Choosing Love

Well, hello there!  

This post has been a long time coming and for that I apologise.  

It's a long one too, so you might want to grab a cup of tea!

My blogging mojo upped and left me way back in the autumn and is slowly returning as the winter turns to spring.

Once out of the routine of blogging it can be hard to get back into the right frame of  mind again.  And I have struggled to put my feelings into words.  Struggled to be authentic, because that's what I aim for and I never wish to write from a place that isn't authentic.

********************

So, here, in the middle of February I welcome 2013 with my resolutions of Simplicity, Vitality and Community as my aims. 

My lovely husband and I spent New Year's Eve reflecting on the year gone by and on what we hoped for for the coming twelve months.

2012 was a difficult year for me when I look back at it.  

And when life is difficult for me, it is difficult for my little family.  

It's a simple equation.

I felt more tired.  More overwhelmed.  More in need of solitude.  Less engaged in my own life.

Reading this it looks like I was depressed.  But I don't think I was!

Just processing some things and moving from one phase of my life to another, maybe.

*********************

In the autumn we had a difficult time at our hospital appointment.  Frank's HbA1c was its highest ever and I had to look the kind doctor in the eye and admit that I had been running him a little high as I was so very fearful of him dying in the night.

I cried, in the doctor's room and in full view of Frank, and spelt words out so that he wouldn't hear me say words like "die".  

That dark ball of fear in my gut was exerting its hold over me and in that room I had to admit it and face it down.

Anyone with young children knows that sleep can be elusive.  

Have a child with Type 1 diabetes and sleep, good, solid, restful sleep, is like gold dust!!   

Andrew doesn't wake in the night much and so all the night testing is mine and all the fetching of water is mine too.  I do it gladly but it takes its toll on my 45 year old body!

I was trying to get more sleep but it's a false economy of the most awful sort to do what I was doing.  It wasn't terrible but I was failing Frank and needed that wake up call in the doctor's room to bring me back in some way.

I truth I still have that ball of fear but as we left that doctor's room that day I made a vow not to allow it to rule me.  

This takes effort every day on my part.  

Every single day and then every, single night.

Every single night that I medicate my child to the point of hoping to maintain his health and not go so far as to make his blood sugar go so low that he dies.

I factor in growth spurts, excitement, tiredness and evening snacks.

I factor in how exhausted I am and set the alarm accordingly. 

I hope and I trust the medicine and the pump.

And, truly, truly, I know that hope is the only way forwards.  

Other wise the dark ball of fear wins, and it wins every day.

So (I'm getting to the point in the title of this post, I promise!):

I CHOOSE LOVE!

I choose, every single day to look to the light and for myself and my husband and my beautiful, gorgeous boy, Frank, I choose love over fear.

*****************************************************************************
 My first act of choosing love was a little family adventure.  

We soooooo needed one!  

And so, on one of the snowiest days of the year so far, we headed off to London.  For three days.  

Staying in a hotel and everything!

And ,oh my, I fell in love with London all over again!

waiting for the train at Colchester North Station

chowing down at Wagamama's on the South Bank

Wagamama Man!

my love, up in the air on the London Eye

Frank enjoys the view of Westminster Bridge, The Houses of Parliament and Big Ben from the London Eye

I don't like heights!

the amazing roof of The British Museum

nothing Freudian about this dessert ... ahem

And so here I am in mid-February ready to begin blogging again.  

To choose the light and to share more of it here.  

I hope I have a few readers left and thank you for sticking with me.  

Much love.

xxxx

Keeping it Simple

We are a family that don't really fit the mold.  

We are older parents.  

We homeschool.    

We don't desire more, more, more.

We try to be as natural as we can, whilst living in suburbia and needing synthetic insulin to keep one of us alive, and thus the rest of us sane.

And yet every single one of these decisions sits well with me.  

I've always felt like a square peg surrounded by round holes, so making some of these life decisions have taken no time at all.  

No soul searching.  More a kind of gut-searching, really.

Does this sit well with me?  

Yep.  OK then moving on , what's for dinner?

Nope. OK then let's not do it/stop doing it, shall we have pancakes for breakfast?

I believe in keeping life simple;  both for my child and for myself.

Routines sit well with us.  

Time at home just pottering around the garden or drawing or watching a bit of TV sit well with us.

