Thank you for all the lovely Birthday Wishes. I had a lovely day doing not alot! The weather was nice and I got to see both of my Boys and Little Man too, so a good day all round. I also had the week off work, I did do a bit of work but not much but I did get some other jobs done which I wanted to do. Jayne and I went for lunch which was very nice and had a lovely catch up.
I had some lovely presents from the family and friends. Jayne bought me a lovely plant and some earings and DH and The Boys bought me some things for the garden and some body lotions and DH got me several books which are now on my TBR shelf! I need to get reading!
Saturday we were at the swimming open and the day went well although it was very warm outside which meant it was like a sauna inside! The swimmers had a good session and then after it finished DH had to load everything up and go and set up for the event on Sunday at a different pool. I went with him but stayed in the car and read my book, although because it was warm I did doze off!!!! They had a hotter day on Sunday and the pool again was like a sauna! I spent the day getting jobs done and everything sorted for the new week.
Monday I was at Eldest’s work, which I usually do today, because their dog, Honey was at the vets for her to be spayed and I was on hand to collect her incase Eldest had a fire call. We took her home as she was a little woozy from her Op but she was fine. We stayed for a while and visited with The Girls and Little Man and then got home about 8.00pm.
Yesterday and today has been very warm, 26°C, and so I have spent both days at my desk with the fan going. Coco is a mad puppy who loves being outside, she runs around for a bit and then comes in and lays on our tiled floor to get cool and then goes out again! Although I did shut the door in the afternoon so she went and lay in her crate as it is cool in our dining room. The rest of this week is still due to be warm and sunny but not as hot which will be very nice!
Little Man asleep with arms apart keeping cool!
I have home jobs to do tomorrow as well as the washing & ironing. Friday I have some other jobs to do and then Saturday is supposed to be nice and warm but not hot, so we will be doing the garden because Sunday is the start of Carnival week in the village. I will not see a lot of DH all week and I will be cooking and leaving dinner out for everyone to eat when they get in. The Boys have for many years helped out at the various events but not this year as Youngest is busy with his business and swimming coaching and Eldest is busy with his work and being an on-call firefighter so they will not be around this year. I am going to spend the weekday evenings and the following weekend, getting some more jobs done especially if it is warm.
I hope you lovely lot are having a great week and the weather is being kind to you. A good friend flew out on Sunday (after spending all day with us on Saturday at the pool) to Alberta, Canada to see her brother and sister-in-law who she has not seen for a while. She was busy packing summer things until her sister-in-law sent her a picture a week ago with it snowing! Snowing in June would you believe it?!!!!!!
I am supposed to be off this week from work and getting some nice jobs done as opposed to Work and Home Jobs!! Of course the best laid plans and all that, yesterday I ended up doing some work and a basket full of ironing! But at least it got done.
They were all here on Saturday night for Partner’s Birthday. Sure enough it rained most of the day and it was so wet we could not sit outside, Flaming June!!! I did get her cake made though.
Even if I do say it myself, it tasted good and it came out a very light cake!
I decorated our dining table for the evening.
As it was also Father’s Day on Sunday DH and Eldest had their presents too as well as Partner’s.
Honey came as well so Coco had a friend to play with although they both ended up in their crates for a little while for them to calm down a bit. It would have been great for them to both be running round outside which they did get to do for a short while before it rained again.
Has it stopped raining yet Mom? (I still think she is part Kangaroo!!!!)
Jayne and I are out for Lunch today for our Birthdays. Can’t wait.
I have quite a bit of baking to do before the weekend. It is Eldest’s Partner’s Birthday Saturday and she loves Victoria Sponge cake, so I am going to make Nigella Lawson’s version,below.Nigella always puts a spin on traditional recipes and this one she puts pieces of fruit on the jam and before the cream goes on. I am going to be using strawberries as they are in season at the moment and June is meant for strawberries! I will remember to take pictures before we cut it.
We are going to get a Takeaway for main so all I have to do is dessert and another favourite of my family is a no bake cheescake which has orange zest in and again has strawberries on top it is such a refreshing pudding.
Also have a few other cakes I want to make whilst I am in baking mode! A lemon drizzle cake which I am also going to modify and put a layer of lemon curd in and some of my Christmas cookies (I know it is early but they are great any time of the year!) and I also have a request for some cheesy stars which I usually make at Christmas as nibbles which I thought I would do for Saturday too.
