Photo diary: Project 365, weeks 18 and 19, 2026

 The last couple of weeks have been emotionally charged. 

Too many worries and anxieties, and sad news. A family friend of my in-laws who I also knew personally and met many times, has died suddenly. 

A very good friend of my Mum's called her the other day to say Farewell, as she has an incurable cancer. My Mum is devasttated, and so am I. Though I haven't seen this lady in over thirty years, I remember her family with great fondness. Staying with them was one of the highlights of my childhood and youth, they were always so welcoming, generous and kind. 

Perhaps I have reached that age, when we are rapidly losing our parents' generation, and it scares me.

My Mum is also very sad for her cat, who is very poorly, and is most likely not going to make it. The vets cannot find what's wrong. My Mum is not coping well. 

All this sadness floats like a cloud overhead. I'm feeling listless, and Project 365 is turning into a half-baked Project Whenever.

Hence a lot of my photos are just snaps taken in the shops, asking Eddie, what he fancies. This snap was taken in Waitrose, as I couldn't decide which free pack of crisps to choose as one of their Little Treats. Eddie to the rescue. He opted for Steak Diane (not my favourite flavour of crisps, won't be buying it).

Last Degustabox had a pack of a Nutty Kitchen Italian Supermince for a vegan Bolognese. I used some of it with rice in stuffed peppers, and needed to finish the pack, so cooked the pseudo-Bolognese sauce.

It really does not taste anything like Bolognese. I'd rather have a proper vegetable, meat-free sauce for pasta than this. It just didn't work for me, and I love nuts of all kinds.

It was another sad day for me. I found a little blue tit hanging head down from the netting of the currant bush. I realised it was still alive, ran into the house and cut the netting around it. It was tangled so much, it was a tricky job to cut through all the threads, trying not to hurt the little bird. 

It let me do the job, and pecked my fingers ever so gently, understanding that I'm trying to rescue it. Once it was free, I have put it among the herbs in the pot to recover. Sadly, an hour later it was gone, most likely from shock, poor little thing. I cried and buried it the next morning under the plum tree.

I have a photo of the poor birdie, while it was still alive in the pot, but I can't look at it now.

The next day I was looking for a sort of a sleeveless tank top that you can wear over a blouse. I tried several shops. The cream one is from M&S, I decided not to buy it. I bought a dark waistcoat in New Look instead, and it cost almost three times less. My Mum commented not very favourably on it, saying that I look like a hospitality industry employee (nothing wrong with that, though not perhaps the look I was after).

There is a gorgeous Californian lilac tree by the bridge, when I walk through the flood fields and the old blanket factory compound. It has such a beautiful scent.

This was the week Eddie started his GCSEs, and I've been an emotional wreck. I remember how I hated exams, they always made me panic to the point of fainting, even if I knew the subject well. It's the psychological pressure.

I have nearly finished my Paperblanks notebook, and treated myself to a new one, with a New York Rose design on the cover, from the leading design house of the Gilded Age. It's so elegant, and the paper inside is lovely, light ivory.

I enjoyed taking part in the coffee-themed Penandinkchallenge. This was my sketch on the prompt - Americano. I actually used real coffee to paint the background, then did a drawing and added a few stickers from Notebook Therapy range.

For the Espresso prompt, I did a sketch of my husband's grandmother. Nonna Elsa used to live in a granny flat at the top of the old house, with my in-laws living below. She was kind and caring. 

She would go out of her flat, and shout from the top of the stairs, Cici, Cici (her nickname for her daughter).

When we stayed with my in-laws, Elsa would invite us over for a cup of espresso. I drank it out of politeness, but for me it was like a rocket fuel, way too strong.

Elsa was a very special figure in my husband's life, as she was looking after him, when his parents were working. I will always be grateful to her for that little boy who was cherished and cared for.

My rhododenron next to the kitchen windows is in full bloom. I have noticed that the amount of bees visiting it is going down, it is worrying and sad. It used to be like a bee cafe. Now you're lucky if you see a couple of bees at the same time.

Saturday evening was all about Eurovision. Eddie told me to buy lots of snacks for the night. I kept snapping all sorts of picky bits for him to choose. Italian Aperitivo style selection was very good, with a delicious Provolone cheese, lovely little grissini and olives. 

Eurovision was the usual wacky show, with many eccentric characters. Can't say I liked the winner's song. Didn't like the tune, or the crazy dance routine.

I felt sorry for the guy from the UK. His performance was pretty awkward to watch, but there were other feeble singers who scored many more points. And then his own team left him to sit on his own, that's just awful. Glad the Danes invited him to sit at their table.

My personal favourites were Norway, Italy and, ahem, do I dare saying it loud, Israel. Politics aside, his song was beautiful, he has a good voice, and it takes courage to go on stage and perform to the boos from the public. 

Don't think my votes for Italy and Norway made any difference.

Did you watch Eurovision? Who did you vote for? And what do you think of the British entry?

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