I Heart Saturday

Hello my lovelies!

How is your Saturday shaping up?

As the man works permanent night shifts plus overtime most mornings it is rare that we see each other until I get home from work and that is literally just for an hour before he has to go off to bed to sleep prior to his next shift starting. Our Saturdays, therefore, are very precious to us as you can imagine.  Our day usually starts with a cuddle and a coffee and a catch up in bed and then we take ourselves off for breakfast in town before doing the weekly shop.

Today we tried a recently opened coffee shop called Vines. We were drawn in by the board outside advertising a full English breakfast for £2.95.  The man opted for the full English with toast and coffee. I chose the Panini with bacon, egg and mushrooms plus a cappuccino. The whole bill came to 5 pounds and 40p for both of us. We were extremely impressed with the food which was freshly cooked and I can honestly say the Panini I had was probably one of the best I have ever had! 

Not too shabby eh?

People might think it odd, but we actually love shopping. We never see it as a chore and always find something to giggle about (mostly other couples who are arguing between themselves or ranting at small children!). 

When we eventually get home (which is always a lot later than we anticipated) (and Charl is on his arse through sleep deprivation!) we unpack the shopping (unless I can palm it off onto the kids because this is a job I hate!) and then he retires to bed and I have a couple of hours to myself to completely chill out for the rest of the afternoon. I may cook something nice for dinner and then again I may have something that I can just chuck into the oven and escape to my shed for that time I would have spent cooking! Now don't look at me like that! I will have you know that today I have stuffed a mushroom! How is that for domestic goddessness?!

Here are some quick photos of some things around the house which are making me smile this freezing cold but very sunny Saturday.

The hellebore in the owl pot was a gift and should be outside really but for fear of hooligan trampling it I've kept it safe inside.  Please note the inventive use of an unused cafetiere for a tulip vase!

I love having fresh flowers around the house. The daffies were just one whole English pound for three bunches and the tulips 99p a bunch. 

Whilst I was sitting typing up this post I was visited by this lil fella. Actually not so little! He was a biggun!  

He appreciated my vases of flowers too! 

 Build it and they will come so the saying goes. Well. My new birdie table has been built and installed. I havent seen any visitors yet though. How rude!!

Steak and mushrooms for dinner then. I'd better put on my pinny and fluffy mules darlings!!

Hope your Saturday is a pleasant one!

Sky-watching

Look it!!!  Mad skies over Wollescote!

Altocumulus I do believe!!

I found this on the Met Office website

"Altocumulus clouds

Height of base: 2,000 - 18,000 ft

Latin: altum - height; cumulus - heap

Altocumulus are small mid-level layers or patches of clouds - called cloudlets - in the shape of rounded clumps. These are white or grey, and the sides away from the Sun are shaded. Mostly found in settled weather, altocumulus are usually composed of droplets, but may also contain ice crystals.

The presence of shading can help tell the difference between altocumulus and cirrocumulus. Cirrocumulus are white but altocumulus can be white or grey, and the sides will be shaded."

S'fab innit?!

I've been a right little sky watcher these last few days - I have a crick in my neck from constantly looking skywards!

A Warm Weekend

 

Just some photographs from the weekend.

Scene at the rear of the house..........

Whilst out front this was happening .....

It was my first Samaritans' training today.  Whilst I enjoyed it, I was a little sad to be indoors all day on such a glorious Spring day. 

When I emerged late this afternoon, blinking like a mole coming out of a hill,  I admired the signs in their pretty little garden which herald the fact that the Wheel of the Year will be turning once again very soon...

Camellia in full bloom. 

.

Fat buds on the magnolia tree 

Delicate blossom in the palest pink. 

Hope you had a wonderful weekend blossoms@

Foggy Friday

Hello!

A warm welcome to The Vintage Kitten and to Vada Wetzel, my new followers.  Lovely to see you here! *waves madly*

I woke up to a very eerie looking field this morning.  I was transfixed for a good few minutes when I should really have been getting ready for work, watching the fog roll in and out, the landscape changing constantly.

Have a look - Mists of Avalon spring to mind.  There is no tint on these photographs - just nature painting the scenery in monochrome. Sorry there's lots of photos - I couldn't stop snapping as it was changing so quickly.   Click on the photos if you want to enlarge them.

Happy weekend to you all my darlings!

This week ...

I shall mostly be:-

Lunching with work colleagues - Tomorrow is a 'Costa Coffee and Cake Catch-up', Thursday is 'Someone's leaving to have a baby, any excuse for pizza buffet luncheon' and last but not least there's a  'F*** it, it's Friday' gossip session in the pub.    Sounds good to me!

Having tea with Mum, whereupon I shall be spoilt rotten and leave two hours later needing an elastic band to hold the button on my skirt.

Meeting my bestie for Mexican Night at a local hostelry.  See above. One Tequila. Two Tequila. Three Tequila. Floor.  Actually that's a lie - I've never touched the stuff and don't intend to start now!  The same cannot be said for some pretty awesome quesadillas however!

Trying to pluck up courage after 28 years to take some refresher lessons in order to start driving again.  I passed my test first time when I was 18 - I've not driven since.  Massive driving fail on my part methinks. Gawd I'm nervous.  Terrified in fact.  But I MUST do this.  I owe it to myself.

Packaging stuff up to post to my E of Bayness auction winners.  I've found out that it's extremely easy to use the app on my iPhone to list things so whilst I was tidying up my craft shed last week, I listed some stuff that was just sitting around taking up space.  To my amazement people have placed bids on most of it!  This is good news for my almost defunct Paypal account!

Trying to plan a 50th birthday for him indoors.  Its not until August and I had intended on it being a surprise one - until he announced that he wanted a big party for his 50th and asked his daughter to look into finding a venue for it. No more surprises then!  Doh!

 Attending my first Samaritans training day.  I was very happy to find out that I'd been selected last week and am very much looking forward to beginning my training journey.

Phew that's a busy old week!  I think I need a lie down!

Hope your week is packed full of good things too! xx

Lunchtime Wander

Hello darlings

A HUGE welcome to two new followers The Silver Bunny and  Algodaotaodoce - Thank you so much for visiting me here in my little corner of blogland and for following my randomness.

Well today was such a beautiful blue day that I decided to take myself off on a little walk at lunch time.  I'm lucky that my office is about ten minutes walk away from the canal, so off I went, trip-trapping over the ricketty-racketty bridge, watching out for trolls as I went.  Luckily she'd stayed back at the office (tee hee) so I was safe!  I purchased a sandwich, then trip-trapped back over the ricketty-racketty bridge to sit in the sunshine and watch the world go by.

These were just two of about ten Canada Geese who were all posturing and wing flapping and 

sounding off their authority of the waterways!  

I shared my lunch with this shy little freckly headed gull!

Our department is moving to one of the buildings you can see opposite.  Methinks there will be lots of

canalside lunches in the summer!

The silver birch trunks were so white they seemed to have been bleached. 

Whilst the sunshine lit up the leaves on the dog roses.

There were lots of barges moored today.  

As I watched, this handsome fella was let out of his bargey-house and sauntered off on an adventure of his own.  

I was only there for 30 minutes or so, clearing my head, watching the world go by.  But it was lovely.

I think I'd like to live on a barge.  

And sell freshly made onion bhajis. 

From my Bhaji Barge.

Oh yes I would :)