Saturday, 23-11-24

 Morning, all.  A bit late today because I have been busy in the kitchen, making leek and potato soup, two small loaves of bread and starting my breakfast waffles.  All done now.

It's starting to blow out there and the sky looks very heavy so I guess we are in for a less than pleasant day, maybe weekend.  At least the wind is blowing all the leaves into convenient piles, making them a lot easier to sweep up - silver linings are good!  And we're not supposed to be getting anything too extreme in this corner of the UK, thankfully.

I was so pleased with a loss yesterday at SW group, taking me right to my target weight again.  At SW you have a leeway of three pounds up or down; after that, you have a week to get back in range and then, if not successful, you need to pay for sessions again (or stop going, of course, you always have that option).  I'd rather stay in my seven pound range, which is generous enough to be sensible, especially at this time of year.

After group, I did my usual small, fresh food shop at Morrisons which is pretty much next door to the hall.
I came home to an email telling me my wine would be delivered between five and seven, more or less, and you will be relieved to read that it is now all unpacked and ready to take to the garden room storage.  Out of sight, out of mind.
Hopefully, that is the end of that!  Phew.

The rest of the day was spent as usual - housework, meal prep, some clothes washing and some knitting/crochet.  I was planning to make the bread but made a weetabix loaf instead.  This is a classic SW recipe that is really rather nice (and a bit naughty but not terribly so unless you smother it with butter!).  However, it is now sliced, inter-leaved and frozen.  Out of sight . . . etc

Today looks like being much the same.  As already mentioned, the forecast is not great and I am cosy and warm.  The house smells of fresh bread and fresh coffee (are there any better aromas?) and I am in my cosy PJs and snuggle hood, reluctant to change a thing.  So I won't - yet.  I used to be very happy to stay in PJs all day but now it doesn't quite sit right.  Another sign of getting old, I guess.

I got an email about this rather lovely crocheted patchwork scarf from The Unravelled Mitten site - I think one of you recommended this site and it's lovely so thank you.
Do I NEED a scarf.  No, not really.  Do I WANT to make this? - of course I do.
It is 'worsted' (US yarns) which I think is Aran weight but I can easily use my DK stash (which has built up again alarmingly quickly) and either enlarge the squares or do three in a row rather than two.
And I have a friend who would really love this and use it so . . . yup!

If you are interested, here's the link.
https://theunraveledmitten.com/2024/11/22/wildwood-patchwork-scarf-crochet-pattern/?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=grab_your_yarn_scraps_and_crochet_this_new_pattern&utm_term=2024-11-22

Right, well, this is late so I will shut up and get it posted.  I hope you are all safe and well.  Take care and don't go out unless you have to today (if the weather is bad).  xx

Friday, 22-11-24

 Morning, everyone.  It is still cold here today but tomorrow is expected to warm by considerably - and there's a storm a-coming too.  Oh, well . . .

The saga of the wine order goes on.  Yesterday morning, I got an email from Naked Wines saying, basically, that my order had been packed and on their way.
I thought - either they know something about the fate of the first order that they are not saying (ie it got nicked, or they have requested Yodel to return it to them - good luck with that one!) or I am getting two lots
9:56 - message from Yodel saying box would arrive today between 11:43 and 13:43 - very precise!
12:26 - one box arrived - the smaller of the two.  It's a start
Also, an email landed to say the other box will arrive by Saturday.  Again, we will see.

I don't want to get two lots of my order because I will then have to wait in for one order to be collected to return to Naked WInes.  Two lots of plonk would be very nice but there's no way I would be able to keep it - far too expensive.

Enough of wine.  Yesterday was another good day, albeit quite quiet.  After online SET (very good, as always), Chris came over and we had a jolly good chat, catching up with each other's news.

I got the yellow room sorted out - as much as it's going to be right now anyway - and the blue room is not guest ready with the beds made up, etc.  All it will need is a quick dust and vacuum next Friday.  SO that is ticked off the list!

Today is Slimming World and, after that, I'm off next door to Morrisons to do a small shop and pick up my meds.
I plan to make some bread; there's plenty of other bread products in the freezer but not a lot of just bread .  There's a bit of housework to do and then I'm having a me day (again) and do some recipe hunting/meal planning.  I always enjoy doing that and the new Pinch of Nom book arrived yesterday so I hope I will find plenty of new ideas.

I've added to the bauble decorations and there's more in the offing.  It's really good fun and some will make nice mini-gifts.

How are you spending your Friday?
Have a great day and stay safe and warm.  xx

Thursday, 21-11-24

 Morning, everyone.  We've had another cold night and I don't mind admitting I kept the electric blanket on low all night.  I was so tired yesterday evening, I just wanted to get warm and stay warm.

It was a good day yesterday.
The first thing I did was fire off a grumble to Naked Wines letting them know what happened.   I was polite but not pleased, a skill many teachers develop during their working life.  lol
Yesterday afternoon I got two replies.
The first one was a standard terribly sorry, very embarrassing, reordered your wines, should be with you soon.

