The Relatives Came - to Barbados!

We had a lovely time when my sister and her family came to stay with us a few months ago and I've been so caught up with different things that it is only now that I can get a chance to share some of that time spent.  Their visit reminded me about the book that I used to read to my son entitled The Relatives Came by Cynthia Rylant  

It is a gorgeous book that tells of a family setting out in their car to visit relatives and spend time with them over the summer, everyone shares the space and makes room for each other.  Cynthia has written quite a lot of children's books and more recently - Little Penguins.

They are both available on Kindle and Hardback and would make lovely gifts for children.

When we were children we would spend time weekend at our cousins, the furthest we went was to visit cousins in Manchester, and I didn't go on a plane until I was 18, unlike now where most children have been on a plane by the time they are 2 years old.  We all look back with fond memories of the times we had and the feeling of not having care in the world.  It is very different now as our kids don't meet up nearly as often and connect more via social media, but you can't beat spending time in person with the folks!

Anyway, my sister and her family came to stay with us and it was great!  We spent time going out and about, relaxing in each others company and laughing.

I indulged over those two weeks. 

 Here is a very delicious yet rich treat I had - Carrot cake at the Waterfront Cafe  it was absolutely delicious, they also do a yummy bread and butter pudding (both of which I shouldn't eat due to the intolerance to wheat and dairy, and I may try to create an alternative on my Raw Foods Fusion Blog).

We walked on the Boardwalk and saw the sun setting.  

You will never get tired watching the sunset, 

and it seems different each time, so beautiful, and we get to enjoy it every day!

We took a drive down to the Crane, again so nice to be by the sea!

Graham Hall Sanctuary was on the list, while the sanctuary part is closed they have a cafe and the grounds are beautifully maintained, and during the afternoon the monkeys move across the lawn to nearby trees 

 It is a lovely place to visit!

Saw the pre cropover celebrations in Broad Street

They had to leave the day of Cropover, though it has changed quite a bit when I first saw it many years ago. I miss the more elaborately designed costumes.

Anyway, they got a taster at least.  One of our final visits took us to the Flower Forest - and I have some amazing photos to share with you.

After the fun and laughter the hugs and the 'see you soon' it was time for them to return to London, the time went so quickly, we tried to value each moment, and continue to remind ourselves that we are not promised tomorrow. Our trip to the UK followed, but I'll share that in another post.

I will also be sharing lots of the images of each visit on my Destination Barbados Blog (under construction at the moment) which is all about my time here, the ups and downs of relocating, there will be lots of imagery as I soak up the beauty of the island......I hope you can join me!

Material Mondays - who shall have a fishy on the little dishy

What do you do with your fabric scraps?  I had been seeing how you can use different products on fabric using paints, stencils etc and in my post on painted fabric I showed you how you can use old clothes and create some interesting effects.

I found that my sons old school uniform trousers and white shirt were good at holding the paint, and worked really well when making fabric journals.

Painted fabric used to make inside of journal that was previously a bag 

There is always some bits left over and there are several things you can do with them.  Here I decided to make some little inspiration fish.  These are little stuffed fish that you can put an encouraging word or phrase.

They are really easy to make and you can sew them by hand or use a machine, add some ribbon to decorate and some frayed bits at the end for the tail.

Put some encouraging words on the side, either stitched or stamped

They were then stuffed and the end sewn up.  The eyes were attached and you can also add words either stamped or you can stitch it on prior to sewing together.

 You can also add bits of string if you want to create a mobile of fishes, you can attach them to card, add them to your journal, or add some bling and give them as gifts.  This is a really great project you can do with the kids, give it a go and let me know how you get on!

Fish are having a siesta!

If you are interested in learning how to sew or make a range of projects you can check out Craftsy who run online classes and at the moment have a selection of free online classes for you enjoy.