My Birthday!

 

So Sunday was my 58th birthday, spent the day mooching around Leeds Castle with Julia and James and then collected Dad for dinner at Toby Carvery in the evening.

Julia and James rescued several people lost in the maze by directing them from the centre viewpoint! We are definitely getting experts at the maze, or rather she is ;-)

Us at the top centre area of the maze and then the shell grotto underneath which is where you come out. Shot on the S20 mobile phone as neither Julia nor James usually take many (if any) photos wandering around so thought I wouldn't hold them up by snapping away 📷

All in all it was a lovely day and evening, J&J bought me a lovely little evening handbag from Paul Costelloe and a little purse to go inside and hold some of my bits and pieces.

Dahlias Etc. For the Garden!

 So this Off Friday saw me and Dad take a mooch along to Dobbies for some bulbs for the garden. In particular dahlias which I have been waiting for to come on sale.

Also bought a red crocosmia to plant alongside the orange variety I already have. Really like the unusual flowers on this plant and the long, thin, grass-like leaves. 

All these will be a Spring planting session I'm guessing, need to check the packets for the suitable planting dates!

Also bought plant sticks and ties, mainly for the Amaryllis which is growing great guns at the moment, acting more like a Triffid! But it's on the cusp of flowering so looking forward to seeing those, Christmas Star is the variety, red/white flowers, so should look spectacular. 

Getting more into the gardening now, last year I planted lots of seeds in pots in the yard and had an abundance of colour all through the Spring/Summer. Always loved dahlias, so many different styles, so these are going to be planted in the border between me and my neighbour, the same border that I've purchased the recycled tyres edging for after I manage to get the old, crumbling brick edging out. Another job for the Spring - me thinks I'm gonna be busy!!!

First Local Walk

 

So this collage is a collection of images from the Olympus TG-6 which I took for a walk around the fields in search of some frosty inspiration. 

Spent 2.25hr out and about, including a walk along to Hurstwood to drop off some used stamps for the RNIB. The house being far further along the road than I had anticipated.

The gravel path that was installed by the local council through the bottom field is looking pretty crap right now, wet and soggy in places, like walking through wet cement. Not good. I have a suspicion that cost overruled quality, would have been far better to have made it tarmac or something similar. Won't be much left of it in a few years time 😭

Walked up the far end of the field, a steep incline but easier than walking downhill, then along the top and back through the play area. Saw two new benches have been installed, pity people allow their kids/dogs to leave muddy footprints all over them, people should try and be a little more considerate. I did manage to find a reasonable section to perch on to eat my milky-way. Almost 7500 steps so not too bad I guess.

The frost has finally disappeared although we are due another cold night, hoping to see it warm up again soon, getting fed up with the cold and yet I know that come the summer time I'll be fed up with the heat - you just can't win!

We need to find a way to harness the summer warmth and let it loose in the winter!

Which Generation?

 

So with all the talk in the news sometimes about Gen X, Z etc it kind of left me wondering which generation am I?

According to the piccie above I fall into the Gen X category, Julia is a millennial. My Dad one of the Silent Generation. All very bizarre.

Not quite sure what category comes after iGen or Gen Z?

Another New Bag!

 

So Saturday saw me and my girl head up to Bluewater for some retail therapy. Been looking for a new black handbag given that many of my old handbags are peeling badly because basically some PU leathers are crap and even though the bags haven't been overused by any stretch of the imagination they are still looking well past their sell-by date 😭

This is one I saw online at New Look, a shop we used to frequent a lot when Julia was much younger, but haven't really been inside for years! Anyway, this looked as good in the flesh so to speak as it did online and cheaper than the myriad of Mia Tui bags I have been purchasing of late. Plus Mia Tui didn't have in stock the bag I'd been looking at in the Black Croc style.

Given that I carry much less crap around now post the pandemic when I never went out and so didn't have the need for a handbag for almost 2yrs, it's now not much more than my essentials pouch, purse, keys and phone. Even the purse can be swapped out for my Minimo wallet. So this bag is plenty big enough for me now and looks smart enough for various occasions. Made in a similar fabric to many of my older New Look bags I have high hopes for it's longevity. It's not PU leather, more a polyurethane or whatever they call it?

Back to the RE Museum

 

So spent Friday 13th at the Royal Engineer's Museum with Dad & Tedster. As we got a yearly ticket when we visited in November for the Wartime Christmas, we decided to take a better look around given the Wartime Christmas event was pretty busy!

This is a photo of just a very small part of a large model and the little soldiers reminded me of Dad's Army, an old, much loved, TV show.

These models are amazing, so much detail and so much to see.

There is a lot to see at the museum and a good way to spend a chilly winters Off Friday.

Camera Stats 2022

 

So this is the final knockings of the camera stats for 2022 - and to be brutally honest, it's not good 😭

Quite possibly the lowest set of images in a year, EVER, including those over Lockdown.

The lack of the family challenge and the too hot weather over my summer break has depleted my opportunities somewhat.

My school report this year would read "Must try harder!"