❖Happy Homemaker Monday #4❖

Monday 30th March 2015

❖Mud, Mud Glorious Mud❖ 

Oh my it's  muddy around here !!  We haven't had much heavy rainfall, it just seems to have been drizzling constantly for the last few days.  Thankfully last week was drier and brighter than we had expected and we managed to get some work done in the garden.  I don't think we will get much done outside this week as the drizzle is here to stay, but maybe I will get a bit of painting done indoors.  I hope the sun shines wherever you are this week xx

The weather outside is::::

Wet, wet, wet ........ drizzly, dull and chilly .......

As I look outside my window::::

The blossom has arrived ~ at last.

Right now I am::::

Sitting with a cup of hot chocolate at the end of a long day.  I don't think I will finish this post today, my bed is calling, I am very tired.

My simple pleasures::::

Pinterest !!

As I look around the house::::

Washing drying in the dinning room.  Muddy foot and paw prints all over the floors.  Rain streaked windows. Untidy bedrooms....... :o(

On this week's to do list::::

Painting the landing (I didn't start last week, as the weather was drier than expected I spent as much time as I could in the garden)
Sow parsnips and plant peas (we really want to get this done, but can't start until we have sorted out the chicken that live in the garden, they have already started scratching up anything growing in the veg beds)
Eat lots of chocolate.

Currently reading::::

Night time reading with M and W is 'How to train your dragon' by Cressida Cowell

On the TV this week::::

Poldark
Banished
The Voice final
Law and Order
NCIS New Orleans
New Thunderbirds (W can't wait!)

On the menu this week::::

Monday - Eastern lamb
Tuesday -  Hedgehogs
Wednesday - Soup
Thursday - Sweet and sour chicken
Friday - Pot au feu
Saturday -  Beef burgers
Sunday - ?? Easter lunch with friends :o)

Our plans for the week ahead::::

Monday - English lessons at school (pm) Extra Activities (TAP) at school (pm)
Tuesday -  R work (am) Parents Evenings ~ M & W
Wednesday - M Sports Club (pm)
Thursday - R work (am) English lessons at school (pm) Extra Activities (TAP) at school (pm)
Friday - W handball (pm)  English tutoring (pm)  
Saturday - 
Sunday - **Easter**

What's happening in the garden and on the farm this week::::

Last week the weather was better than we expected.  We managed to clear most of the weeds and brambles from around the vegetable patch.  I also cleared our over grown raspberry patch (this needs a lot more work, we need to move and rearrange the raspberry canes).

What I am crocheting, sewing or creating at the moment::::

Moogly crochet-along 
LookatwhatIhavemade 2015 'Sophie's Universe' crochet-along blanket (my wool arrived!)

Favorite photo from the camera::::

We did it !!
(with a little help from a 'You can do the cube' book)

Thoughts, Quotes or Lessons Learned::::

“Do not be angry with the rain; it simply does not know how to fall upwards.” 
― Vladimir Nabokov

“I always like walking in the rain, so no one can see me crying.” 
― Charles Chaplin

I hope you all have a great week!

Today I am going to link up with other "Happy Homemakers" here at Diary of a stay at home Mom so please pop over if you want to see what others are up to this week all around the world. :o)

The Country Mumkin Makes

Our Crafty Week 
Making, baking, crocheting, crafting, beading, conserving .... this is what we have been doing this week. How about you?

I have quite a lot of projects on the go at the moment, so I am going to share a few photos of items I have finished this week and some of the blankets I am working on.

I finished this little ballerina for a friend last night (pattern from Lilleliis.com)

This week I also made another Little Mouse (pattern from www.grietjekarwietje.blogspot.com) 

Sophie's Universe Crochet Along (from www.lookatwhatimade.net)
Each week the pattern is published for the next few rows, it's always a suprise.  I ran out of white wool so I am a bit behind on this one.  My wool hs arrived now so this weekend I will be catching up.

Moogly crochet along (from www.mooglyblog.com)
This is a square a fortnight crochet along W is helping me choose the colour order.  (I'm not sure about the last 'gold heavy' square, I may redo that one)

My crocheted blanket ~ I have started another blanket (while I waited for my wool order to arrive), I can't show you the pictures because it may be a present for someone, but I can show you the lovely colours I am using ... Grape, Grey, Pale Rose, Teal and Silver.

