pendants using old drink can tabs and a You Tube video. It was quite easy and very effective.

Day 231 - August 19th

Back to School shoe shopping today - groan! Thankfully there is only one child in the family who now needs school shoes. I remember when all three used to need them. Oh how the bank balance used to take a battering then! Thankfully we were quickly served in the Clarks shoe shop. Lara had her feet measured (Size 4.5F), chose some shoes, had them fitted, paid and we were out of the shop in less than 15 minutes.

Day 230 - August 18th

Today Lara made some paper puppies using some templates downloaded from the Internet.

Day 229 - August 17th

A few months ago Lara made me a black and white loom band bracelet. Whilst on holiday she taught me how to make a bracelet and I made an orange and white one. They have been on my wrist ever since.

Day 228 - August 16th

After the wet weather we have had this past week, this morning was dry and bright. Not particularly warm ... but dry and bright. We seized the opportunity to take Millie for a long walk over the fields something which she hadn't had whilst we were away.

The plants and flowers growing alongside the fields are changing and there are signs that summer is coming to an end. Autumn will soon be upon us. I noticed quite a few seed heads dried by the sun.

Millie enjoyed the opportunity to have a run and happily ran ahead of us stopping every now and then to look back and check we were still there.

The flowers on the elder are now being replaced by huge clusters of berries.

Day 227 - August 15th

Today Lara used a 'Stitch-a-Lines' stitching pattern to make a cute picture of a dog.

It took a lot of concentration and patience to carefully stitch the picture making sure the needle went in and out of the correct holes.

When the picture was finished we found a little wooden frame to put it in.

Day 226 - August 14th

Today Lara got out the Hama Beads and using some patterns found online she made some Minions from the Despicable Me 2 film.

Day 225 - August 13th

Today Lara decorated a set of wooden stacking dolls which had come free with one of my craft magazines.

Day 224 - August 12th

Wayne celebrated a special birthday today. We marked the occasion quietly with cards, presents and of course cake.

Day 223 - August 11th

Lara and I had some craft time today. We made a cat and a dog using a couple of needle felting kits from Hobbycraft. First time we had tried this craft and whilst the results weren't perfect we were pleased with the results.

Day 222 - August 10th

Whilst out walking this afternoon (between the showers!) we noticed that some of the fields have been harvested.

In Wales it appeared as if the majority of the fields had been cut and we certainly ended up behind tractors on the road many times, but back here there are many still to be cut.

Day 221 - August 9th

 Today we left our holiday home in Wales and headed home.

Unfortunately the weather when we crossed back across the bridge wasn't as welcoming as it had been when we went the other way two weeks ago but the journey was some 1.5 hours shorter.