Another Bank Holiday Weekend

Another Bank Holiday weekend has passed and I'm getting used to enjoying them again, which I haven't really done for a while.

We didn't really have any plans. I just had a few jobs I wanted to tackle and OH was doing some cycle rides on a couple of the mornings.

On Saturday morning, OH went off on one such ride, so I got up and pottered about in the garden for an hour, doing a few small outstanding jobs that needed doing, i.e. potting on a rose bush, topping up the compost in my Mulberry tree pot and transferring/potting up a few self seeded foxgloves and fennel plants. I spent a while trying to help a big bumble bee escape from the greenhouse. It just couldn't find it's way out, but did eventually, thankfully, before it exhausted itself.

I then took the dog out for a walk. It started off a bit cloudy, but the clouds soon burned off and the sun came out which was lovely.

When I got back from the dog walk, I did a few household chores, made some lunch and then I tackled another job, which was to do some financial reckoning for the month. It took an hour or so, but I always feel better for keeping on top of things and knowing where I'm at. It was interesting to see how my pension forecast had changed due to the recent triple lock rise. I try to keep a close eye on my projected income at retirement, even though it is still 10 years away.

On Saturday afternoon, OH had to go out for a couple of hours, so I decided to do a bit of ironing. I managed to get most of it done by the time he came back.  Just a few items were left that I will do another time, as there are still more items drying on the airer that will need ironing. 

OH was out on Saturday night with his cycling friends. I stayed home and decided to pamper myself a little which was nice.

On Sunday, we decided to get up early and go to Columbia Road Flower Market. We probably haven't been for a couple of years and I just fancied a visit to maybe get some plants for the end of the garden. OH said he'd treat me. We set off at 8.15am and took the dog with us. We needed to go early as it gets very busy and then it's no fun.

Thankfully, when we got there, we realised that they have changed the market a little and now stalls run down just one side of the street instead of both.  This allows much more room for visitors and means less of a crush. Anyway, we wandered up and down the market.

Here are some photos:

Aside from the flowers and plants, there are lots of lovely vintage shops and stalls, cafes and ceramics shops, but I wasn't really looking to buy anything other than plants.

Having said this I did buy a couple of pots on the market. They were a steal at £3 each, so I bought two. They are perfect for herbs or orchids as they have a small lip that the plant pot sits on, that prevents them standing in water. Bargain.

Plant wise, OH bought me some more pelargoniums as mine had all died off over the winter. I'd had them a good few years. Many people don't like them, but you get so many flowers for your money and they just keep flowering for months/years. I love them for adding a bit of colour to the garden. I immediately potted them up into a slightly bigger pot and put them in these hanging metal plant trays that our neighbour put out on the street a while ago. I think they look pretty and were so inexpensive at 4 plants for £7. I chose salmon and white.

We also bought two ferns for £10. They aren't huge, but will be useful for the end of the garden. I planted one out straight away to fill a gap and the other one I put in a bigger pot and it will be planted in the ground when we finish adding more pavers. I will probably need to return and buy more to complete this end of the garden, but it will have to be when I've got some spare cash.

When we got home, I did a bit of pottering in the garden, picked some lettuce, sowed some seeds, transplanted a few plants. I'm getting back into my garden again and it's lovely. I've neglected it for way too long and given all my energy to work, it was a misjudgement on my part.

I also found my small solar water fountain again. I'd been looking for it for a while, but it was at the back of a kitchen cupboard. I straight away filled the planter I always use for it and got it going in the sunshine. OH hates it, because he thinks it makes a mess, but it's only water and the sun soon dries it up. I like to see a bit of movement in the garden, besides it's calming. 

After getting up so early on Sunday morning, I had a little nap on Sunday afternoon, read a little, did a bit of sewing and started making another suncatcher with some glass beads which was all very relaxing.

On Bank Holiday Monday, OH was out cycling again, so I needed to get up and get out with the dog. We had a nice walk and then when I got home, I headed out again to do the weekly shop. I needed to claim a couple of free items before the vouchers for them ran out, so I went to our local Lidl. It was quite busy for a Bank Holiday, but I managed to get my shopping done and get out and back home, so that I could spend the afternoon relaxing.

In the evening, we watched the final episode of the final series of Succession. We now need to look for something new to watch in the evenings, as we've now finished both of the series we've been watching over the last couple of months. Any suggestions would be welcome.

It was a relaxing, stay at home kind of Bank Holiday weekend for us. I hope you had a good one.

A New Week - W/E 27th May 2023

I was glad to start a new week this week, especially after the lost few days during the middle of last week. I'm not sure what happened there, I might have had a virus, as I'm not normally as tired as I felt that week. This week, however, my energy levels seem to have returned to normal.

On Sunday, OH was running in our local Half Marathon. He's entered for the last few years, as he really enjoys it. I took the dog over to the finish line to see him run across. We then hung out at the event which covered half of a huge green space close to where we live. There was a main stage and bar, food stalls, charity tents and other attractions whereby people could try out different exercise classes. I watched a Soca Aerobics class on the main stage which was excellent. Quite a lot of people joined in and it looked great fun. I wasn't really dressed for it and to be honest I was too much of a coward to join in, but I'd have liked to.

We had a few drinks and chatted to a friend of OH, who had also run and just generally chilled and enjoyed the atmosphere. There were over 20,000 runners this year, which was incredible.

We eventually made our way home. A neighbour called round for a chat which was nice and later I did some household tasks and laundry before chilling for the rest of the day.

On Monday morning, I had a bit of an accident on the dog walk. I accidentally tripped up in the park due to a hole in the grass the size of a shoe. It was my fault, I was looking at my phone and not where I was going and went down with a bang. I always feel slightly vulnerable when this kind of thing happens and in this instance, I felt a bit bruised and shaken, but luckily I wasn't badly injured.

In the afternoon, I headed out to do the weekly shop. I had a limited budget, as it is almost the end of the month, so I tried to keep spending within the amount I had left. I had a £2 off voucher at Lidl, plus a coupon for a free bakery item and a free packet of biscuits.  I don't normally buy either, but free food is fine by me. 

