RestFULL days


Poppa's Bench

For the last few days we have been relaxing at Granny’s.  After the frantic pace of our travels so far, we have switched gears and slowed things way down.  Jane has been tending to the garden, mowing the lawn, and trimming the bushes.  I have been refinishing Poppa’s garden bench and doing a little more drafting work.  Poppa was an extremely detailed person, so refinishing the bench to his exacting standards has taken a lot of effort.  

Kingston shopping
In between these tasks, we have taken Granny to Kingston (shopping), we have gone to Sainsbury’s a couple of times to pick up food for our evening meals, and overall enjoying being locals.  Granny has lost a tremendous amount of weight since the last time we visited.  We have been trying to get her to eat as much as possible.  We think she has been doing quite well.  We have enjoyed many delicious meals together.  While Granny may not be gaining much weight, her delicious desserts have certainly helped us put on a few pounds.  We have filled up on rice pudding, bread pudding, and butter cream cakes.  Yum!

On Sunday, we took a lovely walk around the woods at Bushy Park.  Bushy Park and the Debnam family go back many years.  When Jane’s mother and sisters were young they spent many happy days at the park, as did Jane and her cousins William and Ralph.  

More flowers

The bushes of Bushy Park
We strolled along the pathways past vivid pink and purple azaleas.  Around one corner we found the most enormous rhubarb. Imagine the strawberry Rhubarb pies one could make (if only it was not poisonous. Scattered between the groves are small ponds filled with ducks and swans. We saw many young children exploring the streams and playing amongst the groves. We walked past a large tree trunk lying on the ground that was split open at one end in such a manner that it looks like it might be Captain Hook’s old nemesis. Granny recalled how Jane’s mother and her sisters used to play for hours on this old tree trunk “their crocodile”.  As we walked past it, we heard a group of children tell their parents that they would be playing at the Croc.  It appears that this creature belongs to many generations. 

Giant Rhubarb

We then sat at the café for about an hour.  We enjoyed the afternoon watching people having a good day at the park.  After a pastry and coffee, we returned home and prepared to leave for the next leg of our adventure.

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