Monday, 2 December 2024

Me on Monday

I have a nice day to myself today and I guess I really ought to spend the hours wisely!  

First off I think I will write the Christmas cards which need to go in the post.  I don't know what the situation regarding Post Offices is like where you live but in my town it is not always good.  They shut our main post office and instead we now have a post office counter in several small, local grocery stores.  It sounds like a good idea to help those who don't live close to the town but in reality it doesn't really work.  There is always a long queue in the shop closest to me, only one person at the counter serving and if that person is ill, at lunch or having a mid morning break the counter has to close.  

So it was with trepidation that I headed towards another shop to buy my Christmas stamps, post a couple of overseas bits and send off the parcel of premature baby hats to the Ambulance Charity.  Imagine my delight to find that there were two people working at the counter and only two people ahead of me in the queue.  I practically danced out the shop - it felt like a big win!

Our next knit and natter project is to make 15cm squares to be put together to make lap blankets for the palliative end of life ward at our local hospital.  Whilst I thoroughly enjoy doing crochet for myself and family, it is nice to think that we are doing something that will add a little comfort to someone in need. So I think I will spend a little time this afternoon making one of those to add to the collection.

How is your Christmas shopping going?  I definitely don't have everything yet but I do have ideas of what I will be getting people which is the first step!  Let's just say that some people in our family are easier to buy for than others

We don't have our decorations up yet; that is a job for next weekend.  Traditionally we put the tree up on the weekend before Paul's birthday although we may have to bring that forward a day as he has some paintings in an exhibition on Saturday so needs to be there and then on Sunday it is my Zumba Christmas Masquerade Ball.  I probably ought to try on the outfit I am planning to wear!  Here's a sneak peak of part of it ...




Friday, 29 November 2024

#WBOYC - November

 The end of the year is hurtling towards us - it's time for another WBOYC


Oh my goodness, another month has bitten the dust - let's see how it unfolded

N

Nattering and knitting - I'm still enjoying being part of the Knit and Natter group that meets on a Friday and we have had a special project on the go this month - see below!

O

Olive had her birthday party which had a Frozen theme.  They hired out a small hall near their house which was a great idea as it is amazing how noisy a group of three year olds can get.


V

Volunteering to make teeny, tiny hats for premature babies.  Our local ambulance service put out a call for them as apparently they like to keep a supply of them in their vehicles for when they are called out on an emergency call that involves premature babies. They are so tiny,  and a bit fiddly to make but in the space of about 10 days, our Knit and Natter group made 75, not bad for a group of six knitters!



E

Entertaining - it was our turn to host an Indian takeaway evening with three other couples.  We all used to live in the same street and still get together about twice a year.  

M

Meals out.  Oh my waistline is going to pay for this!  Four meals out so I need to eat super healthily at home to compensate.

B

Birthdays - Rosie turned six and she was so excited about it!  Her present wish list included Sylvanian Family playsets.  Her mum absolutely loved those when she was that age - 32 years ago - it feels like deja vu! 

E

Extra early/late birthday celebrations. We went out for a meal with friends and at the end they brought out a small chocolate dessert with a candle and sang happy birthday to me. My birthday is in March! I did try to explain that to the waiter but he insisted I ate it 😊 The lady at the next table to us, who was celebrating her birthday, was very amused! She did get her birthday dessert after her friends spoke to the waiter!


R

Rosie really did have a birthday. Six years old! Maybe I should have taken the dessert home for her 😆


So that was my month, and here it is 1 Second Every day



Please pop over to the other Deb and see how much she has crammed into her month. She certainly fits a lot more than me into her months!



Monday, 25 November 2024

What I’ve been reading in November

 My daughter lent me two books she had been given this month so neither were ones I picked off the shelf myself.


This book was apparently made into a film with Julia Robert’s in the main role. Amanda and Clay rent a beautiful Airbnb home in a remote area of Long Island. Their family are having a wonderful holiday enjoying the luxurious house when one evening an older couple arrive saying that they are the owners of the house. They have driven in a panic following a major power cut at their other home in New York. They ask to be let in to shelter in the guest annexe until power is restored in their apartment.

Amanda is dubious but they don’t see how they can refuse. The following morning Clay ventures out and gets horribly disoriented and finds himself lost despite feeling that he hasn’t actually travelled far.  Their children have gone exploring in the woods, following some deer which appeared around the trees.

