Back to the land of the living.

Yesterday was a day's leave

the boys as per normal slept till the afternoon

no 1 had the day off, no 2 on school break

I didn't fret about their sleeping, thinking if they're still asleep they need it

they will have many many years of getting up

whats a little lie in now and again.

so I did a little sewing , haven't had the machine out for ages and felt like a little play

first of the machine was a coco dress

I have had this pattern for ages and love it, now the body is shrinking I just about fit into the largest size.

I had some cute scuba type jersey, a little thick for the pattern but its a first attempt so what the heck

this fabric was a joy to work with and feels great on, and even better its a fabric that wont crease and wont need ironing!

The pattern is so easy to follow, no zips etc  there will be many more of these, I did omit the pockets on this one.

the only issue I had was setting the sleeve but they didn't turn out too bad at all.

its fit like a glove, no photos being worn, not that brave!

the neck line is just as I like it, could probably do with a little more space in the bust , but as they seem to be shrinking faster than my stomach I am not to worried.

This is a pattern I will make again and again.

Then it was onto a trial pair of PJ bottoms.

had these cut out for a while, you can tell by the fabric it was somewhere in the summer and there 3/4 length.

love these, just need to get some elastic for the waist, but pretty pleased

It was a bit of a struggle getting the right sides together as they were cut in 4 pieces, I ended up sewing the 2 fronts together.

but worked it out and actually they are easy peasy..

the boys will definitely be getting Christmas PJs

After a bit of quality time with the boys I decided to read, 

A book had caught my eye in the service station on Thursday and it was just calling me to read it,

the trouble with me is I have to read, not a few pages a night, but read, non stop,

it was a full size novel, there was no coming back

I love chic lit and this was right up my street, I loved it

I did drag my self to bed at 2.30am this morning then finished it when I woke up, before today started. 

All in all my days leave was just perfect.

Then today the sun was shining and the weather warm,

so what to do?

hit the beach with the hound, please note its not a beach in that sense of the term, its a coast of the mouth to the river, but its the closest thing I can get to for a 'fix' and I haven't been there for a while.

It was lovely and the hound had a great time as did we, we did the whole circuit, walking the beach and the path, then stopping for a beverage at the local cafe before heading home.

bliss.

2 days of nothingness was just what I needed

I pretty much feel back to 'me'

Getting there.

Life is still busy, I'm just grinning and bearing it. Managing to get a little me time here and there.

My secret test knit is done just needs blocking out, I have loved knitting this and was just what I needed to get through the last 2 weeks. Can't wait to show it to you.

Hubs has been diagnosed with a very overactive thyroid, hes started tablets today, so hopefully he will start to feel a bit better soon and start to put some weight back on, hes on increased heart meds so that's settled the ticker.The endoscopy showed a duodenal ulcer, its being biopsied so nothing prescribed for that yet, just watching his diet.

Work is still busy, had my 1;1 yesterday, all is well, just been told to try and type my reports quicker!

at least I didn't get my arse kicked, and their happy with how I am managing my hours around the boys.Cant complain.

The diet went a bit freefall, but reigned it back it quickly, put on 1/2lb this week, that's more to

 do with not eating the right foods rather than eating crap and drinking alcohol, i'm still being restrained there. Still motivated and still feeling better health wise.

Holiday discussions are ongoing, Junior desperately wants to go to Orlando, he didn't get quite get how much that costs so I got him to cost it up for the 4 of us, then he got it, hes devised a savings plan for us and worked out we could go in 2017, he said hes happy with camping holidays until then to help save! Even when the annual school ski trip was opened, at a cost of £949 !! he said he would rather save for Orlando, think that was an exercise well worth doing with him.

My blogging has fell by the wayside, I just don't feel I have much to blog about at the moment, my life is on track and ticking over, not much more I can change or simplify , 4 years is all I have to say .

No 1 son has not heard anything about the zoo job, hes working today so hope someone speaks to him if only to say sorry but you were not short listed. We have had a long discussion about it so I hope he doesn't take it to hard if its a no to an interview. He will continue to volunteer work there as that's what he really wants and bide his time till he can get something. 

Christmas is looming and budgets are now being set, I know its only October but its only 3 pay days and we don't like to touch Decembers! Our monthly budgets change slightly in october/november to accommodate the costs , the boys get a £100 limit each and have stocking gifts, they add things to their amazon wish list and have to think hard about what they want, hubs and I usually get something we need rather than want, I have chosen a new pair of work boots and hubs has opted for something for the bongo, we don't go over the top with food, each week we will buy something extra to put aside and the meat always comes from the local butcher, strangely this year we have no plans to go to Cornwall over the festive period,  :(  sad about that.

And that folks is it, nothing else to report.

Holidays.

Its that time of year when we start to think about holidays.

Budgets need to be set and money saved.

The last 2 years we have done city breaks and English breaks, this year I really want a week away, somewhere like Greece, just a week to soak up the sun some local culture and enjoy great food.

It would be great to take a plane and stay in a building !

Boy, what a shock when I looked at prices for the 4 of us, for some holiday companies my boys are counted as adults, expensive, others are variable.

I really don't know how people afford this every year, its working out at about £2,000 for a week for 4 of us. And that's the cheap end, add the cost of food etc and which ever way I look at it, I really don't think we can afford it, especially as we are tried to school holidays.£2,000 is a lot to spend on a 1 week holiday, especially when that money can be best spent else where.

I need to get my thinking cap on.

We have booked 1 break though, a 2 night stay on Lundy.

pic from Landmark trust.

Expensive but its split between us and our Cornish friend, I was surprised when both boys said they would like to come !I did tell them its basic, no tv, wifi etc and electric goes off at midnight.

Its a walking holiday! wonders will never cease.

Barry Bongo will be out and about but after our disastrous camping expedition to Wales, we are reluctant to book a whole week away given the unpredictability of the English weather. Barry is going to be for those ' lets just go' moments, lets hope there are lots!

Taking Barry across on the ferry is a thought for a week away, maybe France, the cost of the ferry to Spain is huge! I need to do some research, but I have my heart set on Greece

What to do?