Monday 18 March 2024

Monday evening, 18-03-24

Hi, everyone, welcome to the blog.  What a lovely day it has been, packed with small pleasures.

The sun was shining as I set off for Circuits.  We were a small group today, two of us to start with (plus Lindsey, of course) and then H turned up too.  It's much easier to feel energetic in the sunshine.  :-)
So when I came home again . . .

. . .  I opened up the garden room, uncovered the egg chair, swept off all the spiders' webs and moved it - like this.

And enjoyed my post workout coffee in the sunshine.

I had my breakfast outside too.  Lovely.

One of the nicest things, for me, about summer is being able to have my first coffee and my meals in the fresh air.  Bliss.

It was just warm enough while the sun shone.  Later on, the sun went in and it wasn't quite comfortable enough so I shut up the bifolds, covered the egg chair and came back in.

I changed my plans a bit after that.
As I had started a sort out in my bedroom, I decided to focus on that and get it totally done so I got everything out, sorted all my clothes, put the Arctic stuff (boots, gloves, hat, yaktrax, thermals) up high because I really doubt I will need any of them before next winter now, made decisions about what to keep and what to donate and packed the donated stuff in labelled black bags so Lindsey won't have to sort them.  They're now sitting on the spare bed waiting for when Lindsey starts asking for donations.  And a few things got chucked away but really not much - I was happy about that.
Once all was tidy again, I cleaned, dusted, swept and, finally, changed the sheets before sweeping the landing too.
I felt so, so good when it was all done - I love getting into a freshly changed bed, don't you?  And the old sheets are now clean and drying.

I walked and tapped my way to Morrisons for some milk as I had run out.  It was definitely feeling a bit chilly by then.  Then, finally, I made a batch of rice pud in Thermione - cheaper than in the slow cooker because it takes under an hour.

Tomorrow starts with the walk to Groove with Chris, tapping a few boxes as we go, and the walk back again afterwards.  
Then, after breakfast (outside?  who knows), I'm off to Beth's.  She is on holiday this week and is doing some clearing out too so I offered to lend a hand.  

Have you had lovely, springlike weather too?  I do hope it hangs around; I've checked BBC weather and it looks to be dull but dry so maybe the sun will break through - you never know.

Have a good evening and tomorrow, whatever you have planned.  xx



Sunday 17 March 2024

Sunday evening, 17-03-24

 Good evening, all.  Back on track again this evening.
Goodness it was a dull, wet old morning although it brightened up this afternoon and we even got some sunshine which was nice.
I contacted Lindsey and, yes, she's doing a pop up shop again in May so the stuff I am sorting out has somewhere to go.  I like that; it will either raise some money for the Blossom Suite or will be taken over to Ghana (I think it's Ghana) for people in a village there.  A really good incentive to continue sorting out and clearing things I haven't worn this winter.

Sunday lunch was a whoppa (healthy and loads of veg!) and, when I sat down after clearing up, I promptly fell asleep.  Nice.
Really, I should have done a bit of gardening but . . .

Tomorrow it's my middle brother's birthday.  I don't see him much but we stay in contact.  Happy Birthday, John - have a lovely day.  
In the diary, there is just circuits but, of course, being Monday, it's downstairs cleaning day and, as last week was a bit of a light touch affair, I need to take a bit longer over it.
I don't need to do a 'weekly shop' but I do need some milk so a nice, roundabout walk to Morrison, tapping a few boxes on the way, weather permitting, is on the cards.
And that's tomorrow.

Sleep well, everyone, and have a great Monday.  xx

Saturday evening - ooops, I mean Sunday morning, 17-03-24

 Morning, everyone.  Really sorry this is late (the other blog is late too); I was so tired yesterday evening that I snoozed the time away and went to bed early-ish.  I had a good night's sleep too so must have needed it.
So it's back to a morning post just for today and the evening one will be up this evening.

Yesterday was a really nice day.  The weather played ball with a bit of sunshine and some warmth although it seemed to chill off later.

I joined Lindsey and the group online for the Saturday SET class first thing before getting out the ironing board and clearing the basket.  I then had a good old sort out in my cupboards before putting the ironing away (and I need to finish that off today).

Lunch with Beth and Alex was lovely.  We went to the Hare, a favourite place in the past.  It went rather downhill after lockdown but seems to have picked up again - service had got very slow and inattentive but it was really good yesterday and the food was nice.  Nothing special, but then nor are the prices anything to faint over, and it was all very acceptable.
We'll go back.

