this little fellow is on its way to my goddaughter;

her 8th birthday was on Sunday, when I had no voice to call her

so I thought of making her a little something.

I gave her her present before we left home

but I really felt like sending her something from here, too.

Hope she likes it.

The print in the frame is from the talented Christina.
~~~~

Note to self: next time, sew the 'eyes' last - somehow.

three friends

sun: hey there! how about some fun?

river: yay! I'm in!

trees: super! what do you have in mind?

sun: hide-and-seek; I'll hide over there in the west and you'll try and find me.

river: ok! but don't go too far!

trees: yes; it'll be bedtime for you soon and we won't have much time to play.

sun: deal!

love

When little one and I got back from school today, he gave me a 'letter'

saying 'I love you mummy!'. He's made me a little flower and signed his name.

This came together with a big, tight hug and a kiss.

He's been so sweet since yesterday! Quite a change from the weekend.

~~~~

Have a great day.

xxx

I took the photo last week; he got all our pillows, cushions and blankets on my bed (mattress!) and snuggled up with a Christmas book and his letter to Father Christmas!

dahlias...

In my book, a vase or better yet a jar of freshly-cut flowers makes all the difference in the world (well, in the home at least)

The yards in this village are full of dahlias!
I was admiring a garden opposite the school as I got out of the car
(nearly bumped into a parked car to be exact) when I saw her; the lady who cleans our school is the proud owner of these dahlias.
I told her how much I love flowers and ... ta-dah...
she brought me this bunch over the break!
I swear, if I hadn't been at school, I would have started dancing around them!
(but I thought it was too soon for my colleagues to discover how nuts I am)


When I brought them home, I felt this intense urge to let my mum know I had dahlias at home; for a brief moment, I almost picked up the phone.
She loved them and when I was a teenager we had lots of them at home.
Do you know what silly me told her? That I didn't really like them; they didn't smell nice. I wish I could take that back - among other things...

~~~~~~~~

It's Sunday evening and I'm about to turn in;

as I'm trying to think of what I'm grateful for today,

these flowers definitely make it to my top three -

the other two would be a healthy meal

and the sound of the wind rustling through the cherry tree leaves.

It hasn't been an easy weekend.

My husband couldn't come

and little one was really restless and alarmingly disobedient;

probably because we didn't go out almost all weekend -

I had to keep aphony and he had a cough I didn't like the sound of so I didn't want him to run around. Yes! It's this time of year, when the inhaler gets out of the cupboard.

I'm slowly getting my voice back; I'll have to be careful this week, though.

~~~~

Hope you all have a great week.

xxx

speechless ....literally

Do you like my new scarf?

I bought it in August in the sales and wasn't planning on wearing it before October.

But I did wear it this morning to keep my neck warm, as I'm 'speechless' since yesterday evening.

The cold I caught at the beginning of the week turned into a pharyngitis;

the doctor said the only real remedy is aphony. I mustn't speak at all for a few days! Who? Me!!! Ha! Little one can't read yet so I can't write him notes and we'll be alone this weekend. Not to mention work.

I need to try and do my best, though. This is something that happens every single year, and because I don't do aphony, it lasts for about two weeks.

~~~~~

Stop by over the weekend; I have some lovely flowers to show you.

Now I need to go get little one from school.

~~~~~

Take Care!

xxx

as promised...

... I took little one to the river yesterday.

It's less than a five-minute walk from home

and we enjoyed the sunshine.

He discovered that when you throw pebbles in the water, little circles appear, which become bigger and bigger and then disappear.

Isn't learning in nature so much more fun than in a classroom?

Happy Autumn!

xxx

exploring

Last weekend we visited a restaurant about half an hour away from here;

it's got its own recreation area and a guest house.
The owners breed game and this is where the meat comes from;
now, if you can overlook that, it's a beautiful place with lots of greenery
and lots of paths to explore.


The weather was cloudy but we still enjoyed walking around the premises
and the kids had a great time playing in the playground;
our friends' kids had a ball and they all made the most of the day.

I'm looking forward to some more exploration.

I promised little one we'll go to the river tomorrow

(though I have caught a cold and I'd rather spend a quiet afternoon at home)

He has his nature bag ready to go

so I guess a walk by the river is what we'll do.

~~~~

Take Care!

xxx

in the attic

hello, hello and come in my new home!

how are you all?

I've missed talking to you and I'm so glad to be back here.

Little one and I have now settled in and daddy was here the first four days

and he came again for the weekend.

Our new home is the top floor of a two-storey house with a garden.

The kitchen and bedroom ceilings are slanted, which makes the place warm and cosy, and there's a sitting- room with plenty of space for little one to play in. We're both happy with our new home but we miss our 'real' home, especially when daddy is not here.

~~~~~~~

Sooooo, how do you turn a house into a home?

~ you put some flowers in a jar (courtesy of an unknown farmer who accidentally threw some seeds on the roadside by his field of sunflowers)

~ you put a couple of 'homey' books on the coffee table

~ you do some baking (isn't the cake bunting gorgeous? I got it from lovely Dawn's etsy shop ; the photo doesn't do it justice really - go see it at the shop)

~ you put together a tiny nature table
~~~~~~

.

This cherry tree is in our garden; what you see is my balcony

~~~~~

That's it for now!

Hope you're all well.

I'll be over your places soon.

Take Care!

xxx

September:: a new month, a new season, new beginnings

hello, hello, and welcome to my little place!

how're you all doing?

we've been very busy lately over here;

we all travelled east on Wednesday to find a new nest for little one and me;

I'll be working at two schools, in two villages

and we've found the cutest, most adorable place to stay- more on that when we've settled in.

little one is now officially enrolled at kindergarten

and schools start for both of us next Monday the 13th.

I'm typing this at home, surrounded by suitcases and cardboard boxes

and a general mess;

moving-day is on Thursday and hubby's going to stay for a few days before he comes back here alone.

~~~~~~

now, the pictures below show the river that runs right out my doorstep;

well, not literally; it's about a-five-minute walk away! oh, yes, indeed!

I took the pictures at a nearby village, but it's the same, beautiful river.

the first thing I took out when we came back here was little one's wellies;

great spot for a picnic, right?

I don't know how soon I'll have an internet connection,

so I've no idea when I'll be back,

but whenever this is I'll start my visits over at your places.

~~~~~~

Hope you all have a wonderful new season!

I'm looking forward to enjoying autumn in the countryside.

~~~~~~

Take Care!