Morning Adventures Last Week ....No Photos

 If only I'd thought about photos on Monday of last week you would have seen how my morning in the kitchen made me ......

2 Pizza Bases to put in the freezer

1 loaf of 50/50 Wholemeal/white bread

2 pastry cases also for the freezer

Toad-in-the-hole to feed me two days

Roast veg ditto

Sausage rolls for another day last week

And a  left over piece of rolled out pastry to pop in the freezer ready for sausage rolls again sometime

Very glad of the dishwasher!

Always useful to put a few things in the freezer and I soon need to think about re-stocking the batch meals as I'm down to not many left, but I need to do a defrost first. And there's still another pack of 2 Aldi veggie things I got in before Christmas to try. 

Next morning was Keep Moving Group and the guy from Spot Wellbeing, the organisation that started our group over 2 years ago, came to lead us through our half hour of exercises. He worked us harder than we normally do I think. We need to up our game. Although it's still aimed at 65+ so not overly difficult.

On another morning I went to try out another 'old people' exercise group that was also started by Spot Wellbeing just this year( a few miles in the other direction from home). They are now going it alone and are trying out various sequences of exercises and this week they were mainly seated and based on yoga. 

Then there was the usual shopping morning - no coffee out last week. Just Aldi and Asda.

Finally I went swimming - hadn't been for several weeks - it was hard work.

Not sure I can keep up that level of morning adventures! 

Back Soon

Sue

WI and the Rest of The Week

 I hadn't been to WI for months, since April in fact, not sure why really, but July was the Garden Party - and I'm not a fan and August when I'd lost my voice after talking too much at the Bacton Fayre a couple of days earlier!

But as I was down on the rota for cakes and kitchen I thought I'd better turn up for the September meeting and anyway the speaker was talking about Scouting. Then the President rang and asked me to give the vote of thanks as she knew I'd been very involved in Scouting in the past so I really had  to be there.

The speaker was Stuart - a local man - he is one of the few people paid to work in Scouting. He is based at Scout HQ - Gilwell Park, North of London in Epping Forest, where he is in charge of risk assessment. He told us all about his involvement in the 25th World Scout Jamboree (WSJ) which was held in South Korea in 2023.

Postcards that the Scouts were given for sending home and to people who had sponsored them. It costs £4,000 each for people to attend - Leaders fund themselves, Scouts have to raise money from sponsors and holding fund raising events and are often aided by their group or District.

About 43,000 young people and their leaders attended from 158 countries. He told us how his group of 36 Scouts - aged 14 - 17 and 4 leaders were chosen from Essex Scout Groups and the preparations they made in the 16 months up to August 2023. 

The WSJ got some very bad publicity, as after just a few days flooding on site then a heatwave, poor preparation, lack of sanitation facilities, lack of drinking water and the approaching Typhoon forced the participants to be moved off site to Hotels in Seoul. The UK contingent were the first to evacuate followed by the US and then many other countries. But thanks to the Korean officials who worked to organise different events and visits, Korean people who had heard about the problems,  Leaders and the Be Prepared motto everyone had a brilliant time.

Stuart was also involved in organising Scouts to help with the Laying in State for the late Queen and again for the Coronation for Charles.

It was a very interesting talk and slides.

And later in the week it was so good to hear who is the new Chief Scout. There's never a shortage of boys but always a shortage of leaders, perhaps he will inspire more adults from different backgrounds to get involved.

I've really enjoyed watching the Paralympics all week - it's been amazing to see all the medal winners. Sarah Storey getting an 19th Gold - incredible! The 19th won by an inch! So pleased to see Alfie Hewitt and Gordon Reid get the Gold in the wheelchair tennis, they've won many, many grand slams but this was their third try at winning at the Paralympics. The wheelchair basketball was really good to watch too, the men's team in the finals today after beating Germany 71/43 on Thursday and so many medals won in the pool and on the track.

 Encouraged me to look and see if there were any suitable times for swimming and I found a session that will later be used for schools but wasn't this week due to them only just being back. Hadn't forgotten how to swim despite it being months since I went and it might be a while before I go again as the other pool in the area at Diss is still closed for refurbishment until at least December so making Stradbroke extra busy and schools use the pool a lot this term and next. The few lane swimming sessions are really busy and public swimming sessions are very early or very late - neither are any good for my tired old body!

 

Tomorrow would have been our 46th wedding anniversary, we only made it to 38. 

Goodness me, how I miss that man.

Have a good weekend whatever you are doing - I'm planning a church visit and a Macmillan Coffee morning and perhaps a car boot sale.

Back Monday

Sue

Last Saturday in February

First of all  thank you for all the comments yesterday and apologies to all the people who took  me far too seriously - Suffolk sense of humour is odd I admit, but I'm not becoming a total recluse - only dropping one WI meeting! Also apologies for not replying and thank you to everyone for reading - I'll keep writing while everyone keeps reading!

Swimming this week was lovely and quiet - despite it being an ordinary public session as opposed to a dedicated lane swimming session there were just 3 other people going up and down - all faster than me! But I did my half hour and felt better for it.

I thought having a water meter would cut my water and sewer charges and it certainly has but it now means that I have to read the meter after the estimated bills arrive (Monday - both at once), get through on the phone - twice. Give both companies the reading - because it was much lower than the estimate - and wait for new bill to arrive for water usage although I was able to pay for the sewer over the phone. 

