We turned the calendar to April and crossed out any entries on it. Hair cuts, dental appointments, meetings with friends and going away for a couple of days for our wedding anniversary have all been cancelled and that is as it should be. One date has been put in - the delivery day of a Morrisons box. We have decided to give it a try and have ordered a vegetarian one. I wonder what it will contain? I'll report back on this one.
2. Garden visitor - a juvenile Goldcrest has visited for two or three mornings this week. An unusal and rare visitor for us.
This will be one of last year's brood as it does not have its head markings as yet. Apparently they develop after the first year of life. You can see the buds are forming on the Amelanchier tree.
3. Garden produce - there is still plenty of rhubarb and I found a recipe which enabled us to use up a couple of oranges as well.
4. Still reading, curled on the upstairs sofa with mugs of tea nearby.
Mont-St-Michel, Manche, Normandy
5. Old photos - I've been looking back at holidays we've taken over the last few years so I though I'd share a few taken on a visit to France seventeen years ago. It seems such a long time ago and yet it seems like only yesterday.
Abbey Church at Lucerne Abbey, Lessay, Manche.
Dol-de-Bretagne, Ille et Vilaine, Brittany
Menhir de Champ Dolent, Dol-de-Bretagne, Brittany.
Beaumont Mansion, Valonges, Normandy.
All for now, stay safe and well everyone.
Edit 3rd April
Since I wrote this post ready to publish today we have had some very sad news. Our friend and next door neighbour, the kind person who always looked after our cats and watered our greenhouse when we were away, has lost her fight against Motor Neurone Disease. She was taken into hospital last week suffering from some kind of respiratory infection. She tested negative for Covid 19 so had been treated with anti-biotics but was too weak to fight the infection. Our little corner at the top of the
Crescent is a very sad and subdued place today.
Mont-St-Michel, Manche, Normandy
5. Old photos - I've been looking back at holidays we've taken over the last few years so I though I'd share a few taken on a visit to France seventeen years ago. It seems such a long time ago and yet it seems like only yesterday.
All for now, stay safe and well everyone.
Edit 3rd April
Since I wrote this post ready to publish today we have had some very sad news. Our friend and next door neighbour, the kind person who always looked after our cats and watered our greenhouse when we were away, has lost her fight against Motor Neurone Disease. She was taken into hospital last week suffering from some kind of respiratory infection. She tested negative for Covid 19 so had been treated with anti-biotics but was too weak to fight the infection. Our little corner at the top of the
Crescent is a very sad and subdued place today.
Firstly, I am very sorry to hear your sad news Rosie. It seems relentless just now doesn't it? All the more reason to live our lives to the full appreciating what we have all around us. Thank you for the rhubarb recipe. I am going to make it today for my dessert this evening. What oven temperature did you use? How lovely that you had a new garden visitor! I am not hearing many birds at the moment. In fact I am not hearing any much of anything! Take care and be well. x
ReplyDeleteThank you Simone, it's a most dreadful disease and came on so quickly. I think the temperature was about 180c but as our oven seems to burn things easily I actually did it about 10 degrees less and just checked it occasionally. Hearing pigeons, robins and dunnocks at the moment. It does seem very quiet around here too as the traffic noise is less:)
DeleteThanks Rosie. I will give it a go. I saw a beautiful red breasted robin in the front garden shortly after reading your post. I hope that I hear and see more birds soon. The loudest noise is the humming of the bees. x
DeleteI'm sorry about your friend.
ReplyDeleteThank you William:)
DeleteI am so sorry to hear about your friend and neighbour - such sad news.
ReplyDeleteThe rhubarb dessert looks delicious. We managed to secure an online delivery from Tesco (no luck at Sainsburys where I usually shop) and to be fair I was impressed as most of the stuff we ordered arrived although there were a few substitutions. So I hope your Morrisons vegetarian box turns out ok.
Take care and stay safe and well.
Thank you RR. Glad you managed to get an on-line delivery. We usually shop at Sainsburys too but had seen about the boxes from Morrisons but didn't realise that all the supermarkets were doing them. I'm hoping that we can manage until after Easter for everything except milk and eggs which we get from our local co-op except they haven't had eggs for a while. White bread flour is also a problem, P makes half and half bread loaves. Take care:)
DeleteYour Morrison Box sounds like a wonderful thing to have. Here, the order on line and pick up outside store, to which we used to go, has ceased. -sigh- But our Dear Daughter in law has found others. But they are smaller and are running out of some items. A not huge place, can't keep things ahead, I suppose... Like the biggggg stores.
