tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-85126626871591171542023-11-16T17:14:27.085+00:00Button Tree CraftsJackiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02801928856729540091noreply@blogger.comBlogger188125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8512662687159117154.post-73771140651915442222015-02-10T11:41:00.000+00:002015-02-10T11:41:23.369+00:00American Adventure<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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In a couple of days we will be setting off on our American Adventure to Los Angeles and Las Vegas and we are all starting to get really excited about it now. The kids are practically bouncing off the walls in anticipation!<br />
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This will be our first ever visit to the USA and we are going as a pre BIG birthday treat with my Dad and his wife who have been many times before ~ this will be their twelfth time in Las Vegas! My Dad has very kindly taken some time to plan out our days to make sure that we get as much from the experience as we possibly can. It is definitely not going to be an holiday for relaxing! But there will hopefully be lots of fun to be had by all!<br />
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Our Itinerary for the days ahead looks like this ~<br />
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Day 1 ~ Travel to Manchester by train ~ staying overnight in order to catch our flights the next day.<br />
Day 2 ~ Flights from Manchester to Philadelphia, then Philadelphia to Los Angeles.<br />
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Now, I have to be honest here and say that I am not particularly looking forward to the long flights which are 16 hours in total each way. We have only ever previously done short trips over to Europe, but everyone reassures me that the flights will seem to go by fairly quickly as there is so much going on to keep you occupied. I really do hope so!<br />
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Day 3 ~ Los Angeles ~ Heading off to Malibu Beach, Santa Monica and then onto downtown Los Angeles to see the Walk of the Stars in Hollywood Boulevard and other Hollywood sights.<br />
Day 4 ~ Los Angeles ~ Universal Studios ~ this is the day that the kids are looking forward to the most!<br />
Day 5 ~ Driving from Los Angeles to Las Vegas ~ stopping halfway at the old Wild West town of Calico.<br />
Day 6 ~ Las Vegas ~ Visit to the Hoover Dam.<br />
Day 7 ~ Las Vegas ~ Visit to Red Rock Canyon.<br />
Day 8 ~ Las Vegas ~ Spending the day sightseeing around Las Vegas.<br />
Day 9 ~ Flights from Las Vegas to New York (JFK), then New York to Manchester.<br />
Day 10 ~ Train from Manchester to Edinburgh, then another train home, then I imagine it will be straight to BED to sleep off the jet lag!<br />
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Over the last couple of days I have been working like an absolute mad woman washing clothes, sorting clothes and stacking clothes in readiness for packing the all the suitcases tonight and I've also managed to find the time to make myself a Stars and Stripes Bag Tag so I can hopefully recognise the aforementioned suitcase at the airport!<br />
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See you all when we get back in a couple of weeks :O)xxJackiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02801928856729540091noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8512662687159117154.post-9823907052349077642015-02-06T11:36:00.002+00:002015-02-09T17:47:23.825+00:00Seaside Squares<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Around this time last year I made these little seaside coloured Granny Squares and since then they have been sitting at the bottom of my WIP pile waiting for me to give them a bit more attention.<br />
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As soon as they surfaced again my first thought was that I wanted to make them a bit bigger so instead of three round Granny Squares I am now making five round Granny Squares and joining as I go. I am also being very good at the moment and sewing in the ends of each square as soon as they are joined.<br />
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I am using Stylecraft Special DK in Seasidey colours which are a well known colour palette ~ the ones that I am using are ~<br />
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First Row (Neutrals) ~ White ~ Cream ~ Silver ~ Camel ~ Mocha<br />
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Second Row (Greens) ~ Aspen ~ Meadow ~ Khaki<br />
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Third Row (Blues) ~ Sherbet ~ Cloud Blue ~ Aster ~ Turquoise ~ Denim<br />
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I was also going to use Teal but in the end I felt it was just a bit too bright for the look I was after. I wanted a softer more muted tone for this blanket.<br />
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I think that all the elements of the seaside such as the water, sky, sand, grass and seaweed are pretty much well captured in the colours that I have gone with.<br />
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So far I have made 24 Seaside Squares and I'm absolutely loving the way that they are turning out. I am really glad that I chose to make the squares bigger as it means the blanket will grow much more quickly. My plan at the moment is to have 14 rows of 12 squares so that's 168 squares in total ~ which should keep me busy for a while! Hopefully this blanket will take me much less that three years!!<br />
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It's been a bit of an up and down week around here this week, but I have been trying to take some time out to enjoy the little things such as these beautiful daffodils that my Mum bought for me.<br />
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And I am also loving that all the pretty spring flowers are just starting to peek their little heads out of the ground just now too.<br />
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Wishing you all a very lovely weekend :O)xJackiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02801928856729540091noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8512662687159117154.post-90663199754767942622015-01-26T12:06:00.000+00:002015-01-26T12:06:44.027+00:00Time On My Hands<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Just recently I have found myself with a lot more time on my hands as my hours of working have been reduced considerably due to Council cut backs. For some reason or another I am finding it quite difficult to spend the extra time that I have at home wisely. In theory my house should be the cleanest and tidiest it has ever been, but in reality the exact opposite is true! I am finding myself wandering aimlessly from one task to the next with no real focus on anything at all. And because of this I am getting absolutely nothing done and the precious hours that I have been given at home are being well and truly wasted!</div>
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I know that as a grown woman I should be able to use my time a bit more constructively but where to begin?<br />
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I am not sure that for me that making lists are the answer ~ but maybe breaking my day down into hour long time slots could be the way forward. I really don't want my days to be so structured that I am unable to deviate from it if needs be ~ but until I am able to get my act together and get myself into some kind of daily routine I think that this may be the only way that I will ever get anything done.<br />
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<b>Hour One</b> ~ Breakfast and computer time.<br />
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I don't know about anyone else, but at the moment this is where I seem to lose an awful lot of my time every day so my time spent on the computer definitely needs to be given a very strict time limit! <br />
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<b>Hour Two</b> ~ Laundry, hoovering, tidy upstairs rooms.<br />
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<b>Hour Three</b> ~ Exercise.<br />
