Park Life

I'm feeling much better after my little vent last weekend.  The decorating continues but after lots of ticking things off lists this week  I feel back in control and less overwhelmed.

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We have been having some very unseasonal weather, almost the beginning of November and still we are ok without the heating on, although according to the weathermen that will change very soon and we are in for the coldest winter for 100 years......again :-)

As I had Oliver today we made the most of the mild weather and went for a walk to the park, It's a lovely park, lovely open space, lots of trees and a lovely old building which is now used by the council but which Oliver calls a castle.  But I didn't take any photos of that today because I was so excited to find these....

This one was huge, and so perfect

I have absolutely no idea what they are called, I told Oliver it was a fairy glen :-)

Close up it looks like icing blobbed on a cake :-)

They were such an unexpected find, I wish I'd had my camera with me, as it was I had to make do with my phone.

As we made our way to the swings we saw a few squirrels feasting themselves on nuts, unfortunately they were to quick for me to photograph especially when Oliver saw them and kept shouting squirrel, squirrel, they made a hasty retreat up the nearest tree, lol 

Our garden is still looking ok at the moment but I don't suppose we are going get too many days like this now so we will have to make the most of them.

The Hydrangeas are looking very pretty still, they were blue but have turned a lovely muted colour.  Can these be dried? I don't know,but  It would be nice if they could be kept a little longer 

(All the pictures should be clickable to view better)

That's it for now,

thank you for visiting me today, your thoughts and comments are always appreciated.

-X-

Early Morning Ramblings

It's almost 5am on a Sunday morning, I decided to get up instead of keep tossing and turning, first I'm hot then I'm cold, can't get comfortable, these hormones have a lot to answer for. 

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We started to hang the wallpaper in our bedroom yesterday, it was late afternoon we were both tired so we ended up having a few choice words to say to each other about how things should be done.  I hate all the mess that decorating brings with it, Mark hates decorating, things were bound to get fraught.  In the end we found a system that worked, me finding the match on the paper and cutting, him pasting and hanging, it worked, we managed a whole wall before we called it a day at around 8.30pm.  

I admit I'm finding it hard adjusting to living here, I love the area, I like the garden,  but the rest of it is taking some getting used to.  Ok, number one thing, (these are probably going to sound like silly things to some people, to me they're not, we all have our niggles of what and how we like things).

I miss the kitchen in my old house, and my cooker, I really miss my cooker.  That might sound silly but I spent a year thinking and planning that kitchen and it worked, all of it, it was easy to work in.  This one, nothing makes sense, no thought has gone into where things are, and the cooker, well less said about the the better.  I cook in batches when I can and freeze, that way I'm spending less time with it.  

No dishwasher...I didn't think this would bother me too much, after all most of the week there is just me and just the two of us at weekends, but it does, It's not the washing up, it's the stuff on the draining board after and the stainless steel sink taking up too much space and being being wet, I hate it, I'm forever cleaning it.

No built in microwave...Free standing one on the worktop, taking up space, enough said.

Fridge...In the wrong place, or perhaps the fridge is in the right place and the kettle is in the wrong place, but the kettle can't go by the sink and above the fridge because there is no plug socket there. 

The door...Really, really awkward, when it's open it takes up a lot of space.

The cat's litter tray has to be in the kitchen too, no where else for it to go, not ideal but nothing else for it at the moment, the washing machine, again has to be in the kitchen glaring at me from under the worktop, (I don't like appliances on show).  I know these things can be changed, and they will, eventually.  I'm just feeling so overwhelmed with all the things that have to be done, It's not just the kitchen, there are other rooms I'm not happy with, and when it's all done will I be satisfied, or will I still not feel settled here. 

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I think we did the right thing in moving, it's just taking time to get used to less space and getting things how we want them.  Maybe it's more to do with me and how I'm feeling than the house, I went to the local shopping centre yesterday, I only had to go to one store but had to walk through a large part of the mall to get to it.  It was a Saturday so there were lots of people and I was so irritated with all these people just ambling along, and the noise, I started to panic a bit, I just wanted to get to the store, get what I wanted and get out of there and back home, I'd no patience for people strolling with nothing  better to do than wander aimlessly round a shopping centre.  I do feel like that quite a bit lately, I want to shut myself away, not bother with anyone, haven't got the patience with people.  

I'm not depressed, just overwhelmed and irritated, very easily irritated sometimes, that's the only way I can describe it.

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Day two of paperhanging will be happening today, lets hope we can get through it without swearing and any mishaps.

If you've read my ramblings, thank you, and If you made it this far, a BIG thank you.  I am turning off the comments though, this is not an 'Oh woe is me please feel sorry for me post'   I wanted to get some things out, and now they are, I might feel better for it, or I might feel just as frustrated tomorrow, who knows, either way I'll get on with it, I always do.

-X-

Birthday Celebrations

On Friday we celebrated a special day,  my beautiful Grandson turned 2.

I can hardly believe how these two years have flow by.  I've been remembering that long night with Jenny and James at the hospital, I was Jenny's 2nd birthing partner, but after an endless night I didn't see this special person make his appearance into the world, Jenny was so tired and it was decided that she needed help and was taken to another room where only one other person was allowed, of course that other person just had to be daddy.

I waited and waited for news and after about 45 minutes James came back and told me i had a Grandson, that he was already looking around him and had big feet!  

Of course I was over the moon, and so proud of them both, but especially Jenny, she was disappointed about not doing it herself, but honestly, she was a trooper.

I let her make the phone call to the new Grandad who was working in London at the time, and who promptly broke down in tears when he was told he had a Grandson.  He might act tough but the girls know their dad is a really softy inside.

I love this little boy so, so much, we all do, he is amazing, funny and clever.  If you are a grandparent you will know exactly what I mean, every Grandparent feels the same.

Helping Grandad fix it

He is growing up way to fast, we have to make the most of these precious days when they are small, and I can tell you that I make sure that I appreciate and make the most of all the hours I spend with him.

Happy Birthday Little Dude
xx

A Crochet Finish :-)

We are back home again after a lovely week away in Cyprus, when we went away the weather here was still on the warm side in the UK, but what a change when we got back! The plane landed and the pilot told us it was 5 degrees outside, brrr, what a shock to the system!

Just before we jetted off I managed to finish the blanket I was crocheting for my great nephew.  I don't get to see him all that often and had to leave the blanket at my sisters for his mum to collect, she messaged me on Facebook that he loved it and had wrapped it around himself to go to sleep in bed that night and wanted to take it to school with him the next day :-)

She sent me this cute photo of him.

I'm pleased to have had a crafty finish and that it's gone to a good home.

I hope you will indulge me with a few sunshine photos to end with.  We have been to Cyprus many, many times so I didn't take too many this time, just a few reminders.

An area called See Caves, you can see why

The ground around the edge didn't look too safe, so we made sure we stayed well back

This was our little hire car, lol

Looking towards Coral Bay

We just managed to catch a glimpse of the sunset before we set off for home

So there you go, told you there weren't too many :-)

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There is going to be a lot of decorating activity over the coming weeks, we are having new windows fitted on Thursday so once that's done we can at last start to make the place ours.  I'm both dreading it and looking forward to it at the same time, the upheaval that decorating causes drives me mad but it will be lovely to have wallpaper on my bedroom wall, lol.

Until next time

-X-