All creatures great and small

Good afternoon

Not sure I could love all creatures - especially this one that decided to hide under my pillow the other night! I'd been away for the weekend and left the boys in charge - they'd been good and got washing in and I guess this must have smuggled itself into the house in the washing basket;

I might have squealed like a girl when I spotted it but then I calmly deployed my insect catching kit (junk mail and a plastic Latitude cup) and put him downstairs to deal with in the morning!

I said I'd been away - I stayed with friends and we went to an birthday party on the Saturday night - it was 80's themed - and I knew what I wanted to wear - the jacket & accessories date from my mid teens in the mid 80's and the t-shirt was a treat to myself;

Obviously back in the mid 80's it wouldn't have been a pint of cider ;)

The party was for one of our dancers and we were asked to dance just once for everyone - such a lucky girl that I am, I finally got to dance with Adam Ant ;)

After a very late night and not a very restful sleep - I managed to fall out of bed!! Perhaps the 4th pint wasn't such a good idea!! The next dance we headed to a gig in a pub garden - us lot dancing for half an hour and the rest of the afternoon spent sitting in the sunshine, listening to music, chatting and maybe drinking some more cider!!

This week has been busy - even though the boys had one day off school due to the strikes. This morning was quiet and in order to put off hoovering for a while, I bashed some more picture pins in the wall and added to my wall of family photos;

I can now see there are some family members missing and I've been asking for copies of photos to add to this collection.

This afternoon has been spent with two wonderful creatures both very small and both very new. One of my sisters has recently got a puppy and kitten - they arrived within days of each other and and slowly getting the hang of each other. The kitten gives as good as it gets and has the advantage of speed and being able to hide under the sofa when the attentions of his 'brother' get too much!!

Meet - Foggy the border collie puppy;

and Douglas the kitten;

Both adorable and crazy and I could have happily brought them both home with me!!

Right I'd best be off - having a girls night with my sisters tonight to celebrate a birthday and draw names for our Not-so-Secret-Santa we do every year.

See you soon

xxx Vicki xx

We've been on a giraffe hunt!

Good evening

Well what a fab day out the boys & I have had today. We've left Suffolk and headed over the border into Essex to Colchester. We arranged to meet friends at the station - had to laugh we came out of the exit and there was no sign of them! We called and they told us they were are the exit! Took a moment or two to realise there are two exits!! Anyhow we got that sorted and were soon on our way into the town centre.

The reason for the visit - Giraffes! To celebrate the 50th birthday of Colchester Zoo - 30 large painted giraffes are dotted about the town and nearby area - and another 100 or so are there too. The large ones were painted by artists and the small ones by local schools/community groups.

My friend had spent many hours earlier this year painting hers and we wanted to see it for real.

 Just for once Big Son wasn't the tallest thing around!!

 Giraffes in all sorts of designs - smart, evening wear.

 This reminded me a bit of the Rolling Stones lips logo (excuse the teenager photo bombing in the background).

The other side without a teenager lurking!!

 A Masai inspired one.

This artist works often with glass and the tiles that made the necklaces were all individual small glass tiles - just stunning.

This one was based on the nursery rhyme - Twinkle, twinkle little star - which was written by a Colchester resident!

 Another nursery rhyme one.

 Inside a rather modern and snazzy arts centre in town.

 One of the smaller school decorated ones - loved her spotted shorts.

 A patchwork one.

 This one is called Womb with a view - if you look closely you can see part of the body is just the internal parts - including a baby giraffe in the womb!!

  The last one I snapped - it was decorated with Colchester land marks.

We stopped for lunch in the gardens of the Castle - just opposite a family of pandas!!

Oh the main reason for visiting - this fella in the food hall of M&S - he greets everyone who comes to the shop;

The whole thing is decorated with African patterns - really wonderful.

We saw many more - especially of the small ones but these weren't always easy to photograph as they are in shops and other public buildings.

At the end of the summer all the giraffes are being auctioned - sadly I won't be able to bid - Helen's already has a 4 figure reserve on it!!!

If anyone is near Colchester over the summer hols - I would recommend getting a leaflet and doing some of the trail - it really is good.

Right - time for a soak in the bath and hopefully a good nights sleep.

See you soon

xxx Vicki xxx

Mother & Child

Morning

Hurrah - we've reached that point in the year again - last day of school :)

6 weeks of summer hols with my boys - rather a lot (should) be happening plus if this gorgeous weather could continue we'd be very grateful - rather enjoying eating outside and having lots of barbecues. Oh and the upside of everything in my life being 'complicated' this year means I've lost weight and am loving not hiding under layers - whilst I'm no supermodel its rather nice to feel the sunshine on my skin and not feel like I am going to melt!!