The electric was off for a planned outage on Wednesday. I decided it would be a good time to do next months shopping - which sounds very odd but I have a cunning plan to see how easy/cheaper/doable it would be to live for a few weeks on just the Essential/ Basic/Value ranges which have appeared in all the supermarkets (I used Aldi, Asda and Morrisons and bought store-cupboard stuff and frozen for now). Youngest Daughter said she shops online using all the value range from one shop and if they don't have it in stock sometimes it gets upgraded without paying more. Although she said " DON'T try the sausages!"

I had lunch out for a treat and got home, sorted all the shopping, made notes for the future and as the house was beginning to feel chilly I lit the wood-burner and just as it was getting going the electric came back and the boiler clicked on - if I'd have known it was going to do that I needn't have lit the fire!

(BTW Aldi and Morrisons both had tomatoes, peppers, lettuce and cucumbers - no shortages here despite the dire life or death warnings! I didn't notice what Asda had). 

This week I've been grateful for

• A nice quiet swim
• An interesting morning of slow shopping
• My peaceful Suffolk life
• Plenty of reading

 

Recently read.......The Very Good Classic, the Long Lost Old Crime and the Bordering onto Rubbish!

It's a pity the Whitstable Pearl books have got sillier as I thought the first few were OK - now they've started to be televised perhaps she is writing with a view to what will become good TV. If they ever get on free TV I doubt I'll be watching.

Whatever you are doing this weekend - hope it's a good one. Last Saturday there were several things happening around here - too many to get to. This weekend there is nothing in the diary. Although Six Nations Rugby is back on TV to enjoy.

 

I shall be back Monday.

Sue

This Week

Thank you to everyone for comments this week and apologies for not replying every day. As usual I forgot to look in spam and found several there again - now let out onto the page. Thank you also to people who don't comment often - lovely to hear from you.

I found this from the  1st of  month that I'd missed............

As one of your long time "lurkers", it’s been an interesting year of posts. You always manage to mix things up, along with the regular pieces we enjoy, churches, books etc… looking forward to more lurking ahead! Karen S

It's good to hear that people enjoy reading - I do enjoy writing and tracking down ideas to write about must be good for the brain. Although sometimes it's difficult to find something to fill a post everyday which is why this week has been mainly Saints and poems!

Last week there was yet another funeral over the road in the graveyard, the third in as many weeks. I also heard about someone else in the village who had died, a man who was at secondary school with brother-in-law and my sister (that means four years younger than me). Hearing and seeing death so often very close like this, certainly makes a person wonder how long they have left! Although I don't dwell on that thought for long.

 I discovered that British Library Crime Classics are publishing one new book each month this year and doing a subscription service at a reduced price and free postage, I thought "what the heck - go for it!"

How good it will be having a new book through the letter box for the next six months........ I never buy new fiction books.....until now.

Here's my first, arriving one day after being posted - speedy! Probably my favourite of the BLCC authors

The 9.30 swimming session was nice and quiet again. 3 mums with 4 toddlers between them, the lady swimming very fast again and a man who is often there and spends most of his time talking to the lifeguard - loudly - after hearing him at various times over the last 5 years I could almost tell you his whole life history!

The weather turned much colder as the week went on. Exercise group was OK but I was very lazy and didn't head out to WI in the evening - tut, tut! apart from being really cold I'd heard the speaker on his subject ( The American G.I's in Suffolk in the 1940s) at the over 60s group last year. Plus I was well into a good book and it was nice and warm snuggled on the settee.

Tomorrow - the 22nd - is St Vincent's Day with a weather rhyme attached

Remember on St Vincent's Day,

If the sun his beams display,

Be sure to mark his transient beam

Which through the casement sheds a gleam 
For 'tis a token bright and clear
of prosperous weather all the year

Hope everyone has a good weekend.

I'll be back Monday

Sue

Saturday Snippets

 For a few worried minutes this week I thought my washing machine had gone wrong. After the programme had finished  the things inside were much wetter than they should have been and when I put it on a spin-only programme it seemed to just be turning everything over and doing nothing but then - thank heavens it got going, spinning properly. Phew - sigh of relief.

You know I like watching sport on TV so it was good to find the Masters Snooker on this week - the top 16 playing except for two young Chinese guys who have been suspended while charges of match fixing for betting are being investigated. I've never understood match fixing in any sport, how do they know what might or might not happen and how to fix a particular thing?. But then I've never understood gambling either....just a fast way to lose money for the majority.

Had a letter telling me my Radio Times subscription was changing from £49 for 26 issues to £75 which is a heck of a jump. So I rang up to cancel and the guy said there must be some mistake(?) and offered me another 6 months at the original price. Not sure how they continue to do it at less than £2 a week including postage but I'll carry on for now while they are as I don't buy any other magazine and the RT has lots to read.

Heard on the radio that millions more people are to be offered statins - I've not seen a doctor for years now so haven't had the conversation lately

After missing a few weeks I had a good swim this week -  risked a general public session rather than a lane swimming session as they are few and far between in school term and struck lucky with just 3 Mums with 4 small toddlers and one lady going up and down at great speed, so there was plenty of room. Very good to get back in the pool again - I did 40 minutes with some pauses for a breather which isn't too bad. I'll try for the same session next week and hope it's no busier.

 I also got back to the exercise group after missing a week for Nanna duty. Took my new "middle aisle Aldi" 1kg dumb bell weights - much better than a bottle of water. There are 7 more weeks funding by the Community Interest group but after that no one is sure how it can operate unless we fund the village hall hire  ourselves.

