Oh so cold

 Monday we woke up to lovely blue skies, the temperature had dropped, so whilst it looked nice, it was cold, I spent most of the day inside, I am a soft southerner.

It did not warm up throughout the day

It's a bit early but I have got the Christmas mugs out, hubby did not comment, they will be used for 6 weeks this year, its a simple but festive change, they are all years old.

The Christmas cakes have had another soak of brandy, daughters cake won't get a 3rd soak, the children loved my rich fruit cake, so I put less brandy in it. I have started thinking about the final decorations, no decisions yet.

It's been a bit of a nothing week, I did my final proof read of my book 2023, I found a couple little errors, the discount email came through on Thursday, so I've sent it for printing. I'm doing well on 2024, I will make my post from this year 2025 into another book and then stop printing them, all the grandchildren are in school, my post aren't so full of happy photos. 

Our heating failed to work on Tuesday morning, it was cold we had our first frost, we had hot water, so the boiler was working, hubby checked our hive, which would not link to the boiler on the schedule programme so we used the manual settings, he has disconnect and reconnect which seams to have sorted the issue, later we popped to Asda, mainly a stock up with bits we can't get at Lidl, it was horrible, I really dislike those huge stores, we did not buy many Christmas treats, sticking to our view to have less treats. We should now be OK and not require another visit until the new year, we both hate supermarkets in December. 

Wednesday was a day at home, hair cut in morning, she comes to my house, housework was done and a lazy afternoon. Thursday I had an eye test, new glasses have been ordered, it was expected, my eyesight has deteriorate this year, they will be ready in a couple of weeks. Today we were going out, but George is poorly and Will has a day at home, so we will stay home incase we are needed, George's oxygen levels can drop very quickly. 

I've still not done any crafting, I have truly lost my mojo, I have wool, fabrics, needle felting and cross stitch supplies, and a few different ideas, but I just can't get started, I am reading again.

Non bucket list

In my recent post I mentioned my bucket list, I don't really have one, I have done  brave, stupid, fun things in 2014 doing a treetop go ape challenge with a double zipwire over a lake. 

Here in 2017 I did a stadium tour with a difference, we went up onto the roof of Croke park, Dublin, I was not aware when we agreed to go with hubby's son how high we would go, we followed the path used by workmen to keep the roof intact, it was scary and brilliant. I'm not sure I would have agreed if I had know the details.

Helicopter ride in 2013

I have visited the Spinnaker Tower many times, scary walking on the glass floor and then in 2014 I abseiled down the outside, raising money for local hospital.

Here in Tenerife being above the clouds, such a fantastic feeling, I almost wanted to try and lay on them.

At this point I should say I was for years not very good with heights, hubby and I started working towards me getting better, also I can't swim so I'm not good with deep bodies of water, I really dislike being in or on the sea. In 2013 I went on a inflatable rib in Portsmouth harbour, I worked at the area office of Sea Cadets, where I failed to say I was afraid of water, my boss was successful in helping me with that fear. This crazy behaviour started when I reached 50, before that age I was a feet on the ground woman.

In 2009 I got over my fear of motorbikes and for a couple of years I was pillion with husband, not everything is thrill seeking. I have seen in 2024 the Trooping of the Colours, and in 2015 have been to a garden party at Windsor Castle, The Queen was present, a beautiful memory.

I can add the chimney lift, Battersea power station and Tower bridge to my mad list which I did on my recent trip to London, I don't have anymore mad things to do, I'm sure if the opportunity arises I will consider doing more stupid stuff as well as nice things, the only no-no would be anything underwater, not ready for that experience. 

Red and white

My cactus in our downstairs bathroom is full of blooms again, I love this plant, the shade of pink is very striking, I feed it twice a year and water it when dry, it loves this sunny window sill. I have another small white blooms plant and a few cuttings in the greenhouse. 

I got a couple new plants, a second white blooms cactus and a white Christmas rose (hellebore), these are for my Christmas greenery display, I will mix a couple fake items here as well, I try and change things around each year.

 I knew I was going to get this book, I follow Charlie Mackesy on Instagram, he is a gentle soul, I have his first book, I love his style, I hope to be able to give both books to Molly in years to come.

This was a strange plot, a lady working for a charity answering calls to help souls struggling with their lives, what type of help, it quickly became about just one man, what had she done to him, the story unfolded with twist. It kept going with additions to the plot, when you think it's done another level is added. Book 76 read this year.

You move to a new house make friends with two unlikely neighbours, you can't work out why they are friends, as always the story unfolds in layers with a back story. I guessed by half way who's backstory it was, then it twisted into an even better plot. Brilliant book. Book 77 read this year.

I have been shopping a couple of time in the week, Wednesday with daughter, she helped me choose the final bits for the children's gifts, I also got a few craft things for them to do the week before Christmas, it should help with their excitement. On Thursday I popped out with hubby we each chose our main gift, he had slippers and me PJ's, not exciting but what we wanted, we agreed we would get one smaller surprise gift for each other, but as yet I have no idea what to get him, we are not doing our stockings this year, they were becoming full of chocolate and sweets, not good for the waist line. 

I have had an email from the printers I use hinting they are giving a big discount for Black Friday, so I have been reading 2023 again, I'm almost half way through, it will be ready to print.

I have found a 10 stitch crochet blanket to make, I will use my double knitting yarn from my stash, it's using Tunisian stitch which I do love and should be a simple task, I have no reason to make it, just to use my time and stash. I have also got a few needle felting things to make, these need to be done by the end of the month, which is plenty of time.

The force of  storm Claudia missed us on Friday, it was cold, wet and windy, nothing too bad, we stayed inside all day, Saturday was blue skies and bright, laundry dried outside, I picked up leaves again, did a bit of housework, nothing exciting, these are dull days. We did walk to our monthly craft market, I got a gift for my brother, its nice to see different things.

November garden

My daisy bed is still stunning, this simple planting has worked perfectly, I do very little to this bed, hubby loves it as well. I love how the blooms tumble to the lawn, I am hopeful of a few seedings next spring. These are evergreen and if our winter is mild we will have daisies for months.

A couple of my fuchsias are still  in bloom, both are not in the ground, being raised they do flower longer. My hosta tub is a mass of colour, the begonia is full of flowers, all the cyclamen are in pots, placed there for colour.

A quick check on my veg beds, everything is growing well, I have a fine pea net over both beds to keep the birds away. The veg in these beds requires no work, they will grow over winter giving spring harvest.

I managed to pick up all the leaves, I got 4 tubs, my acer is bare, so just the last of the huge magnolia leaves left to drop, both black dustbins are full, they will supply me with leaf mulch next autumn. I have piled loads of leaves over my rhubarb crown, I did the same last year. My composters are both full, the levels will drop, I don't plan to dig the compost out until the spring, when I should get enough compost for my needs.

Everything is looking good in the greenhouse, I will soon sow my sweet-peas, they were a success this year, so I'm going to do exactly as I did last year. I will plant my tulips in pots, hopefully with Molly on Sunday, she loves the garden, I have an amaryllis bulb to plant as well, in hope to have a flower before Christmas, I have 5 other bulbs which I have put outside in hope the cold weather will stimulate a bud instead of just leaves.

Our fake grass helps keep the garden looking good, it has brilliant drainage which is necessary in our wet winters, I get as much pleasure looking at our winter garden as I do in summer, the structure is enough to give interest. 

I spent Wednesday with daughter, I have finished all the children's gifts and George's birthday present, I'm out with hubby on Friday to choose our gift to each other. I did get a pair of green cords from Next, I have always loved cord trousers, they are not often on sale, so I grabbed a pair when I saw them.