Today is Candlemas which was when Jesus was presented at Church and the purificiation of the Virgin Mary 40 days after having Baby Jesus, a tradition which lasted well into the Twentieth Century and fell into disuse at the Second Vatican Council in the 1960’s although some women do still go to Church after the birth of their children.
Candlemas is also the day that people would bring their candles for the year to be blessed at Church to light the dark nights and to show that Jesus is the Light of the World.
It is also Groundhog Day. The little so and so saw his shadow so anothr six weeks of Winter! I really would love an early Spring as I have a mountain of jobs to get done in the garden but hey ho it will be what it is!
The tradition for Groundhog Day actually began in Germany where the locals would watch the hedgehogs and other creatures to see how they were behaving and this might mean it would be an early Spring. February 2nd is the midpoint between the Winter solstice and Spring equinox and tradition says if there are clear skies and there will be more winter, however overcast meant an early Spring.
DH had a busy weekend at the swimming pool with the events and I was busy getting some quilting done which I will show you when it is done and gifted.
Today DH went away for the week for the business exhibition so it is just Coco and I with Youngest, Fiancée and Little Lady with Gordon & Blaze. The weather this week is due to be cold and raining again, although the sun did manage to break through the clouds for all of two seconds today! I am really hoping it is going to get better soon!
Only two more sleeps to go! I cannot believe it is Christmas this week it has really appeared by magic this year for me!
Over the last few weeks I have felt, for all of you who watch “Stranger Things”, I have been in the Upside down! The days and weeks have flown by and although I have been getting things done from my usual To Do lists and ticking things off, they have never seemed to be reducing.
One of the Games at the Fun Gala involved inflateable Antlers and Inflateable Characters!
The Swimmers waiting for the Results!
DH finished work on Thursday last and Friday, Saturday and Sunday we were moving the final things for Youngest & Fiancée out of their rented home an dinto storage or to our home. It is all now done and the keys handed back which is great to get it all done before Christmas. Sunday afternoon and into the evening it was the Swimming Club Fun Christmas Gala and the swimmers had a great event and Sue and I did not have to do anyting so we got to watch all the action. Yesterday we had to take the rubbish to the tip from our home and Youngest’s home and DH helped Eldest with the last few jobs he needed to do before he finished for Christmas.
Today DH is out at the company we work with locally their Christmas dinner and I am doing the cleaning, again! I also have a basket of washing and iroining to do and generally get our home ready for Christmas Day, with the two dogs and the cat under my feet!
Our Stair Lights.
We have had to change the stair lights this year because of our new lodgers! Last year DH and I bought new artifical berries which go on wth green garland and the lights. Well Blaze and Coco decided to eat some of them. They did not swallow them just picked them off, gave them a chew and then left the bits everywhere. So we decided to just put the garland and lights on. Well Gordon decided it was a good idea to chew through the wires for the lights, which fortunately were not on at the time! The new set of lights are now on the outisde of the stairs as you can see!!! I always say Christmas is about adapting things!
The double issue of the magazine I have every week, Country Life. I just love the cover.
Tomorrow DH and I are out visiting family over in Nottingham and running some other errands and I will be getting everything preppred for Christmas Day where there will be eight for dinner and festivities. Boxing Day is a quiet and chill day and then Saturday Fiancée, Partner and I are going out for lunch as a little treat for Fiancée before the new arrival in January. DH, the Boys and Little Man are all going out and hopefully going on the steam train. Sunday is also another chill day. Next week will be DH and I getting back to the decluttering of our home and the garage as well as some other jobs which never get done in the normal work day.
New Year we have been invived out to some very good friends for dinner and to see the New Year in with them which will be lovely.
Little Man went with Mummy & Daddy to have breakfast with Santa all together this morning. Here he is seeing Santa although he does look a little worried! They said he had a lovely time though.
Here he is the other day with his cars.
I know I am behind with things, one of which was to do a review of the Year with our Book Club but I will get it done over the holidays. I did manage to achieve and surpass my Goodreads Reading Challenge this year, which along with my Aim of 2025 to read more I set the goal at 50 books! I managed since January to read 55! I am going to set next year’s Challenge at 100 and it will also be another of my 2026 Aims! Look out for the Book Review.
