All About The Timing......

Daughter came back from her Tudor time travel Saturday night and came here Sunday to unpack her tent to lay out in our garden along with the waterproof layer and ground sheet so they can dry completely and then get swept and repacked for storage. 

She also filled our washing line with clothes and towels which helped her catch up a bit. 

Meanwhile after testing each new surface for lying on comfort the dog found a shady spot and just watched. 

Monday afternoon Daughter came back to unload the rest of the car, return the top-box to its garage space with Hubby's help (strapped to the loft beams above my car) and then fill it with tent and stuff.

R and O had come with her and while chatting to them they recommended a film.  

Hubby and I watched it Wednesday, warned that we had to allow plenty of time, it's 2h 36m! It's a really good film with a story line that's not a repeat of anything I've seen done before which is great. Hahaha not easy writing this without spoilers. Hubby really enjoyed the Sci-fi and I enjoyed the interactions between characters. However I've never had film staying power so found it far too long but glad we watched it. 

I think I mentioned a while back the finding which supermarket sold a vegan garlic bread was tricky so I now make and freeze our own to go with a pasta meal. E likes to snack late in the evening and sausage rolls are a favourite, again finding them ready cooked and vegan gets tricky so I made, froze to thaw them two at a time for the fridge. So far so good. 

Now for the back story for what happened Thursday. 

Straight after putting down the deposit on his new car Hubby contacted the company that Audi use for installing electric charging points to ask for a quote. He had to use that company as Audi are paying most of the cost as part of the purchase deal. A guy came out to do the survey and agreed with Hubby that if he got the groundwork done in advance it would be cheaper. Hubby was planning to do the groundwork himself. Over the next few weeks Hubby made a start taking out some of the motor joints on the slabs that the cable would be going under.  Then Audi said Hubby couldn't go direct, the dealer has to send the request for the electrics to go through their books. This guy came out and did the survey all over again, then he told Hubby it would invalidate the safety certification if they didn't do the groundwork! So Hubby told him to quote and book for the whole job. 

As we should be getting the car next week the charging point installation had to happen this week. Booked for Thursday but not given a time, about 2:30pm this guy arrived, the same one that had done the survey. He was surprised the groundwork hadn't been done, said he can't do it and drove off! Hubby has sent some emails and made phone calls. I haven't asked what's happening so as not to upset him further. 

Friday cheered him up when he was in the right place at the right time to see the Red Arrows fly over our house on their way to the Clacton Air Show, and he got a photo. 

In reality they were very loud but very little dots in the sky, so I zoomed the photo for you. 

I tried a vegan sponge recipe I'd not used before. Really easy and baked looking good. The round one was sandwiched together with home made quince jelly and butter icing. The cup cakes have raisins in. 

My first bite was an instant memory of Farley's Rusks mmmm.

Conclusion is not bad but room for improvement. 

Oh look I've run out of time so will post this now and see you next week.

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Confusions and Frustrations.......

 
Thought we were having the dog last Saturday so dog proofed the lounge, put food and water and her bed out in the dining room, then it turned out we weren't needed so put it all away again, then told Tuesday onwards this week. 

My brother put this tribute to our parents on fb as 15th August is the anniversary of VJ day and I have his permission to share it here. 

Thanks Bruv.

Sunday was a lovely visit from Son&fiancé with their dog

They came with birthday gifts and cake. 

Although their vase did look a little worried by my other new vase. 

This visit we did manage to have the Chinese takeaway that didn't happen last time. E doesn't enjoy Chinese so I cooked her a dinner just before ours arrived. 

After eating we had all just settled back in the lounge when Son got a message from another family member who was parked on their drive while he went abroad. The message said they were back in the UK and heading back from the airport and will be with them in 10-15minutes! Panic stations as Son lives nearly half an hour away from my house and knows his clever parking means two cars need to move and nobody has both keys. So mad pack up, hugs, kisses and gone. 