That is all I can tell you as I was not enjoying the storyline and decided to stop reading. I had a feeling that something supernatural was behind the mystery and I didn’t like the style of writing.

I then turned to the other novel, 



Stella and her family grew up on the tiny island called Evergreen and lived there until Stella was 11 when her parents suddenly decided to return to the mainland without ever giving a reason why.The book alternates between 1993, when they were still living there and present day where the discovery of a body has been found close to the garden of Stella’s family’s house.

Stella cannot resist returning to the island to discover whose body it is although she is not warmly welcomed back by the locals. She finds out that the victim was someone who was friendly with her elder sister and is horrified when her brother confesses to the murder. Stella does not believe him and is determined to find out the truth. However, it is obvious that someone does not want her digging up the past.

I enjoyed this book, the storyline was unexpected and it is interesting to see the other characters through the eyes of Stella as a child compared with Stella as an adult.

Monday, 18 November 2024

Me on monday

 Please do not judge me but I have a confession to make. 

I started watching Christmas films on Netflix this week. 

I know, it’s too early, it’s not even December yet. But I was home alone, the weather was drab and I wanted someone on in the background while I knitted. These films are always a bit predictable and always have a happy ending but there’s something quite comforting about them.

We had three other couples over for an Indian takeaway meal on Saturday which means that my whole house is tidy and cleaned and I have no housework needed at all (for a few days anyway!) so I am planning to go shopping somewhere today to buy some Christmas cards and a couple of little surprise gifts for Paul’s birthday.

There are a few social events on the calendar this week. Paul’s meeting a friend today, we are both going to lunch with three other friends on Tuesday, I’m meeting up with my ex work colleagues on Thursday then we are out for a meal with friends on Friday. I may need to increase my exercise levels after all that eating out!

It’s Rosie’s birthday on Thursday - six years old. Six going on sixteen 😆 Rachel has organised a couple of surprises for her which I think she's going to love. It's so lovely to see such excitement.

The weather is set to turn colder here this week and I have my newly made hat ready and waiting.  How's it looking where you are?  It's really going to feel like November here as the week goes on. Have a good week x


Monday, 11 November 2024

Me on Monday

 It is a gloriously sunny warm autumnal day here this Monday. The kind of day that makes you feel energised and ready to keep busy! I took this photo yesterday while on our dog walk and we all enjoyed the crunching of the leaves underfoot and the enjoyment of scattering the crunchy carpet beneath the trees in the misunderstanding that one of us could run up a tree to catch a squirrel. Guess who that was 🤔


So a busy, productive morning so far with the weekly shop done, garden tidy ups in progress, a warming soup made out of the left over half a butternut squash from Sunday lunch yesterday, and batch cooking a ragu to put three meals in the freezer. All that before 1pm! 

Can you answer a question for me? I have a voucher for extra loyalty card points next time I buy petrol.


Use instore only. How on earth could I buy a tankful of petrol online? 😆

Monday, 4 November 2024

Me on Monday

 Well that was a quieter weekend than the previous one!

I met up with a friend on Thursday and she asked me how I filled my days now I'm retired.  It sounded a bit glib to say that the days just seemed to get filled up but that's the truth.  

The last month has somehow managed to include a flu vaccination, an annual doctor's check up, a blood test, another appointment to discuss the blood test results (I'm now on statins!) a Covid vaccination, and a dentist appointment.  Then there were passport photos to be taken, applications to renew my passport uploaded, old passports returned and staying in for the delivery of the new one.  Applied on Tuesday and they were here by Saturday! What a great service. 

Let’s not forget the big birthday party on Saturday 



Having the decorator here was the impetus we needed to do some serious decluttering and two plastic bags of clothes and three boxes of old toys, wine glasses and books are currently on their way to a charity shop.  Let's not forget the various hours of childcare, dog walks, coffee with friends, Zumba classes and Friday meet ups with the 'Knit and Natter' ladies.  So although I don't always have a lot to show for my days, I do keep busy!

I think that we have earned a day out and so we went to Cambridge today.  Paul has a December birthday so I like to get his presents sorted early so that I haven't reached gift buying fatigue by his big day.  The trouble is that we are all guilty of buying things we want, then and there, rather than waiting for birthdays but he has a few hobbies and can usually be relied on to come up with a list of ideas.  

