Friday's Fave Five - 31/7/20

Well it's Friday again so time to look back on the week and highlight some blessings.  This meme is hosted by Susanne over at Living to tell the story.

Pop over there to see who else is taking part and to find out how to join in.

I skipped joining in last week - it had been a funny old week and I was feeling fed up with the house process but things have been better this week so here are my 5:

1) We had a lovely time with Rory last Sunday.  It was our Son & DIL's 6th wedding anniversary! That time has flown!  Anyway we fed Rory, bathed him and then I put him to bed.  He's in an ordinary bed now but he made no fuss when I put him down.  He likes you to sit with him until he falls asleep but I actually left him when he was sleepy but not right asleep.  I expected him to tell me "No Nanny" but he didn't and when I checked on him shortly after he was sound asleep.  I hope the next baby is as good.

2)  There is room to move in my bedroom again.  We moved our daughter's stuff that was in the loft down into our bedroom a couple of weeks ago and it was driving me nuts.  We moved it all to our son's garage last weekend.  We just managed to fit everything in the car so we only had to do one trip!

3.  They did a drain survey on our house this week and it seemed fine.  This prompted us to get one done on the house we're buying and that was ok too.  Breathing a sigh of relief lol.

4.  Our downstairs toilet had started making a strange noise.  Our retired family plumber suggested it was probably the inlet valve & washer that needed changing.  A relatively easy job for any DIY minded person.  Which hubby is not!  But that's why we have insurance for things like that.  I went online to book an appointment at around noon and found I could get one for the same afternoon!  A lovely young man came and had it fixed in no time.  He seemed very competent and he was extremely chatty!  Probably took longer explaining everything etc than he did actually fixing it.  But hey when you're spending a lot of time cooped up inside just with hubby someone different to talk to is a bonus lol.

5.  We're gradually getting rid of our unwanted items.  We've used sites called Freecycle and Trash Nothing where you can list items you want to give away and have had interest for some of our items.  Hopefully some will be collected today.  A friend of Nick's who does car boot sales said he would be happy to take stuff as well so we're trying to collect everything together in the next day or so for him to collect and then see what we're left with.  I need the house fairly tidy by next weekend as our buyers are coming for another look.  They've agreed to keep our Freezer and Tumble Dryer which are in the cellar so that saves us the job of getting them out of the cellar and disposed of.  They also want a wardrobe and chest of drawers that we don't need in the new house so that's another disposal job avoided.  We seem to be going in the right direction.

I could also add 2 more things to my list - we discovered an I-Pod docking station yesterday that Hubby thought didn't work too well but I managed to get it connected up with his hi-fi system and it sounded fine.  He's pleased about that! 

We also found that our video player still works despite languishing under the TV for longer than I care to remember.  Yes we still have videos - including First Communion videos of our kids which we will have to embarrass them with at some point.  I'm thinking of getting a treadmill for the room in the garden at the new house and although we might not be able to get TV reception down there I'm sure I could watch DVDs or videos while using the treadmill.  Sounds like a plan to me.  Making plans is good!

Although with 3 grandbabies on the way and the possibility of our daughter trying to move house I'm not sure when I'll have the time lol.

Enjoy the weekend.  We're babysitting Nathan tomorrow and our eldest son is coming down from Nottingham.  Will be lovely to see him - last time was in February!

And another day dawns

I actually saw the dawn today - well saw it was getting light through the curtains.

Some nights I sleep reasonably well and others.... well let's say I'm well acquainted with our spare bed thanks to hubby's snoring/my restlessness/overheating/overactive mind......I'm sure you get the picture.

I made it through till almost 5 last night but after tossing and turning in the spare bed for over an hour I decided to give up fighting the desire for more sleep and got up.  Yes I know all you early birds will be saying this is not early but for this night owl it definitely is!

I spent quite a bit of time thinking about the move - where things will go, what we'll need to do.  To do lists for the actual moving process - things like labels on furniture that's not going to the new house but being left for the new owners here.  Oh but wait we haven't checked yet if they want certain items - note to self to check that out.  Note to self not to pack the masking tape - can't rely on post it notes not falling off!  Get the picture?

