This resolution hasn't been going too well!

This blog was designed to kick start me into thinking about all the lovely little things in life rather than dwelling on all the other things that seem to take over.  I've failed miserably!  I still aspire to the principle but for far too long work, money, house work etc etc etc have felt like they have been weighing me down.  Well, no more!  I shall start by looking back on some lovely shots from my garden last summer.  Even though we are nearing May, the recent weather makes the summer feel as though it is a very long way off.

(I grew this from seed!  Where did I find the time?)

This fabulous flower is actually a leek that has gone to seed.  They were by far the best flowers in the garden last year.  This year (well, last winter) I planted a row of around a dozen in the back of a little herb garden we have.  As much as I like to cook with/eat leeks, they give more pleasure as flowers.  They are so statuesque and very, very strong.  (They do make the room smell though if used as a cut flower so be warned!).

A Victoria plum tree.  Fantastic fruit - we only had around a dozen last year.  It has moved to a new home in the garden so we shall wait to see if it is still happy enough to give us fruit this year.

There, progress made in appreciating the small things.  Roll on summer.x.

Work in progress

My intention with this blog was to remind myself of the things that I do that I should take the time to appreciate.  Of course, one slight drawback of this is that I don't often have  make enough time to do even a fraction of the things that I want to do.  Whilst I did make a lovely apple cake yesterday, I didn't actually take any pictures of it and all that is left of it now is a small slice and crumbs.

So I thought I'd show a dress that I'm working on.  I'm sure I planned to make it for my daughter's birthday (in October!) and it is nearly finished - yes, I do mean her last birthday not her next one!  Just the hem to go.  It doesn't bear very close scrutiny, but I'm very pleased with it overall.  I hope that is isn't too long before I can show the finished article.

Children amusing themselves, amusing me

I'm not sure whether I was catching up on vacuuming the carpets, unloading the dishwasher or some other mundane-yet-necessary chore, but my children were happily amusing themselves (not something I can always take for granted).  I was stopped in my tracks by something in the kitchen:

What is that stuck to the chair?

My daughter was rather proud of herself and her handiwork. I don't know what was going on in her three year old's mind, but I thought these tiny stamps (only 1p stamps) with their Hello Kitty sticky tape were just so sweet and endearing.

"Hmm, a good day's work done here"

But that was not all.  My older daughter couldn't wait to show me what she'd been up to:

Can you guess what it is?

Of course, she was building a swimming pool!  Surely you can see that now?

Sunrise

After so many mornings of getting up for work in darkness it was such a pleasure to see the lovely pink hues of the rising sun within five minutes of getting out of bed.  Each time I looked up the sky was changing, the colours spreading across the sky.  I had to go out and capture it with my camera as a reminder that even early in the morning there are things to appreciate (it's not too often I feel like saying that!).

Starting (and finishing) reading a book

It's not often I get to finish a book in the same month that I start it (not usually from lack of interest in the book, rather too little time made for reading).  My lovely husband bought me this Persephone book (Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day by Winifred Watson) and it was perfect, light-hearted escapism.  I used to think that the plain, matt jackets of the Persephone books were uninspiring, but I have completely changed my mind.  I now love their simple appearance with the surprise of a beautifully designed inner cover (matching book mark just peeping out of the book).