Sep
30
2011
0

September books

I am sure I have read more than this during the month but I haven’t kept a very close eye on it!

Born in Fire by Nora Roberts
Very Valentine by Adriana Trigiani
Encore Valentine by Adriana Trigiani
Black Rose by Nora Roberts

As you might be able to tell, I have needed books that are no-brainers. It has been such a busy month I think I needed reading material I could switch off to when reading!

Written by Anna Williams in: Uncategorized | Tags: ,
Sep
27
2011
1

Tomato season!

Both of my Grandpas were tomato growers and Guernsey has always had a history of growing these fruits and many were family run businesses. I don’t especially remember my maternal grandpa growing tomatoes, other than those he had at home, but I certainly remember my paternal Grandpa’s greenhouses.

Grandpa had a huge glasshouse filled with tomato vines and then smell was just heavenly. Several of my childhood memories are in this glasshouse. Either running up and down the concrete path down the middle of the greenhouse, or pulling my cousins on the trailer they used to shift boxes. The most vivid memory however is not necessarily related to what I saw, but what I smelt. We were allowed to pick off the small over-ripe tomatoes that had ripened too early and therefore could not be sold. The smell of the tomato vines when you reached under the lush leaves to pick the shiny red fruit is deeply embedded in my memory. I still sniff tomatoes in supermarkets, they have to smell right before I buy them.

I have just been in the garden picking the tomatoes off my Dad’s plants as they are on holiday. His vines are strong and laden with fruit, even though it is quite late in the season. The smell instantly transported me back to the heat and smell of the glasshouses. It truly is the smell of my childhood. Delicious!

Written by Anna Williams in: Uncategorized | Tags: ,
Sep
23
2011
2

Specialists and waiting

I received a letter from the fertility specialists yesterday. Our GP made the referral about 10 days ago and told us that he expected that we would have an initial appointment within a month. The letter from the specialist said that the wait for a first appointment is expected to be 4-5 months. I am absolutely gutted. We have already been trying to conceive for a year, and a wait of 5 months would take that up to 18 month in total. Then if we have to wait for treatment we could easily be looking at 2 years at least.

I so hoped that we would be able to get in for further tests to see what is wrong. Now I just feel despondent. I feel as though we are never going to have a baby of our own and this is, at time, an overwhelming feeling. Monthly disappointment is such a hard thing to deal with, you just get your head around the failure for that month before you have to get on with trying the next month. It is an emotional rollercoaster.

Being home, however, is proving to be both a good thing and a bad thing. Our nephew and niece, Barnabas and Eden, are spending more and more time with us. We are seen as convenient babysitters it would seem (not that I mind of course!) It doesn’t make the absence of our own child any easier though and, in particular, when I hold Eden I feel an enormous sense of loss. In my head I feel very pessimistic about the future. If I try to be optimistic I know I’ll be faced with massive disappointment when things don’t work out. That’s quite hard at times.

Eden

Written by Anna Williams in: Uncategorized |
Sep
11
2011
1

Greenbelt – August 2011

The final part of our holiday was at Greenbelt – every year it is a return to the scene of the crime where The Mister and I met! I was so looking forward to it this year as the lineup was fantastic. I most wanted to see The Unthanks, Ockhams Razor and Kate Rusby and the festival did not disappoint – except for the fact that the weather was a bit rubbish but at least it didn’t rain too much. It was also Tom’s 30th birthday so we helped him celebrate that properly!!!

As ever the best bits of Greenbelt were seeing lots of friends, old and new, and getting the chance to spend proper time with them. Greenbelt is always about people, it could have the worst line-up ever and I would still go, if only to see those I love and miss the most.

On the way back to the boat we stopped overnight in a lovely B&B and went to visit Stonehenge. Then we caught the boat home… back to our new life

So, here is a photo tribute… the majority of the pics can be found here.

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Written by Anna Williams in: Uncategorized | Tags: , ,
Sep
11
2011
0

Dorset – August 2011

After we had been in Dartmoor on our own for a week we were just about ready for a bit more company, so we travelled to Oathill Farm Campsite near Lyme Regos on the Jurassic Coast where we joined up with Pants and Alien, birdie and family, and Tom and Anne and the boys. Suddenly there was a massive group of us!

The campsite was fabulous, we had a field at the bottom where we put up all our tents and our giant gazebo which we used as a kitchen and lounge area – very useful as it rained such a lot! The site had the cleanest facilities I have ever seen, as well as a little shop and a tearoom serving awesome cream teas and an amazing Sunday roast.

We went out to a lots of differnet places including the Dinosaur Museum in Dorchester (which is absolutely shit so save your money!!!), Lyme Regis, Charmouth where some of the group went fossilling and Haynes Motor Museum. The only downside to the week was that the weather was really changeable and we had quite a bit of rain.

However, we had a fantastic week. It was bliss to spend time with people who we get on with and the kids, in general, played well together.

Pics… on Flickr and a few here…

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Written by Anna Williams in: Uncategorized | Tags: , , ,
Sep
11
2011
0

Dartmoor – August 2011

Well, my blogging is well and truly behind. There has just been so much going that it has been quite hard to take a breath and do anything. So here are a few recap posts….

The Mister and I went camping in Dartmoor at the beginning of August. We had had a really busy few weeks moving all our stuff to Guernsey so it was blissful to spend a few days on our own chilling out, reading and sleeping. We stayed at Langstone Manor Holiday Park which was near Tavistock. The campsite was beautiful, gorgeous grounds and the added bonus was that there was a pub onsite. Very useful when the weather was a bit rubbish.

We did lots of driving and visits out during this week – we went to Plymouth, The Lost Gardens of Heligan, had the best ever cream tea at Badgers Holt Tearoom, Morewellham Quay and climbed Sheep Tor on Dartmoor.

Here are a few pictures. Click through to Flickr to see more…

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Written by Anna Williams in: Uncategorized | Tags: , ,
Sep
01
2011
5

Moving

Moving to Guernsey is time-consuming and costly. We have spent much of this day trailing about from States department to States department to get the car re-registered. First of all we had to take it to the weighbridge to have the car weighed, then to the driving licence and transport place where we sat and waited for about half an hour to hand all the paperwork in. Then we had to go get new licence plates (we are now the proud owner of a car with back licence plates with shiny silver numbers but no letters!) All of these places take cash of you for the privilege of seeing them.

The only saving grace is that because everything is so close it doesn’t take long to drive anywhere. Tomorrow we have to try and get social security numbers, sort out tax stuff out and see the bank manager about opening Guernsey bank accounts.

What fun.

On the plus side, we sat in the garden and played scrabble and then walked to the beach and went for a swim in the clear blue sea. Ooo I also phoned up my old singing teacher and said ‘hi, I’m home’… and her response was “choir practice is on Monday night from 7.30-9pm. We have a wedding on Saturday and a concert a week on Monday”.

Life is good.

Written by Anna Williams in: Uncategorized | Tags: , ,
Sep
01
2011
0

August books

Just a list of books for this month I am afraid. All were read whilst camping so just a catch-up now!

Birdsong by Sebastian Faulks
The Collaborator by Margaret Leroy
The Search by Nora Roberts
A Darkness More Than Night by Michael Connelly
Fame by Tilly Bradshawe
Lost Light by Michael Connelly
Not Dead Enough by Peter James

Written by Anna Williams in: Uncategorized | Tags: ,

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