I also had a £3.50 voucher to use at Tesco, so I just used it to go towards some dog food that we needed. I also went to Home Bargains, but stuck strictly to what I went in for and only spent just over £4 there, which was good for me, as normally its a £30 spend minimum. Everything just came within budget, but next week's shop will have to come out of next month's budget. Most of the week is June anyway.

On the way home, I posted off an online sale and then I could go home, unpack the shopping and chill in front of the TV for the rest of the afternoon, binge watching the new series of Selling Sunset on Netflix.

Tuesday, I was up early and I decided to do my home exercise routine again this morning, instead of going to the gym. It always gets my day off to a good start.

After walking the dog, I came back and had a salad for lunch.  I then retired to the sewing room for the rest of the day to do some work on my 1" square patchwork project. After a few days of being out and about for various reasons, all I wanted to do was stay home and do something meditative like quilting. I did also take some photos for a quilting update post, which you will probably have seen by now.

Later, I caught up on the first day of the Chelsea Flower Show, which took place this week. OH is recording it for me every evening. It never fails to get me in the mood for gardening.

On Wednesday, I did my usual morning dog walk and then headed off to my Soca Aerobics class.  When I got back, I decided that as it was a lovely sunny day, I would do some work in the garden.

The main area that I needed to tackle was at the end of the garden. It was looking a bit overgrown with lots of bindweed growing and I'd promised LB that I would clear it up, for when she comes back from Uni, so that she can hang her hammock back up.

Here's a couple of before pictures:

It didn't take too long, probably a couple of hours. After all the clearing, I dug over the area of soil at the end to try to eliminate as many bindweed roots as I could. The dog helped! I'd forgotten how tiring digging is, as it's been so long since I've done any. I had to stop and take a break, but I was pleased with the end results:

You can now see that there is an area of ferns down this end of the garden and my mulberry tree is in the foreground. It is doing well and has lots of fruits growing on it this year. I can't wait to eat them.

Excuse the mess that is the fence where the dog is laid. She can't help but scratch away at it, in an attempt to see through into the next garden.  Such is life with animals.

We could probably do with laying another row of paving slabs where the soil starts and then maybe plant up the edge that is left. I'm not sure what, if anything, could withstand the dog scratching around in this area though. Anyway, it looks much better than before and I may now venture down here and sit and read on warm days. 

Whilst talking about the garden, here's a couple of pictures of the salad leaves that OH is growing in the raised beds. I picked some leaves for the first time this week for lunches. It should keep us in lettuce fr a while.

After finishing work in the garden, I retired to the living room to watch Tuesday's Chelsea Flower Show, which is the day that the medals are awarded. It's always a little exciting. Afterwards, OH and I took down our old mini greenhouse and put up a new one. It was OH's surprise birthday present from me. The old one,  I bought from the charity shop where I used to work for £5. (The shop was in the centre of London and there was very little demand for greenhouses there!) It lasted us two or three years before it started to fall apart. The roof had collapsed recently and was irrepairable, so we desperately needed another one. Hopefully, this one will last us a while.

On Thursday, I was up at 6.30am to get ready and go out to my volunteering session. It was very quiet today. Sadly, an elderly volunteer passed away a couple of weeks ago.  He volunteered with another lady who was a good friend of his, so I had a chat to her today and offered my condolences. 

There is a lot of change going on where I volunteer at the moment, with staff leaving, redundancies, new posts being advertised, changes in how things are done. I've been volunteering there for over 6 months now, which has gone by so quickly.

Anyway, I rode there on my bike for the first time in months today, as it was sunny. OH encouraged me to get back on my bike and I'm glad I did. I need the exercise desperately. I think at times I lose confidence in cycling in London and find it easier on the bus, but to be honest, now I'm not working it makes sense to cycle, as it costs nothing and keeps me moving.

When I got home OH and I had lunch and then loaded up the car for a tip run. Following our forays into the garden the previous day, we were left with a big pile of rubbish to dispose of. Before heading out, OH dismantled the old raised bed covers to take the rusted chicken wire to the tip and it has left us with lots of wood we can use as kindling next winter, which he chopped up once we came home.

Whilst out at the tip, we dropped into B&Q for some more compost. We were going to buy some pavers, but forgot to measure the ones in situ and couldn't find a trolley instore, so we left it for another day. We then did a small top up food shop in ASDA for the Bank Holiday weekend. Whilst in there, I spotted some nice items of inexpensive summer clothing that I wouldn't mind buying. I might treat myself next month if they still have them.

Last stop was the car wash, but about a dozen people had the same idea, so we gave that a miss until another day too. Life's too short to sit in a queue for the car wash.

On Friday, I decided to put away most of my winter clothing, as the weather seems to have turned warmer now, finally. It definitely emptied the wardrobe, although there are quite a few things in the ironing basket that should fill it up again. I really need to tackle it this weekend. 

Instead of slobbing around in casual clothes, as I usually do, I decided to put on something a bit nicer, along with some costume jewellery. Sometimes it just gives you a bit of a mood boost to make an extra effort with your appearance.

I had a very long walk with the dog today, well maybe I should say slow walk, as we didn't go that far, but stopped a couple of times to sit in the sunshine which was nice. By the time I got home it was 1pm.

The afternoon was uneventful, I had a few things on my mind and couldn't settle into doing much. I read a little and did some laundry, but not much else. 

Another Bank Holiday weekend ahead. Hopefully, I'll be a bit more productive over the weekend.

Hope you have a lovely Bank Holiday weekend, whatever you are doing.

A Quilting Update

It's been a while since I've brought you up to date on the progress I've made on my current big quilt project. It's been coming along slowly, but the quilt top still isn't anywhere near finished. 

I had a bit of a disaster when there wasn't enough of the fabric I bought from eBay to finish it. I then ordered some more from the same listing and what came wasn't anything like the original and I'm not sure if it was even cotton. 

