Category Archives: Our Home

House, Garden you name it, its in here!

That Was The Week That Was!

Last week passed in a blur of work and trying to get things sorted. Nothing major going on just lots of jobs!!! “That Was The Week That Was” was an old TV show in the UK during the 1960’s, I just thought the phrase was appropriate for last week!

DH and I were out on Thursday for work and also managed to catch up with a work colleague who had retired and he and his wife have not long moved to a new home and we called to see them.  Their new home is actually built into the hillside and looks a little like a Hobbit home.  It really is amazing and although very modern which I don’t usually like, it is really designed well.  We then called to see our Boys Godparents and had a lovely catch up with them too. 

The weekend passed in a blur of getting jobs done and Youngest was at the Hospital yesterday to have his mole removed, so he will be at home with me for the next two weeks.  The removal went well although it was quite large and situated on his spine.  They are testing to make sure it is okay but the Consultant did not think it would be a problem, it is just the healing process now and also because of his job they do not want him bending, hence the two weeks off.

Now I know that there are lots of places in the World hotter than this but for us in the UK this is REALLY HOT!  Above is today’s top temperatures this afternoon and tomorrow below:

As you can see even hotter!  We in the UK are just not geared up for this heat unlike hotter countries, certainly in our homes as we do not have air conditioning.   All we have are fans doing battle with the heat!  Of course it is only due to last today and tomorrow and by Wednesday it will be back to 70° so we will be wearing jumpers by then!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This is this morning’s job before it gets too hot and I also have some business work I need to do before again it gets bad.  Jayne and I were due to go out for lunch tomorrow but have moved it to next week now as businesses are talking about closing so we thought it best and also to not be out in a car during the worst of the heat!

It is always the same though in the UK we get a few days of some extreme weather and the Government and Media become Chicken Licken running around shouting the sky is falling!!!!  As I say by Wednesday it will be back to our normal summer temps and raining of course!!!

After finishing the two quilts I am now sorting out my quilting and trying to put aside what I want to take with me on holiday.  I like this process of sorting out things and getting things tidy again even if it is all tucked away at the moment!  I am hoping this coming weekend to do a bit more quilting and am aiming for a “Christmas in July” quity weekend, well that’s the plan.  DH is out all weekend at the new 50m swimming pool in Derby which has just opened.  The event is to see how things go and if anything needs to be sorted out before hosting a major competition there, so that should be fun.  I am going on Friday evening to have a look see!

Coco went with Eldest to his business on Saturday and he got out to open the gates and this was the face looking at him, as if to say “and where do you think you are going without me!”!!!!!!!!!  She had a great day and came home around 4.00pm exhausted!!! 

Still got lots of jobs to get done which I am trying to sort out this week, especially as it is going to be so warm!!!  I hope you lovely lot have a great week and stay cool if you are having top temperatures too. 

Hugs & Love, Susie xx

Plans.

On the back of yesterday I have been making plans for my Spring Cleaning!  DH helps out, especially with the moving of the furniture and it does go quicker with the two of us and I have lost a weekend.  So the plans are getting up early this weekend and next to get all the jobs done! 

I will be getting all the extra washing sorted out too, cushion covers, curtains, throws, bed protectors etc washed and out of the line.  We are due to have a warm and sunny weekend. 

I also use it as an opportunity to declutter things.  If I haven’t used it in the past year I recycle it to our local charity shop.  When my Mom passed I was still living at home and I had to find certain legal papers and it was an absolut nightmare.  My Parents had lived in our home for twenty five years and I don’t think my Mom had ever thrown anything away.  Then when my Grandmother passed DH and I had to clear her home out and she had lived there with my Grandfather and her mother, so there were in effect two homes.  It took us weeks and weeks to get it done so I am determined that I will not have that happen in our home. My good friend Susan has had to go through the same thing and has also vowed to declutter her things too!  Perhaps we should set up a Blog Hop of decluttering!!!

Of course we have lots of boxes in the attic stored with the Boys baby things and toys which eventually will go to their homes when they have them!!!!!

For me the Spring Cleaning is one of those jobs I hate to start and really get cross doing it, but absolutely love it and how our home looks once it is done!  But isn’t it the case with any big job?

I have resorted to my list making, so I don’t forget anything and of course using my Spring Cleaning lists which you can find on my side bar.  It really does help to have it all written down and tick it off once you have completed a task, I love ticking things off!!  You can’t guess that as a little girl I loved stationery, notebooks and lists!!!  It really helped when I was studying for my exams, I had notes and lists pinned up all over the place. 

How is your Wednesday going?  Thursday tomorrow with home jobs and Friday I am getting a start on things and grocery shopping of course. 

Hugs & Love, Susie xx

My reward when all the Spring Cleaning is done; a cup of tea and an hour to read!!!

 

Home Maintenance.

