A little sea air.....

....does wonders!!

Worked my Sunday and Monday and then made the most of my last Tuesday off and headed down to Cornwall for a few days, to see my parents. First stop, my favourite place, St Ives.

And a pasty for lunch, with a sea view!

It's still half term for some, so it was quite busy but the beaches were empty.

Godrevy lighthouse in the distance.

Nothing more calming than watching the waves.

The tides were really low. 

In the summer Sam and Jeff would jump off the end of this wall into the sea below.

You don't often get to see these!

No sea in the harbour.

I had a lovely couple of hours to myself, just wandering around,

before heading over to my mum and dads.

The fields by mum and dads are a sea of yellow.....

....full of daffodils, either for picking or the bulbs.

Timed my stay to perfection - Shrove Tuesday and for the first time in about 30 years, I didn't cook a single pancake, instead this delicious plate full was cooked for me by my dad!

Yeast buns for breakfast, another Cornish favourite x

So on the Wednesday, after setting my mum up for the day, dad and I headed out.

We went over to Trelissick and set off on a 5km woodland walk, after a bacon butty!!!

The forecast wasn't great but we dodged the showers....

....and had a lovely walk.

Spotted snowdrops....

....primroses....

(these always remind me of my Granny Willoughby x)

....gorse in full flower....

....and daffodils.

The daffodils are a good two weeks further on down in Cornwall. 

The camellias were in full flower, as were a few magnolia trees.

A friendly squirrel.

We finished our afternoon off right, going halves on a cream tea!

Poor mum has mobility issues now, long term knee, back, hip pain has taken it's toll. 

She does now have a mobility scooter but not everywhere is suitable but hopefully with the weather on the up, she can get out and about too x

I headed home Thursday morning. I'd hoped to get out for a final walk out at Godrevy, walk up to the seals and get some final sea air in my lungs but it rained. So I headed home, stopping off at IKEA on the way. It is in such a good, convenient spot!!

Meatballs for lunch!!

Friday and I spent my morning catching up on jobs around the house. I had planned to go for a walk but it was grey and cold, so I went to the cinema instead!! It was a great film, really enjoyed it and during the winter months, I really like to go to the cinema. It's only £6.50 for an afternoon matinee, with free coffee and biscuits. Have spotted a few more films I'd like to see from the trailers. Once the better weather arrives, I'm much less likely to go unless it's something I reallllly want to see and it's good to support our small, local cinema!!

So today, Saturday, I did a food shop first thing and just had to stop and pull over,

 to take a photo of these beautiful crocuses on my way home, a sea of purple.

I treated myself to these daffodils.....

....10 bunches for £5!

And with my £1 off voucher.....

....£4 for all of these!!!

Pots of gold and sunshine xx

February is nearly over YAY! and once we head into March, everything seems more positive, lighter, brighter, warmer, sun filled days ahead. I'm working Sunday, Monday (my last 8hr Monday!!) and Tuesday. From Sunday the 5th of March, the new financial year begins and with it a change in hours for me! Presently, I go in extra every third Tuesday to rip up tickets for the end of plinth offers. This is changing to every week, which is a much bigger commitment. So I have shaved 4 hours off from my Monday shift and am doing 4 hours every Tuesday as well. I'd like the Tuesday to be un-contracted, so I have a little more flexibility but nothing has been confirmed yet. Doing less on the Monday will help my back and hip pain, so whatever happens it's for the best. Anyway, have a good week, I've a very early start and a 9 hour shift looming tomorrow, so am going to enjoy a quiet afternoon at home, pottering, drinking coffee and not much else xx

Half Term Break

Half term has come and gone in a flash!

I worked the Sunday, Monday and Tuesday....

....which was also Valentine's day!

We only swap cards.I might if I'm feeling generous, buy Jeff a bar of chocolate and he might get me a bunch of red tulips but that's as romantic as it gets.......

.....after 30 Valentine's together!!

First day off, a dry morning forecast, so we headed over to Clevedon.

I have been, as a child, to visit family friends who lived there but can not remember the place, as we tended to just go to their house. Some brave souls were taking a dip......

....but we just walked along the seafront, to the end of the pier and back.....

.....stopping for a coffee, enjoyed outside!!!!

Thursday, with rain forecast, we headed over to Cardiff for the day....

....to check in on these two.

It's so very handy having them in the same place, makes visiting them both so easy. We took them out for lunch, then a coffee and ice-cream at the new Swoon Gelato! They were both well, keeping busy, next home at Easter. Sam's off to the Netherlands next week to stay with a friend and Sophie is meeting up with a fiend in Bath today and Korf ball meet ups next weekend, so life is good. 

The weather hasn't been wonderful. Have enjoyed a couple of lazy days, pottering around at home. Sometimes you just need that! The Corsa went in for it's MOT and passed. Jeff has been tinkering with his Peugeot 205, MOT abandoned because the boot wouldn't open!!! I'm off to Cornwall for a couple of days next week, a bit of time with my Mum and Dad and Jeff is back to work. Next six week slog until the Easter hols and just 7 and a half weeks until Rhodes......best get focused, have a few pounds to lose before we go!!!