Organising was my thing when I worked so it does come fairly easily to me but this move is definitely daunting.  I did manage to persuade Hubby yesterday that we really don't need two crates of box files/ring binders/folders when we don't really do anything that would require them.  We didn't put all of them with the "dispose of" pile but we did reduce the number we're keeping.  Sigh!

One thing we did score a win on though was a crate of records and tapes and packaging materials from when Hubby had a spell of selling on Ebay.  He contacted one of his friends who does that sort of thing and he said yes to the box!  Hopefully he's picking them up tomorrow.  One less thing to move.

I probably should be more ruthless than I am but Hubby is more of a hoarder than I am.  I think he gets it from his Dad.  He was definitely of the "it might come in useful one day" clan.  My argument that, "if we haven't used it in over a year we're not likely to, and if we did get rid of it by mistake we can afford to replace it" falls on deaf ears. Although it is hard when I hate to just throw stuff out to end up in landfill but recycling can be time consuming.

Of course sitting here blogging is just my way of procrastinating about doing more sorting!  There is still a lot to do and now people are starting to talk about discussing dates for exchange and completion!  Yikes I need to get my skates on.  No, wait, they were another item I did manage to shift via Facebook lol.

Wednesday Hodgepodge 29/7/20

Wednesday's Hodgepodge is hosted by Joyce over at "From this side of the Pond".  Pop over there to see who is playing and how to join in.  If you do join in remember to visit your neighbour on the Linky List.  Have fun.

1. Last time you moved house? Something you've learned in moving house?

This is very apt as we're in the process of moving - the first time for 27 years!  I've only moved 4 times in my whole life and the first two I was two young to remember.  Then I moved in with hubby when we got married and after 9 years we moved to where we are at present.  Now we're moving to a new area and trying to sort out 27 years of "stuff".  Something I've learned in this process - keep your paperwork organised.  It's surprising what solicitors will ask you to produce!

2. Move mountains, move along, make a wrong move, moved to tears, get a move on, move up, move over, move out of the way, move the deck chairs on the Titanic, move it!...pick one and tell us how it fits your recent circumstances.

Ha, having felt like we've been in limbo for ages, what with Covid-19, lockdowns etc things finally seem to be moving with the house sale/purchase so now we have to get a move on with sorting out that "stuff".

3. What have you been doing to make yourself move (aka stay fit-active) during these strange times?
Hubby and I have been going out for a walk everyday.  We've missed a few days and hubby opted for bike rides on some days but we've been keeping it up.  Our new house is near forest and parkland so we'll have no excuse when we move to change our routine.

4. This week's calendar includes celebrations for the following foods-

National Coffee Milkshake Day (Sunday), National Creme Brûlée Day (Monday), National Milk Chocolate Day (Tuesday), National Chicken Wing Day (Wednesday), National Lasagne Day (Wednesday), National Cheesecake Day (Thursday), and National Avocado Day (Friday)

Which one on the list would you be most inclined to celebrate? Which would you be most inclined to skip?

I'd go for Thursday although most days look good (would possibly skip Wednesday) but FRIDAY COULD PASS ME STRAIGHT BY! lol

5. Next week's Hodgepodge lands in August! I know!! Raise your hand if you feel like July flew by in the blink of an eye? Now bid farewell to your July acrostic style. If you don't know what that means click here.

Hand is up!

July has flown by

Underwhelming this year

Leaving no particular memories

Yet I'll not shed a tear

6.  Insert your own random thought here.

Anyone want to help me pack! 

Another step forward....

Thank you to all those who stopped by and commented on yesterday's post.  It's definitely uplifting when you know you're not sitting here composing posts in a void and that people do read them!

The drain survey was done here yesterday.  Fortunately the engineer was able to lift our inspection cover that hasn't been disturbed in about 20 years!  And our drains are ok!  Of course we knew that but we understand the need for the buyers to check and be sure.