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My poor old body is definitely in need of a bit more exercise. I am about to have a BIG birthday sometime very soon and really do need to motivate myself to get out of the house and move my body a bit more. The fresh air will also do me the world of good too! I am totally spoilt with my surroundings so there is absolutely no shortage of beautiful places to walk. Obviously this will very much depend on what the weather is doing.<br />
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<b>Hour Four </b>~ Clean kitchen and bathroom.<br />
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<b>Hour Five</b> ~ Lunch and some Hooky Time.<br />
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Now, I know that you may find this hard to believe ~ but I am even struggling to focus on any of my woolly activities just now. I am hoping that a little bit of allocated time may make it easier for me to focus a bit more and actually get something made.<br />
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<b>Hour Six</b> ~ More laundry, ironing and tidying downstairs rooms.<br />
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This should take me nicely up to the time when the children get home from school and then it's all hands on deck preparing snacks and dealing with homework related things. Once school is out there is absolutely no time to think about anything else ~ I just have to go with the flow and get on with what needs to be done!<br />
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You'll see that I've not actually put any times alongside the hours ~ that way I can mix and match and switch<br />
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I am really hoping that something like this will work for me and that I will find myself back on track sometime very soon! :O)x<br />
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Jackiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02801928856729540091noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8512662687159117154.post-77692777890634961082015-01-22T13:51:00.000+00:002015-01-22T13:51:47.569+00:00Wintry MandalaTowards the end of last week I was hit by a sudden urge to crochet myself a Mandala.<br />
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Now I know that these were very popular last year, but for one reason or another I never actually got around to making one for myself. And up until recently I have to say that I've never quite seen the appeal ~ apart from being very lovely to look at they don't really seem to serve much of a purpose!<br />
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I had a quick Mandala search on Ravelry and found <a href="http://made-in-k-town.blogspot.de/2012/05/little-spring-mandala.html" target="_blank">this</a> pretty pattern and got myself started. I just used yarn that I had in my stash which was good old Stylecraft Special DK ~ however, I think that cotton yarn is probably the best way to go.<br />
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As it has been so cold outside recently I decided to use some cool Wintry inspired colours ~ white :: silver :: denim :: sherbet and turquoise were the ones that jumped out at me and seemed the most Wintry. We have been fairly fortunate in this little Coastal corner and have managed to avoid the snow so far but it has still been bitterly cold outside.<br />
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I must say that I am quite pleased at the way it has turned out too! I opted to use a standing stitch rather than a chain 3 at the beginning of each new round which I think made a difference and looks much neater than a chain 3. And although I'm still not sure what to do with these pretty little crochet circles I can definitely see me making a few more in the months to come as they really are quite addictive little things to make! At the moment I am thinking that I may try to make one for each month of the year with maybe a seasonal theme running through each one. I quite like that idea ~ but we'll see how it goes!<br />
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Hoping that you all have a very lovely weekend ~ :O)xxJackiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02801928856729540091noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8512662687159117154.post-6994295260987530042015-01-14T12:03:00.000+00:002015-01-14T12:03:17.312+00:00Little Boy Blue Granny Stripe Blanket ~ Ta Dah!At last ~ I have finally finished my Little Boy Blue Granny Stripe Blanket. This blanket was started away back in October 2011 ~ just a bit more than three years ago! How slack is that!! My poor small boy has been waiting VERY patiently for his blanket to be made. But now he is a very happy boy and can snuggle up in his own crochet blanket the way that it was intended.<br />
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This Boy Granny Stripe was made using Stylecraft Special Double Knitting in various shades of blue ~ which were Aster ~ Cloud Blue ~ Denim ~ Royal ~ Sherbet ~ Turquoise. I was also going to use Midnight but once I got started it seemed just a little too dark to sit comfortably with the other blues so I took it out of the mix.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSrDtkCDW35shg4FzZb_Qc2xRjZoFleB8GZV0UFvuHEFYHken4LhRWafs-yfzRl8Kl_KCMzSaJBfHvHhUnKiKH2YIUizfC-v69ushXhoX9BwtNjWJBAp94Qh9lKbnHBuTKDVrwFR0T9C-n/s1600/fishblueblanket.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSrDtkCDW35shg4FzZb_Qc2xRjZoFleB8GZV0UFvuHEFYHken4LhRWafs-yfzRl8Kl_KCMzSaJBfHvHhUnKiKH2YIUizfC-v69ushXhoX9BwtNjWJBAp94Qh9lKbnHBuTKDVrwFR0T9C-n/s1600/fishblueblanket.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a><br />
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I also decided not to go with working random stripes. I arranged the colours in the order that I thought they looked the nicest and then just repeated the sequence all the way up the whole of the blanket. All very technical!<br />
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This was the first few rows after the foundation chain ~ on hindsight I definitely should have gone up a hook size as the beginning of the blanket still seems a bit on the tight side. You live and you learn!<br />
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I not quite sure why this blanket has taken me so long to make or why I seemed to lose motivation along the way ~ however, it's all done now! And it's not put me off blanket making either as I am already making plans to start another one! My daughter wants her own snuggly crochet blanket now too.<br />
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This was just over the half way point ~ eleven repeats of colour ~ six different coloured blue stripes in each repeat ~ sixty six granny stripes.<br />
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Now for the tricky bit! How difficult is it to try and photograph a large blanket? Nobody told me that I would have to climb on top of furniture and balance precariously with a camera in my hand just to fit the whole blanket into the picture.<br />
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However ~ Ta Dah!!<br />
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Here it is ~ The Little Boy Blue Granny Stripe Blanket in all it's glory ~ All 122 gorgeous blue stripes of it!<br />
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Because the blanket is so big I decided to go with a very simple edge to finish it off. Three rows of treble clusters around the edge of the blanket in Denim, Cloud Blue and Turquoise followed by a simple scalloped shell type border ~ as requested by my boy himself.<br />
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Finally ~ some Blankety Facts ::<br />
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Yarn ~ Stylecraft Special Double Knitting worked on a 4mm hook.<br />
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Measurements ~ 128cms by 168cms.<br />
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Stripes ~ 122 stripes of blue loveliness.<br />
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Amount of yarn used ~ nearly 20 x 100gm balls.<br />
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Cost ~ 20 x £1.69 = £33.80<br />
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Weight ~ just under 2Kgs ~ very cosy and very snuggly indeed!!<br />
