Rocco the Robin

Happy Friday 

18th June

In the end, only three things matter; how much you loved, how gently you lived, and how gracefully you let go of things not meant for you.  ANON

Rocco the Robin has made his first appearance today, don't know if it is Rocco but the name just lives on year after year.

I can't believe it's a month since I last blogged, most of which I have spent in bed due to my chronic back pain.  I have though managed to finish a massive throw whilst in bed and read several books (well, more than several).  I have had my 2nd COVID vaccination and stocked up with my lateral flow tests at home.  We have decided to cancel our holiday in Dawlish in July as it is a hotel holiday and we didn't think it was worth the risk but the Langstone Cliff hotel in Dawlish were more than accommodating and we have carried it over to next year. This is a truly wonderful family run hotel situated on the top of the cliff which serves for the most fantastic views of sunrise and sunset.  It also takes dogs. Next year I will celebrate my 65th birthday there.

This is my latest make it is a ClarityStamp using a stamp I have had since the very early days of my crafting journey with this wonderful wonderful company. On a sad note I have made several cards most of which seem to  have been sympathy cards.  I think although gloomy I will have to make some for my stash.  My friend Julie lost her husband after a very short serious unknown illness; another friend Carol has lost her husband Wilf who she has cared for for more than 30 years, he was in a wheelchair for many of these years after suffering a massive stroke, Wilf always had a smile for you and a twinkle in his eye.  RIP Jim Corcoran and Wilf Entwistle.

I have managed to spend an odd hour or two in the "courtyard" my sunflowers are growing like crazy and I am so excited to seem the growth day by day.  My Clematis is in full bloom, my climbing roses are falling profoundly and my beautiful roses are beginning to bloom and smell magnificent.

Now some of the books I have read...

I have read more than these but they weren't that readable and I didn't finish them.

Mayfair 100 crime series these were really good books I thoroughly enjoyed them and the flow from book 1 to book 3 were really very good. If you like a good crime book on the Agatha Christie theme then these are for you. 

Compelling crime dramas set in WW1

Set in London, during the first year of World War One, these crime thrillers follow the Mayfair 100 team – a clandestine group of women and policemen – as they solve murders, and other crimes, sometimes delving into the city’s seedy underbelly. However, their sterling work must be kept a secret, as Scotland Yard and the Government would never approve of women being employed by the police force as detectives. ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Speaking of Agatha Christie I read The Murder of Roger Ackroyd and O Boy what an ending that is all I am going to say. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Another wonderful read was the Sea Gate One house, two women, a lifetime of secrets...

This book made me cry.

Following the death of her mother, Becky begins the sad task of sorting through her empty flat. Starting with the letters piling up on the doormat, she finds an envelope post-marked from Cornwall. In it is a letter that will change her life forever. A desperate plea from her mother's elderly cousin, Olivia, to help save her beloved home.

Becky arrives at Chynalls to find the beautiful old house crumbling into the ground, and Olivia stuck in hospital with no hope of being discharged until her home is made habitable.

Though daunted by the enormity of the task, Becky sets to work. But as she peels back the layers of paint, plaster and grime, she uncovers secrets buried for more than seventy years. Secrets from a time when Olivia was young, the Second World War was raging, and danger and romance lurked round every corner...

The Sea Gate is a sweeping, spellbinding novel about the lives of two very different women, and the secrets that bind them together. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Bill is probably going to return to work at the end of July which brings with it all kinds of worries and concerns but Occupational Health have to make sure that it is safe for him to return. We contacted the Union for advice which resulted in Bill getting all his stopped pay refunded.

Bye for now

🌻 Megan🌻