Tuesday 19 June 2012

Ramblings of an absent blogger.....



Time ticks on doesn't it? Here we are in mid June and I feel slightly shocked. How did this happen? I mean I'm still missing the Christmas tree for goodness sake!


There's also nothing like your teeny tiny baby suddenly needing SHOES. What? What ? Hey?????? How can he be walking, surely he was only born two weeks ago.....gosh time is whizzing. Which leads me on to why I love yet loathe Summer. The days are longer yet I get less done. Why is that? There seems to be more ironing to do, dirtier children to wash....and a garden to do stuff in. Stuff which I am hopeless at. I don't want to be gardening, I'd rather be blogging and reading blogs and making stuff. But I shall not moan here. This isn't the place for it. Anyway I have other nice stuff to talk about.



I have new wheels and so has Mini, who tends to get called The Kid these days. We are rather pleased. I ride about and he gets dragged along squealing with glee. I realised sometime ago that having three little boys means I am going to have to step out of my comfort zone and do stuff I'm not really into. I'm not sporty. I don't enjoy being a sport spectator either. I'm not outdoorsy. I don't like getting puffed out or sweaty unless it involves a crazy coloured cocktail and a dance floor. So I am trying to embrace the activities the boys want to do. (edit: The chariot will not be used on the open road where there are cars. It too scaredy. We will go on those lovely flat cycle routes that used to be railways once upon a time. Or through somewhere like Leigh Woods)

Recently Mr C got himself a new bike and at the same time we got the next size up bike for the boys. Whilst in Halfords I spotted the sweetest bike. I said I'd only get a bike if it looked something like that one.

My requirements were that I could wear a skirt and get on it easily, it had to be a nice colour and it needed a basket. So a few weeks later I collected this baby:


Sweet hey? She is called Lou Lou because she is the same colour as the Cacharel perfume bottle of the same name. 


When I got it (her) I got straight on and rode around the garden. I hadn't been on a bike for so long. Don't think I have even had a bike for twenty years. Oh how I laughed. The baby was asleep in the car and I was riding around the garden giggling. I felt really silly and elated and free and excited and nervous. Then I attached The Kids chariot to the back and once the school run was over, the boys and I spent forty minutes doing circuits and follow the leader around the garden. It was great fun. I'm looking forward to going on a family bike ride soon, providing of course that there is a picnic in the basket rather than flowers and yarn. I did have fun prettying the gal up though. That was a pleasurable ten minutes.



Another lovely thing to have happened lately is we looked after our friends Norfolk Terrier, Otto. Oh my word how I enjoyed having him around. Such a delightful dog. I am missing him way more than the Christmas tree. I keep 'seeing' him out of the corner of my eye. I would love a dog but we had a bad experience with a dog we got from a so called reputable breeder and she was utterly mental and we had to rehome her. I still feel guilty.

A little packed lunch for me. Tea and couscous.

We have had to have a soul searching long think about schooling for our boys. In a nut shell Big has been struggling in mainstream education. He is falling further and further behind and it has been effecting his self esteem. He gets considerable support from the special needs department but having had a review by a really super educational pscychologist we have realised that mainstream isn't what is best for him. Therefore in September he will start at a school that is specifically for kids with additional needs. It's over half an hour away in the morning traffic so there was no way I could drop Big off and get Little back to the school where Big currently goes in time for the bell. Little will be starting at a school fairly near Big's but the school runs are going to be, at least I anticipate them to be, pretty long, what with the bundling in and out of the car and into two different schools and driving through the busiest times of the day. I'm dreading it. I was talking to my friend Princess about it, saying how I need to get really organised and probably have to drink my tea in the car on route as we will be rushing out of the house before 8am. So she bought me a little gift. A brilliant thermos cup. A pretty one. I love it, I have been using it a lot already. I seriously don't know why I haven't had one before.

Last week I had to pop to one of my favourite shops, Fanny Adams, to collect a dress she had altered for me and a skirt she had repaired. It's always joyously dangerous going over to Fanny's. It is a delightful shop full of stuff that is just my cup of tea. She serves yummy drinks too. I thought I'd snap a few pics while I was there to share. I'm afraid all the photo's on this entire blog post are from my phone and most have been seen on Instagram already, I apologise to those who are having deja vu moments.


