Spring, soup and puppies

It's hard to think about much else rather than our sweet little puppies at the moment. I find myself passing through the dining room and pausing to give mum a stroke then before I know it, time has passed by while I've been sat just gazing at those small dark bundles, watching them crawl all over each other looking for a warm place to cuddle in, sleeping or crawling into their mother's furry tummy to sniff out her milk.

It looked like 4 black pups when they arrived, but now it appears to be 2 black and 2 brown and black ones.

Mollie is able to leave them for a little longer now as they sleep for longer between feeding. She's a very good mother though, never too far away and not letting poor dad get a look in.

They've grown so much already, it's amazing.

Look at that teeny mouth... OK... is this too many puppy photos! You can just see the paler markings above one of the puppy's eyes - just like his dad!

Meanwhile, more life is happening outside. Imogen planted lots of bulbs in the Autumn, and we are now seeing them strong and true, reaching up to the sun.

I can see these shoots from my kitchen window, and can't wait to see them all grown and in flower. Imogen planted so many, I can't remember what's there!

What else have I been up to? Soup... I love making my own soup. I've never tried French Onion soup, so thought I'd try making some.

It was the easiest soup I've made. Chopping lots of onion, and caramelising them with some butter, olive oil and a pinch of brown sugar.

I also added some garlic, well it is so good for you - yum! All that was left was to stir in my vegetable stock and a couple of table spoons of flour to thicken.

Best served with homemade bread, toasted with cheese.

Take care
xxx

Puppies are here.

What an exciting day we had yesterday, everything happened in the evening. We suspected that Mollie, our dear Miniature Dachshund, was going into labour. Her due date was Thursday, but we were expecting them between Tuesday (yesterday) and Saturday. The first hint was a complete lack of interest in her food and water and then it was obvious that she was very restless and just couldn't get comfortable (poor thing).

Adam had planned to come round after work (it's his last week living on his own before his lovely g/friend moves in with him, but that's another story) so I was cooking a lovely big roast joint for us all. Andy left to pick Adam up from work and I was just sorting out the last few things for the dinner so I could have it ready for them on their return, when Imogen came to tell me about Mollie having 'stuff' falling out... hmmm!

Four tiny bits of 'stuff' fell out! They are all appear strong and healthy, moving around with gusto and crying when their mother plonks herself on them!

Stolen my heart already!

Mollie looks like she's going to eat one here!

Are they not the cutest things ever! All 4 appear to have a shiny black coat like daddy (our tiny Chihuahua) and are bigger than I expected, though still tiny little Chiweenies. Thank goodness all went smoothly and mum and puppies are doing well.

The evening was spent relaxing with each other and some homemade banana and walnut cake.

Take care

xxx

A New Friend...

Thank you for all the lovely comments on my last post. I do try and reply to each comment and appreciate every one of them :)

I forgot to show a photo of the lovely flowers that Andrew bought me for Valentines. We don't really celebrate Valentines, but it's always nice to get flowers and they do look so pretty in the fauna posy vase.

How mantic is my man, buying me roses!

While I'm mentioning his romantic side... Andy was popping a pizza in the oven and came running through to show me this

Huh? I hear you say. It's a small piece of tomato from the pizza. Isn't he sweet!

I was flicking through the last issue of Simply Crochet when I came upon the cutest little bunny. I'm still very new to crochet and haven't made anything like this before so as well as learning something new, it meant we have a new friend come to stay with us.

She was nice and easy to make and I enjoyed crocheting her. Imogen suggests we call her Beatrix, Trixie for short.

Cute little bunny tail...

She's posing with my crochet hooks so I can show off my new GreenGate tumbler. I think it's so pretty, Andrew bought it for my birthday and I think it's going to be the closest I get to any GreenGate for now... love it :)

Take care
xxx

I had a Birthday!

It was over a week ago now... where do the weeks fly to... what am I saying... where do the years go?

I had a lovely birthday with my family. Adam  came round after work, then Andy and Adam made a lovely Mexican meal to celebrate the day. Unfortunately no photos were taken, but I can still show you some of my lovely presents.

This is so sweet, and plays Over the Rainbow, from my thoughtful husband.

Beautiful flowers as a lovely surprise from my beautiful sister and her family (not the best photo, the colours are gorgeous and vibrant). Just right to go in my new jug :)

I was so excited by this, a Sharp Crochet Hook. Andy bought it from America especially, my wonderful husband! It comes with a handy little book with ideas and patterns and means I can crochet borders onto everything without having the fuss of having to pierce holes first.

 They have a website and facebook page full of ideas too.

Also, here are some of the lovely books...

Hmmm... not sure if Andy's trying to tell me something here...

I do love the Amazon wishlist...

It's so nice having a grown up son too, Adam bought me some lovely jewellery

and thoroughly spoilt me with lots of bits and pieces, including some cds of The Drifters and this one here

Imogen knows the way to her mum's heart and treated me to a big box of milk chocolates... yum! Just right for munching through while watching a good film.

Take Care
xxx

Spring Tulips

As we were meandering through the local supermarket, I spotted a bucket with flowers that were on sale. I haven't been lucky enough to find one of these at our usual supermarket before, so feeling well chuffed I treated myself to a couple of bunches of Tulips... they were only 69p each! It's just like having Spring in the living room :)

I've picked up the knitting needles again (haven't done any knitting for a while since I learnt how to crochet) and started on a little cardigan for my Tangkou dolls. I picked the wool up in a charity shop for 10p, it has a silky feel to it. 

A couple of posts ago I showed you some Swallows and said I'd show another picture of them up in the conservatory. Andrew put them up this afternoon :)

Take care

xxx

Pasta All Round

I'm not the biggest pasta fan in the world, but hubby loves pasta and it can make a quick and filling meal, especially on a cold winter's evening.

I made 2 different dishes, one with tuna, cheese and black pepper for Adam

and one for us with chopped up gammon , garlic and cheese.

I also cooked a pan of pasta just for the chickens. Poor things need all the help they can dealing with this freezing weather.

Lots of decluttering going on, I've completely cleared out my wardrobe with just the aid of bags! I hung up clothes I know I'm going to wear and feel comfortable in, had a bag for items to go to the local charity shop and a bag for items that I can use as fabric. It's now a pleasure to open my wardrobe doors and look inside instead of fighting with what's in there!

Meanwhile Imogen has been enjoying the snow, though even she is now getting quite fed up with it all.

Take care
xxx

Snow and First Word

The snow has been falling steadily all day, lightly and not settling at first, but then thick and fast soon becoming inches thick. I do think it looks so pretty out the window, but so great for those out and about in it (children being the exception of course!).

Imogen couldn't wait to pull her boots on when she came home from school and played outside until her small hands were frozen inside her woolly gloves!

Meanwhile, Phoebe has said her first proper word! We've had lots of imitating sounds (the phone ringing is particularly accurate... unfortunately!), whistles and trills, but we now have a very clear 'Hello'. Every time she says it I have to smile at my clever girl.

Before I go let me show you my lovely Swallows that Andrew treated me to. It's not the best picture, but I know just the place to hang them and I'll take another picture.

Here's one of the books Andrew bought me for Christmas 'The Happiness Project' by Gretchen Rubin. I've popped it next to my bed and I'm looking forward to having a dip in it tonight.

Don't you think my tablecloth is cute, loving chickens!

Take care

xxx