Friday's Fave Five - 20/2/26

Well it's still Friday - just so time to list the blessings of the week and then link up here.  Thank you to Susanne who reminds us every week to do this and hosts the link up.

It's been a busy week as it's been half-term break here in the UK.

1)  On Monday I had Granddaughter Ella here.  I'm thankful that she's now able to play more structured games and she's also less likely to mix all the playdoh up into a mess of colours.  Although she did make me laugh on Monday as she asked me how to make green.  I explained that you needed blue and yellow so she asked if she could make "just a little bit of green from the blue and yellow playdoh"  How could I refuse?  She actually did take just a tiny piece from each and made a blob of green.

2)  Tuesday it was Grandson Nathan's turn to be here and I'm thankful that we had a dry enough spell for Hubby to play a bit of football with him out in the garden.  He does love to get outside and let off steam sometimes.

3)  I'm grateful for online shopping and supermarkets that stay open late this week.  I'd ordered an online shop with most of the ingredients I needed for a meal I was planning to cook but of course there were things I'd forgotten but I was able to pop down to Tesco late yesterday evening so that I had everything ready for this morning.

4)  Ladies lunch today - with 3 of my former work colleagues.  It was my turn to host.  I had a pack of Chinese style starters - prawn toast, spring rolls etc in the freezer so we had those for starters.  The main course was a potato, spinach and mushroom bake with a lovely cheese sauce which I did with a green salad and fresh bread.  For dessert I'd made a chocolate and raspberry trifle.  Of course I forgot to take pictures at the right time but as you can see the main course went down really well and everyone liked the trifle - which Hubby and I will be eating for days to come - I always make too much food!

5)  I'm thankful that thanks to us both having good pensions I don't need to worry about money and can cook meals like this without having to worry about the costs involved.

Have a good weekend all.

Read then Write - 19/2/26

Well this has not been a good week for reading!

I've started one of the book club reads:

and despite the interesting sounding title it is not grabbing me.

It's set in Thailand and there was indeed a head on the beach.  I'm not quite sure where it's going yet.  I need to persevere.

I've probably spent more time looking at cookery books this week as I'm hosting our "Ladies Lunch" tomorrow.  (With former work colleagues.) I have my dessert already made.  The starter will cook in the air fryer and after a quick trip to Tesco this evening I now have all the ingredients I need for the main course.

I'll try and remember to take photos!

Wednesday Hodgepodge - 18/2/26

Joyce asks the questions, we provide the answers and the link up is here.

Thanks Joyce.

1. The Hodgepodge lands on Ash Wednesday, which is the first day of Lent. Do you mark this season in some way? Will you be giving something up or adding something to your life in this Lenten season?

I'd like to say I was giving something up but I'm not very good at sticking to the plan.  I am aiming to try and get to bed earlier and do a bit more reading and less doom scrolling on my phone.

2. Pancakes...are you a fan? Syrup or no syrup? Plain, blueberries, chocolate chips, bananas, or some other add in? Are pancakes on your menu this week?

I do like pancakes preferably with chocolate spread or syrup.  I don't usually make them but our grandson was here yesterday so I did make a few.  

3. Tell us about a time recently when you felt 'spread too thin'.

Sometimes it feels like that at the Foodbank where I volunteer.  We need quite a few people to run the session and sometimes we're a bit low in numbers on a Thursday which makes it hard work.  People are great though - we do often get Tuesday people step in when they can.

4. What's your favourite jewel or gemstone? In terms of your wardrobe would we find more gem tones, pastels, black and white, or primary colours? 

I don't really have a favourite gemstone.  I have a nice opal and sapphire ring that I used to wear a lot but the opal got chipped so I don't wear it now.  I'm more interested in the design of a piece than particular stones.

I have lots of colours in my wardrobe but blue is probably the dominant colour.

5. What responsibility do you think is hardest about being in charge?

I think it's keeping the balance between having a good relationship with those you're in charge of but being able to maintain authority when needed.

6. Insert your own random thought here.

How annoying is this?

Admittedly the puzzle came from a charity shop but it was new - still wrapped in cellophane. Plus I thought there was no picture of the puzzle, I only discovered that there was one on the bottom of the box after I'd finished it lol.

In the News this Week - 17/2/26

The LOCAL news story I spotted was one where a convicted criminal escaped from custody not once but twice while being removed from prison and taken to hospital for treatment.

I mean really?  It's bad enough to let a prisoner abscond once, but twice?

Thankfully he's serving a sentence for conspiracy to commit burglary and not murder.  

INTERNATIONAL news as usual is full of doom and gloom but I did spot that the Irish National Seamus Culleton, who is currently being held by ICE pending deportation has had his deportation paused for 10 business days.  It seems that although he has been in the US since 2009 and is married to an American citizen he arrived on a visa waiver and is only now about to finalise getting his green card and work permit.

I'm thankful that my son didn't travel to the US until he had got his VISA sorted and he has his Green card and work permit.  Hopefully he'll be granted citizenship in due course.

SPORT continues to be dominated by the Winter Olympics which has been quite exciting.  I mean what could be more scary that sliding down an ice track at speeds in excess of 70 mph on a thin tray?  Oh I know, get someone to lie on top of you while you do it! (Luge Doubles event.)

In ENTERTAINMENT news:(taken from the BBC website)

LOOK MUM NO COMPUTER will be representing the United Kingdom at the 70th Eurovision Song Contest in Vienna, Austria in May 2026.

LOOK MUM NO COMPUTER is a multi-talented solo artist, experimental singer/songwriter, live electronics performer and composer, inventor of unique musical machines, and self-proclaimed Eurovision fan based in Kent.

LOOK MUM NO COMPUTER says: “I find it completely bonkers to be jumping on this wonderful and wild journey. I have always been a massive Eurovision fan, and I love the magical joy it brings to millions of people every year, so getting to join that legacy and fly the flag for the UK is an absolute honour that I am taking very seriously. I’ve been working a long-time creating, writing, and producing my own visions from scratch, and documenting my process. I will be bringing every ounce of my creativity to my performances, and I can’t wait for everyone to hear and see what we’ve created. I hope Eurovision is ready to get synthesized!”

I hope he's prepared for the fact that we seem to get NIL Points at Eurovision.

And finally, 

Happy Chinese New Year - we're now in the Year of the Fire Horse.

It was also pancake day today and I actually made some as Grandson Nathan was here at lunchtime.  They weren't that great but he seemed to like them.  I didn't take any pictures apart from this one:

 As you can see, a lot of chocolate spread was involved!