All posts by Daisy's Life

Happy Friday 23.09.16

23rd September 2016Happy FridaysDaisy's Life

Woah, these weeks are passing by so quickly – it is very weird to think that we will be in October in just over a week’s time! All the more reason for me to collect my happy memories, so here is this week’s list:

We had a lovely family picnic and walk in the Peak District last Saturday. The weather was perfect for walking – blue skies, sun, but not too much heat. G was still in Duke of Edinburgh mode after her expedition the previous week, so got her map out and planned us a lovely route, which was just perfect.

2. We don’t do this as often as we should, but we had a delicious Sunday roast the following day. We had roast pork, which is definitely not my favourite meat, but it was totally worth it for the crackling, which was so, so good (as were the ‘porkshire puddings’, as we call them).

3. D bought me a beautiful bunch of flowers home last Friday, which have really brightened up the bedroom this week – gorgeous!

4. I forgot about this one from a couple of weeks ago, but I’m saying that it counts, as it is not yet up on the wall! While we were in Norfolk, B helped me take some photos on the beach of natural objects in the shape of letters, which I then printed out to put in this frame below. I had seen and loved the idea but wasn’t sure how it would work out, but I’m really pleased with it.

5. I have been ploughing through my proofreading course this week, and have completed my first module, which has now gone off to be marked. I’m under way!

6. I had a lovely couple of hours meeting a fabulous friend for coffee on Wednesday. It was great to catch up – we literally never stop talking when we are together – and so we are now planning a way to celebrate 2 decades of friendship at some point next year. One to look forward to!

7. I have made more progress with the bathroom this week, having stripped and painted the wall. I have bought some small bits and pieces for it – new flannels, light pulls, hooks, etc., and I am definitely much happier about it, so am now in no rush to get a whole new bathroom anymore.

8. I am loving the fact that “the nights are drawing in”, as they say. Much as I adore the long days of summer, I am always ready to make the house cosy by this time of year, lighting lamps and candles, and getting the blankets out, etc.

9. G and I have been thinking about our upcoming trip to Grenada this week, and so I have emailed off with our ideas for things we would like to do while we are there, so we will hopefully have these arranged soon. It’s coming so quickly!

10. Simple things – we had a delicious chilli con carne last night, which had been “doing its thing” in the slow cooker all day. We haven’t had chilli for so long, so it tasted particularly good, especially with taco shells!

So we are off to Norfolk tonight for the weekend, which we are so looking forward to. Have a great couple of days everyone!

Happy Friday 16.09.16

16th September 2016Happy FridaysDaisy's Life

Well, what amazing weather we have had this week. Although I was feeling that I was ready for autumn, I certainly wasn’t going to complain about a little more summer, so the heat this week has been a real treat.

Anyway, here are some other things that have made me happy this week:

G completed her bronze Duke of Edinburgh expedition last weekend, so it’s good to have that “ticked off” the list now. The weather was predictably very wet for the first half of day one, but then improved, and was perfect for the second day, so the girls had a good time – although were very, very glad to get home, showered and into comfortable beds!
As D and I therefore had the house to ourselves, we took the opportunity to get some jobs done. We had been planning to get a new bathroom fitted but that may be postponed for a little while, so we did some remedial work on it, and I have been painting it this week, so hopefully it will last us a little longer.
As it was such a beautiful day on Sunday, and we had to head into the Peak District to collect G at the end of her expedition, we decided to make the most of the day, so went for a lovely five mile walk around the Wetton area. The views and houses around there are stunning, and the dogs loved it too, so it was such a great trip out.

4. Following on from last week’s “social engagements”, I had lunch with another friend on Monday, which was lovely – always good to have a proper catch up over some delicious food.

5. I did make a couple of cheeky purchases this week – just things for the house, which I saw, loved and couldn’t resist. I haven’t yet decided where to put them, but I will!

6. I finished a book that had recommended to me by a friend this week, which I had loved!. It was “Turning Point” by Freya North. The beauty of it was that it was set in two locations – British Columbia in Canada and North Norfolk – and there were so many references to places that I know so well in Norfolk, that it did make me smile A LOT when I read them. If only my friend had warned me how sad it is as well though!

7. The weather this week has meant that early morning walks have been happening again, as it has been too hot for the dogs to go too far during the daytime, but I do love being out early – the light and atmosphere are so different and it is quieter too, so they can run around crazily on their own.

