Easter sunshine

Another week has gone by, and although lovely feels as though this one s filled with bouncing here and there.
We visited my mum in deepest darkest England for the Easter weekend and had a lovely time catching up. Mum was able to spend some really good time with the girls, and we had an Easter egg hunt in the garden on Sunday. I wish that there was a way we could live closer to one another  and I do strongly feel my mums absence. More so than less as time goes by.

After a long journey home on Monday we spent the afternoon unpacking and settling in again, and then the evening enjoying the last of the sun at the park.
Yesterday we had friends visiting for Easter. Although the weather was cooler it was still lovely enough that we spent the whole time in the garden and had lunch at the outside table. To save cooking time I just made a salad and flower fritters. In the heart some of my chard and perpetual spinach has started to bolt so I nipped off the tops and used the baby leaves for the salad. Of course the garlic flowers and dandelions were from the garden as well. I can't wait for the garden to really start producing in a couple of months, and I hope that of we are organised and plan ahead we can keep the harvest going the year round after that.
That's all now.  I don't have time to check for autocorrect mishaps so apologies for any that turn up!

Put your money where your mouth is

I have a stack of unfinished and abandoned drafts for posts stacking up, today I am determined to hit that publish button  so I'll keep it short but sweet.
Life carries on here in the valleys in much the same way as ever. I seem to be getting more busy rather than less, but am trying to work on appreciating rather than resenting this.
From September I will be taking over running the local baby and toddler group alongside a couple of other mums, and in addition to the two days a week we currently do, a nursery in the next village has asked us to do a day with them as well. We are having a bit of an overlap so that the previous girls can show us how it all works, so that is a responsibility that I am enjoying but also means that I am fixed two, and soon three, days a week which is a little odd. We have been thinking about positive changes we would like to make to the group to encourage more people to come, and one of the things we have been working on is sorting out an outdoor space for the kids to use in summer. I ran my first activity with the kids this week which we all really enjoyed, and I am looking forward to coming up with more ideas. I feel a little overwhelmed by it and if I'm honest am having to fight the urge to back out and run away as it feels like a commitment I don't have the energy for at the moment, but I think I need to remind myself about something I was complaining about a couple of posts ago, and that's lack of community. If we want it, we have to make it, you certainly can't expect other people to sort everything out for you. Anyway, that's enough on that.
Apart from the toddler group we have been getting on with the odd bits of gardening, not as much as I'd hoped or planned for this year, but that's inevitable with a baby and a toddler! Nevertheless my greenhouse is slowly becoming reassuringly green and this summer we will certainly have something to show, even if we aren't self sufficient.
The weather continues very nice here. When we moved here two years ago it was winter  and I remember a taxi driver said to will, just wait, the village really comes into its own when the sun shines, and he was right. I can put up with the months of gloom for these golden hills.
I still haven't managed to actually knit or sew anything else yet, though I've bought a book of rather ambitious knitting patterns, and have had half an eye out on charity shops for some old linen or curtains I like for a skirt  so watch this space. Now the usual, better than my rambly words  here are some photos from the last few weeks.

I did it!

A good weekend

I know I so rarely update this blog anymore that it seems a bit out of the blue to talk about a good weekend, but you have to start somewhere.
Actually, oddly I was in a foul mood all weekend (the reason isn't odd , that's sleep deprivation, I mean it's odd that it was a good weekend), but we did a lot of different things, the weather was wonderful, and it felt like we got some of our old energy back. I think a lot of this s down to will making an extra effort to think of activities for us to do as I've been so ill and tired lately, and then that energy is contagious, isn't it.
We spent a fair bit of time out in the garden  though didn't really get that much done  just a few small jobs. I cut back the woody herbs and had so many that I made a wreath for the door. We are planning to buy a dehydrator this year and go into properly preserving our herbs, among other things. We did a little spring cleaning  though things don't look all that different thanks to the girls! I made an Easter present for family with dandelions, so we went around picking those in our and our neighbours'gardens which ivy lived  and I felt very proud that she knew the difference between dandelion and celandine  Will and ivy split some of the snowdrops and planted them by the stream for next year  I made an enormous banana cake with four black bananas that have been hanging around for too long. I feel like I'm getting the hang of gluten free baking now and have managed a few cakes without recipes (which I think have been better than recipes I've followed!)
We also find time