Friday Smiles 2026 # Week 8

 ....And they are out. The crocus in the park finally enjoyed a brief spell of sunshine and opened up. Aren't they so pretty? Sadly the next day was very wet and they all closed up again. Yesterday was again sunny but last night it snowed! The poor flowers must be so confused.

We were only on the edge of the snow belt and the first fall soon got washed away. Last night was again only a light covering but today is very cold, so it is quite icy in shady areas. We had to go to Shrewsbury for medical appointments, twice this week, and on the bus home we could clearly see a cap of snow on the Welsh hills. (That is how close we are to the border between Wales and England).

Last Friday was a happy day as the builder arranged for a skip so he could take some of our waste away. There was a lot of it, cupboards, and carpets, bags of rubble, plus lots more from both the kitchen and the utility. It couldn't be taken daily as we have no parking at the front of the house, just a stepped path leading straight on to the road. At the back the parking on the street is usually packed , but fortunately our neighbour has a parking lot just big enough for his car at the back of our row, and he let us put a small skip on it. 

It was a dreadful day, wet and cold, but the builder and his assisstant moved as much as they could, out the back gate and along the short alley to the skip. The rubble and wood were piled all over this patio, up level wth the utility window, so I am glad to have that cleared. Now we can cut back the shrubs so our little seat is ready to use when we get the weather for it.

They couldn't get it all on the skip, but we just have this much left, all piled at the bottom of the garden. Hopefully we will have another skip to clear it all very soon.

February wouldn't be February if I didn't make some marmalade, would it? There is an independent shop in town which is sort of a health shop though it doesn't sell anything medicinal. It has ethically sourced dry goods, local farm produce, and organically grown fruit and vegetables. As I was passing it last week I saw a box of Seville oranges so on Saturday I went back to buy some, plus some huge lemons, and on Sunday afternoon I made just one batch of marmalade. In Spain I made three or four batches to sell but I don't have a market for it here, and standing to chop the fruit I felt that one batch was quite enough these days. It isn't the best I've ever made but I was spoiled by having fruit straight from friends orange trees and our own lemon tree in Spain, and it is still nicer than any I can buy in the shops!

We had a nice chat with our son Tom in the week and planned his next visit from Denmark for March, so that will be good, and hopefully Ben will be with us this weekend, so we will be busy, but I will get round to visit you all as soon as I can.

Friday Smiles 2026 # Week 7

First of all a big apology because, despite my good intentions,  I am not sure I got to visit anyone this week. It has been a very busy time with multiple clinic visits for Chris ahead of his surgery, and Shropshire seems to use a different town for each branch of testing, so we have spent a lot of time sitting on buses and trains, (or waiting for them when they don't turn up!!). 

The good news is that he now has a provisional date for his operation on 6th March, providing the right team are available to assisit the surgeon. Otherwise it will be at the end of March. It is major surgery but he has a 98% chance of coming through it OK. I am a positive thinker and that is so much better than dwelling on the 2% chance that he won't make it! As we are still settling in here there is quite a lot of paper work we need to do before the date, but we are working through it. 

Next week is much quieter so hopefully I will do better at visiting you.

Meanwhile I am enjoying the garden and finding out what is growing there. This week I have almost got my first daffodil. One day of sunshine and it will be out along with all the others I planted.

In the back garden there is a shrub which was bare when we moved in, but very soon buds appeared up the stems and this week they are unfurling. They are such a pretty colour, almost lime green with pink tips to each leaf. I didn't recognise is so I asked google lens to identify it and apparently it is called 'sorbaria sorbifolia' or 'Sem' for short. Its leaves will lose the pink and turn a darker green and it will have small clusters of tiny white flowers. When they die the leaves will again turn pink and then dark red, and will fall late autumn, so it sounds like an interesting plant to keep an eye on.

When I was planting my spring bulbs I forgot about crocus, so I was pleased to spot these as I walked through the park. The border that runs between the path around the park and the back railings, is full of these little mauve spears. They will look beautiful when the sun shines on them, though this week the sun has been in short supply. Maybe it will show its face next week.

And while in the park I thought how my pictures are all of the view from our house, so I took a few from the other side. It was an opportunity to have a chat with an elderly man about taking photos with a phone on a rather grey day. I always say "Hello" to the people I pass in the park but it was nice to have a proper conversation with one of them, and I did get some acceptable photos despite the soft drizzle.

This one is taken directly across from us. If you can spot the house beyond the park with bright green window ledges and door, we are the one next door on the right. Our door etc is dark red right now but I hope to brighten it up later when more important tasks are done.

And this one is taken from the side, looking across the little crazy golf course, which is deserted except for the squirrels, but it is very popular in the summer. There is also a good playpark behind this with swings, slides and climbing equipment. Again it is full to capacity in the summer, and any weekend that is dry through the winter.

I have managed to get a little bit of crafting done. I have finally finished my page per month calendar. Better late than never, and it has been very useful as we have been sorting out all the clinic appointments without clashes. I make each page using photos of the same month last year. Here are a couple of pages to show what I mean.

Now I have a couple of cards to make so I had better stop my ramblings. I'll finish with this photo.

So pretty aren't they? The bird with its long neck sweeping up to the flowers is made from peat-bog pine, preserved underground for hundreds of years. We visited the studio of the sculpture when we were on holiday in Ireland back in 2012. He has buckets full of pieces of gnarled old wood, and he started each piece with no plan, just letting the wood dictate what he made. We love our bird, and it is a reminder of a rather special holiday.