It made us feel that it was probably something we should get done on the house we're buying and we used the same company who were able to do the survey today and it was done first thing this morning!

Not quite so straightforward as here - apparently the inspection cover is located in the crawl space under the back extension of the house and would need 2 people to lift it off.  As an alternative the engineer removed the downstairs toilet and accessed the drains that way (and of course reinstated it afterwards!) and they all seem fine.  Not an ideal set up if we do have any problems in future but at least there is an inspection cover and we're aware of where it is.

So another box ticked.

We also did some admin yesterday answering questions the buyer's solicitor had raised, hopefully to their satisfaction.

We were a bit puzzled to be asked to provide more information about a "flood" (not something we've ever had) but it was an error.  Phew!  They wanted more info on an attempted break-in that happened years ago.  Hopefully they'll be reassured by the fact the attempt was unsuccessful and we've never had any actual break-ins while we've been here.

At last it feels like we're moving forward and I'm encouraged to get on with more sorting.  Apparently all the searches that solicitors conduct have come back on our house so we're expecting more questions in the next day or so but hopefully we can resolve any issues and look forward to discussing exchange and completion dates.

This move might actually happen!

Up and Down

Well it's been a week since I blogged properly (excluding my weekly photo) and it's been very up and down.

The downside was the ongoing saga with the house.  The survey on our house threw up issues relating to the roof, specifically the supporting structures, and also the electrical wiring.  A bit of negotiation followed (a drop in price) and hopefully we are back on track ....except today we are waiting for a survey to be done on our drains. 

The surveyor failed to notice we do actually have an inspection chamber for the drains.  No doubt he has reported that he was unable to check the drains and advised having a survey done.  We understand but ....if he had only asked while he was here we could have shown him where the inspection chamber is and also confirmed that we have never had a problem with the drains!  The buyers might still have wanted to get a survey done but at least they would have been working on correct information.

We don't anticipate any problems with it and we have made it clear we are not dropping our price any further.  Fingers crossed.

The survey on the house we're buying didn't really throw up any major issues but there are a few things our solicitor will need to check with regard to the building works that were done in the past to do with planning permission etc.  Again we're hoping that will all be ok.

All this uncertainty though is not good for my mental health which is already suffering from the pandemic.  It's hard to knuckle down and get on with sorting/cleaning etc when nothing seems certain.

So that was all the down side to the week - 2 steps forward, 1 back but still slowly moving forward.

But lots of ups too! 

Nick took a lot of rubbish we'd sorted to the tip and our gardener came this week so the garden looks tidier and the patio no longer looks like a rubbish dump.

We moved all our daughter's stuff over to our son's garage for now so our bedroom is no longer cluttered with lots of boxes.

We saw a few members of Nick's family this week and we babysat Rory a couple of times.  We've also had a video chat with Nathan which was better than usual.  He often wants to call us but then gets distracted easily and doesn't want to chat but doesn't want Mummy to chat either. 

Nathan and Rory and their parents also got together this weekend in a park so that was nice for them.

We had hoped to see our eldest son at the weekend but that visit was cancelled when his Father-in-law thought he might have picked up the virus.  Thankfully he was able to get tested quickly and the test was negative and now he's feeling fine so we all breathed a sigh of relief and hopefully Matt will visit next weekend.

We've had rain - not the best thing for getting out to walk but it's saved me the job of watering the garden.

All our family, including the pregnant DILs and babies are well. 

Hold that thought!

20 in 20 - Weekly Photo #29 - 19/7/20

Snapped this one in the garden this week.

And then we had Rory for a few hours on Friday. "Read to me Grandpa!"

A bit of News!

Well we finally got some feedback on the survey done on our house today.

Our buyers got the report back last Wednesday but didn't e-mail the agent until late on Saturday so we didn't get to hear about it until today.

Apparently there was nothing "devastating" in the report but it did throw up a few things they weren't expecting relating to gas, electrics and the roof.

