About Time

This poor neglected space must be feeling rather left out of my life recently…I am still here…still flitting from this to that…Not sure if anything majorly exciting has happened…I have been working three shifts a week in a local hospital clinic and last Friday had a successful interview to make it a permanent thing. Need to jump through a few hoops, one being occupational health screening which always love to phone me up! Declaring you’ve had Long Covid and a few other bits and bobs in the past gets you a phone call. Hopefully as I’ve already been doing the job for nigh on five months without any sickness things should be promising. 

The grandchildren are all growing like weeds. And wonderful news is that youngest is expecting. After a couple miscarriages, the first being really traumatic, she has reached what is generally termed a safer time for pregnancies to succeed. So baby is due the week running up to Christmas…oh my I do hope it’s not a snowy time this year!

I ‘treated’ myself to a push manual grass mower a few weeks ago…hubby was using the strimmer, and what a mess that was making, also managing to damage some of the bark on one or two fruit trees. So I have taken charge!!

Oh, we had solar panels and batteries installed a couple of weeks ago. We are really pleased with it all so far, but are a long way from making the cost of the system pay!

I’ve just gone to upload some photos of the garden and well I haven’t taken any recently, life has just been so full on…good but full. So until next time,

Blessings, J. x

Lots to Tell

 I hope you are sitting comfortably...for I have some wonderful news to impart...We have become grandparents for the fourth time...Eldest daughter delivered another truly bouncing baby boy last Sunday evening. Wonderful timing as the two elder boys were able to come to us part way through the afternoon and stayed for a sleepover. At teatime when they asked where Mummy & Daddy had gone we told them as it was such a beautiful evening they had gone for a drive. After the boys had gone to bed we heard of the safe arrival and in the morning Daddy came round to help get the eldest ready for school. Mummy was apparently having a lie in after her late night so they continued to stay at ours so as not to wake her...what a surprise they had when Mummy FaceTimed them from the hospital at 7:30 and showed them their new baby brother. 

By teatime the family was all together in their cosy cottage. The third time Mummy was tired but happy and the older boys had met their young sibling. Not a small baby, he was just shy of 9lb 11oz. Mummy has been resting!

Our weather has been a truly mixed bag this week. Monday was lovely and I spent it outdoors doing our business paperwork. For the rest of the week we've had some showers, downpours, & drizzle mixed in with some blustery sunshine. Washing has dried mostly on the line.

The garden has continued to bloom. I wish we were forecast a better day tomorrow so I could relax outside in it, but alas it seems that is not to be.

Love it when this beauty flowers each year...

One of our window boxes, performing well...

The lilacs have now mostly gone over...

And in less than a blink of an eye May is almost over...life has been busy but good. Long may it continue.

Blessings, J. x

Mayday

Well folks, I've taken the plunge this morning and turned off the Aga...so now our small HYSapentia oven sits on the hot plate on the side of said Aga. Not sure my decision is really the correct one, however only time will tell us. It was rather stuffy in here this morning and I absolutely refuse to open a window due to it being too hot whilst the Aga is on. 

Having done that though I anticipate lighting the woodturner in the living room sometime later today. I do hope we will be able to give the Aga a good rest though as much as I love baking and cooking in and on it, being all electric it is rather an expensive hobby to have.

Bedding is flapping outside on the washing line, though not sure for how much longer, we started the morning with glorious sunshine, but now things have clouded considerably.

I feel a little con fuddled truth be told. Having worked mainly three shifts out of the home for several weeks, and one four day stint, I've been feeling rather bereft at only having two this week. I know, I just can't win. Think I'm happier being rather busy, though the balance between happiness and exhaustion is not that great a gap.

The weather hasn't been really conducive to taking pictures around the garden, but this snap is from when I started planting up some tubs a few weeks ago. They are now out and about taking their chances in our delightful English weather.

Blessings, J. x

Fast Is April Passing

Well dear reader, I know we still have some days left in the month of April, but I'm not really sure how we have made it to this date already.

Most of our daffodils have passed, and even the tulips are beginning to hang their petaled heads.

We have just had a lovely weekend almost full of sunshine, though with a wind which definitely had chips of ice in her fingers.

We are still glad to light the woodturner in the evenings. It's such a welcome comfort. After a busy day of work it's bliss to raise ones feet and wiggle toes in front of the warm glow.

Today I have tasked myself with making chicken stock from a couple of fowl cooked at the weekend for curry when we had several visitors.

A quiche is in the Aga...after work yesterday evening I spied the parsley looking rather lovely and full of vitamins. Needless to say hubby was pleased with my decision to make some pastry in readiness for today.

Eldest daughter is still travelling, with two weeks to her due date she is finding doing much rather awkward, however earlier I heard her mention window cleaning!

Today the weather appears to be very much a mixed bag...earlier it was glorious, then just as my first load of bedding finished washing it began to drizzle. I do still allow myself to use the tumble dryer for bedding so popped it in. The drizzle passed until just now when I hung out some boiler suits. I'm afraid they will just have to take their chance on the line.

Having purchased a dress for our sons forthcoming wedding I have been trying to lose a few pounds in order to feel more comfortable and able to eat at the event! You know the thing...the dress will do up...just...despite eating salads most days my weight has stayed resolutely the same. I do feel as though I may be carrying some excess water. My rings are giving me the clue, and my pelvis has been painful. Good old inflammation and hyper mobility.

Later I really need a bookwork session. Don't want to be getting too far behind with it. The old saying it's easier to keep up than catch up is very true.

One rather insignificant and totally unedited photo of some rose hips I pruned at the weekend, and a few narcissus rescued from one of our front of cottage tubs.

Until next time,

Blessings, J. x

B G...Before Gravy

Happy Easter everyone...Hope you are all in fine fettle! First lighter evening later so that in itself is something to celebrate. Rather hectic here at Little Winter...so just a quick glimpse of our Easter table...before the hoards arrive and generally make a mess of the white cloth!

Blessings, J. x

A Little of Lots

Yesterday afternoon I had a feeling something was amiss...my mouth didn't feel quite right...and this morning I have woken with an amazingly sore sore throat. It is what I term a lumpy sore throat, as opposed to a scratchy or sharp one...so I have some hope it will diminish once I've consumed some soothing liquid. Well I can hope anyway. My first cup of tea hasn't made any difference, but I let it get too cold I fear. The next stop will be coffee, and if that doesn't work an Oxo cube just might.

I had earmarked today as grocery shopping day, my working week being slightly different this week to last.

The morning dawned beautifully, and was full of sunshine, but now it is once more grey and raining. Thick mizzley rain.

...

Having returned from shopping at the moment the sun has made a welcome reappearance. I've popped the carcasses from three fat sparrows in with a concoction of other things to simmer for stock. Also on the go is some dough for hot cross buns, though I'm not inclined to make the crosses on them today. Hopefully my mixture will make more for our money than buying them would have.

...

Unglazed, with one tiddler, and one that caught on the Aga side making it misshapen, oh and minus one that landed...

                                                                               Right here!

It was delicious, and will have probably given me indigestion as it was not long out of the oven!

Blessings, J. x

Ready for Spring

So this morning I have finally taken down our Winter fireplace decoration.

Just breathing in some of the beauty!

 Yes, this will do nicely for Spring...

Currently pouring down with rain here and I willingly booked myself into an afternoon/evening shift at the care home. Thank goodness for my waterproof coat. Especially as hubby now tells me that all three Six Nations matches are today. Ah well...

Blessings, J. x