Family Times Together

I mentioned in my last blog post it has been a busy week as there have been quite a few social family events as we celebrate our 59th wedding anniversary.

On Sunday we went to our daughter M's home for croissants and coffee.

 Blue wild geraniums and white astrantia flowers under the birch trees look pretty in the shared courtyard garden area 

Mr P and Daughter M have grown sunflowers from seed.  M has planted hers in pots and ours are in the flower beds.  Hopefully we'll get as good a display as we did last year. 

Along the lane there are many trees and daughter M gathered some elderberry flowers, thoroughly washed them, added lemon peel and made some elderberry cordial.  We were given a bottle (originally used when she made limoncello) and we are now enjoying this refreshing drink at home.

When Daughter M and partner came for an evening meal after work this week Mr P made spinach and ricotta lasagne.  (Daughter M had given us beforehand the spinach which she grows in raised beds in her large garden). 

Tonight our granddaughter, partner and baby are coming for a visit and a shared meal.  She's bringing mushroom risotto for our evening meal which will be followed by Mr P's home grown strawberries. We're certainly well looked after by our family members. We're also looking forward to our Berkshire daughter coming to stay when she breaks up from school work in the Summer.  We've a lot of places we hope to visit with both daughters during the Summer season weekends.

I hope all is going well with you.  Thank you for visiting.  Speak again soon.              

 

Our Week

The weather here is cold.  Some days there have been showers.  One day last week I picked some of the daffodils in the garden as the wind had bent the long stems over.  I arranged them in a vase.

We're thankful for the covered yard where we can grow plants, cuttings and propagate seedlings over the colder months of Winter.  Some of the permanent plants have come back to life such as the Christmas cactus and camellias.

The weekend has been quite busy with a visit from our daughter and great granddaughter and zoom phone calls from our Berkshire daughter and last week was also fairly busy with shopping and other domestic tasks.  I'm trying to do some decluttering even though it takes time and energy.  Mr P has been doing some indoor gardening.  The covered yard and garage are handy for that.  

Last week I went to the nearest local hospital for my ECG appointment.  I've never had one before, but it didn't take long.  The printout will be sent to the general practitioner and I have an appointment with my regular GP early next month.  

I enjoy seeing the pot plants in the kitchen, especially the hyacinth bulbs as they begin to flower.  Life has become slower, but noticing these small happenings is delightful.

Thank you for coming by.  Have a good week in your corner of the world. :)

Comments are back on again.  Thank you for your comment in advance - if you wish to do so.  I'm grateful for your interest.

January Roundup

The month of January seems to have flown by.  

 We watched the televised broadcast from London's River Thames Embankment on New Year's evening and enjoyed the fireworks.   The special lights in the sky were amazing.

Christmas Day was spent with our daughter at her family home. The complex consists of restored farm buildings out of town in the countryside.  The  stone houses are set around a main gravelled courtyard with mature birch trees in the centre and there are individual gardens for each house.  As there's farmland all around there'll be some good walks when the weather is better.     

 

Family group: me, daughter M holding her granddaughter

 (our new great granddaughter), Mr P holds our other great granddaughter.

our grandchildren and partners with their children

Daughter D made a fruit pavlova 

Daughter D and Mr P

Mr P and I have had quite a few medical and dental appointments this month.  It's always good to get these check ups done regularly.  There are medical issues to deal with, but we keep going.

I continue to enjoy blogging and the friendships made by making contact with folk around the world. 

That's all the news for now.  Have a good day everyone and a good weekend.

Our Week (So Far)

It has been a varied week and since the days have been quite warm and sunny it's been an enjoyable one so far. Yesterday we went to our local daughter's home as she wanted her Dad to look at the vines and cut some of the branches so that the grapes could continue to ripen.  

This variety has the taste of strawberries.

Daughter M's garden is L shaped and there is decking with steps up to the top of the garden. 

I love seeing Michaelmas Daisies at this time of the year.

