Easter Weekend

Today is my first day back in the regular day saddle. We had an extra day off yesterday since Easter Monday is observed here. We had a really good Easter weekend. It all started on last Thursday. My other half took off half of the day to take me to an appointment and then we decided to go into town to pick up a few things for Easter dinner, etc. Well, Easter weekend traffic started early. It's always kinda annoying to get stuck in traffic, but having a nice view made it not so bad. I took this photo out the car window. Don't worry, I wasn't driving ;-) Interestingly, there was hardly any traffic in the other direction so that's why the road on that side looks deserted...because it almost was. Lol.

On Good Friday, we went to visit a garden center out in Cirencester, which is in the Cotswolds. I love going out there. The garden center has a little bit of everything, including: gifts, food, clothes, games, and of course plants. It's one of my favorite places to visit. Also, the drive to and from is beautiful. We'll sometimes take the scenic route home as we veer off the path a bit. As we were driving along, for a moment there was a lull in oncoming cars so I snapped this quick photo. It was a damp day and you can see a little bit of a smudge on the left side of the windshield. It can get kind of muddy driving out in the countryside sometimes, so this is just a reminder of nature licking the windshield ;-)

There's lots of beautiful countryside out there, so it's always a treat to take a moment to appreciate it.

I hope that your weekend was great too!

Riding to the Cotswolds

This afternoon, Brit Boy and I went out to do some errands in town and then we headed to Cirencester after that. Cirencester is at the edge of the Cotswolds, which is an area of great natural beauty. I love driving out that way :-)

As we were driving along, I couldn't help but be moved by the beauty of the clouds. I just love those big fluffy clouds that seem like you can just reach out and grab a bit of them. Here's the view that we enjoyed as we headed for Cirencester.






Usually the highway that we were on is quite busy, but today, especially at the non-rush hour time when we were traveling, it was pretty calm. So it made for a very pleasant drive.

While we were in Cirencester, we visited Dobbies, which I have written about before here. We browsed around and didn't buy much. But the best thing we got was a couple of cups of really delicious Cotswold ice cream. It was simply divine! :-) It reminded me of the homemade ice cream that my Daddy used to make. Brit Boy had strawberry and I had chocolate. Here's mine after a few bites. I thought, Hey, let me share this with the good folks out in the blogosphere. I have to share, don't I? ;-)


That chocolate ice cream was so good that I kept imagining that the cup was getting fuller instead of emptier. LOL. The texture is so rich and it's a true chocolate, not a so-so chocolate...you know. Okay, I'm reliving it a bit too much. LOL. But I thoroughly enjoyed it. It makes me think of the summer ahead.

I know I'm gonna be dreaming of that chocolate ice cream tonight for sure...LOL! Have a great Thursday everyone!

A Special Request

I was asked by Lyn, one of my readers, to share the name of where Brit Boy and I went last Friday. She grew up in Oxfordshire, which isn’t far from where we live, and she was interested in finding out where the garden centre was located. I think it's cool that she grew up not far from where I live now and she lives in Florida which is right next to Georgia where I come from. It's a small world. (smile) Well, this one’s for you Lyn, in the spirit of full disclosure (smile). The garden centre is a place called Dobbies and it is located on the outer edges of Cirencester…in the Cotswolds. I really love going there. They have a little bit of everything. The building where they are located was repurposed from a former factory and given its current barn ambiance. I love that.

It’s a nice place to visit on a spring or summer day :-)

My Dad and The Arrival of Spring

Today has been such a beautiful day. The sun is shining and there isn’t a cloud in the sky. What a way to welcome spring. Today has been a day to enjoy for its beauty and also for me, today has been one to take a look back.

Brit Boy had to go and see a client today and I went along for the ride. We decided last night to make a day out of it. So after he finished his work, we took a drive over to the Cotswolds. We went to that garden centre that I’ve mentioned here before in a very early post. It felt like one of those full circle days since we haven’t gone there for roughly a year since I began my blog. It was nice to go back. I always like going there because the place reminds me of a huge barn and they have gorgeous flowers of every description. They also have beautiful garden furniture, gazebos, and a wide variety of ornamental garden stuff. And then they have all kinds of neat gifty stuff and they have a nice open café there that serves hot and cold food. It’s just a neat place. Anyway, we went by there to get a gift for Brit Boy’s mom. And while we were there we took a look around and had something to eat. I love it when Brit Boy and I have time like this together.

After we ate, we took a good look around. Then I was stopped in my tracks. They have a section with old-fashioned candies and there on a stand was a colorful array of huge lollipops. I used to LOVE these when I was a little girl and I haven’t seen any of them in a long time. The thing is, it was great to see something from my childhood, but what really touched my spirit was that my dad used to buy those for me when I was little. Here’s where I got goose bumps. Today marks the day thirty years ago when my dad passed away. So when I saw these lollipops, I took it as a sign from my dad…like he was saying, “I’m never too far away”. I smiled when I saw them and it brightened my day and lifted my spirits. What a beautiful moment. I would love to talk to him as an adult since I was a child when he passed away, but over the years I’ve found a certain amount of peace and I keep good thoughts of him and my mom in my mind. I loved the lollipop so much that I had to buy one (smile). Here it is.




As we were driving out of the parking lot, I snapped this photo of a wicker type man they have out front. He is very earthy looking…don’t you think? I love him.




And also I took a picture of a lovely spot on the way back home. All of the daffodils and trees are blooming out.




When we got home, we went out into our backyard and I took some photos of our pretty little flowers that are coming alive. We planted these bulbs back in the dead of winter and now they are showing off all of their colorful beauty and they are the essence of life.




So as I mentioned at the beginning of this post, today was a day of the beautiful, the bittersweet, the joyous, and things came full circle. Even though this is the anniversary of the day when my father passed, all that I could feel was the joy in the fact that he had lived and he was my dad and he loved me and I loved him. I’m reminded that there is joy in life around us every day and through me and my siblings…my parents live on :-)