This is the only colour in the garden at the moment Viburnum Bodnantense, it didn't like the frosts in December but has come back looking good - although it also doesn't like heavy rain.....but other than that it's quite pretty!

I've searched everywhere that they were planted, but there is no sign of  the "in the green" snowdrops that blog reader Jan kindly brought me last year..........no sign of them at all which is a bit sad - hope they will appear in time, surely they can't all have been lost in the dry summer.

 The Surrey family are in Suffolk this weekend and it will lovely for us all to get together, which I'm looking forward to. 

Hope you have a good weekend. 

Back Monday

Sue

X is for Xercise!

 The over 60's Exercise/Wellbeing group run by SPOT Wellbeing has almost finished the 6 week course. The village hall is booked for 12 more weeks but without anyone to run a group, so not sure what will happen. I'll find out tomorrow. Apparently there is cake tomorrow after the exercise - sounds good..

There are more people going now than at the beginning - which is better than the other way round.

 I still don't get the mindfulness bit, sitting with my eyes closed and thinking about the feeling of my feet on the floor or counting my breathing does absolutely nothing for me..............it's supposed to be relaxing, but my idea of relaxing is sitting in the sun on a sunny day or laying on the settee reading a book!

Sadly there are some Old Men who tend to dominate any conversation (just like at the village Over 60's group!)

The half hour of fairly gentle exercise - standing or sitting- has given me ideas for keeping joints, muscles and balance in good condition. I've been doing a few at home when I remember, along with going up and down my exercise step bought months ago when I started to feel "bungalow knees"!

For exercise I still prefer swimming but the lane swimming sessions are fewer now the schools are using the pool. Some days only very early morning or late evenings - neither suit me and one of the days with late morning lane swimming is the same day as the exercise group. Much to my surprise, yesterday I discovered they'd got a lane swimming session on a Sunday morning, I'd not even thought about looking on the Sunday timetable, assuming it would be all family swim sessions. It was good to get a swim in as I didn't manage one last week and won't during this week either.

Back Tomorrow

Sue

Half Way Through October

 Isn't it nice to be given money from the "government". (Government in inverted commas as they don't seem to be doing much governing, just getting themselves and the country into one hell of a mess)

Anyway, Scottish power sent me a text message to tell me that they would be giving me £66 worth of free electric for October - part 1 of £400 that everyone is getting to help with the frightening cost of living crisis. I read my meter and pay the bill toward the end of each month so will find out what it's crept up to then. 

'They' keep talking about the few people who are not supplied by the national gas grid but of course it's the majority in many rural villages and this week a local oil tank change company have been sorting out a new heating oil tank for me, in a place that conforms with new regulations and so I can have a door from the back garden into the old en-suite, to turn it into an easily accessed freezer room and store.

Old small 1,000 litre oil tank - too close to the house and on a base that isn't level with a built in lock that didn't lock.

(And actually it wasn't even very old but hadn't been installed to regulations and the slabs it was sitting on were just on a sand base)

New 1,400 litre oil tank, now level, more than 1.8 metres from walls, eaves and the soon-to-be door and on a level base. Just need to find the padlock that I know is here somewhere.

They changed over the remaining oil and there was more left than I thought so I'll wait a few weeks and then order 1,000 litres of heating oil - that will shock the bank balance as oil prices haven't been capped like unit prices of electric and gas. Although it should last me ages now that I have the wood-burner to back it up. I understand that us oil or LPG users are to be handed another £100 from the government to help with rising prices - but no one has worked out how to give it out yet.

In between making coffees and teas for whichever guys were working here I made a start on cutting the horrible Yew hedge out the front. I'm doing it a bit at a time as the portaloo is parked in the way and  need to do next-doors side when T is at home as he'll help clear up.

I managed a swim this week, haven't been for 3 weeks for various reasons including  the schools being back using the pool so there are fewer lane swimming sessions. It was surprisingly quiet with only 2 people in the slow half. I was able to do lots of lengths although I lost count after about 22- as I always do. It's only 20 metres long so nowhere near the 32 x 25m I used to do in the 90's when I was much younger and fitter. And talking about fitter I came across details of a 6 week basic exercise class for over 50's being held for free in the next village, so I've signed up.....there's free refreshments at the end of each session!

Thank you for the suggestions of making my own envelopes to fit cards - I do actually have envelopes for the big cards - although they are business sort and if I remembered I could save the wrapper from the RT and turn it inside out to use. I'm slowly using up my card making stash, trying not to buy more.

This week I'm grateful for 

• A good swimming session
• Building work progressing well
• Fine weather for garden clearing

Hope you have a good weekend.

 I'm looking forward to seeing the two nearest Grandchildren this weekend, as I've not seen them for a few weeks.

Back Monday

Sue

All Sorts From My Week

Last years compost has now been spread over the front border, hopefully some worms will mix it in with the rock hard clay soil once we get rain. And I turned over this years compost into the other bin. Got the grass cut last weekend to tidy up the tatty bits that had grown and it's gradually turning green again. Next job will be to remove the bean tripods, harvest the squash and clear the plants. My Kale and Brussels Sprout plants were completely decimated by everything - flea beetle, white fly, caterpillars and that's despite being covered. They've all gone in the garden waste bin - an expensive and annoying fail. All that will be left in the garden for winter are a couple of dozen small leeks.

This weeks WI speaker showed us Origami - not the Japanese sort where you fold one sheet of paper into animals and birds but Chinese Origami where 3D models are built up from triangles that have been folded from oblong bits of paper. The history of it is HERE. We made flowers, which are supposed to be the most basic thing to do - a very fiddly craft - I nearly gave up before I started!

