The hardly the weather for it giveaway

UPDATE - I've picked a name from the hat that is random.org and it picked ........... comment no: 9.

Which is Blue Box Studio with:

Home made 'lemonade' - juice 3 lemons, add some of the zest as well. I'm a meany so for extra zing I also add the pulp from the lemon squeezer (without pips!). Add an equal amount of water. Chill till needed. Then I use about 1" in a tumbler, topped with a decent fizzy lemonade from the supermarket but soda water, tonic or still water works just as well, add ice ... and chill.

Off to make some more now!

Congratulations, I'll drop you a line now for your address and post your new tea cosy asap:)

Thanks to everyone for entering, and don't feel down about not winning this time, there will be plenty more to come.


Well it isn't really.

Still I'll plow on all the same.

Waaaay back before Christmas I received a commission order for a tea cosy and the only instructions were that it had to be red and white and .....

it had to look like a teapot.


Not round and appliqued or in the shape of anything else, just that it had to look like a teapot.

Of course I was happy to oblige, and I quite liked it so I made another for myself in yellow and I still quite liked it so I made another the same as the original commission ..... for one of you.

It's made to fit a standard four cup British teapot, but it also comfortably covers those new fangled tall cylinder pots which hold six cups.

Now I'm well aware that this is hardly the weather to be worrying about your tea getting cold, but stay with me for a second because by my reckoning it's really just keeping the heat in and something that is capable of keeping the heat in should also do a fair job of keeping the cold in. I can't be the only one who thinks this would look pretty cool with a nice cold jug of lemonade or even iced tea hidden underneath. Can I?

And all you have to do to enter is run to the end of the garden and back, all the while patting yourself on your head with one hand while rubbing your belly with the other and saying the alphabet backwards.

But because nobody in their right mind (not even me, and I'm a few dolly mixtures short of a quarter) would bother with that lot in this heat, I'll settle for a little comment telling me your favourite bevvy on a hot day:)

Cause I'm nice like that and I'm also very easily pleased.

I'll pick a name from a hat on Friday night and do the needful thereafter:)

Quick edit because I always forget to pop this in somewhere. The giveaway is open to everyone worldwide:)

Marching on

I'm sitting here, trying to adjust to the fact that it's not even 8pm, the curtains are closed and the lamps are lit. I could do with putting the heating on, but it isn't quite cold enough yet to force me up off my backside to go and do it.

Autumn has definitely arrived and Summer is fading fast. Don't get me wrong the last couple of days have been beautiful and today was a bit of a scorcher but it doesn't change the fact that Chloe and I crunched on the first fallen leaves on the way home from school today and I let her pick her first apple from the tree in the garden, although there are so few out there that this year she will pick them all. Her dad will even lift her to the very top of our (admittedly shortarsed) tree.

One of the reasons I love Autumn so much is days like these. It poured from the heavens on Monday and Tuesday and I was soaked through waiting for the courtyard gate to open at school on Tuesday, but because I'm in an Autumn mindset now I expect dodgy weather. It didn't disappoint or get me down whereas the last two days have been so beautiful, unexpectedly beautiful and warm that I can't help but be thankful and grateful for them. Its Autumn and sunshine and warmth isn't a promise, it's a gift.

I'm finally wrapping my head around this free time I have each day and slowly learning not to take it for granted, plus its only six weeks to half term so I'm glad to say I've been quite productive around the house lately.

It will soon be time to light the fire again, and I can't wait because I think my absolute favourite part of Autumn is that it means Winter is on the way. I can dig out my big scarves (not that I didn't replace them with much wispier versions during the Summer) and set about making my home cosy and inviting.

But as it is, Autumn's here and its our shortest season in the UK, Summer yawns on stretching its arms into September and before we know it the frost bites down hard so I plan on enjoying the few precious moments of true Autumn, for as long as it may last.

My little flower is wilting

And we were doing so well too.

Toots is completely off her food and the naps that were a thing of the past are back again. In fact she slept this afternoon for two whole hours and probably would have slept longer only I woke her up, which of course led to a very grumpy four year old.

I can't blame her though, I have to admit the last few days all I've wanted to do is curl up in a ball and have a nap myself.

