Reasons to be cheerful

It's been a sleepless couple of weeks here - our little Reu has a nasty chest infection, so lots of cough cough cough at night!  This always makes for a fuzzy head and a bit of feeling sorry for myself in the daytime, so I've been making a conscious effort to look around me at the things that make me smile today - simple things, but smile-worthy non the less!

Tulips in bright, sunny yellow.  Something so cheerful about having their company at the dining table as I work my way through the daily paperwork.  Smile....

Beautiful new fairy lights from my wonderful friend Sally for my birthday.  My cheap old Christmas lights that I loved on the dresser finally gave up after their extensive Christmas run and the merest mention of my sadness at their loss was grasped with both hands by this lady who knows me so well - "Please let me get you some more!"....oh, go on then!  I had a lovely time arranging them this morning amongst my china and clearing the decks of clutter so they can do their shiny thing.  I actually can't wait till this evening now so I can enjoy their full effect.  Smile......

 

A set of green flowered curtains picked up yesterday in our local charity shop whilst waiting for antibiotics.  Yep - I love them.  I wish we had a curtain kind of home though - all blinds here to let in as much light as possible.  but I am sure they will live a new life as something, perhaps cushions for the sofa?  Or a patchwork quilt for the bed.  Adding to that long list of One Day Projects again! 

And how about these lovely embroidered tray cloths? 

Aren't the windmills pretty?  Smile.....

My little by little progress to learn to crochet a ripple blanket, which is proving tricky for me, I'm not usually good at extreme accuracy....but I'm getting there slowly and last night, I think I cracked it!  Smile.....

And lastly, a cup of tea and a slice of banana and chocolate chip cake (even though Reu is now wailing at my feet!.....better go, bed time for little man I think.)

I hope you're having a cheery day too.
xxxxxxx

Playing Hooky

 The children have gone back to school after what was one of the loveliest Christmas Breaks we have had for a good few years.  It was full and busy, as it always is, but especially in the few days grace between Christmas and school beginning I think I managed the most amazing feat for many mums - I relaxed!  Things in the house ticked over - the washing piled up a little more than usual, meals still got cooked, the vast mountain of recycling was dealt with....but no mad dashing round the house in a constant round of clearing away.  Let them play.

Walks in the woods to visit "Wildcat camp" happened.  Jigsaws were made. Family films were delighted in.  Cosying on the sofa under blankets was indulged in.  And it was really lovely - for everyone.  Mental note to self - the more chilled out I am - the more everyone in the house can relax.

So, on that note, I am sitting at my dining table with the rain and sunshine battling for who will win the day outside and dreaming about what this year will hold. this is something I rarely afford myself - little window of time to wander through the pages of a magazine, have a cup of tea (and a few cheeky chocolates) and think about some things I'd like to make happen this year.  There are lots of "must achieve" lists for this year, including on line shops, craft fairs and other such business venture things, but this mental check list is of a different kind.

Recently I've realised that it has been 5 years since we moved in to this house and although we have decorated it, I have never really "fallen in love" with it.  To be frank - I've been too busy having three more babies and working out where to put beds!  So, this year is all about loving my home.  It has some lovely corners, that given the right touch of creativity could bring me so much pleasure.  I'm starting with the lounge and dreaming about recovering our two sofas in the huge stash of denim I have been collecting and then making flamboyant cushions from all these bright fabrics I have been saving. Then the crocheted blankets that are gradually finding their way downstairs to be snuggled into in the evenings will look more at home.  In my head it will be a joyful, cosy, welcoming and friendly room, in which the daily changing scene of toys will be enhanced - if you have to have lots of brightly coloured plastic objects strewn across the floor every day - go with it I think!

I am determined to use the lovely coasters my boys bought me for my birthday last year - cups of tea galore - hopefully shared with friends.

And what shall I do with these gorgeous beauties that keep appearing around the place?  I'm wondering about a collage of some sort.....

I am also going to learn to crochet properly this year - I can manage simple projects, but I would really like to be able to make a blanket or two of my own.  One of my favourite blogs is Attic 24.  Sliding over to Lucy's world is almost an automatic response to a dull moment in the day and it brings me so much joy to have a little colourful place I can escape to every now and then and glean some inspiration in the midst of a hectic day.  If anyone reading this is into crafting, especially crochet, I can't recommend her blog enough - and even if you're not, a quick read can't fail to cheer you up.  Anyway, she crochets beautiful blankets and I have my heart set on creating on of her wavy ripple ones.

 

Also on the list is to create an "office" space for Redeem.  Every inch of space in this house is used to it's full capacity and I often wander round pondering about how we could squeeze a little more use out of this corner or that.  It's become apparent that I need somewhere to organise a growing business, away form little hands and as I spend many days at the dining room table already, surrounded by piles of paperwork, orders, accounts and such like, it seems sensible to use the wall space in there to create a place to organise myself!  So, shelves, drawers, pin boards and hanging tidies are in the design process.  meanwhile - I am finding a few cheerful items to make this side of the business a little more appealing.  Can't miss out on the opportunity for some new stationary, eh?!

It feels a little like I am playing hooky today - there are a million things I guess I should be doing while R sleeps, but once in a while (as my lovely husband often tells me) it's important to do something just to feel like me again.  There's always a reason not to do this - as I'm sure many of you will understand.  But perhaps precisely because there is always a reason not to put it at the top of the list is why it should be there.  Every now and again.

When was the last time you cleared the decks for a bit of time for yourself, put that project you've been dreaming of at the top of the list, above the domestics.......and played hooky?

Something for our bedroom in these colours I think....