365 Project: March 2010

Another photo mosaic. This time it’s the results of my 365 project for March. Can you believe today is day 90/365?! The year is zooming along!

March MSH Complete

My March Scavenger Hunt list is complete!

1. 74/365: Sea Bass for tea, 2. 81/365: Amazing Sunset, 3. Get off the phone!, 4. Riding on a Donkey, 5. Blowing in the wind, 6. 78/365: The Gruffalo came to school, 7. Stoodley Pike; Bronze age burial site, 8. 83/365: Next course?, 9. View from the inside, 10. Rectangular, 11. Sports Day Victory, 12. 70/365: Feeding time at the zoo, 13. Would these eyes lie to you?!, 14. Precious teddy, 15. Muddy Boot, 16. 80/365: Under Construction, 17. Get out of the way!, 18. 68/365: Cowboys & Indians, 19. 43/365: Oh dear, 20. The perfect ending

The Gallery: Outside my front door

Over at The Gallery this week the prompt is “Outside my front door”. I smiled when I saw the prompt because I am very proud of where I live. It is a beautiful place and I count myself very lucky to call it home.I’m very sorry because I can’t choose one picture, there will be a few in this post!

This picture was taken from my door step in February.

This next one is also taken from my doorstep last week

We live in the middle of the Pennine hills, on the border of Lancashire and West Yorkshire. Our little town is nestled down in the middle of 3 steep valleys and so the hills can be seen from pretty much wherever you are in the town.
There are lots of mills in the town which are now sadly unused or are being used for other things. Outside my front door is one of these mills. It has been separated off and is used for different things. There is a garage in one bit, one section is currently empty and the other is used as the HQ for a local firm who create straw bale buildings. They run courses in there and give talks.

This is the view across our park.

We have a river (The Calder) and a canal running through the town. The river is 10 seconds from our house and so we are always over there feeding the ducks and the trout that call it home. Being on the Pennine Way means we get lots of walkers visiting. We have a lovely market which is a 2 minute walk from our home. The indoor market is great with 3 excellent butchers, deli stalls, hardware, haberdashery, florists and sweets! The outdoor market stalls change daily and it serves the town very well. The viaduct that runs through the town is a real landmark. Katie loves to watch the trains going across.

Yes, I love it where we live. There is so much outside our front door to see and do. The people here are wonderful too. I am so glad we moved here 2 years ago. It’s the best thing we ever did!

The Gallery: Me

It’s Gallery time again!

The prompt this week is “Me”. I’ve already posted a self portrait on week 1 so I’ve had to choose something slightly different.
I’ve sat and thought “Who am I?”. I’ve been wondering what one image I could use that incorporates all that I am. I came up with this…

It is obviously a picture of me on my wedding day. Here I am surrounded by my wonderful family. I am Mel. I am a wife and I am a mother.
I am my own person too. I like to spend time on my own and I love my friends dearly.

At the heart of all this though is my family. Without them I would crumble.

To put the world right in order, we must first put the nation in order; to put the nation in order, we must first put the family in order; to put the family in order, we must first cultivate our personal life; we must first set our hearts right.
–Confucius–

If in doubt, bake!

I just wrote a whole long blog post that was full of moaning and whingeing. I was about to post it and decided against it. It would have done no good at all. It does not do to dwell on things that cannot be changed.Instead I’m still going to list why I am feeling a bit fed up and then counteract it.

So our car broke down again… it’s ok. Anthony has been recovered on the M25 and is hopefully not too far away from home. At least he is safe and the car just needs a new alternator belt apparently.

The car breaking down means that Anthony wasn’t home to come with me to collect the kids like I hoped he would be. He has been gone since Friday morning and I’m very ready for him to come home. With a bit of luck though he will be home in time to help get Katie in bed.

Katie did not sleep well last night and therefore neither did I. She has a doctors appointment on Friday to hopefully swap inhalers. The coughing at night and after physical activity is getting worse. It’s ok though. The healthcare we get is free and tonight Anthony will be home to get up to her if she wakes.

Katie screamed and kicked and punched me when I left her at playgroup this morning. I came away in tears. She doesnt mean to hurt me though. She is missing her Daddy as much as I am.

Our money hasn’t been paid into the bank this fortnight. We are skint at the moment and really need that cash. We normally get it on a Saturday or Monday at the latest. We have been promised it by tomorrow. At least this means there will be less time until the next payment.

Katie dropped her litle fluffy chick from playgroup down the drain on the way home. Cue much crying and tantrum throwing. My nephew was with us and so I gave him some money to go to the shop and buy some more just to calm her down. We now have 12 Easter chicks and Katie is happy once more. She is walking round cuddling the tiny yellow chick!

Getting the car recovered from the M25 though means lower fuel costs! At least when the car is fixed again we’ll still have a full tank of diesel.

