More Frustration, A Birthday Meet Up and a Birthday Weekend Away - W/E 11th October 2026

The week started with LB still feeling unwell. I wasn't 100%, I may have got a mild version of what everyone else had, but could still function well enough.

I had a lie in as usual, and then got up and ready and went out to do the weekly shop. I needed quite a bit this week, as we'd run out of a lot of things, but they were mostly inexpensive things for once. I did use a voucher at Sainsburys and got £4.50 off my shop, which was good. I put petrol in the car, as it's always cheaper where I shop. 

OH and I are currently burning our way through the second series of The Pitt, which we're really enjoying.

On Tuesday, I went to Zumba as usual, which was good. OH was cycling on and off most of the day at the Velodrome. In the afternoon, I started another alteration of a garment in the wardrobe to make it more wearable and I also started the construction of the skirt by pinning the pattern pieces onto the fabric.

I then decided to go out to my nearest bank branch, to try to get the paperwork done for my pension application. Surprise, surprise, I was thwarted yet again due to the bank not being willing/able to stamp the bank statement I printed off in the branch. I ended up ordering a statement through the post, but I'll have to wait another week for it, before I can get it certified at the post office. Frustration doesn't cover how I felt. I've just parked it for now to protect my sanity.

On Wednesday, it started raining from 9.30am and was forecast for most of the day. I was very happy to get some proper rain. We'd had very little since much earlier in the year. The plants in the garden really needed a good soak.

I finished a sewing alteration today, that I'd started the day before. I had to make further adjustments after trying it on, but I've now got it to how I like it, so I machine sewed the hems and it is now done. 

Later in the afternoon, I headed out to meet a couple of friends for supper. It was kind of a celebration of my 60th birthday. We meet periodically through the year. One of my friends turned 60 earlier this year and the other turned 75, so we've all had big birthdays this year. We had a lovely evening catching up with each other's news. I took a bottle of champagne, that we've had since last Christmas and we all shared it. (The restaurant isn't licensed so you can pay corkage and take your own alcohol).

Thursday, I was back at the gym. The teacher changed up the class today, so it was a bit different. I enjoyed it though. LB was working all day, and OH was cycling at the velodrome again for most of the day, so when I got home I had the house to myself. I decided to wash all the dirty garden pots and tidy the greenhouse and garden a little. It was nice and sunny after the rain the day before, so it felt good to get outside and do something productive and tick a job off my list.

In addition to washing the pots, I potted on a few plants, put away the garden furniture and the BBQ and swept up some leaves and bagged them up to create leaf mulch. OH came home for some lunch and helped me clean the patio using his high pressure washer that he uses to clean his bikes. We needed to clear it, as we'll be stacking the greenhouse panels on it when they get delivered next week, until we paint them and assemble it.

I received notification today that one of my pensions will start to be paid to me shortly, but unfortunately they need to tax it until they are notified otherwise by HMRC. As I'm not currently working, I shouldn't be taxed, therefore I had to ring the tax office and let them know. It took a while to get through, as they are always very busy. When I did eventually get through, they couldn't actually do anything about it until I've received my first payment, so I need to call them back once it goes into my bank account. I can see that I'll have to go through this whole process again for the next one when that gets finalised.  Anyway, the upside was, that my monthly pension payments and lump sum worked out to be slightly more than I'd been forecast, so I'm not going to argue with that and I can now look forward to actually receiving it.

Once I finally got off the phone, I decided to head to the allotment and harvest the remainder of the beetroot, deadhead my dahlias and pick a few lettuce and tomatoes. I then dug over the beetroot bed and put the bins out ready to be emptied.  When I got home, I boiled up and pickled the beetroot along with the previous harvest, so that it is now all processed ready to eat.

I also received some birthday presents by post from family members today. A lovely bunch of flowers and a bottle of prosecco, plus lots of chocolates and biscuits. I feel very spoilt. It was a good day.

Friday was a day of packing, watering plants and generally getting ready to go away for the weekend. OH was working in the morning, so we set off around 1.30pm and headed off to Brighton. We got there around 4pm and went straight to our accommodation which was lovely. It was pretty central, compared to where we'd stayed the last time we visited Brighton. We were just around the corner from a street full of different restaurants of all cuisines. 

We relaxed in the house for an hour or so and then headed for a walk and to get a drink in a couple of pubs in the vicinity. We had a nice evening, but we were all tired, so we got takeaways on the way home and ate them back at the house whilst watching Celebrity Traitors. The only down side to the accommodation, was that it was right behind a pub, which stayed open until 2am and which was very noisy, so it took a while until I got to sleep, but it did quieten down by midnight.

On Saturday morning, we had breakfast and then headed out into the town for a wander. We did quite a bit of walking about town and ambling around the Laines, where there are lots of small independent shops and restaurants. I managed to start my Xmas shopping proper and get something for both OH and LB.  OH got me some perfume for my birthday, which I was very happy about. I had wanted to find some new trainers, but couldn't find any that I liked, so I asked him for some of my favourite perfume instead, as I haven't had any for over a year.

We also stopped for lunch in a small cafe, which was nice and then saw some Morris dancers, which was fun to watch. Not something you see every day. 

Brighton had such a lovely vibe. It's very relaxed, diverse and inclusive. Everyone we came across was very friendly and helpful. We all really liked it and felt very comfortable there. After a full day in town, we returned to the accommodation and watched a movie, before heading out later to a local Indian restaurant for supper. The food was great, although we did eat a little too much.

On Sunday, we had to be out of the accommodation by 11am, so we packed up and headed to Brighton Racecourse, where there was a Car Boot sale to wander around. I didn't buy a whole lot, as I didn't have a lot of cash on me, but I did get more terracotta pots and a patio brush for the garden, plus a couple of bits of clothing. 

From there, we drove to the town of Lewes, which was half an hour away, where we had a lovely lunch in the walled garden of a cafe, before exploring the town.  We got home around 4pm. We'd had a lovely weekend away, but we were tired and happy to be home again. I had a lovely birthday weekend, couldn't have asked for more.

Slow Progress This Week - W/E 4th October 2026

The week started slowly. I love Mondays, as I don't have to be up early, so I tend to start the day in a leisurely way. I headed out of town to do the weekly shop as usual, but on this occasion I kept running into traffic issues. One very large roundabout was gridlocked and it took a while to get through it. Fortunately for me, I was turning off onto a road where it was clear, not the case for some of the traffic.

