A Doodle a Day

At least, in the absence of my fabric stuffs, I will try and do a doodle a day!

This is called "My Neighbour is called Frankie Fox" in Berol Felt Tip pens and Stabilo Fineliners, oh and btw, my neighbour really is called Frankie Fox!

4 is the magic number

Did you know that Boo is now 2? What a big girl my baby has become, isn't is crazy how fast they grow?


Nala and Pip are still with us, I say this with a degree of surprise as Nala is getting on a bit now, she will be 14 on her next birthday and is feeling her age, her whiskers have never been more grey and she is a bit slower these days, but she is a strong old girl and still enjoying life, Boo loves the naughty dogs!


Our return to the UK in March has seen us go through a period of crazy upheaval, moving house when you are pregnant is never a walk in the park, but moving countrie's, and then moving house AGAIN, is really a bit much. Alas, I lived to tell the tale, and our new house is so lovely! We are only renting at the moment, and after months of searching, we finally stumbled upon River Cottage.

After staying at my sisters cottage, with no garden to speak of and bang smack in the centre of town, we are utterly relieved to be back in the countryside with some room to breathe. I never realised just how much I valued our space and some peace, our new home does not have quite as much land (about 1/5 of an acre) as we had in France, but even just a little is medicine to my soul, and the views are tremendous. I haven't taken any photos from the upstairs windows yet, but will do today, the views are awesome in every direction, and there are cows everywhere!




The bridge over the river, this lane leads to a creepy old school, a bit like hogwarts, and we never see anyone coming or going from there, so strange....


Views from the garden



Anyway, no sooner had we moved into our lovely new house, and set about getting ourselves settled, baby number 4 decided to make an appearance!



Our beatiful baby was born on the 17th of September (just 3 days after Boo's 2nd bday), weighing 6.9lbs, and it was the hardest of ALL my pregnancies AND labours, so really it was no surprise it was a boy that inflicted all that discomfort :) He is an absoloute peach and sleeps like a dream though, so I shant complain too much!

Introducing, Bear Geoffrey (Geoffrey after my papa). I cannot believe I have FOUR children, FOUR, you need a special car to get 4 kids in you know, it's a big number, and really, I am still in shock! Needless to say, I think we might be stopping at 4!





He is a very serious little chap, as you can see, all frowns and grimaces, and so unlike my girls, honestly, if the midwife has not handed him straight to me as he popped out, I might not have believed he was mine, he looks so different to how the girls did as newborns - they all look more like me, where as The Bear, is the double of his (very handsome!) father.

I will take more photos soon, as I have a little more time now, what with me being on semi maternity leave, and I say semi because technically speaking I am still working, just from home, and not quite so much. Oh and in the woeful absence of my fabric and bead stash, my crafty fingers have begun to twitch, so I cracked open the felt tip pens and started doodling again, it feels good to be creating after such a long break! I will share photos soon....

Long time no see!

I have been a terrible terrible blogger!
Life has taken so many twists and turns that I barely know where to begin....
As you know, I went back to work shortly after Boo was born. It took me to the UK and back weekly, it was Hard with a capital H, and after much deliberation, we made the very diffiult and gut wrenching decision to return to the UK :(

We landed back on British soil in March this year, and have been staying at my sisters 600 year old cottage, in Hertfordshire, whilst we look for somewhere suitable to rent. We are moving to our new house in 3 weeks, in the meantime, I am 45 days short of a fully baked bun, yes, baby number 4 is almost cooked - I have no idea how we will manage with 4, my 4th happy accident!

Our new house is a victorian cottage set beside a river with surrounding fields, and yet just a stones throw from the town. Not as pretty or peaceful as our beautiful French house (which we could not bare to sell, and sits empty awaiting our return), but lovely all the same, and after camping out at my sisters for so long, it wil be awesome to have our own space again.

With 3 kids, full time work and my wayward hounds, there is little time for my creative pursuits, and it doesn't help that all my lovely fabric and bead stash is still in France, oh how I mourn my stuff, not having one's belongings around is somewhat dislocating, don't you think? I even miss my books, and my bed linen and my own kitchen utensils, who would have beleieved that a wooden spoon would make me so nostalgic?
More than anything I miss my home, and whilst I know we are exactly where we are supposed to be at this phase in our lives, it is still hard not to pine, just a little, for our French life and all that went with it.

I shall try and be a good blogger, and post at least a bit more frequently than the average once a year!
If by chance, you are still here and reading, thanks for remembering me and sticking around!

