Taking a Break

 

For various business and health reasons I am going to take a break from my blogs for a while.  I will be turning comments off from today so that I do not have to worry about missing any of your messages ... or of course that all intrusive Spam.

It's time to take a step back and revel in some peace.

Hopefully I will be back soon, if not please don't worry there is nothing drastically wrong.

Wishing everyone love, light and happiness ... and a cosy Winter season.

Sue xx  💖

Time Out, Coffee ... and Don't Get Arrested

 

Gosh I'm feeling like a time out at the moment.

Inspiration has temporarily dried up leaving me feeling very strange.  I'm halfway through three books and not that inspired to finish any of them.  I should be planning out next weeks rations but haven't even started yet.  

I have hoovered.  😃

But perhaps I'll just wander off and search for a coffee.

Because ...

Sue xx

Weekend Watching

 

My mantra for the weekend.  😊

And here for your delight and entertainment are a few of the YouTube videos that I have really enjoyed this week.

https://youtu.be/28seX-TDUh4?si=VES3SgOyInNKM6_G

Firstly a lovely vegan couple that I've watched for quite a while now,  doing another of their budget vegan food shops.  They are so close to the magic 1000 subscribers at last, so if you enjoy the video please think about subscribing to the channel, it costs you nothing but does really help them

https://youtu.be/58wyfJQCMVg?si=hh3V6asRZc_K1-ix

I watched Farmhouse on Boone this morning, such a relaxing way to start the day this video and a cup of coffee ... and such a beautiful house with it's lovely muted colours.

A little video from Carolyn, who is great for giving me ideas to help with rationing.

https://youtu.be/UmDDhwFZQjo?si=ucxEDzR8uWlb64PT

I think I'll give these ago the next time I run out of bread.

And finally from Grackle ...

https://youtu.be/mRtMR8FAfuE?si=Pxasn1HRJfdEiWts

A bit of a nosey into two hotels in London, the newest and the oldest ... and wow, what a difference in price.  I do love a look around a hotel room and what better way to do it without having to spend on an overnight stay away from home.  

I hope you enjoy these, just something to sit back and enjoy a cup of coffee over.

Sue xx

Apologies to Anyone Who Loves the Heat

 For sure.  💚

I love Autumn, and no sooner than I thought it had arrived it left!!

 Only the other week as the days, and especially the nights, started to cool I was dreaming about putting on my winter-weight duvet and snuggling up at night, pulling my warmer jumpers and cardigans out of storage and packing away the lighter Summer coloured t-shirts for another year.  It's a good job I didn't react to my first thought isn't it.  

Last week was a sweaty mess in every sense of the word.  Watering plants to keep them alive was suddenly top priority, well along with trying to keep my little place cool for the dogs and Ginger to escape from the sun.  How Alan managed down South wearing a shirt and suit each day at work I have no idea!

Yes, the nights are drawing in at a fast pace and the darker evenings are a balm to my soul but I need cool, lots of cool at this time of year.  Thank goodness it seems to be cooling down to more Autumnal temperatures this week ... and fingers crossed it stays that way. 

Now all I need to do is go to the car wash and get that Saharan dust that came down in the thundery showers the other day, washed off my car.

Sue xx

Some YouTube Videos That I've Loved This Week

 Slow down, right down.  

Make yourself a coffee or top up that teacup, maybe grab a biscuit or an extra slice of toast, and then sit and relax with just a few of the YouTubers that have entertained me this week.

I hope you enjoy. xx

https://youtu.be/jaJrA7qu6qs?si=Qv4tWdta4DcId29T

Farmhouse on Boone is currently one of my favourite YouTube channels, she has such a nice calm way about her while she is getting on with the day to day baking and homemaking.  Her beautiful home is very easy on the eye too.

https://youtu.be/xDom0BB-GCo?si=6BeKftTTJxIJFKcV

I don't even knit but I love watching Rationbook Rebecca and her lovely way with words.  Her showing us the latest books that she's added to her collection was just the icing on a lovely relaxing cake.

https://youtu.be/XJVQsHJPNlw?si=Emy_lL7gwqK54wEi

Frugal Daddy sure knows the way to Frugal Mommy's heart. 