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I am happy to report that the blanket has been in almost constant use since it has been finished and that my boy has really been enjoying wrapping himself up in his own cosy and snuggly blanket on these recent very chilly wintery mornings :O)xx<br />
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Jackiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02801928856729540091noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8512662687159117154.post-60632277471322151322015-01-09T08:54:00.000+00:002015-01-09T08:54:12.211+00:00Looking Forward ~ 2015<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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The year ahead looks like it is going to be a bit of a BIG year for us here in the Button Tree household ~ Firstly, three out of the four of us have fairly significant birthdays happening throughout the year ::<br />
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Next month I will be having a very BIG birthday which ends in a Zero!<br />
In May my "small" boy will become a Teenager and turn Thirteen ::<br />
In September my "little" girl will turn Sweet Sixteen::<br />
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Also in February we will be taking our first ever trip to the United States of America. My Dad has very kindly offered to take the four of us on a wonderful American Adventure to celebrate my BIG birthday. We will be going to Los Angeles for the first few days and then we will be taking a drive up to Las Vegas for the rest of the holiday. We only have five weeks to wait until we head off on our trip and to say that we are all very excited about it is a bit of an understatement!<br />
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I haven't really made any other plans for the rest of the year yet ~ other than all the usual plans that tend to be made at the beginning of each New Year. (And then never happen!). A couple of <a href="http://attic24.typepad.com/" target="_blank">other </a><a href="http://pinkmilkjewels.blogspot.co.uk/" target="_blank">bloggers</a> posted this list of Things To Do in 2015 and it all does seem like pretty good advice to me ::<br />
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2015 To Do List</div>
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Eat Less,</div>
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Move More,</div>
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Buy Less,</div>
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Make more,</div>
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Stress Less, </div>
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Laugh More, </div>
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Feel Blessed,</div>
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Love More, </div>
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Find a quiet spot every day</div>
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and breathe :O)x</div>
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The one thing that I definitely want to get around to doing this year is to be making more. I haven't really been spending a great deal of time on very many woolly activities for a while now ~ but this year I should hopefully have a bit more time on my hands to surround myself in huge piles of squishy yarn again. I have lots of crochet plans and yarny projects swirling around in my head and it's now up to me to make them happen!<br />
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I am absolutely bursting full of excitement and anticipation for the year ahead and am looking forward to seeing what 2015 holds for me and my little family :O)xx</div>
Jackiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02801928856729540091noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8512662687159117154.post-90661446093603102932015-01-05T16:19:00.000+00:002015-01-05T17:36:09.497+00:002014 ~ Looking Back<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
It's that wonderful time of the blogging year that allows you to go through your archives and have a look back at all the lovely everyday things that might be otherwise might be forgotten if they hadn't been blogged about. Here is my yearly roundup for 2014.</div>
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January 2014 ~ I started the year by trying to get out and about a bit more in the fresh air and took some very nice, but bracing walks along one of our beautiful beaches.<br />
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January 2014 ~ Taking inspiration from my walks along our beautiful local coastline, I had a play about with some neutral, blue and green yarn and made some seaside coloured Granny Squares. These squares are destined to eventually become a seasidey blanket.</div>
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February 2014 ~ My birthday month :: My daughter made me a wonderful birthday cake ~ a lemon Victoria sponge with a lemony mousse filling and decorated with my favourite green and yellow jelly sweeties<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.4799995422363px;">.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.4799995422363px;">March 2014 ~ I enjoyed some more lovely springtime walks along the beach. Our town has two beaches and this one is the West Bay looking towards the harbour. </span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.4799995422363px;">April 2014 ~ we spent a week in Disneyland in Paris to celebrate my small boys birthday and had an absolutely fantastic time doing all the wonderful Disney rides and attractions.</span></span></div>
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May 2014 ~ whilst we were so close to the centre of Paris we spent one of the days seeing all the sights. We tried to cram in as many as we could and saw the Eiffel Tower, the Arc de Triomphe, the beautiful Louvre Pyramid, Notre Dame Cathedral and The Sacre Coeur to name but a few! I absolutely love Paris ~ it's one of my very favourite cities ~ there is so much to see and definitely not enough time to see it all.</div>
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June 2014 ~ I added some more stripes to my Little Boy Blue Granny Stripe Blanket :: I am happy to report that I am now working on the edge of this blanket and will be doing a "Ta Dah" post later in the month. It's taken me a while but I'm nearly there!</div>
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July 2014 ~ We spent a very lovely week in the summer in the Weardale countryside visiting relatives who live in this beautiful old cottage which is right on the banks of the river Wear.</div>
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August 2014 ~ Every Wednesday in the Summertime my boy plays his bagpipes with the local pipe band for all the tourists visiting our seaside town. I never ever get tired of listening to the sound of the pipes and feel so proud of him when I watch him play.</div>
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September 2014 ~ September is a month of celebration in the Button Tree household as we got married on my daughter's first birthday ~ so her birthday is our anniversary too! I always get a beautiful bunch of pink <span style="background-color: yellow;">lillies </span>from my hubby to celebrate the special day. The smell of them always takes me straight back to the maternity ward. </div>
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October 2014 ~ We made some very simple Halloween decorations from black card ~ this little mouse was one of my favourites.<br />
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November 2015 ~ More walking around our beautiful town ~ this time through the park on a very dreich wintery day.</div>
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December 2014 ~ my very first attempt at writing a crochet pattern. I made these pretty Flowery Coasters for my hyacinths to make their life on the window sill a little bit more comfortable. The pattern can be found on my blog and on Ravelry.</div>
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I hope that you enjoyed this little look back over my year ~ I will be back later on in the week with a little look forward.</div>
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Wishing you all a very Happy and Healthy 2015 ~ hope it's a good year for you all :O)x</div>
Jackiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02801928856729540091noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8512662687159117154.post-35433361170589443132014-12-22T18:33:00.000+00:002014-12-22T18:33:46.313+00:00Christmassy Snippets<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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:: I am absolutely loving my Poinsettia plant just now ~ these beautiful red and green leaves are just so Christmassy::<br />
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:: This jolly looking snowman came to live with us a few years ago. Each of the small people were given one by their Granny filled with Christmas goodies. He now gets to sit at either side of the fire place at Christmas time with his friend to add a bit of Christmas cheer::<br />
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:: I went into Edinburgh on the train by myself one day last week for some final Christmas bits and pieces, and I took the opportunity to have a leisurely wander around the German Christmas market ~ I just couldn't resist buying this beautiful tea light holder which lights up the Edinburgh sky line.::<br />
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:: "Christmas stockings are hung by the chimney with care" ~ this image reminds me of my favourite Christmas <a href="http://www.carols.org.uk/twas_the_night_before_christmas.htm" target="_blank">poem</a> ~ The Night before Christmas by Clement Clarke Moore. We always read it to the small people at bedtime on Christmas Eve ::<br />
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:: Our little town is looking exceptionally lovely just now with lots of sparkly and colourful Christmas lights strung about everywhere ~ my favourite is this old Horse Chestnut tree which is at the entrance of the park ::<br />
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Hoping that you all have a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year and that all your Christmas wishes come true :O)xx<br />
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Jackiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02801928856729540091noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8512662687159117154.post-88797718474139335492014-12-19T08:48:00.000+00:002014-12-19T08:48:17.068+00:00Christmas Popcorn BoxMy two smallish people love nothing better than a trip to the cinema ~ however, they don't get the chance to go and see a film that often these days, as a family trip to the cinema very nearly requires us to take out a bank loan.<br />
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A little while back when I was thinking about what to buy them for Christmas, I thought that it would be a lovely idea to get each of them a cinema voucher as part of their Christmas present. My daughter is just old enough to be allowed to go into Edinburgh by herself on the train and can use her voucher to go and see a couple of films with her friends. My son is not quite old enough to go by himself yet.......... so he will have to go with his Mum and Dad ~ which means that everyone is a winner!<br />
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Instead of just handing them over a boring old white envelope with the cinema voucher inside, I thought it would be a nice idea to get a little bit more inventive with the wrapping. I googled some printable popcorn box templates and managed to print them out onto some white card. A little bit of snipping and sticking and ten minutes later I had something that resembled a popcorn box. So far so good!<br />
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Next I gathered a selection of yummy goodies that could go into the box ~ mini bags of popcorn (obviously!) and some portable bags of sweeties that could easily be taken to the cinema. Although there is a pretty good chance that the goodies will probably be eaten well before the trip to the cinema actually happens.<br />
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Here's hoping that they like their Christmas Popcorn Box ~ I think I'd maybe quite like one for myself too! :O)xxJackiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02801928856729540091noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8512662687159117154.post-8590478238196468992014-12-12T09:41:00.002+00:002014-12-12T09:41:23.198+00:00Easy does it!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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We have had some unwanted visitors here this week in the form of coughs and colds and sneezes and it has been necessary to slow the pace right down and take things a little bit easier. I've had a small boy home from school for the last couple of days. He has been fighting a temperature and has been wrapped up in a cosy blankety nest on the settee ~ and although my Little Boy Blue Granny Stripe is not quite finished yet it has already been put to good use as part of that blankety nest. There has been some cuddly doggies making use of it too! I know that he must really be feeling under the weather as he has been happy to sit still and has been a bit too quiet ~ which is really not like him at all!<br />
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There has not been much opportunity to get out and about either as the weather here has been rather a mixed bag. There has been rain, sleet, snow, lots of wind and the odd glimpse of some sunshine. And it's been bitterly COLD too ~ It really can't seem to make up it's mind!<br />
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I took the opportunity on one of the nicer weather moments to have a walk along the sea front ~ and on the way home I passed this wonderful statue. He's called The Watcher ~ he is dressed in outdoor gear, with his camera slung over his shoulder and he gazes out towards the sea looking through his binoculars in the direction of the Bass Rock. He stands there in all weathers and I think he is just crying out for a bit of a woolly makeover ~ maybe a hat and a scarf would keep him a bit cosier!<br />
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I've been trying to get myself into the Christmas spirit too ~ I managed to rescue this little Poinsettia plant from the reduced shelf in the supermarket for a bargain price of just less than two pounds. It was all dried up and in need of a little bit of TLC ~ all it really needed was a long drink of water and a nice spot at the window and it soon perked up. It's looking very healthy now and I am enjoying seeing it's beautiful red and green foliage every time I come into the room. These lovely plants are just so Christmassy!<br />
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Hope that you all have a very lovely and cosy weekend :O)xxJackiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02801928856729540091noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8512662687159117154.post-63039641002971474902014-12-09T15:08:00.001+00:002014-12-10T07:55:05.847+00:00Flowery Coasters<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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A few days ago I showed you the Flowery Coasters that I made to make life more comfortable for my Hyacinths in their seasidey mugs and I thought that I would share the pattern with you ~ just in case you wanted to make some Flowery Coasters of your own. I know that there are lots of patterns for very similar coasters out there already but this is how I made mine.<br />
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First off some Hooky abbreviations ~ using UK terms ::<br />
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ss ~ Slip Stitch<br />
tr ~ Treble Crochet<br />
ch(s) ~ Chain(s)<br />
sk ~Skip a Stitch<br />
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Materials ~ I used a 4mm hook and some StyleCraft Double Knit but you could use any size hook and yarn that you have to hand.<br />
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To start chain 4 and join with a slip stitch to form a ring<br />
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Round 1 ~ Chain 3 (counts a one treble) and then 9tr into ring ~ join with a slip stitch into the top of the top of ch3.<br />
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Round 2 ~ Chain 3 (counts as 1tr), 1tr into same stitch, 2tr into each stitch to the end ~ join with a slip stitch into the top of ch3.<br />
