turquoise ring

p got me this turquoise ring in sardinia, isn't it gorgeous? it's exactly the colour of the water there...

baby update

the baby's kicking away now, it's the most exciting thing, i think i'd been feeling movements since about week 18, but i wasn't sure if that's what they were. But in Sardinia, lying on a deckchair overlooking the sea, i was looking down at my belly and i could feel and see a kick, that's when i knew for sure what i'd been feeling! the same evening, as we were watching a Euro2008 match, i felt strong kicks again and finally p got to feel them as well, and he could see them. the surprise and astonishment in his face were priceless! we've got a nickname for the little one as well now, 'the pod' or 'poldi', after one of the soccer players. of course p thinks now it's a boy cos it seems to like football!

when in germany we went for a 3d/4d ultrasound, 'rip of ireland' shows, in ireland it would cost about 200€, in germany it was 40€! a fifth of the price! it was great to see the pod squirming about rubbing its nose and kicking. it was a little camera shy though, mostly turning away.

my mum and dad seem so happy about it, too. my mum's very quiet and wouldn't talk about feelings or anything much, but i could see the smile on her face, and she looked so happy when she saw and felt the kicks! and she keeps saying things about when she was pregnant with me and how lovely it was when she felt the first kicks.

my window sill at work

my colleague looked after my plants very well while i was on hol's! the windows in the office get quite a bit of sun in the morning, and are ideal for growing tomatoes and chilis. this year i have two tomato plants, one pepper plant and one courgette (which is in a very small pot but i think it wouldn't survive being transplanted now, in full bloom and fruit).


see the little baby courgettes?


and there's a flower


i've tied everything up with parcel string



the railing is handy, this tomato plant is supported by it all along the width of the window.


the first ripe tomato. i heard you have to keep one red tomato on the plant at all times then the other ripen faster! so as tempting as it is i won't pick this one just yet.


and these are the peppers, they are about the size of small plants. i don't know what size they'll eventually be, i got the seedling from another colleague, but i think they might be 'mini peppers'.

market in alghero

shoppers eying up the produce... the look like they are concentrating hard, don't they?





i thought these were nuts at first


but then i looked closer! can you see what's coming through the netting of the middle sack?

if only this market was around the corner from me, the indoor market would be a great idea for ireland. p says they used to have them here actually, until the supermarkets arrived.

oh, the fruit were just so much better in italy! and cheaper!

our garden in june

the pak choi went a bit mad while we were away, i think the first one is ready to be harvested! the choked broccoli plants will be grateful i bet...


lilies in full bloom


broad beans


lemon verbena, mint and marigolds


hesitantly blushing redcurrants...

Coralicious

this is rimmel 60 seconds in 'coralicious' on the nails of my rather wrinkly (recovering from sunburn) toes, i just love it. i think it darkened a bit in the two weeks it's been on, when i first put it on i found it nearly too madly orangy red! it's a great vibrant colour, and it was perfect with my current favourite coral red t-shirts on holidays, and it went well with the tiny coral pieces that were being washed up at the beach in sardinia!

oh, the shoes are my beloved birkenstocks which are ever so comfortable and bring out the vibrant colour even more. ok. who am i kidding. birkenstocks aren't stylish, not even in combination with coralicious toenails

my mum's garden

Gallura, Sardegna

happy pigs...




turtles!






that's corsica you see there in the distance


...and some more pictures of beaches on a particularly windy day

Crochet Blankets

Doesn't it just make you think of elmar the patchwork elephant? These are some more holiday photos, for the craft appreciating blog readers out there.





These two blankets adorned the beds in our Sardinian 'agriturismo' accomodation.
The bluey-grey one is a designed pattern of baguette(?) surrounded granny squares, the giant colourful one is seemingly random, baguette squares with coloured centres. it makes me want to crochet again!

and this was the tablecloth, i think it might also be handmade...

embroidered linen tablecloth

photographed in my mum's laundry room (it got covered in bits from the trees as she had it outside on the patio). my granny had it in her 'bottom drawer' so she most likely embroidered it herself, it would have been in the 30s or 40s as she got married in the late fourties

sardegna and deutschland!

i'm getting excited now, we're off to sardinia tomorrow, and on to germany next week! The weather isn't supposed to be great, but i'm just looking forward to a change of scenery, and to relaxing and to seeing my family...

hopefully i will have some nice photographs to blog when i come back but i'm not quite sure yet how i'm going to handle the 10kg hand luggage limit and if i can bring my camera charger...

i think i'm starting to get a bump! p. says so, and my neighbour, and another friend! and i have to admit it myself, it starts to look like more than just a bloated stomach! and the last 2 weeks or so some more of my jeans started to be a little uncomfortable. i better take myself off to bed now, it's nearly midnight, and i haven't started packing yet! i think i'll go to sleep and do it in the morning, i've got it all ironed and folded and in my head i know what i want to bring, i just have to figure out how much i can bring... we won't have to leave till after lunch so we should be OK...




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