A post...........at last!!

Good morning all! This post may well be photo heavy, mainly because apart from Hubby’s 50th birthday and VE Day celebrations, my days have been very similar and seemingly rolling into one another. As I touched on very quickly, when I briefly popped in the other day, with hubby and son working from home and on the phone an awful lot, I’ve found it difficult at times to get on with my ordinary chores. Although my son is working from home, he has to stick to shift times. So yesterday for instance, I hoovered the whole of the house before 9am. Even with the office door shut, his work phone/comms picks up noise very easily. It’s a nightmare if a neighbour decides to cut their lawns!

So, apart from juggling noisy chores, my days have consisted of indoor exercise (mainly PE with Joe Wicks), normal housework, baking, gardening, feeding the homeworkers at their various lunch breaks, fitting in a bit crafting and evening walks.

We have been generally going for a walk after our evening meal, just so our son got some exercise in the fresh air. When weather has been warm enough, his 15 min coffee and tea breaks have been taken in the garden. We’re lucky that there are still some rural areas to have walks locally.......

I haven’t done as much cardmaking as I would like, as I’ve been busier than normal in the house. But I rustled up two 50th birthday cards. A golf themed one for hubby and a car themed one for my cousin-in-law, who has a car valeting business..........

I managed to get a local garden centre delivery. They were offering a summer planting mystery bundle, including two massive bags of compost, a grow bag, summer bulbs and some tomato plants for a reduced price. They told you what type of plants you would be getting, but apart from that, it was a lucky dip. Free delivery too. I was really happy with what I got and it gets you thinking where the best places would be for each plant. There was a gorgeous Azalea which is now living in the front garden between us and our neighbours........

It is now surrounded by Busy Lizzies, also from the mystery bundle. I’ve also planted Carnations, Lupins, Senetti and Gazanias. The white Geraniums have yet to be potted up and I’ve also got to plant the Dahlia tubers. My tomato and pumpkin seeds have done done brilliantly well and have now been potted up...........

Hubby’s 50th birthday was not quite as we planned, obviously. We were going out for a meal with extended family members, but instead we had a zoom party with about 15 people! He also decided to have two party games with prizes. Virtual Pass the Parcel and Musical Hands on your Heads, absolute chaos! I personally thought he was mad, but it was his party! Anyway, he had a great day, which is that mattered.

There’s been a lot of baking going on. My hubby has moaned about all the cakes and his waistline, but it hasn’t stopped him eating them, haha! A simple Victoria sandwich filled with jam.....

Lemon drizzle tray bake.....

Apple slice.....

Cheese scones......

Homemade bread to go with homemade spicy parsnip soup.....

Plain scones for VE Day celebrations.........

We decorated our house with bunting made from a Union Jack pvc tablecloth.......

Many neighbours decorated their houses and we all came out at 11am for the two minutes silence. At 3pm, Winston Churchill’s speech, we came out to support our next door neighbour. He’s young and was in the Marines (he was medically discharged due to a fractured spine). He put his uniform on, stood to attention during the speech and afterwards toasted a Marine friend of his who had died a couple of weeks ago in training. It was incredibly moving, and we also toasted the end of the speech and his friend. At 4pm, we all sat out, at safe distances, listening to 1940s music, scoffed lots of scones, jam and cream. The odd gin and tonic, in my case, was partaken too (it was the sun making me squint, not the gin!).......

After our evening walks, my evenings have consisted of hubby and I doing lots of live quizzes on YouTube, we’ve been catching up with some of our favourite series too. Whilst we’ve been watching tv, I’ve been knitting for the neo natal department at my daughter’s friend’s hospital. These are the sets so far, they’re so tiny!......

Our road’s WhatsApp community group is going from strength to strength. Shopping is being left on different doorsteps, as is wool ( I have a huge stash!) and several neighbours will be hopefully growing lots of tomatoes from the plants I’ve dropped off too.

So the epic post is over and I hope you’re still with me! I’ll now catch up with reading all your blogs!  Hope you’re all keeping well, thank you for popping by, cheerio for now, Ann x