As far as I can tell the issues with the gas and electrics was about having safety certificates for them.  Which we had already forwarded to our solicitors who I'm sure will have forwarded to their solicitors.  Left hand talking to right hand????

Anyway they've now also been sent to the agent to send to the buyers direct.

We've no idea what the roof issue is but hopefully we'll know more in a day or two and then we can see what needs to be done to resolve the problem. 🙏

Feels like two steps forward one back!  But at least we've had some feedback at last.

On a brighter note we drove over to visit one of hubby's sisters today and were surprised when 2 more sisters turned up with their husbands.  We sat socially distanced in the garden.  It was lovely to catch up with them.  First time we've seen any of them since we were locked down in March.

And here's a pic of Rory from yesterday - he does love playing with cars - he spends ages just lining them up them rearranging them!

Review - Half a World Away - Mike Gayle

Half a World Away by Mike Gayle
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Kerry Hayes is single mum, living on a tough south London estate. She provides for her son by cleaning houses she could never hope to afford. Taken into care as a child, Kerry cannot ever forget her past.

Noah Martineau is a successful barrister with a beautiful wife, daughter and home in fashionable Primrose Hill. Adopted as a child, Noah always looks forward, never back.

When Kerry reaches out to the sibling she lost on the day they were torn apart as children, she sets in motion a chain of events that will have life-changing consequences for them both.

Have your tissue box handy.

Seriously, have tissues to hand as this book will make you cry but it's also uplifting. I couldn't put it down.

View all my reviews

20 in 20 - Weekly Photo #28 - 12/7/20

Well technically I'm a day late but it's been that sort of week.

This is a screen shot of the photos I took this week.  Not very exciting.  Apart from the rucksack they're all of jigsaws that I've done.  I was trying to see if any of our kids wanted them before I add them to the "pass on" pile in my house.  As in pass on to someone else rather than just trash.

We're still sorting things into that pile or the trash pile, slowly.

We feel a bit in limbo again this week - the survey on our house was done on Tuesday 7th and we've yet to get any feedback on it, despite chasing the estate agents.  We don't know if our buyers have had the report back or not and consequently we don't know if there is anything to worry about, or not.

I'm sure the optimists out there are shouting out "no news is good news"  or "don't worry until there is something to worry about" which of course I get.  I'm just not very good at doing it.  Of course there are various scenarios from this, the worst case being that there is something very wrong with our house, the buyers will pull out and we will be back at square one with a problem to solve.

I know that this would not be the end of the world.  There are things that could happen that would be much worse.  And of course we would deal with whatever is thrown at us.  It's just the not knowing that's frustrating.  It deters me from making much effort in the house.  I'm not good at tempting fate so the plans to do a really thorough deep clean is on hold but the longer we wait to move forward the less time we may have if suddenly everything takes off and we head for the end of August deadline that has been proposed.

The Covid-19 situation is not helping.  Especially now that restrictions are being eased and the messages given out by the Government are far from clear.  They seem to be passing the responsibility for keeping safe onto employers and the general public.  Our PM even seems to think that things might be quite normal by Christmas.  It would be lovely if he's right but I'm not convinced.  Wearing masks, keeping apart and avoiding certain activities is not normal!  But I've ordered some pipe cleaners and plan on making some more masks so that we're prepared although we're still being extra cautious.  It will keep my idle hands and busy brain occupied.

In other news Hubby and I actually sat down and watched a film together last night.  "3 Billboards outside Ebbing, Missouri" was on.  I'd say it was an OK film.  I didn't like the ending and it was hard to follow what was being said at times due to the accents and the sound seeming a bit muffled and of course if you don't like swearing it's one to be missed.  During the adverts they were promoting "The Post" which will be shown next week.  That's the last film Hubby and I went to see at the cinema.  Thankfully there are so many films available on cable/Netflix that we don't miss going to the cinema. (We don't even miss the popcorn as we're not lovers of it lol)

On a final positive note we're seeing Grandson Rory this afternoon.  Can't be miserable around him!