The speaker and his two daughters had everything prepared for us so we didn't have to fold the 24 triangles or roll up the paper to make a stalk, before we started. He brought lots of very clever models he had made to sell.... penguins, swans, owls etc. Priced from £5 up. I didn't buy one - looked too much like another dust collector!

The picture below is from the internet but he had some just like this. The only glue used is to stick on the eyes.

Reading this week has been "Where the Crawdads Sing". It's a good story, a mix of mystery, coming of age, romance and a way of life forgotten.  I enjoyed it except when it made me cry but  I couldn't see what the fuss was all about. When the film gets round to being on TV I'll try and watch it. 

When you try and join a main road and there is a long line of stationary traffic and the lorry drivers have all got out of their trucks to chat, you know it's time to take a detour - I was heading to swimming and luckily know the back roads to get there. Found out later the air ambulance had been called after a serious crash between three vehicles. Drivers taken to hospital - but no serious injuries. The road was blocked for several hours so I'm glad I found a different way home too, crossing over to my side of the A140 in a different place. How a 3 vehicle accident happens in a 30mph limit is a puzzle.

Yippee do, series 20 of ' Strictly' has started - who knew I would ever say that! But it certainly cheers up an evening when you are on your own and you imagine everyone else is out having fun, partying or at the pub! The launch show was last night after it was delayed a week and the first live show tonight.....another sign of Autumn with Winter on the way.

Back Soon

Sue

Saturday 11th June

I was in two minds about going to Bacton WI on Monday evening because the speaker was the lady who came to talk to Over 60's in my village a few months ago. She's an Ipswich Tour Guide and showed slides of the buildings around Ipswich and their history. 

 But I'm glad I went because this talk was completely different. At the Over 60's she did Ipswich buildings then and now and on Monday it was all about the people from history who had had a hand in shaping Ipswich and where they had lived. Ipswich and it's port were very important for the export of wool back in the 15th and 16th Centuries and many wealthy people had homes built there. Coincidentally one of the people she mentioned had somehow come into possession of some of the Bury St Edmunds Abbey manuscripts after the dissolution, that later went to Pembroke College Cambridge and she asked had anyone been to see them on loan to the Cathedral - and I was the only person who knew what she was taking about.

 At last, at last, I finally got back to swimming. After moving it seemed a long way even though it was only about 3 or 4 miles further and the  lane swimming times were a bit odd  but with the schools not using the pool this term there were a few more opportunities to go. Luckily I'd not forgotten how to swim but blimey it was hard work! Now I need to go regularly for a while to help me feel a bit fitter.

I'm ready for entering some things in the produce show now after picking up the schedule that was in his Parish Magazine from Brother-in-Law

 

Just need my tomatoes, cucumbers and courgettes to grow and be ready at the right moment. There's baking to enter too and perhaps photographs.

This week I have been grateful for

• Some sunshine to enjoy
• The first few strawberries from my tubs
  

 

Flowers on the shelves this week are some of the smaller side flowering shoots from the huge Foxglove right by the shed door.

Oddest thing seen this week - (because I was standing in the queue behind her waiting to get my £1 car park fee back because I'd forgotten to hand the ticket in at the checkout - Asda Stowmarket don't own the car park) was a very elderly lady buying £35 of lottery tickets ......£35 !! good grief. What would I do with a spare £35? NOT lottery tickets for sure! (although someone will be sure to remind me about how much lottery money goes to "good causes"!)

Hope you all have a Super- Dupa weekend .

Back Monday

Sue

 

 

 

First Saturday in June

 So much for my new home resolution of buying myself a bunch of flowers more regularly......I didn't remember for the first 3 weeks but finally.............

Flowers on the table this week. Tulips from the Co-op and some bits of fresh Viburnum growth from the garden.

 In the day between finishing reading two of my own books and the library van coming round I started to have a proper look at this.............a book I bought in February

It's full of ideas for making all-sorts including something that looked interesting (being a new dishwasher owner).....dishwasher detergent tabs.

The ingredients are washing soda, baking soda, citric acid, kosher salt (had to look this up as the book is from the US - I think it's what we call cooking salt) few drops of an essential oil and water, mixed and dried in a silicon mold/mould.  Plus then adding white vinegar as a rinse aid. I'm interested to know if anyone has ever made these tablets or if any of the ingredients listed would be damaging to a dishwasher - I presume not as the author of the book uses these and would white vinegar really work as a rinse aid?

 I bought Ecover dishwasher tablets but although ecologically sound each one is wrapped separately in a little bit of non-recyclable wrapping that has to go in the bin.

Brother-in-Law Andrew brought round the wood that he had weather proofed and cut to the right lengths for my vegetable beds. 

 They are going to look very good when eventually the beds are made, although I'm not exactly sure how I shall make these without hiring a turf remover and someone to use it as I don't think the plan of putting down cardboard and covering with compost/soil will work because of the heavy clay soil here.

Another garden job was to get  rid of the nasty looking, slightly poisonous shrub (the one with the flowers like those on a potato). I cut back as much as possible to add to the garden waste bin and then while he was here got BiL to dig out the main part and take it away to burn. It's left more room for the two rhubarb plants to get going and perhaps a space for a Gooseberry bush................ much more useful

Despite it being half term holiday there were some lane swimming sessions available so I booked for lunchtime Friday and it was surprisingly quiet -  a good half hour swimming, that was enough as it was two weeks since my last swim.