As a consequence, I had to source some more fabric, which I did, but it's also not cotton it's polycotton and not exactly the same shade, but very similar. I did take a swatch and what I bought was the best I could do, so I'm hoping it won't look too disparate.

Anyway, I haven't started using it yet, so I'll let you know. Here's a picture of the quilt as it stands now:

I'm well on the way to completing the edges, but I do still have one whole side to do and a bit of the other side. I laid it out on LB's bed, as this is the bed I've made it for. 

Before I left my last job at a homewares retailer, I bought some plain 100% cotton navy bed linen, using my staff discount, to set it off better. I'm happy with the look and the bed linen feels lovely and soft, although it was a bit thinner than I expected.

I think that once the quilt is finished, it will look very nice in here. Although I made it for LB, I'm not entirely sure whether it is LB's vibe, but I can always use it for when guests come and stay in this room or just to look nice while LB is at Uni. I'm not sure if or how I'm going to bind it yet, I'll cross that bridge when I come to it, but I'm happy with how it's turned out so far. As with every hand stitched thing I make, it's not perfect, but I like that about it, as it looks hand crafted and not machine made.

In other quilting news, I have started a project with the 1" square quilting kit that I bought from the charity shop a while back. Here's a picture of the kit I bought for £1.50 as a reminder:

It's a super sweet size to work with and I've utilised as many scraps as I could so far, so it's quite a random bunch of fabrics. No fabric is used more than once and I'm now trying to use bits of larger pieces of fabric to extend it. It works much better with ditsy prints because of the size of the pieces, so I'm trying to stick to these types of fabric designs. I have a lot of fabrics in my stash, so this shouldn't be a problem.

Anyway, here's my progress so far:

It's probably going to be a small runner/mat for the top of a chest of drawers or something similar. I chose the cross design as the squares lend themselves well to it and I like how they sit next to each other. It's very simple to sew the pieces together too and is generally a fun project to use up small scraps. It may take a while to finish, but there's no hurry, it just gives me a change from the bigger project when I need it and it is something that will travel easily, with just a small pouch to carry everything you need.

Aside from these two projects, I haven't really done any other quilting. I do have another large project that I want to start once the blue quilt is done, namely another quilt, for the bed in the sewing room this time. I've already got the fabrics and chosen the template and design, so it's just a case of getting started at some point. I may begin work on it before the blue quilt is finished, to give me more variety and because I find it hard to resist starting new projects once I've got them in my head.

Have you been working on anything lately?

A Birthday Day Out in Town

On Saturday, it was OH's birthday. To celebrate, we'd arranged to meet LB in town for lunch. The chosen destination this time around was Battersea Power Station.

In recent years, the disused power station and the area around it has been completely redeveloped into a part residential, part retail scheme. I'd heard about it from a friend who'd recently visited and I'd also seen lots of retail jobs there advertised since it opened last October, so I was interested to see it for myself.

We arrived at around 1pm. OH and I travelled in by train and underground, which in itself was a bit of a culture shock for us, as we so rarely take the underground these days. It took about an hour from where we live in East London.

Once there, stopped off for tea/coffee in Paris Baguette, a lovely patisserie in the mall, whilst we waited for LB to arrive. We then took a walk around the mall, which has been built into what were the two turbine halls of the power station. It's a very nice mall as malls go, with some very high end shops, but also some more recognisable brands too. It has been very nicely done and it wasn't too busy either so it was enjoyable to walk around. Here are a few pictures of one of the two turbine halls:

There are quite a few bits of machinery from the power station still on site here and there and some of the building's architectural features have been well preserved.

There was also a free exhibition of models and billboards telling the history of the power station from being built in 1929, until and beyond it's decomission in 1983. This was really interesting to read.

We wandered around inside and out, looking for somewhere to eat, but it was very busy and many restaurants were fully booked or there were queues to wait until a table became available.  

Here's a picture of the outside of the power station:

We eventually were given a lovely booth at Le Bab, a kebab restaurant inside the Power Station Mall. The staff here were super friendly and the service was impeccable, so we had a lovely meal for OH's birthday.

There is also a very interesting attraction in Battersea Power Station Mall, which is Lift 109. This is a lift that takes visitors up one of the power station's four chimneys which are over 100 metres high. Unfortunately, it was fully booked until 7pm on the day we visited and we weren't planning on staying that late, so we didn't manage to get up there on this visit. It has to be booked online ahead of your visit, so if you are ever interested in visiting, make sure you do this before you go.

We had a lovely afternoon out and we were really impressed with the results of £9 billion redevelopment of this Grade 2* listed building, which has created an interesting new destination that visitors to London can add to their itinery. It's definitely worth a visit.

Getting There and Then Not W/E 19th May 2023

This week started off pretty productively, after cleaning the bathroom and LB's room the previous day, on Sunday, I was surprisingly still in the mood to do more cleaning. Not before we had a nice breakfast bap though, made with sausage patties and fried eggs. 

This set me up for the day and I proceeded to vaccuum and mop the stairs from the top landing down to the kitchen. I also cleaned the vestibule, front door, and the downstairs toilet before calling it a day. There's only the living rooms and the kitchen to clean now. I felt like I was starting to get somewhere with getting on top of it all.

OH helped me by getting up a ladder and cleaning some outside windows at the back, that I couldn't reach. The only windows not yet cleaned are the front bay and the front basement office windows, which I might try to have a go at another day.

Later in the afternoon, we ventured out on our bikes to the Olympic Park. We took the dog with us, in a trailer and after stopping at a coffee shop, we let her loose around some ponds to hunt for rats. She loves it, but never actually catches one. We then cycled back to Hackney Wick and sat outside a bar and ordered a beer, before making our way home along the canal. 

It was very busy out, with lots of people walking and cycling about. It's a very popular area, particularly on weekends. We passed the venue of a new to me vintage shop and a newly opened Sunday Flea Market that started this week, but we were too late to visit it, so maybe another week. It will make a fun outing. 

