Happiness is......

Good morning

I've not taken many proper pictures recently - the habit of taking my camera with me everywhere has lapsed. However I have captured happy moments on my ipad and these get shared by Instagram - its instant blogging I guess. However I do want to keep this blog running as its a more permanent record of my life - its ups, its downs and of course my family.

Here's just a few pics from the past week - all filtered via IG first;

 Those blooming named coke bottles - once Big Son found his name, we had to find one for the rest of us - even though I really don't like the stuff! I found mine on the way home from my cancelled Op appointment - hence full fat coke was ok - after 9 hours of nil by mouth, I felt I'd earned the calories!!

 Gardening time - pretty frock of course and wellies 2 sizes to big - despite everything I still can't get my ankle into my wellies - I've just adopted an old pair of little sons instead!!

Big Son taking on the task of grass cutting - he did a fab job - completing the task despite a wheel coming off the lawnmower with just a small area left to cut! A new lawnmower is on the shopping list now - had hoped to wait till we move but heyho!

 A peony rescued from the garden - just so gorgeous.

 Dinner for one on a night when the boys were with their Dad. The perfect excuse to indulge in all things local - asparagus.

Followed by strawberries - all served on vintage china - why not ;)

Last but not least - someone who makes us all very happy. My little nephew - just so cute. The boys visited earlier in the week and took lots of photos - I just love this one of him with Big Son;

Right I'd best go and get sorted - work later and then S&B group tonight.

See you soon 

xxx Vicki xxx

18 of 52 weeks of happy

Good evening

What a difference a week makes - much chillier today than last Sunday and rather soggy at times too. Never mind I've found plenty to do indoors instead.

I must confess at times in the past week, happy has not been my state of mind but as ever wonderful friends and family have been there and picked me up and dusted me down. Of course those daft boys of mine help too - I am still the butt of so many of their jokes but they've worked out the signs and can now leap in if they think I'm wobbling and soon make the corners of my mouth turn upwards.

One thing I've been focusing on lots is my house move. It is all slowly coming together - paperwork is being signed and sorted. A date of early August is most likely as it suits all involved.

Some packing has started as lots of stuff will be moving to P's new house at the end of the month - I will end up with a couple of very bare rooms but there is plenty others we can use and we've changed how some are used and they seem to work fine for us for this short time we've left here.

Apart from the practical house move stuff, I've found myself collecting things for the new house - both new and charity shops finds - here's this weeks happy picture;

1 - A mini chest of drawers - in need to sanding and repainting but too lovely and cheap to leave behind. Luckily I bumped into my Dad in town that day and he brought it home for me - I was then pondering how I could fit it into my bike basket with the pile of proper shopping I'd got!

2 - A painted enamel tray - this I think will end up on the wall - its too pretty to use.

3 - A hearts picture - I fell in love with this when it came into the shop - but the 24 hour rule meant I couldn't buy it straight away. I thought it was gone the next day when I went in but it was in the shop window and soon became mine. 

4 - Two little purchases from Rochester last weekend - I found a gorgeous little shop in the High Street and went back after we'd finished dancing to buy these - I can see them hanging from somewhere in the new house.

Right six weeks of exams starts tomorrow for my boys - AS levels for Big Son and then some GSCE modules for Little Son. Both have been revising hard and I hope we get through this all with confidence and not too much stress!

Oh and there's a dance out with the Morris lot on Tuesday night - in a pub!!!

See you soon

xxx Vicki xxx

Rochester Sweeps Festival 2013 - 17 of 52 weeks of happy

Good evening

Wow what a weekend - it seems only best to combine two posts into one - a wonderful weekend providing the 17th post of 52 happy ones;

Rochester Sweeps Festival has been running in its current form for 33 years now - its become the largest May Day celebration of its kind in the country.

As well as music, workshops, stalls, a funfair and more street food than you could ever imagine - there are 60 Morris sides dancing in the street at various points over the 3 days.

We arrived on Friday evening after a uneventful drive down - traffic was light - it all seemed to be heading in the other direction! When we got to the campsite we soon found the others - a huge space had been saved and we were camping together as a group.  Once the tent was up - it was time for dinner. Fish & chips (well just chips for me) were bought and soon consumed along with the first of many pints of cider!

Saturday morning dawned bright and sunny and once breakfasts of bacon rolls were consumed, costumes put on and for the men, faces blacked - we headed down the hill and into town.

