In My Element & Bargain Buys....

 On 8th December I published a post showing my winning raffle ticket prize of an entrance ticket to the Stourbridge Glass museum.  We decided to visit on Friday as it was a lovely, sunny but cold day.  I love glass anyway but it was amazing.  The beauty of the building is that they are all geared up to sustainability and energy conservation.  They have installed solar panels for electricity and the furnace in the working glass studio is run on electricity and not gas.  The craftsman and women were a joy to watch.

There were so many cabinets full of glass of all kinds that we spent a couple of hours just looking at everything contained within.  It was all so beautiful, especially the cameo glass.....

Just across the road is another small glass museum which has free entry and an independent coffee shop adjacent to it, so we popped over there for a quick lunch, then went back into the main museum for another mooch. I didn't know that Northwood Carnival Ware was so varied.....

At the entrance, there is some vintage glass for sale and I couldn't NOT buy a beautiful Waterford water glass priced at £2.50.....

.....and a smaller water/ juice glass which might have been Stuart Crystal, also priced at £2.50....

....as well as a Chance glass plate for my Christmas table for mince pies/ Christmas cake.  Apparently, the design was originally for Crystal Palace.  Wow... at £3 it had to come home with me....

We enjoyed it so much that we fully intend to go back in the spring.  Next time, the tickets will cost £30 for two of us but they then give unlimited access for a whole year, a bit like the Black Country Living Museum.  Which reminds me....our BCLM tickets are still valid for part of next year 😀

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Right...I'm off to give the bathroom a good clean, do the ironing and check that my final supermarket delivery next week has all I need on the order.  Bye!

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Thanks for popping in.  Stay safe and well wherever you happen to be,

Angie 💗

What Did I Do With My £802 ?

 

When I sold my car just over a week ago I was mulling over what to do with the cash.  I didn't want to fritter any of it away and decided to use some savings to make it up to £1000 and buy some premium bonds with it.  Done and dusted !  They will be entered into the February draw.  Who knows... I might win enough to buy the remaining share of our shared ownership bungalow one day, so that we can both remain here to the end of our days 😊

Or there again... pigs might fly 🐷😂

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How are you doing with your Christmas prep?

All the Christmas cards that needed posting have been committed to our rubbish Royal Mail service (we haven't had post for about a week) neighbour's cards have been pushed through doors (carefully where there are dogs at home!) and my gifts have all been wrapped and labelled.   The freezer has been filled with party food and a beef joint for pulled beef baps on Boxing Day.  I have a Sainsbury's delivery booked for 23rd Dec with all the stuff like milk, cream, bread etc  All I will need to buy is fresh salad stuff and the cheap 15p veg which I like to choose myself.  I have a list and think I'm prepared !  Oh...and I have the last batch of cards to drop off at the shop for this year...425 in total for 2025.

How about you ?

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Thanks for popping in.  Do stay safe and well wherever you happen to be,

Angie 💗

Facing Facts....

 I saw the following piece on Facebook recently.  Not sure who wrote it, but it made me think.  Does it resonate with you?

🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔

Aging isn't loud. It’s quiet. It shows up in stiffer knees and quieter phones. But this morning, I decided: This is my new chapter.

Here are the 3 Hard Truths and 7 Rules I’ve learned:

The Truths:

Your kids can’t be your everything. They are busy surviving their own lives. They love you, but they can’t fill your loneliness. That’s your job.

Your health is not guaranteed. When you’re young, your body is a given. When you’re old, it’s a project. Take care of it.

No one is coming to save you. Financial dignity is up to you. Even small savings equal freedom.

The 7 Rules for Age 70+:

Pay your future self. You owe yourself comfort.

Treat your body like a best friend. Walk. Stretch. Hydrate.

Build your own joy. Don't wait for an invitation to be happy.

Don't surrender to "old." Strength draws people in; complaints push them away.

Release yesterday. It’s already done. Let it go.

Guard your peace. Not every fight is worth your energy.

Learn one new thing daily. Curiosity is the anti-aging serum for the brain.

The verdict? You have two choices: Shrink into the shadows or step into the light. I choose the light. I might be older, but I’m not done yet. Not even close.

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Stay safe and well, dear friends, wherever you happen to be,

Angie 💗

A Grand Night Out.....

Last week  we attended the final meeting of our Horticultural Guild for 2025.  It was quiz night and 'pot luck supper'  The ticket cost just £5 per person plus a food contribution and it included a glass of wine and a raffle ticket.

It was very enjoyable 😊Where else can you get wine, food, fun and laughter for £5? Our team came 4th too.

I was lucky enough to win a prize in the raffle too;  a family ticket to the Stourbridge Glass Museum as well as a pair of crystal candle holders.  I love Stourbridge glass especially as my last job was at Royal Brierley Crystal.  I know what actually goes into the production of it.  Some of my Scottish family on my dad's side were glass blowers by trade, although I never met any of them and they are long gone.

We hope to visit there sometime before  Christmas because it should be really cheerful and festive 🎄 🎅 

Thanks for popping in.  Stay safe and well wherever you happen to be, 

Angie ❤️ 

The End of an Era....Sadly....

A couple of days ago I got an estimated offer for my car from We Buy Any Car.com in the sum of £1231 so I booked it in for lunchtime yesterday.   I took all the paperwork I had, along with the service records and was offered £882 despite having a full 12 months MOT.  I had already made up my mind to sell so accepted the offer.  Minus fees, it meant that I got a nett amount of £802 which was paid into my account within 20 minutes.

