What I did today No.2

Woke up at my usual time, but rolled over and went back to sleep! Up at 9:07, showered dressed and went downstairs to discover that DD had been and left her keys as they are away overnight and the goldfish need feeding.
I made lunch, did some washing, and then did some baking. DH got a surprise when he came home from work, I hardly ever bake.
Sat down with TV and crochet and made 3 more elf ears.
Didn't know what to have for supper so set to and made broccoli soup which I are with 2 slices of toasted ciabatta followed by some of the date slice I made earlier.
I'm now watching Alan Titchmarsh on ITV+1. I'll end my day with Dr Pimple Popper, and then bed.

Less energy today but managed a fair bit. Made some meringues and cleaned a bit this morning. Soup for me and a ‘proper’ meal for Mr C before quick trip to town for some mini throws for the sofa and a cuppa in a comfortable cafe. Tidying later and some much needed sorting before more soup Masterchef and Holby. Not a bad day.

dragonfly46 My dear friend, Kathy has just decided the same. She looks very soignee in her turban.

grandtanteJE65 I made a log basket just like yours, with twigs for logs. Doll housers are very inventive

After yoghurt and strawberries for breakfast, I went to Communicare. It is a social/craft club for elderly and intellectually handicapped persons.
Coloured some pre-printed designs, cut them out and made them 3-D.
They will be Christmas cards eventually.

Came home and got 2 machine-loads of washing out, then wrote a humorous letter for my grandson.

Knit a few rows of a lilac scarf while listening to an audio book and picking at a salad.

Put some Tradescantia pallida cuttings into potting mix for my homecare lady who admired the purple leaves and pink flowers.

Emailed friends in the USA.
Looked at the price of whole salmon with a view to buying one as a birthday gift for my dil. Chocolates are so passé

It's 9.07pm on 13th as I write and I have promised myself I shall be in bed before midnight as I am up and away early to my elders group tomorrow.

Wishing everyone a peaceful day........

Went to have my hair cut this morning. I thought I had plenty of time, but in the end had to hurry. I drove my car for the first time in 6 weeks, and as it's a new one, it did feel a bit odd, but nice.
Went to post a parcel to my DGS, and took my specs back to Sp............s, as I haven't been at all happy with them, so I got a refund..
Popped into the chemist to see if my prescription was ready to collect. I had ordered it online, but no it wasn't, maybe in a day or two.
Painted a picture frame, or rather, a colour wash.
Defrosted the fridge and cooked supper.
Now, feet up, watching TV and doing a bit of knitting.
Oh, and I've popped in and out of GN.

My visit to the opticians today was entertaining to say the least. DIL booked me in (she works there) and I gave her my prescription sheets to scan into the system, as it takes forever to type them on the PC. A few minutes later I toddled off to get photos and scans done of my eyes etc. I then remembered I had left the prescription list on a table, so went back to find it. It was no-where to be found. The whole place was upside down with staff looking for it.
I later discovered it in my bag. ?

After the initial tests were finished, I couldn’t find my glasses and of course, couldn’t see to search for them! Trying to get off the stool, after sitting at the camera, I got stuck, (I was very stiff due to the cold.) I think the optician thought I was a crazy, old woman and DIL and DH were pretending they didn’t know me.

According to the ophthalmologist, I needed a new prescription. Great news! That meant I could choose new glasses to go with my new haircut ( potential, squeaky leather trousers and cerise pink Doc Martens, as suggested in the Good Morning thread ).

DH’s face was a picture, he knew I wouldn’t settle for boring pairs, they would need a bit of bling and of course bling costs money!! ?

Everything I tried, DH turned his nose up at. I muttered “You have absolutely no taste”, as I stomped away, thinking he hadn’t heard. A voice from the corner replied, “Well, I married you, didn’t I !!” All the waiting patients started laughing. Hoisted by my own petard!

Of course, when you try on glasses, you don’t know what you look like, because you aren’t wearing your own. One of the customers advised me to use my phone to take selfies. I gave up on that plan, as a haggard, dithery, old woman, with drooping jowls kept looking back at me.

