Well last Friday we had a garden day, hubby had managed to source some more fence paint, so we finally got the last of the panels painted and I even gave the shed a quick coat of paint and hubby did the tops of some of the wood stores, so we are all spruced up again.
Saturday we had a day of rest, we'd had a busy couple of days and the weather was fine, so we had a lazy start to the day, we had a late brunch and then sat reading out on the deck, nothing finer.
Sunday we headed out for a walk, we did a similar walk last year and realised how many blackberries there were along the bridle path that were just going to waste, so this year we went a foraging.
We headed off up in the hill and stopped at the pub.
Hubby enjoyed a pint or two, I had a latte and then I had a hot chocolate, both of which were lovely.
Pub garden selfie
On our way back we double checked that this bush we had seen on the way up was in fact a sloe bush, hubby has grand plans for sloe gin if they are still available once they have started to ripen.
And then on to the main task, here we are mid-forage
Hubby didn't mind getting further in as he had jeans on, I had gone with cropped trousers.
When we got home, we give them a soak in bicarb and vinegar to get them clean and then rinsed them. Then we made two apple and blackberry crumbles, enjoying a portion with some hot custard in the evening.
I've frozen the other one to enjoy in a few weeks.
Sunday evening we sat and watched 'The Gentleman' film which we haven't seen for an age and then our weekend was done.
Monday and back to work, working from home and then Tuesday I went into the office, but no internet meant I returned home so I could work as everything I do is cloud based.
Wednesday back in the office for a busy day as usual, not helped by the silly temperatures.
We've been doing a daily walk which is helping my back (but not my feet) as my job entails a lot of sitting in front of a screen which is definitely not good for you and I'm enjoying my reading at the moment, well with all the books from Hay on Wye that I bought are you surprised.
So what have I been up to this week, what silver linings, grateful moments have I got.
First up is spending a lot of time with family last weekend, my lil sis is having a tough time at the moment and so it is at time like this that we remember what is important and pull everyone is little bit closer.
So we met up at Ikea and put the world to rights which was good, I'm not sure what we achieved but it was nice to touch base.
I captured this little shot when my Mum decided to reapply a bit of lippy with no mirror, it didn't go swimmingly so my lil sis sorted her out and I was there to capture the moment - she makes me laugh sometimes and this was one of those moments.
Then after I got home my sister popped over with my niece who I hadn't seen in a while and who is heading back to university shortly so it was lovely to have a catch up with her.
Saturday was a catch up with jobs day, food shop, cleaning the house the usual boring things, but it always feels nicer once its done so that was a win win and hubby was there to help so a definite positive.
Sunday we decided to head out for a walk, my sister came too and we enjoyed some wintery sunshine including a stop off at the pub for a coffee at the midway point.
Monday soon arrived and things have been hectic with a capital H at work recently, so I've tried to balance the crazy days with some therapeutic nights, namely scrapbooking.
I hardly did any last year, but one of my resolutions was to get back into it. I file all my layouts chronologically and I am literally years out of date I'm currently trying to finish 2016 (yes I am officially that far behind).
I am getting there and have less than 10 layouts to do (I think) to complete the year and then I will take great pleasure in filing them away and then starting on the 2017 photos that I have yet to do. I will also need to put a photo order in at some point which should be grand as I will have new photos to play with, although I really need to cut down on the volume I order as it would be impossible to scrap every single one.
My aim is to try and get to the end of 2017 by Easter - wish me luck!
Anyway the rest of the positives this week
Hubby buying me beautiful flowers and putting them in the vase (when I refused to move from the sofa as I was shattered).
Said 19 year old hoovering through the entire house as I made tea last night.
Said 19 year old getting a "high 2.1" in his first semester at university - and even though it is his first year, this all counts towards his final grade.
Woodburning stove when me and hubby are home alone and it seems silly to heat the whole house.
Hiking boots for keeping me just about upright last week.
And that my lovely people is your lot.
I hope you've had a grand week, if you fancy joining in pop a post together come back and link up and we come and visit.
Morning lovely people, tis Friday time to clock the silver linings and special moments that made the week worthwhile
So first up last Friday me and my lovely Mum went for a makeover, its actually more of an excuse for the make up counters to get you spending more money, but we had a lovely hour, trying out different products and make up and both came away with a bundle of goodies.
Unfortunately, I didn't engage brain and take a photo, but we had a lovely time regardless.
Then my niece came over, I was working but she wanted to do some work on my needle felter, so we had great fun, nattering and working albeit on very different types of work before her Mum came to collect her.
