Tuesday, March 4, 2025

WEEKLY HAPPENINGS FROM 2-24-25 TO 3-3-25

Below is our weather forecast from 3-4-25 to 3-11-25. Looks like the weather is heating up.

Thank you family and friends for always letting me know you enjoy these. I sometimes wonder if anyone is interested in what we do, as it's most definitely not a very exciting day-to day. But we enjoy going back and that word again, looking at the 'mundane' things we were interested in at the time. I hope you have all had a great weekend!


I haven't done very well this week for keeping up a daily routine journal. I was feeling a bit below par and didn't feel like writing anything down. Husband and son went off into Georgetown one day and I have already shown those photos


Wednesday February 26th, 2025: we went to Green Spring Gardens. That was nice and the sun was shining, the temperature was in the mid 50s. I walked a little further than the time before, saw new flowers and plants starting to show, with a sky that was a perfect blue but first... 

we had our car picnic. A few days previously Gregg had picked up cream sodas at the store, popped them in the trunk and forgot all about them. They were a nice surprise. 

He fixed himself an old favorite, a cheese and onion sandwich on a roll. The first time he had this combination was when it was given to him by someone who ran the naval canteen service on the ship he was on in the early 70s, and who was part of the NAAFI (the Navy Army Air Force Institute). 

He had been on an exchange tour with the Royal Navy, and I am repeating myself continuously on this blog but that's how we met. He was in the UK for a two-year duty exchange tour. 

He hadn't had one of these sandwiches in I can't remember how long, but suddenly decided that's what he wanted for our car picnic. Mine was chicken and lettuce on wheat. Nothing fancy but always tasty. 

Almost forgot, we had two flasks of hot soup also. When he was out the day before for a few hours, I made broccoli, cauliflower and cheddar soup. You can see the recipe at this link. I made it without the half-and-half but with 2 percent milk and a carton of low sodium chicken broth instead of the chicken base and water. It was lovely and a nice addition to the sandwiches. We sat there for a while, too chilly to eat outside just yet, but our car picnics are always enjoyable. (If needed, we get the small vac out when we reach home but have had no problems so far.) 

We sit facing the garden and see a bench through the trees. I am thinking that will be a nice place for our future extended car picnics as it's a hop, skip and a jump from where we park.

So, there we were at the garden. Earlier we had tried to get down to the ponds by driving over to the other side. Unfortunately, there were 'no parking' signs very near where we could see the short walk to where we wanted to go. So, we drove back to the regular entrance. (I am hoping to be able to walk down the hill to the ponds before the end of the year and, as always, keeping my fingers crossed.)

There's 'our' house that is not our house in the distance. I am looking forward to seeing what they will be planting in their garden beds out front. 

We are sitting on a bench and looking across the green. The sky was gorgeous, and the witch hazels were blooming in places.

There were snowdrops popping up everywhere.


I won't share all my photos from the garden today. Another post will be in a few days. I didn't take too many as it was another short trip.

Thursday and Friday, the 27th and 28th rolled by: brain in a bit of a fog truth be told.  

Saturday, March 1st, 2025: and here we are at the beginning of a new month.  Happy first day of the month to everyone. I sketched something new. I'm calling them scribble sketches, because I really have a hard time slowing down on these things. I got the original from Pinterest, one of two favorite go-to places. 


Breakfast: Saturday doughnut from the supermarket for both of us, and coffee for me. Gregg gets his strawberry jam filled dusted in powdered sugar. I get the one coated with chocolate on the top (of course) and the custard filled.  

Late lunch/early dinner: a jacket potato with baked beans. 

Snacks were a few almonds and a dish of skinny popcorn.  A naughty and nice day today.


Sunday, March 2nd, 2025: son came over for a few hours in the morning. He arrives with coffee for me and a muffin. Gregg is not partial to either so ate a lemon yogurt and drank an iced tea. Pat on the back for you I said. 

Later will be our traditional evening get-together to watch The Oscars. We have been doing this for several years. Son and our daughter-in-law will turn up around 5.30 p.m. for our evening of fun. We are eating light, a charcutier board and our darlings are bringing pastries from a bakery in Chantilly. (Gregg had I had ours for breakfast the next day and they were incredible, 10 out of 10 Gregg said.) The charcutier board was our evening meal. I've discovered I like stuffed grape vine leaves. It was sort of like a Ploughman's Lunch but Greek style. Everything on there was very tasty, three kinds of olives, cheeses, the stuffed grape leaves, small and round hot peppers that were hot but not too much, and probably some I have missed. 

Son and D-in-L explained most of the movies to us as we are most definitely not up to speed on these things, but it's all part of the fun. I do enjoy seeing the fashions on the red carpet.

As enjoyable as our time was together, I found that I was a little bored with the show itself, and felt it went on for two long. I might be showing my age ;) And then, wouldn't you know it, the timer for the show cut out on us before the last two major awards were given - didn't know there was a timer but we stream our TV now - and we weren't able to watch the finish. 

