A-Z Challenge 2025 - S is for Shenanigans

Well we had lots of "shenanigans" going on here over the last few days 

not the "secret or dishonest activity or manoeuvring" kind

but the "silly or high-spirited behaviour or mischief. kind

With 4 of the grandchildren here at various times they were very high spirited although to be fair they didn't really get up to much mischief.  They do love seeing one another though.

They played a lot of football in the garden and they have used up all my supply of bubbles.  And between them they exhausted Nanny.

So, on to the S countries:

• Saint Kitts and Nevis
• Saint Lucia
• Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
• Samoa
• San Marino
• Sao Tome and Principe
• Saudi Arabia
• Senegal
• Serbia
• Seychelles
• Sierra Leone
• Singapore
• Slovakia
• Slovenia
• Solomon Islands
• Somalia
• South Africa
• South Korea
• South Sudan
• Spain
• Sri Lanka
• Sudan
• Suriname
• Sweden
• Switzerland
• Syria

Although I don't officially have a theme I wanted something to link my posts so I thought I'd see how many countries in the World I've visited or might visit. 

There are a lot of S countries but I've only been to 2 of them, Spain and Switzerland.

The Switzerland visit was many years ago when my knees could still cope with skiing. (And pre children!)  We stayed in Verbier and I didn't really enjoy it.  The weather wasn't great and, for the novice skier that I was (it was only my 2nd time) the runs were quite hard.

I visited Spain in 2023.  We went for the wedding of one of our nephews and it was a lovely trip - and a beautiful wedding.  You can read more about it here.

That's 17 out of 197 countries then.

And 19 out of 26 letters done.

A-Z Challenge 2025 - R is for Rubbish

Hmm well I am being rubbish at getting around to responding to comments left here.  I blame it on the grandkids who were here all last week.  I'll try and do better this week but thank you to all of you that have stopped by and left me a comment.

The rubbish collections have been quite challenging here.  We always used to get our main rubbish and recycling collected every week with the garden and food waste being once a fortnight.  Recently they provided us with separate bins for food waste which is collected weekly and is used to make bio fuel which is, of course, great.  But...now our general waste is only being collected fortnightly so we have to remember whether it's a black bin week (general rubbish) or brown bin week (garden waste).  Then of course throw Easter into the mix and who knows when the bins will be emptied.  Although according to the council e-mail it should be the same day as normal, i.e. tomorrow.  I won't hold my breath and I'm hoping I'm right and that it's black bin week as mine is very full!

Right rant over let's get to the R countries:

(Although I don't officially have a theme I wanted something to link my posts so I thought I'd see how many countries in the World I've visited or might visit.)

• Romania
• Russia
• Rwanda

again I have only visited 1 of these - Romania back in 1975!  It was a school trip and I was almost 17.  We went on a plane that had very noisy engines and rattled, a lot, which was a bit scary but it was my first experience of flying so it was exciting too.  

We spent most of our time in Bucharest but of course we visited Dracula's castle and we had a fun time meeting some local young men at a disco type event.  I think they were looking to find a nice English girl to provide them with a way out of Romania so they were very attentive.  I did correspond briefly with one of them when I got home but nothing was ever going to come of it lol.

I also got used to drinking black tea while we were there too.  Not the most enjoyable thing!

Right that's 15 out of 197 countries then.

And 18 out of 26 letters done.

Friday's Fave Five - on Sunday! 20/4/25

Thanks to our host Susanne for reminding us each week to look back and find the good things in our week.  You can find out more here.

Well I am 2 days late with this but this is why:

1)  We have had our eldest son and his two boys here since the Thursday before last and his wife joined them last Monday.  I love having them here to stay but it does involve early starts and being busy.  Blogging definitely takes a backseat.

2)  Several walks with the grandkids during the week with lots of ducklings to see.

On Wednesday we drove to Connaught Water near us and walked around the lake, then walked on to a cafe for drinks and ice cream.  We had grandson Nathan with us too and the boys had a lot of fun.

