Birthday weekend and other things

I had a lovely birthday weekend. Our walk in London was not from Waterloo to the Houses of Parliament as I thought. We caught the tube to Waterloo and then from Waterloo we got on the train to Chiswick. From Chiswick Station we walked along the Thames Pathway to Hammersmith Bridge passing Barnes Bridge and Putney Bridge. This walk traced the course of the Oxford - Cambridge boat race from Mortlake to Putney; only ever rowed three times in the history of the boat race so far. The walk was 7 miles in total with a stop for lunch.

 At Hammersmith Bridge we went into Bishops Park and onto to Fulham Palace - the Bishop's seat, where we had tea and cake. The best way to finish a walk I always think!

Fulham Palace. 

This is the River Thames and very unappealing it looked too; that's the old Watney's Brewery, a typical Victorian warehouse building; it's now owned by Budweiser.

This is for Sheila of 'Ephemera' here -  a great Star Wars fan! This house overlooked the Thames. I don't think I'd want a life sized Stormtrooper on my balcony. And I certainly wouldn't want what another house had; a full sized white cow on their balcony with SALT written on the cow's flank = salt beef!

These two churches are at either end of Putney Bridge. Above is St. Mary's Church and below is All Saint's Church. St. Mary's Church was the site of the Putney Debates. The Putney Debates were a series of discussions between members of the New Model Army – a number of the participants being Levellers – concerning the makeup of a new constitution for Britain in 1647. (Source Wikipedia).

The view from Blackfriars station. I thought I had got the Shard in but I hadn't; it's on the right hand side but out of view. That's Tower Bridge in the distance. It was a very dreary day as you can see above and there were several showers...

I went out with my brothers and OH on Saturday night for a birthday meal - this is what I wore.

Trousers by Abercrombie and Fitch from the 'Mercy in Action vintage rail' bought for 7.00. Top from La Redoute sale a few years back. Long jacket; David Emmanuel charity shopped in the Red Cross; boots, daughter donated. 

All jewellery charity shopped except necklace; present from OH and bought in Donegal.

 Lovely birthday cake!

I was very spoilt. My son gave me money and I bought two of my favourite perfumes. My brothers gave me money; OH bought me posh headphones, books and CDs and daughter bought me books and CDs. I was very pleased and grateful everything. 

We had finished our meal and were on our way home - a member of staff kindly took this photo...

On Sunday I went out for afternoon tea with my daughter. It was Mothering Sunday here in the UK.

I got a bunch of daffs for free and some daffodils in a pot from the place we went to as well!

I've got a new kitchen coming and it's going to be fitted whilst we're away in Ireland at Easter. I'm having extra plug sockets installed and some are being moved as you can see in the above picture.

Everything charity shopped except the OTK boots - on line retail. Dress bought  in Cancer Research, waistcoat from Zara charity shopped but can't remember where.

I don't know what happened to these photos - the light was peculiar!

All jewellery charity shopped except earrings 99p from e bay.

My daughter bought me a beautiful cactus plant in a lovely chintz plant pot for Mother's Day and gave me the most beautiful card. I got a lovely card from my son and some from the grandchildren, too! I am very lucky to be surrounded by such loving family.

On Monday I had some birthday money to spend so I thought I'd see what the Barnardo's in Great Denham had on offer. You may remember I don't go there too often as the new manager got rid of the 99p rail and put everything up to London prices. What a shock I got! EVERYTHING was 99p and had been since after Christmas. They may be permanently keeping everything at this price they're not sure; just waiting on an area manager's decision...

I bought some buckle boots from Miss Selfridge; a green corduroy skirt (both can be seen below), a navy sleeveless top; a beach wrap;  another headscarf in yellow and turquoise; a cross body bag; a leoprint long sleeved t shirt and a hoody and long sleeved t shirt for grandson. All 99p each. They had very little in the way of jewellery. Then I went to the Cat's Protection Society in Kempston where I bought a green summer coat from M&S and a pair of red jeans that fit me properly, so out went the old red pair! I did enjoy my spend up - 23.00 in total!

Everything charity shopped except striped top Primarni retail. Skirt and boots; Barnardo's Great Denham 99p each; I think I bought the kimono in Ireland but can't remember where.

Green tights charity shopped about 6 years ago. Scarf bought in a Stevenage charity shop for 1.00 last year.

