Family Fun........

 
As I must have mentioned many times my whole family, from my parents down, try to get together at least once a year and it's always been the nearest to dad's birthday on 27th December when children are still off school and adults are mostly on Christmas holidays from work. My parents have both died now as has my eldest sister and her husband and everyone lives so far apart, so it feels more important than ever to meet up when we can. Along with almost everyone else in the world there's been the two year pandemic restrictions so for us it hasn't happened. Sunday I'd arranged our get together so we could all be in the garden as I'm still not to comfortable with crowding in the house. 

If everyone came there could be 30+, however, there were some that couldn't make it right from the start and there were others that had to cancel last minute, including Daughter's family as all four of them have bad head colds and don't want to pass on germs. Hubby also now has a cold but says he doesn't feel too bad, so he'll just have to keep his distance from everyone (we've both tested negative to make sure).

In the end there were just 11 of us and even they had problems getting here with road closures and diversions on the A12. The weather was really kind and when it got a little chilly I'd left out a basket full of blankets. 

Everyone brought food as if they were catering for the normal crowd and even though Daughter couldn't come she did make the big salads she had promised so everyone ate well and had Goody bags to take home. 

There was a good game of hunt the pin that bilK dropped, they never found it even though we'd brought out a magnet, a torch and K had downloaded a metal detector app on his phone (hahaha there's an app for everything).

This is SisterS playing hide and seek with her grandchildren. 

Didn't get any photos of Son who came early and was really helpful all day as he was the one taking these few photos. Didn't get any photos of the two adorable children who were disappointed the other young cousins hadn't come but managed to stay amused and happy by enlisting parents grandparents and any other adult they could convince to play with them. 

It was a lovely day. 

Not wanting to waste food I made fishcakes from all the tinned tuna that was open and added the leftover jacket potatoes I'd de-skinned then just added onion, egg and matzo meal to bind. Some for dinner and some in the freezer. This is the pre-baked photo as I forgot to take a photo after. 

Daughter, R and O have been over for showers while they wait for their landlord to sort theirs so they've helped finish up the leftover cakes. 

From Friday to Monday Daughter and O are back in 1601 at Kentwell Hall, and R and the dog are staying with us. 

Old photo of course as O is taller than Daughter now. 

I'm hoping next week there will be a finished blanket to show you now I'm slowly crocheting the border...... watch this space 😉
Enjoy your week.

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The Roll of the Dice......

 
We celebrated on Monday O's birthday, now he's a teenager it means we no longer have any "children" in our family. He's a loving, helpful, hugging nearly adult, with a lively mind and great sense of humour (I do miss having little ones around though) . 

His birthday dinner of choice was Dominoes Pizza. On the roll of the dice (he received as a birthday present from his dad) I was the one that had to collect from the pizza guy at the door!!!

As an explanation this all relates to one episode of a Netflix comedy program O watches with M and it has them in hysterics. It's Community and so we could all appreciate the drama of his birthday dinner O put on the episode for us all to watch. Daughter wasn't home from work yet so found the ritual and giggling over pizza a little confusing. 

All brought back to normality with cake. Daughter made O his favourite which is sponge with a rhubarb and cream cheese filling and cream cheese icing on top, yummy! 

Another birthday must in this house is to add a mark to the height chart in the bathroom. O is now 5'4" and a lot taller than the girls were at the same age. 

Can you tell which bench Hubby has repaired? 

By the time the ordered slats arrived, and he'd taken apart the old stuff, repainted the ends, replaced all the wood and coated it all in teak oil, and added the costs of materials but not his time he said it would have been cheaper and a lot easier to buy new benches! Looks good though. 

I'm still crocheting the blanket squares together. 

Daughter came over to give her Tudor tent a coat of waterproofing. Hubby's old tin of stuff came down from the garage roof space but was too old to use so hit the bin. A couple of shopping trips and she'd bought some more. It then needed to have garage space to stay open overnight to dry. 