LONDON Day Tripper

A busy old week for February!! 

I worked my Sunday, Monday and then had to pop in on the Tuesday for a GPTW meeting. 

Found out I'd won a LOVE Award! 

Remember last year, I went to Bristol and won the Stardust Award? 

Well this was similar, a £50 Gift card no less.

 Always nice to feel appreciated and recognised for all that I do.

Spent the afternoon with Lynn at Wells cinema, finally watching 'A Man Called Otto' our third attempt. So glad we made the effort to re-schedule. It was a sad but really lovely film and I don't think you can beat the £6.50 free coffee and biscuits matinee at Wells cinema.

Up and out early on Wednesday. My first 'solo' trip to London in over 20 years!! There were a few things on in London that I really wanted to see, that either were finishing or just weren't Jeff's cup of tea!! So I was big and brave and decided to go on my own!! Got Berry's Coaches there. It's a bit of a slog, nearly 4 hours to get there, you arrive in London at 10:45, having left Street at 7:00am but it only cost £21:00, £28:00 return, so was a good price.

First on my 'Must See' list was Harrods. 

My main reason for coming to London was to see Harrods, celebrating the new collaboration between Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama and Louis Vuitton by covering its Knightsbridge facade in dots!!

And down the side of the building, is the statue of Yayoi Kasuma , towering high at 50ft tall.

She even had spotty socks!!

It's massive!

You can view her from the 3rd and 4th floor inside, via the spotty escalators.

Every single spot has been put there by hand!!!

Inside, the dotty theme continued, with an infinity room.

More dots and spots on the floor....

Louise Vuitton merchandise of course!!

££££££££

Spotty cakes

I was in spotty heaven!

There are collaborations everywhere at the moment - Paris, New York, Tokyo....

....so I feel very lucky that I got to see it in London.

*F*A*B*U*L*O*U*S*

I did then walk on to New Bond Street to see the Love for Yayoi Kasuma continue.

Next up was the art installation under the Leadenhall Building...

“Evanescent” presented by Atelier Sisu

It goes on the 10th Feb, so just got to see it in time.

Beautiful changing colours.

The nice man who offered to take my picture at the Leadenhall Building,

then suggested I head over to Garden 120.

Fabulous free views over London.....

.......glorious sunshine, surrounded by blue skies......

......I just sat for half an hour enjoying my surroundings, fantastic!

Worth a visit when you next go to London.

Next up was planned! The Light Festival at Battersea Power Station. 

Wasn't as good as I'd hoped for but it was a beautiful light, sunshiny day. 

Actual Battersea Power Station has all been done up, its a really lovely area by the river. 

I treated myself to something to eat from 'Where the Pancakes Are' and they were delicious. 

In fact, that's the only thing I've paid for, everything, other than the tube, has been free!!

I would go back there. I imagine it would be lovely in the summer.

I timed leaving Battersea, in the hope of catching a sunset...

.......which I did, crossing the river. 

Walked back to Sloane Square and tubed it back to ....

......Paddington to catch my train home. 

A jam-packed day! 

Walked over 20,000 steps but loved every minute xx

Would consider another solo trip in the future!!

Thursday and no blue skies but a date in the diary, walking with Lynn, already booked in.

Certainly a change in scenery from the day before. We went over to Ninesprings in Yeovil for our walk. I'll be honest, it was a little disappointing, there wasn't as much there as we were expecting and no sign of an illusive kingfisher, just ducks!! 

Lots of catkins and clumps of snowdrops. 

Will return when the leaves start to green up

I spent my afternoon back over at Wells Cinema. The next couple of weeks are busy and if I didn't go now, I wouldn't get to see it. It was okay, glad I saw it but not as good as I was expecting. Definitely preferred Otto!

Friday was a catch up day. Food shop, cleaning, washing and a long overdue trip to the opticians! For the past few weeks, I could hear my Granny repeatedly "look after your eyes Rebecca" (she never called me Becky) Anyway, I last went in 2016!!!!! My prescription is the same, no new glasses, phew! But I really went because my eyes constantly water. I have to keep telling people that I'm not crying. It's particularly bad at work, with the air conditioning and when I'm outside, wind, cold.... and because I keep wiping them, they're getting sore. She confirmed Dry Eye. I have been using drops from the chemist, which she has said continue to use, minimum of 3 times a day and I've got to try a hot eye mask twice a day and massage my eyes. Fingers crossed this helps. Google suggests taking Vitamin D and surprise, surprise, it's another lovely symptom of the menopause. The generous menopause, that lovely condition that just keeps on giving!!!! x

Having a lazy day today (Saturday) as I'm back in work Sunday, Monday, Tuesday and it's just grey out!! Jeff is on half term for the week. We plan to try and do something on Wednesday, if the weather is okay. Off up to Cardiff on Thursday to see Sophie and Sam and then see what the weather does at the end of the week. Time off together always goes by so quickly! Next break will be Easter and our trip to Rhodes, just eight and a half weeks away. Seriously, I know I like to get January and February out of the way but..... this year is whizzing by!!