Sunday Sevens is a weekly blog series showing your life outside of the blog in seven-or-so photos, as devised by Nat from Threads & Bobbins. There are no rules, so why not join in?
1. I picked up a friend from the village and took her out for coffee for a change, as we usually call in unannounced for coffee at hers any time we walk past her house – which is often. So often, in fact, that Tess sits down and refuses to walk by without going in for her biscuit!
2. I think the Poinsettia is past its best.
3. Hubby replaced it with the first daffodils of the season.
4. How to blunt your best dressmaking shears…..
5. As the temperature dropped well below zero with clear blue skies and ice everywhere, we went for a walk around Stourhead.
6. It doesn’t look cold, but my bum felt the after effects of sitting on this rock for a photo for twenty minutes!
We hunted down a nearby pub in which to thaw out and have lunch.
7. As the temperature plummeted to around -7C, we had a warning flurry of the white stuff. No.3 Son went outside in his pants to see how cold it was!
8. Cold enough to light a fire and block a shawl that has been finished for months and languishing at the bottom of my bag.
9. I cast on another shawl with yarn I bought at Unravel last week.
10. Only a few of us made it to knit ‘n’ natter as the forecast was bad for travel.
11. At the last minute, I decided to add navy to the shawl for a bit more interest. No, the biscuits weren’t gluten free so I just looked at them for two hours without touching.
School closed early at 1pm so I picked up No.3 and three of his friends whose mothers couldn’t leave work to collect them. They alternated playing board games with snowball fights – the perfect afternoon for four boys all under ten!
12. The next morning was a whiteout.
13. I waded through about eight inches of snow to let the hens out.
14. But they refused to leave their coop for the next couple of days.
15. Another snow day, so we made the most of it with a walk.
16. Snowball fights en route to the pub.
17. Pretty!
18. Although we get a dusting every year, a decent amount of snow is a once-in-five-year event which disappears as quickly as it comes, so we don’t have chance to get bored with it.
19. Tess was decidedly unimpressed with her first encounter with snow though.
20. She knows where we’re headed and just wants to get there and curl up in front of the wood burner.
21. Faggots, peas and mash warmed No.3 up nicely and Tess found out she likes faggots.
22. Pudding!
23.
24. More snow overnight meant the long johns came out again.
25. I made some hot mash for the hens to entice them out to eat. They hated the snow underfoot, so we cleared a path to the food and they took turns to stand in the hot mash and warm their feet in it!
26. We’ve ALL got our long johns on underneath! This was on another walk to the pub in the next village (our village has a church but nothing else). You can just see the white gable end of the pub behind the church tower in the background.
27. Lunch by the wood burner again – we always seek the cosiest spot in any pub. Yes, No.3 had a mouthful of food at the time I pressed the shutter.
28. Tess’ favourite place to curl up and pretend for a moment that she doesn’t have to go back out in the snow in order to get home.
29. Our latest b&b guests cancelled due to the blocked roads, but hubby managed to dig the car out of the driveway and get to Morisson’s as some friends were coming for supper instead. He was met with empty bread shelves, which is bizarre considering their bakery is instore.
How was your week?
March 4, 2018 at 11:17 am
I enjoyed your week of snow and ice. I think Tess could write a book on pubs/cares with fires and beds for dogs. It would be a best seller.
I am pleased to say that despite the snow our shops and customers did not panic buy. Not sure what gets into people!
Loooking forward to seeing your new dress!
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March 4, 2018 at 11:18 am
Cares? that should be cafes!
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March 4, 2018 at 3:17 pm
Tess certainly has road-tested many a wood burner, but invariably ends up on Mr H-L’s coat as a bed. I don’t know if panic buying led to the empty shelves (there were lots) or whether the deliveries just couldn’t get through. You’d never know it snowed now though as the thaw was so quick – even though I had to dig my car out just this morning!
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March 4, 2018 at 12:12 pm
Fantastic Stourhead outfit, very stylish. Snowed in here in Surrey too – but it did allow time for a lot of stitching. Oh for a ‘stitch and bitch’ group near me!!
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March 4, 2018 at 3:20 pm
Why, thank you kindly😘 Mostly made by me, actually – dress, shawl and gloves anyway. I’ve only recently started going to this knit ‘n’ natter group which is weekly, but a group of friends also meet up once a month or so, so that’s really nice. Why not start your own?
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March 4, 2018 at 7:11 pm
I had thought about it – but my house is a building site!
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March 4, 2018 at 3:53 pm
You look as thought you’ve been having a lovely time in the snow. I’ve been more like your hens – poked my nose out of the door, decided it was too cold and gone back into the warm. Unlike the hens I’ve had tea and knitting to keep me occupied (and I haven’t put my feet in my food).
Your photograph 23 looks like just like a Christmas card.
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March 4, 2018 at 4:33 pm
Well, you’ve got to make the most of it, haven’t you, especially as No.2 Son was snowed in at boarding school and we had to take his place in the snowball fight with his brother! I think that tree is actually the Christmas tree that came out of the pub this year, and they just put it in a tub outside. It does look festive with its snow-covered branches, doesn’t it?
