Busy Summer Days

I can hardly believe that Summer is almost over. The longed for days, when we were knee deep in snow, are now making way for Autumn and then we'll be into Winter again! I have had a busy time lately and when I got to wondering what exactly have I been doing over the past 6 to 8 weeks I realised just how much I have achieved.

I have not been much into blogging it is true and have just about managed to "keep in touch" with most of you, only posting for ABC Wednesday for weeks now.

At the moment I am suffering with a gum infection and have been in quite a lot of pain. I thought at first it must be an abscess but my dentist assured me, after taking an X-ray, that my teeth are in fine shape and that it is a "just" an infection. I have now been on antibiotics for nearly 2 weeks. No pain as such now, but still a fairly sizeable swelling on the roof of my mouth. So first thing on Monday I shall have to contact the dentist again for further advice!

My mother, who is now 88, has been complaining of numbness in the right side of her head and was referred to a specialist in care for the elderly - a lovely man, who was most kind, considerate and thorough. He gave her a really good examination, covering all aspects, taking X-rays, blood tests, an ECG and sending her for two CT Scans. We get the results of all these tests tomorrow. I feel that there is nothing seriously wrong with her and that it is old age taking its toll. He did say to us that he feels that the numb feeling in her head could be due to a trapped nerve in her neck. He also said that she is in very good shape for 88. On Monday we will know for sure.

Our 6 year old grand-daughter came to stay with us for a few days, the first time she had been away from Mummy and Daddy (her parents are divorced so she is used to being apart from one or the other but had never been away from both of them). She was as good as gold, even on the day when she was definitely unwell and could hardly wait to get to bed. We all enjoyed it and when I mentioned to daughter that if she would like us to have her at half-term it would be OK, she replied that Imogen had already asked when she could come again. The only problem we had was that the weather was cloudy and cold and we only made it to the beach once (we live less than 50 yards away).

Fruit and vegetables have done well this year and everyone seems to have a surplus of everything. I took advantage of this last week and managed to make a batch of sweet piccalilli and also chutney. No strawberry jam though!










A very sprightly family friend celebrated her 90th birthday in August and decided to throw a party for her family, a few friends and neighbours. Asking us what we thought about the idea, we wholeheartedly agreed it was a great plan and I volunteered to make her birthday cake. So that was another task to be accomplished.



On top of all of that, I decided I wanted to redecorate our bedroom. Now I am not one to change for change's sake but I had never been happy with the decor since we moved in last October. Husband agreed to help with repainting the walls and I undertook to do the wallpapering. We kept the same colour (eau de nil) and we are both very pleased with the result. Strangely though, it makes the room look bigger!



Next week I shall be going to spend a few days with my daughter in Stratford upon Avon, returning next Monday and then the following Thursday husband and I are off to spend a week with friends in Spain. It's all go!

Ten Things Beginning with B

Here is a "getting to know you game" devised by a fellow blogger. The "rules" are set out below.

1. Leave a comment on this blog and I will assign you a letter.
2. Write about ten things you love that begin with said letter.
3. Post the list on your blog.
4. When people comment on your list, you assign them a letter, and the game continues.

Gill - That British Woman has assigned me the letter 'B' so here goes:


1. Books - I love books of all kinds. I really enjoy reading the classics and novels and occasionally biographies but my bookshelves also hold the following:

A fair amount of cookery books, and books about cake decorating.
Gardening books, including those about ponds and wildlife.
Bird recognition
Poetry books
Childrens books - these include some of my own when I was a child, which are now about 60 years old!
Many other types, including travel books and atlases, picture books etc.

I always bought my children lots of books and now with homes of their own, they also have many on their shelves. I am delighted too that my grandchildren are already avid readers.

2. Birds - Love to watch the birds in our garden and entice them by feeding them an assortment of seeds and fruit. We now get quite a variety visiting and I am hopeful of nests in the garden again this year.

3. Butterflies - Always love to see them and there are quite a few of their favourite shrubs and flowers in our garden, including wild flowers.

4. Bees - As with butterflies we try to encourage bees with the planting in the garden. I love to see the way they crowd onto some of their favourite flowers.

5. Baking - I really enjoy baking cakes. I am not too successful with pastry - it's always a bit hit or miss with me. But cakes are different. Cakes of all kinds, but particularly celebration cakes which I then have fun decorating.

6. Bath - We live about 1 hour's drive from the city of Bath which is lovely as a lot of you will know. Actually haven't been there for quite a while - perhaps this spring or summer. I also love to have a soak in the bath. Shower mostly but occasionally a bath is just what is needed.

7. Birthdays - I love birthdays. I hope to see many, many more of my own but also enjoy the birthdays of family and friends. They are days for celebration.

