Enjoying the good weather!

What glorious weather we have been having here in the West Country! I am not one for very hot weather but I have to say, I have really been enjoying these beautiful sunny days. Yesterday was Miss P's sports day at school, I went prepared. I took a parasol, a comfy folding chair, a cherry drink and snacks. The sun was beating down and I was very glad to be sitting in the shade. Miss P had a great time and came 2nd in the tennis ball relay which she was chuffed to bits with.

Today I spent most of the day doing housework and gardening. We had some much needed rain overnight, the garden smelt fresh and earthy. Don't you just love that scent!

The joy of spending time in the garden at this time of the year is seeing the beautiful flowers out in full bloom. The collage above are flowers which I picked from the front garden this afternoon.

I picked these flowers whilst walking in nearby country lane today. Nature is very generous! I love wild flowers.

Work in the back garden is still ongoing as you can see. Alan has done a fantastic job of turning the soil over and getting rid of the weeds in the centre where the lawn will be.

Now it's the tedious job of removing as many stones as possible.
Miss P has been doing her bit to help out too.





We have been finding plenty more of this...


This is tiring work!


Once we have removed all the stones, Alan will rotivate the soil. Some of the stones are huge. We found the foundations of a wall going across the garden. This has added extra work as they are very hard to remove. We aim to have a lawn established by mid August, in time for Miss P's 10th birthday... The clock is ticking...Will we meet the deadline???


Thank you for your lovely, encouraging and enthusiastic comments about my new blog/venture ;-)

Have a great week!

A bientôt!

Isabelle X

THANK YOU XXXX

THANK YOU for all your emails, comments, prayers and good wishes. They have been of great comfort. It's not been an easy time for our family over recent months. Knowing that others are praying too is comforting. You can never have too many prayers for someone in need of them.


These simple little flowers help brighten up the house.


Larry appreciating the anemones too


On Saturday, we bought a piece of furniture for the lounge which we have to collect with a van as it would not fit in to the car. I also went to Niki's shop with Miss P as she had not been yet. Miss P happily looked through buttons, vintage toys and dresses. Even asking Niki questions about some of the things she found interesting. After we left, Miss P told me that it was better than she had expected, this vintage shop had things that she likes!

You've probably guessed that I came back with some vintage pretties.... More in my next post.

On Sunday, we did some work on the house (for a change...) Alan painted the window frames & windowsill of my workroom off white. I am so glad to see the back of the dark wood. Much brighter now.


A bientôt!

Isabelle X

LOUNGE MAKEOVER - Almost there!

At last, we are getting there...


Come and take a look at some of the changes..


Well there certainly was plenty of this and


plenty of that going on

Alan & I began the process of decluttering the lounge, pieces of furniture were taken away for good including the red armchair. Everything else had to be moved towards the window so that we could start painting the floorboards


Before


After...
The walls were painted with Endurance Durable and Washable Matt "Timeless" by Dulux & the floorboards were painted with International Polar White Matt floor paint.


Work in progress


and after....








The watercolour painting above the fireplace is one of my favourites.












The windows also had a makeover. The dark wood had to go! The frames are painted in Jasmine White by Dulux







Vintage curtains: Petronella by LIBERTY. A couple of years ago or so, Laura Ashley brought a very similar design, almost a replica of Petronella by Liberty fabric which no longer exists.

Lilly enjoying a spot of sunshine by the window






At last a spot of relaxation....This side of the room is more or less finished, just adding a few more decorative bits here and there. However, on the other side of the lounge there is still a bit of work going on. As soon as completed, more photos will follow...


A bientôt!

Isabelle x

Garden flowers

Freshly picked flowers to brighten up my kitchen



I love the mixture of colours



On Saturday, we went to Lacock village again, this time to take my parents who came over for a surprise visit. We were lucky with the weather. One of the things that I like in Lacock is that several houses sell home grown flowers and vegetables just outside their door. My Mother bought me a beautiful bouquet of flowers that had just been freshly picked and put outside for sale.

I had to share the flowers with you, so beautiful! You really cannot beat garden flowers.



Photos on Lacock village outing to follow. Only had time for a quick post today!

Thank you for all your good wishes! :0)

A bientôt!


Isabelle x

Kitchen close ups and crochet delights

I have had a busy weekend progressing with the kitchen. My computer has left the kitchen and has been moved to my workroom/office upstairs. Hurray! More room in that area for pretties instead!

The walls have already been painted (Honey by Laura Ashley). Now we need to paint the wooden cupboards, back door, kitchen chairs and windows. In one area, (where the computer, scanner, printer and speakers used to be) I have began arranging things, moving them around every so often until I am satisfied that they are in the right place. I love doing that! More photos to follow when the decorating has been completed.


Sneek peek at some of the things I have been putting in my computer free area.



Flowers on our kitchen table




On Tuesday I was meant to go on part 3 of my crochet course held at Marmalade Yarns in Frome but unfortunately was unwell so couldn't attend. However, they kindly let me pop in yesterday so that I could go through my granny squares and correct some of the errors that I had made when left to my own devices at home. I left there feeling a lot more confident about making granny squares. Just before leaving, I bought 3 balls of acrylic wool to practice with.

I love this combination of colours!


I began working on this square last night.


Some of what I did yesterday.
Although I have made several mistakes on the way, I do find crochet very enjoyable! So many things that I want to make in time, Ooh, the possibilities....

During the week this arrived for me......


(click on pictures for larger size image)
This beautiful scented bag is from Sonia's giveaway which I was lucky enough to win! It arrived with a pretty roses card. When my daughter saw this, she gasped saying how lucky I was to win something so pretty.
THANK YOU Sonia, I love it!


Happy Father's day to all the Fathers out there!


Isabelle X