October round up

 Just 2 packs of bulbs and 1 small tray of plants, hopefully the bulbs will bloom for Christmas/January. A bag of grit for spring bulb pots. My new coat was £69.99, which I consider a bargain, it's been an expensive month for clothes, I'm still average under £40 per month. .  

9 Books read this month

It's not been a bad month, no huge household spends, we turned on our heating on 9th, to start with the radiators came on a few mornings, not so much in the lunchtime and evening, we still get days when the radiators stay cold in the evenings, our home is warm. 

I purchased my blog book, which with the huge discount and free shipping was an excellent price, I had set aside quite a bit more, so nice win. We have purchased some Christmas gifts, we do like to get the sorted early, most of the older grandsons get cash, which they prefer.

No food waste, hubby is back making soups again served with crusty bread rolls, our main meal menu has changed as well. My weight is the same, far too many pounds sitting on me.

We have had the normal amount of rainfall for the whole of October in the past 10 days, all good for the ground water levels, we are very lucky as we have no flood risk here. On checking my wildlife camera I realised I had set it wrong, I thought it was set to stop recording at 6am, I had set it at 6 minutes past midnight, its all sorted now.

Birthday girl

 I am told today is my birthday, I am two years old, I have become the stealer of seats, always hers 

I have again started using my cat tree, I do like to hammock section.

Everyone loves a princess dress, including me, Molly took hers off and I claimed it.

My litter all together 2 years ago.

I'm  a happy cat, not spiteful, I never play with my claws out, I'm not so happy with all the recent rain, on wet days I snuggle inside where I can see the garden, I still love to watch the birds.

She has promised me no more visits to the vets until next year, I did not like him pulling my leg, it's decided I just walk a bit funny, I can jump into the magnolia tree and the high fences, so they know I have no pain.

I am having tin tuna for tea as a special treat, I love tuna.

How to keep a 5 year old busy

 Molly helped mix everything together for soaking the dried fruits, she helped weigh the dry ingredients, tried to zest the lemons and oranges and gave the fruit a good stir.

 

Tuesday was a day of crafting, I got a few packs of air-dry clay in lovely colours, Molly and Will played, then daughter and I joined in. Wills creations are on the left, Mollys are at the bottom, daughters are top right, I made stars to use for hanging, I have some pretty string.

Molly was very good on her sleepover, I did let her stay up later knowing she would be quick to settle, I think we wore her out, she woke just before 8am, after a lazy morning, a walk to the village we did things in the garden. Wednesday was a bright sunny cold day, more importantly dry. Two indoor bulb pots done.

First of my big pots done, this one red and white tulips with snowdrops and daises, which Molly chose from the market. Molly loves her unicorn hat, sadly it's getting a bit small for her, she always wears her gardening gloves. 

Molly was very happy to sleepover, she is constantly on the go, always interested in everything, George had fun with grandma,  daughter took Will to the cinema, she had a long lie in on Wednesday morning, which was a treat for her.

It became very quiet once Molly went home, she had already helped tidy her bed and pack away the remaining craft items, I had purchased a book with loads of templates in, Molly took a couple home as we ran out of time to make them. We spent an hour looking at my blog books, Molly loves to see herself and brothers in the books, we also looked at mummy and daddy's wedding book, she understood she why she was not in it.

Tomorrow is housework day, mainly downstairs, it won't take long, then I hope to do some sewing, later I can read, I've started another good book.

End of October

 A new author to me, I saw this book in a few places with great reviews, from the beginning you know Jo has another agenda, she is focused, the delivery of her secret is brilliant, which leads to a good ending, and like so many great books a final chapter once the story is finished. Book 86 read this year.

Another clever plot, a baby is found, DNA proves the mother is a local woman who disappeared 4 years ago. Chaos follows as the search is on for the mother, old reports are reviewed, people interviewed again, the police have to find her this time. A new author to me, this is the start of another DCI series. Book 86 read this year. 

Sunday was a cold bright day, just one quick storm, still very windy. Will and George were here whilst Molly went to a birthday bash at our local kids soft play venue. We spent the time inside, just to cold to play out, I got them party food for lunch and probably a few too many sweets, neither boy goes to too many parties, so we had treats here..