Anyway, I then ran into more traffic due to some works and extra traffic lights, which was a bit annoying, so I had to take a different route. The shopping went well though. I had a strict budget with it being the end of the month and I managed to bring the shop in under budget, which was a result. I did use £7.50 worth of vouchers today, which helped, but I also managed to get a few things at a reduced price and picked up a few more things for the pantry cupboard, just in case.

I did go to the charity shop, as it is my weekly treat to myself. I know that's a dangerous way to look at it, but I usually stay out of the shops for the rest of the week. I tried some clothing on, but none of it looked that nice, which is just as well, as I'm on a no/very low buy with regard to clothing from 1st October. I find it difficult to resist looking though.

Although I didn't buy any clothing, I did buy a few household linens. I bought a children's quilt cover with a very cute design for £2. I've got a specific project in mind for this, as it isn't a fabric I could make into clothing as the design is a little too childish. I think it is cotton, but there are no labels so I can't be certain. It feels like it though.

Another item I bought was a shrunken wool blanket for £2, which I'm going to use as a rug. It looks like it's a bit felted, so it should work well as a rug, may be in one of our reception rooms.  For £2 it is worth trying it.

I also bought a white cotton duvet cover set with 2 pillow cases for £4, mainly because it was pretty and made of 100% cotton. It needed a few repairs and was a bit of a gamble, as it said it was a double on the price tag, but looked more like a king size, which all our duvets are. I figured that the repairs would be easy enough for me to do and as it is white and I don't do white anything, I may dye it a darker colour. 

When I got home, after unpacking the shopping, I set to repairing it by hand. I do love a repair job. It's so satisfying if you can keep something in use, especially if it is cotton and has used precious resources in it's production and manufacture. Once repaired, I measured it and it was a kingsize, which was good. I put it through a 60 degree wash and I'll decide whether or not I want to dye it or not. I'll do a separate post about what I do with these items.

On Tuesday, I was back at Zumba in the morning, which was good, although there weren't many of us today. When I got home, I did some financial reckoning for the month. I received a request today to provide more information for one of my pensions, which was frustrating, as I thought I'd completed the application. Seems not, I now have to forward several more documents before it can be processed.

In the evening, OH and I watched The Rivals of Amziah King, starring Matthew MacConaghy. It was quite a good film, loosely about beekeeping and bluegrass music. Worth a watch.

Wednesday, was my day for going to the Green Gym. I made the decision to cycle there today for the first time. Google maps estimated it would take 22 minutes, but it took me more like 45 minutes. It reminded me of when I used to cycle to work in Central London, except this route was along the canal for 90% of the route. It wasn't a difficult route, but it was pretty tiring, especially the return journey. At least it got me a bit more exercise and saved me £4.60 on the train. I found out the other day, that even when I get my free travelcard, I won't be able to use it on the route to the Green Gym, which is very annoying. I'll either have to continue to pay, or will have to cycle.

Whilst at the green gym, I got to grips with the hose today. I don't ever use a garden hose, as our plot is right next to the water trough, so we use watering cans. It was a learning curve to learn the nuances of this particular hose. I did quite a bit of watering today, sowed some onion seedlings, rocket seeds, planted out more lettuce seedlings and did a bit of weeding here and there. The lettuce I planted out last week seems to be doing well, which I was pleased about. I'm not there next week, as I'm  meeting some friends to celebrate my 60th birthday. When I go back, I'll try to remember to get some photos of the community garden. It's on quite a big site and has a large polytunnel, lots of raised beds and a fire pit. It's a nice space.

On Thursday, I was back at the gym for a class, which was good. I was tired when I got home, so I had a bit of a nap and then did a bit of reading after lunch. I then decided to do a few jobs and I finally got around to applying for the free 60+ Oyster card. I now just need to wait and see if everything is okay with my application (mainly the photo) and if it is, I should receive my travel card in the next couple of weeks, which will be great.

OH was out for a work event and LB was working at the pet shop, so I was home alone. After I'd done the things I needed to, I ended up watching an episode of the Chelsea Detective. When OH came home, he was quite unwell, suffering from some kind of stomach bug. I'm hoping I don't catch it.

Friday, was a day where I didn't need to be anywhere or do anything in particular, so I had a nice long lie in and read my book. OH was still unwell and spent the morning sleeping on the sofa. I got up, showered and ready for the day. I was happy to have a very homey day, doing small things. 

On Saturday, I was determined to try and get the documents for my pension application certified at the Post Office, so that I could send them off. It was going to cost me another £12.75 to do this and then another £5 to post it off, but I put that down to being a necessity. I walked into town with OH. We bumped into our old neighbours on the way and stopped for a chat. It was nice to see them. They are a nice family. 

When I got to the Post Office, I was in luck as there was no queue. I thought it was going to be a quick process, but it turned out that I needed to photocopy the documents I wanted certifying (I thought this was included in the service, but no), so I had to go a couple of doors down and spend another £2 to get that done. When I got back to the post office, one of my documents I'd printed off the internet, as it was a bank statement and I don't get them delivered by post anymore. Turns out this wasn't acceptable and I've got to get the bank to send me one by post, so I couldn't complete the certification afterall. Typical. This is the kind of thing that frustrates me. I know it's all for security reasons, but sometimes the instructions are just not clear and you end up going round and round in circles before you can actually make any progress. Anyway, the saga continues.

Whilst we were in our local town centre, OH and I went to have a look at the temporary gym that has opened to replace the gym we used to go to. We'd not seen it yet, but I'd heard lots of people at the gym I go to now talking about it. It was quite nice.  My pay as you go membership for this gym has now run out, and it's not worth me renewing it when I'm paying a full monthly membership elsewhere. I may, however, return to the free Saturday morning gym sessions for over 50's, that I used to go to before, just for a change of scenery.

After getting home and having lunch, I did a bit of sewing, finishing an alteration I'd started last week. LB was working for the owners of the pet shop at a market where they run a stall, instead of in the shop, which was a bit different for her. She seemed to enjoy it, but it was an earlier start for her and she was on her feet all day, so she was tired when she got in and then was out later with some friends.

Sunday was a slow day at home. LB was unwell all day. I think she'd caught a bug from OH. I had a bit of a lie in reading a book, then I spent a while researching a new sewing project online, doing some laundry and making some more jam.  I took another 1kg of gooseberries, blackcurrants and blackberries from the freezer, making a little more room in there. It made three jars, which will go into the pantry.

