Getting Back to Normal - W/E 6th September 2026 - Part One

This week started with a quiet Bank Holiday Monday at home. After a very busy and sociable weekend, I was more than happy to be back in London and just potter around at home and get back to normal.

When I got back home, I was happy to find that I'd received a pension quote from the second of the pensions I'm intending to take when I reach 60 this year. Hopefully, I'll be able to get both applications sent off in the next couple of weeks.

OH went out for a cycle ride on Bank Holiday Monday, whilst I stayed home and unpacked, did some laundry and settled back into life back in London. I spent some time looking up some holiday accommodation in Cornwall for our summer holiday and later OH booked it. I don't think the weather is going to be great all week, but after such a hot summer, I'm not too worried. There will be lots of places to visit and things to do, even on rainy days. We will be staying in Mousehole, in a lovely cottage for a week. I'm really looking forward to just having a break, relaxing and exploring somewhere different.

Later on Monday, OH and I visited the allotment to harvest and water.  After 4 or 5 days away, there was quite a lot of food to pick. 

On Tuesday morning, I was booked into Zumba at the gym. It felt good to get back to exercising. In the afternoon, I headed out of town to do the weekly shop. I stopped into the charity shop, but only came home with a book, which was a good thing really. The grocery shopping didn't take too long. I didn't have any vouchers this week though, but did pick one up from Sainsbury's to use next week and also gained enough Lidl points to get a £5 off voucher next time I shop there. Everything helps.

Later, after supper, I caught up on some financial reckoning for the month, as it hadn't got done due to our being out of town. It had been a good month really, as I'd received a pension pay out from a very small private pension that had matured, which I immediately transferred into an ISA. It was a bit disappointing that tax got taken off it, but I should get it back next year, as I haven't earned enough this year to pay any tax at all. I also had a small win on the Premium Bonds, which is always nice to receive.

On Wednesday, I had a day where I didn't need to go anywhere or do anything much. I did some laundry, pickled two large jars of beetroot, picked up a prescription from the pharmacy and just generally had a chill, pottering kind of day at home.

The ballot for Wimbledon 2027 opened today, so I tried to enter. I had to wait in a queue for 13 minutes, as the site was extremely busy. I did eventually get through and was able to enter into the ballot. We'll just have to see if we get offered any tickets, we haven't been for a few years now.

On Thursday, I was back at the gym for a class, which was good. In the afternoon, I did a bit of pottering in the garden, potting on a white mulberry bush that we bought at the weekend and some thyme that I also bought. I also sowed some white and blue borage and some marigold seeds, but I don't know how they will fare. 

I harvested as many hazelnuts as I could find on my two bushes in the garden this week, which was just as well, as on Friday the squirrel appeared, rustling around in the bushes looking for nuts. They probably found some at the back of the bushes that I couldn't get to. They tend to bury them in the garden and forget about them, as I have potted up quite a few seedlings this year and there are more in the borders. I also collected some cob nuts from a tree down the road earlier in the week and I'm hoping to sow them and grow a cob nut tree.

I also made a batch of jam on Thursday, as the weather was cooler. I made 5 jars, using blackcurrants and gooseberries, but most of the jars I used were quite small. It has made a bit of room in the freezer, which is much needed.

I spent the afternoon catching up on three episodes of the Sewing Bee, which I enjoyed. I also made arrangements to start doing some voluntary work later this month. I've been wanting to do it for a while and decided to just take the plunge. It's actually more of a Green Gym, but it involves working in a community garden one day a week. It's a train ride away, but it will be good to get out and about a bit more. I'm looking forward to it.

I'll make a separate post about the remainder of the week.

A Long Weekend in Yorkshire - Week Ending 31st August 2026

The second half of this week was busy.  OH and I travelled up to Yorkshire on Wednesday afternoon, for the first time since his brother's funeral in June. Luckily, we had a good journey and arrived at OH's mum's house at about 5pm. She had very kindly cooked us a roast dinner, which was nice and we spent the evening catching up on family news.

On Thursday morning, OH went for a run and I met him in a nearby village, where I'd gone to do a bit of last minute shopping. We then went back and picked up his mum and took her for lunch in her local village at a nice little cafe. The food was very nice.

We had to be at our wedding accommodation for around 4pm which was situated out in one of the villages to the east of Hull. We met my sister there, who was busy waiting for the bridesmaids to arrive. The accommodation was lovely, with a swimming pool and steam room, which we took advantage of almost straight away. It felt very relaxing to go for a swim and use the steam room. We then went back to our room, got showered and got ready, before heading out to a nearby village pub for some supper. We left the bride, bridesmaids and mother of the bride to have a relaxing girly evening before the big day.

