And now it's February.......1/2/24

Well yes I know it's February but that means it's time to do a round up of the Just Jot it January challenge.

Firstly a big shout out to Linda for organising this for the 10th year!

I almost completed it and I did actually do 35 posts in January.  I missed one day when I'd been out for the evening with hubby but I did double up on the next day covering both prompts.  One post also just tipped over into the following day as I was working on it so late.

And I missed one day completely.  I think it was another busy day and the prompt "Despair" just wasn't doing it for me.  Of course I could have posted something totally random but I didn't.  

So I'm pleased with how the month went.  I also managed to read a few books and post reviews.  Hopefully I'll be able to keep up the momentum in February although I don't expect to be posting every day.

Just Jot it January / One Liner Wednesday 31/1/24

"Begin at the beginning and go on till you come to the end; then stop." ~ Lewis Carroll

A big thank you to Linda for hosting this challenge through the month of January.  Find out more here.

Just Jot it January 2024 - 30/1/24 - Calendar

The penultimate day of the challenge!  The prompt today is Calendar and it's provided by our host Linda who blogs here.

I love a calendar.  I have a couple up in my house.  My cousin kindly sent me one with dogs on it - she and her hubby are very involved with a dog rescue centre where they live and the calendar is a fundraiser for them.  

I also received one from my daughter and her family this year which has photos of them on each month.

Too cute!

But of course I also use the calendar app on my phone.  I'd be lost without it.  I wrote yesterday about how many members there are in Hubby's extended family and all their birthday's are in my phone.  We also have a family WhatsApp group and on a birthday (which sometimes feels like every day!) there are messages after messages after messages!  Thankfully I worked out how to silence the "ping" every time a message arrives!

Setting up the paper version takes a while at the start of the year but at least once things are in the phone calendar they automatically repeat.

It might seem mad to have a paper and electronic calendar but I always have this dread of the phone failing somehow and losing all that info.  I know that's unlikely and, if the worst did happen, I could set it up from scratch.

Oh and I also have a journal type book that also contains calendars. 

This is all a bit time consuming and of course sometimes there are errors - like last week when I had lunch with one friend twice because I'd got the wrong date in my phone!  I turned up a day early and she kindly gave me tea and a sandwich and then I returned the following day with the rest of our Ladies Lunch group and was fed again!

Just Jot it January - 29/1/24 - Family

The prompt for JusJoJan January 29th, 2024 is “family.” Use it any way you’d like. Have fun!

Today’s prompt is courtesy of Kim who blogs here Kim’s blog.  For all the info on the challenge go here.

Regular readers here will know that I'm big on family.  Make that huge.

I only have 2 brothers myself who are both married and have 2 kids each and I have a niece and 2 nephews.

On Hubby's side there are:

7 siblings 

between us we have 7 partners so 15 in Hubby's generation

We have produced between us 23 children.

Of those 23, I think (hard to keep track of this) 16 have long term partners.

So that's 39 in that generation

And then there are also 18 little ones (well I say little ones, the eldest in that generation turned 15 this week!)

Bringing the grand total to 72.  Family gatherings now require a large outdoor space or a village hall!  But they're a lot of fun.

These are my family favourites:

Just Jot it January - 28/1/24 - Congregate

Today's Just Jot it January 2024 prompt comes to us from Fandango who blogs here Fandango’s blog.

The prompt is "Congregate"

To find out more about the challenge, rules etc go here to host Linda's site.

One of the things I've done since we moved to the new area we're in is to join a knitting group.  The organiser has actually set up 3 groups.  2 of these meet during the day but I attend a small group that meets in the evening.  It's a small group but everyone is very friendly.

Well today we congregated for our Yarn & Cake sale.  It was supposed to have been last Sunday but Storm Isha was threatening to dump a lot of rain and come through with very high winds.  It actually wasn't as bad as that here in London but today was a much better day.  It was quite chilly but it was sunny!

Our organiser had done a great job at gathering donations of yarn and getting people from all the groups to make cakes (myself included).  There had been several prep sessions including yesterday and the big event was today.

Despite having changed the date we had lots of people turn up - there was a queue waiting for the doors to open:

I spent most of the session on the the cake stall:

It was a fun event and we raised over £800 for Macmillan Cancer Support.