8. Lottie and Honey were trimmed yesterday so now look so smart and beautiful – and extremely cute!

9. Last night was Speech Day at G’s school, which is always such a lovely evening, celebrating all the fabulous things that have gone on throughout the year. It was especially good for us this year, as, now that D is a governor, we had reserved seats on the second row, so had a great view of everyone and everything – especially G collecting her academic prize!

10. The final one for this week is looking ahead slightly, to tonight, when B comes home for the weekend. We are all very excited to see him and have a proper family weekend again – hurrah!

Have a great few days everyone!

Happy Friday 09.09.16

9th September 2016Happy FridaysDaisy's Life

Well, the transition back to reality after the wonderful summer holidays has now happened, so new routines are being established and early mornings are again the norm. However, there have still been plenty of highlights from the past couple of weeks:

We ensured that we made the most of the last days of the summer holidays, enjoying another ten days in Norfolk, then a couple of days at home, before G went back to school. We had a lovely day out meeting friends at Rutland Water, where the children all went on the Aqua Park, before enjoying a picnic lunch and then back to our friends’ house for a quick drink.
After G had gone back to school, B and I went for a lovely walk with the dogs at Poppy Wood. It was really good to have a couple of days alone with him before he went back to school, so this was a special trip.

3. It was G’s turn to cook last week, and so she made us a delicious tapas feast on Thursday night, with meatballs, prawn and chorizo skewers and spicy squid – truly yummy!

4. Whilst in Norfolk, I had collected a lovely piece of driftwood from the beach, which, with the help of a chisel and hammer, I turned into a tealight holder, which I absolutely love!

5. We had a very lazy, but fun, family afternoon on Saturday. We spent most of the second half of the day snuggled up in the sitting room, as it was pretty rainy, watching our new favourite family TV programme, Hustle, playing board games and eating snacks – a great way to spend a wet Saturday.

6. As it was B’s last night at home on Sunday, we went to the Cuban restaurant in Derby for a meal. The children loved the huge selection of tapas, and we had a lovely evening.

7. This week has been a productive one, and I have managed to achieve just about everything on my “to do” list – making appointments, booking accommodation and trains for the holiday G and I are taking next month, touching up some of the paintwork in the house (still plenty more of this to do!), etc., etc. I do love ticking things off a list!

8. The beautiful lilies I bought last week at Lidl (£3.30!) have made me very happy this week – they are huge, such a vibrant colour and smell amazing.

9. I had a lovely lunch – and well overdue catch up – with a good friend yesterday. We had a great natter over a delicious Thai meal – fabulous!

10.I still have plenty of things that I want to do around the house, but it is nice to be able to start forming some kind of plan to do these things, and I am now also able to begin my proof-reading course as well, so this is very much a week of looking forward to all the positive things happening shortly – always a good feeling.

Well, G is off on her DoE expedition this weekend (we have everything crossed for better weather for her then during the practice!), so D and I have some time to ourselves. We haven’t planned anything yet – but it will probably involve some kind of sorting or organising at some point, so wish us luck with that!! Have a great weekend!

Happy Friday 19.08.16

19th August 2016Happy FridaysDaisy's Life

Well, I’m not sure where the sun has gone, as I have woken up to grey, overcast skies and actual RAIN this morning, but we have had a lovely week in the beautiful weather, so I can’t complain – and it is good for the garden!

Here are the highlights:

We had a wonderful family day out to Warwick Castle last Saturday. D and I last went there in 1997, so it was a first for the children, and it was great. The weather was lovely, which meant that we could wander around, have our picnic, watch the trebuchet and jousting displays and complete the tower and ramparts walk in the sun, as well as doing one of the organised tours of the state rooms, which was really interesting. It really was such a good day.

2. I did a little bit of furniture restoration again this week, which I am so pleased with. We were given four old wooden garden chairs a little while ago, to chop up and use as firewood, but when I looked at them properly a couple of weeks ago, I discovered that they were actually in quite good condition, just very unloved and neglected, so I decided that I would try to give them a new lease of life. I painted them white, and then made new cushions with some lovely fresh, striped fabric. I bought a new white tablecloth for our old outdoor table as well, so it now feels like we have a complete new set of garden dining furniture, which we have since used a lot this week, for the grand total of £30.

3. To follow on from this, we have really made the most of the beautiful weather this week, spending a lot of time out in the garden – we have had two firepit evenings and have eaten a lot of our meals outside, which we love to do. The lunch below, for example, was delicious – homemade guacamole with crackers and crudites – and it was made even better by eating it al fresco!

