Pond dipping

A few weeks ago me and my mum took Little D out to one of Leicestershires most beautiful country parks - Bradgate Park. (Ive mentioned it quite a few times but you can read more about it and see more photos in this post). We had been there for about half an hour, taking the scenery in and breathing in the fresh, revitalising but very cold air, when Little D took a run for freedom and ended up floating in the middle of a small pond. My mum ran into the pond (up to her knee's) and dragged him out and after some back patting, jostling and much spluttering we had to strip him down to his nappy (which was now bulging with pond water) and wrap him in a blanket that fortunately i had on the pushchair, and two cotton shopping bags! He was shocked into quietness and was red from the cold. But we cut our day out short, rushed back to the car, i changed his nappy and we drove home with the heating on full - by this time he was fine.

I judge each moment in the context of my surroundings and generally let him explore as much as he wants to. If he wants to run across a field while i walk at a slow pace behind him, im ok with that. I let him splash in muddy puddles, climb steep hills, and sit down in holes in the ground. He can roll in Autumn leaves, eat fresh snow, or throw soil into the air and consequently all over his head. I love giving him this freedom and seeing how he reacts and learns from it. I want him to have a strong love and enthusiasm for nature and the great and fascinating outdoors. And my laid back attitude to exploration has worked in our favour most of the time.

Of course on this occasion, my lack of restraint had unfortunate consequences (which could have a been a lot worse) but putting what happened into context you should know that we had just carried him past the pond, putting a dip in the land between it and ourselves so that he didn't go anywhere near it, but the moment that his feet touched the ground he decided to run back to where we had carried him from, thus running straight into the pond.

We live in a time where many of us feel the need to wrap our children up in cotton wool and keep a close eye on them at all times. The media and especially the news have scared us into believing that there is a terrible person at every corner, and a death trap round every bend. I was interested to know how you feel about children and the amount of freedom they should be given? How did / do you raise your own children - how much Independence do you think is necessary or safe? Have you had anything like this happen to you?

February Garden

Me and Little D spent most of today in the garden - it was a lovely winters day here in Leicestershire. We were accompanied by birdsong the whole time we were outside and were bathed in the intermittent warmth and glow of winter sunshine. I managed to finish digging my fruit and veg border along one side of the garden, it just needs raking and enriching with compost before i can start planting.

I also made a start on the cleaning up of our greenhouse. One wall of the greenhouse is pushed against a fence and the glass has been forced into shards by a very robust ivy, which now grows on the inside of my greenhouse.

So i trimmed it back today and started to remove the moss which has been growing around the edges of the metal frame on the rest of the greenhouse.

There are lots of subtle changes going on in the garden during February. Its a very exciting time for those who are enthusiastic about this sort of thing. Here's some snippets from the rest of my February garden...

The start of the gardening year.

I've been buying bulbs, seeds and plants since i got married nearly 6 years ago and have always kept any packets and labels so that i know what ive planted. My storage method for all the labels was not particularly sophisticated - an old diary which i re-covered with fabric, in which i would sellotape them down randomly so that i could keep track of how to care for each plant throughout the year.

I've been longing for something a little more aesthetically pleasing for a while but didn't want a typical gardening organiser from WHSmiths etc. Fortunately i came across a garden note book designed, written and illustrated by Matthew Rice (husband of Emma Bridgewater), in my local Oxfam for about £2.00.

There is a short section at the front of the book which is a diary, with little snippets of advice for what to do in the garden in each particular month.

But the majority of the book is a blank notebook. Its that area which i will use to start storing my labels etc. I will probably illustrate areas of this myself, just small doodles or bits of information that i find here and there, and also a few magazine cut outs too. Il show you it as i progress throughout the year insha'Allah.