Monday morning and the neighbours all laughed when greeted by the new coffee club sign. In the afternoon Son suddenly arrived (I'd forgotten he was coming) he'd arranged with Hubby to bring over his pond frame as he's filling in his pond and our netting wasn't enough when the otters came and took all our fish. Son had taken a charity day off work and sat in on M's games week. M has gathered a lot more retro computer and console games for his school holiday event and Son couldn't resist especially as some of the games had been his.   

Tuesday morning more dog sitting confusion. Yes we had dog proofed but weren't needed. Got an apology and the message that we were definitely needed Thursday. 

E has had a nightmare getting an NHS booking! GP did the referral for a test, E got a message to phone the booking team which she did. The booking team are an outsourced company that are remote and couldn't answer E's simple question but said they'll ask and someone will ring her back, they didn't ring back. To cut a very long story short this has taken a month of chasing, lack of responses, a booking and cancelling and emails getting lost and finally found for E to now have an appointment for a test she needs another month away and E having made 14 of those phone calls! On her records all medical staff will see her condition is made so much worse by fatigue and stress. 

As we are on the subject of medical frustrations I chased for my results of the CT Scan I had two weeks ago and was told they are now taking 6-8 weeks to come through aarrgghhh! I'll be due another scan by then. 

I have to say that all the hands-on medical staff I've had contact with are efficient and caring however the NHS is very broken on its systems, recording and communications side! 

This is the last week for Theatre in the Forest after which Red Rose Theatre Company takes a very well earned break and shuts for a few weeks. R has a holiday with a friend booked. I told R we'd get her some euros to take, they will mostly use plastic but things like bus fares or buying a coffee might need cash. I did the research and found the best deal was order online then pick up in person from the Foreign Exchange inside Sainsbury. As always Hubby does the shopping and would pick up after a hospital appointment, so I gave him my passport and the bank card I'd bought them on as requested. He was refused the euros as I needed to be there with my ID. He argued but they wouldn't budge. So in store he still ordered online in his name and collected. When he got home I went to cancel my order then discovered there was a £10 cancellation fee which made me cross so back with Hubby next day to pick up my order. Not sure that was the most cost effective way to do it, but the spare euros will sit here with our spare US dollars for someone's future trip. 

Hubby has been playing with bits of frame to see what works and what extra bits he needs to order. He's also cleaned off some of the slabs. 

While over there he disturbed this little chap and managed to get a good photo. 

Sad seeing the pond so short of water but it is helpful for Hubby while sorting it out.

We did dog sit on Thursday and warned it was till late as M had included a parents evening. When M and D came to pick up the dog they said their version of parents evening was actualy nearly all of the dad's who came to play the retro games they remembered hahaha.  M's son D is now working full time there as Uni is finished. 

Hubby got a couple of hours with the guys playing pool on Friday which he hasn't done for ages. 

Very unpredictable weather with the lightest of showers and a few heavy storms all short lived but so welcome. Did mean coffee morning was a shall we sit inside or outside debate, we chanced outside and was OK. Still quite warm so doors and windows open, then a storm means a mad dash closing them and starting the day with the optimistic t-shirt but the cardigan nearby. 

Ended the week with a late message from M can we have the dog all day today while he holds his final school holiday BBQ. So I'm off now to Doggy proof again. 

Enjoy your weekend.

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Barely Bearable.....

 
...... the heat that is, my body doesn't like it especially when there is no breeze (like now while I'm typing this). I'm trying to stay inside all the time and varying the open or closed doors, windows and curtains as the sun moves around our house but definitely multiple fans on to keep lounge and bedrooms as comfortable as we can. 

While clearing a few more boxes E found the fabric she had specially bought to make the lining for this lovely crochet tote bag she had made a long time ago. 

We made a plan on design with pockets and discussed the construction method and E is happy to do the machining after I've ironed and pinned, however my craft room is the hottest room in the house so it will have to wait. 

We had about three quarters of a large water melon that nobody seemed interested in eating so in a bid not to waste it I thought I'd blend it to juice. 