Anyhow - just one picture today - quickly snapped yesterday morning. A green woodpecker and their baby - these are very skittish and you have to be quick & quiet or else they'd fly off ;

This was taken from an upstairs window on my little camera with max zoom so not perfect quality but nevertheless (I think) a lovely snap.

For those with school age children - I hope you enjoy your summer hols. I know my two can't wait - no timetables, for little son no uniform and for me - no pack ups and alarm clock!!

See you soon with I am sure one or two photos from Latitude!

xxx Vicki xxx

Chasing butterflies

Good afternoon

Wow - can't believe this weather - another sunny day - and it looks like it will continue into the weekend :)

Have been pottering about lots this week - steadily but getting more and more done. Making the most of the weather and emptying my laundry bin and getting those other washing tasks like sofa covers and throws sorted too.

I've also been watching the wildlife - the butterflies and bees have been loving the huge Hebe's in the front garden - some even stayed still long enough for photos;

I mentioned that on Sunday I'd headed with a sister to the big local car boot sale - here's what came home with me minus the strawberries that soon disappeared into those hungry boys of mine;

Both the books were favourites when I was younger - I used to read Mr Pink Whistle whenever I slept over at a friends house - I was always awake first and seemed this book was nearest to hand each time!

I also mentioned about heading to Latitude this weekend - well I decided that a new frock was in order - the fabric came from my friends little shop and once I'd unearthed my packed away sewing stuff it didn't take too long for a frock to appear - even if I had to sew standing up at the breakfast bar (more comfortable than I thought it would be);

I went dancing last night - just one dance as its the only one without having to have someone put their arm around me as part of it - too sore still for the others. However it went well and it felt good to be doing it again. Hopefully next week I might manage a couple more - I've been to the doctors (again) this morning and the pesky dissolving (but not actually doing it) stitches in 2 wound sites are finally gone - hurrah. 

Right off to the washing machine again - another load is finished!

Long may the sunshine continue :)

See you soon

xxx Vicki xxx

14 of 52 weeks of happy

Good morning

The sun is shining and the sky is blue - just waiting for a load of washing to finish before I hang it out to dry - I love this - such a simple pleasure.

Its the last day of the boys holidays today - tomorrow is back to school and in just a few weeks time the GCSE/AS level exams start - there is a 6 week period where both are doing exams - sometimes on the same day - really not looking forward to it - especially as we will have the same thing again next summer!

However - happy stuff - lots this week - even if many happy moments haven't got caught on camera. I wish we'd caught the time last night when we were cooking dinner the 3 of us - utter hysterics at my slightly 'merry' antics and a small incident with an open kitchen cupboard! Or the many moments with my mad biggest boy and his gangly dancing and general silliness.

Here's this weeks 4 happy pictures;

1 - Newly filled bird feeders have been very popular this week. Hard to get pictures unless I take them at max zoom from big sons bedroom window. Lovely to see all the birds visiting and to hear them when I wake in the morning. We've heard the owls in the neighbours oak tree and are hoping that we may see one more clutch of baby owls before we move.

2 - A new cd - bought at the gig last Saturday night and played over and over this week. Listening to it makes me smile and remember a fab night out and the promise of more to come.

3 - Blue skies - after months of grey, cold and dull days seeing blue skies and fluffy clouds instantly lifts the spirits.

4 - Another day, another dance out - this time yesterday afternoon at a pub in Ipswich. Not me in this pic but I am sure some will appear soon. Great fun and fab company - off out again in a couple of Sundays time - can't wait :)

See you soon - off out in a while to deliver a birthday card and I must remember my camera as I've spotted some lovely hints of spring I'd like to photograph.

xxx Vicki xxx

The world is sparkling today

Good afternoon

Just sitting down to a late lunch whilst a batch of bread rolls cooks in the oven.

Its been very much a home day today whilst I wait in for a parcel to be delivered - a vague sometime after 11 was the only time I was given!

No sooner had I posted yesterday, then the skies darken and snow began to fall. Not enough for snowmen or snowball fighting but enough to make the world sparkle.

This was the view this morning from our conservatory;

 Probably one of my favourite photos I've taken this year.

The Green Woodpecker has been a regular visitor to the garden for years - however he is very shy and I've struggled to get a decent picture of him. This morning I braved big sons room and sat at the open window and snapped away with my new toy.

