Blanket goodness

Hello there, how has the Long Weekend been with you?  We've had such a fab time, I'm feeling very lucky!

Its just been rotten weather here, but really perfect for the HH household.  We had a bit of an Indian Summer, but it then turned back into dark, dank weather-um, pretty much the same as our Summer!!!  I love Autumn, Winter and all things snuggley!  So we've been fine and happy!  After visiting The Chocolate Bar with my friend Holly I knew I HAD to visit there with The Husband.  It is the most amazing shop in the whole of the North East!  There are so many chocolates wrapped up like teeny tiny jewels I can hardly count them.  Its run by three women, and you can always see there little ones running around!  The seats are super snuggley and cosy, and there are loads of windows to peak out at people from.  When The Mother in Law visited here this weekend we all ventured over to Ellon to have a good look around and eat too much!!  We had chilli hot chocolate and some cake-oh my goodness it was just too good for words!!  We sat up at the counter on the super sleek bar seats and stared at all of the gadgets behind the counter....oh and the extra sprinkles for our cocoa!

Afterwards we had a lovely walk around to see some china and some beautiful old books and then back to the car via a charity shop.  It was jam packed full of lovely things but most wonderfully of all-thick wool blankets!!  I was so super happy that I ran at the poor Husband and begged him to hand over the cash ASAP.

All I could think of when I saw them was of an old Cherry Menlove post from ages ago!!  I am so excited to get the blankets on a good wash and hang them out to dry...then I can decorate them and stick them up around the house!! 

I will post some pictures later, but Im off to check on Sunday Dinner!!

Christmas Extravaganza Weekend

Yay, I am already overwhelmed by excitement about Christmas and all thing which can be put in the category of Over The Top!!!

I've bought us tickets for the Country Living Christmas Fair, which we went to for the first time last year. It was so much fun last year, and we both got to take part in two demonstrations which I think was unbelievably lucky, so I hope it’s just as great this year. On the same weekend as the Fair we’re also going to see Scrooge at His Majesties Theatre.

It’s my all time favourite theatre and A Christmas Carol is one of my must reads every December-so poor Mr HH is being dragged along on what I'm calling our Christmas Extravaganza Weekend.

Thrifty Christmas

Don’t get cross with me for mentioning the Christmas word right now, I'm not trying to antagonise anyone!!


As anyone who knows me already is aware, I adore Autumn and Winter more than any other seasons, yes sunny summers are great, but on a rainy day I’d much rather make a stew than pretend I want to eat strawberries and cream in the grey sun porch! With this in mind my aptly named friend Holly and I have been planning the galas and fairs we’re going to attend.

Although this is really great and a lovely thing to think of right now, this is the first Christmas The Husband and I are going to have with a relatively big family. Before now there were so many disagreements that we only ever had to buy things for a handful of people (excluding all of those little spare presents to be kept at the front door!). And now, with all of those hatchets well and truly buried, we have more than twenty people to buy for…a really big shock for someone from a teeny tiny family!

We have…ooops, I mean, I have been creating my lists again so that I can prepare this operation with military precision (When Hubby is ex-Army, why can’t he think more of my plans?). Its really not because I am an organised person, I really am the least organised Librarian in the world, I mean Dewey organised the worlds knowledge into 10 classes and I forget to defrost supper I if I need to iron something in the morning….anyway… Its mostly because seeing as money is tighter than normal at the moment I want to be able to take advantage of every little sale or bargain that I can, and being organised will help me do that.

Much too often I don’t leave enough time to shop on amazon for a great title and I have to go to the bookstore. I run around and grab anything, just so that someone can unwrap something…I really don’t want to, nor do I think I can afford, to put myself through that. So, while the evenings are still light I will be merrily cross stitching or sewing, I will be crafting as well as sneaking on to ebay for bargains galore and hopefully, when the nights are dark and the winds are wild I will be tucked up inside safe in the knowledge that Great Aunty Whatsit will have something to swig on Christmas Morning!!

What a week, what a week..

