Goodnight everyone x
I am going to take some space from here for a while, take care 

Night night Skylark, I do hope nothing is wrong.  Sleep well and maybe talk in a more private place?

 

Signing out now, catch up with everyone tomorrow.

Skylark.

Goodnight Squiggle, see you tomorrow.

aww just popped in and saw this - hope you are OK and nothing is wrong

night squiggle

hi yogi - hope you are OK

Hi Ros, I'm good thanks.

How are you, have you had a good weekend?

aww fine thanks yogi - Aberdeen looks lovely - saw some pics - on the train 7 hours from me and in the car but would love a trip there - beach looks great with plenty to see and explore

did you??

better go - work

night yogi

It is nice up that way.

Goodnight for now, don't work too hard tomorrow.

Good morning everyone

 

A pleasant sunny day, but as squiggle says, it gets wet from tomorrow for the rest of the week in this part of the country.

 

Skylark, I hope you are OK

Good morning everyone. Another lovely day, but we have to expect rain from tomorrow onwards.

My baby (aged 22) is due home from Cancun this morning - I've missed him.

Skylark, come back soon.

Good morning everyone, a lovely morning here, I will try and make the most of it.  Aww Yogi give your baby a big hug, it doesn't matter how big they get they are still our babies. 

 

Hi Ros hopefully we can post at the same time in a few weeks or so when you are less busy?  Hope you had a good weekend Joyron, and again glad the fete went so well EL.  Summer you still have lots to tell us about   Skylark hurry back

Update: My baby has arrived home (with 5 loads of washing).

He and his friends had a great time.

Good morning, Squiggle.

Morning Yogi, ah the joys of washing young men's grungy socks (and other unmentionables) I am sure they think it is an act of love providing such things to keep us busy

Indeed he does. He opened that case and unveiled the mountain of washing, like it was a beautiful gift for his mum.

Good morning everyone.    Sunny and hot here again today.  The weekend went very well but it was very tiring.  Got up this morning to see hubby off to work, had a cup of tea and then went back to bed.  Finally woke up at 9.45 am!!! 

 

Glad your son is back safe and sound Yogi.  I don't mind the washing it's the ironing I cannot stand.  I'm sure you will soon have it all sorted out.  I'm not sure if I've missed a post about it but how are you getting on with your new kitchen?  Did it turn out as you had hoped and expected? 

 

Glad to hear the fete was a success El Loro.  I bet the belly dancers were a sight to behold.  Hope all is well with you Squiggle.  No more mole trouble at the moment? 

 

Skylark, I hope all is well with you.  Come back soon.    and

Hi Joyron, glad the weekend went well. Did the birthday girl enjoy her barbeque?

Kitchen is finished and I am extremely pleased with it - especially my lovely new dishwasher.

Yes Yogi the birthday girl did enjoy her barbecue, as did we all.

 

So pleased to hear that you are enjoying your new kitchen.  I have a dishwasher but don't use it that often with only two of us to wash up for but it does come in handy at events such as this last weekend.  If I had had to do all the washing up which was created I would still be at the sink now!! 

Joyron I am glad the weekend went well, it does sound tiring but happy.  No sign of the mole at present (I have taken down the windmills) but I think that is typical of mole behaviour (to go quiet after the spring).  I shall try and enjoy the respite (wish I could jolly well get down there and block his little tunnels up )

 

Glad to hear you are loving your new dishwasher Yogi

It's when the family are all together and there is a huge pile of dishes to do, that it comes into its own. I've never had one before, and I absolutely love it.

Moley is a little monster. Who'd have thought something so small could cause so much trouble. Keep fighting the good fight, Squiggle.

I have a great dishwasher - me

 

Let's hope Moley has gone off on his holidays and forgets the way back, squiggle

When I asked my mum if she had ever wanted a dishwasher, my dad said, "She doesn't need one, she has me!"

My film recommendation for today is Shadow of a Doubt (1943) on Film 4 from 5.05. It's one of Alfred Hitchock's quieter films. A young woman in her 20s lives with her parents and wishes something exciting would happen in her life. Her mother's brother comes to stay. He is charming, but...

 

Set in small town America, it stars Teresa Wright who was a genuinely likeably actress and Joseph Cotten.

 

I've seen it before a few times and it is possibly my favourite of Hitchcock's films.

Thanks El, I've set the V+ to record it. I love a good Hitchcock movie.

Thanks for the tip EL, I am always on the lookout for new films and I don't recall coming across this one before

afternoon all Been trying to post in here all morning but keep getting interrupted at work! Skylark, aw I hope you're alright and that you have the break you need, then come back refreshed Squiggle, I'm going to catch that mole and take him on a permanent bus ride Yogi, how's your kitchen?! Any pics?!!! Glad you're loving your dishwasher

Good, I at least got that posted! Right, attempt at the holiday..