Stacks of cashmere cardigans trimmed with vintage liberty lawn are too attractive to me. Luckily none of the ones I really liked fitted. That's the thing with Fannys, they are all one offs in varying sizes so you can't always have the thing you love.


That's a rail of divine coats. I am not allowed to buy any more coats. I have way too many. The trouble is because they are all one offs I feel compelled to buy what I love as I have gone away to think about a little jacket in the past and when I returned to buy it someone had snapped it up just ten minutes earlier.



So last time I was at Fanny's I ended up buying two dresses, a hat and a 1950's vintage dresser. Gulp. You understand what I mean by a visit there being dangerous now huh!


My excuse for buying one of the dresses was that it didn't fit the last time I was there but due to having a  poorly tummy for five weeks it fitted this time and I had the perfect excuse of having a wedding to attend at the weekend. I couldn't believe it hadn't been bought. There I am, in the dress of deliciousness, at the wedding, eating a bacon butty, looking like a gorky scarecrow. 


Crafting wise I have been trying to finish off WIPS but mostly I have been making thoughtful gifts for the husbando. It's his 40th next month and I can't plan anything like a meal or a party because he wants to go on a windsurfing holiday and wants to get a last minute deal. Therefore I have no idea when we will be out of the country. I have pointed this out to him and he has said he isn't bothered about having a celebration of sorts. I just hope that come the 11th of July he doesn't turn forty and feel a bit short changed.


We were supposed to go to Salcombe over half term but it rained and rained and RAINED. So we didn't go. Shame really as I'd made a heap of rustic bunting to jolly up one of the bedrooms. It was a good job though as my tummy is still very tricksy in the mornings and I have to be near a toilet. Going to the beach would have been out of the question. I have been to the doctors and I got the results back yesterday. No infection present. The Doctor says I have had a bug and it has left me with sensitivity and inflammation and suggested I eat probiotic yogurts. More worryingly I have been getting really bad pain in my right lower ribs and this is suspected to be gall stones. Arse! At least it is very intermittent so I can bury my head in the sand about it, or more sensibly, eat a healthy diet to avoid aggrevating it.



This is a terrible photo, very grainy but I'm including it so you can see the bonkers socks I am knitting for Mr C's birthday. I'm also very pleased with my outfit here too. Summery! Except where is the bloomin' Summer? Seriously. I really struggle with the disappointment that Summer invariably is. We all look forward to it with anticipation, imagining long warm evenings outside yet it piddles it down way too much. I find we British are so optimistic about the pursuits we will enjoy in the Summer. We buy picnic things, sunscreen, floaty clothes and bottles of Pimms and yet we only get to give these things an airing occaisionally. Still there truly is no where better than England when the sun shines.


The colour is so rich and vibrant it sent my camera funny

I have been trying quite hard to get the garden looking nice. We have a large garden and I am overwhelmed by it. I have decided to have a word with myself this year and just try to get the flower beds looking lovely and maybe get some huge pots of loveliness on the big front patio. I have potted on between 70 - 80 plants and added a dozen to the borders already. I've sown cottage garden mix packets and planted lily and gladioli bulbs. I will not stop. Now I have the bull by the horns I am just getting my head down and getting on with it. I HATE DOING IT. Bloody, bleeding, bloody, flipping HaTe it. I hope I will be rewarded by nice plants and flowers but I don't have green fingers and I make way too many mistakes even though I read the labels and do as I am told.  I've had a tomato tumbling bush thing die already and my dwarf green beans have been eaten by wildlife. I'm imagining rabbits but I know it must be mice (or worse). My roses aren't very happy either. However the seed swap poppies I did with Bunny Mummy have sprung up and are looking gorgeous. There's only a few of them but they are lovely. The peony style poppies I had in abundance last year haven't done so well this year. I think it is because they look like weeds when they are seedlings and got pulled up by the chap who is helping us maintain the garden this year.

I've got a few bald areas in the borders where I have dug up things that weren't what I like, the landscaper put them in four years ago and they are not cottage gardeny. I'd like to fill the gaps with big blousey flowers that grow really quickly and well. What do you suggest? What looks good in your gardens right now? What looked good last month? Through out April and May our garden looks pants.

