Monday, 19-10-26

Morning, all.  Welcome to another new week.  Another chilly start but it does feel milder than the weekend mornings.

Yesterday was a very, very sad day . . .

I'll try to remember to take and post a photo later.  It is too dark at the moment.

Here you go!

The tomato bed is no more - well, the bed is but the plants are now in the bin.  The tomatoes weren't ripening any more and there were a few signs of end of season deterioration - sort of blightish but slow moving - so I had the lot out, sorted out the usable fruit, shoved the remainder in the bin (not the compost, just in case), cleared the bed completely of weeds and dropped tomatoes, and all the canes, wire ties, etc, are safely away until next year.

I will feed the soil today with chicken manure pellets and soul from the compost, and clear any weeds as they come up.  In a few weeks I will maybe cover the soil but maybe not, I'll see how it goes.
Is there anything I could grow now to produce over winter?  Do any of you know?

Anyway - I look at the bed and feel sad.  It's been such a great year for tomatoes.  

Beth came over to me rather than me going to hers.  Annoyingly, her washing machine is playing silly sausages so she brought a pile over here.  She took the fist lot home, the second lot dried overnight and the last pile is just finishing.  I'll take it over later today. 
It was a good opportunity to have a nice chat.  It's her birthday next Monday and originally we were going to have lunch out but the next day we are eating out with Julia and Linda so we decided to have a coffee in John Lewis and then do some window shopping instead of lunch.  That'll be fun.

Today I don't exactly feel sad but can't quite think of the word.  Today was my lovely Mum's birthday. 
Usually, today I would be making the Christmas cake which Mum always did on her birthday but this year there's no Christmas cake.  I will be away, Beth and Alex will just be two and we agreed that it wouldn't be a great use of money.  If they fancy something, they can buy a little slab cake or make a tea loaf or something like that.
Not to worry, there's always next year.

Have a lovely day, everyone.  Stay warm.  xx

Sunday, 18-10-26

Morning, everyone.
Hasn't it turned chilly.  My heating is clicking on intermittently and the hoodies are in regular use.  I even wore socks to bed (very cosy) last night.  I gather some places have had frost so I am counting my blessings!

There's nothing particularly exciting in my life right now.  The days roll past with all the usual things and I am trying to ignore as much as possible all the bad thoughts and deeds swirling around the world right now.  When I say 'ignore' I don't mean not accepting that they are happening, that  wouldn't be right at all.  I guess I mean not letting them chain me down in a pit of fear.  Easier said than done at times.

Today, being Sunday is bread day.  Lindsey's sourdough is resting before it gets kneaded and then I will pop Beth's yeasted bread in without washing the pot so not a scrap of sourdough gets wasted.  :-)

I've goofed a bit and, after my Oddbox delivery, I have more fruit than I know what to do with.  I've stewed some plums already.  Pears stew quite nicely too, don't they?  And I am sure Beth will gladly take some off my hands too.

Right, well, the sourdough has rested so I'd better go and carry on.  Have a lovely Sunday and stay warm.  xx

Saturday, 17-10-26

Morning, all.  Welcome to the weekend!

I never told you what I got when I went shopping on Thursday, did I?
Not much but I did get some gifts.  Some Christmas coffee, two boxes of advent tea bags (for me and for Beth), a candle in a nice Christmas pot, some artificial poinsettia sprigs to go in a vase (MUCH cheaper than a plant which I would kill before Christmas anyway!!), some nice, warm, fluffy socks for inside and bed when it gets colder, one jar of sun dried tomatoes and two of roasted red peppers.  Those last two were from Home Bargains and were about half the price I would have to pay elsewhere.

I also got one smallish plate with holly round and another thing for my Spode Christmas Tree china.  Did I need it - no, of course not but I do love it.  Mind you, I won't be using much of it this year, being away over Christmas!

And some stuff from Food Warehouse.  :-)

Yesterday was an easy day and I just took things slowly.  Feeling more cheerful today and thank you for your very kind messages.  I think at least part of it is because it's coming up to the times of Mum and Dad's birthdays and  . . . well, you know.