We have plans for the two year postponed Christmas family gathering here tomorrow (that's Sunday), however out of the potential 36ish people only about 20 can make it. This morning Daughter messaged to say they are all suffering with heavy colds (not covid) and if they don't improve they'll not come 🥵😷

It needs to be a garden gathering and the wind is picking up today, sunny but very chilly. So keeping everything crossed for a lovely day 🤞

Enjoy your weekend and week ahead.

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Happy Easter.........

 
First rhubarb pull of the season yummy. 

Added the few apples from the fruit dish that had gone a bit spongy, and stewed for hot with custard Saturday then crumble on Sunday and even a little left over for a crumble breakfast Monday. 

Tuesday we had R, O and the dog here. R suggested the two of them play a game together. 

It looked a bit complicated to me. O gathered paper, pencil, dice and playing cards. R read out the plot on line and they started drawing a map. It's called The Quiet Year. I left them to it while I carried on with the crochet in the dining room and overheard very lively conversations and then the back ground music of choice by my 'almost a teenager' was jazz. 

Hubby has done a great job of cleaning up the patio. Just admire the before during and after photos. 

This has been interrupted by a neighbour needing a curtain rail reattaching to the wall, a Specsavers appointment, a shopping trip for a mountain of hot cross buns and Easter eggs, Daughter's dishwasher to carry through the house and install (kindly donated and delivered by Son), returning to review and fix the installation the next day, some heavy lifting for next door neighbourA and another neighbour needing their washing machine blockage to be sorted. Hubby is everyone’s hero. 

Now he's moved onto rebuilding the two old benches. 

Lovely visit from friendsM&S and it was so sunny and warm we very nearly sat outside, until I tested and found it still a bit breezy. Hopefully it will be a warm and sunny long weekend. All our chocolate eggs have been delivered and some received too, but no painting dozens of eggs and no egg hunt round the garden as we don't have little ones anymore so I'll toast another hot cross bun and look through some old photos. 

Happy Easter.

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My way (#16)....

Gosh haven't done a "my way" post for a long time! 

Over the years I seem to have developed some very definite ways of doing things and usually it's for a very good reason, this time it's a new way for me which has helped solve a crochet problem, so I thought I'd share as you may find it helpful too.

I'm joining knitted squares and needed to hold them in place at various stages. I tried pins but they slipped about and didn't want the extra task of tacking so tried hair grips (kirby grips or bobby pins whatever you choose to call them) and they worked really well. 

For joining along the edge a grip just pops over. 

If you need to butt two edges together you can link two grips

and push one on each piece.  

What's your way?
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Exhausting and Entertaining........

 
Daughter's family are now out of quarantine so she came over with my mother's day roses. While she was here Hubby changed a couple of her car light bulbs ready for the MOT and service on Monday. We had to do the car swap (she uses mine) Sunday as we are out Monday and it will get picked up from our drive. 

As I mentioned last week the three-seater sofa had a makeover. 

Now it's a two-seater that has made room for Hubby's new chair. It matches what we have, it rocks, swivels and reclines and he even discovered it has a built in USB port, but most importantly it now faces the TV so he's no longer sitting twisted. 

Monday's trip was planned quite recently by two of the older cousins. We've managed a cousins' lunch about once a year until covid of course. We started with nine of us girls. Now as restrictions lifted Cousins S&B said must do it now. Of us three sisterP couldn't make it, then cousinJ couldn't make it, our lovely sisterM is no longer with us of course. And last week sisterS had covid so was testing regularly praying for two consecutive negatives which she finally got! I didn't want to drive that far and use the underground with one dodgy eye so dragged Hubby along...... in the end there was four cousins and Hubby. We didn't stop talking and laughing. 

Unfortunately sisterS took this photo and we never got round to getting another with her in it, just her pink glasses case! CousinsS&B live quite near to each other, far north London, so I think next time Hubby and I can drive there to avoid all having to go into the city with public transport, hire cars, congestion and emission charges and the general chaos of it all. 