This afternoon while having my pity party I decided I needed to bake. I got up and made these…

Now, my mum always taught me that to make scones you need to be light with your hands. If you are too heavy the scones are too heavy and hard. They don’t rise and you might aswell use them to sink a boat.
So gently, gently I made cherry scones. The result? The yummiest, lightest scones I ever did make. Not only did they bring me out of my pity party but I’ve ended up with some delicious cakes for when Anthony gets home.

I’m still a bit fed up and I still feel a bit alone but I’ll be ok. Once Anthony is home and Katie is in bed I’ll feel happier I’m sure. The lack of adult conversation since Friday is starting to get to me.

Cherry Scones

60g butter

240g self-raising flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

2 tablespoons caster sugar

1 egg, lightly beaten

100ml semi-skimmed milk

100g glace cherries Pre heat oven to 230 C / gas mark 8. Place flour and baking powder in a mixing bowl and rub in butter, next stir in the sugar and chopped cherries, then blend in the egg and milk to form a soft dough. Now turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead gently. Roll out to about 1cm (1/2 in) thick and cut into 5cm (2 in) rounds. Place on a greased baking tray and bake in centre of oven for about 8-10 minutes.

Thankful Friday

I’ve just got back from Robyns school assembly. Robyns class (year 2) did a performance of “The Gruffalo” for the rest of the school and the class 2 parents. It was really wonderful!
The children all performed very well and there was an extra special guest, The Gruffalo himself! School had hired the official costume as a suprise and it was so wonderful!

This afternoon Class 2 are going off to Burnley on the bus to actually meet Julia Donaldson, the author of The Gruffalo. They have been learning all about her and her books for the last few weeks and by chance she is in the area! Robyns school have managed to arrange for the children to go and meet her and they are able to take a book each to get signed.

Robyn has made me very proud this week. We had parents evening on Monday and we got a mixed report from her teacher. She is very, very capable of producing wonderful work but lets herself down by having sad days for no apparent reason where she does very little and is quite withdrawn. We had a little chat and ever since Monday Robyn has been a little superstar at school. She has done some fab work and has been very happy and enthusiastic. Most of all Robyn is proud of herself. She has realised it is nicer to be happy at school. Even 6 year olds have the choice to choose happiness. She has realised that being happy makes you more productive and more responsive. She has got so many compliments this week on her happy smiling face.
I am wondering whether her sadness has something to do with Granny Mary. As you may know she was very close to her Granny who sadly died suddenly last July. At the time she seemed to cope OK but now she has started to talk about her more and I think things might be hitting home a bit. Hopefully we can work things out and encourage her to talk.

So, today is Friday and here that means Thankful Friday. What am I thankful for this week?

That I spoke to my mum on Mother’s Day and managed to agree that next year I would like to send her a card and she will do her best to accept it graciously.

The lovely warm weather. I’ve managed to just wear my fleece jacket outside instead of my big winter coat.

Swimming. I went to the pool on Wednesday with my friend and had a really lovely time. We have promised to go more often and I really believe that we will. I might even go on my own on Monday.

Bread. This morning I woke up to fresh bread again. That smell is just divine and it tastes good too!

Childrens nurses. Yesterday Katie had to have blood tests at the hospital. I don’t mind admitting that I was dreading it but the nurse and nursery nurse were really fantastic. Katie came away with a sticker, a colourful plaster and an award card with a silver star on.

What are you thankful for this week?

The Gallery: Green

So, this week the prompt for The Gallery is “Colour”. I’ve gone with Green because it seems to have featured in my photos alot this week and also as we are celebrating St. Patrick’s Day today.

On Saturday we went to Manor Heath Park where they have a “Jungle Experience”. It is free and is a tropical oasis in the middle of a park in Halifax. We have been meaning to visit for a while and with the return of our car we decided we should get out and about!

We had a really lovely time. We saw butterflies, quails, terrapins and fish aswell as wonderful tropical plants. There was plenty to see and we are definitely going back in the summer when we hope there will be more butterflies aswell as more colour in the actual park which was also beautiful.

Here’s just a small selection of the wonderful greens that we saw.

As I already mentioned, today we are celebrating St. Patrick’s Day. Robyns dad is Irish and dear Granny Mary was so proud of their Irish roots. Each year Mary would take Robyn out with all the family to celebrate and the party atmosphere was great.
Today Robyn went to school wearing an Irish ribbon and shamrock badge. She was so proud to tell her teacher and friends that she is half Irish and that she was wearing the badge to celebrate St. Patrick’s day. She even showed the headteacher in the school yard at the end of the school day.

Yep, green is definitely the colour today 😀

You can see more Gallery posts on Colour here.

The Simple Woman’s Daybook

FOR TODAY, Sunday 14th March 2010

Outside my window… it is a bit dull. I took Katie to feed the ducks and realised it is a bit windy too.

