Spring, St David's Day and Shrove Tuesday

I enjoy celebrating special days, not just our personal birthdays and anniversaries but celebrations that are for everyone. Today had three such celebrations - the start of spring, St David's Day  and Shrove Tuesday.

The meteorological spring starts today, time to change my stitching ornaments around. I don't usually share my craft hobby here as I have a dedicated craft blog Aimetu's Stitching.  

My Jardin Prive tree is now full of blossom, I have four trees that I change accordingly, and my Drawn Thread frame will hold March with the birds gathering twigs for their nests. 

Although Hubby and I have no Welsh blood we have always had a connection with this beautiful country. As children, long before we met, both our families enjoyed many holidays in North Wales. In the 1980s we holidayed on the mid-West coast as Hubby's parents had a holiday caravan there, and when our children were younger we had a caravan in Tywyn for ten years. Our connection is even stronger now as for the last ten years our daughter has lived in South Wales and her partner is Welsh. 

So, although it's another opportunity for me to do some specific baking and cooking, it is a day we enjoy celebrating. Tonight's dinner was potato and leek pie with Welsh cheese with beef koftas, washed down with a glass of SA Brains Gold. I baked Bara Brith with the fruit soaked in Welsh whisky which we enjoyed after our meal with a glass of Penderyn whisky which is made not far from our daughter's home. 

I always have fresh flowers in our home, I have been known to also have some whilst on holiday especially if we are self catering for a week or more. From today until Easter our house will also have daffodils in my grandmother's jug vase. They are still in bud today but here's a photo from previous celebration times. 

Of course we also had pancakes as it's Shrove Tuesday, just one as we were full of Welsh delights. It was great to see on the news that the Atherstone Ball Game took place again after being cancelled last year. It's a tradition that's been going for many years but not one we would join in with ... it's certainly rough! 

A busy start to March but life certainly feels a little more like it used to.