Work on your home never stops!!!  We did a lot to ours when we moved in so of course things are now breaking or need replacing as it has been twenty years!!   The basin in our main bathroom has developed a crack which is starting to creep so we are getting a new one, which of course means new taps.  We are also going to replace the taps on the bath too because you can guarantee if we don’t it will fail immediately after the plumber has been!

Another job is we have some blown units in our double glazed windows so we are getting those replaced before Winter.  The problem at the moment is that everyone is so very busy, which is great for them after the last eighteen months but things are taking a long time to sort out.  The windows have been ordered and we are just waiting for them to set a date to come and replace them.

We are now waiting for the plasterer to come and quote to replaster the ceiling where the rain got in and still waiting for the roofers to come and seal the tiles and clean the gutters out before Winter!  Of course you do know what will happen don’t you?  They will all turn up in the same week!  Yep especially as it is me, these sorts of things always happen to me!!!!

One of the windows which needs replacing is in our dressing room, which means I am going to have to empty it for them to do the job!  Of course that means I can have a clear out at the same time so it is not all bad news!

Today has been busy with work and I had an appointment this afternoon, I don’t know where the days and weeks are flying to!  I hope you are all having a good Tuesday. 

Hugs & Love, Susie & Treacle xx

Treacle’s view on the day!

Sunday.

Here are some pictures of our work in the garden yesterday.  DH got the grass cut which always makes the garden look so much better and also got up the leaves that had fallen.  Of course a load more of fallen since!!!!

The table and chairs are still out at the moment but we did put the umbrella away as it was nice and dry, which was a good job as it rained all night and most of this morning.  We will put the furniture away next week after I have given it a clean.

The vegetable bed has been cleaned and tidied and I wil put some winter greens in, when I visit the garden centre for the Winter pansies. 

The pots waiting to be filled and I swept the patio stones.  I clipped the box bush in the top left of the picture and made it look tidy and we just now need to trim some of the plants before Winter.

 

Next time we need to tackle the plants on the right hand side as they need tidying!

Busy sorting things out at home now as the weather has been up and down today including rain, wind and sun!!! 

Happy Sunday everybody. 

Hugs & Love, Susie & Treacle xx

Biscuits.

I don’t know if you have ever noticed in this day and age of how things are updated/upgraded and changed every month it seems sometimes, biscuits have not changed ever!!!!

I was filling up our biscuit tin the other day with DH & The Boys favourites when I realised that these were the biscuits I used to eat when I was little and my Grandmother used to buy!!  Obviously I am in the UK and I am sure that wherever you are in the World your biscuits are different but here are the ones which seemed to have transcended time:

Chocolate Digestive Biscuits DH & The Boys favourite!

Rich Tea Biscuits My Favourite

Ginger Nut Biscuits – DH

Malted Milk Biscuits – My favourite when I was little and Treacle loves them!

Bourbon biscuits (no alcohol in them) DH & Youngest loves these

Custard Creams – Everyone loves these

Jammy Dodgers – Eldest’s favourite

I am sure if you showed these pictures to our Grandparents and even Great-Grandparents  they would recognise them!!!! 

When our Boys were little, and still now I suppose, buying biscuits at the supermarket really made me feel like a Mom!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Happy Biscuity Sunday. 

Hugs & Love, Susie xxxx

Garden Done!

Dh and I spent a lot of last year’s lockdowns getting our garden back into order after a few years of only doing the minimum.  So much so that although we have not been able to do much so far this year it really has not gotten out of hand and only took us Saturday to tidy it all up.  It has been lovely and warm, although Sunday was very hot, but yesterday was back to being nice and warm and today but tomorrow we have forecasts of possible thunderstorms which we always seem to get after some nice warm weather. 

Picture Heavy Post Warning!!!!!!!!!

Our new raised planter with some veggies in.

The summer flowers are all coming out now after the cold and wet May we had.

We have put some bedding plants into the pots.

I have re-planted my herby garden with parsley, a new rosemary plant, some oregano and my chives are still doing okay. 

The garden from our bench and the table.

The blue of the sky through our tree.

All the above pictures were taken facing the sun so they have a slightly ethereal quality. 

Of  course Treacle got in on the act the other evening whilst she was waiting for dinner!!!

This is this afternoon’s picture: 

Even though it is warm she still likes to snuggle under her quilt!!!!  Although it is cool in our den next to my desk. 

Happy Summer you lovely lot! 

Hugs & Love, Susie & Treacle xxxx

Tuesday Things.

After all the rain and how cold it was in May we now have some lovely sunshine and it is warm.  So much so that I have finally got the last of the Spring Cleaning jobs done, ones which need the sun out.

Here are all the baskets and bins in our home which I wash and then leave out to dry in the sunshine, including Treacle’s basket.

I also have crystals around our home (I think they bring good energy to a roome but understand that not everyone believes the same)  I wash them and then run them under cold water and put them on the tray and then put them out in the sun to “charge” them.

