These Mondays are coming around pretty fast aren't they?
Monday, 5 August 2019
TGIF on a Monday
These Mondays are coming around pretty fast aren't they?
Friday, 2 August 2019
Summer Photo Scavenger Hunt link up 2
Can't believe that it is already time for the second link up for Mary-Lou's Summer Photo Scavenger Hunt - time to fill in some gaps!
1 I had originally seen an outdoor clock on the church in the Algarve but think I prefer this sundial as it's a bit more original
2 Single and pretty. This rose bush in our garden is all leaves and only one flower! But it has competition for this category as we also have this
A sunflower which Leo has grown from seed. He is amazed at how it has grown from tiny to now towering over the roofline of the conservatory!
4 Blurred vision - thanks to the filter on the camera on my phone
12 Crooked - I wasn't sure if this was appropriate but when I checked the definition of 'crooked' it said 'bent or twisted out of shape' in which case this home grown tomato definitely fits the bill! On closer inspection it looks like two or three tomatoes have grown into one another to make one monster tomato but it is most definitely twisted out of shape!
13 Two colours of the rainbow next to each other
15 Broken chair? Well, not exactly broken but definitely needing care and attention (may have to revisit this one!)
16 Out of season treat being enjoyed - Rosie in her new Winter hat (whatever possessed me to want to knit a hat in the middle of summer?)
19 My 'flying nun' bumper sticker!
Not many more to find now and I'm always on the look out for duplicates that I may prefer to my original choices so the hunt is most definitely still on.
1 I had originally seen an outdoor clock on the church in the Algarve but think I prefer this sundial as it's a bit more original
2 Single and pretty. This rose bush in our garden is all leaves and only one flower! But it has competition for this category as we also have this
A sunflower which Leo has grown from seed. He is amazed at how it has grown from tiny to now towering over the roofline of the conservatory!
4 Blurred vision - thanks to the filter on the camera on my phone
12 Crooked - I wasn't sure if this was appropriate but when I checked the definition of 'crooked' it said 'bent or twisted out of shape' in which case this home grown tomato definitely fits the bill! On closer inspection it looks like two or three tomatoes have grown into one another to make one monster tomato but it is most definitely twisted out of shape!
13 Two colours of the rainbow next to each other
15 Broken chair? Well, not exactly broken but definitely needing care and attention (may have to revisit this one!)
16 Out of season treat being enjoyed - Rosie in her new Winter hat (whatever possessed me to want to knit a hat in the middle of summer?)
19 My 'flying nun' bumper sticker!
Not many more to find now and I'm always on the look out for duplicates that I may prefer to my original choices so the hunt is most definitely still on.
Thursday, 1 August 2019
A sentence a day in July
Over half the year gone already? What? Next thing you will be telling me is that Christmas is just around the corner 😝 I know the official link up isn't until the first Tuesday of the new month but this last month has been pretty special so I can't wait that long to share it!
July. The month of Wimbledon tennis and school holidays. Was it a month of wall to wall sunshine, strawberries and cream, sand in your sandwiches at the beach or always taking a cardigan and a fold up umbrella out with you 'just in case'? Let's see.
Day 1 Sun! Popped over to the town where I grew up and had so many happy memories when I walked past my old primary school
Day 2 Cloudy! Popped into town just to buy a couple of birthday cards and ended up spending over £20 in the food hall of Marks and Spencer #dontgoshoppingwhenyourehungry
Day 3 Hot glue gun, Venetian masks, feathers - what could possibly go wrong?
Day 4 Zumba then babysitting Rosie for a little while
Day 5 Went to see 'Yesterday' at the cinema - imagine a world where you were the only person who remembered the Beatles, there was no Coca Cola and Harry Potter had never been written ...
Day 6 Popped over to our son's in the morning to drop off some baby equipment Rosie has outgrown, lunch out at a local deli and then friends over for drinks in the evening.
Day 7 Tried out a new recipe I found in this month's Delicious magazine, slow roast belly of pork with roasted peaches.
Day 8 Met my sister in town for a coffee, something we don't get to do very often even though she doesn't live that far away.
Day 9 Rachel, Leo and Rosie came for dinner as James had to work late
Day 10 Catching up on housework day, then had the urge to do some baking so looked out my Mum's recipe for rock cakes - handed down family recipes taste good and bring back happy memories.
