Always read the small print

I have always been somewhat prone to 'speed reading' and sometimes misread things if I read them too quickly.

A perfect example of this - on the Scavenger Hunt list was the following item (I thought) 

Something that should be found in Paris

Well that's a bit weird, what on earth can I think of for that?  A croissant?  The Eiffel Tower?  

Much easier when you read it properly.  

Something that should be found in pairs

Exhibit A - two raffia flower pots in the shape of shoes

Me on Bank Holiday Monday

I have now officially been retired for one whole year!  That's crazy.  They say time moves faster as you get older and it would appear to be true.

We continued the holiday vibe onto Friday evening where we met up with our old (as in, I've known them a long time, not that they're ancient 🤣) friends Denise and Peter.  Denise was the person who introduced me to scrapbooking and talked me into starting a blog.  She's now part of Dawn Bibby's design team and a very talented scrapbooker and all round crafter.

We forgot to take a photo of us both when that basket of sharing starters was full, so here's the before picture of the scrummy food!  If you come across a Giggling Squid restaurant be sure to try their salt and pepper squid - Delicious!

Then my friend Mandy rang and asked if we fancied going round to hers for a paella night on Saturday.  Well, how could I say no?  

Back to reality on Sunday though with a family lunch for 7 adults, 1 toddler and a baby.  But as it's been 11 days since I last cooked a meal I can't really complain can I?  While setting the table I realised that we are running out of space and that once we have a second high chair in place we will be a bit squished.

Today you will find me catching up on ironing all the washed holiday clothes and then sorting through the holiday photos to see what others I can share for the summertime photo scavenger hunt.  Let's start with number 1 - an outside clock

Just look at the colour of that sky - how I wish I was back there this week!

The wanderer returns

I have a lot of catching up to do.  I've been absent from blogging for the last week as we've been doing a lot of this

We've been in sunny Portugal, sharing a holiday with Rachel and her family.  Leo's first seaside holiday - and boy was he excited about it.  His little sister seemed oblivious to the fact that she was anywhere different but holidays are a whole lot different when you are only 6 months old!  I suspect that today Rachel may have a slightly grumpy toddler on her hands when he realises that no he won't be going to the beach today, nor the swimming pool, and he won't be allowed an ice cream every afternoon.

So I apologise for not commenting on blogs, but trust me as soon as I have put a load of washing in the machine and been to Tesco to restock the fridge, I shall be sitting down with a coffee to catch up with all the news.

I will just quickly share a photo I took as part of the photo scavenger hunt.  (Are you joining in too?  Please do!) This one fits the bill for number 14 - A handwritten sign

Me on Monday

It's amazing I've found time to write this post.  I have a new guilty pleasure.  Any spare half hour I find when I have the house to myself.  Honestly, I can't help myself.  What is this thing?  A new series I've discovered on Netflix.  My daughter's friend recommended it to her and for some strange reason she hasn't found time to watch it.  Honestly, just because she has an energetic toddler and a 5 month old baby, surely she must have all the time in the world to watch tv, right?  🤣 It's a series called 'Dead to Me'.  First of all I thought it was going to be a 'chick flick' kind of thing but it's so much more than that.  It probably appeals more to women than men but it's not your average rom-com girly series.  I have just one episode left to watch and boy is the action heating up, so many strands of the same story.  Just to let you know how much I have been finding excuses to watch tv, my ironing pile is non existent.  Not a thing left to iron.  Nada.  Never been known before!  Have you seen this programme?  

I have that certain little toddler coming later this morning while his sister goes for a check up blood test so there'll be no watching tv in peace once he gets here that's for sure.  The sun is shining so I feel sure that he will be in the front door and then straight out the back to pick up his trowel and dig for 'wood smouses'.  It fascinates him to lift up a pot, watch the woodlice scuttle away and curl into a ball.  There may even be time to head over to the lake to feed the ducks.  

These white ducks are the noisiest, bossiest ducks on the lake.  They move twice as fast as the brown ducks and they are so loud, and quite intimidating!  They've been over the other side of the lake nesting in the last month or so but when we went for a walk at the weekend we saw they were back.

Then this afternoon a quick visit to my sister's to pick up the keys to her holiday home in Portugal.  Yes folks, Leo's first trip on an aeroplane is imminent. Better start taking my multi-vitamins ... 

One photo - twenty words

Me on Bank Holiday Monday

It's hard to keep track of Bank Holiday Mondays when you're retired as every Monday is a day off - but here we are at the first of two Bank Holidays in May.

I'm checking out the list of things on the Photo Scavenger Hunt list that is run by Mary-Lou.  You can find the list here and it would be great if you could join in too, the more the merrier!  I am already thinking that there may be one or two I may struggle with but I've never let it beat me yet so I fully intend to find 'a funny or meaningful bumper sticker' even if I have to make one myself 😂. I was thinking that this might cross off number 13 but I think the white lettering of Leo's letter blocks may count as a third colour ...