3)  A night out with our daughter and son on Thursday evening to a new to us restaurant.  (Smith's in Ongar) It was a birthday treat to Hubby from them.  It's predominantly a fish restaurant but they do have other dishes too but we all had fish for our main - sea bass for Becca and Nick, Skate for Matthew and Salmon en croute for me.  It was all very yummy and they provided an ice cream treat for the birthday boy.

Nick & Matthew

Becca and Me

Birthday treat

4) A birthday gathering for Hubby who turned 70 on Friday. So blessed to have him in my life.

Matt and his family were still here of course and Becca and her family joined us plus 3 of Hubby's siblings and their partners.

They came in the afternoon and I laid on an afternoon tea style buffet which went down well.

And of course there was cake!

Not the best picture - a screen shot taken from a video just after he'd blown out the candles.  I was also thankful to have been able amend the number 50 to 70 on the cake.  Goodness knows how I made that mistake when I ordered the cake online.  Several people joked that I should have left it at 50 - Hubby is having a hard time coming to terms with being 70!

5)  A sympathetic advisor at our credit card company.  I always pay our bill off in full each month.  I have a direct debit arrangement to pay off the minimum amount and then I arrange a payment of the balance.  Last month my maths failed me and I short paid by 3p yes three pence - which incurred £40 in interest!  I couldn't understand it until my son pointed out my mistake.

Anyway I rang the company and acted ignorant and they waived the interest charge!  I'm thankful to be able to have got through to an understanding human assistant

A good week all round.

Happy Easter to you all and hope everyone has had a good weekend.

A-Z Challenge 2025 - Q is for Quandar or quandary?

I thought I'd seen the word "Quander" when I was looking at synonyms for nonsense but I may have been wrong.

According to AI:

"Quander" has two main meanings. It can mean to ponder or wonder about something. Alternatively, it can mean to spend or waste something (like money or time) extravagantly or foolishly.

1. Pondering or Wondering:
The verb "quander" can be used to describe the act of considering or questioning something deeply, similar to "ponder" or "wonder".
For example, "She quandered over the meaning of the poem".

2. Squandering or Wasting:
This usage of "quander" is less common, but it can mean to spend something, especially money or time, in a wasteful or careless way.
For example, "He quandered his inheritance by spending it all on gambling".

In summary: "Quander" has two meanings: to ponder or wonder, and to waste or squander. 

Clearly it feels like it's just a lazy way of saying squander which gives me the quandary of whether to use it for my Q word or find an alternative.  However, I'm preparing this post on Sunday 13th April and it's the last one of the coming week.  A week that is going to be busy when I will not have lots of time to quander so I'm sticking with plan A.  If you have a better word please leave it in the comments.

And, moving on to Q countries (Although I don't officially have a theme I wanted something to link my posts so I thought I'd see how many countries in the World I've visited or might visit.)

again there is only 1

Qatar 

Unsurprisingly I haven't been there and have no wish to visit.  Thanks to the 2022 FIFA World Cup its visitor numbers were probably drastically increased.  I enjoy watching football occasionally and some of the World Cup games were definitely exciting although it does take over the TV scheduling during the period it takes place.  Researching this I note that in 2026 there will be 48 teams in the final (compared to 32 in the past) so no doubt even more TV time will be quandered on it!

Right that's still 14 out of 197 countries then.

And 17 out of 26 letters done.  The end is in sight.

And here's another quandary - the total prize pot for the 2022 World Cup was £440 million.  Surely that money could be better spent?

A-Z Challenge 2025 - P is for Poppycock

I love the word Poppycock but was surprised to learn that it originates from the Dutch word pappekak that means soft dung.  Dutch immigrants introduced the word to the US and it then began to be used in the UK.  Who knew that such an English sounding word had such origins.  Still a lot of rubbish or nonsense though.

