Friday 3 July 2009

I`m Still Here!



Me at RHS Wisley




On the beach at Boscombe




Roman having fun on a bouncy castle at his cousin Charlie`s birthday party.


Isn`t she gorgeous?



Hello everyone,

I thought I`d better post an entry as it`s been weeks since my last one. I suppose with one thing and another, ie; real life and probably a bit of laziness thrown in has something to do with it.

Anyway, I`m here now so I`ll quickly let you know how we all are.

I`m fine, very busy at work and in my garden. Housework is taking second place to the garden but I`m still managing to get everything done eventually, at the expense of computer time and even watching TV. Jim is also very well. he`s been doing some fishing, including his much awaited sea fishing trip. To my displeasure he gave all the fish he caught to Danny and Slava...hmm...its not as if they didn`t catch anything either...Oh well, its back to fish fingers I suppose...lol!

Roman and Sophie are really thriving. Roman had his last big school visit today and Kerry was introduced to his new teacher Mrs. Andrews. Kerry was relieved that she seemed very nice and was surprised to find Roman had met her previously. It all sounds very grown-up and Roman can`t wait to go. The only downside for him is that his best friend Toby lives in a different catchment area so will be attending another school. Luckily Toby`s mum and Kerry have become friends so they will still see each other regularly. They are inseparable and think the world of each other.

Sophie is 12 weeks old now and is 14lbs. She hasn`t been the easiest baby, temperament-wise but she seems to be settling down a bit more now. Up until recently she cried whoever picked her up, including ME, her devoted grandmother (that never happened with Roman!) Lately though she seems to be mellowing and hopefully will be as laid back as her big brother. I must admit I have enjoyed buying pretty little dresses for her though she grows so quickly I tend to buy cheaper ones now. She is wearing clothes for a size 6-9 month old baby as 3-6 is just too small now. The way shes growing she`ll be bigger than Roman before she`s a year old...lol!

As you will know if you live in the British Isles, many of us have been sweltering in a heatwave the last fortnight. I love Summer, but Oh my goodness, it`s just that bit too hot for me at the moment. A slight breeze would be nice, just to cool things down a degree or too along with some steady overnight rainfall because I`m fed up with carry watering cans up and down the garden night after night. My arms are so long now I`m starting to resemble an Orangutan!

A few weeks ago I had a weeks holiday, if you can call it that. I think I was busier that week than when I`m getting paid for working. On the Monday I went out shopping on my own, a rare treat. I think the best bit was sitting in Starbucks with a cappuchino and some fruit bread, reading a magazine and just relaxing...perfect. That was the last leisurly day though. On Tuesday we took Roman to Boscombe in Dorset for the day. We`d never been there before but I`d read that it was a lovely place but quieter than it`s neighbour Bournemouth. Well we had a wonderful day there. The car park was just a few yards for the beach, which was sandy and very clean. The whole area was very well kept and with the weather also being excellent we couldn`t have had a better day. Roman loved making sand castles and was a very good boy all day. We had a lovely lunch at a nice restaurant overlooking the beach. In fact it was a perfect day for us all.

On the Wednesday Jim and I did some work in the garden, he`s been painting the fences and putting up some new trellis`s for me. We really did work hard all day and I really pleased with the progress in my garden. We have plans to extend the patio and widen and reshape the flower beds. I know once its finished it will look really good, though it will probably take ages to do, which of course is all the fun of gardening. I must admit that evening we DID have rather sore backs though a good night`s sleep took care of that.

On Thursday we visited the Royal Horticultural Gardens at Wisley in Surrey. It was another lovely day though a bit cooler, just the way it should be when there is a lot of walking involved. It was a thoroughly enjoyable day out but very tiring and hard on the legs. They had some lovely plants that I had my eye on but when I visited their plant centre the best ones that I wanted had all sold out...sigh. H-o-w-e-v-e-r....me being me didn`t let a little thing like that stop me from buying a `few` new plants. Oh no, I spent an hour and a half selecting some new specimens to add to my borders. Poor Jim, who was pushing the trolley for me kept reminding me of how long we`d been there. Yes I know his feet DID probably ache...but so did mine but the plants were more important...lol! ;o)

On the Friday it rained so I decided to use that time doing housework, very boring but necessary. It might have been a week of but I was relived to get back to work for a well earned rest...lol!

Do you know, despite not writing for so long I can`t for the life of me think what else has happened over the last few weeks. Well of course I HAVE been watching tennis at Wimbledon and this afternoon watched our own Andy Murray lose to Andy Roddick. I`m disappointed but he`s very talented and only just 22, he`ll be back next year that`s for certain.

