but there are snowdrops and crocuses (croci?) in our garden, and tulips on the windowsill.

Tags: spring

Had a great time making pancakes with L, who was more interested in tossing them (on the floor, over her head) than eating them. Must work out how to upload a video on to here…..

Tags: Lucy

So, just as they’re about to finish, a couple of pictures of how we’ve experienced the Winter Olympics (given that I somehow missed my chance to be a bobsleigh champion). Uncle M & Auntie S came back from a skiing trip just before the games kicked off and very kindly brought back a sticker book for L which was perfect as she’s smitten with the mascots.

We also went to see my lovely friend, S, and her gorgeous daughter, I, for lunch and L was thrilled to see that I has a set of cuddly mascots which she very kindly let L play with. 

Quatchi had to have lunch with us

and L and I were fascinated by the Vancouver 2010 website, with videos of Miga, Quatchi, Sumi (and MukMuk). I like them too, so haven’t minded watching them over and over!

I had a fantastic holiday with S and her family (who still live in BC) when we were 19, flying  to Vancouver on my own (where they lived) and spending some time there before going to Thetis with some of her family’s friends, which was just wonderful. We went kayaking, spelunking (sp?!), and saw seals and heard whales at night on the beach, and I’d love to do it all again!

Tags: friends, Lucy

We went up to London – On The Train, no less – to meet Nanna June, Uncle Alan and Cousin Meg at the Aquarium. It was such fun being a tourist!

Tags: Lucy

She took it very seriously indeed, but I’m happy to say that she still has her madly curly hair, just not the bit that constantly went in her eyes, hurrah!

Tags: Lucy

L’s very taken with my Mum’s Clangers video so I thought, hey, I know! I’ll knit a whole Clanger family for her to play with while they watch them. I give you …. Major Clanger!

(It was meant to be Small but it turned out rather, erm, large, so Major it is. It also took much longer than anticipated so I suspect he may well remain an only clanger.)

I’m proud to say that he’s been quite a hit, being carried about everywhere and cuddled at night. He was also involved in a funny exchange where my Mum told me about ‘dropping a clanger’ in a conversation she’d had and it dawned on me how hard it  is to explain idioms (or is it a figure of speech) to a not-yet-3 year old.

Tags: knitting

Decided on a whim to go to Hastings this morning to check out their aquarium (we bought a packet of plastic sea creatures the other day which have become quite the thing) and had a great time. Oh, must add, L actually asked, ‘Are we there yet?’ when we’d just got on to the A27 (about 5 minutes from our house) and then again approximately 30 seconds later – who taught her that?!? Anyway, it was beautifully sunny,

we ate fish and chips and had a go on the miniature railway and the Captain Pugwash ride – hurrah!

There was the minor disappointment of the temporary lack of sharks (the things we most wanted to see, but heigh-ho) , but thankfully the impossibly small, upside-down jellyfish were there to compensate, not to mention the axolotl, who features in one of my favourite books of all time.

L also had a whale of a time (to continue with the marine vibe) in the fishing museum, thanks to the huge boat we were allowed to climb on, and where she had the following exchange with a boy about her age:

Boy: Ahoy, shipmate!

L: Arrrrr, me hearty!

And then off they went in different directions.

Tags: beach, Lucy, sunshine, Tony

The top one is my drawing of L (obviously – you can tell by the hair!) and underneath is her drawing of me (in my defence, it was early in the morning). I was so impressed, I took a photo!

Tags: Lucy

T and I finally painted our living room last weekend – Orchard Pink on the wall behind the bookshelves, White Pepper on the walls at either end, and White on the wall behind the sofa if you’re interested – and it looks great, if I say so myself! We saved a bit for L to do and she loved the mini roller and the fact that the paint went on pink and then turned white. Still working on her doing the hoovering and washing-up…

Tags: Lucy, Tony

Friends we’ve known since we were pregnant with our now-toddlers have just had their second baby, which gives me the chance to knit something small and sweet.

Tags: knitting