Friday Smiles 2026 # Week 6

Just a little post to highlight the things that have made me smile this week. But first an apology if I didn't get to visit you last week. The days are flying past so fast, and last Friday my utility room was finally finished so my weekend was spent unpacking more items to go in the new cupboards, and also working through a backlog of washing. I must say having my own working washing machine again is really something to smile about. The same , to perhaps a lesser degree, can be said for the dishwasher. So here are a couple photos of the room before I fill it up and make it untidy again!. You can see the dishwasher on the left of the sink, and opposite it is the dishwasher , less obvious because it is built in so it matches the cupboards.

The room does of course, match the kitchen with the same floor and wall tiles and cupboard doors. Both in here and in the kitchen there are still several plain plastered walls awaiting a lick of paint, but we will let the dust settle before we worry about that. I feel so blessed to have these lovely rooms to work in now.

I am trying to put a little fresh food out for the birds each day rather than filling a bird table. This is partly because every morning crows, jackdaws and pigeons, and the occasional seagull, all swoop over our house to settle in the park for a breakfast of worms etc that appear after the rain, and I don't want to encourage them to stop in the garden. So I put a small dish of dried fruit, suet pellets and dried mealworms, one at the back and one in the front garden, every morning. And the birds do appreciate it. Mrs blackbird was the first to come for breakfast yesterday.

I also put fat balls with berries and seeds in a holder on the wall at the back. I can't hang it yet as there is still a lot of builders rubbish in the garden - hopefully to go in a skip at the end of next week. So I sit it on the wall, sheltered by a small fence and the sparrows and blue tits come to this. Amazingly they can eat one of these in a day or two so I only put one out at a time. The sparrows were quick to come to this one,...

...while this little chap sat above them waiting for his turn.

Chris and I both had our second shingles injection this morning. Fortunately neither of us hardly felt it and apparently have no side effects, so that's another good thing out of the way.

We will be up early tomorrow as our son Mike is picking us up on his way to work, to take us to Shrewsbury station. Then we will have a short train ride to Telford, and another bus to the hospital there, for Chris to undergo another test. It is days such as this that we do miss having a car, though most days one is totally unneccesary, but the boys are very good at helping out when their work allows.

And finally I had a surprise this week when my latest bunch of daffodils opened to show bright orange frilly trumpets. They are quite diferent from the ones I have had so far, and I love the variety in the narccisi family.

I saw crocus buds showing mauve in the park today. Spring flowers are so uplifting. And we have really noticed the days getting longer now too. It will be nice to have a break from these grey, misty days.

I will try to do better at visiting this week, but that is all for now.