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.