Thank you xx

Thank you for all your lovely messages on my last post - means a lot that so many people have taken the time to comment. I thought I would reply to your all individually but the list has got rather longer than I could ever cope with and I didn't want to miss anyone out.

I thought I would give up blogging until after the funeral but after a family chat over the weekend, we've decided to keep things as 'normal' as possible - meaning the boys will be out doing their hobbies this week (2/3 of the menfolk are at band practise tonight), MrVV has to keep working (downside of being your own boss) and the same goes for my BIL & his family - MIL agrees that this is the best way. Therefore as blogging is one of my hobbies I ought to carry on with it.

The boys had a home day on Friday which I think they benefited from - despite their often differences and arguments, they are really good friends and they were support for each other and company for me that day, as MrVV was out from very early.

Most of the weekend has just gone past in a whirl of phone calls, decisions to be made and the usual stuff that needs doing each weekend. I've started knitting another 'thing' to be felted - will probably end up as a purse for me. The first one was given to one of my sisters over the weekend and she was thrilled with it.

One thing I did notice tonight - is was still almost light @ 5pm - add that to the green shoots and snowdrops that are growing fast in my borders and you can really feel that spring is in the air - or just a tiny hint of it. I never got round to doing the RSPB Garden Bird survey over the weekend but spent a little time today watching the comings and goings of my feathered visitors - definite increase in activity and by the looks of it, early nest building is happening too.

See you soon

xxx Vicki xxx

1935-2011

When I started writing my blog I decided to keep it as honest and open as I dare. This is why today I've to write a 2nd time about losing a loved one.

My FIL passed away this morning after a long battle with illness over the past few months. We thought he was winning but in the last week or so it became apparent that he wasn't. It was still such a shock to get a call early this morning asking MrVV to go to the hospital - even then we didn't realise the end was so soon.

I had to do the hardest thing tonight and tell my boys when they got in from school and it wasn't nice and its horrid to see those you love hurt so much.

I am going to take a little blogging break for a week or so till after the funeral.

xxx Vicki xxx

Up the apples & pears

Good evening

Well that's day one of the week almost over - blink and it will be the weekend again!!

Today was good - another physio appointment in Aldeburgh. I caught the bus and as I'd time to spare I thought I'd get off in town and have a look around - distinct lack of bargains in their one & one charity shop. Never mind it was good to look around. So off I headed to the little cottage hospital - up the town steps;

Pausing half way up to take a picture.

View from the top over the houses and out to sea

When the boys were small they used to count the steps as they climbed - they never could agree how many there were - and I forgot to count today!!

Good news - there is an improvement in my ankle and even better news I've got to go back in 3 weeks time.

Rewind to the weekend and in particularly Saturday. I had to go into town with little son as he needed a haircut - for someone with long hair he has lot of these. Afterwards we decided to pop in and see my sister in the charity shop so he could say thank you for his birthday pressie. Whilst in there just for a look we found;

3 more Ladybird books for my collection

A skirt for me - just what I wanted - I'd been eyeing up ones in Fat Face & White Stuff but this Monsoon one was far far cheaper and a perfect fit.

For my birthday last year I was given a dolls house - I've just started to collect things to go in there - this ex-display bathroom was a bargain - initially £10 it had been reduced to a fiver & by Saturday it was just £2.50!

A dresser for the dolls house too - I have the perfect tiny tea set to go on there once the rooms are decorated.

Little son also managed to find 3 James Bond books - I think we were the best customers of the morning!!

Over the weekend I finished my felted purse - rather pleased with this. I've ordered some more yarn in different colourways as I think I might like one for myself too;

I couldn't decide how to sew the sides up - I opted for one row of blanket stitch in a single colour with another over the top in 4 different colours to match. I put the zip in before I stitched the sides up - this definitely was a good idea - though this was quite an easy zip to battle with.

Peace and quiet here today (almost) little son & MrVV are at band practise and big son is battling monsters in cyber space. I think I shall take myself off to the front room, find some mindless tv as a background noise and start something else for my stall.

See you soon

xxx Vicki xxx

Sunshine & surprises

Good evening

Wow another sunny day - cold but sunny. I can see in the borders that the daffs and other bulbs are really coming through thick and fast now. I know we're 2 months away from the official start of spring but these little signs make me hopeful that longer days and less clothing are just around the corner.

