Wednesday 5 March 2014

A this and a that kind of a post . . . .


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We had another gorgeous day yesterday.   The sun shone and it was fairly mild.   Spring is definitely springing up all over the place.  The sky is tinted a very definite shade of red as the sun rises this morning, so we may not be so lucky today.   Red sky at morning and all that . . .

As we  drove to the dog groomers I saw what I thought was a field filled with sheep and sea gulls, only to realized upon closer inspection that they were not gulls, they were spring lambs!


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Hundreds of them, laying next to their mothers on the green grass of the fields.  It made me feel so excited.  I had never seen so many baby lambs before.   Spring is definitely in a hurry to arrive this year!


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And these are popping up all over as well . . . on the waysides and roadsides . . . the North West and Wales are loaded with daffodils, and they make such a cheerful sight this time of year.  In fact, the 1 of March was St David's Day.   St David is the patron saint of Wales and so many people wear daffodils on their lapels as well.

The season of yellow is about to begin in earnest . . .

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We always take ourselves to the Gordale Garden Centre when Mitzie is in being fluffed and puffed.  It takes a good two hours which is far too long to just sit in the car, but not quite long enough to make it worth driving all the way back home and then back again.   Besides with the cost of petrol these days . . . we try to conserve as much of it as we can.

Besides I love to walk around the garden centre.  It is filled with lovely things to look at, and they have the absolute best greeting cards, plus you can always pick up a cheap cookbook or two.   I got two yesterday.   A donut one which was marked down to £1.99 and one on Sunday lunch, which was only £2.99.   Real bargains.  Todd always brings a magazine or book to read and goes into the cafe, buys himself a hot chocolate and then nestles in.  I am sure he prays the whole time that I am not going to be overly tempted by things that I see.   I am usually very good, but a woman does like to look at things.  I am quite capable of looking without buying.   Men . . . well, it's been my experience that they are not great window shoppers.

Todd isn't at any rate. He's a get in, get what you need and get out kind of a guy.  He doesn't  understand or enjoy browsing.

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We went for a walk after I had done my browsing, through the garden part of the centre and looked at all the shrubs, etc. that were for sale.   I confess to being sorely tempted by the sets of bulbs they had which were already up and ready to bloom.  You could get 8 for a set price and they would have been lovely . . . tulips, hyacinth, etc.  but we resisted.   We did buy ourselves a small forsythia bush though for £4.99, which was enough of a splurge for us.   Forsythia and spring.  Like peas and carrots.  They just go together.

The season of yellow.

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 Our little madame looks and smells so pretty now.   That is the one thing we miss with not having a bathtub anymore . . . we are unable to bath her ourselves.   We have tried using the shower, and it is ok, but not quite the same and we all end up wet.  I am not entirely sure she likes being groomed,  but . . . it's a necessity unfortunately and something we both have to bear.  Her burden being all of the fuss (she hates that) and us the cost . . .

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It is worth it in the end though to have a nice clean doggy and I am sure whilst she doesn't enjoy the process of getting there, she feels much better afterwards for having had it done.

Then late yesterday afternoon we had the unexpected pleasure of having the missionaries and an investigator in our home for teaching.  I love sharing the gospel, and my thoughts and experiences with it and the joy it brings into my life.   It's also lovely to have the missionaries in our home. You all know how much I love that.   We have one from Tahiti at the moment as well as one from Colorado Springs.  Nice lads.  I so admire all of the missionaries.   They are brave young people to do what they do and do it every day, no matter the weather or reception that they get.

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And that was the adventure yesterday was.   We ended the day quietly watching telly in the evening.  I caught up on a couple of Corry's that I had missed and then we watched a DCI Banks we had taped and a Longmire (American show we record).   I embroidered while we watched and then before too long we were ready for bed!

And that . . . was that!  Not an exciting life, but we do enjoy it regardless.

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A thought to carry with you through today . . . 

(¯`v´¯)
  `*.¸.*..✿´´¯`•.¸⁀°♡
Smile at each other,
smile at your wife,
smile at your husband,
smile at your children,
smile at each other -
it doesn't matter who it is
and that will help you to grow up
in greater love for each other.
~Mother Teresa


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Cooking in The English Kitchen today . . . Cappellini with a Spicy Tomato-Cream Sauce.
Delicious, simple and quick.  You can have this tasty dish on the table in less than 20 minutes.

Have a great Wednesday!  Smile!

 

5 comments:

  1. Seems like a perfect kind of day Marie, except for Mitzie maybe!!! my wee Masy is not very happy being washedetc either, even although Maggie comes here to do her. I Cn hear her grumbling at Maggie sometimes !! well Mary and i off to Bath this morning just a wee wander around and to pick up Mary's shoes that we heard had come back annd we can get another pair in to get the soles sorted ,,,frosty at the moment but hopefully by 9 it will have lifted... enjoy your day xxx

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  2. Enjoy your day Marie. I must admit washing an animal is not fun at the best of times. Washing a cat is not fun either!

    One day I will see the England you have described today.

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  3. I would love to be in that beautiful season of yellow here, but no, we are still in the season of whiteness. I hope you have a wonderful Wednesday!

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  4. Oh, poor Mitzie! Miss Sophie sends her sympathies ♥ ♥

    Fortunately for us, Miss Sophie weighs only 3½kg so she can be bathed in a baby bath. She doesn't like it either, but she looks so pretty once she's bathed, dried and brushed. We do this at least twice a month, plus trim her nails and tidy up her fur, especially her facial hair.

    I'm more like Todd in shops and my husband is more the browsing type. But I do love gardening centres and find that I have to restrain myself or I'd buy up enough plants to fill several acres :-) How pretty thast you got a forsythia. That's on my list of plants to buy this season as well. I love the bright yellow flowers and the bees they attract.

    Your spring is about a month ahead of ours when I look at what you already have flowering, but it gives me hope that soon we'll be enjoying sunshine, green grass and pretty blossoms. And spring lambs - how precious!

    Now I see you've been torturing poor Todd with pasta again! Hee, hee .. I must pop over and take a look.

    I thought of you on the weekend as a Mormon missionary (only 19 years old) was killed by a hit and run driver not far from here. They've caught the driver (who they think was drug affected), but how sad for his family that he died so young and tragically - and so far from home. It's so good that these brave young men and women have people like you around them when they set off on their missions.

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  5. LOL I prefer washing a car:)
    And I used to blow dry our doggies..

    Love garden centres and lambs:)

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