I'm in the process of digging over some of our lawn to make way for a fruit and veg patch. The patch i used last year will hopefully be flowers this year instead - its close to the house so i want something prettier. We already have blackberry, raspberry and blueberry bushes in the new plot, but i haven't yet planted anything else, but im hoping for courgettes, carrots, onions, spring onions, potatoes, garlic, cauliflower, broccoli and sweetcorn. It will still be a relatively small amount of land, but enough for a novice like me. Im looking forward to starting the planting!

Do you save all of your plant labels and seed / bulb packets? How do you store them?

Wallpaper

We are hoping to do a lot of work on our house this year God willing and ive gradually been getting more and more excited about it all. We've been here for almost a year and have done nothing to the interior so far, we wanted to live here for a while to really get to know the house before making it our home.

Id love to have wallpaper in every room eventually but for now im focusing on three rooms in particular - the living room, the dining room, and Little D's bedroom. We already have our bedroom wallpaper.

There's been three wallpapers saved in my inspiration file for years and ive ordered samples of them and many more so that i can start to choose exactly what i want.

This is Rosa by Graham and Brown.

Also by Graham and Brown, Spring.

And finally, Cow Parsley from Cole and Son.

Out of the above three, the only one which is a possibility is 'Spring'. Rosa looks cheap and very typical when you see it in the flesh, and although i still like the cow parsley, the shade of yellow (mustard really) isnt quite right to suit the rest of the house. But Spring is definitely through to the finals.

Also strong contenders - these two wallpapers from Sanderson. They are both different colourways from the Eglantine print. I love the yellow and blue version, but we wont have much blue in the rest of the rooms so im unsure about it. The pink and green one will fit right in though.

But my favorite two out of all the samples ive received in the post so far are both from The Little Greene Paint Company. Im almost certain that we will be using both of these, which just leaves space for one more to pick from the rest of my samples.

Firstly, Herbes - cocktail. This is a paper inspired by a 1955 original design. Im more of a 20's to 40's girls really, but i just fell in love with this paper the moment i saw it.

And for Little D's room, Hampstead - ink. I first saw this in a magazine and again, i loved it at first sight. I want to put this up on at least one wall, and use watercolours to paint small areas, such as the doors of some of the buildings, or the leaves in the trees.

Im still waiting for more samples, mainly from William Morris & Co as i would love to have some of his designs in our house. I may even find a spot in the house where i can have a patchwork effect on the wall, using up all of my sample pieces!

A night in Rutland

Today i came back home after spending a relaxing night at a beautiful Victorian hotel on the edge of a reservoir in Rutland, the smallest county in England. For a while ive really needed to spend some time alone with no responsibilities just so that i could catch my breath. I'm sure that if you are a wife and mother you will know how claustrophobic things can get sometimes. So my husband offered to book me into a hotel for a night to give me some time to do as i wish. I chose Barnsdale Hall Hotel as it is a grand building situated in stunning scenery. We visited Rutland Water a few years ago and although i was a little put off with the commercialism of it, i felt completely at home with the scenery. I love being by water (i dream of living in a home with views across water) and as the surrounding area is open and green, for me its a perfect place to both relax and reflect.

The hotel was beautiful, upon entering the building the first thing you notice is a grand staircase curving upwards, and a fire with a delft tile surround in a small but welcoming lounge.

My room was small but had everything i needed, but my window view wasn't the best.

It was a little better once the blind was down. At least then i could see Rutland Water (almost).

As the grounds are so open, the weather was something else. It was incredibly windy, perhaps the windiest weather ive ever witnessed, but i loved it. The air was cold but fresh, and all i could hear was the leaves of the trees rapidly blowing against each other. I felt like it was the turn of the century and i was a country girl taking a blustery walk. I couldn't even hold my camera still, the wind was whipping around me and pushing and shoving me wherever i stood.

I'm back home today, and feel refreshed and inspired. First thing i did upon my return was take Little D into our (windy) garden and spend an hour or so digging the land in preparation for the seeds and bulbs im hoping to plant insha'Allah.

And it was so good to be home, and happy, and stress free. Alhamdulillah.

You can view the hotel brochure here.