Proud

Being proud of your children is one of the joys of parenthood. It can be topped by grandchildren. I am extraordinarily proud to have both - great sensible, funny, practical and likeable grandchildren, just like their parents, uncle and aunt.

Both my children have done things with their lives that I wish I had done. I can't, however, claim to have taught them any of the skills they have, at very best perhaps I passed on some of the DNA from their paternal grandparents - my mother was very keen on house restoration and decoration. She had an eye for seeing things that could be done. She only once had the opportunity to do it on a bigger scale when we bought an old 16th-century farmhouse in Norfolk that was very run down and she managed the entire project together with the local village builders. My father born into a farming family was a keen agriculturalist and hobby gardener.

Even if they did have some free DNAs, both fought their way through the trials and tribulations and costs of getting qualifications. Son J loves his work with restoring old houses and using solid old craftsmanship to also create new houses and buildings. Kate studied garden design but spent much of her time earning the money to pay for the courses at a garden center and in particular the flower shop there. She loved flower-arranging.

When married, children on the way and a move from England to a rural largé own build house in Ireland, she had to give up the garden design business she had just started and had to concentrate on getting the field the house was built on in Ireland, looking like a garden. She was lucky to have married a like-minded husband who had his own background in farming and is a specialist for golf course and estate management. The pair of them created a simply exquisite country garden with the most perfect lawns in between the various borders,  hedges, vegetable plots, fruit trees, chicken run and sheep field.

Kate was always barmy about animals, perhaps some of that did rub off from me and her Mum who also loved animals. Thinking back to Kate's early years, I now wonder why we didn't have any "farmyard" animals back then. We had the space and suitable property for a few sheep and chickens and it wasn't long after we had all learnt about such matters from "The Good Life". 

So when son in law Barry's father died on Monday, Kate jumped in and in coordination with the funeral directors, did all the flowers for the various stages of the three-day wake and funeral. The Blip shows some of her creations, the green bits coming from her and from her deceased father in law's gardens. They weren't photographed at the places they were on show but in preparation to be transported there. The bottom right-hand flowers in a vase were some flowers left over and she simply sent me the photo as I had given her the vase as a present about 20 years ago. What a thoughtful father's "little" girl.

In other news, I did the bees today, a brief check that all seemed well. Both queens are active and laying eggs, the girls are busy filling the eight new frames in each hive. I hope it's not too much for them but have added a third "honey for me" box with a grid that stops the queen getting in and laying eggs there too. The continuing warm dry weather seems to have made everything bloom more than I can ever remember. The lilacs and a treat and the fruit trees seem to be in bloom for ages.

Flash is doing well - relatively. No fits, no accidents and he can waddle around to do a few quick checks that the chickens and horses are behaving. He still insists on being taken somewhere in the car twice a day even if the walks amount to no more than 100 metres. I am baby-sitting him at night as he usually wants to go out once around midnight and then early morning at 6:00 or 7:00. Bit tiring and even in sleep one has one ear open. The vet dropped by unannounced early afternoon. I had just had a bite to eat and a pint of 50/50 beer & lemonade and fallen asleep in sitting on the sofa. She popped her head through the front door and apparently said "stay where you are" - I didn't hear her!

Yesterday after being awarded my German citizenship, I jokingly said to Angie we ought to go out for dinner and celebrate with a good Schnitzel meal. Tonight she cooked me one or three. So that was a nice end to the day.