Now on to the P countries. Although I don't officially have a theme I wanted something to link my posts so I thought I'd see how many countries in the World I've visited or might visit. 

• Pakistan
• Palau
• Palestine
• Panama
• Papua New Guinea
• Paraguay
• Peru
• Philippines
• Poland
• Portugal

Good to see that Palestine is on the list.  I can remember playing geography quizzes on the "Sporcle" site when it was debateable.  Haven't been there though or any on that list except Portugal.

Hubby and I did a long weekend trip to Lisbon once, quite a number of years ago now but we had a good time and I wouldn't mind doing a summer holiday there.  Of the others Poland is probably the only other possibility.

That's 14 out of 197 countries then.

And 16 out of 26 letters done.

A-Z Challenge 2025 - O is for Oh dear, I don't have a clue!

Well I'm sure there must be words beginning with O that can be related to waffling, or nonsense or idling but I couldn't seem to find any.  Not often that I'm lost for words.  I'll make the most of it though and press on.  Trying to get this week's letters completed while my grandkids are out. 

As for countries (Although I don't officially have a theme I wanted something to link my posts so I thought I'd see how many countries in the World I've visited or might visit.) there is only 1

Oman

Oman is officially The Sultanate of Oman and is next to Saudi Arabia, UAE and Yemen.  Unsurprisingly I haven't been there and it's not on my bucket list.  (I don't actually have a bucket list.)

Apparently it ranks 37 out of 163 countries on the Global Peace Index, only 3 places below the UK, but being next door to Yemen, which is at the bottom of the list, I definitely won't be visiting.

That's still 13 out of 197 countries then.

And 15 out of 26 letters done.

Start here

Wednesday Hodgepodge - 16/4/25

Joyce asks the questions.  We provide the answers.  You can find out more and join in here.

1. Do you complete your own taxes? Besides actual taxes, what's something you've found taxing lately?

We don't have to complete tax returns thankfully.

It's been taxing trying to keep up with the A-Z blogging challenge I'm taking part in this month, especially with family staying this week.

2.  What are three values you treasure most in a friendship? 

Honesty, loyalty and shared values.

3. Do you meal plan or do you mostly wing it? Share your dinner menus for this week. 

A mix of both.  Some weeks we have a HelloFresh delivery which gets chosen in advance but doesn't always go to plan.  When I'm ordering an online shop I'll also think about what to get for meals but nothing is ever set in stone. (I should also add that Hubby does most of the cooking!)

This week we have had:

Thursday - Pasta with Bolognese sauce

Saturday - Fish and chips

Sunday - Roast Chicken

Monday - Pasta with Ham & Leeks

Tuesday - Steak & onion pie with chips and veg

Today - Risotto with chicken

Nothing too complicated there - we've been catering for a 4yr old and a 6yr old

4. Thomas Sowell is credited as saying, ''There are no solutions, only trade-offs.' Agree or disagree? Discuss.

Umm I think I'd disagree.  Sometimes things can be solved, but there might have to be compromises.  Is that the same as a trade off?

5. What's the best perk you've enjoyed at a job?

Not sure I've had many perks - most of my jobs were either in the Charity or Public sector.  Hubby did get quite good choices on company cars when he worked for a football club though.

6.  Insert your own random thought here. 

I should be trying to get to bed earlier this week - the grandsons tend to wake around 6 am.  Yet here I am at 10.30 pm finishing off this post.  I never listen to my own good advice!

A-Z Challenge 2025 - N is for Noodling Nick

N is for Noodling:

to do or think about something without giving it full or serious attention:

Why Noodling Nick?  Well Nick is my Hubby and I think he spends a lot of time noodling on his guitar.  He would beg to differ of course as he wouldn't consider any time spent on his guitar a waste of time.  He also wouldn't think he wasn't giving it serious attention.  To be fair he does take his guitar playing seriously.  