Day 11 Zumba! With a party theme this week so we were asked to bring in something to shake for a routine to Copacabana - Leo kindly lent me something (I am available for booking if Barry Manilow needs a dancer who can bring her own fish design maracas)
In other news Coco went to the groomers
Day 12 Met up with my friend Sally for a play date with our grandchildren
Day 13 Didn't feel 100% so spent the day just catching up on housework and reading
Day 14 Went to a reunion meal with 10 old school friends, hard to believe we have known each other 50 years now 😳
Day 15 Had Rosie to stay for a few hours in the afternoon - Leo had woken up covered in spots and had to go to the doctors - not chicken pox as we suspected but a 'viral infection'
Day 16 Beautiful sunshine, popped into town, lovely sunny dog walk
Day 17 Day to myself - husband out all day, Rachel and family had a day out together at Colchester Zoo, no interruptions at all so I was able to catch up with book reading and watching tv shows that I'd recorded!
Day 18 Leo visited while Rosie had her appointment at the allergy clinic - he's never keen on going home and much bribery has to take place to get him back in his mum's car.
Day 19 Cote restaurant in town is offering a free bottle of rose wine during the month of July, it would be a shame to miss out so guess where we went tonight?
Day 20 Helped Rachel and James try and tame the jungle that is their garden; it's never going to make it onto 'Gardeners' World' but it's a lot more tidy now.
Day 21 Two extra guests for Sunday lunch this week, Jon and Sophie came as their baby is now overdue and they found themselves with no plans for the weekend (having thought they would be at the hospital!)
Day 22 Went to Saffron Walden today, not for anything in particular, it has some interesting buildings and is just a nice place to visit
Day 23 Temperatures in the 30s during the day and a massive thunderstorm overnight (was Mother Nature showing her opinion of our new PM?)
Day 24 We have a feeling this evening that our daughter in law may be showing signs of going into labour ...
Day 25 Baby Max arrived on the day when temperatures were the highest on record for the UK ever - so happy he is safely here
Day 26 Got to visit baby Max today, then had to rush home for our Italian evening
Day 27 Our friends didn't go home until 1.20 am so feeling a bit jaded today
Day 28 Max is out of intensive care - perfect excuse for another hospital visit
Day 29 Popped over to our son's house to wait in for a parcel delivery, Sophie's mum also popped round with some shopping for them so it was nice to have a Nanny to Granny chat over a cup of tea!
Day 30 A back to normal day, even the weather resorted to a default setting of drizzle, we certainly have had a mix of highs and lows and everything in between this month.
Day 31 Our son asked if we could pick up something from a local shop and bring it over to him - as if I needed an excuse like that to go over and have another cuddle of Max!
So that's it, July - it's a wrap and here's a little video of daily clips that made the final cut
July. The month of Wimbledon tennis and school holidays. Was it a month of wall to wall sunshine, strawberries and cream, sand in your sandwiches at the beach or always taking a cardigan and a fold up umbrella out with you 'just in case'? Let's see.
Day 1 Sun! Popped over to the town where I grew up and had so many happy memories when I walked past my old primary school
Day 2 Cloudy! Popped into town just to buy a couple of birthday cards and ended up spending over £20 in the food hall of Marks and Spencer #dontgoshoppingwhenyourehungry
Day 3 Hot glue gun, Venetian masks, feathers - what could possibly go wrong?
Day 4 Zumba then babysitting Rosie for a little while
Day 5 Went to see 'Yesterday' at the cinema - imagine a world where you were the only person who remembered the Beatles, there was no Coca Cola and Harry Potter had never been written ...
Day 6 Popped over to our son's in the morning to drop off some baby equipment Rosie has outgrown, lunch out at a local deli and then friends over for drinks in the evening.
Day 7 Tried out a new recipe I found in this month's Delicious magazine, slow roast belly of pork with roasted peaches.
Day 8 Met my sister in town for a coffee, something we don't get to do very often even though she doesn't live that far away.
Day 9 Rachel, Leo and Rosie came for dinner as James had to work late
Day 10 Catching up on housework day, then had the urge to do some baking so looked out my Mum's recipe for rock cakes - handed down family recipes taste good and bring back happy memories.
