Crossword done.

Yesterday's quick one, to be honest- AJ  polishes it off before breakfast.
I finished it before breakfast the next day - brains seem to work better in the mornings!
"Bewilder" flummoxed me, I'm ashamed to say.
I have sharpened my wits by writing tomorrow's sermon - Easter 2, Doubting Thomas.
Why do we celebrate Christmas with much more gusto than Easter when we are "A Resurrection People", as Desmond Tutu puts it, so movingly?
Why don't we have an image if the Risen Christ alongside the cross?

Yesterday J and Th came to play - last day of the holiday and the first "Granny Day" since the eye operation as I couldn't get to Solihull without driving.
We walked to the playground for a workout, the village shop for calories and home for lunch.
Th helped mow some of the lawn - preparation for later as the mower is very heavy to handle, despite working better than ever.
The bins even empty as intended rather than needing to be lifted off.
J made some brilliant cupcakes - pink, chocolate, lemon and orange- we sampled them with tea at 4.00pm, cake forks, of course.

The lawn is mown and looks not too bad for the first mowing.
The field is being re-planned to reduce mowing, leaving the grass under the oak trees, one of which will house an amazing tree house before too long, I hope.
The contract has been signed!

"Antiques for Everyone" at the NEC, if time allows - the church needs a good clean to remove all traces of the bird that has been there, not too many traces of human usage, I must admit, but flowers needed!

One swallow..........

does not a summer make, so said Aristotle
I'm not sure, but I think that The bird that swooped across the drive this morning was a swallow.
Convinced enough to open the top stable door to give access to their usual nesting site.
It has certainly been another lovely day but cooling down now.
M and M came to lunch - baked gammon, mashed potato, broad beans and cauliflower cheese, followed by lemon sponge and creme fraiche.
K arrived earlier with eggs as the chicks only managed one; I made a fruit cake as a reward, whilst the oven was hot.
We spent much of the afternoon drinking coffee in the conservatory and putting the world to rights.
Lots of birds in and out too the hedges so nests galore, I hope.

A very peaceful day, but little ticked off the list.
I shall start on Sunday's sermon - Doubting Thomas, I believe.
He refused to accept what he had not seen, but could it have been partly truculence because he hadn't been there with the other disciples to witness the Risen Christ?
Who knows?

Macular Hole repaired!

So I was told this afternoon when I had a check up at The Walsgrave! But forgot to ask the relevant questions, such as:
*when can I drive again?
*can I swim now?
*do I still need to use the eye drops?
I did go back to the Eye Clinic and ask but only know that I can decide when to drive or have an eye test to see if "I have 6,6 vision or a total of 12.
Perhaps I should understand this, but I don't.
I still have a wobbly black bubble occupying about a third of my eye.

The drops to dilate and for the pressure check upset my equilibrium today, perhaps because they were all in quite quick succession.
I stopped for coffee for about an hour in the Coffee Bar whilst I acclimatised as the bright sunshine was hard to cope with with fully dilated pupils.

Two mishaps this morning - a newly made cappuccino knocked flying, requiring a lott of clearing up, and liquid shoe wax everywhere in the vicinity of my shoes, when the applicator rubber disintegrated.
I shall go to bed shortly before number three materialises.

B provided a taxi service, I caught a bus to Pool Meadow and met him later - my first visit to Coventry centre since we took T and J to see "The Tiger Who Came to Tea", about four years ago.
Hasn't improved!

I've just watched "Secret Places" on BBC - The Brecon Beacons.
It was brilliant, wonderful photography, which has made we want to go there soon.

m and M for lunch tomorrow- baked gammon with parsley sauce and vegetables followed by lemon pudding (the one that separates into two layers, sponge and lemon curd.
I hope the chicks lay early!

If I write to the Telegraph to say that I think that the Two Eds will damage the economy, will it be published on the front page?

Pleasantly warm......

or hot and sunny, depending on your view.
The cars were valeted this morning, whilst AJ and I enjoyed the sunshine from the conservatory, AJ then set off for home whilst I went for a long walk with K, hoping to burn off some of the pounds piled on last week in Wales.
We covered lots of fields between Maxstoke and Shawbury and a walk through Shawbury Wood, getting home bt tea time, a little weary and sun burnt around the edges - the sunniest day of the year so far.
Not a lot done since, apart from dinner.

Great fun catching up since we returned from Wales, simple pleasures such as using the phone.
Time for bed!

