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.

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.