Happy Easter!

Well the sun was out for us today. We had a lovely Easter Sunday with friends and their children ranging from 4 weeks to 9 years old. Lots of talking, laughing, hugging, smiling, hunting, eating, drinking and being thankful for good friends.

This was my Easter tree. Do you see the bunting in the window? well I made it from those small pieces of fabric I mentioned on an earlier blog. The yellow teddy was for a friends baby only 4 weeks old who came today-well he was just a little too young to start on the chocolate!
The children hunted for card eggs hidden in the garden and I swapped them for the real ones. Then they went to the top of the garden and sitting on a blanket under the apple tree made pom-pom chicks and did some Easter colouring.

Then before they all left I had to open some of my birthday presents early. The children made me do it! Cath Kidston heaven, her book, Make! and two large mugs. I just love them. We had such a lovely day celebrating with people we can relax with and get on with and we were blessed with sunshine!

Happy Easter everybody!

What a difference a day makes.

Yesterday was so grey, dull and wet (although it did not spoil our Good Friday) today, well the sun is shining and I really do feel springy!

I was up at 7.30am baking ready for the big Easter Egg Hunt tomorrow. Lemon cake, chocolate fairy cakes, vanilla fairy cakes and flap jacks. We will have hot cross buns and plenty of tea, coffee or wine! I am really looking forward to it. I will be up early to hide the Easter egg cards which the children hunt for and I swap for eggs-simple! Well it worked last year and it was pouring with rain. I will take lots of photos and post about it tomorrow night.

So this coming weeks events are-

Tomorrow friends coming. Easter Celebrations.

Monday Hubby and I are off to Oulten Park (to watch the motor racing) I usually take my book but may have an hour or two practising my crochet.

Tuesday out somewhere nice, don't know where yet.

Wednesday bit of shopping then to see Widowers Houses by Bernard Shaw at the Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester.

Thursday it's my birthday! And I am off to Preston to spend the day with Shan my Kindred Spirit. She has lots of nice things planned-No Pressure Shan!!!

Friday relax because Saturday I am going home to my mum on Saturday evening. Let me explain. Four of Hubby's old school friends are coming over, they are going to watch Leeds V Huddersfield Rugby Match then back here for a curry and a few beers locally-so you see why I am going to stay at my mum's, I do not want to be here when they all wake up with bad heads on Sunday!

I am off to get all glammed up now as Hubby is taking me out for a Tapas for an early birthday meal. But thought I would leave you with this. It was a postcard my mum sent from Scarborough last week.

What a Good Good Friday.

Despite the grey day and later on heavy rain Hubby and I had a Good Good Friday. First we went to East Riddleston Hall. A property owned by the National Trust. It is a small 17th Century Manor House built in 1642, just outside Keighley above the River Aire.

It has two windows in the shape of a Yorkshire Rose, one at the front and one at the back.
and it is meant to be haunted by 7 different ghosts, but we didn't see any! It does have a lovely garden with a wild area, formal gardens and herb gardens. There was this fantastic Quince-
On the way back home we went past Keighley Railway station where they filmed some of the last scenes in Yanks in 1979. It's one of my favorite films and then onto another location for another of my favourite films. We stopped off at Oakworh Station.

We bought a platform ticket and waited for the 17.09 to arrive from Haworth. The film The Railway Children was filmed in 1970 in the area and Oakworth was the star of the show.
The station master had a roaring fire in his grate and the ladies waiting room looked like Roberta, Peter and Phyllis had only just stepped out onto the platform.

Then the 17.09 arrived and left and we went home for tea.

What holiday?

Well I seem to have spent the last three days cleaning and tidying the house, vacuuming, dusting, scrubbing, washing, ironing- What happened to my holiday! I have done none of the 'me' things I promised myself. No crochet, knitting, sewing or felting.

There is a reason for the big Spring clean, well two actually.

1. It needed it.

2. Friends coming over on Easter Sunday for cake and Easter egg hunt.

It was nice to get some washing on the line I admit. The clouds were rolling across the sky but I dodged the showers.

I had to show you these daffodils I bought for £1 a bunch at Tesco. They are so creamy and frothy.

And in the garden I found ferns unfolding and

ariculas flowering.

Hubby is off work Thursday to Tuesday and I still have to bake cakes, make flap jacks, decorate an Easter tree, think about the egg hunt etc. etc. etc.

Never mind that's the fun bit, my reward for the Spring clean!

It's arrived!

Oh joy, at last , Easter has arrived. Well for me it has. I start my 2 week holiday from school today and I think I am more excited than the children I saw out of school on Friday! It was a long, last week and as much as I love my job, I need some 'me' time I can tell you.

So Saturday I planted some seeds in the greenhouse, and had a potter in the garden.

Then on Sunday we went to visit my mum because my Sister was up from 'the South' on a visit. I had warned her previously that I wanted a quick demo on crochet. My sister is a dab hand at crochet, years ago she use to own a wool shop and she can do the most delicate handiwork. Anyway, it was a bit confusing at first but at last with her help....

I manage a granny square!
Not the best I know-and big sis did the centre bit but the wonky circle is all my own work!

We did have some books to help me. My mum told me she had some magazines she had collected called 'Busy Needles' upstairs and my brother and hubby went and found them, dusted them off and brought them down.

She had collected every issue and bought the binders for them. They were published between 1979 and 1983 so we had a right giggle at some of the models and ideas-if you need a knitting pattern for a child's jumper with R2D2 on it, I'm your lady! There are step by step macrame instructions, knitting and crochet, embroidery, applique, crewel work and weaving.
The early 80's and fashion-well those lilac, Lycra leggings didn't stand the test of time did they?

My Kreativ Award

Thank you Sal for my Kreativ Blogger award. Now, have you seen the list of blogs I read? well how on earth can I choose from all these lovely blogs. But rules are rules and I sat for ages going through as many as I could to see first if they had already been given the said award, then I still had too many so just randomly picked seven-very scientific I know but I genuinely love reading them ALL!

the seven that my mouse happened to click on out of all of them are all worth looking at. Please pop over to see these lovely blogs.

Diane at Heart shaped

Sumea at Skipping in the meadow

Judy at Fabric, arts and crafts

Libby at Paper, napkin, Poetry

Karen at Sew and sow life

Kristina at Jolly hockey sticks

and Anglesey allsorts

all please accept this award and pass it on to 7 others-feel free to use my list!

The other part of this award is to name 7 things I love so-

1. Of course I love my hubby.
2. I love my cats (even though Bob is no longer with us).
3. I love my family and friends-ALL of them!
4. I love Spring!
5. I love my garden and my house.
6. I love making things.
7. And I love books (Lucy thought she would get in on the act here!)

A Thank You!

Something strange is going on with Blogger tonight so I am not sure if this will post-here goes.

My Prize from Sumea came yesterday...

Beautifully wrapped with a lovely card....

The eggs had arrived and not one had broken in the post!

THANK YOU SUMEA!