So let me share a little of the kind of architecture you see in this beautiful city


Followed by a taste of Sicily from our favourite place for lunch - buon appetito! 


Have a good week!


Thursday, 31 October 2024

#WBOYC

 


The end of the year is speeding towards us, let’s see how October panned out as I join in with Australian Deb for What’s Been On Your Calendar

O

Olive had a birthday! She’s been bringing happiness to our family for three years now.  Presents were very much themed around Bluey and Frozen.

C

Christmas plans have been made! My son is hosting the celebrations this year. It is lovely to be the guests rather than the hosts nowadays.

Covid and flu vaccinations - trying to do all we can to keep safe this winter.

T

Tidying up the house. In an effort to speed up the decorating we decided to pay someone to come in and do it for us. Money well spent!  There has been a lot of decluttering and visits to the charity shops to donate things we really don't need to hold onto anymore.

O

Olive and I went to see The Tiger Who Came to Tea at our local theatre. She really enjoyed it.  It was a really good performance, sticking to the original book very authentically.

B

Bidding farewell to one of our Zumba teachers.  Her husband's job move means that her family are moving to Dubai.  A great opportunity for them and the start of an exciting new chapter.  We will miss her, she made classes so much fun but I know we will equally enjoy the return of our previous teacher.  The one who went to South America for six months at the end of last year - do we see a pattern emerging?

E

Entertaining, we had several groups of people over for various meals, but I need to learn to spread it out over the month rather than all in one week.  Three different meals in the space of six days was quite tiring!

R

Renewed our passports and found that the instructions for getting a suitable photo do not give the most flattering picture! I don’t think I ever go through passport control without a smile and not wearing my glasses 😆

Really thrilled to see the Northern Lights in the sky - so very pretty. I'm so pleased we got to see them.



So that was October - fancy seeing a 1 Second Everyday compilation?  Here it is!



See you next month!

Sunday, 27 October 2024

What I've been reading in October

 I've definitely slowed down with my reading since the summer - my only book this month was Swimming To Lundy by Amanda Prowse.  This was one of the choices from the online book club run by Leslie.



The main character in this book is Tawrie Gunn who is feeling that life is passing her by.  Still living in the same house in the same seaside town where she was born but tethered to the family home following the tragedy of her father being lost at sea when she was small.  Her mother's grief has resulted in her becoming an alcoholic and Tawrie feels that she has to stay home to help her grandmother to look after her.

As time moves on she feels that there has to be more to life than working in her cousin's cafe, and Tawrie dreams of training to becoming a nurse and then midwife which would be more fulfilling.  Feeling desperate for some kind of change, no matter how small, Tawrie joins the Peacock Swimmers who take a daily swim in the sea.  Unbeknown to Tawrie, there are only two other swimmers but nonetheless she joins the group, swimming in the sea which separates the coastline from Lundy Island which is where her dad drowned.  Being in that area of sea makes Tawrie feel closer to her dad and she finds comfort in talking to him whilst in the water which took his life.

An unexpected encounter with a man named Ed who is visiting the area leads to romance.  Little does Tawrie know that this was not the first time that they met and they aren't the strangers she thought they were.  Furthermore, Ed has a past which he is not in a hurry to reveal.

This is a book which is a bit of a slow burner!  I did enjoy it but it seemed to take a long time to come together.  I felt that Tawrie really needed to have a bit more 'get up and go' but it was clever how the stories of Tawrie and Harriet are intertwined and I enjoyed the description of the location of the story which brought back happy memories of holidays on that part of the English coastline.  If you are looking for an easy read this is a good book to try!

Monday, 21 October 2024

Me on Monday

 Monday finds us in decorating mode again, lounge and dining room this time.  It looks so empty down there with all the picture off the walls and books and glasses out of the display unit.  It's also a time of not knowing where to go or what to do in your own home!  

I'm happy to report that my theatre trip with Olive was a great success.  The actors followed the book word for word and the costumes and set were exactly the same as in the book.  Olive particularly liked the part where the Tiger ate all the food and then danced around the kitchen!  