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Round 3 ~ Chain 3 (counts as 1tr), 1 tr into same stitch, *1tr into next stitch, 2 tr into next stitch*. Repeat from * to * until the end and join with a slip stitch into the top of ch3.<br />
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Round 4 ~ Chain 3 (counts as 1tr), 1tr into same stitch, 2tr into each stitch to the end ~ join with a slip stitch into the top of ch3.<br />
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Round 5 ~ Chain 3 (counts as 1tr), 1tr into same stitch, 2tr into each stitch to the end ~ join with a slip stitch into the top of ch3.<br />
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Round 6 ~ *Skip 2 stitches, 7tr into next stitch, sk2 and then slip stitch into next stitch* (This makes one petal). Repeat from * to * until you have made 12 petals in total. When making the last petal join with a slip stitch into the first stitch of the first petal.<br />
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Fasten off the yarn and then darn in your tail ends.<br />
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Your Flowery Coasters are then ready for you to enjoy and for you to pretty up your flower pots as you wish.<br />
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<br />Jackiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02801928856729540091noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8512662687159117154.post-21654197191916529112014-12-03T11:18:00.000+00:002014-12-03T11:48:45.575+00:00Random Things<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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This week I have been enjoying a nice cup of tea and a very sticky slice of syrupy flapjack bought especially for me by my boy. It was absolutely delicious despite the fact in had been wrapped up in a napkin and carted around inside his school bag for a whole afternoon.<br />
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I treated myself to a really cheap pot of hyacinths from the local supermarket for just a few pounds, They came inside a rather dull and dreary brown plastic pot so I decided to re-pot them into my favourite seasidey mugs. I'm really looking forward to seeing them bloom on my kitchen window sill and can't wait for them to begin to flower ~ I decided to go for the blue flowers as I love them the best. They have already grown quite a little bit in height since I brought them home.<br />
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I decided that the afore mentioned re-potted hyacinths were just crying out for couple of crocheted coasters to make their life on the window sill a bit more comfortable. I had a bit of a rake through my stash of Stylecraft and found some suitable hyacinthy colours and managed to whip up some pretty little Flowery coasters for them to sit on.<br />
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I also enjoyed a nice chilled glass of white wine on Sunday evening whilst adding the last few stripes to my Little Boy Blue Granny Stripe blanket. I am happy to report that I am now on the final push with this blanket (it's only taken me nearly three years!) and I am just about teetering on the edge!<br />
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Just recently the skies around my little part of the world have been pretty spectacular ~ this was the sunrise a couple of mornings ago. The colours have been particularly beautiful this month and I do love to see the dark silhouette of the Law against the sky.<br />
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Hoping your week has been full of lovely random things too :O)xxJackiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02801928856729540091noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8512662687159117154.post-38833461163404382872014-11-19T15:10:00.000+00:002014-11-19T17:05:03.446+00:00Dreich OutsideThe weather around here has been very unsettled this week. Most of the time it has been a bit dull and overcast and there has been some very heavy downpours. In fact, it has been downright dreich!<br />
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Dreich :: An Old Scots word meaning a combination of dull,overcast, drizzly, cold, misty and miserable weather ::<br />
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Not really weather that inspires you to want to leave your cosy house and get out and about. To be honest with you, I'd much rather be sitting in front of the fire keeping myself cosy and warm, with my feet up and a cup of tea in one hand and a crochet hook in the other.<br />
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However, earlier in the week I had to go down into town to post a birthday card which HAD to be at it's destination the very next day. I wrapped myself up as warmly as I could and headed out into the cold. I decided that my best option would be to take the quickest and most direct route through the park.<br />
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The Post Office is in the High Street just beyond these pretty white buildings. This was in between showers and the sky was grey and threatening to bring more rain.<br />
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I love this archway ~ here it is again from the other side. The trees have all but lost most of their leaves now and are looking very bare indeed, and all the flower beds are empty and have been raked over in preparation for the winter ~ there is not much colour to be seen at all. The park was also pretty deserted with only a handful of hardy souls daring to brave the elements.<br />
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This is the view that greets me as I come back up the hill from the town towards my house ~ the big hill is <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Berwick_Law" target="_blank">North Berwick Law</a> ~ taken from my back garden gate. It makes me feel so happy to live in such a beautiful place ~ surrounded by both the countryside and the seaside.<br />
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Just inside my garden gate is this beautiful riot of red berries ~ I'm not sure what the plant is but it provides a welcome injection of colour on an otherwise dull and dreary day.<br />
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Hoping your weather is not as dreich as mine :O)xxJackiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02801928856729540091noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8512662687159117154.post-63902338874655604362014-11-14T10:13:00.002+00:002014-11-14T13:21:03.972+00:00Little ThingsLittle things that have made me happy this week ::<br />
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Thing One ~ watching my boy march at the front of the Remembrance Parade last Sunday playing his bagpipes.<br />
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He looked so smart in his uniform and I'm not ashamed to say that I had a little tear in my eye as I watched him march past. Such a Proud Mummy Moment!<br />
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Thing Two ~ unearthing my Little Boy Blue Granny Stripe (which has been on the go for much longer than I care to admit!), and adding a few more lovely blue stripes. It feels like it's just the right kind of weather now to be crocheting a blanket too. I think that I must be almost 3/4 of the way done with this blanket now and it is getting quite heavy. There is something quite comforting about feeling the weight of the blanket on your knee as you crochet, and I must say that it is doing a really good job of keeping me cosy as I crochet away adding stripes.<br />
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Thing Three ~ ordering some Rico Creative Cotton for my latest project from The Wool Warehouse and being delighted when I opened the parcel and found that it came all nicely packaged up in a beautiful little organza bag. I really didn't expect that ~ what a lovely thing to do!<br />
