May 18th

What a glorious day. In fact it has been a pretty amazing week with the bluest of skies and the merest whisper of a breeze.

On Sunday evening Mum and I went to the Tolmen Centre for dinner and a show. The dinner was, as always, very tasty and the pudding definitely not weight watchers. Afterwards we went upstairs and watched a show by the Miracle Theatre Group called The Case of the Frightened Lady. We were told by those in the know that as it was the last night there was a lot of ad libbing going on. Whether that was true or not the company and the audience had a great evening. The seats were all full and there was enough of an interval for people to top up their wine glasses or purchase coffee so all were happy.

On Monday Janis and I cleaned the house then dashed around several shops looking for the bits and pieces we had identified we need (yes we are still on needs, we haven't got to the wants yet) for the house. It was a busy day and, for Janis, the best bit was that Sky came and we now have a television with lots of channels (and still nothing to watch).

On Tuesday Mum went to Trebah gardens for lunch so I stayed at home and did a bit more unpacking and cleaning and Janis dashed over to Mums to check a few things and then made sure she got picked up for her lunch. He had an interview at the Job Centre in the afternoon so i took him into Penryn then picked Mum up and we all had a Cornish Cream tea in our new sitting room. It was the first time Mum had seen it since we put the furniture in.

On Wednesday I managed to get into my craft room for an hour or so, which I haven't done for a while. I finished a card i had been toying with. Its a bit of a change for me because, rather than stamping the image of the bottles and glasses i painted them. I think it is something i would like to do more of in the future, it makes it more personal. The main image of the grapes is one of those rub on transfers and it has worked really well.

I did my stint at the Save the Children Shop in the afternoon. I managed to not buy a really lovely highly decorated fruit bowl only because someone came in and bought it before i could make my mind up and just got away with a couple of photo frames a table runner and a book. Not bad for me. It was really hot and sunny so the shop was very poorly visited. Although, just as i was closing up (as usual) someone decided to try on some clothes.

I had my hair coloured on Thursday morning. Turns out it should have been Tuesday and I forgot. Luckily they tell me they don't hold grudges for long. Only joking. They are lovely people in Constantine Hair Salon. Then, bright red again, I drove to Mawnan Smith to collect Mum from her ceramics class. We decided to visit the cafe on the square for lunch and I am really glad we did. It is a light airy place with big mismatched tables and chairs and a really bright young woman running it (owning it as well i think). It was a nice lunch with lots of little conversations to overhear and observations to make (just as I like it)

When we left the cafe we drove along the lane between Mawnan Smith and High Cross (Constantine) and made a couple of stops to take photo's because the scenery is so amazing.

This is one of the prettiest places on the lane. It is home to some of the rarest and ugliest ducks i have ever seen but the pond itself is calm and surrounded by woods.

As you can see it has been a really good year for bluebells, they are everywhere. We couldn't resist stopping and taking this shot.

Friday is Mums day at Manaccan so I dropped her off and then got some work done in my craft room. I have to have the window open all the time because of the heat, who would have thought it would come to this when last week it was all rain and brief sunny periods?

The last of our furniture has been delivered and although the list of needs is still almost as long as ever, we are becoming comfortable. We now have pots in the garden and a double bed in the spare room so i think we might be ready for visitors soon.

May 11th

Well this has been a busy week. Yes we have finally moved into our three bedroomed bungalow in Falmouth. Of course that doesn't mean we have moved everything out of Mums house yet, in fact there are more of my clothes here than in the bedroom in Falmouth.

Mum had some sad news on Monday. The gentleman she sat next to at the Concert last week, who saved her a seat and said he would share a table with her on Tuesday, died very suddenly on Sunday. I feel for his wife who was with him, a very difficult time for her.

A visit from Angelika and Martin on Monday afternoon cheered us all up. Martin is helping Janis look for work. We would have had them outside helping with the garden despite Martin saying how stiff he was after his own gardening, were it not for the inevitable rain that didn't let up. Typical Bank Holiday Monday. So instead we chatted and kept warm inside.

Because we were moving on Wednesday I had swapped my stint at the Save The Children shop from Wednesday afternoon to Tuesday. I reminded Mum and Janis on Tuesday morning. I wrote it in my diary. Janis dashed off somewhere and Mum went to her art group so (missing anything like a brain cell in my head) I completely forgot and if Janis hadn't come back and asked why i wasn't already there, would probably not have turned up at all. As it was i was half an hour late taking over from the previous volunteer. Oops. Typical. I should stop working there anyway because i keep finding things i really cannot do without. Grr

When i got back home after my stint it was to discover that Janis had finished the pond area.

