59

 

Turning 59 at the end of May and knowing I'll be 60 next year, feels fairly surreal.  I don't feel much older than I did about 30 years ago but oh, how much has happened in those years. I wouldn't change anything because it's made me who I am today. 

I had a message this morning from a friend in South Africa and we've been taking a walk down memory lane. Would you want to be young again?  I wouldn't, I enjoyed it when I was young, but I can do without the angst of being young! Nowadays people have to take me as they find me and, if I'm not their cup of tea, that's fine! I don't like to think of being a grumpy old woman, instead I've just added more character.

When I think back, I've been lucky.  I was born in Scotland but moved to South Africa at 3, when Dad was offered a 2 year contract over there. Those 2 years turned into 26 for me as I returned to the UK in 1991.  My childhood, growing up in South Africa, was very different to that I would have had, had we stayed in Scotland.  I have such good memories of carefree days, of living in a flat on the beachfront at 19 and travelling at 22. That was when I met family and cousins who I'd been penpals with but didn't really know. It's probably the one thing I wish could have been different. I would have liked to grow up with my cousins and have that close bond but, at the time, I knew no different.

I married in 1987 and Hugh and Claire were both born in South Africa. We returned to the UK in 1991 and Emily was born in England. I was lucky enough not to have to work while the children were growing up and I'm very grateful for having had that time with them. We had holidays overseas and went back to see family in SA to begin with but slowly most of the family also moved back to the UK. I have a brother still in SA and one who moved to Australia nearly 10 years ago but both my sisters now live nearby. Mum and Dad came to England in 1996 and Mum lives 5 minutes from me. I went back to work in 2014 and separated from my husband the following year. Emily and I will have lived in our current house for 6 years next month and they've been good years for us. 

The pandemic has meant I've worked from home, virtually full time, since March last year and I really enjoy it.  We are lucky that Claire and my granddaughters formed part of our bubble as soon as they were able to and we have been able to see them as normal. However, this time of isolating has given me time to reflect and has made me realise I'm more of an introvert than I thought I was.  I enjoy seeing people but I'm more than happy in my own company and with my family.   I enjoy a slower pace of life and, perhaps one day, I would like to move back to Scotland (finances allowing). It feels like home when I go back.!

So, despite having areas to work on and deal with (but don't we all) I'm quite happy to be 59!

Dog Walks in The Meadows

 We have a walk we can do which starts either off the road we live in or further down the main road.  We haven't been able to walk there during winter because it's been too muddy and slippy so when it started getting warmer (and drier) it was where we wanted to head to again.  We've been going for dog walks in The Meadows (as it's known to the local residents) for the past 3 weekends now and we love it.  Harry can go off lead while we're away from the road and it's been so good for his recall - he doesn't go too far before checking back to see where we are and if I call he'll come back because he knows he'll get a treat.  

If we go from the main road, we walk down the side of some houses and cross a little stream before reaching the main path.

A solar panel farm was created on some land behind The Meadows and we walk along the path around the farm.  Despite the solar panels, you still feel like you're in the country and it's so peaceful.

The last two weekends we've been for a walk there, Claire and the girls have come with us.  Alice and Megan were so happy to hear we could go back to The Meadows as they love being able to run with Harry.

We're also enjoying seeing the flowers appearing along the path and seeing the blossom on some of the trees, though a lot of that has now gone.  

This is the actual "Meadows" part of the walk

The bluebells have definitely multiplied in the last week.

Someone was very tired after the excitement of meeting other dogs on our walk yesterday, as well as having the girls to play with.

x

The week that was

Em and I take Harry for a walk every morning and on this day we went at around 07:25. The sun was behind some fog which made it almost look like the moon, and gave a different feel.  It's pretty cold most mornings, especially if there's a wind blowing, so I'm still wearing my puffer coat, which is lovely and warm.  The scarf has also made an appearance a couple of times this week to help with the wind chill.  

                 

We're enjoying seeing the blossom and feel sad when certain trees lose theirs and more leaves than flowers appear.  It's also been fun to see the different types of blossom - I wish I knew which were which.  Our cherry blossom hasn't appeared on our tree yet - I'm hoping it hasn't been smothered by the pyracantha! 

Mini Egg Cookies by Jane's Patisserie were popping up on my Instagram feed and everyone was saying how wonderful they were.  I knew the girls' would love them so bought in the ingredients and gave them a try.  I did have one (ignore my last post ;) ) and they were so good.  

I had made a trial batch on Easter Saturday as, now that we are able to visit family in the garden, I went round to Mum's to drop off her Easter Egg.  Claire and the girls popped round as well and we had a taste test! Big thumbs up all round. Can you believe Mum was 90 at the beginning of March? She looks amazing :)

I'm afraid I've become pretty hopeless at remembering to take photos, I just don't think to bring the camera / phone out.  So, this is my one photo from Easter Sunday!  We had Claire, Alice and Megan over and did the usual Easter egg hunt.  The girls' had bunny ears which they wore over to us and then decided to see what Harry would look like wearing them.  I think I just managed to snap this photo before they were off again! 

Harry's 6 weekly appointment at the dog groomers was on Tuesday.  I've been on leave this week so drove up to drop him off and pick up a couple of bits I needed to get in town. I then walked up later to pick him up again and it got darker and darker on the way up. I just hoped I would make it there and back home again before the rain started!  What a difference there was walking into town at 11:00 with the roads so quiet.  I will miss the peace and quiet when lockdown lifts further.  

