A road trip and a Christmas Killerton

Well, it’s been a good week so far. I’ve still got a few ‘Christmas planning’ stresses at the back of my mind, but with the help of various lists (I like a list!) things are looking a lot better!

Monday was just a very normal day and I needed a normal Monday! Lots of ordinary household chores, washing , ironing, food shopping etc. but just what I needed to get things straight. Then in the evening, I was off out for a girls’ catch up with ladies I used to work with over 20 years ago. We meet up twice a year normally and have a right old chinwag! Numbers vary each time, there were 12 of us this time. When I got home, I caught up with hubby on the phone, as he was away until Tuesday evening.

On Tuesday, my son and I went on a little road trip to Bristol. He likes to do something on his days off, especially if it’s a mid week one. Our first choice was the Christmas market at Bath, but unfortunately it didn’t open until yesterday! So we decided on the Bristol one, which was near Cabot Circus shopping mall. We had a good drive up (I was chauffeured!). First stop was for coffee and cake. This chocolate and cherry muffin was delicious!....

Next was indoor crazy golf. Now, my son plays golf, so thought his chances were good. It all came down to the last hole.......Mum was the champion! I haven’t let him forget to yet, haha. We wandered around the Christmas market stall, which I have to say were a little disappointing. But I did buy an alpaca scarf for myself and some truckles of different cheeses for December. Then it was more eating, this time lunch in Frankie and Benny’s. I was relatively good though and had a buttermilk chicken burger (without the bun) and a bowl of salad. After lunch, it was my son’s turn to make some purchases, before returning to the car and making the home run back down the M5. A lovely day!

On Wednesday I decided I needed to get out in the garden, no matter what the weather and cut back the plants that needed it. Just generally get the garden winter ready. I started with our small front garden and the bit between us/next door. All nicely trimmed back, then I lugged two bags of bark around as a thick mulch. It always looks so much nicer once that has been done.......

The back garden is a bigger job. However, I did cut back the ones which needed it the most and decided to dig up the remaining carrots and a couple of parsnip now we’ve had a couple of frosts. Being in a raised bed, I didn’t think it would be too difficult. But I got more hot and bothered getting the parsnips out than the rest of the gardening put together. This is why, they were enormous!.....

The rest of the day was spent quietly ironing, whilst watching Midsomer Murders and waiting for gardening aches to appear!

Yesterday, my friend and I went to Killerton House to see this year's Christmas display which was 'Twas the Night Before Christmas' They always do it brilliantly and this year is no exception. Lots of photos were taken, particularly the fireplaces. I do love a fireplace! It was tinged with sadness this year, as our other very good friend is no longer with us. She did make it last year, albeit not without pain, but she was determined. So this year we lunched in the restaurant there and raised a glass to her.  I felt she was with us.

So here are the photos from the visit. I particularly like the one of Santa, who has kicked his boots off after his busy night,  attacked the sherry and has a ticket to Florida on his table. If you look closely and zoom in, you'll see an elf crashed out on the cushions by the fireplace.

Today is Blue Cross day and Madeira cake for the peeps there. Have a good day, cheerio for now, Ann x

More relaxed

It’s amazing how a little downtime can make you feel so much more relaxed! 

This past week has been very hectic. It’s been filled with normal chores, my weekly catch up with my friend, viewing the house my daughter’s is buying (and measuring up of rooms), skittles, watching Exeter City (twice), gardening, going to the gym, going for a long walk with my daughter (who had annual leave), had a very deep massage to deal with sore muscles and some Christmas shopping. 

I’ve enjoyed all of this, yes, even the ‘painful at times’ massage! But doing so many extra things eats into time that I would normally been spending keeping everything in order. So it’s untidier here than normal and that adds to stress levels, well it does in me! 

The other stress inducing factor is my lack of Christmas preparation, other than my cake, of course. Normally, by the middle of November, I have bought all the Christmas presents and wrapped some, written my ordinary Christmas cards and made my special ones. This year, I just haven’t had the time to get on with things. In our house, I ‘do’ Christmas and tell hubby what I’ve bought for everyone (and there are a lot of people we buy for!) I don’t want to change who we buy for and to be truthful, I really enjoy the whole buying and wrapping thing. I’m a very organised person and log what I’ve bought who, in a large notebook dating back to when we got married in 1993! So I guess, because I’ve not been able to be my normal organised self, it’s had a detrimental effect on me.

So, I’ve spent this weekend tidying up in my own sweet time, made a few lists for Christmas present ideas and taken some time to relax. I’ve also managed to fit in two sessions at the gym, which make me feel better afterwards. The remainder of the day will be spent, feeding the washing machine, reading blogs and catching up on some of my favourite tv programmes. 

Next week is back to normal, whatever that is and I’m really looking forward to that! I’ll leave you with a photo of a sunrise this week, cheerio for now, Ann x

Stressed!

I'm feeling really stressed at the moment and haven't had time to read any blogs, let alone put my own up! On my own for best part of the weekend, so hope to put my feet up then and do both! Ann x

Time flies

Where does time go? I can’t believe a week ago tomorrow, I was having a day out with Mum! Here are a few pics of things I’ve been up to...