M's School Art Project ~ this week M's art homework was to make a giant leaf !  We searched the house for anything green - paper, wool, beads, fabric, plastic, straws, glitter, sequins ......

Thank you for stopping by, I hope you all have a happy crafty week.

Albert Einstein once said:

Logic will get you from A to Z.

Imagination will get you everywhere.

§ Nearly Wordless Wednesday #2 §

At last .........

Out And About On The Farm

Meet the farm family ......

The cows:

At the moment we have 5 cows and two calves.  They are all in the barn for the moment as the weather is so bad, but we hope they will be back out in the fields very soon.  One of our cows is expecting a calf in a few months and another two were artificially inseminated last week, so fingers crossed they should have calves at the end of the year.  We farm our cows for meat for the freezer and we sometimes milk them as well.  I would like to get better at milking them as the children all love fresh milk.

 

Honey

Doucette

 

Trudy

Amelie

Hanna (we call her Red)

Our calves

These two were born last autumn and we have never got round to naming them .......... the dark calf is a girl and the white calf is a boy .......... the names should start with a 'J' ~ any ideas?????

The sheep:

We have 5 ewes and 8 lambs at the moment.  Sadly we lost our ram, Bertie, this winter.  We all miss him very much, but luckily he left us with 3 male lamb this winter so we will be able to keep one of them to take his place.  We farm our sheep for meat for the freezer.  Lambs born this winter will be butchered at the end of the autumn this year.  As well as keeping a young ram we may well keep a young female (or two) to increase our flock.

Our ewes are called Ava, Clem, Ivy, Jasmine and Jessie.  We don't name our lambs unless we are sure we are going to keep them.

The rabbits:

We have 6 rabbits at the moment.  Although one escaped last week and is at present living 'wild' around the farmyard!  All attempts to catch him have so far failed, much to the upset of our neighbour who wants to start sowing his vegetables... Our rabbits live inside in cages, but I would really love to construct an area where they can run around in some outside space.  Our rabbits are supposedly kept for meat, although we have kept rabbits for several years and have never managed to eat any of them.  I'm not so keen on the idea of eating rabbit, but the children love it, they often eat it at school.

The chicken:

We have lots of chicken at the farm, some enclosed in a run and some free range.  We keep our chicken for meat and eggs.  On occasion we also trade them with our friends and neighbours.

The ducks:

We have 5 ducks at the farm.  They live in the chicken run with the chicken. There are 3 Kahki Campbells and 2 'Black and White' ducks (I don't know what race they are).  At the moment we get at least two duck eggs each day (if we can find them!).  These ducks were all incubated artificially.

We also often have owls at the farm, they like to get into the attic of the old farm house.  The children are also convinced that there is a wild rabbit living in the barn!

Thank you for visiting :o)

❖Happy Homemaker Monday #3❖

Monday 23th March 2015

❖Hello Spring❖ 

Hello everyone and hello Spring ~ though the new season has crept upon us rather quietly, there are still on a few signs that she is here ~ a sprinkling of yellow flowers on the forsythia, buds starting appear on the hydrangea bushes around the swimming pool and at the end of the drive, the ducks and hens have started laying more frequently (omlettes and quiches at the weekend) ....... Still, the sun peeks through a little more often, the birds are chirping early in the mornings and the clocks change to Summertime this weekend.  Have a happy week everyone X

The weather outside is::::

It was very wet and windy yesterday and it's due to remain that way for the rest of the week :o(  It's chilly too, we even had a hail yesterday. Its dry at the moment, but cloudy and dull.  The poor cows will have to stay in a little longer!

As I look outside my window::::

Right now I am::::

I have just come in from feeding the animals and mucking out the cows.  I need to go and put a load in the washing machine, sweep  the floors and have a shower (I smell of cows!)  C has just phoned, which was lovely as I haven't spoken to him since last weekend.

My simple pleasures::::

A hook and some yarn ~ need I say more?

As I look around the house::::

M was busy this weekend with another art project in the playroom (she still needs to tidy up). This week she has to make a giant leaf!  Besides that nothing much has changed.