It's been a mixture of illness, frustration and small bits of progress this week. I'm hoping next week will be better. 

Monthly Makes - September 2026

It's been another month of altering things rather than making anything new. I didn't get a lot done, however, as I only started very late in the month after our holiday and having filled in my pension applications.

The first thing I altered was this blue cotton top, that I bought back in June when we were on holiday in Lincolnshire. It was a couple of sizes too big and the shoulders hung off me whenever I tried it on, so I was put off wearing it.

(I cut the ties off it prior to this alteration)

To make it fit better, I took in the shoulder/sleeve seam on both sides and I'm much happier with the new fit. Here's the after:

It probably doesn't look much different, but it fits differently, which is the important thing, as I am more likely to wear it. I may also add some ribbon ties, if I can find some ribbon I like, as I am now regretting cutting off the ties.

The second item that I altered was this linen blend dress that I bought over a year ago, when I weighed quite a bit less, but I have never actually worn it as it was always a little snug around the middle and a bit on the short side for my liking. It is now way too tight and unflattering to wear as a dress, but as I am smaller on my top half than my bottom half, I have altered it to be able to wear it as a top. (The blue vest in this picture, is something that I wear underneath it, as I don't like deep v necks).

To alter it, I cut some fabric off the bottom of the dress and then re-attached the horizontal pleats at the hem to create a bit more interest and a bit more length. I did have to create a french seam by hand to ensure no fraying where I re-attached the bottom, which took a bit of time, but did give it a good finish.  I love the sleeves and the print of this top, so I'm happy to keep it in my wardrobe a bit longer.  The extra bits of fabric are really pretty too, so they may get incorporated into a patchwork project at some point. Here's an after picture:

I also altered this linen dress that I bought in a charity shop for £5. I had worn this once, but felt like I was wearing a tent when I wore it. Not a good look. In fairness, it is a 3xl. I bought it mainly because it was 100% linen. It's rare to find in large sizes and in pristine condition, but it was too oversized in the end as a dress.

I decided to cut it down to a blouse and then used some of the off cut fabric to add pockets to the front for a bit of interest. It's still big, but I'm much more likely to wear it as a top, as it will be less billowy. I'm happy with the outcome.

And finally...

The final alteration was more of a deconstruction than anything else. I bought this Seasalt cotton blend dress from a half price rail at a local charity shop for £6, almost a year ago now, but I've only worn it once, as again it is too big and not as flattering as it could be. However, I do love the fabric print and it was quite a voluminous dress, so after trying and failing to cut the top into a shape that I preferred, I decided to deconstruct the whole garment and use the fabric to make a skirt.

Deconstruction, is as far as I've got with it this month, but I will show you a picture of the new skirt as soon as it has been completed. I did salvage the zip and 3 small buttons from this dress and again any leftover fabric can be used for patchwork.

Not a lot of actual making going on here again, but I did enjoy these alterations and I'm hoping to get my sewing mojo back now the weather is cooling down. I'll keep you posted.

Monthly Clothing Purchases - September 2026

This month, I spent quite a bit more on clothing purchases than I have for a couple of months, mainly because we spent a week away in Cornwall, and as you will probably know, both LB and myself love a good car boot sale and a spot of charity shop thrifting and we did plenty of that on our holiday. Brace yourself for quite a long post.

The first couple of things I bought were from the first car boot sale we went to. I bought this pair of camo print dungarees for £1. It was a bit of a gamble whether they'd fit, as they were one size fits all, but thankfully they did and weren't too tight or unflattering. I have worn them a couple of times since buying them and they are comfortable to wear.

The second item I bought from the same seller for £1 and it was this 100% linen hooded cardigan/jacket. It's very lightweight and is good to throw on in the summer if you need a cover up. I was happy with this, as it's always useful to have something like this to hand. I wore it a couple of times on holiday.

Finally, from the same seller, I bought this zebra print scarf, which also doubles up as a sarong, as I wore it on the beach one day. This cost 50p and I like the print, so a good addition to my scarves/beach wear.

The next item I bought was from a charity shop in Penzance.  I saw this and loved the print and the fact that it was 100% cotton. It was a little pricey at £8 and it's a little short, as it's a playsuit. If I don't end up wearing it as a playsuit, I could always cut it down to a blouse. I like the neck and pouffy sleeves, but I may cut the sleeves to a shorter length, as I've mentioned before I'm not keen on mid length sleeves. This was probably not the wisest purchase of our holiday, but we'll see what happens.

At the second car boot sale we attended, I bought two items. The first was this green pure linen top for £3. I like the sleeves and although the print isn't necessarily something that I'd normally go for, I think it will look nice with dungarees, of which I have several pairs now.

I also bought this Zara skirt/sundress for £3. This was also a gamble. I loved the print of fabric, but it is a smaller size than I usually wear. Because it was sheered/elasticated, I bought it and it does fit thankfully. I'm not sure if it's meant to be a strapless dress or a skirt, but can be worn as either, I wear it as a skirt.

The remainder of clothing purchases on holiday were from charity shops. I bought this 100% linen John Lewis top for £5.25. I may shorten the sleeves a little on this.

From the same shop, I bought this pair of wide leg denim, elasticated waist jeans for £4. They look completely shapeless in this photo, but look much better on and will be fun to wear in the autumn/winter with boots and big sweaters. I have worn them already a couple of times and I really like them.

I forgot to mention that I did also buy two new items of clothing from Sainsburys whilst on holiday. They were both in the sale. The first was this gym top which cost £4.50 and I wore this for the first time the other day. It fits nicely. I'm currently in the process of replacing my sports vests, as my current ones I've had for 15 or more years and are getting a bit scruffy.

The second item was this sleeveless zip up gilet which was reduced to £7.80. It's ideal for throwing on over a long sleeved top/sweater in the autumn/spring and I thought it was a great price. I don't often buy new items of clothing, but these two tempted me at these prices.

In total, I did therefore, spend quite a lot on clothing and accessories on holiday, approximately £38, but I bought some nice items, so I have no regrets. There were some lovely items in the Cornwall charity shops and I could easily have spent more, but I had to rein myself in a little by the end of the week we were there.

