We’ve spent the last few days kicking around at home. We spent Thursday with friends which was lovely. Friday was bitterly cold and windy so Elena, Hugo and I spent the day inside catching up on housework, doing a spot of sewing and welcoming Hugo’s second tooth (not nearly as painfully as the first, thank goodness).

(He’s still behind bars.)

Elena’s entering a really delightful phase which, while keeping me on my toes, makes me laugh. A lot. Her personality is shining through. Like me, she loves her books.

She’s also a complete mimic. *makes note to be more careful*

Every time I turn around, I have a shadow.

It has been really cold lately but there are signs that Spring is just around the corner. Today was warmer and our weather forecasters think we’re heading towards temperatures in the the high teens next week. Fingers crossed.

One of the things I’ve been most looking forward to since moving into the house is getting my hands on the garden. It has been very neglected and there’s a lot of work to do.

I’m keen to get outside but have restricted myself to sorting out the inside of the house first. I’ve been stuck in apartments and share houses for the whole of my adult life, so having my very own garden is a first. I can’t wait for the warmer weather to really arrive so I can get out there with the kids and have a play.

In the meantime, though, I’ve been rugging up and heading outside to check out what’s going on. We have all sorts of delightful bulbs flowering. I have no idea what some of them are, so I’ll be picking my mother’s brain and probably spending some time leafing through gardening books and consulting Google.

I was delighted to be able to pick enough jonquils to fill a (tiny) vase. It’s my aim to be able to cut flowers for as much of the year as I can. I think I need to stock up on vases.

Our fruit trees are getting there.

I’d better get busy with unpacking some boxes. According to some of our trees, Spring may be closer than I think!

Have a lovely weekend!