Bouskell Park

Yesterday my hubby offered to take us out for a few hours to somewhere of my choice so that we could all enjoy some fresh air and new scenery. I thought i should choose somewhere not too far away and we settled on Bouskell Park - a Victorian parkland with remains of a medieval village, situated in a village called Blaby not too far from where we live. We hadn't been there before but i felt like being surrounded by trees and as it has a wood i thought we may enjoy it.

The weather was much colder than it has been in days, i regretted leaving my coat and gloves at home. But walking around the grounds and through the woods warmed us up a little, and Little D didn't seem to mind cold red hands at all.

Walking through the wooded area was just what i had hoped, i love the feeling of being sheltered and enclosed, but whilst being in the open countryside. The air is always so fresh and the light so dappled and atmospheric. I feel safe under trees, and always relaxed, like this is home.

I know that there are a few people who read my blog who live in Leicester, if you are one of them then i recommend you visit Bouskell Park for a couple of hours. There is even a secluded pond with geese and ducks (a pair of each) with a little wooden pier so that you can feed them your crusts!

Knighton Park

Little D ate his first icecream this week at one of our local parks. He was looking for the icecream man for ages repeatedly asking 'van, van' and when it eventually came i just knew that now was the moment to let him enjoy his first 99. He was so delighted with it, he seemed to ooze confidence and joy when i placed it in his tight grip and we went to sit on one of the benches. At that moment he began to repeatedly say 'ma-ma man' meaning 'icecream man' - its so funny, he still says it all the time. He wasn't quite sure how to eat it so i showed him how to lick it, and encouraged him to try to bite it but i think he couldn't get to grips with the whole 'but-cover-your-teeth-with-your-lips-first' aspect. I ate most of the icecream myself, at one point being met with an amazed 'oooooooh' from him when i took a particularly big bite from it. I could never let him eat the whole thing, im quite restrictive when it comes to comfort foods as opposed to healthy foods. It makes me feel really uncomfortable to let him fill up on empty calories rather than something which will benefit his tiny growing body. He always shares cake or chocolate with me and never has his own slice or bar or whatever. As adults we eat the 'naughty' foods usually because there is some kind of pleasant emotional or psychological connection with it. Well this isn't the same for young children, they eat them simply because they are given them. They don't link emotions and foods just yet. So we treat food purely as a fuel for his body, to help turn him into a healthy, intelligent and attractive young man who will hopefully insha'Allah bring some benefit to humanity.

As well as enjoying the icecream, we heard the furious drumming of a woodpeckers beak against a tree (didn't manage to see it but it was still wonderful to hear as ive never heard it in real life), we glowed under the suns warm rays and the brightness of the clear blue sky, we wowed over the flowers and i made a mental note that i must have some magnolia growing in our garden.

I love how these furry buds turn into these classic white Magnolia flowers.

Today the weather turned back towards the days of Winter and we endured a very cold walk around a new-to-us park and woods. Photos of that will be here soon. xx

Spring energy...

Today i had a real good burst of Spring energy and managed to accomplish lots of little jobs around the house in preparation for the warmer months ahead insha'Allah.

Picnic blankets were washed and dried on the line outside, and our spare pillows and winter duvet were aired before being stored away until next Winter.

New bed linen was put on our bed and the thinner quilt for Spring / Summer.

I dug up weeds from our driveway and sprayed those that i couldn't manage to get from between the cracks with weedkiller to make the job much easier in a couple of weeks time.

I found many beetles, ladybirds and caterpillars along the way and took care not to hurt them whilst guilt set in that i was in fact destroying their homes just so that the front of our house could look more aesthetically pleasing.

I baked a cake which is delicious and most certainly going to be baked again and again.

And i shared some of my seeds out and made little seed packets for my mum so that she can try and use them in her new garden this year insha'Allah - she hasn't had a garden for about 5 years and just moved closer to me where she now has a big one! I've planted lots of seeds myself so far, i think ive done about a third of them. The lettuce are the first to germinate, these two photos were taken just 2 days apart. We went from one tiny lettuce to a whole potential weeks worth!

I've seen bee's and butterfly's this week and the birds are in a constant choir. I love it all so much.

So its been a very lovely, blessed, and relaxing day actually, im going to spend this evening with my hubby eating cake, drinking tea and watching The Soprano's. xx

If you havent had chance to delight in the signs of Spring...

I wanted to share a few photos that ive taken in my garden this week, theres been lots of little changes taking place as the warm sun bathes the plants and trees. We have had glorious Spring weather for over a week, perhaps even two weeks, no rain and lots of sun, alhamdulillah, God is so great. Some cloudy skies but plenty of blue ones too. Im so excited about the trees bursting into blossom, their branches are beginning to hold small buds to the light amidst sprinklings of lush green leaves. We are being blessed with new life whilst others are being tested with natural disasters which we struggle to comprehend. I thank God for everything that i have, and i will appreciate it all i can insha'Allah.

(Our bench and table from the auction is now in the middle of the garden and its so peaceful to sit there surrounded by trees, you cant see our house from there so it feels just a little bit more out of the way)

(This is a birdfeeder which i won at auction with two boxes full of household brik-a-brak, for just £2.00!)

(Little D holds our flowers and studies them carefully before moving on to the next one. He does this every day!)

(This is the neglected woodland area of our garden, there are about 7 or 8 damson trees here and we are hoping to tidy it up at some point and have a little seating area underneath them. When the leaves are on the trees i love being in this corner)

(Every day we have wood pigeons in the garden and whilst i took some of these photos today this one sat in our evergreen tree and observed us, waiting for us to go back indoors so that he could eat the seed which id scattered for all of the birds this morning)

Depressing clock turns into a country home pretty thing...

In one of my recent bundles of odds and ends that i won at our local Auction house was this rather 80's (and quite depressing - think cigarette stained 80's living room) clock. What appealed to me about it was its size (about a foot tall) and shape, and the fact that we have needed a clock for our dining room for a while now but i never happened to find one that i liked.

It wasnt worth anything so i thought id try and revamp it in the hope that we would end up with something worth keeping.

I used some Sanderson wallpaper to cover the clear glass section (stuck on with sellotape from the behind) but although this made it look a little nicer, it still had a horrible 80's vibe lingering over it. So then i used some left over cream spray paint to take the rim from gold to cream. And this totally uplifted it and made it something worth hanging on the wall.

In the end we hung it in our living room and it looks right at home in there. I really enjoyed this little revamp, hopefully il find something else to give a make over too next time im out treasure hunting!

Planting the seeds...

Our plant pots have been bathed and are now lined up in the greenhouse ready to receive their seeds later this week insha'Allah. I cant wait to tear open my seed packs and let the tiny seeds feel the comfort of the soil and the warmth of the sun, and give them a chance to rejoice and grow and feel the fresh Spring air.

We took advantage of the fresh Spring air ourselves this weekend and visited Leicester Botanic Garden which is not too far from our house. Although many of the trees are still bare there were many Spring flowers and shoots covering the ground, so much colour which is very refreshing after the quiet subtlety of colour throughout Winter.

The garden comprises the grounds of four houses whose gardens have now been merged into a single 16 acre garden.

I enjoy going there throughout the year as its very peaceful despite being surrounded on every side by busy roads (once your in the centre of the garden you cant hear the traffic). You can see the garden website here.

I'm hoping to visit a bluebell wood next month, its something ive never done before and i think it will be breathtaking so i really don't want to miss it this year. If you want to find a bluebell wood near you (in the UK) then go to visitwoods.org.uk. Its a fantastic website run by the Woodland Trust, certainly worth a visit if you want to experience a day out under the trees.