Photo diary: Project 365, week 13

Easter holidays are approaching faster and faster. In the meantime, my younger boy has to revise before his mocks which will happen straight after Easter. 

Lindt Dubai style chocolate is currently trending. I saw a new bar while shopping groceries on Ocado, and got it as a treat for my guys. Since then, I saw it in Waitrose on the shelves, though it was all gone before Mother's day, and I believe Sainsbury's sells it now too.

It is not bad, but for a tenner I expected something a bit more special. I rationed everyone a piece, saying, Enjoy the moment, each square is worth a pound, then wrapped the leftover chocolate bar in a paper bag, put inside another paper bag, and have hidden under some stationery bits in the chest of drawers.

I should have known that Sasha will find it. He has a gift of sniffing chocolate from a mile away. I should have learnt my lesson by now, and have put it under lock. Sasha found it, ate it and put everything carefully as it was, as if I wouldn't realise who it was. I wonder what goes through his mind, he must have thought, I have a cunning plan, Mum will never guess who did it. :)

Don't think I will be buying another Dubai chocolate in a hurry, unless it's on a good offer.

Have you tried it? What's your verdict?

On Monday I ran into town with a few errands, and spotted two beautiful red kites gliding over our street. They would swoop down and then launch themselves high. I tried to capture them, when they were a bit lower, but all I managed was a couple of snaps, with the expanse of the skies and a tiny flyer.

Tuesday was the day when the only picture I took was of a Sasha's trousers' label, so that I could get the right size/fit while buying a new pair, and I won't bore anyone with this marvellous snap.

The medication Sasha's taking for anxiety is making him hungry, and he is not able to moderate his food intake. He's put on quite a bit of weight, and I need to monitor what he eats, which is not easy. My husband thinks we should put the door on the kitchen (currently we don't have any) and lock it, but I believe it would cause more stress for my poor boy. I just need to be more vigilant.

Instead here are a couple of pics from Wednesday.

Picking a tub of ice cream from the freezer in the summerhouse, I looked up at the windows. Guess, whose room this is?

The last time my Mum stayed with us was six years ago, and I miss her so much. Even without the war, she wouldn't be able to travel nowadays due to her health issues. We talk every day on the phone, but that's not enough, is it?! 

In a way, I feel her presence in the garden, where she loved to tend to the flowers. There are still some of the hyacinths that she planted. 

It was a windy day, and instead of my usual hat(s) I decided to wear a headscarf around. On the way into town I met Eddie coming home from school, he looked at me aghast and asked, What's that on your head? I replied that I was worried the hat would fly in the wind, and that the late Queen often had a headscarf (I didn't tie it under the chin, and had it more like a headband). 

Well, he has always been a fashion critic. I remember when he was little, and watched me trying on a new top that I just bought, saying "Mama's pyjamas".

This week I have been reading Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy. This Cold war spy story is absolutely brilliant. Le Carre's writing is exquisite, his language is unrivalled. 

I thought I'd start watching Tinker Tailor on Netflix, along the book, and will finish the film once I finished the book. The film is very good.

Fountain pens are one of my hobbies, and I loved seeing this beauty in one of the scenes. I would love to know the brand.

I planted a few tulips, which I bought a couple of days before, passing by the local florist's. This pink variety is called Foxtrot. I also got white Popcorn tulips, and hope they will be as pretty as they are on the label. Also had to spread a few of the blue-coloured snug-killer pellets around the new plants to give them a chance.

A sketch I did for Penandinkchallenge on Insta, with a prompt of Your grandparents' garden.

My grandparents lived in the middle of nowhere. To visit them, we travelled a day and a half by train, then there was a long bus trip, and walking through the steppe, carrying bags and suitcases, unless some kind farmer offered a ride on his truck.

My grandfather was a forester. He was my grandma's husband, and not my Mum's Dad, but he's the only grandfather I knew. My Dad's father died in the war. Grandpa had a beautiful smile, and many people who didn't know the family dynamics, commented on how much alike my brother and he looked. 

Anyway, as a big city girl, I resented spending holidays in the sticks, without "civilisation". My granparents' house was at the end of the village, with the garden merging with the forest.

I did love spending hours in the hammock in the cherry orchard, with raspberry bushes around. I would climb on the cherry tree, pick a handful of cherries, and decorate myself with cherry "earings".

That's what I tried to show in my sketch.

And finally, a very festive Easter bunny post box yarn bombing in the centre of town.  What a colourful seasonal decoration!

How was your week?