Changing Rooms!

Me, taking a water break at Dempseys corner orchard
This week seems to have flown by, with the school holidays rapidly coming to an end :( I do enjoy having the girls at home for two full months, especially with the weather being so nice 'most' of the time. This week the walls got painted in the study 'twice'. The first choice of paint was a pretty shade of robin's egg blue, it looked lovely on the tiny swatch card, and a similar colour looks great on Jemma's chest of drawers.Once we had covered two walls though I had to admit it was a mistake! It looked far too clinical and a bit sickly. I had already taped all the window frames and doors so it was just a case of painting over the blue once it had dried. The second choice is a subtle shade of oatmeal, which looks perfect. So perfect in fact that Jemma decided that she quite fancied the study as a bedroom! She has been kind of 'lost' in her beautiful, but large current bedroom for the last 2 years and the study with a little filing room off the side did make sense, now that she is in her final couple of years in high school. So we have spent quite a lot of time moving furniture, sorting out files, old school work etc... quite a project. Tonight her bed got moved in and her little bedside table and it is looking very cosy.
We enjoyed a shopping trip to Halifax over the weekend getting some final retail therapy out of the way. During the week on one of the nicer days we spent a morning picking fruit at Dempsey's corner orchard, a short drive away. The blackberries are coming on nicely down the lane behind our house and Amber and I often go and pick a bowl full as they ripen. Picking peaches and plums at Dempsey's farm

Another trip to the lake

I started writing this blog yesterday, but wasn't really in the mood after a frustrating and tiring shopping trip with Jemma and Amber. We came home empty handed with not a single 'back to school' item of clothing. (How I miss the simplicity of a school uniform). They are both young ladies now, Jemma was also searching for her first pair of high heels (not that surprising at age 16) I remember my first pair so well all those years ago and also just a UK size 3!
Anyway that was yesterday and I am sure the next trip to the mall will be more successful. Perhaps we will have to go further afield to the City of Halifax where there is more choice.
Today I woke up early to blue skies, went for a walk up the mountain and picked a whole punnet of blackberries for our breakfast. Once home I made a packed a picnic lunch for us three girls whilst doing Craig's sandwiches for work. We headed up to the local lake at about 10am where we all enjoyed a swim. It was amazingly quiet considering that it was a hot morning. We had a fun time chatting and I even managed to catch up on some sewing for two orders I have in my etsy shop, one to the US and one to Australia. At about 2.30 a bus load of small children arrived which prompted us to head home before we got invaded by buckets and spades! Looks like they have the whole beach to themselves!

Adding the finishing touches to a tiny kitten!
Decorating the study has been on stand-by for a couple of days while the floor paint settles and tomorrow I will begin preparing to paint the walls. The colour is going to be a very pale Robin's egg blue which should cover up the grey nicely.
Craig loved all his birthday presents at the beginning of the week, especially this very smart notice board and coordinating note books made by the girls for his new office. Just a quick note to my sister Heidi if she reads this, the French beauty products sent as a gift for the girls are a 'huge' hit. They can be found cleansing and moisturising together in the bathroom each evening before bed, so thank you very much xx.
Still no sign of Jemma's laptop (her 16th birthday present) there have been manufacturing delays :( The suspense is killing us.
Well It was nice to hop on the keypad quickly before my dear hubby comes home for dinner and the girls get back from a photo shoot in the orchard..... I will download some of them on my flickr (see top right of this blog).
Hazel x.

Painting the study

This week I decided to revamp the study! The nasty bottle green carpet has been driving me potty for two years it is one of those acrylic carpets that really attracts every tiny bit of cotton, fluff, hair etc, which means it needs to be vacuumed almost every day. Also it is (sorry was) the only remaining room in our house with a carpet in it.

Anyway the carpet came up, along with the stubborn under felt which had been nailed to the floor with about a thousand staples! Nothing that a screwdriver, pair of pliers and crowbar couldn't handle. The whole thing got rolled up and hurled out of the window - good riddance I say :D

Before starting on the wooden floor I decided to paint the trim, I donned my trusty painting shirt and coated the skirting boards, window and door frames in brilliant white. The pale grey walls will be just fine with a bit of a scrub to brighten them up. The trim had been painted in the same colour so there was no definition. It looked as though someone had let a paint bomb explode into the room (like in the funny Mr Bean sketch) Today the floor needs a quick sanding before filling in all the tiny holes ready for painting.

This week the rain finally arrived and the garden is happy, as it was starting to turn ever so slightly brown with the intense sunshine for about 5 or 6 days in a row.

Craig is very busy this week and is now quite immersed in the 'poultry' business, finalising the annual budget for the company. His birthday is coming up so the girls have been busy working on his 'present', which is traditionally something hand made by them.

Jemma and Amber are off to a party next door tomorrow, a possible sleepover in tents too and much giggling I am sure as there will be about a dozen girls there for Laura's 16th birthday party.

The grown ups will no doubt be here during the early evening escaping the noise and having our own little get together just a stones throw away.

The initial facebook frenzy (mentioned in my last post) has died down somewhat. I tried in vain to contact friends either old or new, only to discover that every name I typed in was not registered! Added to the fact that most of my childhood school or college friends would have undoubtedly changed their surnames, as I have done it isn't really surprising.

Oh well, no harm in it remaining dormant for a while, maybe someone will find me instead :)

Hazel x

I have joined 'facebook'

As if I didn't spend enough time on this computer! My little sister Heidi invited me to join 'facebook' this week and I am now addicted and I have to admit it is fun. In case you didn't know facebook is a social interactive site where you can display photos and messages amongst friends and family. A few of my family members have joined already and some like me only this week. Not sure I can keep up with my blog, flickr, etsy and now facebook too! (but can't all women multi-task?) I expect it will be easier in the winter months when I will want to be in a small warm room with a nice cup of tea to hand.
This week we drove up to the lake, about 8 minutes drive away and swam in the clear waters, it was so refreshing as the temperature has been over 30C for quite a few days now. I did manage a spot of baking earlier this week with Amber as my little helper. We made some very yummy peach drop cookies, using a new recipe found in the latest Martha Stewart's Living magazine. They were delicious, I popped them in a tupperware container after I took this photo below, but they didn't stay there very long! On the Etsy front I was happy to do a special order for my friend Lyn in Singapore. She ordered a baby elephant a while ago and wanted a couple of bigger ones made up. They have packed their trunks (lame) and begun their long journey overseas. Tomorrow we have been invited to a 'lake party' by some friends. A bottle of chilled rose wine is in the fridge 'begging' to be taken along so I shall have to oblige :)
Hazel x