Tuesday, 9 July 2019
Monday, 8 July 2019
TGIF on a Monday
That the weather forecasts are right and we may be able to fit in a trip to Frinton on Wednesday so Coco can get the sand between her paws again before her trip to the groomers on Thursday.
We went to see the film 'Yesterday' on Friday. If you're looking for a light hearted film that makes you smile and has you singing in your seat, this is the one for you! Imagine if you were the only person in the world that remembered the Beatles? And you're a struggling musician. No one else will realise that these amazing songs you are writing were actually written by someone else - will they?
Thursday, 4 July 2019
Smalls for all
This is a post unlike any other that I have written - it's not about sewing, or knitting or anything to do with day to day mid-life. It's about bras. No, it isn't a fashion post either!
What do you do with your old bras? Charity shops don't like used underwear donations and you can't recycle them in your household bins. But there are ladies out there whose life would literally change for the want of a bra.
The school I used to work at sponsored a school in Uganda so I guess I'm a little more aware of the difference between life for girls in Africa compared to the UK. Things we take for granted are either not available there or beyond the financial reach of the average family. We may moan about the price of feminine hygiene products here and campaign for them to be tax free, but at least they are available and we all manage to find the money to buy them. Things are not the same in Africa.
Can you imagine underwear being seen as a luxury? Something you could only hope for but not ever assume that you may own? So those old bras of ours, hanging around in the corners of your 'knicker drawer', don't quite fit any more, straps have gone a bit loose, don't really like the style now - we're not going to wear them, but to a young girl in a village in Malawi or Ethiopia it would make so much difference. Quite apart from being more comfortable, it gives her respect and pride in how she feels.
I've just gone through my drawer and found three that I don't wear anymore. Nothing really wrong with them, 1 didn't fit that well in the first place, 1 had stretched a bit and the other one was very similar to another that I owned. So I've packaged them up and sent them to Smalls for All which is a small charity specialising in sending undies to underprivileged places. I'm sure there are others, but please consider doing the same next time you are having a clear out. One lady's unwanted bra is another lady's luxury item.
What do you do with your old bras? Charity shops don't like used underwear donations and you can't recycle them in your household bins. But there are ladies out there whose life would literally change for the want of a bra.
The school I used to work at sponsored a school in Uganda so I guess I'm a little more aware of the difference between life for girls in Africa compared to the UK. Things we take for granted are either not available there or beyond the financial reach of the average family. We may moan about the price of feminine hygiene products here and campaign for them to be tax free, but at least they are available and we all manage to find the money to buy them. Things are not the same in Africa.
Can you imagine underwear being seen as a luxury? Something you could only hope for but not ever assume that you may own? So those old bras of ours, hanging around in the corners of your 'knicker drawer', don't quite fit any more, straps have gone a bit loose, don't really like the style now - we're not going to wear them, but to a young girl in a village in Malawi or Ethiopia it would make so much difference. Quite apart from being more comfortable, it gives her respect and pride in how she feels.
I've just gone through my drawer and found three that I don't wear anymore. Nothing really wrong with them, 1 didn't fit that well in the first place, 1 had stretched a bit and the other one was very similar to another that I owned. So I've packaged them up and sent them to Smalls for All which is a small charity specialising in sending undies to underprivileged places. I'm sure there are others, but please consider doing the same next time you are having a clear out. One lady's unwanted bra is another lady's luxury item.
Tuesday, 2 July 2019
Sentence a Day in June
June - the month that sees us officially half way through the year, and I am still remembering to document each day with just one sentence.
Day 1 Over to Jon's to watch Spurs v Liverpool; delicious barbecue but let's not mention the football result 😢
Day 2 Sunday lunch where all talk of football was banned (son in law supports Liverpool)
Day 3 Yoga in the morning and then looked after baby Rosie while her mum had an appointment in London 😀
Day 4 Bit of a lazy day, catching up on housework and ironing while watching Netflix
Day 5 Trying to plan an Italian themed dinner and spent far too long on the internet looking for reasonably priced Venetian masquerade masks to give to everyone
Day 6 Zumba! Experimenting with a lentil based bolognese for dinner as one of our guests at the Italian evening is vegetarian so I need a alternative to lasagne.
