Apr
30
2011
0

April 2011 books

The Black Angel by John Connelly was a weird book. I couldn’t get into it and only read about 60 pages before I decided I couldn’t bothered and stopped. So no review cos I didn’t really read it!

Airs and Graces by Erica James is an easy and pleasant read but nothing earth-shattering. A story about a woman whose husband leaves her and her attempts to rebuild her life. A nice read with some good characters but not a second-reader!

The Ballroom on Magnolia Street by Sharon Owens is set in Belfast and centres around the ballroom. I found the book quite hard to get into because the characters take a whilse to develop but in the end the story was quite enjoyable; focusing on individual people and how their lives are focused on, and drawn together by the ballroom. Not a bad book.

Goodbye Ruby Tuesday by Donna Hay is a lovely book. Ruby Tuesday Moon grew up with a mother who wanted to be Shirley Bassey but really she was a teenage mother struggling to cope. Ruby is a successful businesswoman who tried to escape her Yorkshire past, but she is sent back to her hometown to rescue a failing business. A lovely book with fab characters and a good storyline. I will try and keep an eye out for more of this author’s books.

Brand New Friend by Mike Gayle was a really enjoyable read. Rob moves up to Manchester to live with his girlfriend and he struggles to make friends, hence his girlfriend puts an advert in the personals section. He does however, meet a girl who he becomes friends with. The book was very funny and it did remind me a lot of how hard I found it to make friends when I love to Leeds. Making friends as an adult is surprisingly hard sometimes!

The Beach Hut by Veronica Henry was a lovely read. A beach hut comes up for sale in the resort of Everdene Sands. The storyline focuses on the families who come to uses the huts every year and how their lives are changed by the tranquility of the beach. Lovely story with some nice characters.

The Final Reckoning by Sam Bourne is a cracking read. Tom Byrne is an idealistic young lawyer who is sent to the UK to ‘deal with’ the daughter of a man who is shot dead for being believed to be a terrorist. What happens is a story of holocaust survivors and how they worked with the resistance to defeat the Nazis. An exciting read.

Written by Anna Williams in: Uncategorized | Tags: ,
Apr
26
2011
2

Eden’s quilt

Finally I can upload these photos! I made Eden a quilt, similar to the one I made for Barnabas. I have to admit that all the way through I haven’t really liked this quilt, but now it is backed, edged and quilted I like it a lot more.

I hope that Eden will get plenty of use out of it and she will realise how much time and love went into making it.

The bottom photo is of my lovely helper! Every time I lay the quilt out to pin it she insisted on laying on it!

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Written by Anna Williams in: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , ,
Apr
25
2011
1

Back to the Rock

The Mister and I have returned to Guernsey for a few days to spend some time with our family. It has been an absolutely gorgeous sunny day and we have spent most of it in the garden with my parents and sister, her husband, my nephew Barnabas, my niece Eden and my cousin Stefi.

It is good to be home. It is also quite hard. Today I met my gorgeous niece Eden Phoebe for the first time. It is impossible for me to describe how beautiful and cute she is. She is very sweet and my sister is very generous in letting me spend time with her. It is also hard as we started trying to conceive about the time my sister announced she was pregnant. So far, she has produced the lovely Eden and we have not managed to get pregnant yet. So, there are mixed emotions. Delight and pleasure at our new lovely niece, and sadness that we do not yet have a baby. I hope that the pain of the not-having is eased soon. It is pretty hard to manage those emotions and I have to admit that I have had a little cry.

Oh well, here are some photos….

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Written by Anna Williams in: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , ,
Apr
10
2011
0

Falconry Day

Yesterday The Mister and I went to The Falconry Centre in Thirsk where we did an experience day. My parents paid for The Mister to go for his 30th birthday present and we decided to pay for me to go to.

It was brilliant!

We spent the whole day there and started out by walking around all the eagles, hawks and vultures and being introduced to them. Then we started off flying some of the smaller birds before learning to tie some essential knots and going o a hawk walk through the lanes. It was brilliant seeing the bird flying out in the countryside. We watched one of the flying days before having lunch. Then we flew a few more birds, watched the final display and then got to fly the bigger birds, including a Golden Eagle.

The staff member who took us out for the day ws so knowledgeable about birds and was fascinating to listen to, although he told appalling jokes.

I have to admit that I was a little bit nervous of the birds. When you see them up close they are even more beautiful but they have these massive sharp talons and a pokey pointed beak. I seriously wouldn’t fancy getting attacked by one of these birds.

To top it all we had the most glorious day – warm and sunny and perfect although both of us have rather shiney sunburnt noses this morning,

The highlight of the day for me? Well, there were two. Getting up close to Misty the Grey Owl who is absolutely beautiful and looked like a cartoon owl he was so perfect. Secondly, getting to fly Boris the Golden Eagle – he was truly the only bird that made me properly nervous – he kind of looked at me funny, but he was awesome. So beautiful and powerful. Gorgeous.

So, this was a day well worth doing. Not cheap, but you certainly get your money’s worth. We had a fab time. Thanks Mum and Dad!!!

Here are some pics… there are over 300 on Flickr, so if you want to see more then just click through…

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Written by Anna Williams in: Uncategorized | Tags: , ,
Apr
08
2011
1

Wedding Anniversary weekend

Last weekend The Mister and I went to Pickering for a short break. We stayed in a lovely bed and breakfast called Grindale House which was lovely and comfortable with a fab breakfast. Best of all it was very central so we could leave the car and wander for the weekend.

On Friday night we went out for a fabulous meal at Castlegate Taberna and had the best tapas I have ever had. It was truly delicious and freshly cooked. On Saturday we had a wander around Pickering Castle, a quick visit to the North York Moors Railway and then we went to St Peter & St Paul Church which was the highlight for me. It has the most astonishing medieval paintings on the wall. They are so clear and really striking and well worth a visit if you are ever in the area. On Saturday evening we went out for dinner at The White Swan – the meal was fabulous. However, it was very expensive and I decided it wasn’t twice as good as the tapas meal which was half the price! Mind you, I did enjoy the champagne!

We had such a nice weekend. I suddenly realised how knackered I am though and when I am at home I am always busy, whether it be cooking, cleaning or sewing. Suddenly having a weekend off meant I was shattered so I had the most blissful sleep on Saturday afternoon.

The best bit though was I got to spent time with The Mister. Time which we both need, and it was lovely!

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Written by Anna Williams in: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , ,
Apr
03
2011
3

First Anniversary

A year ago today I married my wonderful Mister. He is, without a doubt, my best friend and the biggest love of my life.

Although it sounds like I moan a lot about the things I don’t have, he is the one person who makes life amazing. He is so consistent, faithful, loving, generous and kind. My life without him would be infinitely poorer and I find myself relying on his quiet stability more and more every day. For that I am grateful. I can easily be all over the place, worrying about things and doing things at a million miles an hour. He is quiet and steady and he anchors me right into the place I most want to be.

Our wedding was the happiest day of my life. I had waited a long time to find the perfect man for me, and he was totally worth the wait. The day was so joyful, and truly reflective of us as a couple. The chance to share that with family and friends was amazing, and I wouldn’t have changed a thing… other than the torrential rain!

So Mister. Thankyou for making the last year truly amazing – the time has just flown by! I hope and pray we get many, many more years to be together and learn to love each other even more.

Life is good.

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Written by Anna Williams in: Uncategorized | Tags: , , ,

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