(And yes I did buy some wool even though I already have loads!)

#SoCS/Just Jot it January - 27/1/24 - Make the call

Day 27 today so we're nearly done.  I've missed a couple of days but I've definitely upped my blogging level.

Today being a Saturday Just Jot it January is combined with Stream of Consciousness Saturday, both of which are hosted by Linda here.  Check out her site for all the rules and more.

The prompt for #JusJoJan the 27th and Stream of Consciousness Saturday is: “make the call.” Use it as an idiom or use it literally. Have fun!

Well I'm all into prompts at the moment.  I've signed up for a reading challenge this year known as the 52 book challenge - read 52 books over the year and match them with 52 prompts.

With me so far?  Good.  

It's well organised - there is a great website that explains EVERYTHING and gives detailed guidance on how to use the prompts and, very helpfully, links to Goodreads for lists of books that might meet the prompts.

I thought I'd give it a go and managed to match up quite a few books on my TBR  pile to various prompts.

And of course, as there is for most things, there is a Facebook group.  

Well, I think I'm either going to have to leave the group or at least snooze it for a while.  There are so many posts on there each day.  It's exhausting.  But... what really frustrates me is the number of posts questioning whether a book meets a particular prompt or not.

Now the organisers of the challenge are very clear.  It's your challenge, there are no rules.  If you determine a book fits a particular prompt then it does.  End of.  No need for debate.  It shouldn't be up for discussion.  

Can you tell I'm losing the will to live?  And.... when do these people even find time to read when they're spending so much time on FB?  Well some of them must have brilliant brains because they're reading loads.  Even listening to audio books at faster than the normal speed.  I can't get through an audio book without falling asleep and losing my place.  Yes it's probably not a good idea to listen in bed but I don't think listening in the car would be great or while trying to prepare dinner for example.  Could lead to all sorts of disasters.

But the debates over the prompts are driving me nuts.  It's very clear so people don't keep dithering over books and prompts, just make the call and get on with reading the book!

Thanks to Linda for keeping us on track here.  Enjoy the rest of the weekend.

Just Jot it January - 25/1/24 - Cheesy

Today's word for the twenty-fifth prompt for Just Jot it January 2024  comes from Yvensong. Click here to visit her blog.

For all the rules, details etc about the Just Jot it January challenge click here.

The prompt for JusJoJan January 25th, 2024 is “cheesy.” Use it any way you’d like. Enjoy!

Well things got a little cheesy today at the Food bank that I volunteer at on Thursdays.

We had an inspection by the Food Hygiene Inspector from the local authority today.  These things are always a bit nerve wracking and although he initially appeared to be a bit particular he was actually quite pleasant and helpful.

I'm sure the members of the Management Committee who were around this morning were a bit nervous but actually everything went well and we have been given a rating of 5 - which is the highest.  Any premises providing food has to display their Food Hygiene rating certificate so it is a big deal, even though we are not charging for any of the food or drinks that are provided.

One of the things that was brought to our attention though was that anything we hand out that is not in its original wrapping has to be labelled listing any allergens included in the product.

We often get big blocks of cheese and these are cut into smaller portions and wrapped in clingfilm before being given out to the users of the food bank.  So now we will have to put labels on them stating that they include milk as an allergen.

(This will also apply to any cakes we slice into individual portions etc.)

Just something else to remember to do but it is actually important - and due to a fairly recent law introduced here in the UK in 2021 known as Natasha's Law.

In 2016 Natasha Ednan-Laperouse bought a packaged baguette from Pret-A-Manger at Heathrow Airport, shortly before she took a flight. The packaging did not state sesame seeds were an ingredient but they had been baked into the baguette and were not visible to the naked eye. Natasha, allergic to sesame seeds, suffered an anaphylactic reaction while on the plane and died later the same day. She was 15.

Her parents successfully campaigned to have the law changed hence the law being known as Natasha's Law.

I can't imagine how awful it must have been to lose their daughter in that way but hopefully their campaigning and the change to the law will help prevent other deaths.

Just Jot it January 23/1/24 - Stoked

Our prompt today is  courtesy of Nicole.  She blogs here Nicole’s blog .