This is Eldest & Partners very good friend, Tractor Ben, who also helps at the garage. He, his father and their friend, dress their tractors up for Charity Drives in the Town of Ashbourne and then they have also done charity drives around Derbyshire as well. This picture is coutesy of Jim Bell who got a great picture of Ben’s tractor. Have a lovely Christmas Ben and we shall see you in the New Year.
Coco had all her beeding, towel and quilt washed in time for Santa Paws arriving and she just loves a fresh quilt cover! She was happy and snuggled in her basket next to my desk
A picture of Gordon and Coco on our stairs watching me coming up one step at a time!
I am doing well with my hip and now walking about at home without the crutch but still take it with me when I am out in case I have to walk long distances or navigate a lot of stairs. I will be able to, after Christmas, use our treadmill again which helped so much after I had my right hip done.
Our weather over the last few weeks has been dank. We have had quite a bit of fog too with the days not being bright at all and not getting light much, so we have had the lights on at home. A lot of people hate this time of year but I love it, because the lights are on and it is very cosy. We have, of course had the shortest day of the year now, so the nights will start to get a little lighter but I still like the dark cosy nights. Of course it means that I can spend more time reading which is always a bonus.
Anyway If I don’t get chance to post again this side of Christmas, I do hope you lovely and wonderful lot have a great Christmas and New Year. I would like to thank Sue & Suan for always leaving me a comment on my posts and to Judy who also comments and everyone else who follows me and reads my witterings, it makes it all worthwhile
It will be of no surprise to those that have followed me for a while that I would love “Stranger Things”! I have watched it from the first Season so the final Season 5 is a must watch. I have just watched the first four Episodes that opened yesterday and as always they have left us hanging until Christmas Day!
I think I have loved this series because it is set in the 1980’s and we all know that the music from that decade was so good. I was 16 in 1980 and I really hit the 1980’s at the right age. It was a great decade for me and one that I look back on very fondly and in fact would love to go back to! Anyway onto this new Season.
For those that have not watched it yet do not read on!!!
There has been a lot of discussions out there as to who of the main characters may end up not making it out of Hawkins at the end. Will has now discovered that he has powers like Eleven and finally able to stop the Demogorgons from attacking his friends.
Having seen these first four Episodes my own personal opinion is that Will is not going to make it. Right from Season One Episode One when he disappeared everyone thought he was dead then and by some miracle that no one seems to have talked about Joyce got him back which has all been a gigantic plan of Vecna’s to keep an eye on what has been going on. I think Will will die in the end leaving the rest of the friends to survive but mourn his loss. I think Max will find her way out with Holly just in time to defeat Vecna, the Demogorgons and the Mind Flayer once and for all thus freeing Hawkins from the Upside Down and all who live there.
Will they show our Heroes going back to their normal lives and getting back to living without the constant fear of Vecna and crew or will we be left after the final battle to then believe what we want to believe about them moving on? A lot has been said about the endings of shows that have been so popular with audiences, especially the ending of Game of Thrones which was a travesty, especially to those who have read all the books, ME! Therefore I hope that The Duffer Brothers have taken this on board and give us a good ending. We shal know on New Year’s Even when the final Episode airs!
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Today I don’t think my feet touched the ground once! We were up very early and having sorted out Blaze and Gordon loaded Coco up in her crate and went off to get Honey for their Spa Day. I was taken to Eldests where I was able to get his work done. DH got back having collected a Christmas present on the way, to get the girls at 12.00pm, drop Honey off at home and then have some lunch with us before we had to get home for DH to leave for the Christmas Light Switch on in Ilkeston tonight! It has been colder today and rained heavily earlier so we are hoping that it will stay dry for tonight.
Tomorrow morning we are going to get our Christmas tree first thing as well as Eldest’s as they have all come down with the sickness bug! We are going to have some breakfast and then get back, do some jobs and then decorate our home! I still have some parcels to wrap and our cards to write and then we will be ready! The days are flying by and so are the weeks of course!
I hope you lovely lot have a wonderful weekend. and I shall see you all here on Monday.
To All My American Friends & Followers we hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving!