I am thinking… about Mother’s Day. Here in the UK it is Mother’s Day today. I always struggle with it. My mum hates it and always discouraged us from making her a card or getting flowers etc. The trouble is I want to celebrate with my mum. I struggle with being told that I can’t buy flowers or show affection on a certain day. I’ve tried to get a card anyway but that has always been met with a disapproving look which makes me feel sad and unappreciated.
I find it hard to see other people having such a lovely time on Mothers Day with their own mums. Mother’s Day makes me feel the total opposite of how I should feel on this day.
Enough of the pity party though. I am a mother myself now and I will always do whatever I can to make my children feel loved. That means appreciating every little thing they do for me, whether it be Mother’s Day or not.

I am thankful for… my girls. I am thankful that Katie made me a Mother’s Day card at playgroup using handprints. This is a huge deal for her because she hates doing it. I am thankful that Robyn made me 2 cards and I am thankful for the other 2 cards I got today.
I am thankful for the hugs and kisses I got from my girls this morning and for the photo snowdome from Robyn. I am thankful for the breadmaker I already had as an early Mother’s Day present and for the £20 from Robyns dad on behalf of Robyn.
I feel very blessed today.

From the kitchen… Anthony is cooking roast pork with apple, roasted vegetables and roast potatoes. It smells yummy. This afternoon I am going to make Jam Doughnut Muffins to have with our tea later.

I am wearing… the usual. I live in jeans and tshirts.

I am going… swimming this week. I used to go regularly but stopped. I need to start again and so me and a friend are going together.

I am hoping… that my girls never feel unappreciated on Mother’s Day.

I am hearing… Bolt on TV (ahhh some things never change!) and the Grand Prix on Anthonys laptop.

Around the house… we’ve still not done that spring clean…

One of my favorite things… Tulips. I got a lovely bunch for Mother’s Day. I adore tulips.

A few plans for the rest of the week: Katie has blood tests on Thursday, I’m hopefully going swimming on Wednesday (if not then definitely on Sunday) and Anthony might be going to see his sister in Essex for the weekend.

Here is picture for thought I am sharing… me and my girls. Taken yesterday by my husband. Have a happy and blessed Mother’s Day everyone. Give a hug to your nearest and dearest today, whether that be your mum, dad, child, husband, wife or best friend.

Read more entries from the Simple Woman’s Daybook here

Thankful Friday

I’ve had a really lovely week. Lots of family time and plenty to be thankful for…

I am so very thankful to report that we have our car back. Yes, you are reading that right! Over 10 weeks (that is 73 looooong days!) after the car initially broke down we are £1370 worse off (or rather my dad is until we can pay him back!) and we have a car with a new engine and a new fuel pump among other things.
I am thankful that the mechanic got it mended and incredibly thankful that my dad has been able to lend us the money. My heart aches with love for my parents. The support they give is constant and unconditional. I feel so blessed. We had them round for dinner on Wednesday night so that we could show our gratitude. We had a really wonderful evening.

Old friends. I had a lovely chat with an old school friend this week and yesterday my Godfather came to visit my parents. We went to see him while he was here and all ended up going for lunch together at the pub. My dad paid for that too. Did I mention how fab my dad is?!

Sky+. Katie has obsessions. One of the current ones is for The Disney film, Bolt. We recorded it on Sky+ a while ago and since then she has watched it more times than I can count. There are some days when it is played on a continuous loop. I’m sure she would have worn a DVD out by now. She has already worn out Shrek 1, 2 and 3 after her obsessions with those!

Playgroup. Katie loves it there so much. She adores her keyworker and the feeling is mutual. It is really lovely to see them have a big hug when we get to playgroup.

Daffodils. I finally managed to find some this week. They are brightening up my windowsil at the moment. Beautiful.

The Gallery: Number 3

The theme for Tara’s ‘The Gallery’ this week is numbers. She explains the prompt here…

So today’s prompt is: A number. I want the title of your photo to be one number.

What the heck? I can here you all saying . . .

Well, what about 14: the age you discovered fashion?

Or 10: the number of years you’ve been married?

Or 3: the number of pets in the house?

Or 4: the number of children you have? Etc etc.

I have chosen the number 3. There are 3 people in my life who are at the centre of everything I do. Here they are:

We are a team. We do as much as we can together.

I was reminded on Emilys blog this morning that even our flaws are important to somebody. I love my family to the ends of the earth and back again. Yes, they have traits that might be annoying at times but those flaws give personality. Someone who is perfect would be awfully dull don’t you think?! If you think you are perfect surely you are setting yourself up to fail.
These 3 people teach me new things every day. They make me proud every day and they make me laugh every day.

Be proud of yourself and your family. Don’t aim for perfection, aim for happiness.

Find more Gallery posts on Numbers here