Bats in our brolly!!

Imagine my surprise a few days ago when opening up the umbrella on the deck, I found two of these little chaps hiding inside!
We had seen them flying around in the evenings and I believe they usually spend the day in trees (but maybe not).

They squirmed a bit and were quite reluctant to leave. After debating whether or not to close the brolly up again I decided that we needed the shade more. Eventually they flew off to another resting place for the day :)

My intended blog post was put on hold last week because I wanted to take part in The Tree of Happiness. I was going to tell you about the 'little vintage clothing trip'. Both Jemma and Amber were really keen to investigate the various used clothing shops in the city. Amber downloaded a street map for us to follow. Wearing suitable comfy walking shoes we trekked the streets in the city centre. Craig and I made a few 'patient' coffee stops at Starbucks, while the girls hunted amongst racks of dresses, tops and jeans. They both managed to find a couple of cute items at bargain prices and were pleased as punch. It was a lovely day with the City having a great Cosmopolitan atmosphere on a Saturday. Such a lovely memory point. As the children don't have a school uniform here (how I wish they did!) their clothes become one way of expressing their personalities. Our local shops are quite limited, with the clothes all being fairly similar, so it is always refreshing to find something a little different in vintage shops and on e-bay occasionally too. Actually some of my own favourite pieces are finds from many years ago in the English charity shops I found hidden away in quaint villages. I have a couple of 'designer' pieces picked up for a song, even though I am not into labels at all they are extremely good quality and classic.
This week I was approached by Rebecca over at The Ardent Sparrow, she is also an etsy seller and has compiled a little ongoing competition with various etsy sellers in Canada donating a 'freebie' from their shops. It has given some sellers including myself a little more publicity at a quiet time of year. With people starting to think about Christmas (crazy I know!). I think her timing is perfect. Also, someone is going to win a great collection of goodies. I included little Hanna, a golden labrador puppy to go into her prize parcel. If you pop over to her blog and you can read more about it.

Finishing off, I just had to include this picture of Craig looking ever so happy whilst picking peaches at a local farm. I love this time of year!! Yummy fuzzy peaches

Bye for now, til next week

Hazel xx