Busy Thursday

It was G man's first day at school, I can't believe it's come round quite so quick! 

Clever hubby had arranged to work an evening shift so he could spend the morning ddistracting me.

First we visited Poundland, one if my favourite shops to visit. I picked up these poo dig kits to pop in the childrens Christmas stockings. I think they are hilarious and they should keep everyone amused for a little while over the festive period.

After Poundland and a nice breakfast in Weatherspoons, we took a stroll around the little midweek car boot sale. 

There wasn't a lot to interest me but may be I wasn't really in the right mood for it. One at at stall had a little box of vintage books that I enjoyed looking through.

For 50p I purchased this wonderful copy of Leaves of Gold from 1948.

Its a book filled with quotes, poems, prayers and scripture on different topics. Topics include bereavement, forgiveness, encouragement etc. I'm really going to enjoy pouring over the contents for a while. 

I'm already tempted to write out some of the quotes for a small set of frames I picked up recently. 

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Miserable monday

It's been dark and drizzly outside today. It almost feels as if the sun decided to take the day off. I kept myself amused by working on my current mural. I'm feeling quite happy with it. 

I also recieved a mysterious bag 'stuff. I'm rapidly gaining a reputation of being able to use almost anything in a new a wonderful way.

This bag arrived with the challenge of 

"Let's see what you can make of this lot then"

It was a bag full of pieces of old china. Mostly little milk jugs and sugar bowls in matching pairs. Though there was some very pretty miniatures and a beautiful teacup and plate that I think will become my bedtime cocoa cup. 

I think I'm going to use some of them to grow cacti and succulents. Possibly some airplants too. 

Watch this space.

I'm feeling creative

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Voile I never

 I attending my first Swap meet yesterday with my lovely mummy, and it was AMAZING!

I picked up so many bits and pieces all for the price of my £2 entrance fee.

 One of my favourite finds were these 4 voile panels with bright and beautiful butterflies on them.

Obviously not knowing their history everything I picked up yesterday is being washed before use.

But...one panel has been utterly destroyed by my washing machine. The other 3 are perfectly fine. I don't understand quite how its happened.  All the panels were in the same load, nothing else in with them. 

I wonder how i did it 🤔

At least my new-to-me crazy slippers are doing grand job of keeping my toes warm. I grabbed them without trying them on which was a risk but I did hold them against my feet first for a rough size check. 

I'll share the rest of my finds with you as I wash them and put them in their new places in our home. 

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Back into routine

Hello readers! I've spend the past week arguing with Blogger over who I am. For some reason I was locked out of my account and had to prove I was me. It's all sorted now finally though i have a feeling they will be watching me secretly for a while just in case. Lol.

The two eldest went back to school yesterday. Gman starts next week for a few half days. There's going to be tears I'm terrible for first day parent emotions.

DD1 had her Topic launch day, which meant coming to school in red, white and blue. She is learning about America this term. Today they learnt about Native American culture, popular sports like baseball and basketball and watched American news bulletins.

I think it sounds like a great topic.

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Old housewife trick

I found this dress today in a local charity shop. I think it should be the right size for DD2 but so far she's not in the mood to try it. 

It was laying on top of a rummage bin of 50p clothes. I thought it might have been accidently put in there as surely it should be on a hanger somewhere with a bigger price tag.

"It's got a mark on it, that's why it's only 50p. We thought someone might want it for the fabric." Said the shop assistant.

Sure enough there was a small bright red mark right on the dip of the neckline. A closer look led me to think it might be lipstick or possibly lip gloss. 

"I'll risk 50p and see if I can get it out," I told the assistant cheekily. She looked doubtful but rang our shopping up dutifully.

And voila! It most likely was a lipstick mark because a few drops of white rum shifted the mark a treat. Spirits are a very popular stain remover in my old housekeeping books. You just have to use a little extra care to use a clear spirit on white fabrics.

Well worth 50p! On closer inspection I now think the dress is handmade which makes me love it even more. Someone somewhere has spent hours creating this dress, I wonder what it's history is 🤔

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The Watercress Line; Day Out with Thomas

We have spent a wonderful day out at the Watercress Line. Gman was gifted a family ticket for his birthday so we'd planned the visit for a little while. 

The children all recieved Thomas themed tattoos though Baby W found hers most confusing.

Riding from station to station in different types of  steam trains and carriages took up most of the day. Each station has little activity tables to discover and scavenger hunts to complete.

We popped in to see Sir Topham Hatt himself to get our certificates signed and take a few photos. 

One of the stations were handing out some books on train safety which I thought was a wonderful idea. The children each came home with a sticker book and a storybook to enjoy.

 It was a wonderful day out as a family and I'd recommended a visit to any young family.

X x X

Wednesday

We are officially a week into the school holidays and I'm already loosing track of the days. I had to check my phone to make sure it was in fact Wednesday 😂.

This morning was much nicer weather wise. The children spent it mostly playing in the garden with friends and colouring in some pictures from a large bundle of colouring books a neighbour gifted us today. I've found they last much longer if I remove the pages and put out a handful at a time. That way no one can fight over the "best" book and spilled drinks or ink bleeding through the pages isn't such a disaster. It also means our friends can take home their pictures at the end of their visit.

DH came home from work mid afternoon so DD2's bed was completed. She was thrilled to move into it tonight. Hopefully the girls adjust to cohabiting without to much fuss. I'm expecting a few arguments first though.

And finally I've been working on my current knitting project. Eventually there will be 10 of these multicoloured rectangles ready for the sewing up part. I wonder if anyone recognises what they might be. They will make an item each so they aren't blanket squares. 

Pop your guesses in the comments below.

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