Day 7 Visited Henry Moore exhibition during the day and had friends over for drinks in the evening
Day 8 Invited to friends for dinner in the evening - Greek food - so delicious
Day 9 Our local Country Park has just installed some new play equipment so we just had to take Leo there after lunch to try everything out
Day 10 Dentist - practically skipped out of the surgery after being told there was nothing to be done apart from a hygienist appointment in a couple of weeks
Day 11 Looked after Rosie while Rachel took Leo to the hospital so he could be discharged from the allergy clinic - bye bye egg allergy
Day 12 Knitted a hat in an evening
Day 13 Zumba morning, hair cut afternoon
Day 14 Miserable weather - this whole week has been so wet and horrible.
Day 15 Practice another vegetarian recipe for our Italian themed dinner party - I don't have many veggie friendly dinner party recipes but I think this one is a winner!
Day 16 Packing our bags ready for a few days away with Coco in Norfolk
Day 17 Lovely long walk ending at the sand dunes in Burnham Overy Staithe
Day 18 Visited Holkham Hall - what an impressive house in a fabulous location
Day 19 Coco is getting quite used to having dinner at the pub
Day 20 Zumba!
Day 21 Had a gel manicure - hands feel very pretty again - First official day of summer too 🌞
Day 22 Jet fighters flying at supersonic speed intercepted a flight at Stansted airport which caused a sonic bang over the town where I live - what a shock!
Day 23 Baby shower for Sophie - a lovely afternoon tea and fun games - Mum-to-be is glowing
Day 24 Looked after Rosie in the afternoon while Rachel went into London for an appointment - she was a very well behaved guest.
Day 25 Dentist day - thought I was only going for a hygienist appointment but ended up having a filling in my wisdom tooth - "do you want to make an appointment to come back and have it done another day or shall we do it now?" May as well get it over and done with!
Day 26 Day to myself while Paul went to Buckingham Palace to see an exhibition of drawings by Leonardo da Vinci - kept myself busy by baking
Day 27 Zumba! Rachel, Leo and Rosie came for dinner as James had to go to Manchester for work and wasn't going to be home until very late.
Day 28 Tried a new tapas restaurant that has opened in town with our friends Mandy and Richard - it was delicious.
Day 29 On the hottest day of the year, we had friends over in the evening for an Indian takeaway - after we'd eaten our meal we managed to sit out in the garden until almost midnight!
Day 30 Phew it's another hot one - family over for Sunday lunch, better fill up that paddling pool
I've also been taking a photo every day to upload to the 1 Second Everyday app - here's video evidence of my month
Are you going to join in too? One sentence a day - that sounds doable doesn't it?
Day 1 Over to Jon's to watch Spurs v Liverpool; delicious barbecue but let's not mention the football result 😢
Day 2 Sunday lunch where all talk of football was banned (son in law supports Liverpool)
Day 3 Yoga in the morning and then looked after baby Rosie while her mum had an appointment in London 😀
Day 4 Bit of a lazy day, catching up on housework and ironing while watching Netflix
Day 5 Trying to plan an Italian themed dinner and spent far too long on the internet looking for reasonably priced Venetian masquerade masks to give to everyone
Day 6 Zumba! Experimenting with a lentil based bolognese for dinner as one of our guests at the Italian evening is vegetarian so I need a alternative to lasagne.
Day 7 Visited Henry Moore exhibition during the day and had friends over for drinks in the evening
Day 8 Invited to friends for dinner in the evening - Greek food - so delicious
Day 9 Our local Country Park has just installed some new play equipment so we just had to take Leo there after lunch to try everything out
Day 10 Dentist - practically skipped out of the surgery after being told there was nothing to be done apart from a hygienist appointment in a couple of weeks
Day 11 Looked after Rosie while Rachel took Leo to the hospital so he could be discharged from the allergy clinic - bye bye egg allergy
Day 12 Knitted a hat in an evening
Day 13 Zumba morning, hair cut afternoon
Day 14 Miserable weather - this whole week has been so wet and horrible.
Day 15 Practice another vegetarian recipe for our Italian themed dinner party - I don't have many veggie friendly dinner party recipes but I think this one is a winner!
Day 16 Packing our bags ready for a few days away with Coco in Norfolk
Day 17 Lovely long walk ending at the sand dunes in Burnham Overy Staithe
Day 18 Visited Holkham Hall - what an impressive house in a fabulous location
Day 19 Coco is getting quite used to having dinner at the pub
Day 20 Zumba!
Day 21 Had a gel manicure - hands feel very pretty again - First official day of summer too 🌞
Day 22 Jet fighters flying at supersonic speed intercepted a flight at Stansted airport which caused a sonic bang over the town where I live - what a shock!
