Sunday - 14/12/25

I managed to get out for a walk this afternoon just before it started to get dark.  Despite having had a couple of dry days around the lake is still sooo muddy.

The swan family were having a good preening session.

This is a new swan pair on the lake this year so it will be interesting to see if they chase their cygnets off now that they are almost fully grown.  Time will tell.  (The previous swan pair on the lake always chased off their cygnets once they were grown.)

It was good to get out in the fresh air and stop stressing about Christmas for a while.  I feel that I'm way behind with preparations this year but I have managed to get the tree and decorations up and my cards written and sent.  I actually did some e-cards this year for people I had e-mail addresses for.  I used a site where you can make a donation to charity in lieu of the cost of cards and postage so that felt like a good thing to do.

I have a few things ordered which hopefully will arrive on time but I still need to get some bits and pieces and I need to get my head around the shopping list.  I'm planning to get out early tomorrow and get the final present bits and then I'll be able to concentrate on the food prep. 

I need to get ahead as my son and his family are arriving at the weekend and next week I have a couple of days of Foodbank sessions - Monday we will be packing hampers and on Tuesday we will be delivering them.

It's a busy time of year!

Friday's Fave Five - 12/12/25

Oh goodness, I think I need a December theme to keep me blogging more often.  The November Gratitude log kept me posting most days but I've gone a week again with no posts.  Thankfully Susanne reminds us on Fridays to look back on the week and find the blessings and things we're thankful for so here we go.

1)  A good weekend for the Foodbank.  We do a big campaign early in December at our local Tesco supermarket to collect items for the Christmas hampers we prepare for our beneficiaries.  Despite times being harder for a lot of people and things being more expensive we still had a great response from the local community with goods and money being donated.  It's a good time to dust off the Santa hat and Christmas jumper!

2)  My Christmas tree is up!  I'd hoped to do it at the weekend but it was eventually started on Monday and finally finished on Tuesday.  It looks pretty much the same as always (it's artificial not real) but it works for me.  I have a few other bits and pieces out around our living space but I don't go overboard with decorations.  I've also managed to get my Christmas cards written and in the post today.  Still a few presents to buy but I'm making progress.  If we go to Vermont again next year I need to try and get things done before we go lol!  I also need to finalise the shopping delivery order that's coming on the 23rd.  So far I only have a turkey and a joint of beef in my trolley!

3)  I hosted the evening library book club group here on Monday and 4 people came so better than the previous meet up where only 1 person turned up.  We had a good time discussing lots of things, including the book! (The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo - by Taylor Jenkins Reid.)

4)  Hubby has finished the eye drop regime following his laser treatment last week and all seems to be good.  

5)  I didn't get to my keep fit session this week as my back has not been great since we got back from Vermont but I did meet up with my "Ladies Lunch" group afterwards for coffee.  It was good to catch up with them.

If you want to join in or see other bloggers' posts go here.

Friday's Fave Five - 5/12/25

Each week I try to catch up with other bloggers and list the things I've been grateful for.  This link up is hosted by Susanne who is great at reminding us each week.  Join in here.

I'm still going with the snowflake picture - Susanne switched to one showing Christmas decorations but we haven't even started decorating for Christmas yet lol.

But there are things I'm grateful for

1) Safe travels to and from Vermont.  It's a long trek - we left our hosts in Vermont around 1.30 pm on Monday and after an hour's drive to a coach station, a 2 and a half hour coach ride to Boston Airport, an overnight flight to London Heathrow and then a train ride to our local station we finally walked back into our own home around 12 noon on Tuesday.  Thankfully our daughter picked us up from the station saving us a bus ride!  The only hitch was getting off at the wrong terminal in Boston but the shuttle bus service soon had us in the right place!

2)  Successful laser treatment for my husband.  He's been at risk of pressure building up in his eyes leading to glaucoma but on Wednesday he had laser treatment which should alleviate the problem.  He's got a follow up appointment in January but hopefully then they will just keep monitoring him at regular intervals.  

3)  My engagement ring is fixed!  I lost a stone from it a few weeks ago but it's now been replaced and the whole setting has had an overhaul.  It looks like new - but so it should as it was an expensive repair so I'm also grateful that we can afford to cover such unexpected expenses.

