Library etiquette

These signs in the library made me chuckle.
Ira hasn't quite got to grips with library etiquette and while I was choosing my books she proceeded to do some of the loudest public trumping to date. Luckily, the other library patrons seemed to find it pretty amusing.

Out in the sunshine

Today we finally got about half an hour of sunshine, so we sat outside for a while. Kitty met Johnny, one of our neighbours for the first time and Rosie, another neighbour took her for a walk to the pub and back. She seemed to enjoy it!

The day got even more exciting when the mobile library visited. We hopped on board, got ourselves a library card and a couple of books. Pete, the mobile library driver/librarian was very taken with Kitty. There weren't many books for Kitty, but she seems happy with the copy of Delia's Vegetarian Collection that I got. I quite like it too.

October sunshine

We had just given up on the chance of any more nice weather and started wearing our winter coats, hats and gloves when the sun came through and gave us one last day. Sunday was not just dry.....but warm and sunny too. We took the opportunity to get a few jobs done that desperately needed doing before winter sets in.......

I took loads of privet cuttings to over-winter so I'll be able to plant a nice little hedge at the front of the house next summer - for free!

A new window for the goat shed - the boys have been feeling the cold at night, but this new window that Peahead made should make things a whole lot more comfy for them.

Peahead also fixed the broken glass on my greenhouse (again). Probably won't be long before it's broken again. This has become an annual thing as the wind up here is just too much for my poor little greenhouse to stand. I'm sure one day we will wake up and find the whole thing has gone.

Kitty is getting bigger and stronger everyday. When I put her on her tummy, she almost looks like she is going to get up and start crawling already.

At almost 14lbs 9oz she is getting very heavy to carry around the house, so I made a fabric sling to help. I roughly followed the instructions on Jan's site. My French seam is a little messy, but it will do. You can wear it a couple of different ways. Kitty prefers to be upright (above) - even though this position is really for older babies. (excuse the 'bathroom mirror' pictures - but you get the idea!).

Today we went to the library in town to return the books I got from the mobile library. I missed it when it came last week. I was surprised to find a copy of 'The Crafter's Companion'.

We also found this cute 'paint your own piggy bank' in town (Home Bargains, 1.99). I have been looking for a piggy bank for Kitty for a while as she has lots of savings already. This will do nicely for her to keep her pennies until they transfer to a savings account. I haven't painted it as I quite like it white. I just gave it a face.

it's grim up north

A family day out on the train to Leeds. The museum was a bit boring, but Bubs liked the Library. As usual, Kitty's preference was for outside. She especially liked hanging out around the cool Parkour kids doing summersaults. We had good noodles, pick n mix and green tea before home to bed.

Raising money and veg

Kitty made me a beautiful daffodil card for mothers day.

For Sport Relief, Kitty took part in a sponsored aerobics class at school. It was run by one of the other parents who is a trained instructor, so she

designed a special half hour session for tots. Kitty raised £14.

Kitty was very pleased with herself and counted her sponsor money about 300 times.

Note grandad Simpson's lovely handmade bowl.

As the weather has improved recently, we have been spending a bit of time outside tidying the garden. Kitty is keen to help.

We dug over last years potato patch and found a few stray spuds.

When she gets bored with gardening, there are always circles to draw.

We won the Premium Bonds. First time, £25, whoa!

I went on a trip to Blackpool for work to look at some public art. It was a lovely day and I wish I had taken Kitty with me. We have decided to take her at Easter, but for now here are some of the bits I liked:

Lighting at the Library.

High Tide Organ.

Doesn't look so good, but this is pretty cool:

Giant disco ball.

War Memorial.

Carved tree stump.

Enjoying Christmas

Me and Ira went to Hebden Bridge to do a bit of Christmas shopping. There are so many lovely shops, it's a great place for gifts. It was raining when we arrived so we had a poached egg, toast and tea brunch in a nice cafe. Ira met a cute baby called Elizabeth and played with her until the rain stopped.

The birds were hungry, but we had forgotten the duck food.

We stopped to watched the men decorating the Christmas tree. It's great to watch other people stressing over this job after so many years of having to do it myself. The nightmare of being responsible for Christmas lights and festive events really does take the joy out of Christmas.

This is what happens when you don't accurately measure your tree pit! I imagine that they were desperately trying to find a chainsaw at 3am in the morning when the crane arrived and they realised the trunk was so thick. Been there...done that.

 We called in a the library....

...and some of the vintage shops which are brilliant. I was very well behaved and didn't buy myself anything despite seeing loads of lovely vintage dresses and 1940s shoes.




I did however buy this cute little glass Christmas ornament. I just couldn't resist it.
I also found this lovely 1950s birthday card for Ira. It's so nice I almost don't want to write in it! I think I will frame it after her birthday.

In the afternoon the sky was really blue and the sun very low making the drive home breathtaking. We often wish we could move closer to friends and family, but on days like this I am reminded that we are very lucky to live here and that I should work harder to persuade others to make the move closer to us instead. Unfortunately my photos didn't capture how amazing it looked.

Pineapple kid

We have had a busy couple of weeks. Lots of visitors, outings and chores. Kitty has also had lots of new presents, despite Christmas being so close.

Last week, Kitty received her first parcel from the postman. It was a new book from Darren, Nicky and cousin Ben. She likes it a lot.

She got a new toy from the supermarket which she picked out herself. She particularly likes the bobbly bits she can put in her mouth. This month from the library she picked 'Banana!', a book about a naughty monkey who learns how to say please.





















At the weekend grandma and grandad Pih came over, bringing more presents - a pretty new dress and a new singing cube toy. Darren, Nicky and Ben came up too and we all went to Hebden Bridge for the afternoon. We had lunch at a pub and Ben and Peahead fed the ducks.

When Kitty is awake, she mainly wants to sit up. Her bouncy chair is ok for a while, but daddy bought her a play doughnut to help. She really likes it as she isn't strapped in and can move around quite a bit.

Kitty is always interested in our food, so we have started to let Kitty suck on bits of fruit. Her favourites are apple and pineapple.

After all the fun over the last few days, Kitty was exhausted. She spent most of today like this.

Tonight she has gone to bed early.