Sunday 29 March 2020

Helping to spread a bit of cheer or 30 minutes of your life you will never get back.

Been watching various videos lately and some have made me laugh with the change of lyrics to some well know songs, so in case you have not see them here a few of my favourites.


Plenty of you have spare time on your hands. so here is roughly 30 mins of " I will never get that 30 minutes of my life back. "

Enjoy






















This one is hilarious, but I would not recommend it with the kids listening



This is a lovely family video with the kids enjoying joining in 





This is a section of alternative seconds to sing while washing your hands for 20 seconds 




One for the kids.....starts with a Beauty and the Beast rip off


A Bee Gees rip off




One dedicated to lack of toilet roll







and finally a Beatles song 


 



Saturday 28 March 2020

Fun as a gran week 13.

Well up until this week I was living relatively normally but carefully but this week has been a shocker and it has really hit home with this lock down etc. Been out with the dog every day this week, she loves the woods, and we never meet any one down there.

Apart from Tuesday, hubby went without me,  have been out with the dog locally and clocking up the miles on my exercise bike as well.  Added thirty eight miles to this weeks total.

A friend of mine who is a key worker has made a very very difficult decision to send her two children hundreds of miles away to stay with her sister. She has been put on twelve hour shifts and adding travel time will be away for approx fifteen hours a day, meaning she will not see them on her working days and decided this saved her babysitting hassles. I know the cover is there but only 9-3 and that does not work for her either. This is the impact it is having on people, and I am sure she will not be the only one in the country.

Sunday

Hubby wanted to buy a bag of post mix to sort the front gates so while we were there we decided to walk the dog at the beach park. On a normal day you get ten or twelve cars in the car park, the car park was jam packed and a bit more besides. There were hundreds. We decided to give the park a wide berth and walked round the edge and up over the high bits instead of the beach. The first half mile of the beach was heaving with people. This for me was the thing that hit home. Now of course they are preparing Conference centres capable of holding 4000 beds so still expecting it to get worse before better.

This is my Mother's Day present form DD2. A very useful gift indeed.




Monday

The village have set up a local group to help each other out if we can. Every door got a leaflet with the name of two people in the street to contact if you need help. Community pulling together nicely.



A walk down the woods with dog and hubby. Just over two hours and never saw another person.

Tuesday

I have volunteered to make soup. Our council is only currently offering a packed lunch to local school children if they walk to the school and pick it up. The idea of the soup is for us to go along and hand them put to the children that pick up  a lunch but need permission from the school to do this. Made two pots for the cause. They have funding from the community council and are supplying us with the ingredients, and I have plenty of time on my hands.

On my way out the back door this morning I some how manage to fall off the back door step, scraped my right shin, bruised my right knee, twisted my left ankle as I fell, bruised my little toe and hit the back of my head as well. Not quite sure how I managed it to be honest.

It was a chilly night last night with plenty of dew this morning





Wednesday

Pay day therefore shopping day. I got bits and pieces for DD1 while I was out. Still finding it frustrating to not be able to get main meals, no mince, no chicken, they did have big chunks of meat and steak and other expensive pieces that are beyond my budget. I always cook from scratch but had to resort to ready made things like chicken gougons, sausages and such like, not my idea of main meals but beggars cant be choosers.  Went and got my cheap shopping as well. Sadly due to it being run by volunteers they have quite rightly  decided to close the shop temporarily.They will still be doing food parcels but through the office for people who still need their help. Right now I am fine but who knows in a few weeks. Hopefully apart from bread we should be fine for a fortnight or so and I hopefully can get bread locally. The less time I spend outside the less chance I have of catching it.

Tried to get hubby's prescription while I was out but the chemist is shutting at lunch time now so they were not open. I could not be bothered waiting forty five minutes until they opened again. I had already trawled four shops and spent over three hours to get what was on mine and my daughter's list.

Bumped into my unofficial DD4, not seen her in months as she works different shifts than me. Normally when we meet we have a hug, but no hug today.

I got the grandchildren to paint me rainbows for my windows.







Thursday

Two more pots of soup were made this morning, cooled bagged and frozen ready to go to the woman round the corner who has room in her freezer.

Decided earlier this week to start finishing off some of the crafts I had previously started but never got round to finishing and will knit some baby item in between.