Day 23 Baby shower for Sophie - a lovely afternoon tea and fun games - Mum-to-be is glowing
Day 24 Looked after Rosie in the afternoon while Rachel went into London for an appointment - she was a very well behaved guest.
Day 25 Dentist day - thought I was only going for a hygienist appointment but ended up having a filling in my wisdom tooth - "do you want to make an appointment to come back and have it done another day or shall we do it now?" May as well get it over and done with!
Day 26 Day to myself while Paul went to Buckingham Palace to see an exhibition of drawings by Leonardo da Vinci - kept myself busy by baking
Day 27 Zumba! Rachel, Leo and Rosie came for dinner as James had to go to Manchester for work and wasn't going to be home until very late.
Day 28 Tried a new tapas restaurant that has opened in town with our friends Mandy and Richard - it was delicious.
Day 29 On the hottest day of the year, we had friends over in the evening for an Indian takeaway - after we'd eaten our meal we managed to sit out in the garden until almost midnight!
Day 30 Phew it's another hot one - family over for Sunday lunch, better fill up that paddling pool
I've also been taking a photo every day to upload to the 1 Second Everyday app - here's video evidence of my month
Are you going to join in too? One sentence a day - that sounds doable doesn't it?
Monday, 1 July 2019
TGIF on a Monday
Carrying on the alternative version of TGIF - this Monday I am ...
That Sophie's baby will have stayed in the 'right' position after having been turned from breech at the hospital last week.
That the weather has been so lovely over the last few days. We had friends over on Friday night and were able to sit out in the garden until almost midnight.
To find something a bit different for decorations when we have people over for an Italian themed evening in a few weeks. I already have Venetian masks for everyone, but they need a bit of 'tweaking' with feathers and embellishments.
Tried a new app to record one second every day - called (would you believe it, 1 second everyday)
That Sophie's baby will have stayed in the 'right' position after having been turned from breech at the hospital last week.
That the weather has been so lovely over the last few days. We had friends over on Friday night and were able to sit out in the garden until almost midnight.
To find something a bit different for decorations when we have people over for an Italian themed evening in a few weeks. I already have Venetian masks for everyone, but they need a bit of 'tweaking' with feathers and embellishments.
Tried a new app to record one second every day - called (would you believe it, 1 second everyday)
Monday, 24 June 2019
TGIF on a Monday
So, using the alternative version of TGIF to start the week again, I am ..
... That Rosie will behave herself when I babysit for her this afternoon while her mum has an appointment in London. She's gradually having more food as part of the weaning process, wish me luck for tea time!
... That we have some beautiful areas of natural beauty on the outskirts of our town - no need to drive for miles to get into the countryside. Our very own nature enthusiast and epic wood lice catcher, Leo, and his dad went on a Bug Hunt in a local wooded area on Saturday.
... we had a lot of fun at Sophie's baby shower yesterday
Not long to wait now until this grand baby arrives. Baby is breech and the consultant is going to try and turn it on Wednesday, if he/she refuses to budge they will book a date for C section so there may be more news sooner than expected!
... That Rosie will behave herself when I babysit for her this afternoon while her mum has an appointment in London. She's gradually having more food as part of the weaning process, wish me luck for tea time!
... To try reading books I may not otherwise have tried thanks to joining in with Leslie's online book club. This month's choice is Daisy Jones and The Six which I had already been tempted by after seeing that Ruth had read and enjoyed it.
Not long to wait now until this grand baby arrives. Baby is breech and the consultant is going to try and turn it on Wednesday, if he/she refuses to budge they will book a date for C section so there may be more news sooner than expected!
Thursday, 20 June 2019
A paw-fect trip to Norfolk
Following on from our success with a dog friendly Airbnb property last year we decided to book a short break to Norfolk to show Coco a bit more of the Eastern coastline. The weather last week was horrendous and I was anxiously watching the forecasts in the hope that we would be able to get a few beachy dog walks in during our stay. We were so lucky, the weather was dry all the time we were there except for one rainy spell overnight which we all slept through!
Needless to say, Coco was the one who took the most luggage and after watching us pack our bags with a suspicious look in her eye she could hardly believe her luck when we loaded up the car and then put her car harness on. So this is our trip to Norfolk - as seen through a dog's eye.
After a two hour trip, the humans fancied stopping off at Wells Next The Sea for some early lunch. They had bacon baps sitting on the sea wall, while I had to be content with watching them and hoping for crumbs. We went for a walk along the front where I almost got my paws on a crab! Seems that little humans enjoy fishing for crabs along the water's edge here and apparently they may get upset if an innocent dog accidentally knocks over the bucket they are holding them in.