Your prompt for JusJoJan January 23rd, 2024 is “stoked.” Use it any way you’d like. Have fun! - and for more participants, rules etc go here to host Linda's blog.

Well my understanding of the word stoked was:

"to add fuel to a large fire and move the fuel around with a stick so that it burns well and produces a lot of heat"

I haven't done a lot of that - we have central heating.

However, I have also discovered it can be used to mean "to be excited or very happy about something".

Well there have been lots of times like that in my life - wedding day, having kids, their wedding days, grandchildren, passing my driving test on my first attempt at 17 (minimum age in the UK) to name just a few.  Although I don't think I've ever said I was stoked!  Not sure at my age my kids would think it acceptable lol.

Just Jot it January - 22/1/24 - Mood

The prompt for today's Just Jot it January is "Mood" provided by Dar who blogs here.

As always more players and details can be found on our host Linda's blog here.

Well I'm in quite a good mood tonight.  I managed to get some chores done this morning then I took a break and did some reading before heading off to a session of the Diabetes Prevention Programme I've been attending.  When I got home Hubby had prepared the dinner and since then I've been relaxing in front of the TV on what I call Quiz Night Monday - there are several quiz programmes that I like to watch on Mondays.

I've also had some chocolate!

The only thing slightly spoiling the mood is the thought of having to be up early tomorrow morning (I don't like early mornings) as it's an office day for my daughter so I have a school run to do.  Hampered by the fact that there are a set of temporary traffic lights right outside her house at the moment which hopefully won't delay me too much.

The cold weather of last week has been followed by milder weather but 2 named storms back to back (Isha & now Jocelyn) have caused a lot of travel chaos (I wouldn't have wanted to be on some of the planes that attempted to land at Heathrow yesterday!) and locally we've had a number of holes open up in roads from leaking water pipes.  One poor driver got stuck in a hole this afternoon, on a residential road that leads to a school, causing problems at the end of the school day.

Hopefully my school run tomorrow won't be too troublesome.

But an early night is called for so that's my jot for the day.

Just Jot it January - 21/1/24 - Plants

Today's prompt for the JJJ challenge is "Plants" and provided by J-Dub who blogs here. The challenge is managed by Linda here.

I'm not great with plants.  I do have quite a few indoor plants - most of which are spider plants.  Even I can't seem to kill spider plants although they do get very straggly sometimes. 

Currently I also have a miniature rose plant that is not doing very well and a narcissus bulb plant.  It was a Christmas present last year - one of those kits where you have to plant the bulb, keep it in the dark until it shoots and then put it into the light and watch it grow.  Well I watched it grow last year - lots of shoots but no flowers.  It has sat on my windowsill all year and now it is producing shoots again.  Time will tell if it produces any flowers this year.  I'll not be holding my breath!

#SoCS / Just Jot it January - 20/1/24

It's Saturday so the prompt for Just Jot it January is the prompt for SoCS (Stream of Consciousness Saturday)  both of which are hosted by Linda.

For all the details and rules go here.  Oh and yes the prompt is "in a nutshell"

Well, in a nutshell our weather is a bit on the barmy side.  All this week it has been really cold - so cold that our local lake had frozen over.  And yet by Wednesday they are forecasting temperatures of 15 degrees C.

Positively balmy after the cold weather.   But before that we have to get through Storm Isha.

We never used to name storms in the way we do now but it's becoming a common thing.  Isha is predicted to bring us a lot of rain but also very high winds during the day tomorrow.

It's a bit annoying as the knitting group I attend were going to hold a yarn and cake sale tomorrow but, as the venue is quite small the plan was to put the yarn inside and have the cakes on sale outside, under a gazebo.

Gazebos and wind are not a good combination.  I could quite easily envisage the gazebo taking off into the air!  So no sale until next week when sunshine and warm temps are forecast.

Reminds me of the worst storm we encountered when camping in France.  We were actually hanging on the the tent during the night as we were convinced we were going to be blown away.  A tree did go down on the site - it was struck by lightning and some scaffolding that was on site also collapsed.  We had hail the size of golf balls - cars were damaged by them and yet the following day was beautiful.