Making the most of the last day.

An excellent breakfast this morning - scrambled egg, grilled tomatoes and bacon as well as the toast and hot cross buns.

The g/c then did the Easter Egg Hunt in the garden, set by B and E earlier - eggs in a bowl and then shared, sort of!

We then went for a great walk - all but AJ - along the road, past the Fairy Glen and  Conway Falls then back through the woods.

A bit more complicated than that, about 6 miles through beautiful scenery, most of the way.

Home for lunch, eating up the meat, cheese, pork pie.......and last night's toad in the hole (made by W and B, two enormous roasting tins full, eleven eggs and Forty sausages)

After a period for digestion, during which T set up the smaller lounge as "The tropical Relaxion Suite", MK manfully manned the house and prepared dinner, whilst two breakaway groups went to Cotswold Outlet in BC, buying boots, shoes and shorts.

Home to delicious smells and cups of tea.

Brill holiday, wish we had another week.

Tidy half of the bunk room.

DK descending.

Shower for ten!

Strong winds on the Great Orme.

Llandudno yesterday.
AJ and I travelled independently yesterday, as no room in the Fiesta apart from the boot.
We missed the Great Orme Tramway Terminal and thought that the road was becoming rather steep.
We then thought that we were at the top.
I got out and had a chat to the chap in GOT regalia/Arctic clothing, and was informed that we could only buy tickets at the top and bottom, not mid-way.
This interaction was fortunate, as he could then keep the family updated about our movements when they made the compulsory "change" there, shortly afterwards - we had been spotted at intervals, in the town, seemingly dotting around randomly.
We did all meet at the top.
The family all said that it had been much worse on Snowdon the previous day, confirming that we certainly should not have enjoyed that adventure.
We looked out in all directions, visited the shop to thaw out, the G/c played on the adventure playground and then we descended in a warm car, the family in an open tramcar!!!!

We met up at the bottom and did the town, taking in fish and chips for lunch, ice cream for the g/cthe lady gave them enormous cornets at base rates, being the first she had sold this year.
I wasn't surprised.

Home via The Welsh Food Centre -lovely, but expensive - and Llanwryst, which we like.
We dined on home made chicken pie and Devina's lime cheese cake, made by T.
As is customary, the amount of wine consumed each evening increases during the week.
Yesterday. It was sufficient to see us through a game of Scrabble, won by AJ, thank goodness.

Today, who knows?
Activity, I suspect.
There is a lot going on - a film in the larger lounge, g/c wrapped in duvets, cutlery clattering in the kitchen and a body in the shower.........
(The downstairs bathroom has only a bath, which cuts off all other water supplies when run and has a non-functioning heater, so only used once, by me. I have yet to live it down/recover)

A lovely day again, at least at this moment in time.

Triumphant!

The family climbed Snowdon using the Pyg Track yesterday, in pretty unpleasant conditions- wet and windy going up, hail and snow descending.

I am very proud of them all, especially DK, who is only small - apparently, he used 99% of hie energy on the ascent and needed W's help for a while to cope coming down.

They were all in fine fettle last night, very tired but no sore feet.

The wonders of modern boots, not needing to break your feet in.

We ate the leg of lamb fron Rhud? Farm Shop, which was the best lamb ever- need another to take home, after arranging the bank loan!

AJ and I went to Conwy, walked around the town twice, had coffee at Costa and did the Antique Centre, then back to BC via Bethesda, which boasted little but a small charity shop.

Finding BC bereft of grocers - the Co op only really sells convenience foods and enormous cakes - we went back to Llanwrst, which has a sizeable Co op and tiny fresh food market on Tuesday's.

Home to put the joint in the oven and a nice cup of tea.

To our delight, the tanker was here delivering oil - the tank was empty within two hours of arriving and we have survived three days of arctic conditions by keeping the woodburner going and staying in that room.

We were told there was a calorie gas heater available, which we have used in one lounge, for the g/c.

Bedrooms have been very cold.

I have a list of suggestions for the owners!

Everyone is breakfasted and getting ready for the day, except me (all using the one bathroom as the second has a bath which stops water to every other tap and heated towel rail won't work, so v cold)

AJ brought tea at 5.30am, I read for a bit and fell asleep again.

Must be all of the fresh air on "Bring up the Bodies", which I am rereading, following "Wolf Hall" on TV.