Family time

You may have noticed my relative absence from the blogosphere in the past couple of weeks. For us, October half term (a week off midway between the summer and Christmas holidays for those of you not in the UK) was spent in Somerset visiting family and friends. It's always lovely spending time with them, and watching our children bond with their aunts, uncles and grandparents, and vice versa. It also means I get a little bit more time to myself as I don't have to do all the housework and childcare. So here are a few highlights of our week away.

One luxury of being at home is the Daily Telegraph's Saturday general knowledge crossword. I never buy papers, but there's always a Saturday edition at my parents' house and they're not terribly interested in crosswords so it's all mine. I've never managed to complete a whole one, and rarely know more than half the answers, but I've always enjoyed filling in the answers I know in a leisurely manner over a coffee or two.

Saturday morning crossword - a rare luxury in our house; crosswords require quiet concentration!

My parents have had chickens for several years. The chickens have free rein of the garden, and watching them is always entertaining. Being able to collect fresh eggs every day is definitely a bonus. A glut of eggs often means bonus cake!

 

Free-range chickens

My mum's birthday fell just before we arrived, but hadn't yet been celebrated with a cake, so my dad and son took it upon themselves to bake a chocolate birthday cake. As you can tell from the quantity of Smarties, my son had heavy involvement in the decorating; when you're three, more is more!

Granny's birthday cake, courtesy of the chickens, my three year old and Grandad

My dad loves to take my son on train journeys, and my son loves vehicles of all types, so a trip to the West Somerset Railway is win-win.

 

Day out at the West Somerset Railway

Our second big day out was to Bristol Zoo. I have always loved going to the zoo, and this trip was no exception. My favourite animals were the Inca Terns (they have fantastic eye feathers that look a bit like white eyeliner), the sleepy seals, and the cheeky meerkats (the babies were cuter, but much too fast for my photographic skills!).

Watching the animals at Bristol Zoo. Who doesn't love a meerkat?!

Not much knitting or baking got done, but we're back home and back to the routine now, so hopefully there'll be more of those things soon!