The Wedding!

The Reception venue changed three weeks before my son Mr J married the former Ms M. At  times it rained. But did any of this spoil the day. No it didn’t. This is probably the most informal, and finally relaxed , fun wedding I have ever been too. Without more ado here are the photos, oh and by the way, there was no official photographer, no speeches , bar a thank you from my son, and dogs came too. So with thanks to Mr T, Mrs T , Mr G, Mrs N and Mr E with just three of my pictures, this is the wedding with a village fair theme. Thank you Shipton under Wychwood.

Best day of 2017, yet.

 

Day in the life of a hedgehog rescue

I found this amazing blogger during 30 days wild. Just so full of admiration for her work for hedgehogs. Hoping to attend her open day next month. Do check out her jewellery which looks fabulous.

Little Silver Hedgehog

I’ve started to write this blog about 100 times and failed. That tells you quite a bit about a day in the life of a hedgehog rescue! Well, no two days are the same but let me give you a secret glimpse into a day here.

6.00am – Get up and go and check all the patients to see who has survived the night. Collect up food bowls, empty uneaten food and soak them in sterilising liquid. Check on the wild hedgehogs in the garden and top up their food bowls.

There is always piles of washing to be done

6.15am – Grab a quick breakfast on the go

6.30am Weight checks for all hedgehogs. Check list of who needs which medicines. Give all treatments. Some hedgehogs may require 3 or more different medications. Hand feed hoglets. Update all medical records. Clean all cages and replace newspaper and blankets. Put…

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One a week photo challenge- Cache

I had to look up the word cache in my very old Oxford pocket dictionary. it read “store of food left behind for future use by explorers, place for the store”.

I found one, or near enough to one in this part of the world, in All Saints Sinnington,

I was exploring and this had been left, so I bought one and it is jolly nice.

Please leave a link to your cache in the comments below.

Next week’s prompt is LANE.

Happy Snapping!

Sew, Knit and Natter Friday.

Heading full tilt towards the wedding weekend now. Getting excited!

Mr E has a 3D printer which I haven’t mentioned before. He’s made a few bit and pieces for the greenhouse and fixed the parcel shelf on my car. He has even made a Princess crown and a Minecraft sword! He recently found some minecraft cookie cutters. Could I make some cookie mixture if he printed them off. I asked if the designer of the cutters had made some cookies and could I see the picture/ have their recipe. No all the designer had done was print them. I agreed to give them a go using a gingerbread men mixture. One of them worked and the other , well it proved hard to get the dough out of the cutter.

That is the Minecraft axe cutter.

And these are my biscuits, which taste nicer than they look. All of this has used up a lot of time this week. However, the flamingo fabric arrived.

And sewing began

It is circular as we suspected, and next it is the ZIP. I have watched a lot of You Tube. I now know the difference between a concealed zip and an invisible one. Who knew that there was so much to zips. I have read lots of instructions. They read far more complicated than they are to look at. One book said do not read all the instructions at once, it is too confusing, read the first one, do it, then the second and so on. The book was written ages before the internet was born. So I am almost ready to begin, in August, when I have done everything else and can take my time.

I finished the tank top. Look at the neat neck-band, that is thanks to everyone who gave me their tips over the last one. I do listen! Not certain what I shall knit next. A bright something for Master T or a little something for new baby, what do you think?

I am going to be very busy till August, so may not post much in the next week, but I shall still be reading my favourite blogs.

Till next time, have a great weekend, and Be Happy! X

One a week photo challenge- Waste

Hedge clippings and general pruning debris, going to the re-cycling cnetre near us very soon, where they will not be going to waste.

Please leave a link to your Waste either at Wild Daffodil and/or in the comments below.

Next weeks prompt is Cache.

Happy Snapping!

One a week Photo Challenge-Pair

Parga, Greece June 2017

Please leave a link to your Pair either in the comments or over at Wild Daffodil

Next weeks prompt is Waste.

Happy Snapping!

 

17 for 2017- June

June turned into a wonderful and very busy month, but how did the goals progress?

17 swims- lots on holiday but only counting them as 1 as it is regular swimming I want to concentrate on. Two visits to the pool in town, so that gives a total of 8. Half way through the year, so on target for this one.

16 hour long walks- 6 this month, giving me a total of 21. Goal Achieved

15 books from the heap by the bed read-One more this month- total is 12

14lbs lost- still going in the right direction

13 cards made- 1 more made, total is 9, more double-sided tape needed and then maybe there will be two more soon.

12 posts about local villages- total unchanged at three

11 days out- tempted to double count something here but I won’t, so leaving this unchanged at 6

10 new things tried- 30 days wild challenge-I really enjoyed taking part in this challenge. I had it all planned out and then we went on holiday to Greece unexpectedly, so I had some days wild there. I wrote a diary every day during the month. Sometimes all I managed was the 15 minutes outside I had promised myself I would do as a minimum. Sometimes it was dodging the showers. I can point to the big things I did like walking through a river gorge waist-high in water which was brilliant, but I think it was the 15 minutes outside and the quiet observations that were the best. Seeing Fred our blackbird with white feathers feeding his fledging on the path by the French windows, or the frogs no bigger than my thumb nail by the pond and in the greenhouse. Being part of the face book group, who knew we had so many bugs in this country, or reading how to tell the difference between healthy and unhealthy hedgehog poo! My sense of well-being has soared. Next year I will be more prepared and do more to help wild life. And who knew taking photos of wild life was so hard. Whilst in the river I had a go at building a cairn.