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This week has flown by as usual after my little pity party yesterday! Today has been home jobs day and I have not only had Miss Coco following me around today, I have also had Gordon too!
Gordon is quite happy being here and Blaze, having lived here for well over a year is just home. He has a little route around our home and he just goes back to doing it. The reason they are here is because Youngest & Fiancé are going to a hotel tonight for Youngest’s work. He has been nominated by Jaguar Land Rover nationally for an award. He is up against others for the award so we will not know how he has done until tomorrow night, but being nominated is amazing as it is a National award and there are six others so he has already done very well. There is a buffet dinner tonight and then tomorrow night there is a dinner and ball. They will be home on Saturday morning.
They are also going to come back to living here with us as well. The home they have been in since the beginning of the year has been fine but one or two things have changed and so the decision has been made to come back home. We are putting all their things into storage and they are bringing themselves and the animals home. We will have to do some re-arranging but we will fit them all in!
Tonight is the first of the Christmas Lights Switch On in Long Eaton which DH is commentating on and tomorrow night is Ilkeston. The Christmas Light Switch on in the Village is not until the following week. We have some other events coming up so it is going to get very busy. We have Presentation Night for the swimming club and also a Fun Gala too, we have dates arranged for seeing family and friends. DH and I are going to a Classical Concert and we also have a couple days of shopping to do and he also has a couple of business lunches to go to as well. Jayne and I, Ladies who Lunch, are also out for our Christmas Lunch on December 9th and I will get some pictures of that. Can’t wait.
We are hoping to get our Christmas Tree on Saturday morning and decorate our home, as well as getting a couple of jobs done and also write the Christmas cards. I have almost finished the present wrapping and then on Sunday we are celebrating Youngest’s Birthday and hearing all about his Event. Before we know it, it will be Monday again!
Tomorrow Coco is having a spa day and we are also taking Honey again for a wash and deshedding spa day for Eldest & Partner. I will be at his to get the work done as well and then be home for Blaze and Gordon and then DH will be off to the Light Switch On! Another busy day. Our weather has been very cold for quite a few days and frosty and one day being quite foggy. The sun tried very hard to break through the fog but did not quite clear it. Today has been mild but tomorrow is cooler and then we are going to have some more frosts next week. I will try and get some pictures.
Have a wonderful weekend you lovely lot and don’t spend too much tomorrow on Black Friday!!!
They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old; Age shall not weary them, nor the years condem. At the going down of the sun and in the morning, We will Remember them.
Laurence Binyon
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We had a busy week last week and Friday we were with Eldest at the garage me work and DH sorting jobs out! Over the weekend we had nothing on so spent the two days in our garage sorting out boxes. We did get quite a few done and several things sorted out and ended up with six boxes emptied and cleared. There are still quite a lot to do but quite a few of them now contain toys from when the Boys were little which need sorting and tidying and some of them can already go to Little Man and some for when the new Baby arrives.
This week has been busy again and I have been doing work and sorting things out in our home as well. Coco has been helping although getting in the way is more accurate. Bonfire Night lasted for two weekends and the actual day of last Wednesday although it was not as many fireworks as might have been as the weather was not good. I had two visitors last Thursday to see me whch was lovely and Jayne is coming for lunch next Tuesday and this weekend DH is out both days at a swimming Open so I will be quilting.
My hip is coming along nicely and the only thing which is slowing me down at the moment is going up and downstairs which is still difficult, but today it has been three weeks since the Op, so hopefully the next three weeks and my checkup after the six weeks I am hoping it will have got a little easier. We shall see.
Even though it is just DH and I now, as well as Coco, I always seem to have a basket of ironing to do! That is today’s job and then Thursday is home jobs day. Friday DH and I are visiting a customer in the morning and I have a visit to the quilt shop which is near to where we are going. That is too good an oportunity to miss out on! I am going to have to get Eldest’s computer and work and do that over the weekend this week as we will not have time to go there as well on Friday.
It is our Wedding Anniversary this week; 37 years! The above is from our Wedding Album and no it is not sepia coloured just the light when I took the picture! With DH being out all weekend we are thinking of having a takeaway on Friday noght, Date Night in. Friday it is going to be heavy rain all day and the temperature is dropping so it is not making me want to go out. The day we got married it was a very clear frosty day with bright sunshine but cold and our pictures were amazing. We got married at 11.00am and then after photographs etc we sat down for the wedding breakfast at 1.00pm aand then finished around 5.00pm. We did not have an evening event but went away on Honeymoon to The Lake District, where it snowed! We had a great two weeks.
