Saturday, 11-07-26

Morning, all.  Another bright and sunny start to the day and we are now under a hosepipe ban which I have already broken because I didn't know.  Now I do, so it is watering cans ahoy!

Ho hum!

(Mind you, I have just read that an exception is made for food crops that you are going to eat.  Must check that against my own water company rules . . . 

. . .  checked and nope!  Oh, well)

Yesterday was a fair bit cooler - not cool, just cooler and it was really very pleasant.  Mind you, it was hot in the hall during SW - there's no air con and no windows that open and you are not allowed to open the fire doors.  A number of people didn't stay for the second half because it was so stuffy.

One of our lovely ladies is on the Hall Committee and she said she will raise this issue at the next meeting.

In the evening, I picked Diane up and we went over to The Castle Inn to meet with everyone going on the Shimmy in Spain week in September.  It's the same place as we went last Sunday and, while the food is fine, nothing special but fine, the service is little short of terrible.
We waited to be seated for over five minutes on Sunday - we had booked and the place was pretty empty - and in the end one of us had to go and find someone.  It seems that the same thing happened when Lindsey and Tracy arrived first last night and there were inexcusably long gaps in service.  Again, the place was not that busy and maybe that's why.

It's a shame because it is a nice place.

Today sees the last of the big Eat-Outs for a week or so.  It's been nice but the budget has taken a battering.  Still, today is going to be great - a group of us from Slimming World are celebrating someone's 80th birthday and we're going to Roxwell community pub, The Chequers.   There's no menu online, sadly.

Apart from that, it will be a day of watering plants and dodging the heat.  The longer range forecast is for more of the same for a couple of weeks so better get used to it.  At least it shouldn't start raining as soon as schools are out.
Have a lovely day, all, and see you tomorrow.  xx

Friday, 10-07-26

Morning, all.  How are you all doing?  I hope you slept well and feel refreshed this morning.

Let's start with the photos.  Mostly tomatoes . . .

I'll probably pick this one to have with my lunch and there are now more coming around it as you can see.

These are honeycombs.

The sweet millions are starting to redden now too.  Nice one.

The bigger tomatoes, including the plums, are remaining obstinately light green but their time will come!  :-)

Last photo - I picked the blueberries that were ripe.  They're delicious.

There's more still to ripen but not loads.  It's not a mega crop like last year but it is a satisfactory harvest so no complaints!

I pulled the three rhubarb leaves that were browning, cooked the stems and will have them, with some blueberries, folded into yogurt for breakfast.
And after yesterday's comment, I put the leaves into the recycling bin.  However, I googled and yes, it appears you can compost them:

"Many people wonder if rhubarb leaves are compostable and suitable to use safely as an organic fertilizer. Rhubarb leaves are potentially harmful for people to ingest because of the high amounts of oxalic acid they contain. However, composting these leaves is perfectly safe because the oxalic acid will rapidly degrade in the compost pile and not impact the finished compost quality.

Because the toxin molecules cannot survive outside of the plant’s cells, your compost pile will not be affected. You will even be able to fertilize edible plants in your garden safely."

https://homegrail.com/can-you-compost-rhubarb-leaves/

There was also a suggestion that you chop up the leaves first to make the composting quicker.  However, NEVER try to eat rhubarb leaves as, in their fresh state, they are toxic.

So that's something learned.

Chris and I had a lovely chat sitting in the garden room.  It was a cool start to the day so it was delightful to sit in.  We're not necessarily going to be able to make Thursdays on a few occasions in August but that's OK, normality resumes in Autumn.

Then I drove to Val's for lunch.  It was absolutely lovely hearing about old friends and exchanging news and views.  It was hot in the car but the air con works fairly quickly so that was fine.

When I got home, I was zonked and spend the next few hours dozing - in fact, when I came to, it was nearly 19:00.  I slept well too!

Today will be another hot one, of course, but maybe not in the 30s (says the BBC).  I have Slimming World first and it will be busy because the lovely lady who does the weighing with me is not there today so it's just me.  Kay is coming round with something her husband has made which will be nice.  
Then, early evening sees me out again, picking Diane up and going to a get together for those who are coming on the Spain trip in early September.  It's getting pretty close now!  We're meeting at The Castle which has a really interesting history.
This is what Wiki says:

The village has two public houses: the Castle Inn and the Dog and Partridge, both on Main Road. The Castle, formerly called the St Anne's Castle, has a long history. The current building dates from the early 19th century, but it was built on the site of a medieval hermitage known as St Anne's which served as a resting place for pilgrims on their way to and from the tomb of Thomas Becket at Canterbury. The old hermitage continued to serve as a hostelry after the pilgrimages ceased at the Reformation.

