Five into February

We didn't hasten into February by any means. Last month meandered along at a steady but tedious pace and sometimes felt as if it was going nowhere but all of a sudden here we are entering a new month.  Time to turn the calendar page over.

Today we walked at the Wolseley Centre, headquarters of the Staffordshire Wildlife Trust and I found both Snowdrops and Catkins which also appear in the calendar picture above.

Lot's of Snowdrops at Wolseley. 

Pushing their way through the damp soil and decaying leaves.

Such a beautiful sight.

 

Earlier in the week we had walked at Trentham. 

In damp, misty weather.

Afterwards we popped into the garden centre to seek out some colour.

On Thursday we had a surprise visit from the brother and sister-in-law of our next door neighbour.  Mainly to keep us up to date with the arrangements for her funeral and also about the sale of her house.  They brought with them a lovely gift to say thank you for all the help we had given our neighbour over the years we had lived next door.

A lovely card, gift card and Orchid.  How kind and thoughtful.

It's a lovely thing but I'm anxious about how to look after it.  They always seem so exotic and delicate.  If anyone reading keeps Orchids, or knows about them I'd love a few tips on how to keep it alive😊

All for now.
 

It's beginning to feel like Christmas

It has been another busy week trying to cram everything in around work. A week of making gifts, like little hearts to hang on the tree filled with crushed cinamon to give a seasonal aroma.

Added to these Paul's homemade ginger and almond biscuits bagged and ready to go.

Yesterday a drive towards Chesterfield stopping off at the churchyard at Scarcliffe with a holly wreath for Mum and Dad's grave - we could hear the carols being sung at the Sunday morning service in the church as we walked quietly by.

Then it was time for coffee and warm mince pies at a friend's beautiful home where we sat chatting and catching up on news whilst watching the birds on her feeders and the pheasants on her lawn, visiting from the farmer's fields nearby. It was my first mince pie this year and I forgot to make a wish.

After a lovely lunch with my sister and brother in law, more pleasant chatter and exchange of cards and presents to put under the tree, we drove back via Matlock and Ashbourne where we stopped for a little walk around to look at the lights in the town centre. Just us and a few others feeling the magic of the lights in the bitterly cold night air.

Soon it was time to head for for home where my kind and thoughtful neighbour had been in to feed the cats, draw the curtains and put on the lights to welcome us home. What a perfect day, during which, for a short while, I forgot all the worries about how to keep paying the mortgage whilst the house languishes, still for sale, our savings dwindle and the work dries up after Christmas.