♥52 Weeks of Happy♥ 49/52

Hello Lovelies , 

I hope you had a good week, we have been celebrating youngest's Eleventh birthday . Here are my happy things from the last seven days

1. Birthday decorating. Mum bought this card banner for the first "First Birthday Party" for my boys back in 2001. It's been used for every birthday since. It's a bit tatty now but I still love it.........

 My mum in law always bakes her grandchildren a cake .........

they are always delicious and really appreciated.

2. The December countryside. Many fields are freshly ploughed........

the hedgrows are bare as are most of the trees. But the Oaks alone still retain some golden brown leaves, making them stand out beautifully  in the landscape.......

3. The real Tom Tit visiting my coconut shell bird feeder :0) .........

4. Reflections at the park.
 Last Sunday we visited a little park I discovered back in October HERE.
Mr BM and I walked while our boys cycled...........

In October this gorgeous formal pond was empty , but this time it had been repaired and the fountain was working..........

I wandered around , loving the sound it made and the dancing ripples on the water.........

It was chilly and the water away from the fountain remained frozen.........

As we get ever closer to the shortest day and the midday sun barely rises above the tree tops the reflected sunlight on the water was like an extra treat.

Yesterday we held a family party for youngest. Afterwards I read THIS beautifully written post by Ada Bea , about what her perfect day would be. I had to read it a couple of times to fully understand it's subtle message. It brought a tear to my eyes and I'm still thinking about it now.

I'm so thankful for my health and the health of my family , and the simple, special times we spend together.

Jacquie x

This Blustery Morning

Hello Lovelies,

it's a "hold on to your hat" sort of day here . The wind is really roaring in the chimney. Leaves are flying through the air and swirling in the street. 

Thankfully I've had to stay indoors to wait for a delivery . It's given me bit of time to slow down and notice the things on my kitchen windowsill......like my Amaryllis beginning to grow.........

And this little twig of amazing blossom. While walking with MrBM on Saturday I noticed a tree in blossom.
It was dark so I thought I may have been mistaken . Sneakily I snapped off this bit, brought it home and popped it into some water............

 It's stunning but I am puzzled. No trees flower in December do they?

This is a more seasonal sight........a stew in my slow cooker. I love preparing one in the morning , then leaving it to do it's thing all day. It will be very welcome when all the family are home from work and school this evening............

 When I when into my chilly conservatory to load the tumble dryer I was horrified to see what looked like a dead squirrel hanging in the tree. It was waving in the wind and I thought it must have got trapped in one of my bird feeders.
Thankfully a zoom shot showed it was not dead or trapped , just doing some acrobatics to access the peanut feeder :0)

Here it is the right way up again .........

 Phew

After my nasty shock I felt the need for a cup of strong tea and a bit of my mum in laws yummy cake.........

I'm working on a Christmas prezzie so I can't tell you too much about these stripes at the moment. They are rather plain but embellishment is planned.........I'm hopeful it will turn out well.........

 All will be revealed after the big day

In the last hour the sun has come out and shown up how badly my windows need cleaning! It's low rays shine right across the room and glitter on my rainbow maker..........

I was  balancing on a chair in the window taking this picture when my goods arrived, I wonder what the delivery man thought?

See you later lovelies, it's time to brave the wind and head to the supermarket.  Thank you for all your sweet comments about my drawing, they are so encouraging.
Jacquie x

Edited to Add thank you to my lovely commentor Helen  who told me about the Winter flowering Cherry.....I need one of these :0)