Is anyone still there?

Gosh! I can't believe my little blog has been so quiet for SO long, what can I say? The YEAR (a whole year - and some!) has just flown by, naturally, I have lots and lots of news.

Where to begin?
Well, the last time I posted, I had just popped out baby number 3 - and I am pleased to report that Boo (as she is affectionately known in our house) is doing just fine.

It is wonderful having a little one tumbling about the house again, and Ambear and Hoozel (whom were none to excited about the idea of a baby sister) have been wonderful, incredible, super awesome big sisters, cupid aimed true and clear when Boo arrived, and we all got a direct hit, she is just adorable.

Here are a few photos to show you how she has grown....

4 months old....


6 months old


8 months old, with Ambear


10 months old


First Birthday!


Isn't she a peach?

So much more has happenned since then too, births, deaths, new jobs, the house has moved on leaps and bounds (though god help me - it still isn't finished!).
However, before I fill you in on the details, I should probably explain why I have been absent for so long.

Not long before Bluebelle was born, my grandmother passed away, my beautiful Nana Ann was 84 and had battled with cancer for nearly 10 years. She was taken from us in August 2008, due to my advanced pregnancy there wasn't an airline in the world that would return me to the UK for her funeral, and needless to say, I was devastated by this loss, more so because I knew she had hung in there and fought so hard to meet her third great grand child, it still fills me with great sadness that Bluebelle won't ever meet Nana Ann, she truly was a very special lady.

I guess things got a little on top of me from that point on, I was already struggling with pregnancy and the loneliness that comes with living in rural France with no car and no contact with friends or like minded folk.
When Bluebelle was born, I was engulfed by the most awful depression, which I now know to be PND.

PND is something I had little or no experience of - I realise now how naive it sounds, but I always thought depression was a state of mind one could snap themselves out of with enough effort, but I learned that it is actually a very debilitating illness and never more so than when you have a new baby to care for, and little or no support because of your location.

Needless to say, I did of course get better! It was a difficult time, that sometimes seemed never ending, but I am lucky to be blessed with an incredible family and the most awesome friends, somehow I dragged my ass to the light at the end of the tunnel, and am happy to report that nowadays, I am just fine and dandy!

It's difficult to start blogging again after such a long absence - part of dreaded having to explain where I had been, but having talked it over with Simon, I realised that this is my blog, I enjoyed writing it so much, I should just pick up where I left of, and really there has never been a better time, because I have just recently started crafting again, more about that soon!

I guess the other major event is that I got a job, it was so random and so unexpected, but one of those too good to refuse opportunities, and it has truly helped me rebuild my confidence and remember that I am more than just a mummy!
My new job means I have to travel a lot, sometimes I am away from home for days at a time, not ideal, but how you appreciate family and home so much more when you are given a chance to miss them some!

I will leave you with a few more photos from the last year or so, and will write again soon with some updates on my crafting!

Also, just because I have been quiet, doesn't mean I haven't been reading all your lovely blogs and admiring your lovely work - and if by some miracle you are still reading mine... thanks for hanging around and Happy New Year!

Ambear is nearly 11!


Hoozel is still a little crazy


Lulu the pony came and lived with us for a while...



And Simon, still hasn't grown up...

A Thousand Apologies

It has been soooOoo long, I am so sorry for not updating more often.
The last few weeks have been so very hectic, there have been deaths, births, and massive changes afoot in the Hoola Household, at times, it has been extremely overwhelming.

Before I continue, I want to extend my apologies to those of you who have emailed, I will respond soon, promise! Also to those of you who are STILL waiting for swaps, you have not been forgotten! Also those of you who have sent me sweet treats, I will include you all in my next update. And Jacky, I am SO sorry, your package is sat here on my desk STILL, I haven't forgotten you either!

I will be back shortly with more of the news, but here is what I suspect you have all been waiting for...

On the 14th of September at 12:26AM after a 2 hour labour and just ONE push, our little baby girl arrived weighing 2.9kg.....





We named her Bluebelle, in keeping with our nature theme for the children's names, a sister for Amber and Hazel, 3 girls, oh my!
I should note that she WAS called Bluebell (without the E), but Papa Simon registered the birth and we all know men are crap at spelling!

My little fairy baby even has perfect pixie ears, look!



More photos and mucho news to follow, a million thank you's to you all for your patience and love <3

Fruit for Jam

I have been swinging between crazy tiredness and random bursts of energy, hence my recent absence! Just 12 weeks to go before baby is due and I feel so unprepared, for everything! How did the time go so fast?

