Hi there – just dropping by to say I am still around but for some reason still very busy – this is not what I expected when I gave up working, I feel I am working twice as hard now as then.
I hope you all had a wonderful Easter enjoying the glorious weather we couldn’t have timed our party better and of course it ended up as a real garden party (I needn’t have cleaned the living room quite so thoroughly after all!).
Many of the plants had started to grow quickly in the warm sunshine – we are usually quite late in this area being high up and I was willing my pretty Aquilegia plants, which have self seeded all over the garden, to open in time for the party….. but sadly they didn’t. But no matter there were plenty of the bulbs and Primula still blooming and the blossom….hasn’t it just been delightful?
The party took some preparing in the end – for new readers this was a party for my son-in-law’s 40th birthday combined with an Easter party as it fell on Easter Sunday, we held it at my house because my daughter’s house is so much smaller.
We had Easter eggs and decorations amongst the party decor. I spent some time covering polystyrene eggs with tissue paper which I hung from twiggy branches supported in a pot of sand hidden with a topping of moss, then added a few fluttery butterflies with my glue gun.
I also had fun making these Easter food ‘flags’ to help guests identify the different sandwiches, salads and quiches. 
And of course we planned an Easter hunt around the garden for the children though the eggs had to be hidden well in the shade so they did not melt in the heat.
We had a day or two in the garden beforehand – setting out all the pots that had been in winter hibernation and adding a few inexpensive pansies and primulas for a touch of colour.
We removed the covers from our garden tables and chairs and brought out the large parasol, then hung out the white solar lanterns from my daughter’s wedding a few years ago – they had been stored in the loft and I was quite surprised they still worked. We also bought some Festoon lighting and DH made a great job of stringing it across the garden using the clothes prop and an old piece of aluminium tubing he found in the garage.
At night it looked so magical……
Our guests were handed nibbles and cocktails on arrival….. I had spent four days making a mountain of ice cubes in readiness – and ice-cold drinks were very much in demand.
The table was laden with food – sandwiches, mini wraps and four different salads all ordered from M&S by my daughter. For the true meat eaters her MIL bought a selection of pies, sausage rolls and scotch eggs from a local award-winning butchers and my contribution was some small quiches and of course the cake.
The cake was certainly one project too many – it nearly didn’t happen when twice the ready rolled icing stuck to the kitchen work top despite the oodles of icing sugar I had sifted beneath. I am no cake decorator and it was very rushed so this is extremely wobbly and the icing a bit cracked in my desperation to get it onto the cake! And exactly what is it you may ask……a circuit board of course – as son-in-law is an electrician come electrical engineer and is always playing about with circuit boards. I had to have precise instruction for this from DH as I had no idea what I was doing.
For desserts we kept it simple with profiteroles, a huge bowl of mixed berries with crushed meringue and double cream to make Eton mess and some tiny party cheesecakes and chocolate bites.
Although not everyone was very impressed!!!
….but all in all it was such a wonderful day.
And the best bit…..Libbie (Little L) had made me an Easter present from some DAS clay a beautiful little pink heart – of course I will treasure it.
It has taken me a while to straighten the house up again after the party – putting dishes back and packing bits and pieces away – I am feeling quite exhausted now – I could barely drag myself to Yoga on Tuesday morning and somehow I need to gather up a little more energy to start on the Christening dress….we need to do a bit of fabric hunting in the next day or two and celebrate yet another birthday, but on a much smaller scale this time, before we can finally escape up to Scotland for a well earned rest.
where the journey takes me 2 
How fantastic. Your garden looked amazing, can you leave the lights up now? I have some outside tho we are heading for it never gets dark! Scotland! Well done to all.
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We have taken the lanterns down for now – I might put them up again in the summer for a while – they are so pretty by day or night. We have left the Festoon lights up though.
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You excelled yourself Vivien. What an amazing job. You should start a new career as a party planner. 😆
The lights, decorations and food all look fantastic, not to mention the birthday cake!
I hope you’ll give yourself a well earned rest now. X
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My trouble is I never know when to stop! I do enjoy being creative but it is often at the expense of getting other jobs done. One rest coming up – I hope x
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Wow. You are so creative. I love your decorations and the food labels are so cute. The tissue-covered eggs much nicer than the mass-produced bought ones I have. I may have to give this a try but I fear I will end up with a sticky mess.
You certainly are a lovey mother-in-law. The cake is grand.
What a beautiful garden! What is the plant with the flowers that look like love hearts?
I hope your warm start to spring is not another sign of global warming. It is stinking hot here but should be cooling down. Going to be 27° today!
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The tissue eggs went better than expected – you can also use paper napkins, which I might try next year. The flowers are called Bleeding Hearts or Dicentra Spectabilis – it is one of my all time favourites.
I am sure it is global warming – it hailed today and has turned cold again – very strange weather patterns going on.
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Wow what an amazing day you had,well done on all your wonderful preparation. The Easter egg tree looked so pretty I might even try that myself next year! Will you be going up to Scotland on one of the May Day’s I think you deserve it.Weather has turned cooler down south and we have rain today,still the garden and allotment needs a drink.Have a lovely weekend.
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I have been so busy I am not even sure what day or month it is now but I am sure we will be in Scotland around the May day. I also expect the weeds up there will be knee high as we missed a visit with having the party preparations.
Weather sunny again here today…so far!
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Your garden looked fabulous, as did the food. Enjoy your trip to Scotland.
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Thanks Ann – I might even get to sit in the garden this afternoon if the weather holds – that will be a novelty as I so often am just working in it.
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Enchanting Viv. I wish I’d been there! Well done x
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A lot of work for one day but everyone enjoyed themselves. x
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What a good thing you ‘retired’!! Fabulous job with the party–everything looked so great. A memorable occasion for all concerned, I am sure, with all the loving touches you supplied. Don’t overdo the garden work in Scotland–make sure you (and DH) take time for some well-earned rest. Safe travels.
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I am beginning to wonder if you ever retire – it is not what I imagined!
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Wow that all looks and sounds fantastic but incredibly hard work. How on earth did you manage to go to work before? It looks like it was a runaway success – well deserved- hope you manage to have a well deserved “rest” soon xx
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The hard work is always cleaning the house and preparing the garden. Buying in ready made sandwiches was a good idea and saved a lot of time on the day.
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Sorry the above comment was from me but it came out as anonymous xx
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The wordpress commenting form is maybe not as easy as a Blogger one. I need to look in to it and add some advice for bloggers leaving comments. xx
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What a lovely garden! What is that yellow flowering shrub/ tree?
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Thank you it is only a small back garden here in Yorkshire but now the shrubs have grown it is becomming a lot more private. The shrub is called Berberis Darwinii – common name Darwin’s Barberry.
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Thank you 😍
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Fantastic event! You shouldn’t have excelled so much; now you will be in constant demand to host all the family events, haha!
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I am already the family event organiser – I am training my daughters so I can hand over and retire!!
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