The day of the wedding, we woke up to heavy rain. Fortunately, the rain subsided by the time we got on the minibus to the wedding venue, which was located in the middle of the local countryside. Here, we had pre-wedding drinks and chatted to other family members before we were ushered into the ceremony itself. 

It was a lovely small wedding, and the bride looked beautiful. (Don't they always) The weather just held off for the main photos to be taken and then when the rain resumed, we were all ushered into the main lodge for the speeches, food and the evening disco. The food was a Greek theme, which was a nice surprise, and very tasty, the bride and groom having holidayed in Greece many times. 

It was a lovely day, long, but relaxed and very enjoyable. I think everyone had a good time. We, along with my sister, left a little early, as we needed to get another minibus back with some guests who didn't want to stay late until the end, but we were all pretty tired by the time we left at around 10pm, leaving the youngsters to dance the rest of the night away.

After a nice breakfast the next day, we said our goodbyes and packed up and made our way to Beverley for a walk around the town and the weekly market. It was a very busy Saturday morning in the town. We bought a few plants from one of the market stalls and then made our way back to OH's mum's house.

Later that evening, we headed out with OH's mum, to his niece's 21st birthday party at his sisters house near Malton, North Yorkshire. It was a lovely party, with a marquee in the garden. Once again the weather was kind to us all. We left around 11pm and again left the youngsters to dance and party into the early hours.

On Sunday, we were up and out again, this time heading up the East Yorkshire coast to Withernsea. On the way, we stopped off at OH's cousin's house, who has a nursery business and he gave us a grand tour. He is a specialist breeder of birds and other animals, so it was very interesting to see them all and then stop for a cup of tea. They were very hospitable. 

Eventually, we journeyed on to Withernsea, where OH's father has a bench dedicated to him at the lighthouse in the town. OH's mum wanted to give it a good clean before it was put away at the end of the season. It was also the first time we'd got to visit it since OH's father had passed away a couple of years earlier, but unfortunately for us, there was a garden party going on with lots of people in attendance and live music, so we'll probably have to visit again next year to get a proper look at it. We stayed for a while and visited some of the charitable stalls, before heading into the town to get fish and chips for lunch and have a little walk around before returning home. It was a nice day out.

OH and I decided to return to London that evening, to avoid Bank Holiday traffic and have a chill Bank Holiday Monday at home. It had been a lovely social weekend away, but to be honest our social batteries had worn right down and we were ready to head home. The journey back was a good one and we got home by 8pm. It felt so lovely to get back, relax, watch a bit of TV and head to bed early. It was lovely to see LB too and see that the garden had received some rain in our absence, at long last.

We now need to plan our summer holiday. I think we are going to stay in the UK and possibly visit Cornwall, although the weather isn't forecast to be that great. More about that in another post.

A Clean Up and Travelling North

This week has been another week of two halves.  The first part of the week, I needed to clean the house, as LB has some friends staying later in the week. It's been a good few weeks since I gave it a good clean, so it was starting to look a bit grubby in places.

On Monday, I didn't get any cleaning done, as I was out doing the weekly shop. We didn't need a whole lot this week as OH and I were heading up north to visit family and attend a family wedding. LB came with me and bought lots of stuff for her and her friend, who had quite specific food requirements. I spent less than a normal week, which is always good.

Tuesday morning, I headed to the gym for my Zumba class which was good. When I got home, I had some lunch and then started cleaning the kitchen. It was the worst room that I needed to clean, so I thought I'd start with the worst room first. It took me about 4 hours in total to clean the kitchen. I just took my time and worked my way around from one side to the other, cleaning the cupboard fronts, removing everything from the worktops, cleaning them and then putting everything back. It's always very satisfying when it's done, but I can't say I enjoy it.

I then worked my way through the rest of the house, cleaning the vestibule and downstairs toilet, then up the stairs and into the living rooms and hallway. All surfaces got dusted and the floors vacuumed and mopped. I thinned things out as much as possible as I went, and rehomed things that needed it. There was a lot of dog hair on the sofa from our recent canine visitor, who had gone home to the care of a petsitter. It took ages for me to vacuum it off.

Eventually, once the cleaning was finished for the day, I made us tacos for supper, which we hadn't had in a long time, then washed up before finally calling it a day.