What a week, ranting, horrible, evil work week!!  When Friday rolled around it was all I could do not to scream out loud because I had already promised to do a shift swap for someone and I had to work on Saturday morning.

There I was, almost skipping from the building, when a giant rain cloud passed right over me...and......let the sun peep through!!  It was the biggest smile I had on my face all week!!  So there I went, walking-the boss was too close for me to do any skipping at this point really, on to the bus stop when what should happen?....the bus appears right away to take me into town for a bit of 'pick me up' shopping.

Anyway, the sun was getting brighter and brighter the more we headed into town, so much so that I treated myself to a milk shake once I got into Union Square.  After a little look around the shops (why is it that when you find you have money there isn't anything in your size?), and a bit of a nice wonder about, I got straight onto the bus home...where I found The Husband and his friend having a very fun afternoon eating olives, cheese and bread in the back garden...talk about medicine for an awful week!  A couple of hours of the weekend had me in a very good mood again!!

From there we walked down to the harbour, where we met a friend for drinks in their garden at the beach and we pretty much sat there for three hours although it only seemed like three minutes!  We got home, got the BBQ and firepit set up and ate so much chicken, burgers and smores that we almost fell asleep outside under our little blankets!

I am really, really working on not sweating the small stuff, I promise I am, and this weekend has really been exactly what I needed.  I am so, so lucky to have a great husband, lovely friends, and to be happy with what I have (most of the time!!).

I hope everyone's had a great weekend too!

Sheila

x x x

Sherlock Holmes

Oh dear...I am much too sad for words.  I have been living for Sundays and the BBC's greatest recent show, Sherlock.

I can not wait until there is more, there really must be more....how can I drink my cocoa with marshmallows on a Sunday night without it?

Changes

When I was little I grew up in a small fishing village about twelve miles from where The Husband and I now stay. It was good and exactly how I want my children to grow up. The village was so small that it was easy for me to go about and explore, I walked everywhere with my family and as we owned a yacht (which my Father built-we weren’t rich!) I was always busy and had stories to tell from the weekend.

Once I grew up a bit we moved closer to town. I was a teenager and loved the freedom which came from being able to walk into town anytime I wished. Everything was on my doorstep and I was able to get a job in a clothes shop in town which was lovely. Discount on fabulous clothes, and all my wages spent in my place of work pretty much ensured that we always made a bonus…which invariably was spent back in my workplace!! It was a great time and exactly what I needed at that time.

When I met The Husband, and he was just The Boyfriend I moved into his home. That is probably the oddest time for me. It was my first home of my own, but it wasn’t really- it was his… In that place I didn’t learn to cook and I barely cleaned up after myself….how embarrassing!

I was so glad when we moved to a lovely area in the suburbs; our teeny tiny little flat was perfect. I cooked and cleaned and made it my own. I was so happy and proud, I made an actual home. People visited, and although there wasn’t much space we always made sure people knew they were welcome. That became exactly what I needed. The Husband and I got married, we honeymooned and came back to that flat, it was a physical example of our commitment to each other-we had made a home which one day we hoped a child would move into.

Now we’ve moved into our new home. I now live quite close to my first home ever. I've come full circle and I love it. I know not to expect anything about little ones in this home-but that’s alright. There is now a spare room which is perfect for guests, we now have a home big enough to properly have people over to, and feel welcome in. It’s a wonderful feeling to be that prepared, something I’ve never had before. I know not to think that we’ll be here forever, it’s probably the last thing I say before I find the roof caves in knowing my luck recently, but I know to take things in my stride and start handing things over to ‘The Universe’. I really need to let go and go with the flow, so I am happy to learn that skill…slowly, in our new home.

Bye for now,

Sheila

x x x

What a weekend..i need a holiday!

Oh my goodness-what a weekend! It’s been so terrible; I honestly am at the very end of my tether!

It is all to do with moving house and renting and quite frankly being very, very cross with the landlord-to the point where we think we might be taking them to small claims court! So I'm sure you can imagine how cross I am!