Then the weekend after that we are taking the children to see Santa on the train. That has come round very quickly since I booked it in July this year! The last weekend in November we are babysitting, not the children but the animals! Blaze and Gordon are coming to stay whilst Youngest & Fiancé are away for the weekend at a work event for him. We will also be sorting out the deocations that weekend and the Tree and possibly all of us going for a meal out because it will be Youngest’s Birthday too. It is all go. Then it will be the headlong rush to Christmas but the best bit of it all for me seeing family and friends for Christmas. This is why I like to get everything done before December arrives so that we are able to actually enjoy the Festive Season without trying to do it all. Well that is the plan anyway!
I went in on Tuesday October 21st at 7.00am for my Op and fortunately I was second on the list for that day so did not have to wait too long before going down to theatre. I will not gross you out with the details but after four hours I was back on the Ward with DH! An hour later I was up and walking to the bathroom and getting things moving. I was in a bay with three other ladies, two had new knees and the other had had an accident and had plates put in. I was determined to get home as soon as possible but ended up staying for three days. I have found, the few times I have been in hospital, that you never sleep properly, they are always too warm and the constant checks they do on you during the night when you have just nodded off!!!! Anyway my Consultant was happy for me to come home on the Thursday evening, I did stay in bed on Friday catching up on my sleep, got up Saturday and then spent Sunday in bed. Monday I was back at my desk working.
The best bit of it all, there is no pain in the hip! Yes it is sore and of course swollen but I can cope with all of that as there is no pain. I did have the clips taken out on Friday, all sixty of them (!) and the Nurse checked the wound which is all fine and healing well. The only problem is that my skin around the wound has reacted to the dressings and has blistered in places but it is fine. I have been doing my exercises every day and the only thing which is taking time is going up and down the stairs but everything else is fine.
At the weekend I managed to get all the cleaning done and the washing and now have a basket of ironing to get done.
Friday I was at Eldests getting two weeks worth of his work done and he is now up to date. Just before I went in to hospital there was a software upgrade to the Accounts package we use and this new version is running with AI and it is dreadful! It takes fifteen minutes just to log in and has obviously not been thought through properly at all! Anyway despite all that he is now sorted. Our work is also up to date although DH’s laptop for work, which he uses all day every day, stopped working the weekend I was home so he has had to have a new one and get all his data across! He has spent the last week doing work onhis phone which is never easy but today he is back up and running!
I missed saying Happy Halloween to everyone and we did have a few Trick or Treaters on Friday evening, although I was still with Eldest. DH came home to feed Coco and let her out and sort out the shopping whilst I finished Eldest’s work. The weather was not very nice so we think that put a few people off.
DH over the weekend raked all the leaves in our garden and had a tidy up as the weather was nice and the best bit of the weekend I got out of Hospital was that we put the Hour back and gained an extra hour in bed!!! I know that means that it will be getting dark earlier but I do love this time of year! It is cosy and I love drawing the curtains and putting the lights on.
I did get quite a bit of reading done whilst I was in hospital and will show you what I have been reading next week.
Coco missed me and spent the two days I stayed in bed next to me snuggling. When I saw Little Man he wanted me to pick him up and give him a hug which I am now able to do because my hip has been fixed! I have my six week check up on December 3rd and then I will be able to drive again, although Eldest has my vechicle at the moment as he is doing some jobs on his!
DH had his Birthday in the middle of the week so everyone came to us on Saturday for a family dinner, which was a takeaway as I am not quite up to cooking for seven of us just yet. It was lovely to have everyone here, they came early and then went home early evening and I must admit I was quite tired by the end of it!
DH has been busy with events of course, the Finale of 100 years of Carnival in the village with a big firework display where 1000 people attended. He also did two weekends of County swimming events and one of our other local swimming club’s Ghoul in the Pool Open event. Next weekend we have nothing on so we will be getting some more de-cluttering done in our garage. I am still determined to get this job finished before Year End and also empty and tidy the attic too.