On Wednesday, I was up early as we needed to do a tip run and I still had the bathroom to clean. When I got back from the tip, I got straight on with cleaning the bathroom. It wasn't too bad, but needed to be clean for guests. I then had a shower and got changed and packed ready to head off. It was a bit of a busy morning, but by lunchtime we were ready to go. I was looking forward to getting out of London for the Bank Holiday weekend.

The remainder of the week I'll post separately.

A Year of Early Retirement

This week marks a year since I left my last job. It's been a strange year, getting used to not working and earning any money, but equally it's been a relaxed one, without the stress of work. I haven't had to put up with anyone shouting at me in front of customers, micro managing me, requiring me to do stupid marketing tasks that I hate and generally dumping work onto me so they can take it easy. Seems like a fair swap when I think about it.

I have applied for the odd job, but with no success, and in all honesty, I'm not really interested in going back into the workplace, especially not one in which they don't value older workers and view/treat them as a liability. 

Don't get me wrong, I miss earning money and have had to really curtail my spending in order to get by each month, but this is probably a good thing, as I think when I do have spare money, I spend it on stupid things that I don't really need. Being on a limited budget does focus your mind and help you identify what is actually necessary and important for a happy life.

I've managed okay financially in the last year, which is a good thing, but I've had to be very disciplined and organised in terms of putting money aside every month for Xmas/birthdays, my niece's wedding present in a this week and another niece's 21st the same week.  This has left me with very little cash, over and above what I need for groceries, gym membership, insurance and charitable donations, etc. I've had to very much live within my means, which can be a challenge, but once you get into the swing of it, the desire to spend money does actually dissipate and you realise that much of the spending you once did was actually just habitual or out of boredom.

Going forward, a couple of small pensions should hopefully start to be paid to me in the next couple of months, plus I will be applying for a free 60+ travel card here in London, which should make it cheaper to get out and about. I won't say that I'll never work again, as who can see what the future holds, but if I do manage to get a job or find a way to earn money, I don't want to find myself in the same toxic situations that I found myself in in my last few employments.

If I'm going to continue not to work, I do need to rearrange my finances a little and create a slush fund for expenses, such as occasional one off necessary purchases, dental/optical costs, days out, etc. but this is easy enough to do using some of my savings, so that I don't have to put certain things off or not be able to enjoy doing things with LB or OH when I have the chance. I don't have any more expensive gifts to save for from here on in, so that will free up a bit of cash each month from the end of the year.

I guess, I could be described as having 'retired early' and as such, you are supposed to start spending your savings, that is the whole point of saving up for retirement. None of us know how long we've got and I want to enjoy however much time I do have. I learned early in life, when my mum passed away, two years after taking voluntary redundancy at the age of 57 and was unable to enjoy her retirement and spend her long service payment, that nothing is guaranteed. I intend to enjoy my freedom while I can, even if it just means bumbling about at home, going to the gym and gardening, as it certainly beats being subjected to other peoples rules and toxic behaviour in the workplace.

If circumstances merit me getting a job, I will, of course, try to do so, but if I can manage I will probably continue in the same vein.  One good thing about having this time, is that I am slowly getting around to sorting through lots of old paperwork and destroying that which I no longer need, thus freeing up space in the house. It is also ridding my home of the toxic habits and memories from the past. I enjoyed some jobs I did, whilst they were going well, but sadly by the time I left most of them, my enjoyment of them was deteriorating.

It wasn't really my life plan to retire early, but I seem to have slipped into it, and with AI, heavier and heavier workloads and the corporate push for profit above everything, including staff welfare, I don't regret exiting the workforce a little early. In fact, it does make me realise that I wasn't really very suited to most workplaces, nor good at fitting into and conforming to workplace cultures. I didn't really ever find a job that I continued to enjoy over the long term, as I think the longest I stayed at any job was 5 years. It does make me feel like a bit of a failure in some respects, but I can live with it.  At least I've have quite a bit of variety, both in terms of work and experience in my working life, which is character building stuff.

I'll keep you posted if anything changes in this regard.

A Chill Week - W/E 23rd August 2023

This week got off to a slow start. I was tired on Monday morning, after the Car Boot on Sunday and so had a lie in before getting up and ready. I unpacked a few items of clothing left over from the car boot and put them into a donation bag. I also put all my hangers back in the wardrobe. There was more unpacking to do, but I needed to go out and do the weekly shop, so it had to wait.

