52 weeks of Happy 47/52

It really is that time of the year when you start to see Christmas decorations and fairy lights appearing. I try to shut my eyes to all the commercial malarkey of Christmas (difficult I know) and go to places which gently remind me and nudge me to getting into the spirit of things. One such place is my absolute favourite book shop in East Sussex Much Ado About. It's just glorious and celebrates all things Bloomsbury and Ravilious and so much more. Upstairs they had a little Christmas craft fair which I loved and may have bought a thing or two :o) These felted stockings in the window made me happy.

Just another image from the village of Alfriston, I have always wanted to live in a house with these window levers. They really capture my imagination. We have the original sash windows on our Victorian terraced house and they are beautiful too.

Celebrating where you live and trying not to take it for granted is really important to me. We have lived here for 11 years now and love it. Last Saturday we went for a long stroll along the coast and stopped for a cuppa in the Colonnade and it was bliss just relaxing with a magazine and soaking up the sunshine.

We were extra lucky to have Keane visit our seaside town music's not dead shop to promote their new album last Friday at 4pm. Poor old Alice, she was so disappointed not to get in to see them as you were supposed to have got 1 of the 150 wrist bands leading up to the event to ensure you got to meet the band and a signature on your album. Unfortunately, we only found out too late, so instead we just gathered outside and listened to Tom Chaplin's beautiful voice and on tippy toes caught glimpses of him and the rest of the band. They sang a song about and called their album after the Sovereign Light Café on our seafront which always makes me smile.

I am an old bottle collector, always have been always will be. I found this little beauty to add to my collection and have already popped some Winter branches into it to hand up my little crochet Santa stocking I made just for the fun of it. It was my first one and looks a bit wobbly as I used different weighted yarn. I soon learned and started making them a bit more uniform with the same weighed yarn. I still like this one though, and it's wonkiness reminds me that it was not machine/factory made.

Last, but never least we were proud parents on Monday night watching our Alice receive the Year7 Art award and a Golden award for diligence, good behaviour and excellent marks. She was allowed to choose a book from Amazon up to £10 and chose a Great British Baking book as she is becoming quite the baker (not good for mummy's waist line!). She is not very keen to have her photograph taken these days, but I managed to sneak this one in the tea rooms of the Colonade.
I am always rather surprised at how much more diligent Alice is than I was at her age, school work and studying only dawned on me the importance of it about 6 months before my final exams when I decided I was going to do a B.Sc. degree at University and that I needed certain grades to get in. She seems much more mature and focussed than I ever was. It really delights me, but at the same time I want her to remember she mustn't grow up too quickly. She will be choosing her GCSE subjects at the end of Year 8 which is a scary thought, but I know she will make the right decisions for her.

 

Have a marvellous weekend everyone

Thanks for your comments on my little bear, so kind

xox

See you all soon