Turned out to be a very labour intensive task despite putting both my blenders to work. Gradually cutting the chunks smaller and smaller and pulsing or whizzing for longer and longer but it never fully liquidised. Afterwards I had half my kitchen to clean as the sticky had managed to get everywhere! 

We enjoy most of the TV game shows and discovered that E really likes Pointless. When we are thinking of watching one E will often join us. The question this time was people who are famous in other ways and have all played a character in the same TV series (and of course I've forgotten which one now but I think it might have been Doctor Who). I knew nearly all of them and Hubby did too but E is a bit too young and not much of a TV watcher to name any. 

My eyes have problems and the TV is too far for me to focus on these as little squares in the distance so I zoomed in and took a pic that I could zoom again if need be. I'll leave the answers at the end in case you wanted to play along.

I've had a birthday this week and hadn't planned to do anything. It was Tuesday so Son was working but has told me he will come here with fiancé and their dog next Sunday. 

Hubby gave me flowers with my first mug of tea and I had a large stack of cards waiting for me to open. Also this lovely gift from friendM.

In the afternoon Daughter, O and M came over with their dog. Daughter brought a yummy upside-down pear cake she had made and it was still warm so only just made. I was told it nearly didn't arrive here as carrying it to the car with the dog's lead on that wrist as the other hand was dealing with house keys and car keys when the dog saw a cat lying in the shade under their caravan.... all lurched forward including cake but not the plate as it was firmly held however Daughter's lightning reflexes saved it all. Lovely afternoon. 

Wednesday night our usual group of six ate in Felixstowe as always and I chose Prezzo where we haven't eaten for a long time, as acknowledgement of my birthday. We weren't bothered about not seeing the eclipse but it was fun on our way there seeing all the people out in groups waiting for it. Our favourite Prezzo waitress was thrilled to see us back and remembered all the food and drinks we usually order. FriendM needed to get home early as she had her little dog and dog sitting her Son's so invited us all back to her's for tea/coffee and boozy fruit cake. 

Friends M and HM and I always try to celebrate birthdays with a meal out. HM booked us in to the pub for Thursday. Two of us are in this group's loyalty scheme and M found we could get £10 off the bill and I got a free glass of Prosecco as it's my birthday (I don't drink so M enjoyed that). Still hot so we sat outside. 

Even quiet unplanned birthdays can be exhausting! 

Friday NeighbourA needed to drive into London to deliver something to a place very near Wembly Arena so 2 hours each way traffic permitting. Hubby went with him, after we had sorted out his printing and our printing of his labels for these boxes. Thank goodness cars have air-con as they left here midday so travelling there and back at the hottest part of the day but hopefully avoiding rush hour traffic, although summer school holidays on a Friday and their route back east towards the coast is always very busy. Home by 5pm so not too bad. 

Daughter and O are now back at Kentwell being Tudors for the next week, so today (Saturday) is the first of the Doggy day care days so I'll post this now and see you next week. 

As promised...... how did you get on? 

Day By Day........

 
Saturday was fiancé's birthday and it was a special one, but we weren't going to see her so I'd sent her card home with Son when he called in last week, she had money as her gift. Not wanting to wake her I sent happy birthday wishes on WhatsApp although it now is just words whereas on my old phone I'd set up the avatar emoji that created fancy wishes as a picture or sticker that supposed to look like me, but that was debatable. 

Sorting out the freezer I came across the last two pots of concentrated vegetable puree I'd made so decided to make E some bean loaf. These two will cut up and be ideal for four Sunday roast dinners. 

Sunday afternoon Daughter R and O came over with the dog. Lovely to see them all. Daughter mostly sat in the lounge with me and Hubby drinking tea and eating the rhubarb cake I'd made in the morning, while R and O mostly stayed with E playing games and we could hear a lot of laughter. E asked Daughter for another hair buzz cut and R offered to do it. Brave as R had never done it before and brave that E let her. She did a good job but did ask Daughter to finish it off. 

