George’s Weekend at Bay View

All summer William and I have been promising George and Nicholas that we would take them to Bay View for a weekend.   Last weekend the timing was right and George finally found himself at Bay View with us.  Nicholas will have his turn in a fortnight’s time.

Fortunately the weather was superb and George and Charlie were able to have fun together in the fresh air.

Saturday afternoon we walked down along the coastal path.

Saturday night there was a kid’s disco in the Bay View Bar.  Wasn’t only the kids who strutted their stuff.  Caroline and I worked up a sweat too.  And that boy, Charlie?  Well, he really got into it!  George and I had tons of fun “jiving” while grandad was able to watch the football on TV in the bar.

After all the dancing we took a cold drink outside.  Love the way Charlie is sitting with his legs crossed and arms folded.

Caroline and I watched the sunset while the boys played.

Sunday morning a stroll down to Archer’s Cafe.

It’s the done thing now to have breakfast at Archer’s Cafe. This weekend was no exception.

You can’t go wrong with a bacon sandwich.  George had an egg with his.

While William went with a Full English.

Caroline enjoys a latte.

Fun on the beach after breakfast.

A donkey ride for Charlie on the way back to Bay View.

Synchronised walking is always good for a giggle.

Charlie watching as George leaps toward him from stone to stone.

And gets out of the way just in time.

Then back again…

… and Charlie follows suit.

I don’t know what to say about this picture so I’ll just say nothing.  I kinda like it though.

So that was George’s weekend at Bay View.   I know he enjoyed it and I’m glad about that after him wanting to go with us for so long.  I know Charlie liked having him there.  Charlie had said to Caroline that he was going to treat George like his big brother for the weekend.  How sweet was that?

Well, the summer may be over but we can continue to use our holiday home on wheels for another month yet.  I’m looking forward to seeing the autumn colours in a corner of England with so many trees.

Until next time,

Recently In My World…

My six year old grandson, Nicholas, now plays for his local football team.  This is his first season and I think this was the third match they had played when Nicholas was awarded Man of the Match.  He’s holding his reward, a voucher for a Happy Meal.  MacDonald’s sponsor the team you see.  Well done, Nicholas!!

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Wednesday afternoon I met up with my friend Sandra at the lake for coffee and a chat.  The weather was coolish but not too cool that we didn’t go for a walk along the lakeside.  Sandra spotted all the ripe blackberries as we sauntered along.  I think she must’ve been a girl guide once upon a time as she came prepared with bags in her handbag and collected a ton of the …

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…juicy fruits.  Naturally I helped her, you wouldn’t believe how exciting it can be, blackberrying.  We had a wonderful time!

I’ve been busy on the sewing machine again and made a few cushion covers for Caroline.

Victoria and I have had a trip to Costco together recently and one of the things I bought was this magazine.  It’s a good read and the photography is excellent.  I think I like the pictures as much if not more than the articles.

Saturday afternoon Victoria rang, did I want to walk round the res with her and the dogs.  The weather forecast had been for a return to summer.  This is what the weather was like early afternoon, miserable to say the least.   Definitely not summery!

Fortunately it did get better as the day wore on and turned into quite a balmy evening.  Which was good as that evening we were all invited to my niece Bethany’s 18th birthday celebration.  It was a fun night and we all had a great time.  I didn’t take any pictures but I do have this family photo taken in June this year.  Bethany is on the left.  Happy 18th Beth!

Sunday the promised summery weather arrived.  Caroline, Charlie and I spent a couple of hours wandering through Ealees.  Stepping stones are always good fun.

So is trekking through the woods.

And after all that trekking through the forest an ice cream was definitely needed.

Onto yesterday now and almost up to date but first a little moan.  The local council is replacing all our old street lamps.  I like our old street lamps.  They give off a nice warm orange glow on a dark  night.  The new ones are a brittle bright white!  It’s like walking about in daylight!  To my mind that’s not the way it should be.  If it’s night-time then let it be dark with just a warm glow from the street lights to stop us stumbling around but not bright enough to read a book by!  I hope there was a very good reason to make this change.  I dread to think of the cost.  Ok, moan over with.  Normal service will now be resumed.

I took these pictures as I continued my walk around the neighbourhood with Muffin, our little dog.  The air was very still, very calm and peaceful.  Birdsong the only sound.  A lovely day to be outdoors.

The peace and tranquillity was affecting these fellas too.  Seemed like they were having a lie in.

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Caroline rang me at lunchtime to ask if I would like to join her and Trev at the little Greek restaurant in our little town where they were sipping a latte.  I joined them in less than fifteen minutes!  

