Saturday 22nd - Notes From the Week

 I started the week limping - thought I broken my little toe  on Sunday morning, stubbed it hard on the leg of the bed- somehow. What I should have done was to put ice on it straight away but I was heading out so didn't get ice on it until much later. Probably not broken but it didn't half hurt for a few days and is still a bit sore.

We had rain overnight Monday/Tuesday and Tuesday/Wednesday -and a shower on Thursday it added a bit to the water butt off the living room roof. Nothing added to the water butt off the greenhouse because I hadn't realised the pipe had become disconnected - Duh!

 There's also rain in the forecast now and again on some days until the end of the month which is hopeful for greening up the half dead stuff everywhere.

On Tuesday afternoon I went to ex-husbands funeral. Strange to think the last two times I went to a funeral in that church ex was at both. First it was for his Father - way back in 1984 and then later in the 1980s for a Scout Leader who we had both known.

At Tuesday's funeral  I was able to give Paul's  two sons some photos of their Dad when he was 16, one was him on his BSA Bantam motorbike, and tell them about when he did his Duke of Edinburgh Gold award camping and hiking challenge and had to arrange a rescue for one of the guys he was with who broke his leg and how we went to Buckingham Palace to receive the award and how he won an award for Top Apprentice at ICI in 1975. They didn't know any of that as he'd split from their Mum when they were still quite young. They didn't even know he'd been married before he was married to their Mum until quite recently, which I find very strange. My children have always known I was married for a short while before Colin, it wasn't a secret. 

Paul is now buried in the churchyard where his Mum and Dad are buried - and Col's Mum and Dad are also there. (Their funerals were in their Methodist Chapel which has no burial ground).

So.......... The Sussex's - Harry and Meghan are coming back to live here, so their children can go to school here and she can get back to acting on a TV programme here - they need the money obviously, as he's got a massive bill to pay for losing a lawsuit.

 Doesn't bother me what they do either way ........just have to hope we don't have endless news about what they are doing - although I expect we will. I heard that the Daily Mail had managed to fill 18 pages about them on Friday - Thank Goodness I don't have to read it!

You know Autumn is coming when there are new crime series on TV  ..........Professor T and Ludwig both started this week. Hopefully more than 3 in the  series which is all there were of Van Der Valk.   

Benidorm is Murder with John Hannah has a couple more episodes - it's quite 'light' but fun and sunny. Can't say the same about 'The Hairdresser Mysteries' - a daytime cosy crime thing ................dreadful.

I'm sure I've seen something else trailed but can't remember what it was.

Also on TV is the first of the last series of this summers Cricket Test Matches - it rained of course!

The Great British Sewing Bee has been much the same as usual - I wasn't sad to see Tim go, didn't like him much in our Suffolk Smallholders Society and he came over the same in the Sewing Bee - a bit too pleased with himself!

And the football season has started and Ipswich are of course back in the Premiership so they'll be featured on TV a few times which will be good to see for everyone who can't afford a ticket.

Have a Good Weekend, and remember not to take my blog too seriously. 

I'll be back Monday.

The August Library Book Photo

 A nice collection of 8 books that I'd reserved all arrived for me to collect this week. I also picked two more from the shelves.

There are 6½ crime! The ½ is that very small novella on the top by Racheal McLean, which I see was written and sold to benefit the Disasters Emergency Committee Ukraine Appeal in 2022.....and still the war goes on there.

Three of the crime books are by authors new to me but I know I'll enjoy those by Alan Parks, Robert Peston and Heather Peck. I'll find out about the others later.

Two are non fiction that I've seen mentioned on blogs - they might be read properly - or might just be skimmed through and there are two that aren't crime. The Eve Woods book was on Sues blog - I think - and I know I've read  'The Lost Bookshop' by Eve Woods a while back. The other - ' The Midnight House' by Amanda Geard popped up somewhere. No idea what it is.

The crazy thing is that there are already 5 books in transit to the mobile library depot that will be sitting on the shelves there for four weeks ready for the September visit. Future good reading!

At the end of July I collected these below and read seven.

 The BLCC 'Airing in a Closed Carriage' was given up on quite quickly and as it was a month ago I can't remember why....just that I didn't get on with it. The others are on my Books Read 2026 page as well as two more - one I picked up in Stowmarket library and one from my shelves (Rosie Thomas - Iris and Ruby - a good story, as was the other book of hers I read ages ago ' The Kashmir Shawl')

A Bigger Shop

Thank you to everyone for comments yesterday, as several readers said ....the things in that list are needed in many areas of the US if evacuation from home was necessary - my point was that it said "an evacuation bag" and it was a very long list to fit in a bag!

Anyway.............

Another fill-a-blog-post-with-shopping-photo................

 Some from Asda but most from Aldi- a more than usual spend as a couple of things were over £3 each. I can remember when it was just meat that would have been more then £3 for one item!

Top to bottom - Frozen things - 2 x Sweet potato fries £4; vegetable spring rolls £1.72; Tempura prawns £2.38; 2 Linda McCartney mozzarella burgers £2;  Ditto 2 Pies £2.50; Rapeseed oil; £3.00; 500g pack value bacon bits £1;  Allinsons White Bread flour £3.40; 2 Peanuts £1.18; Yeast 65p; Willow spread £1.07;     6 Eggs £1.49; Extra Mature Cheddar £2.45; This weeks something different treat 6 fruit Yogurts 95p; Heinz tomato ketchup £3.99; Cheese thins biscuits  95p; Pack 7  Cheese minis 99p; 4 Wholemeal baps 75p; 6 mini apples 99p; 1Kg Nectarines £2.35.

Big Spend of £37.81

Running Total for August £37.81 + £24.79 =  £  62.60

I use Allinsons bread flour mixed with the Aldi cheaper bread flour for a better rise in my bread-maker. The frozen Chinese bits have gone up in price a lot. I eat just a few with stir fried veg but will have to use less. They are still cheaper than having a take-away. I've not tried the Linda McCartney pies before so will see what they are like. The bacon bits are divided into 5 portions before freezing. Hopefully these are the last eating apples I'll need to buy for a while as my own should be edible at the end of the month (I tried one the other day - they are definitely Not ready yet!)

After the children had all left home Col and I had a discussion about tomato sauce. I said that because we didn't use much we might as well just have the cheapest of cheap. He said that because we didn't use much we might as well have the best. He won and I've bought Heinz ever since! Still don't use much and a huge bottle lasts me months....maybe even years!