I am not sure who took this picture of me - but I found it on our FB page today and decided I rather liked it - though slightly windswept and not smiling then, I can assure you I loved every minute of Saturday;

More photos - just one more of me though I expect more to appear once people return home and get time to upload them;

 Lots of fun was had, dances performed and just 2 sticks got broken that day!! Oh and we even managed to time our lunch break so we could go and watch our friends the Bounty Hounds perform in the castle grounds;

We had a group barbecue in the evening and then some of us headed over to the school hall to a ceilidh which was rather fun. I didn't have a very late night - my body was shattered and was rather keen to climb into my sleeping bag for a good few hours sleep.

We headed back into town on Sunday morning for our final dance slots - finishing up near the castle and dancing under the most gorgeous cherry trees in full blossom;

 Here's the view upwards;

 Just gorgeous - a very happy view indeed.

I had a wonderful weekend - good company, good beer/cider, good food and good fun - roll on 2014!

Oh and in case you wondered, those boys of mine had fun too. They spent a lads weekend with their Dad and part of it was spent Segway racing in Norfolk;

Apparently it was great fun - even though many crashes were had and bottoms landed on!

See you soon

xxx Vicki xxx

16 of 52 weeks of happy

Good morning

Hurrah the sun is shining again - a good start to the week.

The sun mostly shone this weekend too - it was especially important for yesterday. Another Sunday afternoon dance out with the Morris side in a pub! The pub had a Celebration of all thing English - silly sports and Morris Dancing featured heavily. Most of this weeks happy pictures come from there - one taken by me and the others borrowed from a friend behind the camera;

1- A relay race with a difference - Pass the Pint - our heat Girls v Boys from our dance side - of course us girls won! Sadly we were pipped to the post in the final by the pub team.

2 - Space Hopper Jousting - lances tipped with custard so strikes could be seen. Here's our Squire and his wife (my friend) in the final - it was so fun to watch and Mrs beat Mr :)

3 - A bit of dancing - such fun and for once perhaps due to the cider I wasn't nervous - here's hoping this continues for a weekend away dancing this coming weekend!

4 - The freedom of no socks always makes me happy - there was a bit of a blip but I happily sock less again today.

Right plans for today - boring housework, a cycle into town, more crochet and trying to get the rest of the Scavenger Hunt photos taken!

See you soon

xxx Vicki xxx

15 of 52 weeks of happy

Good morning

The sun is shining - the birds are tweeting happily to each other - they woke me briefly at 5am but I managed to snuggle back to sleep for a few more hours.

Those lovely boys of mine are dead to the world and I shall leave them for as long as they like as there are no plans involving them this morning. 

Here's this weeks happy post and picture;

1 - My gorgeous new nephew. I spent the morning with him and my little sister on Friday. I had plenty of cuddles with him and I really could have just smuggled him home with me.

2 - After I left my sisters I walked into Aldeburgh and treated myself. Firstly to a new gilet from Joules (well there was 25% off this weekend) and secondly to chips from the very popular chip shop. Chips I know - very naughty especially with a dicky gallbladder - these caused no problems at all and were very, very scrummy indeed - must be 6 months since I've had some from there!

3 - Knitted blue bunny - knitted by my Grandma many years ago and I started to finish him 2 years ago along with a pink one. I never quite finished and wanted to wait until a new baby came along to do so. He was given to baby F on Friday along with several other bits the boys & I chose on a recent shopping trip.

4 - The weather warming up meant I've been able to wear my CK bicycle dress and converse - very happy.

Right time to finish my coffee, hang some washing out and then head to the gym.

Thank you for the comments/emails on yesterdays post - I have now drawn a line under it and consider it closed :)

See you soon

xxx Vicki xxx

14 of 52 weeks of happy

Good morning

The sun is shining and the sky is blue - just waiting for a load of washing to finish before I hang it out to dry - I love this - such a simple pleasure.

Its the last day of the boys holidays today - tomorrow is back to school and in just a few weeks time the GCSE/AS level exams start - there is a 6 week period where both are doing exams - sometimes on the same day - really not looking forward to it - especially as we will have the same thing again next summer!

However - happy stuff - lots this week - even if many happy moments haven't got caught on camera. I wish we'd caught the time last night when we were cooking dinner the 3 of us - utter hysterics at my slightly 'merry' antics and a small incident with an open kitchen cupboard! Or the many moments with my mad biggest boy and his gangly dancing and general silliness.