As I lifted the stones I could not believe tiny fishes no longer than my little finger nail or wider than a hair pin and so transparent, and then a tadpole

Ha! At least you can see him! But in a river, I thought the water had to be still for frogs, not running strongly. Such a lot to see and learn.

I came back from holiday and two days later had a day out at my first ever Family History Fair.

Here being opened by the East Yorkshire Town Crier, from Bridlington I think he said. So  that is 7 new things tried.

9 crochet/ knitting projects-achieved a while back

8 craft projects-still not one

7 Sewing projects- still at 5.

6 non fiction books read- 5 still

5 family history questions answered– still 2

4 good sort outs-3 still

3 interesting finds-1

2 picnics- 0, I have eaten outside but not purpose made picnics, buying a cheese pie from a bakers is not what I meant!

1 boat ride-0

0 craft supplies purchased unless to replace used products. We all know that this is an epic FAIL, too much yarn bought.

So some things are well on course and some things have yet to be started. July is going to be all about a certain wedding I think, but there are still 6 months to go. Plenty of time! Hope your goals are progressing well. The main thing is to have FUN!

 

 

One a week Photo Challenge- Turn

I had such a lot of fun with this prompt on holiday in Greece. I am going to put my favourite photo last.

Love this last one!

Please leave a link to your Turn photos over at Wild Daffodil and /or the comments below. We love seeing your pictures in the one a week photo challenge. Hard to believe we are now over the half way mark!

Next week’s prompt is Pair.

Happy Snapping!

June books.

It seems that June was a good month for reading, lots of really good books. And one gone from the heap by the bed. And something more for the 30 days wild challenge.

Alan Bennett- The Lady in the Van- extracts from his diary concerning Miss Shepherd who parked her camper van in his garden and lived there for the next 20 years. Also a film of the same name with Maggie Smith. (One from the heap by my bed).

Tracy Chevalier- The Virgin Blue- a thoroughly good read, which reminded me a lot of the books by Kate Mosse. Set in France and Switzerland. across two time periods, highlighting the religious conflict between Catholics and Huguenots.  One of the best books I have read this year.

Ann Cleeves- Cold Earth-she never disappoints, one from the Shetland series

Gerald Durrell- The Corfu Trilogy- My reading matter on the Kindle on holiday in Greece. Fitted in perfectly with my Go Wild Challenge. The books formed the basis of The Durrells, a TV programme. The books were very funny indeed and had me laughing out loud many ,many times. Lots of natural history , but, the Durrells lived in Corfu in the 1930’s when the attitude to natural history is very different to what it is now. The TV series completely changed this aspect of the book. Gerry in book raids birds nests for eggs, steals baby birds to hand rear, steals a tortoise egg and blows it for his collection, mounts butterflies and moths etc etc. Never the less a really good read and perfect for this holiday whilst taking the 30 days wild challenge.

Susan Hill-From the Heart-Really enjoyed this book, my favourite this year, so far. Set I think in the 1950’s and covering topics of female education, the love that dares not speak its name, birth and adoption.

Susan Hill- In the Springtime of the Year- This was written in 1970, and so is an early novel from this author. I found it languishing in the Yorkshire section of the Library, no idea why, it seems wrong as most people wouldn’t look in Local History/ walks/ countryside for a novel. I am so glad I found it lurking there. The protagonist is a 19-year-old bride. The book themes are love, grief and survival. I would guess the setting is between the wars or immediately afterwards. The writing is sublime, the lyrical quality of the descriptions of the countryside are beautiful. I loved this book, so much so it makes it onto my top 100 list. The best book, even better than the previous one, this year.. so far

I kept a diary during June for the 30 days wild challenge. I was no way as thorough as I was when I kept this nature diary for three school terms aged 11, eventually winning the nature diary prize which was open to the top two junior years. Mum kept it safe for me and it is rather a lovely thing to have and to look back on, during June.

So anyone read any good books lately? I am re reading The Mayor of Casterbridge on the Kindle. I studied it for A levels, and I must admit it is far more enjoyable to read for pleasure than to read for an exam.

After thoughts. Just want to say a big thank you for all the encouraging comments on Friday’s post. I am down in Wales at the moment, visitng my Mum and brother and feeling proud of myself in a B&B . Mr E is at home doing chap things, mowing the lawn, setting up minature railways at an agricultue show and going to car boot sales. He lent me his internet gizmo and after some effort tonight I have managed to get it working, ALL BY MYSELF, hence this post at a late hour by me. Had a super day today with Mum and brother who ( brother and sil that is, not mum) , has just moved into a new house but new bedroom furniture not yet delivered, hence the B&B. What I am really wanting to say is that I have spent the day watching buzzards and red kites. No photos, but what a way to end the 30 days wild challenge with. And there is hot chocolate to drink in the room. Hurrah.