Day 11 Zumba! With a party theme this week so we were asked to bring in something to shake for a routine to Copacabana - Leo kindly lent me something (I am available for booking if Barry Manilow needs a dancer who can bring her own fish design maracas)
In other news Coco went to the groomers
Day 12 Met up with my friend Sally for a play date with our grandchildren
Day 13 Didn't feel 100% so spent the day just catching up on housework and reading
Day 14 Went to a reunion meal with 10 old school friends, hard to believe we have known each other 50 years now 😳
Day 15 Had Rosie to stay for a few hours in the afternoon - Leo had woken up covered in spots and had to go to the doctors - not chicken pox as we suspected but a 'viral infection'
Day 16 Beautiful sunshine, popped into town, lovely sunny dog walk
Day 17 Day to myself - husband out all day, Rachel and family had a day out together at Colchester Zoo, no interruptions at all so I was able to catch up with book reading and watching tv shows that I'd recorded!
Day 18 Leo visited while Rosie had her appointment at the allergy clinic - he's never keen on going home and much bribery has to take place to get him back in his mum's car.
Day 19 Cote restaurant in town is offering a free bottle of rose wine during the month of July, it would be a shame to miss out so guess where we went tonight?
Day 20 Helped Rachel and James try and tame the jungle that is their garden; it's never going to make it onto 'Gardeners' World' but it's a lot more tidy now.
Day 21 Two extra guests for Sunday lunch this week, Jon and Sophie came as their baby is now overdue and they found themselves with no plans for the weekend (having thought they would be at the hospital!)
Day 22 Went to Saffron Walden today, not for anything in particular, it has some interesting buildings and is just a nice place to visit
Day 23 Temperatures in the 30s during the day and a massive thunderstorm overnight (was Mother Nature showing her opinion of our new PM?)
Day 24 We have a feeling this evening that our daughter in law may be showing signs of going into labour ...
Day 25 Baby Max arrived on the day when temperatures were the highest on record for the UK ever - so happy he is safely here
Day 26 Got to visit baby Max today, then had to rush home for our Italian evening
Day 27 Our friends didn't go home until 1.20 am so feeling a bit jaded today
Day 28 Max is out of intensive care - perfect excuse for another hospital visit
Day 29 Popped over to our son's house to wait in for a parcel delivery, Sophie's mum also popped round with some shopping for them so it was nice to have a Nanny to Granny chat over a cup of tea!
Day 30 A back to normal day, even the weather resorted to a default setting of drizzle, we certainly have had a mix of highs and lows and everything in between this month.
Day 31 Our son asked if we could pick up something from a local shop and bring it over to him - as if I needed an excuse like that to go over and have another cuddle of Max!
So that's it, July - it's a wrap and here's a little video of daily clips that made the final cut
Monday, 29 July 2019
A very special TGIF on a Monday
Headline news:
I think I could fit all four categories around the news that our newest grandchild arrived on Thursday! One week overdue and weighing in at 9lb - what a whopper! Baby Max chose the hottest day ever on record in the UK to enter this world - thank goodness for air conditioned delivery suites in hospitals.
So without further ado
That our son and daughter in law will soon put a photo of their son on social media so that I can share a picture too - I don't feel I can put his photo on Instagram or Facebook until they have. #hurryupJonandSophie
for the expert care and attention from all the staff at The Rosie Maternity Unit in Cambridge. Baby Max had a few complications when he arrived (he had swallowed meconium) and he was swiftly taken into the Neo natal intensive care unit where he was immediately looked after. He was moved into the normal post natal ward on Saturday so is now next to his mummy, which is where all little baby boys should be!
Now we know we have a new baby boy to love - I can finally start thinking about knitting that blanket.
Thank goodness I was organised in advance for our Italian evening, as we had to squeeze in a visit to Cambridge and an hour's visiting into the afternoon before everyone arrived so I lost 3 hours out of my day! A good excuse to raise a glass to celebrate Max's arrival and after a glass of prosecco I was able to relax and enjoy the evening.
Forgot to take a photo before everyone got here so this is me, the morning after, feeling a little jaded!
It was a lot of fun, and I guess everyone had a good time as no one went home until 1.20 am which is WAY past my bedtime!
Monday, 22 July 2019
TGIF on a Monday
Carrying on with TGIF on a Monday - not the 'thank goodness it's Friday' but Brene Brown's new weekly gratitude practice, TGIF. Yes, I know it should be done on a Friday but I've always enjoyed being different!
