Friday 31st March 2023

A long walk and then we packed up. Our hosts were so lovely genuine people that we left a little  thank you card, thanking them for their excellent hospitality.

We weren’t in a rush to get home and so we did a massive detour rather than get caught up in the M25 Friday madness in the pouring rain!

We ended up having lunch at the Warren Inn, in Romney. It’s a nice cosy pub with good food.

We arrived home and nothing more had been done on the garden, I am guessing the rain put them off.

Thought for the Day -“One day your life will flash before your eyes. Make sure it is worth watching.”

Thursday 30th March 2023

After a walk in the morning, we intended going to Hever castle but they wouldn’t let dogs in the castle and because it was raining, we decided to give the gardens a miss.

We went to  Edenbridge,  had our lunch there and then went to the market and bought a fresh crab for tea.

In the afternoon, it had stopped raining and so we went for a long walk in the woods but it was so squelchy. Ellie had fun and even chased a hare, we thought we were going to lose her but she came back eventually.

And this was the guest house we stayed in. Ockhams Farm Guest House.  

It really was lovely and peaceful with no builders!

Even Ellie seemed super relaxed!

Thought for the Day – “You are the artist of your own life. Don’t hand the paintbrush to anyone else.”

Wednesday 29th March 2023

One of the presents I bought Mal for his birthday was two nights away in the country at a guest house in Edenbridge. We had the entire guest house which was on a farm.

We stopped off in Edenbridge first to have some lunch and a drink in Ye Olde Crown Inn, a really nice pub. Dogs were very welcome in there, in fact they had two of their own who came out to see Ellie.

After lunch we went to the guest house.  It was amazing we had three bedrooms, three bathrooms a huge kitchen and a living room, just for the two of us. So much food had been left for us in the kitchen, all sorts, everything you could need Janey said just to ask if we needed anything!!! Boris her dog enjoyed coming round in the garden to play with Ellie. In the evening Janey’s husband called round with some newly laid eggs for us!

He stayed for a chat with us. He had been a high fly accountant and all three of his daughters are, two working for Price Waterhouse.  They were really a lovely couple. They had just sold all their sheep and the farm and still had a lot of houses around and about the fields and masses of land. All their property was at the end of a narrow single track lane after a huge lake. Nice and secluded.

We went for a long walk across the fields, Boris came with us!

Thought for the Day – “Look deep into nature and then you will understand everything better.”

Tuesday 28th March 2023

Well, more workmen! The plumber who is installing our downstairs loo called to make sure we were still going ahead after Easter. Then the men arrived from Sky and they were taking some of the pavement up looking for connections as we are soon to be changing to Sky as our internet provider is getting worse and worse.

Meanwhile Mal went interviewing prospective councillors for Sandwich Matters.

In the afternoon we went to Westwood looking at sheds for the garden. We have now decided to get a plastic one as they are lighter to lift and I don’t think Mal and I can manage a wooden one!

Thought for the Day“Do the best you can. No one can do more than that.” ~ John Wooden

Monday 27th March 2023

We had a busy day at the Cancer Research shop.  Very busy for a Monday which made the day go very quickly.

When I arrived home, the workmen had done a lot of work and clearing up.  There is only the new gate and the turf to lay. We are getting the shed and also we will paint the walls and fence. But a lot of the mud and mess has gone, thank goodness.

Thought for the Day – “Be there for others but never leave yourself behind.” ~ Dodinsky

Sunday 26th March 2023

A walk with Ellie when we managed to dodge the rain.

In the afternoon we went to Dom and Jem’s house in Margate. We didn’t know that Violet, Tris and Kerry were going to be there as well . A shame as we could have taken Violet’s birthday present as she will be in Canada on the actual day. We’ll have to deliver it in the week. Mal’s family are not good at communicating!

Back home to watch the football. There should have been more England goals!

Thought for the Day – “Take it day by day, don’t stress too much about tomorrow.”

Saturday 25th March 2023

We took Ellie to Kearsney. They are building another lorry park at Dover, it will soon be even more chaos with the foreign lorries. However it was lovely at Kearsney and we stopped at the cafe to have a coffee.  Of course Ellie had a swim in the stream. There was a lot of wild garlic in the woods and we collected some to go in the onion soup I made for lunch.

I spent the entire afternoon cleaning out the conservatory, where the workmen have been in dropping cement (and coffee) everywhere. Most of the things we had in the shed are stacked in there, so it took a while, plus all the layers of dust where they had been cutting stone. Mal was at the allotment.

Thought for the Day“It is never too late to be what you might have been.” ~ George Eliot