After our lovely meet up Hubby and I went back to Liverpool Street underground and got back to our car parked at Stratford and drove home via the beigel bakery and deli at Gants Hill (this is an essential stop and we spent a huge amount), then a doorstep delivery at Son's house, followed by a major detour to avoid a long traffic jam, then onto a doorstep delivery at Daughter's house, and finally home to get my boots off, get my goodies in the fridge or freezer and eventually a long awaited cuppa nearly three hours after saying goodbye to the cousins. Phew! 

The next few days were the usual housework, laundry, shortened some new jogging bottoms and carried on with crochet joining of the squares. Plus I'm fitting in reading the first novel by my friend Belinda Rose Bond called Her Father's Eyes. Something she'd always wanted to do and lockdown gave her the push to do it. I'm about half way and it's really quite good. 

Friday O and the dog were here all day with their own brand of entertainment. 

Enjoy your weekend, see you next Saturday.

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Longer Colder Days........

 
Beautiful blossom on our plum tree. 

Mother's Day (although we were short changed because the clocks went forward so we lost an hour) and Son came over bringing flowers. 

Daughter phoned, but couldn't come over as R has covid so they are keeping away. 

While Son was here he helped Hubby with the destruction of our three- seater sofa

Then after some very tricky reconstruction turned it into a two-seater making space for Hubby's new chair that hopefully arrives next weekend. 

Finished the little blanket and learned a lot. 

Thursday morning lovely sunshine with a substantial dusting of snow! We thought that was it but later followed more snow. Then it got windy. At one point our garden umbrella, which was collapsed and standing in the corner under a roof surrounded by a table and folded chairs, got lifted and flew across the garden! 

Hubby had to rope the two pond benches to the metal trellis again, and he has needed to secure a large piece of our fence that was wobbling! The snow kept coming as short flurries and sometimes we had short hail blizzards plus it turned bitterly cold. All the time it's been beautiful sunshine. British weather is rarely boring. 

It snowed overnight and Friday from the time we got up, big flakes and lots of it! That lasted for about 20mins then the sun came out and it all disappeared, the rest of the day was much the same as Thursday with the snow hail and sleet as short interruptions to the sunny windy day. Amuses me that it still keeps conversations constant on my WhatsApp and Facebook. Hahaha

Well I must get back to the crochet hook and the 63 or 64 or 65 squares (every time I count them it's different) ! Six joined so far so a little way to go. 

Stay warm and cozy and just look out of the window at your pretty spring flowers.

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Sunny and Sociable.......

 
Just two doors down from us neighbourR mentioned one coffee morning that he'd been quoted over £300 to take down his flowering cherry tree that hadn't flowered for quite a few years. Hubby has a chain saw, all the safety gear and knows how to use it, so offered his services for free. 

Son came to help and he will keep all the wood to feed his log burner. 
The two of them had it done and all the logs moved and stacked up at ours in less than two hours. NeighbourR insisted they took the cost of chainsaw fuel and a new chain plus some pocket money as a thank you. 
For me it was a pleasure to watch father and son working so easily together. 

Son and fiancé are doing lots of sorting at their house in preparation for some building work. They came across her late mother's knitting bag which made them smile. She used to go to a "knit-n-natter" group every week and as they never saw any finished knitting assumed she mostly did the nattering, however in this bag as well as various coloured wools there was a heap of knitted squares! 

Son asked if I could turn them into a memory blanket. 

They are not all the same size so it took me quite a while to play with a layout that worked. I decided to make one large blanket and a small one that can sit in their little dog's bed who also missed her so much when she died. 

I don't crochet easily and crochet is definitely the best way to join them and create a border, so the small blanket is my practice piece. Hopefully we won't need our dining room table for a long while. 

We've had a trio of social eating out and it was three days running. First was friendsM&P who entertained us at their house. FriendM cooking a lovely three course meal followed by coffee for me and lots more booze for every one else. FriendsT&F were sleeping over and I just about managed to get a very drunk Hubby home at 1am.

