I have been having fun.......

I have been a little busy, so haven't had time to pop on here and say hello - sorry!

I have a valid excuse. I think.

It was my birthday on Sunday and that was jam-packed with "stuff". Good stuff. The twins turned 9 and so, as tradition dictates, I presented myself on their doorstep at dawn. Well, 8.30. On Sunday. On my birthday. Their birthday. So, after the first cup of coffee slid down my throat, and I woke up properly, we had a pancake breakfast outside on the patio. In the sun.

It was a beautiful hot sunny day, and breakfast with the babes and their parents was just lovely. I had already spoken to most of my family by then, and when I got home, I skyped with my daughter, opened the cards I had kept in a pile and spoke to my friends who called from New Zealand and Scotland.

And then Peter and Glynis came to collect me and we all went to lunch at the most gorgeous pub in a nearby village. There were SO many people there - you have to book for a meal and believe me, it was good. And I am quite happy writing the delicious warm chocolate brownie with ice cream off as a Birthday Cake. Perfect excuse. I took my camera, and so help me, forgot to photograph the food. I just have pics of the empty plates. Oops.

All I can say is that it was delicious......

This is a very clever marketing idea for the Jubilee - £19.52 for 2 courses for 2 people - 1952 is the year the Queen came to the throne!

 And then home for a lazy afternoon here in my garden with the stream of visitors who popped in. It was a really lovely day.

The rainbow bunting went up because I couldn't work out what I was keeping it for, and the sun made me happy, and so do the bright colours. By the time the flowers all bloom, my garden will require sunglasses to be worn at all times, because the colours should be just as bright as the bunting.

 But right now we seem to be in a purple phase - the aquilegia, the alium (i - there are 2), the million bells, the bluebells, the start of the lobelia - shades of purple. It is pretty.

 So that was Sunday.

 On Monday I had a quiet day, and did a lot of pottering in the garden and watering the allotment in the morning, and then went out to lunch with my friend Liz. It was good to catch up over another delicious lunch at another garden centre, which we love.

It was another stunning day, so in the evening, Glynis, Peter and Jean came round for a BBQ. I have decided that that is the way to entertain, because all I need to do is cook the meat when the guests are here, it is all very relaxed and no-one expects me to wear shoes, and so what if the make up has melted and the hair has gone wild. Everything else - the salads etc can be prepared before they arrive, and that I can cope with, without a problem.

We had a combined effort and strung up the other rainbow bunting. I told you my garden would be bright!

This post seems to be all about how much I have eaten. Oh well. True!!

So that is what has occupied me for the past few days. I have been having fun. Today was a hard aquazumba day, and some sorting and organising, and then I started on the curtains for Missy's Cedar Cottage. And here I am.

I love having doors open and wandering in and out barefoot, you know. It is the South African in me. People here don't go barefoot. I prefer no shoes. My feet are FREE!! Sigh. I have not got a touch of the sun, I assure you. I just love being home and in my garden.

Right. It is now 10.30pm and time for me to go and sew buttons on the flowers I have crocheted for the all season tree. The summer change is just a week away. June, and the house changes again. The country, by the way, has decorated itself. Everywhere you go, it is red, white and blue, and flags are flying, shops decorated, houses, streets...... the nation is going to celebrate the Queen's Jubilee in style.

Hmmm.

Time to put up the Patriotic Bunting in the front, I think............................