LB came with me to do the shopping this week. It was nice to have the company and an extra pair of hands. We went to my usual out of town location. I had a £3 voucher to spend at Tesco and another £4.50 voucher off a £30 spend at Sainsburys this week and used both of these.

LB wanted to visit the charity shop, so, of course, I joined her in there and ended up buying one top for £3 and a set of three small preserve jars for £1, which will come in very useful for jam making. I have lots of very big jars, but few smaller ones, which are a more practical size. I'm not doing any jam making until the weather really cools down though.  Eventually, we got all the shopping done and headed home to chill for the evening.

On Tuesday, I went to Zumba as normal. When I got back, I did a bit of blog reading, as I'd got a bit behind over the past week. I then did some financial reckoning and paid a bill online, as we were now more than half way through the month. OH fixed the handle on the shredder, so it will hopefully keep on being usable for many more months. I also printed off the form to apply for one of my pensions and started filling it out. There's a few bits of information I need to find to complete it and I need to get my signature witnessed, which is a bit annoying, but I realise that it is a security thing.

In the afternoon, I watched the final available episode of Clarkson's farm, which was good, if a little sad. I then watched a couple of documentaries. I was tired and just wanted some down time.

I had a long lie in on Wednesday morning after waking from a deep sleep and feeling groggy. I then got showered and ready for the day. I had a few household tasks to do in the kitchen and some laundry that needed doing and hanging out.

I spent the afternoon, cutting out some paper pattern pieces for some clothing items I'd like to make. At least this takes me a small step closer to actually doing some dressmaking. I also took a look for some potential holiday accommodation for September. We're either going to drive to France or possibly stay in the UK, dependent on the wildfire situation. We'll probably book last minute.

Later, OH and I went to the allotment to harvest and water. The nights are starting to draw in now and I can't wait for the autumn.

On Thursday morning, my Aerobics class was cancelled as the teacher wasn't available. I wasn't too bothered. Sometimes it's good to have a break from routine so that it doesn't get too boring.

I spent most of Thursday dealing with some financial stuff. I'm trying to apply for one of my pensions, but I came across and issue with a question on the form I had to fill out, so I ended up querying this on the website and am waiting for a reply. I also ended up shredding lots of old paperwork connected to a job I held 35 years ago. I still had all my appraisal paperwork and reading through it was interesting, and not in a positive way. It just makes me feel glad that I'm not subjected to all that nonsense any more. Shredding them was the most positive thing I could do with them. Of course, the shredder handle broke again, but in a different place. I can still use it though.

I also rang up about a small private pension that was due to mature and was talked through the process of cashing it in. I'll probably use it to give myself a small income between now and when I hopefully get my state pension. There was lots of excess paperwork in relation to this too, so that all got shredded. You can tell I'm on a mission to get rid of anything no longer relevant.

I did a bit of deadheading and pruning in the garden today. We did have a bit of rain, but again not a big downfall.  Still waiting for that one.

Friday morning, I got up early for a change and took Bruce, the dog we're looking after, out for a long walk, which was nice. It was a bit of a prickly one, as his ball got stuck in brambles and I had to dig it out, scratching myself in the process, then he did a poo amongst some rose bushes and I got caught up trying to pick that up and then the ball went into some thistles. At this point, I put it away. Apart from this we had a nice walk. Several people admired him and someone even asked if I was selling him! I told them he was not mine to sell. (He's a French Bulldog)

When I got back, I did a few household tasks and then a bit of blogging. I'm really liking the cooler weather. Such a relief.  

Saturday was another chill day. I walked Bruce again in the morning and then when I got back, I did a few chores. We didn't really do much at all today, just potter around at home. We did visit the allotment and it was nice to see one of the other plot holders and have a good chat. We'd not seen her for months.

We started watching a series called Ludwig on BBC iPlayer in the evening. It was quite entertaining. A little different from most crime dramas.

On Sunday, I spent the day cleaning. OH and I are heading off next week up to Yorkshire, to visit family and attend a wedding. LB isn't able to go, as she's going to a music festival here in London and is having friends to stay over with her, so I needed to get the bedrooms into a fit state for visitors. This meant a deep clean and a lot of thinning out, to make space and declutter. It took the whole day, but looked a lot better for it. I've still got the downstairs to clean, but that will be a job for the beginning of next week.

