Carrying On

I am trying to carry on with some sense of normalcy, although my mother has gone and the world has changed. Some things remain constant like the bedside book pile...

 

...the cuteness of cats...

...the pleasure of going out to breakfast with Him Outdoors...

...the welcome surprise of street art...

...and the joy of live performance.

My Homecoming

And who wouldn't be happy to come home to these adorable faces?

Melantho 'helping' me unpack

English gifts for Him Outdoors

I brought Tigger back with me. Previously, he has been too ill to travel and my Mum always set him on my bed ready to see me when I went back to their home (and mine) in England. As she won't be there to prepare this welcome any more, I thought I would bring him to this house and try to make him better. If anyone knows any good toy repairers, please let me know.

February Begins

A friend brought round a jigsaw puzzle for entertainment one evening. There was no picture on the box but lots of Hitchockian clues, including the red herring you can just about see in the not-very-good photo.

Meanwhile, the cats snuggled into one of their many boxes and ignored us.

The last bit of semi-normalcy in my life before I got the phone call that changed everything.

 

Sleeping Beauties

If I only take one photo all week, it will be of these two.

 

A Very Merry Christmas

Heading towards the end of the Blackhurst Advent Cocoktail calendar, we had a Mai Tai for Day 23.

The real cats don't know why we're bothering with these puzzle imposters.

Blackhurst Advent Cocktail Calendar Day 24 was a Gin-gle Bells. How pretty is that? It's gin (obviously), pomegrante juice (supposed to be cranberry but we didn't have any), lime juice, caster sugar, sparkling wine (supposed to be Prosecco but we didn't have any), with green sugar crystals for rimming (steady...).

The cat advent calendar jigsaw puzzle is now completed, and so too is the cocktail one. I made a photo collage of the second half. We did it! Our livers may not thank us, but we were dedicated to the cause. Thanks to all who played along, with love and festive spirits. 

Our Blackhurst traditional Christmas Day morning breakfast: bagels with cream cheese and smoked salmon (prosciutto for Him Outdoors) with glasses of Bucks Fizz.

 A walk up Mt Painter and a sh*t selfie.

Roast dinner (pork) with fresh greens and summer salads. 

I'm well aware that I'm no influencer or anything, but here is the 'unboxing' of my Christmas present from Weevil - a wonderful selection of teas and a beautiful cup from which to drink them.

A Christmas Day visitor to the brewery. We relocated them to a more appropriate tree. 

On Boxing Day I went to the Hyatt Hotel to drink champagne with Calamity Sue, and we spent the Chrimbo Limbo period eating and drinking with friends, and walking in the hills. 

Cocktails, Cats and Rainbows

 

Cocktails No. 2 were Enzonis: gin; campari; lemon juice; standard syrup; muddled grapes

Enzoni

Progression

The Blackhurst Advent Cocktail Calendar Day 3 was a Negroni with a bonus advent jigsaw puzzle. 

Even when one is not in the best location (outside the cinema where I'd been watching films at the British Film Festival), rainbows are always worth photographing.

The Blackhurst Advent Cocktail Calendar Day 4 was a Tequila Sunrise - bright and colourful. Oh, and I have bought a plant to put in my giraffe pot, and I think it looks lovely.

The Blackhurst Advent Cocktail Calendar Day 5 was a Mexican Firing Squad, which contains tequila, lime juice, grenadine and Angostura bitters.

The Blackhurst Advent Cocktail Calendar Day 6 was a Long island Iced Tea. A friend popped round to visit at cocktail hour, which is why there are three. We all have a Long Island Iced Tea story - some of us even remember them.

It might not have been the best time to put up the solar lights in the gazeebo, but, however...

The Blackhurst Advent Cocktail Calendar Day 7 was a Water Lily. These contain equal parts gin, creme de violette, fresh lemon juice and Cointreau. We also celebrated Sourfest; hence the commemorative T-shirt in the photos. 

A brief interlude to admire the aftermath of Sourfest (it seems I didn't take any photos of the actual event), and then the Blackhurst Advent Cocktail Calendar Day 8 featured a French 75.