Photo diary: Project 365, week 16

 Easter holidays are over, full of adventure and buzz. This was the last week before Eddie does his mocks, starting tomorrow (eeek!) and he's been revising a lot. And I have been working in the garden.

When we were in Paris, we left the keys with our friend who hired a shredder/chipper equipment to chip the lilac wood trunks he cut earlier in the month in our garden. Sadly, some of the old plum trees were getting quite diseased, a fig tree needed trimming, etc. He knows his way around the trees, and I trust him to make decisions of what needs to be done. Now I have four huge bags of chips to spread around the garden for compost. 

Eddie has been spending most days indoors, but he goes around the garden to keep up the step count on his watch. While walking around, he was swinging his arm and managed to throw a key to the summerhouse somewhere in the greenery. I've been trying to find the blasted key for days, but to no avail. We do have a second key, but I have bollocked him for doing silly things. Who walks around, swinging the keys?! 

My lilac is in full bloom now, and smells so wonderful. I adore the scent of lilacs, it's bitter sweet. I have picked a bunch to put in a vase in our hall.

Not a photo but a screenshot from an old documentary I found on Youtube made in 1978. My Mum looks so young here, she was 34 years old when the documentary was filmed. And I was a 10-year-old child then. 

My Mum was already known for her beautiful art, and that's the film about the production of hot enamel art, and the local jewellery factory which was well known in the country. 

We lived in a two-room apartment on the ground floor then, and by two rooms I mean two rooms, not two bedrooms. My brother and I shared one room, we also had a gorgeous Siberian cat and a parrot. 

I don't remember feeling deprived or anything, as everyone I knew lived in similar conditions in the big cities. There was a small strip of garden just outside our windows, and in summer I climbed out of the window into the garden, where my Mum grew flowers and raspberries. In my dreams I often re-visit the old place and check out the post box on the front door for mail. 

I'm not romanticising those days at all, but I'd love to go back in time just for an hour to see my young parents. I'm much much older now than they were at that time.

We do like novelty chocolate, but I literally gulped when I saw the price of this Dubai style chocolate in one of the local corner shops. I thought a tenner for Lindt Dubai chocolate was already too much, there is no way I would want to spend £15.99 on a bar.

Taking some photos for the coming post on the current Degustabox. The parcel arrived when we were away. I have emailed the team a week before, asking if the parcel could possibly be delivered after we were back from our trip, so that it didn't sit outside as a flag that there was noone at home. The couriers usually dump stuff at the door, take a photo that they delivered and leave it there. The team got back to me, saying not to worry, the parcel would arrive on Friday. 

Guess what, I had a notification on Wednesday that the parcel was delivered. Thankfully, our friend with the keys was able to bring it in, but what a nuisance.

The goodies look good though, my guys are happy with all the chocolate and the pancakes.

My dear husband has been away since Sunday evening, and was supposedly coming back on Friday. Messaged him on Friday, asking what time to expect him, he replied that actually he was returning on Saturday instead. That's "fab", as I planned to do the last minute grocery shopping, since we have guests coming for Easter lunch. You know what my darling said, "We can always order pizza". The man is clueless, I tell you.

My grocery order came on Saturday morning, missing some bits, so I asked my husband to buy some cheese and a Colomba cake (Easter cake) in the airport. He was already waiting to get on the plane so managed to buy some cheese. This is the photo he took, asking me which cheese he should buy.

Thankfully, by the time he arrived home, I was still able to run to Waitrose for some bits and bobs, and they did have a Colomba cake on offer. Win-win. 

On the way home, I snapped the new floral decor in the shopping area. Last year it was butterflies, and the summer before umbrellas. Not so sure about the uniform-looking clusters of wisteria blossom, I think they would have looked better at different lengths and levels.

I started my weekly post with a photo of a lilac blossom, and finishing it with another one. As I was showing my Mum our garden, talking on the phone, I spotted a five-petal lilac flower. When I was growing up, we believed it would bring good luck if you found one and ate it. So, I tell my Mum, that I am a lucky girl now.

Can you spot it? Did you believe in similar things when you were a child?

How was your week?

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