There are many activities on offer for us and Frank as homeschoolers in our town and yet we have taken part in very few of them over the past couple of years.  Frank has shown a desire for lots and lots of down time at home.  Time to play Lego, draw, paint, dig the garden, make chalk art on the paths, wrestle and, my favourite, roll around on the floor kind of aimlessly, often under the table or a chair!

Or even, as below, pretend to be a statue with his teeny tiny toy seal (Snuggly).

These past two weeks have been unusually busy for us.  Frank turned six in July and has been expressing an interest in seeing his friends more often.   We catch up with other homeschooling friends fairly often and regularly take part in Craft Swaps and play dates.

Formal lessons have not happened yet but something in the changes in Frank over the past few months made me feel confident in booking him a place on a trampolining course at the local Leisure Centre.  

So, after some quiet chat about how it's good to try new things and how he likes bouncing on the bed and how his friends love the trampolining class and the teacher, Frank was ready to give it a shot.

 

He loved it!  

Maria, the teacher, is wonderful with the children; encouraging and funny and kind.

Then two days later, we hosted a pottery class here at home for Frank and six other children.

He loved it!

And the following day we took part in the introductory session for an Arts Award being offered to homeschoolers here in town.

He loved it!

So, three new sessions on top of two play dates this week and we are all in need of a little reflection:

did it sit well with us?

If all these activities were on every week then I can honestly say it would not sit well with me.  

However, with the pottery only being once a month and the art every two weeks, we can take the trampolining on board weekly and still enjoy our much-needed simple times at home.

Simplicity is always on my radar but more so than ever this week as I have signed up for a Simplicity Parenting e.course with Kathy over at Bliss Beyond Naptime.

And with a delicious serendipity the course starts on Monday 1st October, the day after I return from two days away at a yoga retreat in Suffolk (my first ever retreat of any kind, and I'm not even that great at yoga, I'm kind of nervous but soooooo need it).

So, here's to keeping it simple.

And breathe ...

a milestone

This week saw Frank pass a childhood milestone by losing the first of his milk teeth.

We had been told by the dentist at least three months ago that the two middle teeth on the bottom row were already wobbly.  We felt them and could feel no difference.

But, lo and behold, Mr Dentist was right!

About two weeks ago Frank burst into tears during our evening stories at bedtime and told me his "tooth has broken in half".  After a good peek in his mouth I explained that he just had a wobbly tooth, just like the dentist had predicted.  He cried for a bit then relaxed and got on with being engrossed by the exploits of Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third.

Life continued on and the tooth stayed loose but in place. 
Then  en route to my beloved Cafe Knit in Lavenham, to buy Granny Lily a birthday gift, Frank suddenly began crying again as his tooth felt really, really loose and he was a bit panicked about it coming out and bleeding.  

Inside the lovely, lovely cafe the sweet women working there were very kind to him and chatted to him about losing a tooth being really exciting.  He cheered up and enjoyed his juice but declined cake as it might take his tooth out!

The picture below as the tooth in Cafe Knit!  Sooooo close to out, I cannot believe his ability not to wiggle it out!

 And then the following day he was eating his evening apple before bed and passed me a couple of "hard bits in my apple, Mummy", which I threw in the compost.  

About a minute later my friend, Anne, shrieked that his tooth was out!  She was visiting for the evening for a chat and a green tea and was there for this momentous occasion.

We then went through looking for the tooth on the floor and recalled the hard bits in the apple!

I found the tooth in the compost, a teen tiny thing that is now on the mantelpiece until I find a permanent home for it.

Any ideas?  Where does one keep such an amazing thing?

And here he is, Mr Gappy!

 And laughing as I dried his feet after his bath!

 My beautiful boy, passing this big milestone with a smile and a fresh new £1 coin to go towards his Lego empire ...

Back soon with a recipe for Chocolate Gingerbread!

Autumn Nature Table

Frank enjoyed freshening up the nature table today.  

Autumn is my favourite season as I just wilt in the humid heat of summer and seem to come alive again as the air turns that little bit cooler and the sun sits that bit lower in the sky.

My boy seems to share my love of autumn and the feeling of gathering in and drawing close that comes with the shorter days and longer nights.

For the first time he decided that he wanted full artistic control over the nature table and went to work (once we had cleared it and I had wiped it down a bit) with a selection of the things we keep for it.

He chose to make a woodland scene complete with a fox chasing an unsuspecting duck and two cute hedgehogs setting up their winter homes.

We have two beautiful Ostheimer trees for the nature table and change them around as the seasons change.  