Here it can definitely feel like we've had all four seasons in one day sometimes but I do like to experience the seasons, watching how the landscape changes and things coming into bloom.  As for the nutshells, hopefully the squirrels will find all their hiding places and I won't have trees springing up all over the garden! 

Friday's Fave Five - 19/1/24

It's Friday and time to look back on the week and find the good things and then share with other bloggers here.  Thanks to our host Susanne.

1)  Thanks firstly to Linda who has been hosting the Just Jot it January challenge. (To post something every day in January.)  Today's prompt for that was tenacious.  Well I haven't been as tenacious as I'd like because I missed 2 days of the challenge this week but I'm thankful that I can get over that.  I missed Monday because of a night out with Hubby and yesterday was a busy day so that was another day with no blog post.  But I have finished 2 books and posted reviews so I'm cutting myself some slack.

2)  Thankful for a night out with Hubby courtesy of my daughter and her wife.  We had a voucher for a meal out at Quaglino's in London's Mayfair.  It's a restaurant that also has live bands playing.  The food was really good and it's a lovely venue but we went on Monday and it was sooo quiet in there.  (Although there was a singer performing.)  It was also a very cold night so not lots of people out and about.  I'm sure it's more lively at the weekend but the voucher was only valid for use between Monday - Wednesday.  Anyway we still had a nice evening. (I was also glad that we are so close to central London and that the transport system gives us lots of options - our original route was subject to long delays but we were able to take another route that, although meant an extra change on the underground and a bit more walking, got us there on time for our reservation.)

3)  Quite a lot of time with Grandchildren again this week.  We babysat Nathan and Ella on Saturday and Wednesday evenings and managed to get them both to bed without too much hassle on both nights.  And once asleep they stayed asleep.  Last Sunday we had Rory and Vinny (and their parents) here for lunch.  And then yesterday I collected Nathan from school and had some 1:1 time with him here.

4)  Sunny weather - but very cold!  The lake has been frozen.  I walked through the park down to the lake just as the sun was setting today.

It's nice that the days are gradually getting longer again.  I don't mind the cold too much - I have a really warm coat plus hats, gloves etc and a pair of leggings that are fur lined.  I also wear quite a few layers and I walk quite fast lol.  Grateful too that all the cygnets from our lake have been relocated by the rescue team.

5)  I was grateful for those fur lined leggings on Tuesday as I had a funeral to attend.  (The mother of a former work colleague of mine.)  Waiting about outside the church it was really cold.  It was good to find a cafe afterwards with another friend for a hot drink and a catch up.  

So quite a busy week but a good one.

Have a good weekend all - we expecting storm Isha on Sunday so it's going to be very windy and wet, but warmer.

Just Jot it January - 2 days in 1! (15 & 16/1/24)

I missed a day!

I am so cross with myself.  I saw the prompt for yesterday which was "craft" supplied by Astrid  and immediately had ideas for a post but then I whiled away the time during the day and we were out for the evening.  So no post!

We did have a nice evening though using a voucher Hubby had for his birthday last year from our daughter and her wife which was for a meal out at a venue in Mayfair - yes the posh part of London.  The venue also has live acts on.  I'll write about that in more detail later this week.

But back to crafting - I do enjoy crafting, particularly knitting and crochet.  Regular visitors will have followed my progress on making Maisie for my Granddaughter's birthday.

I'm not sure Ella was too impressed with Maisie initially but she has recently discovered that Maisie can be undressed.  And redressed.  And undressed.  I'm sure you get the picture.

Another project is still a WIP. 

I started this back in 2015!  Trying to use up odds and ends of wool.  When I posted this picture I reckoned I needed another 7 squares to have enough to start sewing it together.  Well I revisited it not long before Christmas and decided I still needed another 9!  Thankfully I have just started square #9 and then I will definitely be making it into a blanket.  I've already bought the yarn to make another knitted animal (a dog) but I'm determined to finish this blanket first.

But then I sign up for blogging challenges and book reading challenges and ......I'm sure you know what I mean.

Anyway, moving on to today.

The prompt is "variety" provided by John.

John is a prolific blogger and heavily involved with the A-Z challenge.  He is also very knowledgeable on music, adverts and a lot of other things.  Variety is a good word for John.

