Hither and thither

Enough magazine talk, what else has been going on in my little world? Well, the other Sunday we had a family outing to Hampton Court to meet some friends for a picnic. We didn't 'do' the house or the maze or the parts of the garden that you have to pay for (cheapskates, eh?!), we simply made ourselves at home on the grass in the freebie section and had a very enjoyable few hours chatting and eating. Oh, and I made a little visit to the souvenir shop.

International businessman has been in meetings in Swindon for the last two Tuesdays so DC & I have hitched a lift in the international businesscar and toddled onwards to Bristol to visit the grandparents. And on the way back to fetch IB from his meetings, DC & I have made a couple of sneaky trips to the outlet village where a fool and her credit card are soon parted. Garden chair from John Lewis, check. Babygros from Next, check. Baby vests from Gap, check. Chocolate mini rolls from M&S, check. Yes sirreee, even the choc mini rolls are available at knockdown prices! I was rather tempted by the offer of 9kilos of Mini Eggs for £10 in the Cadbury Factory Shop, but just about managed to resist. 9 kilos! That's more than DC weighs, and he's a hefty lump.

On Saturday we had a family outing to Witney and Chipping Norton as part of our quest for the perfect place to live. It was our third trip to Chipping Norton, which is currently top of the list of possible locations. We quite liked Witney, but thought it might be a little too busy for us, although we did manage to visit on the day of the local fete/dog show so that might have had something to do with it (clearly everyone was hiding when I took this photo.) Chipping Norton was as lovely as usual. And then on the way home we drove through Burford, which is just the prettiest little place. For some reason we've managed to drive through Burford at least two or three times but have never actually stopped, but even the brief glimpses through car windows have made me want to live there. And I think hubby agrees.

This Sunday, DC & I took a stroll round Henley while hubby worked hard at his allotment. We walked along by the river, neatly sidestepping the many and varied tourists in town for the Regatta/Festival,stopped for coffee and a cake in our favourite cafe, Hot Gossip (here's DC getting comfy on the sofa - fear not I only propped him there for a minute while I made up his bottle),made a detour to the new Laura Ashley shop, popped in to the Oxfam Book Shop, toddled along to Boots and Monsoon, then over the road to the new Maison Blanc patisserie/boulangerie where a couple of fancy cakes slipped in to my hands, and then ended the afternoon in the new wool shop where I was forced to buy the ingredients to make a cushion cover from undyed wool straight from New Zealand.

On Monday, poor little DC had his third lot of jabs but before taking him to the nurse I made a return trip to Laura Ashley and bought some new oil cloth for the kitchen table. I also got hold of a half-price 60cm remnant that I thought I might be able to make in to something (bunting perhaps), although no doubt it will simply join the pile of other 'craft' projects which have yet to be finished, or even started. And, in case you were worrying/wondering, DC coped admirably with his jabs - he didn't even cry when the needle went in for the first one, and even after the third he only cried for the shortest time and before long he was smiling again. Brave little bear.