Before we moved to where we are now Nick was out at least 2 evenings a week meeting up with a group of musicians who would "jam" together.  Something he really enjoyed.  When we moved here (4 1/2 years ago now) I worried that he would miss that - we didn't move far but getting there by public transport isn't easy and of course the jamming takes place in pubs so I wouldn't want him driving there.

He has gone back occasionally but, he has found a new alternative - Open Mics.  He is out regularly to various venues and he definitely needs to give it his serious attention - keeping things straight in the calendar when some run weekly, others fortnightly and then there are the monthly ones which might be the 1st Wednesday for example or the 4th Thursday or any combination in between!  And yes he has been know to turn up on the wrong day from time to time!  He needs to do less noodling.

Now, on to the N letters:

Although I don't officially have a theme I wanted something to link my posts so I thought I'd see how many countries in the World I've visited or might visit. 

• Namibia
• Nauru
• Nepal
• Netherlands
• New Zealand
• Nicaragua
• Niger
• Nigeria
• North Korea
• North Macedonia
• Norway

I have been to the Netherlands several times and taken part in the Batavieren Relay Race twice.  That's the official site but this Wikipedia site actually details it more.  Essentially it's a Road Relay race over 25 legs covering 185 km.  Sadly it seems there is no relay event this year.  I imagine Covid disrupted things and now they seem to be looking for Committee members to continue the event.  It was a huge undertaking aimed mainly at students.  We had a friend who had taken part as a student and he organised a team of what probably seemed like veterans to take part. It was an adventure.

I have also been to Norway.  Hubby and I did a cruise along the coast visiting the Fjords. One of the best holidays we've done I think - it was great to be able to see quite a few places without having to constantly unpack and repack our suitcases!

That's 13 out of 197 countries then.

And 14 out of 26 letters done.

A-Z Challenge 2025 - M is for Muttering

M is for Muttering - yes this was a hard letter to find anything for nonsense or waffling so we're stuck with muttering.

I do a lot of muttering around my Hubby which is a bit unfair really, especially if he hasn't got his hearing aids in, because he can't hear me.  Of course that's why I'm muttering - I don't want him to hear because I am probably moaning about him.  I love him to bits but he does have a way of implying things are my fault, even when they're not.  Sometimes it's in a quite jokey way, like just now he asked me "what have you done with my keys?" What he should have said was "Do you know where my keys are?" or "Have you seen my keys?"  This sort of thing happens all the time!  It's particularly annoying when he asks about his phone and it's in his shirt pocket.

I get accused of all sorts of things, hence I do a lot of muttering.

Right let's move on.  

Although I don't officially have a theme I wanted something to link my posts so I thought I'd see how many countries in the World I've visited or might visit. 

Here are the M letters:

• Madagascar
• Malawi
• Malaysia
• Maldives
• Mali
• Malta
• Marshall Islands
• Mauritania
• Mauritius
• Mexico
• Micronesia
• Moldova
• Monaco
• Mongolia
• Montenegro
• Morocco
• Mozambique
• Myanmar

I haven't been to any of those but I would like to go to Malta.

That's still 11 out of 197 countries then.

And 13 out of 26 letters done.  Yay!  Halfway!

A-Z Challenge 2025 - L is for Lollygagging

Well it seems there are only so many words for nonsense but there are quite a few for idling of which lollygagging is one.  I think it's quite fair to say I'm probably as good at lollygagging as I am at waffling.  The two combine quite well really.  

I can also be quite good at falling down rabbit holes while on my laptop.  It occurred to me today that I had visited Hong Kong on our trip to Australia yet Hong Kong doesn't feature on the list of countries I'm working on.  Of course that's because it's now reverted to China so that means, technically, I've visited China. In theory I should go back to my C post and amend it.  But that would mean amending all the stats on subsequent post too.  Well, despite my love of lollygagging I'm trying to get ahead on my posts so I'm just going to correct the stats going forward.  Especially as I've already gone back over my posts because the link to the list of countries was incorrect.  Apologies to anyone who discovered that before I did.

