It's the little things ...

Thank you all so much for your lovely birthday wishes and comments. It will take me a while but I will try and visit all your blogs this week. I seem to be a bit behind on the old catch-up and need to walk away from my new friend, Janome, and read what you've all been up to! Yes, after 24 hours of being too scared to open the box, I finally read the instructions and had a go on my new machine yesterday, I was beaming for hours apparently! Amanda, Sarah and Steph, I'll try and send the lavender off some time this week, sewing machine permitting!

I had a wonderful birthday and was spoilt rotten. A picnic on the Downs, a long walk and dinner out. The sun shone as if it were midsummer and the presents were piled high! M you can relax now, the pressure's off for another year!

Look at this beautiful eiderdown, isn't it pretty? Doesn't it look lovely with my old apple green one too? Thanks M.


Some days I feel like nobody listens to me, the cries for children to hurry up and get ready for school, the shouts that dinner's on the table or the reminders to get that homework done all seem to be unheard. Some days I feel like I'm just shuffling around, muttering to myself ... but on days like Saturday I realised just how much my family listen. I spotted this eiderdown when we were out one day during the holidays and M must have remembered how much I loved it.


M also remembered about the milk bottle shortage and presented me with a huge bag of the sweets and this little jar of goodies (methinks he's been reading my blog).

Along with the sweets was this vintage wooden box to add to my collection, filled with, amongst other things, nougat, treacle tart chocolate, chilli jam, choccie biscuits and French mandarin lemonade. You see he does listen!
My daughters both bought me books and I suddenly realised why the eldest had been quizzing me so much recently whenever we'd gone into bookshops. I spent an afternoon during the holidays watching Chocolat with her on telly and commented that the author had written a sequel, Lollipop Shoes. Well my mutterings hadn't gone unheard - my youngest got me the book. What I'm trying to say in a very roundabout way is that it wasn't the huge pile of presents that made me happy it was the little things behind the choosing that did. Like the way my eldest remembered how much I love this packaging and how my mum always carried a packet of Parma Violets with her ...


I've not been the only one being spoilt around here. The cats, having divided up the house between them over the past few months, have been enjoying my presents too. The upstairs cat who reigns supreme in our bedroom is loving the eiderdown ...


... and the below stairs cat seems to be loving my sewing machine box!

It's the little things ...