 

This week I have been grateful for

• Seeing the oldest grandchildren playing together
  
• Enjoying the  sunshine all week
  
• and also the tennis on TV
• Nice quiet swim
• Lovely collection of library books
  

Hope you all have a good weekend, I shall be back Monday.

Sue

This, That and The Ogham Alphabet

 E.ON who are my electricity supplier have decided they are moving everything online - perhaps to persuade more people to have the smart meter. It says I MUST register and set up an online account or I won't be able to see my bill. I'm pondering what will happen if I do nothing and don't see my bill - ha! wont be able to pay it then will I? How long would they let things go before cutting me off?  

I'm selfishly very happy with the way the swimming pool is having to operate at the moment with virus restrictions. There are many more opportunities to swim than before and so few people swimming. I went early afternoon on Saturday and had half the pool to myself, a lovely quiet swim.(Although they are now changing this session to a family one so I won't be able to go at the same time). The only down was on the way home when a stone flew up and chipped the windscreen. Bother!

Saturday afternoon and the first fire of the season and it was much needed too.

Last month I forgot to do a post about the tree that represented the 9th Lunar month in the Ogham Tree Alphabet. (It was Hazel) and nearly missed this one too.

For the 10th Lunar month, the 'tree' is a Bramble representing the letter  M -  perhaps to the Celtic Druids 2,000 years ago there was no difference in language between trees and bushes, and brambles left to themselves soon turn into a thicket.

Above and Below....The illustrations from the Ogham Sketch Book  by Karen Cater

 

This Bramble below is one of my own - newly grown - not on purpose - at the top of the ditch on the meadow. 

 

 

I haven't picked any blackberries this year  - they are not my favourite things - I'd rather have an apple crumble without the seeds, prefer strawberry jam to blackberry and have plenty of other fruit in the freezer. So the birds will benefit. 

Guess what I'll be watching on TV this week?....................Tennis! French open on ITV4 all week. Good News Indeed.

 

Going back to my Friday Library Book Photo and all the interesting comments - here are some replies.

Unknown.....................I like sharing ideas for reading and collecting ideas from other bloggers 

Rachel..................I think it was you or Pat Weaver who mentioned the Jan Morris book. I had just started work in the library when he became her and remember the fuss about the new book at the time and change of name 

 Ang.....................The Little Library Year is more recipes than books - disappointing (for me anyway) 

 Sharon...................I'm glad you enjoy the library photo  

Pat..........................Fewer books on shelves now! 

Mazda...................Hope you get your proper library service back   

Sooze...................Hope you reading mojo soon returns

Later this week there will be photos of men up poles! Our electric in the area will be off while they switch us all to a generator for the week as lots of upgrading of poles and wires is happening. Including the pole right outside my gateway.

 

Back Tomorrow

Sue

Saturday Once More

Notes from the week....................

Wanted.......... someone with a strong boot to dig out 4 dead-ish rose bushes. They were here when I came and despite regular dead-heading are now more dead than alive. Either they are bushes that  should have been cut right back or they've just come to the end of their natural life. I don't really know much about roses, not something I ever choose to grow in any of the 7 homes so have only inherited them in various gardens. But as it's a dedicated rose garden, edged with bricks and has obviously been there a long time it would be nice to add some new bushes after I've remove the old, dug over the rock hard bed and added some soil improver. Just have no idea how to get the darn things out - might have to wait for a big down pour and a strong man!

It's sad when some things change..............it's nothing serious, just my next door but one neighbours putting their beautiful home up for sale, they are such a lovely young couple, Suffolk people who've lived there since they built it mostly themselves 6 years ago on the site of an old cottage.
Who will afford it - it's very expensive but costs nothing to run as it has every energy saving feature you can think of.  I will miss them and their two daughters. It means I'll have lived up the lane longer than everyone else yet I've only been here 3½ years.

Here's another change......... making me feel old................my eldest grandson down in Surrey has started school as he'll be 5 next May. Eldest daughter sent me a lovely photo of him looking so grown up in his uniform,which I'll be able to print out and pop in my 4 space photo frame.

On Thursday it was the regular every-three-years Boob Squashing! Just a quick trip up to Eye and the mobile unit. Thank goodness for this service, I shall await the results and hope all is OK. Still don't understand people who refuse to go for this easy check up. Although there is one thing I was invited for this week............ my first flu-jab -  that I'm not sure about having it at all. I've heard some folk get a bad reaction and other people don't and as I spend very little time mixing with people other than family indoors and even less this winter plus we'll all be wearing masks when out, maybe it's better to avoid the jab.

These are the last of the aubergines, less than egg sized egg-plants!. Too late now for them to get much bigger so I brought them all in, even the ones no bigger than a large grape and turned them into a batch of aubergine, pepper, tomato and onion sauce for pasta. Nothing going to waste here.

 

 

 Clearing stuff out.

The last mention of clearing things out was at the end of February before everything came to a standstill. But now I can get started again. So....................

•  5 Jigsaw puzzles have gone to my sister ( I decided I'd rather read or write than do a jigsaw - I really only like them when they are finished!)
• A large cardboard box full of old wrapping paper and bubble wrap that's been stood in the corner of the garage for 3 years has been sorted and chucked or kept for sending parcels.
• Bag of books to charity shop
• 2 Bookcases are on their way to Son and DiL when they can fetch them

 This week I'm grateful for...........

