Chester Mid Summer Watch Parade

Yesterday on a day out to Chester we were fortunate to witness something rather unexpected, the Chester's Mid Summer Watch Parade. It was unexpected to us at least and not to the many people who had turned up especially to watch the event. Our trip was to buy a dressing up costume and school socks for Little L and then while we were going to take her to the museum. Just after lunch time I popped into Tescos for something to feed my hungry lot on then went to find a spot to sit. We went walked through a part we had never been before and noticed some people walking on and off a field wearing costumes and face paint. I thought maybe there was a Summer Fair or festival taking place so I took some steps leading to one of the walls for better look. The field was full of people in groups wearing a variety of costumes, devils, green men, crows, suns, fish. Luckily I had my camera because we were meant to be going to the museum. I would have kicked myself if I didn't have it with me with all this going on.

We must have watched them getting ready ( what for I didn't know at this point )for about half an hour. Plenty of other people had gathered by this point so I wasn't they only nosey one around. When they began the exit the field Little L wanted to know what they were doing and I said we could follow them. Little L had never seen a parade before so it was really exciting for her. One of the ladies who was in the group of suns asked Little L if she wanted to join them which I thought of very nice of her but Little L was too shy. She was fascinated by the green men but when one came near to her to shake her hand, she squealed and backed into a hedge. I think she liked them but at a distance. The town centre was very busy by now but we managed to find a good spot to watch the parade.

 

We had a fantastic day and will go especially for the event next year. When we got home I looked into this parade ( I love the internet for this kind of thing ) and they also have one in Winter. This link gives some more history about the parade.

Using My Pins

I probably spent far more time than I should on Pinterest pinning this and that. Sometimes though I do get around to actually using the pins instead of just looking at them. These are a few things that I have been making this week.

This pleated tote which I made using off cuts from my Gran's curtains. I've only made plain rectangle style totes before and I'm pleased with how this one turned. I'm giving this one to Gran then maybe make a couple more with the remaining fabric.

Never having put a zip in anything before I thought it was about time I had a go and made this pleated purse. Anything to do with zips usually gets passed to my Mum, she's a whizz at putting new zips in jeans. It wasn't half as difficult as I imagined it would be. I even had to shorten the zip. Having now conquered my first zip, I wanted to make something else with one. 

I settled on this hungry bunny pouch which I did make two of but I can't seem to find the one Little L has claimed.

This link is for my Pinterest board where I store sewing tutorials and free patterns in case anyone wants a look. There are bits of all sorts in there.

Birthday Girl

Little L celebrated her 6th birthday at the weekend. Before hand we asked what she wanted to do and this year she asked to go to a beach with 2p machines (arcades). The closest beach to us with plenty of arcades is Rhyl which takes a little over an hour by car to reach.

First we visited the Sea Life Aquarium ( I used my Tesco coupons to exchange for vouchers so it didn't really cost to enter ).To be honest Little L didn't seem to particularly like the aquarium. She just took a quick glimpse in to a tank then swiftly moved on to the next. Maybe everything was a bit too slow moving for her. They had set up a room called phobias containing tanks holding rats, giant millipedes, spiders, etc. She appeared to be fine at first until she saw the spider after that she told us that it was scaring her and wanted to leave.

We walked around the arcades for a while where Little L managed to win a couple of cars and keyrings from the 2p machines then on to the beach for a bit of shell collecting and building.The busy day must have worn her out because she slept all the way home.
Craftwise I've managed to make couple of things this week for Little L's doll. I made two simple nighties ( every time I try to put the photo on here it  turns on its side for some reason ) and finished off this outfit.

The pattern I used is a Daisy May pattern which I purchased off Ebay.

The Sparrow Chick Rescue

Early on this evening my eldest boy found these two sparrow chicks in a grid at the side of our house. They must have fallen from their nest in the eaves. I'm surprised they lived at all falling from that height but they were certainly lively, cheeping with their beaks open ready to be fed.

I rang the RSPCA for advice on what we should do with the chicks and was told by the automated doo dah that we should contact a local vet who would then take them in so that is what we did. It all made a pretty exciting tea time for Little L.

This week we were visited twice by this little fella. We've not spotted a hedgehog in own garden for years. He made his appearance in broad daylight at around 4pm on both occasions which I thought was a bit unusual for a hedgehog. I've only ever seen them at night before. The chickens snuck up on him both times, just for a nosey but they scared him so he froze on the spot for a while then slowly crept under the hedge. It is the first time Little L has ever seen one so she now keeps her eyes open for her prickly friend.