4. We have been reaping the benefits of our thriving herb garden again this week – our roast lamb on Sunday was adorned with our rosemary, and then we also made fresh mint sauce to accompany it, as we have huge amounts of mint – and there are only so many mojitos we can drink!

5. We had another nice day out on Monday, meeting my great friend, Hettie, and her two young children, at Carsington Water. Again, it was a lovely day for a picnic, in beautiful surroundings, and G and B did a great job of helping entertain the little ones.

6. We have come up with a new possible career option for G this week – comedian! She has been so, so funny this holiday, so quick-witted and absolutely hilarious that she has had me and B holding our aching stomachs and in tears from laughing so much.

7. B once more came into his own last night when he made us a delicious turf and surf meal – it was so good, especially the prawns, which I am generally not a huge fan of, but it was all just so tasty.

8. I have been loving doing Lucy Wyndham-Read’s workouts this week – she does quite short routines which focus on different areas of the body, so you can choose whichever areas you wish to concentrate on, and then do a few as they are pretty short.

9. As well as eating out in the garden on many occasions this week, we also spent one afternoon playing board games out there too, which was great fun. A lovely way to while away an afternoon!

10. We are definitely hoping that the good weather returns again, as we are off to Norfolk today for another ten day stay. D can only be with us at the weekends, but we will still have fun, and try to make the most of the last couple of weeks of the summer holiday, which is passing far, far too quickly.

Have a great weekend!

Happy Friday 12.08.16

12th August 2016Happy FridaysDaisy's Life

Another couple of weeks have absolutely flown by, with plenty more “good stuff” going on, so here are the highlights:

G and B had a fabulous 11 days in France with their exchange family. They were looked after well, had great experiences of French life and had lots of fun doing different activities with the family, so it was a very successful trip. But it was also absolutely lovely to get them back home again on Monday night!
One thing that has made this school holiday such a joy has been that G and B have been getting on so well together, which makes for lovely, calm days – better for everyone!
A couple of weeks ago (already?!?!), D and I had our annual trip to CarFest – but this time without the children which did feel very strange. It was our first time at CarFest North, having visited CarFest South for the past four years, and the venue – Bolesworth Castle – was absolutely beautiful. As this is an equestrian eventing venue, they put on some show jumping displays, which were a very welcome addition to the daytime events, and were great to watch. The weather was very kind to us, and, on the whole, the music was good (“Faithless” though?? Really? What was that – apart from being very painful on the ears! Just awful!!), especially on the Sunday night, when the atmosphere was at its best.

4. I had a very successful – and also pretty speedy – trip to Ikea last week, managing to find exactly what I wanted without being distracted and coming away with far more than I had planned!

5. I had an extremely productive week whilst the children were away, making the most of the opportunity to tidy, sort and organise various areas of the house and garden that had been neglected a little of late. I completely sorted out B’s room, which is only a very small space, but it now looks lovely, and added some finishing touches to our bedroom, re-covering the cushions on the bedding box and adding some word artwork, amongst other things, so I was very pleased.

6. D and I had a lovely lunch at Barton Marina on Saturday, as a reward for sorting out the garage, dumping lots of rubbish at the tip and (hopefully!) selecting the “shed” we are going to use as a gym/summer house in the garden. It was a beautiful day, so it was lovely to sit outside in the sun by the marina.

7. We followed this with a fabulous day out in the Peak District on Sunday. Again, the weather favoured us – it was beautifully sunny but with a breeze, which was great for walking, so we had a picnic, a circular walk which included sections by the river and then up and down some hills, ending with tea and cake at the tearooms – a perfect trip out!

8. Wednesday saw us heading off on a shopping trip to get the annual “school shopping” done. This was very successful – we managed to get all stationery and uniform requirements (I think!) so I now just need to start sewing labels on again!

9. We were very thrilled, and extremely proud, to find out this week that G has been awarded an academic prize again for her school work this year. These are highly coveted prizes, as they do not give out many of them, but she definitely deserves it for all her hard work this year.

10. We had a lovely day yesterday, visiting one of my university friends, Abi, and her boys. It was great to have a proper catch up, and fantastic to see the boys all getting on so well and playing cricket together. I love the summer holidays for being able to meet up with friends!

So that’s been about it for the past couple of weeks – apart from D and I also celebrating our 20th wedding anniversary! Where did those years go? Crazy – but all good.