Right here are the L countries:

Although I don't officially have a theme I wanted something to link my posts so I thought I'd see how many countries in the World I've visited or might visit.

• Laos
• Latvia
• Lebanon
• Lesotho
• Liberia
• Libya
• Liechtenstein
• Lithuania
• Luxembourg

I have passed through Luxembourg - we drove through it on our trip to Germany but I'm not sure if we even stopped - it's a very small country! I'm counting it though.

Of the others Liechtenstein, Latvia and Lithuania might be possible destinations but the others are highly doubtful.

That's 11 out of 197 countries then. (Including China - see above!)

And 12 out of 26 letters done.

A-Z Challenge 2025 - K is for Kerfuffle

K is for Kerfuffle.  Another slightly different meaning word - "a commotion or fuss" rather than nonsense or waffle, although I bet a load of nonsense can often end up with a kerfuffle.

The grandchildren can cause quite a few kerfuffles when they get together and often need a referee.  Two of mine will be here when this posts so apologies if I take longer responding to comments.

Now on to the K countries:

• Kazakhstan
• Kenya
• Kiribati
• Kosovo
• Kuwait
• Kyrgyzstan

Although I don't officially have a theme  I wanted to have something linking my posts so I thought I'd see how many countries in the World I've visited or might visit.

Once again I haven't been to any of these but I could tell you roughly where they are.  (Well I know that Kiribati is somewhere over in Oceania near Australia ish.  Close enough?  Yep I though so too.

One of my DILs has also spent time in Kenya but probably not one of the saftest places to go to now.  I don't think I'll be visiting any of these in the near or distant future.

Hmm still at 9 out of 197 countries then - the list I'm working from can be found here.

And 11 out of 26 letters done.

Friday's Fave Five - 11/4/25

Friday again and as usual our wonderful host Susanne has reminded us to look back on the week and remember the things we're grateful for.  You can find her blog here.

1)  An outing with Hubby on Monday.  We went to nearby Loughton to browse the shops and have lunch out.  We found a nice cafe for that and also a lot of charity shops.  Of course I really don't need any more books but I couldn't resist:

2)  An unplanned visit to my best friend on Tuesday with the bonus of catching up with her 3 daughters, 2 of their partners and 4 little ones - one only 4 weeks old who I hadn't met before.  Oh and a 12 week old pup.  What's not to love?

3)  A successful trip this week to collect food for the Foodbank.  Grateful that I have the time and energy to support this needed service.

4)  Me time!  I spent quite a few hours this week completing this:

It's been a while since I did a jigsaw and I'm fairly sure I've done this one before but I didn't have a photo of it so maybe I'm wrong.

Anyway I had fun doing it.

5)  Grandsons Noah and Miles arrived yesterday (with my eldest son) and are here until next weekend.  Hopefully our current spell of good weather will last.

Have a good weekend all.

A-Z Challenge 2025 - J is for Jabbering

Well jabbering is more like waffling than meaning nonsense like some of my previous words but I'm definitely good at it.  I mean why use a word when you can string it out into a sentence.  A few more words and you'll have a paragraph, a page .....don't think I'm ever going to make it to a book though.  Well not one that would make much sense.

I've always enjoyed writing and I'm pretty useless at condensing a story down into a few words.  Sometimes I can see my husband thinking "is there a point to this".  There might be, sometimes.

Anyway I don't have much time for jabbering today - I preparing this the day before it needs to be posted.  I'm in danger of falling behind with the challenge.  I'm definitely behind in responding to comments - thank you if you've stopped by.  I'll try and catch up but with 2 grandsons here now until Easter weekend blogging time will be limited.

However let's get to the J countries:

• Jamaica
• Japan
• Jordan
• 
  

Although I don't officially have a theme I wanted to have something linking my posts I thought I'd see how many countries in the World I've visited or might visit.

