A Trip, a Random Act of Kindness and a Gift....

 On Wednesday, the day before our wedding anniversary, we fancied a day out and decided to visit Bantock Park in Wolverhampton.  It's not too far from home and has free parking, which is always a bonus.  Although the house wasn't open to the public on that day, we had a lovely brisk walk around the gardens and then treated ourselves to a pot of tea in the cafe.  The upper level of the cafe was obviously part of the original house and it has a wonderful fireplace.  Possibly Art Nouveau?  I always get confused between Art Deco and Art Nouveau!

The day was quite mild and pleasant so we took another short walk before heading home and found these Rhododendrons still in full flower, albeit in a sheltered spot.....

On a bench by the cafe Graham spotted this tiny crocheted doll with a handwritten note to say to take her home if we wanted to and to share on Random Acts of Crochet Kindness,  Facebook? Insta ? I'm not sure 😄She certainly made us smile so we left her there for someone else to find....

When we got home our daughter had pushed a card and some chocolate through the door and also left some flowers on my car.  It was a shame we missed her but she said she wasn't feeling at all well and didn't want to pass the bugs to us......

I placed a single bloom in the bathroom for a bit of cheery colour during these dark days....

It turns out that our daughter either has a really bad cold or possibly Covid  😰so she was wise not to pass it on.  She is feeling quite rough, even today, three days later...

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We had a bit of sad news on Thursday.  My brother-in-law passed away on Wednesday afternoon.  He had been ill for some time and, in fact, the prognosis back in May was 4 - 6 weeks when he was sent home from hospital.  I'm fairly sure I mentioned it at the time so he has had extra time to be with his family.  It's still sad because my sister lives so far away that I can't help her 😢

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

Angie 💗

Quantifying Loneliness & a Curly Example !

 

In my last post I mentioned the potential for loneliness when in your 70s, and I feel I ought to quantify my comment.  Now...I really am a 'homebody' at heart.  I don't mind my own company and get a lot of pleasure from music, books, crafting, sorting and tidying the house  (actual housework....not so much!) but sometimes I need to hear a human voice, have a discussion, even about the British weather!  When I don't feel able to see and talk to another human on a personal level, I can feel lonely.

I know how lucky I am to have a husband living in the same home, but sometimes I feel like a housekeeper.  I keep house, order the shopping online, meal plan, cook, wash up, wash the laundry, dry it, do the ironing etc whilst my lifetime companion sits at his i-pad Candy Crush-ing or (as he insists) "researching" although Heaven knows what!!

I have to make the decisions regarding what to do each day.  His standard response is "I don't mind.  What do you want to do?"

I can't be alone in feeling this way.  It will soon be our 54th wedding anniversary.  I seem to have morphed from a mum of two with a very busy life, to a Nanna of 4 with a very close relationship to 2 of them, and now I've gone from babysitting to being no longer needed for anything!  Empty nest??

I'm not moaning, really I'm not... but loneliness is a real issue.

Thank goodness for hobbies !

Can you relate to this ?

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On a much lighter note, do you remember the last photo of the cucumber plant with one very bendy fruit?

It actually put on a last spurt of growth!  So this really IS the very last cucumber......

 

Number 23 😀

The task for the weekend (which I am delegating to Gray) is to clear the greenhouse and clean the glass ready for winter.  I have other fish to fry....namely cardmaking for the Hospice....but I will, of course, be washing, cooking and making beds in between 😉

A woman's work is never done is it.....

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

Have a great weekend,

Angie 💗

Feeling Inspired and Beating Loneliness

We attended our monthly Gardeners Guild meeting on Tuesday evening when the speaker gave a talk on Wightwick Manor gardens throughout the year.  It was very interesting indeed to get an insight into the future plans for the gardens.  We must visit again soon.  It was very nice to have someone else to talk to as well! Life in your 70s can be lonely at times 🙁 The £3 per person cost included a mug of coffee and a chocolate biscuit as well as a raffle ticket.   We didn't win but it was a bargain nonetheless.   We added our names to the list for the December quiz night. It will include a 'Pot luck supper' where everyone brings food to share.  Last year we had a lovely variety of good food for the buffet.

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Yesterday (Wednesday) was a quiet day.  Neither of us felt very energetic so we decided to pop to the village for a walk, to return my library book and to drop another batch of cards at the shop.  Again, there were just 3 cards left and a customer was in the shop actually asking when I would be bringing more in.  She pounced on the new batch and bought 3 😁 

A sample below :

 We felt so inspired that we treated ourselves to a visit to the pub.  Tea and toast for me £2.79 😉 a pint and a pizza for Gray £7.79  Any old excuse eh? 😂

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

Angie 💓

Boiler News, and Insurance Deals.....

 As I mentioned before, we were due to have the annual boiler service at the end of September as well as have an inhibitor put into the system and we had booked a visit from a local chap to do the work.  His dad used to do the work for us years ago when we lived elsewhere ( we're going back more than 35 years ) Gradually the lad took over the work from his dad , who is not that much younger than us, and he is a gem.  He gave us a half hour slot, arrived on time, put on shoe covers, laid a blanket on the worktop underneath the boiler and did a very thorough job of cleaning and testing it.  He drained a drop of water from the kitchen radiator, put in the inhibitor and cleaned up.  He was with us for about 45 minutes and didn't leave a single bit of mess.  Wow....friendly, cheerful and competent.  And the cost? 

