It is a bit of a sad day today as we will be saying goodbye to my Aunty and Uncle. We had thought this might be their last visit to the island but today they said that this visit had been too short and if they come next year, which they hope they will, then they will come for longer! I know that Mum is going to miss them - it has been good for her to have company but in the same respect it is always good to get back to what is a normal routine. With that in mind John and I have been thinking about Christmas and the New Year because we know that this year it is all going to be a bit strange and a bit sad - no Dad but on the upside as we discussed yesterday no sprouts - every cloud eh? Please don't think I am being flippant and disrespectful - we think the only way we are going to be able to get through the festive season this year is with some humour.
We spent this morning in the garden - everything is in need of a good pruning so we decided to attack the plant with the orange trumpet flowers which the bees love. We have left some flowering growth to keep them happy but everything else is being chopped. Sadly this means that it looks rather bare until the new growth begins to appear. We are hoping that the goats will be around soon as there has been plenty of greenery put over the side for them to eat.
Di and Rob are off for a week visiting family in the UK so we hope they have a smooth journey and a good week. We shall miss them. When I am out in the garden looking at my shingle I always think of Rob!
John's mum, Jackie and Stan gave us a bougainvillea for the garden and we decided that we would plant it on the same wall as the existing one and John used his grinder to take the bottom off of the terracotta pot so that it looks like it is in the pot but actually the roots are in the ground.
We have kept the Owl - John crosses himself every time he walks past - thanks Stan!!!
I would reckon it is good growing weather at the moment because we have heavy overnight condensation - so much so that you could be forgiven for thinking it has been raining - then we have had warm days and a bit of rain so a good time to plant.
I am going to start on the front garden tomorrow - John doesn't know it yet but I shall need his help. It needs to have some of the plants removed as it has become overgrown and messy. Fingers crossed for a nice day tomorrow!!!
It was sticky and dirty work in the garden - I seemed to get most it stuck in my hair so the most sensible thing to do was to get clean - in the pool!!!
Here I am on the left contemplating the wisdom of my decision and there I am on the right when I realised that the water really wasn't so bad after all.
John came in and joined me and what we realise is that now if you get in, get out and get back in again there is none of that "it feels like a bath" because it feels exactly as it did when you first got in - cold! still it would seem it is only the top couple of inches because my legs were fine and we stayed in longer than I had thought we would. We will continue as we did last year to try and go in everyday until it really does get unbearable.
We set off down to Emba so that John could take the rellies to the airport. Mum had scheduled in a walk along the coast near the King Evelthon (the walk that we have done the last few years on Boxing Day) and she said it was really hot down there.
At 86 my Uncle is still game - a bit forgetful and a bit deaf and sometimes not too steady on his feet but always cheerful and happy to do whatever you have organised. Whenever we went for a meal and we asked if he had enjoyed it his response was "excellent" and although he had said his appetite was much less than it used to be he ate a really really good meal.
It is good to hear both he and my aunt talking about returning and fingers crossed they will be healthy enough to do so. It made saying goodbye easier because it really only felt like au revoir and nothing final.
Whilst John was at the airport Mum and I got the diary out to start planning Christmas - first task is to get Freddo booked into the vets for his holiday then Mum can come and go as she pleases and we don't have to worry about her driving in the dark or in bad weather. She may well return home between Christmas and the New Year otherwise we will probably kill each other being under the same roof all that time!!! That is a joke Mum!!!
We are thinking that we might go out for a New Year's Day meal as we have done previously rather than New Year's Eve which none of us really care for anyway - it can seem a long night with poor food if you are crammed into a hotel which over booked and under staffed!
We spent this morning in the garden - everything is in need of a good pruning so we decided to attack the plant with the orange trumpet flowers which the bees love. We have left some flowering growth to keep them happy but everything else is being chopped. Sadly this means that it looks rather bare until the new growth begins to appear. We are hoping that the goats will be around soon as there has been plenty of greenery put over the side for them to eat.Di and Rob are off for a week visiting family in the UK so we hope they have a smooth journey and a good week. We shall miss them. When I am out in the garden looking at my shingle I always think of Rob!
We have kept the Owl - John crosses himself every time he walks past - thanks Stan!!!
I would reckon it is good growing weather at the moment because we have heavy overnight condensation - so much so that you could be forgiven for thinking it has been raining - then we have had warm days and a bit of rain so a good time to plant.
I am going to start on the front garden tomorrow - John doesn't know it yet but I shall need his help. It needs to have some of the plants removed as it has become overgrown and messy. Fingers crossed for a nice day tomorrow!!!
It was sticky and dirty work in the garden - I seemed to get most it stuck in my hair so the most sensible thing to do was to get clean - in the pool!!!
Here I am on the left contemplating the wisdom of my decision and there I am on the right when I realised that the water really wasn't so bad after all.John came in and joined me and what we realise is that now if you get in, get out and get back in again there is none of that "it feels like a bath" because it feels exactly as it did when you first got in - cold! still it would seem it is only the top couple of inches because my legs were fine and we stayed in longer than I had thought we would. We will continue as we did last year to try and go in everyday until it really does get unbearable.
At 86 my Uncle is still game - a bit forgetful and a bit deaf and sometimes not too steady on his feet but always cheerful and happy to do whatever you have organised. Whenever we went for a meal and we asked if he had enjoyed it his response was "excellent" and although he had said his appetite was much less than it used to be he ate a really really good meal.
It is good to hear both he and my aunt talking about returning and fingers crossed they will be healthy enough to do so. It made saying goodbye easier because it really only felt like au revoir and nothing final.
Whilst John was at the airport Mum and I got the diary out to start planning Christmas - first task is to get Freddo booked into the vets for his holiday then Mum can come and go as she pleases and we don't have to worry about her driving in the dark or in bad weather. She may well return home between Christmas and the New Year otherwise we will probably kill each other being under the same roof all that time!!! That is a joke Mum!!!
We are thinking that we might go out for a New Year's Day meal as we have done previously rather than New Year's Eve which none of us really care for anyway - it can seem a long night with poor food if you are crammed into a hotel which over booked and under staffed!
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: only a member of this blog may post a comment.