I think I need to put more variety into my blog but much as I tend to start crafting projects and then get distracted I seem to be the same with blogging.  I've had various things going on here on the blog over the years but they tend to fall by the wayside.

One of the things I used to post about for example was items in the news each week - I would bookmark items on various topics such as news, sport, entertainment etc and then write about them.  Now I hardly watch the news - particularly at the moment as it's too horrific.

But maybe I shouldn't switch it off.  We need to be informed and not just let it all wash over us.

Hmm food for thought!

Right I'm off to bed now - I have an early start tomorrow - taking Granddaughter Ella to nursery.  I might need an afternoon nap!

Just Jot it January - 14/1/24 - Writing

It's day 14 of the challenge and today's prompt is "Writing" provided by Joanne.  You can check out her blog here.  Or go here to find out more about the challenge on Linda's blog.

Oh crumbs, I think the writing's on the wall!  This is the second day in a row that I'm getting a post done and up in time by the skin of my teeth.

At least today's post has the badge on it, although some would say why isn't it the 10 year badge:

Yes the challenge is now in its 10th year but I haven't participated for that long so wasn't sure I should use the badge.

Anyway, well done to Linda, who not only writes novels, but also keeps this challenge going each year and One Liner Wednesday and #SoCS going every week!

And here's me struggling to write more than a few lines each day.  

I'm also trying to keep up with reading right now having signed up for a 52 books in a year challenge.  Except I'm probably spending as much time reading all the Facebook posts connected to that as I am actually reading.  And then there's all the other JJJ posts to go and read.

There aren't enough hours in the day!

We did have a nice few hours with our youngest son and his family today who were here for lunch.  Grandsons Rory and Vinny are always entertaining.

I'm waffling!  Time for bed.

Friday's Fave Five/Just Jot it January - 12/1/24

Combining two posts in one here today as it's getting late.

For more info on Friday's Fave Five (hosted by Susanne) go here.

For details of the JJJ prompt for today (hosted by Linda) go here.  Today's prompt is toast.

1)  Well I am grateful for people like Susanne and Linda (to mention but two) who host these memes/challenges etc that give bloggers like me a reason for posting a blog each day or week.  Sometimes it's hard to think of something to write but there is always something to fall back on and it involves a lot of commitment and time on their part to post regularly and visit the bloggers that take part.

2)  I'm also grateful to be warm and toasty despite the cold snap we're having.  We have the benefit of central heating so the house is warm.  I have warm clothing to wear when I go out and we still rely on hot water bottles to warm the bed at night!  I don't like being cold although Susanne would probably welcome my "cold" - compared to her temps at present our weather would seem balmy! (5 degrees C versus -30 degrees C 🧊🧊🧊🧊🧊)

3)  Good blood test results.  Still managing to stay below the pre-diabetic range and although I'm still trying to eat healthily it's nice not to be too worried about having the odd treat or being too rigid about food.  I've also managed to lose the pound or so that I put on over the Christmas period.

4)  Good TV to watch on these cold dark nights.  I've just got hooked on the new series of The Traitors - I watched a few episodes back to back earlier this week and now I'm up to date.  There's always such a good cliff hanger at the end of each episode.  I didn't watch the first series but I'm sure I'll be binge watching it all at some point.

5)  Another cygnet was rescued from our lake this week.  The parents are becoming increasingly aggressive towards them but the Swan Rescue team are on the case and now there are only 2 left to relocate.  I'm grateful to the people who are involved with the rescue team.

Have a good weekend all. 

Just Jot it January - 11/1/24 - Olive

It’s Day 11 of  the Just Jot it January challenge 2024 and today’s prompt is brought to us by Kaye. Click here to visit her blog and say hello. Thanks Kaye  (And click here to see who else has posted today.)

The prompt is “olive.” Use it as a noun or an adjective, use it any way you’d like. Have fun!

Well it was the first Thursday session of 2024 at the Food bank that I volunteer at today and although there was a lot of food available for those in need there was not an olive in sight.

To be fair olives are quite a rare sight.  Occasionally we get food from one of the more upmarket supermarkets (Waitrose) and there might be some more unusual items but not olives on their own.  Plenty of pasta and rice and canned goods though.  

