Six Word Saturday

Six word Saturday

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Niestety, mówię tylko troche po polsku

“Unfortunately, I speak only a little Polish” but the language of cake is universal.  Staying in the home of a baker could be ruination for the figure, so it’s probably as well I came home when I did.  Chmurka malinowa (raspberries and meringue) was my undoing.  Sadly, after 2 weeks in Poland I was just starting to get my head around the language and have the confidence to try to speak it.

The photos above are from my cousin Adam’s newest shop, and Dad is there with the family, waiting to sample ciastko- cake. Something which he is extremely good at.  Must be a family trait!  The last is taken through the shop window.  My lovely niece Ula has just finished work for the day.

One of my weeks was spent with family in Central Poland, where feeding one week old ducklings- kaczki– was part of the entertainment.  I was also lucky enough to meet up with Meg in the city of Łódź.  Such joy that gave me.  I’ll be taking her along on my Monday walk next week.  Come with us, but don’t expect to get a word in, will you?

Meanwhile, have a great weekend!  Pop in on Cate if you have six words you want to share.

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Six word Saturday

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It’s not all lamb and salad!

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Nor is it the best of photos, because it was an exceedingly murky day.  As Mam used to say, ‘it’s not all lamb and salad’- in other words you have to take the rough with the smooth.  Monday just gone was the perfect example of ‘rough’.  As a general rule, our group don’t walk when it’s wet, but we had already set out for Hurworth Burn when the weather decided not to cooperate.  Nothing for it but to pin on the grin and go.

The company was still good, even if the view was… indistinct.  Gorse provided a little colour, but it’s a real contrast with my Burgeoning Spring, isn’t it?  There’s usually a reason to be joyful if you look for it, and I did have the opportunity to practise some Macro.

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Pussy willows are lovely, aren’t they, even when wet?  Can’t share them with Jude, because these aren’t in a garden.

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I’m walking again next Monday (I’ve booked sunshine!), but that will be my last post for a while.  You might have noticed a lack of Algarve photos lately.  That obviously means it’s time for a bit more ‘lamb and salad’.

Have a happy weekend, whatever your weather!  Spare a minute to drop in on Cate with your six words?

P.S.  I don’t normally do ‘plugs’ but if you saw my 6WS last week and liked the ‘teapot book’ you might like to look at Joanne’s stuff.

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Six word Saturday

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What else we did at Easter

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Phone a friend, of course!  One of the lovely aspects of this Easter was that Lisa was able to renew a friendship from her very earliest years.

This exquisitely folded book, made by Joanne, is a lasting memento of their meeting.  It fits so well in Lisa’s beautiful, artistic home, with her hand-painted flowers and birds.  There’s always a project at Lisa’s, and after our visit to Butterfly World, she asked for some photos to begin another. That evening we dragged out old photo albums from school days and giggled over the pigtails and pinafore frocks.

The weekend weather was a little unpredictable, and Sunday brought a good soaking in the park, complete with hail stones.  On Monday we opted to spend time in the Museum of Hartlepool, safe from the elements, before a swift stride along the seafront.

Tuesday saw the lovely lady heading home, and me bereft, for a while.  But I have so much joy to look back on.  How about you?

You can join me at Six Word Saturday, if you like.  If not, I’ll see you on Monday, for a rather unusual, industrial walk.

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What made you happy this week?

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I was very slow to warm to street art, but an hour or two last year in the Algarve’s graffiti capital, Olhao, finally convinced me.  It can transform the ugly and unloved.  If you haven’t seen any of Dario Silva’s work, you might like to follow the link to Olhão.

Kazimierz, in Kraków, is another of those ‘grungy’ areas where imagination has been allowed to roam.  Who wouldn’t be happy ‘Singing in the rain’?

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This little lady gazed artfully at me from a shop doorway in Faro.  Using her womanly wiles to sell.  I resisted, but she caught my attention.

Paula’s theme of Urban Art in Thursday’s Special gave me the opportunity to post something that made me very happy.  In Drama in the Streets I was drawn to the striking lady figure, who seemed to recall a painting in my memory.  Try as I might, I haven’t been able to find her in the art world. If anyone has any ideas, I’d be grateful?  But more importantly, have a happy weekend!

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This is the final part of my 3 Days, 3 Quotes challenge and I’d like to say a big thank you to The Happy Traveler for my nomination.  If you’ve enjoyed it and would like to join in, please feel free to do so.  And now for my six words…

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Where does your heart lead you?