We've had an injured pup here this weekend.  Coco's main job description involves protecting her family from squirrels and it's a job she takes very seriously.  Those pesky squirrels know how much they wind her up and take full advantage of their ability to climb.  Saturday morning we were walking down the lane that leads to the lake and a squirrel suddenly jumped out of a bush and ran up a fence panel.  It then tightroped across the top of the fence and then hurled itself, above our heads, to a tree on the other side of the lane.  We all held our breath to see if it would manage the distance or whether we would suddenly have a grey furry bundle of angry squirrelness fall on our heads - obviously Coco's worst nightmare.  So she threw herself at the fence panel, twisted and we think she must have fallen awkwardly as she started to limp a little.  We carried on a little further, but cut the walk shorter than normal and she just laid around all day.  Sunday dawned and it was as if nothing had happened, maybe we won't have to go to the vets today after all.

I've been tentatively thinking about what to pack for our holiday to Portugal next week.  As most of what I will take won't have been worn since last September, there will have to be a 'does this still fit?' session later today.  Which could end up in a frantic buying spree for larger size clothes, re-thinking what we'll be eating for the next 10 days or smugly walking around knowing that I'm still the same size as I was last holiday.  Place your bets now!

Sentence a Day in April

Also posing as Thinking Out Loud Thursday.  What I'm thinking today is ...

A quarter of the year gone already?  Surely not ... 

And yet here we are in May.  Time to do a sentence a day for April.

Day 1 Went to my first yoga class which, for someone with no sense of balance and limited flexibility, was a brave thing to try.

Day 2 Not a particularly nice day outside so spent quite a bit of time catching up with tv programmes I've recorded while doing more of my knitting.

Day 3 Paul was out for the day doing his volunteer work at our local country park so I went into town, window shopped, caught up on some chores in the afternoon and did more knitting.

Day 4 Zumba in the morning then popped round to a neighbour's house in the afternoon for a cup of tea and a chat.

Day 5 Meal out in the evening with friends to our favourite Thai restaurant, then back to theirs for drinks - it was a late, late night ...

Day 6 ... and we both felt tired most of the next day, luckily we had a quiet day at home and weren't going out in the evening!

Day 7 Went to Rachel's for a belated birthday Sunday lunch - she had also arranged for Jon and Sophie to come which was a lovely surprise - I felt very spoilt.

Day 8 Went back to yoga, I think I'm going to enjoy this!

Day 9 Hair cut day - that was so overdue, when I looked in my diary it was 10 weeks since I last went to the hairdressers (and it really showed!)

Day 10 Such a lovely sunny day I was able to hang my washing out to dry in the garden for the first time this year

Day 11 After a visit to the groomers Coco was looking and feeling great, and so was I until I realised I'd spent as much on keeping her look neat and tidy in the last couple of months as I have on myself!

Day 12 Looked after Leo while his sister had a hearing test this morning - how does one small boy cause so much disruption to my house in just two short hours?

Day 13 A day full of pottering around in the garden and long dog walks

Day 14 Went to a surprise 50th birthday party - I have never seen our friend speechless before, she really was totally shocked!

Day 15 Sticking with the yoga classes - I've even invested in a proper yoga mat 

Day 16 Went with Rachel to take Leo to our local theatre to see a production of 'Pongo's Party' - his first experience of a live show and he loved it!

Day 17 My friend Denise came over for the morning to discuss craft related projects, catching up on grandchildren news, and generally putting the world to rights.

Day 18 Zumba! Followed by a good old house tidy up because the next day we had ...

Day 19 ... Friends over in the evening for and Indian takeaway - 'twas a late night 😴

Day 20 Glorious sunshine - a good excuse to spend a long time 'gardening' (mostly sitting back in a chair looking at the flower borders thinking about what needs to be done) (unless you are a dog, in which case you spend most of the day in the middle of the lawn dreaming of squirrels)

Day 21 The worst Easter Sunday ever with Rosie taken into hospital with a serious blood disorder.

Day 22 Rosie having more tests and the possibility of more invasive treatment at Gt Ormond Street in London.

Day 23 Rosie still in hospital, we are still looking after her brother and putting on extremely brave faces so he doesn't suspect anything is wrong.

Day 24 Rosie was discharged late yesterday evening so our little house guest has gone home and we are trying to get over the trauma of what has gone on.

Day 25 Trying to get back in the old routine, Zumba class helps to get a few endorphins flowing.

Day 26 Went to a Friday yoga class, then had lunch at a new Italian restaurant that has opened in our neigbouring town.

Day 27 Invited to friends for drinks in the evening, the lovely weather of the last week has definitely finished and we walked there wrapped in winter coats and wearing boots.

Day 28 A 'normal' Sunday, and greatly relieved to have this little one sitting at the table with us this week. 

Day 29 Yoga class, I think I may be getting slightly better at balancing on one leg!

Day 30 Rosie had follow up blood tests which were within normal range - a great way to end a month which definitely had a lot of ups and downs #nowonderihavegreyhair