I cannot believe that it is November already? The months really do seem to fly by although with me being a little less mobile this month I am hoping that I will be able to get lots done at home. I have capitulated and bought our Christmas Cake, pudding and mince pies this year because although I have a few weeks before Christmas I do not want to be rushing around trying to get things done. I can do all that I normally do next year!
I have been buying Christmas Presents as I have seen things and have a few more things to get and then I am done! I have all our Christmas cards ready for us to write and need to wrap the presents and again it will be done. We have a few nice things to do during December and also seeing family and friends which is my favourite bit of the whole of Christmas so I am really looking forward to that. DH and I are going to a concert on December 5th ” Vivaldi by Candlelight” which I am looking forward to, we also have a day planned to go around the Christmas Market and see all the Christmas lights. DH has three Christmas Light Switch ons to do and the Presentation Night for the swimming club. We are taking the Children to see Santa on the Steam Train again which will be great, we have Youngest’s Birthday and also a Fun Gala for the swimming club too. It is going to be busy as always.
Christmas will be here before we know it!!! I am planning on doing a two step decoration set up this year rather than trying to do it all on one day, just so I can concentrate on getting things done properly. Our tree, we always have a real one, will be the last thing done at the beginning of December. It made be laugh looking at the TV films on Friday it was ALL Halloween and then Saturday the schedules were full of Christmas movies!! There did not seem to be any gap between the two!!!!!! I do love the Christmas movies and will be watching them when I have had enough of all the Horror movies!!!
DH does have another two day weekend swimming event on November 15th and 16th so I am going to spend that weekend in my sewing room getting some things finished! I will show you it all when I can.
Anyway I hope you lovely lot are all okay and will have a great week.
I am sure I am missing days somewhere! No I am not drinking and I certainly don’t have blackouts but I cannot believe that it is Thursday again! Wednesday flew by and I really think I stood still and like a train going through a station and not stopping, that was my Wednesday, I blinked and missed it!
My whole week this week has been thrown into chaos as I went to Eldest’s work on Tuesday because yesterday they were coming to fit a new gas meter to our home. Apparently the new meters have a battery in them which then sends the data to its hub for them to produce our bills. Sounds simple enough but when the batteries run out they cannot just replace the battery the whole thing has to be replaced. Now who came up with that idea? Normally I would be at Eldest’s on a Wednesday so that completely threw me. It does not take a lot these days for me to be completely confused! It is like when we have a long weekend, the next week just does not feel right.
So if Tuesday was Wednesday and Wednesday should have been Thursday then today should be Friday or should it be Monday again? Who knows.
Madam has decided that as it is dark most mornings we are getting up now, staying in bed is definitely the best idea! She is not happy when I move her to make it.
Everyone at the moment seems to have this bad cold/flu thing going around including Fiancé who I have not seen because, like Jayne, she is being extremely kind to me and not wanting to give it to me before I go in on Tuesday for my Op and I am very grateful to them. I have told DH that he is not to catch it either otherwise he and Coco will be sleeping outside if they do. I don’t mind afterwards if I catch it just not before.
Today is home jobs day. I have managed to get our work and Eldest’s work up to date. I also have some washing and a basket of ironing to do and then I am all set. This weekend DH is at the swimming event both days, so I am going to spend some time in my sewing room quilting and also reading. I won’t be able to show you what I am working on as they are for presents but will keep them in my file for when they have been given out. I am also going to pack my bag for Tuesday. I already have a few things sorted and I have chosen my books which I am taking in with me which I will show you tomorrow.
As it is #TBT (I think?) I thought I would show you these. Always on Birthdays the Boys used to come in our room to open their presents from us first thing inthe morning. So the first picture is from 2022 when they were both living at home again. Eldest is 27 and Youngest is 23 and it is DH’s Birthday. I am still in bed but DH and the Boys are up and dressed and ready to go to work, but they still came in to our room for DH to open his presents!
So the two pictures below, they are both Boys 10th Birthdays, the first one is Eldest and Youngest is six and in the second one Eldest is 14.
