Bragging Rights.......

 
O, aka Charlie Blackwood was part of an outdoor gig on Sunday. 

Hubby and I couldn't go but Son and fiancé went and said he was really good. They enjoyed the other performers too. 

There weren't so many of us this coffee morning. We are all basically creatures of habit so coming each week people automatically seem to arrive and sit themselves down in the same places, however, if some people can't come we can find we are sitting next to someone else and having different conversations which is fun. 

Tuesday was the gathering of the old BT team and partners for lunch at The Maybush pub, a beautiful pub alongside the river Deben. 

They always wait for me to herd them together but always so eager to come when I suggest it. So pleased JE thought to take a photo just as we were all about to leave. This time I had warned them all of the major repair work on the Orwell Bridge which is causing traffic chaos. For us it wasn't too bad arriving but going home was very slow jams even though we had avoided the main road, seems like everyone else had the same idea! 

Wednesday Hubby again got caught with a different traffic problem as he had arranged to visit some friends in Kent. He did explain all the problems but I won't bore you with meaningless details so briefly by the time he'd crawled as far as Lakeside two hours after leaving home (should take half that), and seeing how much worse it was going to get he decided to phone his friends and come home. 

Thursday friendM and I ad been invited to friendHB's house for lunch and cream tea. She lives in Felixstowe so again up the A14 and over the bridge and again all moving OK going there and dreadful coming home. So glad Hubby does all the driving now and he had enjoyed his time in Felixstowe as the guys had met in the snooker club. Us three girls sat in the garden eating and chatting away and it was a very pleasant way to spend the afternoon. 

Thursday evening O performed live (as Charlie of course) for BBC radio Suffolk where they introduce new artists' music and he was this week's featured artist. Proud Grandma! 

Daughter was so proud when his image came up on her TV.

Haircut and (clear) specs the look for this event. 

We listened in and along with a lovely comfortable chat with the host the three tracks he performed sounded really good. 

Bought three more little roses which need planting. No blooms or buds on the others at the moment so I'm hoping these blooms last a while. Forecast is for a rainy weekend which will help, and hopefully help the grass look a bit greener again too. 

Enjoy your weekend, umbrella if you need it eh? 

.

A People Week.........

 
Surprise start to the week when I got a call to have a CT Scan Saturday morning, the call came last Friday afternoon and obviously follows on from one of the Oncology team doing a catchup call last Thursday and my asking when my next scan will be. It's recommended I have them every four months and this is exactly four months, however, it's the first time I've witnessed any of that team taking action on anything that quickly. Nicely quiet at the hospital and easy to park. As usual getting the cannula in for the dye was very difficult for the radiographer but he succeeded and the scan itself is no problem at all. Results come through in about two weeks. 

A lovely chatty phlebotomists on Tuesday when I went for a blood test, who was very patient but persistent with my reluctant veins. 

Three years ago friendM asked me to have a chat with someone she went to school with who was then at the start of a very similar health story to mine regarding kidney cancer. I happily became a fb-friend to JC and we private messaged most days for about a year. We had hoped to actually meet face to face but as usual life gets in the way. 

This week friendM, fb-friendJC and myself had a lunch together and we chatted for about three hours. 

Our usual group of six Wednesday evening, two others joined us this week as The Grosvenor had a live singer. He's rock and roll and not bad but far too loud so you can't talk at all plus it was hot in there, so friendsH&H ate then left. We all moved into the other bar area where we could talk easier but friendT (she has dementia) was suffering so T&F finished eating and went home. Just the four of us and the guys went to play pool leaving me and friendM beside a giant fan. 

Another reunion lunch this week was with the art teacher we had for evening classes 30 years ago. This class was intended to take us through the "O level" exam as it was then, but instead of putting us in for that teacherSB suggested we all just head straight for the "A level" which none of us failed. 

At the earlier social gatherings there were quite a few of us but mostly it has been just three of us and with my health issues we have only met once since covid. Just the day before friendSH had to cancel for a hospital appointment so lunch was just the two of us. 

We chatted for a couple of hours (and I ate a little too much) during which time my lovely cousinBB phoned so as soon as I got home I phoned her back and had a long catchup chat, then soon after Daughter arrived for tea and more catching up to do as she hasn't been over for a while because she's been unwell and now she's nursing a very bruised and swollen knee having had a nasty trip when out running. 

