Has summer returned

It has been a glorious day today. The sun has shone warmly and even though it started off chilly it feels like a summer day out there. I had a good long walk with my friend and then we came back to mine for a spot of lunch and a game of dominos.  I am keeping the pain away with drugs.. :-(   Not naughty ones, though I have noticed a lot of cannabis oil products being sold just lately. Holland and Barratt had it on display in the shop window and there is a stand in Middlesbrough town centre selling it.  Tonight we are off to carving club and tomorrow I think I may have to do a spot of housework... gosh I do know how to live the high life.

Superdrug colour effects shampoo

Let me just start off with a bit of a moan.  I have been to see the physio today and he is definite about my hip pain being arthritis.  He showed me the x ray and pointed out where it is grinding..... wince....  He says I need to go back and tell the doctor that I must have proper pain relief while they are waiting for the consultant to read the x ray and confirm exactly what he told me last month… oo err,  would I dare tell the doctor. :-) We are looking into going private as the pain is really getting me down... and I am not usually a miserable, sorry for myself, kind of person...…….. end of moan......

I gave up using permanent dye on my hair a couple of years ago and all through the summer the sun has lightened my hair a couple of shades.  This hid the grey that is sneaking in. Now that we don't have those lovely sunny days my hair colour is looking just a little bit tired. I am happy to go grey but there isn't enough grey for it to be a nice colour. There is just enough to make it look a bit drab.  I discovered that Superdrug's colour effects shampoo really hides it well.  I ignore the instructions and put it onto wet hair.  I make sure to work it right through  my hair and then I leave it for about fifteen or twenty minutes before washing it out.  It colours really well and lasts through several washes. Gradually the colour washes out so then I redo it.  No messing about  with roots growing out etc.  Best of all it only cost £1.99 and is currently on a buy one get one half price offer. I bottle lasts me three or four washes and I do it every fortnight now. I don't use the blonde shades so can't comment on them but anything with a hint of copper or chestnut works really well for me.

Can't sleep

The pain in my hip is excruciating and keeping me awake tonight.  I can't seem to get comfortable whichever side I lay. I have an appointment with physio tomorrow but don't think he can do much about the pain. Oh well.  I shall browse tinternet until I feel sleepy.
York was ok... I do mean ok.  We aren't great ones for shopping and got bored really quickly so went and had a pub lunch before heading home.  Managed to get a couple of Christmas presents to put away. York Minster still manages to fill me with awe every time I see it.  I love everything about the walled city and can fully understand why so many foreign tourists visit. We will go back a bit closer to Christmas as it is always wonderfully festive at that time of year.

A tootle out to York for the day

Tony and I are planning a big 'Full English Breakfast and a trip over to York for the day. We haven't been in a couple of years and it is only an hour away. I'm not really a fan of traipsing around the shops but sick to the back teeth of cheap and nasty shops opening up. Don't get me wrong, they do have their place and can be a really good source of crafting supplies but... I want to buy a really nice pair of smart dressy trousers and York has a number of lovely quality shops. We had considered having lunch out but in truth the breakfast will fill us up till teatime.


I often like to share a blog that I have enjoyed and now and then I come across a blog that really sparks my interest.  The other day I came across such a blog and will be going back through all the lady's posts as herbalism is something that fascinates me. We have so much to learn about the plants that grow wild in our hedgerows.

http://whenweedswhisper.blogspot.com/

Oh dear

Last night while my menfolk were out I decided I would get rid of all the paper that we have stuffed into the wood burner... bills, envelopes, receipts etc.  BIG MISTAKE..... I struck a match to it and closed the door assuming it would all burst into flames... it did not.. It smoked and smouldered for ages.  Silly me then decided that I would open the stove door and give everything a good poke around.... BIG MISTAKE NUMBER TWO... It filled the entire sitting room with belching smoke... Quickly closing the door I opened the doors to the garden and wafted and wofted to no avail. Tony and Alexander came home to a house that smelt like a kipper processing plant. It stills smells strongly of smoke now.. Worryingly though the smoke alarm didn't make a sound... I will have a look at that today and see what is wrong. Tony is off to the footie this afternoon and this evening I have my friend coming over for a glass of wine and a game of dominos... oh my word the exciting life I lead  :-)

Home made apple pie

Tony has gone out for the evening with Alexander and I have been busy making apple pies. Lawd knows where I will put them as the freezer is stuffed full of apples and cherries. hmmmmmm cherries and ice cream... yum.... oops, I digress.  I have had a lovely time baking.  I've just lifted two pies out of the oven and popped the second batch in... Apple pie anyone?  :-)

Avocado update

It is time for me to show you how big the avocado seedlings are. I have two biggish ones and the rate that they have grown has really amazed me. I also have four little ones that are just starting off.  One of them looks to be totally different to the others even though they all came from the same variety of avocados.  It will be interesting to see how big they grow.

One of the bigger ones.  I will have to move him when we need to light the fire

I am planning on letting them grow to about three feet before topping them.  They will bush out nicely then.

This one is totally different to the others

sixth sense

This morning I made a batch of really pretty cards.  I can't share them here as one is for my lovely friend,,,   Southern Softy.. Anona… :-)    The rest are for my birthday card stash.  It is nice to have a hand made card ready to pop in the post.  Then I went and collected a load of windfall apples from the bottom of the  garden. I have put one bowl of them aside for my friend Kath and the rest I peeled, cored and chopped into chunks.  I have cooked them until they are just tender and plan on making some apple pies for the freezer

I had just finished cooking them when I was filled with a sense of foreboding accompanied by the smell of cigarettes. I have never smoked and Tony only ever smokes away from home  and only when he isn't with me as I detest the smell. The feeling of dread was so intense that I rang Tony just to check if he is ok... thankfully he is... I occasionally smell pipe tobacco when I am sitting reading... Almost as though someone is walking past me smoking a pipe. That is accompanied by a lovely feeling of peace....nothing like the feeling I had this morning..  Hopefully everyone is safe. 

It's windy out there

I am  sitting looking out at the very tall conifer  trees at the back of my house. The wind has them almost bent in half and it always worries me when I see that happening. One of these days I think they will blow down and cause a huge amount of damage. The forecast isn't too promising either. I think we will be lashed by rain at some point today. It certainly looks dark enough. Perhaps walking with my friend isn't such a good idea today. If the wind continues I reckon it would be safer to call it off.  Hope you are safe wherever you are today. x

Windfall apples

Last night Tony decided he would cut some wood for the log store.  We have a pile of big pieces that needed cutting down into useable sizes.  I wandered down the garden to see how he was getting on and discovered that he had picked up a load of windfall apples from the tree. He put them in the green waste bag????????????   Needless to say I rescued them and after giving them a good wash and trimming off any nasty brown bruised bits I cooked them for the freezer.. I will have to squeeze them in somewhere as it would have been a crying waste to just dispose of them