Sunday

 Good morning.  The temperature has dropped again, as has the wind, and we have a light frost.  It would be lovely if the day turned out to be fine and sunny after yesterday's rain.

What did I do yesterday?  Well, precious little, to be honest.  The weather didn't encourage one to go out and indoors I felt lethargic and a bit weary so I took it easy with a bit of exercise now and again, ringing the changes.  I put one load of washing in but didn't take it out again (does anyone else do that?) so I've just started it off on a quick wash this morning to freshen it up.  The rack is unfolded and ready and I do feel a bit more motivated this morning.

All being well, I rather fancy going out for a walk today, weather permitting.  I need some air to blow away those cobwebs.  Apart from that, by late afternoon I will have ironing so that will keep me busy in the evening and there's always more episodes of Voyager to enjoy while I iron.

It's short and sweet today because there's not a lot else going on really.  Maybe I can have a chat with Beth this afternoon in lieu of out usual Sunday get together.  We'll see.

Take care and have a pleasant Sunday.  What are your plans for today?  Anything nice?

xx

Saturday

Good morning, everyone!  How has the week been for you?  It seems to have cooled down quite a lot after a fairly mild day but yesterday's forecast of snow today has changed to sleet.  Yuck!

While I was out shopping on Thursday morning, a recipe book jumped into my trolley.  Honest, it did!!  Until Eileen mentioned this book, I'd never heard of Dr Rupy Aujla so I'd looked him up and found and found a series of cookery programmes on iPlayer that had been broadcast in 2019.  How did I miss them, I ask myself.

Anyway, this book is called Doctor's Kitchen 3-2-1 and, basically, it has recipes that have three portions of fruit and veg, serve two and are cooked in one pan, hence the title.  The recipes look lovely; some of the ingredients are rather outside what I usually use but I am sure they can be substituted.   I'm looking forward to a good stroll through the contents.

The chat with Jackie was lovely yesterday morning.  We missed last week as something had gone wrong with her car and it had to be taken in for repairs.  As soon as it is permitted, I will be back on her front door step, Christmas present in hand, to have a face to face chat again, but in the meanwhile, these online chats are a great substitute.

That was pretty much it for the day.  I did a bit of housework but the place is pretty up to scratch anyway and I then enjoyed the usual knitting, reading, watching telly (I'm enjoying Star Trek: Voyager on Netflix at the moment), snugged up in my warm and comfortable chair.  I'm still working through the Christmas candles too; there's something very cosy and comfortable about a lit candle, isn't there?

Today is going to be exactly the same!  I have some washing and then drying and ironing, there's always the daily stuff - wiping things down, bathroom and loo, making the bed, meals and clearing up and so on and so forth.  It's supposed to be wet all day so staying indoors sounds the best thing.  I really need to get outside for walks more but maybe not in the rain/sleet/whatever!

Time to start in the kitchen by emptying the dishwasher and then getting everything ready for the day, not to mention the second hot drink of the day.   Stay warm, dry, safe and well, everyone, whatever your plans and expectations for the day.  xx

Friday

 Good morning, everyone.  

Yesterday went well.  I started off with a shops, some for me (not that much really) and some for Beth.  Alex is now home after finishing his end of module exams and, I think, intends to stay home for a while.  I'm quite relieved in a way and I'm pretty sure Beth is as well.  So she needed to stock up on things.  Feeding a nearly 23 year old with a hearty appetite takes some doing and a laden fridge!

I went to Sainsbury's because attached to the shop is the Specsavers I use.  Before Christmas I picked up one of my two new pairs of glasses; the other pair hadn't come so they said they would let me know when.  I thought I had better check with them what was going on as a month plus is a long time to wait.

So, one laden trolley later, I went to the entrance, explained the situation, said I didn't have an appointment but . . .   They checked, found the glasses, invited me in and five minutes later I was walking out wearing them.  They were my first choice frames and the ones I had intended to wear all the time.

I did also note that the bag with my glasses in also held another case and I suspect that they had sent another pair of the ones I took home before Christmas or, possibly, the later pair that had been made before Christmas but not sent.   I didn't ask and they didn't say!  Not my problem!

