Weekend Watching

Our motley little crew hoping to share Alan's lunch, I think it's the corned beef they are after rather than the figs and beetroot. 😄

And here for Weekend Watching are a few of the YouTubers that have entertained me this week.

https://youtu.be/5slnHqMG22Q

Farmhouse on Boone ... a recent home tour.

This is one of my more recently discovered channels, she does some lovely relaxing cooking videos too, and now they are a family of ten.

https://youtu.be/EQHcunpixHI

Three Rivers Homestead - Jessica is currently doing her #everybitcountschallenge.

I used to love preserving our produce for the Winter months, but I never reached the volume that Jessica does ... well there are only two of us and lots more of this lovely family.

https://youtu.be/n_T1qayJk0I

If you are even thinking of moving onto a narrowboat here are some great tips delivered in a unique way by Vic, of Holly- The Café Boat fame.

https://youtu.be/zx-tD8w8rBk

And the lovely Grackle is all grown up, married and sharing some of the things she enjoyed on her honeymoon.  It's been like watching a daughter grow up and find the love of her life.

And finally -

https://youtu.be/7FIfcScc1JE

A couple living in a tiny space in Brooklyn, New York.

I'm not sure if some of the things they have done would suit me, but they have lovely taste and so much of this apartment I would love.  They also have even less space than me, my small home is just over 336 square feet and theirs is just 300.

I hope you enjoy some of these YouTube videos as much as I have over the past week or so.  My current favourite is watching Farmhouse on Boone while I wake up in the mornings with a nice cup of coffee, watching while she makes her sourdough bread or organise her food for the day is a lovely peaceful start to my day.

Little glimpses into other peoples lives is very nice isn't it, and I would much rather this than all the 'celebrity news' and gossip that is bandied around.

I hope you have a wonderful weekend, I'll be back soon to let you know what we've been up to on ours.

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

Oh WOW!! ... Thank You

 

Oh wow ... really wow!!

Thank you so much for the responses to yesterdays post, I did not expect to receive so many immediate answers to my questions or such detailed ones, but they REALLY helped me and I thank you for taking the time to join in with what turned out to be a bit of a survey.

This morning over the cup of coffee you see me making in the photo above, I sat and read all the responses that came after the first two that I had replied to last night.   The photo was taken for a completely different reason but boy has it come in handy to head up this post.  I am now sitting writing this over a bowl of Weetabix ... a proper multi-tasker. 😄

It seems that we are indeed a community of like-minded people that dip in and out of each others lives, sometimes regularly and sometimes more intermittently, but that's just like real life isn't it, we see some people regularly day-in day-out and there's always that friend that we don't see for months or even years, that once we do get together again it's as though no time has passed at all.

This meme sums it up really well, blogging gives me and fellow bloggers a way of entering into peoples lives all over the world and and we find that borders, languages and ways of life do nothing to stop true genuine friendships developing ... and I will always write about everything that is 'good and true and real'.

Don't worry if you can't get into the new blog that is linked on the sidebar, I am currently tinkering with it's layout and 'pages' and while it is flashing around and changing it will remain private.  Once I start my rationing journey it will ... I have decided after reading all the responses to my questions ... be public and available for all to see and comment on and Follow. 😄

Something that came up in a few comments was the inability to see the sidebar when reading on a phone.  What I do to visit people's sidebars when I'm on my phone is scroll to the bottom of their post or page and click on 'View Web Version'.  This will bring up the same page but as though you were on a computer, hence everything will then be visible.  Hope that helps.

And now it's only fair that I answer my own questions, just so that you can see how I view things in blogland.

So, the questions:

1.  What makes you want to read a post on a blog?

A good title can grab my attention and if you are on my sidebar I tend to read your posts most days.

2.  What makes you decide to click on the Follower button?

I always Follow a blog that I read more than a couple of times if I like the content and want to visit regularly.  I see it as being like the Subscribe button on YouTube, it lets the person creating the content know that you are there and appreciating their efforts.

3.  What stops you from leaving a comment?

If the same answer I would have left has been said over and over, or if I have nothing nice to say.  I hope I would never say something that would upset someone.

4.  Do you prefer a blog that you can't comment on?

I don't 'prefer' it, I don't mind it, but it does surprise me sometimes if people don't want to engage with their readers.

5.  Do you like getting a response to your comment when you leave one?

I always check back to see if there's a reply and sometimes to see if my comment is still actually there.  Blogger is being strange these days, sometimes I have left comments on other peoples posts and they just vanish.  I always check my SPAM folder as comments on my blog that have previously published suddenly revert to there, even my replies to other peoples comments.  It's bloody annoying!!

6.  Does being a Follower and a Commenter on a blog help you to feel part of it's community?

Yes.  It shows me that I have found a blog or blogger that I can relate to.