I haven't been to any of the J countries.  Jamaica would probably be nice, especially during a UK winter.  Jordan is definitely a No.  Too close to a war zone.  I would be interested to go to Japan though.  I've heard good things about it.

So I'm still on 9 out of 197 countries then - the list I'm working from can be found here.

And 10 out of 26 letters done.

A-Z Challenge 2025 - I is for Idling

Hmm I think I must have struggled to find an I word for nonsense or waffling when I was preparing this post.  

However I am an expert on "Idling".  Of course I call it reading, or knitting, or doing the New York Times crossword or just "doom scrolling" as I've seen it described on Facebook or Instagram.

Thankfully I don't do X or TikTok and I did delete several games from my phone at the start of Lent otherwise I'm not sure when I'd find time to do anything productive.  

I suppose some people would even see blogging as idling but like all the other things listed above these are things I enjoy.  I also forgot to add doing a jigsaw in there.  Something else that is preferable to housework, laundry or any other chores that might need doing.  

But of course my idling time is limited so let's get to the I countries:

• Iceland
• India
• Indonesia
• Iran
• Iraq
• Ireland
• Israel
• Italy

Although I don't officially have a theme but to have something linking my posts I thought I'd see how many countries in the World I've visited or might visit.

Of these I've been to Ireland and Italy.

I went to Italy not long after my Hubby and I got together with a group of friends to the ski resort in Cervinia.  We had a great time and lovely weather.  Bright and sunny most days, but there was plenty of snow.  Of course I was a lot younger, and fitter then so even though I was a total beginner I was soon getting the hang of it and enjoying myself.

I've been to Ireland 3 times so far.  The first time Hubby and I took the kids with us to visit his brother and family who were staying on the outskirts of Dublin.  His brother was there for a year with his job.  We went during the February half-term break for the kids and had the worst crossing on a ferry EVER.  The sea was rough, the ferry had a problem with its stablilisers and a lot of people, hubby and the kids included, were turning the colour of shamrocks and being physically ill.  We did have a nice week even with bad weather and one child with what was probably an ear infection but I do not recommend going by ferry during the winter months!

Our second visit was to attend a work colleague's wedding actually 2 colleagues who met at work and fell in love.  All say aahhh.  We combined it with a holiday and had a lovely time travelling around the coast before ending up in Dublin for the wedding.   This was during the summer break so the weather was soo much better.

And my final trip was to my friend Ana's home on the west coast.  Our "Ladies Lunch" group (4 of us) all made the trip back in 2022.  I blogged about it here.  We had a lot of laughs.

I can't realistically see myself visiting any of the other countries on the list except maybe Iceland - providing its volcano isn't erupting!  It would be nice to see more of Italy though, maybe in the warmer weather.

That's 9 out of 197 countries then - the list I'm working from can be found here.

And 9 out of 26 letters done.

A-Z Challenge 2025 - H is for Hogwash

Hogwash is another nonsense word although it's not one I'm in the habit of using.  Although it's probably more recognisable compared to some of the ones I've found when googling.

Apart from nonsense it's also used to describe pig feed or hog feed I suppose originally but I'm not sure the word hog is commonly used for pigs.  Hopefully any farmers out there won't be shooting me down in flames for my ignorance.  Much as I think little piglets can look quite cute, full grown pigs are not exactly pretty.  I should probably also confess to eating a lot of bacon and pork chops.

Thinking about it I have actually been to a couple of hog roasts but thankfully there were no heads in view.

Right lets move on ....to the H countries:

• Haiti
• Honduras
• Hungary

Although I don't officially have a theme but to have something linking my posts I thought I'd see how many countries in the World I've visited or might visit.

Not many again today and I haven't visited any of these and I can't say that any of them are jumping out at me.  Possibly Hungary - not as far away as the others.

So I'm still at 7 out of 197 countries then - the list I'm working from can be found here.

And 8 out of 26 letters done.

