Me on Monday

 We’ve woken up to glorious sunshine again today and it looks like it’ll stay  for the rest of the week 😊

It was a weekend of flowers and flour for me. We visited some beautiful bluebell woods on Saturday. I love this time of year!

The photo doesn’t really do it justice, it really was a carpet of blue and absolutely gorgeous. Perfect dog walking country.

Then on Sunday I went to a cooking academy for a class in how to make pasta

It was in a lovely location, about half an hour from me, in a courtyard filled with sculptures and individual studios for potters, artists and a bakery.  I have no photos as I was either busy making or eating pasta! Everyone left their phones in a different room and it was great to see everyone totally engrossed in the class with no interruptions. We made a basic dough and turned it into ravioli, spaghetti and tagliatelle. We also made three different sauces, carbonara,arrabiata and Alfredo, then it was lunchtime and we sampled everything we had made. Such a fun day. 

Today is normal routine after the Easter break, with pilates to start with.  My arms are aching from all that kneading of the pasta dough so I'm hoping she will go easy on us!  I'm hoping we will go to Cambridge one day this week as I have a few birthday presents to buy and it's nice to look round some of the little individual shops there.

No other firm plans for the days ahead but as the weather forecast is good I'm planning to just take each day as it comes and do a little bit more work in the garden.  Or maybe sitting in the garden watching Paul do the work 😉

#WBOYC in April

 

This month seems to have been quite a gentle progression into spring.  We've had some lovely weather and the gardens are looking colourful and full of new growth.  So, how did I spend my days?

Watching and reading

The new series of Grace still has as many twists and turns and red herrings to keep your brain challenged.  I still enjoy watching Interior Design Masters, and can usually guess which person will be sent home after an untasteful project. 

Then onto a couple of travel inspired shows. The Pilgrimage is back, with celebrities taking on a pilgrimage route.  It is interesting to see how people of different faiths and opinions gel over a challenging route. This time they are in Austria and the scenery and architecture is absolutely beautiful. The new series of Race Across the World has just started and already you are seeing signs of a little discontent between some of the couples.  To be left without mobile phones or credit cards at the great wall of China and having to find your way to the finish point in India is not something I would be any good at!  

I've just finished watching Feud and had not realised that making an kitchen extension on the back of your house could cause so much trouble (or deaths). 

I'll be sharing my April reading in a post next week.  I've only read a couple of books but they were both good in very different ways.

Eating

We couldn't find a day over the Easter weekend that everyone was free so I ended up cooking family meals two days in a row.  Traditional roast lamb with lots of veggies on Easter Sunday and a pork and cider casserole with Jersey Royal new potatoes and veggies on Easter Monday.  I love it when it is the season for Jersey Royals, I think they just taste so much nicer than any other new potatoes.

We had an Indian takeaway with friends one evening and it was absolutely delicious.  We tried a restaurant that we hadn't used for a while and we will definitely be using them again from now on.  For once we did not over order.  It's so tempting to go through the menu and choose lots of starters and then can't eat the main!  Do you do that?  I could make a meal out of the samosas, onion bhajis, chicken chat, poppadoms and dips!

One of my 'knit and natter' ladies invited us to a party at the local golf club.  It was to celebrate her 70th birthday and it was such a nice evening.  It was a sit down meal; the food was delicious and it was fun to dance the night away.

Self Care

I'm still doing pilates and zumba, although there have been a couple of weeks off due to the Easter break.  I'd like to say that I did some exercising at home to compensate but we all know that isn't true!  First Zumba class back was yesterday and it was so good to get out and dance.

There's also been self care in the form of a haircut and one which I was apprehensive about - a dental check up.  Fortunately I came out of each salon/clinic with a smile on my face!

Can you consider booking a holiday 'self care'?  I think so - and am happy to know that this month we finally decided on a destination and we have a trip to Italy planned for June 😎

Days out

As the weather has been so lovely, we have been taking Coco to different places for her walks and it's been really nice to change the routine of staying close to home.  Even though we have a country park on our doorstep, it's good to go elsewhere sometimes.

I have a day out planned for this Sunday.  For my birthday, my son and daughter bought me a ticket for a pasta making class at a cookery school near to them.  I have never made my own pasta and I think it could get quite messy but I'm looking forward to learning something new!  

So all that is left now is to share 1 Second Everyday for this month and invite you to pop over to Deb's World  to read about her Awesome April in Australia!

Me on Monday

 You won't believe this but we have started today with glorious sunshine again! We have really been spoilt with beautiful spring weather in the last week, the garden has really woken up and it is a joy to see the colour gradually emerging out there.

So I have a tale to tell about a previous Monday.  Remember the Monday where I was looking forward to collecting my new car?  Well, when I went to pick it up, it wasn't the car I had ordered.  It was a three door, not a five door.  Which was a problem, not just because it wasn't the car I wanted, but I couldn't get Olive's car seat in the back!  So I had to drive off in it as the paperwork had all been done to trade in my old car and the new one was registered in my name.  How frustrating!  So now I have to wait for the correct car to be delivered to the dealership and I am pretty sure that the salesman will be counting the doors before he tells me it has arrived!  He was so shocked when I said it was the wrong car, I think he thought I was joking, but then his face fell as he realised the mistake.  

Imagine this, but with 5 doors not 3!  It is lovely to drive but not practical for me while I'm still involved in picking up and dropping off young grandchildren!

We booked a holiday 😎  After many searches through many brochures and websites we have decided to return to Lake Garda in Italy but to a different resort to those we've been to before.  It looks fabulous and I am now counting the days!

Today I am meeting up with a friend for a coffee and a croissant which is always a good way to start the day isn't it?  Then I have a couple of days of full day childcare as it is the start of the school Easter holidays here.  We had a very busy weekend so I am looking forward to just taking it easy today and preparing for the grandchildren being here tomorrow and Wednesday.  

I hope your week is starting off in the sunshine and that you have good things planned for the week ahead!