Recently our outside security light stopped working. We got it checked by an electrician who told us that the light fitting was broken and needed to be replaced. Locally you can have any colour light you like as long as it is black. Our Sunday mission was to go a little further afield to a countryside shop that we thought might stock a white outdoor light.

In the morning before setting off on our mission we visited mum who completely blanked me, turning away from me and pulling her hand away, so I gave her a quick hug and left. Sadly on this occasion she knew what she was doing.

This meant that we had lunch in Mere Park earlier than we had expected which was not a bad thing as the service is always rather slow. The food however is always delicious and on this occasion I chose poached salmon and pasta salad. Arriving early also meant more time for browsing the store. We ended up leaving with some new cushions for our outdoor chairs; our current ones are showing their age and the seat pads have become uncomfortable. I also couldn’t resist buying another colouring book as if I didn’t have enough already.

When we visited the outdoor countryside shop that I had in mind I realised that I had muddled it up with another shop. Mr C came to the conclusion that shop I had been thinking of was Charlie’s in Shrewsbury. Mr C was right and so was I with regards to the lights; they had several lights in white to choose from. We left with our purchase and arrived home just in time for pre dinner drinks with the elder Mr & Mrs C.

Later at home we enjoyed Normandy Pork which had been cooking to perfection in the slow cooker whilst we had been out on our adventures.

We spent the morning looking at temporary residential care options for my mum who has still not fully recovered from her recent bout of delirium. We have a winner but will check out a few other options before making a decision.

After our visits to care homes it was time for lunch. We hesitated only briefly before deciding to return to Hodnet Hall, one of our favourite places to have lunch. This time I chose humous wraps. After lunch I couldn’t resist the short walk to see the Magnolias again, they are magnificent and the sunshine was showing them off to perfection.

Later we visited mum to find that she was not accepting visitors. She had once again refused to have her hair cut after looking forward to the pampering session for days and was giving the care workers a hard time.

We left…

The sun had got its hat on so it would have been rude not to go out for lunch.

Hodnet Hall provides lovely lunches and cakes, a perfect choice. The gardens are lovely at this time of year with colourful blooms in flower and bluebells along the pathway.

Lunch and a sunny garden walk what more could I ask for…