Friday, February 14, 2014

Rocking your world 2014; week 7

Hello everyone. Once again I am a bit late writing this. I have been on the telephone to my daughter-in-law for ages, and that delayed me, but it is so good to chat! Now I shall scribble away so I can link up before midnight with Annie's Friday Smiles, and Virginia's blog at Celtic House.
I am starting with my Friday Smile for Annie's link up this week, in fact I have two.

Firstly I had the lovely news on Monday, that our niece had given birth to baby Isaac Flynn. Isn't he lovely? He actually makes us great-aunt and uncle at least 52 times. (It could be a few more as I have lost track a bit with my brothers family)! He has a big brother Max who, fortunately,  is delighted with him.


And here is my second smile. It is a good few years, (27 in fact as my son celebrates his 27th birthday next week), since my washing line last looked like this.
As a part of my Knit for Africa project, I collect new and second-hand babygros and vests to send with our knitting, so the babies can have something cotton between their skin and the wool. Recently I was handed a huge bag of tiny baby garments that were left after a sale, but they looked a little bit 'grey', and I put them away in the garage until we had a sunny day. So this week I put them all through the hottest wash on my machine, with a sachet of whitener, and they came up so bright and clean. I pegged them out, three lines of them, and it really made me smile to see them all blowing in the breeze. The neighbours must have wondered.......!
So what else has made me smile this week. 
My friend Julie came over to see me and we went out for lunch together, and then we walked up to Cati's house so Julie could give her a donation of 750€ for ASADIS. The money was what we has raised at our choir concerts around Christmas.
On Sunday, after our morning service, we had a lunch
together before our annual business meeting. It was very informal but it is good to keep up with what is happening. For the lunch some of us made soup and others made desserts. I was asked to make tomato soup and I took it in my large slow cooker, so it could be plugged in to keep warm during the service. We do have a small kitchen area at church, but no cooker. Chris helped me to wrap it up and stand it in a large plastic carrier on the floor behind my seat in the car. I have a half hour drive to church and I have never before noticed just how many hills there are on the route. At each one I thought "Oh no. That's more of my soup gone". But even with the very high speed bumps on the last road, and the bumpy unfinished surface of the car park, I arrived without spilling a drop. My slow cooker was empty for the return journey so no worries that time.
Here are a couple of photos of the dogs. I was sitting out side with them one afternoon and I noticed how Kim's fur has changed. He looks a bit piebald in this photo as he still has just a little of his baby fur to lose from his sides. The rest of him is quite grey now, the only thing that stops him looking like a full-blood Alsatian. It is the usual colour for Mastiffs though and that is what the vet thinks he is crossed with. 
And the one thing that has really changed recently is
his tail. It is absolutely gorgeous now, thick and curly, but never still! It is a lethal weapon when he comes in the house, and clears any table top he passes near. We have to grab for cups, glasses, photos, or anything else that might be in range!
And here is our soppy Miki. I love this picture. The dogs only come round the back of the house for their meals, but one day I was busy doing some tidying up and I didn't immediately put them through the gate. When I walked round the corner of the house, there was Miki, sitting on the bench and just gazing out over the green zone.  She even shuffled along so I could sit beside her. I think she liked the chance to have her head higher than Kim's for once.
I made marmalade again this afternoon and then I
walked up to the adult learning centre to meet Cati. She had asked me to go to take photos of some of the children who have benefited from ASADIS. They were using the touch screen computer that the Lions Club helped them to buy. They have individual classes with their speech therapist who is also funded by ASADIS.
This is Cati's daughter having her lesson, and the little girl in the first photo is the one we were able to provide a walking frame for (again with a lot of help from the Lions), so she could move independently at school. This is why I like helping ASADIS, because we see what a difference it can make in the lives of these children, who would other wise get no help. I am, of course, again selling my  marmalade to raise funds for them.
On the way to see the children I took this photo of the Cabrera mountains. They looked so lovely in the afternoon sun.
By the time I walked home, they looked completely different. The sun was just going down so the sky had changed colour,  and the mountains were a patchwork of light and shadow.
And finally, of course we have a sky photo! This was the day I sat out with the dogs, and I stayed on the bench to watch the sun go down. There weren't many clouds so it wasn't a 'spectacular' sunset. but I spotted an airplane leaving a vapour trail that stood out bright white against what little cloud there was. 
I wondered whether it was full of holiday makers who had enjoyed a week in the sun, and didn't know what kind of devastation they were returning to. I am sure some of you have struggled to stay positive during the appalling weather conditions in UK. On twitter I follow Shropshire County Council as this was our home area, and one night there was a new tweet every second to tell of another tree down, or power lines broken, or another road closed due to flooding. Take care everyone, and keep safe. You are all in our thoughts and prayers.


