Saturday, 26 October 2024

SoCS# - 26/10/24 - Mugs!


Stream of Consciousness Saturday is hosted by Linda.  You can find all the details on how to take part here.  Today's prompt is Mug.



Well I haven't done one of these posts for a while and I'm probably breaking a few rules because there's been a teeny bit (yeah ok quite a big bit) of planning in my post.  But, as my blogging has been a bit sporadic over the last few months a blog post that doesn't quite toe the line is better than no blog post at all.

Especially when that's what I usually look like in the morning before my first cup of tea.  Although I'm actually writing this in the evening, taking advantage of the fact that we get an extra hour of sleep tonight as our clocks go back to mark the end of British Summer Time.  Of course you only get that extra hour of sleep if you're tucked up in bed sleeping which clearly I am not.

But back to the morning.  I'm not a morning person and certainly not before my first cup of tea.  Or to be more precise my first mug of tea.  I don't drink cups.  Cups require saucers and cause twice the washing up.  In fact they cause washing up because often nice, pretty cups and saucers don't do well in the dishwasher.

Once you own a dishwasher you should only buy items that can be dishwashed.  

Unless they're mugs like these:


I love receiving mugs with pics of the grandkids on them, and I do use them BUT they are NOT dishwasher safe.  Don't believe the labels.  The dishwasher will eat the pictures and a grandchild minus their head is not a sight you want to see.  Actually it also says Mr Grumpy can go in the dishwasher.  Not sure Mr Grumpy would agree.  He was bought for my Hubby and he's actually hardly been used.  Hubby likes a china mug.  He also likes a mug that keeps the liquid reasonably hot.  Mr Grumpy fails on both counts.

My favourite mug is probably this one: (or one of the other 3 that came with it as a set of four and yes I can tell the difference - the other 3 are different colours and have different patterns on them but essentially they're the same.)


Especially when it contains a nice fresh cup of tea.  Fairly strong, not too much milk and 2 sugars  although no sugar since I was diagnosed as pre diabetic, sweeteners all the way now.  I can drink it black if I have to but it does have to be sweet.  It wasn't that surprising that I edged up into the pre diabetic range but thankfully I've worked my way back into the normal range but sugar is still avoided wherever possible.  So hard when a mug of tea just shouts out for a biscuit.  I compromise by having digestive biscuits with chocolate chips in them.  Got to be better than ones coated in chocolate right?

Now you'd think that I'd like a tea bag that's called cholate digestive wouldn't you?  Not at all.  It was horrible.  No fruit flavoured teas for me either, or camomile or anything that isn't just a Builder's tea as we would say here in the UK.

Oh and for anyone wondering, I don't do coffee.  Not in any shape or form.  Actually that's not true as regular readers are probably shouting "what about chocolates?" at their screens right now.  Yes I am partial to coffee flavoured food items, sweets, cakes, desserts etc just don't put coffee in my mug.  And do not commit the sin of stirring my tea with the spoon you used to stir your coffee.  I WILL KNOW!

Friday, 25 October 2024

Friday's Fave Five - 25/10/24


It's Friday so time to look back on the week and note the things I'm grateful for this past week.  Susanne reminds us each week to do this and then we join in here.

A relatively quiet week for me but these are the highlights:

1)  Time with grandkids Nathan and Ella.  They are on half term break so there was a bit of dropping off and picking up to be done.  We also had them for a big part of Saturday as Mummies were out with their cousins.  We had them here during the day but then took them home and put them to bed.  Thankfully they both went to bed fairly easily.  I also had Ella here today.  She's quite good at playing on her own but she loves to play with Playdoh and that definitely needs supervising lol.

2)  No Foodbank duties this week as the electrics are being replaced in the Church but yesterday was a glorious autumn day - not too cold and not a cloud in the sky so I took a walk through the park and down to the lake.

So many coots.


The cygnets are getting so big.  There are 8 of them this year.