And what a difference a day makes. Today it was blue skies and sunshine.  Yesterday’s calm was lovely but so was today’s sunshine!  William was with me this morning.  He’s a bit under the weather just now with one or two health issues but thankfully a walk in the sunshine helped lift his spirits.

The horses were all wide awake this morning.  This beauty was even smiling for the camera!

I Think It’s Over.

Summer that is.  Garden flowers are drooping, the sun’s not shining quite as much and the nights are drawing in.  It was bound to happen sooner or later I suppose.  On the bright side autumn isn’t far way and I love autumn!

I was a bit under the weather yesterday and I didn’t feel like doing much so late afternoon I thought I’d go and sit in the garden for a bit to help clear my head of cobwebs.  I made a cup of tea, which I put in an insulated cup to keep it hot now that the temperatures have dropped, got my Kindle and made for the garden swing.  After a little while Lesley (good friend and next door neighbour) came round to join me.  Fresh air and a friendly face - I felt so much better by the time I went back in the house!

‘Twas my birthday on Friday.  Both of my girls came round to see me in the morning and wish me Happy Birthday.  It was then business as usual.  I had the grocery shopping to do but…

... before that I fitted in a light lunch in my favourite cafe.  Haven’t done that for a while  so it was a little treat.

When I returned home laden down with shopping bags a cheery sight greeted me on my doorstep.  Charlie and his daddy had been round after school with a miniature potted rose for me. So sweet!  Later Charlie came back with Caroline along with Victoria, and her crew plus my niece, Melissa and nephew, Jordan.  At George’s request they’d brought me a birthday cake.  Again, so sweet!  Sorry to say, no photos of this happy little birthday do.  It’s hard to take the photos when I’m the one being sung to.

On Sunday William and I did something we don’t do very often.  We went shopping together.  Like most men, shopping isn’t top of William’s Fun To Do List but for some reason when I said I wanted to go the Trafford Centre shopping mall he said he’d come with me. 

Starbucks was the first stop. 

Then my favourite shop. , John Lewis.  We’re beginning to need new living room furniture at our house.  We both liked this set up in the shop but realised when we got home it just wouldn’t suit our living room. 

Never mind, it was fun looking.  Looking at his face I’m not sure Billy agreed!  He cheered up soon after this.  It was lunchtime.

My Denby was on display.  I don’t have a teapot and would quite like one.  At £55 I didn’t buy one!  Perhaps they’ll have a sale on them and I’ll think about it then.

Elephants.  Colourful elephants.  Quite a lot of them dotted throughout the mall.  You can read about them here.

Until next time,

Hobbies, Crafts and Cards

As of Wednesday this week all three of my little treasures are back in school and more than anything else that seems to signal the end of summer.  As I type it’s only 8.10 p.m. and already it’s getting dark out.  Even so it’s been a lovely day today and all the more precious because I know these dry and mild days are numbered.  There again, who knows, perhaps we’ll get an Indian Summer – now wouldn’t that be nice!

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Last Thursday all three boys were here for a couple of hours together.  George had brought a little tub of glitter with him and that prompted him to get the craft stuff out.  I found some more tubs of glitter in the cupboard and for an hour or so their world was full of paper, glue and glitter.  So was the floor by the time they’d finished!

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George slept over on Friday night.  Looking on Google for a new card game for two people to play he found a game called James Bond.  We both quickly got the hang of it and were hooked.  We played it a lot!

When granddad came home from work on Saturday we made haste for Hebden Bridge where we had a tapas lunch.  By complete coincidence George and I were both dressed in orange and navy blue.  I thought that was good enough reason for a photo so William obliged.  Look how tall that boy is.  He’s growing like a weed!

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Saturday night it was Nicholas’s turn to sleepover which involved more card playing.  A lot of card playing.  This time it was Go Fish, which granddad played with us and Strip Jack Naked.  Nicholas was in his element.  Look at that happy little face!

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The crochet blanket I had been working on over the last few months is now finished and has found its way to Caroline’s house where it’s looking good draped over her cream leather couch.  Actually in this photo it’s not quite finished and had yet to have the edging completed.  Actually I think I’ll come back and replace this photo with one of the finished product.  Anyway, moving on…

I have now started another blanket.  This one is for Victoria.  I am thoroughly enjoying this crochet hobby.  This “granny squares” pattern doesn’t need a lot of brain power and although it’s repetitive it’s not boring.  Using happy colours like these how could it ever be boring?  Therapeutic more like.

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I’ve also been busy with the sewing machine lately.

I’ve made this Union Jack cushion and very pleased with it I am too!

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And just because I like it, I want to include this photo of Caroline’s dog, Harley.  He spent a couple of afternoons with us last week instead of being in the house on his own while Caroline and Trev were working and Charlie was here with me.  He’s a sweet dog.