We changed the two clocks back an hour on Saturday night before bed, the rest reset themselves, our car will be done next time we are out in it, later this week, when it's in a local garage. I lit real candles on Sunday evening, we spent the whole time reading, we are not watching Strickly this year, we may pick it up nearer to Christmas. 

Monday was dull and wet when we got up, Lilly was again inside, she hates the rain as much as we do, I did get some sewing out, just at the cutting out stage, I have had my trusty note book out for a while, working out patterns. I will do a post when finished.

Today we have daughter and children, her car is on a garage recall, Molly is on a sleepover, George is at Grandma's, they popped in collect him from ours, tonight daughter and Will are having an evening together. 

Our house is warm and dry, I have no inclination to go out, we had planned a trip to the huge Asda store, but it's half term, so we can wait until next week, hubby has now given me a suggestion for his main Christmas gift, I have already chosen a new handbag for him to gift me, we do also get another small surprise gift, again this year we are not doing our stockings, they are expensive to fill and way too many edible treats go in them.

Wet, wet, wet

 Oh boy has it rained this week, almost non stop since over night on Sunday, I'm not complaining our gardens and the ground water for our water supplies needs this rain. I emptied this container on Sunday evening. By Wednesday teatime we had 25 ml, Thursday morning almost 30 ml. I've emptied it again to see how much rain we get with the coming storms.

So Austen and Boelo have whizzed through, the garden is quite protected and therefore nothing was damaged, I like a tidy garden so everything was already packed away, the cover came for our outside table, so it's now protected. As for rain, by Friday morning we had 28 ml, and here was the measure on Sunday morning, totalling 40 ml.. The average rainfall for here in Hampshire for October is 76-105 ml.

Just a fat pigeon, not seen the hedgehog for a few nights, Lilly is not out after 10pm, which is very pleasing and means she doesn't come in contact with the scary big black tomcat.

I am not a dahlia lover, I got this one because it reminded me of the bright red pompoms my mum grew in her garden, it is the star plant at the moment, full of blooms and buds.  

Thursday after overnight rain it was blue skies and dry, we had to pop out so we stopped in town for lunch and a quick look in a few shops. I've not done much reading it has been a busy week, and will be busy again over the weekend and into next week.

Friday I slept over at daughters, she had a lovely night out, all three children were so very good, bathtime and bedtime were easy, they each enjoyed one to one time and settled quickly. Will I let stay up later, he went to bed at 9.30pm, again happy. Molly now sleeps later, she woke up just after 7am, George just a bit later, Will stayed in bed much later.

We have had a week at home, no popping out for coffee, daughter was busy on Friday morning, I have had my annual blood test to check cholesterol and diabetes, results should be on my page by Monday. Lilly went back to the vets, she was not happy, the vet checked over her back leg and nothing found, she is walking better. We paid for a dose of flea, worm and parasite treatment, just over £50, with the foxes and rats next door, it's best to keep on top of everything, this treatment will last for 3 months, then we will go back to using the lesser over the counter stuff each month.

New titles

2025 blog book has arrived, I am really pleased with it, it looks the same as my others, just different date and photo's on the cover, in all the years the company Blurb has never changed the size of the book.

Over the years I have created my system to input each post, I do love the top line of every page to be at the same height, I always pop the date at the bottom of each page, the rest is fitting everything on the one page, occasionally on two pages if I have interesting photo's. More information can be seen in this post, which has a couple links to other relevant posts.

I made another book, this one is much easier, most of it is pre-set, just adding names and their cartoon image, it has a few busy pages themed like Where's Wally, they have to find themselves, both adore the Where's Wally books. This is for early December, so they can enjoy the build up to Christmas. After receiving the first book I have created another similar second book, so they have one each.

Will asked for an atlas for Christmas, he is very much like his mum, he loves information, we gave him a child's atlas a few years ago which Molly now reads. This is huge, so many different facts for him. We will pop some more money inside as well.

This was a huge book over 700 pages, I did struggle at the beginning, too many people with glittering careers, all on top of their game, I stuck with it. Not at all my normal read, it was an enjoyable plot, I guessed a few things, I'm not sure if I will read another. Book 85 read this year.

