What I did today

Finished packing and tidying up. Caught a train to London -cheap First class seat so lunch included. Caught a tube to Heathrow, got a free bus(!) to the hotel. Short walk, G and T then dinner in the hotel restaurant. All interspersed with reading my book which I am going to finish before my early night. Feeling proud of myself as that was the first time I have done something like that without DH.

Alygran ?. I‘ve Had a very lazy day. Joined you in glass of vino tinto this evening gillybob

annesixty I soak mine then bung it in the dishwasher.

alygran where are you going?

I had an unexpected visitor from lunchtime onwards. Grandson 2 came. The rest of his family were going bowling and he didn't want to go. We had lunch, and afterwards we watched The Minions movie on TV.
He went home at 6pm. Husband and I had supper and now we're watching Gardener's World.
Not the afternoon/evening I was expecting, but enjoyable nonetheless.

Whitewave I am going to San Fransisco then driving around California. Then Vegas and Grand Canyon. DD2 is coming. Flying here from Manchester on the early flight.

Well I’ve just settled in bed absolutely shattered after another busy day. “First “that place” then picked up little Evie, shopping for my dad, collecting his prescriptions etc. Made him a quick sandwich then dashed home to change the baby. Bundled back into the car and then had to see to my sister’s dog as her usual dog walker had let her down. Weather horrible so we got soaked . Back home fed, bathed and changed little Miss who has been like a mini whirlwind . DH and I had a pretty pathetic pizza (out of the freezer) for supper and we are now all collapsed in bed. Little Miss will be singing with the birds in the morning . Grandma will be like a zombie.

I hope you and your DD have the most amazing holiday in the USA Alygran

Goodnight all x

Alygran, that sounds like a really nice trip! I would like to do similar some day.

I'm on the west coast so it's still working hours here. My hubby had surgery on his hand yesterday, so this morning was a bit chaotic since he can only use one hand. He is retired but I still work, so I am used to him doing tidying up and dishes in the morning.

I did go home at lunch and he managed to make me a toasted ham and cheese sandwich, so he is coping!

Even though I am at work, I manage to keep gransnet open in the background and take a few minutes when things are calm. Love hearing about everyone's day.

Haven't we got some adventurous grans?
Have a wonderful holiday Alygran

Just got back from seeing ‘Judy’ at the cinema starring Renee Zegweler. Amazing. Superb performance. Cried my eyes out. Poor Judy Garland - those film studios - perpetrators of child abuse. I didn’t know she was only 46y when she died.

So sad.

I made some hot chocolate and toast just now, comfort food after being upset! What a heartbreaking story.

GD no2 to school at 8'30 towels into the dryer and started to organise the ingredients for christmas cakes.I leave them seperately and the girls can mix them and wrap them to store at the weekend.Headed the 15 miles to pick GD2 back up from school,did some shopping on the way back .Made her favourite macaroni cheese for dinner and an ice cream float .She and I settled in to watch this weeks bake off and Masterchef before her daddy came to collect her around ten .Our schools are off now for two weeks so it gives her a chance to spend time with her much awaited new sister ,
This was the wee girl who wanted a ginger chinese baby boy ..no luck I'm afraid baby is definately not ginger or chinese .We are all besotted with her though

What I intended to do: go out into the bush to pick kumerahou and come back with friends to show them how to make an infusion and face wash to help acne.

What I actually did: got up to find it was raining. If there are any herbalists among you, you will know it's best to gather medicines in dry weather.

Message on FB said my friends couldn't make it anyway. Perhaps tomorrow?

After three whole months of daily and often torrential rain, surely we are entitled to a sunny one?

So I made smoked fish pate and ate some with 2 Ryvita and a salad..
Found some home-made shortbread I'd forgotten so blitzed that and sprinkled it on top of sliced banan, stewed apple and a few raspberries and made a yummy crumble.

Put some laundry out on the deck where, when it rains, it won't get any wetter then sat and listened to an audio book about the conundrum of death and how to cope with it
("Waiting for the last bus" by Richard Holloway) whilst finishing off a multi-coloured scarf made from all the left-over bits of wool.

