A lot of toing and froing!

This past week has been quite hectic, I just seem to be going to and fro places!

Our daughter’s car failed the MOT at the end of last week. Her car ended up having to go to an actual  dealership for diagnostics, so was out of action until this morning! This wouldn’t necessarily be a problem, public transport and all that, unless you happen to work out in the country!

So Friday I drove out to the Blue Cross for my normal stint.

Saturday, my hubby was away all weekend. I left home at 7.30am, picked my daughter up and took her to work, drove home and then took my son into town (no trains running!) to meet his mates prior to the Exeter City v Plymouth Argyle derby. I then drove in, later on, to watch the game myself. City won 4-0, yay!

Sunday, it was back up to Blue Cross for 9am. I volunteered to organise the food supplies storeroom, which had become very untidy with new donations. Two hours should do it, I thought to myself. Five and a half hours later (!) I was done. Phew!

Monday, no toing and froing! My daughter managed to get a lift Monday and Tuesday. For me, Monday was filled with housework and the food shop, very boring, but after the weekend it was strangely relaxing! Then on Monday evening, I noticed Karma was licking spot on her front leg rather a lot. On closer (rather difficult) inspection, I saw she had what looked like an abscess. I can only think it had culminated from when she was ‘beaten up’ on her own doorstep by a neighbouring cat a few weeks ago. I had checked her torso and head for injuries at the time, as her collar had been ripped off, but didn’t think about her legs.

So Tuesday, hubby away again for two days, toing and froing to a different venue...the vets. Now, Tortoiseshell cats are known to be a bit feisty and a Tortie who has a painful leg even more so! The vet, however, did manage to puncture the abscess and with the words ‘ it might rupture, but she will clean it herself’ , gave us anti bs and painkillers and away we went (after paying a hefty bill). Hubby and I did manage a trip to Topsham for brunch and a visit to the zero waste shop, which was something nice after the trauma of early morning.

Wednesday, and it was our 26th wedding anniversary! It was back to taxi service to the Blue Cross. The last one! On the way back home, I popped into a favourite garden centre, treated myself to poached eggs in the cafe and stocked up on bird food. The rain didn’t stop all day and got heavier as the day progressed, but I still ventured out for a carvery with my son in the evening. Then it was batten down the hatches and snuggle up with Karma. Further into the evening, I noticed she really wasn’t too good. She looked very vague, back legs were very unsteady and she was very unsettled.  She was having a hypo. She’s only had one before, in the 5 years since she’s been diagnosed. So I gave her glucose syrup, settled her on my lap and waited for it to do its thing. It didn’t take long before she perked up.

So today, it was up to the vets again, just me, to replace the glucose syrup. Karma is ok today and I’ve only given her a small dose of insulin. Pain and infection can cause her sugars to be unstable. She has an appointment for the vets tomorrow which was previously booked for diabetes check, so she’ll have her wound checked out at the same time.

A double whammy of toing and froing tomorrow, first the vets, then Blue Cross!

So I’ll leave you with some positive pics! An apple crumble for tonight and a vanilla traybake for Blue Cross. Sorry for the very wordy post! Cheerio for now, Ann x

Decorating and dog walks

Well I managed to get my kitchen decorated on Saturday. The morning was spent prepping, a job I hate, but if you’re doing a job, it has to be done right, as far as I’m concerned. There wasn’t much gloss to rub down, walls were sugar soaped and the tops of the kitchen wall units cleaned. How do they get so mucky? I’ve now lined them with greaseproof paper. My daughter’s partner popped in and painted the ceiling for me, while I started on the walls. By early evening, it was finished! Then the task began of fixing the shelf back for my various kilner jars and putting other bits back on to the worktop. It’s a very small kitchen and becomes cluttered very easily, so I’ve had a little clear out at the same time. My kitchen clock has broken and as I have a clock & timer on my oven, I’ve put a picture up in its place.......

It’s a real thing in the south west, which way you have your scone. A debate that can go on for ages! Obviously living in Exeter, I have it the Devonshire way. But I have to say this is probably only because you can get more cream on your scone that way, haha!