A Night In Betws-y-coed

To celebrate our wedding anniversary ( our 9th last Wednesday )this year we booked a night away. When we do this we are never too far from home so if an emergency ever arises we can be back home within a couple of hours. This may strike others as being a bit odd to stay overnight in a place we can visit in a day but we like to explore and generally do things that teenagers and little kids have no interest in.
On the way we stopped off at Fairy Glen. A popular place for artists and photographers to visit and the image is featured on lots of postcards and art work. This Fairy Glen print that hangs in our house we bought about 11 years ago on our travels. 

To reach the Glen you need to descend some rather steep stone steps. The sun was out so I again was wearing flip flops, not great for the steps and certainly not when my husband suggested clambering around on some moss covered rocks to take some photos. I did but I probably would have been better off doing it in bare feet. It was a beautiful place, the water was lovely and clear though icy cold (I had to dip a toe in to check).Climbing back up the steps seemed worse than coming down, they appeared to be made for a giant. My husband was fine though, he has legs like a stork.

We arrived in Betws-y-coed too early to check in to the B&B so we went for a wander around the town. Considering it was a normal Friday with no school or bank holidays, it appeared very busy. We had a quick look around the shops then off to the B&B. This was the view from the front. Two other couples who were staying were also celebrating their wedding anniversaries.

After checking in we were off out again. We walked over to St Michaels which is the oldest building in Betws-y-coed

then over Sappers suspension bridge which is right next to the church.

 Anders took a quick look at his maps to find any other places near by to visit and found this chapel. I can't remember the name of this one though.

Then we grabbed a bag of chips and sat on some flats rocks on the bank of River Llugwy. The chippy is only across the river so there were quite a few people doing the same thing.

This photo was taken from the bridge. When I was down there I managed to bruise my knee by trying to climb over a rock and kneeing it when I cocked my leg over it.

The next morning my legs were refusing to cooperate, they felt like they had seized up. On the way home we stopped off at Swallow Falls. It was around 9:30 so we were the only people there. I saw the steps and just groaned. There is a barrier to prevent anyone from going in to the water but you can still get close enough to feel the spray from it.

After our night away I think the only thing not hurting on my legs were my shins. Anders watched me bend over to pick something up the other day, said I looked stiff and offered to get his oil out of the shed. They are almost back to normal now but I can't remember the last time I ached so much, must be my age.

Visiting Sis

Last month we paid my sister and her family a visit in their new home. They moved due to my brother in law starting a new job and in his line of work the house comes with it. When I was visiting their old house last summer and asked if she would miss the views as this is what you could see looking out from one side of her back garden.

She told me that the views were more spectacular where they were going to move to. I was dreading the visit as the house is on the top of a mountain and the only way up is on a narrow lane that only has room for one car so if another car meets you on the way, one of them has to reverse. Plus there is no wall or fence next to the road, its just open. I don't know how they can drive up and down it everyday, my nerves couldn't take it.

It is beautiful there and the house is a lot nicer and bigger than her last one. Even though the garden is a bit overgrown you can see that someone did care for it at some point. My sis has already cleaned out the pond and dug over the veggie patch. Little L loved the tree house that they found and was straight up there with her older cousin.

These are some of the views from their back door.

Plenty of lambs to been seen.

After we had been there a while and after they had made me a coffee, my sis started talking about the water filter and how she doesn't think it works right. The water comes from a natural spring and she said you can get odd bits coming through in it like tadpoles, little shrimps, etc. I think they make people a brew first then tell them about the water supply.

It is a lovely place to live but if I lived there I'd probably venture off the mountain about once every six months to avoid the trip up and down.

Dressing Dolls

This week I had my sewing machine out to make some quick clothes for Little L's dolls. Both the patterns that I used were free ones which I found on the internet.

These dresses to fit a LaLaLoopsy doll were lined in plain white cotton and fasten at the back using velcro. I've never sewn velcro on using a machine before but it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. The stitches look slightly wonky on the loopy side but I don't suppose Little L will notice.

 There doesn't seem to be many patterns about to fit this type of doll and I'm not sure if they sell them in shops. I've not seen any. Little L now wants me to kit out her boy doll with a new set of clothes so he can get changed as well. I'll have to see if I can rustle up a pattern using the existing clothes. The pattern for this dress can be found here.

The other thing I made were these dolls nappies. Some were lined with blue cotton, others with flannelette from one of Little L's cot sheets. Little L loves these as she has been playing with her baby doll more lately. I think that might be because she had her first hold of a real baby a few weeks ago, she loved it and wants us to have one. Not a chance, my baby days are over so Little L will just have to be content playing with her dolls and visiting real babies that we don't have to bring home with us.