1.  The Lifeguard at the pool seeing sense last Monday - when there were only two of us in half the pool she wanted us to go round and round - we objected and told her that all the other lifeguards let people swim up and down if there were only 2 people swimming. She had to radio the"boss" who agreed with us two ladies in the pool! It's much easier to swim up and down than to try and swim round corners. Of course if more than 2 people then we do have to follow pool lane-protocol. 
2. No hills in Suffolk like the men cycling in the Tour De France have to cope with!
   

Lovely weather forecast for the next few days - a burst of summer to cheer us in September.

Hope everyone has a good weekend

Back Monday

Sue

Saturday Was Exciting After All

Swimming!

Swimming costume and towel on the line for the first time for 5½ month.

After checking the website all week, at last on Saturday morning the booking schedule for the little pool I swim at was online.

I booked quickly - Slow Lane - 1.30pm. I went, swam and it was brilliant to be back. Because it was the first day there were just 2 people in the slow lane (which is actually half the pool- it's a small pool and only has 4 lanes). After 25 minutes I thought that was probably enough for the first swim since 2nd March( I stopped going before Covid because the changing rooms were closed for refurbishment).

On my way out I booked a morning swim for during the week.............two things in the diary next week ...........swim and library van..........another first since March.

Back Tomorrow
Sue

This Week and This Month........................

THIS WEEK....................3 Firsts

1. First seeds sown at last. I plugged the propagator  in to check it still worked and it did, so that's set up in the conservatory with aubergine, peppers, tomatoes, cucumber, basil and parsley.
2. First rhubarb pulled and cooked............... lovely.

 

3.First daffodils brought in from the garden

On Tuesday I met Rachel-from-Norfolk for coffee in Morrisons and succumbed to a jam doughnut (deliciously light and fluffy) so just had fruit for my lunch later. It's donkeys years since I counted calories and stuck to a diet  as I've been the same amount of over-weight-ness for about 10 years. Not sure I'm good at it losing weight anymore, I like my food too much but as I've signed up for the Free 12 week course I'd better at least make an effort. (Promise not to bore you with all the details of diet and food!)
 Although I might mention the course. The girl running the course (young and slender!) said she doesn't tell everyone the weekly subjects as she doesn't want people to cherry pick which sessions they attend but as I have the leaflet given out by the OneLife Suffolk speaker at WI last year and they are listed online I know what they are - but will try to get there every week if I can.

Week 1 was Welcome to OneLife Suffolk  - why are you here? what do they do
Week 2, yesterday, was How to lose weight......(no need to tell me = Eat less/different + Move more!)
After the 12 weeks there are monthly maintenance sessions for one year.............if the course continues as there were 9 people on the first week and only 5 in week two.

I was quite surprised Wednesday evening when BBC Look East news said that the doctors surgery in Bacton (Big WI village and the other half of the doctors practice where I go) had closed for deep cleaning after someone went to the surgery after coming back from somewhere where the virus has been found .........despite all the instructions to stay at home and ring up.  I've not heard any more about what happened next.

Wet snow Thursday, it didn't lay and just added to the amount of water. The septic tank was pumped out but clean water from the high water table just ran straight back in from the soak-aways - Big problem. Shall I have to spend about £8,000 on a proper sewer treatment thing?
Electric went off  on Thursday again. I dialed the UK Power networks number which recognised my phone and knew my postcode and told me they were aware of the problem in the area and engineers were on the way. I'm quite happy with this sort of big brother technology - very useful. It was only off for an hour so no hassle.


This week I'm grateful for .........

• Living in Suffolk
• A quiet swimming pool
• A few hours of sunshine
• Seeds  sown

THIS MONTH................
 
Was February Frugal?...........................No, of course not!

Spending in February started straight away with an unexpected expense of a new tyre for the car. I noticed a small bulge in the tyre, so ran the car round to my friends at the repair workshops and asked if I should be worried about it. Yes, slightly, was the answer and they ordered a new tyre and fitted it later the same day. Tom the boss said I'd probably gone hard into a pothole...........there are certainly plenty of them about. On the little back road between home and Eye there was a pothole so deep that it had a traffic cone stood in it and you could only see the top half of the cone! - thankfully it's been filled in now but there are plenty more.

The biggest but predicted expense was the house insurance. For some reason Saga wanted £80 more than last year, when I rang them the bloke said it had already been queried as an unexpected price rise but had come back the same. So I said I'd swap to a local broker who were offering a £50 shopping voucher for new insurances. Their price was only £5 more than I paid with Saga last year - plus the voucher (which I've not had yet, although she did say it would take a few  weeks and it's not been two weeks yet).

All the usual spending............. food for me and the cat, diesel for the car, direct debits for the phones/broadband and charity.  My 20 swim ticket needed renewing - a bargain at £37. There was the follow up loo-roll delivery from 'The Who Gives a Crap' company. (I've delayed the next delivery of 48 until December).
Also purchased were my seed potatoes and compost, a new peanut feeder for the birds, gifts and all the usual bits and pieces for keeping a house and home going. Then the sewer pump out added £99 to the Out column right at the end of the month


 Thrifty bits

• The half year water bill arrived  and was £6 less than same time last year.
• A charity shop coat for £3
• Bulk purchase tub of  Bicarb for cleaning
• New bra reduced by £3 in a closing down sale
• A few leeks from the garden
• Still making bread
• Still catching the cold water before it gets hot enough for washing up to use elsewhere
• Free 12 week weight-loss management course 
• First rhubarb from the garden
• Picking the right days to do the washing and hang it out - only used tumble dryer once

Still Clearing out..............
Old coat to clothes bank
Few more bits of craft stuff to charity shop
Few tea-cloths  to Youngest Daughter.

