A Week in the Sun

 Hello everyone.

After a week in sunny Spain, my Hubby and I returned home to the UK's liquid sunshine (the rain) and breezy winds. D tells me it wasn't all rain here last week, but it feels chilly for Hubby and me. D did an excellent job on our blog last week and also looking after the house and garden. Thank you for all your kind words of encouragement. I know she appreciates every comment you make.

Our holiday in Salou was lovely and relaxing, where we could unwind and enjoy the sun, sea and sand. The hotel was only a few minutes from the nearest beach. 

Although our room was on the sixth floor, we had great views out to the sea.

Each morning, while eating breakfast, we entertained ourselves by watching the race for the best sunbed spots. We have been on many holidays where sunbeds were snapped up very early, almost at the crack of dawn, where a single towel had been draped over a sunbed and left alone for many hours until the owner eventually returned.

At this hotel, the entrance to the pool area was through a single set of double doors, which opened at 9 am. Despite this, queues still formed, and when the doors opened, a tsunami of people rushed to snap up their place in the sun. A few minutes later, those same people returned through the doors at a more leisurely pace, leaving behind their now lonely towels.

It was fun to watch but must be very annoying if you wanted a poolside spot later. 

Across the road from the hotel was a small mini/crazy golf course we visited several times during the week. We now have tentative ideas to do something golf-related in our garden mixed in between the plants. I will let you know if the idea gets off the ground. Dream big, they say!

We wandered around many areas with beautiful plants and flowers during the week, and here are a few of my favourites.

We had a wonderful holiday: just what we needed to recharge the batteries, and, despite all the negative publicity, we also had no hold-ups at Birmingham airport. Perhaps we were just lucky!

Have a lovely week. I will be around to catch up on all your news.

B x

Blog-Sitting

Hello everyone!

D, here this week. I'm back on 'house and blog-sitting' duty. 

As I post this blog, Mum and Dad will be sunning themselves in Spain.

It's been the school half-term holiday this past week, and I enjoyed the break from work. I got up to a few things, like baking which Mum and Dad both enjoyed before they went on holiday. 

It's another recipe from Jane's Patisserie - Millionaires Cookie Bars. They are like Millionaire Shortbread, except you use cookies instead of a shortbread base. It's very moreish! 

I also went out with a friend for an Afternoon Tea this week, and we had a lovely time. I just about remembered to take a photo before we polished off the yummy treats.

Unfortunately, it's back to work on Monday, but I have had a good week. 

Wishing you all a good week ahead.

D x

Wollaton Hall and Deer Park

Hello, everyone.

Over the weekend, we visited Wollaton Hall and Deer Park in Nottingham. It was a lovely day to explore and discover more about an area we hadn't visited before.

We looked around the Hall's interior and read about its long past and more recent history. 

Sir Francis Willoughby built the Hall between 1580 and 1588 and richly decorated it. He possibly hoped that Queen Elizabeth I - the ruling monarch at the time - would visit.

Unfortunately, Queen Elizabeth never came to Wollaton Hall.

Maybe the distraction of the Spanish Armada in 1588 and constant intrigues at court kept the Queen's diary full!

We particularly liked the painted ceiling and walls of one of the staircases, which were added by subsequent owners. 

Although the Hall remained in the family until the early 1880s, Nottingham Council eventually bought it in 1925. They opened it the following year as the city's natural history museum. There is a large selection of stuffed animals, birds and reptiles on display, but we were not fond of them. However, we found the geological displays with fossils and minerals much more enjoyable. We also saw Titus the T Rex dinosaur, or at least his bones were on display.

We also learn that filmmakers used the Hall as part of the set for "Batman- the Dark Knight Rises" in 2011.

While at Wollaton Hall, we also visited their tea room for coffee and cake.

 This was D's choice: Jammie Dodger Blondie.

Afterwards, we took a leisurely walk down to the lake and saw some of the wildlife swimming in the water.

However, our favourite part of the day was the close encounters with the resident deer in the park. It was hot and sunny yesterday, and these young bucks were taking shelter under a large tree close to our walking path. There were two types of deer at the park: Red Deer and Fallow deer. 

We took lots of photos of them.

Tomorrow is a Bank holiday here in England, and although it looks to be wet, it will be good to spend time together as a family. Whether you have the day off tomorrow or not, have a good week, everyone.

B x

Spring Cleaning! Mouse Style!

Hello and welcome to this small corner, the place that D, hubby, and I call home. 

We have seen plenty of sunshine here this week, which has been lovely. There have been many tea and coffee breaks spent outside. It has been a joy listening to bird songs in the garden. 

After a slow start, everything is growing quickly, and the plants are jostling for space.

As you can see, one of my favourite spots is the woodland area. It is covered with plants, and all are doing amazingly well. The ferns especially love the small amount of dappled shade the tree provides. One of the good things about this part of the garden is that the weeds stand little chance of establishing a foothold with all the other planting.  

Hubby also finished the other raised bed for me this week and it now has some lettuce growing in there. I have covered it for now, as otherwise, it might make a tasty snack for the pigeons! I'm looking forward to salad from the garden.

D has also been spending more time outside and looking forward to planting new crops every day when she comes home from work. Slowly, she is learning the pleasures of gardening. Long may it continue and develop!

With all the time spent in the garden, there has been less done on general cleaning inside, so this sweet mouse has been offering her help. I wish!! 

She even offered to spring clean in between the flower beds. Bless her. 

This coming week, I should give her a hand: it is a lot of house for a tiny mouse to clean. The pattern is another of Jean Greenhowe's creations. Little Miss Spring Mouse will be joined by her Summer and Autumn cousins at the appropriate season. Winter mouse is snuggled away with the Christmas decorations.

Both D and I wish you a lovely week wherever you are.

Sunny Days

Hello everyone. 

Firstly, D and I want to thank you for all the encouraging comments about our doll house. We look forward to showing you the next room.

We have finally had a hot and sunny week here in our small corner, and both D and I have been taking advantage of this by being outside as much as possible. There is now a lot of colour appearing in both the front and back gardens.

These flowers are growing in the front garden.

Herbs and a courgette enjoying the sunshine.

Here are some of the plants currently flowering in our back garden.

A few weeks ago, I mentioned that we were working on the L-shaped part of the back garden outside the back door. Hubby has been very busy putting together another raised bed, which I quickly filled. He is now working on a second bed to match on the other side.

These last few pictures are of the alpine bed on top our dustbin area. It is pretty to look at and the plants have loved the sun this week.

On Monday, D, hubby and I took a trip to Bewdley, which is not far away from where we live.

Lots of people were enjoying the dry Bank holiday weather, and there was a significant increase in the sale of ice-creams that day. The highlight of our visit had to be watching the geese on the river. They were very noisy with their youngsters swimming nearby. The geese were also spectacular show-offs when coming into land, with feet first and bottom and tail feathers acting as the final brakes.

D has also been spending some time baking in the kitchen, and we all enjoyed her chicken, bacon and leek pie. 

I had half eaten the meal before remembering to take a photo!

As well as all the gardening, I have taken full advantage of the weather to do as much of the bulkier items of washing as possible, which included the covers for our three-piece suite. They dried brilliantly outside. It has been a good week here.

With the weather set to change again back to more rain, there will be more indoor crafting and some work in the greenhouse for us this next week.

D and I wish you all a healthy and happy week whatever the weather happens to be.

B and D xx