Have a great weekend everyone!

Our Norfolk Holiday

5th August 2016LifestyleDaisy's Life

The reason for my absence over the past couple of weeks is that we were away on a fabulous holiday in Norfolk for 12 days. For the first time in 11 years, I was able to go away without my laptop and didn’t have to work at all, so had 12 days pretty much “off grid”, which was bliss. Plus we just had the most amazing time! The weather was incredible – hot, sunny, with blue skies every day apart from the day we had to drive home – we were so lucky.

So here’s a little round up of the best bits, in verbs and photos:

Having breakfast at one of our favourite eateries – Creake Abbey – on our first morning.
Walking along Brancaster beach to see the beautiful seals.
Drinking tea in the garden.
Playing tennis as a family, which we did many times.
Walking the dogs in the early mornings and evenings.
Kayaking at Burnham Overy Staithe – the kayak turned out to be a great investment!

7. Drinking prosecco in the garden at sunset.

8. Playing with the dogs and B one evening on Brancaster beach.

9. Visiting Muckleburgh Military Museum with B.

10. Watching the waves crash on the stony beach at Salthouse.

11. Eating brunch in the garden on many mornings.

12. Eating out at various local restaurants.

13. Walking through the woods at Sandringham.

14. Picking strawberries and gooseberries.

15. Drinking Pimms in the garden in the early evening.

16. Walking around the lake at Holkham Hall.

17. Swimming together in Hunstanton.

18. Enjoying a barbecue on Saturday evening.

19. Walking to the amazing beach at Burnham Overy Staithe to eat a breakfast of sausage and bacon rolls.

20. Jumping in the straw left behind by the combine harvester in the field behind our house.

21. Eating ice cream at Drove Orchards.

22. Sitting on top of the straw bales in the field as the sun began to set.

23. Looking forward to going back again for another 10 days at the end of the month!

Happy Friday 15.07.16

15th July 2016Happy FridaysDaisy's Life

It’s Happy Friday time again already – the weeks seem to be passing so quickly at the moment! Anyway, here’s a little round up of my week:

We had a lovely trip to Yo Sushi with G on Saturday, to welcome her back from her trip to Germany. She had been the week previously with a friend, but it was a new experience for me and D. I’m not a huge fan of sushi, but there were plenty of other options, so I had the delicious chicken and Japanese fried rice below, which was really good.

2. G eventually got to enjoy her Christmas present last Sunday, when she had her flying lesson. She was up in the air for well over an hour and it was a beautiful day for it, so she really enjoyed it.

3. Stemming from my childhood, I’ve always loved beautiful stationery, so the new notebook that I bought at the start of the week has made me very happy indeed!

4. G and I had a lovely trip out with the dogs on Tuesday, walking them in Poppy Wood, followed by a quick stop off at Calke Abbey for a drink. There is a new dog agility trail at the wood, so it was great to see them loving it – and it’s always a great way to tire them out!

5. Being very aptly named, the poppies were out in force in Poppy Wood, looking absolutely beautiful, so they definitely brought a smile to my face.

6. Tilly had her annual check up and vaccinations at the vet on Tuesday, and it was really good to hear that she is still in very good shape, with an incredibly healthy heart, as, for a big dog, she is getting to quite a good age.

7. The summer holidays started properly on Wednesday when we went up to collect B, who is now home for almost eight weeks, which is lovely.

8. G and B enjoyed the first day of their summer holiday together yesterday with a trip to Bounce Revolution in Derby. They had a great, if rather exhausting and hot, hour, trying all the trampolines and “wipeout” style areas, so it was a real hit – and very amusing to watch!

9. I am continuing to enjoy doing workouts at home. Thank goodness for You Tube! There are so many different kinds of workouts and exercise programmes on there, for free, so I’ve been loving mixing and matching some of the individual routines, then alternating with a programme.

10. Today is the day that we decamp to Norfolk for 12 days, so we are really looking forward to that. After the busyness of the past few weeks, it will be lovely to get away and properly relax, so we are looking forward to lots of walks on the beach, kayaking, eating out, tennis, swimming, reading, etc. Bliss!

Happy Friday 08.07.16

8th July 2016Happy FridaysDaisy's Life

Well, it’s been a few weeks since I last posted, but that is simply due to the fact that I have been absolutely crazily busy with work, so have not had any spare time whatsoever. However, that craziness has now come to an end, so I’m back with a lovely Happy Friday list!

