This is one of my least favourite jobs in the garden. I quite enjoy weeding and cutting the lawns (when I get into it) but collecting leaves is just a chore. And there are thousands of leaves fall onto my garden from the trees behind it. So I fill the “green bin” with leaves and…
Put up the Christmas Tree
So on Wednesday 2nd December a friend and I go out and buy our Christmas trees – hers is a big one with no pot and mine is a small one in a pot that I hope will last at least 2 years and possibly 3 or 4. Together we put hers up and then…
Go to a funeral and a Christening in one week
Funerals and Christenings are not regular activities so to have both in one week was “different”. Lesley was a “gym changing room buddy” from about 12 years ago, but I lost track of her when I moved away and failed to meet up with her again when I moved back. It was a shock to…
Look at the blood super-moon!
I think that was how I heard it described. Basically it was an eclipse of the moon, when the Earth comes between the Moon and the Sun. Light is refracted round the Earth and the Moon appears red. The “super” bit is because it occurred at a time when the Moon was closest to the…
Go on (part of) another university reunion.
This year the reunion was at a hotel in Birdlip – the highest point of the Cotswolds, I believe. I only went for part of it as it was quite close – only about 1½ to 2 hours drive away – depending on how many tractors and horse boxes one gets behind. Most people went…
Saying “Goodbye” to Archie.
Archie, having reached his 15th birthday started to go downhill a bit. His bowel movements became a bit uncontrolled and he couldn’t always manage overnight. His joints became worse and he found himself sitting down unexpectedly, more often. His owner eventually made the decision, with the vet, that it would be better to put him…
Go on holiday to Shropshire
Another walking holiday; same company (hf holidays) as usual but different location. I decided to go by train as that only involved one change and was probably about the same cost as petrol for the journey and the road route seemed quite complicated when I looked it up. Perhaps I should invest in a sat…
“Celebrate” the Magna Carta
As “we” have the best preserved copy of the Magna Carta and on June 15th it was 800 years since it was signed, there have been celebrations in the city. I can’t really imagine why. King John appealed to the pope and tore it up within 3 months and most of it is now totally…
More Knitting
A friend suggested that we got together to make a “Cosy for Christmas” – which is a sort of dressing gown made from knitted squares. I think we only started in November and as we needed either 79 or 112 squares we started knitting hard. It soon became apparent that we wouldn’t be able to…
Celebrate Archie’s Birthday
Archie was 15 – I am told that is 105 in dog years. He got six cards – not bad for a dog. He also got lots of presents – mostly treats of various sorts…….. The one from his “cousins” Phoebe and Rollo (spaniels) was a voucher and with that he got a new collar,…