Friday 17 May 2024
What would you chose?
Thursday 16 May 2024
Books, some ok some not!
The book group yesterday afternoon was an interesting discussion, although there were only 4 of us.. I've already written about the book, 'The Museum of Ordinary People.' by Mike Gayle here, and like me the other members thought it was an ok read, but not wonderful.. so I'm working my way through the rest of my library books.
Disappointingly I'd read the Kristin Hannah book before, but because I couldn't remember the end, I read it again.
A story of three sisters, Winona, Aurora and Vivi-Ann.. sadly I wasn't impressed, yes a good story, well written, but it suddenly became one on those books that went on too long for me. You might find it more to your choice but it didn't seem to me to be written by the same author as, 'The Great Alone, The Four Winds, The Women, and Home Front.' Perhaps it was because I'd already read it, but I couldn't wait to finish it.
This is book 1 of 23 that features FBI Agent Winter Black.
13 Years prior, a young Winter Black arrived home from a sleep over to find her parents murdered and her little brother missing.
Now a rookie FBI Agent she returns to her Virginia home town as part of a team to solve the murders. Early in the story it's revealed that Winter has a sixth sense and is able to see things that others can't. This is her first case as a lead investigator with another rookie agent.
Being in her own home town there are difficulties with some of the people she knew, when younger who still see her as a young person. As she deals with the feelings of her family's murder, meeting old school friends who hold a grudge against her, she battles with her emotions, as well as trying to solve the murders of uncovered bones found in a secret burial patch. It did have the basis of a good story with some good characters, I liked Winter, but as a murder mystery, it failed for me. There was something missing, there was the hint of perhaps love interest in her Agent partner, Noah, but it didn't happen, perhaps in the next book?
Will I read the next one? I don't think so.
Chrisxx
Wednesday 15 May 2024
Hair?
Of my three sons only my middle son hasn't lost his hair. When he was 15, he'd gone to the barber where we lived and came home with what was the then, the style called 'tramlines.' I wasn't pleased but even worse his school wasn't happy either and was sent home till they grew out. But then the school relented, when I phoned and spoke to an Assistant Head complaining, that they were denying him his education, which was his right.
Tuesday 14 May 2024
Something with salad.
Its coming right up to the salad season, unless like us you eat it all year round, but what to have with it can be a problem..
So one of SW's many ideas is the crustless veggie quiche.
Ingredients.
4 eggs.
220g spinach, shredded
Small courgette sliced thinly
6 Tomatoes Sliced
Bunch of salad onions (Spring onions) Chopped
Cottage cheese 200g
Grated cheddar 50g
Level tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
Parsley chopped.
Method
Switch on oven 160 C
Whisk eggs and add cottage cheese and seasoning
Stir in chopped salad onions, spinach, and some of the courgette.
Pour into a dish sprayed with olive oil
Place tomatoes on top and courgette and the grated cheddar
Bake at 160C for about 30 to 40mins
Sprinkle on parsley to serve.
This serves us for 2 meals
Of course you can vary the ingredients, we sometimes add bacon, or asparagus or anything you like, I prefer this cold.
(Not my photo)
Monday 13 May 2024
17 years ago.
Sunday 12 May 2024
Some people like to moan!
Somebody was complaining on FB that the grass verges on the approach to our town were uncut and over grown and looked very untidy.
Obviously he hadn't looked hard enough, because the grass itself had thrown up huge spikes of seeded heads that waved with the cross draft as the cars sped along, like a rolling tide coming into the shore.
And dotted in it were the bursts of yellow of Buttercups,
Cowslips,
What's not to like about our country's wayside flowers?
Saturday 11 May 2024
What was it??
When we were getting ready for bed Thursday evening, I' d gone to get my drink for the night in the kitchen, and ouch something hurt my big toe on my left foot. as usual I had kicked off my shoes while we were watching TV, so was bare footed.
I carried on to the bathroom, and gently brush the bottom of my foot. I asked Dh to look at my foot, he got our big torch to see if there was anything there. Then carefully with my tweezers he inched out what he thought was a very small splinter. Strange as we have laminate flooring in the kitchen, so couldn't have been that.
Anyway as my arm from my covid jab was 'buzzing' I took some paracetamol and I decided as Friday morning is our SW meeting, I put an antihistamine tab, that is prescribed for sleep ready to take, so I wouldn't be awake half the night.
I did go to sleep, but woke at 1:00am for the loo and tried to get back to sleep.. my left big toe was hurting, it wasn't that bad but enough to stop me from sleeping. I huffed and puffed and got in and out of bed a few times. By now my toe was on fire and itching. I woke Dh and he had another look, yes my toe was red and hot. We found some TCP, yonks old, it calmed it down. We were now wide awake so we had a cup of tea and by this time, it was more than 4 hours when I had taken the paracetamol, so I had some with the tea. Dh rubbed my toe with the TCP and with the tabs it had calmed down. It was 4 when we were climbing back into bed. And I slept and slept, I did have to visit the loo again, after that cuppa, but then we over slept and it was nearly 9 when we woke, so we didn't get to SW.
