Thursday 31 July 2014

#wedding break

In the middle of this (delightfully busy) week, we took a break and had a day out with Phil and Judy, our future daughter-in-law's parents. We are sharing a cottage together just a couple of miles from the venue, helping Jonny and Adele with their preparations. What a delight and a blessing to be together - heart friends who will soon (very very soon) be family, too.

We went on an expedition to discover the Norfolk Broads.

First stop was Horning, on the river, with an impromptu - and very detailed - tour of an old wherry. Fascinating to think of lives long ago and the joys and hardships of river life.
The Albion, a preserved but still working Norfolk wherry
We thought of hiring a boat but made our way up to Irstead, a lovely country church with a thatched roof. Walking along a boardwalk through a pretty wetland to Barton Broad, where sailing boats of all sizes skimmed back and forth, there were dragonflies, woodpeckers and all kinds of wild flowers and herbs. Beautifully peaceful.
Judy and Phil inside the tiny cabin

Love the Norfolk Tudor architecture!

Near Barton Broad

Irstead church with its thatched roof

Barton Broad

Rural Norfolk yielded a gated level-crossing, where we had to phone for permission to cross and an idyllic lawn by the river, with ducks and geese and canoes and rowing boats and... a veritable Ratty heaven.

Add in a cream tea and good company - a real Day Out...

And I am officially In Love with Norfolk In The Summer. Paradise.

#wedding

We look - semi-anxiously - at weather forecasts, wondering if the rain threatening to come on Saturday will arrive.

Meanwhile, the sun blazes down on our rural retreat and we enjoy the peace and quiet.

Our hearts are calm, our hands busy.

We have all spent more hours than we can count on preparing the grounds of The Old Hall at Barnham Broom, where the reception is to be held. The Old Hall is a beautiful Tudor mansion with an Elizabethan addition, the home of a good friend of Jonny's, whose parents have kindly allowed them to hold the wedding reception in a marquee on their land. In preparation, Jonny has manfully cleared rubbish, cut back bushes, made a crude bridge over the remains of the moat of the Tudor house and strimmed grass from the orchard.



We have put together the order of service and rose petals, lavender and hydrangea flower confetti into paper cones.

The table cloths and table runners have all been ironed, too.

And the marquee goes up!

Tuesday 29 July 2014

Wedding countdown

It is only four more 'sleeps' until The Wedding.

We have arrived in Norfolk, after a hectic weekend of lovely visitors and preparing the house for our absence and kind friends coming to look after Pickle Dog. The summer has been absolutely fantastic, so the joy of sunny days has seemed endless. It has been too wonderful being outside to write a blog.

But still, I have written in my mind as I have dried rose and flower petals, gathered childhood photos for creating bunting for the marquee and gathered Jonny's belongings to bring over.

He is marrying and leaving his home, his father and his mother to be united with his wife. How good, how right, how happy...

My mind and heart are full to overflowing.


Monday 21 July 2014

A June Bride: book review A Year of Weddings

I review for BookLook Bloggers
Our June Bride, Wynne Hardy, suffering from rejection when Callum broke her heart, agreed to let her friend Picky send a video clip of her to reality TV show The Rejection Connection. Surprisingly, she is selected and on it, she meets Andy, who, catching her unawares, proposes to her on air. She accepts, and the wedding machine, accompanied by a huge amount of publicity, is set in motion.

Yet Callum suddenly reappears, and Wynne's life is thrown into confusion. Add in interfering Meredith, a 'star' from TV programme Marathon Mom, hectic plans for a very public beach wedding, lots of conflicting feelings and a 'June wedding' is thrown into doubt. Will it really happen, in spite of all the plans?

Wynne is surrounded by secrets and intrigue, particularly from Meredith, her new-found friend. Can she unravel and understand what is happening, not least, within herself as both Andy and Callum claim her affections?

I enjoyed MaryBeth's writing, though I worked out what would happen fairly early on. I found the clues rather too obvious and would have liked to have been kept guessing a little more. Still, what did I expect? This is a light-hearted, short, romantic novel, perfect for whiling away a couple of summer hours on the beach. Good fun.

