Five on Friday

Five paragraphs on a Friday.

Enough with the wind and rain already.  I have some incredibly gloomy allotment photos on my camera, far too gloomy to use at the end of a tricky week, so I found this picture from the summer.  I promised you a photo of me in my wellies.  The biggest boy took this picture, and although it is a picture of me in my wellies you can't actually see the wellies part so I've never used it.  I didn't ever particularly decide not to use photos of myself on the blog, although I'm aware I almost never do.  It's because I have almost no photos of me.  Thousands of everyone else, about ten of me.  Ooh, that could be a New Year's resolution couldn't it.

On the subject of resolutions, I'm still on a bit of a roll with the January energy.  I've done constructive things, organising, creating, decluttering.  Out went a whole bag of soft toys.  It's a mystery where they come from sometimes.  They have to leave the house while the children are at school or they'd all be "rescued" out of the bag.  It is quite sad though, and yesterday the other half nearly rescued one or two himself.  Not a penguin, we can't throw a penguin out.  The little turtle, no, not the little turtle surely.

It's now less than a month until the middle boy's birthday.  Time to start thinking about presents again.  It seems far too close to Christmas really.  Father Christmas got him a Trangia, a little camping stove, for Christmas.  Just a secondhand one from Ebay, but he absolutely loves it.  He's a big fan of outdoor survival.  I have a feeling I shall have to take him camping before too long.  No doubt anything with fire or a sharp blade will do very nicely for his birthday.

I've been doing a little sewing this week.  Some on the sewing machine (the big purple quilt) and some by hand (a slightly bird-themed quilt for the biggest boy).  I'm always so in awe of people who create quilts and blankets and all sorts of everything at regular intervals.  It usually seems to take me years.  I've sort of half started a memory quilt as well, with bits of the children's old clothes.  In fact I'd forgotten about it until just this very minute.  If it wasn't so dark I'd whip it all out and take some photos.  I'll get to it one day, I will.  I wonder if I could whip up a single sized quilt as a gift by April/May.  Seems unlikely, but the idea keeps popping into my head.  Maybe by April/May next year, that should be doable surely.

Finally I just wanted to thank you all for your very lovely comments on my last post.  And also for reading and being so nice.  I wasn't fishing for compliments (although as you know I do that at home all the time), but thank you for all the things you said, they really were so very good to read.

And with that I shall wish you all the very best of weekends, with lots of time spent doing the things that you love, be it sewing, knitting, crochet, walking, gardening, reading, baking, eating.  Enjoy.  CJ xx

Joining in with Five on Friday, taking five minutes from our day to enjoy five things.  To visit the other bloggers joining in this week, click on the links below.

           Amy at Love Made My Home                      Jill at Emerald Cottage

           Nicole at My Garden Diaries                        Beth at The Whimsical Dowager

           Alison at Sylvan House                                 Julie at Julie's Lifestyle