Month: June 2023

We took Ellie to Gazen Salts and she was really up for running, so it turned into a very long walk along the river as well. More ducklings and moorhen chicks.

An afternoon in the garden.

Thought for the Day ~ “The world is full of magical things, patiently waiting for our senses to grow sharper.” ~ W.B. Yeats

Such a lovely day, so we headed for Kearsney Abbey. We have a long walk through the woods first and then Ellie just runs for the stream to have a play in there.  There are two sets of cygnets and a lot of moorhen babies. After the walk we stopped at the cafe for a coffee.

Aint nature wonderful?!

While we were out our garden table and chairs were delivered to next door! It would have been nice if Yodel had told me it was coming, not just send me an email 30 minutes before it came. Then of course I had to carry it all into our house, three huge boxes as Mal was at the allotment. He did a lot of watering  as there has been no rain. I re-potted a couple more courgettes. Hopefully we will have excess so that we can make more pickle.

On his return Mal started putting the table and chairs together and then we had to get ready to go to the Marlowe theatre. Jools Holland and his ‘friends’ were playing. We always get tickets to see him as it is a very good night out and guaranteed everyone is up dancing! We had good seats , three rows from the front.  Such a lot of talented musicians , his band and terrific singers. Ruby Turner is still with him. A fabulous night.

Thought for the Day – “I’m a true believer in karma. You get what you give, whether it’s bad or good.” ~ Sandra Bullock

After Ellie’s walk I went to the shops, a couple more bedding plants. I have enough now as I also have quite a few tomato and courgette plants in pots in the garden. A lot of them have been munched at the allotment, so I am making sure I have some here.

In the evening we watched Hammers WIN the Europa Conference League. Wow what a game. Just when we thought it would be going into extra time and then Jarrod Bowen scored the winner! That was such a relief.

Thought for the Day – ‘Every day the clock resets. Your wins don’t matter. Your failures don’t matter. Don’t stress on what was, fight for what could be.’ ~ Sean Higgins

We took Ellie for a long run over the fields. We then spent more time trying to decide what furniture to get for the garden. We gave our 6 outside dining chairs to Lou and Rhys and we also got rid of our large outside table. Pointless keeping any of them as we don’t have the big family get togethers any more. Even Tariq who said he would be coming over last week didn’t appear. Obviously far more interesting things to do. He has now gone back home.

We still eat outside a lot and needed a larger table than our two seater bistro set. So, we have ordered a really nice 4 seater aluminium set with table and cushions. We have two new relaxer chairs which arrived 2 weeks ago. We had been considering the wicker looking sets that everyone seems to have now but having tried a few, they don’t seem that comfortable, I’d rather sit on the relaxer. Decision made!

Part of my birthday present from Mal was an afternoon tea in the Lamp room at Betteshanger Park. In spite of it not being very far we have never been there. So, we went at lunch time and it was amazing, one of the best we have had and I don’t think we will be eating again today!

Thought for the Day – “Once you replace negative thoughts with positive ones, you’ll start having positive results.” ~ Willie Nelson

My volunteer day at Cancer Research, quite a busy day. We had the usual banter amongst us all.  I was in the doghouse because I didn’t notice Jack’s new hair cut but one of the customers did!  Lol.

Mal had dinner cooked ready when I arrived home.

Thought for the Day – “A new day always comes with new hopes, new opportunities and new lives.” ~ Debasish  Mridha

I have a large drinking water bowl for Ellie in the garden. I had to laugh as this little blackbird who decided he needed a bath, obviously in Ellie’s bowl!

On the way to Minnis Bay we stopped off at the Secret Garden at Quex Park and found the solution!

I also bought another pot for one of my roses due to be re-potted.

Minnis Bay had all the Kite Surfers down there as it was really windy but they kept coming to near us and Ellie hated them. There is limited dog walking beach at Minnis, so they could have kept to the other end!

Early evening we met Tris and Violet as Tris said he would treat us to a meal at Buoy and Oyster in Margate for my birthday present. He did message on my birthday but I said I couldn’t make it as we were in Madeira!

It was very busy in there and I had almost chosen when the waitress came and told me the specials were Whole Crab or Skate. I love both but decided on the crab . What a good decision. In fact we all decided that I had the best meal and the best dessert! The crab was huge  and took me a long time to get all the meat out.

I enjoyed every mouthful.

Thought for the Day – “Write on your heart that every day is the best day in the year.” ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

At last, the sun was out and we had some warmth! So, we took Ellie to Kearsney, a walk in the woods, a paddle for Ellie and then a coffee! So nice after bitter winds the last few days.

We stopped at Lidl on the way home, the only supermarket we pass ,  to get some eggs. They had none. Why is there still a shortage of eggs?

We watched the Manchester FA final.

Thought for the Day – Stars do not pull each other down to be more visible; they shine brighter.” ~ Matshona Dhilwayo