Friday's Fave Five - 29/1/21

 

Thanks to Susanne at Living to tell the Story for this reminder every week to sit back and think about our 5 favourite things from the week.

This is particular hard right now.  There seems to be no end in sight for our lockdown - it was announced this week that the earliest schools MIGHT re-open is 8th March.  Case numbers are reducing though but that hasn't yet stopped hospitals being overwhelmed and deaths reducing.  This week we hit the horrific statistic of 100,000 deaths in the UK from Covid.

But there are good things still happening:

1)  We had snow last weekend - not a lot thankfully but of course the children find it very exciting.

Nathan & Noah enjoyed making snowmen.  Rory didn't have quite as much snow to work with but still enjoyed being out in the garden.

Spot the snowman on the step!

2)  A zoom call with hubby's siblings last Friday.  It was a bit chaotic with 8 couples trying to have a conversation but it was nice to see them all.

3)  A better week in terms of getting out to walk, keeping my step count up etc.  Last week I was very demotivated but this week has been better.

4)  Curtains for my bedroom have arrived.  I'm hoping to get them up over the weekend but I'm currently letting them just hang so I don't have to do too much ironing of them.  I'm hoping they're going to darken the bedroom considerably and it will help me sleep better.

5)  I cooked dinner tonight using a Simply Cook kit and it was delicious.  It was Japanese Seared Steak and looked like this:

Actually that's how the recipe card made it look - I forgot to take a picture of ours!  But it was good as are the chocolates I mentioned last week.  We've been eating 1 a day to make them last but they are delicious!

(Of course I'm eating other chocolate as well.  1 chocolate a day is not enough lol.)

Right time to post this before midnight strikes.  Have a good weekend all.

 

21 in 21 - Weekly Photo #4 w/c 25/1/21

Today we were at my daughter's as usual and this afternoon we managed to get out for a bit to nearby Kenwood House.  The house is closed at the moment but the grounds are open and there's plenty of space for social distancing.

When we started to get ready the weather looked ok but of course it takes time to get two children ready for the (thankfully) short car drive to the venue and by the time we arrived it had clouded over and there was rain in the air.

I only took a few pictures and most were blurry but this is one showing Nathan in his element - playing with a ball with Grandpa.  He didn't care about the weather or the mud!

Wednesday Hodgepodge - 27/1/21

I'm taking part in the Wednesday Hodgepodge, kindly hosted by Joyce at From this side of the Pond

Pop over there to see who else is joining in the fun. 

1. Have you done more binge watching this past year than in 'normal' years? Any plans to break that habit in 2021? Tell us one or two shows you binged last year that you really liked. 

I probably have watched more TV but not really in binge sessions.  I've watched various drama series such as Line of Duty  and Strictly Come Dancing was a must watch for me.  Recently though Hubby has got more into watching things on Netflix on the main TV so I haven't been watching as much TV at all.

2. January 26th is Australia Day. Have you ever visited or lived in Australia? Have you ever tasted Vegemite, and if so what did you think?  Is a trip down under on your bucket list? We answered a question about travel three months ago (the October 21st Hodgepodge), but let's revisit now...where are you when it comes to planning or even imagining travel this year? 

I have been to Australia!  We went back in 2017 with Grandson Nathan and his Mummies.  He was only 7 months old at the time so it was quite challenging.  I'm guessing Vegemite is much like Marmite which you either love or hate.  I hate lol.

As for current travel plans - that would be a big NONE at the moment.

3. Something that zaps your energy? Something that energizes you? 

Grandsitting definitely zaps my energy.  Especially the really little ones.  After a day at my daughter's I just want to chill in front of the TV.

Going for a walk in the fresh air energizes me.

4. On a scale of 1-10 what are your eating habits like these days? (1=all junk food all the time and 10= juicing every green thing in the frig) Healthiest meal you've eaten in the last week or so? 

Our eating habits are generally ok so we're probably a 6 or 7.  We tend to make most of our meals rather than use ready made/processed things, although we do use Hello Fresh for some meals but not every week.  We are definitely eating more chocolate though.  In the first lockdown we had chocolate if we'd gone out for a walk now in our 3rd lockdown we have the chocolate anyway!

Our healthiest meal recently was probably a Vienamese pork dish that was yummy even if hubby did forget to put the sugar in!

5. What's your most often 'Back in my day....' thing to say? 

That's not something I often find myself saying.

6. Insert your own random thought here.

I'm very glad of being able to get cheap or free books to my Kindle during this 3rd lockdown.  Our local library is closed as are bookshops.

Review - Rivers of London by Ben Aaronovitch

Rivers of London by Ben Aaronovitch
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Probationary Constable Peter Grant dreams of being a detective in London’s Metropolitan Police. Too bad his superior plans to assign him to the Case Progression Unit, where the biggest threat he’ll face is a paper cut. But Peter’s prospects change in the aftermath of a puzzling murder, when he gains exclusive information from an eyewitness who happens to be a ghost. Peter’s ability to speak with the lingering dead brings him to the attention of Detective Chief Inspector Thomas Nightingale, who investigates crimes involving magic and other manifestations of the uncanny. Now, as a wave of brutal and bizarre murders engulfs the city, Peter is plunged into a world where gods and goddesses mingle with mortals and a long-dead evil is making a comeback on a rising tide of magic.

Well this book ticked the box "Set in London" for a reading group challenge. It was lent to me by my DIL and I wasn't quite sure what to expect or what I'd make of it.

The main character, Peter Grant, is a probationary police officer with the Metropolitan Police in London. He finds himself caught up in a murder enquiry that involves ghosts, a department of the police led by a wizard and all sorts of other nonsense.

Despite how daft that all might sound I did actually enjoy the book, although it did take me a while to get into it. There's also a lot of information about London thrown in, particularly about the river Thames and its tributaries.

It was definitely a good bit of light reading during lockdown but not sure I'm hooked enough to carry on with the series.

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