Here we are, back in England again

We got back from France on Tuesday evening, but it has taken me this long to get up to date with all the posts from my blog reading list! Well, that, plus I had to do a little bit of clearing up, and another town walk with a bunch of German kids on Wednesday, and cooking dinner, and going shopping........ But honestly, I have read and thoroughly enjoyed hundreds of your posts from the last 10 days or so, but I just didn't have the time to comment on all of them. Am I forgiven?

Leaving the cottage seems to get harder and harder each time we return to England. The weather was pretty grotty for most of the time ( seemed to be the same all over Europe though ), but it really doesn't matter, because we light the fire, snuggle down with the doggies, watch a film, play games, do bits and pieces inside the cottage rather than in the garden. Hmmm, we call it a garden, but really at the moment it is more of a field, lol.

I managed to finish the granny square wrap in that lovely Manos del Uruguay yarn, which I started such a long time ago. Remember it? This post from February shows what it looked like then.

And here it is, finished, yippee, although I haven't steamed it yet to make it all nice and flat. Probably not going to either, lol, because every time I pick it up, I just snuggle with it, it is so lovely and soft and cosy -


And yes, Sarah, I sat by the roaring fire, in my Lloyd Loom chair,with my slippers on and did my best crocheting-granny impression! Quite coincidently, while I was out and about today looking for a certain thingy for somebody's birthday, I found a gorgeous Monsoon summer dress in lovely soft shades of lilacs and purple, which goes so perfectly with the wrap.

On our first morning at the cottage we found ourselves in the clouds again. Because we are on top of a hill, we often find ourselves totally cut off from the rest of the world, in low thick clouds, first thing in the mornings. We do love proper sunrises with clear skies, but having said that, these cloud filled, misty early mornings are just as fabulous. The dogs don't care either way, they are just so happy that I can just open the door and go for a walk with them down the little country lane which runs past our cottage. No fussing about with getting in the car, and driving for 20 mins to get them to a place where they can run around. They chomp on dewy grass, they drink from muddy puddles, and they run and play like crazy -


I was delighted to find lilacs growing wild along the lanes. I always pick something on the first morning, and this time I was able to pick some lilac! Bliss. Lilac blossom always reminds me of sitting in my grandmother's garden, breathing in the lovely scent of the lilac tree next to the little wooden garden house my grandfather had built


AND......... the little lilac tree in our, ahem, garden/field was also showing off this year. Last year it wasn't really doing very much but this year, weyhey!


Much lighter colour than the ones growing along the lane.

Oops, where is the afternoon gone again? I had better get myself off the computer and get started on dinner. More France photos tomorrow, including some of the vide greniers finds! YES, I managed to get to a couple of vide greniers!! Lineny, booky, papery treasures, lol.

Toodlepip, xxx