On this week's to do list::::

Painting the landing (at least starting .... or rather continuing, I actually started about 2 years ago!)
Prune the fruit trees and bushes in the garden
Continue to clear the veg beds in the potager (veg patch)
Sow parsnips
Finish tidying my bedroom (I need to set a good example to my children ~ although most of the things messing up my room are actually theirs !)
Order a few presents for H's birthday

Currently reading::::

I am still reading Mrs.Miles's Diary: The Wartime Journal of a Housewife on the Homefront and We are at War: The Diaries of Five Ordinary People in Extraordinary Times
Night time reading with M and W is 'How to train your dragon' by Cressida Cowell

On the TV this week::::

Poldark
Banished
The Voice
Law and Order
NCIS New Orleans
Painting chgallenge

On the menu this week::::

Monday - Chinese pork
Tuesday -  Cottage pie
Wednesday - Fidget Pie and nettle soup
Thursday - Garlic Pasta
Friday - Turkey a la King
Saturday -  Fishcakes
Sunday - Roast Beef and Yorkshire puddings

Our plans for the week ahead::::

Monday - English lessons at school (pm) Extra Activities (TAP) at school (pm)
H has a French oral exam (am)
Tuesday -  R work (am)
Wednesday - M Sports Club (pm)
Thursday - R work (am) English lessons at school (pm) Extra Activities (TAP) at school (pm)
Friday - W handball (pm)  English tutoring (pm)  
Saturday - Handball tournament (W)
Sunday - **Clocks change**

What's happening in the garden and on the farm this week::::

Depends on the weather.  Still need to sow peas and leeks indoors.  I will continue clearing the raspberry canes if there is a break in the rain. We put some duck eggs in the incubator at the weekend and also cleared out the chicken house at the farm.  Oh ........ and we had another lamb born last week ~ a little girl for Clem.

What I am crocheting, sewing or creating at the moment::::

I have another Ballet bunny to finish.
Need to catch up on the Moogly crochet-along 
LookatwhatIhavemade 2015 'Sophie's Universe' croche-talong blanket ~ hopefuly my yarn will arrive this week and I can try to catch up.
I have a rabbit to make for a baby due this summer.
I have started another blanket with large squares and flowers (pictures soon)

Favorite photo from the camera::::

Thoughts, Quotes or Lessons Learned::::

'You are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream ... ' ~ C.S.Lewis

I hope you all have a great week!

Today I am going to link up with other "Happy Homemakers" here at Diary of a stay at home Mom so please pop over if you want to see what others are up to this week all around the world. :o)

§ Nearly Wordless Wednesday §

M's art project last week was to make a giant piece of food 

She also made a giant bowl of noodles and some chopsticks 

❖Happy Homemaker Monday 2❖

Monday 16th March 2015

❖Hello everyone❖ 

Where has the last week gone?  Time seems to fly by so fast......  I don't seem to have achieved a great deal over the last week, just the normal laundry duties, housework, cooking, homework, school work... We all helped M complete her art project (pictures to follow later in the week), I finished off some crochet orders and managed a little work in the garden.  After a cold and grey week it was lovely to have everyone home for the weekend to celebrate English Mother's Day together ~ I am a lucky Mummy :)

The weather outside is::::

The temperatures really dropped towards the end of last week and the weekend was really quite dull and drizzly.  I think the wet weather is going to continue throughout the week, but the temperatures are going to rise a little. Grim! :(

As I look outside my window::::

Still no daffodils in the garden or blossom on the trees.  The veg patch hasn't changed much over the last week, although we did manage to start pruning some of the fruit trees.  The chicken and ducks are in the garden.  Some of the chicken are actually in the veg patch, if they continue doing that they will not be able to stay free range in the garden and will have to go and live with the other chicken in the chicken run at the farm :(

Right now I am::::

I am watching morning  TV with W.  He is normally the first up (by about 6am) although he doesn't need to get on the school bus until 8:30am, so when everything is ready we have time to watch a few cartoons together (I love it :o) ).  We need to leave soon to get to school early today.  I take W to school in the car on a Monday morning because I go with his class to the swimming pool.   It's the last session today, infact it's W's last session with the school because the last two classes don't get the opportunity to go.  W was musing this morning about the fact that if he has to redouble* at school he will be able to continue his swimming lessons ~ I don't think there is much chance of that, so I think we might have to start visiting the local swimming pool occasionally, though it wont be long until the children can swim in our pool in the garden.