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Hoping you all have a very lovely weekend :O)xxJackiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02801928856729540091noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8512662687159117154.post-42744788838120112622014-11-07T19:39:00.000+00:002014-11-14T10:14:55.914+00:00Easy Lamb KeemaAfter you have done a hard days work there is nothing better than sitting down to a delicious home cooked meal. Something that is both tasty and nutritious, easy to make, and more importantly, something that the whole family will sit down and eat. There really is nothing worse than faffing around making different meals for each person in the family. I must admit that I have been guilty of this in the past and it really is soul destroying, not to mention really expensive too! This Easy Lamb Keema is one of my favourite mid week go to recipes ~ and the best part about it is that it can be ready on the table in about half an hour.<br />
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You will need the following ingredients ::<br />
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500g lean lamb mince<br />
1 crushed clove of garlic<br />
1 large potato (diced)<br />
1 teaspoon each of ground coriander, cumin, chilli powder and turmeric<br />
1 tablespoon of garam marsala<br />
100 mls lamb stock<br />
400g tin of chopped tomatoes<br />
150g frozen peas<br />
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Firstly dry fry the lamb mince until browned and skim off any of the excess fat ::<br />
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Next add the crushed clove of garlic and the spices, stir and then cook for around one minute ::<br />
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Add the diced potato ::<br />
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Next add in 100mls of lamb stock ~ I just use a lamb stock cube and also add the 400g tin of chopped tomatoes ::<br />
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Season with salt and pepper to taste and then cover and simmer for around 15 minutes until the potato is tender ::<br />
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Next up add 150g of frozen peas and cook for a further 3 minutes::<br />
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Serve with chopped coriander, a large green salad and some warm naan bread ~ and maybe a large glass of wine for the adults ~ delicious!<br />
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Most of the time I make this recipe with lamb mince, but I have also used lean steak mince which I find works just as well. You can also add a chopped onion in the early stages of cooking ~ but my daughter refuses to eat anything that contains the slightest trace of onion, so I find it much easier just to leave it out. Anything for a quiet life! Hope you all enjoy :O)xxJackiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02801928856729540091noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8512662687159117154.post-80878675743292972092014-10-31T09:00:00.000+00:002014-11-14T10:15:49.307+00:00Halloween HappeningsThis year my children have taken it upon themselves to be very busy little bees and have been getting very crafty making things to decorate the house ready for Halloween. They are now of an age where they don't really need to be supervised all of the time and can be left to their own devices ~ so to speak!<br />
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My daughter decided that she would quite like to be in charge of carving the Halloween pumpkin this year. She spent a little while doing some research on the Internet for a bit of inspiration, and finally decided that she would carve an howling wolf ~ which sounded just a little bit too ambitious to me! However, this is her finished pumpkin all lit up with a tea light ~ not bad at all for her very first attempt at it!<br />
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We have managed to gather quite a collection of Halloween decorations over the years, most of which have been chosen by the children and bought very cheaply for a few pounds each, but they were still very excited about adding to our spooky collection with some homemade bits and pieces.<br />
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A little mousy was made out of black card and has been stuck to the skirting board complete with a little mouse hole::<br />
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An old wine bottle has been carefully changed into a bottle of blood (!!) to make a spooky candle holder. Candle wax was very painstakingly dripped down the bottle for added effect. I would like to add that I was actually supervising at this point!<br />
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More black and orange card has been cut out into all manner of Halloween shapes, there are bats and cats, pumpkins and witches ready to be stuck onto walls and strung from the ceiling. I love how this bat with his red beady eyes has cast a spooky menacing shadow onto the wall behind.<br />
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Tonight we will play the traditional Halloween game of "dooking" for apples and then afterwards we will be getting cosy on the settee and snuggling up to watch a selection of scary Halloween movies ~ with a little bit of Scooby Doo added in for good measure. You can't beat a bit of Scooby Doo at Halloween! I'm also sure that there will be a fairly substantial supply of rubbishy Halloween sweeties and chocolates for munching on too.<br />
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Hope you all have a very Happy and Spooky Halloween :O)xxJackiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02801928856729540091noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8512662687159117154.post-79819092394978500402014-02-28T09:17:00.001+00:002014-11-14T10:16:28.678+00:00Happy Birthday to me!It was my birthday at the beginning of the week, and I had the most lazy kind of day you could possibly imagine. I was treated to breakfast in bed, which was then followed by some lovely presents from my other half and the not so little people. My presents included some rather colourful spotty dotty new slippers and a selection of lovely smelly goodies from Lush ~ which I absolutely love.<span id="goog_1606178218"></span><br />
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As part of my present my Mum gave me a beautiful bunch of pink carnations ~ which I get every birthday, because that is the kind of flowers my Dad bought my Mum when I was born. I love that a simple gesture from my Dad to my Mum all those years ago is still being made by my Mum to me.<br />
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My daughter made me a wonderful birthday cake ~ a lemon Victoria sponge with a lemony mousse filling and decorated with my favourite green and yellow jelly sweeties. She is becoming quite a talented little baker and her cakes always turn out to be light and very moreish. But, then I suppose cake is always kinda moreish!<br />
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In the evening we all went out for a family meal to our local Chinese restaurant. The food was absolutely delicious and I have to confess that I ate a bit more than I should have. I could have done with a wheelbarrow to help carry my stomach back up the road!<br />
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So that's me another year older but I don't think I would go as far as saying I was another year wiser. I had a wonderful day and was well and truly spoilt by my family:O)xx Jackiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02801928856729540091noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8512662687159117154.post-89675543186566119782014-02-17T08:26:00.000+00:002014-11-14T10:16:50.883+00:00Half TermIt was Half Term here for us last week, and the week started off with a visit to the Dental Hospital for my daughter to have two baby teeth removed prior to having major orthodontic work done. As my daughter has a bad needle phobia, we were referred to a wonderful Paediatric dentist who specialises in dealing with children who get very upset about having any dental work done.<br />
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To be honest, I didn't really think that we would ever get these teeth out. This was our third attempt at trying to persuade her to get it done. However, on Monday, I witnessed the most amazing piece of dentistry that I had ever seen. This wonderful Paediatric dentist had the most calming demeanour about him, and instead of using a conventional needle to numb the gums he used a special device called a "wand" which along with some gas and air, had my daughter relaxed enough to co-operate! The two baby teeth were successfully removed and we can all now breathe a BIG sigh of relief!<br />
