It's Friday again and time to count our blessings for the week. This meme is hosted by Susanne over at Living to Tell the Story. Pop over there to find out more and see who's taking part.
Wow I thought I'd missed a week but looking back it's 3 weeks since I've been here. Life has been busy and I seem to have lost my blogging mojo a little bit. But there are definitely blessings!
Here we go:
1) Firstly I am so thankful that the newest addition to my extended family is doing well. The little boy had a very rough and scary start to life but is now doing well and home with his family. His name means survivor and he definitely is a survivor. He's also a little miracle. He's Grandchild #9 for my cousin.
2) A great hubby. We celebrated 35 years of marriage last weekend and we're still talking to one another. I picked a good one!
3) Family time. We've just had a few days away with our daughter, her wife and Grandson Nathan. We were supposed to be in Cannes in France where the weather was lovely but instead we ended up having a staycation in Poole on the south coast and the weather was not lovely. (Nathan's passport has vanished, probably into the rubbish bin.)
Anyway we still had a good time and the highlight for Nathan was a trip to Peppa Pig World. (Not sure Grandpa was very impressed but he did go on some of the rides with him.)
It was very tiring.
4) Eating out. We ate out a couple of times while we were away. Not the most relaxing thing with a toddler but the food was good and it was nice to be somewhere different.
5) A quiet weekend. Very welcome after a few busy ones. No plans set in stone but we do have tickets for the local open gardens event. If the weather's good we'll take a slow amble around the local gardens that are open this weekend. But not till we've had a lie in tomorrow.
Have a great weekend all.
The Brighton Mermaid by
Dorothy Koomson
My rating:
4 of 5 stars
Brighton Beach, 1993:
Teenagers Nell and Jude find the body of a young woman and when no one
comes to claim her, she becomes known as the Brighton Mermaid. Nell is
still struggling to move on when, three weeks later, Jude disappears.
Twenty-five
years on, Nell quits her job to find out who the Brighton Mermaid
really was – and what happened to her best friend that summer.
But
as Nell edges closer to the truth, dangerous things start to happen.
Someone seems to be watching her every move, and soon she starts to
wonder who in her life she can actually trust…
I found this a bit hard to follow as it's told from more than one POV and also switches between past and present but it did keep me interested and everything was tied up neatly at the end.
View all my reviews
We're in to June already so it's time for another update on my 19 in 19. May was such a busy month that I'm not sure this update will show many achievements. I was tempted not to bother but that rather defeats the object of the whole thing. So here goes:
1. Be more organised, plan ahead and waste less time
I
actually think I'm keeping my head above water here, just! The Hello Fresh meals make a big difference, especially on the days I've been Grandsitting. Nick and I are still trying to co-ordinate diaries regularly too.
2. Work on the garden
I really should take photos (oh wait that's further on!) as I put together some window boxes and they are looking lovely. They're actually on the wall that separates the patio from the main garden and they've definitely added a splash of colour. Lots of things are coming into bloom now so I'm trying to keep the garden watered when it needs it.
3. Plan a lunch date/date night with Nick once a month (theatre/cinema/meal/outing)
We didn't really do anything planned but lots of family things going on.
4. Eat at 6 new-to-me restaurants
Nothing new here.
5. Complete the A – Z blogging challenge
Success!
6. Family weekend away for my birthday - in June
Looking forward to this.
7. Look after my health – eat well, sleep well, play well
Well I definitely played well in May with all the Grandsitting so I've slept well too.
8. Visit my brother
At some point!
9. Visit the beach
We have a trip to France next weekend so this will happen!
10. Complete my reading challenge (52 books for the year)
Still on schedule, in May I read:
The Lost Symbol - Dan Brown
Home - Harlan Coban
They all fall down - Tammy Cohen
Parting Shot - Linwood Barclay
The Swedish Girl - Alex Gray &
The Tuscan Child - Rhys Bowen
As always, details and reviews can be found on my Goodreads site.
11. Keep a journal
This is still not working.
12. Blog at least once per week (plus regular memes)
May was always going to look bad after April with the A-Z challenge. I just about managed to do some memes and book reviews. There was almost no original blogging.
13. Organise/Take more photos
I think I'm taking more but the organisation side still needs a lot of work.
14. Update my clothes/accessories/make up etc regularly
I'm beginning to wonder how I ever thought this was a good idea!
15. Do more crafting – move the sewing machine!
I did lots of crafting in May - I was desperately trying to get blankets finished for both Noah and Rory. Noah's was done in time for his birthday on 17th May and Rory's is almost finished.
16. Try out a new recipe or do a bake each week
FAIL!
17. Visit/see Grandson Noah every month
Well we were always going to see him in May - for his birthday but he was here the following weekend so at least this one's been achieved.
18. Make progress on the house plan
This is on hold at the moment because the next big job involved sorting out the damp in the kitchen which will involve a lot of disruption and......Nathan's Mummies are trying to buy a house. They are trying to buy a house before their landlady sells the one they're living in at the moment. If they don't succeed they will most likely be staying with us until their purchase completes. I don't think any of us could face the extra challenge of having the kitchen upside down if that happens.
19. Lose 19 pounds
I really shouldn't have put this on the list!
Again a mixed month, some good things but some failures too. I don't think I appreciated when I set this up just how much time being a Grandparent would involve. I'm currently looking after Rory 1 day a week and still doing 2 days with Nathan. Yes it's tiring but I absolutely love spending the time with them and watching them grow up. We also try and keep up with Noah as much as we can. Then there's the more mundane stuff of running the house and before I know it another week has flown by. And then we're into another month.
At the end of the year I'm sure I won't have done all of my 19 in 19 but I know I'm being a great Nanny.
The Wednesday Medley is hosted by Terri over at Your Friend from Florida.
The questions usually start with the National Day and follow on from there. No rules and there is no obligation. Link up if you want to over at Terri's site and see who else is joining in the fun.
1. National Cheese Day is Tuesday, rather than Wednesday, but I think we should celebrate cheese this week!! Let's start by sharing your favorite cheese with us. Which one is always in your fridge?
Boringly we always have cheddar and parmesan in the fridge. I do like cheddar though, especially a mature one. (I do not like any cheese that has blue in it although I do like a soft garlic cheese occasionally.)
2. What is your preference? Mild, Sharp, or Extra Sharp? How do you use cheese most often?
I guess by sharp we would say strong so extra strong for me. We use cheese in cooking a lot, especially pasta dishes. We will also have cheese and crackers as a snack.
3. Cheesecake? New York style or what other flavors would you rather have?
I love New York style cheesecake but I also love chocolate flavoured or a lighter style with a fruit topping. Basically I just love cheesecake!
4. When you do grilled cheese sandwiches, which cheese do you prefer to use and what condiments do you use, if any?
Guess what? I'm back with the cheddar. Sometimes I'll add onion to it or brown pickle.
5. Number 5 on June 5th... Say happy birthday to my sister, Tammy!!
Happy birthday Tammy!
6. Share something with us about your week. If it includes using cheese in a recipe, please also share that with us too!!
This is pretty mucy a routine week for me so although no cheese recipes I did have a cheese (red leicester) and onion sandwich yesterday - I was looking after Nathan and I usually pick up a sandwich on my way over.
Thanks for the questions Terri. Have a good week!