This one was being used at work in between shifts, but having had no in between shifts for over six months now then it has not been touched. But finished it off now and it looks really nice.




Friday

Took the frozen soup round for storage. Made us a pot of spicy tomato and red pepper for us and used the stewing steak I had got hold of, popped it in the slow cooker with onions and diet coke and defrosted some pastry out the freezer and made a steak pie. It was delicious with the meat melt in your mouth soft and a beautiful flavour. Split the meat into two and will use the rest on Sunday.

























Had to pick hubbys prescription up as he had run out of one of them. Tried to get a loaf but
 many shops had long queues outside them with a one in one out policy as they are limiting the numbers that can be in at a time. One did not have any queued outside but there was only one check out on with a queue of about eight  trolleys in front of me. So I popped the bread on a shelf and left, no patience for waiting , the longer out the bigger risk.Walked the dog round an empty field on the way home.

Saturday

Sharing some love. The recipient knows it is coming but does not know what it is. Will post it on Monday, and maybe you will find out next week what it is.



Today was a weird day at work but the goal posts and rules keep getting adapted so tomorrow may well be a totally different day then today was.


We watched The Lost Room is a 2006 science fiction television miniseries that aired on the Sci Fi Channel in the United States. The series revolves around the titular room and some of the everyday items from that room which possess unusual powers. The show's protagonist, Joe Miller, is searching for these objects to rescue his daughter, Anna, who has disappeared inside the Room. Which I found enjoyable. 


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Saturday 21 March 2020

Project 366 week 12

I think the main focus for everyone this week will have been covid 19, think it is a worrying time for all of us with no idea where this is going or how long for. As far as the school closure goes  Dinky says she will miss her pals. Fifi feels cheated out of her exams and all that goes with being the top year in the school. She had so much to look forward to in the final weeks of her school career and just like that it is over with no chance for exam stress followed by celebrations. She also had a part time job, zero hour contract, that she was hoping to work long hours in over the school holidays, but will not be needed now. I think as adults we are all struggling to take in how this is changing our world but our children and grandchildren are going to find this very difficult to comprehend.

Because of my job I am not prepared to risk Bob so have not been into see DD1 and the kids. Poor Spud cried on Friday morning when I swap bits and pieces of shopping with DD1. May well go out and about in the fresh air with them in the coming weeks. Also means DD2 and the girls will not be down as Ziggy will want to play with her cousins if she comes down and that is not going to happen anytime soon.

I feel this is going to get a lot worse before it gets better. I fear for the economy of not just our country but the world. I fear for the safety of this country as I can foresee anarchy, lack of fuel for our vehicles and power cuts I hope I am wrong. I think we all feel scared by what this means for our future.

On a positive note our local village is pulling together and making up a list of vulnerable people and a list of people willing to help these people out in whatever way they need help.

We have watched The Stranger on Netflix, The Stranger is a British mystery thriller series written by Danny Brocklehurst and based on the Harlan Coben novel of the same title.
It was good viewing 

Sunday

Was suppose to have my neurology results at 3.30 today but the hospital phoned to say a lot of people cancelled and I could come in anytime I wanted, so went in for 11am. He told me less than my GP had already told me and said I might need the carpal tunnel rechecking in a few years but could find nothing to explain the trauma I went through, really hate it when something like this happens and you are none the wiser.

Walked the dog along the old railway line and then nipped to Iceland to get slice sausage and rolls for lunch, they had neither. in fact their fridges were about bare.

Finished off a bobble hat for Ziggy to match her poncho.




Monday

I got the last small trolley at the supermarket. did not think all of them could be being used but yes it was extremely crowded. A long queue, 22 mins, to buy a few bits, shop was absolutely heaving, four or five deep at every check out including the self service ones. Christmas eve sprung to mind.
Picked up a few things for Bob while I was in there as DD1 could not find gluten free stuff for him.





Tuesday

Not a lot happening, did some knitting and finished off a prem baby cardigan.






Wednesday

Had a GP appointment booked from a few weeks back, the one I went for last week a week early!!!
Got a phone call last night from one of the main GP's, they are triaging every appointment currently to see if it could be done on the phone save risking staff and public by not  having people in. But she decided as mine was for my asthma then I was to go in. I was sure my cough and drop in peak flow are more related to rhinitis than my actual asthma, she agreed with me and has given me different eye drops and a different nasal spray to try and sort it put. The surgery has tape on the floor three feet away from the desk with hazard warning signs and do not cross to stop you getting near the desk.