I did buy a couple more things from the charity shop this month once back in London.  The first, was a pair of khaki canvas jeans which cost £3. I mainly bought these to wear to the Green Gym, as I didn't really have any suitable trousers in my summer wardrobe to wear.

I also bought this slightly larger camo print cross body bag, which has become my new daily use handbag. It was £3 and is much more roomy than my current bags, which is useful on some occasions. It looked virtually unused.

I then bought three items of clothing at a car boot sale, when OH and I ventured out into East Sussex. The first was this modal gingham skirt for 50p, which I'm intending to wear in autumn/winter with boots and tights. It is a size 12, which is much smaller than my usual size, but it does fit okay, as it is elasticated and quite a generous cut (thank you M&S).

Likewise, this long sleeved animal print tiered dress was also purchased with winter in mind. It will go well with a sleeveless knitted vest, boots and tights. This cost £2.

I also bought a pair of khaki army trousers for £2. I think these are new. I had a pair of these for years and really liked them, but sadly outgrew them, so when I saw these, it was hard to resist, as they're great for gardening in. Sadly, this purchase was a bit of a gamble, as I couldn't try them on and on this occasion it didn't pay off, as they are a little small. I'm going to hang onto them for the moment though and hope I can get into them at some point in the near future.

One last visit to the charity shop for the month ended up with me purchasing this new with tags pair of wide legged joggers, which will be ideal for me to wear on homey days in the winter. These cost £3 and I justified them to myself as all my joggers are now a bit snug. These are a bit on the large side, but that's fine by me.

Whilst I have spent a lot on clothes this month, in total I spent £51.55, I do feel that I have now acquired quite a few go to summer and winter items that are comfortable, fit well and most of which are made from more natural and sustainable fabrics, such as linen and cotton. I'm afraid you'll have to excuse the creases in the linen items, as I only tend to iron them when I get them out of the wardrobe to wear them, otherwise they languish in the ironing basket for weeks and I forget I have them. Hopefully, I'll still fit into all of these by next summer and will get lots of use out of them. A couple of the above items I will probably keep in the wardrobe over winter and increase the number of wears.

I am planning on cutting down my spending on clothing in the coming months, as I have developed a bit of a spending habit over the past year or so and I don't know that I really need to buy anything else. I'm hoping I can stick to it for at least a few months, but time will tell.

Financial Roundup - September 2026

It's been a mixed month this month, what with having holiday spending money to find from the budget, although this wasn't too difficult.  I tried to keep within budget for groceries and other items, but most areas have gone over budget slightly.

After an expensive August, on account of wedding/birthday gifts, September was relatively easy and inexpensive by comparison. I have, however, now started putting my mind to thinking about Xmas shopping and buying the odd small gift here and there, utilising money that I have been setting aside each month since last Xmas. This is the only way that I can afford to buy gifts, when I'm on such a low income and not working, but the budgeting has worked well and I already have enough to cover Xmas gifts this year.

The main financial priority this month, has been applying for a couple of workplace pensions, that I will  reach the age to receive next month. This hasn't been a particularly easy process, but I'm looking forward to the time when they start to be paid out. I don't think I'll receive either of them in October, but hopefully I should receive something by November.

I have also applied for a 60+ Oyster card this month, which will allow me free off peak (i.e. after 9am) travel all over London. It costs £36 initially and then £18 per year thereafter, but it should be very useful to me going forward and will make having days out and about much less expensive, particularly in combination with my new National Trust membership. 

It's definitely been a month of financial applications and paperwork. In all honesty, I have found all the paperwork quite complex and frustrating, but it is necessary and I guess it kind of represents a transition to a different phase of my life.

As a consequence of the above, and the fact that the savings I was using to pay myself each month have now run low, I will have a slightly lower income in October, but thanks to some dividends that came in, this won't be too much lower. I'm sure I'll manage. Once my pensions come through, I'll no longer need to use savings as income, unless I choose to, which will be a good thing.

I cashed in a small private pension in August and I'm going to use this to pay myself a little extra each month from October onwards. It should last until I receive my state pension in 7 years time. It will make a small, but positive difference to my finances going forward. 

Talking of my state pension, I did find a statement that I forgot I had the other day and which projected a slightly higher state pension than I thought I was going to get, which was good news. I'm not going to have a huge income in retirement, but hopefully I'll get by okay.

As October is the month of my 60th Birthday, I'm going to try to cut down on non-essential purchases (particularly clothing) for the month and will probably continue with this until after Xmas. I know this will be quite difficult for me, as I've developed quite a charity shop habit when I do the weekly shop, but I think I have quite enough clothing for the moment. Besides, any money saved can go towards LB's birthday gift in January.

The only things I may invest in over the next few months are a new pair of trainers for the gym  and some new bras, as my current ones are getting a bit scruffy.  I may ask for these as Xmas or birthday gifts. I haven't got any large expenses on the horizon next month, which is a good thing, save for the allotment fees, which will be due and are usually about £35.

Instead of spending money, I'm going to try to focus on tidying up the garden and the allotment, (including painting and putting up the new greenhouse) as the season has almost come to an end, do a wardrobe changeover, so that I feel like I've got lots of different new options of things to wear and maybe do some more clothing alterations on some items I'm not quite happy with, before I put them away until next summer. This will mean that they are ready to go when I get them out again next spring. I may also try to do some dressmaking, but I've said this before and not actually managed to do any, so we'll just have to see how this goes.

Just A Regular Week Here - W/E 27th September 2026

This week got off to a slow start. After a busy day out, I was happy to have a long lie in reading my current book, The Salt Path. I've just got a couple of chapters left to read, but have enjoyed it thus far. I then got up and showered and ready for the day.

It was grocery shopping day as usual and I accordingly I headed out of town to do this. It was quite an expensive week this week, as a couple of expensive things needed replenishing and I also decided to stock up the pantry a little and buy some meat to put in the freezer. I didn't have any vouchers to use this week, but I did receive one in Sainsbury's for next week's shop, namely another £4.50 off a £30 spend, so I'll be doing some of my shopping there.

In the evening, OH and LB were out, so I had a search for something to watch on TV and came across a series called The Chelsea Detective, which was actually quite good and I watched a couple of episodes. When OH came in, we resumed watching a US hospital series called The Pitt, which is pretty good. It's set in an Emergency Room in a Pittsburgh hospital and stars Noah Wyle, who also starred in the series ER years ago along with George Clooney.

Our canine companion returned home late on Monday evening. He was very excited to see his family again, bless him. He'd settled quite well with us.