Anyways, I have been busily stitching, lots of new creations, mostly all for swaps, will share soon, I haven't had a chance to photograph them yet, but will be back ASAP with pics galore!

I have also been busily stirring up a storm at the stove for the last few days. Lots of fruit grows on our land, and lots comes from our kind neighbours, so the Jam Pot has barely been out of use in recent weeks.
I now have enough Jam to feed a small country, I'm sure!

Check out the scrumptious fruit!



Raspberries and blackberries mmmmmmmmmmmmmmm!



The cherries came from Monsieur Honesty's garden, despite the fact we have 4 cherry tree's, and he only has 1! Our tree's netted us a total of about um, 2 cherries, the birds were just too fast for us lazy pickers and gobbled them all up. Monsieur Honesty had about 50kg off his one tree, and he didn't net his either, I can only assume the local resident Swallows think our cherries taste better, though this I can't guarantee since I barely tasted a single one, look, here is one lone cherry in our tree, ces't la vie!



The children reminded me that cherrie's are much more than a delicious snack....



Cherry earrings! How sad that stores don't sell cherries in bunches like this anymore, in the UK at least, all cherries have to be seperated (some bizarre Government food legislation), millions of kids will grow up not knowing about cherry earrings, someone should write to the Primeminister! :) Or at least, plant a cherry tree in your garden, just make sure you get there before the birdies!

I forgot to photograph the HUGE glut of apricots we had too, in the jam pot they went!
Everything else is sprouting foliage like wild fire, we can barely keep up with the growth in recent weeks. This being our first summer here (and previously having had a gardener for our French house when we lived full time in the UK), we had no idea how much work was involved with simply cutting the acres of grass and meadow, pruning tree's and generally keeping things from turning into a Jungle!
I dare say, I shouldn't really complain too much about this, since Simon does most of the hard labour (given my present condition), whilst I sun myself and watch :)

I am now plotting what on earth we are going to do with the apples this autumn, the tree's are bowing under the weight of more kinds of apples than I even knew existed, and to think the orchard is only at 1/4 of it's potential capacity, owing to most of it being buried (still!) under a bramble jungle.
So apples, any ideas? Cider is a must, apple puree for baby, what else is there to do with several hundred KG of apples?



One of my favourite things about summer..... BASIL.
I just planted these up in an old French crate I found at a local brocante recently, I LOVE the smell of Basil, to me, Basil IS summer, torn up and tossed into salads, on to fresh tomatoes drizzled with olive oil, mmmmmmmmmmmm.



AnyhooOOoO, duty calls, dinner will not cook itself! I am using more apricots to make an Apricot Bread and Butter Pudding this evening, will share the results and recipe tomorrow :) Until then, Bon Weekend!

Kittens, Kingfishers & Humpy Time

Ooops, I did it again! I can't believe it has been two weeks since I posted, and I had sooo much to tell you, better late than never?

The last two weeks have been complete mayhem, so much going on, ah where to begin?
Well, it all started when I was quietly minding my own business and going about my housework, suddenly I heard something hit the window, and immediately shouted at the children, who were hurling balls at one another, to mind the windows. I went to inspect the damage, and to my complete surprise, found this little darling unconscious on the floor.



A kingfisher! This silly young thing had flown into the window at such speed that he knocked himself out cold. Kingfishers, I am sure, are a rare sight at the best of times, we occasionally catch a glimpse of their vivid blue plumage as they flit across the lake, but to see one up close, THIS CLOSE, was quite a magnificent sight.

Poor Mr Kingfisher was in a sorry state, he sat quietly, cupped in Simon's big strong hands without even so much as a flutter of his wings.
It is not the first time we have had a bird in hand under much the same circumstances, country life delivers all manner of creatures into our home, and over the months we have had swallows, blue tits and bats, amongst many things, all render themselves unconscious after flying head first into our windows.
They normally always recover their composure after a few minutes and fly back to wherever it is they came from, but Mr Kingfisher stayed put.

Simon thought it would be a good idea to carry him closer to the lake where he might recognise his surroundings better and fly away. No sooner had we reached the lakes bank Mr Kingfisher took off, one gloriously high swoop before he fell, with great speed, right into the water! He kind of half sunk, half floated, Simon quickly fetched the boat, which was perilously close to sinking on account of being full of rain water, and heroically set out to rescue Mr Kingfisher from drowning.

