Babies about to fly the nest!

My second daughter is about to go to university. This is a good thing as we have the children and it is our job as parents to let them fly!

I will of course miss not having to share my car, endless washing, and general mess around the house! However, the compensation will be such that I can congratulate myself on being a good parent thus far. Of course the odd elbow break, eye infection (for which I administered Bazuka instead of eye cream) and minor cuts and bruises won't affect my track record in perfect parenting! I may decide not to change the bed linen straight away - nothing to do with the fact that I may be able to catch a whiff of their perfume but just because I can afford the luxury of waiting!

I am now about to embark on a period in my life when I will have time on my hands! I will not be the sort of parent who stalks their child on Facebook ( I would rather not see them having fun!) However, I flatly refuse to take up crochet, knitting or macrame. I will opt for a much quieter life and do the odd skydive to relieve the boredom.

The right outfit for the occasion

I recently did the Country Living exhibition and was impressed to see how several of the stallholders blended well with their stands. I know it might seem a bit trivial but I paid so much attention to the look of my stand that my outfits fell short of the occasion.

I remember when I was growing up my Mum would dress up to go shopping in my home city of Nottingham. It must be genetic because I do exactly the same. If I go shopping in Norwich I cannot go wearing jeans, I dress up just like my Mum used to. I was telling a friend that this was my usual regime and she was astonished. I don't think she could quite believe that people like me still existed! I think for me it is important to reflect who you are and how you feel the most comfortable. I think my style is quite safe but I would love to branch out and be more creative. Hats off to the stallholders who incorporate their personal style into their products I love seeing creativity spanning the board.

Spring is in the air

It's the start of a new year and of course Larkrise to Candleford is back on the telly! It is great to see familiar things but also exciting taking on new challenges. At the moment Artisans-uk is busy planning fairs for the forthcoming season, some new ones and others we will be returning to. It is so lovely to be working with spring colours instead of tartan! I really enjoy the Christmas season but you can have too much of a good thing.

Of course Easter is the next big festival and I was delighted to see the adverts for cream eggs on Boxing Day- some things never change. However, Artisans-uk is hoping to do the opposite and offer change all the time and we will be introducing new designers this year to the site.

So it's down with the Christmas Bunting and up with the new spring version!