4)  My daughter made sure we had fresh supplies when we got back, including milk, bread and eggs.  We had meals in the freezer for dinner and then I was able to organise a shopping delivery for the next day.  It was lovely to be able to make a cup of tea when we got back and then take a 3 hour nap!  And the house was warm as she was working from our home that day.

5)  The blogging community.  It was lovely to have all the good wishes for safe travels.  I'm still trying to catch up on reading all your posts.  We were only gone for 12 days but so much to catch up on!

Have a good weekend all.

Gratitude Log 26-30/11/25

A few days to catch up on here!

Wednesday (26th)was a quiet day - there was some prepping going on for Thanksgiving and I was just grateful for more time interacting with the grandsons.

Thursday (27th) was Thanksgiving and we had a lovely day.  We travelled to our host’s sister’s house which is near Burlington and we were made to feel so welcome. There were 16 adults in total and 5 children.  We were wined and dined and had a really nice time. 

Friday (28th) I’m grateful that we were able to take our son and DIL out for a meal while our hosts babysat the grandsons. It was good to have time for adult chat.

Saturday (29th) I was grateful to get out for a walk and visit a craft fair in town.  It was cold but stayed dry although we’d had snow overnight.

Today I’m grateful to get some laundry done so we won’t have too much dirty washing when we travel home tomorrow.  It’s been a good trip and saying goodbye to the family tonight will be hard.

Gratitude Log 22 - 25/11/25

Well I’m catching up on a few days here:

Saturday I was grateful for safe travels to our son’s house in Vermont. Our flight from Heathrow left a little late but we arrived in Boston almost on time. The bus to Lebanon was fine and Michael was waiting to take us on the last leg of the journey.  We had a quick chat with our hosts Paul and Crystal (DIL’s parents) but were soon ready for bed!

Saturday was quite a lazy day catching up with the family and enjoying hugs with the grandkids and getting over jet lag.

On Sunday I was grateful to spend time at a museum with my DIL and grandsons. (The Echo museum in Burlington)

Yesterday I was able to look after the grandsons while my son and DIL were at work and in the evening we took our hosts out for dinner.

We had the boys again this morning and tonight we’re having dinner at their house.

It’s cold here but not much snow yet. I’m glad for warm clothing though.

I tried to add some photos but I need to work out some settings issues on my iPad.

Friday's Fave Five - 21/11/25

Well I'm going with the snowflake picture this week - we had rain that turned to snow on Tuesday but it was too wet for it to settle but it has been so cold since then.  Winter is coming!

But it's Friday so time to look back on the week and remember the good things.  Susanne reminds us to do this each week and provides a link up here.

1)  Well I'm actually preparing this post on Thursday evening as we will be travelling all day tomorrow so grateful for blogging tools that allow me to get ahead of myself.

2)  A warm home - as mentioned this week the weather has turned really cold so I'm glad we can turn the heating up and stay warm.

3)  Thankful for celebrating Granddaughter Ella's 5th birthday on Monday.  We went for dinner and of course there was cake!

4)  A knit and natter meet up on Wednesday evening.  There was suggestion of calling it off as it was so cold but I pointed out that if we cancelled every time it was cold outside we might not meet up again until Spring!

5)  Thankful that I think we're all set for our trip to Vermont.  Cases are packed, check-in is done, all the last minute shopping got done.  We're off in the morning. (Friday).  Also thankful for a new iPad this week so I may manage a blog or two while we're away.  But I'll probably be too busy enjoying being with the Grandsons and family.

Have a good weekend all.

Gratitude Log - 20/11/25

Today I'm grateful that we can afford to keep our house warm - it's very cold outside!

Wednesday Hodgepodge - 19/11/25

Joyce provides the questions.  We compile our answers and then we link up here .

1. Let's do our gratitude question first this week...what's the best thing about your home, and have you taken time to enjoy it lately? 

It's big enough for family to come and stay.  We had the whole crowd here in the summer and our eldest son and family more recently.