54 comments:

  1. How bizarre!
    I, too have got a new bike recently- mine is pale biue with a basket on the front.
    (Grrrrrrr, except, once I'd bought the bike they told me the lovely wicker basket wouldn't fit on the front, so I've had to settle for something more modern- am planning to cover it in a gorgeous crochet cover soon!)
    And I am sooooooo envious that you have Fanny Adams!
    Actually, the Mister is probably very relieved that I don't have a Fanny Adams near us.
    What a lovely, lovely shop!
    Have a super-dooper week.
    Xx

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  2. Wow! What a lot is going on in your life! Love the bike and the carriage! I hope the garden fills you with hope even if not delight!
    I most of all send you and your family all the best wishes in the world as your son steps into his new school. I hope he soon catches up but most importantly learns he is special because he is unique.
    Kindest Regards Linda

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  3. What a lovely bike - now we just need the right sort of bike riding weather! Really enjoyed reading your blog it felt like talking to you! Beautiful photos as always! My garden looks like a green jungle after all the rain - I have some beautiful gig red ladybird poppies which I love with huge buds on them that look rather like triffids! Have a lovely week. Jo x

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  4. Love your gorgeous new bike, what a lovely colour!

    Hope its not gall bladder you have. I had that a few months after my eldest was born. Thought I was dying the first time it flared up. I did have the op after about 10 months. It was a testing time for all of us! I was one drugged up mummy for a while. (dont worry I was lucky and had good family support that looked after me and my little lovely)

    Love the plants you have in your garden so pretty. Ours has been a struggle this year. Too much rain, slugs/snails and bugs!very slow growing!

    Take care.

    P x

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  5. Cosmos.....big pink or White flowers, grow quickly and seem to chunk out although the leaves are spidery....I am no gardener, I am quite a lot like you in that I desperately like to be better, but I find it totally overwhelming and all gets on top of me......however sometimes when I think to be less harsh on myself, I spot some lovely spots or individual flowers (I just have to block out the crap bits)

    Fab shop, I can see why it's dangerous!

    I feel for you n the school front but you know, when you know that this is all about the future not the here and now, the travel and hassle becomes easier. I do a ridiculous amount of car time as my boys don't go to the local school, but I KNOW its the best for my kids future, I no longer pressure myself to fit more in the day, as I just can't anymore with school runs, make it simple.

    Good on you for cycling, when I got back in a bike after years off, every time I saw someone I fell off....normally in the brambles, I was covered in scratches and bruises! I have improved a little ;-)

    I'm rambling....nice to read your rambling!

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  6. Lush post. What looks good in my garden? Ummmmmmmmm..........me and the kids scoffing ice creams!!!! Whatever the weather. The birds! Yeah, they look nice. But not the gimpy fox with the limpy leg. Who I call Samantha. The fox I mean, not the leg.
    Ummmmm I am slighly delirious with a mad rush load of work so I am heading off but really enjoyed reading this post. Mini looks lush! I love those pull along bike things (carriage????) but was always too scared to get one as knew I'd get the fear using it on roads.
    See you a week on Sat. Pray for the weather. Per-aay.
    x x

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  7. aw I miss you even more after reading that!!! too much to comment on so I'm just going to add 2 words
    MEEEEE TOOOOOOO
    fee x

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  8. ps need to lick your tongue. Would like to lose half a stone pre hols!!!!!!!

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    Replies
    1. Fee, I like the way you're thinking. I could do with a bout of something non-life-threatening pre-France next month. Let's see what we can come up with. Maybe a group snog with Cuckoo?