..... and now it's fig season, they have ripened a little early and all at once (it's this hot dry weather). The photo below is actually last year's as this year's crop are not so pretty, they are darker and far more wrinkly but still so delicious. It's always best to eat them fresh and mostly just R and I that eat them so R went home with today's harvest in a box. Thought she could take some in her daily packed lunches but she will probably eat them all in the short car ride home. 

We had a very busy Monday, this was my calender page...

Coffee morning outside again on a very sunny and warm day, although a couple of neighbour's still brought chocolate biscuits for the table which of course melted a bit. NeighbourAB baked us really yummy cheese scones which don't suffer being out in the heat although our baker must have suffered a bit having her oven on to cook them. 

Daughter and R were ready for their lift. They were off to London to see a show and Daughter was working in Whitehall Tuesday so had booked a hotel room. They reported later that the show was brilliant. It was a long one and R was getting the last train home, but it got cancelled because someone had jumped on the line, so thankfully she had Daughter's hotel room to sleep over. They checked out early Tuesday but R's return ticket was off-peak so she had to hang around and when Daughter got to where she was playing in Whitehall it was all cordoned off with heavy police activity and though it took a while she was finally let in with others round the back of the building. R messaged Hubby to pick her up from Ipswich station and take her home as she was now limited on time to change, eat and get herself to work. But that's Tuesday, so back to Monday...

Hubby then got me to my nails appointment and Mary came out of her garage bemused when I rang her doorbell as she had totally forgotten about me but was happy to stop what she was doing (sorting and hanging freshly cut lavender for her DIL) and do my nails. This one was free as she had got it wrong on me last time. 

We got home before 3pm as forecast although Son&fiancé didn't come till a bit later and changed their minds about staying to eat so mugs of tea at least twice and sharing birthday cake they had brought with them, out in the garden with their little dog enjoying the garden and exploring the house too. 

After they left Hubby and I still fancied Chinese so we ordered it, chicken curry and boiled rice for Hubby and set meal for one for me. E doesn't enjoy the few dishes available to a vegan so we made her a burger and chips dinner. My meal was far too big so I ate a good amount then saved the pancake roll in the fridge for a lunch and divided the rest into four freezer meals. 

All this and we'd only reached the end of Monday! 

Tuesday NeighbourAB came over with this potted rose as a birthday present for me as she couldn't remember what date it is and as Son&fiancé came to visit she thought she'd missed it. She was actually a week too early which thankfully isn't a problem in a pot but might have looked sad by then if they were cut flowers. 

Wednesday I spent some time making a large amount of potato salad and played with inventing a dressing. I added to the finished box full another box of cut melon and Hubby added beers half with and half without alcohol. This went into the boot along with two fold up chairs and Hubby's tool box. 

FriendM had invited us to her house for a BBQ and we had a lovely evening.

The tool box was for M's TV problems which Hubby did fix.

Thursday I gave myself a haircut. The evil pills I'm on for the cancer makes my hair lose its depth of colour, get a lot finer, break or fall out so for a long time now all I could do was tie it back and I really needed to try something else so I chopped it right up to a long bob length to lose all the wispy ends. 

Hubby also got a message from friendM to say her lounge TV is still working fine but two other things are now a problem possibly because he changed the hub frequency (or some other technical thing he explained that I didn't understand), so Hubby will go there again Saturday morning. 

Friday was an early start as I had to be at the hospital for 10am for a CT Scan. All went well, a nurse even got the cannula in first time and painless which is rare. Results usually take a couple of weeks. 

Wow it's Saturday again so I'll post this now and start again for you to read next week and try not to make it so busy cos it's tiring.

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Surprises........

 
Last week Hubby had sealed the deal on buying his new car and paid the deposit on Thursday. I'll tell you all about it when we have it which should be about a month's time. He decided to not even tell our children so it's a surprise for them too. 

At the weekend Son came for a visit.... in his new car! He collected it on Thursday too and also kept all the planning as a secret to surprise. Like father like son eh? 