On Tuesday, my usual Zumba class was running as normal, so that was good. It was quite energetic and I needed it, but it's been a while since I've done the teacher's class, so it came as a bit of a shock to the system.

I was pretty tired in the afternoon and not very motivated. I did a couple of household chores, but not much else. Some days, I'm just happy to do very little with my time. Who says we need to be productive every day?

Wednesday, I was up and out to the Green Gym again. It's a 30 minute walk to the railway station to catch the train. Last week, I walked along the main road, but this week, I took a cross country route which was a bit more pleasant and didn't take any longer.

Today, it was all about planting daffodil and narcissus bulbs. It was quite a sunny day and all the digging to plant them was quite tiring. We then covered them over with extra soil. After lunch, I was given some lettuce seedlings to plant out in some raised beds and we were harvesting sunflower heads for the seeds in order to create bird feeders. I must do the same thing with my sunflowers at home and at the allotment, as I've grown quite a few of them this year. It will save some money on bird seed.

I was shattered by the time I got home and could hardly move for the rest of the day. OH was out cycling in the evening, so I watched another episode of The Chelsea Detective and then we resumed The Pitt when he got in.

On Thursday morning, I was up and out to the gym for a class, which was good. When I got back I was really tired again and took a nap after lunch. I've been waking at around 5am for a few mornings now, so I'm not really getting enough sleep. It takes it's toll later in the day.

OH booked us some accommodation for a weekend away next month to celebrate my 60th birthday. We're heading to to Brighton, which should be fun. He also placed an order for a new wooden greenhouse for the garden. It's to go along one side of the decking, where we have our current greenhouse, but this one is slightly longer and deeper. We're hoping it will help make the decking look a lot tidier. We will have to paint it, but we've got paint left over from the shed and will probably do it the same colour, so that it all co-ordinates. It will keep us occupied over the next few months. I can't wait for it to arrive, as it's the final big thing we need for the garden really. I'll feel like a proper gardener when we have a more substantial greenhouse.

Later in the afternoon, I ventured to the allotment to harvest and water. I watered a fellow plot holder's plot as they were away and had put a request out on the Whats App Chat. I also needed to put the garden waste bins out for collection the next day. I had wanted to harvest the sunflower heads for the seeds, but was disappointed to see that the squirrels had beaten me to every single one, which had had their heads bitten off and taken. I was so annoyed. I've just got 3 in the garden at home now to dry for bird seed. At least the wildlife made good use of it.

On Friday, I had a free day to do as I pleased. The morning was spent doing very little. I started a new book whilst having a lie in, but it was otherwise a very non eventful morning.

In the afternoon, I did a bit of banking online and tried to fill in a bit more of my pension application. I did get an email to say that my first one had been received and had been sent for processing, which is good. It's hard to believe that we are now almost at the end of yet another month. I can hardly believe how quickly this month has passed. 

I managed to finish completing my second small pension application, and took it to the post office to send it off. I just need to wait and see that everything is okay with it. The truth will be in my starting to receive the monthly payments. I've got a real aversion to paperwork at the moment and have been procrastinating for a couple of weeks, so I'm just relieved to finally get them done.

Saturday, I had a lie in again reading a little bit more of my current book. I then decided that I was going to do some sewing, as it had been an age since I'd done any. I had a laundry basket in the sewing room that was full of potential projects that I'd hidden away out of sight. I decided to start with some simple enough alterations just to get me back in the mood for sewing. After a late start, it took me most of the day to complete a couple of alterations. I've posted separately about how I got on with them.

OH went to the allotment in the afternoon and planted out the last of the lettuce seedlings. He also harvested a few bits whilst there.  Our current total weight in produce this year has now gone up to 70 kg, which is a good amount. I don't think it will go up much more from here, as there's only a few tomatoes, beetroot and some lettuce left to harvest, but we've had a good year, so I can't complain.

In the evening, OH decided to treat us to a fish and chip supper. I didn't have fish, but I enjoyed it all the same.

Sunday was super quiet here. A long lie in, a bit of pottering, a bit of gardening. I do love a lazy day at home. We finished the first series of The Pitt tonight. It's definitely worth a watch if you like hospital dramas.

A Canine Visitor, Form Filling, An Early Birthday Present and a Day Out - W/E 20th September 2026

On Thursday this week, I did my first class at the gym for a couple of weeks. It felt good to get back to it, but tiring too. I'm not feeling that fit at the moment. When I got home, I ended up having a nap for an hour in the afternoon. I just needed it. I then forced myself to complete the application forms for one of my pensions. I should have done it before we went on holiday, but what with the wedding and getting ready to go away again, I couldn't get my head around it.

I had to dig out some old documents to be able to answer some of the questions and then peruse my tax records online to answer others, so it wasn't a quick job. I think I got it completed correctly. I just hope they don't send it back for any reason and that they start paying it as near to my 60th birthday as possible. I've now got another pension application to complete, so I need to do that one in the next couple of days.

On Thursday evening, we got a canine visitor for a few days. Our neighbours were going away for a long weekend and couldn't take their dog, so we agreed to have him over the weekend. He's a sweetie and no trouble at all.

Friday, was thankfully a day where I didn't need to do anything much or go anywhere. I did need to post a couple of bits of mail, one being a pension application that I'd finally completed. I had a leisurely morning getting a shower and working on a second pension application, which isn't quite finished yet. LB headed off for a weekend away in Manchester today, to celebrate a friend's birthday. I'm sure she'll have a great time.

I myself got a lovely surprise when the postman came, as I received a membership for the National Trust. I was a bit perplexed, as I hadn't bought one. Turns out it was an early 60th birthday present from my sister. I was very excited to receive it and instantly messaged my thanks. (She's away on holiday around my actual birthday, hence why it was early). Turns out OH knew about it, as she'd messaged him for ideas for a gift. This was perfect and I can't wait to start using it, especially as I get my free 60+ London travel card when I reach 60 and I can travel around to National Trust places that aren't too far away using this. I've already earmarked a few I want to visit.

Later, after lunch, I walked into our local town centre to get a few bits of shopping and also drop into the Post Office. I ended up spending £35 on postage, some food bits and some probiotics from the health food shop. I hadn't bought any for a while and they were on offer, so I bought 6 months supply, which took care of half of the expenditure. Hopefully my gut will thank me.