Toots has never really known heat like this. Summer last year and even the year before was relatively cool and before that she was only an ickle baby so those years don't really count.

I need to get my hands on a better sun screen too. On Tuesday when we went to Stormont Park I absolutely plastered the poor child in factor 50 every time I could get my hands on her and pin her to the grass for a few minutes. Seriously, the child was a funny shade of blue (cause the blue tinge doesn't magically disappear) and she was fuming because her hair kept sticking to face and even with all that she still managed to come home with a tan. A ha-uge no-no in my book for a four year old.

Any recommendations on a decent sun screen that doesn't turn my kid all the colours of the rainbow, actually works at, you know, screening the sun and if it comes in a spray bottle, properly works and comes out in a mist rather than just spitting and dribbling out globs of blue cream would be greatly appreciated.

And then after my little menu plan yesterday, the poor husband ended up having to work late and I couldn't face the thought of cooking anything so Toots and I had a bowl of weetabix for dinner. Her suggestion, not mine.

I think perhaps I need to treat Toots and I to some nice Summer clothes, something very light and floaty. Maybe that will perk us up.

Still there is a silver lining to all this sunshine. I get to tell everyone that I haven't bothered to clean the outside of my windows because they'll only go streaky in the sun.

Not sure how long that excuse will hold up, but I'll push it as far as it goes.

Fun in the Sun

We're just not cut out for this kind of weather in Northern Ireland. Don't get me wrong we appreciate it and are very grateful (if anyone in particular is listening) we're just not used to it. Especially when it sneaks up on us. The rain just stopped one day last week and the temperature rocketed and hasn't dropped since.

The poor child is suffering from a bit of heat exhaustion. She spent Saturday playing in the above ground swimming pool my mum mistook for a paddling pool. She woke at my mum's house on Sunday, stripped off her jammies and ran nekid out to the pool again. My mum just about managed to wiggle her into a swimming costume and force feed her some breakfast.

for some dinner. I know, we actually ate out for a change, but I just couldn't face the thought of cooking. I've cooked outside all week because its enough of a headache to cool the house at the minute without adding any more heat to it. So fish on the We then had a gorgeous afternoon at Knockinelder and Quintin Bay, before heading to Kircubbinbarby, salad and bread has been the order of the day, every single day.

Monday we played in the garden and took a few short walks and on Tuesday we spent over four hours at the duck pond and then on the way home Toots bought herself a petite stitch junior sewing machine in a charity shop so that she "could be like mummy". Sometimes she's almost too cute.

I did have photos planned for this post but my micro drive has gone walkabout. I will deliver as soon as it turns up though.

Wednesday was another day for running around. We had to go food shopping in the morning and with a very active four year and the obvious lack of a driving license it turned to be a nightmare, but we managed.

Yesterday we vegged in front of the TV in the morning and replanted all of the seeds destroyed by frost earlier in the year in the afternoon. Toots even planted up a little kit garden my mum bought her a couple of months ago. Its the type with a few packets of seeds, a little seeds tray and cover and a rock hard block of "magic" compost which needs to be reconstituted with water. She had a lot of fun with it to. The whole kit only cost £2.99 and had a pirate theme so inside the box, along with the necessary bits and pieces were a pirates eye patch, three flags to mark the position of her seeds and a treasure map so that she could mark an X at the spot she planted each seed. Even the seeds are themed. She planted monster sea gourd, some money plants and sea holly. I really hope something grows because she checked on it countless times yesterday and she's been outside twice this morning already to see if anything has grown yet.

She's also learnt how to open the side gate which is amazing because even I have trouble opening that gate at times. It weighs a ton and the lock is really stiff. It does mean that there has been no shortage of chase scenes around here lately because the side gate leads to the driveway which leads to a pretty busy street.

Guess what I'm doing today?

Yep, adding another lock to the bloody gate. I'm all for independence, but I'll be damned if she's going to play in the street like some little four year old urchin. When she's older fair enough, but not yet.

My house, my rules kid!

So we're a bit tired and worn out round here. I can already feel the sun burning the back of my neck through the window and it's not even 9.00am yet.

Its going to be another long, hot day.