Roast Dinners

Why are roast dinners sooooo good - a meal all my fussy daughters will eat - so grateful I have a farmer friend who breeds lambs and brings a whole lamb every year for the freezer. Pleased that younger daughter and her new cousin in law did all the Christmas decorations this year.

Must stop taking central heating for granted and the joy of foraging for bits of wood for the fire. So pleased that middle daughter has now got her nursing degree and qualification and also a job at a community hospital starting beginning next year / so proud of her 

NHS

So grateful for our NHS - went for routine MRI scan and looked after brilliantly by at least five people as I made my way through the hospital corridors and to the X-ray department. All free except for the obligatory car park payment. Really grateful for jigsaws - have got a houseplant one out which is nice and colourful. What would we do without colour - isn’t wonderful that with just six primary colours there’s a host of variations.  

Roaring Fire

Love having my multi fuel burner - nothing more relaxing than watching burning flames - am I a pyro? Some people don’t like Facebook and Instagram but I do - really grateful that I can post nice pictures and get some response. Been enjoying watching “I’m a celebrity get me out of here” - they’ve all been very nice to one another and my niece is the voice of the cockroach between adverts 

Food

So grateful just that I can buy food anytime whether in a shop or online - so much variety. And really pleased that a friend has an allotment and gave me some of her bizarrely shaped parsnips - thoroughly enjoyed them with the rest of the Sunday roast - lamb from a farmer I know in Northumberland with an apt surname of Bone, roast potatoes, sprouts, peas, Yorkshire puddings and gravy to boat or even to boot. 

Friend has a life size skeleton called Elton - really love dressing him up in clothes and props I didn’t know I had. 

Reading

Really glad to have loads of books to read - I’ll never be short (I don’t think). I love reading Peter James books but sometimes his subject matter can be really quite gruesome but he does research really well. Thankful to have lovely friend as an encourager and how she has let me join a kindness blog (she’s my first post/blog). Been to Blyth beach a few times now - so invigorating - watching the waves, the people, the ships - even the wind turbines. Cafe open even during this lockdown / really appreciated them and told them so. Also had a great walk with my fiancée (ooo can say this now) at St Cuthberts cave and the countryside around it / saw two sparrow hawks really close up in a tree overlooking a corn field- couldn’t quite get a picture.

EE

Really over the moon that after numerous calls to EE that they’ve finally managed to link all my family’s mobile accounts so we can share data with one another and managed to save over £50 a month in slimming down our requirements.  BUT the major news is that I’m so grateful to God for finding me a new girlfriend, partner, companion (not sure what to put) - anyway she’s now my fiancée- both chose a nice engagement ring. Thankful that I can afford things but aware that others can’t and will never take it for granted - bought a motorhome and collected it the day before driving to Wales. Thankful that fiancée could be in Wales to see her dying dad - he’s still with us and it was great showing him the ring and telling him of our engagement. 

It’ll be good getting to now the new extended family. Stopped off in a pub car park overnight on the way and landlady gave us a free meal and drinks to celebrate engagement - what a lovely gesture- stayed in same car park on way back even though country in lockdown and she made us a Spag Bol !!! Went on great canal walk and so grateful to be able to appreciate the countryside with someone else.

Engagement

So grateful that I’ve found a new partner - got engaged today and handed over a ring with a bottle of champagne. Loads of folk from family and church all very pleased to hear some good news for a change. So pleased to have had a good week this week with another lock down looming - celebrated a 55th birthday in the garden and put up my new gazebo (tricky but held off the rain). So thankful to have mobile phones - great to talk to lovely friend in Ireland as though she was in the room.  

Great to be able to freely go to pub and joined in a Tiddly Painters group using acrylics and a canvas - my pumpkin and sozzled owl turned out ok in the end. Talking of owls went to a lovely art gallery in Northumberland that I hadn’t been to before and bought a steampunk owl for my daughters Christmas present - she’ll be amazed.  Also realised that one of the artists goes to the same concert band as me which was great.

Sea Buckthorn

Sea buckthorn is the new superfood - it’s a lovely tree growing to about 3-4 metres high on the north east and west coasts and has a huge amount of small intensely orange berries that taste of Orange and Mango - a starburst sort of explosion in the mouth. Anyway so so pleased that I’ve found some secret bushes and taken just a sample to make some sea buckthorn gin liqueur. There are two ice cream parlours in Northumberland who do sea buckthorn flavour - I’m going to ask them where they get their secret stash. 