Lemon Drizzle Cake
The Cheesy Stars on the right
Still keeping up with all my jobs so baking will be done on Friday. The weather still looks to be raining on Saturday, so we may be sitting inside which is not a problem, it would have just been nice to be outside it is summer supposedly! They are saying that the jet stream is sitting too low at the moment so we are getting cold air from the Artic instead of warm air from the south! It certainly has been very cool in the evenings!
I hope you are all having a lovely Wednesday. Today is Jayne’s Birthday and we are going out next Tuesday for Birthday Lunch together, can’t wait!
I think someone must be wizzing on the weeks, no sooner is it Friday and suddenly it is Wednesday again? I honestly don’t know where the weeks go to.
The Girls were on half term spring break last week, so I went over to bake with them. I took three lots of things over to do with them, Rice Crispie chocolate cakes, Fairy Cakes and my Dad’s favourite cake, Rock Cakes.
Chocolate Rice Crispie Cakes
Fairy Cakes, hand decorated by The Girls. I think they would sell really well
Rock Cakes
They all went down really well. I have said that when they come here the next time we will make a big cake.
The weekend the weather was quite nice so we did get some more gardening done. It is taking a while due to not doing anything with it last year except mowing the lawn!!! I will show you pictures tomorrow.
I have managed to keep up with work and home jobs this week and tomorrow will be home jobs day again and Friday I will be with Eldest at his work and grocery shopping. We have a bonus this weekend as DH was supposed to be out all weekend at a swimming event but they have had to cancel due to lack of swimmers and they were unable to get enough officials for both days. This is the problem at the moment that there are too many events happening. Also the next term for school is seven and a half weeks so the children are going to be really tired and I think the parents are of the opinion that if the children don’t have to do it they won’t!
Anyway we are hoping again that the weather will be good and we can hopefully get the garden finished. The following weekend we are celebrating Birthdays and again keeping everything crossed that the weather will be good and we can eat outside!
Okay I start Monday morning thinking great a new week and then suddenly it is Thursday and where has the week gone to?
Jayne and I went out for lunch on Tuesday which was lovely afternoon and I really appreciate that I have the ability to do this. DH left for work very early that day so I got up with him and got all my work done before I went out. Monday was a busy work day too and I was at Eldest’s yesterday. DH has had meetings most nights this week so I have got other jobs done whilst he has been out. Tomorrow is home jobs day and grocery shopping.
This weekend is a three day weekend for us again so DH and I are planning to get our room painted. It has not been done for so long so I know that the walls are going to suck the paint up. At least the room is square so it should not take long to paint. We are also going to paint the Bathroom we renovated at the end of last year too, but that is just the ceiling and one wall as all the rest are tiled. I am keeping everything crossed that the weather is going to be good and may be we will get some gardening done too. Yesterday it rained from about 4.00am until 9.00pm, I have never seen so much rain and after all the rain we had over the winter and spring we really don’t need any more!!!!
One thing I have noticed that we have had quite a long creepy crawlies coming into our home and I am sure it is to get out of the rain and wet!
One of them is these. They are called May Bugs and I really think they are one of the silliest bugs out there. They don’t seem to get around very well and if they fall and land on their backs they cannot right themselves. SO we spend about two weeks tipping them the right way! We have also had a selection of spiders (yuck) and quite a few little honey bees have been in so we have made sure they get out.
Eldest, Little Man and Honey all asleep, it had been a long hot day!
Little Man and Mummy, smiley man!
This look says my quilt cover is being washed again!
I hope you are having a wonderful week and a lovely weekend to come.
I had the week all planned out and I was all organised and then my computer had a Windows update which screwed it up, particularly the printer. Tuesday was going well until I came to get all the printing done and it would not print. I had to wait until DH got home, who is our IT guy, for him to sort it out. That of course meant that I was behind. I caught up a little bit on Wednesday morning but then had to go to Eldest’s to do his work and I was meant to be doing Home jobs today but have been working at my desk again! Tomorrow will now be home jobs day and try and get caught up again.
