Sunday in the sun.....

......not what the weather forecast said, it was supposed to be a washout.

We were up early.... really early....thanks Joe.....he wanted breakfast...and he wanted it now....5.30....we daren't ignore him, doggy clocks aren't as accurate as they used to be.

Neither are doggy bladders!

So we headed off to the local car-boot sale...

                    .....it was a big one, lots of stalls, cars and people.....

                ....we sat in the sun enjoying a cuppa tea and a bacon butty.....

                          .....I bought a couple of brushes for the yard, and two pretty patchwork pillowcases that were soon on the washing line.....

      .....still sunny so we took a picnic and the dog up to the canal. 

 It was very busy, lots of bikers, I'd forgotten it was an event to remember Stephen Sutton.

         ....we sat in the car to eat, it wasn't quite warm enough to sit out, but it was a lovely day, even super-dog enjoyed his old self...

However....

    .....this morning has turned out pretty good again, so, rather than painting my bathroom door, which was my original plan (the morning light is good in there and shows me all the bits I missed before) I decided to walk into town, the pretty way...

                .....along the lane under the trees full of sparrows and the scent of May blossom...

               .....past the allotments towards the church......

          .....round the corner as the cathedral comes into view.....

             ....onto the road, hardly any traffic this morning....

            .....up the steps to the edge of the pool....

                 ....around the pool....
      ....counting ducklings, mama duck seems to be holding 7 now, the first time I saw her she had 10, in the first week she lost 3, but now all 7 seem big and strong....and fast, so they maybe ok....

.....past the old Edwardian boathouse, that looks as if it is about to launch itself into the water....

.....and into the charity shops!

Remember that book,"Bears in the Night" pretty sure its still in the loft.  I will try and remember to dig it out, I'm sure Olive will love it, especially if Selina reads it with as much gusto as she did when she was a baby! 

Into Greggs for a hot chocolate and a Yum-yum to take away....yes....I know there are many lovely coffee shops in town.

   

But none of them have an outside area like this...

....and this is where I chose to sit and eat my Breakfast.

One of these evenings....

.....I am going to walk to the pool to see the sunset over the cathedral.  It looks pretty impressive over the house tops, so imagine what it must look like over the water....

              .....only its not going to be tonight, after a splendid sunny day it has become pretty nippy tonight.

Walking....

         .....back from the supermarket.....

                  ......I like to walk along the little lane, it may take a few minutes longer....

          ......maybe because I slow to savour the birdsong and the May-flowers....

              .....but mainly because the plot at the side of the lane is up for sale, 10 acres of it...

 

.....so how long the lane will remain is anyones guess.

So I feel I have make the most of it....just in case.

Oh my life.....

     .....there's a man across the road on his roof...

          ......with a brush....

.......sweeping it.....

Joey can't bare to look either!

Its been ages since....

     ......I emptied my camera....
                              ......look who I found....

              ....showing off their shoes......

               .....all the way from America......and matching......of course!

Lichfield half marathon....

         ....was held today and the route came right past my front door.
       It was a glorious summers day too...

          ....so I walked up to the bridge at the top of the road to watch the runners coming along the lane

            .....looking back from the bridge, back towards my new little home...

       ...sat on the front door stop for a while watching them all passing by, and smiling as the little one next door shouted "Well done" to every passing runner...there was about 1000 of them, bet she sleeps well tonight!


       Took a walk into the city to see the finishing line....

    ....walked along the beautiful Stowe pool, sat in the sun and ate a pancake and then walked back home...

    .....to do some gardening and read my book for book-club on Thursday, it looks bad if I turn up for the first time and I haven't read the book!

An evening of storytelling....

 

     ......in a pub in Lichfield.  Met Charlotte and Darsh there, had a sharing ploughman type platter and a bottle of wine to share.  We all squashed in a little room to listen to tales and stories told by several different people.  I enjoyed it, think Charlotte did, Darsh....he couldn't keep awake.  He ate every bit of the food in the first half, including two packets of crisps.  

   For the second half he downed a pint glass of tap water, had to play on his phone to stay awake, fell asleep several times and risked snoring, bearing in mind we were on the second row with lights on and everyone could see and hear him.  It got so bad he resorted to eating a sachet of mustard.....then Charlotte got the giggles....needless to say there are no photographs...and we probably won't be allowed in next month....