I love seeing pictures from the past. DH’s Birthday is coming up at the end of October and then we are busy with events too. There are the Carnival fireworks to conclude the 100 years of Carnival in the village, DH also has the usual Halloween Swimming Event and also the men are coming to trim the trees in our back garden as well, so it is going to be a very busy few weeks as always.
Have awonderful Thursday you lovely lot and I will see you back here tomorrow for Book Club Friday.
As with all days this one comes around and it is now twenty four years ago, which seems unbelievable. I think it will be a day eteched in everyone’s memories who witnessed this terrible thing on our TV’s. Our hearts go out to all those who lost loved ones.
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Yesterday was busy as I am trying to sort out all the paperwork for my current vehicle and for the new vehicle well new to me. Years ago it was suggested that eventually paperwork would be a thing of the past and we would do everything on line but here we are in 2025 and I suspect we are still using the same amount of paper! I once worked in an office where they actively encouraged no paper use at all and to be perfectly honest they seemed to use more paper than anywhere else I had worked!
I have been busy with work this morning and so am going to do my home jobs done tomorrow. The weekend is busy for DH with swimming and playing cars with the Boys (!) and I am hopefully getting on with quilting.
Tomorrow is Book Club Friday and I have quite a few to show you and some thoughts on one particular Author, who is very popular at the moment and is everyhwere but I, well I will tell you tomorrow. I may lose people over it but still! 🙂
It is getting cooler here, especially at night, although it is still warm in the day. Autumn is starting to make itself known. The other day when the windows were open a neighbour had a bonfire and the smell was wonderful and really reminded me that Autumn is here. Because it has been very dry this Spring and Summer the leaves on the trees are already falling and the trees are turning already. Although I do love all the seasons as they offer something different I think I love Autumn just that little bit more.
Coco is having withdrawal symptoms because the door is not open all day for her to run in and out! If we get a nice day the door is still open but we have also been getting quite a bit of rain too which we do need. She will soon be snoozing in her basket!!!!
Happy Thursday you lovely lot. Hugs & Love, Susie & Coco xx
The evenings are definitely drawing in, but I am sure the weeks are getting shorter! There are supposed to be seven days a week but they are absolutely flying by! The weekend was really busy; DH, Eldest & Partner, Youngest & Fiancé and Little Man went to a truck show on Saturday. The weather was great, warm but not too sunny as a lot of the exhibts were outside. I did not go of course because of my hip, so I was doggy sitting Gordon and Coco.
Friday DH and I had a busy day getting jobs done. We have started sorting out the boxes from the attic which are now in the garage and getting rid of things and also giving things to the Boys!! Hopefully it will be finished by the end of this year. We also have the attic to tidy, but there is not too much in there now.
Sunday DH, Eldest & I went to look at a new vehicle for me. Well I say me but DH and The Boys all use it as well. We had a good visit and it looked great so we are now in the process of sorting it out and hopefully I will have it by Friday of this week.
This weekend DH has his first swimming event of the new season but only for a few hours on Saturday and in the evening we are going to see the new Downton Abbey film at the cinema. We have not been for ages, mainly because there has not been anything ,on we wanted to see, but this is only being shown at the cinema first so I thought we would have a date night. Sunday will be nice again so I think we will be carrying on in the garage.
We did do quite a lot of work in the garden and have gotten quite a few of the plants which needed trimming done. We have arranged for the tree men to come at the end of October to trim the trees in the garden hopefully before the storms begin. We did them about two years ago but they need doing again. Our Roofer came to sort out the drain pipes last week and we asked him to go all over the roof to check it and he found one bit where a tile had slipped and it needed re-positioning and re-pointing which he did. We are so glad he did because the next day you have never seen rain like it! If we had not had that done we would have had water coming in!
This week is busy again with work of course and I have lots of home jobs to get done too, as well as a basket of ironing. I am going to Eldest’s business on Wednesday to get work done there too and then Friday we are waiting for a delivery to arrive and then hopefully picking the car up.
The other news we have in the family is that Youngest & Fiancé are expecting! Yeah! We are all so pleased for them. The baby is due at the end of January 2026 and we had a Gender Reveal here a few weeks ago with just the family and they are expecting a little Girl! Little Man’s face was a little disconcerted as he has, of course, two sisters and now will have a little girl cousin. He will be surrounded!!! Above is the table set waiting for everyone to arrive. I made lasagne’s for dinner with salad and garlic bread and then we had cake . They had got the smoke to reveal the Gender and it was very pink!!!!