DIL then had the bright idea of using an iPad to take pictures of me. That was a great idea, until I realised I had an audience and the patients were all sniggering , when I said to DIL, DELETE, DELETE, DELETE! The 1Pad revealed even more wrinkles, crevices and broken veins than the phone and no amount of bling was going to detract from that.

I then picked up a pair and said that I really liked them. They were exactly the same glasses, I’m wearing at the moment! DIL shook her head in despair.
Thank goodness it’s only once a year and the good news was that my medication has not affected my eyesight so far, much to be thankful for.

Evening all.

Put some Tradescantia pallida cuttings into potting mix for my homecare lady who admired the purple leaves and pink flowers

Oh thank you BradfordLass. THAT’s the name of the beautiful plant out here in Malaga that I love! It’s so pretty isn’t it? The leaves as much as the flowers!

Marydoll I’d love to be out and about with you - every trip is an adventure!

I’ve not done much (yep, Lazygran suits me).

Hot sunshine on our balcony at lunchtime so I’ve slapped sunscreen on, read some of my book, spent too long (again!) browsing Gransnet ....

Then around 4pm the clouds came over si I showered.
Made a cuppa and some cheese & biscuits.
Around 7pm a lovely FaceTime from family - the two grandchildren were having a shared bath and giggling. Too cute.
Then we dressed and went out to eat.
I had fish, chips & mushy peas and himself enjoyed a rack of ribs.
Taxi home.
Pj’s on now with a cuppa and biscuits.
Life’s good.

Did some cleaning - boring but needed doing. What I thought was a top up food shop turned into a trolley full. Oh dear. Communed with the calendar to re- jig plans to help with childcare so a daughter in law can go to a family funeral. Cooked and ate a sausage bake lunch (very nice), phoned a friend. Went off to a local garden centre for a couple of hours, had a coffee and would you believe only bought plants! Phoned another friend, did some ironing, had a snack, prepared food for tomorrow. Sitting with a glass of chilled white. Now, I thought I’d had a quiet day, it seems not .

Awoke more asleep than awake. Poor DH has taken to phoning me during the night from his nursing home to say he is being poisoned/cut up into pieces etc. 11.30 pm is his favoured time, then sometimes about 2 am, but nearly always 7 am. So I do not need an alarm clock any more. Poor chap - it must be miserable for him to feel so afraid.

I got up and dressed, then sat down on the sofa - and woke up at about 12.30!! So all the things I had been planning to do went down the pan.

But I picked to GSs up from school and took them back to their house to await DD and her OH arriving by train from London. They had not left a key!!!! We 3 stood puzzled in the drive, then GS remembered that there is a hidden key safe, but could he remember the number..............? Eventually he did - thank goodness.

Train was of course late soI rushed out as soon as they arrived as my 20-strong choir arriving for a practice. Had a lovely practice and now planning to go to bed with fingers crossed for a peaceful night.

After the singers leave, my living room always smells of feet as they politely take their muddy shoes off - I almost wish they would leave them on!!!

I went to work (mornings only), which involved helping a few elderly people with bills/'phone calls, reporting repairs to be done. Then I went home, did some housework, then called for my son (he doesn't work on Wednesdays), went to the local shops, then to the local pub (he had a pint, I don't drink), then picked up his 2 girls from school, went to a play centre, then pub for dinner, then took the girls home. I stayed in for the rest of the evening with my husband.

Got DH up, washed, shaved and dressed then left him listening to Radio 4 (or dozing) while I went to a craft session - varnished decoupage tray - very pleased with result - and made a mat from flattened quills glued (with difficulty) into a round shape. Used Sunday Times magazine for the quills so only cost was the glue and my temper when things wouldn’t stick.

Home for lunch then Tesco shop which DH likes, for some reason. Home to unpack and put away and then search for the house insurance renewal which DH had secreted somewhere unlikely and which needs action. We are just about ready to put the LPA into action because he now finds it all too complicated. Very sad, but he has forgotten to pay bills which has caused some difficulty, so I need to take it over.

Supper, phone call with exDiLand then an old Judge John Deed which I hadn’t seen. And so, as Samuel Pepys put it, to bed.

GrannySomerset One of the best programmes on TV - loved him.