10 comments:

JoZart Designs said...

Another lovely window into your interesting life out there. always helping and caring Kate, you are a star. I love to see your dogs and Kim's tail is amazing. Miki looks so sad but I'm sure is happy.
Happy Valentine's Day and have a good weekend in the sun. There's a gale raging here but all's well otherwise. We're lucky that we aren't in a flood area, and very thankful but my heart and prayers are with those hit so hard.
Jo x

Jean said...

Lovely photo of the new baby, he looks very cosy. I love all the baby grows on the line, how nice that they all washed up so well.
Jean x

Jo Perry said...

Love the pic of the babygros all on the line.
Sorry to keep you talking for so long but it doesn't happen very often and it's good to catch up. :-)

Virginia said...

Wow what a week, loving the bath photo - beautiful! Loving the dog pictures too. Glad you got your slow cooker and it's contents there in one! The sky photos make me envious we have only seen blue skies once this week and at the moment, well it's raining again! Hope you have a beautiful and blessed week ahead

Hugs

Annie said...

Such a lovely post Kate. Thanks for your concerned thoughts. Thankfully we have all kept safe during the awful weather and apart from our one daughter having a power cut have been relatively unaffected by it all.....so far. :-)
Hugs,
Annie x

Laura said...

Adorable baby and a lovely name too.
I remember being thwacked by a tail similar to Kim's. Caught the spot just behind the knees and threw me to the floor!! The best bit was the look on the dogs face, as if to say Silly human!
And as always love the sky picture. Grey and orange clouds... what could be prettier?
I've replied to your comment on my blog so you should receive an email (unless you are a no-reply blogger) but just in case, here is the duck pattern link: http://www.itsybitsyspidercrochet.com/2008/01/little-duck-amigurumi.html
Happy hooking!
Laura

Bleubeard and Elizabeth said...

I so enjoy when you take us on your journeys, even if they are filled with clean laundry (grin). What a great "gift" you were given.

I have a box that comes up about 3/4 way of my slow cooker and is the perfect size for taking food or soup. But, I don't have the same hills and pot holes you seem to have, so you DID GOOD!!

Congrats on the new baby. What a blessing. Also was appreciative of your concern for those of us who are suffering bad weather. I know this was intended for the gals/families in England, who are caught by the floods, but we in the US appreciate it during our snow and ice days, too. BTW, speaking of England, saw Prince William on TV suggesting the reporters who were following him put down their mikes and pads and help fill sand bags. Such a great thing for a future king to say!

Thanks for your great smiles today, even though it is no longer Friday.

Hettie said...

Aww Congratulations on the birth of the little one. I was made a Great Aunt for the first time last month. A little boy called Dylan. Expect a layout soon!
Love that photo of the baby grows! I will be happy to be putting washing out again and would have done today if I had put it on earlier. We had a beautiful day of spring sunshine here in Wales. For the first time in months we had no rain today! Hallelujah to that but I suspect it wont be for long!
Great pics of your dogs too!
Hugs
Hettie
xx

Sarn said...

Oh boy am I ever glad I popped over to see you today Kate! How lovely to see so much sunshine! Makes me feel warm just looking at your lovely photo's! We have had some sunshine today, but still relatively cool outside!

Hugs, Sarn xxx

Carmen said...

What an amazing, amazing post. Read with a big smile on my face.

I love the photos of your dogs and the ones of the children.

Have a lovely week Kate :)