Well, it’s now officially the start of meteorological Spring and it’s been a fine few days…

Last Monday (24th February) I headed over to the Raikes to visit Mum… when I got there, there was recognition in her eyes & she was very happy to see me but she could not find my name in that frazzled brain of hers and was insistent that it was “Nan” (just like every other old lady in that place plus all the staff!)… sad but only a sign of what’s to come 🙁?

Despite this, it was quite a fun visit as “Chair Exercises” were the morning activity which turned out to be very entertaining! 🤣 Of course Mum, always being a rebel, did her own thing rather than following any instructions!

After my morning visit, with Pete being off doing something I cannot remember now(!), I enjoyed a lone walk through the village and down Todley Hall Road. Although it was windy, the sun was out and it really felt spring-like for the first time. I heard Curlew calling and it reminded me that we had heard these, a sure sign that Spring is on its way, the day before (23 February) when we had also see a number of tiny lambs in the fields during our walk along the canal… very nice!

The following day (25th February) we decided to go and have a mooch around Skipton but instead of parking in town, we parked up at Bradley & walked in, once again, along the canal. We had a few rain showers but, luckily, managed to stay pretty dry – there were lots of lovely rainbows but, as ever, I forgot the camera – boo! It was nice but with the walk around the town, I was a bit knackered when we got back as it was just over six miles (carrying a bit of shopping on the way back!) and I only really walk about four miles a day, so a bit further than I have been used to recently!

Later in the afternoon when we got home, Pete spoke to Kevin (our YOPA agent) who told us he’d heard back from the guy that didn’t show up for the viewing of our house last Saturday (when we had rushed back from the Midlands to host the viewing 😡) and the guy said that he had just changed his mind… good of him to let us know grrrr 😡!

All week, after it’s got dark we have been looking out for the planet alignment – an extract from the BBC Sky at Night Magazine (online): “January and February 2025 were great for observing the planets (except for Mercury), as Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune have all been visible in the night sky”… and, with brother Andy’s help via WhatsApp, we have managed to see Venus (unmissable), Jupiter & Mars – woohoo! One thing about Scotland that we are looking forward to, when we get there, is the dark skies and I might even treat myself a new telescope and learn a bit more about astronomy now I have a bit more time on my hands!

I had a telescope once… can’t remember what we did with it – Pete thinks we probably sold it at a car boot following one of our regular house moves (I think this next house, when it comes off, will be the 8th home Pete & I have shared – everyone of which we’ve really enjoyed – Bring it on 🤣!)

Wednesday (26th February) was quite a rainy day spent pottering around at home, scanning photos for me and Pete making a start on clearing some of our unwanted crap out the garage!

On Thursday (27th February), we had to get the Mini serviced and, as the sun was back out again, decided to have another walk along the canal whilst we waited for it to be done… luckily, for a car that’s now almost 13 years old and with 130,000 miles on the clock, there were no issues – phew!

Our walk was lovely again as it was a very bright sunny day & most definitely Spring-like…

On Friday (28th), after hearing great news from our Lee about some test results he was waiting on (🥰), we had a drive across country to Liverpool to see our friend Ruth. It was great to get to see her at last and to catch up with Billy Hughes too (big love to Terri who we didn’t get to see… thinking of you!)…

It was a really beautiful, sunny day again which turned into a lovely evening so, as we got back just as the sun was going down, we went for a little walk around the village, just to stretch our legs & take a final (?) look at them lined-up planets. We heard an owl whilst we were out which is always special (I think!).

Yesterday, 1st March 2025 and St David’s Day, marked the first day of meteorological Spring even though the Spring equinox is not until 20th March, and it certainly felt Springlike again…

We had a house viewing at 10.30am which seemed to go well… the lady has certainly given some positive feedback online although Pete thinks she will probably decide the house is too big for her if she’ll be living alone… we will have to wait and see if she makes an offer 🤞

We have decided we will give selling our house 12-months if we have to and then, if we haven’t sold it, make a decision about whether we bother or not. It’s still early days, the house has only been on market for just over 3-weeks now. We have been spoilt in the past by experiencing very quick sales but this just seems a bit slower… Pete thinks it might be the change in stamp duty and also high mortgage costs and that I just need to be patient!

After the viewing, we decided to go for a walk from home and, despite the amount of fly-tipping which has left a right old mess along Back Lane (which is blumming annoying) it was a beautiful day & lovely walk – actually feeling quite warm in the sunshine – perfect!

Even more perfect, Pete decided to have a go at making Welsh Cakes in honour of St David’s Day and, I have to say, for a first attempt, they were pretty good… perhaps a bit too good for someone who started another Slimming World membership last Sunday! Happy to say though, despite not eating too well yesterday because of these goodies, I still managed to lose 3lb this week so am pretty happy with that! Maybe I should just eat Welsh cakes all the time? 🤣

That’s all our news for this week… One major milestone reached is that I have finally finished digitising all the photos I had in a massive box (hurray) – just need to sort them all into folders and get them backed up now… which will probably take me forever! Ho hum… have a great week all xx ❤️