It has all been such a stress, added to the fact that seeing as it happened over a weekend we can’t speak with anyone with lots of knowledge and advice. I'm really not someone who can step back and let things take their course, but I'm now someone who is forced to be!

Wish me luck with this, we certainly need it.

Sheila

x x x

Little visitors

A couple of days ago The Husband and I had a lovely time visiting his Mother, when quite unexpectedly our nieces came around. It was a great surprise as I really miss spending time with little Emma, who I used to baby-sit when The Husband and I first started dating, and I never seem to get enough time with the new baby in the family, Keira.  I do have lots and lots of pictures of the little ones, but i don't want to pop any up on here just yet.  I'd much rather wait until they are a teensy bit older, and then I can show them off like crazy!!  Although both Mums did say it would be O.K. I want to be really selfish and keep them all to myself.

Keira and her gorgeous Mummy came around first to say hello, I must say that Keira is the happiest, best behaved baby I’ve ever seen. Honestly, I’ve only heard her upset once, and she does the cutest little bag puss yawn when she is sleepy! After that she just snoozes away quite happily!! So after The Husband and I argued over who was going to hold her first we were quite the thing for a couple of hours, shaking hands, kissing her head and singing songs kept us-if not Keira-entertained!

Little Emma popped round and had us in stitches when she started telling her little stories. She had been to the showies a couple of days earlier and was still buzzing from the penny slots and pretend fire engine!

I am now starting to think The Husband and I are lucky to have this time with the little ones, but we still get to go home and out to our local for a Pub Lunch if we want! I think this especially after hearing all of the talking toys-I honestly hope its quite normal not to have these, as I won’t want these anywhere near our home when we are blessed! They are so noisy, constantly chattering away in the oddest accents, maybe when we are blessed I will be quite happy to throw these things in our child’s general direction…anything to keep them amused!!

All in all it was a lovely day and really great fun to get to catch up with so many people at once. I cant wait to have our home buzzing with the children of all our visitors, as we’ve never had a garden of our own before, and we are now so close to the beach and I'm sure Emma will agree that there would be many a pretty shell to collect there!!  I really can not wait to start reading stories to Keira, lots and lots of Princess, Fairy stories, any stories, I just want to fill the heads of all children with make believe and fun! 

Bye for now,

Sheila

x

Wedding Season? It's all the time!

In three months time The Husband and I are going to be celebrating our Two Year Anniversary. It doesn’t sound like much, but it’s the first steps and we will just keep going until we are very old and very grey! Also, it really doesn’t take much for me to plan a celebration-so I am super, super excited. That is a long way away really though, and not really where I was meant to be going…. (I get like that, don’t I?)

Anyway, although we’ve been married for a good while now, I must confess I'm still in love with the whole magical ‘planning a wedding’ stage. I love to hear about weddings, about decorations, about all the pretty things. Yes, I love the stories of marriages, but the best things about a marriage are all the secret things, or the stuff nobody else ‘gets’…so I don’t think its shallow to still love all the loveliness and prettiness of wedding ceremonies and receptions.

I promise I don’t stick my nose in, and I promise that I’m always interested in what makes each persons day special, I can remember too many people wanting to stick their noses in during the run up to our wedding to get judgemental!!

Jolly Holidays

Mr HH, a.k.a. The Husband, and I are on our holidays at the moment and are therefore spending copious amounts of time lazing around, visiting the beach, and eating things that are generally not very good for us. We have visited Peterhead on a number of occasions as this is now our nearest town and the place to head for food etc. However, I’ve been pleasantly surprised by how many lovely shops there are hiding away there. I was a bit worried about the move to the country side at first as I didn’t want to be totally isolated and not have any nice food/independent shops around me. I shouldn’t have worried at all, I feel like I should have plundered these shops much earlier!

Another very exciting find is the amount of tearooms I have seen while wondering around the pedestrianised streets-a very welcome change to the busy roads in Aberdeen City! It does make me want to spend longer shopping when it’s not as cramped up on the pavements. I can’t wait to properly visit any one of these lovely tea rooms and keep a little note of my visit there!! They look so quaint and beautiful; I was defiantly born an old lady!

