The weather has been pretty abysmal though, it's been raining most days, and we were watching the levels of the river Windrush with a bit of anxiety, as it's prone to flooding.
Last Sunday was no different - rain, rain, rain, with a few sunny rays in between, when I managed to snap these wet cyclamens in the garden.
This is one of a few hazelnuts I managed to rescue before the greedy squirrel got to them. She is a total thug, biting off the hazelnuts and just throwing them on the ground, rather than taking what she needs to hide for winter.
Tuesday was a super busy day. My Mum was arriving later in the evening.
Thankfully, Sash was given an extra respite day this month, so I didn't have to worry about him. My husband was also arriving from Italy in the evening, so Eddie and I were going to Heathrow to meet my Mum.
By a very lucky coincidence, a friend was taking his cousin to the airport, and offered to take us there as well. We had to leave a bit earlier.
My Mum had a good flight.
Eddie took his backpack with him, with some snacks and a Marvel comics issue.
Of course, the first thing my Mum did the next day was to go in the garden and start pruning and chopping. Her strange reasoning is that since we pay for the green waste removal, we need to fill in the bin. I stopped arguing with her, she just does her own thing, and I let her be.
Eddie enjoys reading the Beast/Sea Quest series by Adam Blade. I've taken a photo of the stash he has in collection to use as a reminder on my iPhone what he's got already, in case I spot one of the books in the charity shops.
I love reading the #FolkloreThursday tweets. Every week there's a new theme, and last Thursday it was the theme of the underground/underworld.
I took a photo of my Mum's artwork. This is an illustration to the Russian folk tale The Mistress of the Copper Hill. She lives in the caves under ground, and lures the craftsmen with the precious rocks. While in her kingdom, they gain a great knowledge of rocks, but forget all about the world they left behind. This is a legend from my part of Russia - the Urals, and has been told by the writer Pavel Bazhov.
My Mum is an artist who works with the hot enamel. The paints she uses are the same as in porcelain. Each work goes in a special kiln to be treated by fire at 800C+.
Rain has affected the water levels in the river. There was hardly any gap left under the bridge, as the water has risen.
Yesterday Eddie and I were meeting friends at the playground, and walked past St Mary's Church, with its beautiful windows.
Glad you've had a better week. It must be so nice to have your mum there. I had to laugh at her needing to fill up the green waste bin! Ours gets full all year round because of the guinea pig bedding. My son has got loads of Beast Quest books he would like to sell, but it's difficult because of the cost of postage. I think people could probably buy them from places like The Book People almost as cheaply as buying them second hand because businesses can afford to offer free postage!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Sarah, yep, she filled in the bin, but because she was working in the rain, she has been coughing non-stop for the last few days, sigh.
DeleteAhh! It must be so nice to have your mum visiting!
ReplyDeleteWhat a rouge of a squirrel!
That is quite a collection of books! x
Thank you, Kim, that squirrel is a thug.
DeleteAwww have a lovely time with your mum, glad she made it over safely. We have the same, constantly wet weather - a total nightmare with Pierre's foot in plaster. It's gone all soft at the end - I think I may have to head back to add another layer :-/
ReplyDeleteThank you, Cheryl, the weather didn't improve much since I did the post, it's been raining and raining.
DeleteThe artwork looks so beautiful. Your mother is very talented. Well done for saving at least a few hazelnuts from the squirrel. :)
ReplyDeleteThank you, Anca, the squirrel won the battle, she's got most of the nuts anyway.
DeleteThe weather has been quite miserable! Lovely photo of the cyclamens. One of my favourite flowers. Not come across those Sea Quest books before...might check them out for the girls.
ReplyDeleteMust be nice to have your mum over
Thank you, Fozia, it is lovely to have my Mum over, if only she listened to me. :)
DeleteHow lovely to have your mum to visit and I had to laugh at her pruning your garden to fill the recycling bin. What a talented artist she is, hot enamels sounds interesting. Enjoy your time with her
ReplyDeleteI suppose indirectly we pay for rubbish uplifts as well. The bins are part of the council tax, so after we pay them to take it away they sell on the recyling and compost the garden rubbish that they then sell back to us.
ReplyDeleteWow at your mums art work, very talented.
Glad you are getting an extra night of care for Sasha, not much but I hope it helps. I am not sure Bob would go to be honest to give my daughter a break, or if she would trust someone enough to keep him alive.
Worrying when the river gets high if you live near it.
How nice to have your mum to stay. I love that she comes in and takes over in the garden and the picture she created is stunning. Great idea for the books I must remember to do that for one of Charlie's series.
ReplyDeleteMy eldest enjoys the Beast Quest books too. I never really thought about hazelnuts growing! #project365
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