TAKING TIME OUT!

Last weekend Michael and I went for a really nice break away. We stayed overnight at a hotel near  London Excel and on Saturday evening we took the Emirates cable car across to the O2 arena.

Considering how close we live to London, this was our first visit to the O2 and we were there because we were seeing The Who! in concert. Neither of us have ever actually been Who fans in the past but I felt it was a band that we needed to see. They certainly didn't disappoint, being on stage for just over 2 hours I was just amazed how brilliant they were. If I've got half of their energy when I get to their age, I'll be ecstatic. We had a great time!

Wednesday saw me back in London again, this time with Miriam and Diane to visit the exhibition at the Fashion and Textile Museum - Kaffe Fassett A Life in Colour.

Lots of interesting designs and use of colour could be seen there and it did give me inspiration to work with hats and buttons.  A future project perhaps!

With no knitting on the go at the moment I am just enjoying dabbling with my crochet. I have got a pattern and drops apaca yarn ready to make a baby jacket but when I checked the pattern the jacket and buttonhole border is knitted as one and as the sex of the baby is unknown so I've got to wait a while before I start. Anyway sometimes it is nice to do something different and it will give me a chance to work out what  else I want to make.

Apart from that July is a busy baking time, both granddaughters and my son celebrate their birthdays and all three like me to make their cakes.

So I am researching ideas for a policeman's helmet, minnie mouse and moshi monsters. Any help with these ideas would be much appreciated! 

DROPS ALPACA BABY BLANKET

Now that it is finished I'm really pleased with this baby blanket. I've made it for one of Kate's friends who's expecting in September. Now she tells me that another friend is expecting, so I need to get my thinking hat on again and get back to the wool shop. 

Meanwhile while I'm thinking I've picked up my crochet hook again and I'm back working on my granny square blanket.

 One of best things about summer is that you can enjoy all the summer goodies. Last Sunday we had our first bbq of the year and this fruity dessert that I had conjured up after seeing a Mary Berry recipe in the Radio Times was divulged by my very hungry family fairly quick until not a berry or crumb was left on the plate!

Another thing about summer sunshine is that it makes you feel that you want to get out and have fun. 

Yesterday as schools were closing for the weekend we collected our grandchildren and set off for the seaside. 

Considering my husband is of the "all things boats" fraternity and we also live a stone's throw from the river we can never seem to judge the right time to arrive at the seaside, when the tide is in. This is despite owning two tide clocks, one upstairs and one downstairs.  

So as we drove over to Mersea Island with two children in the back clutching their fishing nets, it soon became evident and no surprise when we crossed the Stroud to find that the tide was completely and utterly out!

We soon however got stuck in to some serious digging and sand castle design

 and I made use of the fishing nets and created a hopscotch course. This kept us amused for a while, while Michael went off to buy us some dinner.

As the seagulls flew overhead, we dined on fish and salty chips straight from the paper. The girls thought that was great and eat hungrily, probably because they were worried that the seagulls would swoop and pinch their chips.
Then after dinner as the tide was now on the turn my three intrepid explorers set off to find the sea!

They didn't quite get there as they had to turn tail and return to sandier ground. Unfortunately they got a  little muddier than was intended. Their grandad had one of his best pair of shoes on as well, oh dear!

RHS HYDE HALL

A big thank you to RHS Hyde Hall for once again putting on some great activities during the holidays to encourage young children to enjoy their own gardens and the wildlife around them.

I took my grand daughters there on Tuesday, an extremely wet day and we spent a pleasant morning, planting cress in milk bottle tops, painting stones and getting a little mucky turning pine cones into hanging bird feeders filling every crevice with a mixture of lard and bird seed. They also learnt how to take a cutting of Lemon Balm. Hopefully if they remember to water them at home they'll end up with two nice fragrant plants!

A man demonstrated how to make a flower pot out of newspaper and both girls listened intently. When he suggested Nanny might like to lend a hand, the older of the two didn't pay too much attention, she was too busy concentrating. However the younger one stopped rolling up her paper, looked up at him and said quite indignantly, " THIS is not my Nanny, THIS is my Granny!" and then head down she was locked back into concentration mode. 

Poor man! 

After we'd had lunch the rain eased for a little while and we set off in search of the new play tower. Obviously, once we'd found it hidden in the trees we had to get to the very top. This is when I think I actually turn into super gran because although very wet and slightly slippery the three of us climbed up  somehow and made it to the top!

While the girls looked out over the view, I took a few minutes breather and had a very hasty strategy meeting in my head to work out how we were going to get back to ground level. After all, I'm super gran not superman!

I was really hoping to show you the baby blanket I've been knitting which should be finished by now but while my husband is busy doing DIY I can't seem to settle down to knit. By the time I blog next it should be completed and I can show you and tell you what I plan to start next. As always too many ideas for so little time!