A morning of skedaddling!

Well today l’m headed over the water to bring some of D’s things home from his dorm room and do a bit of food shopping. I’ve been up for ages already, have done the house cleaning, hung out the washings, loaded the car with flat packed boxes and now only have to hose down the flower baskets before l skedaddle.

My mum is going to look after wee S for me and take him to nursery so should be a quiet day out- l haven’t gone up to the city by myself in ages! I’ll have to treat my sonser to lunch.

D has his final exams between the 9th and 23rd May and then he’s home. These studies of his are like another language to me- ‘heat and flow’- sounds simple but l don’t know what way to turn his work books when reading them.

Last night l settled down as usual to get on with my reading. l am really enjoying the book called ‘Child of the phoenix’ by Barbara Erskine - a wonderful journey in the life of a Welsh princess who is caught up in the Celtic cause. The story line dates from 1218-1306.

Over the last fortnight l’ve read another two books- two very different books. The first one called, ‘The Little Prisoner’ by Jane Elliot is written by a woman who survived abuse as a child and it is utterly heartbreaking- a bit like the book, ‘A Child Called ‘It’’ by David Peltzer. You see the world from the eyes of a child who is just trying to survive - a difficult read in parts.

The other book was a great feel-good kind of read and very funny. It is called, ‘Big Stone Gap’ by Adriana Trigiani. I found myself laughing out loud in parts, much to the annoyance of my hubby who was reading his own book beside me. lol. The cast of characters are fantastic and the heroine is just so alive and l really liked her. You are taken on a journey of her hometown and life in Virginia and get to see the world through her eyes. For a short read it was a delight and l am going to look out more of her books.

Anyway folks- l am heading out- will take my camera and current book along to read on the ferry.

l know l need to get around to visiting with you all- thanks always for your friendships.

Here are just a few verse from a Robert Burns poem called Happy we are thegither.

The whole poem is HERE if you wish to read more. :)

Happy we are a' thegither,

Happy we'll be, ane an' a';

Time shall see us a' the blyther

Ere we rise to gang awa'.

Frien'ship maks us a' mair happy'

Frien'ship gies us a' delight;

Frien'ship consecrates the drappie,

Frien'ship brings us here the night.

Congratulations M !

Back in February SEE HERE l told you that my daughter, M had applied to university for a degree in nursing. Well there were three important checks she had to complete: an interview, Scotland disclosure and medical. As each one came through l did not want to blog on it until we had the final word. All l can say is that it was a busy time with lots of travelling up and down to the city.

Anyway, this past Saturday we were all delighted for M when her formal letter of acceptance arrived!! M is over the moon as this university was her first choice - far enough from home to warrant her staying on campus but not so far that she could not hop on a train and be home within a few hours.

I burst into tears so pleased and proud of her, suddenly realising that come September both she and her brother would no longer live at home- how quiet it will be.

Her brother, D is wrapping up his first year of engineering- he comes home towards the end of May. The good news is that both of their universities are in the same city- in fact only a few streets away from each other - which helps relieve the worry- a bit.

Now it’s just a matter of getting all of her things gathered together for September- much like we did for D last year. I already had a mini slow cooker put by for her and yesterday her Nan contributed a new double duvet for her bed. This moving out malarky is all so exciting - lol.

I'm so happy that both D and M will be home this summer- both working and putting the pennies by for all the extra expenses. l am proud of how well they are doing.

As for the driveway (see pics. below), it’s all finished except for lowering the kerb, which will be done by tonight as the men are working on it as l type away here.

The gates were fiddly to paint because l didn't stir the Hammerite well enough - it had the consistency of treacle- oops!

Wee S helped his dad paint the wall out front on Saturday afternoon. Most of the pictures that l took of them doing this hardly came out as the white wall reflected the sun so brightly.

This driveway project has been well worth the effort- l can’t tell you how wonderful it is to be able to get our car off the road.

The above painting of Flaming June by Frederic Leighton reminds me of my daughter M so very much.

May and June. Soft syllables, gentle names for the two best months

in the garden year: cool, misty mornings gently burned away with a

warming spring sun, followed by breezy afternoons and chilly nights.

The discussion of philosophy is over; it's time for work to begin.

- Peter Loewer