A-Z Challenge 2025 - G is for Gobbledegook

I love the word Gobbledegook.  I'd like to think I'm an expert in it having got 6 grandchildren and been fortunate to have spent a lot of time with some of them during their early years.  Translating what a toddler is trying to tell you is definitely an art.

Mind you Hubby is very good at talking nonsense too or just switching letters in words although of course that's spoonerism.  Now here's an example of gobbledegook:

ty3178ibr92n agggghhhh

I tried to type the quick brown fox.....etc with my fingers on the wrong keys but having been taught to touch type when I was 16 I couldn't do it!  It just felt so wrong.

Hmm let's move on to the G countries:

(Although I don't officially have a theme but to have something linking my posts I thought I'd see how many countries in the World I've visited or might visit.) 

• Gabon
• Gambia
• Georgia
• Germany
• Ghana
• Greece
• Grenada
• Guatemala
• Guinea
• Guinea-Bissau
• Guyana
• 
  

I've been to a Greek island (Kos) back in 2019 with 3 of my cousins.  I blogged about it here.  We had a great time.  Lots of laughter and just a great relaxing time.  It was hot, but not too hot, and sunny!

I have also been to Germany.  Hubby's family (on his Dad's side) originally came from Germany and over the years there has been communication with some of the distant relatives that are still in Germany.  Some of them have been over here and one year Hubby and I took a drive across to them and spent a few days exploring the area where his Great Great Grandfather came from.  Unfortunately I don't have photos - we're talking pre phone cameras.  There are probably some "proper" photos somewhere but as I haven't done much advance prep for this challenge I haven't tracked them down!

That's 8 out of 197 countries then - the list I'm working from can be found here.

And 7 out of 26 letters done.

A-Z Challenge 2025 - F is for Flapdoodle

Oops I've slipped a day in my progress. I was 2 posts ahead of myself but now only 1.  I must have been flapdoodling!  Yes another word for nonsense.

Actually I was doing my regular Friday's Fave Five post, lots of washing, walking round the lake and doing an impromptu school pickup.  I was also trying (not very successfully) to visit the bloggers who'd taken the time to visit here.  How did I ever manage to find time to work? 

Thankfully no post is needed for tomorrow so I might find time to get back ahead of myself.  I knew I was going to be winging it this year but I'm flying a bit too close to the wind already.

Right, on to the F countries:

• Fiji
• Finland
• France

Only 3 and I've been to France! So a 33.3333333 % success rate!

We've actually been to France quite a few times.  It helps when you have a sister-in-law living there.  One of Hubby's sisters went over to study I think, many years ago, met a nice French man and the rest is history.  It's quite easy for us to get to them as they live in Dunkerque so we can drive to Folkestone, take the Eurotunnel and be at her house within about 4 hours on a good run.

We also used to take holidays on the Atlantic coast of France with one of Hubby's other sisters and her family.  We were quite the campers for a while.  Unfortunately my command of the French language is still extremely limited despite having studied it at school.

Finland appeals, although part of it is a bit too close to Russia for my liking and I can't see us ever getting to Fiji.

That's 6 out of 197 countries then - the list I'm working from can be found here.

And 6 out of 26 letters done.

A-Z Challenge 2025 - E is for Eyewash

Well I'm on a bit of a roll for words that mean nonsense or are related to waffling which I'm very good at.  I seem to have found a theme without really trying.

Anyway apparently Eyewash is a synonym for nonsense.  Who knew?  Not me.  Eyewash for me conjures up images of Optrex and eyebaths for when my eyes are sore, usually because I've rubbed them too much.  I often find myself rubbing my eyes - not a good move when wearing mascara of course.  Although I don't do that often so Panda eyes are not usually a problem.  Panda eyes are usually present the morning after the night before when I've worn mascara and not cleaned it off.  I suppose that nonsense could be called Eyewash.  Hmm....anyway

On to the E countries

• Ecuador
• Egypt
• El Salvador
• Equatorial Guinea
• Eritrea
• Estonia
• Eswatini
• Ethiopia

Although I don't officially have a theme but to have something linking my posts I thought I'd see how many countries in the World I've visited or might visit.) This was before I realised I could spout a lot of nonsense!  