The pear tree here has white blossoms on the other side for the Spring season and then we have  a fir tree for winter.

And so the seasons shift and change.

Also this week we have celebrated, albeit a bittersweet celebration for this Mama, Frank's first wobbly tooth.  

And we step not just into Autumn but into a new phase of Frank's life.  

Milk teeth are on their way out and big teeth on their way in.

We are talking about this as being exciting though my heart is a little sore at all this growing up.

We are also taking chamomilla, a homeopathic remedy for teething as Frank was a bit freaked out about his tooth being so loose.

And this Mama is taking deep breaths as her boy gets more beautiful by the day as he grows towards the man he will become...

this boy

this boy is growing up

this boy has had a haircut

this boy adores Scooby-Doo

this boy is bright and full of energy

this boy loves stories

this boy loves to sword fight

this boy loves jacket potatoes ("jacket a-patoes")

this boy is artistic

this boy can mimic voices uncannily well

this boy loves "Almost Naked Animals"

this boy loves

And the week before last this boy was weighed at the hospital and his blood pressure taken, his HbA1c taken and his height measured.  

He has lost weight.

The hospital were telling me they are now officially "concerned".  I go home and Google "unexplained weight loss in children".  It's not pretty (no shit, Sherlock, right?) but he HAS NO SYMPTOMS.

He is fine. 

We are under the care of two separate hospitals for Frank's diabetes.  

One here in town for his general D-care and one in Cambridge for his pump.

They are both fantastic.  

We cannot fault them.

However, after a few days of calling one of them and asking for the latest blood test results so we could see if coeliac disease or maybe thyroid issues were at play here (and need I add that we were rather heavy hearted all that time), we were told that due to human error his weight was plotted wrongly on one of our previous visits and, whilst he hasn't gained much weight, has HAS NOT LOST ANY.

Good grief.  

That was four long days.

And on we go, taking it one day, maybe one week at a time.

This experience really highlighted for me the progress I have made in accepting diabetes, that uninvited guest who just won't bugger off, in our lives.

It is not the first thing out of my mouth when I meet someone.

I don't feel the need to blurt it out and I feel so much healthier for it.  

Frank is now of an age where he would possibly begin to feel "defined" by his diabetes as I blurt it out to new people anyway, when before now he was perhaps too young to take in what I was saying.

The one thing I am now very hot on though is not letting people get far in the "poor little boy, he can't have sweets" or "but he looks so healthy" or, as from my own bloody mother on the phone this evening (and on speakerphone no less, with Frank in earshot) "I suppose he'll go to school one day, but it's difficult with his (pauses to find the right word and then whispers it as though it is an profanity) "illness". 

Speakerphone was switched of smartly and mother's ridiculous inability to "get it" silenced for her grandson.

And on we go!

six

And in the blink of an eye my baby turned six!

 We have been busy celebrating our Boy Wonder with a family party, a party at a great cafe in town with a walled garden and yummy food and lots and lots of Lego.

There were gifts.  A pinata.  A victoria sponge cake. Pass-the-parcel.

I also co-ran a Reiki Retreat the day before the party and am now very tired indeed!

It is Monday evening here.  

My boy has fallen asleep on this day, the day of his sixth birthday, talking to me quietly about Lego and Harry Potter and smiling when I tell him we are going fruit picking tomorrow morning.

And every day I tell him, as I did today, "I love you.  I am proud of you.  You make me happy".

xxxx

Hello July

Well, I fell off the Marauders' Map there for a while, didn't I?

Clearly I needed some blogging-free time and I have made full use of it, I assure you.  

We are all well here in my little family and life continues apace. 

Much growing has been done by Frank, much crafting and reading of Harry Potter to Frank by myself and much retiring from his main job and poetry gigging by Mr Muffinmoon (aka Fred Slattern, Colchester's Slum Poet).

We have a ten day trip to Denmark under our belts and spent two days of those at Legoland, much to Frank's delight.

I seems, also, that blogger have been busy whilst I was otherwise engagaed and I am struggling to work out what's going on here today!

********************************************

I feel it will be impossible to fill all the gaps of what we have been doing in one blog post and so will concentrate on Denmark today.

We are a family with a camper van.  We have no other motor vehicle.  We walk and cycle or we drive our van around.  

Thus, for us, and considering I feel best when I am not in a tin can way up in the air and also when I can pack as much diabetes-related stuff as I wish, we tend to head for the Netherlands or Denmark or France or Germany or indeed stay home in the lovely UK for our trips.

