Happy Birthday Gran

 

I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud

I wandered lonely as a cloud

That floats on high o'er vales and hills,

When all at once I saw a crowd,

A host, of golden daffodils;

Beside the lake, beneath the trees,

Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.

Continuous as the stars that shine

And twinkle on the milky way,

They stretched in never-ending line

Along the margin of a bay:

Ten thousand saw I at a glance,

Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.

The waves beside them danced; but they

Out-did the sparkling waves in glee:

A poet could not but be gay,

In such a jocund company:

I gazed—and gazed—but little thought

What wealth the show to me had brought:

For oft, when on my couch I lie

In vacant or in pensive mood,

They flash upon that inward eye

Which is the bliss of solitude;

And then my heart with pleasure fills,

And dances with the daffodils.

- William Wordsworth -



xxx Thinking of you today xxx

I'm back ...

and ready to blog on with gusto!!

 

Sooooo, this year started with some really BIG news
that Mr P and I are really, really, really excited about. 
BIG changes afoot folks, really BIG and life won't be the same again!!! 
But that's all I'm going to say for now --- what a tease :0)

Am very tired at the mo - like super tired and have got myself really run down. 

Half term heralded a super duper mother of all colds,
accompanied by a very annoying tickly cough and general malaise. 
It's been a week of recouping and recharging, lots of rest and cups of tea. 

But with half term coming to an unwelcome end,
I've had to bite the bullet and knuckle down.
Yesterday was all about data inputting. 
 I have ignored, avoided and diverted myself from the task all week
but yesterday I knew I had to grit my teeth and approach it head on.

However, to help things along the way I decided
that a little of what I fancied could certainly  do some good.

Mmmmmm .... brain food!! 

Everyone needs a carrot, right?!

xxx

 

the a-z of me

let's play {a - z}

A. Age: 35 (and a half)

B. Bed size: Double (dreaming of a King)

C. Chore that you hate: Ironing (ugh!)

D. Dogs: Mr P would like a Boxer called Kevin or Steve!

E. Essential start to your day: Time to potter and wake up slowly ... at the weekends a nice cup of tea in bed and time to catch up on blog reading

F. Favourite colour: Blue and green

G. Gold or Silver: Silver

H. Height: 5"9

I. Instruments you play: None (sadly)

J. Job title: Teacher (in my head domestic goddess!)

K. Kids: None (yet ...)

L. Live: In a seaside village (at the ends of the earth according to Mr P who hails from the Big Smoke)

M. Mother’s name: Jennie

N. Nicknames: George or GeeDub

O. Overnight hospital stays: Eye op in my teens

P. Pet peeves: Things not being put away 

Q. Quote from a movie: "Tempting ... but no."

R. Right or left handed: Right.

S. Siblings: 1 younger brother

T. Time you wake up: Around 6.00am

U. Underwear: Yes thanks ;)  

V. Vegetable you hate: Cabbage

W. What makes you run late: Changing my mind about my outfit (among other things)

X. X-Rays you’ve had: toe, after dropping a chair on it at work

Y. Yummy food that you make: Peanut butter and chocolate chip cookies, Rockie Road and Fudge ... all mmm 

Z. Zoo animal: love the elephants : ) 

via faith hope & a whole lotta love 

❤

National Treasures

Isn't it amazing ... when you live close to a place of interest, you don't visit it.

Why is that? 

You listen to others extolling its virtues, ohhing and ahhing over its history/size/architecture/beauty and think 'That sounds good, I really must visit it myself one day, after all it's only down the road'

but somehow never find the time. 

Indeed, I'm far more likely to get into the car, drive 40 miles and visit another counties place of interest!! Hmmmmmm.

So last weekend when the Fairtrade and Ethics Fair was hosted at Arundel Castle

and having lived just 10 minutes away for the past thirty years,

I thought this really is too good an opportunity to miss and visited for the first time!

(And bonus, because it was in a castle, Mr P was inclined to come along too).

Impressive huh!

The seat of The Dukes of Norfolk and set in 40 acres of sweeping grounds and gardens, Arundel Castle has been open to visitors seasonally for nearly 200 years. It is one of the great treasure houses of England, each having its own unique place in history and is home to priceless works of art. Come and see paintings and furniture, tapestries and stained glass, china and clocks, sculpture and carving, heraldry and armour in stunning room settings.

Sounds good doesn't it?  I bet many of you have driven miles to see this beauty and I merely glance at it as I drive over the hill and around the by-pass on route to some other national treasure.

Anyhoo, I can now say I have visited.  And yes I loved it, and yes I wondered why I hadn't made the time before and yes I will visit again ... properly.

As for the fair - it was far too busy, in too small a space with too many deadends.   What a grump I sound!
But I did enjoy the bag of Toffee Crumble, from the traditional sweet shop in town, afterwards - mmmmmmm.

Blowing away the cobwebs ...

Woke up late today (9.45am!!) and felt out of sorts all morning.  Getting up late definitely doesn't agree with me and I end up feeling very lazy and grouchy.  So Mr P was in for a great day - poor man. 
However, I was persuaded to step out and take the air which proved to be the perfect tonic.  We drove up to The Dover and ambled through the woods for 2 hours.  Me taking photos at every turn (50 to be precise) and Mr P hunting for chesnuts, which we are going to roast later on this evening and enjoy with a warmed glass of red wine - mmmmmmmm. 
I even agreed to have my photo taken, which if you know me you will know is nothing short of a minor miracle!!
I thoroughly enjoyed blowing the cobwebs away today.

Out and About

The last couple of days have been very pleasant indeed.

Yesterday I visited an old college friend

who ran away to join the circus when we were 18. 

She became a lion/tiger tamer ---

makes me feel very boring indeed!! 

After 15 years with 'The Great British Circus',

which she co-owned,

she has joined Zippos Circus

and this means she gets to tour around the South Coast

and we get to catch up. 

Arundel Art Trail

It is well worth taking an afternoon out

to mooch around this beautiful town

and visit the numerous artists

who are exhibiting here this week. 

So many talented people in one spot ---

I wish I had the wall space

(and the funds)

to justify hanging more art :(

Anyway ---

London had elephants,

Bristol had gorillas,

Edinburgh had cows

and Arundel had rhinos!!!

Aren't they gorgeous --- mini versions available too!