Still a bit snotty, so glad I bought an extra box of tissues on Friday.

annsixty, I use those washable, non-stick Teflon liners in my roasting tin when I make that.

Yesterday : Breakfast club for 2 GS. On the way to school the 9yr old asked ‘is it true that you can only swear after you are 12?’. Gulp, Intake of breath. ‘well in my house it would have to be 16 but really it's better not to swear at all; it isn’t very nice’. (This from an arch swearer ?) ‘Mummy says it’s 12’ . Right. Ok. ‘I’ll just swear in my head then’ pipes up the 8 year old!
Later a massive cleanup of things which have accumulated over the last months. The bed was covered with pots of cream, make up, nail stuff and all the detritus of long over kept, out of date ‘stuff’.
Emergency call from DD to pick up boys as she and her DH were delayed. They ate continuously over 3 hours : toast, biscuits, cereal, fruit and finally a huge plate of pasta. Apparently it’s a growing spurt. My children never had those ?
I could have cried when SiL arrived, looked at a bottle of whisky (late DHs) I’d had for years and which I’d opened for friends recently, and told me it was/had been worth £100s at auction ?
Bed.
Have a good weekend everyone!

Thank you BlueSapphire
It really was a sticky mess, I scraped it, wiped it with lots of kitchen roll and it is in the dishwasher waiting to be done at lunchtime when I have other stuff to go in.

Mummy later denied the minimum age limit !

As if you hadn' t known Marmight
They do love "trying it on".

I’m loving this thread everyone! It’s good to hear of your life in NZ BradfordLass. I live that you have decking for example under a roof. I like the front porches in suburban America. Great to sit on a swing chair and relax.
?

alygran how lovely. Enjoy enjoy!

Typing this in a rush as guests here soon.

Today I was on mum duty so made her meals for today and tomorrow, sorted here washing then did other stuff she wanted.

Dashed home to prepare this evening meal

Antipasti
Jerk ribs with pineapple rice
Tropical fruits and coconut yogurt.

Then we are off out to our club for an evening of soul music.

In between got myself ready.

Bit of a stressful day so far. However, we're off to a friend's 'open house' for her birthday later with our daughter and son-in-law. Should be nice.

Went for my flu jab this morning at the Health Centre flu clinic. It's the first time I've had it, so a new experience. Although there were lots of people waiting to be immunised, it was all very efficiently done and didn't take long at all. Apart from that, and a quick run out to the garden when I realised that it was pouring and the washing was still out (bother!) I've been sitting about reading and doing a jigsaw.

I had mine this morning too When. I didn’t feel a thing but this afternoon I feel wiped out. Or maybe I’m just feeling lazy....

tidied up my garage workshop with very good results and now have space for a dust extractor and can easily get to various electric devices. I put rubber floor tiles down as soon as I completed so the floor is nice and soft and easy to clean, I vacuum it. I don`t want to breathein any wood dust, so making sawdust is on hold for a few days

Planted some gladioli byzantius, threw them amongst acanthus grass and in they went

Downstairs is a bit messy but who cares, only me and I have a workshop to get ready for using. Its a very calming place must be all the wood, it was wood clad for me and is away from bells and phones and tv and is a creative space

whoops, miscanthus grass

Had a Hoover up. Went to have my hair cut , and then met up with my dh in our favourite coffee shop for lunch.
Came home and made a loaf of bread. Wrestled with our mattress by turning it over , changed the bed covers after putting on the under electric blanket ( a sure sign of getting old ?? )
Will be watching Strictly later.

It is obviously flu jab day - I had mine too!

Then looked after wee GS and made a cake together, which we took to OH in NH. OH said he had been to a poetry group this morning and he enjoyed it but was fed up that he could not find a rhyme for "necrobiosis" - that, by the way is absolutely typical OH! It seemed that the theme was autumn, so it was not entirely irrelevant!