We nearly all go through it at some time or other, don't we?

Today is another gentle day.  Nothing in the diary, plenty to keep me engaged at home.  It will be pleasant.
Hoping you have a lovely weekend.  Take care, stay safe and well and see you tomorrow.  xx

Friday, 16-10-26

Morning.  Just a quick one as I'm not feeling 100% today - more 'mental' than physical although one does impact the other, doesn't it.
Anyway, I have some self-help plans for today so should be feeling much happier tomorrow.

See you then and have a great Friday, whatever the weather does to us!  :-)  xx

Thursday, 15-10-26

 Good morning, everyone.  How are you?

Yesterday was definitely a Good Day.  The meetings went really well, things got decided, dates have finally been set . . . I just feel things are much further on now.
The date I need to do some training for has been put to after half term so I feel less pressured to get it all done.
And next week doesn't look so frantic now.  A relief.

I'm all up, washed and dressed because we're back to early morning personal training at seven.  It means I have to be a little more organised Wednesday evening and Thursday early morning but I can do that usually. 

So - PT first.  Chris is away so no coffee and chat.  Then I would like to drive into town to get a few bits and bobs - Beth's birthday is coming up and there's more Festive stuff in now so - pressies, etc.

And housework - always housework!!

Nothing very special today, just normal stuff.

Have a good day, stay safe and well.  xx

Wednesday

Hi!  Wednesday lands and there's no early thing in the diary.  I don't have to be out until just before eleven which feels great!

My diary is going bonkers though.  For people why are retires, it is proving almost impossible to find a meeting date that we can all attend.  There's things pencilled in, crossed out, pencilled in elsewhere, crossed out . . .  aaarrrggghhh.

I'm sure it will all sort out but I'm so glad I'm not the one having to organise it.

Having said that, the meeting I went to yesterday was great.  Really good fun and very positive.  

Today there's two.  One at eleven, meeting LEA people because there's an 'inclusion review' - nothing scary, just a 'where are you with this' kind of thing.  Should be very interesting.

Then a less formal meeting straight afterwards, quite different and I'm looking forward to that.

Housework?  What housework?  lol!!  xx

Edit:  p.s.  The new Jacquie Lawson Advent Calendar is out!!  Yes, I have . . .

Tuesday, 13-10-26

Tuesday greetings, everyone.  

One of the things about sitting at my laptop and socially mediating (is that even a term?) at this time is noticing how much later light is dawning from day to day.  It'll be brighter for a while in under two weeks, when the clock goes back but, right now, seven am feels like it should be proper light and it really isn't.
Mind you, maybe the longer nights is one reason why I am sleeping better at the moment.  Do you find that the darker evenings and mornings are more conducive to better sleep?

Yesterday happened!  Circuits was a lot busier than last week.  Last week there were four of us - this week, double that number so it was lovely and chatty!

Did I get the housework done.  Er . . . well, a bit.  And I changed the bedding, got it washed and dried in the dryer (such extravagance) so it just needed folding nicely.  

I received some paperwork from school and went through it before today's meeting - it wasn't much and didn't take long.
I didn't get on with the training but I'm half way through and have time.
I fired off several semi-related messages.

And I got on with a bit of crochet - still practising!

And I sorted out my kitchen before bedtime.  Yay.

Best of all, I got a message from Kay saying things had calmed down and she would be returning to her job in December, should I still want her.  You can guess what I said to that!!

Today starts with Groove.  I'll be going on my own as Chris and Steve are away for a midweek break.  Then I have a meeting in school which should be good.  Then I'm back home so maybe, just maybe, a bit of housework will get done.  Fingers crossed.

Oh, and I need to look up a few things for another meeting tomorrow.  Being a governor isn't always like this, it is just at the moment things are a bit busy.  And I really don't mind the training stuff - it keeps my brain active.

Better stop rambling and say goodbye.  Stay safe and warm, everyone.  xx