Love the way Mr Woodpecker clears a patch of grass in his search for bugs in the ground.

I nipped into town first thing to do a post run and on the way back, I spotted the perfect picture. I quickly took my bike home and grabbed my camera.

 The view over the frozen fields.

 A frozen snow capped giant hogweed.

Then this picture - this is the one I had in mind :)

I also managed to tick many pictures from this months Scavenger Hunt list too but more on those at the end of the month - there's still quite a few that need hunting down.

I'd best be off - the rolls are nearly done and there's birthday presents that need wrapping for a certain persons 15th birthday tomorrow!

See you soon (probably with cake pictures!!)

xxx Vicki xxx

A dragon in the garden and Autumn Views Week 3

Good afternoon

Yes I know, I should be racing around the house with the hoover but my desk is next to where the hoover lives and the temptation to write a blog post now rather than when I'm sleepy later was too much!

How was your weekend? We were lucky here in Suffolk - 2 days of blue skies :)

The perfect weather for getting out and about and taking photos;

The wild hops in the back hedge are still covered in berries - despite the best efforts of the local bird population. 

Here's my dragon - a common darter I think - I've tried all summer for pictures but they are usually to quick for me - today I got lucky.  Years ago when big son was very small, probably about 3 I commented to MrVV about seeing a dragonfly in the garden - big son misheard and thought I'd said dragon! He rushed outside in his wellies and armed with a wooden sword to defend us - he was rather disappointed to find something similar to that rather than a fire-breathing dragon!!

Here are week 3's Autumn Views - when I put all the photos together in a slide show I can now see the difference from week 1 - I'll try next week and do a mosaic so you can see the changes too;

 View 1 - Would seem its safer for the birds at the moment if they just eat berries - 2 reasons - a sparrowhawk has been visiting and I've seen it leave twice now with a blackbird in its claws and secondly a blooming cat has taken a shine to our garden - not a mutual feeling - I've an old pair of gardening sandals that I keep handy near the door now - my aim is poor but its getting the message. Sadly it managed to kill one of the goldfinches the other day :(

 View 2 - the leaves are changing colour quite quickly now and making a pretty blanket on the lawn - must persuade a teenager to rake them up!!

 View 3 - a slightly different angle to avoid the sun glade - the middle tree always gets its leaves first and is the first to lose them too.

View 4 - as you can see the leaves on the climber have rapidly changed colour this week.

Just two more things - firstly another great Faith, Hope & Charity Shopping Swap - this time a Christmas One - nice and simple and minimal expense.

and lastly today from me to all my followers and commenters a big;

See you soon

xxx Vicki xxx

Officially Autumn

Good afternoon

Yep the equinox has passed and we are now officially in Autumn - the season of colourful leaves, woolie jumpers and snuggling under blankets.

However today here in Suffolk it wasn't nice Autumn - it was blooming horrid - torrential rain from lunchtime onwards and those poor leaves that have turned a golden brown were being blown around by high winds too. Two very soggy teenagers arrived home from school this afternoon - raincoats no match for the awfulness we've had here. Luckily I was prepared - towels were handed over and once soggy things were put to dry/into the wash, mugs of tea were handed out and a emergency packet of biscuits were opened!

Anyhow - back to Autumn - I was browsing blogland the other day and I spotted a challenge on moonstruckcreations blog which was right up my street. Find a view or two or even more and take a picture of it each week to track the progress of Autumn.

I've picked 4 spots from around the garden and will take a picture of them each week and then do a mosaic post at the end of each month to show the changes.

 First place - the corner by the summerhouse - as you can see this picture wasn't taken today - there's washing on the line and a cheeky squirrel attempting a raid of the bird feeders.

 View two - This border is just outside the back door - the silver birch tree is a self seed and wasn't even here when we moved in 9 years ago!

View 3 - three trees in the front garden - as you can see today it was very gloomy here :(

View 4 - the cherry tree and honeysuckle that covers one fence - you can just see the start of the leaves changing colour.

Whilst we are on the subject of Autumn - here's a common view in the kitchen this time of year;

 A busy stove top - soup in one pan and a beef stew in the other.

I started making some hedgerow (sloe, blackberry and elderberry) gin at the weekend - can't sample this until Christmas though. 

Have a good week all - here's hoping it doesn't rain everyday - already my kitchen is looking like a laundry with two clothes horses of stuff drying in there.

See you soon

xxx Vicki xxx