Ripple

Last year I managed to cross something off my bucket list, I finally taught myself to crochet!  I started off with a cowl and then a granny stripe blanket and then I started to feel a bit more ambitious and want to do a ripple blanket.

I found a great tutorial on the Attic24 blog and away I went:

I did a practise piece, something an impatient person like me never does but I really wanted to get it right.

And then I was off with this lovely pink, white and purple colour combination.

And it just kept growing.  It's a lovely relaxing pattern and I just keep hooking away while I was watching TV in the evenings until:

It was the perfect size.

And I can't tell you how soft it is, perfect for this little lady:

I was told that Alice loved her blanket and then I got to see for myself:

She loves to snuggle her face into it :)

I really enjoyed making it and I know I'll do another one but at the moment I'm wondering what to try next.

Thanks for stopping by
Jo xx

That Was June

Well June was certainly a busy month and the weather was quite nice so instead of getting home from work and maybe doing a bit of blogging I went to sit in the garden with the dog!  Here are the highs and the lows from June:

Spent lots of time at work :(

Spent lots of time in the garden with the dog :)

Went to Frieda's tearoom for cake :)


Celebrated my niece's birthday :)


My grandad passed away at the age of 94 :(

I found the trousers I wore for my very first weigh in at Slimming World :)

I had an unexpected trip to Brighton when my brother completed the London to Brighton bike ride and his lift home let him down :)

I had the best strawberries I have ever tasted, they were so nice I had them for lunch every day for a week :)

I spent some time with this beautiful girl :)

Alfie decided to unpack my crop bag once I'd gone to bed :(

I had some delicious cherries, one of my favourite fruits :)

I got my three and a half stone award at Slimming World :)
 
 I treated myself to some lovely new stationary :)

It was Maddie's 19th birthday, where does the time go? :)

We went to London for the day with my mum :)

To watch The Chase being filmed, Micky Flanagan was one of the celebrities :)

I spent some time with smiley Alice :)

 And her brothers Jack and George :)

 And we ended the month with chocolate birthday cake for Maddie :)
 
 So the highs outweighed the lows but it was definitely a busy month!

Thanks for stopping by

Jo xx

More Than a Badge

It's that time of the month again, it's time for Story Telling Sunday with Sian over at From High in the Sky.  This years theme is Pick Your Precious and it's been fun looking around at the things that are precious to me.

This month's item is something that I keep in my car, it goes everywhere with me and it used to belong to my nan. 

When my nan passed away two years ago my mum told me and my brothers and sisters that we could all pick something from my nan's jewellery box. 

My nan had some beautiful jewellery and I knew I wanted something that would always make me think of her so I picked this:

Nothing bright, shiny and covered in gems but my nan's Royal British Legion Womens  Section badge. 

To me it sums up my nan completely. She had been in the Land Army during the war, she had been a nurse at Bernardo's looking after 10 babies at a time and, even though she was a pensioner, she had been a volunteer helper for Help The Aged. Always ready to be involved, always ready to help. 

Now it's your turn to head over to Sian's and tell your story. 

I'll be back soon with posts about the things I was getting up to in June, when I failed miserably to get anything on the blog!

Hope your weekend is going well

Jo x

Party Time!

It was my brother Jon's 40th birthday and he had a really great party at the weekend.

It was a day full of surprises for him and you can read all about the gift I gave him here.

I think the biggest surprise for him was that our brother Jamie flew back from Thailand to celebrate with us. 

We haven't seen him for over a year and managed to keep him hidden for a couple of days before the party.  As he walked up to Jon you could see by the look on Jon's face that it just didn't register straight away who it was, Jon was over the moon though.

The sun had managed to show its head which was great because it was a garden party complete with a hog roast!

Here's the stampede for the hog roast:

And the lovely finishing touches:

Really cute wooden cutlery.

And fun serviettes.

My plate! It was amazing.

Jon's wife Lisa did a great job with the decorating:

My brother through the ages :)

My sister Jemma did a great job with the cake:

Although it did look a bit like an inferno when the candles were lit!

But with the help of the kids he managed to blow them all out :)

My sister Jessica bought him a Lordship :)

The kids were so well behaved

And had a great night playing in the garden

While the adults enjoyed the food and drink :)

The sun went down and the lanterns came on

It was a great opportunity to get my brothers and sisters to get together and have a photo taken with mum:

From left to right: Jemma, Jessica, Jamie, Mum, Jon and me!

Me and my sisters (not sure why I didn't have one with my brothers)

My mum with her youngest son and eldest grandson

Me with my best friend

And Sara

Me and Sara became friends when we were about 8, since then she has been friends with all of us and my mum and dad have always said she's like another daughter to them.  To quote someone from the party "every home should have a Sara" and it's true!

Finally the thank you for coming speech.

It was a really great night, Lisa had been so thoughtful in her preparations and I know that made it such a special celebration for my brother.

Thanks for stopping by
Jo xx

Precious Penny

It's that time of the month again, it's Story Telling Sunday over at Sian's!

I've known for weeks what my story will be and I can't wait to share it! So without further ado here is my precious:

It's a penny ring, made from an old penny! A penny that has been carefully molded into a ring so that all of the original markings remain, not melted and re stamped but manoeuvred into shape, amazing!

My dad gave it to me 25 years ago and told me how a friend of his had made it from an old penny. I look at it and think of my dad and remember the exact moment he gave it to me, where we were sitting, what the weather was like and what he told me about it.  Well, I remembered everything apart from the name of the person who made it, a friend of his whose name escapes me.

Granted, it's somewhat crude but I love it and I've kept it safe for all of these years.

Even though it's far too big for me. 

I recently took it over to show my mum, hoping she could fill in some blanks but, it turns out, she has never seen the ring before!

The one big thing I do remember is that it was made when my brother, Jon, was born.  Now my brother was born 40 years ago tomorrow so this little ring has been around for a while but it seems I'm the only living person who knew it existed.

It's was Jon's birthday party yesterday and I knew in a heartbeat exactly what his present would be, after all, it was made to celebrate his birth!  It was very emotional telling him the story of the ring when I gave it to him and gave him, in effect, a gift from his dad who had passed away 5 years ago.

I think know he loved it though. I also know it will be well looked after by him and I also know that sharing it with him and showing the rest of the family this little ring has made it all the more precious.

Now it's your turn, head over to Sian's and let's hear your story.

Thanks for stopping by
Jo xx