This week's smiles ....week 446

 Here we are at another Friday's catch up of the week of smiles.  My aim is to share my smiles and to make the world a happier place and hope everyone who can will link up at the bottom of the page and share their smiles too.

By biggest smile this week is that I am soooooooooo thankful to say I am now feeling much better and more like 'me'.  It has been a long haul to recover from the Covid virus...I guess when something knocks you so hard and you're getting older it takes longer than it used to but I have been very sensible and have listened to my body and only done what it was telling me and have rested lots.

As promised last week I have photos to share with you of our babysitting at Amy's last Thursday night...

I set up their Singer sewing machine on the one side of their table and my Janome on the other side and the three children all made a haloween pumpkin out of felt.....they cut out their paper patterns, pinned then onto double thickness felt then stitched carefully around leaving a small gap.  They then stuffed them, stitched up the gap and then decorated the fronts.

I was so proud of all three of them and they were all really proud of their finished projects.

My biggest smile came the following day when they set up their sewing machine themselves and each made halloween black cats and/or bats totally unaided using the same method and then sent me the photos.

Theo's birthday treat from his one uncle was a day at Chester Zoo.  They had a really great day and sent me lots of photos of all the animals they saw there.

Here are some of the outfits from the Halloween weekend....they enjoyed a bit of trick or treating and some Haloween parties....a fun time was had by all.

Saturday Shell treated me to some birthday fun. We had a mother and daughter session at a Kinkiglass workshop at Ironbridge and then she treated me to lunch out. The rainbow was mine and Shell's was the mermaid.  They have to be fired and will then have holes drilled in the top so they can be hung in a window.  It was a really lovely couple of hours and we had a good giggle together.

Finally here is the latest collage of colour from our garden.  Yesterday we had a good frost so I'm guessing these flowers wont last much longer but it was really lovely to capture the colour before it all drops.

I hope you have enjoyed my smiles and will now leave me a little message before you link to your own smiles below.....everyone is welcome to join in.

Hugs,

Annie x

This week's smiles....week 394

It's been a crazily busy week for me with work....definitely one of those 'when you're waiting for a bus two come at once' sort of week's.  I've had very little work for the last 3/4 weeks so I offered 10% off the first bear orders over on my Facebook page and Wednesday I had 8 arrive and today today I have another one coming...there's still one spare space if anyone wants a bear making.

So my pics of my smiles this week are of the wonderfully knitted things we found on our walk around Attingham Park this week...I think they are intended for the children to find but I certainly enjoyed spotting them too...

So much work had gone into each and every knitted item.  Sadly a few of them had been spoilt by the wet weather but it didn't spoil my enjoyment.

Our six grandchildren have been enjoying a bit of spooky dressing up indoors during their half term holidays....they certainly weren't going to let Covid dampen their enjoyment even if they can't go out trick or treating this year. 

Lexi had to dress up for a spooky session at her dance and drama classes and she won the best dressed competition.

Yesterday afternoon I cleared the work off my desks and filled them with crafty fun so I could enjoy some quality time with Phoebe and Lulu.  We used some huge paperclips to make bookmarks with...[.their choice was to spend an afternoon on the side of a cold football field watching their brother Steve play football or spend a fun afternoon with me....no competition!]

We had such a lovely afternoon....I know I'm biased but they are such lovely girls and really good company....a real credit to their mum and dad.

That's all from me for this week....I failed hopelessly to do any visiting of the blogs on Wednesday but if you like up I will do my best to pop over to check out your week's smiles in between my bear making.

Hugs,

Annie x

This week's smiles...week 345

These weeks sure are flying by and I'm doing my best to fill mine with smiles....life is far too short for anything else don't you agree?

So here's a few snaps of what's been making me smile this week....

My darling hubby, our little dog Milly and I headed off for another adventure last weekend in our motor home.  We found a lovely campsite in Cirencester and on Sunday we enjoyed a day at the Arboretum at Westonbirt nearby.  The Autumn colours of the trees were stunning.