First things first ...
First things first ...
Thanks to Snapchat for the lovely floral hair accessories.
... that the boiler company will be able to come out in the next few days to find out why we suddenly have no hot water. Luckily we also have an immersion heater but I'm dreadful at remembering to turn it on half an hour before we want hot water.
... for the forecast of nice weather this week, I'm fed up with this humid, thundery feeling in the air - let's get some 'proper' summer weather!
... to visit the botanical gardens in Cambridge soon. Why is it that we often forget to go to places close to home? I think it's time to be a tourist for the day.
On Friday evening we have six friends coming over for an Italian themed dinner; I'm hoping that once the stress of cooking the meal is over I will relax and enjoy the evening! In theory I'm organised and everything will go to plan, the only thing that may hijack the evening will be if the baby (who is now almost a week overdue!) suddenly arrives during the day and I have to fit some hospital visiting into the equation!
Tuesday, 16 July 2019
Just when you least expect it
I've mentioned a few times that I'm taking part in the Summer Photo Scavenger Hunt that Mary Lou has organised and on looking at the list I felt pretty sure I was going to struggle with Number 19, A funny or meaningful bumper sticker. You see, bumper stickers are few and far between nowadays in the UK and I had already decided to use Alternative A - a bird house. When having lunch at a local deli which is near a vintage odds and ends shop I noticed this dove cote
Which, if you use your imagination, looks like it's had a surprise!
I digress. This morning, while shopping in town, I came out of the local book store and was almost run down by someone in a motorised wheelchair. Full of apologies, I stepped back to let her pass and noticed that the driver was a nun. Which is an unusual thing in our town; there used to be a convent many, many years ago attached to the local Catholic Church but they moved away and I can't remember the last time I saw a nun. Let alone a speeding nun in a motorised wheelchair! As she passed me I noticed that she actually had a sign on her bumper which made me think "I've found number 19 after all!". I didn't manage to get a brilliant photo of it because to be honest it felt a bit weird chasing a nun in the middle of the high street but if you click on the photo to expand it I hope you can just about make out the wording of the sign
It says 'Flying Nun' (pretty sure that was the name of a tv programme back in the 70s?)
and because of the speed at which she was travelling really made me chuckle.
Another one ticked off the list!
Which, if you use your imagination, looks like it's had a surprise!
I digress. This morning, while shopping in town, I came out of the local book store and was almost run down by someone in a motorised wheelchair. Full of apologies, I stepped back to let her pass and noticed that the driver was a nun. Which is an unusual thing in our town; there used to be a convent many, many years ago attached to the local Catholic Church but they moved away and I can't remember the last time I saw a nun. Let alone a speeding nun in a motorised wheelchair! As she passed me I noticed that she actually had a sign on her bumper which made me think "I've found number 19 after all!". I didn't manage to get a brilliant photo of it because to be honest it felt a bit weird chasing a nun in the middle of the high street but if you click on the photo to expand it I hope you can just about make out the wording of the sign
It says 'Flying Nun' (pretty sure that was the name of a tv programme back in the 70s?)
and because of the speed at which she was travelling really made me chuckle.
Another one ticked off the list!
Monday, 15 July 2019
TGIF on a Monday
That the baby may appear on it's due date this week. I was so convinced it was going to come early, but there's only three days to go now so the chance of it being on time or late is becoming increasingly possible #impatientgrandmother
That our family all live nearby. I met up with some old school friends last night and my friend Julia's daughter fell in love with an Australian guy while on a gap year in Australia. That gap year has now lasted 10 years and she has 7 year old twins. I know Julia finds it hard to be a long distance grandmother. It's so expensive to get out to Oz from the UK; thank goodness for FaceTime.
To book another short break away with Coco. Will be trawling the Airbnb website for inspiration.
On Friday I met up with my friend Sally. We met at ante natal classes 33 years ago when we were both expecting our first babies. We were really close friends and our husbands got on well together too which was great. Once the children got to school age they moved away from where we lived and inevitably we didn't see as much of them as we did when they were just 5 minutes down the road. But we've kept in contact, been to our children's weddings and have both now become grandparents. So it was great fun for me and Leo to meet up with Sally and her granddaughter on Friday, not so much going full circle as becoming a continuing ever expanding spiral as we reach second generation socialising!
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