7.  If you are a fellow blogger how do you see your Follower numbers, Comments and interaction with your readers?

Yes Joy I know HOW to check, but thank you!!  😉

I don't check my Stats very often, just occasionally out of interest and they are always surprising.  The statistics on my old blog Our New Life in the Country for example are amazing, it is still drawing visitors from all over the world and each post has now had millions of unique visits ... I had no idea.

It's nice to see Follower numbers rise as it means I must be doing something right to engage with more people, THANK YOU to everyone that joined our little community yesterday.

It's nice to see Comments under a post as it means people want to have a voice on something I have written, give an opinion, offer advice or something similar.  I think we all want to be heard and it's nice to hear other people too. I know I sometimes get stroppy with an reply to a comment, I try my best to be 'nice Sue' most of the time but occasionally 'what the heck Sue' bursts forth.  Those of you who have read way back (like Linda from 2008 and Lavender's Blue ... ) just get used to my at times unique ways and take no offence, others run for the hills and are never seen again.  And Karen ... hold your head up high and comment whenever you want to.

Interaction with readers is part and parcel of blogging and in my opinion is what keeps me and many other bloggers going, gives us inspiration and at times can even be vital for our well being.  It's a shame I have no click here if you've visited  button.  (I will check to see if there is something similar available.)  I remember the post I did when we lost our little dog Charley and I couldn't bear to hear of other losses or even read comments for a few days and I asked people to leave 'two kisses for Charley', that post had 307 comments and meant so much to me then and now.

So to round all this up before I set off to Mum's for the day, I just want to say once again a massive THANK YOU to each and everyone of you who took the time and answered my questions yesterday, it was a really useful exercise and I'm sure lots of other Bloggers will have read your answers and found them useful too.  I didn't realise how long it would take you all, sorry!  The post is still there if you didn't see it yesterday and would like to take part.

It's brilliant that we have such a wonderful community of like-minded souls to bolster each other up, laugh with and at each other on a regular basis and well, to just be friends.

Thank you. 🎕

Sue xx

Some Questions For You ...

 

If you don't mind, today I would like to ask a few questions.

I am in the process of setting up a new blog ... it's header is the photo above and it's link is on my sidebar ... for my new and ongoing challenge to eat more simply, and eat fresh and local using wartime rationing as my guide.  Back in the day foods had minimal ingredients we knew what we were eating and we ate simply but well.  It's a well known and proven fact that the population of the UK was at it's healthiest during the war years, and I want to tap into all that with the knowledge that I have picked up over the years.

The reason for starting this next month is to eat more healthily and even simpler than I have over the past few years and in a steady and reliable way, help me save money on my shopping, and to get ready for my retirement having as much money in the bank as possible so that I can retire a year early to coincide with Alan's retirement date.  I have felt just recently that all my previous Challenges have been practice runs for just this scenario.

I have been looking at the statistics for this blog A Smaller and Simpler Life and the figures make for fascinating reading.  I get over 1,000 unique hits each day but I have just a smidge over 300 followers, of the readers of each post recently only something like ten or so people leave Comments.  Over all the posts on this blog ... and there have been lots over the five years it has been running ... there has been an average of 17 comments per post, and considering that around a third of those would have been my responses that's quite low.

So, the questions:

1.  What makes you want to read a post on a blog?

2.  What makes you decide to click on the Follower button?

3.  What stops you from leaving a comment?

4.  Do you prefer a blog that you can't comment on?

5.  Do you like getting a response to your comment when you leave one?

6.  Does being a Follower and a Commenter on a blog help you to feel part of it's community?

7.  If you are a fellow blogger how do you see your Follower numbers, Comments and interaction with your readers?

*** *** ***

I ask because I tend to be a Follower of all the blogs that I read regularly, I leave comments (when Google and Blogger allows me to), and always check back to see if they have been replied to and love being involved in the blogging community.

There's no wrong or right answers to my questions, I am just asking as I am deciding whether to keep my new blog private for just myself, have a limited number of invited readers, or open it for public reading.  

Your answers could really help me reach this decision, thank you.  😀

Sue xx

Early Morning by the Canal, Family Visits and Getting My Ration Head On

It was lovely first thing this morning and Ginger came to tell me as much at 6.20am.  He wanted to go out and looking at the positioning of all my floor length curtains he had had a peep at all three usually available exits before deciding that he needed his own personal door person to facilitate this.  He went out and half an hour later, after a breakfast snack at Alan's he was back to mine to claim his usual morning treat of Dreamies and fall asleep once again on the armchair.

By this time I had put the first load of washing on and was sat clutching a mug of coffee and watching some YouTube.  It was just so nice outside that once the washing machine had done it's thing, I pegged the clothes out on the line and took myself canal side for a walk on the towpath.

The boaters were still tucked up in their huge beautifully decorated metal tubes, the paths were clear and the sun was shining, what a brilliant way to start the day.

I love the stillness of early morning. and as it was still barely past seven o'clock I only saw one other person to say 'Good Morning' to, a lady with two excitable Spaniels.