Tuscany was gorgeous! We were very rural, very local, non-commercial, very peaceful. I did yoga most mornings, outside before the others were up, and swam a mile every day in the pool! I think that really helped too because I've only gained 2lb and that's a lot lot less than my normal holiday weight gain lol We spent the first couple of days just relaxing around the villa, mr summer and his brother in law took a fancy for the hammock in the trees! We visited Sienna for a day, it was about a 75 min drive away. Loved the ice cream there! The wedding was perfect, very relaxed it was 41 degrees though so us girls took ages getting ready in a steady manner, it was too hot to rush around and face powder didn't last long The ceremony was at the San Galgano chapel- which I think El will particularly find interesting. It's the site of the original sword in the stone it was small, beautiful and has a tremendous view that the bride & groom were surprised and breathe took by Then it was back to the villa where a team of Italian chef's made us a massive feast that included BBQ meats, stone baked pizza's, breads, salads, veg dishes, a crepes bar, chocolate fondue's and the most wonderful wedding cake I've ever tasted! It's base & top were made of very fine layers of pastry and the middle was a very light creamy custard type filling with chopped strawberries inside. The top was dusted with icing sugar and the edge was decorated with strawberries and real roses! The next day everyone was really sleepy, but I wasn't, I've been too excited to snooze! Then we spent the afternoon at a natural spa, it was a hot spring of sulphur, next to a cold shallow river, it smelled of egg but it was great on the skin! Our final day, we spent the morning doing a walk and a geocache- we'd given the bride & groom an Excalibur geocoin as a gift, and the cache was near the chapel where they married. We walked up from the villa, the scenery was beautiful and I really enjoyed the chatter between us We'd spent every night at a different restaurant, I loved the food but it's very carb heavy so I won't be sorry to see the back of bread for a while. The pizza's were incredible, and I loved the spaghetti.. The ladt evening we cooked up a huge feast at the villa, and tried to consume all the drink that had been bought- lucky for me that only consisted of 1 bottle of wine between 2 of us then we played a game of "who's in the bag?", you pull cards with names of famous people out of a bag, and have to get your team to guess who they are without saying the name. Sounds simple but not easy when you only have 60 seconds to get through as many as you can! It was very funny, got very loud and generated some of the best candid holiday photos Our flight didn't leave until the evening so we packed up (I cried) and headed for Pisa, where we had a nice meal and eyed up the leaning tower.. I didn't get to climb it though because you can only get in with guided tours, and we didn't have enough time to wait for the next available one.. Got some good photos though Then we flew home, got to bed about 1am, and I spent Sunday loading & editing photos- the bride & groom didn't have any of their camera's of the wedding day, I managed to fill a cd for them! I thought I'd struggle being around 13 other people for a week, but the group dynamic was perfect and I really miss them now!

Summer, the holiday sounds idyllic and the wedding sounds perfect. I'm glad you had such a good time.

How romantic to get married in the chapel which is the original site of the sword in the stone - and that cake sounded delicious.

You seem to have had such a wonderful time, no wonder you cried when it was time to come home.

I want to go there now.

I echo Yogi's comments.  Sounds as though you had a wonderful time Summer. 

That's fascinating Summer. It's one of those questions to which there is no definite answer - where does the legend of Arthur and the sword in the stone originate from. It could well be San Galgano. It may be that Robert de Boron, a French poet and writer of Merlin which refers to Arthur pulling the sword from the stone, could have seen the sword at San Galgano.It's not known when he wrote Merlin but he would have written it at around the time that San Galgano plunged the sword in.

 

There is a website on San Galgano and it has this:

The sword in the stone has been plunged  by San Galgano into the rock emerging on the top of the hill in 1180. To honor the Saint, around it has been built a lovely round church. Only the hilt and a few centimeters of the blade protrude from the rock in the shape of a Cross.

The sword has been considered a fake for many years, but a metal dating research in 2001 by the Siena University has indicated it has medieval origins. The composition of the metal doesn't show the use of modern alloys, and the style is compatible with that one of a 12th century sword,

Me too, she said everything I was thinking and the sword in the stone thing sounds so interesting, sigh the whole thing sounds absolutely amazing, no wonder you cried Summer.

Having an early night, speak to you all tomorrow.

night squiggle and yogi hope skylark is OK

Night yogi hope the verdict is in soon!

Good morning everyone

 

At present it's another pleasantly sunny morning, but we know this isn't going to last very long - wetness is coming.

 

I'm off to the building society to pay off my mortgage  - yippee

Good morning El Loro.  It's wonderful feeling being able to do that.  We paid our mortage off just before Christmas and it's great not having that hanging over us.  I've been putting the mortage money away every month since then so we will have a nice little nest egg in time which we can spoil ourselves with!! 

 

It is sunny here at the moment but we are due to get some heavy rain this evening and overnight into tomorrow. 

Lots of love to all my buddies.  Have a great day whatever you are doing.