Still sunny!

Well this weather has lasted the week, so we've been making the most of it.





We spent one afternoon at Barlaston Downs, it is only a few miles from us and has stunning scenery and a shallow, clear stream that is perfect for paddling in. Very popular with dog walkers, we take our dogs there, but this time we left the dogs at home and went for a peaceful paddle.

 I have been trying to find a cheap fishing net (the sort you would buy at a beach for rockpooling) as Harlan loves pond dipping, but as I have had no luck I bought a cheap - 80p! - sieve and he used that to try and catch some fish. Between paddling, fishing, building dams with stones and balancing on fallen trees across the stream, it made for a cheap and enjoyable afternoon.




Back at home, I made some salt dough, but added a bit of sunflower oil to give it that lovely smooth texture, and used food dye to colour it. The shirt I was wearing will never be the same again!

Harlan decided it would look very nice if he used it to decorate the front wall of our house - I really should tidy that up as there are still bits of salt dough stuck to the wall.








I've also been working on giving Harlan's bedroom a Super Mario theme, and have painted these three canvases. Just waiting for Rusty to hang them for me - I'm liable to drill through a pipe or something equally disastrous!