What's HOT and what's NOT!

Today I'm joining in with Loobylu who does a wonderful 'what's hot and what's not' post on Wednesdays.

I love this so here goes:

WHAT'S HOT-

Gorgeous plastic 'things'

Err...not quite sure what these really are but I was sooo excited to find them and have plans to use them for attaching handles on bags.

I just love the transparent colours - they remind me of those sweets I had as a child where if you sucked long enough they went all 'glass-like' and see through. You know, the ones that nearly broke your teeth!

Blue eggs

Our new hens have been here 3 weeks now and one of them, Tallulah, as my daughter calls her (or Betty as I call her when said daughter is at school, but don't tell her!) has just started laying. And her eggs are a wonderful bluey-green!!

Each one is a slightly different shade - honestly I feel like getting out the Farrow & Ball paint chart every time I collect one! They are beautiful.

The new JOBS LIST

This is a brilliant new invention (for this family anyway) - in an effort to get my 4 kids to do more around the house and knowing how much the 3 boys in particular like charts, I devised a jobs list where they get to sign up, then tick off when completed, for any job they like. It isn't compulsory but the amount of jobs they do in the week determines how much pocket money they get that week.

So far, it's been brilliant. I had to make a rule that they could only sign up for one at a time as my money-hungry youngest son was going to sign up for ALL the jobs. They can only sign for one at a time and have to finish it before they can do another!!

My daughter is desperate for some money too at the moment as she NEEDS a guitar to be the rock star that she's obviously going to be. So she worked hard on Friday evening and did 3 jobs! She left me a note too, to let me know just how long it had taken her!!

Autumn sunshine

After the very wet day yesterday, today is blissful. I took this picture this morning and it's very tempting to go and sit outside.

Bunting

After my last post, I just had to include this. It's so nice when someone somewhere likes your handmade stuff enough to buy it. So here's a big thank you to all the people who have ordered some of my felt bunting. I am still buried under the felt mountain of bunting flags....but in a good way!

WHAT'S NOT!

Engine troubles

I think we are jinxed when it comes to cars. We were lucky enough to be given my father-in-law's old car when he upgraded, so we sold our very old Seat Ibiza and felt great. Today though after hearing a strange noise in the engine, S. took his dad's old car into the garage. And of course, it needs WORK! Something or other has collapsed. This always happens to us. I think maybe we should just set up a direct debit payment to the garage each month.

My Doll troubles

I am in the process of designing a doll. Not just any doll, I want to make a soft, cute, slightly fairytale-like doll. I am going to make clothes for it and it will be wonderful.

So why, when I try do all the dolls I make look like this:-

a slightly cross-looking gnome doll. She closely resembles the first doll my daughter ever had and now she's cross with me too because 'Pink Dolly won't be special now!'.

Oh well, back to the drawing board!

Laundry

Despite today looking like the above picture, it is cold and I fear we have seen the last of the 'drying outside' days. So most days my lovely farmhouse-type country English kitchen looks like this -

Now when I started blogging, I thought I would take beautiful photos of my house (having shoved all the 'stuff' and clutter over to one side out of the lens' view) so I can't actually believe I'm showing you this - but there it is. I have to look at it, so why shouldn't you!!

Stuff

This closely links to the above but some days I feel overwhelmed with the amount of 'stuff' that six people have in a house. It's everywhere and growing all the time. Sometimes, I have a plan to do one room at a time, and make it look like those gorgeous Scandinavian houses that I dream about, all white walls, a few colourful rugs, toys and carefully placed books, and nothing else.

Sometimes, one room in our house will be tidy, and will for a little while look a bit like those pictures in magazines. Then, when I trip over stuff in the hall, and on the stairs, I realise that's just because I've moved the stuff to another room. It hasn't gone away. I have an awful feeling it never will.......x