I spent the morning at the monthly official meeting of our elders group.
This is the one where we have an agenda, discusss what's gone on the month before and what will happen (if the Lord spares us) next month. It's not like our much-more-casual singing and ukulele sessions.

I was asked to speak about our trip to the Huia Settlers Museum last Sunday where we had commemorated Armistice Day.
After a splendid lunch we were taken home.

I decided to order not salmon for my DDil's birthday but a dozen oysters delivered to her door. She loves them.

When I was giving Maori langusge lessons to a man who owned a boat, he paid me with a huge bucket of oysters, fresh from the nearby Kaipara Harbour (see pic)

As they don't agree with me raw, I steamed them and was in heaven for several days

I am a day late with this, as I have only just remembered this thread!
Had a busy morning cleaning the bathrooms, then had an early lunch and off out for another health walk.
It was a beautiful late autumn day to walk around our local forest; the tree colours were glorious in the sunshine and we were quite sheltered. Repaired to the local garden centre afterwards for coffee/tea and a chat, then walked home.
Finished one of my library books, then tea and an evening of tv.

Dragonfly46 thinking of you. Now nearly 3monhs post treatment and my hair is a white cap about half an inch all over. So have dispensed with wig and turbans. We drove to the Algarve to stay with a dear friend at the weekend and I didn't have any stares so it must just look like an extreme haircut now.

What a lovely thread this is. I was reading it last night and was going to post but realised it was 12.30am and we need to be up by 8 on Thursdays as A comes to clean.
You are all so busy that it puts me to shame.
I am suffering with nausea all the time so I cant manage much without sitting down to rest. But I did manage to do some ironing yesterday which I havent done for months. DH does the washing and lovely A does the ironing although most things dont need ironing. I just keep telling myself that the nausea wont be here forever. Here in Portugal we are in for a coldish wet spell for the next week. Have a good day everyone.

Yesterday, I rose, showered and dressed. Had a cuppa and went to feed DGD's goldfish, as the family were away overnight visiting friend.
Home to prepare lunch of lemon sole with a butter caper sauce.
Got myself ready and went out for the afternoon to the library where our Knit and Natter group meet.
We had a jolly time and I made 2 more elf ears.
My friend has lost count of how many we have made, so I don't know how many to make this week.
Home in time for tea. Then DH and I settled in for the evening watching the TV.
To bed by 10:30, early for me!

It's interesting to read about everybody's activities. I went to the Tutankhamun exhibition at the Saatchi Gallery, then to Sweaty Betty's and bought a pair of joggers, followed by lunch up a ladder!

Tut

The Jam

Both highly recommended

Bitterly cold here today. Made 'left in the fridge' veg soup then did the ironing. DH wearing himself out insulating the loft. Made coffee and toast at 10.30 then sorted out menu for next week and shopping list for tomorrow. Now sitting down. Will make a cup of tea soon, unless I nod off

Had a hospital appointment this morning, we were seen on the dot, no delay despite being extremely busy. So thank you NHS for all that you do/have done for my family.

First thing after breakfast, I emptied one of the freezers and left it defrosting, then as DH had a cheque to pay in, off we went to the bank. Then we called in at our Church cafe, which was heaving, for a coffee and chat. I went to Boots, to see if my prescription was ready today, as it wasn't yesterday. Success.
Drove to ALDI and bought more than I intended .
As the weather looked settled, DH decided to wash the car, and I put all the 'stuff' back in the first freezer, and decided to defrost the other one.
They are both in the garage, so it made sense to get it done while the car was outside.
It's been ages since I defrosted them, so it took longer than expected. But now they are both done, I feel very virtuous.

I was going to make Cauliflower, macaroni cheese for supper, but will have to think again, as there is no macaroni! So fish it will have to be.
The light is beginning to go now, and we are enjoying a welcome cup of tea. This evening I shall do some more knitting with my feet up, and relax........

Got DH up etc, sorted out flowers in the house, polished front door brass, ran a couple of loads of washing and made a large batch of Bolognese sauce (enough for six meals for the two of us - one tonight, the rest for the freezer).

WI book group this afternoon discussing Bernard Cornwell’s “Fools and Mortals” which we all enjoyed. Contemplating the hideous religious divisions of the late sixteenth and early seventeenth century felt rather like looking at the remain/leave divisions of today and the way that there appears to be no tolerance or understanding of another point of view. Am reminded that Civil War was the upshot of the Catholic/Protestant divide.