Rosie and I completed the crystal picture that we’ve been working on, I think I enjoyed it as much as she did! It’s very relaxing ☺️ 



So what else does this week bring?  Well tomorrow is already causing me some anxiety as it starts with a check up at the dentist (I am as bemused as anyone else as to why I should get in a state over a ten minute examination) and ends with a doctor's appointment to discuss the results of my recent blood test. My cholesterol has been raised for the last 4 years but each time they say that my ratio of good to bad is good so I don't need statins.  I'm wondering if now that I am over 65 they may change their mind?

The end of the week see mega childcare - not to mention puppy minding!  Our son and daughter in law are going to a wedding in the Czech Republic so we have Olive and Max here - and Mario the puppy - overnight Friday.  Handing them over to Sophie's sister on Saturday for her turn of looking after them for a night but that evening we have Leo and Rosie staying over (without Daisy) while our daughter and son in law are out at a birthday party.  I predict a very tired Nanny and Grandad on Sunday!

Before we know it, it will be the end of another busy week!


Monday, 14 October 2024

Me on Monday

 I'm typing this whilst admiring the hard work of the decorator who painted our hall, landing and stairs last week.  We didn't realise how tatty the woodwork had become until he started painting over it - what we had thought of as white had actually dulled to a pale cream.  Not any more!  So we have a week's break now and then he'll return to do the lounge and dining room.  

So the big thing to happen unexpectedly last week was the Northern Lights being seen in our skies.



I honestly never thought I would see them so what a lovely surprise.

I'm pleased to report that we had no reactions to our flu vaccination other than an ache in the arm for a couple of days.  I'm relieved that we were feeling well as we unexpected had L & R sleeping over here on Wednesday night - after a day of looking after our other granddaughter, it would not have been good if I'd been feeling under par.

Other unexpected (by us) news is that our son has a new family member.  A springer spaniel who has been named Mario - yes the children were allowed to choose his name!  Boy are they going to be kept busy by that.  

So this week sees me taking Olive to the theatre.  Nothing too highbrow for her first theatre experience - The Tiger Who Came to Tea.  I'm hoping she will enjoy it!  I'll let you know how it goes next week.

As for today, I'm hoping that the rain will stop soon and it will be more pleasant walking around town picking up Olive's birthday present and card.  Have a good week!




Monday, 7 October 2024

Me on Monday

 At the grand age of 66, I’m here to tell you that time does indeed pass more quickly the older you get!

Last week went past in the blink of an eye. I think I was a bit ambitious in planning to have three different groups of people here for food and drink within the space of a week! I am socialised out 😆 It was lovely to see everyone but I seemed to spend most of my time between visits either cooking or tidying up the house.

Let me tell you how many people we have coming over this week (not counting grandchildren!) None. Zero. No one. Well we do have one person, but he is the decorator and the only catering needed is hot drink making!

So a nice relaxing week is on the cards.  I am popping into town on Wednesday with my daughter as she has to have hearing aids fitted and they suggested she brought someone along with her, I’m not sure why! She was diagnosed with Ménière’s disease last year and it has damaged her hearing and prompted the onset of tinnitus. She went for a trial appointment last week to see what type will suit her best and said the difference was amazing. 

My mask for the masquerade ball has arrived! It’ll need a few more feathers added to it but I think it will be perfect for my outfit.


Then on Friday it is Knit and Natter time again but someone else’s turn to host 😊 I have finished the little cardigan that I was making so will be handing that over to be sent to Ukraine. Time to turn my attention to the blanket I was making, now I have to hope that I can pick up where I left off! 

Have a good week!


Wednesday, 2 October 2024

Photo scavenger hunt - the final check in

 Well that’s it, summer is officially over as it’s time to publish the remaining photos! Earlier finds cane be found here and here.

All that were left were the following

4 What's on your feet


These flip flops have definitely been worn for the last time this year!

7 Favourite summer reading nook/space



11 A kitchen utensil you hardly use



I used to use this bread maker a lot, several times a week in fact but then we got out of the habit and a couple of loaves didn't come out so well and now the machine has been relegated to the utility room, unused and unloved.

13 Mark the passage of time



It's hard to see in the photo but this is the doorframe in our kitchen with pencil marks to show the heights of the grandchildren.

Aternate B in place of 15 Something you've repurposed I've chosen stamping.



I don't send so many pieces of post nowadays but like to send birthday cards.