ReplyDeleteHave wished I could visit Mont-St-Michel!!!!
Lovely photos...
So sorry for your sad news. On top of all the present avalanche of bad news.
but Spring is here. We have to concentrate on that...
{{{{{{{{HUGS}}}}}}}}
💧🌷🌱 💦🌱🌷💧
Thank you WoW. I'm wondering what the box will contain but hopefully it will keep us going for a while. Mont-St-Michel is wonderful bay, village and Abbey, we've been twice on two different holidays and I loved both visits, although very crowded on one of them. Spring is definitly here and warmer weather is coming this weekend. Stay Safe:)
DeleteVery sad news, I'm sorry to hear it.
ReplyDeleteThank you Louise,it is very sad:)
DeleteSorry to hear about your neighbour. I enjoyed that post & one of my pleasures at the moment is also our birdlife with the magpies being extra friendly, as if they know we need them to make us smile. Must admit to being slightly quirky in talking to all creatures large or small & have conversations with skinks & crickets too, who like our back verandah & garage. Hope your Morrisons box is a "nice" surprise. Take care & huggles.
ReplyDeleteThank you Susan. We have 'names' for all the cats that pass through our garden. Some of them we know are their names others we make up to suit their characters. We also recognise and name the foxes too 'thin taul' 'fat tail' 'big ears' etc. Hope the box has some of the things we will need. Take care:)
DeleteOh Rosie, i'm so saddened to read you have lost a friend and neighbour.
ReplyDeleteI was going to say how I enjoyed looking at your pictures of your French adventure and how exciting to open a Morrisons box and was looking forward to seeing what you were sent... that seems far too flippant now
Sending a {hug} your way x
Thank you Julie, she will be very much missed. I still think of her scooting off down the street on her mobility scooter last summer. It soon got that she couldn't use it.
DeleteLife goes on and she was a cheerful character who would want everyone still to smile and enjoy life so I'm glad you enjoyed the post. I will photograph the contents of the box when it arrives:) Take care:)
Delete
Oh how sad for you all, your poor kind, helpful neighbour, something like that really brings the reality of our new situation. As does crossing everything off the calendar. I will be interested to see what Morrisons come up with. It's a good idea to cheer yourselves up with a good reminisce about past holidays. 😊
ReplyDeleteThank you Karen, very sad indeed, yes I will be interested to see what it offered in the box, I hope there are some eggs, there haven't been any in our local co-op for a couple of weeks. I think past holiday memories are all we will have this year:)
DeleteI'm sorry to hear about your good neighbour. Several of our immediate neighbours who live opposite in our crescent are retired and have become friends over the years we've been living here. I can understand how sad all your neighbours are feeling at your loss. We have rhubarb in our garden, although at the moment only two young stalks. I look forward to gathering and stewing some later on. It's lovely to see the birds in the garden.
ReplyDeleteThank you Linda, although we are on the edge of the city our little community here is a good one with everyone helping each other and noticing if things don't look right for some reason but otherwise just getting on with their own lives. The rhubarb has been wonderful over the last week or so. So many birds in the garden at the moment, finches and tits the most numerous visitors and of course the sparrows which we tend to takefor granted, like the wood pigeons, as they are always there:)
DeleteI'm sorry to hear about your friend Rosie, how sad for you all.
ReplyDeleteThank you Pam:)
DeleteI just noticed when I poured my first cup of coffee this am, the kitchen calendar is still on March, lol. Guess I should go flip it and see if there's anything on there I've not yet taken care of, in terms of cancellations. I keep a calendar here on my desk and it's current; plus when out use the one on my phone. Sometimes I take the time to make sure all 3 calendars say the same thing. Your picture of Normandy is awesome. We're scheduled to go there this fall and I have my doubts if that will happen, given the current state of disease around the globe. I'm so sorry to hear about your friend and neighbor, how sad. In a press release the other day, our governor said when this is over he doubted there would any of us that didn't have some first hand connection with it, either by getting the disease,knowing someone who did, as well losing someone. What a sobering thought. Stay well. Sandy's Space
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