Bank Holiday with the Randoms

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Its been a hectic morning for the Randoms today. I ccan't believe quite how much we've managed to get done.
 Our poor old car has broken down so the next few weeks need to be super frugal while we save up sone funds to replace it.
 I've made an inventory of food from the freezer and cupboards so we can reduce our food bills this month as much as possible.  While digging around I discovered half a jar of popping corn. We made it on the hob together for snack time,  the girls were fascinated with watching it pop.

After snack time I did a few little jobs in the garden. This included tepotting a blackcurrant bush with DD from the 99p shop. Hopefully we can find some top soil soon and get it into a more permanent home for the future. Blackcurrent squash a huge ofavourite in this household so I'm hoping in a few years we can start picking a few handfuls of our own.

After all our gardening had used up some physical energy, DD and I sat down and used up some mental energy. I picked up some workbooks on a recent visit to the 99p shop. This month we are focussing on the  letters of the alphabet.  DD is getting really good at the common letters but still struggles with unusual ones like q and k.

And finally a little update on my prayer plant which has recovered nicely since we bouht it. Now in its new pot and getting plenty of sun its really cone on nicely. As you can see from the photo it now curls its leaves up properly and everything.  Definitely a bargain for £1!

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Today I have been....

 Drooling over all the seeds a kind freegler offered me. Can't wait to get planting tomorrow!

Spotting two fry (baby fish) in my fish tank. Not sure which lady fish had them but they are looking strong and healthy. Now big enough to swim around the tank without being snacked on has made them easy to spot. Keeping my eyes peeled for more...

collecting atlas and maps from the free book shop for a new project. Watch this space!!

re potting my prayer plant (£1 B&Q Plant clearance) in a pretty purple pot from a charity shop (50p). I matches the curtains beautifully. A great find!

And falling deeper in love with DD. Let me tell you the tale.
 DD and I were walking home from preschool when she found a pigeon egg, after several minutes careful study and thought she asked me if we could take it home. I agreed and asked what she planned to do with it. Her answer was "glue it back together so a chick will come and then it can hatch out of the egg and be my special bird friend". I have tried to explain gently that the chick has already been in the egg and hatched out but her 4 year old logic is difficult to break. I wish I could give her some real eggs to hatch, and I hope someday we will.

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Your'll find me in the garden...

It's been a wonderful Easter weekend for the Random household. The perfect blend of family time, alone time and chocolate! Today has been mostly spent in the garden with my two little helpers.
 I splurged a few pounds in B&Q on some sugar snap peas, cauliflower and broad beans.

They have been added to my tomatoes,mini potatoes, spring onions, radish and lettuce seedlings.  I'm fast running  out of pots to move things into so I really need to step up project garden. I'm hoping to make the first of a set of raised beds shortly so I can get things into their more permanent homes.

 I've also found some time to pop in my two rhubarb crowns. The little flower patch under the birch tree has proved to be a nightmare. Under about 6 inches of bark chippings are several layers of thick plastic, a few more inches of soil and then concrete.  Hence the need to speed up the raised bed making pretty sharpish.

And after all that I still managed to get my next lot of seedlings started! Runner Beans, tomatoes (2 varieties), spring onions, radish, lettuce (2nd variety) and pumpkins.

Plus a few herbs thrown in there for good measure. I should get a good few salads out of this lot over the summer once they've all grown up a bit. And once these guys are big enough to move on, it will be time to start some winter crops (leeks, cabbage, sprouts).

After all that I'm in need of a nice cuppa and a sit down.
Happy Easter to you all

xxx

Back online again

I'm hopefully back online from today after a whole host of new set up issues while switching interner providers.  I've used the time off from blogging wisely though by whipping up this tunic style top for D in fetching pink. It's just the right weight for chilly mornings this week.  For my next project I'm working on a little cardigan for SILs impending arrival.

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April Project Update

My project for April is to make DDs room into a dream come true. She has asked and asked for a Princess theme bedroom, and finally she's going to get one!
 I've found two old Princess annuals in the freebie bookshop so far.
Using the poster pages from one and reusing DDs old paper mache letters from Hobbycraft,  I think I have created a rather nifty looking decoration for her room.
 They only took minutes to whip up and I'm thrilled with how they turned out.

Watch this space for my next princess creation, a princess wardrobe.

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P.S - DD is not called Nyaa I have rearranged the letters as I don't want to name her on my blog. If you know it already or work it out please keep it to yourselves :)

Mothering Sunday Papercraft

 After a luxurious  long lie in this morning and being woken with breakfast in bed, I found myself in a crafting mood. So once I'd been showered with cards, gifts and kisses from my two little ladies (so incredibly grateful for two cards this year!) I busted out the crafting stash.

 I took me about half an hour to whip up this lovely string of music sheet bunting but I had everything on hand and a lovely patch of sunshine to sit and craft in.
 For the rest of the day I barely lifted a finger except to start a new knitting project (pink tunic top for Baby), and sip from my regular supply of drinks. It's been the most wonderful calm day, Happy Mothering Sunday to all!!!

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Post lunch upcycling

 We had a rather tasty tin of Chicken Soup for our lunch today. These tins are just 99p in Lidl and a great addition to your stockpile as a back up lunch/dinner or in our case a nice change from sandwiches.
 Looking at the tin sat on Side I had a sudden brainwave. I scurried off to grab a page of sheet music,  scissors and sellotape.

I wrapped a sheet of paper around the cleaned out tin and feathered the open end to give me a neater top edge. Plus protect your fingers from a potential sharp edge.

I added two left over cut outs from my German music book to add some interest.  And voila one rather splendid and frugaltastic pen pot. Everything I needed was on hand and the whole thing took less time than heating and eating the contents. Plus it's perfectly on theme for my book page hallway.

What have you all been crafting lately?

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