I rode the electric bike for once and it was lovely to ride. I forgot how much I used to enjoy riding it to work in Central London, despite it being quite a long way. I rarely ride it now, because if I don't have anywhere secure to leave it, or I can't keep my eye on it, I'm a little scared someone might steal it, but I should ride it more.

Later, when we got home I potted on the last two houseplants that needed bigger pots and watered the plants in the living room. I must remember to feed all my houseplants next week. I also sorted some laundry before relaxing in front of the TV with OH. We're currently watching our way through Happy Valley, way behind most people. I didn't enjoy the first series so much, but I found the second series very watchable.

On Monday morning, I got up and pottered for a while, putting away and hanging out laundry. For the first time in a very long time, I decided to start the day with a short exercise routine that I used to follow during Lockdown. It's mainly weights and stretches, but I worked up a little sweat whilst doing it and the 10 minutes of meditation at the end helps me to start the day on a positive note. I'm hoping to do it at least a few times per week going forward.

Monday, is usually my day to do the food shopping, but OH needed the car to visit a client, so I wasn't able to use it for the weekly shop, as I had plans in the afternoon after he returned. We were pretty stocked up from my shop the previous week though, so we managed.

Once back from the dog walk, I cleaned out a few cupboards in the kitchen. I figure that if I do a couple of cupboards at a time, I'll get around it quite quickly and without struggling to do it all in one day. The ones I tackled were probably the most cluttered ones, namely the baking drawer, the tupperware/lunch box/jam jar cupboard. Hopefully, now they are more organised, it might inspire me to bake more or do some more preserving. It felt very satisfying to tidy them in any case.

OH's surprise birthday present came whilst he was out today, which was good, as it will keep it a surprise. I needed to buy a few more bits for him this week.

On Monday afternoon, I went to meet some friends for supper. I hadn't seen them since before Christmas, so it was good to catch up. I took the bus so that I could have a drink and I took a bottle of wine with me, as the restaurant allows you to take your own wine and pay a corkage fee. We had a pleasant evening and I was home by 8pm.

Tuesday, I was up and did my small exercise routine again. I then took the dog out for a walk. It was a nice sunny morning, so the walk was very enjoyable.

When I got back, I had the intention of going out to do the weekly shop, but I started to feel really tired and ended up retiring to bed for the afternoon. I was either a bit under the weather, or maybe a weekend of cleaning and being productive had taken it's toll and I needed some down time. Whilst there, I managed to finish one of the library books I had borrowed. It felt very self indulgent spending the afternoon in bed, but I enjoyed it.

I got up later to make supper and then we watched some TV. I stayed up later watching a documentary on Netflix, as I wasn't tired enough to go to bed, but I still slept well considering, thankfully.

On Wednesday, I decided not to go to the Soca Aerobics class. Just as well really, as the dog was very slow on the walk and I was out with her for two hours, so I wouldn't have got back in time anyway. By the time I got home it was almost lunchtime.

After lunch, I headed out to do the weekly shop. I went to a totally different Lidl than usual this week, mainly because I needed to buy some fabric for my current quilt and this particular Lidl is on a street that has lots of fabric shops. I had a wander up the high street afterwards, but didn't have much time, as I was restricted to only one and half hours in the supermarket carpark.

I did manage to find some fabric. It wasn't an exact match, but it was good enough and only cost £2 per metre, which was reasonable. It should allow me to finish the quilt top now. I used to shop down this high street a lot in the past. It felt strange returning there, as I used to frequent it at a very different time of my life here in London. I've bought lots of fabric from the shops there, but time moves on and things change somewhat, as do shopping habits and I do shop a lot less these days, hardly ever buying fabric anymore, as I have so much at home to use.

When I got back I felt exhausted. It seems like every little outing completely drains my energy at the moment. I don't know how I ever managed to go out to work. I think I'm just having one of those weeks, where all I want to do is stay home, sleep and chill.

Thursday followed in a similar vein. I didn't go to my volunteering session, as I was still feeling out of sorts. Instead, I spent most of the day reading, sleeping, working on my 1" patchwork project, wrapping OH's presents and a bit later I took the dog out and potted up some dahlia tubers, as we don't have room to plant them out anywhere this year. There's still a few more to do, but I ran out of compost.

After a positive start to the week, my energy levels seemed to have gone downhill and very got done around the house after Monday. 

By Friday, I was feeling a little better. I had a few errands to run after walking the dog; library books to renew, a prescription to pick up and a few last minute edible/drinkable gifts for OH's birthday to buy. By the time I got home it was lunchtime. For the first time this week, I made myself a nice salad for lunch.

In the afternoon, I wrapped the rest of OH's birthday presents and wrote his card. I then spent the rest of the afternoon and evening working on my 1" patchwork project (a post will be coming soon). I'll be doing a separate post about OH's birthday on Saturday, as we went somewhere that was new to all of us.

I hope you had a more productive week than I did this week.

A Short Week - W/E 13th May 2023

Thanks to another Bank Holiday, it was a short week this week. On Tuesday, when life got back to normal, I headed out to do the weekly shop. Despite saying that I wouldn't use the final £7 off a £70 spend voucher at Tesco, I decided to use it after all, but stuck to things we needed or would definitely need in the very near future.

I also had to call the Doctor's surgery about a small medical issue that was resolved last year, but that has unfortunately recurred, in the hope that I could get a repeat prescription of the medications I took last time. I suddenly seem to be in that time of life where I feel like I'm constantly calling or attending the surgery for one thing or another, going for blood tests, ordering and picking up prescriptions, etc. etc. I hardly ever bothered the doctors about anything in previous years, but lately, I've had no choice but to. OH feels the same. We used to feel really healthy, but lately we've both been suffering with various different ailments. I'm just hoping I can get on top of this particular one this time around.

I was contacted about a job I'd applied for on Tuesday, but I had subsequently read quite a few negative reveiws about it online and had been put off from progressing my application. I was glad that I'd looked them up before committing to anything, as I could have found myself in yet another toxic work situation.

