Busy, busy, busy.....

Spring 2026

It's been a very busy couple of weeks here, what with hospital appointments and surgery visits etc.  It always takes such a long time to get to the hospital and then factoring in the queuing to park and the waiting to be seen, it seems to take all day.  The upshot is that they can do no more for Graham's neck/ spinal problem and are referring him back to the last Doctor he saw at a different hospital.  He also has an appointment at yet another hospital next month for his chest problem.  His cough is getting much worse and, to make matters worse, he now feels he's coming down with a cold.  As we are both due to have flu and covid jabs next Sunday, now is not the ideal time to have a cold, is it.....😕

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The garden has been tidied as best we can over the last couple of weeks and the allotment produce is coming to an end.  We still have parsnips and a final crop of carrots in tubs, but the rest of the beds have been cleared and weeded ready to cover them for the Winter.  The last of the Butternut squash has been harvested; 14 in all. Although some have been given away to friends and family, we still have enough stored in the garage to last a wee while.  I will chop and freeze some for making soups and stews because I don't want to make the same mistake as last year and let the last two squash spoil when the weather gets really cold and damp.

The few apples we got from the Bramley apple tree have been stewed and frozen for crumbles, alongside some gifted blackberries and the last of the rhubarb.  It will soon be crumble and custard weather! 😉

In the garden greenhouse, there are just two peppers left to pick.  One is valiantly struggling to ripen but the second one is still green.  I might have to give up and pick them both anyway, just so that Gray can begin to clean the greenhouse ready for overwintering some of his plants.  The green pepper can be chopped and frozen for stir-fry as it will not be as sweet as the ripened one.

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The weather is quite cold this morning.  It's drizzling with rain and it feels chilly in the house.  The monitor displays 20.5C which isn't too bad, but it feels much colder than that.  We've been spoiled with all the heat we've had this Summer 😎

What's the weather like in your part of the world?

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Thanks so much for popping in and being patient.

Stay safe wherever in the world you happen to be.

Angie 💗

A Village Show, Happy Conversation & All Round Champion Day!

Saturday turned into the perfect day for the village show; cool and dry.  We placed our entries early morning, took a quick peek at the competition and went home for lunch.  The show opened at 2.15pm and there was a fantastic turnout.  With the weather having been dreadful all Summer regarding growth conditions, we didn't expect there to be so many entries!  The baskets were fabulous.....

 

I scored a third prize for my unframed photo of wildflowers (taken at the allotment a few weeks ago).......

...... a second prize for one of my card entries (no prize for guessing it was a 'knitting' card!).....

Graham scored a second prize in the succulent section.  It was a cutting which I bought at the Guild plant sale two years ago and Graham has nurtured it for me ever since 😁 It has developed 3 off shoots and looks very healthy.  It must have enjoyed our very hot Summer this year.....

Only first prize winners could claim the massive £2 prize 😂 so no money was involved, but it was very satisfying to win nonetheless.

Our reward to ourselves was coffee and homemade cake.  It cost a mere £4 for three slices of cake and two lovely coffees which we enjoyed sitting under the awning enjoying the fresh air.  Oh...and it was Graham's plate with 2 slices of cake on.... not mine !

I took £12 with me in change to spend on raffle tickets and the tombola, and we will know in the November meeting how much money was raised for the Guild.

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When I was retrieving my entries at the end of the show, I got into a conversation with three lovely ladies who were admiring the 'knitting' card.  I explained that it was me who had made it and that I made them for the Hospice shop.  To cut a long story short I offered to give the winning entry to one of the ladies.  She refused to take it for free and insisted on giving me £2.  I've put the money into my jar to use for future supplies and the ladies are going to pay a visit to the shop to see what other cards there are. 

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

Angie💗

Apology, TV and Book-y Mojo!

 I always seem to be apologising lately, but I really am sorry to have been missing once again from blogland.  I'm having trouble using my phone to upload photos and have no other way to add them to my blog.  My phone is far too fiddly to write a blog post on as well so I've fallen by the wayside.  In addition, every update on the PC seems to change the way I have to do things and, quite frankly, I'm struggling with it all.  I really don't like change 😕

Anyway, with the weather cooling nicely over the last couple of weeks we did manage a trip to Dudmaston Hall using a free National Trust entry voucher.  It was a beautiful day.  We enjoyed a good walk, a cappuccino and a browse around the second hand books.....