This year, with a Lego fan in our midst who is turning six in a week's time (yikes!), we felt Denmark and Legoland over there was a good plan.

And, boy, was it fun, once we finally got there.   

And thereby hangs a tale:  waking up on the morning of our planned departure on the 5pm ferry I was getting Frank dressed and saw what looked like lots and lots of insect bites all over his back.  To the docs and the practice nurse confirmed chicken pox!!!   

This actually felt like a huge stroke of LUCK to me.  

Yes, really.

Imagine how it might be being already on the ferry or in Denmark and seeing all these spots break out.  The Danish are great at speaking English but I do not want to be fighting my D-Mama corner to doctors that might not understand me clearly.   We all know we are indeed the experts in our own child's care and that most doctors do not have the knowledge that we do.  

We are the specialists and travelling elsewhere can feel very much out of my confort zone should things go wrong.

Frank felt fine but we had no idea how many  more spots might break out and, more importantly, how having Type 1 diabetes might bring complicaitons for him.  So, we cancelled our place on the ferry, sat tight with the door closed and a skull & crossbones on it and waited it out.  

Frank continued fine.  

No more spots broke out and after a few days had passed we rescheduled and hit the ocean, heading north east to Esbjerg from Harwich.  

It is an 18 hour journey and so everyone has a cabin and we even enjoyed the fabulous buffet of smoked fish and fresh salads.  Yum. 

 And once there we camped for five nights, spent two nights in a pirate-themed room at Legoland, a night in a B&B and then came home much refreshed and, for me at least, needing a break from the strong coffee and smoked fish!

A few pictures for you all.  

A taste of Denmark.

 ~ Frank at the Ribe Viking Centre ~ I asked him to look like a "serious Viking" ~

 ~ smiley boys at Legoland ~

~ the best beach we found on the trip ~

~ the fantastic wooden castle and figures at the Ribe Viking Museum ~

~ and, finally, but best of all, the disabled toilets in the Hotel at Legoland ~ crocodiles in wheelchairs ~

Happy Sunday and happy July to you all.

Much love.

The Pirate King

Sorting through Nana's old costume jewellery, Mr Frank decided he wanted to keep the whole booty in his treasure chest but wear it all at once firstly because "that's just what a Pirate King would do, isn't it, Mama?".

Yes, my love, that's exactly what a Pirate King would do.

******************

Diabetes has been kicking my proverbial butt these past few weeks with disrupted nights and crazy numbers.  

However, we are well; I am just knackered and have lost some of my blogging mojo.

Back very soon though as I miss this space.

Love to all.

xxx

A Frank Update

This is Frank.
He has Type 1 Diabetes.
And he needs a haircut!

At the hospital this week Frank was weighed and measured and his HbA1c taken (7.7, up from last time but I am truly happy with anything under eight. So, even though I shall work even harder I am not unhappy with the result).
I had been concerned about Frank having lost weight after he jumped on the scales at home and seemed to be about 5 or so pounds lighter than I remembered from our last hospital visit.
So, at our appointment we looked at the numbers and the results of the blood tests were discussed and all seemed well.
I wasn't too embarrassed at having raised my concerns and was told that I had been right to do so. It does seem that our scales weigh lighter than those at the hospital but Frank is definitely looking slimmer, so I am pleased to have had my mind put to rest this time.
Anyone with a child with this condition will know that it is wise to keep alert to other changes as the chances of thyroid issues or coeliacs is higher in Type 1 Diabetics than in others.
I had convinced myself that we were facing a thyroid problem when in fact, at present at least, all seems to be well.
And I am so very grateful for the comments I received about this.
I found it hugely comforting.
Thank you.
*********************************************************
In other news I couldn't resist posting these photos from today as they really made me smile.
They illustrate something that I am aware of every day as Frank and I go about our days: we are wired differently.
We have been working today on making a board game to go into a story sack that were will be giving to another homeschooling family soon. Once we had done our game Frank got all excited about making another and so we did.
Well, I got the board ready with the numbers and then left him to create the game whilst I did some gardening.
Coming inside I brought some hyacinth flowers that were getting past their best and decided to make a spring garland for the front door.
So, I sat with my boy and did my girlie stuff whilst he made his game.
The contrast of what our brains love was wonderful!
I leave you to enjoy the pictures as they reveal our inner selves ...

