A Photo Every Hour - Saturday 15th April 2023

Saturday 15th was the date chosen for April's photo an hour. We'd been on holiday in North Wales for the Easter break and that day we were travelling back home to the South West. 

Here's what the day looked like...

14 lovely others joined in:

Sarah joined in on Instagram

Jennifer joined in on Instagram

Andrea joined in on Instagram

Hazel from World of Joy joined in on Instagram

Bev from Confuzzledom joined in on Instagram

Jennifer from Pastry and Purls joined in on Instagram

Susie from Second Hand Susie joined in on Instagram

Christine from Christine Lucas joined in on Instagram

Sharon from Sunshine and Celandines joined in on Instagram

Jane joined in on Instagram Stories

Denise joined in on Instagram Stories

Alex joined in on Instagram Stories

Nicky joined in on Instagram Stories

Lucy joined in on Instagram Stories

And myself on Instagram and on this blog post :-) 

May's photo an hour date is Saturday 20th May - see you there!

 

 

  

 

10 Years of This Space

10 years ago, eh? Back in the era when blogging was "a big thing". The very first post on this space was published on 24th March 2013. 

It kinda feels like the blogging world has moved onto Instagram and that's okay. It has its faults (chronological order, anyone?) but overall, I think Instagram's alright. I've been saying for ages though I'd like to learn more about how to use Stories and how to use Reels. Even if I never actually use them, I like learning new stuff. Need to make a mental note to have a Google and find out how to use them properly (maybe at some point before an '11 years' post?). Anyway, I suppose I should also "drop" my Instagram links while we're on the subject. 

You can find me and my life over at duckinadress

You can find our geocaching adventures over at familyduckadventures

And you can find stuff that I find interesting (mainly history things) over at archiveofinterestingthings

I'm still here on this 'ere blogging space too, albeit posting very very occasionally (and even then, it's mostly photo an hour round-ups).

But what's changed in 10 years though?

• New decade started - 40's rather than 30's now

• Plus 1 child (with an eventful IVF journey along the way)

• Same other half

• Same house and town

• Same job (with a 1 year secondment as a postgrad careers advisor)

• Still doing photo an hour each month

• Still taking part in carnivals each year

• Plus 3 screws and a titanium plate holding my right ankle together

• Plus 1 cancer diagnosis

• Minus 1 kidney, 1 adrenal gland and 1 tumour

I would hope the next decade would be less eventful but you know, famous last words and all that. 

 

A Photo Every Hour - Saturday 18th March 2023

March's photo an hour date took place on Saturday 18th. We mostly did things around the house, a bit of baking, collected our Tesco shopping order and the major achivement of the day - having a shower completely by myself, no help required (3 weeks and 5 days after my surgery!). Looking at the grid of photos below, it also seems like it was a day of circles! :-D 

Here's what the day looked like...

10 lovely others joined in:

Josie joined in on Instagram

Jennifer joined in on Instagram

Jane joined in on Instagram Stories

Alex joined in on Instagram Stories

Denise joined in on Instagram Stories

Lucy joined in on Instagram Stories

Emma joined in on Instagram Stories

Susie from Second Hand Susie joined in on Instagram

Christine from Christine Lucas joined in on Instagram

Bev from Confuzzledom joined in on Instagram

And myself on Instagram and on this blog post :-) 

April's photo an hour date is Saturday 15th - see you there!

 

 

  

 

A Photo Every Hour - Saturday 18th February 2023

Saturday 18th was February's photo an hour date. It was the last weekend before my kidney surgery operation, which took place on Monday 20th. The consultants said it's always a good idea to increase your fitness level before surgery so we decided to pop over to a local town (Frome) and take a wander, finding some geocaches and playgrounds. It was also market day in town so we managed to pick up some yummy chocolate brownies from one of the stalls. 

Here's what the day looked like...

13 lovely others joined in:

Valerie joined in on Instagram

Sarah joined in on Instagram

Naomi joined in on Instagram

Josie joined in on Instagram

Jane joined in on Instagram Stories

Denise joined in on Instagram Stories

Rebecca joined in on Instagram Stories

Lucy joined in on Instagram Stories

Alex joined in on Instagram Stories

Bev from Confuzzledom joined in on Instagram

Christine from Christine Lucas joined in on Instagram

Susie from Second Hand Susie joined in on Instagram

Jennifer from Pastry and Purls joined in on Instagram Stories

And myself on Instagram and on this blog post :-) 

March's photo an hour date is Saturday 18th - see you there!

 

 

  

 

Winter at the Duckpond

Not entirely sure how we're in February already but here we are. I've seen some daffodils and snowdrops and I'm writing this in the sunshine so fingers crossed spring is on its way :-)

A lot seems to have happened in the last few months!