When I got back, I took the dog around the block and over to the allotment to harvest and water a little. We hadn't been all week and there were lots of tomatoes, some of which were splitting. Most things are slowing down in terms of producing food, although there's still lots of lettuce growing.

In the evening, I managed to catch up on blog reading and commenting. I was seriously behind due to the wedding/holiday, etc. It felt good to catch up with what everyone's been doing over the last month or so.

On Saturday morning, OH was out cycling, so it fell to me to walk the dog. I got up early and took him for a long hour and half walk across various green spaces in our area. I don't get to go to these so often now, so I quite enjoyed it. I was surprised how many people were out and about, mostly on bikes or with dogs. Saturday mornings are usually pretty quiet.

I tackled the ironing basket in the afternoon, mainly because I needed clean towels and none were ironed.  I found a few items of clothing in there that hadn't seen the light of day for a while. There's still a big pile of towels left to iron, but I've got a good few to keep us going a while.

Sunday, we had planned a big day out. OH was cycling in a race over in East Sussex, so we made a day of it and stopped off at a car boot for me on the way. It wasn't the best car boot that I've been to, but I did find quite a few terracotta pots for the garden at good prices. It's coming up to bulb planting season and these come very useful for this purpose.  I also found three items of clothing, but in total I spent just £9, so I was quite restrained.

We then stopped off for some lunch before continuing to where OH was racing. I stayed in the car with the dog until later in the race, reading my book and just chilling, as we'd got up very early to go out and I was pretty tired. Then we joined him on the finish line before we all headed home. It was nice to get out of London again for the day, but we were glad to get home and just relax.

Home Again and Something New - W/E 20th September 2026 - Part One

Coming home to London was a bit of a downer after having a lovely holiday in Cornwall. It was, however, good to get home to my own bed and also to see how the garden and allotment had fared in our absence. We got home on Saturday afternoon and after putting all my washing on, OH and I headed to the allotment to check on everything there.  All was well and we harvested some tomatoes, cucumbers, lettuce, raspberries and a few strawberries. We didn't water, as rain was forecast the next day.

The garden had fared okay too. There must have been a bit of rain whilst we were away, as all the plants looked fine and some I'd left in trays were sat in water.

I didn't really unpack fully until Sunday morning, after I'd had a good night's sleep, as the journey back from Cornwall was long and tiring. After getting unpacked, I did some financial reckoning after the holiday. I did spend quite a bit on holiday, but nothing excessive. 

I then put a grocery shopping list together and headed off to our local Lidl to do the main part of the weekly shop, as there wasn't a great deal in the house to eat. I was able to use a £5 off voucher which helped. It was very busy in the store and once again, there was an incident where some people were arguing loudly. Hence why I don't normally shop here. It was, however, good to get the shopping done.

OH was out cycling most of the day and it rained on and off all day. It was a pity, because it was our local Jumble Trail (table top sale). I thought about going to take a look, but we'd done so much car booting and thrifting on holiday, that I couldn't really justify it and if I'm honest, the rain did put me off. Instead, I stayed home and did some blogging and more financial stuff. By the end of the day, it felt like life was back to normal, more or less.

It feels like we're now on the run in to Xmas. I've started buying a few small gifts here and there, but I don't have lists from LB and OH yet. There's just my 60th birthday on the calendar between then and now. I'm not planning on doing anything special for it though, maybe a family weekend away.

On Monday, I still headed out of town to do the remainder of the weekly shop. There were quite a few bits that I couldn't get locally and I like to get out of town at least once per week.  I was lucky to get a few things I was looking for on offer, which saved me a bit of money. I also filled the car up with petrol, as there wasn't much in the tank after our journey home. It's been going up again quite a bit lately. We noticed this on our travels. Where I shop it is always a lot cheaper than anywhere nearer home.

I did also drop into the charity shop and bought a couple of things, one of which I needed for something I was doing later in the week. I also got a couple of books for £1, one of which was The Salt Path by Raynor Winn, which is the story of the author and her husband walking the South West Coastal Path when they became homeless.  I went to see the film of the book, which I enjoyed and subsequently there was a lot of controversy over the book and it's author, but I still wanted to read it, as we are thinking of walking the path at some point and it will remind me of and prolong thoughts of our lovely holiday. I am now about half way through the book and it is a very enjoyable read.

Whilst out shopping, I also managed to return an item of clothing that I bought in Cornwall, that I decided was not for me, at a local branch of the store, which I was happy about.

Tuesday, I was back to the gym for my usual Zumba class. Unfortunately, when I got there, I found out that the class had been cancelled, which was annoying. I decided to do some walking on the treadmill and cycling on the exercise bike instead, before heading home. Any kind of movement is a plus at the moment.

When I got home, I decided to do a bit of pruning and tidying in the garden. I just clipped back my hazel bushes and tidied up the hanging basket and a few other plants. I also brushed the cobwebs off the garden chairs and table and swept the paved area of the garden. Small things, but they helped to make the garden look a bit tidier. There's still more to do, but it felt good to get out in the garden now that the weather is a bit cooler and just potter.

On Wednesday, I did something new. I went along to a Green Gym at a community garden a train ride away. I enjoyed the session, the people seemed very friendly and I made a drinking water station for a hedgehog or other wild animal. They had me sawing wood and using an electric drill to screw it together. I've never done either before really, so it was a learning curve. The water station works well and replenishes the water as it gets drunk, without it spilling over. Some sort of magic really, who knew. Anyway, here's a picture: 

Very simple and rustic and it could do with being painted, but I'm all for learning new skills. I came home with some rather large radish, that I'm hoping to pickle and some scotch bonnets for OH.

In the afternoon, I caught up on the final of the Sewing Bee on iPlayer, which was good, then later OH and I watched the first episode of the final series of Slow Horses. We missed out on tickets to watch it and the second episode live at the Barbican, as it was sold out. It would have been a good night out.

Talking of the Barbican, we've also missed out on tickets to go and see the Conservatory this month before they renovate it. I believe that they are giving away free cuttungs of some of the plants on the day. I've added myself to the waiting list in case any more tickets become available. OH is apparently also on the waiting list and believes there might be another opening later in the year, so fingers crossed.

Monthly Clothing Purchases - August 2026

A bit late, but here's last month's Monthly Clothing Purchases post.  After months of buying numerous items of clothing, I decided to try to reduce purchases this month, after all, I was trying to declutter by having a Car Boot sale, so it seemed pointless to keep bringing more into the house.