In March there is an electric bill due, car MOT and of course council tax.

Well done if you've read right through this rather wordy post! And welcome to new followers who've boosted my numbers this week.

Have a good weekend
I'll be back Monday
Sue

The First Week of February Was a Bit Different

Are Camellias usually in flower in Suffolk in the first week of February?
The flowers are slightly pinker than they look on the photo and never seem to last long before turning brown and falling off.

It's tucked in a corner between garage wall and fence but I was still surprised to see flowers. It's only my second spring with a Camellia and I can't remember when it flowered last year.

The swimming pool was open again after their 3 weeks shut due to the power surge. So it was good to get back in. My knee is still a bit painful doing breast stroke legs and I mentioned it to Clare the physio lady when I went for the follow-up. I'm signed off now but with it all being self referral and free I can go back anytime.

Willow was here one night and some days while Son and DiL were at hospital having Arthur. It's a joy to spend time with her as she's a happy and easy going little girl but Oh My! I'm left completely shattered afterwards.

How did Colin's Mum manage when she looked after Eldest daughter (aged 17 months) for several days when I produced son?..............6 days in hospital was the norm back then and Colin had to be at work .
Thinking about it..................she was only in her late 40's, she had Col's Dad and Brother in the house some of the time too and she was a natural born Nanna..... which I'm sure I'm not!
Oh how we all miss Colin.


This week I am grateful for

• Safe arrival of a new grandson.
• Precious time with youngest granddaughter
• Back to swimming

Hope you all have a lovely weekend.
I think everyone knows about the windy weather due on  Sunday, so stay safe. I plan to actually get around to reading and commenting on blogs while staying safe indoors - unless the gales take the electric off again!

Back Monday
Sue

The First Week

My first week of a new year......................

 It's been an enforced quiet start to the year at  the end of a Suffolk lane. December was spent dashing about here there and everywhere so it was nice to be peaceful with no rushing for a few days, although  I would have preferred not to have had the nasty head cold,which seemed to take away every ounce of energy I had left after getting wood in, laying the fire and keeping it lit, feeding the cat, and getting myself a constant supply of hot drinks and some food.......The problem of being alone is no one to make you a cuppa.

The charity shop had been shut for a couple of weeks and I volunteered to go in for the morning of  the 2nd, the first day open in the New Year. Hadn't got a lot of ooomph for going up and down stairs so  stayed on the till while the manager cleared the windows of the Christmas stuff .

On Thursday, finally the cold had gone and I used onions, 2 cans of plum tomatoes, dried basil and a squirt of tomato puree to make some Pizza topping, used 1 portion for dinner and put 3 boxes in the freezer, then used the juice from the tinned tomatoes plus more onions, grated carrots and chopped celery to make some soup. Can't remember when I last made soup because I went right off it last winter, but it made enough for 3 lunches.

Then after just one day of feeling completely well again I  spent a nasty and painful 24 hours with a stomach bug of some sort - heavens knows where that came from - surely too many days had passed to have got it from family on Christmas day, although they did have something similar after Christmas. I don't like the fact that after so many years of hardly ever being ill I get two things in a week, is it an age thing or the result of being out and about more to meet more germs? or more likely just bad luck.

Although the bug had gone on Saturday I felt rather washed out so it was another days rest ......at least some library books have been read (Books Read 2019 page has been started. I read 108 in 2018!) and the seed order sent off.

Looking at Sue's Challenging Myself Blog, I feel extreme guilt as some leftover food that I would normally have eaten or turned into something else and frozen just got put out into the compost or rubbish bin. There was just no wish or energy to eat it or sort it.

On Sunday, (feeling 98% well rather than the 50% of Saturday) I ventured out to visit Son, DIL and Willow for lunch. Their Uncle was there cutting down and clearing some tree stumps and stuff cut down last year from their garden so they were cooking him a roast as a thank you. Good to have lots of chat and lap time with Willow....now mastering the art of waving as well as clapping! I asked the family if they had been given any strange Christmas presents but no one had had as many as me................the strong smelling shower and bath stuff that I can't use, the book from someone else's Amazon wish list and a book called "The Almost Perfect Christmas" for the year of my first Christmas without Colin........I will read it but maybe next Christmas.

Yesterday and back to swimming. The pool was nice and quiet which makes it easier to plough up and down and I managed 32 x 20 metre lengths with just  3 x one minute pauses. 32 x 25 metres  non-stop is what I used to do way back in the early 1990's, when I was much younger and a stone lighter so if I can just do a few more lengths I will be very pleased.

And Finally ...............How did I forgot to put this Christmas present photo on the blog? A pressie from Willow's Mummy and Daddy.
Already,  just a few months after these photos were taken, the grandchildren all  look so different.

Son and Willow. Me, Florence and Willow from last November and from a few months earlier last year Jacob and Willow.

I do hope you don't think this is a post looking for sympathy for being unwell! it isn't and I realise I  sound  ungrateful for Christmas gifts.....it's another case of hating waste - even if it some other persons money.

Back soon
Sue

Frugal in Suffolk, Low Spend November, Strictly Come Dancing, Swimming and........

.................I didn't get a speeding ticket (twice)...... Phew

Long post - no photos - Sorry!

