Sunday 25th April

Week Five

Another week of doing whatever.........

What have you been doing?

I had another walk into town to collect medication and pay my credit card.  

I've even had fish and chips home delivery which was lovely as I didn't have to prepare a meal for myself.

Home Delivery - very yummy!

Sorry going to have a moan...........

I went to take a photo of the black bin in my garden, put there by my neighbour.  He had a delivery of cement and wood and obviously just put it there temporarily - three days later it was still there, his wife walked past it twice!  I was a bit cross as he does take liberties.  I took the photo really to show my family. You see we previously had a really awful neighbour who used to swear out of the window at me and other people so I'm quite wary of what is happening.  (I had to involve the police with the previous neighbour).  As I did so a woman walked past and knew exactly what I was doing, taking photos.  The dog stopped and the woman extended her dog's lead and just kept walking.  Just see her head far left by dark car.  After she disappeared I went out to check to see what I was left, luckily the dog just watered the dandelion.  Mind you I have haven't seen her walk past since!

I finished this this week.  I do have to have to say I do feel proud of myself only because I actually finished it!

Patchwork of the Crosses

The Patchwork of the Crosses.  

Block of the month from Sew and Quilt.  This quilt got me through a lot over the last two years.

1st July 2018 I started the January box.    I cut out fabric and took the templates on the 7am bus every morning, an hour and half journey for about three months visiting my husband whilst he was in hospital.  The day he was discharged my dad went into hospital.  I finished the quilt top by Christmas 2018.

2019 a fun year..... NOT!  

My dad passed away in February followed ten weeks later by my darling husband but I kept calm and carried on..... I bought some wadding and and a king size sheet for the backing.  I carefully pinned the layers together on my friend's kitchen table November 2019 and then hand quilted around each cross.  I didn't want to rush the quilting and actually just finished it this week. 

My lovely friend Val offered to wash it for me and hung it on her line.  I was able the take a photo of the quilt in her beautiful garden.

The bright acid yellow Laburnum flowers made full appearance yesterday afternoon as it always does this time of year for two weeks.  

(Such a very pretty tree, but the whole tree is poisonous)

The Song of the Laburnum Fairy

by Cicely Mary Barker

All Laburnum's

Yellow flowers

Hanging think 

In happy showers.-

Look at them!

The reason plain

Why folks call them

"Golden Rain"!

"Golden Chains"!

They call them too.

Swinging there

Against the blue.

Sunday 19th April

Week Four

Well how are you all dear readers?
What have you all been doing?

Bluebells as seen on a walk

I have been doing things but really not anything to show yet.
Any body else like me?
If I "Show 'n Tell" I tend not to finish what I am making....

My birthday cake.
Made by my friend Val's husband Mark.
I shared it with them

It was my birthday on Wednesday 15th April.  I had lots of lovely messages cards and gifts which arrived on time and cards and gifts which arrived late.  I don't mind gifts arriving late it just means my birthday lasts longer!
I still have cards and gifts to come............
I will show more next week

bag of lovely goodies from Denise

choccie biscuits from Jane B

handmade pillowcases from Jane C

My pretty flowers

Left to Right - Pink  Alstroemeria from Val and Mark. Roses from Robert and Anneka (Bloom and Wild), Lilies from Sarah (her blog is here) and yellow Alstroemeria from Marianne and Brian (my late husband's cousin) (Bloom and Wild)

Strange phenomena my pictures have all disappeared from my last two posts and boy did I struggle to do today's post.........

I haven't been on the computer for a few days hope it hasn't taken offence!

Busy Doin' Nothin'

La-la-la-la-la-la

La-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la

La-la-la-la-la-la

La-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la

We're busy doin' nothin'

Workin' the whole day through

Tryin' to find lots of things not to do

We're busy goin' nowhere

Isn't it just a crime

We'd like to be unhappy, but

We never do have the time

I have to watch the river

To see that it doesn't stop

And stick around the rosebuds

So they'll know when to pop

And keep the crickets cheerful

They're really a solemn bunch

Hustle, bustle

And only an hour for lunch

La-la-la-la-la-la

La-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la

La-la-la-la-la-la

La-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la

We're busy doin' nothin'

