Postcards

 A little goodness plopped through my letterbox this week, in the form of some wonderful postcards from Syko.

There is something special and unique about the things Kajsa makes - I think it's the sense of joyfulness. Even her raindrops are multicoloured. They have been brightening my desk this week and I will have to be careful, or there they will stay for good.

Hoarding stationary is one of my little weirdnesses. When I was 9, I went off to boarding school and part of our Sunday afternoons were set aside for writing letters home. I became the proud owner of a red leather writing case and a fistful of airletters, but these were soon abandoned in favour of a newly discovered currency - stationery.

There was an active black market in swapped fancy notepaper and envelopes. It wasn't so much using the  sets as acquiring them and knowing the relative trading value of each design. Anything with a scratch and sniff sticker, pretty much guaranteed you the trade of your choice. Although I do remember getting landed with a pickled onion one once, which was eye wateringly realistic and proved to be impossible to offload.

The writing case (probably still with a vague vinegary scent)  vanished a long while ago now. But I'm not sure the excitement of great stationery, or the difficulty in parting with it, has ever totally left me.

Happy Landings

 Thanks so much for all the good wishes on my new adventure - yes, I am really truly working in a bookshop. And I was amazed (though not surprised) about how many of us crafty blogger types have worked in bookshops, managed bookshops or view a job in a bookshop as being paid for pleasure.

Much as I would love to regale you with tales of trivia from my day,  that's more than enough work chat here. Not least because my new boss also happens to be one of my long established blog readers. Bit weird that!

The double whammy of Easter and gainful employment has meant there hasn't been too much creativity happening this week.  The best I can come up with is some chocolate macaroons (from Nigella Express).

Now I grant you, they're not Laduree, but they were very acceptable.

Fuelled by chocolate, Hubby fixed the portion of fence that had blown down in the howling winds the other week.

Unlike our other fenceposts, this one has a flat top, which makes the perfect resting place for the little blackbird sculpture I've had tucked away for ages. He makes me smile.

To boldly go

 Time for a new venture -  a job. It's been almost 8 years since I last went out to work, but tomorrow that's what I'll be doing. Don't think I've been keeping it under wraps from you. The whole thing has happened pretty fast. On reflection, this is probably a good thing as my menfolk have already been calculating how my absence from home for a few hours a week is likely to affect me doing their bidding. I've had to do a fair bit of reassurance that normal mothering service will continue.

Now would be a good time to fill me with stories about how marvellous re-entry to the workforce  is. Although I am a hundred percent convinced that I have found a top landing zone.

Do you think splitting infinitives is grounds for dismissal from a bookshop? Perhaps I ought to re-think my post title.

The sum of the parts

 It's Easter:

It's snowing:

We are going camping in less than 2 weeks.

When viewed alone, all these things are pleasurable.  Come ON Spring.

Sore throat

 Easter - it's one of those dates that always sneaks up on me. But I'm even less prepared than usual, thanks to feeling like death this week. Be grateful I spared you a photo of my tonsils. Instead you get the glass of hot water with salt for me to gargle with.

Gargle - what a bizarre word. I don't like it, but I can't think of an alternative. I'll add it to my collection of really-don't-like-saying  words - leotard and cashier. Does everyone have those, or is it just me?

Something different

 I couldn't tell you how I came across Camp Creek Press, but I've been reading over there for a little while. There has been talk recently about sitting down to draw with your kids. It's not something we've done as a family before. Painting, yes, play dough, yes, but never just looking at and drawing an object together. When it rained and rained and rained on Sunday, it came to mind as something different we could try.

Now, I'm not telling whose is whose, but they come from  4, 7, 36 and 40 year olds. We did observational drawings and contour drawings.  And to my amazement, everyone was quiet and happy and concentrating and having fun. Who'd have guessed it? I'm sort of looking forward to the next wet weekend.

Gesta vesta

 The green vest is done. But the weather is so grey and horrid that I cannot take a reasonable photo of it. These will have to do:

Thanks so much for your shoulder seam pointers. I tried the kitchener method, got in a hideous muddle and decided I could live with a 3 needle bind off instead. It doesn't look perfect, but it's fine.

In fact, the same could be said for the whole thing. I love the yarn (Manos del Uruguay in Colour 2364), but I'm not sure it really was the right choice for the pattern (Gesta from Cornelia Tuttle Hamilton Hand Knitting Collection Book 2). The original uses a fuzzy Noro, which I couldn't get hold of, but I'd imagine comes out far softer looking.