At some point I need to do more weeding round the front but I will see how hot is gets before deciding when.

And that's it for today.  Have a good one, everyone, and stay safe in the sun.  xx

Thursday, 09-07-26

Good morning, everyone.  It's a pleasant, fresh start to the day after quite a hot day yesterday, so doors and windows are thrown open and it is all lovely and cool.  I've given the plants their morning drink and I now have two little tomatoes changing colour., not one  And the confused dahlia has buds.  Can my goblet of life hold any more?

Some of the rhubarb leaves are dying.  Perhaps it is the hot weather.  I will have them out soon as, reading about it, if the stems rot, it affects the roots.  Those stems will be pretty tough so compost rather than food.

I really enjoyed PT yesterday.  I didn't say but on Monday at circuits I turned a bit dizzy so yesterday I scrambled a couple of eggs to have before PT.  They were hard to eat as I don't usually have anything but fruit first thing but I had more energy and felt great so maybe I need to adopt that habit when having a before-breakfast class.

I did a bit of gardening while it was still cool-ish.  The sage now looks pathetic but healthy!  I also chopped the oregano right back (should have done that ages ago) so I can now see my chives again.  The recycling bin smelled very aromatic by the time I had finished!

Then I went out a-shopping.

First of all I went to Longacres because the shop has some lovely gift ideas and I have four birthdays this month - well, friends who have birthdays, I mean.  It was the right place to go and I now have three gifts all nicely wrapped and ready for distribution.  THe other birthday is a bit later in the month.
Next it was Hobbycraft because I needed some yarn - not much but I knew they would have it and they did.
Finally it was M&S at the Clock Tower Precinct.  I had a £10 card on my phone to use so I did.  Food shopping, mostly fresh stuff; M&S fresh food is great quality and lasts longer.

Back home again and after a bit of housework, I went online and now I have a sight check and a hearing check scheduled for next week.  May as well get them done back to back and make just one journey into town.  What with birthdays, car service, my RHS subscription, new glasses, possibly new hearing aids, etc, it's a bit of an ouchy month and I will definitely be pulling some money out of savings.

As I always say, that's what those particular savings are for.

And I updated my finance spread sheet!

It was too hot to do much else so I sat, chilled, drank copious amounts of cold water and tried not to go to sleep until bedtime.  :-)

Today, being Thursday, starts with coffee (or cold drink) and chat with Chris.  A bit later on, I am off over to Val's for lunch, taking her pressie with me.   And that's about it - a nice, easy, restful day.  Lovely!

How are you managing this latest spell of hot weather?  Take care and stay well, whatever you are doing.  See you tomorrow  xx

Wednesday, 08-07-26

Morning, all.  It's not so sunny this morning and, while it's not really hot yet, it doesn't feel nearly as fresh as yesterday at this time.  I guess maybe the humidity is starting to build a bit.  Shame.

Yesterday morning was pretty busy.  I went into school to enjoy the concert followed by the pupil voice chats and then, not being 'needed' again until around eleven, I drove out to Writtle and booked my car in for its service and MOT.

I've always taken my car into town to where I bought it, a Peugeot dealership, but last autumn they closed that branch and the nearest one now is Stratford, I think.  Too far to take the car anyway.  Chris recommended a garage in Writtle that she and Steve use so it's now all booed in and that's something off my mind.  Best of all, they do a pick up/drop off service, like my previous garage did.

When I got back, it was time to complete my visit with a walk around the school which I thoroughly enjoyed.

Now I just have to find out if I am expected to do a report for the governing body or not.

Come the early evening, Julia picked me up and off we went to the Harvester where we had the best time.  We laughed so much!
Now I am two down, three to go!

Today, being Wednesday, means I am off put to my early personal training and then I will be going to Longacres first to get some birthday gifts followed by a quick shop for salad ingredients - I'm getting through so much salad stuff right now.  I'll probably go to M&S because I have a £10 card to use and M&S veg is very good..

Now, opinions, please.  Would you say this is starting to colour.  It's a honeycomb tomato so orange rather than red and it is very different to those around it - in colour, I mean.
I think it possibly is and, if so, yee hah!!!

When I watered this morning, I picked two mini cucumbers and one big one.  I will take the big one to Lindsey, I think.
One of the sheer delights of growing a bit of produce is being able to share it with others.  It's great!

The other thing I really must do is book a sight test.  It's not that long since the last one but my vision has changed again which is a nuisance, seeing as it is less than a year since I had the right eye lens replaced.  I am pretty sure it is the left eye this time which means that my precious glasses aren't going to me that much use so instead of having the lens changed, I think I will be going for new frames as well this time.  As I always say, ouch, but that's what my short term savings are for, not just for holidays!
I ought to book a hearing check too.  It's the same place so I could do it in one visit.