Then lunch from noon with friendsR&S at the Maybush pub on the river. Beautiful sunny warm day. Of course I drove both ways as I was sure Hubby would still be over the limit. 

Our third night was the usual six of us eating at Prezzo first then onto the Grosvenor afterwards so there's a game of pool for the men. 

Daughter now has a new-to-her authentic Tudor tent, so taking full advantage of the great weather, she came round to test how it goes up and ultimately store it here. Together with Hubby they laid it all out. 

And it wasn't long before the pieces became this beautiful huge space. Definitely not a job for one person and not worth her taking away for any brief stays. 

This might seem a daft question, but can you sprain your ankle in your sleep? I drove home fine in the early hours of Monday and was asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow. When I got up in the night for the bathroom I couldn't put any weight on my left foot! And now four days later it seems to finally be easing up. 

Glad it had eased enough by Friday as I had a hospital appointment and the department I needed was a very long trek through a maze of corridors. I have sight issues in my right eye and Specsavers referred me to the hospital. First the stinging drops that dilate the pupils and make everything a blurr, then lots of machines like they have at Specsavers and then lots more, a consult with the doctor then sent to another department for a deeper scan with their machine. Thankfully one of the volunteers walked us through or we would definitely have got lost. I got very clear explanations and confirmation that it's dry macular degeneration plus macular edema (so wet and dry in the same eye, trust me to be greedy). This is age related and non-repairable but they can slow it down. Mine doesn't need any treatment yet but they want to monitor closely and I've a chart to draw on daily and go back in two months. 

Hubby just called through he's made a cuppa and taking them over for us to sit by the pond in this lovely sunshine, so I'm off. 

Have fun and stay safe (covid is still spreading).

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Getting organised.......

 
Organised by a cousin is a get together that is long overdue. Unfortunately there are only a few of us left now and the date decided on means two of those won't be able to make it. That's on 4th April and looking forward to that

 The first thing I'm organising is the family gathering, my immediate family of course, plus my siblings and their families. Could be up to 35 people! Every year we've gathered during the Christmas season, however because of covid we cancelled the last two years and I suggested a spring time garden event. But the year is ticking away fast and calenders are filling with commitments so I'm now starting to see if everyone can make 23rd or 24th April. 

Prodded by a neighbour who didn't want to do it herself I've written out the invitations for all the neighbours in our Close to join in the Queen's Platinum Jubilee celebrations with a street party. Hubby and I did the letterbox drop while the others were finishing off the coffee morning chat. 

A quick bake for afternoon tea. 

Always looks yummier under this glass dome. 

For my birthday last August Son and fiancé gave me a garden centre voucher and we thought we'd leave it till spring to spend it. We came home with a new Acer to replace the one Hubby's dad had given us many years ago and that had recently died. We have renewed all our strawberry plants as the ones we had seemed to have gone wild and only produced fruit the size of peas. I now have two new mint and rosemary plants as previous ones have just disappeared. And a new house plant for the hall as the old one wasn't so much a plant as an embarrassing conversation piece. 

While in the garden looking at what we needed on our shopping list I noticed this little stem that has different coloured blooms on. Must be a gift from the birds as neither of us can remember seeing it before. So pretty. 

Last night Daughter, R and I went to the theatre (we sat down early all the other seats did fill).

Daughter had bought the tickets as soon as they went on sale. The wonderful Johannes from the Strictly Come Dancing professionals is touring his first show. 

It was brilliant. He is brilliant. The two main singers had fantastic voices and the male singer danced too. All the other dancers were really good, none of them stood out as weaker or stronger than the rest. And of course Johannes just lit up the stage as soon as he stepped onto it. Daughter called it charisma! Between dances he spoke to us and told his story. Love his cheeky smile. We came home smiling.

Hope you find lots to make you smile.  Have a good week.

