Wednesday Hodgepodge - 10/6/26

Joyce provides the questions each week and we prepare our answers and then the link up is here.

Thank you Joyce.

1.  How would you define 'the good life'? 

The good life to me means being happy with my lot and having enough of the things I need.  I have "the good life".

2.  What's the most used app on your phone (and are you proud of that)? 

Well before I checked I would have said WhatsApp and I would be okay with that because that's how I keep in touch with family and friends.

When I checked, the NYT games app was top.  I usually start my day with Wordle (we have a WhatsApp group for those of us that do it daily) and then work through the various games on the app.  So it's probably not that surprising it came out on top.  

WhatsApp was 3rd on my list last week as apparently I used Facebook slightly more.  I didn't think Facebook would be that high as although I do usually browse it to see what people are up to I'm not very active on it.  However it is easy to go down rabbit holes on it.

3. 'Every rose has it's thorn', 'everything's coming up roses', 'looking through rose-colored glasses', 'it's no bed of roses' or 'stop and smell the roses'...which rose idiom best relates to something in your life currently. Explain. 

Probably everything's coming up roses as we just celebrated our 42nd anniversary and next week we're off to visit my son and his family in Vermont.    The rose bush at the front of the house is also in full bloom

4. How do you feel about floral flavourings in food or drink (rose, hibiscus, elderflower, lavender)? 

Not a big fan although I do like an apple and elderflower juice that we buy.

5. Over the course of your life what have you probably spent more time pondering than anything else? 

What to cook for dinner!  Even though Hubby now does most of the cooking I still do a lot of the organising of what we're going to eat.

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

It feels like we're back in April - the weather is much cooler and we've had some heavy downpours today - even thunder and lightening.  Can we have summer back please.

In the News this Week - 9/6/26

                        

London couple survive 42 years of marriage.  The secret?  Give him a guitar and teach her to knit.

We went out for our anniversary to a new to us Italian restaurant just one stop away by train.

We shared a starter - fried calamari, prawns, arancini, mushrooms, courgettes and broccoli which was huge.

For mains Hubby had Tagliata:

And I had Porchetta

Both were delicious but we couldn't finish them after such a big starter so we skipped dessert.

I did consider getting a portion of Tiramisu to go but decided against it.  We were both full.

If we go again we need to make sure we're extra hungry!

A Windy Waffle - 8/6/26

We had a lovely weekend.  Hubby and I got together with all 6 of his remaining siblings and their partners (14 in total) at the youngest sister's house in Brighton which is on the south coast of England and a typical seaside town, complete with pier.

Parking in Brighton is really difficult and limited, especially if staying overnight so 8 of us took a coach from Stratford right through to Brighton Station and then it's about a 20 minute walk.  The coach ride was smooth and we didn't hit any traffic so we arrived on time.  It took 2 1/2 hours and it was nice to just sit back and relax.

We all gathered at our host Sarah's house joined by the remaining two couples, one who had travelled from France.  It was the first time we'd all been together in a while so lots of catching up to do.  Friday's evening meal was fish and chips.  We had planned to sit on the beach and eat it but by the time we'd all arrived and settled it was a bit late and therefore a bit too chilly to do that.

Saturday dawned dry and sunny so we all took a walk into town.  We walked around the Royal Pavilion and through the Lanes area before finding a pub with enough outdoor space for us all.  At that time it was still sunny and warm.

Look at the blue sky!

But as they had forecast the clouds rolled in together with 50mph winds.

We got caught in the downpour but all managed to make our way to here for lunch.

This is the appropriately named Shelter Hall and that picture is from the web because those umbrellas would not have stayed up in the wind on Saturday.  It is a large space inside with various street food vendors serving food.  There was lots of choice including Mexican, Portuguese, Thai, Burgers and Pizzas.  We managed to get 2 big tables to accommodate us all.  There were a lot of people taking advantage of being inside, including at least one Hen party and one Stag party.  Brighton is a popular destination for these.

After we'd eaten a few of us went back to Sarah's by Uber while others braved the rain and did more exploring, although that may have been the inside of a pub lol.

Saturday evening Sarah and her partner Grace laid on a lovely meal for us all.  One of the reasons we'd planned the gathering was to celebrate another sister's (Kate) 60th birthday.  Her birthday was actually back in January but we decided to wait until the weather was better to celebrate and also it was a bit of a house warming for Sarah and Grace.  Sarah bought the house back in September and has been gradually furnishing it and decorating.  They split their time between the Brighton house and Grace's home in London.  

We had a gnocchi, green bean and asparagus starter, followed by fish pie and then strawberries, shortcake and cream dessert.  It was all really good.

On Sunday morning we took a walk along the beach away from the centre of Brighton towards Black Rock where you can board the Volks Electric Railway service that runs from there to the Aquarium along the beach.  It's the oldest working electric railway in the world and opened in 1883.

One of the electric trains

This stretch of the beach has a boarded walkway which makes it so much easier to walk on as the beach is actually very stony.

After our walk we headed back to the house where we had more food before setting off for home at 5.30 pm.

One huge feature of the Brighton house is that there is a huge garden between a square of properties and only 3 of those home owners have the right to use the garden and Sarah is one of them!

Here we are in the garden.  The two white arched windows on the right are Sarah's house and the gap in the greenery you can see below is a gateway into her own private small courtyard area.  We were lucky enough to get some sunshine in the afternoon so we could sit outside and enjoy our lunch.

The journey home on the coach was just as smooth and we arrived back at Stratford by 8.30 pm so we were home by about 9.45.  We all had a really good time and believe it or not we all get on really well.

Friday's Fave Five - 5/6/26

It's Friday so time to look back on the blessings of the week then link up here with Susanne and the gang.  

1)  Grateful for Hubby's family.  We're all getting together this weekend - 7 siblings and partners.  His youngest sister recently bought a house in Brighton which is on the south coast of England and is a vibrant seaside destination.  The weather isn't looking too good but I'm sure that won't stop us having fun.

2)  New glasses!  I tried to take a selfie but it wasn't very flattering so I gave up.  Glad that we can afford things like decent glasses - they're so expensive when you need varifocals and like them to react to the light etc.

3)  A quieter week.  It was lovely having family here last week but it's also nice not to have such early starts etc.

4)  Rain and cooler weather.  We needed the rain and the beginning of last week was a heatwave.

5)  Lots of volunteers on Thursday at the Foodbank.  Many hands make light work.

Have a good weekend all.