Weekly Photos 25th - 31st January 2026

Well this week the photos are all from the correct day lol.

Starting at the top and working left to right:

Sunday - Playdoh with Granddaughter Ella.  One of her favourite activities.

Monday - spotted this pair of Egyptian Geese on my walk around the lake

Tuesday - Hubby took a long nap in the afternoon so we ended up having an Indian takeaway.  I had lamb tikka masala with mushroom rice.  Yummy.

Wednesday - yes that is all bird and swan food!

Thursday - the daffodils are still doing well.

Friday - Spotted this sign while on my walk around the lake and yes we do have toads crossing the road there to get to the lake and there are volunteers who will watch out for them.

Saturday - I started this on Friday night and finished it on Saturday.  I gave it 3 stars.  It was a real page turner but getting my head around all the different characters was tricky at first and there wasn't a lot of depth to the book.

And just like that January is done.  I've managed to blog every day thanks mainly to Linda who hosted the Just Jot it January challenge.

I'm hopefully going to keep to the following routine going forward:

Sunday:        Weekly Photos

Monday:        A bit of waffle

Tuesday:      In the news/ Did you know?

Wednesday: Hodgepodge

Thursday:    What I'm reading this week

Friday:        Fridays Fave Five

Saturday:    Stream of Consciousness Saturday

Having the regulars such as photos/Hodgepodge/Fave Five/SoCS gives a good framework and I'm always reading so that was another easy one to slot in.  I'm also good at waffling but Mondays might be one you want to give a miss lol.  And Tuesdays?  Well at one point I did do a regular post about what was in the news that week but it fell by the wayside.  I'd like to start something up again but nothing too heavy - the news can definitely be depressing at times most of the time hence the Did you Know alternative.

We'll see how things go.  Don't hold me to account.

Plus it's only another couple of months before the A-Z challenge.  I have a plan for that which I actually started work on before Christmas which I need to get back to.  Thank goodness I'm retired!

#SoCS / JJJ - 31/1/26 - Scratch an Itch

Your prompt for #JusJoJan the 31st and Stream of Consciousness Saturday is: “scratch an itch.” Use it any way you’d like. To join in the fun click HERE.

I was thinking about taking this prompt literally and wondering out loud how I would cope with scratching an itch if Hubby wasn't around.  You know the one, that point on your back that you just can't quite reach no matter how much you contort yourself. 

But of course scratching an itch is also about satisfying a craving.  I've been good this week and not given in to the temptation of chocolate that's in the house.  Mainly because I've started taking a collagen supplement that is chocolate flavoured and I'm mixing it with warm milk.  It actually tastes really nice but I'm just a bit wary of having a migraine induced chocolate overload so I haven't scratched that itch.

I also went to the library to return a book, one that I hadn't even read, and came away with no new books despite browsing the "New In" book shelf where several books caught my eye.  But I have enough books on my TBR pile to probably last me a year so I really don't need to scratch that itch either.

So now, is it just me, or does writing about this topic create an itch in that impossible to reach place?  Thankfully Hubby is in the house so I will get my itch scratched!

Enjoy the rest of the weekend all.

Fridays Fave Five - 30/1/26 (And JJJ - Cinnamon)

It's Friday and time to look back on the week and find the blessings.  Susanne keeps us on our toes and you can find her blog and all the details here.

It's been a fairly uneventful week here but there are always good things going on

1)  It's been incredibly wet over the month of January but I did manage a walk around the lake on Monday despite it being incredibly muddy so thankful for my wellies.

2)  Tuesday I did my keep fit class and then had coffee (well tea for me) with friends who also attend the class.  Always good to have a catch up.

3)  We spent time with grandchildren Nathan and Ella on Sunday.  Ella who is only 5 is getting much better at playing games but we also had a long spell playing with the Playdoh. (And the colours didn't get mixed!)

4)  Yesterday was Foodbank day and as always it was very busy.  We had two visits from schools.  The first one was a group of older students who are studying Charity and Money Management as part of their course so they were very interested to hear how the Foodbank operates etc.  Some of them brought donations and several wanted to know how they could volunteer.  We often have students who are doing their Duke of Edinburgh awards spending time at the Hub so there are opportunities for them.

The second visit was from a primary school group of Year 6 pupils who had done a week of collecting for the Foodbank and they brought in a huge donation of canned and dried goods which we're always grateful for.

We also had an unannounced visit from the Hygiene team from the local council and we retained our 5 star rating!  

It was such a busy morning that Sally (who usually works with me in the stockroom) and I didn't even have time for a cup of tea or in my case a chocolate croissant or in Sally's case a cinnamon pastry.

(Just slipping in today's Just Jot it January prompt there lol.)

5)  I've decided to give a collagen supplement a go.  The order was delivered earlier this week and thankfully the chocolate flavour I ordered is delicious.  So I'm thankful that it shouldn't be too difficult to fit it into the daily routine and that I didn't have to think about the cost either.

I also got a delivery of garden bird and swan/duck food this week.  Again I'm thankful that we're in a position to be able to do these things now that we're retired.

Now I'm off to try and get a walk in before the rain returns.

Have a good weekend all.

(The Just Jot it January prompt was from Tessa K who blogs  HERE.  The Just Jot it challenge is hosted by Linda HERE.)

JJJ - 29/1/26 - Prompt

Today is the 29th, and our prompt is brought to us by Cheryl. Thank you, Cheryl! You can find her blog HERE.

Your prompt for JusJoJan January 29th, 2026 is “prompt.” Use it any way you’d like. Have fun!

When I started this challenge I was trying to get my posts done promptly but, as has often been the case, I'm looking at the clock thinking I should be getting ready for bed, and cobbling together a post that follows the prompt albeit a bit loosely.

There.  I've managed to get the prompt in a couple of times so that will suffice for today.  Phew, only 2 more days to go.  But thankfully the challenge has seemed to make January go quicker.