All jewellery charity shopped. Those blasted hanger thingies have escaped again!

The JAYG method was coming along. I made some errors but as it was my first attempt that wasn't surprising. I found the written instructions and photos less helpful that watching this You Tube tutorial by Bella Cocoa here

WiP

Finished - I added a couple of buttons. I still wanted to use up the remaining scraps so started making 8 inch granny squares. I'm aiming to make 49 squares which will be a 5 foot + blanket. I can work on these squares until I go to Ireland and start the Willow block blanket. That's the great thing about crocheting granny squares; you can pick them up or leave them for another time.

More black and white.

Trousers; Sainsbury's retail sale and boots on line retail. Cardigan and top charity shopped.

All jewellery charity shopped. I meant to wear my silver boots with this outfit but as I was walking around a lot I needed thick socks so I stuck with the trusty old red boots.

We went out for eldest grandson's birthday meal last Wednesday. He was 23 on Thursday.
I saw him come into the world...

It's been a pretty uneventful week this week. I passed by the 3:16 shop on Monday and bought four more items from the 1.00 rail getting one free as it's buy two and get the the third free. A Jasper Conran patterned cardigan; a white short sleeved top from M&S, a blue striped shirt with little birds on (see below) and a lace sleeveless tunic for the summer. Total spend 3.00.

I volunteered at the library on Tuesday afternoon.

Everything is charity shopped except the earrings which were from Sainsbury's many moons ago. The blue kimono jacket was bought on our last rummage in London for 2.99. Blue striped shirt 1.00 rail 3:16 charity shopped. Jeans; M&S 1.00 Red Cross shop. Blue boots 1.99, also Red Cross.

I didn't wear bangles as it can be quite difficult to get my coat sleeves over them and they make quite a racket when I'm shelving the books. I keep expecting one of the librarians to go 'sssshhh'!

On Wednesday I walked with the group and what a beautiful day it was. Sunny and relatively warm. I had to take my jacket off at one point! We walked from Turvey to Newton Blossomville via Cold Brayfield 6.7 miles. This is Brayfield House below. We have often driven past the lodge house and seen the path winding up behind huge iron gates: but this is the first time I have ever seen the house and it's a rear view you can see what a beautiful house it is. Look at that blue sky!

I spied this in the village of Newton Blossomville.

On Wednesday evening I started watching 'Craft Britain'on BBC4. They featured typesetting and rug making - both of which I'd love to try. The rug making reminded me of my student nurse days in the early 1970s. I trained for what was called at the time the 'Mentally Subnormal' part of the register; later renamed as the Mental Handicap part of the register;  and now called 'Learning Disabilities/Difficulties. Part of our training was a 12 week placement in the Occupational Therapy unit where you spent half the time in the 'Huts' (Arts and Crafts) and the other half the 'Sheds' (Carpentry, Marquetry; light industrial work and rug making). I loved helping the residents with the rug making...

This was Thursday's outfit. Everything is charity shopped except the necklace which came from Primark years ago.

The squares I'm making for a new blanket are to replace the blanket behind me. I don't like this one very much; it's called the 'Beachcomber Blanket' and whilst I like the pattern I don't like the white in it or the border. I wished I'd used cream instead. I will take this one to a charity shop when I've made the new one.

Silver boots; 3:16 charity shop 2.50; striped top 1.00 rail 3:16 shop.  The long cardigan came from Keech Cottage 2.25 but I can't remember where the trousers came from.

Friday's outfit

Everything charity shopped except black top: Primarni. I bought this dress from a 99p or 1,00 rail somewhere; Barnardo's in Ampthill, I think. The boots were from the Willen Hospice shop in Newport Pagnell 5.99 from New Look.

All jewellery charity shopped; I had removed my rings as I started to cook dinner...

We're off to Ireland in just over a week's time. I can't wait to see Ruby Super again and my family and friends in Ireland. The kitchen will be fitted while we're away so I'll be busy next week emptying out the cupboards and packing stuff away. I'm getting a new fridge and freezer but reusing my oven, washing machine and dryer; so they will have to be disconnected and put somewhere before we leave. It's going to be a busy week.

I'll do my best to keep up with all your blog posts while I'm away but the wifi at the site is very poor so I probably won't be able to comment very much. For those of you who celebrate it have a wonderful Easter.
xxxxx