 5½ years ago I started a blog called "Frugal in Suffolk", I called it that because there was Frugal in Norfolk, Frugal in Derbyshire and some other Frugals too.  It morphed into The Quiet Life in Suffolk and The Cottage at the End of the Lane.

Things are very, very different now, but underneath I'm still Frugal Sue.
There have been big expenses since we moved here and there is still half the kitchen costs, the new hot water tank and the water pipes up the lane to be paid for but I'm keen to get back to frugal roots, so I'm going to start doing frugal notes again, I want to carry on being frugal in some areas so that I can spend in others!

Belated Frugal notes for October

Enough apples, pears and autumn raspberries from the garden to have two servings everyday all month until the 25th.

Eating beetroot from the garden every day

Strained the cider vinegar and it looks and tastes like ..............cider vinegar!

Still mixing milk half and half with water.

Made birthday cards from stash.

Found some small gifts for Christmas presents from car boot sales and a Christmas gift for Willow

Collected more secondhand books for Grandchildren's advent parcels

Used paint I already had to do the downstairs bathroom

£18 worth of books sent off to Ziffit

Repaired greenhouse staging at no cost

Made chutney with home grown tomatoes and peppers.

Used home grown apples and some of the home made vinegar for  Cranberry and Apple Chutney for Christmas Hamper.

Low Spend November ( Ha Ha Ha )
 For the last few years I've always tried to spend as little as possible in November except for fuel, food, cat food and Christmas things. It's a really good month for me to do this as there are no utility bills due. I can't do a spend nothing challenge because leaving Christmas present buying until December would make me start to panic! I'll be keeping a close check on money going out, so I can spend on some special treats without guilt in December................ Good Plan Me Thinks! (all due to me  having a strange yearning for a snow globe!)

So Far - after 9 days.............nearly one third of the month...................

Cat Food  £11
6 Boxes of Choc Biscuits for Xmas presents (on offer at Tesco) £15
5 Boxes of Bicuits-for-cheese for presents £10
Other Christmas stuff £2.50
Food £14.73
Other inc. birthday present  for Youngest, car park, charity and other Direct Debits+ bathroom stuff £71
Diesel £30 for one car

BUT then I blew the budget by treating Son, DIL and DIL's sister to the firework display last Sunday (£16 )and starting volunteering at a charity shop where I found all the  useful things.(£4.80)

AND I had to get the fog light glass repaired on the car after discovering it had mysteriously got broken - another £42

ALSO  I'll be getting the BIG bill for the new hot water tank. The work was done over the last two days and I can now fill the washing up bowl with hot water in record time and I also have an immersion heater (which never worked) as well as the Solar Thermal panels on the roof and the oil boiler. However (there's always a hitch) when the heating man got everything running he found that because of the strange configuration of pipes in the boiler cupboard he now had valves on the wrong pipes so he is coming back Tuesday and will have to drain everything all over again. He was ever so cross with himself for not noticing - I was just resigned- there's so many odd things here.

Maybe I won't be doing low spend November after all! Doesn't look too hopeful does it?

Strictly Come Dancing
I'm loving Strictly Come Dancing this year, not because it's any better than other years although the chance to see completely new dances is fun, but because it nicely fills the empty hours of dark Saturday and Sunday nights. And I've enjoyed finding out about people I knew nothing about - like Stacey - who doesn't sound at all like someone who's travelled to war zones around the world and met some frightening and some interesting people but she really has.

Swimming
Haven't mentioned it lately but I'm still swimming once a week at an over 50s session. First time I went in May I struggled to do 4 x 20 metres, now I can do 20 x 20 metres with only a couple of pauses. Problem is that the pool is getting busier, it's only a small pool so it's difficult to swim without having to avoid people all the time.I've got 4 swims left on my 20 swim discount ticket.
then I'll get a new one as it's such a good saving.

No Speeding Ticket
Weeks ago I said there was one of the speed check camera vans in a village on the way home from swimming and I might have been going 34mph in a 30 zone. Well no letter arrived. Then Blow Me Down, a couple of weeks later there was the van just  a couple of miles from home in a 30mph zone on a quiet back road - never seen one there before - must have been so boring for the person behind the camera  as it's a Very quiet village road, (12 houses and a field!) I was only just over 30 mph, I'd slowed down as someone was pulling out of their driveway ahead - but you never know. No letter again. I'm being more careful close to home now too!


Back Tomorrow
Sue

Getting Into The Swim

Thank you to everyone for lovely comments about the funeral post. Some made me cry but in a good way.  I had a very down day on the day after, and it didn't help that the weather was really cold and wet but have climbed back on the surviving road now.


About 3 months ago I said to Col that I really wanted to get back to swimming........... I prefer swimming to any other sort of exercise. There is a pool 11 miles away but I'd never driven there and had only been to the pool once and that was about 30 years ago...................and I hadn't been swimming at all for about 15 years maybe even more.
Colin said we would go that way sometime so I could see where it was. But we didn't get there.

So I put on my grown-up head and drove cross country to their 50+ swimming session. Filled in a form for an active fitness card which takes £1 off each swim so only £2.10 a time. The lady showed me where everything was and I found I hadn't forgotten how to swim!

Might take me a while to get back to doing the half mile I used to do in Leiston pool way back in the late '90s but at least I've got started again.

I loved the comment by Lisa R on the last post I did when she said I might be able to fit in a new hobby between gardening, baking, reading, car-booting, grandchildren cuddling, sports watching and blogging. Now I can add swimming to the list because I'm determined to keep going.

 Back Soon
Sue