A-Z Challenge 2025 - Z is for Zipping

Well I couldn't find any good Z synonyms for waffle or nonsense  so I'll just be zipping through this post.  I feel like I've been zipping through the whole A - Z this year.  A few posts were done in advance, when I had free time on a Sunday for example, but mostly I've been winging it and preparing the day before, or like today trying to get the post done and on my blog before the end of the day.

It's been good to push myself though.

Now, on to the Z 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 are 2 Z countries:

• Zambia
• Zimbabwe

It probably won't surprise anyone that I haven't visited either of these and am not likely too.

Which means, I think, that I've only visited 21 out of 197 countries - which is about 10 per cent.  Not very impressive.

My favourite trip has to be when we visited the US in 2014 for our son's wedding and also visited Philadelphia, Washington and New York.

Our trip to Australia in 2017 is also high on the list as is the Norwegian cruise we did.  

I'm sure we'll be back to the US at some point but there are still places in the UK to see too.  Our next planned trip though is to France for a family celebration in July - one of Hubby's sisters lives in Dunkerque.

Yay!  26 out of 26 letters done - and my 11th A-Z challenge complete.

A-Z Challenge 2025 - Y is for Yabber

Well I'm not sure if I Yabber. (rapid indistinct talk)  I mean I often talk fast but I don't think I'm indistinct.  Although Hubby would probably disagree.  He wears hearing aids in both ears and I must admit that I don't always talk at him so he probably does miss some of what I say.  I don't mean I talk at him in an inconsiderate way, just that I sometimes turn away when I'm talking to him and that makes it harder for him to hear me.

And then of course there's always an element of selective hearing on his part.

With his hearing and me talking too fast it's amazing we have any sort of conversation but trust me we do.  Although sometimes he complains I talk too slowly - which is usually when I'm trying to explain something to him and I'm trying to phrase things in a way that he'll understand but he gets impatient.  Definitely feel like yabbering then with words he would not want to hear! lol

Ok time for the Y country.

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. 

Yemen

is the only Y country. 

"FCDO (Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office) advises against all travel to Yemen

FCDO advises against all travel to the whole of the Yemen due to the unpredictable security conditions.

If you’re in Yemen, you should leave immediately."

If you did decide to go anyway don't count on making a claim on your travel insurance - travelling against the advice of the FCDO would most likely invalidate it.

I haven't been to Yemen and certainly won't be going. It would make visiting our son and his family in the US more complicated too as we'd need VISAs and not ESTAs.

I'm not sure how many other countries the FCDO advises against but probably quite a few on my lists.

Right I'm waffling now so time for bed.  Yay, Y is done, only Z to do!

A-Z Challenge 2025 - X is for X marks the spot

Well I couldn't find a word that meant waffling or nonsense beginning with X and there are no countries starting with X either.

X marks the spot - somewhere on the globe there must be a place that starts with X. Actually there are a few places, most of which are in China but there is also Xaghra in Malta and Xcaret in Mexico.  Who knew?

Short and sweet today.  I'm flagging but only 2 days to go!

A-Z Challenge 2025 - W is for Wittering

Wittering - to talk for a long time about things that are not important

I can do this until the cows come home.  We used to have cows grazing on the land opposite where we lived in our second family home.  One of the first things I insisted on when we moved in was getting a proper fence and gates in place.  We only had a low wall and no gates in place so it wasn't unusual to get back from being out and find a cow in the front garden destroying the plants.

I think due to all the BSE problems the cows were removed from open grazing land but we had railings and gates by then.

More recently there have been attempts to reintroduce cows and in Epping Forest we have long horn cows.  More information on this can be found here.

We have seen them on our walks:

Right onto W 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. 

Oh - no W countries according to the list.

Wait!  What about Wales!  I have to include Wales - my Dad was Welsh, born in hmm - I have to check this out.  I thought he was born in a place called Betws-Y-Coed a small place that was close to Merthyr Tydfil which is more well known.  But I've just looked at a map of Wales and they are no where near each other!  The plot thickens...

We don't know much about his early life - his parents separated and he was taken by his Father to Yorkshire.  He was sent down the coal mines as soon as possible and he opted to escape these by enlisting in the army prior to WW2.  He served during WW2 (including being one of the many evacuated from Dunkirk) but he spoke very little about that time.  Sadly he passed away in 1981 at the age of 63. 

I have visited Wales several times though so I'm adding it to my tally.

That's 21 out of 197 countries then.

And 23 out of 26 letters done.

A-Z Challenge 2025 - V is for Verbiage

Verbiage - language that is very complicated and contains a lot of unnecessary words

Another word I found while looking at synonyms for waffle or nonsense.  And of course I didn't look too deeply into the exact meaning because although I can definitely waffle and talk a lot of nonsense, I'm not sure the language I use is very complicated or, as other dictionaries state, "technical".