About the author: Marybeth Whalen is the wife of Curt and mom of six children. She is the director of She Reads, an online book club focused on spotlighting the best in women's fiction. Marybeth is the author of The Mailbox, She Makes It Look Easy and The Guest Book. Marybeth spends most of her time in the grocery store but occasionally escapes long enough to scribble some words. She's always at work on her next novel. Marybeth and her family live in North Carolina. You can find her online at www.marybethwhalen.com.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookLookblogger program. I was not required to write a positive review.

Wednesday 16 July 2014

Four Weddings and a Kiss... #notTheWedding #justabookreview

I review for BookLook Bloggers

Well, yes, I do have weddings on my mind at the moment. One particular Wedding, as beloved son and beloved daughter-in-law get married in a couple of weeks' time.

Yet marriage, as we know, is both fairytale and in-real-life, romantic and prosaic... just so with the four stories gathered together in this book.

The book opens with a conundrum: a preacher in love with an Unsuitable Girl finds himself on the receiving end of wise advice from four older preachers, sitting round a fire, telling stories...stories of unlikely marriages to similarly Unsuitable females.

Each story has a happy ending for its unlikely heroine: a girl who behaves like a boy - until she has to help her neighbour with womanly tasks, thereby discovering her femininity while demonstrating her strength. A clever, independent woman is more than competent at running a newspaper. A plucky victim of a tornado, unwillingly accepting help to rebuild her ranch and her life. And a vulnerable woman, unjustly accused of murder, who nevertheless comports herself with winsome dignity.

The women are not 'rescued' by a handsome prince -whether that be a hard-working rancher, an ambitious editor, a wandering cowboy or a conservative lawyer - yet each one discovers strength in herself and in the relationship. There are five happy endings in this book: the four stories, and the story of the confused preacher who finds... yes, he finds that his Unsuitable Girl is, in fact, eminently suitable to be a preacher's wife.

Although written by four different authors - Mary Connealy, Robin Lee Hatcher, Margaret Brownley and Debra Clopton - the stories form an agreeable whole. For an enjoyable, light read, it is well worth looking out for more from the same authors.

Western romance is not my particular interest, but I was given this free of charge by Booklook Bloggers, who always offer quality books. This was no exception.

Thursday 10 July 2014

Lists. #wedding

Just over three weeks to go. Jonny arrives for a few days next Friday, so we'll be able to catch up.

Meanwhile, I am writing lists. And lists of lists. Ticking items off - hat, shoes and bag sorted, thanks to the kindness of a dear friend.

So far the list looks like this:

Wedding necessities

Electrical
Small gazebo for generator
Protective netting ditto
Protective red and white tape
Plastic stakes
Duck tape (? Maybe it's actually called DUCT tape. I know it as Bodge Tape. The silver stuff, anyway.)
Screwdrivers  pliers etc
Warning signs – car triangles and laminated signs: no entry and electrical hazard
Scissors. And The Toolbox - you never know...

4 x RCD lights
Christmas lights
Long string of fairy lights
4 x coloured lights
Portable LED light

Fripperies
Dried rose petals
Printed and cut up photos

As for everything else...it's all in hand...

Tuesday 8 July 2014

Lights! #wedding

Hmmm... generators.  How much power/how little power.... quotes from companies for all amounts of power...

Meanwhile, we have or have planned:
tea light lanterns and jam jars
garden solar-powered lights
strings and strings of fairy lights
battery-powered lights...
and...disco lights!  Remotely controlled in a myriad of colours. Richard is fascinated by them....

It will be BEAUTIFUL.



Sunday 6 July 2014

Holidays...and the countdown begins. #wedding

Sunday, July 6th.  In four weeks' time, Jonny and Adele's wedding will be over and they will be married.

So much to do, so little time.

But actually, all is well in hand. The church is booked; the music and service and all those helping; the venue: a marquee in a country field; the dresses: sorted. Even mine: I whizzed into town yesterday and, with the decisive help of Hero Husband, found two dresses (in the summer sale: bonus) after trying on six in three different shops, all in fifty minutes from start to finish. Result.

Now it is tying up the details. A friend and I have dried rose petals and poppy seed heads. Adele, my beautiful lovely daughter-in-law-to-be, has created and collected all kinds of artistic decorations. Her mum, Judy, and I have had The Hat conversation. (Yes, we will.) And Hero Husband is busy investigating all the electrical needs....