Busy week but nearly all chatting which I could cope with as it's been far too hot for me to manage anything physical (well that's my excuse eh?).

How are you coping or do you love these heatwaves?

.

My New Sport........

 
It had been forecast Monday would be even hotter than the weekend had been, so wanting to keep our coffee morning neighbours safe from sunstroke we pulled out the gazebo Son had left here years ago. 

There were no instructions just a few little numbers on the poles, so the puzzle began. 

Gradually we pieced it together

And eventually had it erected, however it needs to be on the patio so can't peg the legs into the ground which this lightweight thing needs if the wind picks up at all, so we tied it to the brick post, the door handle and the garden umbrella stand. 

That extra shade was very much appreciated by our guests. 

The whole time Hubby was struggling to keep his favourite gardening shoes on his feet as they have completely split on almost every seam. 

I suggested he put them in the bin which he did along with his second best pair that were in a worse state than these hahaha! 

It must have been a little windy Wednesday evening/night as the gazebo looked like this Thursday morning despite us thinking all four legs were well secured. At least three poles were bent beyond repair. 

Shopping trip for a replacement off the shelf at The Range. As a pop-up style it should be quicker to erect and we can put it away each time so it's not left out overnight. 

Meanwhile the TV in the office had decided to stop working. Hubby had fiddled with it for a couple of days without success. So our shopping trip moved onto Curry's and we eventually left with a new TV.

I said eventually as they complained of being really short staffed and tried to place customers in some sort of queue but it still took 35 minutes before someone came to serve us and after Hubby had decided which one to buy it took the chap another 20 minutes or so getting one from the warehouse. Hubby had brought the broken one in the boot which did mean we got a recycling discount of £10.

Hubby is enjoying TV time as it's nearly all sport at the moment, I don't particularly enjoy watching any sport, so I'm calmly participating in tactical avoidance hahaha. 

Keep cool if you can.

. 

On The Right Path.........

 
Our builder-friendP came early Saturday to help Hubby get the path done. His normal starting work time is 8am, it felt very early for us but so much better to try and get heavy manual work done before the main heat of the hottest day of the year so far. 

As with most builders starting with a mug of tea is essential. 

FriendP took the lead but they do work well together. 

Another mid way tea break then finished soon after so we could all enjoy an early lunch.

Hopefully some rain soon so the grass looks green again, otherwise so much better than it was. 

When our grapevines died and this trellis was bare we were thinking what to plant next and something grew that we didn't plant, obviously a gifted seed dropped by a bird or squirrel. Hubby left it and it grew into a strong little tree. 

The last few years it has blossomed in the spring and the app on Hubby's phone told us it's a plum. This year it fruited, the sweetest little plums that are no bigger than cherry tomatoes. 

Hubby successfully revived friendKW's laptop that he left here a few weeks ago. We returned it over a late pub lunch and a good catch up chat. Yummy. 

It's just over an hours drive each way to this pub (half way between us and friendsL&K) and we are so grateful for air-con as it was 29°C outside! The forecast for this weekend including next Monday could reach a high of about 34°C PHEW! Please take care, drink plenty and while you do that enjoy yourself.

. 

No Flies On Me......

 
It had to be on the Saturday not Sunday but Daughter and Son managed to get partners and our grandchildren all together for a pub lunch with Hubby and me for Father's Day. Everyone left there full apart from O who had been disappointed with his choice of pizza. Then all back here afterwards for cups of tea (although Daughter had swapped M for the dog).  

I haven't made fish pie for a while but I found a supermarket fish mix in my freezer and two boxes of ready made mash (always freeze leftovers) so a nice easy dinner once it all thawed, just made the white sauce with onions and constructed individual dishes for the oven. Mmmmmm

A few slabs were delivered. 

The next day was the cement and paving blocks. 

And Hubby has been working on it daily. Heavy lifting when he's not on his knees and this has been such a hot week, so I've insisted on plenty of long breaks. 

I've followed this lady on Instagram for a while now, she won bakeoff in 2014 (gosh didn't realise it was that long ago, so surprised when I just looked it up). She does some great bakes and also gives hints and ideas for a chemical free environment. 

Her response to annoying flies at home now doors and windows are open more is not to kill them with sprays or zappers or give them a slow death on sticky fly paper etc, Nancy prefers to deter them from coming in at all. Flies hate the smell of cloves apparently although when they are stuck into lemon it makes the room smell nice for humans. 