A Garden and Allotment Update - August 2026

I thought I'd do another allotment and garden update after the scorching summer we've had. It's been a tough season for growing anything and we've had to do a lot of watering using mainly grey water at home and watering cans at the allotment. Inspite of the heat, the garden and the allotment are doing okay. Here's a few pictures of the allotment:

There's not an awful lot left growing, but there's still lots of tomatoes to ripen, and a few cucumbers growing.There's some beetroot still to harvest, when it gets a bit bigger, lots of lettuce and kale still to harvest and raspberries, but everything else has ground to a halt.

Happily for me, there are now quite a few flowers growing. It's definitely dahlia and sunflower season.

I grew two types of sunflower, yellow and red. Neither are very tall though, but they're beautiful all the same.

At home in the garden, the hanging basket is hanging on:

although parts of it look a little unwieldy.

The verbena bonariensis have just kept flowering and keeping the bees and butterflies happy. I do really like this plant, it's a keeper, especially with the hotter summers we're getting.

I've got some sedum that are starting to flower and there are pelargoniums adding a bit of colour.

There are yet more sunflowers, just starting to flower

and plenty more lettuce for successional sowing. Oh has done a great job with these this year.

Finally, we've got some hazelnuts ripening on the two bushes I have in the garden. I'm hoping to beat the squirrels to them this year, but we'll have to wait and see.

In all, despite the hot weather, the garden is looking okay, with not too many losses, but we're still waiting for a decent downfall of rain. Hopefully, we won't have to wait too long.

A Day Out Selling at the Car Boot

This Sunday, was the day that LB and I had decided to spend selling at a Car Boot Sale out of town. We hadn't done a car boot sale for around 15 years or more (since LB was quite young and ran the battery down on the car playing her music on the car CD player, or so she tells me as I can't remember!). As I'd mentioned in a previous post, I was half looking forward to it and half dreading it in equal measure.

We'd both spent the last week or so, sorting out stuff to take and sell. We then packed the car the night before, so we wouldn't make lots of noise in the morning setting off at 7am.

On the day of the car boot sale, we got up at 6 am, had breakfast, packed the last few things into the car and set off. The car boot we decided to sell at, was one that was held on a Park and Ride Car Park and didn't start until 8 am, which was great for us, as we didn't want to get up at a ridiculous hour to get to the alternative boot sale for 5 am.

We set off at 7am as planned, with a packed lunch in a cool bag, bottles of frozen water and a full car. We were given a pretty good pitch with plenty of room and set to work setting up our stuff for sale. A few people came around early, very politely looking at what we were putting out. In fact, we found that everyone we came across was very polite and friendly. Some people did make lower offers, some of which we took, some we didn't.

The footfall was pretty steady for the first few hours and LB did particularly well, as she sold a couple of more expensive items quite early on. She was also selling Pokemon Cards, as she collects them and was selling off ones she no longer wanted. This brought quite a lot of people to our stall to be honest, so I was glad of her being there with me.

My sales were a lot slower and smaller, the most expensive items I sold being priced at £5. I'd gone into it thinking that if I made £50 on the day, I'd be very happy, as I figured I'd be earning money and getting rid of stuff I no longer wanted. Most of my sales came from clothing and a few house bits.

By 12 noon, some stalls were starting to pack away and leave, but we stayed on until 1pm, when there were no more customers, then started to pack up the car. Unfortunately (for OH), we still went home with quite a lot, but we were very happy with how we'd done, as we had exceeded our expectations. I'm afraid I didn't take any photos, as we were so busy setting up, selling and then packing away, that it didn't really occur to me.

We were quite lucky with the weather too, as it was warm, sunny at times, but mostly cloudy, so the heat wasn't too overwhelming. We couldn't have asked for better on the back of a heatwave here in London a few days before.

When we got home, we added up all the cash we'd taken, worked out how much we'd made, minus the entrance fee, which was £13 per car, and which we split between us, making it much more affordable.

So, how did we do? Well, I made £65 (£55 if you deduct the £10 I'd spent on some camping chairs to use on the day). LB did a bit better and made just over £100. We were both really happy with these results, especially as it had been good fun too. 

We probably won't do another one for at least a year, if at all, but it was definitely a good way to make some cash from things we no longer wanted. Also, I only spent 40p at a nearby stall, as we were both so focused on selling, that neither of us took the time to wander round and look at the other stalls.

We then just need to empty the car and unpack everything that was left, but we took a breather before doing that. Some of it can just be donated to the charity shop and some will have to wait for another opportunity to be sold or maybe just be put out on the street for people to take for free.

Have you ever done a car boot sale?