Had a great trip to Durham (my university haunt) and went to gin distillery in a run down warehouse place - he was so pleased that friend and I called in that we got a free bottle of mango gin - it’s gone already !!! I have finally been fully inducted to help with the work at the local hospice - main role will he upgrading their paper system to a computer system (love the name Harlequin) and also to drive around the three shops they gave in Northumberland transferring stock around. So grateful they’ve allowed me to volunteer as I’ve wanted to do this for the last two years but sort of procrastinated - well Covid has been a little bit to blame.

Health doing well

Reminded by lovely friend in Ireland that back so so much better than it was back at the beginning of the year when I was in hospital and then lying flat for weeks on end. Pleased that daughter has moved out of Covid ward to another hospital for the rest of her practical nursing training. Happy that I managed to get some paint and lacquer from the Volvo garage - all I have to do now is a few touch up patches!!

Very fortunate that I can afford things like a new motorhome!! Peugeot Elddis Accordo 120 now an addition to the family - can’t wait to collect it in a few weeks time. Very happy to have helped a friend and sold her daughters Celerio- she now has her mums Ignis - glad I’ve still got some of my marbles to sort out all the insurance combinations!! 

Glad the weather held out so I could get fire pit going in the garden and Chinese takeaway with new bubble friends family - we’re still allowed to meet in gardens during this Covid time!! So pleased that I could stay in lovely friends house to help her out on house insurance requirements - enjoyed lying on settee and scoffing a box of celebrations - nice to talk to her on phone. Also met up for a freezing swim with another good friend at the beach and saw a massive container ship pull out of the harbour bound fir Holland ......

Remembered

Yay - I remembered my grats this Sunday. Been a week of using the earths natural resources - next door neighbour gave me a basket full of her eating apples which have now been stewed and enough to make up to ten large apple crumbles. There some blackberries in the freezer which I picked yonks ago from the brambles growing out of my privet hedge- so it’s going to be Apple and blackberry crumble!!! Will have to get a supply of custard in - my fave.

Have also been out sloe picking with friend and used a ladder to get to the juicy ones at the top of the bushes. Nearly two kilos which will make about three litres of sloe gin - Christmas presents this year sorted. 

Pleased that I’ve been able to spend time with younger daughter and taken her to two eating establishments - Alchemist and Chaophraya- particularly liked Chaophraya as it was a Thai restaurant with interesting cocktails as well. Happy I can help out with friends - boiler minding for lovely friend in Ireland, looking at second hand cars for charity worker friend, drug taking advice (?) for bridesmaid friend in London. 

Weekly gratitude

Unusual title for this one as I’m grateful on a daily basis not just once a week!! Have decided to try and pause each Sunday to go through what I’m truly grateful for - things big and small. First off I’ve been on a great caravan holiday with new friend - hence missing this last Sunday to post !! Happy joining the South Scotland Open Water Swimmers Facebook who gave me loads of ideas for swimming and walking. Weather has been great and not stopped us doing what we wanted. So happy to see a variety of wildlife - white tailed eagle, ravens, herons, white egrets, squirrel, bat, robin, wren, chaffinch, curlew...... Found some good eating and drinking places in this sparsely populated area of Scotland - Five Kingdoms brewery was good. On the only rainy day so glad to visit a Gin Distillery called Crafty making Hills and Harbour gin - the bottle colour green is so cool. Also the Bladnoch Whisky Distillery on the same day - another bottle bought!! So beautiful having caravan right next to the sea and a river - never thought I would be able to sleep with all that going on but tucked up in warm duvet does the trick ......

Long time away

Haven’t done my grats for so long. It’s not that I’m ungrateful - far from it. I’m going to try for a weekly account. But in the last two months I have so much to be really grateful for - Youngest daughter has started some driving in my new special friend’s car. Daughter has also had her wrist operation which went really well and healing very well. Had a fantastic long weekend in London with middle daughter- shopping for sewing material, went to Hard Rock Cafe and also to Algerian Coffee Shop where I’ve been buying coffee on line for about ten years !!! 

Over the summer have explored the county’s hidden gardens that open specifically to raise money for local charities especially Hospice Care. Also been to Wales a couple of times with new lady friend and met all her family who have been very welcoming.

Really pleased that good friend in Ireland is still encouraging me to write my grats !!! What would I do without her. 

Drug advice

Happy to give drug advice to friend in London concerning antibiotics and also amitriptyline. And to another friend - topical hydrocortisone and betnovate. Really grateful about spending time with a friend in South Wales - somewhere I’ve never been before - beautiful waterfall visited where you could go behind the flow and look out on the world without anyone seeing you - downside it was cold and wet. Also met up with niece in Wales and had wine for lunch - great to catch up as haven’t seen her for nearly two years - she has a boyfriend of nearly two years and her parents haven’t met him yet !!