• Carnival season took place properly for the first time since 2019. We went to watch some of the smaller ones in September and October and then during the big carnival season in November, both me and Lily took part in the processions with our carnival club. Our club had decided to take part with a walking entry rather than a cart and we wore our 'Alice in Wonderland' costumes from 2018. It was good fun and great opportunity for the children of the club to take part. Lily was going to be one of the Alices and I made her costume for her. We really enjoyed it but oh my gosh, it was busy! In all the years I've been taking part in carnivals, I've never seen the crowds so big. Which is good, of course - more people in theory means more people know about the processions and therefore more money for charity. A team from Bridgwater Carnival created a cart to take part in the Queen's Platinum Jubilee last year and I think the publicity worked!

• Good TV we've watched - 'Mayflies' on BBC iPlayer was excellent, heart-breaking but very well acted and put together. We also watched 'The Light in the Hall' on C4 which was also really good. And we've been enjoying 'Call the Midwife' as well (as we do every year).

• Good books I've read - 'Space Hopper' by Helen Fisher was a really intriguing tale and I liked 'Good Pop, Bad Pop' by Jarvis Cocker. 

• I didn't complete my GoodReads challenge for 2022 :-( After going well over my target in 2021 (target of 52, total read 70), last year's target was 52 and I didn't quite reach it, reading 47. Still a good amount though I think. 

• I had my 40th birthday back in December. We had a day out in Weymouth for my birthday, playing on the beach, getting a hot chocolate and ending the day with a festive chip supper from our favourite chip shop. 

• We also went to Edinburgh for Hogmanay - something I'd mentioned could be my 40th birthday present many years ago. We stayed in a lovely caravan at Mortonhall Park and managed to visit lots of our favourite places over the week. One bonus was the fact that I had to work on the Tuesday of the week but of course, the 'home' in "working from home" doesn't have to be your normal residence! So I had a nice day working from our caravan with a lovely view and a roaring fire. For New Year's Eve, we didn't want to be in the centre of Edinburgh (too busy with Covid still rampant, plus we couldn't take Lily) so we ended up on the seafront at Portobello watching the fireworks and saying 'Happy New Year' to the locals who were also out watching the displays. It was lovely. 

• Lily also turned 7 - which is part , "7, wow amazing" but also part, "7, how?". She picked a birthday day trip to the seaside to do one specific activity - play Jurassic Adventure Golf in Teignmouth, Devon. I think she enjoyed it!

• Photo an hour round up for the last few months can be found here - October, November, December and January. Feburary's photo an hour date is Saturday 18th, feel free to join in if you want to. 

• Oh and yeah, I was diagnosed with suspected kidney cancer. A week before my 40th birthday - which was not exactly the best birthday present ever. 'Twas only found because the GP ordered an MRI scan to do extra investigations into the high blood pressure I've had for years (it seems to run in my Dad's side of the family). Thankfully it doesn't seem to have spread anywhere which is good. The plan is to do a radical nephrectomy operation to remove the offending kidney and tumour so that's how the first half of 2023 is going to pan out for me. It's also going to involve lots of hot chocolates as that's the treat I give myself after every hospital appointment :-) 

Anyway, how was your winter/Christmas/New Year?

 

A Photo Every Hour - Saturday 21st January 2023

The first photo an hour for 2023 took place on Saturday 21st January. The Small Person had requested a couple of birthday day trips and that Saturday was the first one. She had chosen to go to Teignmouth in Devon because she really wanted to play Jurassic Adventure Golf on the seafront :-D

Here's what the day looked like...

10 lovely others joined in:

Josie joined in on Instagram

Sarah joined in on Instagram

Lucy joined in on Instagram Stories

Jane joined in on Instagram Stories

Denise joined in on Instagram Stories

Emma joined in on Instagram Stories

Jennifer from Pastry and Purls joined in on Instagram

Hazel from World of Joy joined in on Instagram

Bev from Confuzzledom joined in on Instagram

Christine from Christine Lucas joined in on Instagram

And myself on Instagram and on this blog post :-) 

February's photo an hour date is Saturday 18th - see you there!

 

 

A Photo Every Hour - Saturday 17th December 2022

The last photo an hour of 2022 (where did that year go!?) took place on Saturday 17th December. It was a rather chilly day with a mystery Christmas trip to see Father Christmas...

Here's what the day looked like...

11 lovely others joined in:

Jennifer joined in on Instagram

Naomi joined in on Instagram

Josie joined in on Instagram

Kezzie joined in on Instagram

Janet joined in on Instagram Stories

Lucy joined in on Instagram Stories

Rebecca joined in on Instagram Stories

Alex joined in on Instagram Stories

Bev from Confuzzledom joined in on Instagram

Christine from Christine Lucas joined in on Instagram

Susie from Second Hand Susie joined in on Instagram

And myself on Instagram and on this blog post :-) 

Jane and myself have picked the dates for 2023, feel free to steal the below image to keep track of everything :-) 

The first photo an hour date for 2023 is Saturday 21st January - see you there!