My Austrian Love Affair

I love Austria!

My mum first took me there for a skiing holiday when I was 13. Now (oh my goodness) 30 years later I still love it.  This year for the first time we went in the Summer.

Now you know the wonderful lush green meadows you see in Austria? (you know Julie Andrews dances on one in a certain film). Well there is  reason they are so green. It rains in Austria. A lot.

But not when we went!!!

I did know it rained and my lovely mum told me it rains most in June and July so we went in August. But we did pack our macs just in case.

It was very, very, very, very hot.

But luckily I had chosen not only a hotel with a pool but also a town with a lake. I take a bow for my own cleverness. We went to Zell am See. I thoroughly recommend it. A beautiful town with a great big lake that you can play on, play in, and look upon with wonder.

A Lake that you can Swim in.

Yes those are the steps where Maria and the children sang in The Sound of Music. And yes I did too!

Me on a hot walk.

We paid a bit (well worth it) to go to the lido one day. So we laid upon a sun bed, ate apfelstrudel, swam in a pool, went down a slide with my daughter on my lap, swam in the lake. Bliss.

I may have to decorate my whole home in a kitsch Austrian style. I love it. But restrained by my husband I will just have to put up with a few pretties hanging from my kitchen doors.  If I add a few things at a time, he might notice when the house is bedecked.

The animals in the hotel garden. We all loved Carlos the donkey.

So back home, I am going to munch on what remains of my milka chocolate and plan my next hol. Which is to Butlins. But we love it there too!!

Summer Fun

Summer holidays. Days out with the girl. Packing for our holiday to Austria. Watching my work in progress pile sitting there waiting.

Nearly time to Mary out again on another day out.  Here is something she got up to last time.

And me? I just stand there and take the photos.

Cloudy Weather

Sunday was a funny day. Warm then cool. Sunny but cloudy.

We went to a Vantage Bus Rally in Gosport and then for a walk along the beach at Stokes Bay.

I was born in Gosport and lived there until aged 4 or 5. So whenever I go there now I am always reminded of my child days there when, as often happens with childhood memories, the days always seem full of sunshine.

It was a very windy day. But it meant that the sky looks wonderful with the clouds up above. This is a photo of my sister Claire, on the beach at Stokes Bay, Gosport. The brighter photo has been touched up a tiny bit.  But for the life of me I cannot remember whether the day was like that or whether the camera just makes it seem duller anyway.  But as you can see - what an amazing sky.

Craft Book Club - Vintage Knits Choice

I have joined an online Craft Book Club!  If you want to (and I recommend that you do too then we can have lots of lovely book talks) then pop over to Popular Crafts Book Club.

I have chosen for August the gorgeous book 'Vintage Knits'. It is a lovely book and I am going to have fun choosing something to knit.

I will let you know how it goes.

xx