Hubby has told our children about his now. 

I'm still astounded at the coincidence. 

With another heatwave imminent I thought I'd buy two more fans and I was going for cordless for so many benefits, we have solar panels so charging is free when the sun is shining and we can plonk it anywhere there's no socket and of course no wire to get caught in hand or foot. This one advertised also as being very light weight and almost silent. Delivery was also promised as quicker than a lot of others online. Local retailers had all sold out of fans. 

I ordered two and they did arrive Tuesday as promised. I did pay a bit more than they are probably worth but overall quiet enough for Hubby to agree to have in the bedroom which he never had before and a full charge has lasted from 11pm till about 4:30am. During the day I've found it light enough to carry into the kitchen when I'm cooking. E has made good use of the second one and likes moving it to where she is. 

Wednesday evening at our usual pub we laughed a lot for all the wrong reasons. It took so many trips for the men to the bar and back to check what alternative drink would be accepted when one after the other had been discovered to have run out. It happened again when food was ordered. It started with advice that there was only one fish and chips left which was ordered immediately and everyone chose and changed each time until six of us had meals coming. Then just before they all arrived a member of staff came over and apologised that fish and chips didn't actually exist and was an error on the stock sheet, thankfully swapping for scampi was OK. This is a seaside pub and it's now school holidays so high season and pub lunches with children are very popular so I guess their deliveries got out of sync with stock control, thankfully it happens to us rarely. 

Something else that made us laugh which I'm sure wasn't meant to, was during our regular Thursday night quiz. I'm playing along with Hubby and E when there's a round on People and the question master worded one question as "Who was the mother of Edward, Charles, Anne etc?" Answer was obvious but it made us laugh that he didn't know if he should include the disgraced Andrew or not.

Earlier in the year we saw an offer from Thompson & Morgan for a large collection of mixed bulbs and tubers at a really good price so Hubby bought one. When the time was right for each thing (by their instructions) he'd planted and nurtured them since. He can't remember what he'd planted in this pot, just that it was five bulbs. 

 

Imagine our surprise when a pot full of tomato plants emerged! 

There are tomatoes on the vines too. 

Tomatoes don't grow from bulbs only from seed so we are guessing it was in the shop bought compost (we have three compost bins in full use and he still buys shop bags) or the seeds were a gift from a visiting animal. We will never truly know. 

So another hot week and shocking news reports of all the wild fires caused and spreading fast on such dry land, mainly France and Spain and this week also local to us on Dunwich Heath, very scary! Can happen anywhere so please be extra careful, maybe avoid fireworks altogether, throwing used cigarette ends on the ground, having bbq's on grass and not on paving or even leaving rubbish after your picnic especially a glass bottle which could magnify the sun and cause flames. More important than ever while we are in drought and don't have the water to spare to put fires out. Sorry lecture over. 

Stay safe.

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Home Made.......

 
Using my favourite Vegan Rhubarb Cake recipe I made Apple Cake to use up the last of last year's apples from the freezer. It took a lot longer to cook because the apple is so much wetter than the rhubarb and because apple has a lot of its own sugar it burnt on the tops. Still very yummy though and all got eaten. 

Yes it's plum season! And my recipe plum chutney is definitely one of the best chutneys ever. The process is quite labour intensive and I can't stand for that long any more.

As Daughter is the main consumer she has been the main maker for the last few years. Hubby picked the plums (that bucket is about half what is still on the tree) and we bought the ingredients in readiness. 

Daughter came Thursday afternoon and together......

....... we ended up with all these full jars! 

I won't bore you with the whole process but when you do something just once a year things get forgotten, like Daughter having to go home again for the other big pan and then us both forgetting than my induction hob gets upset with an aluminium pan and needs the conductor plate underneath. We got there in the end. 

E's ex- also came on Thursday to sort the room full of stuff they stored here and take lots away with him. So lunch for us all then a very busy house. 