The walkway/bridge you can see in some of the photos was a tree top walk and for someone who really isn't good at heights I can proudly say I managed it and it was really wonderful to see the trees at a whole new level.

The top right photo is one of three dogs carved out of wood...very special too.

I really love mushrooms, toadstools and fungus of any kind and, with there being so much rain this Autumn, many of these have done really well this year so I've just had to snap a few photos of some of the ones I've seen.

For Halloween our grandchildren have all been round a few of their local houses trick or treating and they really loved dressing up to go....

...here's Phoebe, Lulu and Steve and.....

....little Theo joined Lexi and Sam before they went out.  Doesn't he make a cute little pumpkin ?

I hope my pics have made you smile today and you will now leave me a little comment before linking up your own smiles below.

Hugs,

Annie x

This week's smiles....week 344

Another lovely week and I've more smiles to share with you all.  

I was treated to lunch out on Saturday as part of my birthday treat from Amy, Dave and family then Amy had booked for me, her and the two girls to enjoy a couple of hours of crafty fun at Splat and Splodge in Shrewsbury...

What a lovely afternoon we had painting our chosen ceramics.  I painted a little Father Christmas to hang on our Christmas tree....can't wait for it to be fired so we can collect them....the girls are growing up so quickly now and are really lovely company to spend time with.

The schools around here have been on half term holidays this week so they have been having Halloween fun....

The twins have been decorating the house, carving their pumpkins and enjoying time with their friends.

Amy's three have been to choose their pumpkin and have been making scary face masks.

On Wednesday Steve went with his Mum and Grandad to Walsall to play in a football tournament with Shrewsbury Football Academy.  There were 13 teams taking part and Steve's team came fourth.  He plays in goals and they said he had made some really good saves.....so proud of him.

Of course rather than standing on the side of the football pitches in the cold the two girls asked if they could come and spend the day with me.

I know I was working but they are now so independent and love playing with Nanny's crafty stash so of course I said yes.

I did have customers and had sewing to do but it was really lovely to have their company here and we had a lovely time crafting and creating together....they managed to finish knitting their squares and then made their little bunnies with them.  They then moved onto making pom poms and creating different characters out of them.....it's so lovely watching them dipping into my craft supplies.

Little Milly often makes us smile and here she is sitting on one of the plants in the garden....I have a feeling she thinks I am growing cushions for her to sit on!!!

Those are my smiles for this week.  Please leave me a little comment so I know you've called by and if you can please link up below and share your smiles with us too.

Hugs,

Annie x

This week's smiles....week 296

It's been one of those weeks when I've needed to focus on keeping busy to override the dull, constant pain of my sciatica....I really will be glad when it goes now.

I've had lots of lovely sewing to occupy my hands and mind and have had plenty to smile about so here a few of my shares...

Here's my little trick or treaters that called at my door for Halloween with their friends.

Fab outfits twinnies.

Here's Amy's three in their Halloween outfits on their way to their friends house for a Halloween party.....even Poppy dog likes to line up for a photo.

I thought I would also share with you colours around our garden at the mo.....don't you just love the colours of Autumn and the few flowers that, so far, have survived the frosts we have had?

Those are my shares for this week.  Please share your smiles by linking them below.

Hugs,

Annie x

WOYWW....

Oh wow what a busy week it's been here and there more arriving today to keep me busy....I've got a lady coming with items of clothing to make 6 memory bears....yes 6!!! Plus another lady is coming lunchtime wanting several sewing jobs done so never a dull minute here for me......and my sciatica still hasn't gone!!!

So? What have I been up to?.....

My special blogging friend Ellie [we have only met three times but she knows me sooooo well] sent me a voucher for Doughtys for my birthday with instructions to spoil myself so I bought this gorgeous fabric and have made two large cushions to go in our motor home. ....I made the cushions and covers.