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Looks Warmer Than It Is.........

 
Hubby has decided he needs to add more insulation to the loft and board it further so he started clearing some stuff. Lots of boxes from no longer owned appliances, lots of big polystyrene packaging, lots of curtains, blankets, bedspread and other fabrics and a very large box of soft toys that are now too manky to even give to charity as I doubt they'd survive the washing machine. I took a photo of a few that I knew Daughter and Son would remember

That very large Weetabix man Son won in a local supermarket raffle that I didn't even know he'd entered. He was probably about six or seven years old and must have filled in the entry while I was shopping. I think we took an arm each and walked it home. 

Talking of walking, even though it was bitterly cold it was so sunny on Tuesday that when Daughter said she needed to get O to leave the house I suggested we meet at the park then they could come back here for lunch. 

This was supposed to be a photo of the Orwell Bridge in the distance, however, my phone takes good photos but I can't see the screen in sunlight, so I point/ click/ and hope for the best then have to explain afterwards what it was meant to be. 

Thursday was a pokey proddy day with Specsavers in the morning and a blood test in the afternoon. My first visit back to Specsavers since 2018 just because the pandemic got in the way and nothing was urgent, however I knew there was an issue that had got worse since I mentioned it to them at the 2018 appointments. They were very thorough including their new OCT scan. Although the optician said it's totally age related and can't be corrected he has done a hospital referral for another opinion. 

As we were on a rare trip into town, we popped into Primark and I treated myself to a heap of new pants (definitely about time).

Then it was washing day, just two full loads this time. First load done I went outside half intending to use the washing line for the first time since autumn and although very sunny it was blowy and cold, of course I changed my mind and it's all on the clothes horse upstairs. 

So it's more daffs in the lounge (my lovely Daughter bought them) but the heating is still on constant. 

Hope life is sunny for you.

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Happy Stuff.......

 
WOW Saturday night and with Daughter and O we went to see "Outcast" written and performed by Red Rose Chain youth theatre, their Chainers.

I couldn't put a review any better than Daughter did on Facebook, this is what she said.....

     I went to see this show last night, and I’m not just saying this because my daughter works for this theatre and co-created this show but it is fantastic! 

     Outcast is a play based on the Anglo Saxon tale of Beowulf.  It touches on lots of themes such as the changing role of women in our society, how we treat those different to ourselves, as well as being an epic tale of battles and love. It was adapted from the epic poem by the cast themselves, and spun into an hour and a half of wonderful storytelling. 

     They have three more shows next weekend with some tickets still left.  

Red Rose Chain ❤️

This was my first live theatre outing since 2019 and it was perfect. Powerful performances from the whole cast, expecially R, and we know the huge amount of input R had in the creating, writing and production of this. R was also interviewed  for the local newspaper. So so proud of her. It was so good and knowing friendKK would enjoy it I bought two more tickets for Friday evening. Apart from the slight glitch of friendKK not seeing my message about "tickets bought get to mine at 10 to 7" so at 10 past I rang to say are you on your way? As she wasn't I went in my car and she frantically drove across town to meet me there arriving only just before curtain up (although they don't have curtains 🤣). Was worth it, she loved it. 

Pancake Day and I remembered just in time to take a pic before the last yummy mouthfuls were consumed. 

Happy to report I survived a dental checkup, nothing needs doing and thankfully in and out of the chair in minutes. I went with Daughter and O as usual, before that together with Hubby and R we had lunch here first and left Hubby, R and the dog behind while we popped to the dentist. Afterwards R and the dog stayed for dinner as Daughter and O went on a date to Pizza Express as O had a gift voucher. When they came back they had bought me daffodils. 

NeighbourJM came up for a coffee and chat. She'd only been up before when we had regular coffee mornings in the house so part of a room full of conversations. It was so lovely to have a proper long chat just the two of us. 

A happy week for me but still praying for the people in Ukrain 🇺🇦 and all the other refugees from war torn countries 🙏 💔

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