Keeping safe and carrying on ...

 

It's been a week of ups and downs moodwise and healthwise

 

I've been practising some mindfulness listening and doing gentle exercising each day

We are still shielding at home, 72 days now

 

 

 

Here's some things that have been passing the time this past week -

 

 

Time spent doing a little colouring. I do love Peter Rabbit

 

 

 

 

I finished reading A Single Thread, the latest by Tracey Chevalier.

Started this new book one of my book group ladies passed on.

 

 

 

 

My granddaughter will celebrate her 9th Birthday next week.  A very different birthday for her this year. 

 

 

I stitched this card, a free chart at crosstitching.com called birthday panda.

She loves pandas.

 

 

 

 

A cake was made and shared with my over the road friend.

She picked it up off our doorstep when she passed by on her daily dog walk.  

We waved through the glass of our porch and had the best conversation you can like that.

 

 

 

 

 

DH and I were sharing a kit kat and a cuppa at the bottom of the garden.
 

Next doors kit cat, Jasper, wanted to share too....

"If I fits, I sits"  that's his motto!

 

 

 

 

 

A member of the community garden where DH is Chairperson rang the doorbell, she waved from the road and pointed to a parcel on the step.

 

Inside was a bundle of leeks for us she had harvested and shared - very tasty.

 

 

 

 

DD dropped off half a coconut cake she had baked to share with us. 

  

 

 

As you can see cake is featuring a lot in our week, but I am pleased to say the scales tell me that I am still the same weight I was at the beginning of the lockdown (result).

 

 

Sending love and blessings from our home to yours

 

Stay safe, take care and have a good week

 

Julie

 

 

 

 

 

 

Gifted Gorgeousness ~ MAY

 

 

 

 

It's mid may? 

 

Can you believe it...  time for this months Gifted Gorgeousness post.

 

 

The chart for this pretty heart was the Winter challenge over at Needlecraft Haven.

 

I stitched mine, finished it with the pink heart lace surround and it went off in the post last week to Clare at Aimetu's Stitching to brighten her day as she faces the challenges illness and accidents bring.

 

 

I thought I would share these couple of gifts that I had this past week too.

 

A neighbour and I have been friends for over 25 years and one year for her birthday I bought her a rose bush entitled 'Friend'.  Every year since, she has always given my the very first bud that appears, it's become a tradition. 

 

 This year, even though we are not seeing each other at the moment she delivered the bud and left it on the doorstep for me so I could still have the first of the season.   The scent of it is so delightful. 

 

 

 

 

DD had a bunch of spring flowers delivered to us by post. 

That was a surprise!

 

 

 

It's the smallest of things that brighten our days at the moment isn't it?

 

 

 

If you are not familiar with Gifted Gorgeousness, you can visit Jo's blog to find out more.  GG was started in 2015, a time to share things that have been gifted to you, or you have gifted to others since your last months post. 

Learn more here.

 

 

Warmest wishes, love and blessings from our home to yours

 

Julie

 

Scavenger photo-hunt ~ APRIL

 

 

 

 

Joining in with Kate and the other scavengers hunters.

 

 

The prompts for April were :-

Happiness is ....

Makes me smile .....

Relaxing with .....

Busy with .....

Positive about ..... 

My own choice .....

 

 

It's a strange world we are living in right now.

 

There is no normal

 

Things change from day to day and I've had a few pictures i was going to show and then changed my mind

 

I am not allowed out

  

 I'm home shielding so no daily hours exercise unless its in the house or garden

 

 

Finally decided on these :-

 

 

Happiness is ....

 

 

During April it's been seeing my little magnolia tree flower for the first time.  

 

Last year a little rascal squirrel decided just as the flowers were starting to open that they would make a nice tasty treat and we didn't see them.  They were on the floor when we got up one morning all chewed up.  With the flowering time being so short its been a long wait for this years blooms and it's been lovely to sit outside in the recent warm sunshine, enjoy the birds which have been so very vocal and watch these beauties open up over a few days in their full glory.

 

 

 

Makes me smile .....

 

 

It's unheard of to be the end of April and my camellias still have lots of flowers on them. 

They've given me a smile every morning as I open the kitchen blind and look out of the window into the garden.

 

 

 

 

Relaxing with .....

 

Midge our cat. 

Late starts, a cup of tea in bed to start the day.
I'm reading and he's cuddled up next to me dreaming with the sunshine streaming in through the window.

 

 

 

 

Busy with .....

 

Drinking lots of tea and doing more than a little baking to keep busy

 

Fruit scones with jam and cream

 

Cheese scones and a Victoria sandwich filled with lemon curd.

 

 

 

Positive about ..... 

This is the positivity of my 8 year old granddaughter to keep us going and hope for better things to come

She sent me a card with a drawing of the sunset at the beach from where we were last October

"We'll be here again" she has written with the smiley face

 

The diamond dome she mentions on the right hand side is the amusement arcade we had fun in a few times.
 

 

The other side was the bit that brought the tears ......

 

 

and yes, I am missing her very badly too. 

 

We've been having video calls and trying to make it fun when we chat.  Seeing her smiling face really is a tonic.

 

 

 

 

My own choice .....

 

 

 

 This is a metal sign a friend bought me some time ago.

 

  It hangs in my conservatory and is quite apt at the moment. 

 

It reads ... "If you have a garden and a library you have everything you need"

 

(of course it could also say plenty of stash to knit and sew with... which I do have!)

 

 

 

If you don't know about the Scavenger Photo Hunt, go along to Kate's blog and find out more. She posts prompts at the beginning of the month and it's up to you to find pictures that fit.  It can be a recent snap or an old one from the archives.

 

  It's fun, why not give it a go.

 

 

 

Take care everyone, stay safe

 

 

love and blessings

 

Julie

 

 

 

Scavenger Photo Hunt - MARCH

Joining in with  Kate at I live, I love, I craft, I am Me 

 

Like  many of the photo hunters this time, I wasn't going to take part with everything that is going on.   

 

Reading the other blogs and seeing their pictures, I decided I would, if a little late.

 

Birthday

 

Celebratory bunny I made a couple of years ago for a friends 65th birthday 

 

 

 

Jazzy

 

A spot of jazz being played on the river

 

 
 

Flag

 

 

Exhibition from the Leicester Tigers Regiment

 

 

 

 

Three

 

 

It would have been my late dads birthday next Wednesday April 1st and this one came up in the archive when looking.  Here he is with 2 of his chums, taken about 1959.  Dads the middle one.

Happy Birthday dad x

 

 

 

Cushion

 

Gift from my granddaughter Isabelle

 

 

My own choice

Meet Alfie, my granddaughters best friend, he's enjoying a little facetime chat with nanny but missing his cuddles!

 

 

 

Take care all, stay safe

 

love and blessings

 

Julie  

 

 

 

p.s. I'm too late to add my name to the link up, but you can visit Kate's blog to see who else has taken part for March