It was suggested by several of you that I should made a travelling bear to come with us in the motor home so here he is....I've made him from an old fleece jumper of my hubby's so he's really cuddly and of course he had to have a back pack and hat for his camping trips....I still plan to knit him a scarf to go round his neck.

I haven't thought of a name yet...any suggestions?

You may get to see some of his adventures over the months ahead. :-)

Update......Scarf knitted.  He's all ready for his first adventure now.....but is still needing a name.

My darling hubby bought me a gorgeous new purple fleece as part of my birthday present and of course the sleeves needed shortening to fit me but just look .....even with all the threads I have I didn't have one to match!!....Who would have believed that?

The other thing that's on my desk today is a bit of paper crafting.....card and scissors were involved at least :-)

We have the twins calling round trick or treating with some of their little friends tonight so I had to make the effort lol.

That's all from me for this week.  I will do my best to visit as many as I can but I have a feeling I'm going to be rather busy this week.

Hugs,

Annie x

This week's smiles.....week 244

Here we are at our weekly catch up of smiles for the week.  I'm sure it does me good to focus on the happy times each week so why not have a go and join in the fun?  Everyone is welcome.  Just write a post on your blog sharing a smile or two from your week and link them below so we can all benefit from a few extra smiles.

Many thanks to those who joined in last week.

As promised my smiles this week include some pics from Mark's 30th birthday celebrations....you may spot a few faces you know on there.....just click to enlarge if you need a closer look.

Everyone made a big effort at getting into character as you can see and a great time was had by all.

Of course it's also been Halloween this week so I am sharing a couple of pics of my little trick or treaters...

As you can see Poppy the dog likes to be in on the pics too....she thinks she's one of the children I'm sure.

You may be able to see Sam has a spider on his left cheek and he insisted he hugged me and I had to kiss that side of his face cos he knows I am scared of spiders....little monkey!

That's my smiles for this week.  Please leave me a little message so I know you've called by and if you can then link up to something that's made you smile this week.
Hugs,
Annie x

This week's smiles....week 193

Each week our numbers fluctuate of blogging friends joining in.  We all have busy lives and just sometimes we don't have a lot to smile about but I do hope that calling in here to share a few smiles makes the difficult week a little easier.  There were only four joining in last week so I would like to say a big thank you to all four of you for sharing your smiles with us......I'm not going to just pick one of you this week as it just wouldn't be fair.

The schools round here have been on half term holiday this week so my little munchkins have been out and about having fun and sending me pics of their antics to make me smile so I am sharing a few with you here.... 

Lexi and Sam have enjoyed a trip to Whittington castle and throwing the leaves on their way. 

Phoebe, Lulu and Steve have been out into the fields to choose their pumpkin to carve with their daddy. :-)

Sam and Lexi enjoyed dressing up to have an early Halloween party with their friends.

And I just couldn't resist taking a pic of this gorgeous sky to share with you that we saw while out shopping the other night...

Isn't nature wonderful?  Skies like that always make me smile.

I hope you've enjoyed sharing my smiles and can manage to find a pic of something that had you smiling this week to share with us by linking it below.

Hugs,

Annie x

This week's smiles....week 143

Here we are at yet another Friday's gathering up of as many smiles as we can for the week.  It's not been the easiest of weeks for us but Friday is the day when I like to focus on the happy times and to see how many things has made us smile for the week....I hope you can all find something that has made you smile too and will link it up at the bottom using Mr Linky.

There were many of you joining in the fun last week and for that I thank you all for helping to make the world a happier place to be.  I am featuring that very talented, much older sister of mine this week for the gorgeous monster suit that she made for her little grandson Ben out of one of his mummy's dresses.  Recycling at it's best eh? and doesn't he just look so cute in it?.....he's not feeling at his best at the mo so I am sending him lots of get well soon wishes too.  Thanks for sharing the pics Jo.