No matter how much we tried, we couldn't get it back. I think there might be a lot of miffed people out there as apparently this was done to thousands, and the message was that they had a blackout. It was also the first time they had streamed the Oscars live so our son told us, a major hiccup. Can't do much when that happens with something live. I think we had all had enough anyway as we were all tired and it was past our bedtime. 

Even so, we had a great time because after all, it's the company right? 


Time to stick my head in a cup of tea and snorkel my way down to the bottom! 

Have a great day everyone, have a great March and 

thanks for stopping by.







55 comments:

  1. I love Cream soda, and haven't had any in so long. Now I will buy some (if I can remember!). Gosh, I wish I could draw as well as you do! You really have talent! I always loved the Oscars. But now we never go to the movies, and I don't know most of them or the actors in them. The only thing I enjoy is the fashions they wear, some of which are so outrageous! Like Christina Agulara this time.

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    1. Thank you Ginny, my drawings always seem so bad to me but I guess we are our own worst critics. Cream soda is one of those drinks I have but rarely but I enjoy it very much. We never go to the movies either but I do like to see the fashions. I am curious about Christina Agulara’s dress as I didn’t see it. The ones I did reminded me of the old Hollywood styles and thought them elegant, 9 times out of 10 anyway :)

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  2. Journaling is such a good idea. I can see that you live a fruitful interesting life.

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    1. Thank you Roentare, how very nice of you to say. Much appreciated :)

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  3. That sunflower looks almost natural.

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    1. Thank you Haddock, so kind and much appreciated :)

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  4. what a great way to eat a picnic and I would love the cheese and roll, no onions. my mothers favorite drink was cream soda, we would get a coke she the cream soda and I did not know they still make it. your drawing is wonderful and I might give a try at copy cat with it. I seem to have lost the sketch mojo, and I am like you, mine is more sketch than draw, your style is simalar to mine, but muted where mine is bold. each person who draws the same thing has their own style and I love your style

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    1. Thank you for sharing the sweet memory of your mother. I would rather have cream soda than coke but Gregg’s preference is a coke, though we are both not drinking sodas much these days, it is an occasional treat. I would love to see you do the drawing as I love your style. Drawings are like our signature, everyone’s is different as you say :)

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  5. I think it is a universal fact, crossing all national boundaries and cultures, that picnic food tastes better than the same food at home. Part of ours is always a hard boiled egg.

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    1. I like how you put that David and very true :) when I was a child, hard boiled eggs were always part of our family picnics, along with cold sausages, as well as bread and cheese. I still enjoy a picnic.

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  6. Hello,
    I do not watch the Oscars, I have not seen any of the movies.
    Your soup, pastries and charcutier board all sound great to me.
    Hubby and I often have the car picnics.
    Nice visit to the gardens, the flowers are a lovely sight to see.
    Take care, have a great day!

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    1. I have not seen any movies either, neither of us have. It’s just a fun get together with our son and daughter-in-law. I will definitely get another charcuterie board for our next party. Glad you enjoy car picnics also. The first flowers are always very welcome when everything has been barren after all these colder months. Thank you Eileen, I wish you the same :)

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  7. Your sketch is fantastic. You are very talented.
    I have never been a fan of the Oscars or any of those award shows. I think I've only watched one and that was enough for me.

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    1. Thank you Ann, I really appreciate that :) the most fun part of the evening was the time with our son and daughter-in-law. I also said to Ginny that the fashion show was enjoyable to me with these old Hollywood-style gowns, but I have seen others this morning that were a bit too much for my taste.

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  8. What a fun picnic! Your lovely flowers promise that spring is on the way.

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    1. Thank you very much Carole, and I agree about the flowers :)

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  9. Loving your snowdrops. I must plant some! I watched the Oscars. Didn't enjoy that much -- too long, too many production numbers and not that fond of Conan's stuff. I haven't seen the movies either, but I like the actual awards and clips part! They could take a few good lessons from the BAFTAs, which I think does the best award show! No wasted time! But I do miss the Oscar parties we used to enjoy when we were younger. Happy week to you!

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    1. I agree with what you said about the Oscars Jeanie. I would like to plant snowdrops. Thank you and happy week to you also :)

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  10. Cream soda. Haven't had one of those in a very long time. If I have soda it's ginger ale or root beer. We have warming temps here this week. too. And rain which will make everything a soggy mess with all the snow on the ground. The dirt roads in our town will be a muddy muddy mess. We live on a paved one so no problems for us except on our driveway.

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    1. Muddy roads can be hard to drive on in rainy weather. I remember a friend who lived in the country. We didn’t have the right tires to visit in bad weather as we had to drive on unpaved roads. I love cream soda but it’s a rarity when I have one. I like ginger ale but not a fan of root beer. Hubs enjoys it though :)

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  11. I haven't watched the Oscars for years, but it would be very disappointing to have made it all that way and lose the end!
    Lovely job on the mouse and sunflower!
    I would pass on the onion part of his sandwich. The car picnic is always fun. I like your idea of walking a little farther as you can each time at the park.
    Love reading your weekly adventures! :)

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    1. It was a bit disappointing to go through everything else but not see the main two categories we were interested in. Thanks for the compliment on my drawing :) I am not a fan of raw onions either. I like them grilled. I am still a bit wobbly on my knee but I know I will get there eventually and thank you so much for letting me know you enjoy my posts. So kind of you Rita, thanks again :)

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  12. That was a fun post. I'll pass on onion and cheese sammich. I am not a fan of raw onions. I would have loved you choice and the soup.
    Sending lots of positive vibes you can walk down to the pond sooner than later.
    Hugs Cecilia

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    1. Thank you so much Cecilia, I really appreciate you saying so :) No raw onions for me either. The soup was my favorite part. Thank you also for those positive vibes. sending hugs :)

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  13. Lovely to see spring coming in over there.