2. Do you like squash? Of the varieties listed, which one's your favourite and how do you like it prepared? Is squash of some sort on your Thanksgiving menu?? 

acorn, butternut, delicata, spaghetti, zucchini, crookneck (yellow squash), patty pan

Not a big fan of squash but we do have butternut occasionally and courgettes (zucchini) are ok when well mixed in with other ingredients.

As for the Thanksgiving menu that's not within my control but I will be having a Thanksgiving meal.

3. Last time you were 'squashed in' somewhere, or felt squashed? 

Coming home on the Tube (London Underground) recently after a get together with friends.

4. Have you ever played squash? What about other 'racquet sports' such as racquetball, tennis, pickleball, badminton, table tennis (ping pong)? Are these sports something you enjoy? 

I have played squash, tennis, badminton and table tennis over the years but not so much recently.

5. Something in today's society or culture that feels like a 'racket' to you? If you don't like that one, tell us about a place you've been recently where there was a lot of 'racket'. 

Shrinkflation, aka package downsizing aka price pack architecture. 

Since when did a 250g pack of butter only have 200g in it?!!!!!

6.  Insert your own random thought here. 

Supposed to be going to a Knit and Natter session tonight but it's turned really cold here and we've even had snow today although it's probably too wet from the rain for it to settle.  But I'm digging out all my warm clothes and cold weather gear because by the weekend we will be in Vermont where there is definitely snow!  (And grandchildren 😍)

Gratitude log - 18/11/25

Today I’m grateful for a haircut!

Gratitude Log - 17/11/25

Today I am grateful for our Granddaughter Ella, who today turned 5!

Determined not to smile!

Of course I'm grateful for all our grandchildren but Ella is the only one with a birthday during November.  She was the last to arrive after 5 grandsons so I'm very grateful to have a granddaughter and she takes no prisoners as the expression goes.  She may be the youngest and the only girl but she holds her own lol.

The photos aren't great but we did have a nice afternoon with her and Nathan after school.

Gratitude Log - 16/11/25

Anyone remember this?

Any youngsters thinking what on earth is that?

Years ago (I was about 3 I think) my Mother had to have a hysterectomy.  At that time she was still doing washing by hand but had a spin dryer.  To make her life easier my Dad bought her a Twin Tub washing machine.  

Now I get that it was probably easier than doing it by hand but easy? Definitely not.

First you had to fill the washing tub compartment and wait for the water to heat up.....

Then the washing went in.  Washing that had been sorted into various groups, whites, light colours, dark colours etc.

The washing got a swirl in the washing tub.

Then you had to lift out the washing into the spinnner part of the machine.  I can remember the long handled wooden tongs we had for doing that.  You couldn't put your hands in the water - it would be too hot.

Now you had to remember what to do with the drain hose.  While doing the initial spin it had to be connected back into the washing tub so you didn't lose the water from there.  Next it had to be put into the sink as the water was spun out having remembered to connect another hose from the tap to the spinner to rinse the washing before spinning all the water out.  

And repeat!  Oh and at the end you would have to drain out the water from the washing tub which involved a bowl on the floor at the end - gravity you know.  Lovely dirty water!

So today I am grateful for my automatic washing machine and to its inventor.  It makes multi-tasking a doddle!

Oops, where did Friday go? 15/11/25

I'm a day late but it's good to look back over the week and find blessings I haven't already included in my November Gratitude log posts.  Susanne keeps us on our toes with this, reminding us every Friday to do a post and then link up here.  Thank you Susanne.

1)  Well I'm keeping the autumn picture because there are still a lot of leaves around, although a lot more on the ground than on the trees now.  It's also been quite mild this week but we have had quite a bit of rain.  I'm thankful that's it's not got really cold yet.

2)  Leftovers!  Our DIL made a veggie Lasagne earlier in the week and as usual made too much so our Daughter brought it with her when she worked from "home" here.  It was delicious and saved us having to prepare a meal.

3)  A good meet up of the afternoon book club.  There were only 4 of us but we had good discussions about the book we'd read and sorted out choices for the next 2 reads so we won't be waiting around for the library to get books ordered in.  They also had my library card at the library.  I'd managed to leave it behind (probably on the self-service machine) again!