My biggest smile this week was at 3 o'clock yesterday when our builders finished for the day.....but the truth is that the only job they have to do now is to fit our new kitchen french doors and glass side panels.  These are due to arrive today and the builders plan to come back at the end of next week to fit them.  Our plumbers plan to come today to put our new radiators in the rooms and when finished we should have heating and then this means the rest is down to us.....just a little matter of installing a bathroom and a kitchen [when we get it] and decorating through the new part before starting on the old part..............  :-) :-) :-) :-)

My smiley photos this week revolve around my grandchildren and the Autumn/Halloween fun they have been having during their half term holidays...

They've gathered leaves, made dens in the woods, been to a pumpkin farm to choose their pumpkins and have carved them, they have made scary buns, done some paper crafting and even made their own witches brews.....oh to be a child again eh?

Little Lulu is proudly showing off her new football kit ready for the new club she is joining after school.

                            :-) :-) :-)

For those wondering how the twin's new little friend, Monty is settling in, here he is sitting on the laptop to make sure he gets attention....so you can see he one very happy little kitten and is getting lots of spoiling.

That's about it from me for today so please leave me a little comment to let me know you've called in and link up your smiles below.

Hugs,

Annie x

Happy Halloween smiles....

You can never have too many smiles so here's another late in the day one from me...

These little trick or treaters will be coming to scare Nanny and Grandad later :-)

Please scroll down to link up your smiles for this week.

Hugs,
Annie x

This week's smiles....week 41

Oh how these weeks fly by and this week has been no exception.  It was my birthday on Wednesday and it is our gorgeous son's birthday today....yes folks I went into labour in the night of my 30th birthday!!!!....a very aging experience :-)

Happy 26th Birthday Mark xxxx love you to bits xxxx

I had lots of giggles at your posts last week girls so thank you so much for sharing them all with us.  I have to say that I am featuring Sam's post this week though hoping that the advertisment for her plumber will encourage him to call on me in the near future....it would be so handy for party times.  :-)  Thanks for sharing Sam.

I have so many fab pics to share with you this week as you can imagine and will add them at the end but I just want to challenge you to all to turn up your sound to play this video and not be chuckling at the end of it...

Isn't laughter contagious?

Dressing up for Halloween.  :-)

Our little Pumpkin.  :-)

Our little artist.....he loves drawing and this is one of his Daddy. :-)

I really hope you have enjoyed my shares this week and you will go from here with a smile on your face.  Please have a look around you and share your smiles this week and link them up below some time before next Friday.  I will visit each and every one of you and will feature my favourite in my next happy post.

Hugs,

Annie x

Even on a bad week there is always lots to smile about...

Firstly I want to say a huge thank you to all who called by on Wednesday and left me get well messages. I really enjoyed browsing about 110 of the WOYWW desks.....what a clever lot you all are.  I'm pleased to say that I do feel rather better this morning......it's a b****** horrid thing this Norovirus and I really do hope none of you get it.  We seem to have had a week of headaches, high temperatures, sickness and diarrhoea....yuck!

Now I am going to share with you some of the many pics that have made me smile while I've been poorly.

My youngest daughter, Amy, has had a fun week with her three getting ready for Halloween.....

They have baked scary buns,

made scary masks,

made a wonderful pumpkin 

and dressed up to have trick or treat fun.

Thankfully the twins are now starting to feel rather better and you can see they are pretty good at re hydrating after their nasty bug.

Lexi thinks their toy garage is a good place to learn to climb mountains!

My son Mark's fiance has graduated......and we are so very proud of you Gina [don't they make a lovely couple?]

And to top off my week my eldest daughter, Michelle, has turned designer and has very proudly made some cosy toes to keep the twins warm in their push chair....following in mother's footsteps it seems  :-)

It seems even on the worst of weeks there is always a lot to smile about.  I really hope my pics make you smile too and you have a great weekend.

Hugs,

Annie xxxx