Several phone calls to make then must get to grips with the house insurance which has gone up £50 for no apparent reason . Hate the filling in of endless forms to get a quote but don’t feel I can let this go without trying to improve on the offer by Direct Line. Need to do the same for my car insurance too. Will need to glass of something, I think.

Just wanted to say thankyou to everyone who contributes here.

I am enjoying your days almost as much as you are.


The Tui is always the first bird to wake here. To human eyes it is still totally dark. Then follows the Blackbird, Thrush, the gentle trill of Grey Warbler and Chaffinch.
And finally - me
The birds sound much better than I, so I am sending this little piece or peace from New Zealand to gladden the hearts of all those who live birdsong as much as I do.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=mhvCsYFZ0vQ

I'm out for the day, and despite the date above, writing this on Friday at 6.30am. See you all tomorrow

Today - flung open the curtains to espy snow. Bit of a shock. GSs x2 thrown through the door for Marmite’s breakfast club at 7.30. Porridge & hot chocolate. The 9 year old refused to wear his jacket despite sleet/snow falling heavily so a bit of an impasse. I won so he stomped off to school in a huff; Boys! Had a gentle pt session. I have a frozen shoulder so gently does it, followed by lunch. 2 boiled eggs with dippy bread. Then off to Art Group. As an organiser I never seem to get going for at least half an hour while doing admin. Started on a pic of a skeletal fishing boat which I photographed on Dungeness beach recently. Looks a bit lopsided but I will persevere. We always break for tea & cake at 3 which is the highlight of the afternoon. Now sitting in front of a roaring fire. I’ll probably still be here until bedtime depending on what is on offer on the telly.. if nothing exciting I may have another go at the boat.

Riverwalk I hope the exhibition was interesting. I was on the tube this morning and noticed the adverts so are debating whether to visit it.
I’ve been in London for the last two nights for a jam packed couple of days.
My Sister booked an apartment near the O2 and we went to the tennis. Brilliant, fantastic game and a very friendly group around us.
Yesterday we went to see Loose Women being recorded and that was interesting.
We then headed back to the apartment to get glammed up for Mama Mia, the party. The bus took sooo long that we just stayed on it, brushed our hair and carried on to the O2. Thank goodness we hadn’t bought anything new!
I can really recommend the party the most fantastic fun. You have to like ABBA though.
Got back home at lunch time today and am officially knackered.
I love going to London for short periods, there is so much to do.
Sorry that’s 3 days but it all rolled into one.

Woken by the phone at 7.30ish, but when I answered it, no-one there!
Had lazy tea and ginger biscuit, then once I was showered and dressed, changed the bed, put sheets etc in the machine, hoovered round upstairs and did the stairs. Still loving my new Shark, made the stairs carpet look like new!
Was not planning on going to ballet class as it was pouring with rain, but had the offer of a lift, so got ready and went. I feel like the ugly duckling!
Changed my library book, then to the local cafe for coffee with ballet friend.
Sainsbury's delivery late afternoon, then read and watched tv while dinner was cooking. And then had a glass of red wine with dinner!

This morning I visited a gentleman who has Parkinson's disease. He is living his last 2 weeks in the family home before moving to a care home ; despite a veritable army of carers he is not coping well. He told me to grab his nearly new G- Tech vacuum as a parting present as thanks for my companionship. I had a tear in my eye .

I then called on my D in law and son who have taken up residence on our local hospital since Sunday. She is 12 days overdue with first baby and has been shunted around different wards having various not too invasive procedures to hurry things along, to no avail. Tomorrow she will have her waters ruptured and be hooked up to a drip, last resort I am told. She deserves a Thorntons chocolate medal.
When I got home the low fat mince I had put in the slow cooker this morning was cooked, I thought I'd just throw it on top of a jacket spud, but husband had other ideas, started waxing lyrical about minced beef pie he had for school dinners. I've never thought to put it between pastry and was not too enamoured by the idea at that moment but I capitulated. He owes me big time.
I'm now relaxing in bed and thinking of my lovely new grandchild to be.