Also, if I were more experienced, I would have figured out that being a ribbed knit, this stretches a lot. I could have gone down a size quite happily - there's room for a leprechaun in here as well as me. My edge stitches are far from perfect either, but I'm going to wear it anyway. And the best news is I have enough yarn left to try a little knit bowl which I plan to felt. Very excited about that.

Seven things

 I've been tagged by Meg at Elsie Marley and Cara at Made by Cara for some more randomness. Does being tagged twice mean I should come up with 14 things? No, in the spirit of feminine multitasking, seven will have to suffice.

1. We're taking part in the annual village litter pick on Saturday - they boys are really excited about it. They want to get their paws on those grabbing sticks the professionals use. Yes, I have bred a pair of Wombles.

2. And they have no table manners. Probably because I laugh when they do stuff like this.

Is it just me or does Mark bear a close resemblance to a sock monkey?

3. Johnny needed new shoes. As I've been telling Beki,  red ones truly do go with almost everything.

4. New blogs anyone?  Recently added to my feeds: Assemblage, Lily's House, and a very brand new blogger  Kitten's Lost Her Mittens, who sent me the sweetest e-mail recently, telling me how she discovered crafty blogworld when she googled something and stumbled upon my blog. I love hearing how blogs began (and how they came by their names).

5. Project 365 - it's starting to be less fun. It's only March. I am taking many boring photographs. Perhaps when the sun starts shining I'll be more invigorated.

6. I'm currently reading 'Speaking of Love' by Angela Young (who blogs). She did a talk at my local independent bookshop recently,  about her novel and the experience of being published for the first time. I don't know why, but I am always so impressed when I listen to a writer who is also a great speaker. And the book? I'm loving it.

7. Feeling rebellious, so I'm not tagging anyone.  Have a great weekend! And pick up some litter.

Learning

 The greatest thing about learning to knit is all the new tricks I keep acquiring. I learned how to wind the skein into a centre pull ball. Very nifty. I know this is old news to you seasoned knitters, but these little things make a difference. How did anyone learn to do anything new before the power of google?

You see, I wasn't supposed to do anything quite yet with the new wool I acquired at the weekend, but it was so green, so tempting. One little swatch wouldn't hurt. And then I had to see if the centre pull ball really worked in action. And then if I had understood the decreases in the pattern correctly. Well, you know how it goes. Now the back is done so i want to just finish up the front to make sure they come out the same size.

And it would be handy to have a little vest this time of year. So snuggly. But I've hit a brick wall with my friend and knitting muse google. You see, I haven't bound off the shoulder stitches, because I had the good (?) idea of grafting them together instead. I learned how to do Kitchener stitch on the socks. The only thing is, the shoulder is in ribbing (K2,p6). Can I kitchener it? I looked up rib grafting, but I learned far more than I wanted about bone surgery and nothing useful about knitting. Help!

Sanity Sunday

 As the wind howled on Saturday night I lay in bed hoping that no trees would fall on the train line and ruin my escape to London. I had plans to meet up with Alice and (soon to be blogging) Kristina and I think if I hadn't made it, I would have wept.

These sanity days are hugely important to me - just the chance to have some precious time as an adult without responsibilities.

So, we mooched round the National Portrait Gallery, and had lunch at Ottolenghi (very highly recommended)  and visited Loop. One of those everything and nothing days.

And today I am back at home, but I've remembered who I am and I am happy.

And I have some yarn for a new project...

 Lisa was talking about her Moleskine the other day and I admitted to carrying a little Cahier in my bag. But as much as I may aspire to filling it with beautiful sketches or clever designs, mine is more likely to contain a shopping list or the reference number for a 7 year old's holey trouser replacements. But hey, even mundane stuff is better in a classy notebook.

And surely there is nothing wrong in gilding the lily just a little with a pen sleeve cum book strap.

Just in case this all sounds a little too smugly organized, let me share with you the cupboard under my kitchen sink. I warn you, it is not a pretty sight.

I think there's an inverse correlation between number of cleaning products purchased and time spent applying said products to your home. Yes, I know, I could do it all with bicarbonate of soda and elbow grease. But I don't. I buy the 'so great it does the work for you' product. Use it once and then consign it to the black hole of chemical solutions that aren't all they're cracked up to be.

I hate housework. Would it be truly evil to get a cleaner so I could spend more time on the computer instead? Must put that on my 'to-do' list...

