Birthday Party & Spring Stroll

Julie has continued her exercise regime this week with NIA dancing with Nola and keep fit at Cliff House. Pete continues to do nothing, but realises he has to start doing something soon. Sitting down at his desk all day isn't doing him any good. The days are starting to lengthen again so the hope is that walking in the early evening will be possible.

On Thursday we were invited to friend Beth's birthday party down at the Salcombe Coffee Shop. A bijou venue that saw about 30 of Beth and Peter's (Lee) friends and one of Beth's daughters celebrate the event in an informal gathering with people sitting at different tables to their partners in most cases. A noisy, but enjoyable evening.

This weekend saw us out for a stroll with friends Martin & Clara at Newton Ferrers. We had never been there before, but had been to Noss Mayo, the village on the other side of the river. We had a really pleasant walk along the river and to be honest, although it is still winter, it was like a spring day. A little muddy underfoot in places, but an easy walk. On the way back we stopped off in the pub for a couple of drinks.

On Sunday, despite coming down with a cold Pete managed to build the desk he has been gathering together on trips to Ikea in Essex - our nearest one is in Bristol. Having brought back a 2 metre table top last time he was able to build it into his office and considering his lack of DIY practice of late it all went reasonably well.

Next week sees our son Matthew coming to visit before he jets off to Oz so we are both really looking forward to having him here for a few days.

Families & Farewell Party

This week Pete found himself back in Essex for meetings in London (and a bit of a drink with colleagues to boot). A full day on Wednesday was followed with an untypical back-ache on Thursday morning where Pete was unable to get out of bed and when he did could hardly stand. Fortunately it was short lived and by the afternoon (and some anti-inflammatory) he was mobile again, albiet a little stiff and careful to move tentatively - just in case. Over the next few days it appears to have gone, so not sure what happened there!

Pete stayed on in Essex and Julie came up by train on Friday, as our son Matthew was having a Going Away Party for the family to say goodbye before he jets off to Australia on March 9th. Not sure how long he'll be going for, but expectation is anywhere between one and two years. We had a really good night and most of Pete's immediate family made it along with Julie's mum & dad.

Matt has set up a blog for his travels and a link to it (http://mattrobdownunder.blogspot.com/) is in the side panel of this blog (probably more interesting that this). This is a diary for us and Matt intend to use his for the same, but it'll be interesting to see what he gets up to and a good reason for us to go to Oz for a holiday. More of his exploits as they progress.

We also had some good news about our daughter Gemma who has been made Artistic Director at the salon where she is a hair colourist. She recently gained her L'Oreal Colour Degree and has been promoted in recognition of the fact. Well done Gemma.

On our way home from Essex we stopped off to see our friend Mary in Basingstoke. We only stayed for an hour and saw her son Stephen and their new(ish) dog, a Collie/Staff cross. It was really good to see them, even for such a short period. The dog is called Kayleigh and is real bundle of energy that would benefit from a dose of Salcombe - maybe in the summer.

Rowing & Avon Mill Re-visited

This weekend Julie started rowing again. Although she went to keep fit at Cliff House and a NIA Dance session with friend Nola this week she still found rowing really hard. It was a cold morning too and that didn't help.

Pete on the other hand went into town, had a sausage sandwich and a coffee on the quayside and watched the gigs go by. Later he returned to pick up Julie and helped take the rowing gig out of the water - and that nearly killed him when trying to push it up the slip.
On Saturday evening we were invited to friends Brian and Nola's for dinner to celebrate Brian's birthday and to meet new neighbours Phillipa and Steven. We had a really good evening and a lovely meal.

On Sunday we went back to the Avon valley, but walked from Topsham bridge along the discussed railway bridge with friends Lynda and Mike. Not the best morning, but clear and fresh and very peaceful walking through the woods. On the way home we stopped off at Avon Mill Garden Centre for a snack, which rather than using for shopping seems to be a car park for walkers to start from.

Our cat Alfie came to us as a stray (we thought) only to find that he preferred us (and other neighbours) to his owners. We adopted him and in the last few years before we moved he was never a playful or happy cat and suffered from feline calicivirus. In the few months between us moving out of our house in Dagenham to Devon he stayed with a "Cat Lady" and then other neighbours who we occasionally shared him with.
Since moving here we have had his back teeth removed (a solution to calicivirus) and he has never been healthier. He is playful and content (most f the time) and will now often be seen having a mad frolic in the house or garden. he is happy to play, but happier still to lay on Julie whilst she watches TV. He is also pampered by friends Clara and Martin who look after him while we are away and he now seems to be a very happy pussy.

Graduation & Working Week

This week started with us both being in Essex. As we said in last Sunday's Blog we were there for the weekend too, as we needed to be there on Monday to attend our daughter Gemma's graduation as a L'Oreal Colour Specialist. The presentation took place at L'Oreal's head office in Hammersmith where Gemma had attended for the 16 week course. She is a hair colourist with Toni & Guy -who funded the L'oreal Degree Course - and Gemma was really pleased to
achieve a credit, scoring 95 out of 100 in her final exam. Well done Gemma we are both really pleased for you very proud of your achievement.

The rest of the week has been a working week for us and Julie has had a busy week socially as well.

This weekend we went to The Garden House, near Tavistock, as it was open for a Snowdrop weekend, the snowdrops were out along with the crocuses, but little else was. It was good to see the gardens in this state because in the spring and summer they are alive with lowers and colours. The lack of leaves on the trees opens up the views around the site and it was possible to see the tower at Buckfast Abbey across what is usually a thickly flowered meadow.

There was also a hoard (not sure on the collective noun) of frogs or toads and the pond was alive with spawn. The "ribbits" were something you rarely hear in reality, but they were really vocal that day.

Today we went for a walk through the local woods, which are starting to fill with wild garlic and the occasional snowdrop and bumped into Sue and Rufus on the way. We had a coffee at the Winking Prawn at North Sands, where it was still nice enough to sit outside.

The Garden House Snowdrop Weekend

Today we went to the Garden House (near Tavistock) with friends Linda and Ken.