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.

Read then Write - 22/10/26

Well I decided to give up on The Ministry of Utmost Happiness by Arundhati Roy as it was not making me happy at all.  I'm not sure many from the Book Club will have read it when we next meet.

That freed me up to read a couple of +books of my own choice.

Firstly I read this one:

How to Age Disgracefully by Clare Pooley
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Lydia imagines her new job running a senior citizens' social club three afternoons a week will involve drinking tea while playing gentle games of cards, listening to Beatles tracks and reminiscing about food rationing and the Blitz. She does not expect to find a failed actor addicted to shoplifting, a woman who's been hiding from a mysterious and very chequered past, and a prolific yarn-bomber. It turns out that their ideas about how to spend their afternoons are very different. After a tragic accident means the council threatens to sell the community centre where they meet, the social club, aided by their friends in the nursery next door and a geriatric orphaned mongrel, set out to save it. They might not be able to save the hall, but they might just save each other - if their pasts don't catch up with them first.

Loved this one. It's very contemporary and very real. I found myself turning page after page. (Helped by having ordered a large print version from the library!)

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While I was in the library picking that one up I found they had the second book in the Nicci French series featuring DCI Maud O'Connor.  Well of course I had to take that one home too.

The Last Days of Kira Mullan by Nicci French
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Nancy North is ready to put her life back together. After suffering a psychotic break that ruined friendships, stalled her fledgling restaurant, and forced her to move out of her comfortable flat, she’ll do anything to get back to normal. She and her partner Felix—who has been a saint through her recent troubles—move into a new flat for a fresh start.

Nancy is taking her pills, seeing her therapist, and avoiding unnecessary stress. She’s doing absolutely everything right, but something is still very, very wrong. On the first day in the new flat, she hears them again; the mysterious voices that triggered her first episode. It could just be the unfamiliar sounds of water in the pipes, or the screaming baby across the hall, but deep down she knows something more sinister is going on. Her fears are confirmed when the young woman in the downstairs flat, Kira, is found dead. Felix, her neighbors, and even the police insist it’s a tragic suicide, but the pieces aren’t adding up for Nancy. Can she trust her own instincts, or is it all in her head?

Meanwhile, Detective Inspector Maud O’Connor has misgivings about her colleagues’ investigation of Kira’s death. The boys club at the top seems intent on closing the case as quickly as possible, especially since the only person who thinks it could be anything other than suicide is known to be unreliable. But Maud knows what it’s like to be dismissed as an overemotional woman and isn’t so quick to discount Nancy’s claims. As tensions reach an explosive breaking point, the line between fact and delusion becomes dangerously blurred, but Maud will stop at nothing to ensure that the truth comes to light.

Another good page turner from Nicci French featuring DCI Maud O'Connor. Nancy North and her partner Felix have no sooner moved into a new flat in a new area when one of the other tenants, Kira Mullan, is found hanging in her flat. The verdict seems to be suicide. But after the chance encounter Nancy had with Kira on the day she died, Nancy is not so sure. The problem is Nancy is recovering from a breakdown and no one believes her. The more she tries to convince people that Kira's death needs to be investigated the more her partner and neighbours seem to conspire against her. There are some disturbing aspects to the book relating to Nancy's mental health and Maud does not really feature until part three of the book but that proves to be a turning point. I read this in 2 days because I wanted to see how it would end and I wasn't disappointed.

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