completion all happened today!
bit apprehensive now about the actual move, but glad the legal stuff has gone through ok.
also glad to have hot water again – our immersion heater broke on tuesday, so we’ve not had hot water for 3 days. how i loved washing my hair just now!
i really didn’t think we owned this much stuff. i find it quite frustrating how much stuff i have when i do try not to horde or allow my materialistic side too much freedom. it always annoys me when people on soaps move out with only one suitcase and a rucksack! however, the legal people all assure us that completion is still going ahead on the 2nd. so we’ve emptied our money boxes, done a deal on some furniture and booked a van!
i do feel a bit unsettled though. when we started this process, i was so keen to find a new house that i was excited about moving into, so that i wouldn’t be so sad about leaving the old one. i was realistic enough to know that we’d have to make compromises, but we really have been blessed with an amazing house and i am really really looking forward to going. i am still quite sad about leaving the old house, but more than that, i think i’m just unsettled. i think it’s less about the bricks and mortar, than it is about a sense of ‘home’, the taking apart of one home and the uprooting of all that is familiar, and then the work that needs to go into making the new place have the same secure, feeling of belonging for us all. also we have our 20 week scan on the 3rd, which i’m trying not to think about – we’d like to ‘find out’ what we’re having, but i need to be prepared that they might not be able to see, and obviously the point of the scan is to look for abnormalities and check stuff, so there’s that to try not to worry about too.
i’ve got to laugh at myself though, with all this to do and think about, what did i spend the last 2 afternoons doing? jam. blackberry and apple jam. thanks to a recipe in ‘country living’ i realised what i should do with the glut of blackberries in the freezer! i raided the apple tree in the garden, went to the supermarket and bought basic lemon curd (why? it costs 22p per jar, and i needed jars! i have a bin full of lemon curd!) and sugar, and got cooking 
i’d love to have a nice arty photo to show it off with here, but hey, i have packing to do!
i suppose i shouldn’t really confess – i should just glide seamlessly on, as if such clever word play happens in my brain everyday, but i have to say it, i love the title of this entry!
firstly, i have literally picked up sticks; my knitting needles, and i am slowly re-finding my way. i’m not helped by old projects that i feel i should finish before starting new stuff, but i don’t want them to languish 80% done forever, so the cashmere baby cardigan will have to wait!
in the other application of the phrase, we are finally moving house! we should exchange contracts this week and have a completion date of sept 2nd. our farewell to the little tree house is imminent and an incredible amount needs to be packed into boxes and bags and trundled round the corner. however, the future looks exciting as we move to a proper family home, still in our lovely village and hopefully get tidy and sorted out in time for the next family member to arrive in the new year. the name ‘little tree house’ has stuck, so it will come with us. i think it will now always apply to wherever my family and i live, and as such i have had lovely little business cards printed by the friendly people at moo.com. so that i can be a little more professional when i sell stuff i’ve made.
the only other news round here is that i’m hungry as a horse and that samuel is now potty trained while awake! i’m still a bit nervous about taking him out without a nappy on, but so far, so good!
this is the little haul from the garden mentioned in the last post. i then pulled up a few more parsnips and carrots, but this shows the sort of home-grown-ness we were eating!
recently samuel has been enjoying having tea parties. there are usually imaginary biscuits, cakes and tea, so a good party by all standards! so much enjoyment is being had in fact, that one morning we had to have a breakfast party! on this occasion mummy, cat, dog and rabbit enjoyed samuel’s hospitality and there was REAL cake!
we do have fun!
well, it’s been a long silence here on the blog. was it because…
a) my blogging mojo got stolen.
b) my house is such a mess i couldn’t find the computer.
c) some other more plausible reason.
if you answered a, b, or c, you’d be a bit right. hang around for a little longer and i’ll explain…
in my absence, my lovely husband has started his own blog. so yesterday as i was enjoying my dinner, thinking about how amazing it was that i was eating veggies i’d grown from seed (please understand i have NO gardening abilities so it’s a miracle anything grew at all and the harvesting was an emergency measure… either i ate them now, or the insects ate them!), and pondering how much more thankful i felt about them than ones i’d bought in a shop, and how i felt like having my own harvest festival right there and then, and how that train of thought would make a good blog post… when i realised that phil’s last post was on thankfulness and i may as well just link to that and save all the writing.