You could tell we were tired by the lower score Hubby, E and I got for our usual Thursday night Jay's Virtual Quiz hahaha. 

This year's Theatre in the Forest had its Press Night on Friday and Daughter was given two complimentary tickets and bought one for me (and they gave her discount on that too). O came with Daughter and me. 

Seven actors working so hard and an amazing puppet dog plus we very briefly saw R in the interval running around working as behind the scenes Stage Manager. A few bits came across a bit chaotic but mostly it was really good fun.

Daughter had driven us in my car as her car was packed ready for her Magic weekend at Kentwell so she'd left that on my drive and when we got back we saw Hubby had put the box of chutney jars in there already. I hope she remembered to take it out at home and hasn't taken it on her working weekend as a musical Dryad hahaha. 

Enjoy your weekend.

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A Dry County.......

 
Even with the prolonged lack of rain and now the hosepipe ban (for the first time in a decade here) some plants still grow enthusiastically and need cutting back. 

It's mostly been sunny and hot all this week though windier than it has been but to be honest (very silly saying as I'm always honest) that's about all the news there is to tell you and no doubt the weather is much the same where you are. 

Monday coffee morning was held in the dining room. As it was too hot to sit comfortably without the gazebo but too windy for the gazebo to survive open. 

I play a lot on the Face Book game of Words With Friends, much the same as Scrabble but different enough not to get prosecuted for copyright breach. My account has just given me my usage stats for June. 

Made me laugh so I had to share it with you. 

It was over three months ago when I went into Ipswich Hospital for a small surgical procedure. The outcome of that was thankfully not cancer and just to be extra sure this week they did a follow up check. Also pleased to report the internal camera showed that all is totally clear so Urology don't want to see me again for another year. The nurse in attendance was one of the nurses I used to see regularly so we had a little catchup chat. 

Another amusing story was that Hubby had registered his car for the hospital as transport for E as she has a blue badge so can park in a disabled bay for free. This week Hubby was taking me and I don't have that privilege so he emailed them asking how to pay. They replied saying that if I'm with him we can still use the blue badge, they took it that the badge is his when he'd told them it is his granddaughter's. Hubby replied trying to make the details clearer and again they misunderstood. Thankfully we have our own solution...... we use my car! 

Forecast for the few weeks to come is still very warm and very dry. Hope you are managing.

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Showing Off......

 
Having tried all the possible local stores for new sun lounger cushions without success, Hubby finally gave up and ordered them online. They fit better than our last ones did, and they are shower proof for those catch you out moments, and this heatwave wants to hang on long enough to justify the expense (I'm joking they were really cheap) and when I've got rid of those pokey out labels they'll be perfect. 

Red Rose Chain are in full on rehearsals and set building for their summer Shakespeare Theatre in the Forest event which this year is Twelfth Night. 

There is a lot of promotional stuff on social media all the time now.

This one surprised me when it popped up as they were all sliding around on office chairs, that's why this screenshot is blurred. They were having so much fun. Did you notice R's new job title? Proud Grandma!!!

Monday coffee morning, not as many as usual as C has broken her wrist and was back at the hospital, T&S were having a new boiler fitted and A came but only for half the time as her daughter came to pick her up. It was another very hot day and we were all grateful for the gazebo we bought last year although a welcome breeze did try to lift it once. 

When everyone had left it was a quick lunch then off to have my nails done.  They looked lovely when I left her's, although my fingers were a little sore in places where she is enthusiastic with her emery board shaping, unfortunately they didn't harden gggggggrrrrrr, she'd obviously used the quick dry top coat meant for gels which I don't have, I know that because she's done it to me before. I managed to get it all off and sent her a message. She was very apologetic and said no charge next time. 

I had a few hours dog sitting on my own as it coincided with E having a hospital appointment and of course Hubby was with her as chauffeur. We had the dog as Daughter and M were at Norwich College with O for his end of year event and they shared the news that O had received an award. Proud Grandma!!!

