Special Delivery...

hello,

On Friday whilst I was at work the postman came and dropped one of those little red invitations through my door - you know the ones telling you to come to the sorting office to collect a parcel. I took part in Mrs Thrifty's http://athriftymrs.blogspot.com/Valentine swap and was really lucky to be paired up with Mel 'Shabby Chick' http://countryinthetown.blogspot.com/so I knew something was on it's way to my house and I was really excited that it had arrived but really disappointed that I couldn't collect it until today.

After the school run I drove down slippery icy roads through rush hour traffic into the town centre sorting office, passport in tow to collect my recorded delivery package. I had no idea what would be in it. There is something so exciting about getting parcels in the post.

The postman handed it over to me. A square box bigger and heavier than I expected. Would I be able to wait until Saturday to open it?? Yeah if the parcel fairy stole it away from me and put it into hiding. No, I knew that once at home the parcel would have to be opened. I have absolutely no will power about so many things parcel opening being just one of them

Anyway, I opened it up - Mel you are very good at wrapping presents making them extra hard to open.... And inside were these beautifully wrapped gifts and a card.


First things first - the card. If there are cards and presents I always have to open the card first just to keep the suspense going a little bit longer.

Next came the first present a door hanging with Daydream believer painted on it. Absolutely perfect for me, I love it. then I notced the matching valentines gift tag with my name on it. I'm always incredibly touched to receive anything with my name on it because when I was growing up we could never find anything with Janette spelt my way. So even though the spelling is now a little more common I still get a flutter when I get anything with my name on.

Then I unwrapped a beautiful mug. I know I posted about my mug love a bit back and the fact that I can't drink coffee out of anything else, so keeping that in mind I now have a beautiful homely hot chocolate mug. I'll be christening that in a minute with a lovely hot chocolate with a nip of brandy bed time drink (well it is very very cold in Preston so the brandy is only for a little extra warmth honestly)...

After that was this lovely little jar full of gorgous bits and pieces such as beads, buttons, a hair clip, a flower a shell case, a bath salt, a fabric heart some ribbon and so on. It is so pretty.

Next - yes there was more - a wonderful smelling Yankee candle. As tempted as I am to light it now, I am determined - yes absolutely determined not to light it until March when Neil and I will hopefully have finished decorating our bedroom and the candle will be the perfect finishing touch.

Last but not least I opened up this fantastic fabric heart again embroidered with my name on it and another item that will definately grace the new bedroom in March.

Thank you Mel so much. I was completely overwhelmed by your gift. It was so much more than I ever expected and a totally beautiful and feminine present. In a house of boys I hadn't realised until today how much I love such pretty things

I'm off now to enyjoy my hot chocolate

Janette

xx

MORNING BRIGHTNESS

Hello,

I hope you have all had a great weekend. We've had a very lazy weekend this time. Lots of lovely family time just enjoying being at home. We've had magazines - I finally got this months Country Living magazine and was able to read, daydream and soak up the lovely pictures and articles and am definately inspired to make some marmalade. I really must subscrible to this magazine I buy it every month anyway so at least I would get to enjoy it sooner in the month. We've played games - battleships and Panic Button (that's a great general knowledge quiz game which is really good for families as it has questions to suit all ages we've found) and we've watched DVD's - well we've watched Prince Caspian for the gazillionth time....

I'm not really a morning person but this year I've been really trying to set my alarm earlier and have a less rushed morning. It's been working too and the other morning - before the school and work run I even managed to take the photo at the start of this post of the morning view from our garden. I love it as the light is so different to what I usually see. Even the swans came over to ourside of the canal for breakfast it was lovely.

Outside the shoots of the forsythia are happily growing and the crocus bulbs have still survived so all is well in the world (if a little damp but then this is Preston I supose - have I mentioned before that it rains - alot - in Preston??)

Inside we are bright and happy too and I bought this lovely bunch of daffodils to replace the past it tulips for my favourite vase yesterday. They were all still in tight buds last night when I went to bed and this morning look - the flower fairy has been and the buds are all magically opening to share their beautiful yellow cheery faces.

I'm going to carry on with the cheerful theme today as well and get on with the penny rug. I've done 37 of the circle pennies so just another 28 to go.

Hope you can all have a cheeful day too.

