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Friday 14 March 2014

Random Friday: 5 things that made me smile this week

By way of explanation: spring has finally arrived in London - hurrah! As a result this week's 5 random things are perhaps not very random; they're all a bit sun-related.

Post box and cherry blossom in West London

1. Breakfast in the sunshine

My weekday mornings are usually a hectic speed-fest. I always seem to be racing just to keep my head above the waterline. My son, Emi, has to be fed, turned out in his best bib-and-tucker and magicked off to the school gate before 8:30 a.m., the dog has to be walked and fed, and my husband usually has some early morning crisis that demands my input. So by the time I get back home I feel as though I've done a day's work already. But the thing that picks me up is my home-made granola with a good cup of extra-strong black coffee, which I've been able to enjoy in the sunshine on my kitchen terrace. Sublime me-time!

If you'd like to make my granola; it's super, super easy, and you can find my recipe here: Mulberry Granola Recipe

2. Spring flowers

A4 Daffodils


After the long, grey slog of winter I'm really enjoying the colour or our wonderful spring flowers. Right now we've got drifts of daffodils all over Ealing, which are making me feel very Wordsworthy - drifting lonely as a cloud ... and all that .

The daffodil is the great everywhere/ anywhere flower in England. They pop up all over the shop. Just look at these beauties growing on the verge of the A4, the main artery into London from the West.




Also, throughout the month of March we have the wonderful Camellia Festival in nearby Chiswick House. I trolleyed over there last week and was delighted by the blossoms on the two-hundred year-old camellia trees. The Middlemist's Red (which is pink) was imported in 1804, and I'm entranced as much by the romantic history of the tree as by its wonderful pink flowers. If you'd like to read some more about the camellia collection, I wrote a little bit about it here: Chiswick House Camellia Festival

Middlemist's red: 200 year-old camellia, Chiswick House Conservatory

3. Driving with the roof down. 

It finally feels as though spring has sprung, and we've been enjoying driving around with the roof down - yeah!


4. Long, lazy walks along the Thames

Maxi (the black, fluffy chap with the button nose in the photo above) and I went on an all-morning walk along the Thames tow path the other day. We took some friends, had lunch in one of the lovely little pubs with a riverside deck on the Hammersmith embankment, and it was awesome. I'll write a post about it next week for anyone who'd like to do a really good Boat Race walk. And, yes, the Oxford/ Cambridge Boat Race is coming up very soon (Sunday 6th April). Come on the Light Blues!

'Ello! Would you like to be my friend?
Hammersmith Bridge


5. A Haircut 

On account of the rising mercury it seemed appropriate that Maxi should have a haircut. He was panting a bit with the heat, so this morning he kept his appointment at the local doggy beauty parlour. He went from looking like this:



to looking like this:




I'm not sure that he's totally sold on the nice bow.

Wishing you all a great weekend,


Bonny x


10 comments:

  1. Our Chloe looks much the same, she is getting her winter coat cut off Thursday, she can't see right now because of her bangs. Visiting from R5F

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    1. I guess we've all been waiting for the spring weather to arrive before we've had our dogs tidied up. I was certainly a bit concerned about Maxi catching a chill, but thankfully the weather has warmed up over here.

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  2. Oh I do love those Daffodils. Ours are just starting to bloom. They are such cheery spots of bright color.
    I've never liked riding in a convertible, it messes with your hair something awful but if you enjoy it that's what matters.
    Wow what a change in Maxi's appearance. He's a rather handsome dog. Loved the little buddy in the photo above as well.

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    1. Thanks Ida. They are the very best of friends - Maxi and his little buddy, Emi.

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  3. Yep Daffodils everywhere in the South West too I wonder who plants the bulbs ? Guerrilla gardeners !!! Love Maxi ..

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    1. 'Guerrilla gardeners' - what a lovely idea, Viv. Isn't it such a wonderful time as we pass from snow drops to daffs to camellias and magnolias to cherry blossom? It's such a dramatic coming-back-to-life again time of the year. At the risk of sounding simple: I'm always staggered by it.

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  4. Spring weather brings changes to us all! Maxi is very handsome. I love daffodils -- such a happy flower! driving with the top down -- good for you. the camellia's are gorgeous. enjoy the weekend.

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    1. Thank you. Yes, I totally agree: daffodils are such cheerful flowers. Maybe it's just their brilliant yellow reminding us of the sun. Have a lovely weekend too.

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  5. I think I actually like Maxi's before photo... :) Sweet pup.
    Loving your springy photos == it will be some time before we see this kind of green!

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    1. Thanks, Nancy. Yes, I know what you mean: he's just a little bit too skinny at the moment for my taste, but at least he'll grow back again to where he was before long.

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