Yes I'm still fighting with software and mostly my Excel files this time. The system "M365 Copilot" system I've always used and which had stored all my files on "Microsoft One Drive" has now become a subscription service so I've had to move everything over to "Sheets" stored on "Google Drive". I'm sure you guessed that it was actually Hubby who worked out the how and did it. I love that man's knowledge and patience. He's also fixed our toilet cistern and jobs for two neighbours, one needing software for their house outside cameras and another for their backdoor sticky lock. 

I haven't been totally idle in this heat and amongst the usual domestic stuff I baked two vegan rhubarb cakes. As often happens we'd already eaten one and a half cakes before I thought to take a photo. Yummy. 

Good news is I've one of my regular hospital tests next week so I have to have a two week break from the evil pills I take daily, hopefully the side effects will ease up or even disappear. 

So with a forecast for the extreme heat to lessen and feel more comfortable I'll wish you all a comfortable weekend.

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Productive......

 
We have all had quite a busy week, well busy by my usual standard. 

I have been moving my stuff around, filling charity bags and clearing a bit more space for E's stuff. E has managed a bit more unpacking and sorting her clothes, but as the week got hotter and hotter she decided to order some new clothes as she didn't have enough to cope (only one pair of shorts) and it lifted her mood. The ones that have arrived I was treated to a little fashion show and she has divided piles for keep or return which she will do when the others have arrived. 

Supermarket Vegan food can work out quite expensive so I'm learning what E likes, taking her suggestions and making my version of what I can. Our pasta meal had carbonara sauce and meat in, however for E I mixed the last of her hummus into the last of the pesto so we didn't waste either added to her pasta and added pine nuts too and she topped it with nutritional yeast and we all ate it with the garlic bread I'd made and keep ready in the freezer. 

Hubby has been busy with more neighbour's needing his help. One whose garden backs onto ours and she's having problems with her outside cameras which Hubby is trying to sort. Also neighbourJM asked for help as her shower thermostat has died and the company she rang for help asked for a photo of the circuit board but she didn't know what that was so Hubby went down the road to do it for her (not an easy job due to rusted screws)  and another neighbour came up to us with paperwork asking Hubby to witness his signature on a POA form (always an honour when people trust you for personal special tasks). 

But so much of his time was taken up helping me! 

He said he was buying me a new phone for my birthday (not for another five weeks), but saw an offer and bought it early. I am so grateful but it's so stressful for us both. Hubby has to do all the transferring and problem solving and put up with my  "agitations". I can be an efficient user but I can never be a technician.  Old and new looking the same but that's sooo deceiving. 

I've only just got the new tablet to a user friendly working level and he now needs me to do it all again! At one time I had to leave Hubby to it and forcefully pull some weeds in the front garden! 

So a much better tablet and phone that will do what I want them to do although I haven't looked at all the extras yet. Hubby knows how grateful I am. 

I'd better not even write about getting a cheap clear plastic case for it, involving three online orders, argos, PayPal, refund and ending up with two, as I'd rather not be reminded. 

As Hubby had been in great demand I've done a lot more of the cooking, laundry and general housework. Phew!

Cooling down with ice-creams and melon and I'd made us apple and cinnamon fools but forgot to take a photo. 

Sadly my body doesn't like the heat and I've little balloons on the end of my legs most of the time. 

Thursday E had to be up early for a doctor's appointment, this time at the main surgery in town not the local branch and of course Hubby drove. She came back disappointed that this GP didn't want to refer for more tests other than bloods which have never been helpful in the past, although on Friday E got an appointment through for a CT Scan next week, so maybe the GP had a rethink or discussed it with someone else. 

Thursday afternoon Daughter, O and I had our regular dental checkup. They seem to do less and less now and make you book further appointments even for minor things. O has to come back for a filling, but she said it was a tiny cavity and not so long ago a dentist would have said "hang on I'll pop a little something in there" and for the small build up of plaque on the back of just my bottom front teeth she wanted me to book their hygienist which I never will, and I know my previous dentist and owner of this practise would have just flicked away "...as we're here". Unfortunately daughter does need more treatment. 

