Rounding up April

April has meant progress on some fronts, but none on others.

The positives are: 

I have almost finished journalling/scrapbooking my time in NZ which I found has been a good way to record my memories and little moments of my time with my parents.  

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The garden:

A little progress has been made in the garden, although not as lot as I had hoped as quite frankly apart from a few nice days the weather has been horrid.  It seems April is going out in a gale!  It is certainly windy here.

We managed to get a trellis put up on the fence, as the old one had rotted. It was rather interesting trying to un-weave the wisteria from the old trellis!  Hopefully this will fill out a bit and screen us from the neighbours and the building work that is soon to be starting there.  

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The house:  

We saw some 'stacking shelving' while out the other day and thought they would be ideal for our cups and glasses that were all precariously perched on top of each other.  This is much better.  True we could 'weed' out some of the cups, but I like to use them all depending on the mood I am in.  We then went back and got another couple when we realised they were much cheaper in the shop we bought them from than from Amazon for example.  One of which has since gone into the cupboard that has the tinned food.  The other I still have to decide on where I can put it to best use.  

The negatives are:  

Still masses of pain EVERYWHERE and I am trying very hard to look on the bright side of things, but honestly it is very difficult to do at times.  I had a rather fruitless appointment with the pain clinic on Friday where he waffled on about virtually nothing, and didn't even bother to examine me, despite me telling him I am now getting pain in my middle fingers and numbness.  My yet another request to have my elbows scanned met on deaf ears and I am worried that the longer they leave it - after all it has been over a year now since they started giving me problems, the less likely it is for any damage to heal properly.  I think the new problems with my fingers is evidence that damage is being or has been done.  Apparently he is going to discuss me with colleagues next Thursday - now where have I heard that before?  Oh that is right the last time I saw him back in September I think it was!  Oh and I have an appointment for him to examine me in a months time...the wheels of the NHS grind ever so slowly and inefficiently it seems.  I could write more on this matter, but won't for fear of boring any one who might read this senseless.  

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

But back to cheerier things:  

A few little things found in the charity shop the other day...I am being very careful not to spend much at the moment, and this little bundle came to just under £10 - the cast iron door stop being the most expensive.  A couple of books that were on my wish list, the door stop, to hold the kitchen door open on warm days, a case that will fit one of my little travel companions and a colourful little vintage table cloth.

The duck works great and brightens up the kitchen.

I had to plant a new fern in my little fairy garden that my son and daughter in law made me, as it had unfortunately died while I was away.   This was originally intended for our bathroom window sill, but doesn't fit, so it is opposite our bathroom on the hallway window sill.  You can see it as you come out of the bathroom...

So cute!

A lovely Jasmine in our entrance way makes the house smell lovely, plus some pretty daffodils to brighten the days which seem to be endlessly grey at the moment.

What a fantastic selection of music!  Just loving these discs.

My orchids are still looking wonderful and I just love them.

 I wonder what May will bring?  

Less pain?  I really really hope so.  

ANZAC DAY

Around the Garden on Sunday

The garden is starting to look a little tidier and more colourful, still a lot to do though.  

The Tulips are looking lovely. 

This is so pretty, such rich oranges.

Blossoms on the trees.

I've planted some Blue Lake Runners and some Dalmation Beans.

Not sure what this is, but it is coming up in the shaded barked area beside our patio.

Underneath our Maple Tree.

Greenery looking good round the pond.

The Cherry Trees are starting to look gorgeous.

Lots of Forget Me Nots, lining our pathway.

This is so reliable, every year it flowers beautifully.

The first Rhododendron isn't far off from flowering.

We also visited our son yesterday - he cooked us a lovely roast dinner.  

Looking round his garden, he and his wife have also been working hard.  They have planted vegetables, flowers, and have quite a few seeds sown as well.  

Not sure what this is, whether it is a weed or not, but it is pretty with its lovely bright yellow flowers.

Lots of Bluebells (as well as some white and pink ones)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I have a few plans for the week.  

I washed the 'glass' of the glasshouse yesterday so want to get in there during the week and tidy up inside it, and get it ready for sowing seeds and planting.  

Some more weeding needs to be done at the front.

Our front porch also needs to be cleared!  It seems to attract all sorts of 'stuff'.  It is like a rubbish magnet!

All this is dependent on my pain levels of course. They are not especially good at the moment.

Bird Watch: Week Two

I didn't seem to 'see' as many birds this week.  Heard them a lot though, but they seemed to be mostly in hiding.  Quite a few blackbirds were seen at the front, there must be at least two pairs and I saw both 'Mr and Mrs' Blackbirds. What I haven't seen in ages is Nuthatches.  We used to see a lot of them, but I haven't seen one for over a year for some reason. 

April 15th: Overcast and damp.  Not sure what I was doing, but although I heard the birds I seemed to have missed seeing them!

April 16th: Blackbirds, Blue Tits,

April 17th:  Naughty squirrels are enjoying the nuts! Goldfinch, Blackbird (Mr)

April 18th;  Glorious Blue sky this morning.  Blackbirds, Great Tits,

April 19th:  Wonderful sunny day, very hot.  Blackbirds, Blue Tits,

April 20th:  Gorgeous hot sunny day.  Blackbirds (front and back) Blue Tits, Great Tits, Sparrow! Out the front, haven't seen a sparrow here in years.  Robin,

Saw a couple of hawks in the air on our way out today.

April 21st:  Dunnock, Blue Tits, Crows,

Audley End and SARDS

Another gorgeous day meant we just had to spend it out somewhere, so we chose another favourite place of ours, this time Audley End.

The birds were singing, it was relatively quiet and just simply beautiful.

Some lovely seats dotted round the walled garden.

Having a five minute break.

Beautiful flowers

Stunning gardens.

Majestic House.

Is he a pointer or a chihuahua?!  

Percy really enjoyed his walk again today.  We have been here often with him, and this bank in particular is one where we used to let him off to just run races with my husband.  We didn't let him off, as now he is completely blind, we would be worried he would get disorientated and panic and run off in the wrong direction.  But he did go for a run on the lead.  As did our Sheltie, Stanley.  It was a really enjoyable day.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

So a little bit about Percy and his sudden blindness.  Just over three weeks ago Percy went suddenly blind, literally overnight.  One day he could see, the next he was bumping into things.  He went to the vet and received a diagnosis of SARDS which is Sudden Acquired Retinal Degeneration Syndrome.  He was seen the following day by an Ophthalmic Specialist from the Royal Veterinary College, who confirmed his diagnosis.  There is a definitive test to do, but at £1000, it was deemed unnecessary, as he was almost 100% certain that was what it was, and there is nothing they can do about it anyway.  His pupils are now fully dilated all the time.  There is no reaction to light whatsoever...his little world is now complete darkness.  It is a very unusual disease, and especially unusual in dogs, it is more common in bitches over the age of seven.  Percy had only just turned five years old a couple of weeks earlier.  We were absolutely devastated, still are, but have realised he is a real trouper and just gets on with things.  Stanley misses playing with him and running round together like the used to, as Percy is not keen on doing that anymore, but who knows as he grows more confident perhaps this to will change.   To happen to such a fun loving dog, who used his eyes with such expression and alertness it is really sad.  They are no longer a beautiful brown but black, but appear almost blue opaque in the sunlight.  Taking him out these last few days though has made us realise, that from first impressions many wouldn't notice, he makes full use of his other senses.  He is a brave little dog and we are really proud of him.