Last weekend it was our Golden Retriever Billys 6th Birthday! Where has the time gone? It seems like only yesterday we bought home a little fluffy bundle of fun and mischief. He has grown into a lovely boy. So loving, and a real mummys boy.
He is still very cheeky and makes us smile every day. Of course, he celebrated with a run on the beach and lots of new teddies. Happy Birthday Billy-bubs!
As last weekend was a great weekend weather wise for my daughter and grandsons they were off to Benson skate park for another weekend adventure.
At the moment my son in law is deployed to Cyprus so family weekend outings are limited as my daughter does not drive.
So a walk from RAF Benson into Benson village and the skate park was in order. The boys slightly cheated as they went on their stunt scooters.l, stopping by the watercress beds which have large stepping stones, where Alfie decided to show off his press ups.
Then a game of Pooh sticks, although I think Harry was cheating as his was more like a log.
Finally at the skatepark they had a great time on their scooters, and a trip for a Maccy Ds before the journey back.
Its fair to say the boys were pooped out but loved every minute just being outdoors instead of at home gaming all weekend.
Just as well I can see the beauty in the small things like this pretty garlic vine that has wound its way up through the trees on the neighbours property.
All the way up there is this pop of purple and I never get tired looking at it when it flowers.
I needed something to cheer me up as it has been a horrible time lately. My kids father passed away, my daughter split with her partner and one of my external hard drives that had a lifetime of work and memories/photos decided it didnt want to play anymore.
Was working fine on the Thursday night and simply wasnt there on Friday morning when I turned the computer on.
I have had it in to a data recovery place and they have said nothing is recoverable. To say I am devastated is an understatement.
I will have to go through Messenger and Facebook to see what is on there but it is going to take weeks to get photos off so I can save them all in one place again.
I have to start from scratch to make stuff to start doing CUP designs again now too.
... was once again a supporting act at the race meeting this weekend! lol For once the weather was lovely, which is just as well as we were there for most of the day with deckchairs, picnic blankets and picnic bags etc! lol Both of my youngest grandchildren were competing this time in a Mini league between a number of running clubs.
Austin, whos just 8 and has only been training and competing for a couple of months was in the Chest Press (a standing throw of a medicine type ball! lol) and he also ran in the 100m and 200m races.
He was soo disappointed at not being placed in the first 3 but he did really well in all his events and every competitor, whether placed or not, gains points for the team.
He cheered up dramatically when chips followed by ice cream were mentioned though! lol Olivia age 11 ran in the 400m and 800m and won both her races ... in fact in both races she went straight into the lead after the staggered start, stayed in the lead and won them both by a country mile!
In fact in the 800 m race she was in front by more than 100m!!
Now the rain is giving us a break i am busy getting my front garden ready for the competition, i was one of the winners the year before last, It is Hard work and you never know if what you have grown for it will be gone over by Judging or not even open yet , This year i am doing a white Pink and red theme on one side of the garden .The judging might also coincide with my Holiday , So many thing could go wrong , but it does not matter to me if i win or not because so many people stop to admire my garden it makes it all worth while , but of course if you win its a Bonus .
After a lazy morning with mummy, while daddy had to go out, the boys were really happy to go to the beach after lunch.
As the weather was so nice, they both went straight into the sea for a splash, and Sam remembered how well he could swim.
The only trouble is that once they are wet, it takes them hours to dry. Finally, after dinner, they were almost dry. But they had an important job to do first. We put their leads back on and walked to the polling station to put our cross on a piece of paper.
Good boys.
Look out for some really beautiful new mini kits coming from me in the next few days. You will love them.
Im sure the majority of us are familiar with the YMCA charity and even more familiar with the song by the Village People.
Today the YMCA covers a lot of ground with what they provide, and one aspect provided by them is Airplay, which are youth clubs on RAF bases and RAF Benson is one of those camps.
This is a great idea to occupy the children on the bases which usually are in the middle of nowhere and limited access to other facilities[.
Ive mentioned many times my daughter lives on the camp as my son-in-law is in the RAF.
When a vacancy came up to be a Youth Leader my daughter applied for the job and was successful. Whilst she is a childminder through the day, the clubs are on 3 evenings incorporating Ben Club for young children, Intermediates and Seniors.
The children get to do all kinds of activities and there is also an annual camp. Many courses are provided for Youth Leaders including Youth Leader Qualifications.
While at times working with various age groups can be challenging, after just being in the post for a few months she really enjoys her work.
… have always loved to go for a walk and often do a 10 or 12 mile walk in the lovely countryside and country parks we have in our area of North Nottinghamshire/Derbyshire!
We have been lucky to have a number of warm sunny days so Ive been lucky enough to get out and about quite a few times.
