Good morning everyone. I am starting today with a great quote I came across, that seemed very relevant to this post, as Rocking Your World is aimed at looking at those things that have made us feel grateful this week, and Annie wants to see what has made us smile. And even in these difficult times, we can all find something to smile about.
"Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we
have into enough, and more. It turns denial into
acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It
can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a
stranger into a friend." Author
Unknown.
So here are the highlights of my week. I had a lovely messenger chat with my grand-daughter and she sent me these pictures of their latest family member, a gorgeous little cockerpoo called Lady.
It is her husband who has always wanted a dog, but the boys are obviously thrilled with her.
Isaac and Alfie had to return to school, but after just two days, Isaac is again isolating at home because someone in his 'school bubble' is positive! The upside for him is that he is now responsible for looking after Lady so that his dad who is working from home, can get on with what he has to do. He looks quite happy with that arrangement.
It has been another quiet week. Unfortunately we are one of only eight municipalities in Almeria that is still under lock-down. Everywhere else has a rate below 500 per 100,000 so they can now leave their homes to travel to other towns nearby, albeit under quite strict conditions. Our rate in the village is coming down. We are currently at 732, which is a lot better than the 1,330 we were at, so because we are below 1,000 now, non-essential shops plus bars and restaurants, can open for limited hours. That doesn't make a big difference to us, but we are hoping to get below the magic number of 500 by next week, so we can go to the bigger supermarkets beyond our village, and travel elsewhere if we want to.
We are getting a small market each Tuesday, so I went there this week and it was lovely to see the new season's fruit and veg in plentiful supply. I was able to replenish the chill compartment of my fridge which was looking a bit empty, and as a treat we bought a spit-roasted chicken and chips to bring home for lunch. It is a simple meal, but a treat all the same as I didn't have come up with an idea of what to cook, and it was very tasty.
Out here, when we reach a certain age we are entitles to what is called a sesentacinco card (65 card). Chris has his, but I have never bothered to apply for one. It does give us discounts on some things like travel, and shops, but I have not really needed one.
But now we want to apply for something else which does require me having one so I downloaded the form to fill in and found I needed to send an up to date passport size photo. There was no ruling about not smiling, taking off glasses etc, so I decided to go for another selfie and after about ten discarded attempts, I settled on this one. I hope it is acceptable. I am not sure how long I will keep long hair for, though I am quite happy with it for now, but I have a feeling it won't last as long as my 65 card will!
We have something to look forward to as we have both ordered ourselves a new office chair. We had our current ones at much the same time, and they get a lot of use. Mine to scoot between my computer desk and craft space, and Chris for the many hours he spend on his computer. We have ordered them online which is a risk, but it could be quite a while before we can go anyone to 'try them before we buy them'. They are to be delivered on Monday.
I had a walk around the garden this morning. It is a lot colder again this week, with grey skies most days, but once Spring begins to show signs of coming, you can't really stop it. I was delighted to find my first freesias in flower, and there are still a few pansies smiling out at me from Chris' office window box. There is lots of new life on the hydrangeas. It is almost time to cut off the dead heads from last year. I read somewhere that you should leave them for the winter as they offer some protection to the new shoots in the cold.I also found some buds on the squill. I didn't think I was getting any this year, but when they start to appear, they grow very quickly. In a few weeks I hope there will be some nice cones of blue flowers. They are one of the few really true blue flowers that I know. The bottom part of this photo is from a few years ago to show what they will be like soon.
I mentioned I was recycling some Christmas cards last week and some folk were quite interested so here are some I made. They are now posted on my blog challenge so you can read more about how I made them HERE.
5 comments:
I'm absolutely with the quote you have today. I always stood by positivity when I was teaching it works wonders. Hope that soon you will be able to move around more but I think we still need to be careful whatever happens and my fear a the moment is that they are sending all the children back to school possibly all at once and it was when they did that in September that the virus got out of control so we'll see, hope I'm wrong! Have a lovely weekend, Angela xXx
I'm here, Kate. I wasn't going to let a bug get me down today, although I may have to stop once or twice while I'm writing this (grin).
Lady is adorable and the boys look very happy that she has a forever home where they can spoil her. Sorry there was a lockdown, though.
Your selfie is great. I don't think my hair has been that long since high school. My friend Scott cut the back of mine this last week, because I can't stand it on my neck.
I went to your other blog and saw how you made those cards. You did a fabulous job with your blending tool. I am finally getting pretty good with a smudge tool, but haven't tried the blending tool. You did a fabulous job. I'm also impressed with the cards you created and your dies you used. You must enjoy your silhouette, too. You have a lot of choices when it comes to card making, that's for sure.
I've never heard of a squill, but those are incredible flowers. Stunning. Hope your weekend is awesome and you will soon be able to move from your small village to go shopping in the "big city" again.
Oh that Lady is gorgeous! Lovely photos of your great grandchildren.
Yes, we've got a sesentacinco card as well. It's handy for free entry into museums and monuments in Andalucia. (I was able to get into Mesquita in Cordoba for free, saving 9 euros).Some public transport too.
What a bummer that your village still isn't below the 500 mark. We are apparently and we can travel a bit more freely.
The weather here has also been dull and sometimes cold. I still light the fire in the evening.
Lovely recycled Christmas cards. I do that too. Or I should say 'did' because it's too expensive to send cards now.
Have a lovely weekend (It's a long one),
Hugs,
Lisca
A lovely post as always Kate, I'm loving the new addition to the family and despite having to self isolate with a new puppy in the house I'm sure he will manage just fine.
It is interesting to read your numbers, we are still under major lockdown currently which means only essential shops are open, our current numbers are around 189 per 100,000 in our locality so there seems to be a far difference, although I'm assuming our population is greater (although I don't know) and we are currently the high end if that makes sense, the south Yorkshire region ranges between around 150 and 220 per 100,000 depending on the locality and like I said we are at the higher end on this. We have a planned programme to unlike provided certain criteria are met, the first change is the return to school of the children and college students which is the 8 March, then we've a few weeks before any further changes. Although looking at the stats almost 30% of all people in the UK have had their first dose of the vaccine so hopefully numbers will start to decline.
Your garden looks like it is ready to spring back into action despite the cooler weather, I hope it warms for you.
Also fingers crossed on the new office chairs I bought one online without success despite paying a lot of money for it, but said 20 year old is happy to put it through its paces, I ended up with an expensive one from Ikea, but as my sister said, for my back it is definitely worth it. I hope you have a great Sunday and week ahead.
Hugs
I do hope your numbers drop soon Kate - it's been a long haul for you!!
That treat of chicken and chips looks yummy!
The blue of the squill is stunning - I had a whole garden of larger blue flowers and then small red begonia's in my last garden - I loved it.
I love freesia's - sounds as though your garden will soon be 'alive' again and blessing you with scents and blooms.
May you office chair be a comfortable as mine is .. I will be gutted should I outlast it! :)
stay safe
Blessings
Maxine
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