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After Monday's ordeal, the rest of the holidays were all about relaxing and taking it easy. Like the rest of the country, the weather here has been very wet and windy, so we decided to spend a couple of days lounging about in our pyjamas, keeping warm and cosy, watching DVDs and eating large amounts of popcorn and chocolate. Which, in my book, certainly beats going to school any day of the week! And talking of books ~ I have also managed to catch up with some of the lovely crochet books that I had borrowed from work ~ one of the perks of the job!<br />
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Later on this morning we are going to catch the train into Edinburgh ~ heading off for a pre-back to school treat to our nearest cinema to go and see the Lego Movie, which looks like it will be a lot of fun. There may even be MORE popcorn!<br />
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Tomorrow it will be back to school and our normal routine as usual :O)xxJackiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02801928856729540091noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8512662687159117154.post-44760043816383926372014-02-06T12:23:00.000+00:002014-11-14T10:17:21.768+00:00Enjoying............<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Enjoying some "me" time and sitting with my feet up reading the latest issue of Simply Crochet with a chocolate bun and a cup of tea in my new rainbow coloured stripy mug::<br />
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Enjoying watching my boy play with his toys, and loving that even though he is nearly twelve, he still loves to get lost in the world of Playmobil. In this very carefully arranged little scene, there has apparently been an "incident" and all the Playmobil police team are being briefed in the briefing room. Words can't describe how much I love small boys and the way they use their wonderful imagination!<br />
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Enjoying these pretty little yellow Tete a Tetes which only cost me a pound from the local supermarket ~<br />
giving me a little glimpse of springtime and some much needed floral colour when the garden outside is feeling a bit wintery and bare::<br />
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Enjoying my recent delivery of soft and squishy Stylecraft Special DK ~ bringing me a new batch of blues for my Little Boy Blue Granny Stripe, and a selection of blues, greens and neutrals for my newly started Seaside Squares Blanket, with a couple of extra brighter colours thrown in for good measure :O)xxJackiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02801928856729540091noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8512662687159117154.post-44997783193056544772014-01-29T10:43:00.000+00:002014-11-14T10:17:48.231+00:00This weekIn between working extra shifts in the library and trying to catch up with all the household chores, I have been snatching moments here and there, to hook up more blue stripes on my Little Boy Blue blanket. I've been enjoying the repetitive hookiness of it so much, that I have pretty much come to the end of my Stylecraft stash of blues and have just HAD to get online and order some more!<br />
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Whilst I am waiting on my order to be delivered I have gathered together all those scruffy, scrappy end bits of yarn that were not long enough to make a complete stripe in my blanket and have hand wound them into neat little balls of yarn ready to be used as part of my next project.<br />
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I have been playing about with some blue, green and neutral tones and have made some little seaside coloured granny squares as a kind of hooky swatch for my next project which has been totally inspired by this beautiful blanket <a href="http://bunnymummy-jacquie.blogspot.co.uk/2013/11/seaside-patches-blanketta-dah.html" target="_blank">HERE</a>.<br />
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Keeping with the seaside theme ~ I was so excited to find these Fish and Chips biscuit snacks in the supermarket. I remember that my Mum used to buy these for me years ago and I used to love them. I'm not quite sure that they taste the same as they did when I was younger ~ I'm sure they used to be fish and chip flavour ~ but it was lovely to have them again.<br />
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I'm off now to put the kettle on and hook up some more seaside squares :O)xx<br />
<br />Jackiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02801928856729540091noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8512662687159117154.post-48864889885057021292014-01-20T15:23:00.000+00:002014-11-14T10:18:30.561+00:00Harbour Walking<br />
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This week I have been out and about walking again ~ this time past a row of pretty pastel coloured seaside cottages. I do so love these little colourful houses ~ they always make me feel so cheerful when I walk past them::<br />
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I am making my way down to the harbour ~ passing this bright orange life buoy, which is looking a bit battered and worn after all the windy and rainy weather we have had lately::<br />
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The boats in the harbour were bobbing up and down fairly quickly as the waves were rushing in and out of the harbour mouth ~ there was lots of noise from the jingling and rattling of their tall masts too::<br />
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Next I went up some steps and paused to admire the <a href="http://www.seabird.org/page.php?level1_id=21&level2_id=82&fullstory=74#74" target="_blank">Gannet Gateway</a> ~ which is a newly erected art sculpture depicting three gannets, one taking off, one in full flight and one just starting to dive. You can see North Berwick Law beautifully framed by the gateway too::<br />
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Along the pathway and turning left along the East Bay ~ I love this view of the beach from behind the tall beachy grass::<br />
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Everywhere seemed so quiet this morning. There were not very many hardy souls about and the weather was just the perfect kind of walking weather. I really enjoyed my walk this morning and I hope you enjoyed it too :O)x<br />
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Jackiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02801928856729540091noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8512662687159117154.post-74166339063021174212014-01-17T11:54:00.000+00:002014-11-14T10:19:10.514+00:00Teeny Tiny Hats<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Early one morning last week, I became an Aunty to a sweet little newborn baby boy. Well, if the truth be told, I became a GREAT Aunty! Gosh, that makes me feel so very old! But I promise you I'm not really. My sister had her babies in her early twenties, so those babies are all grown up now and have started having babies of their very own.<br />
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What better excuse do you need than a new baby to quickly cast aside all your other WIP's and make a start on a few new little baby things. The teeny tiny boy apparently needed some woolly hats to keep his teeny tiny newborn head cosy. And of course I couldn't resist and just had to knit him a hat or two.<br />
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The first hat that I decided to make was a vintage inspired, old fashioned kind of baby bonnet using the <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/pretty-as-a-rosebud" target="_blank">Patons Pretty as a Rosebud</a> pattern. I'm not quite sure what yarn I used as I found it in my stash without a label, but it is a double knitting baby wool in a creamy colour. This one was knitted flat with two needles and seamed at the bottom of the crown. I decided to knit the ties instead of adding ribbon which is probably slightly more suitable for a baby boy.<br />
