Silence is golden!!!

Yippee!!! We finally have the house to ourselves!

It's always lovely to have visitors to stay but isn't it delicious to have the house back to yourselves when they leave? With no break between visitors for almost four weeks I do feel like we've not had any space at all for a considerable proportion of the summer break - a situation we won't repeat again another year :o)

After Nigel's pep talk with my niece the atmosphere in the house has been far more convivial - this has also been helped by the fact that she has had the opportunity to spend two days out with her very new (and first serious) boyfriend who lives just under an hour from here near Bristol (the two days were dates 2 and 3 in the relationship). As my sisters brood live a good 250 - 300 miles from us this will be a long distance relationship (and I think the first proper boy/girlfriend for both of them who at 19 and 20 are both young for their age and pretty naive it seems). Still they've had two lovely days together and he's going up there to stay this weekend, she will go down to him a couple of weekends later - young love eh? after all what's a couple of hundred miles when you're in love.

Whatever - at least it's contributed to making her a lot easier to live with this weekend and hopefully she will be a little less judgemental about her parents' situation if she has something of her own to think about once all four are back together at home.

Because she was out for two of the days my sister and I have had the chance to have some really useful heart to hearts about her intolerable situation at home - always much easier in person than on the telephone - you can't hug and offer a real shoulder to cry on down the phone can you?

It will be very difficult for her going back up there today but there is light at the end of a very dark and uncomfortable tunnel and being able to spend this precious time together has helped her to put the situation more clearly into perspective I think. I'll keep hanging on in there for her and pray for a speedy conclusion to the situation.

I've put in a couple of pictures of sampler quilts from our show - the non Japanese one was the very first effort by a real novice and she's made a lovely job of it.

The other pictures are from the best day of our holiday which we spent on the beach at Bigbury on Sea.

The day was glorious, we'd gone well prepared with all the necessary paraphernalia and most importantly Grandad was in good humour. The kids even managed to get him up out of his chair to play boules (a minor miracle in itself)

Just off the bay at Bigbury is a small private island called Burgh Island. It's not a true island as it's only cut off at high tide - low tide gives pedestrian and landrover access across the sand.

The island has a beautiful and grossly expensive hotel which was built in the 1920/30's. It can boast people like Agatha Christie and Noel Coward along with other notables of pre-WW2 on its early guest list. However it fell into disrepair during the 70s.

Then someone came along , bought it and restored it to it's former Art Deco 'ocean liner' style glory. You can check it out on http://www.burghisland.com/ It's clearly visible in the background on the picture of the Bebbington clan trying out sea canoeing. Someday when we win the lottery Nigel and I will treat ourselves to a luxury second honeymoon break there without the children :o) Either that or if we rob a bank somewhere.

As access is limited some highly inventive person came up with a 'tractor on stilts' which you can see behind the 'boules players'. This transports hotel visitors across to the hotel and also any member of the general public who wishes to can also pay a fee of £3 to undertake a ride across to the island on it just for the experience. Access to the most of the island is strictly for hotel guests but there is a small pub called 'The Pilchard' on the island to refresh you before the return tractor journey or the short stroll back across the sands.

We had visited this beach one evening on a previous holiday some years ago when we met up for the day with friends who knew the area. We have always meant to return and we're really glad we made the effort to spend this day there as it was an idyllic location in a lovely area that we shall probably return to next year for our holidays in our trailer tent (definitely without additional persons in the party this time though)

Well it's now Wednesday and we only have 5 days of the holiday left including today - just about all the preparations for the new school year have been made, new lunch boxes bought, name tapes stitched into all new items of school uniform etc etc. I just have to work out what I shall wear to start in my new job - a challenging situation as I've slobbed out the whole holidays in trackie bottoms and casual clothes and I'm sure my ever increasing girth may not fit into my 'last term' work clothes.

I suppose I should investigate and address this challenge before Sunday night as we don't really need a last minute panic situation do we? :o(

I'm starting to get a little nervous about starting work on Monday - I know it will all be okay but it is always daunting being the new girl.

As for my Ostrich it is the last day of August tomorrow - this month's challenge was squares which true to form I haven't started yet so I need to do a bit of rapid piecing of some nine patches to at least look like I've put some effort into it - the whole round will probably not be completed before Friday as I keep working merrily away at the applique which is bringing together the 'sow's ears' of bits and bobs of June and July's stars and quarter square triangles into hopefully a beautiful 'silk purse'

I do have a sort of master plan which is gradually evolving but it's just a time thing really - it will all come together in the end.

The kids are happily chilling out in front of some DVD's - happy to have their own space back, although they have really enjoyed seeing their cousins so I could get on with some stitching amongst it all. Once I've got something credible to show I will post a picture for you all to see :o)