Here's this weeks 4 happy pictures;

1 - Newly filled bird feeders have been very popular this week. Hard to get pictures unless I take them at max zoom from big sons bedroom window. Lovely to see all the birds visiting and to hear them when I wake in the morning. We've heard the owls in the neighbours oak tree and are hoping that we may see one more clutch of baby owls before we move.

2 - A new cd - bought at the gig last Saturday night and played over and over this week. Listening to it makes me smile and remember a fab night out and the promise of more to come.

3 - Blue skies - after months of grey, cold and dull days seeing blue skies and fluffy clouds instantly lifts the spirits.

4 - Another day, another dance out - this time yesterday afternoon at a pub in Ipswich. Not me in this pic but I am sure some will appear soon. Great fun and fab company - off out again in a couple of Sundays time - can't wait :)

See you soon - off out in a while to deliver a birthday card and I must remember my camera as I've spotted some lovely hints of spring I'd like to photograph.

xxx Vicki xxx

13 of 52 weeks of happy

Good afternoon

Like I said in my last post - this week has had plenty of happy moments - two of the bests one deserved their own posts - the arrival of my newest nephew and my dancing debut. However there have been other moments too and here they are;

1 - A new frock - bought with birthday vouchers from Joules. It was love at first sight and even better I've been shrinking this year and its a size smaller too - 2 happy moments in 1!

2 - Mini daffs finally flowering - these poor things have spent lots of time under snowy blankets and it was lovely to see them finally flower on a sunny day.

3 - Another bonus of the sunny and windy weather - washing drying outside - it means my kitchen looks less like a laundry.

4 - Trying on all my Morris gear together for the first time (10 minutes before we were due to leave on Sat!!) - a skirt made by me (with help from a lovely friend), a 50's net underskirt which I adore, a tailcoat on a long-term loan from a sister and a brilliant lacy mask - oh and of course new boots and a stick!

See you soon - a happy moment due anytime now - a cuppa and catch up with my oldest friend :)

xxx Vicki xxx

 

PS - Oh yes I will be dancing at Folk East this summer - can't wait :)

12 of 52 weeks of happy

Good morning

Well its been another week where I think that perhaps my life is being used as a test place for a dodgy soap opera script - there have been lows and a few highs too.

There are a couple of highs that are actually wonderful but I can't share them with you all properly yet - one will have to wait a few more months until its signed and sealed and the other a few days until I've had my first cuddle! All I can say is I am an Auntie again and I've seen a photo and he's gorgeous :)

The weekend started well - the weather had perked up and we'd spent time as a family looking at new homes for the boys and I. OMG have some people never watched a How to sell your home programme on tv! Utterly shocking that they think they'd ever sell their house when it was filthy, smelly and just disgusting. I can see beyond a general layer of grott but I can also spot easily a house which needs totally gutting as the fixtures are all broken/beyond repair and needs more TLC than I can ever hope to manage! Luckily one house appears to tick all the boxes so lots of finger crossing will be happening for a while.

Saturday I went out with Dawn to Woodbridge - a mix of shopping and browsing in the town and at the Vintage Market. We had our lunch in the churchyard initially in a sunbeam but just as we'd finished it started snowing again!

Sunday - here's the happy moments I managed to capture;

Me & my boys all scrubbed up and off to my parents for lunch.

Lindt bunnies wondering how long they had to live - not long!!

Sunday evening I'd settled down to watch The Village on tv. My tummy was aching and it seemed my gallbladder was grumbling - not sure why as I'd been careful with what I'd eaten.

I went to bed armed with painkillers and a wheat bag. However by 11.30 I was in total agony and on the phone to NHS direct :( By 12.30 I was in A&E waiting to be seen having got hold of P and him coming over to do a mercy dash the 25 miles to hospital.

He left me at about 3am once it was decided I was going to be admitted and came back to my house so he could speak to the boys in the morning (big son knew I'd gone as he'd been awake when I was calling for help).

To cut a long story short - I spent 18 hours in hospital - 12 of them Nil by mouth and with much prodding, pricking, poking, drugging and general uncomfort. In the end I was finally allowed home at 7pm last night.

I slept like a log last night - managing nearly 10 hours sleep in 2 long bursts - morphine hangovers are wonderful!!

Anyhow - that's the low in my sometimes happy week. I will try harder this week to capture moments with my camera. I must also finish the Photo Scavenger Hunt - just 2 more to do - I know what I am taking its just doing it. I also hope to be able to have my first cuddle with an extremely happy moment.

