Year: 2018

Demelza day and only Heather, Jack and I in all day. At least we met the target.

Back home and we had a buffet dinner with Tris and Violet.

Thought for the Day – “Tomorrow is the first blank page of a 365 page book. Write a good one.” ~ Brad Paisley

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Now this is an unusual sight at the end of December, a ring necked parakeet in a tree full of blossom just opposite our house!

It was such a nice day that we decided to walk to the (Sandwich) Bay (6 mile round trip). On the way we walked down by the river and Ellie found an enormous dead fish and so decided to roll in it, she stank! When we arrived at the beach we encouraged her to go in for a swim but she didn’t quite cover all the dead fish.

To get to the bay, we have to walk across the golf course and dodge the golf balls. The golfers do get irritated on a Sunday morning BUT it is a public footpath, so tough!

Once we were home I had to give Ellie a shower.

We watched the Hammers game in the afternoon and Mal wished he hadn’t (they lost!) The Man U game was much better, on a winning streak with their new stand in manager!

Thought for the Day – “Kindness is spreading sunshine into other people’s lives regardless of the weather.”

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Josie was 9 today, how the time flies! We took Ellie out and then we met Lou, Rhys and the littlies at the Bowling Alley.  We had a good game. Ollie won.  They had been roller blading in the morning at Dreamland and evidently Ollie kept falling over, can’t be good at everything!!

We then went back to their house for pizza and birthday cake.

Another lovely day.

Having decided we want to go to UK destinations in 2019, we talked about and then booked a break in North Yorkshire. Harrogate to be precise. We have booked it with Shearings which means I won’t have to drive. I lived up there many years ago, in fact Harrogate is where Rhys was born. We have discovered that Shearings last minute deals are so reasonable.

Thought for the Day – “No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted.” ~ Aesop

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We took Ellie to the orchards and were quite shocked to see two of the orchards completely stripped of apple trees. There was another that had been planted with new trees, hopefully they will do the same with these and not sell them off for housing.  I think farmer’s subsidies stop a year after March and our guesstimate was a good few million £ and if they greased the right palms to allow house building….I do hope not.

In the afternoon we went to look for some flooring for the bathroom and kitchen but didn’t get to choosing any!

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I went to Westwood to get some shopping. There were a lot of people grabbing bargains!  We had a quiet day at home.

Ellie played with her new Christmas present.

Thought for the Day – “Know that your kindness has a ripple effect in the universe.” ~ Kikoti

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We slept well at the Premier Inn and went back to Lou and Rhys’s for breakfast. We then went to collect Sol and Millie and we all went off to Howletts Zoo. A brisk walk around there was just what we needed. It was nice that Millie and Sol came with us too.

We then went back to Lou and Rhys’s and had an enormous buffet.

Thought for the Day – “A little thought and a little kindness are often worth more than a great deal of money.” ~ John Ruskin

We were up at 5am! We were going to Lou and Rhys’s and they are always up early. Once we had loaded the car up with presents, Ellie and food for Boxing Day buffet, we set off over there. They waited until we arrived to start on the presents and there were a lot!

Lou and Rhys were treating us to Christmas lunch out and it was a surprise, we hadn’t a clue where we were going. It was the Smugglers Restaurant in Birchington which came highly recommended and I am not surprised the food and service were excellent. Little Torin,Rhys’s other son who lives with his mother was staying so of course he came too. It was really nice seeing him again. Tariq is “at sea” and both River and Sol were spending Christmas day with their girl friends.

Back home and as the tradition goes, we have stockings after lunch.

I didn’t get a stocking instead I was given something much better…….

Lou and Rhys knew how much I would appreciate this, very thoughtful of them.

The rest of the day was playing games and enjoying our Christmas presents. Later Rhys and little Torin walked us across to the Premier Inn where we were spending the night. Of course there was sadness in the day but Lou and Rhys were so good. I also had raging tooth ache, so was taking pain killers.

Thought for the Day – “Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a battle you know nothing about.” ~ Wendy Mass