When I got back from doing the weekly shop, I decided to go up to the sewing room and do some work on my 1" patchwork project. Whilst doing this I listened to an audio book by James Clear called Atomic Habits, which is quite interesting. I've been thinking of making some changes to my daily routine to incorporate more exercise and listening to this book gave me some ideas in terms of how to go about it.

I received a call from my doctor later who had thankfully organised a prescription for me which. In the evening we watched an episode of Succession and caught the tail end of the first semi-final of Eurovision which was interesting. Not sure we'll continue to watch it, but it is strangely fascinating.

On Wednesday, I got up quite early and took the dog out a little earlier than usual. We had a lovely walk, as it was a sunny morning and the dog took us in a direction that we haven't gone in a while. She was obviously wanting a bit of a change of scenery.

When I got back, I then headed out to Soca Aerobics, which was good. I walked there and back again. 

I received my final payslip and P45 from my last job on Wednesday. I should get paid on Friday, which draws to a close another, if somewhat shorter, chapter in my working life. I'm still no clearer about what my next move will be. I guess I'll just have to wait and see what comes up.

Thursday, I was up early and off to my volunteering session. It was okay, but the bus home was very crowded and I got off at the wrong stop to pick up a prescription from the pharmacy, so I had quite a long walk. It started raining on the way home too, so I got a bit wet. Not one of the best days I've had lately to be honest.

I bought OH a new mini greenhouse for his birthday today. It's a surprise. Our current one was bought from the charity shop where I worked for £5. We've had a good 2 or 3 years out of it, but the metal rods have rusted and some are completely broken, so parts of it are collapsing. I will keep using the existing cover, as it's good quality and has plenty of life left in it, then keep the new one aside as a spare and we will also probably re-use some of the stronger joints I bought on eBay last year to make the new one more sturdy.

Friday was a better day. In the morning, OH and I ventured to B&Q for a few bits for the garden and more compost for my houseplants. I dropped into ASDA for a few bits of food too. I was shocked at how some things had gone up yet again, since I went a couple of weeks ago.  Anyway, OH then dropped me off on the way home and I walked back with the dog. We got caught in a rain shower, but it wasn't too bad and we had a nice walk.

I spent the afternoon doing a bit of work on my finances. I've overspent on groceries so far this month, so I need to really rein myself in for the rest of the month. When I checked my bank account, I actually had a little more money than I thought, as in my daily reckonings, I'd taken some standing orders out twice, which came as a nice surprise.  I also got my final wage from my last job today, so that will keep me going for an extra month, in case I don't get another job soon. I can manage for the next few months, so there isn't a desperate hurry to get another job.

My Temu order was also delivered today. It included a few things for the kitchen, i.e. some new oil and vinegar bottles (pictured above), a window cleaning squeegy, that has a small bottle attached that squirts detergent, a scraper for cleaning burnt on food from the oven/baking trays, some sewing bits, including some small clips (to use instead of pins), self threading needles, a sewing machine foot that creates a hemmed edge (I'm really interested in seeing if this works) and some metal bobbins. I also bought a few stationery bits, which I put to use straight away.

I made some cookies in the afternoon too, using a cookie mix that I'd bought at Lidl, which was out of date and needed using up. It didn't take long and they tasted nice enough.

Later, I decided to test out the window cleaning squeegy on the kitchen windows, both inside and out. It worked really well, so all the kitchen windows are now sparkling, window sills were cleaned and plants watered. The windows should now hopefully let in more sunshine, if we ever get any. A very satisfying job done. Definitely worth the £2.38 I paid for it, even if I never use it again, but I'm sure I will. It would also be good for cleaning car windows or maybe for applying homemade de-icer. I know that Nancy Birtwistle has a recipe for this, but I'm not sure what it is. 

On Saturday,  I was once again in the mood to do some cleaning. I decided to start upstairs in LB's room. I began with the windows using the squeegy again, then I wiped down all the surfaces, before putting on new bedding and then vacuuming and mopping the floor. Although it was probably the cleanest room in the house, it still took a good few hours.

Once I'd finished LB's room, I moved on to the bathroom. It needed a good deep clean. It took me the rest of the afternoon to finish it, but it felt so satisfying to get it done. I put a couple more Temu purchases into use in there, one being these toothpaste tube stands that squeeze as much toothpaste out of the tube as possible. They work really well and allow you to stand the toothpaste tube up on the shelf which keeps things tidier. OH can't really see the point of them, but I like them and they only cost 79p for the two. With the price of my particular toothpaste (Cordasyl), they'll probably pay for themselves sooner rather than later.

I also attached this soap dish to the tiles in the shower. It is the perfect design to stop the soap congealing in the soap dish and leaving a scummy, soapy residue on the bath edge. Hopefully, excess water will now drain away, keeping the bath edge cleaner and helping to keep the soap drier/prevent it dissolving in a pool of water in the soap dish. I'm hoping it stays stuck in place, but at 88p it is definitely worth giving it a try. 

Most of the items I have bought from Temu have been very inexpensive, but  are really useful solutions for around the house. Delivery is free and they usually deliver within about 10 days, which is pretty good as I think they may come from China. If you don't like buying things from China, then this isn't the website for you, but I've been pretty happy with almost all of the items I've bought so far. (This is not a sponsored post by the way)

OH also filled the second raised bed today, with the compost he'd bought at B&Q and then planted it up with salad plants, which should keep us in lettuce for a good amount of time once it has all grown big enough to harvest and he also cleaned the outside of some upstairs windows for me, from the inside, which was great as it will save me going up a ladder.

By the time it got to Saturday night, it felt like we'd already had a very productive weekend and we could sit back and watch the Eurovision final guilt free. We didn't stay up for the results though, as we were both exhausted.

I hope you had a good post-Coronation week.

Making a Start - Bank Holiday Weekend.

This week began with another Bank Holiday. It's lovely to actually enjoy them, now that I'm taking a break from working in retail. One perk at least of leaving my job.