However, I failed at the first hurdle, after visiting a car boot sale with OH the first Sunday of the month. I came home with three clothing items. The first was this 100% linen navy tunic top, which I bought for £1. It's from Phase Eight, which is a quality brand. Trouble is, I didn't like the long lagen look length, so I have now shortened it to make it more wearable for me. The excess linen will always come in handy for patchwork or some other small sewing projects. I wore this to the cricket, and it was very comfortable on a hot day and looks quite smart too.

The second item I bought was this sweater with pouffy short sleeves for £1. I thought the sleeves were cute on this one. It's a little snug, but hopefully I will wear it when the weather gets colder, a good layering piece.

I also bought this pair of 100% cotton elasticated cuff trousers at the car boot, with nice big patch pockets. It was a bit of a gamble as to whether they would fit, but for £2, I thought it was worth the risk and happily it was. I've already worn them several times and they are very comfortable. I can see me wearing these a lot, as they are one of my favourite style of trousers at the moment.

A visit to the charity shop resulted in three more clothing items being bought.  The first was this jersey jumpsuit that cost £5. It's probably not everyone's bag, but I do like a jumpsuit, even if I just wear it around the house and garden. I've worn it once already and it is very comfortable to wear.

The next item I bought was this brand new with tags 100% linen shirt from M&S, which cost me £3. It's a very bright green colour, but I have some shoes this colour which I can wear it with, possibly layered under a sweater vest. A bargain, as it is a quality item.

The final item from this visit to the charity shop was a black shirred broiderie anglaise dress for £5, which I subsequently cut down to a skirt. I'm afraid I didn't take a picture of it as a dress, so here's the new skirt version which I've mentioned in another post.

On a second visit to my favourite London charity shop a couple of weeks later, I bought this cotton top, which I thought was really pretty for £3. I really like the paisley type print on it and the frilled neckline and sleeves.

I bought one more clothing item whilst we were away in Yorkshire, from a charity shop.  This top cost £4 and is made of cotton broiderie anglais. I liked the bright colour of it and the loose fit, although it is slightly itchy and I may need to wear a vest underneath it.

I did also buy a couple of fascinators with a view to wearing them for the wedding, but I didn't in the end, so I'll be re-donating them.  I probably paid £5 for the two, which was a bit of a waste of money really. I just came to the conclusion that they're just not my style.

In total then, in August, I spent £29 on second hand clothing/accessories, which was a little more than I spent last month, but less than previous months. I've been very happy with most of the items I bought though and some of them will be worn a lot.

Monthly Makes - August 2026

Rather than being a month of making, August, was a month of making alterations to items of clothing  that were in my wardrobe and that I wasn't quite happy with. The first item I altered was this 100% linen tunic top that I bought at the car boot for £1. Whilst I really liked the neckline, sleeves and looseness of it, it was just way too long and lagenlook for me, so I decided to cut some fabric off the bottom, re-hem it and make it shorter and more me. Here's a before:

(Please excuse the creases)

It didn't take long to just re-hem it and I have to say, I'm very happy with the result and I can now see me reaching for this a lot, as it is very comfortable to wear in hot weather. 

Here's an after picture:

The second item I altered, was one that I had altered previously. This top was originally a short dress. I think it is 100% cotton, although I can't read the label, but it feels like cotton lawn, which is great for summer. The problem was, that every time I reached for it, I just didn't like it on. I then had a bit of a lightbulb moment, that altering the sleeves might help. They were originally 3/4 length and elasticated and it's not my favourite length of sleeve, so I shoved the elastic up to the top of my arm to give an idea of how it would look with short sleeves and I much prefered it. 

It was a simple enough job to shorten and re-hem the sleeves. I didn't re-insert elastic, as the less tightness around any part of the body when it's hot the better. I'm very happy with the results. I can see me wearing this top a lot more now. Here's what it looks like now:

I liked it that much, that I decided to wear it for the rest of the day.

Another item that I altered involved hand sewing some new straps to a jumpsuit. It didn't change the look of the item at all, but just made it fit better, so I haven't posted a picture here. It was good to get this small job done though, as it meant that I could wear said jumpsuit, which I bought a month ago.

I also did a bit more work on my second Suffolk puff project, making a few more puffs. I'm pinning them to the lampshade as I make them. Here's where I'm at currently:

A long way to go, but I'm hoping that I've got enough fabric to complete it.

I did a couple more alterations this month. The first was to my favourite sweatshirt, that I've had for years, and which is really useful for taking on holiday for cool nights/days. It had a ring mark stain on the front and despite my efforts, I've not been able to shift it. I didn't want to throw it away as I like it, and I had some patches in my stash, so I ironed them on over the stain, so that I can continue to wear it. Here's a picture of what it now looks like:

A much better solution than recycling it for rags. I'm just hoping the patches stay on when it's washed and worn, otherwise it will be a bigger job to stitch them into place.

The final small alteration job I did this month was to cut a dress down to a skirt. I bought the dress from the charity shop for £5. I'm afraid I didn't take a before photo of it, but it had a sheered top with puff sleeves. The only problem was that it was way too low cut at the front and back for my liking, so I cut it down to a skirt. I've already worn this several times and it's very comfortable. It's made of cotton broiderie anglaise, but it did have a polyester lining, which I removed, as I don't want any synthetics against my skin in hot weather. Here's a picture of the resulting skirt:

Just small alteration projects for the main part this month. I didn't get around to making any trousers on account of the wedding and other distractions, but hopefully I'll get around to them another month. I was, however, happy with the results of the things I did alter, as it has made several things much more wearable.

A Cornish Staycation - W/E 13th September 2026 - Part 2

Thursday, on our holiday in Cornwall, was our penultimate day. We decided that we would go to Marazion to walk across the causeway to St Michael's Mount. We have visited Mont St Michel in Brittany, many years ago, which is quite different, as it has many shops and restaurants on the island, but St Michael's Mount has a castle and gardens. It is free to walk the causeway to the island, but to get onto the island and visit the gardens (which were closed) and the castle, it cost £21 each, if you don't book the night before, so we decided to just walk the causeway and enjoy the views. The tide was out from 9.45 am until around 1pm and this allows you to walk all the way to the island. We enjoyed this and then came back across the beach. 

From here, we then drove back to Penzance and this time LB and I got to enjoy a bit of thrift shopping in the town.

