Life in our household during March has been very different from what Mr P and I had planned, that is, a time away in Italy. Due to the challenging weather and the fact that we live near the top of a hill we were snowbound several times. No-one could get to us either by car or on foot. Mr P drove to the entrance of our no-through road, but realised that he would start sliding down the narrow road and beyond that is an even steeper hill. We also heard from Mr P's family in Italy that the region around Rome was also experiencing extreme weather conditions with heavy snow, which was unusual for March. Trains had been cut to a minimum, schools had been closed and the family members working in Rome had returned home early. We missed our flight, but we're covered for the loss of flight tickets on our travel insurance. We were thankful that we were at home in the UK during this time because we had trouble with the central heating system with a frozen outlet condensation pipe which needed to be defrosted by using hot water. We made do with what food we had in our store cupboard until the weather improved and we could get back to normal. Even so the weather continues to be changeable. We're really glad when the sun shines and I'm sure that this is so for all of you who are waiting for Springtime and for warmer weather. Meanwhile, we have been grateful for a warm home after the central heating came back on, the seedlings Mr P nurtures indoors are mainly doing well and we both continue to enjoy the flowers that family brought us once they could get to us.
Here are some photos of our March days.
the third stem of the amaryllis produced four more flowers
the week before Palm Sunday
(a tile painted by an Armenian artist based in Jerusalem)
snowdrops and primulas in our front garden
- both plants are still blooming
plants in the covered yard are beginning
to produce flowers including the nectarine tree
We've been so thankful to see the sunrise on some days
although at the moment we have heavy rain and it's a windy day.
It's a joy to hear birdsong and see the blackbirds from the back window.
Wishing you all a happy Easter and holiday weekend.
We are now preparing for a time in Italy when we hope that the weather will be warmer and we can get out into the garden to do some tidying up. At the moment we're enjoying the holiday period with our family here in Yorkshire.
2nd April 2018 P.S. We've had snow again overnight which has settled! Hopefully it will thaw as the temperatures are not sub zero as we experienced before and our daughter who is staying with us can travel back home to Berkshire. Here are photos taken this morning, my Easter display and Italian Easter cake that I forgot to post yesterday. Thank you for your visit and kind comments and I hope to get around and visit you also.
Linda :)