At the weekend DH is out at a swimming competition all weekend and on Saturday night he and I are helping at a swimming event for our Club too. During the day I am hoping to get some jobs done, some quilting done and also seeing Little Man too!
Normal weather has been resumed this week, more rain! It is not so cold but just very wet, which of course means outside jobs are having to be put on hold again! There is still a few jobs left to do at home which I can do whilst DH is out!
Miss Floof had such a busy weekend helping us in the garden that she spent all day Monday and Tuesday sleeping, catching up on her sleep!
As it is Thursday today I thought I would do a little #TBT to 2008, Eldest, Youngest & I in front of the DisneyWorld Castle. They were 12 and 8. Now where has sixteen years gone to?!!!!!!!!!!! They both now tower over me in height!
I am hoping to get one job done tonight and sort out the sewing room. When I moved back in things got put away quickly and so it needs a good tidy and also a bit more organisation, rather than currently I have to pull everything out to find the thing I am looking for! DH and I did sort out one bit when we were spring cleaning but did not have time to sort the rest of it!
Another nice job to do is to go to the Garden Centre and get some summer bedding plants for the pots and a few new plants for the bed at the front of the patio. Once the bluebells are cut and the leaves are taken away this area is quite bare so I need a couple of plants to go here.
I hope you lovely lot have had a good week and a great weekend to come.
Last week was busy with work but I seem to have gotten behind with home jobs, partly because I am decluttering as well as trying to Spring Clean too! At the weekend DH helped alot with the jobs and we got the back of our home done, ie the kitchen, laundry, downstairs bathroom and our den which is our office. We started on the sitting room but only got three bookshelves cleaned but we did sort out the books too.
We also got to see Eldest, Partner and Little Man on Saturday. Do you know what, whenever we start a job something else happens which means we have to stop and sort something out. On Saturday a bird got into Eldest’s office at his garage business! It managed to get itself out again but then DH and Eldest were blocking up holes where they think it got through! I mean really!!!
Three Pictures of Little Man, laughing and smiling.
Already in our pram wrapped up to take The Girls to school because guess what? It is raining again today!
Daddy asked him if he was okay? He is!!!! 🙂
We have a very busy week this week. Been working all day today and I have a huge basket of ironing to get through. Tomorrow DH has to get his windscreen replaced as a stone hit it and it now has a huge crack in it (!) so I will be running him round, I also have lunch with another friend, who is also called Sue tomorrow and DH has a meeting in the evening. Wedensday Miss Floof is having a Spa Day and boy does she need it although it is due to be cold most of this week which is just typical when I get her hair cut! I will also be at Eldest’s to do his work. Thursday I have a hair appointment (we both need a haircut!) and then DH has another meeting in the evening but this time by Zoom. Friday will be home jobs and grocery shopping and this coming weekend DH is at home. I know two weekends without a swimming event who would have thunked it! My aim is to get the Spring Cleaning finished and also spend some time tidying our garden, if it is not raining again!
4th, 5th & 6th of May is a long weekend for us but DH has a swimming event on, on all three days, so I will be doing some sewing and perhaps getting some more decluttering jobs done at home as well. I am really hoping that Spring will appear soon and some warmer temperatures because we still have the heating on at home!
When I have done the cleaning and it is all tidy again I will show you some pictures. I have been watching some Instagram reels of women spring cleaning their homes and I find it fascinating to see everyone’s version of spring cleaning. Also quite a few of decluttering and I do find that inspiring. I think we are all guilty of keeping hold of things, I know I am but I am also good at letting things go too. We have already taken quite a bit to the local charity shop which is for Cancer and they have sold quite a bit, so I am now on a mission to sort more out!
I hope you lovely lot had a wonderful weekend a great week to come.
DH is out all day today at a swimming event, so I have plans to sort the bookshelves today. I probably should be doing a million and one other jobs, well I am going to be doing the laundry as that has not been done all week because we have been painting in there, so there is a bit of a backlog!!!
Yesterday was quite warm during the day and it is going to be the same today so I am going to open the windows and let some air in. I don’t remember the last time I had the windows open as it has been so wet over the winter. I really hope that this will be the start of spring, although it is due to rain again later today. Can’t wait for April to be over!!!!
Also want to get some baking done too. Not done any for ages so that will be a nice job to do today. I am all about doing happy jobs today rather than those that need or have to be done!!! I hope you are all having a great day.