On Sunday, I met up with my daughter, who was staying at a friend’s house and looking after her 3 dogs, while she’s on holiday. We had a lovely walk in the grounds of National Trust Knightshayes House near Tiverton. The dogs tired themselves out and we built up an appetite! They were taken home for a snooze and we went out for a well earned delicious carvery.

Another dog walk on Monday. My friend picked me up with her dog and her son’s dog. That way I get a dog for the day! This time, it was a walk on Exmouth beach......

The weather was fine and quite mild, so I was surprised that there weren’t more families on the beach, bearing in mind it is half term. We came across a jellyfish that had been washed up. Must admit, they give me the heebie geebies !.....

Again, after our walk, it was time for the humans to refuel at our favourite dog friendly cafe. Bacon baguettes for us and a little bag of bones shaped biscuits for the dogs. My friend’s dog knows ‘Auntie’ Ann is a soft touch!

I played skittles in the evening, though badly. My sprained wrist hasn’t recovered as much as I thought and painting the kitchen probably didn’t help, to be honest. I went go to Aqua Fit last night too, but I did restrict the movement in my right hand. Hopefully by next weeks class, it’ll be a bit stronger.

As Halloween is nearing, I’ve decorated the mantlepiece appropriately......

The tree was originally bought, years ago, with little Easter Eggs. When I saw the autumnal decorations in a little independent gift shop, I knew the little tree had a new lease of life! A lot of the supermarkets have the munchkin pumpkins this year. With the addition of a few candles, it looks nice and cosy as the nights draw in......

So that’s the last few days. Hubby comes back from working abroad tomorrow, so I’ll have to share the remote again, lol! Thanks for popping by, cheerio for now, Ann x

Some good news and some sneaky decorating

Just a quick post to share some good news, as today is going to be full on, I think. But the first thing is daughter and partner are seeing each other again, taking things easy, but hopefully it’ll all work out as they obviously still love each other. But she has made it clear that she is still going forward to getting herself on the property ladder. In the past week she has been filling out forms and emails have been flying to and fro between her, mortgage broker and housing association. (She wants to purchase by doing a shared ownership, own 40% and rent the rest. You can purchase more percent at any time)......and late yesterday afternoon, they confirmed she has been accepted for a new build house she really wanted (It has a lovely big garden) The official offer is in the post, a £500 deposit will need to be put down to secure that particular property (this is then credited against the rent part of her outgoings, once everything is finalised) then it’s up to the solicitors etc., to do their thing. She is so excited! To have her own property will give her security and independence. 

The sneaky decorating? Well, our kitchen needs to be spruced up a bit. We had a new boiler last year which was smaller than the old one, so the walls need seeing too. It’s a very small kitchen, not masses of painted walls and no door, just an archway, so not much glosswork needed. So, while hubby is away, I’m decorating with the same colour on the walls, as I really like the colour. My daughter’s partner is coming over this afternoon to do the ceiling for me, which is a big help as I’m quite short. I haven’t told hubby I’m decorating. I want to see if he notices it’s been done, I bet he doesn’t, haha! 

So I’d better be off to B&Q now to get new paint, roller and brushes. Cheerio for now, Ann x

Libraries......and a bit of a slip up!

I didn’t realise until I got chatting to the library assistant, a few days ago, that the running of the libraries in Devon have been handed over to Libraries Unlimited. This is their ethos,

‘Libraries Unlimited believes in the unlimited potential of library services across the UK to make a positive difference to people’s lives and communities through the shared love of reading and access to a wide array of information and facilities. Starting with our operation in Devon, we are taking a new approach – re-imagining library services and adopting a new social enterprise structure that allows us to innovate to support our social goals. Across all the areas in which we operate, we aim to bring ideas, imagination, information and knowledge to people’s lives and communities, providing inspiring spaces and supporting learning through a variety of resources, support and events.’

