Tales of the unexpected with The Boy, my pride and joy.
There is nothing that The Boy loves more than clambering up a tree. It provides a real sense of achievement and connecting with the natural world in that manner really grounds the soul, uplifting and revitalising the body.
Last weekend we travelled down to the New Forest for my mother-in-law's 70th birthday celebrations. This involved the extended family spending three hours up a tree, clambering over cargo nets and sliding down zipwires.
It was just a few months ago at Christmas that we took The Boy to his first big theatre performance, the Lion King was on tour in the Wales Millennium Centre and we went as an extended family to see it as a treat. He was utterly captivated and ever since then I've had my eyes peeled, looking for another suitable show for him to enjoy.
A few weeks ago, we were offered the chance to watch a Saturday matinee performance of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory in the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, London.
Over the past eight months I've found a new hobby. Having admired those who could crochet for years, bought a hook and yarn in the past but done nothing with it, one day I picked it up and did a search on YouTube. An hour later I'd crocheted my first granny square and I haven't stopped since. I look back at that first square now and wince, but I've kept it as it shows me how far I've come in a short space of time.
One of my favourite crochet items to make is a corner 2 corner baby blanket. Having that random '2' in there as opposed to the word 'to' does irk me slightly, but it's the term that's used to describe the diagonal crochet style which quickly creates this blanket. The crochet style uses clusters of treble stitches to build up very quickly.
It does feel sometimes like my house is just one big toy storage facility, with a wooden fortress deep in the middle of a battle; fallen knights scattered helplessly across the floor, soldiers parachuting down to rescue their troubled comrades and the pups from Paw Patrol doing their utmost to save the day in Adventure Bay. However, I do like to assert my hold over the house with a few pretty things like vases of flowers, pots of shells and Yankee Candles scattered around on the surfaces.
This is going to be a mammoth post, but stick with it because it's worth it!
Here's the past month and a bit of my 365 Project.
Memories made at the beach last a lifetime.
As far as I'm concerned, this is completely true!
However, sometimes it helps to have a little something to aid the memories. My sister pointed out a glass jar to me recently which had 'Sand from our favorite beach' printed on it. I really liked the idea, but thought I could make it myself and actually etch the name of the beach into the glass.*
Can you remember your first car?
Do you have a fondness for it just like I did for my K-reg Volvo 440?
During the Summer holidays, we've played a number of board games but some of the most enjoyable games have been those which cause much laughter and giggles. Don't Rock The Boat is one of them!
Following the popular balancing items on a wobbly base philosophy, Don't Rock The Boat has a collection of pirate penguins which must be balanced on their teetering pirate ship without knocking any off. However, the valiant vessel is balanced on a treacherous wave which makes the task even harder!
We were recently invited to visit the newly refurbished Beefeater restaurant in Wenvoe, Cardiff; the Walston Castle. This is a restaurant that I have been to many times over the years, both as a child with my parents (a big treat!) and since having met my husband (who I remember hustling at a game of pool), so I was eager to discover the new decoration style.
It's coming up to that point in the Summer holidays when, like it or not, I need to start thinking about going back to school. For me, as a teacher, this involves burying my head in the sand and building a castle on top of it. However as a parent? Let's get buying the school uniform pronto before it all runs out!
As The Boy is entering Year Two now, I've had a couple of years experience of different suppliers of school uniform and have tried most of the supermarket own brand uniforms with varying degrees of success. This past year has illustrated the cheaper uniforms shrink terribly in the tumble dryer or lose the colours quickly. I now understand why my sister invests a little more to buy uniform from Marks and Spencer.