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The second hat that I chose to make him was a more modern beanie style hat using the <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/barley-2" target="_blank">Barley Hat</a> pattern which is free on Ravelry. The yarn that I used for this one is Sirdar Snuggly DK in a baby blue colour called Sky. This one was knitted in the round using the magic loop method ~ avoiding any seaming, which I don't particularly care for!<br />
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You can see that I have just started the decreases here ~ those little dark coloured bits of wool attached to my needles are my make shift stitch markers. I do keep meaning to buy myself some proper stitch markers, but I never quite manage to get around to it. These little loops of wool do the job just as well though!<br />
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These teeny tiny hats were both really quick and easy to make and it was such an absolute pleasure being able to knit little baby things again. It seems such a long time since I knitted anything quite so tiny.<br />
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Just looking out the window and seeing the rain and hoping that it decides to go away sometime soon. Wishing you all a very lovely weekend :O)x<br />
<br />Jackiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02801928856729540091noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8512662687159117154.post-59487241247502385172014-01-10T09:50:00.000+00:002014-11-14T10:19:44.725+00:00Seaside WalkingAlthough I didn't make any New Year resolutions as such, one of the things that I would definitely like to do more of this year is more walking. I am so lucky that I live in a beautiful seaside town on the South East coast of Scotland and I am absolutely spoilt for choice with walks, as there are two wonderful beaches to walk along. I decided to take myself off for a bit of walk yesterday ~ I toddled off at what I thought was a reasonable pace, but I don't think that I had gone more than 100 yards along the road when I was so out of breath! I knew that I was unfit, but didn't quite realise just how much!<br />
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Still, I persevered and managed to walk for around an hour. The route that I chose to walk was along the west bay of the town, which was looking rather beautiful, the sun was shining and it really didn't feel that cold either.<br />
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I stopped periodically along to way to admire the views and to catch my breath a little.<br />
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The little island that you can just see to the very left of the harbour is the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Craigleith" target="_blank">Craigleith</a>, which is one of four islands just off the North Berwick coast in the Firth of Forth.<br />
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It is one of a chain of four islands around the coast, the others being the Bass Rock, the Fidra and the Lamb. The Craigleith is the closest of the islands to our harbour and like the other islands nearby is a bird colony with my favourite seabirds ~ puffins ~ being just one of the breeds that live here.</div>
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Which reminds me about a little picture of puffins that I stitched many years ago before my eyes decided to go all "old lady on me"! Now it seems that I have great difficulty focusing on things that are too close up and not at least at arms length away from my eyes, but I am totally refusing to go down the line of getting glasses for reading until I really, really have to! Maybe I should just get myself a giant magnifying glass instead!<br />
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Hope you all have a lovely weekend :O)xxJackiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02801928856729540091noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8512662687159117154.post-48673066411268754952014-01-06T11:28:00.000+00:002014-11-14T10:20:32.220+00:00New BeginningsWell, here we are into a brand New Year and I can't think of a better time to kick start my little blog back into life again.<br />
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I must admit that I have really missed my bloggy space, but life got kind of busy towards the end of last year and unfortunately my blog was the thing that had to take a bit of a back seat!<br />
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We are slowly getting back to normal here, and this morning I had two fairly reluctant and sleepy smallish people to get up out of cosy beds and dispatch to school ~ neither of them were really in the mood to go back quite yet. To be honest, I don't think that I was quite ready either, as going back to school means lots of ironing of uniforms and lunches to be shopped for and packed. Still, there is only five weeks to go until our half term! Did I mention that I absolutely LoVe the school holidays?<br />
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On the plus side it means that I have a whole day of me time to do exactly as I want, which will very definitely mean lots of tea and some crochet. I have unearthed my Little Boy Blue Granny Stripe Blanket and am ready to get hooking again. This blanket was started way way back in October 2011 ~ Over two years ago! How ridiculous is that? My poor little boy has been waiting more than two years to get his blanket and that makes me feel quite bad.<br />
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The yarn that I am using is the fantastic Stylecraft Special Double Knit in six lovely shades of blue ~ Denim::Aster::Sherbet::Royal::Cloud Blue and Turquoise.<br />
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I think that it is probably two thirds of the way done so far ~ there are 72 Granny Stripes which is 12 repeats of each colour. It is my intention to keep going until there are 18 repeats of each colour and then it should hopefully be more than big enough to wrap around my boy and keep him cosy.<br />
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Wishing you all a very Happy and Healthy 2014 ~ hope that it's a good one for us all :O)xx<br />
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<br />Jackiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02801928856729540091noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8512662687159117154.post-66575737746342841672013-06-10T15:56:00.000+01:002014-11-14T10:20:56.903+00:00Fruit and Nut FlapjackAt the beginning of last week I took delivery of a brand new cooker as my old one had decided that it was time to give up on me! I think it must of been about 30 years old, although I have no way of knowing exactly how old it was as we inherited it when we moved in to our house almost two years ago now. It was always something that we were going to replace eventually but had never quite gotten around to ~ so in a way it was quite a relief when the oven did decide to splutter to it's eventual demise.<br />
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Today I decided that it would be a good idea to test out the timings of my new oven by baking a batch of yummy Fruit and Nut Flapjack ~ this is how I made it ::<br />
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You will need ::<br />
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250 grams of oats<br />
250 grams of unsalted butter<br />
125 grams of soft brown sugar<br />
125 grams of chopped soft stoned dates<br />
60 grams of chopped walnuts<br />
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First weigh out all your dry ingredients and put them in a large mixing bowl.<br />
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Next melt your butter in a saucepan and once melted mix well with your dry ingredients.<br />
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Press the mixture into a greased baking tin ~ mine was about 9 inches square.<br />
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Bake for 20 minutes in a pre heated oven at 180 degrees until golden.<br />
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Let it cool slightly in the tin and mark out into finger sized pieces before it is completely cool.<br />
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Once it is completely cool remove from the tin and enjoy with a nice cup of tea :O)xxJackiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02801928856729540091noreply@blogger.com2