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Inevitable that it should be the Algarve, don’t you think?  But maybe not so inevitable that it should lead to the Weekly Photo Challenge?

Hope you have a happy Saturday and a great weekend!  Don’t forget to call in on Cate.   See you on Monday for another walk?

 

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All set for a bright future!

Happy 26th birthday to my son, James!  Yesterday we went to Leeds to kick off the celebrations in style.  His new apartment had been looking very bland and white and needed an injection of colour.  A bit of artwork on the walls, rug, cushion, potted plant… and do you recognise BB8 sitting there on the windowsill?  Happy in his new home.  As we hope James will be.

It hasn’t all been smooth sailing.  Life seldom is, is it?  Leeds is a city busy reinventing itself.  An interesting juxtaposition of old and shiny new. James is a big fan of Asian cuisine, and we ate at Bar Soba in The Light- a new complex for dining and entertainment.  It’s good to be optimistic about the future.  Optimistic and full of hope, as the weekly challenge suggests.

Have a lovely weekend and I hope to see you on Monday for another walk.

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Having fun on a murky day

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It was one of those days when you just need a breath of air.  Salt spray, the wind in your hair…  Roker Pier.  Where else?  A stride across the sands, rain at your back…  Then back along the cliff top, past Bede’s Memorial.

No children in the playground.  It’s a bit damp, and the big brothers and sisters will be in school.

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Jack Sparrow’s on his own this weekend.  Our first snow arrived overnight.

What did you get up to this week?  Got time to share six words with Cate?

Enjoy your weekend, whatever you have planned.  I’ll see you on Monday, for a walk?  We have a date with some waterfalls.

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High seas and a happy family!

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Something that I seem to have in common with my Polish family is a love for the sea.  My cousin Grażyna and husband, Jarek, have their own boat on the Norfolk Broads.  Remember Tilting at Windmills?  Mostly smooth sailing, but when my uncle Włodek came to England for the first time, with his lovely lady, Weronika, they were keen to stroll beside the bracing North Sea.  The fact that it was a cool, heavily overcast day did not deter them, so long as the rain kept off.

You could be forgiven for thinking that the above photos were taken in black and white.  Not so!  With whoops of delight we watched the sea pitch and twirl, as it put on a grand display, just for us.  It was spellbinding!

The statue in the square seemed to be vainly imploring the waves.  Somewhere warm and dry was called for and the Museum of Hartlepool, with its maritime theme, fitted the bill perfectly.  An exhibition dedicated to the bombardment of Hartlepool in 1914, and featuring the iconic poppies, was a welcome bonus, as was the gaslit cafe on the paddle steamer PSS Wingfield Castle.

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Three German warships attacked our town on the morning of December 16th, 1914.  The attack left 130 people dead and more than 500 injured.

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It was almost closing time so, after kawa and herbata, we trooped happily back to ours for food.

That was my week.  How about yours?  Have you got six words to share with Cate at Show My Face?  I’ll be back on Monday, with a different kind of watery walk.  Hope to see you then.  Have a good weekend!

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How many circles can you count?

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Fuzzy glasses

Just me, having a little fun and silliness with some glasses!  I hope you had a good Christmas.  It’s all a memory now, isn’t it?  Not blurred around the edges- honestly!  I only had a couple.

It’s Saturday again and time to find six words to describe your week.  Have you been going round in Circles?  I sometimes think I have!

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Damp and disheveled, but not disheartened

Cream scone, anyone?

Cream scone, anyone?

The day was not perfect, but there were compensations.  If you like jam and cream, of course.

Let it pour! I'm inside.

Let it pour!  I’m inside.

And there'a lovely fire

There’s a lovely fire

And the promise of better to come

And maybe those clouds will blow away

After a good night's sleep

After a good night’s sleep

Maybe tomorrow

Tomorrow’s another day!

Thank you so much, everyone, for your good wishes!  The gift of glassware from Meg was especially appreciated, but with or without presents I had a splendid time.  Yes, I did make it to that waterfall, but the trip on the lake steamer didn’t happen.  My own fault, as usual.  Willful, headstrong, but mostly happy, if sometimes just a little damp.

Have a great weekend, won’t you?  I’m just going to pop in on Cate at Six word Saturday.  See you Monday at the waterfall?

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