The first one has to be work. D and I made a decision about our business a few months ago, which was the reason behind all the hard work and long hours of the past few weeks. However, that all came to fruition last Friday, hence we have this week started a new chapter in the life of the business, which is 100% positive for absolutely everyone associated with it, which is so exciting and good to see. Definitely a cause for celebration.

2. We have been continuing to eat healthily most of the time, still trying out new recipes from the recipe books which I received for my birthday in May, and really loving them. They are so tasty and feel so good for you at the same time. The photo below is of one of my favourite breakfast recipes – Carrot Bircher – yum!

3. Saying that, however- we all need a treat from time to time, so last weekend I made one of my favourites for Saturday night – chocolate-dipped strawberries – so, so delicious!

4. I know that I have mentioned before how much I love libraries, but this has to be said again! I went a couple of weeks ago to my local one, which is literally 10-15 minutes walk away from home, and there was an extremely helpful, chatty librarian on duty, who recommended that I should try reading some Jeffrey Archer books. Never having liked the man, I have not once considered reading any of his works (and I had no idea that he had written so many!) but she suggested that I start reading The Clifton Chronicles series. I took the first two books away with me, then reserved and collected numbers 3 and 4 last week, and they really are very good. I am so pleased that she suggested them, as I am enjoying them immensely.

5. D’s new “toy” a couple of weeks ago was a pasta maker, so he and G had a lovely time one Friday evening making us some fresh tagliatelle. It was pretty simple to make but tasted so much nicer than the bought variety, even when buying fresh, so this is definitely the way forward for us now!

6. One of the things that has made me chuckle over the past weeks has been the dogs. As there are areas of pretty long grass around where I walk them in the park, they love to explore these when they are off their leads, but, because they aren’t overly tall dogs, they literally have to bounce around the tall stalks, which is so hilarious to watch. They are honestly just like little Tiggers!

7. It has recently been the season for one of my favourite flowers – peonies! I think they are incredibly pretty, and come in such beautiful shades, so I absolutely love them. D doesn’t like them, for some completely unfathomable reason – but then he doesn’t like tulips either, which I also find totally weird!

8. D and I had a lovely afternoon out last Sunday at a Sausage and Cider Music Festival. The weather was incredibly kind to us, so we had a wonderful time, sitting in the sun on our picnic blanket, eating sausages, drinking cider (rhubarb cider is soooo good!) and listening to the live music – especially the reggae music, which we love.

9. We then had a lovely evening out by the firepit (admiring our lovely foxgloves!), enjoying a couple of mojitos and chatting – a fantastic end to the weekend.

10. As D and I have been child-free this week, with G in Germany and B in France, we decided to go out for a meal last night. We went to Revolución de Cuba and had the most delicious meal – shared tapas to start, then a burrito for me and chimichanga for D. We also enjoyed some fabulous cocktails – Reggae Rum Punch, an original mojito, then – our favourite – a Garden Mojito, which was amazingly good! We will definitely be going back there again soon (probably for our 20th wedding anniversary next month!).

Happy Friday 10.06.16

10th June 2016Happy FridaysDaisy's Life

Due to the fact that we are firmly entrenched in revision season at the moment, the last two or three weeks have been very quiet and uneventful, so there has been little to report. However, there have obviously been some highlights, so here’s a little round up of some of the things that have sparked joy recently.

1. A family trip to watch “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang” in Nottingham a couple of weeks ago. Everyone knows it’s a great, if very surreal, film, so we were intrigued as to how they would carry this off on a stage, but, of course, it was brilliantly done, and the flying car was suitably impressive! The cast was extremely strong – Lee Mead and Carrie Hope Fletcher had the lead roles, so they were obviously fantastic, as were Shaun Williamson and Michelle Collins. It was a “truly scrumptious” afternoon out!

2. The garden is continuing to look beautiful. The bluebells and tulips have now gone, but have been replaced by stunning peonies and bedding plants, which are all adding some very welcome splashes of colour.

3. Talking of the garden, our herb garden is absolutely flourishing, which we are so happy about. We have so many different kinds of mint (for D’s speciality mojitos!!), plus different thyme plants, oregano, fennel, curry plant, lovage, chives, parsley, rosemary, sage and elephant garlic. I love being able to use our own herbs in cooking and some of them have been flowering recently, so also look so pretty.

