Sunday stroll

 Although the temperature was 3 degrees and there was a fierce wind, the promise of some sunshine on Sunday was enough to tempt us out for a walk on the beach.  Lots of other people had the same idea.

The sand was blowing and we bowled along happily with the wind behind us.

The noise of the surf was loud. I was glad to be well wrapped up.

We were walking on the Sandbanks stretch of Bournemouth where  it is interesting to gaup at the ostentatious houses overlooking the sea, built for millionaires. (Some Russians, maybe? Their places might be up for sale soon!) In between the big, showy structures just a few of the old houses, like this one, remain. They are far more appealing to me. I hope that they will never be pulled down and replaced by another monstrosity. The old houses are a reminder of how Bournemouth used to be.

It was lovely to feel the sun on our faces. I feel very starved of sunshine at this time of year .

The family were about to turn around and head back into the wind.

Just a bit longer to soak up the sun, said Himself.

Half trerm

 Half term was cold. We took the bike to the beach where it is usually possible to ride unhindered for miles. But the storms had tossed the sand up onto the road making progress impossible. 

 A hole in the sand provided alternative interest for quite a while. But I, for one, was pleased to get back to the warmth of the kitchen for  some painting, cutting out, sticking, rolling and baking. Phew! 

The newly bought  dinosaur biscuit cutters were a great success.

Fair weather?

 The storms have gone and, although there is a bitter wind, the sun shines and spring is promised. Only two trees came down in the village as the various storms raged, along with a great deal of brash - good kindling for everyone! The snowdrops are up, seemingly impervious to anything that the weather brings. 

 I picked my first camellia flower of the season, 'Lavinia Maggee' and wandered round the garden to see what other blossom I could find.

The small pear tree is covered in moss, a sure indication of how much rain we have received this winter.
I've looked out my seed packets ready to swing into action. It's a promising time of year.

Birthday month

January is a birthday month in our family and  in normal times it means a continuation of  Christmas and New Year festivities with presents to open and good food to enjoy. There were two big '0's  to celebrate this year, half a century and my old bloke becoming eighty. Crickey! Among his presents were a tweed cap and a new waxed jacket, just the thing for a Yorkshire man, even if he is living down south.  Illness, however, kept our celebrations simple, a daughter with Covid and Himself with a number of hospital visits where he had bits cut off, bits patched up, laser treatment and more pills to add to his ever growing collection. There has been a lot of too-ing and fro-ing and anxious phone calls. Younger daughter, who works in the NHS, gave me good advice. "Mum, just pull on your big girl pants." A more invasive biopsy was cancelled. I phoned her to say it was good and added, "I'm taking off my big girl pants."

Could Grandad blow out all his candles in one go? Yes he could!

 

 

 We were all together for Peter's birthday and had lunch at the Olive Tree in Bath, the only restaurant in the city that has a Michelin star. Was the food good? Yes, it looked very attractive on the plate and tasted delicious.

My starter was tortellini, venison bolognaise, mooli and parmesan. 

 

 

 

 Others had a vegetarian option.

 

 

For my main course I ate Cornish lemon sole with poached mussels, courgette, sea herbs and a white wine sauce.

My choice for dessert was so delicious that I ate it before remembering to take a photograph! Islands chocolate with brown butter, hazelnut and yuzu.

Our boy had fish and chips and was perfectly happy to have some sauce to dunk his chips into. Fine dining doesn't mean much when you are four!

We are just a small family and it was wonderful to all be together.

Full moon

 

The mornings are cold

 but beautiful.

As the mist lifts I spot a hawk in the orchard sitting in an apple tree. It is probably waiting for one of the pigeons  that come to eat my sprouts!

There are still a few flowers on the climbing Iceberg,

Sunshine!

We have had days of rain and strong winds and our daily walk has been restricted to just a short walk on the road. But this morning the sun shone and we put on our wellington boots to walk through the woods. The autumn leaves are now a mush and in places it was slippy  underfoot.

Once in the woods we could see the damage that the winds had done, splitting and taking down quite a number of trees.

The forester had been at work clearing and stacking the fallen trunks. There is plenty of brash lying around and I hope it will all be cleared before the bluebells start to push through. If not they will hamper the usual lovely spread of blue flowers.

The deer herd were huddled in the shelter of a clump of trees. and were disinclined to move when I stood to take a photo of them.

It was cold out and good to get back to the warmth of home, where the sun brightened the red of my roses from Aldi!