Another fun summer of finding examples to fit the criteria - huge thanks to Ruth for hosting this year!


Monday, 30 September 2024

What I’ve been reading in September

 



I enjoyed reading this book, it was easy to read and I warmed to all the characters. After breaking up with her boyfriend Jo travels to London to look after her uncle’s stationery shop while he recovers from illness.  Intrigued by the snippets of life that her customers share with her,, she finds that she is enjoying her time there more than she expected. She expands the selection of fountain pens and enjoys collecting the short notes that her customers scribble whilst testing the pens.

An unlikely friendship evolves between Jo and two of her customers, Ruth (the Runaway Vicar) and Malcolm. They unite through their quest to help Malcolm research a book that he is writing, which results in them imagining the unlikely relationships that may spring up between the ghosts of the people buried in Highgate Cemetery.

I would recommend this book, I enjoyed the relationships that grows between the characters and looked forward to reading at least one more chapter each evening.

For the first time in a while, I have only managed to read one book this month!  I have started this one, and am enjoying it but still have a quarter to read.


If you have read any Marian Keyes books before, you will already know the Walsh family but you don't need to have read the earlier books to enjoy this story.  

Anna Walsh has returned to Dublin from America and is recovering from the car crash which killed her husband and left her scarred.  Despite living a highly successful life as a PR in the beauty industry in Manhattan she has tired of her time there and to the surprise of her family - I mean, who on earth would walk away from a job which offered so many high end cosmetic freebies - she hopes to find a new beginning back in Ireland.

With no job and no home of her own she agrees to help out her friends who are finding much local opposition to their plans to open a luxury coastal resort.  They ask her to use her PR experience to defuse the anger and vandalism being caused by the locals of the small town.  However, the other person who has been asked to assist her is an old flame, Joey Armstrong. 

There's always a lighthearted storyline behind the main situation and with Anna, it is finding herself in the middle of menopause without easy access to HRT.  Something that was freely available without question in Manhattan is surprisingly difficult to have prescribed by the Irish doctors she approaches.  Needless to say this has an effect on Anna's hormones and they way she feels she is seen as a woman in her 40s.  

Marian Keyes has such a turn of phrase, and such a down to earth humour that she manages to mix the amusing with the serious in a very clever way.  The family drama that accompanies the Walsh family is cleverly done and I'm looking forward to finishing the book to see how Anna's story concludes.

So that's it from me this Monday, I have to crack on with tidying the house and preparing food as we have friends coming for lunch in a couple of hours!

Have a good week!

Friday, 27 September 2024

#WBOYC in September

 


Once again I am joining in with the What's Been on Your Calendar theme, hosted by Deb (normally in Australia, but currently in the UK!)

S

Southwold, one of my favourite places and a lovely location for a long weekend away with Coco. 


E

Enjoying more normal routines after the six weeks school holidays - ah the bliss of four mornings to ourselves! There's still two school pick ups and a day of looking after Olive but that is much more relaxing than the holiday schedule.

P

Putting summer clothes away and returning winter outfits to the front of the wardrobe.  Also time for warmer pyjamas!

T

Thinking about what I can wear to a Masquerade party in December. Suggestions will be very welcome.  I'm thinking some wide leg silky trousers with a gold sequin top and a very fancy mask with feathers but that could all change!

E

Emptying out the freezer to defrost it ready for the Christmas goodies. Not a fun job but boy does it feel good when it is done and any suspect out of date bits have been cleared away.

M

My wedding anniversary!  Forty four years - doesn't that sound a long time? We went to Maldon for a picnic on the green there and went to friends in the evening for drinks. Our proper treat to ourselves was our long weekend in Southwold the following weekend.   

B

Blood tests done as part of our annual health check. There's always something slightly out of range that gets shown up. There’s a bit of a question mark over my cholesterol levels 😬

E

Enjoying joining in a Knit & Natter group. Through spending two or three hours in a creative atmosphere means I have finished Rachel’s jumper and started knitting a baby cardigan to send to Ukraine via a local charity drive.



R

Replacing the shower unit in our ensuite.  The existing one was 20 years old so we've had our monies worth!  It isn't until you replace old with new that we realised how discoloured the shower tray has become.