#SoCS 11/7/20 - Song

Your Friday prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is “song.” First, find a picture–the closest one to you. Your prompt is the title and/or the lyrics of the first song that comes to mind when you look at the picture. Have fun!

#SoCS is hosted by Linda - here

Pop over to her blog to see how to take part and who else is joining in.

Well I am sitting at my kitchen table composing this post and this is the picture that I can see:

The photo is of several generations of my Hubby's family.  Hubby is top left, his Dad is top right.  Some of hubby's siblings are on the donkey and his Dad, siblings and parents are the bottom right.

The song that comes immediately to mind is: "We are Family" by Sister Sledge. 

Hubby's family are very close and it's ever expanding.  He's the eldest of 8, there are 23 children between them, 13 grandchildren and 4 expected grandchildren.  Sadly neither of his parents are still with us but his Mum did get to see some of her great grandchildren.

We get together quite often and usually look forward to a week away together in August.  Unfortunately that has been cancelled for this year.  We may have to make do with an outdoor picnic somewhere.  There will be singing!

Friday's Fave Five - 10/7/20

Well it's Friday again so time to look back on the week and highlight some blessings.  This meme is hosted by Susanne over at Living to tell the story.

Pop over there to see who else is taking part and to find out how to join in.

Here are my 5 for this week:

1)  We went for a walk in the park with Rory and his Mummy at the weekend.  He is always so pleased to see us.

2)  Progress with the house move - the surveyor has been to our house and we have booked for a survey to be done on the house we are buying.  We also had a whole load of paperwork to go through yesterday for the new house.  Our solicitor seems to be on the ball with it all.

3)  Our Chancellor cut Stamp Duty this week so that will save us some money.

4)  I got a haircut!  (I've posted pictures here.)

5)  Nathan's baby sibling is doing fine - 20 week scan done this week and all ok.  Also Poppy's baby sibling does not carry the same genetic condition so that's a relief for my niece and her partner.  Poppy's condition is lifelong and requires a careful diet and overnight tube feeding.  It's particularly challenging if she's unwell especially with tummy bugs and there was a 1 in 4 chance of the new baby having the same condition.  Hopefully my niece can now enjoy the rest of her pregnancy.

The week has been much of a repeat of previous weeks really.  (Apart from the haircut!)  Things have been relaxed here quite a bit.  Shops are open as are pubs and restaurants but all having to follow strict guidance on social distancing and hygiene.  We're not really venturing out yet.  It still doesn't feel that safe to be in busy places with lots of people.  The number of cases/deaths are still falling but very gradually now and some places have seen a spike in numbers.  This thing is still out there but apparently they have agreed to dismantle the temporary morgue so that's another blessing.

Have a good weekend all.

20 in 20 - Weekly Photo #27 - 5/7/20

I finally managed to get a haircut!

Before:

After:

I decided it was time for a change.  I'm getting used to it lol.

And yes I'm rubbish at taking selfies!

Wednesday Hodgepodge - 8/7/20

Wednesday's Hodgepodge is brought to us courtesy of Joyce at
From this side of the pond 

If you want to take part or just see what others have posted pop over to Joyce's page - the Linky List is at the end of Joyce's post and don’t forget to visit at least your neighbours on the list.

1. The Hodgepodge lands this year on National Secret Keeping Day...on a scale of 1-10 (with 1 being I'm a blabbermouth and 10 being I'm a vault) how good are you at keeping secrets?

I think I'm probably at a 9.

I read here nine jobs for people who can keep a secret-cybersecurity worker, executive assistant, housekeeper, lawyer, nuclear plant technician, physician, private investigator, psychologist, security guard  Of the jobs listed, which one most interests you and why?

I think psychologist would interest me the most as I'm more interested in mental health issues than actually working right now.

2. What's the secret of life (or one of them anyway)?

As in long life?  Good Life?  Happy life?  I don't think a blog post could encompass all of that lol.

3. Off the record, best-kept secret, a fly on the wall, top secret, my lips are sealed, secret shopper, as quiet as a mouse, poker face, spill the beans, open secret, bite your tongue...which secret idiom can you best relate to right now? Explain.