I absolutely cannot use verbiage today - I'm totally winging this post.  It's not been done in advance - it's already past midday so this is all you're going to get today!

But... still time to look at the V 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. 

• Vanuatu
• Vatican City (Holy See)
• Venezuela
• Vietnam

I have visited none of these!  Vanuatu, Venezuela and Vietnam are out of my reach but, as a Catholic (albeit rather lapsed) a visit to Vatican City would be interesting.

That's still 20 out of 197 countries then.

And 22 out of 26 letters done.

A-Z Challenge 2025 - U is for (H)um and (H)aw

Well I'm scraping the barrel here with the take on Hum and Haw - which I found down a synonym black hole somewhere.  

"To procrastinate; to take a long time before doing something or taking a decision. We hummed and hawed before finally deciding to buy this house."

I would actually say "umming and arring" so it does fit with today's letter and we all know how good I am at procrastination.

Although not when it comes to house buying.  When we were looking for our first house to buy we did look at quite a few houses but then we saw one that had a more unusual layout to most of the ones we had seen and that was that.  It was the house I wanted.

The move to our second house wasn't even planned.  We were quite happy where we were, although we had 3 children by then so we knew a move would be sooner rather than later.  However an acquaintance lost the buyer for their house and we got chatting about that.  I went to look at the house and decided that I wanted to move there.  Hubby took a bit of convincing - and again we viewed quite a few other houses but he finally agreed and it was a done deal.

Our most recent move back in 2020 was hampered by the pandemic.  Having decided to move we had secured a buyer but then we were locked down.  When things started to open up again we knew we would have to move quickly to ensure the chain stayed intact but again when we viewed this house it ticked most of our boxes so it wasn't a hard choice to make.

I do think that you can just get a feel for the right house, but sometimes the circumstances aren't right for everything to fall in to place.  We were lucky.

Right on to the U countries:

• Uganda
• Ukraine
• United Arab Emirates (UAE)
• United Kingdom (UK)
• United States of America (USA)
• Uruguay
• Uzbekistan

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. 

Well obviously I've been to the United Kingdom - I live here (in London).  And I've visited Scotland and Wales.  We should try and get to Northern Island at some point.

I've also been to the USA, 3 times now.  We first went in 2014 when our son got married.  And we have visited for Thanksgiving in both 2018 and 2024.  Our son's in-laws make very good hosts and we've been able to host them on their trips here.

I don't think I'll be visiting any of the other U countries.

That's 20 out of 197 countries then.

And  21 out of 26 letters done.

A-Z Challenge 2025 - T is for Tripe

Well of course I think of tripe as another word for nonsense, which fits in with most of my A-Z posts.  Unfortunately it is also: 

the first or second stomach of a cow or other ruminant used as food

having googled it (as you do) it seems there are plenty of recipes for preparing it.  I suppose some of those could even make it taste edible.  But there is just something about it that makes it seem very unappetizing.  It's a bit like offal I suppose - another group of foods that don't have mass appeal although I have eaten liver and kidney in the past.  Not so much these days.  We also used to eat tongue that came in tins. (Although it might have also been available on the deli counter.) I don't think I fully comprehended just what that was at the time - I'm going back to my childhood here - and we also had spam.

Yes for any younger readers out there spam is not just rubbish e-mails it's also a canned meat product made with ground pork and processed ham.

I suppose it's a bit daft really that while I'm happy to eat meat (I try not to think of lambs or cows etc when doing that) the thought of tripe or offal or insects has a very negative effect on my appetite.

I did once plod through a pig's trotter dish in France - I thought I was ordering a piece of pork not a foot!  I did not enjoy it.

Anyway enough tripe for one day.  Moving on the T countries are:

• Taiwan
• Tajikistan
• Tanzania
• Thailand
• Timor-Leste
• Togo
• Tonga
• Trinidad and Tobago
• Tunisia
• Turkey
• Turkmenistan
• Tuvalu

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. 

I've only managed one of the T's - Turkey.  Hubby and I did a package trip one year, after the kids were old enough to leave home alone.  It was towards the end of the summer season so the heat wasn't too much for us pale and wan Brits.  It made a change for us as holidays with the kids tended to be camping trips or places like Center Parcs.  We stayed in a nice hotel  with a pool but the beach was only a short walk away.  

Hubby did consider going to Thailand - he has a former work colleague who moved out there and married a Thai woman who would definitely host us but it's not somewhere high on my wish list.  Tunisia is probably one of the few African countries I'd consider going to but, as our son and his family are currently living in the US our travels are focussed on trips to see them for the next few years at least.

That's 18 out of 197 countries then.

And 20 out of 26 letters done.

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.

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

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.

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.