AI (Artificial Intelligence) – a lot of things being written about it and how it could impact us and the World and even take over in the future à la “Terminator”. However I am sure that they are taking over already. Especially the machines in our home which nag me! I bought a new washing machine and tumble dryer which have an app for your mobile. SO when they have finished washing or drying you get a notification and if you don’t deal with it, it carries on messaging you! The same goes for the dishwasher! I mean I know you have finished the job you are doing, you don’t have to keep nagging me!
We do not have an Alexia or any other type of version of it but we know friends who do and they say that she nags them and one set of friends ask her to do things and always say please and thank you to it, just in case!
The same with updates on the computers, lord help you if you don’t do the update straight away as again it reminds you every time you sit down to do any work.
So I don’t think that AI will be taking over and doing our jobs, no they will be sitting there telling us all what to do and nag us when we don’t!!!!!!!!
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Coco is having a lazy day today! I have swapped days to go to Eldest’s garage and this is her in her basket just before I left, she did not want to move today! She is going to be Spring Cleaned, well her beds and baskets are, this weekend, so no doubt she will be on our bed as hers are in the wash! Just need to get her in for a spa day as well!
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We put our Clocks forward one hour over the Easter weekend and I absolutely hate this for about two weeks until we get used to it!! In fact I never feel right until we put the hour back in October!!! I love the light nights especially in the summer when it is nice and warm (hopefully) but it is still hard. I have also been going through a waking up at stupid O’Clock every night. Sometimes it is 2.00am, mostly it is 3.00am and occasionally it is 4.00am! We get up at 5.00am anyway but it does not matter how busy in the day I am or what time I go to bed It is always the same and when I do wake up say at 3.00am I am wide awake!!!!! So I am writing this now at 3.30am whilst everyone else is asleep snoring!
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Decluttering is going well. I saw people doing this on various Instagram reels and as we had to clear out my Grandmother’s home when she passed away, which also had my Great Grandmother’s things in as well, I am determined not to leave our Boys with a mess. It took DH and I over a month to sort out my Grandmother’s home and we found all sorts of things but a lot of it we had to go through and get rid of. My Grandmother had a habit of putting a letter or bill back into the envelope it came in and then keeping it, so we had hundreds and hundreds of envelopes to go through to check what was in them. This was obviously long before recycling and so we took about three trailer loads of just paper to the local tip!
No matter how much you try, you still seem to collect clutter. “I will just keep this as I may need it…” I think we are all guilty of that saying!!! So I have gone through my pile of things and gotten rid of a lot of it! Where I can it goes to the charity shop and if it really cannot be repurposed it then goes to the recycling centre and if it really is bad finally the bin. When we did the attic I sorted out the spare bedding and towels and now have one set of guest bedding and towels and spare quilt and the other set went to the charity shop. Old quilts and towels DH uses in the garage for packing when making a delivery and old towels are used for the same and Coco has also got a “new” towel for her. I will try and show you some pictures of the sorting process.
One big job I am going to do, which is a job I actually love doing, is editing my books. As you know I re-read all of my books so keep all of them but I do have some which I know I do not want to re-read again so they will definitely be going in the donation pile for the charity shop. This, of course, means that I will have a little bit of space on my shelves, which means I will be able to get some more books!!! A win, win in my book!!!!!!!!
I have also edited my wardrobe and gotten rid of some things I don’t like or will not wear again and had a good tidy up. Our dressing room is looking a lot tidier and I now need to move on to my toiletries and make up. I have bought some plastic drawer liners to sort them out into categories to make it easier to see and use things. Again I will get some pictures for you.
I have noticed, watching some of these cleaning reels on Instagram, how people do not have a lot of things and I don’t think I could go that far as to have a completely minimalist home, as I love my things but I do know there are a lot of things that I can get rid of! I think you just have to strike a balance which is right for you. Well it’s a plan anyway, I will let you know how I get on!
Have a wonderful weekend you lovely lot! DH and I and finishing the painting of the kitchen, laundry, den and downstairs bathroom and again I will show you pictures. The colour is nothing exciting as it is brilliant white but it looks so clean and fresh.
Hugs & Love, Susie & Coco xxxx
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