The other was way more informative, explaining that my order had been packed in two consignments (their words), one of which I should have received while the other was still in their warehouse for some reason (they've said it must go immediately).  The one that didn't arrive was on a delivery van that broke down - which, to be fair, does seem possible as the tracker showed the van in the same place for hours and the number of deliveries before mine staying the same rather than going down.
It should arrive today (we will see) and the other ought to be on its way too.
We're sure you will love the wines when they arrive, etc, etc,etc.  All aimed at soothing a justifiably irate customer.  I've done it myself at school with parents in the past.
(I had to laugh when I read it)

So - the original wine order should be with me soon AND they have reordered my order (if you follow me)???
Does that mean I get TWO orders?  That would be interesting, for sure.  Watch this space.

I pootled over to Beth, had a nice coffee and sorted out the cardigan questions so that's good.  I can pretty much finish it now.

Knit and Natter was lovely.  My SW friend, Chris, who had told me about it, was there when I arrived saving a seat for me and the other side of me was Ginny, another SW friend.  I didn't know she went too.  So we knitted/crocheted and chatted and it was great.  There was coffee/ta and biscuit half way through and then there was a raffle too (prizes donated) and I won one of them.  Must take something for the raffle next time.

And then it was off to Lindsey's for personal training where I managed to drop a dumbell on my head.  Ouch.  Totally my fault - I was careless.  It is fine now, not even a little tender - no dilated eyes/headache/ etc, just a slight tenderness.  But what a silly thing to do, eh?

Come the evening, I just sat and crocheted this, that and the other.  There are so many YouTube videos showing how to make Christmas ornaments and I'm quite hooked (sorry)!  They take so little time really - gaudy, yes, but then that's my vibe at Christmas.  Red, gold and green.  Lovely!

I slept like a log, warm and cosy.
Today is a stay at home day.  SET online, than a chat with Chris and after that I want to sort out the other two bedrooms and get the guest room ready for Beth and Alex staying over next weekend.  If I get that done, I will be a happy bunny.

Oh - and, possibly, two (maybe four? I do so hope not) boxes of wine???   I'm seeing the funny side now.
I'll let you know!

Have a lovely day, everyone.  Stay warm and cosy and be happy!  xx

Wednesday, 20-11-24

 So here we are, two thirds of the way through November and there's a frost outside.  We haven't had many frosts this year so far but I gather the next few days will be cold.  Thank goodness for central heating!

Good morning, everyone.  How was yesterday for you?  Mine was a mix of good and bad.

It was chucking it down with rain by the time Chris and I went to Groove so it was a drive down rather than our usual walk.  No snow though, just a little bit of sleet at one point, of the 'blink and you missed it' variety.
Groove started off a bit chilly but Lindsey is very good at getting us going and we all soon warmed up, thankfully.

Jen came round for lunch.  Jen is our former Slimming World consultant who has now stopped because she is moving up north in a couple of weeks' time.  We miss her - she was such a good group leader and I owe her a lot so it was lovely to have a good old catch-up and natter about this, that and the other.

I then got on with Beth's cardi but I need to do another fitting as I think I'm making it too long and I didn't want to do any more in case it had to be re-done.  I'm popping over today and then I should be able to finish it, fingers crossed.

The bad was that I waited for the delivery of my wine box from Naked Wines.  It's a sort of subscription service - you pay so much a month and order your wine when you need it.  I placed my Christmas order last week and it was supposed to arrive between four and six but no box.  So I waited up until nearly half past eleven but - yup, no box.
You can track and I did but after seeing that the delivery van was (supposedly) sat in a village a couple of miles from here for three hours with me being the 16th delivery, I gave up, took some screen shots and went to bed, cold and tired (aaaawwww, poor me!)
Anyway, the tracking thing now says it is at the depot and will be delivered on Thursday.  Hmmmm.
Not sure I believe that because this happened a couple of years ago almost exactly the same and I can only assume that the box was nicked because it never turned up.  Naked Wines replaced it and compensated me but it wasn't great because it was mostly gifts and it was so close to Christmas I had to buy more.  At least this time there's room for a replacement box, if necessary.
Anyway, we will see, but I will be in touch with Naked Wines today.  No point contacting the delivery company - they have a Reputation anyway!

And once this is sorted out, I will spend the remaining money in my account and cancel the subscription; I'd been thinking of doing this anyway and this is the deciding factor, whether my order turns up or not.  I can increase the money I save each month to use at Christmas.  When you only make one order a year and in the last three years there has been trouble with two of the orders, it's really not good.

Goodness - what a rant.  I must be more cross that I thought.  Sorry about that!

Let's finish yesterday on a good note - last week, Sue commented that her Jacquie Lawson advent calendar was working perfectly after I had mentioned that the house wasn't opening yet (if you know, you know) so I got in touch with the company, got a speedy answer saying they were working on it and, lo and behold, yesterday it had a massive update and it is now working fine.  Now THAT'S good service.
I'm going to decorate the tree today, I think.

