A party in the park.

Last Sunday afternoon my GKB and I went over to The Party in the Park. It was being held at a new venue this year, which is about half a kilometre  from home. Very handy :)

This is an annual event aimed at families and always well attended, but of course was interrupted by covid for a year or two but finally able to be held again.

 It was a hot, hot day, over 30C and we only stayed about half an hour. Most people were trying to stay out of the sun by keeping to the stalls, under the trees or under the shade sails that were scattered round about. It would have been nice to have had a water sprayer or two for people to  walk through :) But these are not normal temperatures for our part of the world and so no-one would have anticipated how hot it would be.

No one was taking advantage of the chairs in front of the sound stage but plenty of people under the trees to the side. 

There were all the usual types of craft stalls and food and drink trucks as well as service clubs advertising.

 There were bouncy castles and other fun activities for the kids including rides on the miniature railway. I was pleased I didn't have any little kids to contend with, I didn't envy those parents who had wee ones out in that heat all afternoon.

Because of the heat we didn't stay long, I think I'll take an umbrella as a sun shade another time, my hat was hot and uncomfortable and I was pleased to take it off when we got home. There is a cafe at the venue but it was full or we would have gone in for a cool drink. But still, I'm not complaining, it was an afternoon out doing something different.

That's all for today. 

Look after yourselves until next time.

Diana

Morning walk with Sassy

 Friday mornings are supposed to be reserved for youngest daughter and I to go to the gym. I say supposed to be because it doesn't always happen. Sometimes we go for a walk instead around the area she lives in. I enjoy that because it makes a change from my usual scenery and we take Sassy with us. Sometimes we don't make it at all.

In deference to me daughter drives us down the hill and we start lower down. We walk further downhill for a few more minutes until we come to town.

Keep going past the gym.

It's much nicer being outside on a day like this.

Then daughter says "do you want to keep going up there or go through the tunnel?" "Through the tunnel" says I.

So we walk on a little way, turn right and cross the bridge...

...go under another one and enter the tunnel.

There were some really rather nice murals painted on the walls but I never got a photo as it was too dim. Once through we're back in the sun and heading back towards the car.

From the tunnel to the car is a slight rise and I had to have a rest about halfway - I'm not as fit as I once was :) Of course when you have your four legged friend with you there is a lot of stopping to smell the ... flowers :) and we did a bit of that.

Once back at the house it was time for a drink and a catchup on family news. 

I always enjoy Friday mornings with my daughter.

Have a great weekend

Diana

New beginnings

 It has been quite a busy weekend after a slow week. And it could have been busier but I chose to forgo the working bee. Instead I baked a fruit loaf to take out with me on Saturday evening.

Saturday evening two of the young people from my study group celebrated their engagement with a shared meal followed by a ceilidh. An open invitation was issued at church and instead of taking a gift we were asked to take a favourite family dish, savoury or dessert, to share and to include the recipe. There was a great variety of dishes as we have a great mix of ethnicities among us. Son suggested I take the fruit loaf I used to send him while he was at bible college so I did as I was told.

For those who are not familiar with ceilidh it involves music, singing and dancing. Scottish or Irish dancing. Quite enthusiastic dancing at times. It was a lot of fun, even though it was the first time for most of us. We had a very good instructor in the wee girl who had just become engaged and her fiance played the fiddle. I joined the circular dancing which didn't require a partner but once we were told to pair up I decided to sit them out. I thought some of the younger people might be a bit too enthusiastic for me and I didn't want to end up on the floor! There's a bit of whirling and twirling that goes into it :) And so for that young couple we celebrated their new beginning.

The second new beginning was for our church.

the rugby clubrooms

We finally moved into our own building after five years of worshipping in borrowed buildings, two years in another church building and the last 3 in one of the city's football (rugby) rooms. Today was a really joyful occasion in that we were not only in our own premises but we celebrated the birthday of our eldest parishioner - 95 tomorrow.

The rugby club were gracious enough to let us borrow some of their chairs until we get our own as there is not enough seating with just the pews. There was a working bee on Saturday morning to get everything ready, the one I decided not to go to :)

I think it will take a little bit of getting used to being back in a formal church setting but it is lovely to know we have a permanent home.

That's it today.

Have a wonderful week

Diana

Lunch at The Village Green

 We slept in this morning! By the time we had finished breakfast and done our morning chores it was midday. The morning was dark and wet, which probably explains it. By early afternoon it was really quite dark and we put the lights on to make lunch and they're still on. It has been very wet and squally this afternoon and my GKB says hail is expected.

But it hasn't been like this all week, we had blue skies and warm temperatures earlier on. We also celebrated our 53rd wedding anniversary with lunch out at a nice wee cafe called The Village Green at the nearby soccer grounds. It doesn't look much in the photo but once you find your way in it is rather nice inside. The entrance is at the front of the pavillion, (not up the steps) through the door, down the corridor, up in the lift and along another corridor. A hidden gem  And the food is lovely.

I had a Thai salad and my GKB had battered blue cod with crispy potatoes and salad. Both meals were delicious. You can have a drink from the bar or tea and coffee to accompany it. We generally have a soft drink of some sort. Youngest daughter works here and she always jokingly warns us not to spill our food all over the floor when we go. 

When we arrived home we found this little bag of runner beans in the letterbox. Daughter had dropped them off, picked fresh from one of her friends' garden.

I think that is all. I'm going to do some reading and await this expected hail storm, which will probably be accompanied by thunder. Maybe I'm strange but I quite like a good thunder storm - as long as I'm inside!

Diana