Happy Easter to you all...

 

Wishing you all a very happy Easter time. 

I'll be back very soon.

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Stay safe and well wherever you happen to be, 

Love, Angie 💗

Home Made Goodies & Blast from the Past...

 Does anyone remember Howard Drury from Central Television's gardening programmes?

Howard runs a gardening club in one of the villages close to us which we began attending last year, having found it by accident.  It's held 6 times a year; 3 in Spring and 3 in Autumn, and it's really good.  The speakers each time are varied and interesting, including Howard himself, and his wife Andrea makes and sells jams and marmalades for the McMillan cancer charity.  It costs £5.50 each to attend but in the interval there is free tea/coffee and a biscuit and you can purchase a slice of delicious home made cake for a donation 😋I can never resist.  It's for charity after all so it would be rude not to partake!......

Breakfast...is this healthy or just a necessary ingulgence? 😁

Oh boy....it tastes good 👍 

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Wednesday's grocery delivery was uneventful , thankfully.  I popped my head out the door to ensure the driver had not blocked Minnie's drive ( he hadn't).  All was well.  They had everything I ordered too.  My cupboards are full and I will only need to buy fresh milk and a TV guide next week. Not only surviving  but building up my Nectar points balace too 😀.  I think I'll save them up and try to get a week's free food at some point.  I'm writing down every penny spent on groceries as I  need to stay under budget this coming year

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We have a funeral to attend today, so I must dash......

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

Angie 💗

Bravely Tackling The Budget Sheet !

 

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I can't believe that we are now into April.  The weeks are flying by after a long drawn-out Winter.  As the new tax year heralds price increases across  the board regarding monthly outgoings, I just had to be brave and prepare a budget sheet for 2026/27.  Now I know approximately how much things will be costing, I can relax a bit.  I still don't know how much the water rates will increase by so I added an uplift of 5% (probably not enough) As Gray will be paying more tax from April 6th due to fiscal drag, I have included an allowance of £30 per month for petrol ( we'll have to make it stretch ) and I've increased dental checkups to a total of £200 per year.  This should cover 2 visits each but any treatment will have to come out of savings. Car running costs eg tax, insurance and service charges/MOT have been calculated at £856.  Any repairs/ new tyres will again have to come out of savings.

I have kept the food budget at £55 per week for now and will be making the most of coupons, discounts and yellow sticker prices.

We will continue to cut down on energy as far as possible to keep the cost down and this will become easier when the weather warms up a bit.  Energy prices are due to fall from April 1st but I have no idea yet what this will mean in monetery terms.

Our broadband contract will end sometime soon and we will be looking for a cheaper supplier.

Any days out, weekly clubs and such will be paid for out of our own disposable income allowances.  We will share the costs.....

All in all, we are ready !

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A big thank you to all who responded to my last post about Moaning Minnie.  The comments really made me chuckle 😂and gave me a bit of ammunition if (when) he moans about something else ! Thank you!

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

Angie 💗

Moaning Minnie Strikes Again!

 On Saturday I took in a parcel for the chap next door.  It was medication and placed within an ice pack on a 24 hr guaranteed delivery, so why he didn't stay home for it I don't know.  He'd gone off on a bike ride.  In the afternoon he rang the bell and collected his parcel.  As he turned away he did the usual " I just want a word".  This time he complained that my Sainsburys delivery driver drove up the street 'far too fast' last week.  In my view he didn't, as we have his arrival on camera.  Apparently, Moaning Minnie opened his window and shouted at the driver who, apparently, ignored him (I don't blame him 😎)  After delivering my groceries, the perfectly nice and friendly driver drove off whilst (allegedly) 'gesturing' to my neighbour 😂  Minnie asked if I knew the driver's name (no), did I get the same driver each week (no) and who to contact to complain (no idea)  He decided to 'let it go this time'.

For goodness sake.  With all the horrible things happening in the world right now,  all the pain and suffering of ordinary folk...

WHAT DOES IT MATTER ?? 😡

I've got a delivery booked for April 1st so watch this space!! 😂

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The clocks went forward yesterday to British Summer Time.  I wish they would leave it alone.  I feel quite discombobulated.....

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Thanks so much for popping in and a warm welcome to my latest new follower.

Do stay safe and well wherever you happen to be,

Angie 💗

Too Good to Miss & Easter Veg Bargains

 

As I'm now moving to grocery deliveries every two weeks instead of weekly, we popped into the local Sainsburys for some fresh milk and bread.  At the checkout I was issued with a voucher for free delivery on a shop of £70 or more.  This was just too good to miss so I've placed an order for just over £70 for next week and have found that I can have a 1 hour time slot for free !