The mauve flowers of the asters look good against the red of the Virginia Creeper growing along the fence.

The roses have gone over now and are producing large, red rose hips.

Apples will be picked from this fairly new apple tree.

On the way home ..... 

there were pansies in a community planter ....

    .... and there was a new crocheted creature on top of the post box

Thank you for coming by.  Have a good day!

Five on Friday: Spring Flowers

Our week has been a fairly quiet one.  It has been uplifting to see some sunshine and patches of blue sky although there have been the inevitable rain showers too.  

We've stayed local and, in fact, we're enjoying the sight of plants flourishing and growing on sunny window sills, in the covered yard and in the garden.  

We've phoned Mr P's widowed sister in Italy several times this week and have also spoken to her son who together with the rest of the family are looking after her.  He told us that he and his mother will travel over to the UK to stay for a while with him, his wife and family in Wales where they recently bought land, a house and stables as they keep horses. During the time of the funeral our nephew's wife stayed at home to look after the horses.  After the Easter period nephew G will accompany his mother back to her home in Italy where she'll be looked after by her family who live there.  Our local daughter may take us to Wales to see Mr P's sister and family as we've been invited to stay overnight.   Also flights and a hire car have been booked by our daughter for a time in Italy later in the year.  The time in Wales and Italy will be full of emotion, but we're grateful for these special times when we can spend them with Mr P's family.

Thank you for your visit.  I'll catch up with you soon.  Have a good day and weekend.

Our Weekend: Mother's Day/ Mothering Sunday

Last Sunday was Mother's Day or Mothering Sunday and so we had phone calls from our Berkshire daughter and grandchildren and visits from family who drove quite a distance to be with us.  I was given gifts of flowers and our local daughter made a delicious lunch of open sandwiches followed by cake and macarons.  

 

I'm sure we often think of our own  mother and I'm grateful that our Berkshire daughter took flowers to the family graves on Sunday as well as video calling us. She was able to see and speak to her brother, sister and family friends who had gathered for our lunch together.

I'm still having issues with editing photos which I do on my large computer screen, but I wanted to keep in touch with you, my blog friends.

Thank you for visiting and I hope that you have a good day and rest of the week.

Our week

First of all thank you for your comments left on my last blog post. I've written some brief comments about the books I was reading in the comment section of that post if anyone is interested.

Mr P has not been well and has been on antibiotics for a chest infection.  He went for an x-ray last Friday and we were there most of the morning in the busy radiology department of the city hospital. Now we're both resting at home, staying indoors and hopefully Mr P will feel better soon.

It has been Remembrance Weekend when we remember all those who have died in conflicts around the world that we might live in freedom; the bereaved families, those personnel who are still living with injuries to mind and body.  We watched the televised services of remembrance from the Royal Albert Hall, London in the presence of the King and at the Cenotaph Memorial in London where the Royal Family and others placed wreaths of poppies that have become a symbol of this special time.  

In the afternoon while Mr P was resting I walked up to the parish church to pay my respects at the First World War Memorial in the churchyard.  I thought of my grandfather who is buried in a War Commission's cemetery in Arras, France and a great uncle who died but does not have a marked grave.

There had been a service of remembrance at the church in the morning when uniformed groups had placed wreaths at the foot of the Roll of Honour for the Fallen.  The church was open in the afternoon as Sunday School was taking place.  Local families had also placed a poppy wreath on individual graves in the churchyard.

Here are some photos I took during my walk before returning back home.

 

It has been foggy first thing in the morning during the last few days although mild for the time of the year. We had been invited to a baby shower party in Berkshire hosted by our grandson and partner, but we decided about a month ago not to go as it's a long drive of three or four hours each way.  It's disappointing, but with Mr P not being 100 per cent well, the long drive and the wintry weather we need to stay local for now.  We've been sent a video of the occasion so all is well.

  

P.S. I appreciate your comments, but due to eyesight issues I've decided that the time has come not to reply unless you have a question that needs answering.  Thank you.  Have a good day!