And interestingly when I spellchecked this, the word coeliacs came up as cowlicks!
Cool.

light :: chai :: smoothie moustaches

Our breakfast table this morning saw us enjoying Berry Blast smoothies from Heather's Wholefood Kitchen and, for balance you understand, croissants alongside!
Today saw crisp clear blue skies, the like of which are so very welcome in February and which lift the spirits so immediately.
The light in the dining room at breakfast time (around 8am) was just gorgeous and here you can see our usual set up of diabetes kit, Lego instruction manuals and breakfast.
In this rather foodie post I must also mention that Andrew and I have been enjoying the odd chai made with rice milk of an evening. It has been lovely on these chilly evenings to sip something so gently spicy and warming.
I managed to give up tea and coffee about ten days ago.
I love both but had such a snotty heavy cold that I couldn't face the cow's milk I normally have in tea and the thought of a milky latte made me feel ill, so I went cold turkey on the caffeine and thus the milk.
After a couple of days I had a few hours when I would have gladly sold a kidney for a cup of really strong tea or coffee but then it was fine.
I had been using oat milk in cooking and smoothies but this week tried rice milk and prefer its taste. The problem here can be that these things are not so easy to come by. The big supermarket near me, for example, sells oat milk but not rice milk. For rice milk I have to travel further. I suppose it all boils down to me getting organised and buying in bulk as all these things are long life products anyway!
And, of course, how could I not post this picture of Frank with a great big smoothie moustache?! We've had smoothies twice this week already and I am finding them a great way to sneak all kinds of goodies into my suspicious around food boy!
The Wholefood Kitchen course is going really well and my intention for the course is to really increase my intake of veggies. I love them but admit I am lazy about eating loads of them. Fruit I manage more often but veggies take a bit more prep and I have committed myself to taking the time to make this happen.
This evenings meal of curried vegetable chowder was soooo tasty and will last two more meals, so the prep time really isn't wasted.
Happy Sunday to you all.

pancakes :: snow :: a quilt

In an attempt to record and share more of our days (because they are so immensely fascinating, you understand!) I am going to try to post often in the same way as Heather, whose daily posts have been a wonderful source of beauty and out-breaths recently.
We have taken to having pancakes for breakfast every Sunday and that little routine sees me jumping out of bed before the boys to pad downstairs and mix the batter, so it can sit for a while before we start cooking.
We each have our favourite topping.
Frank goes for agave syrup (although having read about it recently I will be removing it from the pantry soon) and Andrew and I go for lemon juice and maple syrup.
We get two pancakes each (big, thin ones like crepes) from a mix of 4floz oat milk, 1 egg, 4oz spelt flour, pinch salt and 1 tbsp oil.
It leaves us rather wanting a little more but that's no bad thing.

And the table always groans under the weight of Lego. Every meal!

We had snow last night.
About five inches and it drifted so in parts of the garden it was quite high.
Straight after pancakes we headed out, all layered up, to throw snowballs at each other and get thoroughly cold.
Today was the day when I realised I have a hole in my wellies and my feet were very cold very quickly.
My lovely blokes longjohns worked a treat though!

And in the late morning I managed to complete my first ever quilt. Here you can see it on the big bed, although it is for Frank and his little bed next to ours.
The fabric was from the V&A stall at a Knit & Stitch Show two years ago and is all based on fabrics from the V&A archives.
They are beautiful and I am so glad to have been able to keep them together.
You can see in this picture how we sleep.
Frank sleeps directly next to me in a little bed (Andrew cannily took a saw to a regular single bed and made a kind of Frankenstein's monster of a bed!).
Frank didn't used to sleep here, except when he was tiny, but I never rested well with him away from me.
This way we all sleep better and I can check on him frequently because, let's face it, the deep sleep we all used to enjoy pre-kids and especially pre-diabetic kids is AWOL for a while.
It works for us, for now.
He learnt to make snowballs today.
And throw them.
His little snow suit is one brought back from a Finnish flea market by a friend.
We rarely get this much snow but this suit is fabulous when we do.

Tomorrow the Wholefood Kitchen starts for Andrew and I.
Will post more on that in the morning.

Instead of stories ...

Sometimes, of an evening, Frank and I discuss what stories he might like to hear.

