Friday 19 May 2017

This week's smiles...week 221

Hello all.  Here we are at our usual catch up of the week's smiles.  many thank to all who joined in the fun last week.

My week has been full of aches and pains with my hip but there is always lots to smile about here as you know so here's my share for this week....



I've been snapping more flowers that have bloomed this week for you....I am really enjoying the colours that are opening out in every corner of the garden and it would be selfish of me not to share them.



These are two little memory bears I've made this week from a much loved Grandad's pair of pyjamas.  Each time I take on these sort of jobs I am able to learn a little of very special people and these two are to help a couple of children grieve over someone who was very special in their lives.....I feel so honoured to be able to help at times like these.





That was all I was going to share but this morning I noticed our Rhododendron coming into bloom and......


....the creme de la creme is this beauty.  This Peony has only got one bloom this year but it has a tale to go with it....

The original plant was one from the garden my hubby grew up in and before his father died I took a cutting [that everyone said wouldn't grow].  It, of course grew, into a beautiful plant in the garden of our old house [I have green fingers].  When it came time to move we took cuttings off so we could give one each to my 3 sister- in - laws but we moved at the wrong time to plant ours in our garden so it was planted in our son Mark's garden.  Last year we divided his so now we have one and he does too.....The love is spreading 💓


I hope you have enjoyed my shares this week and you will leave me a little comment before linking up below to share your smiles.
Hugs,
Annie x

10 comments:

Neet said...

What a lovely story about the history of your Peony. As you say - so the love grows.
Can now imagine two little ones snuggling up to grandad's teddies - what joy you are spreading. Sorry to hear about your hips, mine are playing up too but I should not have been walking along the prom.
Hugs, Neet xx

Lynn Holland said...

I'll be back later .... in a rush this morning xxx

Twiglet said...

Fab colours Annie and those little bears are so lovely. See you later.

tilly said...

beautiful flowers and little bears, hope you are soon feeling better
Tilly x

Lisca said...

Two very special Little bears. I can imagine it wioll be such a confort to the new owners to hug something that is wearing grandad's pijamas. How special is that!
I love the story behind the peony. That is wonderful.
I hope your hip problems calm down a bit. Aches and pains are supposed to be normal when you get older, but they are so annoying and at time depressing. So: Keep smiling!
Have a good week,
Lisca

Felix the Crafty Cat said...

Hi Annie, gorgeous flowers. I so love Rhododendron and the Peony. Ours are just coming out but you are further south so they probably flower a bit earlier than ours. The bears are gorgeous too, the children are going to love them. Thanks for the visit to mine too. I tried not to be too detailed about the fisherman taking the hook out as the Pike did manage to give him a little bite. Take care and have a nice weekend, Angela xXx

Elizabeth said...

Hi Annie, what a lovely story behind the peony. It's such a beautiful keepsake for you and your family to share. Our gardens have been giving us a lot to smile about this week - I've shared photos from mine too. We seem to have a lot of plants in common, for example, the hardy geraniums and London Pride. the memory bears are, as usual, lovely - the perfect keepsake for the grieving children. I hope you are feeling better today, and still resting as much as possible. Hugs, Ellie xx

Lynn Holland said...

What a beautiful story about the peonies. There is one in our garden that was here when we moved in 26 years ago. No flowers here yet though, we are 1000 feet above sea level and it's always colder up here.
Mind you, you'd think it would be warmer we must be nearer the sun being so high up haha.
Was at a funeral early yesterday that's why I've had to pop back now. Have a good week Annie, kiss Milly for me xxx

Julia Dunnit said...

I'm late to WOYWW so am commenting here instead. First of all, commiserations over the hip pain, it's horrid, nowhere to put yourself to adjust it, I hope you're taking the pills as well as doing the resting thing. That's the difficult part for someone like you, being still without feeling you're wasting time. The Pom poms are cute. Ive seen them somewhere all worked onto a backing sheet to make a cute rug, nice on the tootsies! We stayed in a place with bobbly bathmats which I thought might be uncomfortable underfoot, but they were bliss!

mamapez5 said...

What a lovely variety of flowers you have in your garden Annie. The peony story is beautiful. I hope it continues from strength to strength.
The bears are also very lovely. It is such a great idea, and I am sure these will be very loved bears. Kate x