ABC Wednesday - N

N is for Nesting Box

We don't have a garden anymore but I took these photos and the very short video during the Spring before we moved to our new home, three years ago. It was the only year that we saw it used. The new owners of the house had the tree cut down!











Thanks to Mrs Denise Nesbitt and the ABC Wednesday team. For more looks at the letter N, please click here.

ABC Wednesday - M

M is for Marlborough Maze

Last week whilst spending time with my family we all went to visit Blenheim Palace (birthplace of Sir Winston Churchill). We had a lovely day in spite of the weather being very cold.

The Maze was a must.













The letter M of Blenheim is bottom right.



Thanks to Mrs Denise Nesbitt and the ABC Wednesday team. For more looks at the letter M, please click here.

Time to Relax

It will soon be my birthday. Last year one of my presents was a voucher for a facial, to be used before the end of April this year. I hadn't forgotten it I just didn't seem to have the time (or much inclination) to make use of it, although it probably would have done me good to have done so!

However, a few days ago I made the appropriate appointment and yesterday afternoon I actually went to the salon and gave myself up to having a relaxing and pampering facial. My skin felt wonderful afterwards (and looked pretty good too, if I do say so).

I walked back home in warm spring sunshine, made myself a cup of coffee, sat on the sofa, put my feet up and fell asleep for an hour. Marvellous.

Tomorrow I am going to stay with my daughter who lives in Stratford on Avon, for about a week.

I will be in touch.

Back at last!

Last week we celebrated my mother's 90th birthday. A very happy day indeed. Until recently, mum has been unhappy. I believe it all began at Christmas 2009 but I failed to recognise the signs as a problem. Mum had health problems during 2010 (bowel cancer) but came through an operation relatively easily and without the need for further treatment. However, 2011 was a very stressful year for her and therefore for me also. She was resisting residential care but in November 2011 declared that was indeed what she wanted. As soon as we got her into her home of choice she became a different person and so it has continued and Mum is "as happy as a sandboy"!

Such a relief all round! Everyone who knows her say they can see the difference in her and recognise the lady they used to know. The home is pleasant and bright with lovely gardens and the staff are very caring. Mum has a fairly large, sunny room with her own furniture and decorative belongings and enjoys going to the dining room twice a day, preferring to stay in her room from lunchtime onwards. There are no pressures on her and she has no worries. The home is a 5 minute walk from where I live! Not sure yet if this is a good or bad thing!! Only joking!

We had a family time to celebrate her birthday and I made her a cake and she also had one provided by the home. Her room is still full of flowers.



Because of time pressures on me last year and until the end of last month when I finally disposed of my mother's home, I haven't had the inclination to do any posts or to visit blogging friends very much. I have definitely missed it and do hope to be able to continue with it now. I will certainly enjoying "catching up" with some old friends.

A Happy New Year

So another New Year begins and as usual I have feelings of trepidation about what this year has in store for me and my family. Christmas Day was very quiet for us but on Boxing Day our children and grandchildren decended on us and we had a lovely family day - 7 adults and 6 grandchildren. The only one missing is Leah who lives in New Zealand. Photo below of me with the 6.



Last year was fairly hectic. I had to spend a lot of time dealing with my Mother and that is still ongoing. I am hoping something will be resolved quite soon now. Our family returned to the UK from Australia and so we have been able to invite three of our grandchildren (ages 11, 8 and 7) to come and stay. The first time, a long weekend was such a success we had them come again for the October break and took the opportunity to get all three of them swimming (only 1 of them could swim before that). We had a great time but we were all shattered at the end of that week.

Bob had his 70th birthday but we kept it fairly low key and just had several small parties with various groups of friends. We had some lovely holidays - Scotland in June, Spain in October and in early December we flew with a friend and her daughter to spend 6 nights in New York! We had a fantastic time, it was a wonderful experience and I really would like to return.

Here, from Battery Park, is my first glimpse of the Statue of Liberty - such a thrill!



and here we are a little closer



A wonderful statue, she is beautiful and I felt very emotional to be there and to see her for myself. Probably one of the best experiences of 2011 for me.

So here's to 2012 - it is going to be a special year for us here in the UK with the Olympics and our Queen's Diamond Jubilee. Bring it on!

Happy New Year to you all.