The ole too busy to write excuse, again

What can I say, I've done it again. At roughly the same time of year as well. It must be something in the late summer air that makes me allergic to typing. 

Anyway I've been told off by more that one person and had a verbal kick up the bum (thanks Becky Burns). So I'm back with a swift catch up and hopefully a more regular check in with the blog.

Okay where to start from?  August? August? What happens after that? Ah yes September!  Veg was growing and patio slabs were going down. My super duper husband was toiling away at the coal face (or rather patio face) working out falls and cross falls so that all the rain water would run away from the house and into the trench that he had dug deep enough to bury a wife in!  This was promptly filled with pea shingle (not wife) the slabs went down without a cross or three in a line join in site! 

Even with the paving ungrouted the girls couldn't resist playing outside!

 Random paving slabs are a lot more difficult to lay than one would think!  

Grouting done and the patio looked beautiful. 

Rushing through the Amish shed raising (thanks Dudley and Lucy) and the oak sleeper raised bed, the extremely flat base for the gravel path and onto the shiny aluminium landscape edging!  This has been what I was really waiting for!  

Again if it wasn't for Bjorn is still be digging out old turf in the garden. He bent it and shaped it and recent it when is forgotten to tell him about an additional design area, until finally you could truely see the shape of the garden layout!! It has turned a corner!  

It must be love! Laying aluminium edging in the pouring rain!

So we took a we deserved break and off to Totoro land ( or as the rest of the world knows it as Centre Parcs). Half term! 

An ink cap, showing why it got its name.

Yes Holly is now a fully fledged school girl and loving every minute. 

Max is not impressed.

 I think I was more nervous standing in that playground looking around at all the groups of moms who already knew each other. We have both settled in now and got to know many new friends, play days and after school teas are becoming a regular occurrence. 

I digress. Totoro land was full of cycling,  swimming and Halloween tricks, and oh too short but we had a Halloween party to get home and organise!! 

Nothing like muddy puddles.

I carved four pumpkins, far too early in my excitement and the ended up mouldy and slimy before Halloween had got spooky!  

Cinderella has a choice of vehicles.

Luckily we had two more up at the allotment so with child and buggy in tow we collected those and pegged it back to our spooky house (Bjorns comment "you've tidied up in here then"), and set about the pumpkins again. 

With witches and cats consigned to the dressing up box for another year, or couple of months at least, it was back to school and back to digging the garden. And waiting for the delivery of buxus plants!!

Mexican day of the dead face paint. 

Auditioning for Andrew Lloyd Webber.