Biting my tongue would probably be most apt right now.  Patience after all these weeks in lockdown is running thin.

4. Spill here the secret ingredient in one of your favorite recipes?

Chocolate!  Though hardly a secret lol.

5. My mama celebrates a big birthday tomorrow. Share a favorite quote, song lyric, saying, or verse of scripture that will add some sunshine to her day (ours too!)

Happy Birthday - Stevie Wonder or maybe You are the sunshine of my life?

6.  Insert your own random thought here.

I would be absolutely rubbish at playing poker, I might be good at keeping secrets but no good at bluffing!

20 in 20 - June Update

Well we're almost a week into July so this update is a bit more timely than last month! Here we go:

1. Fill out weekly/daily planner
A few slips ups but mainly I'm still doing this and it does help to keep me organised although it's harder to stay focussed some days.
✅
2. Garden projects: Get window boxes for front garden plus big planters. Stepping stones for rear garden.
No projects until we move.
❌
3. Plan a lunch date/date night with Nick once a month (theatre/cinema/meal/outing)
Well in theory we could get out now - restrictions have eased a lot over the last few weeks but we are still being very cautious.
❌
4. Eat at 6 new-to-me restaurants
Maybe at some point we'll feel brave enough to try and make progress on this.  Not just yet though.
❌
5. Complete the A – Z blogging challenge
Done ✅

6. Plan Family weekend for my birthday
We have a lot of celebrations to catch up on but no immediate plans.
❌ 

7. Take up an exercise class
Not happening!
❌
8. Plan a road trip/holiday with hubby.
Hopefully one day!
❌
9. Visit the beach
At some point!
❌
10. Complete my reading challenge (52 books for the year)
I managed to read 6 books in June so I'm still on track for this.  Some were from my TBR pile including The Book Thief which I really enjoyed.  I added a few more to my Kindle app - books are about the only thing I'm spending money on right now! Full details can be found on my Goodreads page here.
✅
11. Keep a gratitude diary
I'm still failing at this but I do try and do the Friday blog post relating to this each week.
❌

12. Blog at least once per week (plus regular memes)
I dropped down to just 16 posts in June with hardly any original posts so not a good month overall.❌

13. Take a photo each week and blog about it.
I might have been a tad late with some of these but still trying to keep to the plan.✅
 
14. Read 12 books on my TBR pile.  
Completed!  ✅

15. Finish knitting WIP (blanket of squares)

No change during June. ❌

16. Try out a new recipe or do a bake each month 
Oh this is not happening!  Motivation on this front is very low at present ❌
 
17. Visit/see Noah every month
Well this will need to be reviewed now that we can actually get together with family members.  My son is planning to come to London soon but now we are in the process of moving we'll just have to do the best we can.  ❌

18. Get damp treatment done in house
At this point in time our house still has a buyer and they are aware that damp treatment is needed.  We reduced our price to reflect that so we won't have to get that work done.
❌
19. Maintain weight
Fluctauated during the month but no overall gain.
✅
20. Be kind to myself. Whilst I think it's good to set myself challenges sometimes life gets in the way or I just have days where I really can't be bothered. I need to accept this and not be hard on myself when things don't go to plan.
Ha "sometimes life gets in the way"  little did I know!
✅

Well only 35%  ✅ in June.  Of course much of that is still due to Covid-19 so out of my control.  Restrictions have eased a lot over the last few weeks but it is still scary how many people are still contracting the virus and people are still dying.  I really don't want to risk getting it or giving it to other members of the family.  We're being as careful as we can.  The planned move is taking up our time now too.  It's still not guaranteed but we're doing our best to sort out all our belongings so that when contracts are exchanged we'll be as well placed as possible for moving.  I'm trying not to let it all overwhelm me but it is a lot to get our heads around - we've lived here for over 27 years now and for Hubby he'll be moving out of the area he has lived in all his life!

