It's Christmas, well nearly.

 Tomorrow it will be Christmas, what a week leading up to it Daughter in tier 4 after only 13 hours in tier 3!! we have joined her jumping from 2 to 4. A 5 day Christmas changing to 1  and Brexit has finally been agreed. 

I have finally done everything I am going to towards hosting my first Christmas lunch for 10 years. I am lucky enough to have my daughter and family here on Christmas day and I have been stressing about having enough of everything  or messing it up by forgetting something. My list pads have been in overtime as every time  I go into a room I check the list in it and cross something off. Now I have reached the don't care time, if I haven't got it or done it  Hard luck and I am looking forward to opening my presents with my other daughter by Portal and later in the day both families will meet up on it. We will start a new tradition and whatever happens we will always remember this one.

Happy Christmas to all of my blog friends Poppy and I will be back soon, we are now going to have a Florentine and some Dreamies , question is who will have the most!!!!! Take all of you . with love from Val and Poppy xx

End of the week

 This week stated like most of them, after a very wet few days the sun shone on Monday and I walked at Needham Lake. it was very wet underfoot as I discovered my trainers were leaking so it was a bit squidgy. I popped into the range on my way home, it was very quiet with no queues. Then a lovely surprise was a visit from one of the W.I committee with a Christmas bundle. A pot of narcissus W.I .magazine a card  and a goody bag with several surprises including a choc. teacake with a hand knitted Christmas cover. It would have been our party night so they thought they would bring the party to us, so kind and I did appreciate it and the chat with Jo. Tuesday I walked round the village and delivered my local cards and watched I.T.F.C win a game!! Hurray 2 Dreamies  for Poppy 2 Florentines for me!! Wednesday I took a wreath to my parents grave at All Hallows, met my sister in law ands walked in Landseer Park. I had never walked here before as when I lived here as a child it was the local dump and although other children played there I was not  allowed to. (no health and safety then).  My daughter spent the afternoon with me. 

Thursday was Morrisons delivery and fish and chips day then the drama began as Poppy had been asleep during the evening. couldn't stand up on her back legs  with the back right leg sticking up didn't eat and wriggled about in pain, neither of us had much sleep, I phoned my daughter Friday morning and she came to let the plumber in as he was mending a leak on the boiler!! I took Poppy to the vet who said she had a puncture wound on the back leg (they thought from a fight) gave her anti biotics and painkiller and we got back just as the plumber was finishing.  We were all stressed out and it has taken 2 days for Poppy to get back on her feet, eating, and today she has been out in the garden, so all is well except for a big vets bill!!! Have a safe weekend, Poppy and Val

 

Quiet Week

I think the weather has made this a quiet week. Not much sun cold frosty and very rainy, in all it hasn't tempted me out much I have walked round the village delivering my cards and posted those I had to so thought I had done well nice and early but of course someone I had cut out of my list then sent me one so I must post one this weekend. Why is it always one that needs to be posted that catches me out!!   I have bought a new wreath for my parents grave and am meeting my sister in law next week as the graveyard is near her home and we will go for a walk in a park nearby. I lived there as a child and the walk was then the Dump and I was forbidden to go there so it will a change to see it as it is now 60 years later as although I drive past it to visit the grave I have never been in it. Best evening of the week was Thursday when I had a 4 way Portal chat with both my daughters and my grandson, which lasted nearly two hours!!( we can all talk for England when we get the chance) and by the time we were finished Poppy was winding round my legs wanting to have her evening play with her toys and then her supper. Yesterday I picked up my library book, delivered a present and card to an elderly friend who never stops talking, and picked up my prescription so am stocked up until February! My feet were soaked and so I have to throw out my old trainers and ordered some online. went mad and also ordered a candle arch as I need decorations that are easy to put up as I don't get up on steps any more. Also ordered a cafetiere ( have I spelt that right?) as mine has broken. Next week shall have several parcels. Today is gloomy but Poppy and I are going to spend the morning chopping up the last of my rambler rose which blew down in a storm and filling the brown garden bin for collection next week and then i will be watching my live stream of I.T.F.C. v Portsmouth with fingers crossed as I still have Florentines left to have if we score a goal!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We won last week so I was a happy bunny. Stay safe, love from Poppy and Val

It's Snowing!!!!

 Woke up to snowing this morning, neither of us fancied going outside, Poppy  just about slunk out of the garden door and rushed in as soon as she could.  I am thinking of getting a cat flap as keeping opening and closing the door during the winter is a bind.  I haven't been far this week as weather has been raining except for Tuesday when my daughter Dawn came and we sorted out my front border, me pulling up french marigolds which had had their day and she doing the hard work of forking out the weeds and tidying everything up. I will plant things in the spring. Back garden is still a tip I have chopped down the rambler rose that blew down in a gale and still have another bin load to get rid of. Just recently I seem to have lots of things go wrong but am ploughing through them. latest one was my Fitbit which was showing the wrong time and I couldn't sort it out. My stepson rang for a chat yesterday and told me to put it next to my Iphone and sync the  Iphone up, lo and behold it worked and both are back to normal. thanks to Robert. Seeing the snow this morning I remembered that when I was looking after my 3 year old grandson (several years ago now) he rushed to the lounge window and said It's snowing out the front Nannie Val than rushed to the french doors and said It's snowing out the back as well!! and guess what it was*****  Keep warm in this cold weather. Val and Poppy.