On Sunday morning, OH took the dog out, so I was able to get up at my leisure. I ended up staying in bed and doing a bit of work on my 1" square patchwork project. I think it's just going to be a runner or something similar, otherwise it might take the rest of my life to finish.

I eventually got up and ready and did some laundry. OH came back from the dog walk and cooked us both a lovely big breakfast. We never do this, so it made a nice change. It almost felt like being on holiday.

I decided to try to make this Bank Holiday count and actually make a start on some cleaning. The whole house needs attention and I've just not really been motivated to do anything about it. Spurred on by Sophia from My Great Challenge on YouTube, who has been showing her new self-devised cleaning regime in recent videos, I decided to make a regime up for myself. 

It's not going to get done every week, but it involves starting at the top of the house in the master bedroom and sewing room and working my way down the house doing one floor at a time. It kind of makes sense to me and l'm hoping it might work going forward, although I'm not very good at sticking to routines.

Anyway, I started in the Master bedroom, which really needed a good clean. Everywhere was really dusty. I removed the bedding, opened the window to let some fresh air in and got stuck in. It took most of the afternoon, probably as a consequence of not having done it very regularly over the last few months, but it felt very satisfying when I mopped the last little bit of the floor. One room completed at least.

I then came downstairs, did some more laundry and decided to make some flap jack/tray bake out of things that I had in the cupboards. It only takes a few minutes to throw everything into a bowl, mix it, and put it on a tray. I then baked it for 20 minutes and it was done. It will be nice to have something to nibble with a cup of tea through the week.

OH, meanwhile, spent Sunday working in the garden. He dug over the second raised bed, the one I couldn't face, as it had been used as a cat toilet over the winter. We just need to put all the leaf mulch we made last year on top of it and then top up with more compost and then he can plant it up. He managed to recover some dahlia tubers that I'd planted in there last year and is going to plant them at the allotment, which will be good, as I may get more cut flowers from them and it will add some colour to the plot.

The cat poo situation has seriously put me off doing anything in the garden this spring, but now most of it has been disposed of, I might be able to venture out there and do more. I know it's silly, but I've got a serious aversion to it. I think it stems from a previous garden we had when I was pregnant with LB and we had the same problem with cats using it as a toilet. Since having the dog, we haven't really had this problem, until this winter, when the neighbourhood cats seem to have got much more daring, as the dog spent less time outside due to the weather.

In other news, I received a rejection email on Sunday, for the merchandising job I'd applied for. It's a pity, but to be honest, I wasn't 100% sure about it anyway, so it's probably for the best. I'm sure something suitable will come along at the right time. In the meantime, I can spend some time on my home and getting caught up with everything that needs doing. I'm happy to make that my priority for the moment.

On Bank Holiday Monday, I got up and out with the dog quite early. I was conscious that we were forecast rain and I wanted to make sure she got a good walk in. 

When I got back, I decided to tidy up the side return in the garden. The honeysuckle was a bit overgrown and I could hardly get past it to retrieve the leaf mulch that I needed to get out and put on the raised bed, so I decided to cut my way though with the shears. It was then a case of sweeping up all the leaves and it looked a whole lot better and was much more accessible. A small job, but one I've been meaning to do for a while.

You can see the years of growth in the thickness of the underneath of the honeysuckle. It's a lovely mature plant.

Here's a view of the trimmed honeysuckle from the kitchen window. It is actually a plant in our neighbours garden, but I do love it and it grows back really quickly. I usually trim it on our side twice per year, once in spring and then again in the autumn. I love to look out on it when I'm stood at the kitchen sink.

OH then helped me to spread the leaf mulch in the raised bed. It was very well decomposed, so it should be good nutrition for whatever we plant in this bed.

I did one more small job that I'd been meaning to do for a while too, namely trim the ivy that grows over our front garden wall. It had got so long it was touching the pavement, so I chopped 6 inches off it, weeded and swept underneath and then swept the front path. 

Doing all these small garden jobs was very satisfying. I was done by 12 noon and then could spend the afternoon relaxing a little. There are still a couple of jobs I need to do, one of which is to clear the patio area at the end of the garden, as there is a lot of bindweed growing there, but it will have to wait for another day.

The rest of Bank Holiday Monday was spent updating my CV, applying for another merchandising role, pottering, napping for way too long and eating a lovely homemade Morrocan style soup made by OH. I ended the evening watching a movie on Netflix whilst working on my current quilt. It's coming along. I may do an update shortly.

You can probably gather from the fact that I'm being a little bit more productive these days, that I'm slowly getting my mojo back. It's taken a few weeks since leaving my last job, but I'm gradually getting my act together.  I do hope it continues, as being behind on jobs, is like carrying weight on your shoulders. I'm looking forward to a time when I feel like I've got things a bit more under control.

Anyway, it's been a fairly productive Bank Holiday weekend, which feels good. I hope you've enjoyed yours.

First Week of May 2023

This week I've been happy to welcome a new month. I can't quite believe it's May already, but here we are. 

The week started with a trip out on Sunday morning. OH was taking part in a cycling event near Chelmsford and he persuaded me to go along with him and visit a local car boot sale. I took a bit of persuading to get up at 6.30am on a Sunday, but I agreed to go.

We set off at 7.30am and the streets were empty, which was great. I dropped OH off at the venue for the event and then drove on to a new to me Car Boot Sale in Boreham, near Chelmsford. It was a big car boot sale with lots of stalls. My difficulty was, that the dog hates walking around car boot sales and I struggled to see a lot of the stalls, as she kept lying down in the grass and refusing to move, bless her. I gave up torturing her and we returned to the car after an hour of looking.

To be honest, I was only looking for plant pots anyway and there seemed to be very few that I liked, so all in all it wasn't a very successful visit.  I did add two more plants to my collection.  These two small, what I think might be Agave plants, that I bought for £3.