It was late afternoon before I got home and I felt really weary.  Maybe it was the big meal at lunchtime, I don't know, but I turned the heating up a bit and snoozed on and off for the rest of the day, hence this not going up yesterday evening.  Oh, well.

Anyway - on to today.  I want to finish the sort out first.  I know I will have to do another one soon to change over from warmer to cooler clothes but not yet - the weather is just not consistent enough nor warm enough.  
However, there are some things I haven't worn all winter and, as Lindsey is doing another pop up clothing thing in May, I think, I can put stuff aside in bags for when she wants them.

Apart from that, it's just lazy Sunday stuff.  It's now just four weeks until my Center Parcs break so I have started making a few lists (as you do); it's self catering so I need to take basics - salt, stock, pata, rice, just small amounts, as well as dishwasher powder and so on.  I refuse to pay Parc Market prices for basics.  

Back to the new normal this evening.  It is lucky I don't have anything planned this morning and that I woke early-ish but tomorrow morning  there's circuits so I don't want a rush first thing.
I hope you slept well and have a great day.  xx

Friday 15 March 2024

Friday evening, 15-03-24

Evening, everyone.  Have you had a good day?

We actually had sunshine again today - that's two days running.  We did get some heavy rain this morning and my heart sank because I had walked to Slimming World but, by the time the meeting was over, it had stopped and the sun was out again.  Phew.

I have lost this week - two and a half pounds which makes up for last week's gain - and I won the raffle which was some useful food stuff for my cupboards/freezer - pittas, can of corn, onions, a pepper, tomato puree, Italian herbs, pointing the way to making a pitta pizza, I suspect.
Sometimes there's raffle stuff I don't use and then it goes back into next week's Slimmer of the Week basket because there's no point wasting it, is there?

I'd put in a load of washing first thing so when I got home, out it went onto the line where it dried nicely.  I MUST do some ironing tomorrow.

Apart from that, I cooked yummy meals (details over on t'other blog), read, watched telly/YouTube, made some rice pudding in Thermione (a treat for tomorrow) and had a bit of a snooze in the afternoon.  A thoroughly lazy day, in fact.  I bet I still sleep well though.
I made the classic mistake of taking an ovenproof frying pan out of the oven, forgot and touched the handle a few minutes later.  Ouchity ouch!!  Three slightly sore fingers but only one obvious blister - I'll survive!

The biggie for tomorrow is that Beth, Alex and I are having lunch out for Mothering Sunday.  A week late, I know, but it won't be crowded.  I'm really looking forward to that.

Better stop waffling and get this sent.  Have a super day tomorrow, everyone.  Sleep well.  xx

Thursday 14 March 2024

Thursday evening

Hi, everyone.

Today has been another really nice day.  It was cloudy to start with but then out came the sunshine and I actually got a load of washing properly dried on the line.

After a busy start making those flapjacks . . .


 . . . and a nice, big wholemeal loaf, Chris came round at ten and we had a great time.  She took the rest of the flapjacks (four - I made a small batch) home for her and Steve to enjoy later.

Then I just pottered in the house - washing, bit of cleaning, sweeping, etc.

Later on, I went into Teams for this SEND governors 'forum' (that's what it is called) which was actually really helpful and interesting, well worth the time.

Now it is evening, the kitchen is all clean and tidy and I am slowly starting to chill.  Sadly, we have had just a bit of rain this evening and tomorrow looks a bit dodgy but we will see, won't we.  I'd like to walk to SW but not if I'm going to get wet - I'm a softy!

I ought to get out the ironing board but I'm not going to, I'm just going to relax and see what's on telly, YouTube or iPlayer for a while.  How do you typically spend your evenings?
Sleep well and see you tomorrow evening.  xx

Wednesday 13 March 2024

Wednesday evening

Good evening, lovely people, and welcome to my blog.  

It is Dave's birthday today.  Unlike me and Beth, he tends not to make much of a thing about it and, to be honest, wouldn't mind if I forgot completely, but I remembered to send a card and will give him something when he and Anna next come round.

I texted Chris yesterday and she was keen on doing Lindsey's ad hoc Beat the Street walk too so we made plans to walk down to the hall where it started and go from there.