Once home, I popped the frozen stuff in the freezer - I've been looking for ages for bags of frozen Chinese stir fry vegetables, as the fresh packs never keep very well, and nowhere seemed to have any so when I saw Sainsbury's did, I pounced and bought three bags which should see me through a good number of fakeaways - and then started my chat with Chris

The chat with Chris was, as always, lots of fun and a good laugh.  We're both looking forward to warmer days and an easing of rules so that we can again meet in the garden for a good chat.

Beth asked me not to take her shopping round until the afternoon because she had a meeting.  However, when I turned up, we could only chat very briefly as she had another meeting!  Both online, of course.  Not to worry, there's always online.

The Slimming World Zoom meeting was good fun - we were all enjoying it so much that the meeting finished without us realising it and we all got chucked out!!  We've got a few new members so there are more contributions to the chat and it's all really pleasant.

Today is the two usual Friday things.  A chat with Jackie this morning and the cleaner this afternoon.  I much clear my clutter corners, as usual on Friday, and make sure she doesn't spend half her time just moving my stuff about to get to the corners.

And that's about it for the day.  It's very much the same thing each week and I expect you know very much what I say each day before I say it really but that's life at the moment.   Apologies for the mundane-ness of it all.  :-)
Stay well, keep warm and, whatever else you do or don't do, please be safe, both for yourself and anyone else you are in contact with.  xx

Thursday

 Good morning, everyone.  So sorry this is late - it's been a busy morning.  Right now it's mild and the sun is shining brightly.  So nice after overnight rain.

Yesterday was a good day.  It started off with a trip into town to pick up my prescriptions.  The car park, which is usually jam packed full, had just one other car in it when I arrived just before nine and, while there were enough people that it wasn't totally deserted, High Street felt very empty.  I got my tablets from Boots and popped into M&S for some f&v.  They're blocked off the top floor but have been very sensible and moved more essential clothing downstairs.  All the fashion clothing has gone and instead there's underwear, children's clothing, sleepwear and basics like jeans, jumpers, etc.  Yes, I did, I bought a top and a bra.  The latter was planned!

Once home, I had my chat with Val and very nice it was too.  She's well and so is her family.  Once that was finished, I bustled around getting ready for my personal training session with Lindsey - change of clothing and getting out the equipment, such as it is.  I have a balance ball and a balance plate (I think that's what it's called), some weights, a step and resistance bands and with these Lindsey is able to put together a progressive programme that works for me.  It was fun.

Then I went over to Beth's for coffee and to take the rest of the ironing, etc.  I only stayed half an hour which was her break but it was nice.

So, all in all, a busy day, but a good one.  Today is progressing well but I won't go into that now.  I'm late because I did an early shop, went to the optician and then had a chat with Chris.  I'm back over to Beth's in a short while, to take her shopping.  Alex is coming home today (his exams have just finished) and is staying for at least a fortnight which means that she needs more in the way of food!  It also means I won't be seeing her face to face for ten days.  He's coming home in the train so we thought it wiser really.  I will miss the live interaction but thank goodness for the Internet/Zoom, etc.

Well, I'd better sort out my breakfast.  Better late than never.  Take care, have a good day and be happy.  xx

Wednesday

 Good morning, everyone!  No frost this morning and we had plenty of rain yesterday afternoon so I stayed inside in the warm and dry.

I sorted out the high cupboards - two of them, in fact.  They contained glasses, really cheap, everyday glasses and the ones at the front, often used and washed in the dishwasher, had gone cloudy.  I got them all down, washed them, discarded all the cloudy ones into the recycling box and put the others back.  I now have an empty  small, high cupboard and must have a think about what could go out there.

The chat with Dad was lovely.  He seems well, considering everything, and in good spirits.  As he says, his life now isn't much different to how it would be without the virus.  The only difference is no visitors.

Today is a bit busier.  I'm off into town in a while to pick up my meds from Boots.  My weekly chat with Cal is this morning and then I have my online personal training with Lindsey.  Finally, I need to take some things round to Beth in the afternoon.  Nothing major but It will keep me nicely busy.