3) 


Picked this book up from the library today.  It's the next in the series I've been reading by Strout.  I love our library service.

4)  I also treated myself to this one this week:


I love Nancy - she was a winner on the Great British Bake Off show a few years back and she is on a mission to try and be more green.  She makes her own cleaning mixtures and has so many tips for cleaning, cooking, gardening and so on.  Her Instagram is great and what I love about her is that, although she's so well known now she is so down to earth and has no airs and graces whatsoever.

This book is a reissue of a book she originally self published but the recipes come with a QR code that links to a demonstration of how to carry out the recipe.  There was also a code on her Instagram account to get it half price if pre-ordered.

I'm not one for doing a lot of baking but I'm hoping this book might inspire me to do more.  Although I did bake a banana loaf this week - I often have overripe bananas that need to be put to good use.  It got the seal of approval from Granddaughter Ella.  High praise indeed lol.

5) I've definitely had some "me" time this week, watching some TV shows, knitting some more squares for the homeless project, catching up with knitting friends on Wednesday and finding some time to read a bit more of David Copperfield.  I'm grateful to be retired and able to do these things.  I even went to the exercise class that my "Ladies Lunch" group introduced me to a couple of weeks ago, even though they were all away.  It's not a very difficult class - it's definitely aimed at older people (I'm one of the younger ones there lol) and it's working on keeping active and improving balance etc but it's quite social and having done no real exercise apart from walking recently it's definitely not too strenuous.

Have a good weekend all.

Friday, 18 October 2024

Friday's Fave Five - 18/10/24


It's Friday so time to look back on the week and find the things to be grateful for.  Susanne keeps us on our toes with this and her blog with all the info and linky list is here.

1)  Family time last weekend - my eldest son and his family were here.  We didn't see much of them on Saturday as they were meeting up with friends to celebrate a 40th birthday but on Sunday we had a nice lunch out with them, my daughter and her family plus one of Hubby's sisters and a several nieces and nephews.

2)  Got my Covid booster on Monday so I just need my 2nd shingles jab and I'm winter ready!

3)  Blood test results showing I'm still out of the pre-diabetic range.  The level had crept up slightly but I wasn't too surprised about that - I haven't been keeping to good habits recently but I'm trying not to get complacent - I didn't add any chocolate to the shopping list this week!

4)  Some sunshine during the week which meant I got some walking done.  Just around our local lake and it's Wellie season again now thanks to all the rain we've had, but it still feels good to get out in the fresh air.

5)  Made time for some reading - I'm making progress with David Copperfield and I have all the books lined up for the remaining prompts on the challenge I'm doing.  One of them is reserved at the library so I hope I don't have to wait too long for that or I might need to rethink that one.  Thanks to Deb for the suggestion.

I've also done a bit of Grandsitting with Nathan and Ella during the week too.  

Have a good weekend all.

Tuesday, 15 October 2024

Book Review - Lucy by the Sea - Elizabeth Stroud

Lucy by the SeaLucy by the Sea by Elizabeth Strout
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

In March 2020 Lucy's ex-husband William pleads with her to leave New York and escape to a coastal house he has rented in Maine. Lucy reluctantly agrees, leaving the washing-up in the sink, expecting to be back in a week or two. Weeks turn into months, and it's just Lucy, William, and their complex past together in a little house nestled against the sea.

Rich with empathy and a searing clarity, Lucy by the Sea evokes the fragility and uncertainty of the recent past, as well as the possibilities that those long, quiet days can inspire. At the heart of this miraculous novel are the deep human connections that sustain us, even as the world seems to be falling apart.


Another book by Elizabeth Strout that I have enjoyed. Following on from Lucy Barton becoming a widow and her ex-husband William becoming single again this takes place during the pandemic when William persuades Lucy to isolate with him in Maine.

Strout captures the stresses caused by the pandemic well and how Lucy and her family cope with being in lock-down. Lucy is a complicated character, annoying at times but I just love the way Strout writes.

View all my reviews