Manor House Revisited & Booky Temptations

 Today (Monday) was the first mild, dry day that we have had for ages, so it was a 'no brainer' to take the opportunity to revisit Wightwick Manor using our free entry voucher pinned on our cork board in the study.  It's not far away, maybe a 20 minute drive.  The house, owned by The National Trust, contains a lot of William Morris designs and fits in quite nicely with the book I'm reading at the moment in which Sophy Winter inherits a run down Manor house from her Grandfather.....

   

The author of the book, Trisha Ashley, has worked for the Trust in the past and writes with such knowledge and enthusiasm that I've been drawn right in for the second time of reading it.

Wightwick Manor sells second hand books to raise funds and when I spotted this....

......I couldn't resist having a browse....

I didn't buy any books this time though as common sense prevailed.  I already have 3 books sitting unread on my shelf and I have more on their way to me from a bloggy friend .  In addition,  I have 3 reserved for me from the library,  although there is quite a queue for them still. but I really dont need to buy more. Do I??

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Tomorrow morning it is library Tuesday with free coffee and biscuits 😋 and I will have a browse too.  We also have an adventure planned for the afternoon 😀 More details tomorrow!

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

Angie ❤️ 

Burning Mouth Syndrome Update, and Other Stuff !

 On November 28th last year I wrote a post about my dentist's diagnosis of 'Burning Mouth Syndrome' and many of you commented with helpful suggestions as well as sympathy, so I thought it only right that I give you an update.

Well....after consulting the GP's receptionist 😧(for goodness sake) and checking on whether or not my last blood tests had included B12 and folic acid tests (no) and insisting on relevant tests as advised by my dentist, I finally got the results on the NHS App.  Folic acid was fine but the B12 was slightly low , although still classed as normal......

 

There was no chance of any advice from my GP so I began taking B12 supplements off my own bat. Within just a few days, the burning sensation lessened, and Boots mouth ulcer lozenges  helped sooth the soreness.  After a week, I felt a little better, although my tongue was still numb in places. Now, almost 3 months on, I feel almost back to normal.  The relief is immense and I don't think I would have known what to try without my bloggy friends' input.

Thank you!

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In other news:

Why is life so bloomin' tough?  Just as I feel things are settling down to a normal rhythm something else knocks me off kilter.  This year so far:

• Grandson had a bump in his car in the January snow on his way home from work.  The insurance company very kindly wanted to write his car off.  He had the new-to-him- car in July for his 18th birthday 😭 He withdrew the claim and is repairing it himself.
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• Granddaughter has been ill on and off for weeks.  I think her work shift patterns are not helping and she might have inherited IBS from my side of the family.  All the women have suffered from it.....
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• My Son-in-Law (their dad) has now  just been given notice of redundancy from work.  He's been there just 7 years so a big pay out is not on the cards AND he has to return the company car 😔

My daughter must be at the end of her tether.  She is such a kind and caring soul and is always there if we or the family need her.  I don't know how I can help....

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It has rained again for most of this week so, I'm afraid, we have been eating out a few times.  There doesn't seem to be much else we can do!  Yesterday, the family (other than GS) joined us in the village pub for lunch and a pint.  They had hot beef stew and crusty bread for the men, while we ladies enjoyed cheese cobs.  They were enormous and so filling we barely wanted any evening meal at all.

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On Wednesday, I took more cards to the Hospice shop, another 16 making a total of 85 so far this year.  I'm hoping for a dry day tomorrow (Saturday) so that Gray will have 'garden' things to do and I can make more cards.  I have so many ideas buzzing around in my head!

I'm aiming to reach a grand total of 500 in 2026.  While they are sellin' 'em I'll keep makin' 'em 🤞

Take care everyone.  Stay safe wherever you happen to be,

Angie 💗

More Bargain Buys Yesterday.....

 Yesterday (Thursday) was another wet day but I wanted to drop some more cards off at the shop; another 17 to make a total of 69 this year.  Again, just 3 were left in the basket so I was in the nick of time.

I popped into Boots for some soap and got these free with my loyalty points, saving £2.12.....

   

In the charity shop I spotted a Marian Keyes hardback for just £1 which just had to come home with me.  I have since discovered that it's on sale in Sainsbury's at £11.00 ! Wow, quite a bargain!

We were both feeling the cold and visited Greggs for a hot drink.  We shared an egg mayo sandwich and spicy wedges too, and Gray got a coffee all for £5.  My tea was FREE with the Confused.com App.  All in all a cheap lunch.....

However, we were really glad to get home to the warmth of the house, despite only having been out for 90 minutes 😕

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Stay safe everyone,

Angie 💗

Reading Matters & Other Stuff....

 The weather here has remained wet, wild and windy.  On Monday the rain eased enough for us to venture out to Dunhelm for a couple of things we needed.  I've been looking for a daylight bulb for my crafting table but didn't want to break into savings for one.  I spotted the one below online and luckily they had just one left on the shelf @ £12.00.  The daylight bulbs were £6.00 for a pack of two energy saving ones and it's fab!  The difference it makes to matching colours when cardmaking is phenomenal.  When we got home and were watching TV in the evening, I heard a ker-ching! on my phone.  I had sold an item on eBay netting ....£18.45.  How lucky is that!  I'm getting so much help with my charity crafting 😊

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Frugal and FREE this week:

• We had a free coffee each at the Tuesday library coffee morning
• I picked up 2 free books from the book exchange 
• At the Wednesday club (£4 each)  we had a speaker, a coffee, a slice of cake and a chocolate biscuit
• I found two more books there for 50p for the hardback and 25p for the paperback....