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  9. So pleased you've done another blog post. Enjoyed reading that I did. I'm learning with the garden at the moment and stealing all of B's ideas. The thing is, I'm not too bothered about my garden looking nice -I'm happy with some overgrown bushes and a nice neat lawn, I just want an abundance of gorgeous flowers that I can pick and pop in vintage jugs all around the house. I'm starting properly from Autumn as have left it a bit late now for flowers this summer. I think Alliums are up and about around that time of year and they are beautiful! That's all I can offer, soz.

    xxxx

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  10. Hi Cuckoo, great to catch up with your news. I'm so happy the poppies have grown :0)
    I have some coming up that may be those you sent me...I'll let you know when they flower.
    Your bike looks a bit like mine, I love riding in a skirt or dress on a hot day... need to get mine a nice basket like yours .
    Jacquie x

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  11. Oh where to start? What a bloomin fabulous post hon!!! The photo of your wee one getting new shoes was just a walk down memory lane for me. My son is 8 now, but I took him to that exact same shop for his first pair of shoes - amazing! They were totally inappropriate - I fell for these gorgeous retro black patent leather ones (they sure did look fab), so ended up also getting some more practical shoes at NEXT. Bad Mum! Love, love, love your new bike - it is sooo pretty! Oh how I miss Leigh Woods - used to drive through it every morning at dawn on my to work in Bristol. Thanks for sharing your big sons story. My son is special needs too and it is always a challenge, trying to do the best thing for him. Gosh, sorry I am rambling on here like a nutcase, lol, but could 'chat' to you for ages. So sorry to hear you've been feeling so rotten. I hope things improve soon. Its not fair - your in the middle of summer and should be having lovely times. Take care hon. Becks xxx

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  12. such a cute blog :)
    pictures are awesomee really
    plus plus pluss
    and colors are crazy so perfect :)

    http://gizemkolcak.blogspot.com/

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  13. Hey Cuckoo what a lovely post.......

    Mini is looking cute as.....I have a crush on Lou Lou, she's gorgeous, well done on getting out into the wide blue yonder with the boys. Fanny Adams, what a wonderful shop, love your dress and hat....
    The flowers are stunning, love Poppies. My suggestion for something hardy and easy to grow are Zinnias.....Beautiful, bright colours, they self seed. Great for cutting bunches to bring indoors or give away......
    That thermos mug is beautiful, love it. Will make school runs easier to do when it's full of tea.....

    Wishing you some blue sky and sunshine, soon,

    CLaire x

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  14. Oehoeee what a lovely bike! I want one too, if only to ride to the dairy. Took a spin on my husband's huge mountain bike in the park the other day - no pedals, just those click things - it's a miracle I could complete one lap round the park :-D

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  15. What a gorgeous, gorgeous post hon. I have to start with your bike - it's the prettiest bike I've ever seen. The rest of my family all have bikes and I recently told hubby that "I would get one too but only if it was pretty and had a basket, and could be ridden with ridiculous good posture like the olden days". So I can't wait to show him your bike this evening! I can just imagine you whizzing around the garden on it - looking fabulously gorgeous!!

    I hope your new school arrangement ticks all the boxes even if it is a bit more of a trek to get there. I'm sure it will be well worth it ay. And now you've got your flash thermos mug - you're good to go!

    I am so glad I don't have a store like Fanny Adams near me - I'd be broke in no time. And madam, you look amazing in your dress!

    Sorry I can't offer any gardening advice. I too am totally pants at gardening (I totally love that word - pants, pants, pants!!!). I do everything in my power to avoid weeding until I can't ignore it any more otherwise the veges will just stop growing. Have fun!!!!!! Fingers crossed you start getting that summery weather you are owed.

    Have a fab week hon,
    Leah
    xxxx

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  16. Foxgloves!!! They self seed and are big and bold and gorgeous! :)
    I have bike envy, it is beautiful Cuckoo, I love it!
    Hope that tummy heals soon.
    Vivienne x

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  17. Oh, I do so like your rambling long posts. I don't blame you at all for not cycling on the roads - I do and it never ceases to amaze me the disregard people have for cyclists. I am RUBBISH at gardening, no inclination to do it what-so-ever. Having said that, aquilegia are nice and they self-seed. Hope your tummy troubles are cured soon.
    Victoria
    xxx

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  18. I love your bike! Well done for all your gardening efforts! It is hard work isn't it. I'm sure it will be worth it though. Rachel x