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I have never really complained about paying the BBC licence fee as we watch a lot of BBC dramas, and feel that we, personally, get value for money.  However..... when I went onto iPlayer to find something to watch this week, I got this very unsettling message.....

....... From 31st October our Humax box will cease to work and we won't have access to iPlayer 😱  To say that I don't get along with new technology is a gross understatement, so what this actually means for us is beyond me.  Does it mean we need to buy a more up to date TV?  Is it all to do with paying for a streaming service?  Heaven knows.  I will have to let Gray investigate.

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Now that the weather is much better, cooler and with rain on a regular basis, I have got my reading mojo back.  I spotted this title in Sainsbury's, liked the look of it, and ordered it from the library.  I LOVE it! It's right up my street and I think my blog buddy, Gill, would love it too......

Gill introduced me to Lorna Cook and Amanda James so I'm looking out for more of their books.  Isn't it lovely to find a 'new to me' author and have a good binge read 😊

I've tried to add more book-y photos on here but blogger is just not playing ball.  However, last week my neighbour loaned me It Ends With Us by Colleen Hoover.  Although it was not my usual genre, and I did feel a bit uncomfortable reading parts of it, I persisted and found it to be rather good with a satisfying ending.  I believe it's been made into a film but I don't think it's one I will really want to watch. 

Has anyone read it? What did you think of it?

This morning I've had an email from the library to say that the latest Rob Rinder book which I ordered is ready for collection.  I'm looking forward to that one!

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On Saturday it will be the village 78th Annual Show which is organised by the Horticultural Guild and Flower Club.  The weather forecast is looking reasonable and we are looking forward to it.  We are both entering a few things 😊

I'm entering some cards and photos into the craft section and Gray is hoping to enter a couple of things into the plants and veg sections.  Unfortunately this year, the weather has created havoc with the growing season and lots of our produce has already 'gone over' so we have very little of exhibition quality produce.  It's just a bit of fun anyway so we're not too worried and just want to support the event.  I'll let you know how we get on 😊

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I've still been struggling with back pain and can't sit for more than 30 minutes at a time, but have managed to make another 20 cards for the Hospice shop over the last 2 weeks.  This makes 360 this year so far 👍

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

Angie 💗

Feeling Blessed, Feeling Cool, Rain at Last!

 Today, Tuesday, I feel truly blessed.  It's 21C and feels so much cooler that I feel more like myself at last.  We had rain overnight, from midnight onwards according to Gray who lay in bed listening to it fall, and it's put a few inches of precious water into our water butts. 

Yesterday, we went to the allotment to pull some carrots....

..... and this morning I picked cucumbers and peppers from our little greenhouse at home. The single tomato is from the Crimson Crush plant.  We've never grown it before and won't bother again because all the fruit has split or remained 'greenback' despite consistent watering.  They are only useful for cooking with.....

 

The second reason for feeling blessed is that the fridge is full to bursting!  There are so many bits and pieces to use up that I won't be placing a grocery order next week, at least until we've eaten all the bits and I can actually see some gaps! It really needs a good sort out, doesn't it. Everything in the box at the bottom is home grown produce and in the left hand corner of the bottom shelf is a bag of 6 corn cobs.  Yes!  We beat the badgers to the corn this year!  There are still some to ripen on the far side of the bed in the top photo, which we are hoping will still be there in a few days.  We've tried one cob and it was delicious......

There are jams and pickles in the door along with some cheeses and I'm aiming to use up some of the jam so that I can give the jars to Andrea Drury when Howard's lectures begin again in September.  She makes lovely jams and marmalades to sell at the lectures for the McMillan Nurses charity......

I began the day with muesli, homegrown raspberries and a dollop of Greek style yogurt.  A perfect start to the day 😋......