I have also managed to get all our curtains washed and the under bedding and now it is the turn of the dressing gowns and a couple of quilts and some other bits I have in the kitchen.  I love it when I can hang the washing out. 

Here are the pictures of our outdoor furniture newly painted.

Also here are a few pictures of the flowers currently out in the garden, we have some weeding to do!

Quite a few more flowers are just coming out.  I will have to water them tonight after today’s heat!

This is how blue the sky is today with no clouds!  Bliss. 

I hope your Tuesday is going well.  I have managed to get all my work done and these other jobs done in between, as well as answering the door for deliveries for the Boys! The weekend is supposed to be nice so with luck we can get into the garden and do a general tidy up and then perhaps the following weekend we won’t have any jobs to do and can do something different!! Wonders will never cease!!!! 

Hugs & Love, Susie xx

Summer!

Summer

“Come with me, Mom says.  To the Library. Books and Summertime go together.”

Lisa Schroeder

Just in time for the start of June we finally have some sunshine and it is warm!!!! Hurrah!  We are all enjoying it, especially Treacle.

We had another long weekend last weekend so DH and I started painting our sitting room.  We had the paint and all the stuff needed but of course things did not go as planned as the Boys put a spanner in the works so we did not start painting until Sunday!  It took us all Saturday afternoon and some of the evening to clear the sitting room and now I remember why we don’t paint it regularly!!!! 

Here are all the books stacked on the dining table, floor, dresser etc!!!!

Second Room Done!

DH and I managed to get our dining room painted over the long weekend, despite DH having to have a two hour meeting on Saturday morning regarding swimming!!!!  Also Friday went to pot a little bit with a few other things which needed attending to.  Anyhoo we managed to get the room cleared and then started getting it done.  The picture below is after we had cleared the room and painted the walls.

Below is with all the furniture, pictures etc put back.  It is the same colour as it was before but looks cleaner.

It looks great when it is done, just a trial when you are doing it!!!!! 

So we have another long weekend at the end of the month and one more room to do, our sitting room!!!  This should be a little easier to do as the walls are light coloured, as you can imagine the Red is quite hard to do with the white ceiling! The biggest thing will be clearing the bookshelves into the dining room, so that will be a job for the Friday.  We did also get the dining room Spring cleaned as well so two birds with one stone so to speak!!! 

That was our weekend and of course this week is now a short week.  I am hoping to get some more spring cleaning done this week but this weekend is going to be chaos as Eldest is leaving his job and starts his new one a week today and we have to sort out things and cars and we are also helping Girlfriend with moving some stuff for Penny and anything else that comes up as well.  So that is going to be fun. 

It is still really cold here but we are hoping it is going to get warmer soon.  Yesterday it rained heavily all day, which is usual for a Bank Holiday!!! 

Today is Treacle’s Birthday and she is 13!!!!  Everyone is at work today but in tonight so we will be spoiling her then, she has lots of new toys to play with and some treats.  Tomorrow she is off to the spa, she is getting quite wooly again!!!  Happy Birthday Treacle we love you to bits. 

Have a great week you lovely lot. 

Hugs & Love, Susie xx

Wednesday Really?!!!

The Wednesday Wag.

It is blooming cold at the moment so my door is not open all day for me to run in and out as normal so I am spending my days in my basket next to Mom’s desk!!!!  It is not normally this cold at this time of year and guess what?  Mom has booked me in for a Spa day next Wednesday!!!! I mean really?!!!!!!!    I am really hoping that we are going to get some warm Spring weather soon.

*******************************

Tuesday disappered in a cloud of work and I did actually get an appointment with my hairdresser to get my hair coloured and cut!!!  So I don’t look like the above any more!!

It was announced yesterday that Molly and Jacob have both made the Olympic GB Team for swimming!!!  To make the team is a great achievement and we wish them the best of luck in Tokoyo.  Molly went to the last Olympics but this will Jacob’s first time and what a trip for a sixteen year old.

***********************************

I watched the funeral of HRH Prince Philip and here are some stills of the day.  Although cold it really was a stunning day with the sun shining.

The Bands playing on the Inner Courtyard. The Land Rover specially designed by Prince Philip to carry his coffin.

The Royal Marine Band marching through the George IV Gateway to the Inner Courtyard.

St George’s Chapel.

The Royal Family waiting to walk behind the coffin.

The Round Tower.

The Queen and her Lady in Waiting leave the Church to return to the private apartments.

The Duchess of Cambridge, The Duke of Sussex, The Duke of Cambridge, The Princess Royal and The Dean of Windsor, David Conner.

The Royal Family walk back up the hill to the main part of Windsor Castle.

*************************************

At the weekend, which is three days, DH and I will be painting our dining room and getting other jobs done.  The weather is not supposed to be very good but this is not a surprise as it is a Bank Holiday and it always rains on Bank Holidays in the UK.  At least we are doing inside jobs.  I hope your week is going well.

Hugs & Love, Susie xx