A busy weekend

 

Yesterday I finally finished the little Robin tree-hanging I began at Christmas.  It is stuffed with wool - some Merino rovings I had in my craft cupboard.

Looking across to the chapel.   I just wish it would thaw.  I went to collect Danny from the train station yesterday, not remembering he was on the substitute bus because work was being carried out on the line.  I parked up in the village and walked down the still snowy hill to the train stop - glad I hadn't tried to drive down there.  Side roads are still snowy/icy in places, and one of Danny's jobs has been to spread grit along our track so I can get in and out more easily.  I have let him off cleaning the leaves from the stable gutter as it's so perishing cold.

Oooh, who's up there?  (Danny).  And no, they aren't allowed on tables, place mats or no, but it made a good photo.  Lulu is actually taller than Pippi, but Pippi had drawn herself up to look up the stairs.

    I had a good day in the kitchen yesterday, with the slow cooker on first thing for Keith's beef casserole, and then again in the afternoon for the Hungarian Goulash I fancied.  Years since I last made it and we both really enjoyed it.  I had bought a bag of carrots, so I grated a couple up and made a Carrot Cake and then stewed up some apples to go with the Blackberry and Apple Pie I made this week which was a bit short on fruit base.  I still have a few pounds of apples left which were picked off one of Pam's trees in the autumn.  

    We were having a lazy tv day - so many films we haven't watched which are on Prime (which we haven't checked out for a while).  One of the things we watched was a film about Otzi, the Bronze Age "ice man" discovered in 1991 (THAT long ago?), who is now on display in the South Tyrol Museum  in Bolzano, Italy.  It was well done but gosh, did they really go round just murdering one another on a whim? 

    Talking of murdering, I have  been doing some family history research, on my step gran 's family and have found that the Grays were Crays a generation earlier.  Let's hope there isn't a connection with those dastardly East End Kray twins!

    Anyway, I peeled apples and potatoes whilst watching it, and finished my x-stitch hanging whilst watching another film.  Not much we could do outside (apart from feed the birds and take the rubbish out).  A walk was out as Danny just had his trainers with him and the best walks would still involve several inches of snow underfoot.

    Keith has abandoned his stroller and has been walking round using his stick.  His neck is very bad again today (has been the last couple of weeks in fact) and no amount of massaging with baby oil helps it.  We will be glad when Danny's girlfriend visits in a few weeks and can free it up again.  It stops him being mobile as he can't hold his head up.  E massages it and frees it up.  I wish the Physio would do this but it would appear they don't do "hands on" treatment any more.  There is a place in Hay that offers sports massage, pain management etc, so I will phone them tomorrow to get an appt.

I hope you have all had a good weekend.  All I can say is, I'm glad I never emigrated to Canada, which is something I quite fancied doing in my youth!  I would soon be fed up with the snow, wouldn't I?!