to quote Brucie (showing my age here!) which seems appropriate really as I do feel a bit like a winner on the generation game and this is the reason:

My lovely swap package for Zoe’s yarn in a teacup swap sent to me from southern Australia by the very thoughtful and generous Lindy. I only had time for a quick snap before the urge to rip off all the pretty wrapping became too much for me to resist. And when I’d ripped off all the neat packaging I found this wonderful selection of goodies.

Lots of wonderfully soft and luxurious alpaca yarn in lovely shades for bunnies, a beautiful mug and matching plate (perfect for tea and cake) cute and cuddly Aussie toys and 2 books for the children and some lovely Aussie souvenirs – Thanks Lindy, you’re a star!

The nicest thing about the swap is the care Lindy took in putting together the package – it really means a lot to me that she was so very thoughtful and that the gifts she sent are so perfect for me and the kids. It’s heartwarming when people are so thoughtful and generous to a stranger – it shows us that there is good in people and that the world is not all doom and gloom despite what the media would have us believe!

And we can all sleep a little better at night with that thought in our heads…

Well, we’re back. A little bronzed from the sun, a little salty from much splashing in the sea, a little weary from the journey, and a lot happy!

We stayed in Croyde which is a really quiet and pretty North Devon village nestled in a valley by the
sea with lots of gorgeous old cottages, surf shops and
places to get
ice-cream and fudge – though sadly not as yummy as Simmy’s wonderful
confectionary!

Our holiday home was called Chuggs cottage which is part of a Devon long house built in 1636 (as the beam shows).

There wasn’t a single flat bit of floor or a right-angle to the walls and it was a wonderfully old, creaky, and fairytale-ish!

We were really lucky with the weather which was warm and sunny all week and so we spent most of our time on the beach in Croyde bay.

Amy learnt to body surf and Toby just splashed

A good time was had by all and now the kids are happily settled in their own beds I’m just sifting through the pile of sandy washing. Once that’s underway I’ll be settling down to the serious business of catching up with some of my favourite blogs – afterall a week is a long time in blogland!

We’re shortly off on holiday to the lovely Croyde Bay in Devon and it’s a fair drive from where we live so I decided that I needed a secret weapon to keep Amy busy (and hopefully avoid 200 "are we there yet"s). Unfortunately I’m not very gifted in the sewing department although luckily for me I know a lady who is; the lovely Raspberry makes wonderful things and has recently launched her etsy shop. So now Amy has a beautiful and perfect little holiday bag which I’m going to fill with sweeties, colouring pens, a notebook, a comic and a few little games – hopefully to keep her occupied for more than 10 minutes!

I’ll be out of touch for a while so here’s wishing you all a great time whatever you’re doing and hoping that the weather improves!