Then took the dog to the vet, she needed her anal glands emptying again and go her annual booster injection as well.

A walk with the dog while we were out. Some pretty coloured catkins hanging on the trees.



Thursday

Housework, dog walking, knitting and nothing much else. Hubby reckons the white building on the hill would be a great place to self isolate.



Friday

Needed some shopping, thought about online but was not sure what I would end up with so decided to do a self scan shop, at least this was I could choose an alternative for the things I needed.
Drove past the airport, not hard to do when the planes fly over the bypass, and there are so many planes parked up all over the airport.

Loved this scene with the snow on Arran in the background.

Gave the dog a walk along the old railway line after tea while we were in town anyway.




Saturday

Somebody had this cupboard on marketplace to pick up for free. Matches the unit we have under the sink.in the bathroom so went and picked it up. Wanted to pop into one of the supermarkets as they are looking for temporary workers to help them through the crisis. Happy to go back to a shop, plenty time to spare during the week. So we both handed in our names as hubby happy to do a night shift. I am sure many other people handed in their names, we have both got shop experience so fingers crossed.




So that was my week.





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Sunday 15 March 2020

Project 366 week 11

Have watched two series of Hinterland this week, pretty much a Welsh Shetland but a good watch. Started watching Ray Donovan on Friday night, not so sure just yet but will give it a few more episodes.
Hay fever is doing my head in, sneezing none stop, a very runny nose and itchy eyes, none of my usual ideas are working. Plus a cough as my asthma does not seem to be well controlled, but guess it is linked to the allergies that are going on. Must of had a good twenty years before last year hay fever free no idea why it decided to come back.


Sunday

I am fed up of never having a day in the house, so I decided I was going nowhere today. It was not a lazy day as such, still managed over 5 miles thanks to the exercise bike. Did some sewing, did some tidying and  hung the washing out for the first time this year,  unwrapped it from round the line a dozen times  but it only needed ten mins in the tumble dryer to air it off so was worth it.



Monday

Another uneventful day. Some walking, cycling, some knitting but not a lot else.

One walk was round a localish park. They had set up a number trail and each number had an item on the back of it that you need to find. Saw three groups of nursery age children walking round the trail.




Tuesday

Getting fed up of one half of my strap on my fitbit coming off. Seems to be fine when wearing it but falls off when I take it off. They agreed to send me a new one out, this is a known problem with the Charge 2.

Hubby had spotted an advert for somebody locally with red chip stones to pick up for free, he has a use for them in the garden, so we went and picked up half a dozen bags.




Wednesday

Had an appointment with Occ Health at work today just to get things on paper with them.
I then headed to the doctor, but turns out my appointment is not until next week...numpty that I am.
So I decided to go for a walk to kill time as the cheap food shop is open on a Wednesday.

Lots and lots of veg today so hubby peeled a huge pile of carrots and a butternut squash, a pile of onions and potatoes for tea. I sliced them in the food processor. While the oven was on for tea I roasted the butternut squash with some peppers and onions, boiled a cabbage as well.
Most of the carrots and onions went into the freezer to make them easier to use when I need them.





Thursday

Made a pot of carrot, butternut squash and lentil soup with the veg I roasted last night.
Also made a fruit crumble to use up some of the bananas I pick up yesterday. Was going to make banana loaf as well but realised I had no sugar.

The remains of the vegetables from last night made a reheated stir fry with some ready cooked chicken from the freezer as well.

Dixie dog and I went for a walk round the fishery, thought it would make a change from round the street on her lead, she has to stay on the lead down there as well but  a change of diet. Far to cold to remove gloves for taking pictures, nothing new down there anyway. Had three layers on as well as a hat and my hood up as well as waterproof trousers in case it rained as they doubled as a windproof layer. Was baltic out.

Was rather frosty first thing, this is the rising sun shining across the windscreen of the car.




Friday

Went to get a few bits and pieces at the supermarket, mainly dairy free milk and yoghurts that I could  not get earlier in the week.

Came home and started mince and tatties with veg in a pan and then transferred them to the slow cooker  for tomorrow night's tea. Made the banana and sultana loaf  mix and left it just needing the flour added.