I love reading and being read to. Thus talking books are great for me, especially as I can cook and potter whilst following a story.
I have very fond memories of being in my mid-twenties and sharing a house with two other young female teachers, one of whom is still one of my best friends, Alex.
Alex is from Ballymoney in Northern Ireland and after a few years teaching here in Essex, followed her heart home and works now in Belfast.
On special occasions Alex would read out loud to me as we both lay on sofas in the lounge of the house we shared. He gorgeous northern Irish accent made every story extra special to me.
Well, Frank loves stories too, but is in that in-betweeeny phase at the moment of not really enjoying longer stories and wanting the same very young children's stories over and over.
I have no problem with this unless it has been a long day and I am in need of something a little more peppy!
This was the case the other evening and so I suggested we took paper, books and pencils and his bedtime snack upstairs with us and planned our Chinese New Year celebrations on the big double bed INSTEAD of stories.

We had a couple of books for ideas of dragons to draw and Frank erected a pillow barrier to prevent me from seeing the dragon he was drawing.

Here you can see his snack (apples slices and an oat biscuit) and in the background his little monster design book. This is just a small Moleskine book that he has by the side of his bed and in which he draws any good ideas for monsters when he's allowed ten minutes reading or designing alone before lights go out.
Monsters don't frighten him and he loves to design weird and wonderful ones.

We came up with this version of a dragon for our Chinese New Year celebration and Frank had a ball using his new chalk pastels to colour it in as they were so bright.

My point with this post is that we spent a long time drawing and reading and talking about our ideas and I think both of us felt energised by this new activity.

I firmly believe in routine and the support it provides for all of us but on the occasion that I have stepped outside the routine and done something creative I have felt amazed by the energy I have tapped into.
Rather than feeling more tired by our slightly later night we felt great and had shared some creative time and most definitely strengthened our connection to each other as two people that like to create, albeit he monsters and gross creatures and me slightly less gross things!
Instead of stories, create ...
Any other ideas for great bedtimes?

Don't Look Back

Well, despite plans for an upbeat post about my personal goals for 2012 I found myself faced with the squat presence of The Diabetes Toad today.
I was cleaning out the fridge with Frank, who loves the emptying out bit but then disappears for the cleaning!
I took a moment to remove the photos adorning the fridge door and found The Toad, waiting for me as I took in the pictures of my boy on this piece of furniture in my home.
A piece that I go to every day, multiple times.
And my breath was knocked out of me.
Again.
As I thought, "He didn't have Diabetes then..... or then ... oh, that's the holiday in Cornwall, he didn't have Diabetes there either ... or when he was eating that apple there in that cute picture ... oh ... oh, hello Diabetes Toad, you're back for a bit are you?"
And so it goes.
I well up and feel like crap and hate this disease that takes over our lives as well as too much shelf space in our fridge and home.
And yet ... and yet ...
He lives.
We live.
It is hard, but looking back in this way only encourages the Diabetes Toad and he's too big for his boots anyway.
Let's cut him down a peg or two.
So don't look back.
Except in love and acceptance.

The Diabetes Toad lurks for all of us, I know he does, but these days I can give him a nod and clean out the fridge and get on with my day.
An example of this for this very minute:
the full-on life force of Frank has just manifested itself by running into the room with his winter hat on backwards, arms stretched out sideways and saying "Ninja!" (we have a bit of a Scooby Doo & the Black Samurai fetish going on, especially in the build up the Chinese New Year too!) At this display the Diabetes Toad disappears in a puff of smoke and life is good.
Life is sweet.

I end with a gratuitously cute picture of my boy, four years ago, in the bath, the spitting image of me at that age.
He didn't have Diabetes then either but that's OK.
Blessings and Toad-free days to all!

In these days of long shadows

We are busy busy, busy preparing for a season of gift giving: making cards, writing gift tags, making Christmas treasure hunts, knitting, reading recipes and making choices, baking and general elving.
A few days ago Frank and I went to Frinton for fresh air and a race on the beach (he always wins, but only because I cry less at losing!) followed by fish & chips and a great score of a Scooby Doo puzzle in a charity shop.
It was blissful.
Blue, blue sky and just me and my boy on that beach.

It makes me happy, this stretch of coast. Always.

And then we stay home a lot too; making things, crafting, elving and baking.

I took this picture as a way of telling the tale of how I reached without looking for my coffee and nearly took a swig of a bowl of beads today!
They actually had to touch my lips before I realised it wasn't my drink.
Must use my eyes next time.

And more elving, preceded by a fun afternoon decorating the ginger biscuits we made in the morning.
Oh yes, we had fun with that one!

Hope you are enjoying your winter too!

And take note: these biscuits are NOT BURNT.
Neither are they strangely blue!