Arrived from Amazon.

I love it when little brown parcels arrive through my letterbox.
I keep promising myself that I will start sewing. Hubby has got my sewing machine down from the loft... and that is as far as we have got. My mother-in-law has now given me 3 sewing boxes! What is she trying to tell me? So really I have no excuse not to get started. (Apart from running around after 3 children and not being able to keep my eyes open when they are finally in bed and the housework is done!)
Honor-May is very fond of the clothes worn in films like The Railway Children. She has been asking for a pinafore dress or smock like Bobby (Jenny Agutter) wears. I've tried to find them ready made but not much joy there. Then I came across this book - 'Carefree clothes for girls'. It arrived this morning and looks like the kind of thing Honor will like. Not all the reviews on Amazon for this book are complimentary. One customer thought the clothes were tatty looking. But, I think, this is the look we are after.

I might even make something like this for myself.

The 'Carrie's War' dvd also arrived.

And, after seeing how much Honor-May has been enjoying filling in her 'I-Spy' book, I had a look to see what else was available. There is a vast collection of titles, now and suitable for different age groups. Our children were recently invited to my friend LTG's twin boys birthday party. I couldn't think what to get them. Now I have bought them each a large, hardback 'I-Spy' picture book - one is called 'Extreme Challenger' and the other 'A Spooky Night'. The idea is to find the objects mentioned in the rhyming text in the picture... and it is not as easy as it sounds, as Hubby found out.

I am still going for 'adventure walks'.

These pictures are from Herne Bay.

My morning adventure walk.

Inspired by Mary-Beth at Salt and Chocolate (see sidebar for link), I've decided to leave the car and go exploring neighbourhoods on foot. I chose somewhere pretty fabulous for my first one. This is Chilham. It is a village that is quite popular with tourists, historians and and this Square has featured in television productions including Miss Marple and Jane Austen's Emma. I have lots of pictures today....

Hope and I started our 'adventure' in The Square. There are lots of old, Tudor houses here. Hope is sitting outside this gorgeous English tea room.

There is a lovely gift shop in The Square, too.

Lots of delightful things...

including Nigella Lawson kitchenware!

We then ventured down one of the lanes leading out of The Square which meandered slowly out into the countryside. There are many more lovely houses and gardens to see. I would have liked to stand in front of them and take photos but was a bit worried that their owners might set an Alsatian, or something worse, on me. I'm sure I wouldn't be too keen to see tourists outside my house taking photos. (Which reminds me: Google Earth has caused some ructions by doing just that. Photographing everyones' house and displaying them on the internet. My mother is furious that my brother, who lives in Australia, was able to google her house and tell her that her guttering needed attention!)

However, on passing a beautiful garden, I bent down to photograph these lovely flowers....

...and spotted this curious notice nestled amongst them!

Further along the lane... a mysterious door in a wall. Could Mary and Dickon be playing behind it? I did see a robin too, honestly, but it flew away before I could take a picture.

By now it was so quiet and the baby and I could distinctly hear the sound of a cuckoo.

This is where I saw the robin, perched on this gate. What a view!

I peeped through some iron railings to get this picture of the castle and grounds. Wow!

Hear, hear! Nothing spoils a nice walk like doggy doings!

Well. I really enjoyed that. I returned home rosy-cheeked and very hungry! Can't wait for the next adventure.