Later in the afternoon, OH and I visited Lamorna Gardens, which are situated overlooking Lamorna Cove. They are mainly planted up with tropical plants, hydrangeas, camelias and rhododendrons, which are planted in terraced beds dug into the cliff sides. It is an amazing garden, but quite steep in places and you do have to watch your footing.  There are lots of paths through the gardens and some lovely viewing points, from which you can see Lamorna cove, which is a lovely little rocky cove.

On Friday, our last day in Cornwall was spent in St Ives. OH went for another bike ride and LB and I met him there for the afternoon. Before heading off, I determined to take a swim in our little local rock pool. It would have been such a pity to go home without taking a dip, so at 8am, I ventured down and had a swim. There was one other person there and we got chatting. I was so glad that I did it. It was cold, and a bit slippery under foot, but very rejuvenating. Next time I come to Cornwall, I will definitely bring my beach shoes.

Our last day was another lovely sunny day and it was very busy in the town of St Ives when we got there.. (I had previously visited St Ives as a teenager, when I went on holiday there with a friend and her parents for a week and ended up with severely blistered legs from sunburn. We had to travel home by train and I remember finding it really difficult to sit on the train seat all the way home. I was a mess)  Thankfully, there was no repeat on this visit.

St Ives is a beautiful, Cornish town/resort, but is incredibly busy. It has  lovely sandy beaches and lots of beautiful shops and cafes. We wandered around the shopping streets and then stopped in a cafe for lunch. The harbour is beautiful at low tide and many people sat around this area on deck chairs.

We then walked up to the Tate St Ives, where we went up to the cafe for a Cornish Cream Tea, which was very nice and had great views of Porthmeor beach. We didn't go into the gallery, but we did sea a couple of beautiful artworks on the way up to the cafe. Of particular interest, was this beautiful glass piece by Patrick Heron, a famous Cornish abstract artist, whose daughter taught OH at university.

There followed a wander around some more streets in the town and a visit to a local bakery, where I bought a Hevva (Heavy) cake, a traditional cornish cake, which was traditionally baked by fishermen's wives to welcome them home from sea. It tastes very nice, similar to a Rock Cake, but denser. It is very nice with clotted cream and jam. By the time we got back to London, there was only one third of the cake left.

We had a fabulous holiday in Cornwall. We managed to pack quite a lot in, but it still felt like we'd only scratched the surface. The drive home seemed a little longer, probably because we didn't have our holiday to look forward to. I would definitely go again and would recommend it to anyone. There is so much to do and see and the scenery is breathtaking. We would also like to attempt more of the South West Coastal Path at some point. Who needs to get on a plane and fly when we have such beauty here at home.

A Fabulous Week in Cornwall - W/E 13th September 2026 - Part One

On Monday morning on our holiday in Cornwall, OH and I got up quite early and decided to go for a walk into Newlyn, which is the next village along the coast. It's quite an easy flat walk. The coastal path is eroded in places, so we were forced to walk on the footpath adjacent to the road for most of the route. This didn't detract though, as you get lovely views over the sea and we passed the odd place of interest including a memorial garden to victims of a shipwreck back in the 1980's, which paid tribute to both the seamen lost and the members of the Lifeboat crew that were attempting to save them. It was very touching and a strong reminder of the dangers of the sea.

We stopped off in Newlyn for a coffee, snack and toilet stop before venturing further up the coast to Penzance town. It was only about 3 and a half miles in total, but we enjoyed just getting out, getting some exercise and checking out the local area. There was plenty to see along the route, including the Newlyn Art Gallery, harbour and the Jubilee Pool, which is another sea water swimming pool, but on a much bigger scale. 

When we got to Penzance, we had a walk up the main high street, which has lots of lovely little independent shops and cafes, then later caught the local bus back to Mousehole, which runs every half hour and deposited us a hundred yards from the cottage.

It was a lovely sunny day, so when we got back LB joined us and we went down into Mousehole and sat on the beach for  a couple of hours. OH and LB went for a swim in the harbour, whilst I just had a paddle.

On Tuesday, we headed out to the Minack Theatre, which is an outdoor theatre built into the cliff in the 1930's by an amazing local lady called Rowena Cade, with the help of her gardener Billy Rawlings. It was an amazing place. Here's a few photos:

Here, we watched a talk by an actor, playing the role of Billy Rawlings, telling us about the work it took to build the theatre. We had amazing views over the sea and coast and the sun beat down on us.

It was well worth a visit and was definitely one of the highlights of our holiday.

From here, we went a few miles further down the coast to Lands End and then stopped for a while in Sennon Cove, which is another beautiful sandy beach. We walked along the beach and watched the surfers and stopped at a local cafe for lunch before later returning to Mousehole.

Wednesday, was another morning of Car Booting. OH went out for another bike ride, whilst LB and I visited the Rosudgeon Car Boot Sale which was situated on the other side of Penzance. This was a great car boot sale with lots of stalls. I bought a few plants here and a few items of clothing. The stalls were super varied and there were lots of interesting items for sale. 

We spent three hours at the boot sale before meeting OH in Helston a few miles away. Here, I visited the Museum of Cornish Life, which was full of artefacts, costumes and antique machinery and tools from hundreds of years of Cornish life. It was interesting to find out more about life in Cornwall over the centuries. I saw a toploading washing machine that was similar to one my mum used to use in my childhood, which brought back memories of washing day when I was a child.

I also saw a photograph depicting the fashions of the 1970's and I can remember wearing a party dress that was very similar to some of the dresses in this picture.

There were also lots of costumes on display, that were worn to the Floral Dance, which takes place every May in Helston. Only those who are born and bred in Helston are invited to take part in the dance. There were also items of clothing worn by both men and women in the tin mines, the remains of which can be seen all around the Cornish coast.

After stopping in a cafe in Helston for lunch, we then went on to Porthleven, which is another very pretty fishing village on the coast with a lovely harbour. Here the waters outside the harbour walls were quite rough and there were people out surfing again.

(Please excuse my fingers in the corner of this picture!)

We bought an ice cream here and after doing so, a seagull dove down and almost landed on my head in an attempt to steal it.  They weren't successful, thankfully. (Although I did see one steal a whole cone from a gentleman in St Ives later in the week. It vanished in seconds, so be warned)

This post concludes Part One of our Cornish getaway. More in Part Two