A FEW SPRING COLOURS

Thought I'd post a few Spring colours to cheer us all up.   If you need cheering up, that is!   Having had an Election here in the UK, with a result no-one seemed to be expecting, some of us need a bit of cheer!

Grape Hyaciths

Stonecrop

Bright orange tulip

Most of these have finished now, but other flowers are coming out, and I am just awaiting a delivery of young plants for the empty pots.   As I have forgotten what I ordered, I think I will get a few surprises!

STRANGE FOODS WE EAT

Some of the food I've seen for sale could come under the heading "weird"!    Carmi, over at writteninc. has taken his camera to his local shops and found some very odd food!

Go to the link and see what others have come up with from their local or holiday shops.   Mine seem to be a fishy tale!

Spotted in the big Barcelona Market.   I think those funny looking things on the right are octopus, with their tentacles folded in.   The left ones might be some sort of Dover sole.   The ones at the back are perfectly normal and tasty sardines!

Something strange in the crustacean line  in Bergen market!

Swordfish at Madeira.   We tried them once and were not impressed!

Up close cauliflower -  quite cloud-like!

Artisan bread looks quite hard and rocky up close

And Savoy Cabbage looks really odd and uneatable.   But it isn't really!

Hope you like my fish and vegetables - do leave a note if you visit.   And if you can translate those Spanish tickets on the fish I would be very grateful!

WHERE I WORK

Carmi, over at Thematic Photographs has chosen Where You Work for us to illustrate this week.

Hmmm!   That's a bit difficult.    Being well over 21 and retired, and a woman to boot, do I actually work?   You bet I do!   

So here are a couple of photographs of my kitchen - my domain(!)   They were taken to show my sister the new doors and drawers we had fitted, so not a lot of tidying up was done!

Do go to the link above, I am certain there are far more interesting, and unusual shots, of where people do (paid) work!

And yes, that is a loaf of bread I've just made in the bread-maker in the bottom picture!

MULTIPLES

Arrived back from a weekend in Spain (!) to find the subject for this week is 'Multiples'.   Having done a LOT of queueing (standing in long lines for you over the pond!) maybe I should have taken photos of multiple people carting loads of those little bags on wheels that now fit into the overhead lockers on the plane.   Well, provided you get there first.   My daughter and I estimated that no way was there enough room for everyone to put a case in a locker!

However, I searched my archives and found several multiples, but Carmi deserves only the best, so here we go:

Stacked plastic baskets

Wellie Bootees, or Bootee wellies, whichever!

Stacked wood blocks

Stacked fish baskets on the quay at Cobh, Ireland

Houses built on a near-perpendicular cliff at Cobh, Ireland.   It was taken through the window of our cabin, so not particularly good quality, but they were so lovely!   You had to be fit to live there!

Go to this Blog to see what others have come up with for Multiples - I can guarantee there will be some interesting interpretations!

FLOWERS

Cheering us all up after a cold winter, which seems to have been going on for ever, even in the UK, where we don't get the long snow time Canada and the Northern US do, spring flowers are a real blessing.

So, ephemeral they may be, they are still beautiful.   Carmi, over at writteninc. asks us to take our cameras out and find some flowers.   Go to the link to see what others have come up with.

I decided that although I have a lot of flower shots in my archives, some up-to-the-minute shots of some of the flowers on my patio would be best.

The daffodils looked lovely this morning, with the sun shining through them.

And as soon as the sun touched the buds of the tulips, they sprung open.

The flowers on our Pussy Willow tree shone silver and gold as they opened.   The bees loved them.

The tree is actually a miniature (well, small) weeping willow, which we rescued from the humiliation of being in a "special offer" box, at a really good price, and proved to look much better after a bit of TLC than the much more expensive ones at our local, very up-market. Garden Centre!

Do let me know if you visit!  I love getting your comments.

PLEASE BE SEATED

Didn't think I had any shots for "Please be seated" this week!   But then I remembered the House in Orkney that we went to last year.   I can't remember the name of the house, but I don't think I would feel very relaxed sitting in this room!

And I feel very sorry for the tiger!

For other interesting chairs and seating arrangements, go over to Carmi's writteninc.  to see what others have come up with.

Please leave a comment if you visit - I will see them when I return from sunny Spain!   :)

GET DIRTY

Carmi, over at writteninc.  is getting down and dirty, and asking us to join him!   Mind you, Carmi lives in Canada, and talks of "snow just going", but over here in the UK, our snow has long gone and Spring is now here, looking clean and fresh.    Crocuses have more or less finished now, and the daffodils are coming out, the birds are courting, and I have seen blackbirds with nesting material.   Its all coming good!

So I had to get creative with finding dirty pics!   Mr.G could not understand why I wanted to take a shot of our dirty washing up, but here it is!

We don't have a dishwasher, so it was on with the Marigolds (rubber gloves) and get on with it with a nice big bowl of hot water and detergent.

We have two benches in the park which seem to be invisible to the powers that be (probably the council)   Neither has  been painted, to my knowledge, for the last 20 years, and they are really looking grubby.   Other benches in the park have been replaced with smart-looking seats, and really spruced up, but these two languish under the beech trees by the stream.   At least they merge with the foliage!

So that is my take on dirty!   Do let me know if you visit - I like to keep track of you!