I've a 24 foot lounge with French doors open at the back and the window open at the front to get a through breeze while this week has been at its hottest. With these dishes either end we were amazed, no flies! Further proof was on the day we were dog sitting as the cloves are toxic to dogs so the dishes were removed and the flies returned! WOW

Any time I've tested another of Nancy's good ideas I promise to share it. 

  

It's going to be another scorching weekend, so drink lots, wear sunscreen and hats and stay safe.

.

Sorting........

 
I've just come across this card while looking through my little stock of greetings cards for a friend's birthday. It was hiding inside its blank envelope.

I must have been really really efficient when I ordered this and hid it away well in advance of the occasion. Our 51st wedding anniversary was last October!!! Hubby received a beautiful card on the day that I had lovingly hand made for him which I often do. This one was completely forgotten which I don't often do. 

Out with friendsM, J & H for a meal in the same pub I'd been to last Friday lunchtime.  Us four girls try to meet for each birthday and this one was friendH's.

Also ate out with the usual Wednesday group (only four of us this time) in our usual pub (such creatures of habit hahaha).  This pub is the hardest to find a tiny meal or starter I like while these pills ruin my appetite, I hate sending so much uneaten food back each time. Turns out the second Wednesday each month is now a solo singer called Shane Baxendale. He's rock and roll with a very good voice, BUT FAR TOO LOUD!

Hubby has made a start on remaking our front path. We've been through so many options on-line and visiting builders merchants and nothing seemed quite right plus all very expensive for not- quite-right.

Having run the pressure washer over the existing paving slabs Hubby decided to add more of the same, after removing the concrete/pebble inserts, level the ground and add a border of brick pavers either side. 

New stuff all on order to arrive next week. He has prepped so far with the channel now dug both sides. I was worried someone(or me)  would turn their ankle so I asked him to make it obvious and the blue rope did the trick. I also made a couple of signs as a joke. 

Ever had a job you wish you'd never started? Underneath our stairs Hubby built this unit more than 30 years ago. I was thrilled to find very large baskets that fitted the spaces. The basket on the right filled with children's toys for our children, nieces, nephews, and visiting friends. Later that became grandchildren, great nieces, great nephews and the occasional visitor with a little one. The basket on the left is scarves, hats and gloves. Both baskets were overflowing so I tipped all the contents onto the table! 

Not the easiest heap to tackle with sentiment getting in the way of toy sorting and comfort and fit debates for the outer-wear stuff. Plus backache making it take extra shorter sorting sessions. 

Finally left with two very tidy baskets, a large black bag full for the charity shop, and rubbish in the bin. Now need to do further repairs on the baskets but they have done well for their age. I've even found the rest of the raffia I bought to repair with in the past. 

Beautiful daylilies

Lavatera in full bloom

Just had to share. 

Spectacular loud storm last night, went on for about two hours and felt right overhead. Very hot weekend forecast here in Suffolk so don't go out without your umbrella and sunscreen! Bye for now.

.

Same Ole Stuff........

 
Oops didn't start writing this till Wednesday and can't remember what had happened at the weekend which I'm assuming means nothing much did. 

Monday was a comfortable temperature for an outside coffee morning, in the afternoon I went to my nails lady who was juggling her schedule and flapping a bit. 9:30pm I discovered my nails money was still in my pocket! A few messages back and forth and she told me my neighbour was going to her the next day so I gave my money to her to take. (I know that wasn't interesting, sorry).

Tuesday after lunch was dentist, as always I went with Daughter and O. I had to phone Daughter last minute as she hadn't arrived to pick me up, she thought our 2pm appointment was 2:30pm, so panic dash and just 10mins late, thankfully the dentist could still see all three of us. Next surprise was the dentist we had booked with and seen for possibly 18-20 years has now gone totally private (without any patient being notified) so we now see another one. Then back at the desk we were told our next appointment will be with yet another dentist as this one is a locum! AAGGHHH I really hate going to the dentist and hate even more not knowing who will have their hands in my mouth. 

Wednesday mid- morning we had a visit from friendsM&S. This was only the second time they'd come over since Hubby stopped being a blood runner more than three years ago so it was good to have a long catchup and they stayed for lunch. 

Mid-afternoon Daughter came over to leave her car and take mine, after a cuppa and chat of course. 

Wednesday evening was our usual gang. Sadly friendT wasn't well enough to stay so after we'd eaten F took her home. The four of us then went onto the snooker club and the guys played pool while M and I chatted. 

