This Week

I took a cheap day return train to Brighton.  The mission was to try on the new Emmylou dress at my favourite shop, All About Audrey.  They have made this lovely modern day replica of a 70s hippy kaftan.  But it justn't wasn't right for me .   from this changing room pic I see not enough material for my liking and the rear view was not the best... hair's getting long though which is good.... but never mind about the dress, I already have a few very beautiful things from this shop (that specialises in vintage and recycled sari silk made into floaty dresses) and the kaftan of my dreams will one day appear on EBay at a fraction of the retail price, hopefully.

I'm loooking plump, gym has not been visited much lately. bursitis of the hip and carpal tunnel of my hand are my excuse.  I kept up swimming 30 lengths twice a week though.  Will do better.

Brighton was cold and grey, there was no sign of all the lovely paper lanterns of Solstice night, recycled no doubt, but there was a delicious avocado wrap and hot coffee waiting for me at Pret and a nice look round the chazza shops, but nothing of note brought home.  It was a good day for sea air and a lot of walking in flat, comfy boots though.  As I spent childhood holidays here with granny and her nutty sisters Hilda, Lily and Babs, I have some very happy memories and enjoyed wandering The Lanes just like I did as a child of the 60s.  They would have approved of the kaftan dress.

Window shopping only ... I spotted a very lovely amethyst ring, its my birth stone.

I took the Christmas tree and foliage swags down yesterday, it feels empty in the house without all the fairy lights and bling.  I forgot to put the curtains back up... am not sleeping well, infact blogging at 4 in the morning here which is not healthy.

I have been to my allotment over Christmas, saw deer up there several times (the other plotholders want to prevent them getting in, but I don't mind sharing a bit of veg with them.   had to check my red onions.  Sprouts and leeks are ready and I couldn't resist moving the spades and paraphernalia of netting/pea sticks and plastic tubes around to make them look more arty in my manure box.  OCD is featuring heavily at the moment.  

My recent shopping has been boring and sensible, some non slip matting for the back door, as the patio gets slippy, but the cat hates the new rubber outdoor mat and leaps like a gazelle over it rather than step over it.  I felt it was essential to replenish underwear supplies  - 'new year new undies' is my motto.

We are half way through watching a real life 4 part tv series which we recorded Mr Bates v The Post Office .   700 postmasters were wrongly accused/prosecuted for mismanagement of funds.  This was due to bugs in the Fujitso software, Horizon, installed in UK post offices Nationwide.  The books didn't balance and the Post Office prosecuted these poor people for mismanaging or removing funds - some were prosecuted, convicted and even went to prison, wrongly.  It's heartbreaking to think of the years of misery these people went through fighting their cases...

Mr Bates vs The Post Office true story: The scandal behind ITV's drama | Radio Times

Source:  Radio Times, Mr Bates v The Post Office

This weekend we will be visiting our oldest son in Tooting (London) for a curry and a quick look round the ethnic food shops in the area where I hope to stock up on fenugreek leaves and black mustard seeds for making our own curries.

I'm off to catch up on some sleep now!

Goodbye to 2023

On 12 December I decorated the house in an afternoon, made my door wreath with foliage from the woods and put up our little fake tree.  Hubby brought the boxes from the loft with my Christmas tea set and Christmas reindeer plates (which got plenty of use), curtains came down, fairy lights went up round windows and the furniture moved a bit to fit everything in. 

Both sons came to stay, 3 of us worked through Christmas on one shift or another - it was the first year I had cooked Christmas dinner without help - as a vegetarian that was a challenge - I had strict written instructions from the other half and a meat thermometer for checking the turkey!

On 12th night I will take the decorations down, put the curtains back up and say goodbye to the fairy lights for another year.  

I didn't watch much tv over Christmas but just found series 1 of Kin, on BBC (if you liked Peaky Blinders, you will like this) I won't spoil the plot.

source;  Bing

We kept an eye on last minute bargains online and were lucky to get a short break to Marrakech for the not too distant future.   We bought a big World map to go on the wall as we are planning a lot of travel for 2025 and it needs some thought.  

New Year resolutions are nothing too challenging and only positives, I'm not into self denial or beating myself up for failure!  I listed them on my Solstice post but here they are again in case you would like to take some of them for yourself:

Don't let anyone steal my vibrancy

Wear something sparkly every day

Don't step on insects

Do something in nature every day - talk to a plant, walk in the woods, visit my allotment

Don't think of work as a chore, it's a great opportunity to socialise!

Travel as much as possible 

Don't think about being old, think how great it is to be alive!

Slow down and savour the moment more often

Remember to have gratitude

Always look for the magic in things

Wishing bloggers a happy and healthy New Year 

and thank you for following.

Winter Solstice 2023

 Pictures and link to my Youtube video here are from Brighton, we went to Burning of the Clocks which is an annual event where paper lanterns (this year the theme was clocks) are carried through the streets and to the sea front, where they are burned-they represent the release of negatives and the affirmation of hopes, dreams and anticipation of the new Solstice.   

Click link below for video 

Solstice Eve

https://youtu.be/h2E0HQm5gYs?feature=shared

This year the lanterns were not burned because it was stormy and the high winds would have made it unsafe with the crowds - there were 28,000 people present, 2000 were lantern carriers ... somehow I was swept into the lantern bearers procession and police barriers were swiftly put up keeping spectators back  was not allowed to go back and lost hubby in the crowd but got some fabulous views and was able to enjoy being in the middle of a throng of musicians, dancers and lantern bearers.