After I'd showered Dh had another look at my toe and we decided it was a bite rather than a splinter, so cortisone cream for bites and bliss the itching stopped.. I have worn my slippers this evening, although I don't like them, as they don't fit that well and I feel unsafe wearing them.
It was not a good night and we haven't done anything to the garden, because the temps have been in the high twenties, much too hot to be in the sun. But we did go out and bought some new big garden pots for all the plants I've grown.. the tomatoes are looking good in their permanent pots in front of the west facing wall, it gets very hot there and they have done well there in other years.
So I wonder what it was that caused my toe so much grief!
Chrisxx
Friday 10 May 2024
Awful house but to others perfect!
This is one of my favourite programmes and we watch it quite often, usually on iplayer. How Dh suffers watching it with me I wonder as I comment on most things.. the last one we watched Mantel was wearing a lacy type dress.
Me.. Her dress looks like a lace curtain and she's wearing boots? I like her hair, I wonder if that colour is her own?
Criky, Does he think his hedgehog hair style makes him look younger??
Hasn't Dion a lovely smile, he always looks super.
Thursday 9 May 2024
I don't believe it!!
My umpteenth covid jab was booked for yesterday afternoon. Although I know it doesn't hurt I get anxious about them, so before we went I sat in the garden to relax. It was warm without the blazing sun of Sunday and there was a gentle breeze, so perfect.
Wednesday 8 May 2024
Is it the answer?
'I've lost weight with no effort at all, eating what I like!' said my #1 son when we spoke on the phone the other evening. Over the last 10 years or so he had gradually become over weight and was fighting to lose it.
*******
He had lost a lot of weight when he was younger as he was diagnosed with Crohn's disease. If fact he looked like a skeleton, 6ft and only weighed 6st 4lb. He had to have surgery to remove a large part of his large colon when he was 24 and thankfully didn't need a 'bag' which he was dreading. When he first said. he wasn't well living away with some other young men at University, my reaction was too many greasy kababs.. But it persisted and it all came to a head, when his friend phoned to tell me my son had collapsed. I drove to Uxbridge where he was that evening to bring him home.
I managed to get one of the Drs at the Practice where I was a patient to agree to see him, because he wasn't a patient there anymore not living at home. A super caring Dr who actually came to the house and he said that my son needed to see a Consultant. I got him a private appointment the following week. In the mean time my son was getting weaker and weaker, no food would stay in him.
The Consultant said he needed hospitalization and he was admitted the next day for an examination under anesthetic. It was all a very scary time and he diagnosed my son with Crohn's.
My son was treated medically for 3 years before we saw a Surgeon, who said he needed surgery and he'd never be better without it.
He had dropped out of University earlier that year and was at home. He was admitted to hospital to stay for 6 days before the operation to be built up with a drip infusion, I was so relieved that he would be in hospital being treated. However he'd only been there for 2 days when he collapsed and the school where I worked received a phone call to tell me. The nurse said that my son was already in Theatre and I wouldn't be able to visit him till the next day.
I was there the next morning 8:15am before school and they let me see him. I don't know how I got through the day, but the blessing was I had the most loveliest class that year, never had one like it before nor after. Isn't God good, when you need things to go right?
I used to go straight to the hospital each afternoon with a pile of books to mark and my planning folder. I sat beside my son every afternoon to late evening till he was discharged 4 weeks later. It wasn't the best of times, but he got better and grew stronger and now he's trying to lose weight!
And how did he lose weight, he's bought an Air Fryer! 'You should get one Mum,' he said, 'they're so easy to use, no need to fry, so no oil.' so may be we will? But I need to follow a plan and also look at portion control, so I don't think an air fryer will be my answer. Do you have an air fryer, are they worth it, is healthier eating?
Chrisxx
Tuesday 7 May 2024
Is it true?
Dh and I are avid listeners of the Radio Soap ' The Archers.' We even tuned into it while on holiday in Australia, a few years ago. Over the years it has changed, no longer just the story of every day country folk, but a bit more the drama of the more exciting soaps.
I take it as it comes, a story. But Dh often get quite passionate about it, saying the script writers should be shot, when the story line seemingly gets right off the 'quiet kind of country folk lives!'
The latest story line is around Alice (daughter of Jenny, nee Archer and Brian Aldridge) During lockdown her partying became a bit more than an occasional drink and she became an alcoholic. I've looked up how people become alcoholics and it is suggested that it is a combination of reasons, genetics, (her grandfather was an alcoholic) physiological, psychological and social factors.
