I know I've missed a couple of weeks of 'happies' due to feeling tired and run down with what seems to be some sort of neuralgia in my head and face but hey-ho I'm trying to carry on regardless but with much less vim and vigour so here are my four 'happies' for this week...
1. Harvesting Blackcurrants - a third of the blackcurrants are now jam, a third are frozen and the rest are left for the birds to eat.
2. Nature's glory - a gatekeeper (or perhaps a meadow brown) butterfly photographed at Bridgemere, a late brood of starlings also photographed at Bridgemere, the return of the thrush to our garden perhaps it never left but we hadn't seen him (or her) for ages. Waterlily flower in our pond, we've been here 16 years and this is only the second time the lilies have flowered.
3. A new 'Stephen Booth' - a new Cooper and Fry novel is always awaited in eager anticipation. I was number twenty-seven on the list when I first reserved a copy from my local library the week before the book was published. Last Friday it was available for me to collect and as usual, even though I tried to eke it out for as long as possible it is now, just under a week later, read. I love the fact that Stephen Booth uses the county of Derbyshire for his settings usually in the Peak District and he always distinguishes between the areas of the Dark and White Peaks. One of the settings in this novel sent us off exploring last Tuesday. I'd seen the place on Louise's blog last year and had thought to visit one day but had sort of forgotten about it until reminded by Mr Booth so my number four is........
Linking up with Little Birdie where '52 weeks of Happy' started. Each week you find just four things that have made you happy to share.
Your blackcurrant jam would certainly make me happy. I am just carefully looking in hedgerows now to see how much longer the blackberries will be. A little longer I feel. xx
ReplyDeleteI made a spnge cake and put some of the left over jam that was too much for the jars in the middle it tastes so good. Tt will soon be blackberry time:)
DeleteSorry to hear you havn't been well but you have certainly been busy with your blackcurrants.You must be feeling better.We had one of those butterflies in the garden yesterday.hasn't it been a great year for butterflies.
ReplyDeleteThanks, the jam was a joint effort so didn't take too long. There are so many butterflies around now especially the white ones:)
DeleteIt's so exciting when you get a new book, I'm a huge Dan Brown fan and I FINALLY got his new book that came out in May, I haven't started reading it yet, I have another book on the go at the moment, but it gives me comfort knowing that it's there!!
ReplyDeleteYour photos are lovely and the fruit looks delicious!
Have a great week!
Tammy
I know what you mean about having something there ready to read, I have several favourite authors whose books I wait for and then try to savour when i get them:)
DeleteWhat a great blackcurrant harvest- the jam looks good (I still have some in the cupboard that I made five years ago - it looks in perfect condition though) as you may have gathered we don't eat that much jam so not sure how I will use up all my blackcurrants.
ReplyDeleteThe star disc looks fascinating - aren't some people clever.
If you don't eat your blackcurrants I'm sure the birds will. The stardisc is fascinating:)
DeleteLovely happies Rosie! I am so sorry to hear that you have had neuralgia. I remember being struck down with that and feeling as though I had been stabbed in the cheek with a knife! I really hope that it soon passes. Take lots of care of yourself and eat plenty of those lovely blackcurrants! x
ReplyDeleteNot sure it is neuralgia now! I had to have a CT scan this afternoon I expect soon we'll see what the problem is:)
DeleteThese are great happy things, except that you are still not well, I hope you are well again soon. I still haven't been to the star disc at night but I haven't forgotten I want to! I've nearly read all the Booth's now - I up to the one before Already Dead, but I don't really want to be caught up as I've liked having one a month to read and not having to wait for the next one to be published!
ReplyDeleteIt usually takes SB a year to write his next book so savour these last too. I've seen photos of the stardisc lit up it looks wonderful:)
DeleteI'm sorry to hear that you've been suffering from neuralgia and hope you get some relief from this very soon and feel less tired if you've not been sleeping well because of it. The blackcurrants look great and being full of vitamins should do you good! The water lily, thrush visitor to your garden, butterflies, baby birds and a book enjoyed by a favourite author are all things to celebrate. Thanks for the Stephen Booth novels set in Derbyshire/Wirksworth/StarDisc mention - all new to me, but of interest.
ReplyDeleteStepehn Booth's books do stand alone but I think if you read them chronologically you get more from the relationships between the main characters as they grow and progress:)
DeleteSorry to hear you've been feeling unwell Rosie, hope you feel better soon, kudos for keeping up with the photos.
ReplyDeleteI'm running out of steam - maybe it is th hot sunmmer as well making me lazy:)
DeleteHope you feel better soon.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Amanda- me too:)
DeleteThe blackcurrants look fantastic - a lovely crop. I love the tiny Starlings, we see so few here. And the Thrush is gorgeous, I'm glad you can see it around in your garden again. And I'm sorry you've not been well, Rosie - hope you're much better soon.
ReplyDeleteWe've had loads of starling this year and I've been taking photos of them - cue for a new post perhaps?:)
DeleteHi Rosie...I hope you are feeling well again very soon. I suffer from a couple of chronic illnesses and know how it can wear you out to be in pain. Wishing you all the best.
ReplyDeleteYour harvest of black currants is amazing. We had a bush full of them but other than a couple my husband picked off to eat while gardening, we did not get a single berry. The birds had a feast instead. I asked my husband if he would like to put a net on the bush while they ripened but he said it was okay. We love our birds too and did not deny them their feast. :-)
Hugs from Holland ~
Heidi
The birds do enjoy the soft fruit especially raspberries and blackcurrants. I think constant pain does wear you down and make you tired and listless it is also worrying if you don't quite know what the problem is:)
DeleteI do feel for you with your problems, I quite often have headaches due to my sinus probs which I've had since I was a child.....yuk!! On a better note though I'm super impressed with your Blackcurrant jam, it looks absolutely delicious! How nice to have the water lilies blooming but things do seem to be doing very well this year considering the strange weather we had at first...must have done them all good. x
ReplyDeleteOh, dear! I usually don't have a lot of headaches. At first the Dr thought it was sinus, then neuralgia now they don't know - I had to have a ct scan today which is a bit worrying - just wish I knew what it was:)
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