SUNDAY ALREADY !

Time does fly when you are having fun or on holiday!  And so it has this week, has gone past in a flash, my week is now over and it's back to the world of work tomorrow!

Well the weekend, last week, started with the lovely Clara's first birthday party attended by her Mum and Dad's immediate family and everyone , including the birthday girl had a great time. She is such a sweetheart and loves being among people.
The day before she had a photo session with Sarah Fisher called a Cake Smash, Clara was photographed in front of a cake which she grabbed and enjoyed munching on while getting it all over herself, then she was placed in a sweet small tin bath of warm water and more photo's taken.
Courtney kindly allowed me to share one of Sarah's photos.

Unfortunately her dad, then a few days later, her mum came down with a virus , thankfully they are both over it now but Paul is now feeling iffy! and so is Mike's dad ! Oh No!!!

So I was going to go visit with Clara and Courtney in the week but due to their illness did not. But it did mean that I finally got those boxes of books from under the stairs sorted! Seven boxes came out and only three have gone back.
Fifty four books are now bagged and waiting to go off to the local Oxfam bookshop for someone else to enjoy.

This inspired me to finally sort out my corner pan cupboard in the kitchen, it's one of those that half is tucked into the corner which then becomes an abyss of things never or rarely used.

and so it was that a couple of hours later there were twenty nine pots, pans, cake tins etc ready to be recycled or dumped. I have finally thrown out the four square tins I made my wedding cakes in nearly forty four years ago and have only used once since and that must be over thirty odd years ago!
Now lets not get too cocky because I'm sure a few of the pans etc that I put back in, could also have gone but twenty nine is a good start lol.

The cupboard is now nice and tidy and you can take out a tray without causing an avalanche ! How long this will last, is anyone's guess but nice while it does.

Now if I could just apply this clearing out to everything else, I'd have a clutter free home....


On the doll front, it's been a week of arrival's , some expected and other's not.

These two Schoenhut dolls were expected. They had been on layaway with another couple, which I finished at the start of the year and these are the first to arrive. I have called the toddler Eric and his sister Biddy.
I'm not sure what the name Biddy is short for? could be Brigid ? But Paul had an aunt Biddy and when this girl arrived the name came to mind and stuck, so Biddy she is.

Then of course there was the unexpected arrival of Christian, a dark skinned Caleb.

Although an unplanned purchase I am so happy with him and look forward to seeing him out and about come Spring with the other children playing and having adventures !

I'm also intending to dress all my boys by Spring in sweaters, shorts and long socks as this is going to be the village's Spring trend for clothing , courtesy of Ellen Church's photo of some of her boys dressed this way. I think it's a great classic look for boys and could be in any era. I'll also be trying this look out on some of  the girls too! The others will have skirts.

I tried the coat and hat I got in the raffle at the H&G on Biddy because it's got a thirty vibe to it.

the back

In one way it is a thing of beauty but in another it does not fit well. The hat especially is disappointing as it's slightly bunched up and does not fit the Sasha's head. If not for the embroidery on the hat I'd be tempted to unpick it and try and resolve the problem. I may yet give it a go at some time.
But I do love the style of this coat , which is why I picked it, I'd love to find the pattern used and have a go myself at making one.

I'll leave you with a photo of Christian, in his on trend Spring outfit because I think he looks so smart and handsome. He started the photos on this post too because who wants to start with a photo of old pot's but then I was able to remove it when I got permission to put Princess Clara's photo on.

We have been having some wonderful mild sunny days here in the south of the UK and they say it's going to continue for a while yet! All the daffodil and tulip leaves are appearing along with the other Spring bulbs, hopefully we won't have this mild weather followed by two months of what should be spring acting like winter as it did last year! 

So I wish you all a lovely doll filled healthy sunny week ahead.

Dee