We're back!! Did you miss us???

Hello everyone - sorry for the absence, but we've had a very rare thing in the Locket household.......... a proper week's holiday!  We don't often get away but one place we really love is this little cottage in the corner of a field, at the end of a farm track in the Cotswolds.

Mr Locket and I first stayed at Westley Farm about 15 years ago when he had a job interview at a nearby Roman Villa and we loved it and always hoped that one day we would be able to stay in the hidden away cottage at the end of the track.

 (this is the view from our front door)

Ten years later we managed it - this time with 3 Little Lockets - who also loved staying in this perfect little cottage in a field with badgers and foxes and freedom to run around and play.

Another five years on and the Little Lockets are not so little - but the fun was still there and we had a lovely time in this lovely little house with the tea table set for our arrival

- and we amused ourselves by recreating some of our earlier photographs:

(this one is actually a totally unintentional recreation of the earlier photo!)

We spent most of our days just messing about in the field (the rope swing was a favourite past-time) or reading or going for walks or knitting 

or going for walks AND knitting!

And one of the surprising highlights of the week for the children were the regular visit from these fellows:

The children carefully named the cows:

there was Henry, Frankie, Archie, Goalie (see the muddy knees), as well as Pirate and Lonely (no photos of them sadly)

and then there was Fred..................

"this" is Fred

 and so is "this"

in fact, all the black cows with white faces that didn't have any outstandingly different features, were called Fred - all 30 of them! ;o)

It was a really lovely holiday and we were very sad to leave - but hopefully we'll be able to go back again soon.

Next time I'll tell you about a very special birthday outing that we had while we were away!

A grand day out

The Little Lockets and I had the MOST fantastic day out today with some surprise visitors to the North East (well, it was a surprise for me!)

One of my favourite Bloggy-friends who normally lives too far away to meet up for fun days out at the beach (although we've had a couple of very fun meet-ups in London)

So who was it?

 None other than the wonderful Emma Pebble and her gorgeous family!

We met up at Saltburn on the Sea - which was about an hour's drive down the coast for the Lockets and cross country for the Pebbles.  I've never been before and it was a lovely surprise.  Although we practically live on the coast, I haven't been to such a sea-side-resort-type-beach since I was tiny.

There were donkeys to ride and deck-chairs and wind-breaks to hire, the most fantastic cable cars up and down the cliff, and without doubt, THE TASTIEST fish and chips I've ever eaten!

But the best thing of all was the company of course.

The Little Pebbles and rather-a-lot-bigger Little Lockets got on beautifully and the eldest little Pebble took a big shine to the eldest little Locket - so sweet.

And Emma did a great job of actually looking more mad than ME (despite the fact that I was sitting on my deck chair knitting socks on the beach) by doing cartwheels as soon as she arrived and by taking a little Pebble for a donkey ride while "wearing" 4 paper flags in her hair!  What made it so funny is that she had no idea the flags were still there.  And there were FOUR of them!

Mr Pebble and the children made the most amazing complex of sandcastles, courtyards, bridges and moats

and then, as the tide came in, dug a channel to the sea so that the waterways were flooded.

The only bad part of the day was saying goodbye!

So thank you, lovely Pebbles, for a really fab day!  Can we do it again sometime soon???

An inspirational and very kind friend

I love blogland because it is full of the most lovely people who constantly provide me with amazing crafty inspiration and who often send the most gorgeous packages through the post!

I have been very lucky this week to be both inspired by and be sent a parcel from the same person - the wonderful Gina!

The children and I have been trying to join along with Gina's sketchbook challenge - with limited success really, but we're getting better!

The first time we tried to draw fennel heads using spaghetti and ink  (although Fred decided he wanted to draw his bouncy ball)

Then this afternoon Daisy, Fred and I had a go at drawing some of the flowers from the garden

 

but once again Fred objected to the subject matter and went and picked some leaves instead!

This time we used dried up sticks - from an old Japanese Anemone stem I think - instead of spaghetti and it was easier to keep control (without it snapping)

 

But the idea that really inspired me was Gina's suggestion of using a mini viewfinder to pick out the interesting bits of the sketches.

So we had fun doing that too and I'm surprisingly pleased with the results (I really can't draw and have never had any confidence with art)

But even more exciting things have happened this week as I was the lucky winner of Gina's first giveaway!  I chose a blue/red mini pincushion pot as my prize and I'm absolutely delighted with what Gina made:

I'm going to keep it on the bookshelf next to the sofa where I always seem to accumulate random pins and needles that end up getting lost.

 Gina also sent some chocolate

that she expects me to share!?!?!?!

 

some postcards of her fabulous dancing couple

 

and some stickers for the children

 but the thing that excited and delighted me most of all was this 

Thank you so much Gina - you really have cheered me up loads - I really am overwhelmed that you sent me your gorgeous crochet bunting - I absolutely LOVE IT!

Lots of love, Lucy xxx

Happy 1st Birthday Alfie!

The youngest Locket is no longer a new baby Locket but is now a fully grown 1 year old and this auspicious occasion could not be ignored if presents could be bought and cards written by the other little Lockets!

Fred and Daisy Locket even announced that they couldn't possibly go out for the next adventure in their history project as we had to stay at home and play with Alfie ALL DAY! 

(why that involved Fred spending most of the day on the new Super Mario Karts Wii game is something I haven't yet worked out!)

We did get some more of the history project written and cut and stuck in the scrap books

  

but unfortunately most of the Lockets are feeling a bit manky with some headachy virus so nothing is being done for very long at a time.

My lovely Round House Socks are making me very happy

and Daisy and Fred invented a fantastic new score-keeping system

  

for their game of cricket 

 

at Granny and Grandpa Biscuit's house earlier in the week. 

And this weekend, inspired by Ali's recent post, I have been teaching the children (and Mr Locket!) how to play Rummy - the card game that wiled away far too many hours when I was at university! 

Hopefully the children will be updating their history blog too before long so do pop over if you have the time - they love having visitors!