It.s cold

 It's cold today and we woke up to gloomy fog which has thinned out but looks like hanging around for the rest of today so I am not going for a walk. I had planned to go to the post office  but when I went yesterday afternoon (it's in our Coop) they were closed so I spent my coupons on bits and pieces so really don't need to go until next week when I must buy Christmas stamps and post a big envelope of cards to my daughter so she can dole them out in Gosport. Our local scouts are not doing their usual deliveries this year because of you know what so I may need a few extra stamps, must ask my other daughter how much stamps are these days as I don't use many!!

I took 3 bags of empty bottles to the bottle bank las weekend and got rid of a few stresses chucking them in!!!! probably because ITFC stressed me out by playing rubbish football on Saturday, not scoring any goals meant I did not get to have a Florentine as a reward. 

Monday we were up early at 6 o'clock as the plumber was coming to flush through my heating system at 8 o'clock. luckily I have a gas fire in the lounge so I kitted us out with a tray for coffee, an electric kettle, box of biscuits and Poppies food tray with water biscuit and salmon in jelly. I think she thought it was her birthday and kept going and having a snack. this is the first time workmen have ben here since she arrived and she was fine. After sniffing the tools and getting the men to stroke her she came back into the lounge, had a snack and slept on her favourite blanket. Heating is fine now just got to wait for the bill!!

Next day I put most things back into the airing cupboard it was quite tiring up and down the ladder but now it looks very neat and the charity bag is bulging 

Getting dark outside now so will get Poppy indoors for the evening and have a lovely meal of turkey casserole and dumplings. There will be enough for 2 days I hope so not much cooking tomorrow when I shall be watching ITFC play Charlton and hoping for a few Florentines. 

Stay safe and goodbye Poppy and Val

 Another Odd Week

I started the week by walking round Needham Lake as it had rained all weekend . My, the car park was full and I had to park nearly in a puddle ! still it was great to have fresh air and everyone smiled and distanced  I love Florentines and usually have them at Christmas time. My daughter bought me 2 boxes from Aldi and told me not to eat them all at once (Ha Ha). Tuesday Poppy and I spent time in the garden filling my brown bin which will be emptied on Thursday, I had ordered  a select and collect from Broomhill library where they chose books for you and on Wednesday I picked up a great selection which will keep me going for a while. Morisons delivery was fine this week and Thursday was a quiet day with my friend delivering pensioners Fish and Chips when she bought some for herself and her Mother. Bliss not having to cook lunch every Thursday. I spent the day emptying my airing cupboard as my heating system is being flushed next Monday. Found a few things lurking at the top and back I had forgotten about including 6 nice washbags ! Can't decide which to keep, the rest to charity bag. Friday woke up to quite a frost and it was cold all day. to get out I drove to the bottle bank 3 bags emptied and the walked through the churchyard and up Vicarage  looking at all the nice houses there and round in a circle back down Ship Lane. after lunch I went to washup and found my boiler was dripping water out of the bottom onto my microwave. Not much water so moved the microwave phoned the plumbers and put a washing up bowl under it. It's not going to blow up( I hope) and they will sort it on Monday. I needed  a Florentine or two  to calm my  nerves!!! Poppy helped me with a few Dreamies. I'm watching Ipswich Town live this afternoon and still have Florentines left in the first box so will have one each time we score! Always took pastilles to football and friends round me, 9 of them had a sweet when we scored, last season I took home unopened packets several times until those cheeky men said I should check them to see if they were out of date  as so few goals were scored. Oh how I miss my football, sometimes I think I will never get there again, but heigh ho I am lucky as I can stream them live so I'm hoping for a quiet weekend, lots of Ipswich goals and more Florentines****** Take care from Poppy and me

 Wet and Windy,

It's been a funny old week, I started off with a trip to Shotley and took a picnic as I don't want to buy any takeaway coffee ( I hate takaway and cardboard cups and never drink out of them and usually keep a bone china cup in the car and use that if necessary but today I took my own flask. Parked down by the Marina and walked round the Marina as the lock gate crossing was closed, It was a beutifull sunny day and I  paused at the Ganges memorial to remember my grandfather who joined the navy as a boy and served  in the first world war, he came home safely.  After a couple of hours there Poppy and I did a bit of clearing up in the garden, I'm finding it a bit of a struggle now so just do a bit at a time.

Thursday is my delivery day from Morrisons and when I checked it,  it was 16 items missing and these had been paid for!!! Emailed them, got the standard reply the would deal with it within 3-5 days, well thats no good as I was missing all my fresh fruit and dairy products so after talking to my daughter I rang them up, they answered promptly but it took 1 &1/2 hours and three girls later who kept putting me on hold whist they tried to find my food before it was settled. My money was refunded and because I wanted my food and didn't want to reorder (and pay extra delivery) I was put onto the doorstep delivery for the next day  when it was all delivered.  I'm not good at complaining and I kept calm as it wasn't the poor girls fault who had to deal with me. Someone on my round had obviously got my 2 bags of food and kept the goods £20  worth!!!

I needed a long walk after that so walked along the Gipping to Hazel Wood and back through the village  and relaxed with a coffee and a hot X bun

Poppy is  trying salmon and jelly from a tin instead of a pouch and as she is round my legs when she gets a smell of it I think it is a hit.***

I'm having fish pie and rosti for my tea and guess what Poppy is having.?

Time to draw the curtains now. xx