Friday Smiles 2024#Week 46

We have had a week of showers, some light and some persistant and heavy, and I think we must have had more rain in the past week than we had all through last winter. But we are not really complaining. We are warm and dry at home, and at least the reservoirs are filling up which keeps the agricultural workers happy.

We had some fun on Sunday when there was a rally of vintage cars driving through the village. They then parked up around the main car park so we walked over to have a look at them. Apparently to be vintage they have to be more than twenty years old and less than one hundred, which explains why I recognised so many of them from my childhood days. Many were American, such as Packards and Chevrolets,  but also Fords and a handsome Rolls Royce. They were obviously well loved and well cared for, though some looked far from comfortable to ride in. Here are just a few of them.

I recently showed a trial-run triangle I made to try out the pattern for a kit I have waiting for me at my son's house in UK. A new part of the design is released each week, so I have now tried out the square - a fairly straightforward motif to make, ...

... and the popcorn diamond which was a bit more tricky. But I will be taking my time to do it, so it should be manageable. Although the pieces look very different they fit together beautifully. Jessica Wifall is a very clever designer.

Not a lot else has happened this week but we have had some very lovely, and other rather exciting skies. They range from calm sunsets with storm clouds creeping in, to lowering clouds in an eirie light, to fiery orange and reds. The last one made me think of an angry Yoda.

And that is it for this week, so I will link up with Annie's Friday Smiles, and publish this in the morning.

Friday Smies 2024 Week 45

We have had a much quieter, less traumatic week than last week I am glad to say. But I have had a medical appointment most days and as nearly everything is a drive away, one appointment seems to take up much of the day, so I haven't been at home to do a lot. I had no new photos to show so today I walked round the garden to see what effect all the rain has had.

Firstly next door's garden that was a dry, mud plain, is now lovely and green. I expect it will be waist high with weeds by the end of the month, but that is better than dry earth. 

My little herb garden I planted outside the kitchen door last spring, it thriving. The rosemary and lavender at the back are looking good and healthy, the mint is just visible and the front has been taken over by my basil. It has grown so tall and smells wonderful every time I brush past it. Even the parsley which looked dead, is trying to show a few new leaves again.

My oleander is covered in new flower buds. It is usually dying back now.

I coudn't miss this lovely branch of pink bougainvillea that swayed across the path. It is still beautiful despite someone' nibbling its leaves.

Round at the front we have several roses in bloom again. They seem to have flowered off and on nearly all year. The pale pink ones smell lovely too.

This is the trumpet vine in our neighbour's garden. It always flowers over on our side and is prolific when not so much is in bloom in the autum. I love it.

And this is my favourite hibiscus. It doesn't flower as much as my others do but when it does, it is perfect! It used to be pinker than this, but it has a beautiful stamen and the petals are frilly at the edges. And it does love a bit of rain.

I mentioned last week that my covid injection was more painful than usual, and when it was done on Wednesday I couldn't raise my arm, but by nightfall it had worn off and I thought no more about it. But as I got ready for bed the next night I saw that my arm was dark purple almost down to the elbow. This is it a week later. It is fading now and was never sore like a bruise, so I guess he just scraped a vain.

During the time I have managed to get down to my computer I decided to start making my monthly calendar for next year. Usually I am doing it in a frantic rush in January! I like to use photos from the same month this year, so I as I go through it I can look back at what we were doing a year ago.  Here are a couple of the months I have finished. Of course they each have the months dates in a grid hanging below them, but I didn't need to show them in the pictures. I just have September - December still to do. I haven't yet decided whether to wait until the end of the last two months  to do their pages, or whether to take the photos from last year. I will see how I feel when I have done October.

I had a good visit to my dermatologist yesterday, and a full diabetic health check earlier in the week. The latter doesn't happen as often as it should so I am pleased to have that done.

So apart from some nice chats with a couple of my lads, that is how another week just slipped away. Now it is time to get this ready to publish tomorrow and link upwith Annie's Friday Smiles.