A HUGE Positive

I am grateful for a few small things which add up to be a big smile at the end of the day.  I have something metal to glue back together and thought I would have to fork out £8 or so on some Gorilla glue.  I decided to check Keith's workshop, just in case.  Found a bottle but there was no movement inside it.  Looked to have set solid.  However, when I cut the tip of the lid off and put a piece of wire in, there was still some usable glue in the middle.

I did have to go out for a few things for when my friend is staying next week, and went into the Charity shops.  I found a Seasalt teeshirt in my size, and also a Seasalt 80% wool stripey top.  Perfect for my NZ holiday.  Some lovely wools for Tam too, so a real Positive there.  Oh and across the road they were selling all their clothes at 50p each and I got a pretty dress which I can use for patchwork (or even Rosie frocks).

I am grateful to see wildlife using and thriving in my garden.  It has been slow progress, as the last owners used toxic chemicals to kill weeds and I think these take a while to be washed away. Certainly the last 3 years have shown increasing numbers of insects, reptiles, and birds.  I have planted lots of perennials and roses which draw them in too. 

The runner and hunter beans are finally pickable (my fault for not watering enough), and cucumbers and tomatoes are doing very well with supplying me with salad.  Free food is good - and my little orchard has quite a few apples this year.  Not huge because of the dry weather and the youth of the trees, but no complaints.

I had a two-for-one offer whilst still a member of Audible and chose one I had never heard of before - author or title - The Keeper of Stories by Sally Page.  Well, I finally started listening to it this week and I am enjoying it SO much and can heartily recommend it.  Coming up to the anniversary of Keith's death I had to stop listening to the Diana Gabaldon book I was half way through, as death scenes and the like were too distressing.

I sat down this afternoon and began making a Christmas present for a friend.  It's a little wall-hanging for her kitchen (and I will probably make a bigger version too as it's turning out quite petite).  Knitted using white cotton garden string, it has a felt Sunflower on the front.  I watched several I Escaped to the Country programmes I hadn't seen - most restful.

After the rest I had the energy to make Chocolate Blackberry Brownies (neighbour here to continue upstairs painting tomorrow and he won't say no to a couple of slices!)  So that's 8 oz of last year's blackberries used up and a tiny bit more room in the freezer now.

So, a few little things make quite a big positive.

Oooh, nearly forgot!  Rosie had her 16mth assessment from the Health Visitor today.  She was gobsmacked by Rosie's progress.  Tam said her face was a picture :)  Rosie has achieved milestones which they don't expect to see until the 27 mth check!  She said she was clearly empathic and caring too.  She even asked Tam had they thought about which school she might go to later!  She said Rosie was an old soul, and she's not the first in the profession to say that.  So we are really delighted with her - we knew she was making great progress - as in handing me a book recently and saying "Granma read book" and coming down the stairs standing up - we try and get her to hold our hand, just in case, and she can now run too and open doors, and knows how a key fits in a lock etc, and she's always trying to do up the straps on her car seat.  She quickly copies what we do - like in blowing on my hot cup of tea last week.  Smarty pants she is!  That is a HUGE POSITIVE.