I have very mixed feelings regarding my blog books, looking back over 2026, we have had some standout moments, should I record them. An idea is forming, rather than do another year book, I am thinking I could do one last book which spans over a few years, so instead of almost 200 pages for one year, condense down to 60 to 80 pages each year, putting coming years together making a book the same size as my others. Recording nice moments and not mundane bits and bobs, I suggested this to hubby his reply I knew you would keep going, oh well, he does know me.

Hide the card

 I have recently done a bit of shopping, firstly these Clarks trainers were reduced to just £20, a great price, it was not a need but a want, who can resist a pair of pink shoes, they will look good with jeans. These are from their online outlet site, click here if you want to check them out, they are all perfect, just old designs, which does not bother me.

I found this Tshirt and jumper in the sale at Trespass, both for under £30, I blame hubby for this purchase, I was not going into the shop, he dragged me in. Both will be very useful, the Tshirt is 100% cotton, just great bargains.

We packed the outside furniture away, it's all under this cover, very compact, the chairs tuck under the bench and the cushions pile on top, the cover is totally waterproof, we are waiting for a cover to arrive for the table, no room in the garage this year. 

I was sent a copy of this gardening magazine with seeds, for two years I subscribed to them it finished last year, I have no idea why this was sent, I tried to email them, but was blocked as I don't have an account anymore?

Tender plants are in the greenhouse, other pots are moved to ensure a clear walking space, ornaments are all in a big box in the garage. I still have to mulch the veg beds, I have everything for my new spring bulb pots, Molly wants to come and help me create them. The rest of this week is rainy days, so a timely sort.

Monday we sorted both bedrooms, we slept in our spare room, giving our visitor our big room an en-suite,  BIL was rested ready for his long drive home. We have sorted the fridge, froze a few bits and checked dates to ensure nothing is wasted.

Tuesday it rained all day, later I sat with the children whilst daughter met their teachers, all three children had great reports, both Molly and George were very tired. Today, Wednesday is another very wet day, I have to pop to town on the bus to deliver a birthday card, then home for another blood test and Lilly's second vet visit.

I am pleased with my purchases, I should not need anything else this year. I have packed away the Christmas bits, we have ordered a huge book for Will, he told hubby he wanted it on Sunday.

I have pulled out my cotton Christmas fabrics, I have decided on my patchwork, with my back still feeling great I can get my sewing machine out. I have also all the ingredients for our cakes, we have had a few busy days, hopefully I can get them done at the weekend.

Weekend

 Just a lonely clematis bloom by our main entrance, unexpected and beautiful. 

This begonia is normally in the greenhouse by now, it's still full of blooms, such a vibrant colour.

Saturday afternoon we sat outside in the garden, it was lovely, just chatting and enjoying the garden.

We popped to our favourite garden centre with hubby's sister and her hubby, they have put out the snowman seat, we took our annual photo, no grandchildren just us.

Hubby's sister and her hubby arrived Friday afternoon, we had a nice time chatting and catching up with family news. Saturday we popped to Whitley for some shopping and then to Garsons garden centre, I did not purchase any plants, I did get a couple Christmas bits and some nice chocolates for us, all packed away for now. Back home we sat in the sunshine in the garden. Later hubby cooked a nice meal, steak for the guys and fish for us ladies, we had another nice quiet evening together.

Sunday we walked around Portchester castle and then had lunch in the local pub, again a great meal, back home daughter came to visit with her three, they were happily chatting and playing, it was quiet when they went home, our house is not big enough for so many people, another lazy night in.

Today SIL is driving back to south Wales, we have beds to sort and some housework to do, then a restful afternoon. This week we will pack away our outside seating, I will pop tender plants into the greenhouse, and all my birds from the side shelf into the garage, sadly it's time to close the garden, hopefully we will use the sunroom for much longer.

Getting ready

I got a new glass dish for our dinning table, for no other reason than, I love it. I read plastic fruit is out of style, mine will stay, it looks fresh in a dark corner. I will keep my old glass bowl, it's a useful shape. We then saw the darker green candle holder, which hubby pointed out, it would have been rude not to get it.

Lilly has taken to my crochet blanket, she often settles on my chair as we are going to bed and sleeps here most of the night. Recently she is resting here in the daytime, so I'm sat on our not so comfortable sofa.