8. Blogging - Began blogging during the summer of 2008 and was not at all certain what I would make of it. Had no experience of it beforehand and had to find my way through all that it entails, from setting up the blogsite to giving and receiving awards! It truly is another world and one I love to visit.

9. The Beach. I was born in a house that overlooked Chesil Beach and I have been lucky enough to have lived within a short distance of the coast most of my life. I love to walk along the beach, paddling in the water if the weather is warm enough, though it is many years since I have walked on Chesil Beach.

10. Bluebells - pretty flowers, I have them growing in the garden but particularly love to see them growing in the woods.

So there you have 10 of my favourite things beginning with the letter B. As I mentioned above, if you would like to have a go at this, leave a comment and I will be pleased to assign you a letter.

Birthdays and Holidays

The past week and a half since I returned from Australia have been fairly busy, almost hectic some days. Phew!

Before I went away I had promised my cousins that I would make a birthday cake for their respective mothers (twins) who will be 80 on 5 November. There is to be a surprise celebration for them on that day, so a cake is almost compulsory. So as Bob and I are going to be away from Monday until 3 November I had to get on with it. Baked the cake before I went to Australia and on my return began making the sugar flowers for the decoration. As time will be of the essence when we return from our holiday I had asked a friend if she would ice the cake for me. So yesterday I took all the necessary to her and will collect the finished creation on our return. I should add here that my friend is 75 years old! She is also one of a twin.

Have also baked another birthday cake in readiness for decoration on my return. This time for a joint party for 3 sons of friends. Another set of twins, plus a sibling.

A friend telephoned on Tuesday to ask if we, together with another couple would like to go and have a meal with her and her husband on Wednesday evening. We haven't seen much of them recently because he has been undergoing chemotherapy in an attempt to get him into remission. But he is having a break from it for a while to give him a chance to build up again. They both felt that they would like a social evening and we were only to pleased to go. We had a lovely evening, just the six of us, good food,lots of laughs and our friends both said that it had done them a power of good. We wish there was more we could do but they do know that they only have to pick up the telephone and ask, should they need anything at all.

My darling girl also telephoned mid week, to ask if it would be OK if she and her little one visited at the weekend! Of course! Only a flying visit, overnight, but would like to see us before we jet off. So that was arranged and they duly arrived on Friday evening, leaving us exhausted 24 hours later. We invited my mum round to lunch on Saturday too.

And, as if all of this was not enough, the estate agent rang - could Mr and Mrs W view the house on Saturday morning please. This would be the 6th set of prospective buyers since we put the house on the "market" in early March. We have never taken so long to sell a house before, just shows how slow things are. However they duly arrived and had a good look around and left again. Are they interested? Who knows! I remarked at lunch that each viewing we have had had been on a sunny day, so just shows how few there have been!

So, today, I shall be packing for our holiday. Me and Bob. We are both really looking forward to it and will be away for 2 weeks.

Holidays and Birthdays

Blogworld seems a little quiet lately. I know I was away for several days but on my return it appears that quite a few have packed their bags and are taking, probably well-earned, vacations.

I am about to do the same. I shall finish this post and then go and pack. I always fall into the same trap when my holiday comes around and have been known (on more than one occasion) to shriek "I'm never going on holiday again". To say I dislike packing to go away is an understatement. And somehow it's worse when I'm bound for Australia to visit the family. I always have to take a little something for each of the grandchildren and this time, of course, there is a new baby to buy for. And small though he may be and totally unaware of my impending visit, he probably has more parcels than the other two put together, various members of the family having asked if I would mind taking gifts. So those things will go in first and whatever room there is left and bearing in mind the weight limit, I shall cram whatever I can into my suitcase and hope for the best. Later today I will go to see my mother and pack for her also. We set off on Wednesday.

My long list of 'things to do' is getting shorter, thank goodness, although I carry a pad around with me at all times to jot down yet another task that must be done, as soon as it comes to mind.

On Sunday I finished the birthday cake I promised friends and will be delivering that later today. Hope they like it. I was pleased with it anyway.



In the meantime my cousin has telephoned to mention that she and another cousin are planning a surprise 80th birthday tea party for their respective mothers, who are twins. Would we be able to make the party and would I please make a cake. So I set to and baked the necessary and will think about the decoration when I return from my holiday.

Speaking of birthdays - it will be Bob's 67th on Wednesday, the day I'm jetting off. We did talk it through before the flights were booked and because we are on a bit of a tight time schedule vis-a-vis holidays, decided it was OK to go ahead. We will have a celebratory evening with friends when we visit them in October.

The day after we arrive in Australia it will be eldest grandson's 8th birthday - need I say more. Bob always says, with a wry smile that he knows exactly where he comes in the pecking order. And I know too! Where would I be without him!

So this is it for a short while - I may try to post something while I am away but if not I will see you in just over three weeks. Y'all take care now.

A x