Sadly the dogs and cat are very interested in the area and have all had a go digging up the gravel.

On Wednesday Janis and i were at the house for 9.30 to go through the inventory with the letting agency. I have never been through one of these hand overs  before so it was eye opening that every deviation from the perfect was photographed, even nail and screw in the wall tabulated, every stain on the carpet looked at and ticked off the list.  It took an hour. 

Janis and i dashed into Penryn and found a double bed and an armchair at a local shop then back to the house for the delivery of our bits and bobs from Stafford. Its odd how easy it is to make up your mind when you only have a limited amount of time. Of course when they arrive we will probably hate them. Ah well. 

By the time Gary came in the afternoon we had boxes and boxes everywhere. The cooker, fridge and washing machine were delivered and installed and checked and Janis and I were starting the unpacking of forgotten treasures. Trying to fit everything from the old kitchen into the new kitchen cupboards was even worse than that jigsaw last week. And I was left alone to do it so i must have been less than smiley.......

Now, a few days later, we have still got lots of boxes, and no television or internet, but we do have sofa's to sit on and we have hot water and some heating. Our bedroom is gradually becoming less muddled and in fact there is just one room we close the door on as soon as we can. 

As you can see we are leaving our mark. The neighbours seem very nice, one even came over to introduce himself while we were moving in. 

Tonight we are at the Tolmen Centre to see the Miracle Theatre play - a nice change from watching DVD's.

May 4th

It has to be said, before the weeks news - MAY THE FOURTH BE WITH YOU

The weather has been variable - from warm sun to gales and rain and cold. This morning though the day has developed into sunshine and it is warm enough to sit out in the conservatory for coffee.

Mum and Janis have been clearing the area around the pond (I won't call it a Fish Pond because there aren't any fish in there). Because Mum has been unwell for a couple of years it has got itself out of control so the weeds have taken over the gravel and everything else. After just an hour a day for three days they have made a huge difference and are ready to put down a new membrane and re-gravel.

Day Two

Day Three

I did my first scheduled stint at the Save the Children shop on Wednesday. Of course i didn't take my list of instructions with me so couldn't remember where i was supposed to take the key or the money and when I tried to call Janis to ask him to find where i had hidden the instructions i discovered the shop is a little black hole with no phone signal at all. Not the most auspicious start to my volunteering career.

Other than that though it was a fun two hours - a steady traffic of people and lots of gossip. I think it might be dangerous for me to work there though because i spent a lot of time looking through everything and trying to talk myself out of buying. There is a very pretty tea set, 6 mugs and tea pot and sugar bowl that is talking to me a lot. Shame there is no jug. I know deep down that i would never use it and it will sit on a shelf somewhere gathering dust but every time i go into the shop it whispers in my ear again. To distract myself I found a book in the pile of books but only managed a couple of pages before it was time to lock up and turn off the lights and try to remember where i took the money and keys. Strangely enough as soon as i went out of the door into the cold damp air i got a full signal again. Spooky.

We have signed in at a doctors and Janis has got his first prescription. Now i just need a Dentist and the move from Stafford to Cornwall will be complete.

This is the jigsaw my daughter Katy bought us from a Charity shop in Perranporth. She knew it was going to be a devil to do so she dropped it off and ran. As you can see it is about football. I didn't count how many people or footballs there are, but believe me there are far too many. When we finally got it finished (just one piece of border missing) I took this photo then sealed it all back up in its box and guess who gets it next Katy?????

I dont seem to have got a lot of card making done this week, the only two I managed to complete were for Gary and Tanay who have birthdays this coming week so I cannot put them up here in case they see them.

We are ready for our move now. I will miss the shower here, and the routine we have worked out between us, but it is time we had a home of our own and Janis is very keen to have Eddie back.

Yesterday the dogs had a bath and clean up. It came in a very attractive yellow trailer and Charlie was really pleased to see it, until he worked out that terrible indignities were going to happen in the confines of that cheery wagon.

When he emerged he was shiny and smelled delightful, if you ignored the fishy smell on his breath. He even posed for his photo to be taken.

Mum and I went to the Tolmen Centre last night for a concert given by a choir called THE JOYFUL COMPANY OF SINGERS (A taste of their skills). They were amazing performing really complex pieces beautifully. We were very lucky to have them in our very small village. 

 I hope everyone has had a good week. For those of you experiencing a Bank Holiday long weekend i hope the weather is kind and you feel fully rested or invigorated.