Unexpected Surprise.....

Having enjoyed the wonderful weather recently and having not left the house much, it was time to venture out in the world today and do 'the supermarket shop' to restock the freezer and the pantry, so off I trotted at 6.30am- (I HATE crowds!) to do the necessary....All done and back home, what do I spy from the top of the path ? A red box sitting next to the mail box- ooohhhh......I haven't ordered anything- (my pledge is still in force!), it is not my birthday- what can it be???

This is what was inside.....

It was a giveaway that I won a while ago from the lovely Victoria over at Florence and Mary!

I knew it was Ponds Cream, but there are three jars of gorgeousness!!!

THANK YOU so much Victoria.....

What a lovely addition to my day.

Warm Wishes,

Sunshine, Happiness and Gratefulness.....

I  hope that you had a chance to enjoy the wonderful weather over the weekend...It was 'scorchio' here and I have loved it!! A chance to relax and enjoy some peace and quiet this weekend, no sorting,  no car boots, just us and a couple of good books, Mr.F devoured the The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo AND the next two in the trilogy by Steig Larsson ...And I read The Lollipop Shoes by Joanne Harris and Garden Spells and The Sugar Queen both by Sarah Addison Allen...... brilliant and very much enjoyed....

What a lovely way to start a day.....

The wonderful weather has meant that everything is suddenly blooming.....

 The Aubretia is putting on a stunning display.....

 And talking of stunning displays....

Someone didn't want to be left out.....

So I told her she was gorgeous and she said 'who me??'

Oh now you've embarrassed me.....

And to add to all the loveliness, two very thoughtful friends gave me thoughtful, lovely gifts...

Firstly some sweet basil and Nigella to plant out.....

Then some of my favourite flowers- Lovely Lily Of The Valley.....

Thank you both so much!!!

Quite a lot to be grateful for.....

Hope that you have lots to be grateful for this week too.....

Warm Wishes for a Wonderful Week,

Weight Watching and Warm Wishes.....

Well as you may have read previously I joined Weight Watchers a few weeks ago.....

Hee Hee.....

And I am pleased to say that three weeks in and I am six pounds lighter!

I am amazed at the foods I am able to eat and adapt from my own recipes, the only thing I really have had to give some attention to is my butter habit!  I bake my own bread a few times a week and freshly baked bread with unsalted french butter - oooohhhhh.........BUT no-more... 

Anyway as I took so many photographs last week I though I would post some images and pictures this week....

I thought I would send you all some....

And heres wishing you some....

And for good measure lets add a bit of....

Just in case anyone needs it....

And Warmest Wishes for a Wonderful Week...

Hopes and Herbs.....

Hello, my husband has gone back to work today after a pretty blissful week off -despite being called into work on one emergency- ah well...and now I need to get back into a routine again!My injuries from my riverside gardening have healed quite well though I still have a bruise on my leg the size of a pancake and a wrist that isn't quite right but I have been healing with the help of herbs and oils...

I realised that I didn't take any before shots of the riverbank so you won't be able to see that it was six foot high in brambles.The story of the riverbank is that it is a patch of  land across the river from our postage stamp garden that I decided last year to try and make a wildflower garden for bees and birds, BUT the seeds haven't been able to take because the brambles had completely taken over- so I recently decided to scale the twenty foot drop,wade over the river- while it is low- and give the brambles a bit of a trim so that the sowing of seeds can begin again.

Bluebells saying hello....

It may not look like I have done much,but it was a jungle...

It is so tranquil....

 Someone came to help...

Ah, duck for supper?

I was even inspired to get the bunting out!

So now that it is a bit clearer and our view is better- what seeds to sow? I have been reading up on shade loving ,woodland plants that will also attract birds and bees, so hopefully this time next year we will have more wildlife than ever...

In the meantime I am growing herbs to use and dry in cooking and medicinally and they are coming along well...

Sage and Thyme.....

Good old mint.....

Oregano and Thyme.....

Rosemary and Strawberries-( I know Strawberries aren't a herb!)

The tomatoes and geraniums in the kitchen window...

I always thought that I would never be able to grow all the things that I wanted to because we don't have a big house or acres of land but it is great experimenting with pots and window boxes to see what I can grow despite living in a dolls house!

Potions and Possibilities!

I still have a long list of herbs and plants that I want to try and grow but slowly ,slowly...

Well, while I am learning at least....

Wishing you all a Wonderful Week,

Beltane Blessings...

Hello! I hope that everyone has had a wonderfully relaxed Bank Holiday weekend - and for those who celebrate it:

 A WONDERFUL time of year.....

My husband always tries to have this week off from work so we are having a lovely time here, we did Topsham Market at the weekend which was unexpected and lovely! But apart from that we have been able to relax and unwind - bliss.....

From a Weight Watchers point of view all has gone well - as you may know from previous posts I am a keen cook and baker so I really was not sure how this new regime would work.....BUT week one and a 4LB LOSS can't be bad can it??

Especially when I have been able to adapt recipes such as these:-

Spice Biscuits

100g plain flour
50g sugar - I use my vanilla or cinnamon sugar
tsp of cinnamon or mixed spice
75g butter
50g raisins

 So these.....

become these.....yum.....the big one is not for me!

And all for a point a biscuit- which if you are a weight watcher I think you will agree is pretty good.  I have tried the WW cookies in the past but they give me terrible indigestion and don't really taste of anything, so to be able to have something homemade is lovely.
And of course we have the lovely refrigerator biscuit cake from a previous post to munch on too.....

All for 2 points a piece - less if you cut it up smaller!

So - so far so good!  I am able to adapt a lot of my recipes so I do not feel like I am on a diet so we will see how things go.....I will keep you informed and keep my recipes in case anyone fancies trying any of them.


So I hope that if you have had some time off work this Bank Holiday you have been able to enjoy it with your loved ones.....

Warm Wishes for a Wonderful Week