Extra hour in bed? Who’re they kidding? I woke up at the usual time and couldn’t get back to sleep so decided to get up anyway and get more done, starting with this week’s Sunday Sevens. Visit Nat over at Threads & Bobbins to find out more.

1. The knitted baby shawl is finished and I’ve started to sew it all together which is a loooong job.

2. See the proximity of the goal? I’ve decided that, if I make The Boys clean off the zillion football imprints on the French Windows, they might be more careful about where they kick it.

3. The Boys have been brilliantly behaved this half term, so I treated them to a pub lunch. They played with their Match Attax whilst waiting for their meals. Just look at that expression when faced with defeat!

4. No.1 Son was working from home on Thursday when my sister came down for the day, so we snuck out on our own for an hour and had coffee in Divine Wines. This is the front of the shop and there are several tiny rooms out the back where you can sit to eat and drink. It’s really lovely.

5. Without a doubt, the highlight of my week was Date Night, when Mr H-L surprised me with tickets to see a talk by one of my heroes, Architectural Historian, Dan Cruickshank, in Sturminster Newton. He signed both books and was more than happy to pose for a photograph. What an incredibly charming man, such a gentleman and exactly as he appears on TV.

6. Arghh, what a mess! We decided to bite the bullet and clear out the office which has become a bit of a dumping ground. I say ‘we’, but Mr H-L actually suggested that he mowed the lawn whilst I did the office, thinking it would take us each an hour.

Nine hours later and we weren’t even half way through! Guess what we’ll be doing again all day today?

7. Before you ask, no, I didn’t take this photo, but it serves to illustrate the beautifully haunting call of a Tawny Owl that woke me up at 2am this morning. It was so loud outside our open bedroom window, that I think it must have been perched on the ridge of our stone shed just a few feet away.

Finally, just a quick reminder that midnight tomorrow on 31st October is the last chance to sign up for this year’s Stitching Santa, so if you haven’t sent me your details yet, you’d better be quick!

That’s it for this week folks – hope you all have a great weekend!