Friday Bliss # 56

Yesterday I went to meet my friend at a café and charity shop which is in the grounds of a former secondary school.  The buildings and sports facilities on the site are now being used by the local community.  The café is run by volunteers as a drop-in centre and used by local people especially those with disabilities.  When we arrived it was quite quiet, but as it was nearly lunch time the place soon filled up with groups who had come for a light meal. 

After a cup of tea and a chat we had a browse around the charity shop area and we both found some items that would be useful to us.

A small bag and a book - both new and in good condition. Browsing through the book I found it very interesting as it's based on the format of the twenty-four days leading up to Christmas.  There's a section each day with a developing story about a girl called Elisabet and a boy called Joachim and their journey which includes other characters and historical facts about places they visit along the way done in a way that would interest adults as well as children. I can see myself reading this book during the Advent period before passing it on as The Christmas Story is a good one at any time.  The author Jostein Gaarder was born in Oslo in 1952 and spent many years as a teacher before becoming a full-time writer. Elisabeth Rokken translated his writing for this book and the illustrations are by Rosemary Wells.

I also bought a serving plate made in Bavaria which will match my fruit plates.

Joining Riitta for Friday Bliss

Gardening early October

The visit to one of our local garden centres is always a delight.

Back in our garden everything still looks colourful and whilst Mr P was busy with some other household work I did a little gentle gardening.

 Pansies are  around the apple tree and in one of the stone tubs.   Daffodils and tulips  were planted in the autumn. 

I had bought two heathers, one called 'Spring Cream', the other 'Annemarie'.

There are more bulbs to plant and fortunately the weather is still dry although not so sunny as yesterday. 

My week

On Sunday local daughter M said 'Do you feel like coming for an hour for tea and cake this afternoon?' Usually grandson has a football match, but with all the rain the pitch was waterlogged and the game was called off. Instead we enjoyed the carrot cake that she had made and a mug of tea. The icing on the top was flavoured with lime juice and cinnamon.

For a change I gave daughter M a bunch of flowers.

Looking out on the garden I spotted through the French windows some brightly coloured gladioli and the Virginia Creeper covering the fence was looking vibrant too. Grandson S went out and took some photos for me.

Pretty pansies

On the way to our daughter's home I've noticed what looks like an allotment and have caught a glimpse of some scarecrows through the gate. I asked Mr P to stop so that I could look over the fence.  There was a large plot of land that's a community garden. It looks like a good place for local people and children to spend time, learn about wild life and grow some plants - a lovely project for the infant school who had decorated the laminated information board with their drawings.

Today we had sunshine and blue skies so Mr P and I went to the garden centre to get some more bulbs ready to plant for Springtime and some other plants.

Above is the view of the countryside across the road from the garden centre.  Feeling a little better I managed to put in the ground some of the plants that I bought. I'll write about that next time although I'm having an issue with the internet server again.  The wifi keeps going on and off.  

Thank you for your lovely comments on my last blog post. I'm still waiting for an appointment for treatment at the GP surgery, but I'm mobile so long as I have a good night's rest and rest in the afternoon.