See you soon

xxx Vicki xxx

11 of 52 weeks of Happy

Good morning

Can't wander too far this morning as I am awaiting a bulky shopping delivery and don't want to miss the knock on the door!

Well lots of last week was testing to say the least - life is certainly a roller coaster ride and many times last week I just wanted to get off as I wasn't enjoying it. 

However I am a lucky girl and have a fab family and some truly wonderful friends who are being very supportive at the moment and are there with hugs and tissues when I turn into a snotty blubbing mess (again).

Hardly the right start for a happy post!! However despite everything there have been happy moments that I have managed to capture on camera and here they are;

1) It was my birthday on Friday and I was thoroughly spoilt - as I was planning a party on Saturday we just had French Fancies as a cake for Friday. I thought we'd just eat them but Big Son insisted they were arranged on a pretty plate and that I had a candle to blow out!

2) This was my cake for Saturdays party - I made it and Little Son iced it with a thick layer of chocolate ganache and then decorated it with a mini-egg flower - serious chocolate overload but very tasty.

3) This is my baby sisters dog - Lula. I went to visit last week and Lula was so pleased to see me - she loves visitors. As you can see whilst she stayed still for a photo, her tail did not!! Still no baby news - hopefully sometime this week I get to be an Auntie - I will know roughly when as I am dog sitting!!

4) New boots for Morris Dancing and my first stick - they sit in the hallway behind my desk and every time I look at them I smile. Thinking of dancing out days this summer and several weekends at festivals with new friends and old.

I am struggling with blogging at the moment and I owe so many people replies and I am behind with my reading too. Bear with me, I will get back into it properly - in the words of Chumbawamba - "I get knocked down but I get up again, You're never gonna keep me down."

See you soon

xxx Vicki xxx

10 of 52 weeks of happy

Good afternoon

Another week has gone past and there have been plenty of happy moments - sadly many don't get caught on film but trust me they happen. There was me wrestling with big son just trying to get something off him - he tries to hold stuff high about my head and out of reach but he's ticklish so I can usually win! Other happy moments just spending time with various members of my family - the beauty of there being so many is there's always one around when you need them.

Here's this week selection - the last one wasn't taken this week but represents something very happy that happened this week!

1& 2 - Red Nose Day silliness with those boys of mine :)

3 - Watching yesterdays rugby matches with one of my sisters and little son - accompanied by plenty of cider and nibbles. Such a shame we didn't win but a good time was had by all and I might have been a bit merry!!

4 - Morris Dancing - this picture was taken at a festive last summer. Well on Tuesday night I braved it and went along with some friends to actually take part - and I loved it. Such a fab bunch of people - I don't think I've enjoyed myself so much in ages. I think I sort of mastered it and most importantly they want me back another week AND I didn't bash anything I shouldn't have with my stick!! Oh and my slightly duff leg didn't complain at all :)

Right - domestic stuff calls!

See you soon

xxx Vicki xxx

9 of 52 weeks of happy

Good evening

Just a quick post whilst I wait for the dinner to finish cooking - oh the joys of a slow cooker - bung it in and wait a few hours! This will be happening lots this week as I've ended up with several days paid work :)

I was late joining in with the happy posts hence I am on week 9 and everyone else is posting week 10 pics!!

Here's this weeks mosaic;

1 & 4- As everyone knows it was Mothers Day here in the UK this weekend. Those boys of mine were brilliant - they prompted each other and cards and pressies were bought and wrapped! Even more amazingly Big Son got himself up yesterday morning and after checking if I was awake, disappeared downstairs and made me breakfast in bed!! Such sweeties the pair of them :)

2 - My copy of Pretty Nostalgic arrived in the post last week - real happy post. Full of lovely things as usual.

3 - I love rugby and I was more than happy to see England win against Italy yesterday - setting things up for an exciting finale next weekend against Wales. 

Right apparently its dishing up time - two faces have appeared with hungry looks on them - odd considering they raided MY mothers day chocolates after school AND the cake tin!!

See you soon, I've a couple of little makes to share.

xxx Vicki xxx

8 of 52 weeks of happy

Good evening

I really haven't had time to take many photos this week - its been rather busy with working and RL stuff happening - the camera just hasn't had a look in!

