Ticking life's boxes

One of the things I have always wanted to do is rowing. I loved the idea of a four in a skull on the river in the early hours of the morning. Alas, the uni I went to had no river and no rowing club. But there a lots of both in England! Recently I had a rowing lesson at the Ardingly Resevoir http://localwebsuk.com/sussex/ardingly.shtml and can now tick that box. It was the first in a series of four introductory lessons to see if rowing suits me and me it...the jury is still out on that. It was far more difficult than imagined. Hard to balance, hard to turn the blades etc but I did manage a few strokes and turned around and got back to the pontoon safely. Next week we use legs as well as arms.....http://www.ardinglyrowingclub.co.uk/index.php

Potato crop news

The one and only row of potatoes I planted in March (well, it was very warm and dry then) looked as though it had rotted away to nothing with the recent snow and rain, but NO! Last night I noticed a small potato plant peering out. Such a thrill. I plan to put in another row or two this weekend. Will post photos later.

Car Boot Sale

After much talk and very little action, the girls and I finally made it to our first car boot sale on Sunday. It was at the same location as the one that had only three stalls last month, but we thought we would see what was going on this time. We were the ONLY stall for about a hour! We actually thought of going home, but as the two volunteers from the Lifeboat charity were all set up with tickets for sellers and shoppers alike, it was hard to say no. Five pounds per car, the pick of the car park and we laid out our wares. (I forgot the camera, it would have been good to show you all.) The one big advantage of being the only stall is that EVERYONE has a look at it and we ended up making about £40.00!! The girls were amazing at selling and motivated by the fact that I said they could keep what they made from selling their own things.

In the end, we got rid of about one large box worth of unwanted items. Not bad. We might go back next month as there seems to be no end of stuff to get rid of.

Branching out

It is a glorious Saturday morning and I am at the office, alone. Skiving, you all think! But the truth is that this is often the quietest day of the week. I envisaged droves of would be tenants looking for homes at the weekends, but so far that has not been the pattern. I took someone to see a nice house this morning and at the end of my shift will take someone else to see another one. Meanwhile, I type, file, answer the phone (when it occasionally rings!) and wait until the end.
I would LOVE to be digging right now. But having said that, the job is interesting, although there is so much detail and minutea, that until I have a solid grasp of it all, I will be floundering.

'I've been to London, to visit the Queen'

We went to Windsor Castle on Sunday with the girls' grandmother. http://www.royalcollection.org.uk/default.asp?action=article&ID=34 Well worth the trip. The town itself is packed with interesting buildings of historic note...it even boasts the Nell Gywn Chinese Restaurant! (In Nell Gwyn's former home.) http://www.historic-uk.com/HistoryUK/England-History/Nell.htm Situated near the Thames River, and with the Long Walk and Great Park it has enough occupy anyone for a whole day or more.

Granny S has gone now, well for now at least. It looks as though we will have her and grandad back here in the autumn!

Business Class

The girls and their grandmother arrived back to cold windy England last night, having travelled business class as a result of a fortuitous upgrade. They loved it and now think that they will have trouble with the economy style of travel from now on!!

It was wonderful to have them all back here, excited from the holiday and full of news. This has trip makes me think they have grown up a little.

O hana mi....West Sussex Style

The longer evenings mean that now after a full day in the office, there is time to work in the garden. I got home last night to find John hard at work digging a spot for our cherry tree. After much effort and mind changing we decided to plant it in the back garden. The whole exercise has taken so long, there are buds about to flower, so in a few days time we can do our own little flower viewing ceremony! We can sit under the twig it is and hope that this time next year we will have a fuller sized tree.