Reopening of our town park, there has been a lot of tidying up, renovation of the coffee shop, planting of wildflowers,archaeological digs, building of skate parks and extra play equipment. It’s a lovely place to visit and walk along the River Stort and it was a lovely sunny afternoon at the beginning of the month for the ‘ribbon cutting’ ceremony.



So all that is left to share is my month so far in pictures, 1 Second Everyday




Monday, 23 September 2024

Me on Monday

Slightly later with my post this week and I am typing with slightly frozen fingertips!  I found myself with a free morning and decided that now would be a good time to defrost the freezer in our kitchen.  It isn't overfull at the moment and it gave me the opportunity to clear out any slightly suspect packages that may have been in there a little too long, make room for Christmas goodies and do a stocktake of all the things I had forgotten we had put in there!  I'm feeling very virtuous 👼

Now we need to have a quick drum roll ... I have finished my daughter's jumper!  



I'm not wearing the ideal clothes to show it off but you can get the idea.  She seems very pleased with it and I did enjoy making it but I am pleased to have it off my hook. 

It was my turn to host the Knit and Natter group on Friday and one of the group is collecting hand knitted garments to send to Ukraine.  So I decided to start a baby's cardigan.  It's been a while since I did any knitting, it took a while to get back into the swing of things.  It's nice to work on something small for a change.

So this week holds a haircut, a day with Olive, two school pickups, a Zumba class and lunch out with a friend.  Before we know it the weekend will be here!

Have a good week x

Tuesday, 17 September 2024

Sunny Southwold

 I missed posting yesterday as we were travelling home from a glorious long weekend in Southwold. It’s one of our favourite places and a great place to unwind, relax and enjoy a wonderful stretch of the English coastline. Why do we like it?

Let me show you around …

There’s a quirky pier jutting out to sea

There’s some of the best chocolate and gelato shops


The town is watched over by a historic lighthouse


There’s a beautiful beach for early morning dog walks


And sand dunes 

It’s extremely dog friendly


Beach huts, I love a colourful beach hut, usually I take a picture of the front of them but this day I sneaked a photo of the roofs peeking out over the sand dunes. 

Did I mention the gelato?


And the quirky water feature on the pier, when the clock strikes the figures drop their shorts and squirt water

There’s some fascinating buildings 


And the best fish and chip shop


Just look at that intricate brick work.

Have I convinced you that you need to visit as well?  I am available for guided tours 😊

Monday, 9 September 2024

Me on Monday

 Hello! How are you this Monday morning? 

We had a busy week returning to our old routines as the grandchildren all returned to school. It was nice to have days to ourselves again, three full days of childcare for six weeks was pretty tiring! 

There was an anniversary to celebrate - 44 years! Our celebrations were pretty low key.  In the evening we went for drinks at a friend’s house, and in the day we packed up a picnic and went with Coco to a town called Maldon which is on the Blackwater estuary.  Most people living in our part of England will have heard of the sea salt which has been produced there since the 1800s.


 

This week sees us preparing for a few days away in Southwold.  We’ve stayed there a few times now as we really like it there. I can already predict fish and chip suppers, walks along the beach and a wander along the pier.

We have unexpected guests arriving very soon; friends we haven't seen in person for about 12 years.  Not totally our fault, relocation for work in Qatar put quite a spanner in the works for meeting up!  They have been spending the weekend not too far away from us and sent a text last night to ask if they could pop in on their way home to Kent.  It will be lovely to see them again, but I really ought to be giving the lounge a quick tidy before they arrive rather than writing a blog post so - bye for now!  Have a good week.



Monday, 2 September 2024

What I've been reading in August

 This was the first time in months that I have been able to get hold of the Book of the Month for our online book club hosted by Leslie.  



Nora is a writer of screen plays, the kind of thing that you find on the romance channels.  There's a formula to them, and not particularly hard to write but they are a reliable source of income.  When her husband Ben leaves the family home, she decides to write a totally different type of story and turns their unhappy experience into a script which happens to be picked up for a big screen production.  She is amazed to find out that the director wants to film some of the story on location at her house and as they are paying so well, she agrees on the proviso that they are only there for a few days.

The filming comes to an end, but Leo - the handsome actor playing Nora's ex-husband - asks to remain for longer.  Nora is reluctant but when he offers to pay her a thousand dollars a day in return for staying a week in her summer house, it is an offer she finds hard to refuse.

