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

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