When I got back from my CS shift yesterday there was a parcel waiting on my desk. It took me a few moments to remember that it was a recent giveaway win - from Gill the Vintage Gardener. She had a giveaway recently to celebrate her first blog birthday and I was the lucky first name out of the hat. It was a lovely fat parcel and inside there were loads of lovelies;

A felt Stanley(which I shall be hiding from visiting small nieces), some vintage linens (these were wrapped around some of the parcels), some wonderful tags that are just gorgeous, a bookmark, a pretty pin cushion and a picture that is truly lovely. I need to get MrVV to put the picture up in my sewing room this weekend - I love having reminders of blog friends around me whilst I work. Thank you Gill very much :)

I finished knitting with my felting yarn - it ended up making a reasonable sized piece;

(Before)

(After)

I think it will be big enough to turn into a purse once it has fully dried out, had some decoration added and I've battle with putting a zip in!!

As I said at the beginning today has been a sunny one here in Suffolk and this morning I decided to see how sunny it was - the test - getting a load of washing dry on the line outside!!

It worked - here's hoping there's many more line drying days coming up - I love the smell of line dried washing - just have to be careful I sniff a pile of clean shirts rather than a heap of freshly washed boxer shorts!!

Right - back to sewing - having fun with felt & buttons tonight

See you soon

xxx Vicki xxx

Burst of colour, spring and bargains

Good evening

What a difference a day makes - yesterday was grey, wet & soggy - today was warm, sunny and lovely.

Perfect for getting out and about and also taking pics of some recent CS finds.

My favourite find recently was a huge selection of vintage cotton reels in a range of lovely colours;

Not quite sure what I will do with all of them - I think I might add some to forthcoming stalls - even if they just provide a splash of colour.  The bowl they are in was a CS bargain too - just £3;

I had a great find last week when I was working - I've been after curtains for our bedroom for ages but  its rare to get 2 matching pairs come in. These were on the rails and I had to have them - another bargain @ just £6.50! They need altering and lining but I've got a little while as decorating isn't planned till at least Easter.

My MIL has been sorting out things in her new house - she's been dropping a few items with me that she's thought I'd like - this week its been;

A little vintage leather suitcase - perfect for displaying things at fairs - just needs a little TLC inside first though.

To late for yesterdays cake making but it will come in useful for another time - a fab Tala icing syringe in its original box - I think this was a wedding present many years ago.

As today was so lovely and almost spring like it, I had a look in my garden and was pleased to see plenty of life appearing in the borders;

Lots of the bulbs are ones that were bought last year, that flowered indoors before being planted out in the autumn. I added to their number today - couldn't resist a pot of tete-a-tete bulbs from outside our lovely florists;

I've promised myself that during 2011, I shall endeavour to make as many birthday presents as possible - something which is easier for my female relatives/friends than the men. At the end of the month its a sisters birthday and I've struggled with inspiration until today. I popped in to see my friend in her habbie shop and noticed a new range of yarn which can be felted. So I've cast on 40 stitches and shall knit to the end of the ball - hoping it will produce a shape large enough to be turned into a makeup bag/purse - only time will tell - I shall let you know how I get on;

Thank you for all the comments on little sons cake - I wish I could claim it as an original idea but its not - I 'borrowed' it from an explorer unit party that big son went to in the summer!! Oh and the big portions at the carvery - well apart from meat its a help yourself option - hence the lack of veggies on little sons plate - after all it was his birthday ;)

See you soon

xxx Vicki xxx

More cake and a teenager!

Good evening

How was your weekend/Monday?

As its birthday season here in the VV household, ours has passed in a mix of celebrations, cake making (again) and pressie wrapping.  Its the smallest member of the households birthday today - little son has reached a new milestone - he's become a teenager. I think I started something when I made him a loud cake last year - had to think of something different for this birthday;

A mix of fondant icing, blue butter icing and a huge selection of his favourite sweets - lets just say the sugar high will be over by next weekend!!