Anyway, my friends, if I`ve got any left that is! I hope you`re all well and do have a lovely weekend. Take care. :o)



14 comments:

  1. Lovely pictures Sandra. My Sophie has grown and yes, she is gorgeous. Far too hot for me, I have been inside most of the time. Daniel had his last school visit and will be having the same teacher as Nathan which is great. Becky is unhappy about Nathan though as he has two great friends, they are going up together in one class and he is in another where he knows nobody. But Becky read the lists of names and one of his classmates will be Jim F.......yes the same name as your Jim and it is Jim and not James. Hopefully they will become friends. Glad you have been enjoying yourself.

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  2. Sophie is absolutely gorgeous! It's funny how we do so much when we have a week off work isn't it?! I last went to Wisley with my parents when I was about 8yrs old! I bet it's a lot bigger now. I hope Roman will do well at school, it's nice that they get to meet the teacher beforehand now, we just got put in the class and that was it wasn't it?! Funny, I can never remember what I want to tell everyone.... until I've published my post then it all comes back to me! Lol!! I love this hot weather but because of a strained ligament in my foot I haven't been able to go out in it! Jeannette xxxx

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  3. Roman is sooo cute playing at the beach...and Sophie my goodness, ..adorable! my my has she grown...Our weather is very hot in FL too, we are in our rainy season so humidity is high as well..It was great to see your post.
    xoxox

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  4. Hello Sandra, Glad to see you are back. Roman is a cutie. Stay cool.

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  5. Sophie is absolutely adorable! I can't wait to see some pics of her Roman together. I bet he just loves her to pieces. I have so little computer time in the summer months, expecially on the sunny warm days likes we've had the last month. I'm outside off & on until dark doing the same thing you're doing~watering everything in sight. But come winter we'll all be housebound again so we need to enjoy this time of being outdoors. Hugs to you & yours Linda in Washington

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  6. Hello Sandra, fisherman's wife, Proud Grandmother, Orang Utan, gardener, FRIEND!We're all so many things to so many people and it's always well worth waiting for your visits. There's not only me thinks so either, that's obvious.

    I haven't been down south much at all and I have never even set foot in Dorset. I'm told it's beautiful though very very expensive if you want to live there. Boscombe does look lovely: blue sea, sandy beach - and a beautiful blond Adonis maing sand castles! What more could a girl ask?

    If Keith had been your Jim I would have sent him back to catch some more fish! Giving it all away indeed.

    I think it's going to be a warm day again but perhaps just a little cooler than the past week. Have a lovely weekend.

    love, Angie, xx

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  7. I have tried to leave a comment numerous times Sandra ,is it AOL or Google ? lots of folks are having these problems I believe Grrr ,What a lovely entry ,The children are beautiful ,and such a nice picture of you in the sunshine ,you sound as though you are as busy as ever ,love Jan xx,fingers crossed ....

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  8. Hurray it worked ...love again Jan xx

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  9. Hello dear friend;
    Of course we have missed your posts, but knowing you're rarely still a minute, I'm surprised you are ever in the mood to blog.
    That Sophie is already devastatinly beautiful as her brother is handsome.
    Glad you are getting your gardening done, I know what you mean about the handwatering. As long as Tom & the girls are living here, they are happy (?) to do it for me. I am spoiled terribly. It's hot here too. Too bad the 4th is supposed to be in the 90s & Sunday is supposed to be in the low 80s. Isn't that always the way?
    I'm sure Jim has been enjoying his fishing. Sorry he didn't bring you home his catch of the day. :)
    Don't be working too hard. Hug those grandbabies for me. Have a wonderful weekend.
    Hugs from hot Texas, Barb

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  10. Have been wondering where you were great to catch up with you. Love Joan

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  11. Fabulous photos and yes, she is gorgeous and Roman is handsome too, you must be so proud of them. Bet you were glad to get back to work for a rest! Although up here in the North West, we too have been having it HOT. I don't think I have had a good night's sleep since this hot weather started. Eileen x

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  12. Hey Sandra,

    I'm still here too. I hope your 4th of July was a nice one. I had a really nice day with my family. We had fireworks and a cookout. It has been rather hot in Atlanta, Georgia as well. Anywho...take care.

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  13. Sandra I have had a lot of trouble trying to leave a comment ~ not sure why !!! ~ the pictures are lovely ~Sophie is beautiful ~ sounds like you have been having a busy time ~ it is great to get an entry from you ~ Ally x

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  14. lots of happy memories of Boscombe...coming over that hill and being the first to see the sea!!! ;-)

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