4)  A good training day at The Hub yesterday on Mental Health awareness.  It was really interesting and helpful.

5)  Cuddle time with my daughter's kitten.

I got an SOS on Thursday - my daughter and family had been out a lot longer than they intended and were stuck in traffic - could I possibly go and check on the kitten.  As you can see Milo did not think the laptop should be on my lap - that was where he wanted to be.  It was nice to actually give in and relax with the kitten - Thursday had been a busy day!

Well that's me caught up with what should have been posted yesterday.

Today I'm grateful for time this afternoon to catch up with other bloggers and get myself up to date again and now a quiet evening in with Strictly Come Dancing to watch.

Enjoy the rest of the weekend all.

A Day in the Life - Autumn 13/11/25

This idea came from Joyce who blogs here.  The idea is to pick a day and write about your day and then share it on Joyce's post.

Joyce had sensibly prepared hers in advance.  I chose today, Thursday 13th November 2025.

Thursdays are always busy for me as it's my main volunteering day at the Foodbank.

My alarm went off at 7.30.  Usually there's no alarm unless there is an appointment or something planned.  I love being retired.

Usually before I move I do the daily Wordle and the various other puzzles on the NYT puzzle app.  Today there was only time for Wordle before getting up.

By the time I got downstairs this was the time.

Time to get a move on.  Let's see what the weather looks like.

Not too bad.  It actually stayed dry until the evening and was quite mild.

Kettle next - need my first cup of tea!

Hubby was showing no signs of moving so I set the air fryer to warm up while I had a quick shower.  After showering I threw some sausages in the air fryer and went to get dressed.  I managed to get downstairs again in time to fry a couple of eggs and do some toast.  Days at the Foodbank require fuel!

Hubby has an extra slice of toast with marmalade.  I went for a slice of fruit loaf this morning.

Another part of my morning routine is medication to keep my blood pressure under control.  Annoyingly none of these medications have the days of the weeks on the packs hence the Tuesday on the top pack to remind me which day of the week I started the pack on.  I know, first world problems.

Here am I ready to go, complete with Hub fleece.

This is the church set up ready for the session.

This is the kitchen area.  All our beneficiaries can get a hot drink plus we have pastries and also do things like jacket potatoes or soup for lunch.

This is the stockroom where I spend most of my time, sorting out what comes in on the delivery.  Today we had lots of carrots and cucumber delivered as well as potatoes.  We do like to be able to provide people with fresh food as well as staples like rice and pasta and canned goods.It was busy at the Foodbank today.  Besides the big delivery of food we had first thing, we also had a group of schoolchildren bring down a donation which was lovely. 

I was on my own in the stockroom today so I didn't manage to get everything put away but I did do a lot.  I didn't finish until nearly 2pm having got there at 9 am.

My next thing on the to do list was to go to nearby Walthamstow which is just 2 stops by train.  I needed to see if I could get my engagement ring repaired.  I lost a diamond from it a week or so ago.  I found the shop I'd been recommended quite quickly and they will source a new diamond and replace a missing claw as well as strengthen the other claws.  It will probably feel like a completely new ring by the time they've finished - it should at the price it's going to cost.  But hey it's my engagement ring, I've had it 42 years!

I came back on the bus as that involved less walking and less stairs.  By the time I got home my step count was:

It was definitely time for this:

I grabbed this while I was out plus a chicken bake which I ate while I was waiting for the bus home.  Lunch didn't really happen today.

While I was enjoying my tea I finished off more of the NYT puzzles and my daily challenge below.

My next chore involved this:

It's a bag for my vacuum cleaner.  I was pretty sure I'd lost the diamond from my engagement ring when I was searching down the backs and sides of the sofa when my husband mislaid his keys.  Given the cost of replacing the stone I decided to put a clean bag in the cleaner, give the sofas a thorough vacuum and see if the diamond turned up.  Sadly it didn't but at least I tried. 

I then sat down to catch up on some TV but Hubby messaged to say he was running late (he'd had an appointment at the Moorfields (an Eye Hospital) and could I do something about dinner.  Hmm that's not usually on my agenda.  He's the cook in our house.

Anyway we had some Bolognese sauce in the freezer which we had with pasta.  Nothing complicated if I'm cooking!