then i realised that his post before that explains why i’ve had such a long absence.
darn blogmojo thief.
so anyway, maybe phil has pinched all the good topics and writes stuff better than me, but i don’t mind coz he’s quite nice really. maybe my house is a total mess, but i don’t care coz we’re moving soon. maybe there was some other reason why i couldn’t think straight, focus on anything and had to live like a hermit for 8 weeks, but it’s a good one and i’m starting to feel better at last
so anyway, head over here for the articulate posts and a picture and i’ll come back with more waffle and some samuel stuff sometime soon. x
someone’s excited to be 2!
samuel had a lovely day opening ‘letters’ and presents. family and friends were very generous and he has a lovely selection of new toys and activities and a bit of spending money too.
he is really enjoying his train set, and spends ages pushing the trains into the tunnels and over the bridges.
other good news is that phil is beginning to sleep better. thanks to everyone who has helped with advice and thoughts and prayers, we really appreciate the support.
a few weeks ago i spent the money phil gave me for some birthday jewellery. it took me a while to sort out in my head what i wanted and after a long online battle with some silver ring scam merchants, i decided i didn’t want a ring, i wanted something more personal and unique. i knew i seen a jeweller’s work a while back that i had admired but knew i’d never spend that sort of money on myself. however, now i had reason to i couldn’t remember who or where! after searching old posts on blogs i read i found her: lisa leonard. she makes absolutely lovely, personal jewellery alongside her standard range and i had a hard time choosing what i wanted and what i wanted the words to read. one day i’d love a necklace that represents my family, but right now it was important to represent me so in the end i went for an open circle.
it arrived about a month ago and i have worn it almost every day since. it reminds me that i am loved by many people and by God, that as well as being defined by my roles, i am also me and i must remember to value my own personality and creativity. it also reminds me that however hard life gets, God never lets go of me and in the really tough times i need to remember not to let go of him.
the words on this side read ‘not letting go’, taken from a song by jars of clay:
“Fly”
Be still
Let your hand melt into mine
The part of me
That breathes when you breathe
Is losing time
I can’t find the words to say
I’ll never say goodbye
And I’ll fly with you
Through the night so you know
I’m not letting go
I’m not letting go
Tears like rain fill up the sky
Oh my love
I’m not letting go
I won’t let you go
I saw a host of silent angels
Waiting on their own
Knowing that all the promises
Of faith come alive
When you see home
Hold still and let your
Hand melt into mine
Shed your heart and your breath
And your pain and fly
Now you’re alive
Now you’re alive
Now you’re alive
Now you’re alive
I won’t let you go
I’m not letting go
Grace Hannah, born this morning to my brother and his lovely wife.
welcome to the world Grace. we love you loads. x
before i get into the holiday stories, you should know that samuel has decreed this week to be ‘drum week’. sufficed to say, it’s noisy in the tree house.
over easter we went away with the rest of my crazy family. we headed down to a lovely converted barn just outside dover where 8 adults, one child and one dog could spend a relaxing week.
it was cold.
sunny. but cold.
we still went to the beach. we always do!
i’m only surprised no-one went in swimming. no, wait…
not swimming exactly, but
oh yes, we went paddling.
well why not?!
my sister and i headed off to the sea. want to know how cold it was?
not that cold at all!
actually, yes, quite cold
ok, flipping freezing. retreat! retreat!
another day we went to dover castle
here we are standing getting ready to do the hokey cokey
and now playing ‘put the dog on stuff’
to be fair, jackson is The Most Adorable Dog In The World and we loved borrowing him (he belongs to my sister and her husband). he came with us most places and loved every minute of it.
here’s me wishing he wouldn’t take my ‘rocket dog’ shoes so seriously.
we had a lovely week. for samuel, plenty of doting relatives. for his parents, plenty of relaxation, good food, wine, weather and most of all good knitting company!
Ok, so if you really want to know, i did get loads of knitting done too:
