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!

In a Bag?

 I added a US blog to my reading list just to see if it was of any interest. This was one day last week - made me smile as it was titled  "50 items for your evacuation bag".

Bag? You'd need a blinkin' big truck!

Having a grab bag seems like a good idea with wild fires forcing people to evacuate homes at short notice, but I can manage without number 13! 

1. Case of water
2. Cash/credit cards
3. ALL of your prescription medications (if your house burns down, it can be difficult to get replacement refills)
4. Laptop/charging cord
5. Cell phone/charging cord
6. Important documents (passports, birth certificates, marriage/divorce/military/immigration docs, etc)
7. All of your files backed up on a thumb drive
8. Copies of financial/insurance/other important records
9. A paper map of your city/state
10. A video tour of your entire home for insurance purposes
11. Any irreplaceable heirlooms
12. Jewelry
13. Firearms/ammo/holster/pepper spray
14. Pets/carrier/leash/food/meds/water bowl, etc
15. Shoes/couple of changes of clothes for each family member
16. Toiletry kit for each family member/makeup/sunglasses
17. A bag of snacks and easy to prepare food/MREs/etc
18. Can opener/utensils, plate and bowl for each person
19. Insulated cooler
20. Wet Wipes/hand sanitizer
21. Kleenex/paper towels
22. Ziploc bags
23. Notebook and pen/envelope for receipts
24. Camping gear (sleeping bags, tent, cooking gear, mess kits, water purifier, etc)
25. Necessary health aids: dentures/hearing aids and charger/cane/wheel chair/glasses/contacts/etc
26. Stuff for infant/baby/toddler if applicable (diapers, wipes, bottles, food, formula, favorite toys, etc)
27. Stuff for elderly or infirm family members (diapers, CPAP, feminine hygiene products, etc)
28. Throw blankets
29. Weather appropriate clothing (coat, hat, gloves in the winter)
30. Tablets for each family member with pre-loaded books, movies, games, etc
31. Headphones or earbuds for each family member
32. Battery banks to recharge phones
33. Portable battery bank and solar panel kit
34. Battery box jumper for car battery
35. Portable air compressor for tires
36. Other entertainment options: coloring books/crayons, puzzle books, playing cards, etc
37. Small AM/FM radio/extra batteries
38. First aid kit/sunscreen/bug spray/umbrella
39. Vehicle emergency kit
40. Flashlights/extra batteries
41. Portable toilet kit/wag bags
42. PPEs (nitrile gloves, N95 masks, goggles, leather work gloves, etc)
43. Basic tool kit (hammer, pliers, wrench, screwdrivers, etc)
44. Spare tire/jack
45. Fire extinguisher
46. Signal material (flares, whistle, etc)
47. Specialized radios: NOAA weather, HAM radio
48. Compass
49. Knife and/or multi tool
50. Other: paracord, duct tape, tarp, zipties, sewing kit, matches

How many of these things do people really have in a grab/go/bug out bag?