The clock on the beach was the focal point for the end of the procession.  

The main event was over in an hour and I enjoyed ever moment, it didn't rain either.  We managed to get a train despite delays and were back in our home town 40 minutes away in time for a 10pm pizza at our local Weatherspoons and then a one mile walk home.  

Brighton's Lanes had some lovely Christmassy windows...

Hope you enjoyed my video link... I will be back in the New Year.

Merry Christmas!

Eve of Solstice

It's the eve of Winter Solstice,  when we burn a candle to symbolically let go of all the things in 2023 that have been negative for us... tomorrow stone circles all over the UK and beyond will be visited by those who want to connect to the elements and Nature and acknowledge the Winter Solstice.  Here's my Winter wreath - if I was going to a stone circle, I would wear it like a crown :)

I have a list of promises to myself for 2024:

Don't let anyone steal my vibrancy

Wear something sparkly every day

Don't step on insects

Do something in nature every day - talk to a plant, walk in the woods, visit my allotment

Don't think of work as a chore, it's a great opportunity to socialise!

Travel as much as possible 

Don't think about being old, think how great it is to be alive!

Slow down and savour the moment more often

Remember to have gratitude

Always look for the magic in things

It's that time of year when I am observing nature, looking for any signs of green, new shoots, footprints of little animals, birdsong, the allotment is a great place for that - I saw six beautiful roe deer glide across my plot early one morning recently, magical!  I have also spotted the odd starling - a rarer sight in the UK these days, heard song thrush and robin, found silvery snail trails on my kitchen windows and seen some fabulous early morning red sunrises.  It's these small things that make me happy.

What inspires you during the cold bleak Winter months?  are you a windowsill gardener with an amarylis about to flower or do you have tubs crammed with Spring bulbs outside your doors?  I planted 200 small Spring flower bulbs in my lawn this year,  ambitious as we have really heavy clay soil (and weeds)  - I hope they come up as crocus and miniature narcicus will be such a lovely sight.

I go swimming twice a week, our pool is staying open either side of Christmas - this Tuesday it was almost empty and I had a massive lane (third of the pool) all to myself.  The showers were super hot and I brought some little hotel bottles of toiletries saved from recent travels and made it a mini spa day!

I'm off on an adventure today - will tell about it soon.

November

 We have just returned from a two week break in Sri Lanka, staying in Waikkal on the beach.  I have done a post on my travel blog which is *HERE!!!!* if you would like to read.

Two weeks away from the allotment and, despite sun and sand, I thought about it a lot! couldn't wait to get down there and check it out.  All ticking over nicely with leeks, parsnips and sprouts for Christmas.  

My oldest son stayed at the house while we were away and his brother stayed over and cooked for him on days off.  Mollie stayed at kennels and the boys brought her home the day we arrived back. 

It's good to be home and the first thing on my list today after making a start on the suitcase unpacking, is to go for a swim at the local pool - back to work tomorrow!

 

October

 October: 

The past month was restful, I used my car less and walked to my allotment, spent more time with Mollie, who likes having her chin brushed.  I took everything at a slower pace.

My youngest son left home, although he had been planning for some time I wasn't really prepared and am feeling 'empty nest syndrome'  He's sharing a cottage with a friend nearby and sends pics of what he has cooked for dinner (I used to send pics to him of what I was cooking for our dinner entitled  'daily stodge'! I'm glad he's keeping it going).   To get myself adjusted I painted his old room white and made an office space for my work from home days.  It's really nice to have a quiet room to work in but I miss him, of course.

I loved looking out of my kitchen window during the first few weeks of October because my shed was covered in the most beautiful red leaves entwined with flowering ivy which attracted bees.

On the allotment I took delivery of  half a tonne of manure, it was hard work shovelling it from 50 yds away to the plot in wheelbarrows but worth it.  I moved my composters around a bit to make a square space for growing pumpkins next year.

Wonderful news:  the plot holders who applied to keep bees on the site have been granted local council permission, the hives will arrive in late April.  It will be fun to see what they are doing.

 We have eaten something from the allotment every week - most recently an assortment of pretty, purple green and white heads of cauliflower, delicious eaten roast or as cauliflower cheese.  My sprouts are coming along nicely as are parsnips and leeks.  We had some good size pumpkins, a glut of beetroot and pattypan and plenty of salad leaves. 

It has been a productive Summer on the allotment and I have spent many happy hours not only tending but just sitting and enjoying the space.  As someone who suffers anxiety it has been very therapeutic.

Having watched Gardeners World recently I was inspired to plant saffron crocus, they arrived  with shoots and I thought it may be too late planting to expect flowers this year, but the flowers bloomed only a few weeks later and I  harvested about 40 saffron strands. 2 strands per flower.

 As the Winter creeps in there may be less work to do on my plot but I will still visit regularly and can be busy planning for next year.

I joined a gym thats more local to me and go swimming when I can.  Just started back with a pump class (weight lifting) and use the rowing machine which we have at home.  As there is less to do on the allotment this will provide the exercise I need during the winter months.

I am reading Raynor Wynn's third book, Landlines -  this latest is very much like the first (Salt Path) and is a good read.   In the background is the challenge of her husband's irreversible health condition, their walks motivate and empower them.  If you like wild camping and walks in adverse weather and challenging terrain, you will enjoy this.  

Halloween

Pumpkin carving for Halloween 2023.....