Just £103.00

He is definitely a keeper.  Now all we need is the number of a competent plumber for my little black book...... 😊

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As we are in a shared ownership bungalow, we are not allowed to choose our own buildings insurance but we do have to sort out our own contents insurance, which was due for renewal at the end of September.  We were insured through Sainsbury's bank but that has now been sold out to NatWest and the premium hoiked up by £10 per annum (25% increase)  When I rang the renewal line I spoke to a chap with a very strong foreign accent and I simply struggled to understand him.  He said that the renewal has expired and I would have to go through the process of taking out a brand new policy.  I politely declined and went through Confused.com instead.  I found a policy with AA for £56 but will now get the option of a free hot drink per month from Greggs (useful when we're at the allotment) as well as a £20 Sainsbury's voucher in about 2 weeks time.  In effect, this policy works out cheaper !

It certainly pays to compare costs, doesn't it.

BTW I had my first free coffee on Wednesday;  a pumpkin spice latte and it was delish 😎

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

Angie💗

The Last of the Crops

It's getting quite cold at night now so I was surprised that the cucumbers are still surviving

in the greenhouse.  Not only surviving, but producing cucumbers.   I decided to pick the best of them before they spoil;  the one on the left here....

....and the one on the right below.....

I can't bear to pull up the plant and dispose of it yet, so I'll wait and see if the other cucumbers mature or die off first.  So far we have had 22 off one plant.

The last couple of peppers are still green but, similarly, I  don't want them to spoil and have snipped them off.   They won't be as sweet but are still edible.  We have harvested 12 sweet yellow peppers off one plant.....

 It always seems sad 😔 when the last of the crop is finished don't you think?  At the allotment on Thursday we pulled the last of the carrots from a raised bed.  They have been washed, dried, and should last the week for meals.  We have one more bed of carrots remaining then they will be gone too 😔

Our sprouts have totally failed to produce at all and have gone on the compost heap.  It looks like there will only be leeks now, that's assuming they actually take off!

Do you grow anything through the winter months?

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

Angie 💗

PS:  forgot to mention that we have our covid boosters booked for Saturday morning 😳

Aaarrgh !

Fig Variety and Sneaky Behaviour!

After sharing my figgy news I thought I'd check on the variety shown on the plant label.  The variety is Lucky Berry and is on a Verve label.  The price is still on the label too: £20, and  I think it's been in the pot since 2023.  Gray decided not to put it in the ground as it likes to have it's roots contained, and we don't want it to grow too big anyway in our small garden space.  I hope you can track one down if you fancy one of your own!

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On the door camera this morning there is footage of Moaning Myrtle next door putting something in our grey rubbish bin at 4.30 am this morning.  His own bin has not been put out for collection so I went to check on what he's added to ours.  It was an almost full plastic punnet of rotting grapes and a bunch of small, perfectly edible bananas 😒

I had to retrieve the plastic punnet to put into the recycling instead of the rubbish and  I thought about retrieving the bananas too but couldn't face them.  What a waste.  No wonder our planet is covered in plastic waste when so many ( relatively young too) people just can't be bothered.  Myrtle obviously doesn't realise we have a camera because we've seen him wandering the streets under cover of darkness, checking out other neighbour's homes 👀

We have our eye on you, Myrtle !😂

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Today we have errands to run, including taking another batch of cards to the Hospice shop, and leeks need to be popped into the raised bed at the allotment.  Might pull some carrots for our evening meal too...🤔

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

Angie 💗

Home Grown Figs & September Expenses

 We have had some lovely sunny days over the last week.  Yes, it's been cold at night as well as first thing in the morning but, once the mist has dissipated, the sun has shone beautifully.  I knew that we had some small figs on the tree but didn't really expect them to ripen .....

..... so I was pleasantly surprised to find these last Saturday..... 

😊

I cut them in half lengthways, drizzled them lightly with golden syrup ( I had no runny honey) and baked them in the oven for a few minutes as the oven was on to cook lunch anyway.  Served with a scoop of ice cream they were absolutely delicious.  I didn't realise that you can eat the skin but it was so tender after baking that eating it wasn't an issue!

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A week after my blood test my arm is still bruised.....

Doesn't it take an age to heal as you get older? 😕

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As we have had such an expensive month with special birthdays and such, we didn't have a September treat so I'm hoping we can have an October one before the bad weather really sets in.  I'm not sure what we can do.  Maybe Dudley Zoo or Severn Valley Railway?

We have the Swindon Gardening Club meeting this Friday (£5.50 each) plus the Gardeners' Guild meeting next Tuesday (£3.00 each) so need to watch our spending this month too.

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Right now I'm waiting for the heating engineer to come and service the boiler.  I think we need inhibitor in the system too so I'm not sure how much it will all cost.  The service alone is around £80 👀 I'll let you know how much it finally comes to.

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

Angie 💗