A special day

Around about this time last year we had a family holiday in Liverpool to mark a milestone birthday f  A good time was had by all especially as our granddaughter was able to take time off from her studies to join us.

The Albert Docks

Liverpool Metropolitan Roman Catholic Cathedral

and the Liverpool Anglican Cathedral

 out-and-about and a celebration birthday meal

Hippy Café, M and daughter A,
 Rosa's Thai Restaurant birthday meal,
M, daughter A, A's brother S and Mr P
 at the Yellow Submarine Café,
  Daughters outside The Cavern Club

Fast forward to this year - the Easter holiday and our daughter's birthday have been very different. As she's a paediatric health visitor based in a hospital all holiday time has been cancelled.  She's been deployed into the intensive care premature baby unit as well as her usual time in the Accident and Emergency Department in an advisory paediatric role. On Saturday she made her own birthday cake and grandson helped decorate it. (Our granddaughter is still in the student house in Liverpool continuing studying remotely and finishing her dissertation for her final year of her degree). The lemon drizzle Victoria Sponge Cake was decorated with limoncello icing and during the weekend social distance visit our daughter and grandson brought us half of the cake.  Sadly we couldn't have tea together, but after the two had gone back home I did get out a tea set and Mr P and I had a slice of the birthday cake with a cup of tea and thought once more about the challenges we're all experiencing at the moment.

Getting out the tea set (we usually drink our breakfast tea from mugs) led me on to sort out the china cupboard during this week.  We have so much china that hardly gets any use except during family gatherings and yet I keep a lot of it for sentimental reasons. 

It has been quite a busy week so far.  Yesterday I went for another walk, this time up to the Common, which I'll write about next time.  I hope that your week is going well.

A neighbourhood walk (continued)

horse chestnut flowers ('candles')

the sports centre, social hub, charity shop and café 

 the local primary school

grape hyacinths and dandelions

 a local church and community centre

tulips in the church garden

There are rainbow pictures on houses and gates.

Children have chalked a hopscotch activity game on the pavement.

The Royal Mail delivery vans are out and about every day.  Mail personnel 

 walk around with trollies delivering letters.

a Japanese maple

a climbing Clematis Montana

A neighbourhood walk

It's another sunny day today so I decided that I would go for a walk around the neighbourhood to get some exercise.  When I was out my physiotherapist phoned on my mobile phone (that I always take with me) to make sure that I knew my physio appointment for this afternoon re my knee issue had been cancelled and to find out how I was doing with the exercises given last time I had a consultation.  She was pleased that I had gone out for a walk especially as, of course, there will be no physio appointments for the time being.

Here is what I saw on my walk.....

 an ornamental cherry tree

The daisies and dandelion flowers are everywhere in fields

 and growing wild on public grassy areas.

Spanish bluebells

euphorbia

a magnolia tree

candytuft

a flowering horse chestnut tree

I'll post the second half of the walk next time.  I hope that you're having a good day.  Thank you for your visit.

Joining Riitta's Friday Bliss # 85 linkup