Lately several things have happened to Alice; her mother died; she met someone, Harry who appeared to just right for her, but it turned out he too was an alcoholic. And Alice being the sort of person she is, has tried to help him, forgetting her own needs, disaster!
She had been to rehab and got her life back on track, as she had a baby, named Martha, although she and her had husband split up. But now she has fallen right off the wagon and things are going horribly wrong. We are on tender hooks as she has been involved in a car accident, so Monday night's episode could be the end of Alice, or is it?
Dh's comments, 'Why are the script writers doing this, they're spoiling Alice's character?'
Me... ' It's so we'll tune in and listen,'
Dh..'But why? We were going to listen anyway!'
Me,,'It's only a story!'
Well it is only a story... but I remember when I was a Saturday girl as a teenager, older people coming into the veg shop, where I worked, saying, had we heard of the dreadful accident about some one, who had been killed in a barn fire trying to rescue her horse? Yes it was Christine Archer from the very same programme in 1955!
Even my other Aunt, Aunty Glad's sister phoned me to come to her aid, as the neighbours' boys were stealing her milk! I drove from Billericay to here in Porthcawl 223 miles, to sort it out. Listening to her and the Home Help, we realised it had happened on Coronation Street and in her confusion she thought it was happening to her!
Is it the acting, or what, that makes people think its real life? I watch Eastenders and never once have I thought it was real. Too daft to be real, but I still watch and really like it and hate to miss an episode.
What do you think?
Chrisxx
Monday 6 May 2024
Can't wait to open these covers.
I have just finished reading this book, it was the Book Group choice for May. Like the other books by Mike Gayle it was an ok read. A story of a young woman's wish to become a museums curator.. well there's no accounting for taste, is there? She, named Jess, actually takes charge of what could be described as a heap of junk and presents each item as a museum piece. Does she make a success of it? You'll have to read it to find out. I did enjoy reading it, and like other books I've read by Mike Gayle, there was an element of love in it and some twists and turns but no 'fireworks' for me. But as I have read other books by him, he must deem it worth the effort to me.
I had no other library books and then all five reserved books were ready for collection together!True Colours by Kristin Hannah, My present choice as the top of the list of good authors.. I've read 5 other books by her and loved every one. This one's blurb says it about three sisters who are in strong competition with each another.. this will be my first read!
Sunday 5 May 2024
A perfect day in the garden.
When you plan a gardening day, first thing to do is to sit in the sun and talk about it over a coffee
So pretty and I welcome them. Expert gardeners say they are hussies as they don't care who they pollinate with, so you never know what colour they'll be!
Saturday 4 May 2024
A Penny Book Shop!
This little shop with the odd shaped rounded window has opened up as a little café by Fran, who has a 'pod' café on the front prom. We might pop in just to see it, because my Aunty Glad rented it in the forties. She was the aunt, who brought me up and paid for me to go to that private girls school. The shop is just round the corner from the street where we lived.
Friday 3 May 2024
10 Positives about you?
At our SW meeting last week we were asked to think of 10 positive and /or good things about ourselves.
Me,, ummmm ??
People compliment me on my complexion.
I have good nails. umm
I smile a lot.
and???
Prompted then by our SW consultant.
I keep on trying.
I'm a happy person.
I compliment other people.
I give good ideas and suggestions
And then I umm-ed and Ahh-ed and Dh said that I was a good supervisor when he gardened! Ha ha
And also I don't snore.(yes he can)
So now you know I'm not exactly scintillating! ( But I do have good skin and nails!)
What about you?
Chrisxx
Thursday 2 May 2024
Sorted!!
Yeh, our handy man can do what I want and just like you suggested Maggie I'm having it on the side along the bungalow wall.. with a grab bar on the wall and a hand rail on the steps. It can be extended right down a further two steps onto the patio, so I am really relieved and happy.
There's a variety of these hand rails on line. so we'll talk it over with Chris, our handy man and what batons and decking we need. and he can do it when he's finished the job he's doing now. I feel so happy and can sleep tonight as its been a worry.
Thank you for the comments, it is difficult with trades men, they're thinking safety and the look of something, but if its not suitable what's the point. When the steps were first done, when we moved here, they were ok for while, but I've not been properly well for the last two years and I think I've lost confidence and my balance isn't as good, but I'm doing exercises for that . Also my increased weight hasn't helped.. but that's going down at last!
Chrisxx
Wednesday 1 May 2024
Workmen...Such a headache!!!
This what was here when we moved in, Straight away I could see I would need a hand rail and the bottom step was much too deep.
It was the tail end of lockdown and trying to get a builder, wasn't easy. But I found one who could come that weekend, we'd only been here a week. Great I thought and we went ahead accepting his quote of £1750 to build new steps.