(*redouble - in France if the children don't manage too well with their school lessons they are sometimes asked/advised to redo the whole year)

*

My simple pleasures::::

Handmade Mother's Day cards from my biggies and littlies :)

As I look around the house::::

Much the same as this time last week :(  I managed to clean the windows, so they don't look so grimey when the sun does peep throught the clouds.  Mr. Mumkin cleaned the hob for me this week ~ love him :) ~ but the rest of the kitchen needs a good clean and tidy up.  There are two wall cabinets leaning against the wall of the dining room (still in their boxes), waiting to be constructed - they are to go in the office/workroom upstairs.  (Maybe they will make it up there this week.)  The playroom needs tidying after M's art extravaganza last week and as always at this muddy time of year the floors need a good mop.

On this week's to do list::::

Ironing
Mopping
Finish pruning the fruit trees and bushes in the garden
Muck spreading in the veg beds in the potager (veg patch)
Sew parsnips (didn't do it last week)
Order my wool ~ I've checked waht I have and what I need ~ I just need to place the order now :)
Finish planning my English lessons so I am not doing this every Sunday afternoon. 

Currently reading::::

 I am still reading Mrs.Miles's Diary: The Wartime Journal of a Housewife on the Homefront and We are at War: The Diaries of Five Ordinary People in Extraordinary Times (and will be reading these two for quite a few weeks longer!)  
I am also enjoying reading my 'Patchwork and Quilting' magazines
Night time reading with M and W is 'Septimus Heap: Magyk' by Angie Sage (we did't manage to read much this week ~ we need to get back into the rhythm of schooltime)

On the TV this week::::

Poldark
Banished
The Voice
Law and Order
NCIS New Orleans
Rugby!

On the menu this week::::

Monday - Tagliatelle (we didn't eat it last week)
Tuesday -  Fish Pie
Wednesday - Lasagne
Thursday - Chickpea Curry
Friday - Pot au feu
Saturday -  Fajitas
Sunday - Roast Pork (we didn't eat our roast pork last week, as I forgot to take it out of the freezer (!)  ~ we had to have steak and chips instead !!! )

Our plans for the week ahead::::

Monday - Swimming with W's class (am)(His last school lesson ever!)  English lessons at school (pm) Extra Activities (TAP) at school (pm) 
**Nana's Birthday**
Tuesday -  R work (am)
Wednesday - M Sports Club (pm)
Thursday - R work (am) English lessons at school (pm) Extra Activities (TAP) at school (pm)
Friday - W handball (pm)  English tutoring (pm)  
**My Daddy's and Grandad John (my father-in-law)'s birthdays**
Saturday -  Six Nations Rugby (!)
Sunday - 

What's happening in the garden this week::::

All depends on what the weather decides to do.  We did manage to pot-on our tomato seedlings last week and now have about 150 tiny baby tomato plants living in our dining room. We still need to try and sow our parsnip seeds and hopefully plant some peas (indoors).  We also need to try and catch one of our rabbits that has got out of his cage and keeps venturing into our neighbour's vegetable patch!!!  I think we will have to call him Peter rabbit from now on :)

What I am crocheting, sewing or creating at the moment::::

I have caught up with the Moogly crochet-along  2015  (I now have five 30cm squares made), but the next pattern will be published on Thursday, so I will look forward to that.
I have one more ballerina bunny to make (The pattern is from Lilleliis )
I have found another blanket I started a while ago so will do a little more work on that. 
The pattern is from Dly's Hooks and Yarns (pattern)

Favorite photo from the camera::::

Last weekend we managed to eat in the garden for the first time this year.

Thoughts, Quotes or Lessons Learned::::

It is a wonderful thing a mother
Other folks can love you
but only your mother understands
She works for you, looks after you. 
loves you and forgives you anything you may do
The only thing bad she ever does to you, 
is die and leave you.

A quote from a picture on our toilet wall when I was a child!

Happy Mother's Day to Mothers everywhere.

I hope you all have a great week!

Today I am going to link up with other "Happy Homemakers" here at Diary of a stay at home Mom so please pop over if you want to see what others are up to this week all around the world. :o)