Another visit to Mum's on Wednesday as I knew I would be baking again on Thursday.

Thursday was Claire's 31st birthday. However, it was also her 2nd birthday in lockdown so as she hasn't been able to celebrate with all the family she considers herself to be 29+2 and hopefully next birthday she'll be able to have everyone round for the celebration.

 

We're so glad this year we could at least be together in our bubble.  So different to last year when everything was so uncertain and Claire was on her own with the girls.  What a year it has been, certainly one for the history books and one we will never forget.

x

May 2017

 Following on from my previous post, the rest of May just seemed to whiz by.

 The end of May saw my birthday come round once again.  I took a week's annual leave starting on my birthday so was able to celebrate in the afternoon with my Mum, Emily, Claire, Alice and Megan.

 It was really warm that day so we filled the little pool with water so the girls could paddle and cool down a bit.

We did have birthday cake but, to be honest, ice creams were what we actually needed.

On Saturday, we had a birthday tea again and this time we were joined by Norma, her daughter in law, Emma and little Rebecca

During the week we went down to Pevensey Bay.  Although it was quite overcast to begin with, it did warm up and I ended up getting slightly burnt.

 I have been back in the UK for 26 years but I still find it strange seeing pebbles instead of sand and no real waves.  I guess we were a bit spoilt growing up in South Africa.

 I think we do need to find a sandy beach though so that the girls know what it's like to not hurt their feet while at the beach ;-)

 Alice and Rebecca

 Cousins

 The tide came in while we were there so we had to move our spot further up the beach.

 You have to have ice cream while you're at the beach!

Week 18

Well, it's been a while once again but let's give this another try.  I think perhaps the easiest way for me to dip my toe back into the blogging pond is to do a simple overview of my week - nothing fancy to begin with, just (as my blog name suggests) life in general!

 I feel like I'm finding my feet again after the separation and I've decided it's time for me to eat more healthily and to walk more.  An example: fruit in the afternoon instead of biscuits or cake and Emily and I are walking to work at least a couple of times a week.  To be honest, I actually enjoy the walk - especially in the evening when it gives me a chance to unwind on the way home.  Needless to say, it's always so much nicer when the weather is bright.  I may not be as keen when we head back towards winter.

 We had a few busier nights this week which is quite unusual for us.  On Tuesday our landlord came round to help sort out the bathroom sink.  Wednesday evening was haircuts round at Mary's.  I feel so much better now that I've had mine cut again as it had just got that bit too long.  Emily had the front of her hair shaped a bit more and it looks very pretty.  Mary has a cat called Roxy (below) who reminds me so much of Charlie, my cat who was also pitch black, who went out one day a couple of years ago and didn't come home again.  We have no idea what happened to him and I do miss him.

 On Thursday evening I went out to a leaving dinner for two colleagues.  We went to a local tapas restaurant and had a lovely meal.  I wasn't too late getting home but I was still extremely glad when Friday was over and it was the weekend.

 I don't know about yours, but our weekends seem to fly past.  This last one was no different.  I was glad to get the grass cut at last as it had grown so much.  The last couple of weeks we'd had rain and the ground had been too wet for cutting it - it always looks so nice when it's been cut.

 The back garden is still looking a little patchy after I raked out the dead patches and put down some grass seed.  Today when I went out to have a look at it I could finally see the new grass starting to come up.  It looks so fine and delicate compared to the rest :)  I'm really hoping it'll help to get the lawn looking good for summer.  The little flower bed is also starting to fill out a bit and fortunately, the bamboo doesn't seem to come back as much.

 Claire met a friend for lunch on Sunday so the girls came to our house while she was out.  We had a great time - Megan did a jigsaw and let Emily and myself put in the odd pieces.

 Alice was busy drawing pictures for us all.  We  had watched How to Train a Dragon on Netflix and Toothless (the dragon) was a hit all round.  I do love my picture of Toothless and Hiccup which has now joined the gallery on my kitchen cupboards.

 Claire got back just in time for us to go and pick up Mum and then go down for birthday tea for Chez and Ciaran at Norma & Chez's house.

 Time for Chez to blow out the birthday candles.  Ciaran was happy to sit in the corner with Rebecca and leave Chez to it.

 Alice and Megan are always happy to get a chance to play with Rebecca and I'm looking forward to seeing their relationship grow as they do.

 After dropping Mum back at her house on the way home, Emily and I decided to go for a walk down Forest Way. I really wanted to see if there were any bluebells left and we did get to see some.

 It was such a lovely evening and, even though you can't tell in this photo, there were still a number of people out walking.

 I think it must have been coming up to either feeding time or milking time because all the cows started making their way up to the top of the field.  There were a number of calves out with the herd but not close enough for me to get a good shot.

 We did our usual walk down to the bridge before turning round and walking back again.  It took us slightly longer than normal because we kept stopping to take photos.

 I'm not sure what's been planted here but I love looking about across this field towards the hills. The view is just stunning.

 What is it about dandelions that makes you want to photograph them? I loved the light catching this one.

And finally, some wild garlic.  I never knew what it looked like before but when we arrived at the start of the walk there was a notice on the gate showing some of the different plants you could see.

So that was week 18 and we're into week 19.  Let's see what this week brings!
R xx