Because it is a charity, each library thinks of ways to encourage all ages back into libraries and also raise money for improvements and events, held within the library. When I was there, they were just heading towards the end of a book sale which had run for a while. I picked up a few thriller/detective books for hubby and my daughter, who is a real bookworm!

 One of the things planned next is handmade Christmas decorations and cards etc. for sale. So I said I would try and make some cards for it. I have stacks of bits of Christmas card kits I’ve accumulated. So, along with a few gems etc., I’ve made these......

I had plans on making some more last night. However, while I was out in the garden yesterday morning, feeding our ever hungry birds, I slipped on our wooden sleepers that had gone very green in the recent rain. Desperately trying to stay upright, I must have looked like one of the cartoon characters, where your legs are going nineteen to the dozen and you go nowhere! Eventually I lost my battle and slipped on to my bottom, not before breaking my fall with my hand. I’ve now got sprained wrist and jarred elbow and shoulder! I took myself to the NHS walk-in to confirm the injury.

So cardmaking was out yesterday evening, but hopefully I can resume tomorrow evening. Looking forward to a wander around Exmouth tomorrow with my friend. There’s a rather nice cafe we dive into first, with some delicious cakes. Hubby has to go abroad with work for a week tomorrow and my son is visiting a friend in Berlin for a few days too, so it’s just me and Karma. I have full access to the remote control, haha!

Thanks for popping by, cheerio for now, Ann x

Sad times............. but a few happy ones too.

I have had an unexpected hiatus in blogging. Last weekend, my daughter and her partner parted ways and naturally my daughter is so, so upset. Obviously we have been supporting her, not only emotionally, but crunching numbers to make sure she can afford to stay in her rented house in the future. Private rental is very expensive here and we would love her to be able to get one foot on the property ladder.

Sleep was not easy to come by last weekend. Numbers and percentages were whizzing about in my head prior to eventually dropping off and the moment I woke up they were there again! But we think we may have found a way she can get there (with some financial help from us) and this will give her something to look forward to. 

One of my good friends, who lives a few doors up from me, lost her Dad last weekend. He had been ill for a while, but that doesn’t make it any easier does it. I know it didn’t when I lost my Dad. I popped up with some flowers and we had a nice long chat over a cuppa. But, as is often the case in families, there was a birth too. My friend became a grandma/nanny for the first time, five days after her dad passed away. This little baby boy will bring much happiness at a time when it really needed.

It hasn’t been all doom and gloom here, though. I met up with my best friend, as we do once a week and took her out for lunch for her birthday. We had opted for a walk around the house and gardens at Killerton house. We go there regularly, as we’re both National Trust members and Killerton is close by. So it was coffee and a scone first in the cafe there and on to the house. I had already seen the current exhibition with my Mum, earlier in the year, but you always miss something, don’t you. We then walked around the gardens only. There is a huge amount of parkland/woods to explore to, which we have on many occasion with my friend’s dog. But given that we were having lunch later in the restaurant, we decided a walk in the rambling garden and not get muddy! The weather wasn’t on our side, but we stayed nice and dry in our hooded raincoats. But what the rain did do, was bring out the colours of some of the trees.....

and on such a gloomy day, the berries, Acers and cyclamens were brightening the place up no end.....

the old playhouse appears to have had a new thatch too!....

Our meal in the restaurant was wonderful. We both chose the same thing, the Ploughman’s. The amount of cheese and ham was amazing with home baked bread, homemade chutney and piccalilli.

On Tuesday evening, hubby, daughter and I took part in the Blue Cross Pub quiz. It was held at the Fisherman’s Cott, a lovely pub right on the banks of the river Exe. If you’re ever in the Bickleigh/Tiverton area of Devon, it’s in a lovely situation and the food is delicious! We weren’t successful in our quest to win the quiz, but the 5 of us in our team had a good time, which was what our daughter needed. As is usual with quizzes, you learn bits of random information. Who knew an Armadillo could reach speeds of 30mph when escaping from a predator! Or that an elephant had 60000 muscles in its trunk! I’m still getting my head round that one. There was a large raffle too and we all did very well. This is my winnings.......not bad, eh!

