that was the weekend

Saturday was a quiet day. We got up late. I did some laundry and decluttered and organised the kitchen, where I found I have enough food in stock that we shouldn't need to do a big shop for several weeks. Famous last words, and then the Prof went out for a few essentials and managed to spend £60 anyway - although he did buy me a super pack of Sharpies, reduced to £8 from £24. Bargain! The Prof watched the archery and the shooting part of the Olympics on his laptop. The red button service doesn't work properly on our tv.....despite being a widescreen it seems it's verging on obsolete. I did a little knitting, and we caught up with the new series Containment, I'm liking it so far, it's one of those realistic breakdown-of-society things that I like to terrify myself with for some reason.



On Sunday we went out in Kent for the day. We live on the edge of East London where it converges with Essex, but Kent is very near and the Prof lived there for over twenty years. We both love Kent, and get over there as often as possible. My favourite area is around Stelling Minnis, and that's where we went this time. We stopped off at Chilham, a pretty little village where I love the shop - I came home with a book, a new peg bag and a bar of the most gorgeous honeysuckle soap. Then we drove through the lovely countryside to the Lord Whisky, an animal rescue centre with an attached restaurant that does lovely meals. We forgot to say hello to the resident pig this time.



After dinner, driving through the countryside we called in to see our friends, who were going out that afternoon to an open day at Old Bladbean Stud Gardens so we went with them and spent a happy couple of hours wandering around the garden together, and catching up.



I loved the whites, silvers and blues of this part of the garden, the photographs I took don't do it justice. I bought one of these plants with the ball shaped flower heads, they are much bluer than they look, and the bees love them.









We saw two memorials as we walked around, one to 'Abigail', and this one in front of a Roman style bench. I wonder who the rainbow chaser was?





I love the purple and white flowers behind the bench here.



I think this plant is Eryngium Giganteum, otherwise known as Miss Wilmott's Ghost, named after a 19th century horticulturist who liked to scatter the seed in other people's gardens. 

The gardens were beautiful, definitely worth a visit. They're not too huge, just large enough to spend a pleasant couple of hours, including a stop for tea and cake.







Our friends Brian and Trisha, and my Prof. No photos of me - as usual I was the one behind the camera.

Joining Karen at Pumpkin Sunrise

That Was the Weekend

Our weekend:

:: sunshine 

:: fun and food with friends and family

:: shopping - not my favourite, but we had a nice lunch and we found towels we liked for our new bathroom, so that was a plus

:: a visit to lovely Leigh on Sea. It was very windy - hence my hair is all over the place and my eyes almost shut in the photograph - but the sun was shining and we wrapped up warm and had a nice walk around, looking at the boats and the tiny old houses 

:: afternoon tea in a nice little tea shop 

:: a walk around the ruins of Hadleigh Castle


Weekending with Karen 

good things

a weekend away just the two of us


the village of Southwell, especially the Minster. Brownie points for the staff there, too - when I emailed today to say we left the guide book we had bought, they answered within minutes to say they would forward it to us free of charge 

Ice Age caves for the Prof, an hour in the cafe with chocolate shortbread, coffee and a good book for me 

the good book: The Husband's Secret, by Liane Moriarty

a beautiful rainbow arcing over the road ahead as we drove home

weekending with Amanda

our Easter weekend

:: two six hour drives, to the North on Friday and back South on Sunday

:: chatting in the car to the friend who came with us, listening to many fascinating stories from the more than eighty years of her life

:: an unplanned Friday night dinner with friends, good company and Belgian waffles

:: packed breakfasts in our budget hotel. Cornflakes, pain au chocolate and orange juice

:: seeing my friend Gail marry her man 

:: pie and peas with pickled cabbage and beetroot. Why have I never discovered this amazing combination before?

:: an impromptu decision to visit Stratford-on-Avon for lunch on the way home




Joining  Amanda 

I've been....

Shopping: a gift for a new baby, the new edition of Homemaker and Country Living magazines for me, a lovely new suit for the Prof.

Enjoying: coffee, as usual. I only drink decaff at home so a real coffee is a weekly treat. No crossword this week though, although I have been carrying the part-finished Saturday Telegraph crossword from a couple of weeks ago around in my bag all weekend in case, we just never got to it.

Testing: new subtitling technology.We attended a special free screening of Wreck it Ralph at a cinema in London, where the Prof was able to test some new subtitling technology currently being developed and give his feedback. There were different items being tested and he was asked to try the glasses he is wearing in the picture, apologies for the quality, it was taken in the dark, which my phone isn't very good at. The subtitles appear in the glasses instead of on the screen, which is a good idea as then every film could be available to deaf people. Currently we have to attend specific subtitled showings, of which there are not many, and lots of films either don't get subtitled at all, or too few subtitled copies are made, and they don't get shown at every cinema. If these glasses came into use, all films could carry the captions, as they would only be visible to the deaf person wearing the glasses, and on-screen captions would not be needed any longer.

Visiting: the library. I returned two books, Human Remains by Elizabeth Haynes and The Good Father by Noah Hawley. The first was chilling, the second thought provoking and I thoroughly enjoyed both. I picked up some reserved items: a novel, a knitting book and the DVD Hope Springs, which is one of the films we hoped to see with subtitles last year and were not able to.

Knitting: I finished the wurm hat! I knitted one pattern repeat less than called for, and I think it is a little slouchier than I would prefer, but I will wear it, and more to the point, I learned how to knit in the round! If I make another sometime I will knit it a bit shorter.

Planning: my days. Instead of just bumbling along, I am trying to come up with a daily routine including yoga, fresh air/sunlight, proper meals, housework, decluttering and of course, reading and knitting - which may sound simple but with CFS, not so much. I am hoping the yoga will improve my strength and stamina, after three years at home I have little of either.  Work in progress.


Weekending with Amanda