Holidays ,Home and Hot Tubs!

Well I have been sitting, very happily I might add, in a hot tub in the middle of a forest for two weeks. Not 24/7 as naturally that would neither be pleasant or productive, but on enough occasions to make me sit and think a little and ponder what I might do next .We have been on holiday in Devon to a beautiful thatched cottage.

Holidays are funny  they seem like pauses in life or at least they do now that our kids are older. When they were younger a friend once said to me while mulling over why the relaxing idylls that holidays once were before they had children bore little if any resemblance to holidays after, with them. He said 'it's just more of the same but with different scenery!' Holidays are now easier as we are blessed with teenagers who for the most part are great company although trying to drag them away from their phones, ipods and play stations all in the name of having 'quality family time' sometimes seems like a battle one needs a degree in diplomacy in or connections with a burglar to come and pinch the whole lot!
Anyway back to the hot tub! Complete with LED lights and sound system any footballers wife would have been delighted, as in fact we were. I stayed in it so long ,after one partiularly rainy venture out to see some worthy monument ,that Polly informed me that the ends of my hair, that had been trailing in the water quite happily while I read my book had gone green. Actually she said "why is your hair REEEALLY GREEN?" Evidently over soaking in chlorinated water and highlighted hair don't mix. Thank heaven I hadn't decided to do my full Ursula Andress impression and had had the sense to put my hair up in a ponytail as there may have been tears at bedtime.
We had a great time anyway in true british summer time style, we body boarded in the rain, celebrated when we could actually see any blue sky at all, ate too much, slept too long, laughed at Marks jokes and learnt that Nut Hatchers walk vertically down bird feeders. Perfect.

Now it's back to work coupled with trips to find school uniform for Polly as nothing now fits but no skirt seems the right shape, length or material (if your 14). I am thinking of threatening to make her one then she may well leap at the first polyester pleated number we can find in Mark and Spencers. David is going into sixth form so that of course means no uniform but a whole other daily dilema of "what shall I wear?!" Bring back short trousers until they leave home I say. Sorry back to the hot tub.

So having that quiet interrupted time to think meant that my brain roamed around and deliberated what to paint next and why, to blog more, get fitter and make a list of what I would like to do before I'm 50. It seems strange even writing 50 as if it's a number that has nothing to do with me. The list will have little things on as well more significant ones I have decided. I guess I am writing this here so that I won't be able to get out of them. Not that a million of you are going to say "excuse me but you failed to do number 36 you are officially a lesser person." But this is what comes of being self employed for a long time combined with the advent of blogging and twitter. Ultimately we all want to tell someone something, it's human nature. Well I think I better upload some pictures some I can tick off 'updated blog". Before I go, Helen has picked up our two quilts today, that we have had made from the other two Happy Go Lucky Colour  I cannot wait to see them. Thank you Anne Jeater and Tania for all your hard work. I can now post some pics of the photo shoot we had just before we went away. We love how they have turned out, thank you Simon at Hilton Photography.

Thanks also to Carly who has just emailed me from Wisconsin she has made a fabulous quilt using Happy Go Lucky fabrics she sells patterns for it too. Her is the link
http://www.etsy.com/listing/54425824/painted-windows-quilt-pattern-cjw-013

I am just designing the next collection called Keep A Secret which will be revealed in the months to come. For now here are some pics from our holiday and or things large and small.