We are viewing our local hedgehog most nights, sadly they have not settled in the house hubby built, they often are close, but not moved in, these from Monday.

 I have read this author before, you get home to find the police at your house and your boyfriend murdered, the police are on-top of everything, until she calls into the local police station, here's the first brilliant twist, it's a very clever plot, I could not work out who? the author twisted the plot a few times. I could not put this book down, Book 84 read this year. 

Monday was dull and wet, and noisy most of the morning, the local highways team were sorting potholes in our street, we had two forming outside our drive, now completely filled in.

Tuesday we popped to town on the bus, I managed to find a warmer raincoat I like, I'm not a fan of the puffy costs, which are everywhere, I got it from TKMax at a great price, I have sent my old one to the local clothes bank, I have had it about 5 years. Later it was sunny and warm, we spent time outside, our sunroom is perfect on days like this.

Wednesday was housework ready for SIL and her hubby visiting for weekend, nothing gets me cleaning like a family visit, we did walk to the village, it was market day, nothing purchased, the plants looked nice as always, but I left them there.

Today Lilly is visiting the vets, we have noticed she is walking strange on one back leg, she let's us check it so no pain, we want to get it checked out. Later we plan a shopping trip to Lidl, and then a bit more house work.

Autumnal garden

 I'm in trouble with hubby, I got his saw out again and worked on our red acer, it was just too bulky this summer. It is brutal, but necessary, next year I will reduce the height. I'm not worried it will grow back, I did the same to my olive treea couple of years ago, and Sam does our magnolia tree regularly. 

I have left growth near the base, removed all of the front section. The wildlife camera is attached to the bottom of the trunk.

The pond is looking clearer, I have added a couple of the branches from my red acer, just to soften the area, the cyclamen plant is coming back, I am so pleased with this area, all I do is ensure the water level does not drop. Mum's bird table top stays here, I like the look.

I have removed the runner-beans and tomato plants, I will mulch the two beds, I will sow broad beans next month, the rest of the veg space will lay farrow for the cooler months. 

The garden as always still has colour, the fleabane daisies again is the star, frothy pretty dasies, what's not to like. 

Saturday was dry and sunny, just few cloudy spells, we enjoyed coffee in our sunroom, a perfect spot out of the wind, I did a fair amount of gardening, making it look good for our visitors this coming weekend. I will pack away all my ornaments and the outside seating area next week, always a sad time here. I managed to add some supports to my agapanthus, I have two spots where the plants are getting huge, I hope the supports will hold the blooms up next year, they are evergreen, so it's best to do it now. 

Sunday was cloudy, not too cold, so a bit more time outside, the veg beds are tidy, I am still picking raspberries, I have also dug out my gooseberry, all the leaves have been ate, I have popped it into a growbag to see if I can prevent sawfly, I have always struggled to grow them. I have everything ready for planting my spring bulbs, stored in the greenhouse, I will get them done early November.

My wildlife camera is now just recording Lilly in the garden at night, I have removed all the low branches, I am surprised not to see other cats coming in, we have often seen them, maybe I'm winning that battle. 

Reading

I love this author, I did not enjoy it as much as other plots, a dad takes his teenage daughter to a camp, they learn about it's dark history, silly things are happening, should he worry. Book 79 read this year. 

Another new author to me, he's ex police now taking a role in the private sector, he has a new team to shape, they have no experience in police work, interesting plots. Book 80 read this year.

Second book in series, the team get caught up with MI16, and help to bring down a evil gang, whose crimes include people smuggling, a good story,  sadly I found the teams ability to find everything out a bit too far, I won't read any more titles. Book 81 read this year.

Another new author to me, and a very different storyline, women have been murdered, what's the connection, and why should Travis get involved. This is a brilliant book, I really enjoyed it, I will look for more in this series. Book 82 read this year. 

Another new author to me, a very different plot, with a troubled past a young mum is a great mum to her young family, whilst trying to come to terms with her teenage years. Her husband is unaware of her plight, how will it all end, too many young lives spoilt.  Book 83 read this year.

 

I am a bookworm, I enjoy reading, I am also a fast reader, if I have a good book (two above hit that category) they are hard to put down, we don't watch much TV, never in the day and often not on in evenings, we will watch a programme we like and then turn it off. 