 What a brilliant score from the dumpster, and how sad that all those seeds nearly ended up in landfill.

https://youtu.be/C5jEdCtjqWI?si=0VZDAgw_EoXSSkrx

And finally ... a couple I used to watch a lot of in the past, Kirsten and Joerg.  Wow, their channel has grown enormously in the past couple of years.  They holiday and tour beautiful places all over the UK and take us the viewers along with them.  

And you know me, I love a good cottage.

I hope you are having a good weekend, and that on this, the first weekend of September we all get some good weather.

Sue xx

No Questions, No Answers ... Just Be!

 

Isn't this so often the case. 💓

Moving forward and growing ... at your own pace. 

Sometimes hard to do ... but worth practising.

Blogging Buddies forever.  💖

Sue xx

I Like People ... and Have You Seen My Marbles?

 

Sue xx

Fluffy, Noisy Neighbours, Partying Bed Springs ... and It's Good to Be Home

Our neighbours at the caravan park.

I have never seen fluffy baby seagulls before, lots of speckled adolescents chasing round after chip stealing parents, but never the very young version.  They were lovely little things ... even if Mum was a bit vocal for a good part of the day.

After a visit to the flat and then on to our letting agents to discuss us not selling it, and a talk about how they had mistakenly given the go ahead for the redecoration and re-carpeting of the flat we drove into Llandudno.

The dogs both enjoyed the return visit to their favourite old stomping ground, and loved walking along the grass near the Little Orme.  The tide was right in and the beach that's usually there was well hidden, there was just a lone fisherman at the waters edge braving the grey skies and winds.

Moody skies but lovely fresh air.

Later after an evening playing bingo and having a drink in the club we enjoyed fish and chips in the caravan.  Then the next day we did a return visit to the flat to measure up for curtains and plan a few things for it's future.

The caravan was advertised a a 'Comfort' version ... it was nothing of the sort, and after two sore nights lying on a mattress with every spring having a party with it's neighbour we decided to call it a day and come home a day early to sort out some things that needed sorting.

 It's good to be home.

  

You only realise just how good home is when you leave it for a while!!

Sue xx

It's the Least You Can Do

 

It's the least you can do.  💖

Exactly!!

Sue xx

Don't Save Anything ...

 

Use the good china, wear your best clothes, read the new magazine.  

And always ...

Sue xx

Brooke at Her Best

 Oh yes!!

It really does all come down to coffee.  ❤

Sue xx

But First Coffee

 

I'm just filling my blog with memes that resonate with me for a few days.

But as always ... coffee comes first.  

Sue xx

Do I Carry On ....

 

I've been wondering over the past few days if I want to carry on blogging.  😐

To be honest I am feeling that Blogland is on a downward turn, the negativity on quite a few of the blogs that I read and the downright nastiness of some commenters on a few of my blogging buddies posts leave me with a sour taste in my mouth.  

There's just no need for it.

I find if I read too many negative blog posts and their accompanying comments before I write a post on my own blog, all creativity and even the desire to write words of my own leaves me in a flash of sour coloured smoke.  

It's really frustrating.

I'm far from perfect myself and there have been times when I've been a bit of  Debby Downer myself (apologies to my readers, and especially to the two regular commenters called Debbie/Debby).  But hopefully that has been on only a few posts over the last fifteen years.  Maybe it's just me running out of steam that you are reading about right now.

We'll see!!

As for nasty comments on my blog, these are easily dealt with and rarely bother me if they pop up every now and then.  I deal with them either with a few words in print from my potty mouth or a sharp press of the 'Delete Forever' button. 😏

We are going to visit our Welsh flat over the weekend and have a chat with our letting agents in Llandudno.  We will be staying in a caravan in Rhyl for a few days, as obviously the flat is completely empty now that our tenant has moved out.  Hopefully this will give me some time to think about things and come up with a plan for life, the blog and just things in general ... I always find a change of scenery works wonders.