Then, this morning, I got an email saying that my parcel was arriving today at the very time we were going to be out.  However, I followed the link and they were OK to leave it on the doorstep.  As I live down a short cul de sac and the doorstep is hidden by my car and the neighbours' cars too, it's as safe as any place is going to be so I was happy to go with that and do the walk.
I was rather happy it was coming early, to be honest!

And - the best timing in the world - it arrived just as I was leaving for the walk.  How lucky was that!?

It was one of those days where everything seemed to go well.  My car insurance renewal stuff arrived.  I opened it with some trepidation to see that it has gone up by the grand total of  . . . £9.02.  Under a tenner.  Phew, what a relief.
I'm not sure why it is so small an increase.  Maybe it is the age of the car, who knows?  But I'm not complaining.  All I need to hear about now is the teachers' pension increase.

The walk was really good.  I wondered if Lindsey would go around our estate but no, she took us round the next area along at a fairly spanking pace.  Great exercise and I was thoroughly lost for quite a while with no idea where we were.  It was a bit chilly but by the end we were all warmed up and, to be frank, a bit sweaty.  And I'm well over 10k steps today - my target each day is 5k.
I have lost my Beat the Street card though.  It must have fallen out of my pocket during the walk.  I was using my phone to register boxes so didn't miss it until I got home.  Oh, well . . .

Personal Training was, as always, good fun and hard work - as it is supposed to be.  What with that and the walk, I should sleep well tonight.

I've unboxed the cutter and used it.  It's just as expected - works well and is very solid and 'substantial'.  Good oh!  Yes, I've used it.  Never were carrots more beautifully sliced!

Tomorrow it's Chris' birthday.  We have agreed not to do presents for each other but I have a card and I will bake some flapjacks for our coffee and chat time using the basic 3-4-1 ratio.  We don't have any edibles usually so that will make it a bit special.
I'll do the SET class later on to make time for the flapjacks.  Lindsey records this one and pops it onto YouTube so that will be OK.
Then, in the afternoon, I have a Teams meeting with the other SEND governors in our academy trust.  I'm not expecting it to be all that interesting but it will be OK, I am sure.

I'm feeling really tired now.  It's only eight so I must stay awake a little bit longer but I think it's an early bedtime for me.
How has your day gone?  Hopefully, really well.  Sleep tight and pleasant dreams, everyone.  xx


Tuesday 12 March 2024

Tuesday evening, 12-03-24

Good evening, everyone.  Has your day been a goodie - I do hope so!

After I signed off yesterday evening, I was doing a final trawl through Facebook before closing everything down and, in the Thermomix page/group (not sure which), I noticed that the cutter is finally now available in the UK.  This is a grater/slicer that fits onto the Thermomix bowl; it's been out for a couple of years now but until recently has only been available in the UK as part of a new Thermomix deal - highly annoying to those of us who are perfectly satisfied with the Thermo we have and have no wish to shell out £ < cough > on a new one!!
As it has become available in other countries, it has sold out immediately - which should have told the company something about how many they make but perhaps the comparatively late inclusion of the UK is a bit political - I don't know.

Anyway, I went straight onto the UK Vorwerk site and a cutter should now be arriving by the end of the week.  If it is up to the usual Thermo-standard (and I have seen nothing to indicate that it's any less), it will be excellent quality and I'll will definitely be using it a lot.  I've even started thinking of meal plans to include it.  Silly me!

I got a nice surprise when I checked my building society account as the interest for the year had been added.  It is interesting, though, that my premium bonds, which are less than what I've had in my YBS account until December, has paid me more - despite it being pure chance.
Anyway, no complaints about either and it boosts the savings a bit, doesn't it - and makes buying the cutter a bit less 'naughty'.

Today passed as expected.  A drive to Groove which was such fun (the drive and the class), a drive back, breakfast, a Morrisons shop (I have plenty of fresh stuff again now, phew) and a sort out and tidy up followed by ironing.  I didn't do any washing so I really must do some tomorrow.  The forecast is better than it was today (it couldn't be any wetter, that's for sure) so maybe I can get the washing out on the line.  We will see.  

It's Dave's birthday tomorrow so I must get his card to him and it's Personal Training in the afternoon.  Also, Lindsey has organised a Beat the Street walk around here which I might do depending on how the housework and the weather goes.

Have a lovely evening and sweet dreams.  xx