Sunny Sunday

It has been another gorgeous day today with sunshine and blue skies, although it has been slightly cooler. Sophie had arranged to go to Woburn today to visit the food market and have lunch with Daisy and Laura, so I drove her over to Daisy's house as her friend had offered to drive.

I went home and pottered about, catching up with jobs until it was time for me to go and collect my Mum. It feels like it's been ages since I've been allowed to take her out, as they've had a bug going around that has stopped all visits.

I had originally planned on going to Dobbie's garden centre at Wootton but the time has come to start thinking about every journey we take in the car, now that the prices of petrol and diesel have rocketed. I knew there were a couple of garden centres in Kettering so I googled them and we set off.

Google had picked out Bosworth's garden centre but we came upon Season's first in the large village of Burton Latimer. It was a funny little place with an odd smell in the cafe that was slightly off-putting, to be honest! I ordered tea and we enjoyed some cake, but everything felt a bit grubby... As we sat and chatted we could hear a bird squawking very loudly, and when we'd finished we went to investigate. There were two parrots loose, perched on top of their cages, and they were very vocal!

Jojo

After a little chat with them, we had a look at the plants and I bought a couple to go in the pots we have in the garden. I hesitated to buy pansies or violas as they will be finished soon, and the summer bedding plants will take over.

I managed to stop my Mum from buying some ugly tat, and we decided to seek out Bosworth's which was a short drive away. I did a couple of unnecessary tours of Burton Latimer before finally finding it, and I wished we'd headed there first! There were lots and lots of plants and some beautiful displays of Spring flowers and pots for Mother's day which is next Sunday. The cafe looked a lot better too!

We had a good look around, and Mum bought me a shrub for one of the pots, plus I bought some violas for our hanging baskets and a bottle of beer for Keith. We headed back to the care home and I said to Mum that next Sunday she could come to us for afternoon tea and some fizz to celebrate.

I took the scenic route home, as it was such a gorgeous late afternoon. I had a feeling I'd see a hot air balloon over the fields near the village and I did! I think it was going away from us, but it was great to see it hovering in the late afternoon sunshine.

Back at home, I planted my new plants and just after I finished, Sophie called me to ask for a lift home. As I drove over I was treated to a beautiful sunset and I arrived at her house at the exact same time as they did - what great timing!

It was lovely to get home, have a look at the goodies Sophie had bought and enjoy a game of Scrabble with a couple of glasses of red wine. Keith cooked a delicious roast beef dinner but Sophie was still stuffed from her Italian lunch to dine with us!