We stayed at Burnham Overy Staithe in a little Victorian cottage that was built in 1867. I soon made myself at home in a lovely oversized armchair. I had brought my own quilt to lay on so it was very comfortable.
In the afternoon, I decided that it was time to take the humans out for a bit of a walk. It was about one and a half miles from our cottage to the beach but oh boy did I have fun once we reached the sand dunes
I had been sensible and taken my own food with me for our stay but it seems that my humans forgot to do the same and so I had to take them to the pub in the evening
The next day we got in the car and went to Holkham Hall, which was a lovely 18th Century house set in amazing grounds. Honestly I have never seen so many ducks in one place. Not to mention a whole load of geese which didn't seem ever so happy to see a dog running towards them. I was only being friendly! I wasn't allowed in the hall so we walked around the grounds, past the lake and into the walled garden. Then I decided it was time we went for another beach walk.
I tell you, if you are as fond of squirrels as I am, this really is the place to go, that woodland was full of them, I've never been so excited in my life before.
I was exhausted after all my wildlife adventures so I had a little nap in the car when we left Holkham and when I woke up we were in Burnham Market. Apparently we only parked up and went for a walk so that I could 'stretch my legs' but I think my humans were really thinking about lunch. We found a dog friendly Italian deli where they enjoyed a sharing lunch
and I enjoyed laying beside the table while all the customers came over and told me how gorgeous and well behaved I was.
The next day we had another walk around the harbour area near our cottage, I had a little paddle in the sea and then we packed our bags. Needless to say, the humans wanted to stop off on the way home - allegedly for me to stretch my legs again (they're perfectly long enough as they are thank you, stop using me as an excuse to go to the pub) and then to have a lie down while they had lunch.
All in all, I had a lovely holiday, and I honestly don't know why they don't take me away with them more often. The pubs and cafes all welcomed me warmly, there were bowls of water in all the places we went and they all had tins of dog treats to tuck into while your humans are having their dinner. I wonder where I'm going next?
Needless to say, Coco was the one who took the most luggage and after watching us pack our bags with a suspicious look in her eye she could hardly believe her luck when we loaded up the car and then put her car harness on. So this is our trip to Norfolk - as seen through a dog's eye.
After a two hour trip, the humans fancied stopping off at Wells Next The Sea for some early lunch. They had bacon baps sitting on the sea wall, while I had to be content with watching them and hoping for crumbs. We went for a walk along the front where I almost got my paws on a crab! Seems that little humans enjoy fishing for crabs along the water's edge here and apparently they may get upset if an innocent dog accidentally knocks over the bucket they are holding them in.
In the afternoon, I decided that it was time to take the humans out for a bit of a walk. It was about one and a half miles from our cottage to the beach but oh boy did I have fun once we reached the sand dunes
I had been sensible and taken my own food with me for our stay but it seems that my humans forgot to do the same and so I had to take them to the pub in the evening
The next day we got in the car and went to Holkham Hall, which was a lovely 18th Century house set in amazing grounds. Honestly I have never seen so many ducks in one place. Not to mention a whole load of geese which didn't seem ever so happy to see a dog running towards them. I was only being friendly! I wasn't allowed in the hall so we walked around the grounds, past the lake and into the walled garden. Then I decided it was time we went for another beach walk.
I tell you, if you are as fond of squirrels as I am, this really is the place to go, that woodland was full of them, I've never been so excited in my life before.
I was exhausted after all my wildlife adventures so I had a little nap in the car when we left Holkham and when I woke up we were in Burnham Market. Apparently we only parked up and went for a walk so that I could 'stretch my legs' but I think my humans were really thinking about lunch. We found a dog friendly Italian deli where they enjoyed a sharing lunch
and I enjoyed laying beside the table while all the customers came over and told me how gorgeous and well behaved I was.
The next day we had another walk around the harbour area near our cottage, I had a little paddle in the sea and then we packed our bags. Needless to say, the humans wanted to stop off on the way home - allegedly for me to stretch my legs again (they're perfectly long enough as they are thank you, stop using me as an excuse to go to the pub) and then to have a lie down while they had lunch.
All in all, I had a lovely holiday, and I honestly don't know why they don't take me away with them more often. The pubs and cafes all welcomed me warmly, there were bowls of water in all the places we went and they all had tins of dog treats to tuck into while your humans are having their dinner. I wonder where I'm going next?
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