Today is busy but it is all nice-busy.
I'll be popping round to Beth's this morning and then, this afternoon, it is Knit and Natter (yes, really, I checked) followed by a quick change and a drive to Lindsey's for personal training.  In between times there's a bit of housework and meal prep to keep me busy.
I'll be tired after all that, seeing as I was late in bed last night and didn't sleep great to start with.  Too cross, I suppose.  :-)

What a ramble!  If you have made it thus far, congratulations to you.  Have a pleasant day, whatever your plans, and do stay warm and cosy in this cold snap.  xx

Tuesday, 19-11-24

Morning, everyone.  I hope you had a great night's sleep.

Yesterday started off with Circuits class at Lindsey's studio and it was, as always, good fun.  I did loads better this week, having had a healthy weekend's eating, unlike last week which was after a weekend of afternoon tea - well, a Sunday anyway!
Strength was better, balance was better . . . and I enjoyed it a lot more.

Then I came home and got stuck into the housework.  Boring but the motivation grew and I got everything done that I wanted to get done and still plenty of time for 'me' things too.  It was nice coming downstairs this morning and seeing it all clean and tidy again - must keep it up now as I have so much in the diary that housework time is short (tragic, innit? )  😀

And the day finished off with a Messenger chat with some ladies from the Facebook Slim Win group.  These are always good fun and very helpful too.

And to cap it off, I had a great night's sleep.  Lovely!

Today it's c-c-cold but Chris and I will warm up walking down to Groove class, assuming it isn't raining.  Later on, I have a friend over for lunch - tomato, red pepper and lentil soup made yesterday with bread to dunk and grated cheese and then some fruit - she's a Slimming World girl too.

Probably no time for housework but that's OK - I won't be ashamed of downstairs now.  😀

Better go - thanks for reading and have a really good day.  xx

Monday, 18-11-24

Morning, everyone!

Yesterday was a day when I did what I wanted to do rather than what I ought to have done - which means I still have a little pile of ironing to clear this morning after circuits class on top of the usual Monday housework.  It won't take long, it just needs doing!  

I remembered to take some photos.  None of the Christmas stuff is out of the garage yet so I just used a rather decrepit bush in the garden!

This was the one I made at the workshop.  It is biggish, about 10cm plus in diameter . . .

. . . and here's the one I made on Saturday using a size three hook instead of a four.  Pretty much identical apart from the size but the smaller one looks 'neater' somehow..

I don't like the crocheted loop though and won't do it like that any more.  I can buy some shiny cord and loop it through which should make attaching the bell and the bow a lot easier too - as will using polystyrene balls as the inside.

Different coloured ribbon or patterned ribbon would look nice and ring the changes too.

I looked up how to make a little decoration bow . . . really easy. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dY0tApswLYo&t=207s

Today starts with Circuits class and then it is housework.  All the housework I really should have done over the weekend but didn't.  
Have a great day, everyone, and I hope it doesn't get too cold where you are.  xx

Sunday, 17-11-24

Morning, everyone.  So here we are, back to morning posts and let's see how they go.

Yesterday was one of those really pleasant days.  To be fair, nowadays the good days far outnumber the less pleasant days but the feelings of having had a great time remain, how often they occur.

I spent the morning and lunch time with some of my favourite people on a walk.  David had worked out a new route for us, parking at the Horse and Groom (we had a table booked there for lunch), heading off down Lawford Lane and over the Can, just touching Writtle and then back out again to rejoin Lawford Lane.  It was really pleasant and I took a few photos, given that it was a new route for us.

It was a rather dull day.  In fact, just before we met up, it was drizzling but that cleared quickly and the sun just popped out and back in again a few times.  It was a delightful Autumnal walk, shuffling through the leaves, but a bit more sun would have given so much more colour.  Never mind, it was lovely anyway and the paths were so well marked that I think I could do it again easily.  Maybe I will, finishing off with a coffee in the pub before coming home again.

Lunch was nice too - I had a chicken and bacon panini with chips and salad and brought half the panini home with me to enjoy for dinner.

I took the rest of the day very easy.  I may or may not have snoozed a bit but I made another, better bauble - my tension is not that tight so I went a couple of hooks smaller and it was just right.  I've also ordered some seven cm diameter polystyrene balls which, I think, will make better filling than wadding and I can then use pins to attach any decorations.  Anyway, I am very happy with the pattern; it's simple but effective.  I'm sure there are other patterns around so need to do a bit of a search as I'd like to make some as little gifts.
Photos tomorrow - I haven't taken any yet.

I loved Strictly although, as Catriona said, the marking was all over the place.  I think the final order was OK though and look forward to seeing the results show this evening - I don't go searching so, please, no spoilers!  I know who I think SHOULD be in the dance off but you never can tell with Strictly.

Today there is absolutely nothing in the diary for once so I'm just going to potter.  Don't get me wrong, there's plenty to do like gardening, housework, ironing, etc, but I'm just going to wing it.  According to the BBC, we might possible get some sunshine and, if that's so, a bit of gardening will be nice (and needed) but - well, we will see.

Have a lovely day, everyone.  Stay safe and warm.  xx