Early Thursday our mechanic took Daughter's car for its service and MOT. We are so lucky he is a neighbour and collects from our drive and delivers back plus he's always done a very good job. 

Friday was another lovely catchup lunch with old friendsS&R. R said he was paying as he always calls on Hubby for all his DIY help. I've had a really poor appetite on these pills and would hate to leave more than half a plate full when someone else is paying. I actually chose a starter instead of a main and that worked well. It was also S's birthday so we had taken a card and a house plant. 

Finally I have to tell this very long story which I'm hoping to make as short as possible, wish me luck! 
A very long time ago Hubby decided our water pressure is much lower than it should be, compared it to our neighbours and called out Anglian Water and the people on our Home Care contract (whoever they are). Drains were looked into and pipes were flushed and it did improve a little. 

When Hubby did a full refit on the kitchen in 2013 it did seem as if the hot water flow was even slower still. So Hubby started getting all the relevant people back again. I can't actually tell you why or what they did because I kept myself well out of the way and never really listened when Hubby told me about it after each thing. 

What did affect me was when the tap started leaking and after some fixes Hubby fitted a new tap. This was taller than the previous one which I got used to and did like the extra feature of a pull out spout so we could direct it to all parts of the sink. 

Because of the pull out feature it had to have all the extra flexible pipe under the sink. When lots more relevant people had been through the house and tested and suggested and flushed inside and outside down the street and measured and given up over quite a few years Hubby decided he needed to change to a tap without extra bendy pipe that has been taking the water on a longer journey. 

He ordered a new tap that was still flexible on top and under the sink he goes again.

We are now looking at this huge thing which makes filling the kettle quite awkward but I will not complain as Hubby has gained four seconds when filling the bucket to the two litre mark and is OK with living with it like that....... for now! 

That's about it for this week. 

Enjoy your weekend.

.

Patience........

 
R and E had their birthday on Saturday (never know if 'birthday' should be singular or plural when they were born just minutes apart). I didn't see either of them on the day but messages went back and forth between us. Two beautiful adults and I'm very proud of all they continue to achieve. 

Monday was one of those undecided mornings weather wise. It was sunny which had warmth to it although a little windy, so Hubby decided to set up for coffee morning in the garden. Nice to see a couple of extra neighbours as it was a bank holiday. After about half an hour the clouds got darker and the wind got stronger and when the table umbrella started spinning like helicopter rotor blades I decided to move everyone/everything inside. Very soon after it rained so good timing. 

Monday afternoon friendsL&K arrived. Always lovely to see them socially but this time they had techy issues for Hubby to sort. It should have been straightforward but refused to do what was expected, which was reassuring for K as he was feeling it was all his fault but obviously wasn't. I'd booked the pub for dinner and K picked up the bill (minus the voucher I had) as a thank you for Hubby eventually beating the software into submission.

Tuesday lunchtime we were booked to meet friendsL&R in the same pub but unfortunately friendL didn't feel strong enough for the in and out car/ wheelchair transfers so we cancelled, but she still wanted to see us and invited us to have lunch with them at home. Which was lovely. 

Wednesday I noticed one very ripe banana and thought the last three apples could do with using up too, which was totally confirmed when my thumb went straight into one apple and made a very soggy mess everywhere. After cleaning up the mess and checking the other two apples were OK I added the fruit to my bread pudding mix. This also took longer than it should after I went to the fridge and discovered not enough milk for me to use a pint of, so back of the cupboard to find the powder milk there for just such an event. 

Three bread puddings so one to eat and two in the freezer mmmmm.

Our usual Wednesday evening gang plus two more. Fourth Wednesday every month this pub has an open mic night, some acts are regulars, some are new, some quite good and some definitely not! Entertaining but far too loud to talk over. 

Thursday stayed in as the hospital pharmacy delivery had been arranged (having chased again as told they were ready a week ago) but they didn't arrive so Friday first thing Hubby spent nearly an hour on the phone again waiting for someone to answer. Lots of apologies when mine was found in a box overlooked, they then promised to deliver same day! Hubby has more patience than I do. Thankfully they did arrive with more apologies from the driver. 

Lovely visit from Daughter, R, O and the dog in the afternoon so bread puddings out of the freezer again (a couple of hours out on the worktop but still cold so they did need a brief warm through back in the oven to make sure they were fully thawed). R was totally exhausted as just two of them had manned the Red Rose Chain show stand for both full and very long days at The Suffolk Show. It will probably take her all weekend to recover. 