Trying hard to get the house ready to go onto the market - the boys & I don't need this big space for the 3 of us. We need something smaller and cheaper to run and it seems a good time of year to try and find buyers. I've spent vast amounts of the week cleaning, tidying and sorting - plenty of help too - P was here all of yesterday doing outside chores whilst the boys & I got inside ready for the estate agent to take photos. Goodness knows how long we can keep it like this - we are not a naturally tidy family!

Anyhow today was a happy day - off out for a big family lunch to celebrate MIL's birthday. All four of us plus P's sibling and his family plus some cousins of MIL's too - a party of 12 and a lovely private room in a hotel in Aldeburgh. Mix into that good food and few glasses of wine then you'll get the idea.

It was a good excuse for those boys of mine to make a bit of an effort clothes wise and for me to hunt down my poshest frock and some heels. 

Here's just 4 pics which sum up today rather nicely;

1 - My boys & I - yep even in heels I am the shortest by a long way now!

2-4 - My lunch - chicken terrine, roast beef and then Eton Mess :) I now won't need to eat till Tuesday at least - totally stuffed :)

See you soon 

xxx Vicki xxx

7 of 52 weeks of happy

Good morning

Bit bleary eyed today as the alarm went off for the first time in a week - today is back to school to day for those boys of mine. Never mind, we've had a good half term week together - they are such great company at the moment and have such wicked senses of humour - which I am the butt of for much of the time!!

I keep meaning to write a proper blog post but time keeps getting away from and I keep forgetting to take photos. I am way behind on this months Scavenger Hunt but I am hoping to get the rest of the pictures taken in the next few days so I can hand my homework in on time!

Here's this weeks post of happy pictures;

1 - Spring flowers planted in the tubs by the front door - a burst of colour for just 70p each :)

2 - Another parcel from the Dotcomgiftshop - this time two night lights - a rabbit and a cottage - the cottage changes colour - both are gorgeous :)

3 - A parcel from a friend came in the week - inside felt flowers - very pretty and they made me smile.

4 - Finally another hint of spring in the garden - crocuses have flowered :)

Right - time to hound a child out of the shower - I need my turn - my supermarket shop should be here sometime after 8 and I suppose I ought to get showered and dressed so I don't scare the driver!!

See you soon

xxx Vicki xxx

6 of 52 weeks of happy

Good morning

Its half-term here this week and so whilst I am up, those boys of mine are still dead to the world. Little do they know that when I've finished my coffee and writing this blog post - they will be getting up to!!

Here is this weeks happy post - really not difficult to find things this week - we've had some sunny days and I've been out twice this week to brilliant things!

1 - Big Son on Pancake Day - for the first time ever my pancake making was successful - nothing burnt or looked like something a dog wouldn't eat. Instead fairly perfect looking pancakes cooked with no swearing! Of course if you're a slightly dopey 17 year old then you need to wear sunnies to eat your pancake!!

2 - Programme & tickets from the musical we went to as a family in the week. It was put on by students from the boys schools and was wonderful. Brilliant casting and the 80's theme was of course great. I could sing along quite happily much to the boys embarrassment!!

3 - A £1 bunch of daffs from the co-op - they lasted a whole week and filled the kitchen with sunshine.

4 - Last but not least. Last night P & I went to see Bellowhead in concert. Oh they were just wonderful - over 2 hours of them playing with just a small interval. Lots of dancing went on - those downstairs were dancing in the aisles - us upstairs we jigging around in front of our seats. 

Right - time to wake those boys and then tackle my list of jobs for today. There's two options for a Ta-Dah tomorrow but both aren't quite finished!!

See you soon

xxx Vicki xxx

5 of 52 weeks of happy

Good afternoon

Expect a sudden influx of posts from me - for the first time in ages I've lots to write about!!

Thanks for the comments on yesterdays post - yep he is still cute even if he towers above and teases me almost constantly some days!

Here's this weeks mosaic of happy things;

1 - I had the Good Life boxed set for Christmas and am slowly working my way through it and loving it. This is my all time favourite TV programme and I've managed to get Little Son interested in it too. Lovely to snuggle on the sofa with him of an evening and watch an episode or two :)

2 - A very early birthday pressie from my parents - I saw this CK dress on an Instagram feed and fell in love - my favourite colour with bicycles printed all over - it just screamed Vicki :) 

3 - Bargain fabric from the charity shop - enough for at least one dress and possible another when the first one wears out! I've made a start and hopefully I'll get it finished by the weekend.