Another reason to feel blessed is that in an hour or so our Daughter and Granddaughter are coming for lunch.  There will be sausage buns with home grown onions gently sauteed to a golden goodness 👍

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Thanks so much for popping in.

How are you feeling today?

Stay safe and well wherever you happen to be,

Angie 💗

Wildfire Disasters.....

 On the evening news last night we learned that a wildfire had broken out in Stourbridge near the golf course.  It has been burning rapidly overnight and the current total is 19 homes destroyed with a further 18 suffering damage.  Several people have been injured or suffered from smoke inhalation.  Many homes have been evacuated and the residents taken to the Town Hall for refuge. 

When I opened the patio doors this morning I could smell the acrid smell of smoke as Stourbridge is not too far away, and the fire was not under control at that point.  Andy Burnham has been in the area to support those affected as well as the brave firefighters and rescue services. It's very worrying.  We, too, are surrounded by tinder dry fields and trees on all sides.

My thoughts and prayers go out to all involved in this 🙏

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Stay safe and well wherever you happen to be,

Angie 💗

Swapping & Sharing Produce, Craft Update...

 At the allotment we often get offered some produce to try, a new variety perhaps, or something we don't grow ourselves.  In return we share our own produce too.  Our rhubarb is popular as it produces absolutely masses every year.  One plot neighbour often gives us blackberries or plums that he's grown in abundance and we offer raspberries and apples to him as well as others.  It's lovely to share.

We take home bags of our own veg and it gets shared with 2 lovely neighbours, my brother and our daughter too.  It's so satisfying, although the offerings have been on the thin side this year.  We've lost so much stuff.  Even our runner beans have refused to flourish.  We might have to rethink what we grow next year.....

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A quick update on my cards for the Hospice shop....I'm off to drop in another 17 today making a total of 316 so far this year.  The little knitting themed cards always do well but take longer to make so I can only make a couple in every batch.  I will soon need to begin the Christmas cards 🤯🎄🎅I really hope the weather cools soon so that I can begin them......

Is it too soon to think about Christmas? 🤔

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Stay safe and well everyone wherever you happen to be,

Angie 💗

Edit:  Just back from our outing and there were just 3 cards left in the basket.  They are still selling well 😊 I'll keep on going !

Eating Mojo and Saving Water...

 Thank you all so much for leaving empathetic comments on my last post.  I'm sorry I haven't replied individually but I can only do so on the main PC as my phone screen is far too small and it's much too fiddly to correct typos on it, especially as Blogger is doing weird things!  The main computer is in the bedroom at the back which gets very hot indeed 🔥🔥

We are not venturing out very far at all.  If the day is a tad cooler we go and do what is necessary then come home and shut ourselves in again. Gray is being brave and going to the allotment first thing in the morning to water just to keep the crops alive.  We really can't afford to lose any more food.  The sweetcorn is about to ripen enough to pick and we are hoping desperately that the badgers won't beat us to it this year.

We have been picking:

Allotment

French beans, runner beans (very few this year) raspberries (by the boxful), carrots, radishes, spring onions, potatoes and windfall apples

Greenhouse at home

Crimson Crush tomatoes, Sun Baby yellow tomatoes, cucumber and lettuce

Eating is really the last thing on our minds with the weather being so hot and dry, and I'm trying to make the effort to prepare colourful food for us.  This was what I ate yesterday at lunchtime when Gray was at the allotment.....

I've cut my cheese consumption still further so I cut the portion into tiny cubes to make it stretch.  I really enjoyed it.  Home grown tomatoes, radish, cucumber, a bit of bag lettuce, the last egg in the fridge and cheddar cheese.  Yummy 😀

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With the weather being so hot, I've been taking lukewarm baths to ease my aches and pains (the shower doesn't help)  We keep a bucket in the bathroom in order to save water run off and we've used it to transfer the bath water to the water butt outside.  It's been a real team effort with me scooping the water into the bucket with a jug and Gray using muscle power to lift it and take it outside 😉 Not a drop is wasted 👍........

Thanks again to all my kind blog buddies for your lovely comments.  Take care of yourselves,

Angie 💗