Baking my way out of a hole

 Mark has been on a quest at school recently. In pursuit of the elusive Pineapple Upside Down Cake. You see, it appears on the Jamie -inspired, on-the-premesis-prepared, turkey-twizzler-free, PC-school-lunch-menu. But in real life, it has failed to materialize on his plate. These menus - easy to compile, seemingly trickier to deliver to the hungry punters .

Now I haven't had pineapple upside down cake since my own schooldays (even if I do know a woman who has). But Nigella has an Express recipe for one. I even found a little linky for you.

So, we made one. And little bro had to taste test it. Thankfully it passed, although there is no way one of those suspiciously lurid cherries is passing his lips. This may be a good thing, because I have no idea what colouring is used to make them quite so bright, but I am 100% supportive of refusal to ingest any food which appears to glow in the dark.

Teatime tonight, in honour of his prizewinning World Book Day Book Token Card design, Mark will be having the victor's slice. [The Iron Man (by Ted Hughes) is a classic - if your 7ish little people have missed out, you're in for a treat. It has just the right amount of menace in my opinion. ]

Quest over. If only baking were the answer to everything. Or perhaps it is.

The postcard says...

 This arrived, a little while ago, with a challenge from five and a half. 

It says: Use junk mail, catalogue, old magazines & clean trash. Recreate your face with them (3 - dimensional). Take picture and share with your friends.

So, friends, want to see?

My alter ego is a leftover balloon from Johnny's party. Discarded tissue from a package, magazine cuttings and shredder hair. I loved doing that hair (probably spent more time on it than on my own this morning).

One of my real life friends couldn't understand the project - "But, why?", she asked. But to me, it's obvious - the chance to play is a gift.  If you want to join in, keep an eye on the five and a half blog, because Judy promised a chance for anyone who missed out on getting a postcard to take part too.

And before I head off for an early night, Happy Mothering Sunday  to all you mummies who were celebrating today, but especially to mine, because she's always there for us. And she's really good at playing too.

Fun in a box

 Today was a  good day. But I had a secret weapon. Do you want to know how to get two children upstairs, washed, teeth brushed and into school uniforms in less than 3 mins? Well, it's achievable, but you need to have a little help.

First, have the Parcel Force delivery man ring the doorbell just as you are finishing breakfast and then inform said children that of course they may open the eagerly awaited Miniswap 3 package as soon as they are dressed and ready for school. Yes, I am officially a manipulative mother. But look - it worked!

Okay, so one of them has a collar still awry and the other has a serious case of bed head, but we weren't going to let trivial details derail the fun. And we were sure Miss Chris and her lovely girls wouldn't mind.

Getting to know them has been a large dollop of the fun of  Miniswapping -  I trawled the Pink Picket Fence archives like a stalker, looking for clues as to what the girls liked and as soon as we saw what was inside our parcel this morning, I knew for sure that Miss Chris had done the same thing. Dino-heaven, a palaeontological paradise, call it what you will, that package hit the spot.

It's a miracle I managed to pry them away from the contents in order to go to school. The "You can take the books in the car if you jump in before I count to 10" seemed to do the trick thankfully.

But as soon as they came home, it was up with our puppet theatre and time to try out the wonderful felt puppets Miss Chris and her eldest dreamt up. Don't you just love those expressive dino-eyebrows?

Apologies for the photos - we were having too much fun for staging them prettily. And certain elements of the parcel (the Peeps) may never make it in front of the lens. This is our first encounter with them, but I can tell that Mark has all the makings of a Peep-a-holic.

Mummy, when we've had these, will you buy some more?
You can only get them in America sweetheart.
Oh (wistful). Hey, why don't we go to America!

Yes, everything from America has extra cachet here today. Even packaging. Game of Ice Road Truckers anybody?

Or Chinese Drumming? Recognise the box Chris?

Yup, it has been a very fun day. Too fun for stylish photos, an oversight which I'll remedy tomorrow before I enter them in the Flickr pool. Because there are stickers and postcards and letters and collage and maps and fabric and trim and buttons which I haven't even taken pictures of. But when you are busy playing and being grateful for new friends,  some things are allowed to slide.

Bit of sewing

 A little peek of a little sewing that's been happening round here.

Not much else to share though. My body is trying to put me into hibernation mode. Last night I went to bed at 7pm and didn't awaken until a pitter patter of small feet came to find me this morning.

So if you see a missing spark anywhere, do let me know. I seem to have misplaced mine.