Workin' the whole day through

Tryin' to find lots of things not to do

We're busy goin' nowhere

Isn't it just a crime

We'd like to be unhappy, but

We never do have the time

I have to wake the Sun up

He's liable to sleep all day

And then inspect the rainbows

So they'll be bright and gay

I must rehearse the songbirds

To see that they sing in key

Hustle, bustle

And never a moment free

We're busy doin' nothin'

Workin' the whole day through

Tryin' to find lots of things not to do

We're busy going nowhere

Isn't it just a crime

We'd like to be unhappy, but

We never do have the time

I have to meet a turtle

I'm teachin' him how to swim

Then I have to shine the dewdrops

You know they're looking rather dim

I told my friend, the robin

I'd buy him a brand new vest

Hustle, bustle

We never do have

We never do have

We never do, never do

Never do, never do, never do have the time

Never do have the time

From the film 
The Court Jester ~ circa 1956

Sunday 12th April

Week three

Easter day

Beginning to wonder....... 

will 2020 be referred to or remembered as the year the 

world forgot
but it won't be forgotten for all the wrong reasons

or
the year 

everything was cancelled!

??????

clip-art from google

Easter
Dictionary definition:  
noun:  

an annual Christian Festival in commemoration of the resurrection of Jesus Christ, observed on the first Sunday after the full moon after vernal equinox, as calculated according to tables based in Western Churches on the Gregorian calendar and in the Orthodox Churches on the Julian calendar.
Also called Easter Sunday, the day on which this festivals is celebrated. 

********************

Because we are social distancing been looking a lot on social media, Instagram
mostly...
I saw this saying and seems very appropriate at the moment

"Bloom where you are planted"

What have you been doing this week...............?

I have a friend who went on the Extinction Rebellion march so I knitted her a

Greta Thonburg doll
the pattern is free from here

The Three cornered leek

Simone and Julie  look for the flower and feel the stalk it is triangular.

I don't have an Easter Egg but I do have a chocolate Santa so I will eat that!

The wall I passed the other day

A week later............  

how things change........

It's the same wall!

I am going to have a quiet day today, watching films and eating chocolate, knitting or sewing
I suppose I better go and watch this as my son was the SFX Producer.
My son also has a credit on the Fantastic Beasts - Crimes of Grindelwald

H A P P Y    E A S T E R

Funny Little Bunnies 
Silly Symphonys 1934

Sunday 5th April

Week Two

Moan first - sorry.........

They have stopped collecting the garden waste bin, and garden centres are closed so all that is left is to cut the grass and weed but the garden bins are not being collected.  Just going around in circles!  I did cut the grass..............  dread to think what the garden bin will smell like after a few really hot days and grass cuttings and the Three Cornered Leek I've been pulling up.  The Leek has taken over the front and back gardens.  They've been in the garden spreading for far too long!  I thought gardening was good for mental health........
I will cut the grass more regularly from now on and just leave the cuttings on the grass.  It s just the grass was very long and this was its second cut.

Sorry for rant!

Three Cornered Leek

Three Cornered leek is edible but there is so much of it in my garden.......

Something from nothing lunch.  

In the fridge there was a mushroom stir-fry and bacon.  Cupboard tin of pineapple.  Chips and peas from the freezer.

This cooked in the time it took to cook the chips.

Layer half of the pack of the mushroom stir-fry in a dish.

(I used the lid of a casserole dish)

Cover the stir-fry with the bacon as if it was a pastry top.

.......and very tasty it was too!

I made lemon muffins yesterday for myself and my friend Jane who has been shopping for me.  I feel guilty about her going shopping, but she says she is happy to go. 

I tried one straight from the oven!

Muffin Recipe

For those of you who like poetry, I put a poem on my blog yesterday  

As it made me think we do have time now........  

And there is a poem on Simone's blog too, worth a read

I passed this wall the other day when I went to the letter-box!

Friday 3rd April

Think we have time now...............................

WHAT is this life if, full of care,

We have no time to stand and stare.

No time to stand beneath the boughs

And stare as long as sheep or cows.

No time to see, when woods we pass,

Where squirrels hide their nuts in grass.

No time to see, in broad daylight,

Streams full of stars, like skies at night.

No time to turn at Beauty's glance,

And watch her feet, how they can dance.

No time to wait till her mouth can

Enrich that smile her eyes began.

A poor life this if, full of care,

We have no time to stand and stare.

W.H. Davies