As May with spring rolls into June with summer I wish you a good weekend. 

Hahaha I've now re-read that and really fancy Chinese spring rolls!

.

True WOW Moments........

 
Our early visitor Saturday morning, beautiful but sadly with our fishpond under scrutiny he was unwelcome. He flew off as soon as Hubby opened the patio door. 

We were far more friendly Saturday evening when we joined our friendsN&T for the Great Horkesley W.I. quiz night. FriendN does a lot of the organising and makes all of the ploughman's plates for the interval. Hubby and I have been part of this team for quite a few years now so it's lovely to catch up with those there we know. We didn't win the quiz or the raffle (not even close) but always good fun. 

Long story coming but bear with me cos I think it's a definite series of wow's.

Last week I was thinking about O needing props for his 1976 reenactment weekend and I thought we had some old maps (no GPS or smartphones in the 70's) unfortunately nothing suitable in the very large ring binder of maps I still had. Deciding I really didn't need to keep them anymore this week I offered them to neighbourT who does a lot of collage art and told her to throw away any of it she didn't want. 

A few days later she brought back the ring binder with the empty plastic sleeves and said she'd found plenty of very useful stuff. She had also found an unopened envelope.......

Wow how old is this? 

How did it get mixed up with the maps? 

Neither of us could remember those names as a couple we knew? 

Thanking us for a Sunday, did we entertain them? 

The photo enclosed was Hubby's brother's wedding which was before I even joined the family, unrelated? 

Hubby thought he possibly recognised the handwriting but wasn't sure. 

Later Hubby took the ring binder upstairs......

Wow there on my desk was a small pile of old photos waiting to be put away and on top was this..... 

That's our garden, there's children playing and there's Gordon with a woman we didn't remember so that must be Joan? Hubby emailed the photo to the guys, his three school friends, and they were amazed and between them thought it was about 1990.

Coincidence, magic or was something unseen pushing things in the right direction? 

And today we got up to a very wet day, a pleasant change that is long overdue. 

May all your wow's be ones to smile about.

.

Mysteries and Memories.......

 
Well this was the first time I'd encountered a camera shy butterfly. On the front edge of this terracotta bowl is a really beautiful bright orange and black butterfly but you will have to take my word for it, as every time I took a photo it had closed up, eight times before I gave up. 

Daughter and Son went for one of their long walks. 

With this WhatsApp message came the challenge to "find the dragon".

I saved the pic to my phone and zoomed right in as much as I could. 

Told it wasn't what I thought was possibly a dragon statue. 

Son did the laughing emoji when I suggested it was reflected in his sunnies. 

Eventually they sent a zoomed pic of the field way way in the background! 

I spotted the lyrics to this song posted on Facebook and tagged SisterP. 

This conversation followed.....

We shared this with sisterS and thankfully she remembered it the way I did. 

R is now home from New York. That month seems to have gone quickly. 

Collected my new specs on Tuesday and so far so good. 

When people say they are just going out to blow the cobwebs away, I doubt they've ever meant it literally. Wednesday we popped out for a short trip to Shotley Marina: very picturesque drive along the river Orwell, not too far from home, pretty walk, interesting activities to watch and a good pub. 

That's the Port of Felixstowe you can see the other side of the river. The yellow boat is the Shotley- Harwich foot ferry. 

We watched the loch gates open and close to let a boat through.

It was so windy I had to use hair slides to secure my cap but it still meant our walk was shorter than Hubby would have liked. Still fun though, and lots of pointing and remarking on the changes we spotted as we haven't been down to Shotley for a very long time.   

And a drink in the pub gave us free parking. 

Thursday afternoon had a lovely visit from Daughter, R and O and the dog of course. Caught up on the news about O's recent GCSE exams and R's adventure in the US. Os mentioned his next reenactment trip to Kentwell is for'multi-period' and he is part of the 1976 group. Hubby remembered having his dad's picnic box here, totally authentic and O was thrilled to borrow it. 

Friday we had a quick trip into town to ask Specsavers to make a slight adjustment to the new frames as the arms were a little tight behind my ears. Seem more comfortable now. 

I'll be wearing lots of layers this weekend as it's much chillier than it has been recently, suggest you do the same, well it is still May.
Have a good week.

.