We get deliveries from the council each week.  Not sure exactly how that works in terms of where it all originates from and it can be a bit hit and miss.  For example they will regularly provide canned goods and rice and porridge oats but then there will be random things.  Today for example we had large pouches of butternut squash and basil soup.  Fortunately they had an expiry date of a few weeks so we'll look to use them next week as a lunch for our users - we were already cooking our usual jacket potatoes with a filling for today's lunch but I'm sure the soup will go down well next week in the current cold weather.  

But we also had a lot of individual chocolate desserts that expired tomorrow - so they all had to go today as the bank is not open now until next Tuesday.  We did manage to give them all out and of course it's nice for people to have a treat but yep, a bit random.

Personally I'm not a lover of olives but my hubby loves them and he particularly likes a canned variety that are stuffed with anchovies.  I was doing my online shop tonight and the ones we usually get were out of stock.  They did have a low salt version but I decided that if he knew they were low salt he would just add so much salt to compensate that he'd end up eating more salt than with the ordinary version.  He does love his salt!  So no olives for him either this week!

#One Liner Wednesday/Just Jot it January 2024 - 10/1/24

Double whammy today - a One Liner Wednesday post that doubles up for Just Jot it January.

Just watched a video of weather conditions in the US - hope all my US blogging friends are warm, dry and safe!

Just Jot it January - 9/1/24 - Pastime

Today’s prompt for Just Jot it January is brought to us by Di. You can visit Di’s blog to read her posts and say hello.  The prompt is "pastime".

For more info on the challenge and to see who else is taking part go here.

Well one of my favourite pastimes is reading.  But I also like knitting and crochet, occasionally sewing.  Jigsaw puzzles are also a way of passing a lot of time.  I actually like most sorts of puzzles - I love getting the newspaper on Saturdays which has a 4 page spread of puzzles to while away the time.  Crossword, numbers puzzles I love them all and I watch a lot of quiz shows on TV.

Blogging of course is another way of passing time - it can easily eat away hours of my time.  As can scrolling on my phone or laptop.  And although it probably doesn't count as a pastime, spending time with the Grandkids is another favourite.

Although tomorrow is my first time of taking Granddaughter Ella to nursery, something I'll be doing once or twice a week from now on.  This will involve getting up much earlier than usual, not my favourite thing at all.  I might be passing time tomorrow afternoon by napping!

Just Jot it January - 8/1/24 - Gratitude

Today marks our eighth prompt for Just Jot it January 2024, and it’s brought to us by Sadje. Thank you, Sadje! Please be sure to visit Sadje’s blog to read her posts and say hello. 

Your prompt for JusJoJan January 8th, 2024 is “gratitude.” Use the word “gratitude” any way you’d like. Have fun!  And for more info on the challenge and to see who else is taking part go here.

Regular visitors here will know that I usually take part with a gratitude style post on Fridays.  It's good to take a breath each week and think about the things I'm grateful for.

Some weeks there have been things going on that make me grateful - e.g. an outing with Hubby or a meet up with friends.  Sometimes it's a kind word received from someone or often it's spending time with the Grandkids.  I'm grateful that I'm retired and have the time to do this.

If it's been a quiet week I remind myself of all the basic things that I have and, probably, take for granted - a roof over my head, food on the table etc.  Or on days like today, when I'm still catching up with all the washing created from people staying over at Christmas, I'm grateful for modern appliances such as the washing machine and tumble dryer.  I can also imagine my Mum shaking her head and tutting remembering when, to her, a twin tub washing machine was a modern appliance and labour saving!  I think I was about 4 when that happened.

I'm also grateful today for good blood test results.  Despite all the over indulging I did over the Christmas & New Year period I'm still no longer in the pre-diabetic range.  

I'm trying not to indulge too much though (but I will be opening the chocolates I was given at Christmas now) and I still went for a walk today, despite the fact it was snowing!  Not a lot, and it hasn't really settled but it was much colder than it has been.  

I'm off now to tuck myself into bed with a book - grateful to whoever invented hot water bottles!

In case you were wondering the modern design was patented in 1903 by Croatian Slavoljub Eduard Penkala but "India Rubber" hot water bottles were in use in Britain as early as 1875. Much better than earlier methods for warming a bed!

I'm waffling!  Goodnight.