Back in the US and a little Thanks!

Just a quick post to say that I am now back in the states. Mixed feelings there. Anyway, I will be back posting and reading within a couple of days (once I get over the jetlag and the horrible cramps in my legs/feet from the travelling!). I just wanted to say THANK YOU for those who have continued to pop in my blog and for the messages. I really appreciate them!


I have lots of photos to sort through and will post some when I've gone through them. I had an absolutely wonderful time and the weather was really pretty good.

Last week

I can't believe almost six and a half weeks have passed but this is my last week in England.  I am missing husband and my favourite camera ( it was just too heavy to comfortably bring with me). I have been enjoying myself and eating far too much good food lol. Mum and I have been lots of places. I'm pretty sure she's looking forward to a rest when I go back.

Today we went to Woodbridge. It was a beautiful day there.  We missed the rain that seemed to have hit partss of Ipswich. We took a lovely walk along the river. The sun was shining and it was quite warm. The bus we were waiting for to take us back to Ipswich was really late but we finally made it back. It was wet coming into Ipswich but when we got back to mum's it hadn't rained up her end of the town and the washing in the line was dry!

Checkin In/ Still in England

I'm just checking in.  Having a lovely time with mum.  We went away to Weymouth for a week and the weather was gorgeous. I have taken so many photos.  I am looking forward to sorting through them all when I get back to America. Time seems to be just flying by now but we're having fun and getting out lots. 

Yesterday we went to Southwold and Aldeburgh. Had some delicious fish and chips.  Yum! Today is a bit of a quiet day as the weather is a little drizzly. 

Hot Hot Hot/Sandringham Flower Show

Yuck.  It is terribly hot. I've had enough and can't wait for things to get a little cooler.  It's difficult to sleep as it is so sticky. Mum and I are having a lovely time.  We're off for a week on Saturday to Weymouth. I'm really looking forward to it.

Yesterday we went to the Sandringham Flower Show. It was a hot day but we had a lovely time looking around. There were so many beautiful displays and a lot of  plants I would have taken home if I could have. These were taken on my phone as I didn't bring my laptop to sort out camera pics

Arrived in England Safely

I left for England last Friday and -after a bumpy start where the plane I was on almost didn't take off - I made it to England on time.  The second flight was uneventful but really busy.  There were no spare seats at all. I'm having a good time with Mum.  I'll write more later.  Just wanted to check in.

This was from our trip to Woodbridge today. The weather was beautiful.

Getting Ready

I'm trying to get moving so things will be done when I leave. I had a horrible thought last week, when getting ready to go to daughter's, that I wouldn't have enough capris/trousers to take with me to England or shirts so today I went through my wardrobe and pulled things out and tried them on. I hate shopping for bottoms especially as they are either too short, the hips are too tight or the waist is too big. I had prepared myself to do some (horrible) last minute shopping, but I was pleasantly surprised to see that I have enough to take with me for the trip! I shall probably have to whittle down the pile as I probably won't need them all. I shall take more tops as I can be a little clumsy and don't want to be doing washing all the time. Mum has a washer but no dryer so things have to be put out on the washing line weather permitting.

I also got up in my craft room and did some sorting. There are a couple of small projects I'll be taking with me so that I have something to do in the evenings. I won't take too much as it is all extra weight and I'd probably end up not doing it. I also took care of some of the things I hadn't got around to putting away yet. I'm hoping to leave things at least a little organised while I'm gone.

I did take a walk in the morning. I saw a mother and two fawn down by the lake. They were all so cute. I did take a picture but - story of my life - I haven't sorted them yet. I also had a hair appointment.  Tomorrow there are a couple more projects on my list and son will be coming up to eat with us and say goodbye to me. We keep in touch via Facebook Messenger while I'm gone so it's not like I'll be totally out of communication.

Today's photo. This is one I took while we were on our camping trip up north. I really enjoyed waking up in the morning to see the sunrise with the slight mist over The Lake of the Clouds. It was such a beautiful sight.

Took a Little Time...

Thanks for the lovely comments about Shadow. I really appreciated them!

I took a mini-break from blogging. I wasn't in the mood to share anything but more thoughts of Shadow. I'm feeling a little better now though the house still seems strange without him.

On Thursday we drove to daughter's in Minnesota. It was only a quick trip - for the long holiday weekend here in the states. We went with MIL and FIL. It gave them a chance to meet daughter's boyfriend and see their new house. We had a lovely time. The huskies were pleased to see us and I got lots of cuddle time with Shasta.