 

Meanwhile, at home, the boxes are as bad as ever and I am still in the process of unpacking them. We are slowly making progress and we are getting more and more proud of our home the more we put our own things around it. This is honestly the first ‘sit-down’ I’ve had today. Poor Hubby has crashed on the sofa after working in the garden all day long…I'm proud of you honey!

Sheila

x

I love Austen

Everybody needs to escape at some point, don't they?  Well the time has come when I am sick of unpacking!!!

Take the Quiz here!

Lazy ways and seaside days

The husband and I have had a lovely day out at the beach in the sunshine. The golden, soft sand trickled around our fingers as we grasped it lazily while sunbathing. Daisy dog sat with her ball, wet and salty from our trip into the sea, while the husband simply bathed himself in the glorious warmth. We set up camp at the foot of a sand dune and spread our blanket out and half buried our juice so they wouldn’t fall over.

I sat and watched little children run, work and play; there were families all around us enjoying the amazing weather-a massive departure from the snow that battered us all the way through Autumn, Winter and Spring! The children carried buckets, spades, ice creams and bandy nets; they really were laden down with all sorts of accoutrements, but they didn’t care one jot! They were clearly on a mission as they diligently worked at their castles and moats. Some set about digging their way to Australia while the little boy one beach towel away made a highway for his car in the sand.

Its amazing what children can make toys out of, or how the most amazing days can be relatively free for parents. I had a moment, a moment that comes to me when I am quiet or thoughtful, when I began to picture what I expected of my life when I ‘planned’ it out, six months ago, a year ago, two years ago… By now almost everyone around me knows that I have been wishing for a baby for this family, I wish that I could make this longing go away-but one day it will all be worthwhile and I know that I will be able to nurture the growth of somebody that needs it one day. I hope that I can take that person to the beach and let them play in the sand. Really let them ‘be’ and discover the things in life that don’t cost much, but will stick in their memories forever.

For now I am learning to be complete with what I have, there is a small space inside of me right now that I feel needs to be filled, filled with the love for a baby or somebody to care for and protect. However, my life with my husband is amazing-that is to say when we close the door in our home everything is amazing, everything is at the very least safe and the best it can be for the moment. I am happy with what I have now, and I am learning to deal with the rest. I have my husband and he is the most amazing support, confidant and best friend-I would pick him again and again as my own, and only wish I had earlier!

Sheila x

Getting comfortable

We are slowly settling into the new house. We seem to keep moving boxes around, but they don’t seem to be getting unpacked very quickly. Id set us a deadline by inviting some of my family around, but I think I was being a bit silly!! It’s as bad as ever and doesn’t seem to be improving.

I've also taken on some more hours at work which is very exciting, as I am currently helping some people with their computer skills and running classes of that sort. I am very lucky that I get to help members of the public that genuinely are appreciative of the work you put in. However, just don’t get me wrong- its not always like that, not by an extremely long shot!!

So between moving house, and more hours I haven’t found much time to myself, my husband or generally making a haven for us in our home. The whole idea of moving was motivated because I am a nester and would want to be thought of as a homemaker.

I honestly believe with my whole heart, homemakers have the most difficult job in the world, and although I would find it rewarding in itself, I imagine not everyone would appreciate all the homemakers of the world. So unfortunately it may not always be completely rewarding. I always, always, always tell my full time Mummy friend off when she says “oh but you….and I only….”. (By the way, the ‘oh but you’ is something along the lines of ‘see other people in the day’, as I can tell you public librarians don’t get perks!)

Well, I had better get back to tidying before I really regret my quick sit down and cup of tea!

Sheila

x

We’ve moved!

Well, that’s it now. We’ve moved!! It was pretty hectic and very stressful, but last Friday we moved a whole lot of bags, tubs, teacups and saucers up the road for thirty miles and started to set things out!  There may be a very small clue in this post about where we have moved to....