My sister stayed for a coffee, so that was lovely, she was heading into 3 night shifts and wasn't looking forward to it as she knew they were short staffed.
We enjoyed some blue skies at the weekend, which was lovely, it really made me feel much more positive.
I got my certificates through from some management diplomas I've been working on which was great.
I clocked another 9 days of green on my Fit bit, alas, I won't manage it this time, yesterday was a really hard day for me, I won't beat myself about it, but needless to say I am a little disappointed with myself this morning.
Sunday saw us out for a walk, which was great
Stopping at the pub half way
Back home we made tea, showered and changed and I put on my new PJ's that hubby bought me for Christmas.
I worked from home all day Monday and was back in work on Tuesday
Work means evening walks again
and the occasional moonlit night
But I did manage one in sunshine on Wednesday when I left early so I could get my walk in before we went on our date night.
Wednesday saw us pre-theatre dining and then theatre. We had a lovely evening, albeit that it was highly amusing, not necessarily for the right reasons.
I've taken to documenting parts of life through poetry, inspired by my wonderful Godfather, who we lost before Christmas.
Please don't feel you have to read them, they are just part of who I am at the moment as I'm wrestling with life a little.
Date Night (Part 1)
It'll be fun we said
A meal out, trip to the theatre
Nothing finer
We're booked in early and shown to our seat
Ambient music sets the tone
A Christmas song raises a single quizzical eyebrow
End of January, strange music choice
We order our drinks
They serve them to the table behind
Hubby waves to let them know there error
Sorry she stutters almost serving the drinks on our laps
There's two table 15s
We order starters and mains
Bread arrives wrestled between two spoons by the young
waitress
Sorry she says as they are launched onto our plates
We smile politely
We sit chatting preoccupied by life at the moment
Giant trays of food are brought to the nearby counter
We've ordered salad and goujons
Two piping hot bowls of soup rise up from the tray
Inexperienced hands tilt the bowls so the contents slide
onto the oversized lip
It's coming our way and hubby is oblivious on account of
having his back to them
Holding my breath, the soup goes on a detour to its final
destiny
We munch through starters when they finally arrive
Plates are whisked from the table before we are even
finished
Hubby grabs the bread as the plate hovers in mid air
With both hands the remains disappear into his mouth
And he grins
Main arrives in silence
We glance from the plate to each other and back again
Funny looking lamb (they've served us with salmon)
We explain we've both ordered lamb and the plates are
whisked away
In silence
Soon after our main arrives and we eat, it's delicious
"Drinks from the bar?" We are asked
More water would be nice,
Confused she walks away disappointed muttering she'll get
someone to sort
Obviously not her 'job' tonight
We sit waiting for the dessert menu
It arrives in the form of a person
She stutters and stumbles
We can barely hear what's on the list
We order 'pear' and 'cheesecake' as they are the only two
items we could make out
She asks us to repeat
The larger of the two arrives on a tiny plate and vice versa
Both with a tiny jug of cream
I glance thinking I will have to be careful not to knock
over the cream
Hubby's frangipane proves tough
The cream jug lands on the table no longer upright
forming a creamy white pool in the middle of the table
We look at each other, we leave it
watching it slowly move towards the edge
In some sort of silent poetic performance
We consider the napkin but eventually agree to lay two clean
paper tissues over the offensive sight
As a detective would cover a body on a TV show
The cheesecake has a virtually impenetrable base
Using a mix of brute force (in a controlled manner)
I work my way slowly through dessert
Desperate for it not to split with the pressure and fly
sideways in the process
Or worse still, break the plate
Fork marks score the biscuit base, as a stonemason would
chisel a stone
It would have been easier to eat the topping and pick up the
biscuit base but where's the fun in that
Once the plates are finally empty hubby moves the tissues
around trying to soak up the cream
We look at the large smear that remains on the table
Finally it's resolved with the use of a large overbearing
napkin
Minutes later you wouldn't even know
To finish the meal we order coffee
Hubby decides he needs to remain alert
After all we've got a Christmas play to watch
And I've already mentioned it's the end of January
He decides a double shot cappuccino is the way to go
I order regular
They arrive
One in a cup and one in what appears to be a giant soup
bowl
The caffeine is going to keep us up til one
Hubby pays the 'balance' of the bill
(As the ticket price included most)
We leave a tip balanced in the centre of the table
Maybe not for the service
But the entertainments been great!