Decluttering & Donating:

• A bag of unwanted china donated to the charity shop
• Spent batteries taken to the recycling box at the library
• A batch of handmade cards to the shop, making 52 so far in 2026

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Our treat for this week was a pensioner special at Morrisons.  The choice was either an English breakfast or small fish and chips with unlimited hot drinks for £6.00 per person.  Gray chose the breakfast and I chose the fish and chips.  It was a lovely piece of battered white fish with plenty of fries.  I didn't need an evening meal!...

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

Angie 💗

Preparing For Every Eventuality?

 There are so many bloggers and U-tubers who are preparing for what seems like the Apocalypse that I'm beginning to get spooked a bit.  Would we cope in an emergency?  I'm not sure.  We have plenty of food (and our tastes are simple and appetites are small), plenty of medicines, both prescription for Gray and over the counter things like paracetamol, ibuprofen, plasters, antiseptic cream, antacids, Imodium etc  But we haven't prepared grab bags for emergencies, for example.  We don't have many clothes and wear everything we own (although, on reflection, Gray has stuff he never wears) so I couldn't afford to put stuff in a bag and leave it somewhere where we would inevitably trip over it!

I have candles aplenty, torches to hand and last month decided to buy a wind up radio in case we lose power suddenly.  It's this one....

It has a radio, a torch, a compass and emergency alarm.  It has a small solar panel, a reading light and can be charged by USB, solar or wind up.  It will even give a small charge to a phone in an emergency.  For less than £30.00 it's a small price to pay for a bit of security, I think.  I would love to have solar panels of the kind that Frugal Queen in France uses but they are so expensive to buy.

Have you prepared grab bags? What have you put in them?

Have you other plans in place in case of evacuation?

We feel so blessed that we are not prone to floods or bush fires but other things can happen and I'm getting more nervous the older I get 😕

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Thanks so much for popping in.  I appreciate every single comment I get.  They make me feel a bit less alone in the world...

Stay safe wherever you happen to be,

Angie 💗

Monthly Summary & Tuesday Library Day

 I've always admired people who review their previous month in great detail. Sue from Suffolk is a prime example.  I can never remember what I've done or spent in so much detail, with the result that I often feel I have achieved nothing! Therefore I'm taking a leaf out of her book and writing things down.  Every free thing we get, every bag decluttered, or taken to a charity shop, every bargain day or evening out event, ALL will be written down for posterity. I've persuaded Graham that he needs to log every penny spent on the allotment so that we can decide if its worth keeping on, as well as money spent on the garden this year.  I haven't a clue how to use a spreadsheet so it will be pencil and paper only.

January was almost a non-event due to bad weather so I'm starting afresh with February.  

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Tuesday is coffee morning at the village library. From 10.30am to noon there is free tea, coffee and biscuits so we use Tuesday to return any books and to browse for new to me authors and gardening books for Gray.  Unfortunately,  its becoming very popular and noisier each time we go 🤐 Today there was a group of 6 or 7 women having a jolly good chat at the table next to us so we couldn't read in peace.  They didn't appear to be choosing books either.  A shame they weren't allowed to use the small room next to the library area....

Anyway,  a free coffee and a shortbread biscuit each was very welcome 😊 and my reservation had come in.  Tom Hindle's 5th book.  I read a couple of chapters in the library and it's looking good 👍 

We have the first meeting of the year at the Horticultural Guild tonight.  The weather is foul; close to freezing 🥶 and sleety,  but we will attend to support the group.  The speaker is talking about Cyclamen and Hepaticas. It will cost £3 each including coffee, a biscuit and a raffle ticket, so a bargain night out 😉

Stay safe and well 🙏 

Angie ❤️ 

Whatever Happened to Sense of Community? & Vegging Out

 One day last week we had to pop out on a few errands and Graham took a phone call from a friend of his that he used to work with.  N had decided to drop in to see our new bungalow as he's looking to move himself.  On finding no-one at home he thought that maybe he had the wrong house and nipped up the road to another bungalow to enquire which home was ours.  Well...the husband answered the door and said he had never heard of Graham & Angela 😕and N drove home disappointed.  Well.....when the couple moved in 4 years ago I popped a 'Welcome to your new home' card through the door, followed by Christmas cards 2 years running all with our names and house number on.  They didn't reciprocate with Christmas cards so I stopped sending them in case they were not celebrating Christmas for some reason.  I've taken in parcels for the man too in the past.  When you look out of my bedroom window, their home is the second bungalow on the left with a white car outside, so they are not a million miles away !

When we got home, I must confess that I went straight up to the bungalow to remind him of who we are (politely and with a smile, of course) but I'm sure N thought we had lied about where we lived!  The neighbour was totally unapologetic 😏 If N had asked anyone else in our street they would have confirmed where we live too.  Good grief....

Is your part of the country neighbour friendly?

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In 2025 we decided to try to get more veg into our meals.  The Sainsbury's summary of our shopping shows 1,216 portions were purchased last year.  Considering we grow and eat stuff from the allotment during 2/3 of the year as well, there is a definite improvement 😁

.... and we do eat a lot of baked beans !....

How do you get more veg into your meals?  I can't eat lentils because they just don't agree with me but other suggestions are most welcome !

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

Angie 💗