Janette

xx

Happy things

hello again,

I really have got tons to do and shouldn't really be sat at the computer at all but here I am. I'm back at work tomorrow but last night despite being sooooo tired I slept really fit fully and ended up awake half the night. I suppose it was all to do with making sure we were all up in time to get ready for Jamie and Neil. It is Jamies first day back at school and he has gone in armed with his trombone, PE Kit, book bag and numerous favourite bits from Christmas for show and tell - talk about loaded up to the max - he could hardly carry it all. Also today is his first day back wearing his glasses so I spiked his hair for him this morning so that he could look (in his words) supercool - anything to give him confidence as he was quite nervous. After doing the school run I decided to nip into town to the market as I need to buy some felt to make a wall hanging like the one I wrote about the other day. I've been asked to make one for a birthday pressent for a friend so I'm feeling a bit pressured as I want it to look the same but different and better than the original. Anyway after a bit of material shopping I nipped into one of the local charity shops and bagged a real bargain.....

This lovely tall and cheerful vase really fits well in our dining room and I think looks so pretty full of the gorgous tulips my friend brought round at the weekend. The colours look really cheerful and are just perfect for keeping the room bright now that it's time for the Christmas tree to leave the building. The best bit of all was the price - a whole £1.75 !! I am feeling very pleased with my bargain.

In such a good mood I thought I'd tackle the supermarket for some food - I hate supermarket shopping and try to stick to local small shops but needs must today I'm afraid. Anyway the good things kept on coming because down the medicine isle - lemsip, tissues, calpol and ibuprofen duly purchased was this little gem - pink vaseline for lips. How could I have never seen this before?? Has perhaps my snobbery of avoiding big shops meant I've deprived myself of this?? Well no longer, I now have just slightly chapped lips but at least they are pink and rosy and incredibly girly - I feel about 12.

Just one more happy thing around today and that is my favourite ever mug. I love drinking coffee (I cannot stand tea - sorry to all the tea addicts out there) out of this mug and when I am at home I never use any other mug - I dread the day it breaks as it surely will although I will then have to learn mosaic because I just could never get rid of it. My mug has magic mum on it and bright sunflowers - I defy anyone not to smile when seeing such a mug but more importantly it was bought for me by my lovely brother and sister in law on the day Jamie was born and as such is just the best mug in the world. I may be ever so slightly obsessed with it but who cares at least I'm obsessed and happy I suppose.

Well thats all for today I really must get on with things and it's almost time for the return leg of the school run - just enough time to have a lovely coffee before facing the cold. Hope you enjoy your day too. have fun xx

I love Mondays!!!!!

I do love Mondays, I know I'm meant to hate them but I don't - I know why I love them so much it's because it's my day off, my own special day of me time. I drop Jamie off at school at 8:45 and then that's it a whole day - or at least until 3pm when I go to collect him from school again of time I can spend doing more or less what I want.

Don't get me wrong - I love Neil and Jamie and our weekends are so special to me when we can spend time together - ok it might be the weekly shopping trip, swimming lesson, football practice or taxi service to a particular birthday party but in the main we try to spend our weekends doing 'stuff'' sort of together. But on a Monday I generally get to spend the day doing what I want to do and it's fab. This morning was beautiful, check out the beautiful view from my garden in the photo above, it was freezing cold - I even had to de-ice the car for the first time this winter, but the sun was shining and everyone had woken up in a good mood.

After the best breakfast ever of crumpets and marmite - trust me I am definitely a 'love it' girl - unfortunately the rest of the house is in the 'hate it' camp but at the end of the day that's their problem not mine.

I decided to forego the card making for the day and headed off to skipton for the day. Skipton is one of my favourite places in England and only 40 mins drive over the Peninines from here. I went to one of my favourite craft shops around and spent much more than I ought to on bits and pieces which I had to have. Including an iris folding heart rubber stamp which I saw demonstrated at a 'make and take' at Hiway hobby and craft in Halstead Essex which was ran by the designer of the stamps Anna Stemplewska. Also bought 2 fat quarters of pirate fabric, one with pirates all over and one with a treasure map printed on, I bought a plain white single quilt and pillow case from Oswaldtwistle mill a few weeks ago for a couple of pounds so this material will be a perfect start for doing some applique on and making a new bedding set for Jamie. Can't wait to finish work tomorrow evening when I'll be able to have a play with all the bits I've bought. If I get chance I'll take some photos of the material and do a couple of before and after photos of the quilt etc.....