4 - Always making me happy but especially at the moment - those daft boys of mine. When we were in Southwold yesterday they went into the silly photo booth together and you can see the results :)

Brrrrr its gone very cold here again - I'm back into my thicker sweaters and waiting for the boys to arrive home so I can justify putting the heating on. Am really tired of winter now and would just like February to hurry by so we can reach the (hopefully) warmer days in March.

See you soon - off to hoover as that will keep me warm!!

xxx Vicki xxx

4 of 52 weeks of happy.

Good morning

All rather quiet here - the boys are staying over with their Dad for the first time. Yep that's the bad stuff - MrVV & I have separated :( Still friends but not currently living together. Not 100% happy still but getting there and getting on with it.

Am lucky to have a huge family and pretty wonderful friends who are being great and making sure that I keep smiling and busy.

Anyhow onto this weeks happy blog post and photo;

1 - Snowdrops have been appearing in the garden - these ones were loving the sunshine yesterday.

2 - A bowl of sweets - a pressie from Little Son who went on a school day trip to France on Friday. Despite him being the most awful traveller and being rather ill on the drive over - he came home happy having had a great day out with his friends.

3 - Blue skies and white fluffly clouds - always lovely to see.

4 - Spring flowers, a scented melt and a bunch of red flowers - making my dresser cheerful for the weekend.

Time to get into the lycra and head to the gym!!

See you soon

xxx Vicki xxx


 

3 of 52 weeks of happy

Good morning

Whilst life here in the VV household isn't to great at the moment, I am determined to be British and keep calm and carry on - I will tell you eventually but its just too tricky at the moment to write it all down.

However I am determined even with all the less nice stuff to find happy things in my world and take pictures and share them - trying the glass half full approach ;)

Here's what has caught my eye this week;

1 - Gorgeous new fabric which I will turn into a dress for me - red is also a cheerful colour and if you add roses what is there not to love :)

2 - A charity shop find - a not-vintage-but-still-lovely printers tray - just needs a few coats of paint then attaching to the wall and filling with little pretty things.

3 - A sunny day and the first washing on the line for 2013 - here's hoping it won't be too long till I can do this again.

4 - Online scrabble - playing Little Son and various friends - I'm not particularly good at it but its great fun.

I have something else lovely to show you but that deserves a post of its own, so that will have a wait until next time.

See you soon

xxx Vicki xxx

2 of 52 weeks of happy

Good evening

Just a quick post whilst waiting for teenagers to vacate the bathroom so I can have my turn in there!

Week 2 of 52 weeks of happy - here they are;

1 - My Ipad mini - I've been saving for one of these for ages and finally had enough money and ordered it. It came last week and I am in love - great for watching tv in bed when those brass players of mine are at practise and for checking for school closures on snowy mornings from the comfort of my own bed!!

2 - A pretty ceramic cottage jam jar bought from the CS for just £1 - I want a cottage just like this one day.

3 - Homemade bread - my breadmaker is dying and no longer produces more than dough. When we had our snow day on Friday I decided to try something other than the normal rolls - this came out brilliantly. Next task to try making bread entirely by hand.

4 - Ladybird books sent by another blogger - love the kindness within blogland :)

We did manage playing outside in the snow on Friday - there are pictures to upload and sort. I think there will be another tomorrow as its been snowing here for most of the afternoon/evening and the roads seem worse than last time. Only time will tell - I will be checking online from my bed tomorrow and if school is closed I'll leave those boys of mine for a longer snooze!

See you soon

xxx Vicki xxx

1 of 52 weeks of happy

Good afternoon

I've seen this on many blogs and thought it was a good idea. I struggle big time during the winter months with the dark, damp and miserable days so looking for the good things when you initial impressions are 'its all bad' seems a good idea. Plus it gives me a chance to use some of the random photos I take and struggle to link together into a non-rambling blog post!

Here's the first one of what I hope will be 52 weeks of pictures that make me happy and lift my spirits;

A cake fountain indoor firework on MrVV's birthday cake

The first of the mini daffs I treated myself to have flowered.

Also the hyacinths surprised my one morning too - I smelt them before I saw the flowers.

Lastly, new boots for me - they arrived just in time before the icy weather returns - nice, thick treads so hopefully I'll remain upright!!

We've avoided the snow here on my part of the coast - lots of flurries yesterday and overnight but it didn't stick - can't say I'm sorry about that either - though the teenagers have a different opinion!!

See you soon

xxx Vicki xxx