Blooming

My first amaryllis has two buds on, this will have bright red flowers, I can't wait for them to bloom. I have a second white one which has started to grow, and a couple more old bulbs which only have leaves so far.

I have left out my silk flowers from Christmas, 

I do love to see blooms, these all look real and add much needed colour to my room, tucked back far enough to look good.

I struggled with this book at the start, people on a aeroplane, lots of different characters, it felt very bitty, but it was worth sticking with it. This author has good and bad plots, I have before given up on her books. Would you want to know your future, when and how you will die, what will you do with this knowledge,  give in or fight it. Huge book 485 pages, book 2 read this year.

Hubby has been chasing the delivery of our new air-fryer, following the courier Evry, once the parcel arrived at the local hub, it sat there not moving, finally he contacted the seller, who did some checking and sent another parcel via DHL, which arrived the next day. Our plumber is due to replace the mixer bar on the shower next week. Wednesday hubby was using his desk top computer, it frozen and then shut down, it's too old to be repaired, so we have our local guy building at new model and retrieving as much data as he can. Hopefully that's the 3rd thing to break in the past two weeks. Pricy start to this year.

We are not doing much, my WI meeting was postponed last night because of the weather, I did pop outside earlier in the week and skidded all around the icy patio, it was pure luck I stayed on my feet. Even hubby has just hunkered down, it's warm here, we have everything we need. It rained most of Thursday not as hard as we expected, overnight the rain and wind was heavy. This morning is grey skies more rain and wind, but not so strong, our gardens are alright, no damage, I just hope where ever you are you are safe, dry and warm and have electricity. I've not spoken to my brother, I sent him a message, he has electricity and is home.

Thank you for all your comments regarding my printed blog books, just a couple things to think on, firstly you work at your own pace, the book remains on your computer until you upload it and then payment is required for the printing, secondly I always wait until there is a good offer, normally 50% off or a smaller discount with free shipping. the company send regular emails, not too many to be a nuisance, I always aim for November, at the moment there is a 40% off deal on offer. 

Just a sprinkle

 

I don't get to show snow photos often, normally it completely misses us, it stayed around for just one day. Not enough to call it lying snow, it is extremely cold here, we are popping the heating on for longer, I wish our electric wood burner was a real wood burner, just imagine being toasty infront of real flames. Last year we got fans for the top of two radiators, which help the rooms feel warmer, the small bedroom has not had any mould in the corners this year, which is a relief. 

Storm Goretti is due in our region tonight, we are not under any weather warnings, just heavy rain and gales, but there is snow where to warm air meets the cold front north of us, I am keeping everything crossed we just get rain, being so close to the coast helps with our weather. 

Grandchildren had fun at home outside, all three hoping for more snow, they have settled back into school, last night's bedtime was good both the little ones were worn out.

We are not doing much, too cold to be outside, I do check the garden and greenhouse, not opening the door, everything is as it should be. I am reading a huge book, it's been a struggle as there are so many people in the plot, but I trust the author and will keep going. 

In hardback

Steve was asking about my blog books which I print through Blurb, The template for books is free to use, just download it, payment is only when you send the book for printing, I always use a photo book style. 

With my first book the printers had a template to allow you to import your whole year to a book format, I found it very hard and would only import a month at a time, each photo was a full page, which I did not want, as on average I have 4 photos per post, and I wanted each post on just one page, as you pay by the number of pages it made economical sense. I do find it much easier these days as I input the words into my created text blocks and then each photo, keeping everything away from the pink sections, over the years it has got much easier as I have created a system which works for me. I don't add any comments, just my post.

 I do ensure all the tops of the pages are level, the side line up, I am a neat freak, then I check the written content, having to change a few words here and there to make them flow better, then spell check and image resolution to sort. I then read through twice, just to be happy. I always choose the same covers and paper quality, so the books match as much as they can, when I read through once printed I do find at least one small error, but that's OK as I am only human, and nothing should be perfect. 

The cost of the books have not really changed much, always waiting for a good discount, Black Friday in November is always good, they allow you to print as many copies as you wish, I only ever print one copy. My last book purchased last November was with 50% off so I paid with postage £65.20 with 189 pages and hard cover no wrap. They are very quick to deliver, never waiting more than a week.

Doing at bit of maths (so very me), I worked out on average it takes me about 6 minutes to complete the post into a neat template normally on one page, so in 2024 I have 179 post so importing took me about 19 hours. The editing I do in 3 sessions, taking anything up to two hours each time. Therefore I think each book takes about 25 hours to sort, most of the work can be done over months, an hour here or there does not feel to busy. 2024 is now finished, just 2025 to do.

I have done other post in more detail here and here or click on the link my books.

I do love these book a real indulgence for me, the younger grandchildren like to see their photos in my books, I also love to pick up a book and read, they are also a very quick reference point when I want to remember when something was done around the house and garden. 

Now is the perfect time to stop printing them, we see less of the children now they are all at school and all the major changes inside and out have been done, I do aim to keep blogging which I love, I also can be found on Instagram, my Facebook page I no longer use, I do check it to see how nieces and nephews are doing. Who knows I might relent and print 2026, but I'm not planning too.

Cold spell.

 We have so far missed most of the snow, we had a sprinkling over night, loads of frost every morning, with the low sun loads of spots stay white, the front of the house is the sunny side. Every day we have bright blue skies and sunshine, looking out it's brilliant, not so good once outside. This is much colder than we normally have at this time of year, which is reflected all around the country. 

 This yellow weather warning map covers most of UK, not covering the south coast, which is where we live, I have everything crossed we avoid the worst of the weather. In previous years we have missed the snow, we have no appointments in the coming week, so we will stay in.

I am keeping a check on my Olive tree, it now lives in a very sheltered corner, they are hardy to about -5° we have had this plant since 2019, I rarely cover this plant, I am keeping a close eye on it, so far it's OK. The rest of the garden is just left, whilst the frost are about it is best not to touch anything.

Meanwhile in my greenhouse the temperature is doing OK, I do not heat inside, it's in the sunniest spot in the garden on a raised base, which always helps with winter inside temperatures. I cleared the setting on Saturday, so these figures are for the 24 hours, it got down to -2.7° and was highest at 31.3°, both acceptable for the contents. 

I have not knitted any socks for a few years, which is a shame as I do love knitting them, I am wearing my homemade ones, much warmer for my feet, I am also wearing a few extra layers, our heating is working well and we try to keep the house between 18 and 20 in the daytime. We are not doing so much, so we do sit down more, which then makes me feel colder. 

We do try and have a short walk most days, wrapped up warm, my duffle coat is the warmest, with a scarf, gloves and knitted bobble hat. Our park is still busy, its a lovely place, the children's play area is always in use. Working on my computer is good, its the sunniest room in the house, my 2024 book is coming along nicely. I try and sort some of my crafting stash most days, there are loads of card bits to get rid of, I am keeping some bits for Molly to use, she does love crafting.

Meals are simple, I have a few bits of cheese left, I have enjoyed having so many different ones to try, there are hardly any chocolates left, I did not get too many this year. Our Christmas cake is being enjoyed, its not so dry now, must of just been one small section. 

Traitors is back on TV, along with Pottery throwing down and we love 1% club. There are a few new series we are starting to watch. I mainly read, not doing any crafting, I am searching for a cross stitch, nothing yet has fired my imagination.