Wednesday Hodgepodge - 28/10/26

Our host for the Hodgepodge is Joyce who blogs at From This Side of the Pond.  Why not pop over and join in the fun?

1. What most recently gave you goose bumps?

Nothing springs to mind!

2. What does Halloween look like in your home and/or neighborhood these days? Do you participate?

Halloween has become much more of a thing here in the UK but with no young children I don't usually participate.  This year though two of our grandsons will be here so I have got some pumpkin lights and a pumpkin garland in my living room and an orange candle.  They're going to a halloween party in the afternoon with their cousins, (my daughter's children).  Hopefully that will keep them happy.  We're a little bit out from our town centre so we don't usually see any trick or treat children.

3. Pumpkin, sunflower, sesame, poppy, chia...your favorite seed on the list? What's something you like to make/eat that calls for one of these seeds in the recipe?

I am not a fan of seeds and I don't make anything that contains them. (I don't actually do much cooking and if I make cakes I'm more likely to put fruit (eg banana) or vegetables (eg carrots) in them.

4. What's the most (or one of the most) 'fall photos' you've ever taken? Share it here. Just one.

It probably doesn't look very fall (the pumpkins were edited out) but it's definitely a good reminder of a family day out at a pumpkin farm.  This was back in 2018 when there were only 3 grandchildren.  The babies were all wearing matching pumpkin vests.  I thought I'd got a photo of all of us together but can't seem to find it!  It was a lovely family day out as all the parents of the grandkids and my hubby were there too.

5. Somehow we're rolling in to November next week. If your October were a chapter in a book, what would the title of this chapter be?

Changing Times.

(Not being very original but our clocks went back last weekend so it seemed apt.)

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

Should I be worried?  I rushed out to get to my Knit and Natter group this evening and it was only as I approached the venue that I realised I'd picked up the wrong bag.  Not a bit of knitting with me at all.  I headed home feeling very cross with myself.

Waffling on - 26/10/26

Well it was a weekend of two halves really.  

On Saturday I had a lovely quiet day.  Nick was off out meeting up with his cousin and family, as well as some of his siblings to check out some family history.  Peter (Nick's cousin) has been doing a lot of research into their Great Grandfather who was born in Germany and then came to England.  They visited a couple of the areas where he had lived and Peter filled them in on all the details he's been able to gather so far.

Nick being out meant I had the house to myself all day and into the evening which was lovely.  I don't mind my own company and I was able to watch some TV, read, knit and generally please myself.  It did mean I had to cook my own dinner but a ready meal of chicken with rice and mushrooms took care of that.

Sunday was busier and we went for dinner in the afternoon to our daughter and family's home.  Much noisier with the two grandchildren especially as they are getting excited about halloween.  They had been pumpkin picking on the Saturday.

Today we had Grandson Nathan here as Ella was having a playdate with some of her friends at their house and on Wednesday we will have Ella when Nathan has his friends at the house.  It's half term break this week.

We played a lot of "Pass the Pandas" amongst other things so managed to avoid him spending too much time on his iPad.

The weather has been horrible all weekend but I think the worst of the storms have passed now although it was still wet this evening. And of course the clocks went back so now it is getting dark earlier. 

This evening I've been to the local supermarket to collect the donations from the crates there and then I did my usual stint at the Foodbank sorting out collections from other Tesco branches.  Thankfully everyone got back to us fairly quickly this evening so it wasn't too late when we locked up and left for home.

I'm just having a bit of winding down time now before heading off to bed.

Have a good week all.

Shots on Sunday - 25/10/26

Only 2 pictures this week: (Warning - if you don't like spiders feel free to skip this post.)

I posted about this on Friday - a set of jigsaws I got through a local Facebook group for the bargain price of £8.  Something to keep me occupied now we're heading into winter and shorter days - our clocks changed last night.  An extra hour in bed was lovely but I do hate that it will now get dark so much earlier in the day.

And this might be Elsie:

 (It is actually only one spider - it was on the edge of the shower door so I managed to photograph it reflected as if there were two.)

I wrote about Elsie here.  She was last seen in my spare bedroom by my son when he was staying here.  So she may or may not exist.

This spider definitely exists (at least I think it still does) but as it was in the downstairs bathroom it's unlikely to be Elsie.  My son's description suggested Elsie was bigger than this but then he doesn't like spiders so he was probably exaggerating.

Anyway this one is now outside the house.  I caught it and tipped it out the bathroom window.  Of course it may have made its way back inside.  Or it may be dead.  I don't know or care really.  I just didn't want it joining me in the shower!

Friday's Fave Five 23/10/26

Well we are feeling the force of Storm Austen here today and Storm Boelo is set to hit on Saturday.  Thankfully we are only under a yellow warning here in London of strong winds and heavy rain but some parts of the country have seen disruptions for travel etc and in Brighton, (where one of Nick's sisters has a house) part of the derelict pier was washed away into the sea. (Details here.) Storm Boelo will also mainly affect northern parts of the UK so hopefully we will be ok.  It is a bit disconcerting when your Prime Minister starts telling us all we should have a 3 day supply of water, food etc in our homes ready for any disaster.

Thankfully it's not all doom and gloom here and Susanne reminds us each week to find the good things from our week and then we link up here.  Thanks Susanne.

1)  Well firstly I'm thankful for a safe and warm home when the weather is like this.  It's nice to be able to settle into a comfy chair with a cup of tea, a cozy blanket and either a book to read, knitting to do or TV to watch.

2)  Of course I could also do a jigsaw.  I managed to pick up 4 1000 piece jigsaws yesterday for £8 after spotting them on a Facebook local group and the person selling them was just around the corner from me.  Always nice to get a bargain.

3)  Family time this week - we babysat grandchildren Nathan & Ella on Saturday and then we had them and their Mummies here for dinner on Tuesday.  It was parents evening at their school and both of them got good reports from their teachers.  

4)  Getting out and about.  Nick and I went out for Sunday lunch last weekend which was nice.  Then on Wednesday I had a Knit and Natter group meet up which was nice.  I have a new project started. And today, despite the weather, a group of us met up for lunch at a local restaurant.  This was a group started by a local organiser for people who wanted to meet up for coffee/lunch in the local area.  We signed up via the library.  There are a few members that are also part of the Evening Book club plus some others and it's nice to meet up with different people and have a good chat.  We're planning a Christmas meal next.

5)  Being retired.  Not having to get up at a set time.  Being (mainly) able to enjoy my hobbies when I want.  Going to bed when I want.  Staying healthy.  Things I probably take for granted and shouldn't.  So many other things too and it's good to stop and think about all the blessings I enjoy.  We have been part of a child sponsorship scheme for many years now and this week we were given a new child to sponsor who lives in Malawi.  Reading about his community and their struggles reminds me of how fortunate I am.  

Have a good weekend all.