Friday Smiles 2022:Week 48

Have you got used to writing 2022 yet because we will have to write 2023 very soon! I can't believe it is week 48 already. Time to climb up to the top shelves in the garage to find the Christmas decorations. I know I shall be busy doing mine at the weekend.

But today I am starting with the cutest little Christmas pixie/Santa. He is our youngest family member, my great-grandson Reuben, who is almost six month old. Isn't he gorgeous? He has the same easy, big smile as his brothers Alfie and Isaac.

Many of you left kind comments about my slice-form decorations last week. Thank you. Your comments are always appreciated. They were quite card hungry and each slice needed a new A4 sheet so I got through one and a half pads for each one. But I was left with a lot of fairly good size off-cuts, and this week I tried using some of them to make miniture slice forms. This is the size of the average glass bauble you would put on a tree. Yes, they were a fiddle to put together, but I am delighted at the way even the inticate nativity scenes cut with my Cameo machine, and I love the finished result. They need to be hung with a light behind them to see the inside properly but I improvised for the photo.

Today we went shopping and did the 'food shop' for Christmas. There are two bank holidays next week so shopping time will be limited then, and I didn't want to leave it too late. Obviously I will still have to buy fresh milk, bread and vegetables, but the main shopping is all done, which makes me very happy. On the way to the big Mercadona food store in Vera, we stopped by Lidl's to see whether they had their poinsettias yet and they did. I have had several good ones from them in previous years. Like most things, they were a bit more expensive this year so  I bought one tall one to stand in our porch, instead of the usual three, plus three to go in the new flower beds in the back yard, and a smaller pink one which will either go in a plant stand in the front yard or in the window of Chris' office.

When I took off their cellophane sleeves I saw two of them were in instant need of water. Hopefully I gave them some just in time, because once they dry out they do not recover. I ended up putting the taller one on a small stand in the corner of the porch and one of the others on the ground in front of it. It has turned much colder this week, as well as windy and the porch does give them some protection. They make such a lovely splash of colour.

I also bought two little hyacinths that are almost ready to flower. I know some people find their scent too strong, but I love it, so I will get these two potted up better and have them in the kitchen or in the front room.

We had a little visitor this week. The new fire we had installed last year, does not quite fill the hole that the old one had, but as it is a structural part of the chimney we can't do a lot about it. The chimney itself is supposed to be covered but unfortunately three times now, a little bird has fallen down into the space behind the fire. Tolly alerts us each time because he must be able to hear it fluttering around although we cannot. He sits in front of the glass and pats at it, and tried to get his paws into the little gaps around it. But luckily we can lift the front off the fire fairly easily and with a bit of luck the bird sees its way to escape and flies out. Until this week's chillier days, the door to the porch is always open so Kim can wander in and out, so the bird can fly out there but it is then trapped in the fly free area. You can see here it was a little sparrow this week. It flew around like crazy at first, but I shut the cats indoors and opened the porch door and eventually it had the sense to fly away to somewhere safer. A lucky escape. I hope it learned its lesson!

There is a small utility area leading off from the kitchen and this is where the back door is. We have a cat flap in it which all the cats soon learned to use, but several months ago, the flap broke, and all through the hot summer we have left it with just an open hole, and the cats are very used to jumping through it. But this week we decided to buy a new one so the flap would help to keep the draughts out, and maybe also deter a big stray tom cat who keeps coming in to steal our cats' food! It is a bit stiff at first and none of the cats want to use it. Here Tolly is eyeing it up as much as to say, 'What is this then? Why can't I get out?'

 

I have pushed both him and Tango through it a few times now and they are begnning to get the idea. I thought they would remember how it used to be, but apparently not. Tolly did manage to get in through it when I rattled his food around at tea-time tonight, but he still needed a little push of encouragement when he wanted to go out again. Tango just sits next to it and cries at me until I open the door, and I humour him a bit. He is an old man now, is completely deaf, and we don't think he sees very well either. But I expect he will get there in the end.

We  have had a few pink skies just lately and last night there was a glorious fiery sunset. It started out a fluffy pink and golden and became a sheet of red. Of course it only lasted a few minutes, but I was there at the right time to see it.

Now it is the right time to link up with Annie's Friday Smiles. 

The week ended on a sad note when I had a message fom our blogger friend Lisca to say Graham had gone to be with the Lord.But while we all send our best wishes and prayers to Lisca, I hope you have all had things this week to make you smile as well, so why not join us over at wispo-astitchintime.blogspot.