Friday 18 April 2014

Simple happy things

It's been so beautifully sunny here that it's felt more like the summer holidays than the Easter holidays.  We've been pottering about our locality, not doing anything particularly incredible, but nonethless enjoying the simple things.  How fast the holiday days fly by.

We've been to the park again and again.  It might not be flash, but really, they love it every single time.  There's always something to do, sometimes climbing, sometimes football, both playing and watching, sometimes the stream (out of sight at the base of the tall trees), sometimes tennis (it's free!) and sometimes happy imaginative games.  And often there are different friends to play with.  I honestly think that this free local fun is one of their favourite things to do.  I join in or chat to another mum or occasionally just sit and read.  Yesterday I played football with the biggest boy and got kicked in the leg and did one of those huge two-handed falls to the ground where I rolled over a couple of times and laid there splat on the floor, just like a real professional.  I honestly think I'm improving a little.



We've been to the allotment again, a couple of days ago, and it was so dry that we did some watering.   Like the summer I tell you.



I found some tiny strawberry flowers.  I think it's a little alpine strawberry that grows like a weed.  I'll be interested to see what the fruit's like and whether it's worth keeping.

At home a couple of the squashes have germinated.  I do so love squash seeds, I think that's part of the reason I can't help growing them.  They're so big and chunnky and easy to deal with.  Not like the dusty ones that you can't quite believe are actually going to grow and that blow away in a puff of small boy sneeze.  This is a proper seed, and a seedling with attitude.  Look at it.  To give you some idea of scale, it's in one of the big pint sized yoghurt pots.  The seed leaves are nearly 5cm.


I'm off to enjoy the next two sunny days now, before a little rain falls.  I hope you have a lovely Easter and that the Easter bunny is good to you.  I need to find the plastic eggs that I hide clues in for the Easter morning treasure hunt I always set.  And to make sure I have all the ingredients for chocolate nests and other delights.

No doubt our days will continue to be simple, but the boys are pretty good at enjoying simple things.


Wishing you simple happiness too, CJ xx

26 comments:

  1. Simple pleasures are often the best

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  2. Happy Easter, I'm waiting for my squash seeds to germinate. Enjoy your sunny days.

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  3. Football in the park sounds great to me. Have a great Easter.

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  4. If the strawberries are too small to eat, freeze them in ice cubes. Great for summer drinks.
    Have a really lovely Easter CJ. x

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  5. Would love to have seen the football roll - it certainly sounds very impressive !
    Have a lovely Easter weekend with your family,
    Kate x

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  6. Lovely - sounds so similar to our house! Its crazy that just every so often when I go back to the school playground and all the other parents are talking of holidays that cost a fortune or trips out that you need ridiculous amounts to spend on - that I have a pang of regret - that I can't do that for my children. And then I remember the fun we've had, the mess they've been making and the innocent childhood things that they have enjoyed and I can be happy in the knowledge that they have been happy and content with the simple things. It's nice to find another soul who recognises that the park can be fabulous too! Happy Easter - J9 x

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  7. Happy Easter! Your seedling looks so stunning

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  8. Your pictures always make me smile! Wishing you a blessed Easter also. :-)

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  9. A most enjoyable post. Lucky you, my squash seeds are the only ones at home that haven't yet appeared. Like you I've had to do some watering and will be grateful if, as forecast, it does rain on Sunday. I like the picture of the brick wall with the door in it. Happy Easter, Flighty xx

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  10. And lucky you with the alpine strawberries which are small, zingy and delicious! Flighty xx

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  11. Happy Easter, CJ, I hope you have many more days of simple pleasures!

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  12. The simple days are the best days:) Being in the park all day sounds like the perfect way to spend a day. It's so nice that your boys help you water your garden--good little helpers! Hope you have a lovely Easter, too, CJ. We're going to spend the day with my parents and my brother's family. I'm really looking forward to it, so hopefully the weather will cooperate:)

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  13. What a nice post. Great weather, park playing, park falling down, plant watering. Simple pleasures are the best pleasures!

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  14. Simple happiness is best :o) BTW, love the new header and author photo !

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  15. We spend a lot of time in local parks, there are so many in Glasgow that it never gets boring. Our local one doesn't look quite as nice as yours. I am well impressed with your football skills. We have hundreds of tiny strawberries that sound like the one you found. The berries are sweet but bothersome to pick. We pick and eat as we walk past them. Have a lovely Easter weekend. x

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  16. Your week looks much like ours. We love our local parks. There are two in fairly close proximity to our house. We walk there sometimes, other times I drive because I want to bring so many things with us!

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  17. Thanks for sharing your sunny green and growing things! Happy Easter to your family!
    ((hugs)), Teresa :-)

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  18. I chuckled when you talked about your fall! Something that I would so do too! And my goodness your little waterer is so cute there feeding those crops! I can not get over how warm your weather is! We may get some warm days this weekend but we shall see! Wishing you an awesome weekend and a beautiful Easter with your family! That egg hunt sounds fantastic!!! Nicole xoxo

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  19. Ooh don't dig up the alpine strawberries they are divine so much better than the bigger ones. They are a small piece of fruity loveliness, my children love to pick them and tell me they are better than sweets!

    I often have window sills covered in armies of soldiers..........wishing you simple happiness too :)

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  20. The allottment looks lush! We seem to have left behind the nice south west weather by coming to Germany. Have a lovely Easter, Emma xx

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  21. Since this is the first Spring that our little babe is old enough to do anything in a park, we are just discovering how great they are. We are very lucky in that we actually have 4 park with a 15 minute walk and more within a 15 minute run. Squash are amazing aren't they! They are very rewarding to grow. You're raising your boys right to enjoy the simple things. Have a great holiday weekend.

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  22. We all need simple, even little boys just need the time and space to play, create and imagine. I think you are the most wonderful Mother,
    Happy Easter,
    Meredith

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  23. Yes, this sun is glorious. I too have been gardening and watering the plants. It sounds like your holidays have been similar to ours, lots of fresh air and happy pottering. I've really enjoyed catching up here CJ and will stop stalking you now! xx

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  24. It's funny you should mention it being like the summer holidays, that's just what Eleanor said to me yesterday. The park sounds like lots of fun, as does the Easter treasure hunt. I always did that with my two, but alas, my little people have grown in to big people in the blink of an eye and are beyond that stage now, very sad.

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  25. Hey CJ,
    I missed this post. I love the simple things best of all. So do the boys. Olly loves parks a lot at the moment. And woods. And throwing himself in the sea. And the allotment. Your local park sounds great.
    Leanne xx

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