On the way home we dropped into a garden centre to pick up a few bits. OH wanted some compost and I needed a new trug for the laundry, as one of the handles on mine had broken.  We then stopped for a drink in a pub. We finally got home at about 1.30pm, by which time the traffic on the roads around London was annoyingly busy. In London, on weekends, you need to be up and out early or don't bother, unless you want to be stuck in traffic, that is.

The afternoon I spent in bed. I was so tired I slept for nearly 3 hours. I'd woken up at 3.30am and hadn't properly got back to sleep. I could have slept for longer, but didn't want to affect my sleep later.

On Bank Holiday Monday, OH and I decided to head out early again, before the traffic got busy, to get some things for the garden this time. OH needed wood and chicken wire to create some new covers for the raised beds in the garden and I was still on a quest to find some plant pots for my houseplants, plus some houseplant compost.

Between Wickes and B&Q, we managed to get everything we needed and I did a small top up shop of bread, milk, etc. at ASDA, to last us the rest of the weekend and we were home by 12 noon, by which time it was starting to get busy, so we were glad we'd got out early.

When I got home, I potted on some plants in to the new pots I'd bought. I managed to do all but a couple of plants, which I'll do when I get more houseplant compost, as I ran out again.

OH spent the afternoon building the new raised bed covers.  He did a great job, they look so much better. He also raised the sides of the far bed, as they was lower than the one in front. Here's a picture:

Just in case you were wondering, the beds need covers in order to keep foxes, cats and squirrels out. OH has already planted one up with lettuce seedlings which are doing well and we don't want to lose them to these visitors. The garden is gradually starting to green up again, which is always nice to see, it seems so bare in the winter.

I applied for a job on Monday. It's something completely different to jobs I've worked in recent years, so it will be interesting to see if I get an interview or hear anything. I'm not really applying for much at the moment, but if I see jobs that I think I'll enjoy, I will apply. I'll keep you posted.

On Tuesday morning, I did a bit of cleaning in the sewing room. I went through all the desk top and drawers, throwing out old irrelevant stuff and organising things a lot better. It was quite satisfying.

Late morning, I headed off to do the weekly shop. I had another £7 off a £70 spend at Tesco voucher, so I decided to use it and buy lots of things we use regularly. I've got one more coupon like this, but I don't know if I'll use it, as I'm spending more than I need to really. I don't mind being stocked up on things, as it will mean buying less on future shops, but I don't want to overspend too much, when I'm on a tight budget now that I'm not working.

When I got back, I had to go straight back out again, to attend an appointment at the Building Society to open a new ISA. They were offering such a good rate that I decided to get the benefit of. Unfortunately, you can only deposit one initial sum and you can't add to it over the fixed term, which was disappointing, so I deposited what I could spare, as it will earn a lot more interest here than where I previously had it.

I returned home from the appointment and decided to make a beef stew for supper, with some reduced price beef I'd had in the freezer for a while. I used up the last of the vegetables in the freezer too. There's now just a couple of packs of frozen tomatoes left, that OH will use in soups and some packs of frozen blackberries, which I intend to use to make more jam when I get around to it. Once they are all used up, I can give the drawer a good clean and then we should have space for any surplus crops we grow this season.

A couple of parcels I'd ordered last week came on Monday. One from H&M, which was two pairs of printed summer trousers. A bit of an impulse buy, but they weren't very expensive. They should be nice to wear in the warmer months. Most of mine are a little snug at the moment, so I needed some more.

The second parcel was from Temu.com. I'd seen a YouTube video where someone had ordered from them and their opening prices are ridiculously low, so I placed a small order to see what things were like. Most of the items were okay and all small practical solutions for around the house. One was a present for OH for his birthday later this month. I've now placed a second order, as I've seen some more things that I'd like to buy. This will probably be the last order I place though, as I don't have too much spare cash these days.  I'll do a haul when it eventually arrives. (I would do one for this order, but I've already put everything away all over the house).

On Wednesday morning, I woke early from a really deep sleep, which I haven't had in a while. I could tell it was deep because I can remember dreaming, which I don't always do. I felt super refreshed, as I've been feeling very tired the last couple of days.

I took the dog out and then decided to return to the Soca Aerobics class that I used to attend, before I started my last job. It's a free class, which is now held at my local gym. I walked there, as it's only about 15-20 minutes from where I live. I really enjoyed the class, it felt so good to get moving/dancing again.

When I got back, I decided that I was going to wash all the dirty plant pots in the garden. There were quite a lot of them, so many in fact, that when I've been trying to find pots to pot on plants, I can't find any the right size that are clean. It felt great to get that job done until later in the year, when there'll probably be more to wash. I also potted on a couple of small trees into larger pots, as they were growing well.

OH sadly found a dead fox on the allotment on Wednesday, he Googled what to do with it and found that he needed to bag it up and put it out for the council to collect. Not a nice job, bless him.

Thursday, I was up early as usual and off to my volunteering session. I caught the bus again. It was just myself and one other volunteer again. I think they are short on volunteers at the moment. We did what we could anyway. On the way home, I dropped into a nearby Poundland for a few bits we needed and to activate my new credit card. (It's not a new one, a replacement one for one that expired) I bought this cute bamboo wind chime for the garden for £1. It makes a nice gentle sound.

I also bought a book that sounds like a nice summer read for £1.50.

I applied for another job today. This time in retail again, but a weekday job, more on the merchandising side, rather than customer facing. I think I would be more or less in charge of myself in this job and it would involve travelling between different shops, which would suit me. I'll just have to wait and see if I get an interview.

On Friday morning I took the dog out for a walk. I picked up this book en route from a Little Free Library. I read the author's book French Women Don't Get Fat maybe 10 years ago and enjoyed it, so I'm definitely looking forward to reading this one. I don't think I've already read it.

Thankfully, the torrential rain and thunder waited until we got home before it started. I made an online sale today, which I was grateful for. Not a huge sum, but every penny counts when you don't have an income.