As I got closer to home the water was sparkling in the early morning sunshine, I have fingers firmly crossed that we have another good day all day today.  Yesterday was lovely, sunny and warm and as Alan's sister came to stay for the weekend we enjoyed sitting in the garden catching up on news.  Earlier she too had enjoyed the early morning towpath, going for a jog in sunshine but getting pretty muddy as she burned up the miles along the canal-side after Saturdays heavy rains.

Later we left all three dogs ... our two and her German Shepherd Tia ... back at home snoozing and had a pleasant wander around the sleepy Sunday High Street, with Alan and Alison comparing property prices between here and Peebles, before stopping for a coffee and a slice of cake in Booths café.

I love that our High Street has shops that virtually all still close on a Sunday, even in retail you need a day off and our shops are virtually all small independents. Of course the supermarkets are open and our new Factory Shop was open although pretty deserted.  Our little town is like a step back in time occasionally ... in a very good way.

And speaking of stepping back in time, it seems I already have my 'rationing head' on, I have started saving my citrus peels and popping them into the freezer, first this lonely little Easy Peeler skin at the start of last week ...

... and then the squeezed out ends from the lemon bought this week for my early morning drinks.  

Once I have added the skins from the other six that I have in the fridge and the cores from the two apples in there I will have a bag of bits and bobs ready to add to some Compost Heap Jelly, which will make good use of my sugar ration when rationing begins at the end of this month.

In the meantime I have been sorting through my food cupboard, donating a couple of things that just won't get eaten and getting things organised on shelves so that I know what is available to eat and when, during my rationing months.

I need to finish my narrowboat book this week and then start reading up on rationing again to get my head in the right space for this ongoing money-saving personal challenge.

What did you get up to at the weekend?

Sue xx 

Making the Most of ANY Sunshine, Freebies and a Sulking Mavis

 

At the moment, like many people here in the UK, we are making the most of ANY nice weather. 

 It was a rainy and at times cold July, and to see it out in style, when there was a brief window of sunshine on Saturday morning we jumped in the car with the dogs and headed to Williamson Park in Lancaster.  

Just twenty minutes away it's a good place for dog walking and enjoying some wide open spaces ... and there's a good little café in the park that sells coffees and bacon butties.

I love big open skies and the view across Morecambe Bay from the café is amazing.

As the clouds started to gather again we headed back to the car, but in a brief flash of sunshine this lovely little park seating shed in it's own clearing amongst the trees and bushes looked magical ... and very hobbit-like.  I just had to stop for a photo or two.

I came home with some freebies in my bag, and we missed the rain completely as it didn't start properly until we were almost home, always a good outcome in my book.

Then Alan had to go away for work for a couple of days ...

... and Mavis sulked!!

She's a good little sulker and she's perfected her art well over the past couple of years.  If she's not sat facing the furniture or a corner, she's right up the end of my hall lying on the doormat, you know when Mavis is sulking!

Sue xx

The Food Cupboard Challenge, Austerity August ... and Re-registering my Ration Card

 

It's the first of August, my gosh how quickly the months are passing by at the moment and it doesn't even feel like Summer.  I've been sleeping under my summer-weight duvet but with an added quilt on top, it's the only way to stay warm.  I've spent most evenings watching television wearing my fleecy jacket for warmth and days dashing out between showers to pick what vegetables are still growing to add to my meals. 

And talking about food, at the top is this months photo of the top part of the food cupboard.

Last month it looked like this.

Suddenly there are proper gaps appearing, helped a little bit by me taking a jar of jam and a tin of lentils to the flat ... not to be eaten together I hasten to add.

I decided that it was now time to look at what I have in the lower cupboard and start to include these things more in the day to day eating to go alongside the freezer stash.

And the reason for this is that I have decided on an 'Austerity August'.

I am determined to spend no more than £10 each week on food, and with that I will get any absolute essentials that I need while I work my way through the foods that I already have.

The fridge is sparse ...

... very sparse!!

After my thoughts and post on retirement the other day, and then sitting and thinking about all the Challenges I have set myself both this year and in previous years, I've come to the conclusion that they were all leading me to this point.  I love that in every single Challenge I have ever done I have learnt something new, either about myself, about how to do things or how to change things going forward.

So, I am giving myself just over eighteen months to get myself to a position whereby I can retire a year early and have enough in my savings account to still be able to draw down a similar amount as though I was earning wages.

When I put together my recent findings about ultra processed foods, my desire to live cheaply and simply, my food cupboard challenge whereby I have been eating down the excessive stores that I had built up, and then thought about my previous limited times living on the rationing amounts available in the UK during WWII, when food was limited and expensive but mostly natural ... it was almost as those had been practice runs.

So I think I am going to go back on rations, and I'm not going to mess about.  

I will have Austerity August to get me in the right financial mindset and start my bank account feeling a bit healthier and then I will go straight back to basics, paying with cash, buying and eating simple foods in the WWII quantities that made us healthy as a nation ... and see what it can do for me.

I guess it's time to register my Ration Card then.

Sue xx