Her children are thrilled, Bernadette is bowled over by the thought of a handsome superstar living in their home, and Arthur is excited to have a real life actor helping him rehearse for his part in a play at school.  Seven days isn't that long to have him stay is it? 

Leo's stay becomes extended and his relationship with Nora changes, his presence in their lives grows until he is called away to audition for another film.  I can't say any more without giving away spoilers but what I can say is this - I really enjoyed this book!  I felt that I knew, and liked, the main characters and could understand the reasons why they acted the way they did.  Would I recommend it?  Yes! 

📗📘📙

I'm a great fan of the podcast 'Older and Wider' which is hosted by Jenny Eclair and Judith Holder and so I decided to try 'Moving', a book written by Jenny for my next book choice.



This is the story of Edwina, a lady in her late 70s who has made the difficult decision to move from the house where she lived with her family for many years.  The large house is much too big for her to manage on her own and she now only lives in a small portion of it.  As she shows the young estate agent around her home, each room brings back memories of the family life she is leaving behind.  We learn about her twins from her first marriage, Rowena and Charlie, and also her second husband and stepson, Lucas.  The estate agent is merely seeing the house as a potential sale property but Edwina realises that each room has it's own impact on her life.

So as we close the door on Edwina while she puts her house on the market we move onto Fern, a university student living in Manchester where she shares her house with a real mix of people, one of whom is Charlie, one of Edwina's twins.  Charlie is not quite the kind of character you would expect to be Edwina's son to be and we start to see an alternative side to Edwina's memories.

Next we meet Lucas.  Edwina's stepson who has always been the apple of his mother Barbara's eye.  He does not fit into Edwina's family in any way so it is interesting to hear his side to the stories that we have already heard.  As always, there are two sides to every story and Lucas' version of events is interesting to read.  There has been no love lost between him and Edwina, especially after being seemingly instrumental in Charlie's downfall.  

It is interesting to see how these very different people have had their lives intertwined and while I really thought I wouldn't like Lucas, I could see the reasons why he behaved as he did and towards the end of the book, it is nice to see that he has a crisis of conscience and does the right thing towards Edwina.  It will never undo what has gone before but it means that she can leave the house with a lot of loose ends tidied up.

There were parts of this book that I felt could have been made shorter, but overall I enjoyed the storyline, and there remains one little mystery twist in the final chapter where the reader will have to make their own decision as to the truth in Fern's answer!


Friday, 30 August 2024

#WBOYC in August

 

So here we are again at end of another month - linking up with Deb in Australia as she hosts another What's Been On Your Calendar? blogpost.  

A

August family celebrations this month - Jon & Sophie's wedding anniversary and Rachel and Leo's birthdays took place this month.

U

Using my 'Older Person's Bus Pass' for the first time!  The only bus service I use is the Park and Ride when we go to Cambridge and I was happy to take my pass on its inaugural journey.  Car parking in the city centre is £13.50 for up to four hours so to park for free and then get the free 10 minute bus ride to the city centre contributed generously to our lunch.  Tried a new (to us) gelato shop, Jack's Gelato, and it has overtaken Aromi to first place in our favourites list!  


G

Getting together with friends for lunch.  I love the fact that a few more of my friends have now retired so are available for leisurely lunches.  I've also joined a 'Knit and Natter' group which has been a new thing for me.  I was a bit apprehensive as I didn't know everyone there but they are a very friendly group and they made me feel very welcome.

U

Unearthing a Mary Quant style dress from the dressing up box and wearing it to a 60s and 70s night organised by my Zumba teacher. I made it for a black and white party about 25 years ago and I was pleasantly surprised to find it still fitted.

S

Strawberry and raspberry picking with Max and Olive



 
Needless to say that a fair few fruits were sampled on our way round and we definitely ended up picking more than we really needed but it was a fun way to spend a morning.

T

Theatre trip with Leo and Rosie. In the interval I was asked by one of the production team if we would mind being involved in the show.  My idea of a nightmare - but Leo and Rosie were so excited I couldn't say no.  Fortunately it only involved some dialogue with the Fairy Godmother and opening a golden envelope - I was dreading having to get up on stage so when I found out I would stay sitting in my seat in the audience I was very happy!

So that was my month, and here's the condensed day by day account of it - 1 Second Every Day.