We all bought quite a few tickets as it was for such a good cause.

The rest of the week has been quite ordinary, thank goodness! Housework, gym, Blue Cross etc. We’re seeing a lot more of our daughter, which is only natural and I’m glad. I don’t want her to feel lonely. She has a lovely bunch of supportive friends who are rallying round too.

This morning we all drove to have a quick look at some affordable housing and saw one plot which was very nice. Unfortunately the housing association company who has this property is only open Monday to Friday, which seems a bit weird, but my daughter will give them a ring on Monday. This afternoon I went to watch Exeter City and we won, so I went home a happy girl!

So that’s me done, sorry for the lengthy post! Until next time, cheerio for now, Ann x

Craft show, cats and random stuff

Gosh, where did the last 8 days go? They’ve flown by! (For me anyway!)

Last Thursday was the big craft show at Westpoint, Exeter. Normally my friend and I would go together, but as she was on holiday, I went on my own. The stalls I was mainly interested in were the cardmaking and wool stalls. However there are always a couple of exhibits. This years were embroidery and whilst I don’t do embroidery, I really appreciate the hard work and skill in making these fantastic works of work.  Unfortunately, we weren’t allowed to take photos of the exhibits which was a shame. I browsed the wool stalls, but didn’t buy anything, as I have enough wool to stock my own stall! Fabric stalls draw me in too, and I’m prone to buying fabric, but I don’t even sew! It’s always on my list to try. My favourite cardmaking stall, Card-io, was there again and I bought several stamp sets. This stall had loads of fantastic sample cards made up and didn’t  mind you taking photos for inspiration when you get home. So here are a few of their samples that I will try and aspire to at some point.........

Friday was Blue Cross day and I baked them a Victoria sandwich, which went down well. I spent time with this little deaf old lady.....

She was brought in as a stray, but turns out she was chipped. While I was sitting with her, one of the Blue Cross girls came in to say her owners had come forward and this little lady was 21! She was such an affectionate puss.

Saturday, my son and I went out for breakfast (hubby works most weekends) and then to watch Exeter City. But we lost, so the less said about the game the better! In the evening, I watched Strictly. I didn’t watch it last year for some reason, always have before. But it hasn’t got the same attraction for me now, is it a bit ’samey’ now, or is it just me?

Sunday and Monday, I caught up with washing, ironing etc. as well as a dental check up, as the weather gradually deteriorated and had skittles in the evening.

Yesterday, despite the frequent cloudbursts, I wandered around Topsham for a birthday present for my friend and then picked up my milk at the zero waste shop there. Later in the afternoon, as I was doing more ironing, I noticed this little chap looking for a snack.....

Sorry about the quality of the photo, the weather was awful and I was hiding behind the dining room curtain, so he didn’t see me! He nearly got blown off the fence at one point. Weirdly he was more interested in the sunflower hearts than the peanuts. Earlier in the day, hubby said there was a ‘different’ bird on the fence. It was a Sparrowhawk. Well,  he was unlucky, as all the Sparrows were watching him from a neighbouring Buddleia tree.

Today has been gloriously sunny and warm. I’ve been wearing a summer dress all day! After a docs appointment and food shopping, I’ve managed to do a bit of gardening. New membrane and bark has been put under the bird feeder for the winter. I do this twice a year. I cut back the lavenders in the front garden, as they’re no longer flowering. However, the perennial wallflowers are still in bloom and this chap was amongst several that were still bobbing from one flower to the other......

I also cut back the Nepeta (cat mint) and Karma felt the need to roll in the aftermath!....

I’m meeting up with my friend tomorrow. She’s been on holiday for 2 weeks, so we’ll have plenty to chat about. It’s her birthday at the weekend, so I’ve made this hand stamped poppy card, coloured using Pro Markers for her.....

So that’s what I’ve been up to this last week. Thanks for popping by, cheerio for now, Ann x