These BEAUTIFUL flowers arrived today. I was stunned - then I realized what day it was, despite thinking about this date for the last week. This would have been Keith and my 36th wedding anniversary. I had to quickly turn away from the deliveryman so he wouldn't see my tears, though he certainly heard them in my choked "thankyou". The card read "Dad would want you to have flowers today - love, T, G & D." I have the most thoughtful and loving children and am blessed.
I have the slow cooker on with Hungarian Goulash nearly ready in it and have just put on the veg. Would you believe, the Broccoli I bought for 8p the week before Christmas is still perfectly fine to use and nowhere near discolouring. Just goes to show that the stuff we normally buy and never even lasts the week is close to being ready to chuck when we buy it.
Tonight I am going to have a bottle of Weston's premium Organic cider and lift a glass to Keith. Whilst he was still able to travel and walk, we often went to look around the Antique Shops in Leominster, as there's not many places to go for a day out in early January. No chance of my heading that way today though, as quite apart from the weather, I didn't get the car back until 4 p.m.
Strangely, I happened to look up my waste-of-rations ex-husband today (before I'd realized the date) and found that he had died back in October. He was 75 and I was surprised he'd made that age as he was a heavy smoker and never wore a mask when he was spraying cars. I felt nothing. It was like he had never existed. We had to meet up with him when Keith and I were moving to Wales, as he was co-signatory as an executor with me of dad's will and we needed his signature before selling my old family home so mum could follow us to Wales. He refused, just to be blardy-minded and awkward, saying that he didn't think it was in my mum's best interests. Oh goodness, I knew that Keith was about to punch him, and had to grab his arm. We left, but fortunately his girlfriend had a word with him and he changed his mind and came out to sign before we drove away. Keith and I were together for several years (and had Tam) waiting for the5 years to be up before my divorce could come through. Once again, he did that on purpose, "barsteward" . . .
This booklet of Beatrix Potter x-stitch designs (I won't do the birth chart sampler with all of them) also surfaced today and I am going to start on Peter Rabbit as soon as I have finished brown Santa. I also found a little envelope of spare embroidery threads which I have wound onto spools now too.
I bet I don't have half the colours!, but I do have plenty of 14 count Aida.
This is the new colour (Verdigris) going up in the guest bedroom. Pretty with the sun on it The elderly matt white and blue are going. Tea is ready now. Keep warm.
Those flowers are breathtakingly gorgeous! Yes, you have absolutely wonderful children. ❤️
ReplyDeleteLove the new colour for the guest room.
Keep safe & warm!
The florist in Builth is very talented. The base for the flowers can be reused too. I am certainly VERY lucky with my children and think the world of them. Glad you like the green.
DeleteI'd read that divorce laws in other countries are [were?] very stringent--five years is a long time to be on hold from a relationship that failed. Wonderful that you and Keith found each other in the interim.
ReplyDeleteThis cold weather seems a good time to pull out old projects and supplies. I actually finished the 'quilt-as-you-go' quilt started during the lock-down winter. Never again!
Yes, you can either agree to the divorce, or like Barry, be blardy-minded and contest it - but need to do nothing. I was of an age where waiting for my divorce to come through before having children was not an option.
DeleteWell done with finishing that quilt-as-you-go quilt. You must have breathed a sigh of relief after that. Difficult to regain the momentum you had when starting on it.
I'm so fortunate that my full decree came through quickly at the end of the 90s...but that was on mental cruelty grounds.. don't know if that made a difference.
ReplyDeleteThose flowers are beautiful and you do deserve them.
Keep up with finishing off those UFOs...and stay warm!!
I think mine was just breakdown of marriage. So long ago now I can't remember.
DeleteI am enjoying the flowers and managing to stay warm - it's minus 6 outside at the moment.
The UFO's need tackling. Today it will be the Victorian tumbling blocks quilt as I need that restored to go to the next Fair.
You have such caring, loving children. x
ReplyDeleteI do indeed and appreciate them.
DeleteHow lovely that T G and D thought of you and Keith on your 36th Wedding Anniversary, and yes your ex sounds like a right b******. Being awkward for the sake of it. I've been very lucky meeting Alec when I was 19 and still married almost 51 years later. We had a winter wedding too. You and Keith made a great life together and enjoyed making lots of memories. Hugs Xx
ReplyDeleteWell, you can see why Barry became the ex! Gosh, you were fortunate to meet the right man at the start and 51 years is pretty good going :) Keith and I had such a good life together - I just wish we had met sooner.
DeleteYou have a lovely family. The flowers and the thought are beautiful. xx
ReplyDeleteThank you Rachel. They are very caring, my 3. Much of their father in them.
DeleteThat's so lovely about the flowers. Oh, ex husbands; the phrase bad losers springs to mind. My mother used to say 'the best revenge is to be happy'. You did that with the new life with Keith and your 3 marvellous children and of course Rosie.
ReplyDeleteThank you for your blog. x
Hello Agatha. I just wish I hadn't wasted 13 years on him. I think your mum was right. Such happy times with Keith and the kids, and now little Rosie is carrying it on.
DeleteWhat thoughtful children you have. The flowers are beautiful. Love the cross stich pattern, I'm a sucker for Beatrix Potter, if only I had grand children. My early spring cleaning has taken over at the moment. Something to keep me busy in these grey months and then I can forget about cleaning for another year (sort of).
ReplyDeleteThey are good to me. What a shame you have no grand children. Spring cleaning is something I do only when there is nothing else to do instead!!
DeleteWhat beautiful flowers. Well done to your children for remembering.
ReplyDeleteYes, it was a lovely surprise.
DeleteOh, Jennie, this brought tears to my eyes! What thoughtful children you have, and such beautiful flowers to receive.
ReplyDeleteMy Decree Absolute took forever too, due to wholly unnecessary forestalling on the part of my ex barsteward.
I wouldn't be without them. It shouldn't be allowed that you can block a divorce going through just by being petty and vindictive.
DeleteYour children are so very sweet. Beautiful flowers for a beautiful woman.
ReplyDeleteGod bless.
Thank you Jackie. Not feeling too beautiful this morning as I woke at 5 and came down and need some more "beauty sleep" :)
DeleteOh those are such lovely flowers! You do have wonderful children, and that says so much about their parents!
ReplyDeleteWe put our children before anything when they were growing up and it has paid off.
DeleteHow wonderful! Your children have been a wonderful support for you.
ReplyDeleteWhen I hear about disfunctional families, I count my blessings.
DeleteIt is good to be blessed with lovely children who are so thoughtful as well. As for divorce it was 1969 when the law, which we use today, came into being. Not so long ago.
ReplyDeleteI am very fortunate. Just wish they lived a bit closer -they're all about an hour and a half away.
DeleteThelma by the way.
ReplyDeleteRaising kind children is time well spent. Time to bask in the rewards.
ReplyDeleteThere are folk we knew on the antiques/fleamarket circuit who had perhaps one good child, one blardy awful. Chap I am thinking of in particular - his good son had serious health problems and the bad one lived for drugs and couldn't wait for his dad to die so he could sell his militaria collection . . . Another couple couldn't have children, so adopted, and gave this child a wonderful upbringing, but he decided that he had nothing in common with them and when he left home, chose never to see them again. How sad.
DeleteYou have very thoughtful children, and a good florist to be able to deliver through all this bad weather. What beautiful flowers. xx
ReplyDelete