I have sorted my wildlife camera, it's again working through bluetooth and Wifi, I do need to move it as the lower branches move so often throughout a breezy night, which it records. I had clicked a manual button, which wanted a password each time it turned on, which I had not set up, it now been reverted to automatic log on once apt is opened. 

We met with daughter at her end of town on Friday, got a few bits from Dunelm, popped into B&M, we got George's Christmas present and a great idea for Molly, we could not find it locally, so we went online. Will we will give a book with money inside. Then on to B&Q, I got grit for my spring bulb pots, nothing else, passed on the dead reduced plants, hubby was so happy.

I have turned into my mum, whilst out with hubby I uttered the immortal words 'I wish young people would wear more clothes', there is a local trend for ladies to wear leggings? and a short top, often pale pink, almost looks like they are wearing nothing. Me, I've packed away my sandals, always a sad day, so it's socks and trainers now with warmer jumpers.

Ticking off my list.

I filled my slow cooker with dried fruits, chopped apples, brown sugar, spices and coconut oil, cooked on high heat for an hour, low hear for 2 hours.

Let it cool, use clean jars, mincemeat is done for this coming season. The posh jar will be part of a hand made gift. The 4 smaller jars will be stored longer, the bigger jar will be used for a test run, if I can talk hubby into making pies.

This juice was left over, the dark lower section if from the fruit mixed with the spices, the top section coconut oil, which will solidify, normally discarded, this year I will use the lower section to soak my dried fruit for my Christmas cake, the coconut oil I will add to the cake mix, adjusting the butter weight.

Happy with Wednesdays rainfall on Thursday morning just over 20ml, the garden us looking good.

Wednesday we were inside all day, the rain was relentless, it's that time of year when the spice drifts through the house, it was lovely, I was a bit later doing this, I have everything ready for my cakes, I will wait a couple of weeks before baking, we have visitors due and it's best not to have cakes everywhere.

I sat at my desktop doing a final, final check on my 2025 book, any time at this stage of the task is well spent. I read each page again, checked the placement of text boxes and photo's, did a final spell check, now I'm good to go, Thursday morning I had an email 50% off and free shipping, 2025 has been sent to the printers, the free delivery made it cheapest book for a few years.

I need to check my wildlife camera settings, I saw the first nights recordings, since then I have not been able to view later recordings, it keeps asking for a password and then flipping me over to strange page with no password sections, as yet I have not inputted any passwords. 

Today we are meeting daughter for coffee and chat and a look at toys for some hints, hoping to get ahead again this year.

Thinking ahead

My wildlife camera is set up, this view covers the path beside the garage, any cats visiting always come from the back of the garden. I will leave it here for a while, it's set to video anything passing at night only for now. The first night we just saw Lilly in the front section of the garden, I do plan to move it to the back section at some point.

I did say I had enough spring bulbs, I was thinking about my garden pots, I have previously purchased some white daffodils, but not paperwhites which I love, the other pack can go in the garden pots. Both of these are for inside, I'm giving up on trying to regrow amaryllis bulbs.

 

On our recent trip to my favourite garden centre, we decided to not stop for coffee, instead coming home to hubbys home made scones with cream.

I have been busy with my 2025 blog book, all my post are in the book, they look neat and tidy, all I now need to do is a final read through and do a spell check. I have already received an email with the promise of Black Friday discounts, coming soon. 

I was extremely good at the garden centre, they had lovely plants, we did have a good look, I don't have much space, so I passed on them all. Hubby is going to redo his front garden next year, so there will be a couple of plants I can use. I also did a quick walk through their Christmas section, again nothing I liked. We did get jams and pickles, we both prefer their brands.

We have enjoyed the sunny warm days this week, quite unexpected at this time of year, sat in our sunroom together, it has been the most fantastic addition to our garden space. It's pouring with rain today. 

I have all the ingredients to make mincemeat again this year, the slow cooker does all the work, hubby does like to use homemade in his pies. I have gathered everything for Christmas cakes, I'm making one cake, slightly smaller just for us, I will make a batch of cakes muffin size for daughter and brother, hopefully with a few spare for gifts.