Tidying

I seem to have been doing a lot of tidying jobs recently which is very rewarding - so I tidied all my wild water swimming gear by putting it all in a clear plastic box - did the same with all my walking up hills in awful weather gear. Now I have to tidy up the boxes that I have filled. Have been tidying my garden and also daughters garden and now in Wales with a friend tidying her dads garden!!! Went to the bank with younger daughter and finally got her banking app working on her phone - only taken a year - I think she was pleased that  I went with her to the local bank. Stayed a night at my friends old house which was fun while she’s starting new life in Ireland  - it’s great to feel useful. Really pleased with myself that I made a Sunday roast dinner for five people - a friend and her sister/ husband joined me and my daughter. Really grateful that I am using up the lamb that I got from a local farmer friend.

Drifting

The Drift Cafe is open - pizzas, coffees, old bus - looks good and everyone there very friendly - grateful to have some really good cafes around my area. Really pleased that younger daughter has taken up sewing like her older sister- they both now have sewing machines and watch the Seeing Bee !! I already have a sewed phone “case” as a pressie. Younger daughter has also given me access to her Disney plus account which I’m happy about - watched Lion, Witch and Wardrobe plus Ratatouille - plenty more to go!! Listened to a two hour podcast by Amal Hassan about her early life in Somalia and the Yemen before coming to England and getting to final of Master Chef - so chuffed that she has agreed to cook for my extended family after lockdown. Love gardening at the moment just a little bit at the time but also sitting in the garden listening and looking.

Friends

Really glad I have a variety of different friends. Some came round in the garden under the gazebo before it collapsed in the torrential rain - we drank quite a bit of Prosecco and solved the worlds problems - pastor of church and his wife, ex helicopter pilot, professor of epidemiology, head of radiology and little old me - loved their diverse company. Managed a three mile walk with only a quick stop for a sandwich at Sainsbury’s - really grateful that back significantly better compared with three months ago. Started one of five Thomas Kinkade jigsaws lent to me by my nine chickens friend - all of them are quite difficult because of the shading - no particular solid lines. So pleased o could help out a friend in Ireland by sending her one of her coats - the Irish have a tough time with rain. Also sent her some small bubble wrap and a 20p plastic M&S bag - these come free with every coat sent out of England

Garden pond

The pond daughter and friend had started last year is now being completed - filling in round the edges with sand and soil. Three frogs or toads in it already making a home for themselves - I wonder if pond skaters and damselflies just turn up out of the blue - bought some plants form Dobbies which make it look more like a pond and one of the frogs has already hopped on to the lily. Talking of water - went for a cool swim in a river with friend from past work - very refreshing, loved being in the outdoors. Middle daughter bought me the new Lee Child book “Blue Moon” which I’m chuffed about  - looking forward to reading it.

BBQ

Pleased to have had first social distancing BBQ at friends cottage with nine chickens - beef burgers and sausages and avacado salad and prawns in garlic never tasted so good - all sloshed down with a couple of bottles of Prosecco (shared of course). Went to friends allotment as well which has got loads in but rosebay willowherb weeds are threatening to take over. Really pleased and thankful that I’ve completed a few lists that I normally have up to date but not during lockdown (household handy contact numbers, passwords, church address list, current finances). Glad to see my daughter and friend of mine getting on really well together and both doing painting by numbers (wolf and Japanese bird scene) - think I’ll order one so as not to feel left out. Glad to be part of a Zoom church coffee morning - 28 panels turned up and split into groups of four for chat and a coffee of course. Daughter finished off jigsaw in record time but another one arriving from a friend - Thomas Kinkade “Garden of Prayer”. Been to the new Marks and Spencer’s twice now - what a pleasurable experience doubly so with social distancing as all one way and plenty of time.

Gardening

Now that I’m back home am really pleased a gardener has been gardening (which of course he would do) so that I can sit and enjoy the garden but also doing little bits here and there. Daughter also says she likes now doing a little gardening - progress. Have also taken out houseplants into the garden to dead head and revive which has been very therapeutic. Grateful to live quite near the sea and went on short one mile walk on two almost deserted beaches with the sun still shining at 5pm. On way back home had my first ice cream since lockdown - amazed but pleased that the shop was open!!

Still being grateful

Been locked down with brother and his wife for over three months on other side of country - great time together. Very grateful to be with family for such a long time and especially with Mum who died while I was there very peacefully. Today really enjoyed talking to friend in Southern Ireland. Also that usually non-talkative Daughter getting on with one of my friends from Northumberland. So pleased that another Friend has provided me with at least 10 hardback crime books - that should keep me going for a while. I also cleared a space on table that had been cluttered for over a year for a new jigsaw -it’ll be great