A day of small excitements

It seems set to be an exciting day. My first thrill was seeing the little blue tit, busy at the nest box outside our kitchen window. Obviously that’s going to home for another year.

Then I was struck that the single golden crocus under the magnolia tree was now accompanied by three others. I hadn’t even been aware of them yesterday despite showing off the lone one to our home help.

Then, having prepared this evening meal, I took the vegetable scraps out to the compost bin. There I was greeted by the first tiny yellow head of a miniature daffodil. Spring is really on its way.

All this has arrived just in time for the Fox’s new winter coat to arrive yesterday. I’m relieved to say this time it fits & he is comfortable in it.

We did indeed get away for a couple of days, hence my silence of late. We found a hotel in Bowness. One day we ventured up to Ambleside, where we found this coat.

He could have done with it earlier as it was absolutely freezing in the Lakes. The fells were all capped with snow. A few flurries of snow even fell as we hastened from car park to shop. Once we’d sorted the coat we made a hasty trip to Hayes Garden Centre. It has a large indoor area so at least it was warm.

But I think we both found the real joy of the trip was the journey home. The road edges had cheery white clumps of snowdrops. We felt light of heart after having relaxed a bit & being full of a good breakfast. We were keen to be home. I often think one of the best things about going away is your renewed appreciation of home & we undoubtedly are re-appreciating it now.

With renewed energy, I’ve even decided to cook today despite it being massage day. After our massages, I’m usually reluctant to waste that rediscovered relaxation by rushing around cooking. Today, though, I feel we’ve had enough of eating out. We want our own home cooked food. So today we’re going Italian with pasta in a basic bacon & passata sauce. The sauce is made, only needing reheating & mixing with some cooked pasta & served with some garlic bread. And a glass or two of red wine, of course. That shouldn’t be too demanding after the massage.