  The dogs will be coming with us, but Ginger will have the pleasure of my son's company.

Maybe I just need a break, we'll see.

Sue xx

It's Official ...

 

It's official ... I'm a cat !!

Sue xx  🐱

Picking Your Poisons Wisely

I'm currently just over halfway through my latest book, Chris van Tulleken's Ultra Processed People, and I'm finding it absolutely fascinating, although there's so much to take in that it's taking me far longer to read through than perhaps it should.

One of the things he states in it right at the beginning is that you should continue to eat all your normal foods while you're reading the book, in the same way that a lot of people did with Allen Carr's book 'Easy Way to Stop Smoking'.  This worked well for a friend of mine who had tried to give up smoking for years before finally reading the book and then quitting, so I knew that it worked.  

Reading and still eating all your usual foods does make you a bit obsessed with reading the labels and I have already found a few things that I thought were the healthiest and really they are not ... the bread rolls mentioned last week for instance.  I think moving forward I will be picking my poisons carefully, keeping in my diet the ones that I love the most and finding alternatives where possible for others.

These 'No Chicken' Garlic Kievs from Aldi are delicious and make for a quick evening meal when I'm not all that hungry, so they will stay ... unless I can find a suitable alternative for them.

I usually fill the dish up with peas when I have these with either new potatoes or rice, but I just wasn't in the mood that evening.  So simple it was.

Every morning I have a cup of hot water with a slice of lemon, after drinking this the slice of lemon gets popped into a glass of water and left in the fridge for another drink later in the day.  On the days when I don't have any lemon slices left ... I can't always get unwaxed lemons in town, and even washing the waxed ones thoroughly leaves a film on the water, so you know the wax is still there ... I have been using a dash of bottled lemon juice.

I had never read the label until last week!!

My old bottled lemon juice on the right ... and my new one on the left.

This is the ingredient list from the old lemon juice bottle.

One thing really jumped out at me so I Googled it to see just what I had been consuming. 

From Wikipedia. 

This really jumped out at me:  

Safety

Potassium metabisulfite can irritate skin, eyes, and respiratory tract.

Yesterday, as you might have noticed on the last post I bought a bottle of this instead.

Ingredients:  Organic Lemon Juice.

Now that's better.  😀

I hope to be making lots of little changes like this over the course of the next few months.

Now it's time to get the vacuum cleaner out ...

Or maybe I'll just go back to my book.  😄

Happy Sunday everyone.

Sue xx

A Case for Slow Living ... and Ultra-Processed People

... and read books in the sunshine.   

I love this meme, it really resonates with me, so I thought I would share it.  I've added my little bit underneath it to remind myself to read outside for a while each day. 

 I started The Year of Miracles a couple of weeks ago and have dipped into it a couple of times but it's not grabbing me.  You know the way a good book does when you feel the urge to pick it up at every opportunity.  It's not that it's a bad book as I love the way it's written, so maybe it's just my mood. In fact when Miguel Barclay's new cook book arrived with a thud on the doormat last week, I downed my book immediately and read his from cover to cover instead.

So when I read Sue's post this morning and she mentioned her new book it reminded me that I bought this book a couple of weeks ago and have yet to start it.  Maybe putting down my book and starting on another will make me enjoy them both.

I wonder who will finish reading 'Ultra-Processed People' first ... my money is most definintely on Sue.  😄

Sue xx

Shopping Differently, Being Gentle with People

 

I've started shopping differently recently.

Obviously I'm using up a lot of what I already have, so I don't really need to do a 'big shop' ... unless there are genuine reasons for doing that (more on that another day).  I find myself taking longer in the shop, enjoying the process more, and coming home much happier and more satisfied with my purchases.

This week for instance the above is all I needed, so that was all I bought.

The bananas are all 'singles', I smile every time I see the box that the single bananas get put into in our Booths supermarket.  It's message changes slightly some days, but basically it is a chalked note that says ... 'I'm single, can I come home with you?'

