Long, Sunny (Mostly) Bank Holiday Weekend

My mother-in-law came to stay with us last week from Pakistan so I took the end of the week off work, not realising it was bank holiday the following Monday.  It was rather nice to have an unexpectedly long weekend.  I knew we would have lots of visitors for mum-in-law, but I made lots of elaborate plans anyway.

In reality, I didn't get much writing, or answering of e-mails or working on projects done, but managed to end up doing plenty anyway.

We have been spending lots of time in the garden.  Darling has taken charge of the kids little gazebo and has been ordering various children out and then in again.

The garden is blooming and I have been putting in tomatoes, border plants, mini roses and some climbing plants.  Some of these the boys have managed to mangle by kicking a ball into them.  I'm also trying to grow some jasmine (motia) and Night Blooming Jasmine (Raat Ki Rani or Queen of the Night as it is known), both of which are known for their powerful perfume.  I'm not sure if they will take, but have wanted some jasmine for years.  

Mum-in-law bought us lots of gifts from Pakistan.  The outfits she bought the girls were perfect for the sunny weekend (Little Lady's outfit and bangles below).

Darling liked her bangles so much she refused to take them off.

We got invited for dinner to my brother-in-laws house, the food was lovely as always and we had so much fun watching darling and my little niece make mischief.

Mum-in-law also bought us some henna, which our very talented neighbour helped us put to use





















I also started work on a rather fun craft project which I am looking forward to spending some time on.  The colour scheme is really up my street at the moment.

It was a lovely weekend, but we did have a lot of guests.  I served up lunches and tea's with chickpea salad (channa chaat) and samosa's and tried not to let the dishes pile up.  The kids were great this weekend alhamdulillah, helping with the laundry and cleaning.  By the end of the weekend though I was utterly exhausted.  I crawled back to work this morning, coffee in hand and savoured the quite and stillness.  I think I am just about recovered.