Still no good at selfies lol!

During our dinner I got a message from my daughter.  Was there any way I could go and check on their kitten as they'd been out and were held up in traffic and were worried about him.

My plan was to get this post done while I was there but Milo had other plans:

So here I am back home, having finally finished watching the TV programme I started earlier and cleared up the dinner things ready to put the dishwasher on.

It is now definitely time for bed!

PS Today I'm grateful for achieving a lot!

Wednesday Hodgepodge - 12/11/25

Joyce provides the questions (thank you Joyce) and we provide the answers and then join in the fun here.

1. What does patriotism mean to you? 

To me it means loving your country and being proud of its traditions and culture.

2. September-October-November...your favourite fall month? Tell us why. If you live in the southern hemisphere use these months but sub spring for the word fall. 

Definitely September as it's still light into the evening and the weather is usually good.  And after the summer breaks it's good to get back into routines.

3. A song you love with the word thanks (or some form of that word)  in the title or lyrics?

Well I am usually useless at remembering songs and lyrics but the one that came to mind when I read this question was "Thank you for the Music" by Abba.

4. November is National Peanut Butter Month. Are you a fan? What's the last peanut butter bite you had? Fill in the blank: peanut butter and _____________________ . 

No thanks!  I am not a fan of peanut butter in any form but Hubby will often have peanut butter and apple but some of the grandkids will have peanut butter and jam!

Oh, and you can't say jelly. 

5. This week's gratitude question-What event from this past year are you most grateful for? 

Several weddings and 2 new babies in our extended family.  It continues to grow!

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

Another thing I'm grateful for is the guy on the next check out machine to me at the supermarket today who allowed me to use my loyalty card on his shopping.  He will probably have benefitted from some lower prices but I gained the loyalty points.  Win win.

November Gratitude Log - 11/11/25

Today I'm grateful for a mission accomplished.

I needed to get a birthday present for Granddaughter Ella.  This required driving to Westfield, a huge Mall not too far from us.  I try and avoid going there too often.  It's always busy, the car parks are a challenge and I often do not find it a pleasurable experience.

Anyway today went smoothly.  The traffic wasn't too bad.  I found a parking space ok and Hubby and I headed to John Lewis a department store.

We found the perfect dress for Ella,

Hopefully she will agree but we also got her a couple of Lego sets.  She is starting to enjoy Lego and she loves a unicorn plus Gabby from Gabby's Dolls House so I'm sure the Lego sets will meet with her approval.  We even found a Granddaughter card with a unicorn on and the shop sold numbers so we got a 5 to go on the card.  Can't believe she's going to be 5!

Mission accomplished we decided to quit while we were ahead and made our way home.

November Gratitude Log - 10/11/25

My daughter has a new addition to her family - meet Milo.

Milo is very cute.  He's a Ragdoll cat and is 14 weeks old.  He is going to be a big cat.

Today I'm grateful that I was able to babysit Ella for a short time after school but also that I was able to cope with Milo.  I'll spare everyone the details but the litter tray featured in the situation! 😹

November Gratitude Log - 9/11/25

Today I'm grateful for a quiet start to the day.  I was first up and I made myself a cup of tea which I had with a couple of biscuits while I caught up with updating book reviews and reading the newspaper.  

Plus watching the parakeets squabbling over the bird feeders - we have a lot of parakeets in our area and there were lots trying to get food this morning.  The local squirrel was also doing his usual contortion of hanging upside down while prising out sunflower seeds from the low hanging feeder.

I love being up first and enjoying my first cup of tea when the house is quiet and the birds are busy.

November Gratitude Log - 8/11/25

Day 8 and today I'm grateful for the volunteers that collect the donations from the parishioners of another local church and bring them to our Foodbank each Saturday and also for the ones that collect the items that are placed in the donation crate at our local Tesco supermarket.  We are very fortunate to have a big group of volunteers, in various capacities that help with the running of the Foodbank - it's not just about giving out the food each week.

And to all the members of the public that put tokens into the charity box at Tesco.  We collected the most tokens last month and will receive £1500 from Tesco.  Makes a huge difference!