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    1. I hope you will get to see yours soon. They are always cheerful to see. Thank you Christine :)

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  14. Śliczna myszka bardzo podoba mi się twój rysunek. Też lubię spędzać czas z blisk8mi. Miłego tygodnia:)

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    1. Dziękuję bardzo i bardzo doceniam Twój komentarz. Życzę dobrego tygodnia :)

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  15. Lovely to see the snowdrops ... I was out earlier today and there are a lot of daffodils in bloom, lovely to see.

    Your soup sounds good, very tasty.

    Enjoy the remainder of Tuesday - hard to believe that it's almost mid-week!

    All the best Jan

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    1. Thank you Jan, the soup was good and I can't believe we almost mid-week either :) That must have been a lovely sight Jan, there are no blooms here at the moment but very soon I hope. All the best to you too and enjoy the rest of your week :)

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  16. I like the idea of a car picnic. Spring has blossomed around here. Our daffodils are through, hyacinths are blooming and Virginia bluebells are up. Have a great week!

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    1. Thanks Leslie, they are always fun. How wonderful! We haven't seen the daffodils yet, but I think I may have spotted their shoots when I was at the garden. There's a special place we go to for the Virginia bluebells. I'm looking forward to seeing them too. You have a great week also :)

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    1. Gracias, lo pasamos muy bien. te mando un beso :)

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  18. What a nice car picnic! Sounds great. You adjusted to the weather and didn’t let it stop you from enjoying your meal. David watched the Oscars to the end. He said the Best Picture they chose was full of F words. What was the Academy thinking?

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    1. Hello Gigi, it was very nice and we don't usually let the weather stop our car picnics unless we are snowed in or it's raining sideways :) I don't know what their criteria is for deciding on a good movie. It's very interesting what they do pick but then I saw none of these movies and can't really say one way or the other. There does seem to be a lot of bad language flying around lately.

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  19. I haven’t seen snowdrops yet this year. Hopefully soon!

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    1. Yes, hope you see them soon. They are always a pretty sight :)

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  20. I love the idea of a car lunch. That's perfect for this time of year. You're out and seeing the seasonal changes, but you're not freezing on a bench. I'm glad you and hubby bumped into each other those years ago in England. You 2 are a great couple!

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    1. Thank you for such a sweet comment Carol, you are so kind to say that :)

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  21. Lovely post Denise. Yes, those Oscars do go on and on these days, they are on our TV too, but I don't watch them anymore. I'm pleased you had a good evening doing so.
    Your art is lovely, infact it's sweet.
    We also enjoy a car lunch but my husband won't eat in the car, I will so he stands outside even though it may be a winters day.
    Beautiful sky there and your house..it's always lovely looking at it.
    Just wonderful to see the spring bulbs in your area, thanks for that.

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    1. Thank you Margaret, how interesting they show the Oscars on your TV. Our most fun time that evening was being with our son and daughter-in-law. They continuously entertain us with their delightful humor. I appreciate you saying that about my little mouse., so kind :) many of us enjoy our car picnics don’t, enjoying them in our own way? You are very welcome for the spring flowers. I am looking forward to photographing more as they start appearing :)

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  22. What an absolutely wonderful day! A car picnic sounds like fun. But now I'm going to get that recipe for your soup. Mmm...

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    1. Thank you so much Margaret, I am very glad you enjoyed it.

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  23. I hope you are feeling more yourself again, Denise. Love your sweet mouse sketch.

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    1. Thank you Beverley, I appreciate that very much :)

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  24. Denise, I absolutely loved reading this post! I love hearing about your days, and getting ideas from you! The car picnic is genius! Thank you for sharing that. And the soup recipe too. Have a beautiful day in your cozy world, my friend.

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    1. Hello Billy Jo, and thank you so much. Always makes me happy that you enjoy what I post. You have a beautiful day also my friend, and a cozy weekend :)

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  25. Denise, it is so nice that you and Gregg have picnics in the car. I stopped watching the Academy Awards many years ago and this year was no exception. Like yourself, we would not have known much about any of the movies. However, it's nice that this event is a family gathering for you all.

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    1. Thank you Dorothy, and you're right, the family gathering was the most important thing for me that night :)

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  26. Sounds like a lovely weekend. I have never watched the Oscars or any of the awards but even that sounds like a fun evening with your family. I think my husband and I need to try a car picnic:) Now that sounds just about my speed!:)

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    1. Hello Jennifer, thank you and it was. Car picnics are fun, I highly recommend them :)

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