Date Night Part 2
There is something special and magical about live theatre
Gentle bubbles of conversation fill the auditorium
The large red theatrical curtains cover the stage
We find our seats there is plenty of space around us
The couple in front chatting as we all settle into our seats
She's doing dry January
She declares "never again"
I tell her I've been teetotal since last March except for
the bottle of wine we shared in the summer in Stafford
She looks shocked and says she's disappointed that the
weight hasn't disappeared
She mentions she's eating more cake since she stopped
drinking and that might have something to do with it
The curtains open
Row 'C' has at least six late comers
All dressed in thick winter coats
There is a kerfuffle trying to get to their specific seats
Ironic in a rather empty auditorium
They eventually arrive at their chosen destination
Bemused I note the show has continued on regardless
They sit all tightly packed in their thick duvet like coats
Afraid to move
Afraid to cause more of a scene
Or heavens forbid be more entertaining than the
players
The scene in front of us is one of Christmas
There is a TV and an overbearing uncle narrating its
contents whilst thumbing through a television guide
The owners of the house bickering at each other
A young married couple are struggling to deal with their
children
Not that we ever get to meet them
She's heavily pregnant with a giant lumpy cushion
Her other half suddenly resembles our 18-year-old son
(Whose home alone ordering a meal deal with domino’s
blatting things on the xbox)
Until he speaks of course
The play unfolds
38 year old spinster desperate for love (or sex)(or both)
Her author friend (uninterested in any sort of relationship)
Arrives and takes a shine to the lady of the house
The drunk Aunt like character constantly succumbing to near
fatal accidents in the kitchen
The drunken arguments over snakes and ladders fails to ring
true
monopoly would have been more realistic but they would have
erred into trading names
and we'll I'm assuming the budget didn't stretch
Closure of the giant red curtains signals a time change
They open and close acting out various days over
Christmas
At half time, hubby stretches his legs whilst I sit in
bemused silence
Two ladies arrive on stage and start pulling raffle
tickets
It's not part of the play
A bottle of wine
Chocolates or a meal out are on offer
The wine and chocolates get snapped up
So, they confirm the meal vouchers isn't just for one
Although I'm sure she mentioned a cricket pavilion
They thank us for our custom
They've been going 70 years and started out as an operatic
society
(I'm grateful they've stopped singing)
Apparently, their next play is Ben Hur
Complete with chariot racing
Hubby has returned and looks eager to see that
The farce alone has to be worth it
He looks more than confused when they mention the
Sea battles and lets me know there weren’t any in the
original
The second half starts and my mind wanders
I realise the clock in the foyer that I assumed broken
On account of it reading ten past nine when we arrived
Was giving the end time of the show
I glance at my watch a little after 8.20pm
I settle back into the play
Half expecting the heavily pregnant whinging female to go
into labour
I'm not sure we've found the plot yet
The baby never arrives, actually the labour never starts
Instead we have a knife and a gun
And a shot
All because he's wearing a female balaclava
I'm still confused
What is a female balaclava and how does it differ from its
male counterpart?
The doctor (also responsible for the puppet show)
Which I forgot to mention
(Included a tedious conversation between the pigs one of
which is called ginger and the postman
And the none talking pet dog of the wolf
The family traditional boxing day puppet show is a cause for
constant discontent)
Diagnoses death as a result of the gunshot
Until the patient stirs and you realise his doctoring skills
are as useless as his puppeteering
The curtains continue to open and close
The clock reaches ten past nine
But we seem to be playing into overtime
The plot still missing
Two further time lapses before the cast appear bowing on
stage
We clap in sheer bewilderment,
I remember laughing and smiling,
My poor brain confused with the Christmas jingles it has
running through it,
I’m sure it was great
We exit stage left, pursued by no one but the freezing cold
air,
We head to the local supermarket and park in the brightly
lit underground carpark
We need a few bits and hubby declares he needs a beer
On our way to the entrance an old chap says something
I assume not to us, I don’t know him
But he repeats a little louder ‘Sorry?’ I say
He’s holding a carrier bag on its side and slides out of it
a glass lidded casserole dish
“Would you like to buy some salad”
I’m already shaking my head
“No thank you”
Hubby asks as we stand on the silly travellator (incapable
of using our own legs to travel up to the shop floor) what he’d said
“Did we want to buy some salad”
We shop quickly, the store is virtually empty but at that
time of night it always seems full of odd people.
I’m sure they’re not odd, well unless they are trying to
sell salad.
We head back to the car park, bags in hand
I purposefully peer left and right as we enter the parking
garage
“What ya doing?”
Hubby asks
“Looking for the man with the main course”
It takes a second for the penny to drop and he grins
Come on lets head home.
Thursday was a hard day overall and I'm still struggling a little with things, but I'm OK and everyone I know and love is OK, so I'm piecing things back together again albeit slowly.