Take care, stay safe and well and have a happy day.  xx

Tuesday

 Good morning, everyone.  After a fairly unpleasant weekend, yesterday's weather was lovely.  Very cold, sure, but bright and sunny all day with clear, blue skies and no wind.  It was so cheering.  Today's forecast is not so nice with rain predicted this afternoon.  We will see.

I seized the moment (or the ideal conditions) to get out into the shed and finally get the upright freezer sorted.  It wasn't a difficult job, there was very little rubbish in it, but the shelves had become a bit untidy and the top was very iced up.  About an hour later, it was all done and dusted and, for the first time ever, I think, I have two defrosted, tidy freezers at the same time plus a complete list of contents.  Cheers!

It was jolly cold work though so I decided to go in and get warmed up rather than do anything else outside.  Maybe I will pop out this morning and deal with the least cluttered bed which is just getting a bit weedy and needs sorting before it gets warmer and the weeds take over.

The rest of the time was spent doing the usual routine-y stuff and very pleasant it was too.  I caught up with Pottery Throwdown and agreed with the elimination this week.  I loved the bowl but the fruit wasn't great at all, very messy.  I'd have definitely given house room to the bowl though, it was wonderful.  You could tell where they had devoted their time.

Some time this week, I have to pop into town to pick up my meds, but not today.  Maybe tomorrow, I'll see how I feel.  And when I do my fruit and veg shopping, I'm going to Sainsbury's as I need to pop into the optician there to ask what's happened to my second pair of glasses!   Unfortunately, I won't be able to go very early but if I arrive at eight, I can do my shopping and then go to Specsavers when they open at nine.

As for today, the plan is to tackle the raised bed and a couple more higher cupboards in the kitchen while this afternoon I have the weekly Zoom chat with Dad.  Before then, weather permitting, I might pop out for a walk.  I'll see how I feel.

That's about it really.  We're all living the quiet life at the moment really.  How's the week started for you?

Take care, stay warm and be safe.  xx

Monday

 Good morning, everyone, and welcome to Monday!  Well, we had snow but it was very disappointing (or satisfactory, depending on your point of view) as it was very wet snow, didn't settle at all and didn't even slush really, just melted away.  It was pretty to watch it falling, I suppose, and I'm glad the roads and pavements are clear, not to mention my route out to the shed and back.
Today is predicted to be a pleasant day with sun in the morning (great!) and high cloud in the afternoon.  No rain but fairly chilly.  That's OK!

I fired Beth off a message yesterday morning and she replied saying let's make it an online chat as she was feeling achey and a bit 'fluey' (vaccine, we suspect) so that's what we did and it was really nice.  As it happens, it was perfectly safe to drive over but I'm glad I mentioned it as she didn't really feel up to having a visitor.  We managed to chat non-stop for around forty five minutes anyway!

I did get the bedding changed, washed and, get me, even ironed!  There are times when the tumble dryer is a real blessing.  It's one of the small but huge joys of life to get into a bed with fresh sheets, isn't it.  Such a pleasure.

The other useful thing I did was to finally start on the upright freezer.  I sorted out the top two shelves (which were the worst of the lot) and wrote a list of what's where.  Later on, I will do the other shelves and defrost the thing, using my fan heater and hair dryer to speed up the process.  I'll be glad to tick it off the list.

I have quite a stack of knitted hexagons although not nearly enough to make anything useable yet.  At the moment, there's three of each colour, same knitted pattern (e.g. a heart, a cable, etc) so I think what I will do is make another couple of each pattern and then lay them out and see what size blanket they make.
I've ordered some silver grey yarn which sounds daft when I'm using up bits but I need more of one colour for all the sides, top and bottom half hexagons to level the edges before crocheting a trim.  It's nowhere near ready for them yet but, as I will need a lot of them, may as well start making them sooner rather than later.

So today is freezer, the usual housework, meal prep, etc, the flower beds in the garden could do with a bit of neatening up so maybe, if the soil isn't too hard, I will tackle one of them and there's always the telly, reading, knitting, staying warm, etc.  

What a hard life, eh!!!

May your day go well for you, whatever you have planned.  Stay safe.  xx