Rewind to yesterday - in order to celebrate the 2 birthdays in the past week, we headed off out to our favourite carvery for Sunday lunch (think we did the same last year - we're creatures of habit) - here's the birthday boys with their overloaded plates - for once MrVV was defeated by a meal (a very rare occurrence);

Afterwards we headed to Southwold for a walk and a play on the arcades - big son had us in stitches as he attempted to "cross the motorway with a zimmer frame";

This morning started early - one excited new teenager who had no idea what he was getting from us - lucky little devil got a rather shiny new bike;

He's been thoroughly spoilt by family & friends and he was thrilled with his cake. Am now wondering what I can do for next month for big son when he turns 15;

In between cake decorating, housework, sewing  and watching 'Land Girls' this afternoon, I've managed to fit in a rather soggy cycle into town - found a couple of cracking bargains in the charity shops - but I'll share those next time.

xxx Vicki xxx

Cakes & Cushions

Good evening

How was your day? Mine was another hectic one - seems it the week of appointments and having nearly all the daytime hours booked with stuff - some boring and some lots better. This afternoon was a better one - I went with my MIL to visit FIL in hospital. He's doing really well and yet again there is talk of him coming home - possibly early next week. Fingers crossed - the ideal day would be Monday as its little son birthday and he's said loads of times he'd like Grandad home for his birthday.

Talking of birthdays, I finished MrVV's cake whilst he was out on Tuesday;

Another one to make for Monday - slightly different - I have an idea involving sweeties and lollipops!!

I've not managed much sewing/knitting/crafting this week - when its got to evening time I've just been too tired. I did however manage to make a start on a couple of cushions destined for next months fair;

Ok - so indoors in artificial light and on a wonky sofa isn't the best place to take pics - but it gives you an idea!!

Hoping anyone visiting Southwold, will be in the market for something with beach huts on ;)

I remembered today to send my first Birthday Swap parcel - hoping the Post Office aren't too slow and it arrives in time for the weekend.

Time for some Thursday night comedy on BBC2 and possibly a little glass of something!!

See you soon

xxx Vicki xxx

Cakes, Swaps & men in white coats!

Evening

How was your weekend?? Ours seemed to pass so quickly - possibly something to do with lying in till gone 9 both mornings - oh the beauty of teenagers!!

Saturday night saw all 4 of us at the local panto - oh yes it did. As ever it was great and we've decided that a local production with faces we see everyday and local in jokes is better than the big budget professional shows.

Sunday was the usual whirl of housework, roast dinners and last minute school stuff.

I must confess I wasn't looking forward to today, I had my first physio appointment for an old ankle injury. Nearly 4 years ago I took a flying tumble during a game of chase with a bunch of 3 years old (I used to work in a pre-school). I ended up in A&E and the result was bad sprain. Its never really healed and over the summer it got very painful again so I finally booked a doctors appointment and today I'd got to the top of the physio list. Anyhow I shall be looking forward to my future appointments - my physio is drop dead gorgeous :) Have a feeling it might take several visits to get some results ;)

I started my exercises today and the boys have been in hysterics as I try to balance on my bad leg - they were wondering how long I'd last till I fell over!! At the moment 30 seconds is as much as I can manage - there have been threats of videos and Youtube!!

There was one other important task to start today - its birthday season here in the VV household and tomorrows its MrVV's birthday - a cake was started today - this gave me the chance to use the huge mixing bowl my MIL gave me when she cleared out her old house - it belonged to her Grandmother;

Trust me it was the first cake I've made ever that hasn't made a floury mess on the work surface when I stir it up.

Lastly for tonight - Lissylou is 2 years old and she's having a giveaway here ;

And Jackie & Miss S have allocated swap partners for the spread the bloggy love swap here ;

I've been paired with someone who is new to me so I shall spend some time this evening reading her blog and getting to know her.

See you soon

xxx Vicki xxx

Faintly Patriotic????

Hello from Soggy Suffolk

I started writing this post on Thursday night but realised I'd forgotten to take pictures - thought I'd wait for the better light in the morning - wrong - tis grey,dull & wet outside so the photos aren't  as clear and flash free as I'd like.

Anyhow - this faintly patriotic thing - it started on Wednesday night at S&B. We were having our cuppa and we started to comment on one of the mugs - a rather posh Silver Jubilee one that belonged to a friend. It lead the conversation round to whether the rest of us still had our mugs (those old enough) from 1977. I still have mine - it now sits on my desk and holds pens;

A friend had her daughter with her who was doing some drawing before she goes back to uni - about trend predictions. She mentioned about a patriotic theme due to the forthcoming weddings and next years Diamond Jubilee. It made me think about the bits I've been making this week towards birthdays and the craft fair - I hadn't realised that there was a red/white/blue theme coming through;

I wonder if that's right - will everything be red/white/blue this spring / summer and next?? And I wonder if my children would keep a mug for over 30 years??