Right, time to stop.  Have a lovely day, everyone, and say cool, hydrated and safe.  xx

Tuesday, 07-06-26

 Morning, everyone.  A less cluttered start to the day today although, to be fair, the clutter yesterday was mostly my fault as I stayed in bed reading instead of getting up and didn't realise how time was flying!!  Bad me!

Going back to Sunday, the meal with my friends was lovely.   The table was booked for one and we finally emerged at four thirty, having eaten and chatted our way through the afternoon.  

And the tyre seems fine - just One Of Those Things - but I will keep checking, just for peace of mind.

Yesterday, I went off to circuits first thing, as usual.  It was a bit too hot to have it outdoors, sadly, but inside was also hot.  That was odd because Lindsey's studio is usually quite a cool place but, as we walked back to the cars, it felt cooler in the breeze outside than it did in the studio.

Back home, I checked my emails because I had sent off a message to a beach hut hiring place in Southwold.  When we went a few weeks ago, I knew about the possibility but didn't act on it and I wished I had.  The trip was so popular, Jan and Ray have organised another one in later August and this time I have booked a hut, just for the day obviously.  If you know Southwold, it's the row of twelve blue and white painted beach huts that are near to the pier, just after the lifeguard's hut, by the 'safe to swim' area.  And an ice cream place - ooops.  They are pretty basic but it will be nice to have a base to dump things in and a guaranteed somewhere to sit and chill.  I may use one of my chill bags for drinks, and so on

Today, for once, there is no Groove.  That's because I'm off into school, firstly for a concert (piano and woodwind), then to do some pupil chats (getting the 'pupil voice' as they say) and, lastly, to meet someone.
I'm quite chuffed about the concert.  I actually started that tradition, quite a long time ago now, with my recorder groups, my choir and other pupils who had private lessons.  The first one was a huge success and we never looked back from there on.  Now it has grown to three concerts.  I missed the first as I was already doing something else, the second is today and the third is next week and is a Rocksteady concert, whatever that may be.   Hang on . . .  OK - Google says 'Rocksteady is the leading provider of in-school band lessons for primary age children'.  Looking forward to that one!

This evening, I'm out again.  This week is a bit of an Eat Out Week.  Tonight's is with Beth, Linda and Julia and we always go to the Harvester.  We love the salads and I know exactly what I will have so that's great.  And one of us has a Blue Card so we get a discount.
Then, on Thursday, I am over to Val's for lunch - Val does healthy lunches so that's good and I'm looking forward to a nice catch-up.
Lastly, on Friday evening, those of us going on the Shimmy trip to Spain in September are meeting for a get together to get to know each other.   I may just have a drink rather than eating anything, or just a starter, perhaps?
So it is quite a week!!

(Edit:  I'm also out for lunch on Saturday to celebrate a friend's birthday.  Crazy week)

Still no colour on the tomatoes but there is a big and a small cucumber ready to be cut and loads of blueberries to enjoy so can't complain!  :-)

Cue for some garden photos!  :-)

My poor sage.  That's got to come out!

However, there's nice new growth from the bottom so a ruthless cut back should be all that is necessary!  I'll probably go out and do that when I've send this.  

Pretty in pink.  

The tomatoes are taking over the asylum!   There's so much fruit and I just have to wait!

It's hard to believe this was a titchy little baby rhubarb a few months ago.  No harvest this year, of course, but there will be plenty for the freezer next year, I am sure.

Part of today's lunch . . .

And a random photo of the morning moon.  :-)

Right, well, better stop waffling now or I will have a rush to be ready.  Have a lovely day, everyone, and stay cool!  xx

Monday, 06-07-26

Morning all.  As often happens, I'm pushed for time, so I will give today's post a miss - back tomorrow and have a lovely day.  xx

Sunday, 05-07-26

 Hi, everyone.  Better late than never!

Yesterday was very quiet, very tranquil.  I checked the tyres and they were fine.  I'll check again today but hopefully there's no issue.  Maybe it was potholes - as everywhere, they are quite an issue right now.

Today is pretty much more of the same except that I'm out for lunch.  I have two groups that I go out with.  One is friends from way back including Beth, the other is people I have met through Shimmy 'n' Groove, including Diane and it is these lovely people I am meeting up with today.  The place we usually go to has closed so fingers crossed we like this place - there's no online menus but reviews seem positive.

I've done a bit more tidying, I've cooked a small gammon joint which will see me through the week and I'm about to go up, wash my hair and get dressed.  Have a lovely day and see you tomorrow.  xx