A lot of what she told me she was painting was snakes, I hope in the sense of their wisdom and healing symbolism and not the other stuff!

I am currently waiting for her to fall asleep for her afternoon nap which is taking a while…

But an ideal time to catch up quickly on phone calls and emails plus my ever growing to-do list - testing paint pots next! Washable whites. Thanks for dropping by! xxx Heather

The recipe is: zest and juice of a large lemon, a pound of sugar, a pint of boiling water and a 1/3 rd oz citric acid.

As we have another heatwave predicted, it seemed essential to have a batch made up - and the smell! Definitely in my top ten smells.

Mira felt her hair needed more jazzing up today.

There are two guaranteed ways to produce this face: saying no and turning off the TV. We have a week of exciting activities planned - yesterday was soft play and she actually went in the ball pool for a whole two minutes! Today is knit and natter day, and swimming later on. Bath time has now occured twice without drama and she is sitting on a toilet every morning (but not actually using it yet!).

They don’t look quite the same in the picture and something weird has happened to the middle one’s head/beak.  I prefer the flowers really - and have plans to put some on a cardi for Mira that Penny helped me finish! Photos to follow soon! I am also nearly finished my shoes and doing some more on my Babette.

There are zillions of things that need doing round the house - the cushions and carpets need cleaned, the open plan living/dining/kitchen needs painted to remove all the marks that won’t wash off. I think a washable tough white is the way to go! But I’m getting over my cold, and am fed up putting house stuff off.  The bathroom also needs a bit of finishing. I hope I can get through it  - in a sensible, not-wearing-myself-out-before-the-baby fashion!

I’m rather forgetful now and  I can’t fight the fatigue anymore -  why bother, my body knows what it needs and the world won’t fall apart without me. The dentist can wait! I feel encouraged to ’seek peace and pursue it’ and was given this wonderful picture last week which blesses me so much in this way!

When I look at it for even a short time, I feel like the qualities of the deepest meditation wash over me and I’m transported to a realm of rest. I’m so grateful for this gift!

I had thought about this crazy lace patchwork idea before but after tramping through the heels of another pair, and failing to find anything I liked on Argyle Street yesterday, eco-friendlyness, creativity, economy and therapy once again come together in beautiful harmony! Lace from Charlotte and my stash, dyed with silk paint, applied with fabric glue, to be anchored firmly with beading. Watch this space! The ones I collaged with stamps last summer keep cracking, so I may have to find another use for them… ivy planters maybe?

I am now in my last trimester, and really it doesn’t seem so bad compared to the sickness! Constantly trying to do less and not really succeeding. Mira is absorbing new and surprising vocabulary like a sponge  - we have chatter about antennae and Gary-the-builder and the A-Team. Today’s word was ‘alien’. We made our first necklace together and love garlicky chilli food.

Ben is tired out by all this female freneticity. But he gets lots of kisses, cuddles and tickles to cheer him up.

• Mark Hadfield from Inverness who came out with me to interpret dreams at the weekend.  Check out http://www.underthecanopy.net/

• This quilting blog http://www.filminthefridge.com/, and this one http://oneshabbychick.typepad.com/one_shabby_chick/, and this one http://aquiltisnice.blogspot.com/