Sadly I haven't visited any of the E countries.  Thankfully I did know that Eswatini used to be Swaziland but I still haven't been there.  I think if might be interesting to visit the Pyramids in Egypt and Estonia might be another small possibility but sadly I don't think I'll be visiting the others.

So I'm still at 5 out of 197 countries - the list I'm working from can be found here.

And 5 out of 26 letters done.

Friday's Fave Fives 4/4/25

Well it's Friday - just!  Time to look back on the week and list the five things I'm grateful for.  And then link up with like-minded bloggers here.  Thanks to Susanne for hosting and reminding us each week.

1) Family time - we spent Sunday afternoon at my daughter's for an afternoon tea.  It was Mother's Day here in the UK.  Then on Monday we were back there for a roast chicken dinner and birthday cake - Grandson Nathan turned 8.  How did that happen?

2)  Summer time!  Our clocks went forward last weekend and, although I don't like losing the hour of sleep I do love having the longer daylight hours.  It's even begun to feel a bit summerlike with lots of sunshine this week and it's warming up.

3)  Following on from that I was able to get washing dry outside this week too.  I do like drying it outside when I can and the forecast was for dry weather all week.  Nothing worse than getting it all hung out and then seeing rain clouds gathering.

4)  The Egyptian goslings seem to be doing well despite the swan attach and the female parent's wing is looking better.  I took a walk around the lake this afternoon and spotted them.

5)  We had a visit from some children from one of the local schools at the Foodbank this week.  They had been collecting food on our behalf and brought it with them.  They had labelled everything before they brought it and then helped to put the food which was mainly canned items away in our stockroom.  I'm grateful that local schools are collecting for the Foodbank as funding from the local authority that started during Covid has now ended.  Sadly the need for the Foodbank continues but we have been fortunate to source some alternative donation points but it will be hard to cover the donations we used to get from the local authority.

Have a good weekend all.

A-Z Challenge 2025 - D is for Drivel

D is for drivel - another synonym for nonsense.  While I can quite happily waffle on about a lot of things I would hope that I don't use too much drivel.

Reminds me of the word dribble, something that babies are excellent at doing but sadly something that we can slip back into as we age.  I don't like getting old aging. But of course it's something we all do.  Some better than others.

My hubby is providing me with a dilemma.  He will be 70 this month and is not looking forward to that and certainly doesn't want a fuss made about it.  Well that's a shame because I've ordered a cake which has 70th birthday on it and I'm probably going to get some big balloons.  4 or our 6 young grandchildren will be here to celebrate with him and they will expect cake and balloons, and presents.

But that's my dilemma. What do I get him for his birthday?  We're at the stage in life where we're fortunate enough that if we want or need something we will most likely just get it.  For example for Christmas he treated himself to a new electric pick up on his guitar.  It was actually quite expensive but playing guitar and taking part in local open mics gives him a great deal of pleasure.  He will of course tell me not to worry about presents but it's hard not to.

I will ponder on that.

Now onto the D countries.

Although I don't officially have a theme but to have something linking my posts I thought I'd see how many countries in the World I've visited or might visit.) 

These are the D countries:

• Denmark
• Djibouti
• Dominica
• Dominican Republic
• 
  

Of those I have only been to Denmark and only because we set off from there on a cruise along the coast of Norway.  We flew to Copenhagen and then transferred to the port to board the ship.  I don't think we even saw much of Copenhagen but I'm still happy to say I've been to Denmark, albeit briefly.

Of the others visiting Dominica would be good.  I have a good friend who comes from there and I'm sure she would make an excellent guide and probably still have family there we could stay with.  I can dream.

That's 5 out of 197 countries then - the list I'm working from can be found here.

And 4 out of 26 letters done.