The journey back was horrible. It took us a LOT longer than it usually does and the traffic was pretty bad. We made it back late. Poor hubby had to go straight to bed and get up for work in this morning. I'm sure he will be pretty tired when he gets home from work. He has a really early start in the mornings - 5am on Mondays.

It's going to be a busy week for me. I leave on Friday to go to England for six weeks to visit Mum. I can't wait!

I have the requisite washing to do today and cleaning then I'll be sorting some photos and checking out blogs. Hope everyone has a good Monday!

Shadow - our Cat

Firstly, I want to say thanks for all the wonderful, supportive comments on my last post. Reading them really helped. Sadly, we had to say goodbye to Shadow yesterday. He was only getting worse and although I would have loved for him to stay it would have been selfish of me to keep him around just because I didn't want to say goodbye. He was getting weaker. Wednesday night he started to get a little shaky on his feet too. Husband called the vet yesterday morning and got an appointment for the afternoon. Although he wasn't feeling well we did have a few cuddles. He let me hold onto him as we watched birds out of the window and we did go into the garden for a while.

Husband and two sons went with him to the vet. He was an indoor cat and not used to going outside - in fact until the last couple of days he'd been terrified of it and would cling on like crazy if you tried to take him outside - and I was worried he wouldn't handle the little car trip very well. But son held him on a blanket and they said he barely meowed. I couldn't go. I couldn't do it. I was already in tears and I didn't want to stress him out. I think he was ready as they said he didn't struggle, just laid in arms as he was held. He's never been a scratcher or a biter but I was worried he was going to be in distress.

The vet checked him out. He had a tumour in his stomach. Vet says it happens sometimes with older cats. He would only get worse and be in pain. Husband and sons were with him while he went to sleep.

The house seems really empty without him. He had a bed in the living room and kitchen, both are now just blank spots and seem really empty. I keep thinking I hear him meowing. I'm just a little sad and tearful today.

Pets - How Do You Know It's Time to Let Go?

Not sure how to start this, but I know people out there can relate. Our cat, Shadow, is over 20 years old. He's had a really good, long life, but I think know he's coming to the end of it. I don't want him to suffer, but it's really difficult to say goodbye. I must admit that I'm struggling with it. 

My middle son was the one who wanted him, back when he was little and having some troubles. I wasn't even really a cat person. My only experience with cats was a kitten that scratched me (a lot) when I was little and my MIL's (sorry!) grouchy cat that didn't like me at all. Shadow decided I was his though and, over the years, I'm the one he always cuddled up to. I'm the one whose lap he sat on - I do have rather a fluffy lap. He misses me when I'm gone, meowing around the house looking for me. 

I keep going back and forth. Best for him. Selfish for me to want him to stay. Post doesn't really make sense, but oh well.

I don't take many selfies, but I was looking on my google photos for a quick pic of him and this popped up. I must have been messing around with the phone and took this.

Piles of Washing...

There always seem so much of it when we come back from anywhere! I'm almost caught up. I'm done for the day though. It will still be there tomorrow! I'm still without a car so I was home all day. I got most of the jobs done I wanted. The one I really wanted to get done was the first on my list - sorting all those pesky plastic containers. They seemed to have multiplied and then just started getting shoved in the cupboard without any sort of organisation. It was shove it in, close the door and hope they don't all fall out when you open the cupboard back up! Now at least they are in some sort of order - at least for a while.

I haven't got any books to photography today but I am happy to say that 23 books shall be leaving my house tomorrow! I relisted some Ebay auctions when we got back and two of them have already sold. So the books will be on their way to new homes. They are series I collected. I was a little up in the air as to whether I wanted to get rid of them, but now they are sold and I honestly won't miss them. I shall get more into the swing of sorting tomorrow or Wednesday.

I still haven't sorted through that many photos, but I did get to a couple of the yurt we stayed in on our second night. It was actually quite cosy, though warm enough that we didn't have to use the wood stove inside. We did have a campfire outside though.

It was down a little path away from the other campers (there was one other yurt before we reached ours) and there was a little path down to the rocky shore. It was really quite peaceful. I shall be looking to book this one again if we end up there.

As always, it's a little struggle getting back into things. There are things I need to get done though so no slacking! I have this full week here, next week on the 4th of July we're heading over to visit daughter in Minnesota for a long weekend. We come back on the Sunday and I leave for England on the Friday. Time is certainly slipping by!