Its so nice to see the lovely signs of Spring alongside the paths and in the meadows.
When my daughter used to come up when I lived in Hervey Bay, we used to love just having some girl time and go for a walk out on the 868m pier.
So this week my daughter and I wanted/needed our girl time again as its been a big week.
We went down to Wynnum which is a seaside suburb here. They do have a pier there which is more a jetty than a pier but its only half the length of our favourite Hervery Bay pier.
We parked up and went to the Take Away to get some lunch and then walked up to the end where there are 2 pavilions with tables and seating.
My daughter came prepared and had the little boom box so we had music, and sat there and ate our lunch.
Beautiful view and there was a heap of sail boats out and a big sailing ship (Endeavour style) out on the water.
On shore the sea gulls were waiting for handouts and werent too impressed when all I gave them was a piece of shredded lettuce!
After sitting chatting for a couple of hours with the sea breeze in our faces, we headed home. It was such a fantastic few hours I got to spend with my gorgeous girl.
You may remember last ear, my son and his family welcomed a stray 4-week-old kitten into their home and she turned out to be a he.
So Kit, as he is now named, is very settled and has made friends with some of the neighbourhood cats.
There is one in particular that has been hanging out in their garden and next door for a while, tentatively popping in and out of the back door to steal Kits food.
Clearly starving and wanting to be in their house, but a bit too scared to hang around. So they caught her the other day and A took it her the vet, to get a check-up, wormed, de-flead etc.
The vet thinks she is about 6 months old and very cuddly.
She will be staying at the vet cattery for a little while before she goes home to them because…THIS KITTEN IS PREGNANT AND HAVING KITTENS!!
The poor little love is just a baby herself. But she will be so loved and looked after in her new home. Meet Socks!
After all the awful weather weve had its always great to make the most of the days which are dry.
My daughter and grandchildren did this over the weekend.
Its so easy to let kids play on their PlayStations etc., and its good to get them out in the fresh air.
Local to the RAF Base where they live is what is known as the cress beds. Its where watercress grows naturally further down stream in is a good old fashioned swing across the stream for the kids to play on.
Harry and Alfie loved this, it is one of their favourite outdoors activities, although Alfie did lose his shoe which landed in a bed of nettles which he tried to get out without being stung.
He did get some minor irritation but successfully retrieved his shoe. Harrys face says it all of the fun he and Alfie had which cost nothing.
... went to cheer for my youngest granddaughter, Olivia, last Saturday. She was competing in the inter Club 800 meter race at the Berry Hill Club in Mansfield. She took the lead straight away after the staggered start and was closely followed by another girl.
They both led the way for the whole 800 meters with Olivia leading all the way. The last 100 meters Olivia changed gear and pulled away from the girl following her and easily won the race ... and even better she got a huge new PB (Personal Best)!!
We are all soo proud of her!!
We are looking after the grand daughters partners dog for a few weeks. Partners father who normally has the dog is in the process of moving house so until then weve had Tank here.
The kids said he was the biggest softie and wed love him and once he got to know us, yes he is a big softie.
Hes beautiful. Loves the cats and sleeps with grand daughters cat on their bed at night.
We brought him a big bone to keep him occupied during the day while the kids were at work (he does miss them when they go in the mornings and does the odd howl although he is getting better as he realizes they do come home at night time), and we showed the cats before giving to Tank.
Cats were a bit puzzled but the dog showed them how its done. Hes been chewing on it for a couple of days now and forget the toys, the bone is the focus now.
Going to miss him when he goes because he really is a gorgeous loving boy.
After deciding to replace the old double bed with a new mattress, we went to our local bedding store. We tried out every mattress in the shop and found that we preferred the feel of a king-size bed.
One bed, in particular, was so comfortable that I almost fell asleep on it. My husband agreed, and we ended up ordering a king-size bed with drawers, a big padded headboard, and a fantastic mattress.
On the delivery day, we realized that our dogs beds wouldnt fit under the new bed, where I usually put them during the day, as it has drawers.
So, I stacked their beds in the spare room and brought them back into our bedroom at night. The other day, I saw Billy trying to sleep on all three beds, which reminded me of the sorry of The Princess and the Pea He looked so cute.
Its been quite a rollercoaster couple of months, especially concerning my health and a shock diagnosis of Chronic Myeloid leukaemia.
Whilst everything is being treated well, extreme fatigue sometimes affects my ability to do things on some days.
However, I remain positive and continue to design and of course crochet, although it is taking me a little longer to do.
My two recent makes are these dolls which I loved doing. Normally I would be preparing for a spring craft fair, but I am unable to do this one as I am still getting used to my chemo medication.
I am aiming to do the summer one, and will certainly have plenty of stock to sell.