Do you know of anyone who was paid the actual initial offer?? 😕

I have to admit that it felt like taking a pet to the vet to be put down.  I felt sad that it's the end of an era.  I've been driving since I was 19 years old and have had my own car since I was 35 but needs must.....

Heaven knows if I can get to grips with Graham's automatic Polo.....😨

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In my last post I mentioned donating my Christmas bonus to Ang & Bob's Christmas Hospice appeal but didn't know how to post a link.

The appeal page is here for anyone who wants it:

 https://www.justgiving.com/page/bob-almond-1

Angie 💗

Treats For a Tenner & Foxy Lady.....

 This week our government's generous (???) £10 each Christmas bonus dropped into our accounts. Hmm...what treats can we get for a tenner?  Gray chose to spend his on a box of chocolates and a tin of delicious shortbread....

I decided to donate mine again this year and have chosen Ang & Bob's appeal for the Hospice.  They have created a beautiful tableau of the Holy Family in their garage in order to raise funds.  I don't know how to post a link but you will find them on Tracing Rainbows. 

Anyway, they are now recipients of my own tenner.  I will, of course, still take a box of biscuits to my own favourite Hospice charity shop for the staff and volunteers to enjoy in the run up to Christmas.....

What will you be spending your tenner on?

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I'm finding it harder and harder to get up in a morning.  It's so dark, and this morning there was heavy rain too.  After a sleepless night I find I drop off in the early hours and then don't want to wake up!  It was 9am again this morning.  Last night I fell asleep around 1am and woke at 7.20am to the rattle and smash of the recycling collection lorry.  I popped to the bathroom and then back into my warm bed until 9am.  At least it means that we don't put the heating on until then, and the bungalow very soon warms up.

Are you finding it hard to get up too? 

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I can't believe it's now December, the last month of the year.  Where has the year gone?

All our regular bills are paid by direct debit on 1st of every month so our account has taken another hit.  Costs are still rising and we anticipate another big rise in rent on 1st April 2026 as well as council tax.  I took my car in for MOT yesterday and it passed with no issues but there were advisories.... I will need two new front tyres in the Spring and one headlamp is letting in water.  Replacement headlights are not to be found so I have made the difficult decision to sell Foxy Lady after all.  Someone will either do her up or use the parts for renovating another vehicle.  She is 15 years old and mileage on the clock is 31,500.  Kevin, the friendly mechanic pointed out that I had only driven just over 400 miles in a year !😬

It seems a bit daft to let her sit on the drive over the Winter months while still paying tax and insurance on her.

In addition, Gray will be paying more tax on his tiny personal pension next April ( thank you, Rachel Reeves 😭) and that is what we use for our days out and entertainment budget. By selling my car, it will put around £600 per year back into the household budget to help cover any increases in 2026

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We haven't been having our monthly treat since September so we are going to our favourite pub for a cooked lunch today.  Two roast lunches cost £16 and drinks around £7- £8 and it means that I won't have to cook tonight, thank heavens 😉 As the weather is so mucky, we don't fancy doing much else.....

Have you any plans for the next week?

Thanks so much for popping in.  Stay safe and well wherever you happen to be,

Angie 💗

As Luck Would Have It !

 Once again, a big thank you to everyone who has responded to my last 2 posts.  I'm soaking up the suggestions like a sponge and will work my way through them until I find what works for me.  I tried ringing the GP this morning and got nowhere, so Gray drove me down to the surgery ( in pouring rain!) where I spoke to the receptionist and explained the problem with the prescription and my symptoms.  I asked whether my last blood test included tests for B12 and Folate deficiency as I couldn't tell from the App and she said no, it didn't.  She completed an online form for me (for triage) and called me back around an hour later telling me to go for another blood test which I had to book myself online.  As luck would have it, there was just one slot left for Friday afternoon which I snapped up.  Sometimes you have to wait for 2 weeks for a blood test so I count myself lucky.  It will therefore be about a week before I know any more  😞 Meanwhile, I now have a nasty metallic taste in my mouth to deal with as well....

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Feeling very sorry for myself, I decided to buy a couple of cheap books for my Amazon Fire tablet and was pleasantly surprised to find that I still had a £6 credit on my account that I had forgotten about.  I splashed out on 2 books @ 99p each, both from favourite authors; Milly Johnson and Trisha Ashley.  Trisha's book is her new one, The Christmas Retreat,  which I have on order from the library so I can cancel the library reservation and let someone else have it 😀  And I still have credit left on my Amazon account 😊

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The village Christmas light switch on was lovely, if wildly chaotic.  We didn't realise that so many people actually lived in the village! Or perhaps they didn't.  After all, 6 of our own family members joined us to watch the fireworks and afterwards we all piled in to the pub (which was rammed to the doors) We did manage to find a small table and a few extra chairs.  Hot turkey cobs were quickly ordered along with mulled wine and beer, and lemonade for me (I would have loved a mulled wine 😔 )

Afterwards, we walked up the hill back home, like a slightly tipsy crocodile, where I made everyone hot chocolate.  It was great !

Have you had a lights switch on near you?

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Thanks for popping in.  Stay safe and well wherever you happen to be,

Angie 💗