The first weekend in May was lovely and sunny. My plan for this weekend was to help my Dad replace all the old broken panes of glass in my greenhouse. He did most of the hard work, I tidied up and washed the glass inside and out, and provided sustenance - lots of cool drinks and scrambled egg on toast. It was a hot day, and not one that you'd really want to spend in a greenhouse but it was so satisfying to get this fixed. I love my greenhouse and I'm slowly turning into my own little sanctuary.

The May Day Bank Holiday was our day to see the bluebells. We had a lovely walk through the wood, and we stopped to say hello to the Naughty Cows on our way home.

We call them the Naughty Cows because last year they made a bid for freedom and managed to close the dual carriageway for several hours, whilst they were being rounded up.


The second weekend Andy had a couple of hours free on the Sunday and we took a trip to Lowestoft. It's been years since I was last there. The weather wasn't the best but it meant it wasn't crowded and it was mild enough for a good long walk on the beach. We walked to the end of the pier, had a fish n chip lunch, and we started a game of Name the Dog Breed, at which neither of us are any good at! But it did give me an idea for a birthday present for him, he's notoriously difficult to buy for, as are all the men in my family.  I gave him, among other things, Dog Top Trumps in the hope that it'll improve our dog identification skills. It's also fun, who doesn't enjoy a game of Top Trumps once in a while?


The following weekend was A Photo An Hour weekend but I didn't check my phone until late afternoon (which is most unlike me), so I missed it. I was up early to run some errands but was left with most of the day to myself, feeling restless and in need of a distraction, I decided on a whim to go to the Hadleigh Show. It was another warm day, and it was lovely to wander about, seeing cows, sheep, vintage tractors, chickens, floral displays, and do a little shopping. I didn't buy much at all but I brought home a Ferrero Rocher brownie for Andy. He was kind enough to share and it was delicious!

The last weekend of the month was my favourite, it was another bank holiday weekend, and a hot and sunny one too! On Sunday Andy had some free time, he had work to do first thing in the morning, and again early evening but the rest of the day was ours. We visited the Helmingham Hall Plant Sale, where our game of Name the Dog Breed continued, and I made friends with a gorgeous Chocolate Lab called Treacle. We saw an Old English Sheep dog but Andy said I wasn't allowed to stick my face into his fur, as was my want.


On our way home we decided to go to Stonham Barns, to the Owl Sanctuary, to see the new(ish) Meerkat enclosure (which is of course exactly where you would expect to find a meerkat enclosure!!). They were fascinating to watch, and very cute.

The Bank Holiday Monday was spent mostly with family, and it was lovely to get to spend so much time with Andy. This is the time of year that is generally the quietest on the work front, and with harvest looming, we try to spend as much time together as possible. This year has been busier than usual, with lots going on and the weather not being ideal, I was worried we wouldn't get much time.

We spent the day with Andy's family, played cricket in the blistering heat, watched the kids have a water fight, that they, thankfully, left us out of, played Hide and Seek, drank Pimms, and had supper together. I provided dessert - Banoffee Mess which is a mix between Banoffee Pie and Eton Mess. It's delicious and super easy to make. I found the recipe on Pinterest.

So that was May. On to June, the sixth month of the year, can you believe it?

...................

It was my wish at the beginning of the year to avoid that Sunday night feeling of a weekend wasted. My goal was to have a plan in place for the coming weekend by each Friday evening. May has been a great month for getting out and about.

Oh my goodness, what a week!

I always leave things to the last minute and end up rushing around like a crazy person with to-do lists coming out of my ears. I enjoy the chaos but have found it somewhat tiring this year. Still, it nearly all done.
This week has been quite sociable. It started with lunch at the Lavenham Swan with Andy, a belated anniversary meal, back the the scene of the crime. It was absolutely lovely. The smell of the place as we walk in the door takes us right back to our wedding day. I feel like this is our hotel, it's such a special place.

I had a G&T before eating, forgetting that I hadn't had time for breakfast. I was rather giggly by the time my food arrived - which didn't help productivity that afternoon. But it was a welcome distraction and so lovely to spend time with Andy, and the food was delicious, as always. Although, being a traditional sort of fellow, Andy really didn't know what to make of the beetroot ice cream that was served with his chocolate mousse :)


I nipped to Felixstowe with Mum to collect the pottery I'd painted from Crafty Coffee. Again I hadn't had time for breakfast and was hoping for a cheese scone (they are so good) but they didn't have any, so we walked to the other end of the high street to our favourite wool shop / cafe, The Wool Baa, and had one there. It's worth a visit if you're ever in Felixstowe, The Wool Baa is lovely, especially if you're a fan of wool. If you're there on Monday evening or Thursday morning they have 'Knit and Natter' so you can take your knitting and get sociable.

I enjoyed lunch with some of my best friends at The Cookhouse Restaurant at The Suffolk Food Hall. I ate too much (fish and chips and a chocolate and salted caramel sundae), and was then served fish and chips by my Dad for supper. I was so full I had trouble driving home!

I had a haircut - just a trim, coffee with my sister in law, wrapped some presents, gave up on the idea of writing Christmas cards, braved some last minute shopping (but I've realised I need to do a little more), put marizpan on the cake (and some in my stomach), started to clean the house ready for guests on Christmas Eve, attacked the laundry so I don't have to do any next week, and I managed some work in between all of this.

