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).