 

Review - The Authenticity Project - Clare Pooley

The Authenticity Project by Clare Pooley
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Six strangers with one universal thing in common: their lives aren’t always what they make them out to be.

What would happen if they told the truth instead?

Julian Jessop is tired of hiding the deep loneliness he feels. So he begins The Authenticity Project – a small green notebook containing the truth about his life.

Leaving the notebook on a table in his friendly neighbourhood café, Julian never expects Monica, the owner, to track him down after finding it. Or that she’ll be inspired to write down her own story.

Little do they realize that such small acts of honesty hold the power to impact all those who discover the notebook and change their lives completely.

This is a lovely feel good book. Ideal for reading during lockdown. A bit predictable but that didn't spoil it for me. Lots of good reminders about living for today, being honest and upfront about our lives and not being so obsessed with social media!

View all my reviews

Review - Whatever You Love - Louise Doughty

Whatever You Love by Louise Doughty
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

"I study the photo in the same way that a spy might study the face of a counterpart in a rival organization. I am calm as I make this promise: I am going to find out what you love, then whatever it is, I am going to track it down and I am going to take it away from you."

After the death of Laura's nine-year-old daughter, Betty, is ruled an accident in a hit-and-run, Laura decides to take revenge into her own hands, determined to track down the man responsible. All the while, her inner turmoil is reopening the old wounds of her passionate love affair with Betty's father, David, and his abandonment of the family for another woman.

Haunted by her past and driven to a breaking point by her thirst for retribution, Laura discovers the unforeseen lengths she is willing to go to for love and vengeance.

The blurb on the book suggests this is going to be a thriller but I wouldn't class it as that. It's written before and after the tragic death of Laura's 9-year-old daughter Betty. It's quite a dark, harrowing story and it is well written but, it goes off the rails a bit, and the revenge promised doesn't take the form you'd expect. It's not even clear what actually happens. There are some graphic sex scenes in there, one which stretches the imagination a big step too far. And as for the epilogue, really it should be classed as a prologue.

View all my reviews

#SoCS - 4/7/20 - Tossing it out!

Well it's been a while since I've done one of these.  It's hosted by Linda over here  Check out the link to see the details and who else is taking part.

Your Friday prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is “toss.” Use it any way you’d like. Enjoy!

Well firstly I'm just going to toss out there "Happy 4th July" to all my American visitors and hope you're having a good day.

We visited Grandson Rory today and were tossing a ball at the park.  He was so excited to see us and he does love running around in the park.  He hasn't quite got the hang of kicking the ball yet but he knows how to throw it.  It was quite windy and the ball was only a lightweight thing so that was fun as it was carried away quite a bit.

We've also been tossing a lot of stuff from our house this week - well sorting it into piles to dispose of in various ways before we move.  One of the things that went today was our old 6 berth frame tent.  It has sat in our cellar for longer than I care to remember but it seemed fine.  We didn't get around to putting it up but we opened out the canvas and it looked ok, no sign of mildew or anything else.  Of course there's not a lot of call for heavy old fashioned style tents these days.  One of our friends put out some feelers for it and we had a guy come for it yesterday.  Today he brought it back.  He realised that the tent and poles took up so much space in his car there wouldn't be room for all the other equipment you need for camping!

Hubby then listed it on various local sites plus Facebook Marketplace and there was a lot of interest straight away.  Probably because it was free.  Anyway we let it go to the first taker and I'm not convinced that he's taken it to use, more likely he's taken it to try and sell it.  But hey we don't need the money and we're just glad not to have to take it to the new house when the time comes.

We have a lot more tossing to do!

20 in 20 - Weekly Photo #26 - 28/6/20

Well we're halfway through the year and I think I've managed to post a photo every week with just the odd blip here and there.  Hopefully as our lockdown eases I might get to find new things to photograph!

This was taken earlier in the week - I just liked the cloud formation.

These are all showing areas that were on fire over the last week.  When will people get the message that BBQs and dry open land do not mix?!

This was taken on Wednesday.  It looked like there was a fire behind the trees.  Fortunately it was just the sunset.