Not only that...the cheap Easter veg was showing on the website so I've ordered 2 bags of potatoes for 15p each, a bag of carrots 15p, parsnips also 15p oh...and a 15p swede.  Bargains!

I believe the Lidl veg will be 8p next week but we don't often visit them, Asda too will have the cheap veg.  Fill yer boots lads and lassies, well....fill your fridges and freezers anyway, 😁

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Thanks for popping in.  A big welcome to my new followers too.

Stay safe and well wherever you happen to be,

Angie 💗 

A Well Deserved Award & Old Ways Re-lived....

Firstly, thank you so much for all the comments on my last post.  It's so lovely to be told that you don't mind me writing some not-so-happy- posts sometimes.  It definitely helps to get things off my chest 😊

Last Thursday, we had a milder, sunnier day and decided to go to the Black Country Living Museum again for a bit of fresh air and exercise.  It was lovely to find that they have won the West Midlands GOLD Award for Excellence 2026.  The staff and volunteers work so hard.  It's well deserved.....

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It had been advertised that the former library at Woodside had been removed and rebuilt at the museum and so that was our first port of call.  I remember it so well from when my sister used to live near it and I would pass it on the bus when I went to visit her.  I would be about 14 at the time.  They have done a splendid job.  It looks as good as new....

This would have been my first port of call when I was at school...Sci-Fi !  I still love it 😁

Crikey....who would learn Chinese in the 1940 -1960's ?

This SILENCE notice is a blast from the past.  Our library now is so noisy!

As you can see from the blue sky, it was a beautiful day.....

After 3 hours at the museum we were both pretty shattered.  My legs ached and I just wanted to sleep.  Age or B12 to blame?  I don't know....

What is your staying power like 🤔?  

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

Angie 💗

Trials & Tribulations, Battling The System....

I've been AWOL recently, I'm sorry, because I haven't been feeling well.  My sore mouth and tongue are back, possibly because I took my eye off the ball regarding taking B12 and eating properly ie food which doesn't cause me problems😟 and have been feeling generally off colour.  My sleep has suffered too, and I'm not the best sleeper at any time.  When I had my last blood tests in December my B12 result was this...

 

As it looked on the low side, I started taking B12 on the advice of my dentist to help with 'burning mouth syndrome'.  When the pain came back I asked Google the question

" is 64 pmol/L of B12 considered low" and this is what came back.....

The short answer is yes.  The ideal is 100-110 pmol/L so I was then on a mission to get some answers from the GP surgery.  After jumping through a good many hoops I managed to get an appointment last Friday and saw a very young GP whom I didn't know.  He hadn't heard of 'burning mouth syndrome', understandably I suppose as he's not a dentist, but didn't seem to understand my problem at all and dismissed me by saying something like "I'm sorry but I can't help you.  You should go back to your dentist "(sic) I asked if acid reflux could cause a sore tongue and he said no....(remember the answer...!)

 After a subsequent rough weekend of a painful mouth and a recurrence of IBS symptoms (due, no doubt to stress) I again went through triage online for another appointment.  wow! Miracles do happen.  I was offered an appointment yesterday (Tuesday) with a different GP.  This time I was armed with the above information and a notebook detailing symptoms of B12 deficiency, all of which I had!

Indigestion, loss of appetite, consistent tiredness, balance problems, headaches and SORE TONGUE 😠

This young lady GP was amazing.  She was calm, competent, asked the right questions and listened to me.  She has commissioned more blood tests and requested tests for thyroid function, diabetes, B12 & Folate, plus a full blood count.  While I await my appointment for bloods on 30th March, I am to take my blood pressure twice a day for a week and submit the details to the surgery.  My blood pressure in the surgery was through the roof because I was feeling so stressed.  She actually asked if I get acid reflux because that can irritate the throat and tongue... FFS 😒

 At the end of my appointment I was so relieved to actually get help that I burst into tears, making my GP on the verge of tears too!  She was so very kind and we actually hugged each other as I left.

Please God don't let the NHS knock the stuffing out of her 🙏

On her advice I'm upping my B12 as well as taking a standard multivitamin tablet while awaiting results.

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Now I need to sort out my eating habits:

No spicy food, no fizzy drinks, no vinegar- y stuff like ketchup or salad cream, no acidic fruit, no tomatoey sauces, less fatty food, no chocolate and no alcohol, not even ONE glass of wine 😭

Oh my gosh...but it will be worth it to get relief from pain.

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I do apologise to my blog friends if this is a depressing post, but I needed to get it off my chest. Thank you for 'listening'

The next post will be happier, I promise 😁

Take care of yourselves and stay safe wherever you happen to be,

Angie 💗