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  19. Ah fab post! I really like reading more behind the Instagram pics! I bloody love Instagram though it is terrible for encouraging procrastination!! Sorry to hear you're still suffering from tummy problems. Have you tried Optibac sachets? They are about £8 to £9 in Superdrug or Health Shops. You get a weeks supply in a box, you take one sachet a morning before food and I swear by them! They are bloody brilliant at putting all the right probiotics back into your tummy and have far more of what you need than a couple of probiotic yoghurt's. Acidophilus tablets are also really good as a maintenance afterwards. I can' recommend Optiobac sachets enough though...I use the pink box. After a really bad bout of IBS they really sorted me out :) love love your bike! I have a black sit up & beg bike but not a proper wicker basket....I soooo need a proper wicker basket to decorate and play with!!! I'm sure once you all get settled into a new school run routine things will feel ok. The thought of having to do something is always so much worse than actually doing it. Have you tried doing a dummy run there yet at the time you will be having to leave? Might help to put your mind to rest and settle that tummy at the same time!!! Hope you feel better soon x Take care x

    Love & hugs,

    Jo x x

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  20. Oh, I love your bike - I want one! I hope your tummy settles soon and you can stop dashing to the loo every morning! Mini looks so cute in his big boy shoes - he looks so chuffed with himself! I hope the school moves go well and that you all quickly settle into your new routine/schools. I'd suggest having snacks in the car for the way home though! And maybe some 'we're in the car and we're going home, let's have some quiet time' stickers or books, etc. for the really tired/whingy days!

    As for the garden (self-seeding) aquilegia look great at the moment as do geraniums, thrift, saxifrage, astrantia and scabious. It's dying off now but my bleeding heart was looking fabulous a few weeks ago, as was the aubretia. I'm not a natural gardener, plants in my garden have to thrive on neglect so none of these are hard to look after!

    Take care x

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  21. wow, it has been quite weird reading your post. Many of the things you mention I have wrestled with too. Summer-hate (just trying to overcome it), garden-hate (so OUTDOORS), Christmas has surely just finished and yet we are now (tomorrow) in the last half of the year.... and I insisted on a basket with my bike - old biddy taunts notwithstanding, I will NOT cycle with a rucksack like a lesbo. (sorry if you do that). Anyhoo, you could home-teach your boy, you seem like a bright chick.....x

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  22. HOw nice to read a blog post from you. I've been coverting that same bike for a while as my dream is to ride a bike with a vintage flower dress and cardigan along a country lane from my cottage to the village to buy bread, milk and butter to go home and bake a cake.......
    Loving the thermos cup and your tupperware? any idea where your friend purchased said cup from?
    Looking forward to your next post already.
    Lynetta

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  23. ooh I do love your bike! I can't believe how much Mini has grown, he's such a scrumptious little boy though, looks so proud to be getting his first shoes.
    I hope your tummy gets better soon ... no ideas for the garden I'm afraid as mine is a rectangle of concrete with two dustbins in it. sorry!
    xxxxx Heather

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  24. Just a heads up, when I finally get my act together and manage to book a flight over (unless u want to use your contacts and get me a freebie), to steal your cowl, and whatever pother assorted things of yours I have coveted, I also plan on stealing that unbelievably beautiful bike!!! It is the happiest looking bike I have ever seen!!
    Good news about the new school, sucks about the drive, I have to at times do an hour and a half round trip, driving to school, uni and kindegarten!! It's lucky I'm fond of them all!!

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  25. *other* not pother. I am not sure what a pother is, actually

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  26. Hope your tummy gets better soon! Garden wise, I've heard self seedings flowers are fab as they come back each year and are low maintenance. Poppys and Cosmos are pretty good.

    Love the bike! I'd love to ride my bike more often but there aren't many places around here that are safe to ride (am way too scared to ride it in the road!)

    Gemma xXx

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  27. What a great post! Thank you so much. I wish Big much success and happiness at his new school and hope that the school run won't be too bad. Love the bike also. Re tummy: why not try probiotic capsules from Healthspan? Much cheaper and more convenient than those silly sugary drinks, and they seem to work well. They won't do anything for gallstones, mind, but they are worth a try for you :-). And I am very sorry/glad that I live nowhere near Fanny Adams... Jill

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  28. It really is amazing just how time seems to be flying these days. I cannot believe we nearing the end of June.

