Monday 2 August 2021

Our Sunday Adventures

 


Good Monday Morning Ladies, 

How can we be in August already?  I was thinking about last August over the weekend,  it was a very trying month, which started with us rearranging holidays as the company wasn't budging as far as refunds were concerned,  then Spain was off limits so holiday changed us to France, which we weren't keen on as we know our holiday works for our situation,  then Paul's eye happened, meaning there was going to be no holiday,  the next day France was declared a no go zone so the holiday took the liberty of rebooking our holiday in Spain for the same dates this year!  Ok it meant we didn't lose our money but they refused to give refunds, we didn't find out that they had actually booked our holiday until March this year when I rang about getting our money back!  The  agent said "oh you are all booked for this year,  so if you cancel because you don't 'want' to travel we don't have to refund you" so it feels like they have us over a barrel again, because currently there is no legal reason that we cannot travel to Spain!  Don't get me wrong the thought of three weeks of having Paul to myself and seeing him totally relaxed and having the chance to ease my aches in the sea sounds so heavenly right now!  The 'red tape' though!!!! Do we need tests, don't we, we need certificate of vaccination printed off, there are also changes to the rules of Driving post Brexit,  we need a Green card from our insurance, I remember getting those years ago, it feels like we are going back in time.   We are making sure we 'over' prepare just in case the French Authorities are wanting to make a 'you are no longer part of Europe' point.!!! 

I thought for a bit of a change we would share what we did on the weekend *if we did anything exciting *


Yesterday we decided that after a 10 year break we would rejoin the National Trust,  we were members for a good 15+ years before taking a break when I had my surgeries in 2009.  We didn't fully enjoy it as much towing 4 children around, they insist that they are child friendly but that was certainly not our experience at all properties!  We used to 'Tag Team' one entertaining children in garden while the other looked around the house, Matt was sometimes interested in looking round but like most children the wide open areas and a picnic were much more appealing! 

So we went to Dyrham Park yesterday,  the top photo is the back entrance and this photo is the Front entrance, the gardens were gorgeous, I took lots of photos of plants that we loved the look of, I will use my app to find out what they are.  We did buy an 'Orange Mint' which smells amazing and a 'Prostrate Thyme' that gives great ground cover, they were only £2 50 each and the lady explained that the money from the plants goes straight back into supporting the house. 

We were a bit dubious about the weather as the clouds looked a bit dark but as we finished looking around the house and were going for a cuppa and a slice of cake the clouds cleared and the sun 🌞 came out, so the walk around the gardens was delightful.  I think that we will take a flask and picnic on future visits, I had a piece of coffee & walnut cake, Paul had a flapjack, lets just say we needed the cup of tea to help get the cake down, it's probably just me, I do like a moist cake and good thick icing with plenty of walnuts! I could see Paul whince slightly as the girI asked for almost £12 for 2 drinks and 2 cakes, he's not mean, he's just a 'yorkshireman',  I do love to pack a picnic, picking out lovely treats, it's so much easier when it's only for 2 !! 

Lastly today I am sharing this lovely photo from Our Maria of the beautiful rainbow she could see from her garden. 

Maria's Description:

I am sending you Sandra the amazing rainbow we had outside only a few 
days ago, don't think I ever seen the colours so bright before. Sadly you
can't really see it on the photo how strong the colours were . Wonder if the 
pot of gold was true at the end of the rainbow :>)

I hope you find the pot of gold Maria, while out on one of your walks!! 
Thank you so much for sharing it with us. XXX

I hope that you all have a good day, 

Love and hugs to all of you,

Sandra
xxxxxx

7 comments:

  1. Morning Ladies

    Sandra-your day out sounds great! The photo is lovely. Difficult decision regarding your holiday especially as you didn’t choose to rebook. Worrying though as the cases of Covid in Europe aren’t under control and I’m guessing you’re classed as higher risk.

    Maria-what a gorgeous photo.

    We had a lazy day-well for us it was lazy but we were busy. We had sunshine in the afternoon which was nice.

    Michele

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  2. Dyrham Park looks gorgeous and good to see you went out instead of being chained to your craft desk 😀
    We went shopping for curtains on Saturday (so exciting!)
    We went to the bowls club yesterday and had a bit of a practice We had a drink in the bar and had a real laugh with who was there
    I did 2 rows of my jungle blanket It takes me 10 minutes to untangle it all first and some colours are so similar I can only do it in natural daylight!
    OH is in Oscar sitting duty today I’ll be joining in after lunch
    Take care xx

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    Replies
    1. Oh MARIA I forgot to comment on that beautiful photo of the rainbow It’s gorgeous

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  3. Hi everyone
    Sounds like you had a lovely day yesterday, and the weather was kind for you. Glad you were able to spend quality time with Paul 🙂
    A lovely photo of the rainbow Maria.
    Had a quiet weekend, and I even went back to bed on Saturday morning for a couple of hours - had a few 5am starts last week and it finally caught up with me!
    Have a good day everyone. Sending hugs to you all xxx

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  4. Hi ladies
    Sounds like you both had a lovely day yesterday Sandra. I’m glad you enjoyed your bowls Karen.
    Lovely cards over the weekend as I’ve finally caught up this morning. I’ve been up to Rushdon visiting Sophie & Jonny in their new house. Only renting at the moment as they want to come back to the Witney area to buy a house. Seems daft that you can afford the repayments easily but the deposit is the stumbling block. Everyone else came up as well,, apart from Livvy who as usual was working, although Amy & Matty went home Sat evening. A lovely relaxing weekend apart from having 8 dogs in the house as well with us. Apart from a bit of rain Sun morning the weather was lovely.
    Take care & stay safe everyone.

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  5. Hello Sandra and ladies,

    So pleased you and Paul had a day out together, Dryham Park looks beautiful. I’m sure the day out did you both good, you could wander around and enjoy each other’s company. xx

    Maria what a beautiful picture of the rainbow. Thank you for sharing it with us. xx

    Can’t do much today the electrician and his apprentice are back again, at the moment he is running an earth cable around the kitchen. Nothing is ever straightforward in this house, but then it’s an old house, built in 1912. I believe when it was built the lighting was wall mounted gas lights.

    Take care, Love Brenda xxx

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  6. Hi everyone.
    Looks like a nice house to visit, never heard of it before. Glad you and Paul did something together.
    Worrying about your trip through France and then to Spain.
    Hopefully it gets sort somehow and you be going to Spain soon for a well earned rest.
    That rainbow was just amazing, never seen such a big one before and so close up.Shame the photos don't do it justice for it was really bright.
    Dared and had a trip out to Tesco's,needed some we missed on the last shop. We kept our mask on but so many people who didn't. It's like they don't care anymore....didn't stay long. Not sure what we do this afternoon, feeling so tired. I need the sun and a bit warmer weather but do we get any summer at all this year or was that it with the few day's in the 30 ?
    Have a nice day everyone, Hugs Maria xx

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