Yesterday Andy came home with a second Christmas tree so that needs decorating, I need to ice the cake, make a Malteser Cheesecake, finish a website design, finish the housework, find the big table cloth, stop Andy from eating all the snacks purchased for our guests, and remember where I put the gin.

And tomorrow we're celebrating our youngest nephew's birthday with go karting and pizza.

I do enjoy Christmas, but I'm looking forward to Boxing Day when I can put my feet up. In the days that follow we'll do as we please, we'll make it up as we go along, which sounds pretty perfect to me.

I hope you all have a lovely, lovely Christmas, however you choose to celebrate.

xx

You've seen those pictures of French lavender farms, right? They're so pretty, I've always wanted to visit one. So you can imagine how pleased I was when I found out that we have our very own Lavender Farm in Suffolk. Obviously I wasted little time in getting myself there.


Set in four acres Suffolk Lavender Farm isn't huge, and it's not at all commercial, which makes it utterly charming.

Sadly, when I arrived I was told that the best show of colour was about three weeks earlier, but it was still stunning to look at. Karan, the owner, offered me a glass of water and invited me to just wander the field and please myself.


So, with glass of water in hand, off I went. The distinctive lavender scent wafted into the air as I brushed passed the stems, bees buzzing from plant to plant, ignoring me entirely.



The odd butterfly fluttered by, landing momentarily on a bloom, but never sitting still for long enough, wings fully open, for me to capture it with my camera.


I sat for a while, unable to see anything but purple blooms and blue sky. I could've happily lay down for a small nap right there in the field, and I'm pretty sure no one would've minded.



Wandering around, lost in my own thoughts was enchanting, I felt utterly at ease.



I had a little look in the shop - a delightful shed painted in two shades of lavender - and purchased a jar of lavender honey, which is every bit as delicious as it sounds. After a lovely chat with Karan and with a promise to return a little earlier next year I left feeling refreshed, and so pleased I'd found is little hidden gem on my doorstep.


This is one of 27 lavender farms in the UK, I'm contemplating finding a few more...

Visit a lavender field is no.87 on my Day Zero Project list.

For my birthday Andy booked us a night away in Aldeburgh, of course we couldn't actually go on, or even near, my birthday due to harvest, so we went last week instead.

He booked us into The Brudenell, in a room with sea views. When we arrived it was too dark to see the sea but we could see the white splashes of waves breaking on the shore in the darkness, and hear the delightful sound of the waves rolling in, dragging the shingle back as it withdrew.


The hotel, and our room, were both lovely. We did chuckle on arrival when I spotted a letter, addressed to Andy, saying 'Thank you for choosing to stay with us again'. 'Again?' I asked raising an eyebrow. Andy looked confused, until I realised that The Brudenell is part of the same group of hotels as The Swan at Lavenham, where we got married, and thus avoided a marital dispute.

We had a little while to relax before going to dinner so I made us a hot drink and we sat with the lights off (minimising the reflections in the windows, maxmising the sea view), and listened to the waves. It was windy and raining, and knowing how cold it was outside made the room feel very cosy and warm.


We dined in the Seafood Grill restaurant, which reminded us both of a restaurant we visited whilst in Paris on our honeymoon. Dinner was delicious, the menu had a variety of fresh seafood on offer. I was a little limited in what I could have as my lactose allergy prevented me from having a number of things, in the end I went for scallops to start, followed by beer battered cod and chips, I had to forgo the tartare sauce and had peas instead of mushy peas. Thankfully the waiter was very helpful and happy to help with my questions on ingredients. I didn't have a desert as the only thing I could have was the sorbet and I'm getting pretty bored of that now.


After a comfortable night's sleep, an early start to watch the sun rise over the sea, and a lovely cooked breakfast (I can highly recommend Stokes tomato ketchup to add pep to your fry-up), we wrapped up and headed out to the beach. We both anticipated a cold day but it was actually pleasantly warm. It was a welcome surprise after a few days of wind and rain.


Aldeburgh beach is a long expanse of shingle, and in early november it's delightfully free of crowds. We saw only a handful of people as we trudged from our hotel to the Maggi Hambling sculpture. We played chicken with the waves and collected a few keepsake stones.


Sadly I had to be back at my desk early afternoon so we didn't stick around for a fish 'n' chip lunch, Aldeburgh are famous for their fish 'n' chip shops, but we did have f'n'c for supper so felt we'd indulged enough. There is something so nice about eating chip shop fish and chips on the beach though right? Maybe next time...

Even though it was a flying visit, it was lovely to get away and spend some time together. We're definitely going to return, maybe by then I'll have my allergies sorted and I can go ahead and order the classic fish pie with creamed potato, garlic greens and herb crumb, followed by the traditional British cheese board with grapes, biscuits!

Ah, I'm done, everything is ready. All I need to do now is sit back, relax and enjoy the festivities. I hope you have fun, what ever you are doing, and I look forward to catching up in the new year.

For now I'll leave you with a few inside shots of my new favourite shop - mentioned in a previous post - W & M Smith Florist Supplies. It didn't take much to get me back there for another look, just the decision that I absolutely needed a few more cake decorations...


An entire room devoted to ribbons.


The shop is predominately florist supplies but they have a whole host of other things too.


The Christmas room with a great selection of decorations and lots of items to help you make your own, I lost a good half hour in here.


And this is Bella, the shop canine. She greeted me at the door and escorted me around the shop. Can you imagine a more perfect place?

Merry Christmas!