Friday

Good morning!  At last, a better night's sleep.  I must be getting used to the bed in the guest room.  The ceiling in my room is nice and dry now but I don't see any point in moving back in only to move back out again next week so I'm staying put until my room is finished.

It is decidedly colder this morning.  It's back to dressing gown and slippers for me and, as I woke before five, I turned the heating up too.  There's a lovely clear sky out there so I guess that's why the temperature has dropped.

Yesterday, all went well.  I got most things on my list done and dusted.  I enjoyed my reading time in school although I got caught in a heavy shower as I left school.  We had a bit of hail too so I was glad to get home into the warmth and dry.

I managed, at long, long last, to get the stuff to the charity shop.  Did you know that you can gift aid your donations or items to a registered charity?  I didn't.  All the times I have donated previously, I left stuff on the doorstep out of hours.  All you have to do is fill in the gift aid form and they put bar code stickers on what you have donated.  Then, if/when it is bought, they claim the extra.  What a good scheme!  I now have a little card with my donor ID on so if I donate again, they can use it to gift aid.

I've been thinking about next year's holiday.  Yes, maybe it's a bit early but it's nice to get something sorted.  I was thinking of going back to the Peak District again.  It's been a goodly number of years since I was last there and I do love it so much.  I've located and booked a lovely little cottage in Baslow which is in the national park and very close to Chatsworth.  The cottage is a 'boutique' cottage (whatever that means), very nicely appointed and with a good Wi-fi connection.  Also, because I am going out of school holiday time, it's not terribly expensive.

Mind you, with the wonderful Chatsworth shop close by, I can see myself indulging.  Imagine a nice steak and salad followed by choice cheese and posh crackers, all washed down by a good red, all consumed al fresco in the evening sunshine.  Bliss.

I've ummed and ahed about the pros and cons of renting a cottage vs B and B and I think I prefer the former.
You get lavish breakfasts provided in a B and B but there's no way to cater for yourself  for the other meals and eating out can push the price up considerably.  You're not on your own in a B and B if there are other guests around which can be an advantage but that doesn't mean you have company, quite the opposite.  Everyone wants to do their own thing.
With self catering there's the freedom to eat when you want, organise your day to suit yourself, a little house to make your own rather than knowing that you're in someone else's home . . .
I have decided I prefer the freedom of self catering so that's what I am doing from now on.

I apologise right now for future boring statements about how excited I am and how good it will be.  Please feel free to scroll on by when they appear!

Today is a bit fragmented.  The cleaners are coming in the morning and I do like to give them a free run.  I will probably take a trip to B and Q and choose the paint for my bedroom and buy the new curtain track (note to self: remember to take the curtains down next week).  Then, in the afternoon, Matt is coming to mend my downstairs loo which has been dripping slightly for a while now.  I think I will make the yellow room my big project.  The bins were emptied yesterday so there's plenty of room for rubbish!

On the culinary side, I am out of both yogurt and granola so I will make them.  The granola is quick (https://cookingonabootstrap.com/2016/02/22/peanut-butter-and-honey-granola-10p/) but the yogurt takes around 18 hours so I will start it midday and it will be ready on Saturday morning.

Today's food:
B:  bran flakes, apple
L:  after the disaster with the instant soup, never again, so it is home made mushroom soup again for me today.
D:  vegetable pasta bake, fruit

Enjoy your day.  😊