Dropped Bob at gymnastics as the three wee ones are starting karate tonight so DD1 had to take them to enrol them. Once we had dropped him off we went and took the dog for a run round at the country  estate again. The Hansel and Gretel house area now has a barbecue pit, a rope swing, a pin ball slide and a kitchen area.

Home to add the flour to the loaf mix and cooked them. Had the rest of yesterdays soup for tea with cake and custard afterwards,




Saturday

A quick busy day at work, just the way I like them.
Home to finish off the last bit of a poncho ( well the knitting pattern calls itself a poncho not so sure that is what I would call it) for Ziggy. Got a few bits to send to Roo as a rather late birthday present but as they are now very late felt it was wrong not to send Ziggy something as well. But it is a lovely thick item that will be handy for outdoor nursery through the Spring and chilly Summer days. Had some wool left so made her the matching hat. It is actually three balls of different wool knitted together and matches Roo's poncho.











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Saturday 7 March 2020

Project 366 week 10.

Sunday

A slow morning, bits of house work but nothing exciting. A walk with the dog.

Normally we do a daft Christmas colouring competition that started off about nine years with a drink when we went to see Santa with Bob. Escalated a bit since then with extra people coming and turned into a bigger event with a meal. Between me being ill, us all being skint and being busy it did not happen in December. At this point I would have forgotten about it as Christmas has been and gone. Sadly Bob still wanted to do it and has been asking every week since. So we were all available today and so we booked it. Last minute two had to drop out of their dog was ill. So DD3, Fifi, Bob and I went and had plenty of chatting and catching up as well as a meal and some Spring colouring as it seemed more appropriate. Maybe need to change it every year to now as less busy and more money to spare.

Fifi won this year. Her mum says nice to know her advanced higher art has some use.





Monday

Spud turned four today. So we went round after the rest got back from school and took round her cake and present. She has decided she does not like birthdays and wanted nothing to do with any of it. So she sat and looked at her cake refusing to let me light her candles for her to blow out or cut it. This was the best smile I could get from her.Dinky looks happier than Spud.



Tuesday

A walk round Auchincruive estate with the dog. Came across this building being built in the walled off  section. Apparently it is going to be a play area for children and they are planning on making play equipment and a barbecue area for people to use.
I did not spot any sign of Hansel and Gretel or Grandmother and the wolf.



Wednesday

Into the town to pick up a prescription for hubby. Had a bit of time to kill until the cheap food shop was open so instead of sitting in the car I went for a walk along the beach front. Wish I had not put on my jacket as it was rather warm.

A fellow crafting comper was lovely enough to send me some ribbons and buttons she has no use for. Both will be great for the knitted baby items I make.





Thursday

Decided to have a day out for a change. Headed down to Stevenston beach again. Lots of fun to be had for the dog climbing and sniffing and running around like a loony.
We did just over 3 miles, not the biggest distance but the dog likes to go at her own pace.



Nipped into a local supermarket for milk while there. I popped into the toilet for a pee. The woman came in to clean them while I was in there. I use the word clean very loosely. One cloth in her hand, nothing else just a cloth, she did not even have gloves on. When I came out to wash my hands she was coming out of one cubicle having wiped one toilet, then did the one I came out of, then with the same cloth wiped the taps, not the sinks, and then when the third toilet was empty went in to do that. The taps were not automatic ones but push ones. Wonder how many germs are picked up by turning on the taps?
I made my feelings clear at the customer service desk on my way out. Said they would call somebody but I doubt anything was done. This would disgust me at any time, but in the current climate makes it seem even worse.




Friday

Into town to pick up my prescriptions and walk the dog while we were there. A few non food items to pick up, could not find the right size of light bulbs so will need to try somewhere else another day.

Home for 3.30 pm, grabbed a drink and a quick sandwich and back out at four to take Bob to gymnastics.

Decided to buy a portion of chips between us to go with some cold cooked chicken for tea, along with half a tin of spaghetti that was left.  I could not be bothered to make tea when I got home. But hubby already had potatoes on boiling. These were then popped in the fridge for tomorrow night.

Would have thought it was to early for wasps but found this one in the sink. So I scooped it into a tumbler, photographed it and put it outside.





Saturday

Work and back home. Sorted out some paper work.

