Spring Greens and Baby Birds.

Bearing in mind we are super busy at work it seems odd to say I have just had a couple of days off, but it was kind of now or never and I have also had a less than gentle reminder I still have two thirds of my leave to take before September so how about I get on and book some hmm?
To be honest it's a combination of having slightly more holiday and a completely different leave year to Himself and also the fact that I thought I would need time to move again.
As it goes our landlord hasn't got round to filing his planning application yet and offered us this place for another year. We both admitted we couldn't face having to move again this year so we said yes. We haven't exactly got on with our downsizing so it's no bad thing really!
It does mean I have 2 weeks in hand and I don't really know what to do with it. We can't afford a holiday so I'm kind of stumped .
Mostly though I need to keep busy, it takes my mid of stuff so I keep on working, but I'm also aware of how horribly tired I am. There are worse problems to have.

I did a bit more tidying in the garden. My Mum is of the opinion 'Why bother?' but as you know I love gardening, it's how I relax and unwind, also the landlord did ask would we mind trying to keep on top of the wilderness so I feel I'm kind of doing that and a bit more. On the one hand I find it hard as a keen gardener to have such a an overgrown mess but on the other the wildlife it brings is an absolute joy.

Red Kite watching what I'm up too.

The bit that still needs tackling.....
Believe it or not there is a veggie  patch under there.

The bit that has been tamed.

The path and round stone edging was a surprise, it's fascinating to see the bones of what was once there, sort of garden archaeology. If it were down to me there would be more flowerbeds but hey it's not.

I absolutely love the bird life, it's such a lovely way to start the day sipping tea and watching them busy on the feeders. I have a robin with no tail (who is so damn friendly I'm not surprised he has no tail!) There have ben baby starlings an baby robin and this week 2 baby goldfinches. They are teeny tiny and so, so, SO cute

Himself has named them Harry and Barry, they may not have figured out how the bird feeders work yet but they have figured out if they sit underneath enough food will get dropped for them to get their fill. They are not stupid these two.

In other news we haven't been able to get to the park much due to other commitments and the weather ,but we are still getting out for a walk when we can. We have discovered we are about a really pretty 20 minute walk from a great pub so I foresee a lot of summer evening walks in that direction!

This is an old railway line that is now a cycle way & footpath.

I took this picture on a walk to christen my new flask, As I mentioned before Himself has a theory that I have a 10 mile limit before I get grouchy, I however have a theory that I have a 10 mile 'I need a cup of tea' mark so decided to invest in a new flask to test whose theory was right!

Being out in the air does my soul good. Last year when all the shit hit I would get this feeling like I couldn't quite breathe inside, I'd just have to get out and walk, even when it was blowing a hoolie. I need to make more time for walking.

It's not just work that has been busy. May is the big birthday month between friends and family they cover 5th, 6th, 9th, 10th, 11th, 22nd & 29th, as you can imagine it's a bit ouchy on the pocket and tough on the waistband and liver.

Himself's Dad is the 9th so we whizzed down to Margate last weekend to catch up and go out for dinner and a few drinks.

Though, hand on heart I am absolutely thrilled with how the town is regenerating after years of decay.
There does come a time, and in my case it was about midnight last Saturday, when you look around and find yourself stood, trying to get a drink, in trendily wood clad micro brewery, amongst a crowd of braying, bearded & man bunned DFL hipsters, whilst a guy with headphones and a laptop who thinks he's a hip DJ but is actually a prat, plays Jive Bunny (I kid you not) and you just have to wonder what the hell has happened to the town you loved.

I am getting too old for this shit.

Luckily we got to spend quality time with friends and family as well. We also had a couple of excursions to the cinema, I'm sure you have come to expect nothing less.

Guardians of the Galaxy 2

Which I loved, though not as much as the first one. Baby Groot stole every scene he was in.

Their Finest

Which was a surprise. For some reason the trailer had made me think it was a lighthearted comedy, it's absolutely not. Apart from Bill Nighy playing himself (as he seems to do in everything these days) which irritated Himself no end and Gemma Arterton's ever roaming Welsh accent we both enjoyed it. Sam Clafin is superb as always.

Mindhorn

Which was extremely silly and didn't amuse me as much as it did Himself.  

We have tickets for the new Pirates of the Caribbean which I'm excited about, it will probably be shit but I don't care I love those films.
I did also see a trailer that sent a chill of horror down my spine. For some reason they have decided to do a remake of Daphne Du Maurier's book My Cousin Rachel. This fills me with despair why oh why do they feel the need??

If you haven't head it, I highly recommend the audio book read by Michael Maloney, or if you can possibly find it, the one read by Richard Burton, they are both superb. Whatever you do, do not listen to the one read by Mel Gibson!!
(The perks of working at a copyright library back in the day meant I got to plunder their vast audio book collection!)

I shall leave you with my solitary frock purchase since Easter. Not a single handbag either. I had hoped I might find a gem in New York but we didn't manage to make it to the flea market we had hoped to go too, so other than a couple of t-shirts from Uni-glo, smellies from Bath & Body Works and gifts I came home empty handed.

I bought this frock when I was browsing the Attitude sale page for stuff for Nephew Number One.

Apologies it's fresh from the wash and in need of an iron!

*DFL = Down From London