I didn't sleep well on Thursday night, so it was time for a nap again on Friday afternoon. I did a bit of work on my 1" square patchwork before napping and then when I woke up, I realised it was nearly 5pm and I hadn't posted the parcel for the online sale, so I quickly wrapped it and hot footed it to the Post Office. Luckily there was a collection on Saturday morning, so I managed to catch that one before the Bank Holiday weekend.

On Saturday, OH was out cycling for most of the day, so I got up and was about to take the dog out when it started raining and just didn't stop. It wasn't great weather for the Coronation, but as I couldn't get out with the dog I decided to sit down and watch it. 

I eventually managed to get out with the dog at about 12.30pm, and then when we got back, OH had returned from his cycling event. We just chilled for the remainder of the afternoon. I did some work on my quilt and we watched some TV. 

A quiet end to a short but busy week, I hope you enjoyed the Coronation week.

Enjoying the Simple Things - Part Two

 Here is post two in this series and here are the next 10 simple things that I/we enjoy in our everyday life:

1. Growing Our Own Food - Although I can't really take any credit for doing this at the moment, as it is OH in our family that grows the food on our allotment these days, there is something wonderful about eating your own home grown food. I don't even think it necessarily tastes any better than bought food, but just the satisfaction of being able to produce it yourself, with your own toil and care, is immensely satisfying and good for the soul. We hand over so much responsibility to large corporations to produce our food these days, they control what goes in it, on it and how much it costs, it's just good to claw back some control over what we put in our mouths.
2. Making Quilts - As any regular reader knows, I love to quilt, hand quilt that is, for the most part. Lately, I've been a big fan of English Paper Pieceing. It's quite a long laborious process, but I love every stage of it and I especially love the end result. I love that I can get absorbed in it and forget everything else. I also love that it usually costs virtually nothing and helps me use up fabric from my existing stash. It can take me anything from a few months to several years to finish a quilt. It feels like it is part of who I am and I put something of me into every single quilt. 
3. Being an Introvert - I've only realised in recent months that I am actually an introvert. It never occurred to me for the first 55 years of my life that I might be one. In fact, I used to think that there was something wrong with me, because I didn't always find social situations easy. I took the Myers/Briggs test recently and it was a revelation to me. Knowing what I now know, it all makes sense. I spent hours alone as a child, happy and self contained and I think that that is actually my preferred state. Don't get me wrong, I like people, but I like time alone. Knowing that this is a part of being me, I am finally coming around to accepting myself more for who I really am.
4. Appreciating Beauty - Whether it's a flower, a piece of art, a song, a piece of classical music, a well made TV series or a beautiful design on fabric, appreciating the beauty in many different things is a great way to stay positive. There's plenty of ugly in the world, appreciating beautiful things helps me get through the day. Appreciating them without wanting to own them is even better.
5. Napping - I have to admit that I love to nap. I've probably mentioned napping a lot in my posts in recent months. I know that it is a bit self indulgent, but sometimes the best thing you can do for your physical and mental health is to have a nap, as and when you feel like it. I know not everyone has the time to nap and may consider it a luxury, but if you can carve out an hour for yourself here and there, it can be a joy.
6. Not Spending Money on Unnecessary Things - In the past, I could spend money with the best of them. I've always liked to shop. In fact, I think at one point in my life, I was definitely addicted to shopping, mostly buying things that were completely unnecessary. I'm now at the stage in my life where I'd like to own a lot less, but it's still not easy to just get rid of everything, so I try to be careful what I bring into the house. To my surprise, it's not actually that difficult and it is a bit like a muscle. The more you practice it the stronger you get at it. It's allowed me to leave a job I wasn't enjoying and spend less time working and my life doesn't feel any the less because of it.
7. Finding Things for Free - In keeping with the last item, I do enjoy finding things for free, but only if I can actually make use of them. Sometimes, I have brought things home, that I've found on the street or at a Zero Waste Event, and I haven't actually got any use from them, but when I find something that serves a useful purpose, it does bring a great sense of joy. When I look around my house, there are many things that I've found for free, many of which are in every day use. Money isn't the be all and end all. If we are all a little generous and spread our good fortune around, this means that everyone can potentially benefit at times from free things, saving us all from spending at least some of our hard earned cash.
8. Giving Things Away for Free - In addition to finding things for free, I also enjoy the simple act of giving things away that I no longer want to keep. Yes, I could potentially sell some things, but sometimes the effort is not worth it and I'm far happier just giving things away for free. Whether I give them to the charity shop, a Zero Waste event or just put them out on the street, depends on what they are, but to know someone might benefit from something you no longer have use for, is very satisfying.  There are many people out there who have very little and might really appreciate finding something for free, especially at the moment with the cost of living crisis. I'm just happy if something I no longer want/need can have another chance at life with someone else.
9. Driving our Hybrid Car - I love driving our hybrid car. It is so easy to drive, is virtually silent in a very noisy world (although this can be a problem if people don't hear you approaching) and it uses less fuel, which means we spend less money on petrol. I also like it because it is an automatic. I learned to drive in a manual car and was always put off driving automatics, as it didn't feel like proper driving. I was somehow mistrustful of them, even though my father owned a few automatic cars when I was growing up. I/we still chose to own manual cars when I/we bought cars, until we got this one. Now, I can't imagine going back to a manual car. In fact, we rented one on holiday this year and even OH struggled with gear changes at times after 10 years of driving our automatic car. What was I so scared of? (Forgetting how to drive a manual car perhaps!!)
10. Owning Premium Bonds - In the last five years, I've made an effort to invest in Premium Bonds. Whilst the interest rates on savings were very low, it made sense to me to invest in them, as I wasn't earning hardly any interest anywhere and the simple joy of winning a prize some months was unbeatable. I don't win prizes every month, but finding out I'd won £150 in one month, was definitely a highlight. Although interest rates are higher now and I could get more interest on my money elsewhere, I do still enjoy the simplicity of the Premium Bond and the surprise when that notification email drops into your inbox to say you've won something that month.

There is one more post in this series, covering the final 10 simple things that I enjoy in life. This list, however, is not all encompassing, as there are probably so many more things I could add.