We had a lovely Easter weekend – filled with just enough activities, family-filled fun and DIY to ensure we fell into our beds on Monday night, exhausted, but basking in that wonderful feeling of having really achieved something.

Aside from dismantling and rebuilding an eight foot greenhouse we found on Freecycle (a two day job which is not yet finished) and painting and redecorating the study (to let in more light and create a space we actually wanted to work) we also managed two egg hunts, having family for dinner, several walks, a boys day out (him not me, obvs) and a couple of lazy nights in.

Good Friday was the kind of sunny country day you dream about. We set off in the morning to our friends’ house for an egg hunt and the Spring sunshine was already filling the blue sky with a warm glow. It was glorious as walked through the village, Easter basket in hand.

Munchkin ambled about the garden, finding perfectly wrapped Easter cookies, little bunnies and eggs and popping them in her basket, while we sat on a bench in the sun, drinking coffee and watching the chickens scratch about.

It was a lovely morning seeing the children potter about, and seeing Munchkin really understand about looking and searching for things.

Her excitement on finding a foil-covered egg was a delight to see, as was her wide-eyed wonderment at the older children, who all patiently and kindly helped her look for eggs, waiting while she searched them out, without dive-bombing every egg for themselves.

After that, we headed to a pub on Minchinhampton Common for a spontaneous lunch – the children did more running around the garden and the common, staring at the dogs, horses, kites and people passing by. We headed home mid-afternoon and it was just warm enough to set up camp in the garden so Munchkin could get soaked playing with her water toys and a few buckets and I enjoyed cup of tea in the sun.

Dinner with family followed, and the next day I got on with my study makeover, while Munchkin spent the day with family and R spent the day with friends. Sunday dawned warmer and sunnier than promised, and after opening our eggs in bed, and a lazy breakfast of bacon sarnies and quails eggs (due to a shortage of actual eggs in the shops the day before) we headed out for a village walk.

Munchkin was insistent on taking her Easter basket with her and she made quite the picture pottering amidst the daffodils in the sun.

In his infinite wisdom, R let Munchkin walk the entire length of the school wall, meaning this is something she’ll now want to do every time we leave the house.

After getting some real eggs from the local egg place, and a lengthy battle about whether it was right and proper to pick the daffodils on the village green or not (R says not), we walked home and began hiding our own eggs for an egg hunt that afternoon.

In between rain showers we managed to hide some eggs and giggled as the little ones spied them from afar and headed off up our vast sloping garden in pursuit of something shiny. Munchkin doesn’t even know what chocolate is, and is really only interested in unwrapping the eggs before moving onto the next one. Which suited us just fine.  As the rain descended we repaired to the pub for a cosy afternoon by the fire, and a late dinner in front of The Night Manager. (Mega swoon).

Monday was another day of busy jobs as R and my father spent a whole day trying to rebuild the greenhouse they’d dismantled three days previously. It was a super-human effort on a cold and windy day, and one which I observed from inside the house, while making the final touches to the study. But, at the end of the day, we had a bright, light place to work and the frame of the greenhouse standing tall at the top of the garden. (Glass panes to follow). Not bad for a few days’ endeavour.