Wednesday 20 July 2016

Day 201 - July 19th

Pokemon Go has arrived in our house.

We have found Pokemon at the dinner table .....


.... Pokemon where we sit ..........


.... and we even have Pokemon in the toilet!


Day 200 - July 18th


Tonight was Lara's Leavers Evening at School. It was an opportunity to get dressed up and for some lucky students an opportunity to receive an award.

Lara received several certificates. A certificate for Peer Mentoring, a Gold Certificate for the UK Junior Maths Challenge and a Certificate of Qualification for the Junior Kangaroo Maths Challenge where she was only one point off of getting a merit. 


After the formal part of the evening, parents were invited to partake of drinks and a barbecue whilst the children were whisked away to a disco in another part of the school. As well as the professional photographer who took the first photo above, there was a photo-booth with props for the children to use for some fun photos.


Day 199 - July 17th


Today we had our first BBQ of the year. Hard to believe that it's taken until mid July for the weather to be nice enough for us to cook and eat outside. 

Day 198 - July 16th


Today was my Mum's 80th birthday. I made a cake and we joined her and Dad this evening for a slice washed down with some bubbly.

Earlier in the day the children had visited her to take her presents and my Dad had taken some photos to mark the occasion including this lovely picture.


Day 197 - July 15th


Today was 'Languages Day' at Lara's school. Lara's year had to go to school dressed to represent Italy. As usual Lara chose the easy option and simply dressed in the colours of the Italian flag.

Day 196 - July 14th


The butterflies on the buddleia are too quick for me to photograph but this bee was happy to pose for a photo. I've noticed before the pollen on the bees legs as you can see in this photo and decided to google why this happens. I'm not familiar with the anatomy of bees so was surprised to discover that bees have 'pollen baskets' on the outside surface of their hind legs where the pollen they collect is stored.

Day 195 - July 13th


The strawberry hanging baskets are producing a good crop of strawberries but unfortunately not many seem to make it into the house as I think they are probably eaten en route!

Day 194 - July 12th

The tubs and hanging baskets at the front of the house are really looking lovely. They're a riot of colour





Day 193 - July 11th


The Sea Holly in Mum & Dad's garden is such a vibrant shade of blue. They really stand out.

Day 192 - July 10th


I snapped Lara this afternoon, Lazing on a Sunday afternoon.

Day 191 - July 9th


The wheat in the fields is starting to ripen.

Day 190 - July 8th


Tonight was Steven's 6th Form Ball. The ball was held at a nearby hotel/pub and Steven looked very smart in his new suit.

Day 189 - July 7th


I spotted blackberry blossom in the hedgerow at work today. Lets hope the crop is tastier than last year.

Day 188 - July 6th


The Hypericum plant does really well in our garden. This year the bush is once again covered in huge yellow flowers.

Day 187 - July 5th


These beautiful pale mauve poppies are flowering in Mum & Dad's garden.

Day 186 - July 4th


This evening Lara joined some of her friends from school to perform at the Beds East Schools Trust's Summer Arts Festival. Luckily the weather stayed dry and the band performed three songs during the evening.


Sunday 3 July 2016

Day 185 - July 3rd


Two cows and two calves have recently been put into a field next to the footpath we often walk. This morning they were very friendly and came over the fence to say hello and have their photos taken.

Day 184 - July 2nd


On our walk today I spotted lots of bees and other insects on the Cow Parsley.



Day 183 - July 1st


Tux has taken to sleeping on top of the kitchen wall cupboards again. After months of sleeping on beds or windowsills he's returned to his spot up high, where he can see what's going on. He wasn't too happy when I disturbed his sleep this afternoon as can be seen from the look on his face.

Day 182 - June 30th


Today was somewhat drier and warmer than earlier in the week and the bees and butterflies were all taking advantage of the opportunity to collect the pollen and nectar. This Tortoiseshell Butterfly stayed on the Marigold flower long enough for me to photograph it.

Day 181 - June 29th


The tomato plants in the greenhouse are coming on nicely.

Day 180 - June 28th


More beautiful Lilies flowering whilst my Mum & Dad are away.

Day 179 - June 27th


A few Alstroemeria plants are in flower. When my Nana and Grandad used to tend this part of the garden there used to be far more plants but now there are just a few.

Day 178 - June 26th


A trip to the cinema this afternoon with Lara to see The Secret Life of Pets.

Day 177 - June 25th


Today was quite overcast but also quite warm. The recent wet weather is really helping the wheat grow and also the wild flowers.

Day 176 - June 24th


My Dad's Marsh Orchid.

Day 175 - June 23rd


All the campaigning and debating ahead of the EU Referendum and our visit to the polling station this evening took all of 5 minutes for us to put our cross in the box! This was the first time that the boys were also able to join Wayne and I in casting their vote.

Day 174 - June 22nd


Typically, whilst Mum & Dad are away on holiday, the Lilies in their garden decide to flower. This lovely, although rather rain-soaked, orange variety will no doubt be over by the time they return.

Day 173 - June 21st


Mum and Dad have so many beautiful Clematis flowers in bloom at the moment including this gorgeous white and purple variety.

Day 172 - June 20th


Today was an important day for Christopher. He found out his final exam results and we were all thrilled and so proud to find that he has achieved a First in his his Masters Degree in Electronic and Electrical Engineering. Well Done Christopher - all the hard work paid off.

Day 171 - June 19th


Fathers Day today and all three children were home to share the day with Wayne. 

My Dad is on holiday, but my Mum put a photo on Facebook showing him in Portugal with his cards.


Day 170 - June 18th


This morning we took a long overdue trip to the local Household Recycling Centre to get rid of loads of stuff that had accumulated over several months. The site has recently been refurbished and our rubbish was quickly disposed of in the appropriate skips.

Day 169 - June 17th


Today was Lara's School Summer Fayre. Lara took great pleasure in dunking her teacher in the Dunk Tank. One teacher was particularly surprised when she dunked him twice in succession.


Day 168 - June 16th


The Mock Orange Tree is in full flower at the moment and looks and smells lovely.