OCULUS .....

Our grandson got Oculus for Christmas ..... OMG ..... it's brilliant ! You can experience everything that virtual reality has to offer !

First you have a tutorial ..... you have a practice at picking things up and using the hand pieces. You are standing in this amazing sci fi space and you begin by throwing paper airplanes, picking up objects etc.

Then you progress to dancing with the above robot, holding his hand and twirling him around and a bit of freestyle ! Someone should have videoed me ..... I'm sure I looked ridiculous !

BUT, the best part came next ..... I progressed to the roller coaster ! It's just like being on one {and I LOVE roller coasters}

It is so realistic ..... I was getting motion sickness { but in a good way } It really gets your adrenaline pumping ..... the speed, the turns, the height ..... it is SO much fun. 

..... and, topically, you enjoy the ride with Father Christmas !

I WANT ONE !

On a sad note, as you probably know, Vivienne Westwood died yesterday.

I loved much of her style { not so much the bonkers pieces but that was her ..... she loved to shock }

RIP Dame Vivienne

XXXX

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE ..........

Wishing all of my blogging friends the merriest of Christmases.

Whatever you are doing, have a great day, 

Eat, Drink and be Merry ,

Thank you all for your blogging friendship, your posts which have made me laugh, cry , enlightened me, touched me and have given me food for thought. 

I still think blogging is the best social media platform even though it is now thought a bit like it's had it's day ! 

Keep blogging ..... I'd miss you all so much if you weren't there, 

See you all in 2023

Lots of love

XXXX

 

ORANGERY UPDATE ..........

So much snow arrived here and it's not really melting ! ..... but, it does look magical and pretty and so lovely to have at Christmas. 

Orangery and window are all done but there is so much more to do. 

Some of the flooring is down and the plastering is done but, electrics need to be finished, it all needs painting , still some carpentry to be done and we will have to wait until early February for the new kitchen but, we are getting there. It's lovely to get a full view of the garden. See all of the snow on the roof ?

It hasn't been too disruptive and, all of the different trade guys have been brilliant. 

I'll show you more when it starts to get prettier !!!!

XXXX

GETTING VERY UGLY in the KITCHEN & ORANGERY PRE - INSTALLATION ..........

I think I was lulled into a false sense of security ! All was going swimmingly ..... not much dust and walls going up. Then came the moving of the boiler 😱 I don't know if this is of any interest but, hang on in there .... there are pretty pictures of the new Orangery { I'm calling it an Orangery as that is what the company who are building it are calling it !} at the end .....

It has been a major task ! .....

So many pipes to move but, they only have the gas pipes to deal with so they should be finished with that job today. 

The Company making ' The Orangery " sent me a video yesterday of it being built but it wouldn't upload. Maybe it's the mp4 format ..... I don't think it's too big.  I tried filming the video on my phone but that didn't work either so, I have taken some screen shots to show you. 

It still has to be painted but it's nearly finished. 

Didn't have anything to cook on last night so we had take away ..... it arrived stone cold ! We ate it though ! 

Will be back with the next chapter. 

XXXX

.......... and SO IT BEGINS ..........

We are now a week in to our building work. Our old conservatory was, in my opinion, rather nice and complimented our late Victorian house but, as most of you know, after over 30years, it had fallen into disrepair and was rotten and leaking { mostly due to the con man who built it !!! }

Still, we managed thirty years from it but, it is now time for it to go.

Here's the outside of the old conservatory .....

..... and here's the inside, empty of all furniture etc. .....

 

..... and here's what it looks like now 😱😱😱 !!!

We have had progress since the last photograph was taken and have foundations, some wall built and floor joists in. It's not been dusty at all but, that could all change when they knock down the wall on the left to open it all to the kitchen.

progress ..... with some of the wall built and floor joists.

It has to get ugly before it gets pretty !!!!!

XXXX

all photos by me

THANK YOU MA'AM ..........

Queen Elizabeth 11 has been a constant throughout my life. I was two years old when she ascended the throne so, she has always been there. A constant presence and a woman who dedicated her life to the service of her country which she did with grace and humility for 70 years. She pledged herself to our service and she fulfilled that pledge. 

She understood the assignment.

RIP Queen Elizabeth 11 and God save the King. 

XXXX

HERCULEAN EFFORT ..........

We have had a Pieris plant in a terracotta planter { similar to the one above .....  I forgot to take a before photograph } and it has been in that pot for about 25 years ! I think my Dad bought it for us. Over the last few years it has not performed well . It used to produce hundreds of tiny, white bell-like flowers in the Spring but I think we had about three this year. As the builder will be starting in a week or so, & as it is

 standing next to the conservatory, I thought I should get it out of the pot and put it in the garden to see if it will do any better.  I also didn't want to break the pot as, a terracotta pot of that size would probably cost over £100 now. 

I am always full of great ideas that nearly always turn into major projects !!!

It took me two days to get that bloody Pieris out of that pot !!! It was stuck so fast it just wouldn't budge. Usually, when you dig around it, it will gradually start to wiggle a bit ...... I dug and dug and there wasn't the slightest movement. I went at it with a little hedge trimmer that I use to trim the yew topiary ..... still stuck fast ! Then I used a small saw ..... nothing. I gave up after that on Day one ..... I was knackered. After a couple of hours of sawing and digging on Day 2 , it finally started to wiggle a tiny bit and, after yanking and yanking ..........

..... it was released !!!!!

I have planted it in the garden but, after all the trauma it had to endure, it might not survive but, we shall see.

It was a Herculean task which required a great deal of energy and effort ..... I'm not sure why I bothered now as my arms ache { especially the one I broke } and, it probably won't survive but, at least I saved the pot !!! 

XXXX