    Like you, I think i'm sick of the disappointment that Summer seems to bring. These past few years have been a big let down weather wise. We all start off with high hopes of things to do, but we never seem to get to be able to do them. I hate coming into Autumn thinking that we never really got to have a Summer. Oh well, it is how it is.

    Love your bike. I would love one, but know I would never really use it, certainly not in the area that we currently live in. It's too hilly. I loved Lou Lou perfume too when I was a kid. I thought it was dead grown up. I used to splosh it all over me and REALLY stink! Ah, those were the good old days!

    I hope that your school routine will be okay in September. A bit sucky, but if it gets the best for the boys then it's just something that you have to do.

    I wish I had green fingers too. It's something I would love to invest more time in. Just at the moment it is tough, and I just have the death touch. Can't be good at everything I guess. It's way down on the list, but one day, i'll try and put in some effort to being a better gardener.

    Love Mr C's socks in the making! xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

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  29. I love your new bike - I have just bought a very traditional British made trike from money given by my Great Grandmother. I am yet to find a basket for it - it has a carrying shelf at the back too so I am thinking picnic hamper with red and white gingham....I am too scared to ride a bike and so I have given up pushing myself through the terror of it. My son finds this highly amusing. On the garden front I am experiencing the same as you. Too much work, too much not growing or getting battered by the wind. Its demoralising especially as we are moving this year and it was a last ditched attempt to make the garden nice for when I sell the house. Lily. xxx

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  30. What a gorgeous bike, I think I could do with one, if only to get me safely through all the lake-size puddles the I'm having to wade through this summer...........sorry not very helpful on the gardening front, although if my garden becomes any more water logged I'm thinking of turning it into a paddy field and planting rice.

    Great blog.

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  31. What a fabulous post!!! I really enjoyed sitting back with a cuppa and having a good read about what you've been up to!
    I love your bike!!! If we HAVE to do sporty things, at least we should be able to have pretty colours involved!!! I keep trying to persuade Simon to get one of those chariot-thingies to pull me along in..... But he's not having it!!! Grrrrr!!!
    Carly
    x

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  32. Get Dahlias, dahlias and dahlias. I got cheap tubers from Wilko, old tubers split from friends, seed packet ones - they've all grown and I am a crap novice. They are bright, vulgar and blowsey - and you can cut them. And, they come back next year - hopefully!!!!

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  33. Dahlias and more. I have bought cheap ones from Wilko, had some old tubers split from friends, sown seeds and they have all grown, and I am a fairly crap novice gardener. They are big, bright, blowsy and vulgar, but lovely. I have one a planted 2 months ago and it has 14 huge bright pink flowers heads on - will be flowers when (if) we get some sunshine. They can also be left in the ground or next year. What could possibly be easier? Nowt. PS - Where can I get a thermos cup with flowers on??? Love it - want it!

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  34. Hi Cuckoo, just me again...letting you know some of your poppies have flowered :0) There's a pick on todays post .
    Jacquie xxx

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  35. I have been a little absent from blogland, mainly on reading other blogs - i used to do it everyday....but now i am sooo addicted to instagram!!!!! its taking over my life ha ha!! your one of my faves xx

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  36. Lovely to read about what you've been up to. What a fantastic shop to live near, I wish I could go to 'Fanny Adams' it looks great!

    Poppies are currently my favourite .. though I'm dreaming of the white ones at the moment.....but with all this rain they are going to be so waterlogged and droopy..shame!

    Have a great week.
    Fleur xx

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  37. I just love every photo in this post!
    How gorgeous is your little one! Oh my :)
    Sue xx

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  38. Now that is a big, juicy, newsy post. I can't believe Mini is that 'grown up' exactly where did all that time go!!!! Love the shoe line up from mini to maxi. Love the bike and I can just imagine the chuckling going on in the buggy. How is it attached to your bike? (which is gorgeous) My ex threw my bike away when we seperated (poopie head) The poppies are devine, wish I could grow them successfully, I am sure your climate is much more conducive to flower growing then ours. I fall back on the good old geraniums, you can get a variety of different ones so it isn't boring and they make a lovely vase of cut flowers. LOVE your fanny adams dress, I could see me in that, but not the hat, my head is too small and I look quite strange in hats, can't even wear a beanie so I just have to put up with a cold head in winter.
    Some good news and not so about your tum, don't ignore that pain for too long Mrs.
    xoxo Sandi

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  39. Your post has made my day - I'm not the only one who's hopeless at gardening, not at all sporty despite having a sporty family and who only wants to stay indoors prettying up the house and reading blogs!Thank you!