I intend on a little self care today, which in my book is a shower and then crafting for the rest of the day.
I hope you've had a grand week, if you fancy joining in pop a post together, pop back and link up so we can come and visit.
Morning all tis Friday time to clock the silver linings, positive moments over the last 7 days.
First up me and hubby have started putting my Fitbit through its paces, in essence I'm trying to achieve all the elements on the front page by the end of the day to get a totally green day, this in turn has meant some early evening walks, which in the UK means very dark walks.
But this has led to lots of chatting and planning, which is brilliant and occasionally we wander across other things. At the beginning of the week, the nativity seen outside our local church was still on view, so I grabbed this snap one evening.
Next up this little Christmas gift from hubby makes me smile every morning. Anyone who is a Fantastic Beasts fan will note that this wee fellow is a Niffler, known in the film for being attracted to all things shiny and pretty. He is a trinket stand, so at the end of the day I put my jewellery from the day on him. In the film he often stands stock still with the jewels over him, so as to disguise what he is up to, so this pose is rather humorous I'm sure you will agree.
We had a wander around the local shopping centre and came across this commemorative statue which notes down the lives lost in the Manchester arena bombing, I'd seen the statue on a couple of my instagram feeds, but this was the first time I'd seen it in person, a very poignant piece of sculpture which made me rather reflective.
Next up we have been treated (up to now, the weekend, not looking quite so calm), to a relatively calm period of weather, which has meant lots of local walks.
On Sunday we took the bridlepath walk up to the next village again, grabbed a coffee (pint for hubby) in the beer garden and then walked back, catching the gorgeous golden hour light.
As you can see it was a real treat.
We even managed a golden hour selfie
The view was breathtaking if I'm honest and was just what I needed to reset myself ready for a rather busy work week.
The pretty farmhouses on the way up were beautiful
More sunset and sky photos
The weekend also threw a curve ball in that both our main TV service and broadband went down, so we planned a board game/card game night. However, it came back up before the planned evening, but we went ahead as planned anyway.
The game in question is cards against humanity and is definitely not for the easily offended, for us we take it relatively light hearted but there are times when the cards don't make sense and the dilemma is to google or not to google. Sometimes you wish you didn't know the answer after you've googled. As said 18 year old got a new set of additional cards at Christmas this led to an evening of googling again and don't just think it was that side of the table that were googling!
Now I thought I'd share a few photos of things I made at Christmas, I couldn't share them on here or online for fear of the recipients seeing them.
First up, this year's jars were not cookies (that I've made year on year) but brownies.
I've yet to get feedback as to whether they were any good.
I save my coffee jars all year and then wash them in hot water and pop them in the oven to sterilise, I put the plastic element of the jar into boiling water, air dry them and then put them back together before filling with the layered contents.
I covered the jars in festive papers and put instructions on the jar of how to cook, they always go down well with the recipients and it is a quick and easy homemade gift.
Next up were token Christmas gifts for my work colleagues, this year inspired by Pinterest, I made sweetie Santa sleighs and once completed wrapped them in cellophane and tied with a ribbon. Everyone was very happy to receive them, I had a few spare which made up as stocking fillers at Christmas.
Finally a gift I made my brother. We've had this clock case in the house forever, it came from a charity shop years ago with an overwound clock, the case was mahogany in colour.
It did actually make it as far as the 'tip' pile in the porch (minus its clock parts that said 18 year old had commandeered) when I considered that it really was too good to not use.
So with the help of hubby who sanded the item for me (I have a sandpaper phobia) and some acrylic paints I managed to make it look like this. I would never profess to be an artist, but I really enjoyed making it, he is an avid fan and has lots of items that can sit inside the case.
This week saw me completing my tenth Christmas journal. I finished off the entries, added a few more photos, popped in the Christmas cards I'm saving and added some embellishments to the pages. Very happy with the finished item.
In fact that day was brilliant as I was feeling very festive, I finished my journal, made a start on Christmas cards and had Kirstie's homemade Christmas playing in the background!
Back to work has meant that my photo a day has proved more difficult than expected, mainly because when I'm at work I rarely move from my desk, so there are no decent photo opportunities, as you can see from the next picture, which was my photo on Tuesday!
So I had the same problem on Wednesday, so decided to share a collage of my green fitbit days as a bit of additional motivation for me.
Then last night's photo after a rather fraught week overall at work was yet another evening walk photo, I'm hoping for something with a little more daylight in it today!
So there you go, a busy week overall, first one back at work and well into January already. I hope you've had a fabulous week, if you fancy joining in, pop back and link up and we can come and visit.