Happily 🍌

I'm not the only one shopping differently.

Since she became housebound my Mum's way of shopping has changed, for one thing my brother gets it for her now.  He took her shopping virtually every week for the last few years, but as soon as she could no longer cope with the car journey to the supermarket early last year, he took over completely and he pretty much gets it right each week, he was good at noticing what she loaded her trolley with when they were together and what he packed into her bags at the checkout while she waited to pay.

The things she puts on her list are pretty much the same each week, and until this last couple of weeks she has been determined to keep buying things like custard powder and baking supplies but this is making more work for her in the kitchen at a time when she can't stand up for long to cook.  So we have been introducing her to some ready made foods, custard in little plastic cartons that she can pop in the microwave, shop bought scones, ready prepared and chopped vegetables ... and she recently discovered for herself the wonders of frozen Baked Potatoes.

One of her little 'planet saving' things, just like I do, has been to write her shopping lists on backs of envelopes, scraps of paper or pieces of card, but these are now getting lost in the piles of papers that she keeps here, there and everywhere.  We had a good sort out last week and got rid of so many ancient lists and saved brochures etc etc.  So this week to make up for it I am taking her a posh shopping list pad with a magnet on the back, so that she can have it right next to her on the storage heater ... ready to add things to as she thinks of them and ready to read out to my brother when he phones for her list on a Friday evening.

Far too many people jump to conclusions when they see shopping trollies with lots of little plastic filled bags of ready chopped vegetables or fruit, small plastic pots of baked beans, jelly or custard and think that the person is extravagant or lazy ... or both.  Or that they don't care for the environment and are shopping in some willy-nilly fashion for no good reason, and I have to admit I have sometimes looked into a shopping basket and thought exactly that in years gone by.

We should always remember that we, and people like my Mum were more environmentally friendly before it became a 'thing'.  We took our own bags to the shops, we returned our milk bottles and our pop bottles to the delivery guy or the shop.  We carried home food wrapped in paper bags, chips wrapped in newspaper and walked to the shops for our food, the schools for our children and used public transport in preference to individual cars if we ever ventured further afield.

So if in our twilight years we have to take some shortcuts that will make our lives easier, happier and more manageable ... we should just do it.

Sue xx

To Love and to Startle

 

I love this ☝ꜛ

I love the simplicity of it and the message it carries

I love that it reminded me that I have never said I Love You to my readers.

Some of you have followed me for years, far too many years of waffle perhaps

 On different blogs of various topics containing posts that are short and concise or that ramble on for days.

You have been there in the written word, via comments, emails and Messenger

You have been there in person, chatting over our car-boot stalls, in our home over glasses of wine, dishes of curry ... and lots and lots of cups of coffee on the patio in Wales.

So just this once

I will say

I love you.

Was that startling?

Sue xx

Rebelling Against the Adverts

 

I'm quietly rebelling against the adverts at the moment.

The adverts that tell me who I am

What I should wear

The foods I must eat.

The adverts that tell me I have to have this, that and the other

That life would be so much easier if I had the right shoes, dress, shopping crate.

The adverts that tell me I should stop spending money on things 

And start spending money on the memories that only they can proved me with.

I am slowly disengaging from the places where the adverts can find me.  Scrolling past them without letting them catch my eye when I am in places where they lurk, waiting to pounce on the unsuspecting formerly satisfied people.

Who says we have to do, be, want, need certain things ... not me, not you, it must be they!!

Sue xx

Just Words and Pictures

 

William K Blacklock - The Morning Post

Disclaimer -  She is a real person.  She struggles and she sparkles.

She is no longer afraid to say what makes her angry, sad or what she thinks is unfair.

She's not afraid to admit that at times she feels worthless, lost, or not enough.

She's refusing to hide from love, beauty, aliveness, magic and abundance.

She won't edit the sad or messed up parts of her story, or the magnitude of her triumphs, to make anyone comfortable.  She is a real person.

She struggles and she sparkles, she is a real person.

Tanya Markhul

Have a great weekend, whatever you have planned to do.

Sue xx