Im guessing you figured it out?  I make this much too easy!!  It is so very, very exciting, and I am so proud of my new home.  We are very close to the golf course and a short walk from the harbour.

But then again, in a village this small...everybody is 'just five minutes away'....i love it!

It is a very old fishing village, and you can see the nets drying when the boats come in.

I can’t wait to show it off with some lovely pictures, for now I’ve only got some pictures of Cruden Bay, our new village!  I hope you like them!

We ARE moving!

It is with much excitement and trepidation that I can announce we are moving house!! Excitement because it is much bigger than where we reside in the burbs at the moment, but utter fear and confusion because I cant believe we have only given ourselves ten days to do this in!!!

Can’t wait to start showing off loads of pictures and start decorating it….I can’t believe it; I have a garden and a spare room! Wow, I'm living the good life for sure now!

Shhh its a secret...

Tomorrow is a very exciting day!! The husband and I are having a peak at a house we may be moving to.


It has been our dream for a long time to move to a larger house, and to do that in this are you must ‘accept’ that a move further North or South is inevitable. Luckily it is also our dream to move further out into the countryside – so no compromise on our part what so ever!! We are so blessed to be in this position and I am so enthusiastic about this prospect.

We are looking at a small cottage in a village quite a bit ‘Up North’; it is by the sea and has a lovely little harbour. It is also quite near a ruined castle and it is well known for all of the walks in the area.

The husband and I have been looking to move to an area that has its own pub and little shops, and quite frankly a really nice ‘feel’ to it, so this place (on paper) looks perfect-and seeing as we’re in a good position and eager to move this seems like a fantastic opportunity for us! Seeing as we currently live in a teeny tiny flat in the burbs I think anything at all will seem like a massive adventure.

I'm trying not to get my hopes up too high-but to tell the truth, I'm letting myself fall into this completely as I'm happy not to be too focussed on babies at the moment…although if all goes well I'm sure my nesting instincts will go into overdrive in this place!

Anyway, for now I am happy to go with the flow and take pleasure in any little thing I can.

I hope everyone has a fantastic Fathers Day!

Sheila x

I have been..

I have been reading some of my Birthday presents..

Eating big bowls of soup, it really is much too cold, wet and thundery for June…

Catching up on house work….

But still having a sit down with a nice mug of tea (and not feeling guilty for not tidying up the flour that went everywhere after making a cake over the weekend!)...

And going on a long drive and playing with Daisy Dog..

Yes, life is good!

x x x

I am inspired!

I am completely and utterly inspired by Rudyard Kipling’s ‘IF’. Although I have known of this poem for a long time, it has only recently got into my soul and I would love to memorise it. Although I love it so, I am not too sure how long it would take me to remember all of those lines!

Just when you need it

I didn’t really know where to go from the last post, I was sort of hiding on the sidelines wondering if I said too much, and if I would have upset anybody. When I finally plucked up the courage to peek back onto this online world I noticed a comment from a lovely and kind person (Amanda over at http://meandyouat22.blogspot.com/) going through the whole ‘wishing I had a baby’ thing too. Not only was I extremely touched by this sweet move, but I feel so completely happy to know that I haven’t hurt anybody with my comments, especially as I know I’m not the worst off person in the world.

I would just love to say that the comment really made my day and was like a giant virtual hug!!

On to some other things though….slightly happier...well… I have turned 25! I was sort of fretting about this age as I thought I should have had a full time career, a child and a home by now, but no matter-we had a lovely day!! I got many beautiful and thoughtful presents. My Grama and Mum bought me gift vouchers for a beauty salon (are they trying to tell me something?!) At least now I can get rid of these horrible split ends!!

We got two cakes, one was a set of pink sparkle packed cupcakes, yes there are only two in the picture, but its only because we had a couple to ourselves before i could find a camara!!  The other one was a surprise, i think because the husband had already bought the candles and wanted to light them up-so he had a get a cake that wasn't just pure buttercream!

Though i do have to say, my Birthday was not the only one that was celebrated!!  Daisy Dog had a Birthday 'party' the day after mine!