Back on safe ground, Mr Kingfisher sat, once again, quietly in Simon's hands. After much time had passed and darkness began to draw in, we decided to make a wee nest for Mr Kingfisher and pop him in a nearby tree where he could recover in peace. An old plastic plant pot stuffed with hay and dry grass cuttings was positioned carefully and Mr Kingfisher nestled gently on top. Ambear and Hoozel trooped back and forth from house to tree, in pyjamas and wellington boots, diligent in their self-appointed nursing duties, to check on Mr Kingfisher at regular intervals, eventually, as the sun went down, off they went to bed, chatting excitedly about their new avian friend.

I returned to my housework and Simon to the Football on tv, when Mr Pip alerted us to the imminent arrival of Minnu's kittens. He was busy giving her a monkey nibble (this weird affectionate nibbling thing he does to loved ones) and generally paying her too much attention, we quickly realised her panting was due to labour and not Pips amorous chomping at her neck, and were all, once again, on tenterhooks the entire evening.

The first kitten popped out and into the world at midnight, and I was awake all night beside Minnu, as she pushed out two more wee bundles of fluff, the last being at 8am the next morning, when Ambear was excitedly awaiting it's arrival, an incident which did much to answer my inquisitive 8 year olds questions about my own imminent labour - though it took some explaining as to why humans are not born in sacks and mum's don't hungrily start chomping on the placenta!

By now I was dog tired and took myself to bed, no sooner had I settled down to sleep I heard the hounds making a racket, and thus discovered them moments later, attached at the groin after obviously enjoying some humpy time. We had not even been aware that Nala was in season, and planned to get her spayed before Pip came of age, but he quite literally, pipped us at the post! Two weeks on from this very hectic 24 hours of injured birds, birthing cats and humping dogs, we now wait with baited breath for Nala's vet appointment to find out if she is pregnant, and we have three very cute little bundles of kitten to occupy us in the meantime!







I should add, that Mr Kingfisher was not in his new nest the following morning, and we have regularly spotted that blaze of blue darting back and forth across the lake, so can safely assume he recovered and returned to his own abode!


During my absence I have also been back to England, to take the dreaded Driving Theory test. My approach to study and revision is somewhat haphazard, and so no one was more surprised than me when I passed with flying colours! So, I am now a driver in theory, and will be returning to the UK again soon to take my practical driving test.
I am no longer able to ride my bicycle on account of my bump having skewed my balance. I must also accept the idea that once the bump is deflated and replaced by a screaming bundle of cuteness, that cycling is not going to be much of a daily occurance anyway (and I don't much fancy one of those strange pram contraptions that attach to the rear end of a bicycle), so driving a car, after many years of having happily travelled on foot, is suddenly looking like a rather attractive prospect, since I would be lucky to reach my neighbours on foot in one morning, let alone the local shops.

All my adult life I have walked, cycled or braved the perils and filth of public transport to get from A to B, but rural France demands a car, and a car I will have, all in good time.
Of course, cars tend not to deliver themselves unto your doorstep, there is no magic wand to be waved that miraculously alerts you as to the perfect vehicle for you, and so the search has begun, and my god how boring is finding a car?!

My first choice was a vintage Morris Minor, Simon pointed out, that since I am soon to be a mother of 3 sproglets, a vintage car is perhaps not the most practical or reliable choice. I stewed about this for a few days, really I did, I mean, have you seen Morris Minors? They are so cute, and charming, and I dare say, SO ME.



Alas, Simon said I will not be allowed a pale blue polka dotted Morris Minor (it would have to be polka dotted of course!), and that I really ought to consider a proper MUM car, like say, a Citroen Xsara Picasso, yawwwwwwwwn, or dare I even say it, a Renault Espace - if I WERE a practical person then I would be inclined to agree, alas I am not, I am most impractical, and being mother to 3 children before I am 30 will probably not change that, at least I am fighting, with all my wrath, against it, for now at least, perhaps I can compromise.....

I wonder what a Xsara Picasso would look like with Polka Dots?

Anyways, I am now moving into my third trimester of pregnancy, I am heavy, BIG and oh so cumbersome, the blisteringly hot weather is somewhat hard to bare and once again I can feel that dreaded fatigue closing in on me, I need to start sewing, and fast!

On a final note, my lovely wonderful friend Sena, has just started her own blog, be a darling and go and take a peek, she is a super sweet gal and has a super sweet new blog to match! By The Blue Grass.