4. One thing that has been wonderful over the past week or so is the weather. It has been so warm (even hot at times!) and sunny, that it has been a joy to spend time outside. The photo below is of our last meal together before B headed back up to Lancaster on Sunday to start his week of exams. Eating outside and early morning walks definitely make me smile!

5. I have been to Derby Theatre twice in the past week (have I ever mentioned what a fabulous theatre it is, putting on such a huge and diverse range of productions? – I absolutely love it). The first was with D last Saturday for a Stage and Screen Night performed by Derwent Brass. I’m not sure if it’s down to my northern roots, but I love a good brass performance, and it was such a great night. Their programme was in three sections – a tribute to the production of “Brassed Off” which took place at the theatre last September and was just so, so good, then a swing section, followed by pieces from musical shows and films. It was all brilliant, but special mention should also go to Seren Sandham-Davies, who was in “Brassed Off”, and made three appearances throughout Saturday night’s show, playing the flugelhorn as she did in last year’s show, but also singing two songs. Honestly, her voice was truly amazing.

6. Since receiving the two cookbooks I had requested for my birthday, one by Madeleine Shaw, the other by “The Body Coach” Joe Wicks, we have been trying out so many of the healthy recipes – and absolutely loving them! I like to have a good breakfast to start the day, so have been really enjoying the Lemon and Blueberry Overnight Oats, the Mango and Chia Seed Pudding, the Porridge with Pistachios and Pomegranate Seeds and the Lime and Coconut Porridge with Nut Crunch. For our evening meals, we have had some really delicious meals as well, but the highlight for me was the Cheesy Chorizo Chicken and Spinach – wow – so tasty! We are really enjoying trying out these new recipes which are so delicious, whilst also being very good for you, and are suitable for all the family.

7. To go alongside this, I have been doing lots of workouts at home. Now, I can’t honestly say that I always enjoy them at the time – they don’t particularly make me smile – but I always feel so good for doing them afterwards and I definitely feel fitter. I have been doing a mixture of HIIT workouts, with some exercise ball and arm exercises thrown in for good measure, so hopefully it is all doing me good.

8. Me second Derby Theatre trip of the week was on Tuesday with a great friend to watch “The Mousetrap”. I do think that it is odd that, despite the fact that it has been running for so many decades, I don’t actually know anyone who has seen it, but I would definitely recommend it. This touring production was extremely well performed, and it really does keep you guessing until very near the end. I obviously can’t say anymore, as I am now part of the special “Mousetrap Club”, knowing “whodunit” but being sworn to secrecy by the “murderer” at the end of the play.

9. With the stresses and tensions of revision, exams and D continuing to work crazy hours, our little family has made me very happy this past couple of weeks. I love it when we are all together and we know that we are there for each other, especially when we need a little more support than usual.

10. My last one this week is a little holiday that I booked a couple of weeks ago for me and G for October. She gets two weeks for half term, so we are going away for the first week of it for a lovely girly trip, celebrating her 16th birthday whilst there, and allowing her some downtime before GCSE work really kicks in until the following summer. We are so excited and already on a countdown!

That’s about it for this week. Let’s hope that the beautiful weather continues, then at least we can make the most of being at home and get outside whilst work commitments prevent us doing much else.

Have a great weekend everyone!

A Birthday Post

20th May 2016LifestyleDaisy's Life

Well, I’ve still been crazily busy with work so decided that I would do a slightly different post this week, focusing on the lovely day I had on Sunday, which was my birthday.

It was a quiet but nice day, starting with opening my presents. B had come home for the weekend, so we all sat in our bed together whilst I unwrapped my lovely gifts. You will see from the photos below that a lot of the presents that I had asked for centred around a health and fitness theme (well, I’m 42 now, got to try to stay healthy in my old age!), and I am thrilled with all of them. However, I was also lucky enough to receive lots of other lovely gifts, all of which were so thoughtful and suited me perfectly – so thank you so much to everyone who was so kind and generous to me.

B then made me breakfast in bed, accompanied with some Moet et Chandon which was rather nice! We followed this by a family dog walk, as the weather was so much better than we had expected. D had then booked for us to go out Sunday lunch, to The Jinnie Inn at Rolleston on Dove, which was delicious.

By the time we had fully stuffed ourselves with lunch, it was almost time to take B back to the train, so I then had a very lazy, relaxing afternoon, poring over my new recipe books, planning my healthy meals for the week – whilst drinking more champagne!

A chilled but lovely day!

Daisys Life

Recording life, loves and the little things which bring joy and happiness