Wheres The Holiday Gone?

Photo Copyright: Maggie May

Well there I was in holiday mode. I don't know what I was thinking of..... telling the granddaughters we had at least another week off school and I said it was because of the Royal Wedding on Friday and the May Bank Holiday the following Monday. How very wrong I was.

They go back tomorrow!

So that means that I work one afternoon/evening this week. The choir that I joined starts back this week too and I have one or two other things planned as well. I will watch some of the wedding but not stay glued to it all day.

So it will be business as usual.

We all had a lovely Easter break and chocolate featured quite heavily in it.

My daughter and the grandsons went back to the east coast yesterday and my son and granddaughters have only just left. (Well I do see them a lot during term time so they will be back tomorrow.)

Harry seems to be doing well and has his MRI scan next week.

That just about sums up all my news for now.

Happy Easter Everyone

Photos Copyright: Maggie May

In my last post, I wrote that Harry and I would be going to Church on Good Friday, that is if you waded through my froggy encounter first.

I wrote about collections of miniature crosses and the fact that a friend of mine had made me a lovely model of one, hand crafted out of stained glass and held together with lead and soldering, just like the church windows of old, in a tiny sort of way.

I am writing this after just coming back from The Good Friday Service and our church was decorated with these displays, so it was no surprise to me, to learn that most of the time was spent emphasising The Cross and how Jesus died for me........ and for you too. Forgive me if you are not Christian........ I am not stuffing this down your throat, just telling you of my interpretation of the Good Friday service and the service that will be so different on Easter Sunday.

So during this morning's service, we were invited to come to the front of the church, where there were two baskets of tiny wooden crosses...... each one of them skilfully carved out of a chunk of wood by some one somewhere, unknown to me.

By taking a cross we would have a lasting reminder of the sacrifice Jesus made for us.

When I got home, I wondered if I would have enough crosses of my own to illustrate this post (as I like to use my own photos.) My glass cross will still be on display in church until Sunday when I can collect it. So off I went for a little search about the house and I found a suitable Easter card, a couple of crosses on chains, a letter opener in the shape of a sword that is still a cross, an earring, a minute bible with a cross on it, as well as the tiny wooden cross that I was given today.

I also have my celtic cross on the wall in the garden.

So I am constantly reminded of the message from this morning, but I really didn't need the reminders because the message is in my heart.

There are no bodies on our crosses because the whole point of the cross is.......... that Jesus didn't stay on it, but was put in a tomb and on the third day he rose again, so the Easter Sunday service will be a joyous affair.

There folks....... that is the whole point of Easter but we can also celebrate our rabbits and fluffy lambs and chicks and the chocolate eggs as they all are symbolic of new life.

Which leads me to say, I hope you all have a very Happy Easter, whatever your persuasion of faith or belief.

Lets hope the weather is dry and sunny and that we can all enjoy Springtime at its best.

Definitely my favourite time of the year.

Easter Greetings

Happy Easter Everyone.

No matter what Easter means to you, whether it is just a time to relax on holiday, Easter bunnies, flowers and chocolate, or whether you are celebrating the fact that Jesus died for you and rose again ....... may you have a peaceful and happy time.

This post was scheduled to publish itself while I am away on holiday, visiting my daughter on the east coast. We shall be back on Tuesday 14th. She probably has no internet as she is switching her broadband company so will have a lot of catching up to do when I get back!

Other People's Gardens.

On Easter Monday it was sunny, but freezing cold and very, very windy. I announced that I was going out for a brisk walk, as I'd eaten too much chocolate! Harry replied that I would have to walk to Scotland to get rid of the effects of the chocolate binge and he said he thought I was mad to go out on such a cold day.

Undeterred, I wrapped up like an eskimo and braved the cold and wind, to do my next favourite nosey thing to people watching............ that is looking at other people's gardens.

I soon walked out of our immediate district of Victorian terraced villas with tiny front gardens, into a slightly more affluent area with homes that had been built in the 1930 era. I noticed that many  people had given up their garden for a brick paved parking area and many had small trees and shrubs in ornamental pots to take away the bareness that this had caused. Harry had announced only recently that "the papers" had said there was a possibility of having to pay more Council tax for homes with garages and off road parking spaces. Well that lets us off the hook then as our garden in the front is too small for a parking bay and we have no garage. Then I remembered that some inner cities are thinking of charging people to park outside their own homes. So either way, car owners are losers.

Many gardens, I noted, had exotic looking Cordylines growing in their front gardens, that are used to sunnier climes, but they seem to grow very well here. Judging by the amount of people who have planted them, they seem to be all the rage and I wonder if they will be the "Leylandii of the twenty first century" only to be scorned in the future. We have one in our back garden that grew through the bottom of a clay pot at an alarming angle and is now quite big. Son, Sam or should I call him Sam son, swung on it to see if it was safe for the children to play under, and he pronounced it sturdy enough.

Some gardens are really well loved, you can tell by the clipped shrubs and weed free borders. Unfortunately these are often next to a really untidy, neglected one, that makes a terrible contrast. Why is it that if I see something in need of a good clip, I feel I'd love to be let loose with a good pair of shears? Yet I don't always feel like that with my own. I start to think of the reason for the neglect. Is the person too old or infirm to tidy it? Or is some one living there who simply hates gardening? Maybe they are just too busy.

Some homes have a little notice on the front door or gate saying "no circulars or junk mail." Well you know where you are with a house like that. I suddenly thought, "Wouldn't it be good if bloggers had a notice on their blogs to say that they didn't want a tag, meme or an award." At least we would know who not to tag without having to learn by trial or error. Now I am digressing just like Ronnie Corbett. Strange what you think about when you're walking though, isn't it?

I pass a good many homes with tiny front gardens where a small shed has been squeezed in, to house bikes safely, I should think. It would be impossible to get to the house windows to clean them as the sheds completely block off the way. If the occupants of these homes have to choose between locking a bike up safely or cleaning the windows, then the bike might well win.

Just a few gardens had rubbish in them. Some homes were being revamped and the mess was temporary, but I could see that others didn't care at all about mattresses and furniture lying on a lawn for months.

I came round full circle to our house. I had enjoyed the tiny lawns, grey slate shingle and mock york stone patios with plants and interesting garden ornaments and came home glowing, warm and feeling like some more chocolate!