21 in 21 - Weekly Photo #29 - w/c 19/7/21

Despite it being very hot this week I did manage to get out for a walk on Wednesday evening.  It was just after 9 pm but it was still light enough.  The moon was already visible though:

Not quite a full moon but nearly.

Friday's Fave Five - 23/7/21

Goodness me, where did the week go?  It doesn't seem a week since I last posted but it obviously is.  Time to look back on the blessings of the week and then share them over at Susanne's site:  Living to Tell the Story.

Here are mine:

1)  Cooler weather today.  We have had temperatures hovering just below 30⁰ C this week.  It hasn't felt much cooler overnight either so sleeping has been difficult.  I find it exhausting but today we're down to low 20s and this evening when I went for a walk I needed a cardigan!

2)  Flowers in my front flower bed

I had no idea what that bush would produce but aren't they lovely?

Having done a google search I think it's a Yucca plant.

3)  A successful trip to the optician.  This was well overdue but you know, this COVID thing has really disrupted everything.  My prescription definitely needed changing.  It was a new optician for me, just a 10 minute walk away.  More high-tech than our previous one.  On top of all the usual tests I also had a scan done of my eyes.  Everything looked good so now I just have to wait for my new glasses.

4)  A negative COVID test for Grandson Rory.  There has been a virus going around his nursery which is not COVID but he'd been doing a lot of coughing so they decided to err on the side of caution and get him tested.  They're flying to the states at the end of the month so they're being extra careful at the moment, especially as our case numbers are high again and restrictions have just been eased!  It will be the first time his other grandparents will have seen Vinny.

5)  These:

Yes sometimes it's the little things.  I really need a haircut but first I need to research the local salons.  Anyway my fringe has now got to the awkward length of being too long so that it gets in my eyes but not long enough to tuck behind my ears!  At the opticians today I had to keep holding it back while the tests were done.  So annoying.  I need a hairclip I thought.  I used to have lots of different ones and combs but when we moved I got rid of them because I never used them but..... I kept these!  I'm not sure the clipped back look is particularly flattering but I'm past caring at my age lol.

So those are my 5 of this week.

The mystery identity of the bird I spotted last week has also been solved:

It's a green woodpecker.

Have a good weekend all.  Ours is forecast to be a wet one.  

Friday's Fave Five - 16/7/21

Well it's Friday again and time to look back on the blessings of the week and then head over to Susanne's page to share them with others.  (Here - Living to Tell the Story )

1)  Spending time at my daughter's helping to do some sorting as they prepare to move house.  So glad I'm retired!

2)  Spending time with Grandkids - we saw all four London based little ones this week.  Of course we miss the other 2 but hopefully we'll see them again too.  

Can't believe Ella will be 8 months tomorrow.

3)  A negative COVID test.  I agreed to take part in a research project which involved taking a test and sending it off.  I did the test last Saturday and the result came through on Tuesday as negative.  Of course it does rely on me having administered the test correctly.  (Test results at the test centres for anyone with symptoms come through much quicker.)

4)  We had torrential rain during the week but fortunately we weren't flooded as some areas of London were and even those areas weren't as badly hit as some areas of Europe.  And now we have lots of sunshine.  It's definitely summer!

5)  I'm keeping up my walking but the hot weather means I'm tending to walk in the evening when it's cooler.  I managed just over 3 miles tonight and spotted this little fellow:

No idea what bird it is but the red stripe on its head caught my eye.  Name that bird anyone?

Have a good weekend all.

21 in 21 - Weekly photo #28 - w/c 12/7/21

Another few from the lake this week taken on my evening walk:

Good to see how well the cygnets are doing.  The heron was a bit camera shy.

21 in 21 - Weekly photo #27 - w/c 5/7/21

I took these last week when I was out for a walk one evening in the park.  There was suddenly a flurry of parakeets across the park and they landed in this tree nearby.  Hard to spot all of them because they blend in so well with the tree!  (And my phone camera is not great when zooming in.)

Friday's Fave Five - 9/7/21

Susanne at Living to tell the Story reminds us every Friday to look back on the blessings of the week.  Here are mine:

1)  A better week.  I've been getting back into my regular routines and walking so I feel much better for that.  And I'm here on time for once!

2)  A trip to the library.  Some for me and some for the Grandkids!

3)  Sun between the rain showers.  There have been a lot of showers this week but in between we've had some nice spells of sunshine and it's been nice and warm rather than unbearably hot.  Hubby even managed to get the grass cut before it got too wet.

4)  I survived a whole day babysitting Vinny.  My DIL is back at work now and Daddy is home looking after the kids.  Today however he's gone off to Liverpool for a stag weekend so I had Vinny all day.  The first time I've done that but he was really good.  He's crawling now and trying to pull himself up on everything so he needs watching every second.  He also doesn't like to nap for long - he managed 35 minutes twice today so not a lot of rest for Nanny!  We went out to the shops this morning and then to the park in the afternoon to break the day up.

A ride in the buggy helps with napping!

5)  Convenience meals!  Hubby has been out with uni friends today but obviously I didn't want to have to come home and cook so I grabbed a dinner I could just throw in the oven for tonight.  I'll probably wash it down with a glass of wine!

Have a good weekend all.

New link for following by e-mail - 5/7/21

Blogger uses will be familiar with the news that the feedburner option to follow my posts will no longer be available.

But......if you're used to getting e-mails telling you about my new posts you can still do this through follow.it.  Just sign up on the link on the right hand side of my blog and you should (hopefully if I've done everything right 🤞) receive e-mail notifications as before.

If you have time to let me know if it works okay I'd appreciate any feedback.

Thanks

I'm still here! 4/7/21

Firstly happy July 4th to all my American friends.  Hope you've had a good day today.

Another week without a proper blog.  I didn't even do the regular Friday's Fave Five this week.  I think the infection I had plus the strong course of antibiotics really took it out of me both physically and mentally.  I've been quite tired and my stomach has been quite unsettled so I haven't been doing very much at all.

I have read quite a few books.  I've watched quite a bit of TV and of course there have been certain football games that just had to be seen.  I'm not a great football fan but there definitely is an air of expectation at the moment regarding England and the European championships.  They've reached the semi-finals and are playing well.

And of course we're now going into the second week of the Wimbledon Tennis so another excuse for ignoring the to do list.

Hopefully this week will be more productive and I'll be able to get out for some walks - weather permitting.  It hasn't felt like summer this week!  I'm also planning a trip to the library.  I've only got one library book left to read plus I want to get a few different ones for the Grandchildren when they come.  

Have a good week all.

 

21 in 21 - Weekly Photo #26 - w/c 28/6/21

 

Bit of a cheat this week - but I did photograph the photograph! (Although not very well.)

Rory's recent photo shoot at nursery - a lovely birthday gift for me.  Too cute.

 

21 in 21 - Weekly Photo #25 - w/c 21/6/21

One from my birthday last week.  4 of my favourite little people.