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March 4, 2018 at 5:43 pm
Well done keeping the poinsettia going so long – I used to have a competition with some friends to see who could keep their poinsettia going the longest each year.
Really enjoyed seeing you enjoy the snow. I had my thermal legging on too – in fact I had on at least two layers of everything (including 2 hats) to go out over the last couple of days. Loving your hubby in his thermal undies – definitely one for that calendar I suggested ages ago after a spate of you posting semi-naked pictures of him 😉
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March 4, 2018 at 5:53 pm
Well, in all honesty, the Poinsettia could have been considered well and truly dead a good couple of weeks ago, but neither of us got around to throwing it out! I rarely get cold, so to dig out my thermals (bought for Lapland) meant it was quite a few degrees below zero. I’m so used to all the males in our house wandering around shirtless (or, more often, just in boxers), that it doesn’t register as semi-nudity when I include photos on the blog! Strictly speaking, the pic of hubby in his thermals could be considered risqué as he’s only dressed in his undies – even if they are head-to-toe!
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March 4, 2018 at 6:22 pm
I’m the same, I bought my thermal leggings several years ago, but am not sure I’ve actually worn them before now. I only bought them because last time we were several degrees below I looked around for extra layers to walk Hicks in and spotted hubby’s motorbike long johns, squeezed them on under my jeans and found out how good they were.
I have absolutely no problem with your pics, we all have bodies under our clothes 🙂 And that pic of your youngest in his underpants in the snow certainly made me smile.
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March 4, 2018 at 6:02 pm
You look fabulous in your outfit at Stourhead . I was thinking about you in terms of your B&B guests on Friday, wondering if they would have to cancel.
Xx
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March 4, 2018 at 6:05 pm
Thank you, I do love to wear cheery colours in Winter:) The roads were clear locally by Saturday evening, but it still wasn’t fun driving, judging by those that ventured out. I had to dig my car out this morning!
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March 4, 2018 at 10:14 pm
Yes, we had to dig our car out too this morning too.
Me too, re cheery colours, it gives us a boost doesn’t it? People say they know it’s me approaching due to my bright clothing. And no, I don’t wear neon 😆 haha!
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March 4, 2018 at 7:34 pm
What I love most about your weekly round ups is how you all make the most of whatever comes your way. Long johns are sure the way to go! We are enjoying late summer weather, though the clouds are gathering now……
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March 5, 2018 at 8:51 am
Lovely pics of snowy England – but I’d be indoors with the chickens or Tess.
How are you finding your gluten free diet? Are you noticing a difference in how you feel?
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March 5, 2018 at 12:42 pm
The snow disappeared as quickly as it came and it’s fifteen degrees warmer than a few days ago! We used to go gluten free for a couple of weeks at a time and notice an immediate improvement, so it made sense to do it permanently. It also means we can indulge occasionally without any ill effects.
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March 5, 2018 at 10:02 am
Looks like you thoroughly enjoyed the snow. Definitely a bit jealous of the number of wood burners you are able to cosy up in front of!
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March 5, 2018 at 12:43 pm
Well, you’ve got to make the most of it as it’s a rare event! If there’s a pub with a wood burner at the end then so much the better😬
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March 5, 2018 at 7:20 pm
Wow you really did get the snow! I cannot believe no 3 son went out in his pants! Your mustard coloured ensemble on your lovely dog walk is delightful- is that the deer fabric dress you made? I hope your chickens get a respite from the cold soon!
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March 7, 2018 at 4:15 pm
Yes, the stag dress has been worn almost to death since I made it. I’m wearing the gloves and shawl that I made, too, in that photo – I love a handmade kind of day!
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March 7, 2018 at 5:29 pm
Gold star ⭐️ then! That’s a handmade win! 😊
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March 6, 2018 at 7:39 am
Thank you for sharing the big snow storm with us. It was huge, and a lot of snow. Not something I would probably ever experience here. We are far more prone to flooding here. You all took it in your stride, even Tess made the most of it, and got the best spots by the fire. 🙂 She is so cute and clever.
The warm meals and crafting time sure makes up for the snow and cold. Interesting about the bakery / store not having bread. I can only think that some ingredients did not get delivered.
Take care when all this starts to melt, I hope it will not be to muddy.
Have a lovely week. 🙂
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March 7, 2018 at 4:19 pm
The floods usually follow the thaw here, although we weren’t personally affected by that. We try to take Tess out with us when we can, as she has lost a lot of weight and still isn’t eating. Is there such a thing as doggy depression? Anyway, the café we went to today did a full English breakfast for dogs, including bacon and sausages, so we ordered one for her. She ate about half of it:)
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March 8, 2018 at 7:30 am
🙂 I am glad you were not affected by the floods. Your village is such a very nice place to stay. Your walks always looks wonderful.
I think Tess just miss Fifi, and the way things were. But she still has all of you, and the walks is fun, the fresh air is always good. Maybe she is just not in the mood for the winter anymore either. She should perk up in Spring and Summer when its pleasant again. The doggy breakfast sounds super, and I am glad she ate. Wish we had more places to take dogs, We have a few very nice places that we love to visit too.
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