I finally finished Roo's cardigan, not the way it said, I sewed the sleeves in first as still could not work out how to do it the "normal" way. Just needs the buttons now. Also finished her a hooded poncho as well. Added some pom poms to improve the look.








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Friday 6 March 2020

A box full of Memories #WoTW #pocolo

Memories

I had husband bring down a box out the loft as I was looking for my BA certificate in case I need it if and when I start serious job hunting. 

Lots of other items in the box, and so I will share them with you, might not be in total date order but hope you like them as much as I did when looking through them all again. 

Some of them date back to my school days. back in the time I use to love swimming, netball, athletics and such like 









We use to spend hours in the swimming pool, it was free and was a great way to pass the holidays. Diving off 5 a meter board was a skill I learnt at 10 yrs old - no fear at that age. Use to get a lot of the young squadies in the pool, a lot of them this was their  first posting and they were home sick, but back in the days fun was innocent we would spend a lot of time with them throwing us around and swimming races etc.




I still have DD1's weight card 




DD2's Primary 1 report card. She had a "group" all to herself as she would not read in front of the other children as she was left handed and read and wrote backwards at this time. 





Various newspaper articles 

DD2s nursery Christmas Party photo and her P1's schhol photo. 





DD2 when she won a bike through a school competition, she is front left at a ceremony they did for all the winners.




When we lived in Grangemouth my three children and I spent a lot of time at a community project, the area we lived in was a designated area of deprivation, that offered all sorts of fun.
Had two paid workers the rest of us were volunteers. I started in there as a creche worker, saved them vetting any one as I was a registered child minder at the time. This gave the parents time to do the classes that were on three afternoons a week.

Mine all had no choice but to do the school holiday clubs as I volunteered for this as well. Sometimes we would have 150 kids some sessions and they did arts and crafts, dancing with a show at the end of the holidays, lots of outdoor activities as well from hill walking, abseiling, gorge walking, canoeing etc. Handy thing was the volunteers got fed their lunch free and so did our kids, great money saving when hard up.

Tony O'Donnell, was a comic illustrator and drew Ghostbusters back in the day use to run art work shops with the children, Did some fab caricatures of the volunteers children, not sure what happened to ours.


The community policeman did a lot with and for the children (top) and we organised ladies self defence run by two qualified trainers.





A different year with music workshops in the recording studio and another master class of comic drawing.


When we moved away from Grangemouth I got a reminder, an engraved clock, which I still have 26 yrs later,  as well as a party.



I did a bungee jump one year with good sponsorship from the parents and children that used the project. Not sure about the "sound mind" bit.



Also had a run in with the housing association after my daughter had an accident.






Not to mention a campaign that we kept up for a number of years, both before and after my son ( DS2) was knocked down by a car.



I was awarded this certificate from the other daft volunteers as a laugh. We won in the end!!



This was made into a calendar when DS2 was in playgroup.



Here she is when on P2 representing her class (2nd from left)  when a minibus was presented to the school by BP Chemicals, they were just across a field from the school playground. They donated a lot to local charities at the time. I also remember them gifting a lot of computers to the project when they bought new ones for the offices, and paying for night classes for anybody who wanted to learn how to use one.



One of the things DD1 excelled in, like me, was maths and represented the school on more than one occasion.






This is one of the things that brings a smile to my face. DD2 spent years being trailed to the Glasgow Dental school,  one bus into town, walk to the train station, on a train to Glasgow and approx a mile walk to the school. Even at 16 she would not go by herself. Then she left school and was not old enough to go to Uni so she decided to do some voluntary work  until she was. So the horror who would not go to Glasgow and back by herself but jumped on a train and made her own way to
Worcestershire for an interview and then moved down there to work. She had a great time.




She also enjoyed playing the recorder.



Both of the boys wrote about their dad.

DS1  wrote a poem.....he prefers Irn Bru these days



and DS2 did a news item on his dad



This is DD3 with the rest of the children from her school who entered for a Rabbie Burns poetry competition, where they stood up on stage one by one in front of a massive audience of parents and recited a poem.  Each child from every school of the same age read the same poem.


DD3 is back RHS.





I don't remember this but not bad for a nine year old on a beach.










I am sure there are many more memories in the loft, but was fun looking through this lot.

I am aware there are personal details on some of these, but the girls have changed their names. we no longer live at any of the addresses and neither of the organisations exist any more.




PoCoLo


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