And to round of Thursday our usual quiz (on YouTube as a virtual pub quiz) and now as a team of three we have improved the score even though E and I feel we contribute very little. This week was 45 out of the 50 total.  

Having delivered his movie, (written, casted, directed, filmed, edited and produced by him) to college O then made it public on YouTube under his performance persona of Charlie Blackwood.

 Watch it here

I've just reread this to check for spelling and typos and it doesn't sound as much effort as it felt hahaha but surely I still deserve another ice-cream don't I? 

Happy weekend.

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Mostly Weather Talk.......

 
Great start to the week when I found the recipe for this

Easy vegan rhubarb cake

As Hubby said there was a lot ready that needed pulling before it goes woody. So I sent him out to pull it, made these two cakes (because I couldn't be bothered to do the maths and halve all the ingredients). As you can see there was a full bag clean and chopped to go into the freezer too. Now I really must use up what's still in the freezer from last year. 

All three of us gave it the thumbs up and I will make it again. 

We have the dog as our guest all this week, being dropped off by M early and picked up late so Monday she was already here for coffee morning and very well behaved. Especially proud of her as NeighbourAB had treated us all to cornetto ice-creams and calipo lollies. The dog just kept circling the table hoping someone would drop something. She was out of luck.  

At the end of last week Hubby finally got fed up of his phone charger falling out of his phone and as it's still under guarantee contacted John Lewis who booked it in for repair and said it will be collected on Tuesday.  So Monday afternoon after Hubby took it all apart, removed all sensitive information and finally the SIM card he boxed it ready, but waiting in all day they didn't come. When he contacted the help number they had no means to track and just said "it may be tomorrow?" As he is out Wednesday so can't be here for a collection and can't be without a phone he bought a wireless charger on click and collect from argos, ate his dinner that we were already dishing up then went to collect it. 

At home while his phone was on charge he cancelled John Lewis. 

Wednesday while Hubby was out of course and the weather had reached 32°C me, E and the dog had almost shut down, slumped in front of fans with doors and windows open for any passing breeze. The dog had been beside me looking fast asleep when she spotted something outside and shot out of the patio doors and tackled something behind the water feature and bushes, there was a lot of loud barking and growling and all I could do was run out shouting her name and asking her to come in. Suddenly she chased her opponent out and right across the garden which turned out to be a muntjac. A very rare visitor to these gardens. The muntjac managed to leap the fence and escape. Thankfully neither of them looked injured. 

The dog came in and quickly calmed down back in her favourite place in front of the fan. 

Thursday and another very hot day. M dropped the dog off and after her usual tour of the garden then in for a long drink she had trouble trying to settle and tested all her options then finally on the carpet like she had on Wednesday but kept looking around and looking at me. She turned around then stared at me and I knew, I then put the fan on and she lay content for ages.

NeighbourJM came up wanting Hubby's help. She was only getting a boiling hot shower as the thermostat had gone wrong and and the company that was coming to repair or replace had asked for a picture of the circuit board but she didn't know what that was, as usual she came up for advice and left here with Hubby. Unfortunately the cover on the circuit board was held tight by very rusted in screws so she just got a photo of the diagram not the actual bits. Fingers crossed eh. 

And of course the main subject is this record breaking heatwave! Friday reached 37°C !!!

Open doors and windows if there's any chance of a breeze. 

Close doors and window and curtains if outside becomes warmer than inside. 

Drink lots and then some more. 

Frozen ice block under the dogs bowl so her water stays cool. 

I keep a damp flannel beside me to cool my face and neck often. 

Fans on.... we have three rooms with fans but the mini air-con unit in the lounge is the most effective, and they are out of stock now so we can't buy more yet.

Not forgetting a good variety of ice-creams and lollies in the freezer for cooling our inside. 

I hope it's not caused you problems and you've found your own ways to stay comfortable.

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