Little Man in his highchair at lunch.
We are all so pleased for them and cannot wait to welcome the new arrival into the family.
I will try and post everyday this week as I am slipping with things mainly due to the days flying by!!!! I hope you lovely lot have a fantastic week.
Hugs & Love, Susie & Coco xx
Coco has had a slow day today in her basket next to my desk!
Well we have been back home for almost two weeks and it was like we have never been on holiday! It took me all of last week to catch up on our work and Eldest’s work and then home jobs, all the washing and ironing from holiday and then the first week back.
I went back to our Opticians to get them to change the lenses in my glasses as I was not getting on well with the new style. He did test my eyes again and I now have a problem with my left eye which he is referring me to the hospital for! It may be that it could resolve itself or the hospital may not think it is a problem so I am keeping my fingers crossed
Talking of Hospitals I have been today for my Pre-Op appointment! I have got to now have my left hip replaced, having had the right one done in 2018. It has been bad for a while and I started the process of getting it replaced in February last year and have been waiting since then. This is one of the issues we have in the UK with our National Health. We don’t pay per treatment/visit but we do pay via our taxes but since Covid when they got so behind on these types of operations and of course new people being added to the lists they are now behind. I have been waiting eighteen months now and it will be another two months before I actually have the Op. I am nervous about it but will be very thankful to get rid of the pain and taking pain medication every four hours. Of course it looks like the Op will be end of October and then it is a six week recovery programme which takes me up to the first week of December! That is going to be interesting getting everything done for Christmas! I will not be able to drive until I have had my six week appointment after the Op so I will be relying on DH, The Boys and The Girls this year.
We had a very busy weekend too. Friday was Eldest’s Birthday and all the family were here for dinner and it was so nice we were able to eat outside. Little Man had a great time helping Daddy open his gifts and then getting stuck in to Burger and chips for dinnerbut he loved the Birthday Cake best!
The above picture was the day they arrived on holiday having got up at 3.00am to leave at 4.00am. They all went back to sleep while Eldest drove and it was a good plan but they all had a snooze in the afternoon. We did the same on the way back too leaving by 4.00am and got back home by 12.30pm having stopped for breakfast! It was a busy weekend on the roads as it is the last few weeks of the school holidays so a lot of people were going away.
The above was on Eldest’s Birthday. None of us get a look in when Grandad is around with Little Man, he absolutely loves to be with Grandad and be carried around doing things. Here they are sat on our steps into the garden!Eldest’s Birthday cake. I did not make it. I normally do but I am not able to stand and bake at the moment due to my hip being so painful.
We also had another busy family day on Sunday as well and again we were so lucky with the weather and were able to eat outside.
Monday here was the last Bank Holiday of the year and that has thrown the whole week out with work of course! DH was with Eldest at the garage doing odd jobs and getting some things sorted for his new ramp going in. He already has two large ramps and has now fitted a small one which when not in use goes into the floor. This will be for jobs that just need a quick look and something small doing on them.
Eldest on the fork lift getting ready to take the delivery off the lorry.
Here is the ramp extended.
When not in use they go flush to the floor.
The mat on the desk is another present from us.
His Partner bought him this sign for the wall of the garage.
Here it is in place.
This weekend we are at home and although the weather is not very good we are trying to get the garden tidy. DH managed to get the grass done last weekend, but we have some weeding to do and some of our plants need trimming.
Next week begins the “Ber” months, which I think is a great description of the last four months of the year. SeptemBER, OctoBER, NovemBER, DecemBER! I do love all the seasons but I love this time of year Autumn going into Winter and of course Christmas at the end of it. We have some great things coming up in the next few months which we are looking forward to.
If the weather does not ccooperate then we are planning on docing some home jobs inside and also carrying on with the decluttering that I began a few months ago. I am still aiming to get it finished before the end of the year.
I hope you lovely lot are having a great end of summer and I will see you tomorrow.
Hugs & Love, Susie & Coco xx
Coco on night patrol!
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