Fortune Telling Agnes

The Godfather

We just had a lovely week with Greg (Eliette's Godfather) visiting from the States (despite the dreadful weather).  He bought us this backpack for her and there was a break in the rain one day long enough to try it out with him.  Today we attempted our first geocaching expedition which we intend to use the backpack for as well as for holidays.  (We haven't found the cache yet as Smel got tired and hungry for it was longer than we thought and it took us a while to figure out how to work the GPS walky talkies.)

Annnnd, we took Smel to the swimming pools while Greg was here.  Me, Tom, Greg, Poppy and Grandbob all went to support her but she didn't need it and was a bit bored with what's basically a giant bath.

Today was the best Sunday ever.  I went to bed before nine last night and slept in til about eight (Thank you Small Face). Then Smel slept loads and I got to read a lot of my current novel (a light-hearted ghosty book set in a vintage clothes shop) and drink pots of vanilla white tea before we went geocaching in the sunny-but-windy-with-a-chill,-at least-it's-not-raining weather.

Wall Spools

Small Face has been sleeping straight through from 6pm to 7.30am every night for the last week nearly.  She's doing great.  Not crawling yet but she pulls herself around quickly enough like she's got a broken leg.  She eats mostly what we do but doesn't like the dahl, pasta sauce, cauliflower cheese, or pineapple puree I've made bulk of for her during the week.  I keep avocados, bananas, and fresh, easy-to-whip-up-at-the-last-second foods for when she rejects my first offerings a dozen times.

(She mostly sleeps on her face these days.)

Sunday we're collecting Greg (Smel's Godfather) from the airport and he's visiting a week.  Bless him; he wants to go for a long run or cycle in the countryside but it's been raining every day for over a month now.  And I've got lots of little projects to tidy away before he arrives (which clearly isn't going to happen but here's one that took me two seconds).

MY Afternoon

The weather is dreadful; wet, windy and cold but I've got the afternoon to myself and this just heightens the sweet experience of eating home made cakes (thank you Ming) with vanilla white tea and watching a made-for-telly film about Kate and Wills without employing my brain.

By the time they get back from Nana Mush and Grandbob's I'll be ready for the week ahead (not that it's going to be strenuous; just an ordinary week but still).

Home Made

Look at the beautiful bowl we recieved for Small Face.  It was made by a friend's mum in the States especially for Smel.  We love it!  Thank you Way!

We had a lovely day at our friends' this afternoon.  I took the fresh loaf of bread I made this morning and another to bake when we got there and we had a little feast with homemade pesto in pasta and two more homemade sweet breads and fresh raspberries (a delicious cranberry and a tasty cinnamon bread).  I endeavour to eat like this every day.

Tea time.

Bling

He Didn't Want to Wait Til She Could Talk

Central Station

Madamoiselle has another cold and this one comes with a dreadful cough.  She's coughing and sneezing all through her sleeps as well so she's not getting all she needs.  Annnd she's got a sore bottom and little appetite but she's still not grumpy, bless her!  I took her to a Baby Sensory class yesterday but she didn't really get into it and I don't know if that was because she's not well.  She seemed a bit unstimulated (which is fortunate, actually, because it's way too expensive).  Maybe I'll take her swimming instead.

So, in my Easter Weekend post I noted about the sideboard that I souped up to hide rubbish.  Well, here it is.  As tidy as it can ever be with it being Central Station for everything coming, going and needing to get done in the house.

And here is the matching hanging paper hold-all which is working so far.  I expect I will need to put another pocket in when I can find some more rigid material to do it with.

Much Better

Towel ladder in place and working so far.  Shoes now hang in closet and ginormous bag on way to pack away fabric and clothes I cannot part with immediately.  Also hung a plain white duvet cover as a curtain in place of the heavy navy curtains we had that made the room feel dark and melancholy.  So much happier with bedsheet (for now).  Have started 'paper hold-all that hangs on the wall to clear the top of the sideboard' project and just need to find something to hang it from.  I have also even got a couple items on Ebay but, as I suspected, it is going to be more hassle then it's worth.  Am feeling so much better for all this organising; phew!  Can finally focus on quilted growth chart that I've also started but I'm not sure I'm happy with the chosen scraps of fabric.  Heeeey!  How 'bout everyone reading this send me a few squares?  They only need to be 1 1/2" squares.  Here's what it should look like:

(thestudentteacher.squarespace.com).

I've got all the other fabrics ready and cut out including binding (except the batting but there's a new quilting shop just opened in town that I'll go visit for that).

As for Smel, she is coming on leaps and bounds recently.  She definitely waves, pulls herself to a crawling position from a sitting one, gets one leg up when she's trying to move, pulls herself up on us, and travels around the cot which we've had to drop.

Easter Weekend

Easter weekend; Tom has two extra days off and we're desperately trying to organise the house.  We have ordered a 'towel ladder' to keep in the bedroom for the purpose of throwing our clothes on instead of the floor (Tom), bed or onto Tom's giant black eyesore exercise ball (me) that can live nowhere else in the house but our bedroom.  (But to be fair, it is about the only think he owns besides the car.)

I'm rushing to make a quilted growth chart for Small Face before she can stand so we start it there.  (Will post when I'm finished.)  Have made our traditional lemon meringue eggs:

Will be making pierogis tonight while Tom's out drinking.  And here is madamoiselle on her first Easter:

(Note glass door in background.  Have covered those with fabric this weekend to hide rubbish stuffed inside but will post pic when top is tidied [also working on designing some sort of paper hold-all that hangs on the wall to clear the top of this sideboard].)

 

Boredom

I know, I know, 'why has it been so long'.  We have both been bored and stressed lately for no out-of-the-ordinary reasons.  We want to organize the house more which means I've got lots of things to get rid of and I'm happy to if I can find where to do this.  It's not junk what I want to get rid of and I cannot be bothered to Ebay things.  I'd rather go straight to a buyer but it's finding them.  I should probably be attending vintage fairs and auctions.  But we also want to move this year so we don't have to spend another winter in our lovely but illegally draughty house BUT we can't afford to move until we find new jobs....thus the ordinary stresses that are consuming and boring us right now.  Tom's been escaping in Mass Effect 2 in between job hunting and I'm waiting for Waitrose to open, still.  Eliette is eating more than the pair of us together and pooing equally so but we're content in general.  It was her mate, Lucie's, first birthday party last weekend which was a lovely afternoon.  I am planning Elmer's already but I won't do it like they do here where they invite loads of babies (of the mum's that met it antenatal or mum-and-baby groups).  I just want our (mine and Tom's) closest friends and family at Tom's parent's house.  Elmer also has a new mate called Nellie Rose whom we have yet to meet as she was only born on Thursday.  Soo excited!

Elmer and Lucie, who's three months older.