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  40. lovely post, you look beautiful in your dress ;0)
    love all the photographs- shoes lined up, yummy treats in pretty boxs and that swoonworthy bike xx

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  41. Hi Cuckoo,

    Great to hear from you again! Your are a busy lady. I am terribly jealous of your new bike. It looks lovely with the wicker basket at the front :-)!

    The dress looks perfect on you! Great store!

    Happy new week,

    Madelief x

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  42. Hi, I love your bike-is it a raleigh? I have been looking for the perfect bike and you have found it!!!!! Debby.x

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  43. Hello :) where do I start ? Too many nice things and then a cute dog pic...need to go back for another look. I love your little doll that you made for Lisa BB how funny that we sent them at the same time, great minds eh???
    Hope alls well over there
    Jane xxxxxxxx

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  44. Gosh, so many things I could comment on in this post! Yes the school thing sounds good, it's certainly made me think, sometimes you need to make a change. Love the bike! and yes I also have a big garden and feel overwhelmed during the summer particularly, it just won't stop growing. I would rather be on the computer or making things too! I just try and mow and weed a bit and hope some seeds may grow, but it's not looking so hopefull on the seeds. Today I also happened to be driving across the countryside and called in Fanny Adams for a coffee. Nice place, I like that they will let me bring my dog in! Lots of things I could have brought but I was amazingly good today, probably because I had just spent lots of money at the vets! By the way, where did your friend get the mug from? Heather

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  45. What a gorgeous bike I have a serious case of the wanties, the envies and all that :O) I have been lusting after one for ages - so much so that I have a picture of one on my vision board. Alas I have a perfectly good bike but it's a mountain bike and so clunky in comparison. It will have to do for now.

    I defo recommend lupins for your garden - ridiculously RIDICULOUSLY easy to grow. I grew them from seed last year and they plummeted up this year - after being buried in snow for months and then drowned with an Irish summer. I also think cosmos, foxgloves, cornflower are super easy to grow and keep too.

    Good luck!

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  46. Love your sweet blog...I have a blue bike just like yours...must get her out for a spin...and fill her basket with pretty flowers..it has been much too long. The rain has finally gone...sun today...off I go. Happy day to you.

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  47. Love the bicycle. I too just did up a vinatge bike and I LOVE it my little princess sits in her seat on the back and we now go most places on the bike. I love love love it. Yours such a pretty blue I love her name I haven't named mine but you sure have inspired me. Love all your other bits and bobs you have been one busy lady.

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  48. Oh how I envy you your fabulous new bicycle! I've been pining after a BEG or a Pashley - but now that I know they sell such a delightful version in Halfords, i shall skip on over and take a good look!
    Lovely blog - love your sense of style - delighted to have found you and am now a happy follower!
    Paula xxx

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  49. Gosh where to start...
    The chariot, love it. Particularly since being pulled by such a girls bike. However I too would be too scared for roads, I am too scared trusting myself on a road never mind pulling my child. Nice flat countryside though, wee picnic in that basket, now you're talking.

    And how do you live near such gorgeous shops? I love the name Fanny, thinking the connotations are too strong for a girls name but gonna run it past g Kisby none the less.

    Lovely to be back reading your blog,
    Nelly x

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  51. I love your post and your photos of Fanny's. Did you know that Jane is speaking at our King's Daughters Conference this year? I would love you to come along - it would be lovely to see you :) Here is the info: www.kingsdaughtersconference.co.uk

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  52. I love your post and your photos of Fanny's. Did you know that Jane is speaking at our King's Daughters Conference this year? I would love you to come along - it would be lovely to see you :) Here is the info: www.kingsdaughtersconference.co.uk

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I L♡VE your comments. Thank you ever so for taking the time. I do try to get back to everyone but I am rather scatty and I have these 3 big distractions....(and I'm just generally a bit rubbish lately, so please don't feel obliged to leave a note) Sorry about the word verification too, too much spam.