See you soon

xx Vicki xx

International "hear a pin drop" Day ;)

Good morning

Oh yes that day has arrived - 2 boys despatched back to school with slightly holiday brain mode still switched on - hopefully by the end of the day they'll be back into learning mode!! Even MrVV has deserted me today and gone off to work in his warehouse. Oh the sound of silence - bliss. I can hear a clock ticking and a siren in the distance!!

We've spent the last few days slowly getting back to normal. Christmas has been packed away with the exception of a few outside lights which will be switched off tomorrow (12th night). New school items have been bought & labelled and bags emptied of old wrappers & drink bottles. The dreaded alarm clocks have once again been set and we're slowly getting used to routine again.

We did manage our walk at Southwold on Monday - it was surprisingly quiet there. Here's a pic (not a great one) of little son and me - as you can see - I won't be able to call him little son for much longer;

I achieved something else on Monday - I managed to book myself a stall at a fair at the end of February. Its run by Greenpeace and the few times I've visited its been really busy and friends who've had stalls there have been successful. I've decided as its an 'Eco-friendly' event I shall try to make everything I want to sell from existing supplies - a stash busting event! Rummaging through bags/drawers I've been quite surprised at how much stuff I have so I don't think it will a problem.

I was on my way out a little while to refill the bird feeders - it seems its not just the birds who've been feeding - this little fella - who've we nicknamed 'Fatso' has kept us entertained over the hols as he tries to launch himself at the nuts. Typically I didn't get a pic of him dangling pretending to be a blue tit - he landed just as I took the photo!!

Right - I'd better crack on - washing machine to empty, floors to wash, dinner to plan and a CS shift this afternoon too. Oh the joys of back to 'normal'.

See you soon

xxx Vicki xxx

Christmas part & New Year catch up

Afternoon

I seem to be days behind everyone else so I shall firstly wish you all a very happy new year.

Its been a stressful few days here - instead of coming home tomorrow, my poor FIL was rushed back into hospital early on New Years Eve. The upshot was he needed emergency surgery that evening. We were warned that due to his health things might not work out and we all spent a very tense few hours waiting for a call to say how things had gone. Amazingly he had made it through surgery and was in ICU for post op monitoring. He's doing really well and should be back into a general ward today with nothing more than a sticking plaster on his stomach to show for it all!!

As you can imagine it meant that we spent a very sober NYE and a very restless first few hours of 2011. After MrVV & MIL spent the day @ the hospital yesterday, they came back to very scaled back New Years meal - we shall save the crackers & party poppers for a proper family meal when FIL eventually gets home.

If MrVV & I weren't already going grey rather rapidly the past few days would have probably had an effect!

Today we've decided to pack Christmas back into its boxes and cupboards for a few months. The house is looking rather bare and also in need of a visit by an army of housework fairies.

I've been putting the final few Christmas pressies away and have also finally managed to upload the pictures I took over Christmas - not many this year.

A snap shot of some of favourite pressies - Kirstie's book which I am enjoying, snuggly handknitted socks (from MIL) and wristwarmers from a sister, a lovely new EB pen and the most gorgeous button necklace.

I was very lucky - I got 3 new charms for my bracelet - one each from MrVV, bigson & littleson.

I also found a load of pictures taken Christmas day when we were having fun and eating Christmas lunch - I thought I'd share these one of my 2 monsters with you;

When Mummy decides to buy a big box of crackers as she wasn't sure how many she was catering for on Christmas Day and it ends up being just the 4 of us, it means everyone got more than one cracker and big son opted to wearing all his hats!!

Honestly he only had one glass of wine ;)

Looking forward to this evening - the boys are off to their annual badminton club party / tournament and like last year MrVV & I are planning a quiet evening and a civilised evening meal!

Tomorrow is the last day of the holidays for us all to be together - hoping the weather is decent as we fancy a family day out - probably Southwold.

Looking at the diary the first few weeks of 2011 have started to fill up nicely. I've got 2 swaps to look forward to this year - Laalaa's birthday swap - I've now added another 21 birthdays to my already long list and Jackie @ Sew Special Bears is organising a Spread the Bloggy Love swap which has a valentines theme to it. This one is still open so pop over and sign up -  it means we'll all have something to open on Feb 14th then ;)

See you soon and thanks for 'listening'

Oh my boots in the last post were from Clarks ;) Must be getting sensible in my old age!!

xxx Vicki xxx