The lane is on my way to Blue Cross every Friday. By now, the trees are normally all wearing their autumnal colours or have lost their leaves. But this year, they re still very green and abundant despite the terrible weather we have been having. Whatever the state of foliage, it always warms my heart to drive along here.

I had an idea to raise funds for the branch of Blue Cross I volunteer at and after chatting to some of the staff, I said I would provide a Christmas hamper for a raffle. Also, someone had donated a brand new free standing food mixer last month for a prize at some point. So I’ve also put a ‘Bake Off’ hamper together to go with the mixer as an additional prize. That’s my bit done, the staff are organising the raffle ticket sales at the rescue and on Facebook.

Hubby and I delivered the first hamper on Sunday. On the way back, we stopped off for coffee at the Fisherman’s Cott, which is right on the banks of the river Exe. We sat watching the water raging over the weir, enjoying some quiet time and ended up staying for a carvery! Delicious!

The weather has been rain, rain and more rain, so the garden has not been tidied up yet. But the ironing mountain has reduced and I’m trying to get my various Christmas lists compiled.

Today I made my Christmas cake. I haven’t made one for a few years, but I really wanted to make me this year. I made it with whisky, as I really don’t like brandy and I will be ‘feeding it’ a couple of times before the marzipan. The house still smells wonderful!

Tomorrow my friend is coming over and we’re doing some more cardmaking, as well as putting the world to rights. A cream cake and a bowl of tasty soup or bacon baguette will also feature. In the evening, I have some baking to do for the Blue Cross peeps. Not sure what to do yet, so I think I shall curl up in the chair and look through a couple of baking books for inspiration.

So until next time, cheerio for now, Ann x

A lovely day out with Mum

Yesterday started off a bit murky. I could hardly see the bottom of our road!...

It did eventually lift. Mum was getting a lift up to Exeter with my brother, who had meetings in his office here. First of all we nipped out to Cranbrook, so I could show her the house my daughter is buying. She was amazed at the size of the garden, which I have to say is quite large, especially for a new build!

We then went to one of my favourite coffee shops, which is also in Cranbrook. It's a lovely independent cafe with fab bacon rolls and wonderful cakes. Mum tucked into a bacon roll and I treated myself to a Malteser and Minstrel brownie. Very indulgent! We had a wander afterwards, so I could show Mum the shops etc. Cranbrook is one of these ‘new towns’ and is only 7 years old, so it is still growing with regards to amenities.

We then drove back into Exeter, to the city centre. I had a couple of boring things to do, bank etc. before we made our way to the Cathedral. There was a Winter craft fair being held there and I thought Mum would enjoy that. I made two purchases, a handmade tote bag in a dog printed pvc for my daughter for Christmas and these ceramic holly leaves....

They will be hung on my dining room wall during the festive season. I could have bought a lot more from that particular stall, but I reigned myself in! We also had a walk around the Cathedral as I’m not sure Mum had ever been there before. It’s was sad to see that so many people died in their 20s during the 1700s. We had a little time left on the car, so we popped into a few shops of Mum’s choosing. One of which was Lakeland, the kitchen/home shop. They don’t have one in Plymouth, so it’s nice for her to have a mooch around ours when she’s up.

Then it was time to drive back to the park and ride, where Mum caught the Falcon bus back to Plymouth. It was about 15 mins late, but we had a good natter while we were waiting for it and she eventually got on it at 4pm. I got a phone call from Mum at 7.15pm to say she had only just got home! The Falcon had taken a long time to get back to Plymouth due to the volume of traffic and then the normal bus she had to catch to get to her house had broken down! It had overheated. So a couple of passengers and the driver had to wait for it to be sorted. I think Mum got to know the driver quite well by the time they were on their way again! But by the time she got home, she was quite cold and hungry, bless her!

Today, I’ve been to Aqua Fit, done the shopping and taken two bags to the local charity shop. Amazingly, I left the charity shop without buying anything, that is unheard of! I still have to do some baking to take to the Blue Cross tomorrow (probably a vanilla sponge with chocolate or coffee icing), accompany my daughter at DFS when she puts a deposit on a corner sofa (she wants her dear old mum there!) and fit in some ironing somewhere. I’m hoping to just chill this evening and read a few of my magazines which have been piling up. Hubby isn’t home until quite late tonight, so I’ll have peace and quiet, haha.

Hope you all have a lovely evening, cheerio for now, Ann x

Remember, remember the 5th of November....

The 5th November I remember the most was 47 years ago. During the afternoon I had tripped down the bottom stair. My Mum and Dad were convinced I had just sprained my ankle, but as it got bigger and blacker, we had a trip to casualty. I had badly chipped and bone in my ankle. So I left casualty wearing a huge strapping and unable to walk on it. But it was Guy Fawkes night, we were all going to a big display and it was tipping down with rain. So I remember that night well, sitting on my Dad's  shoulders and watching the fireworks. I thoroughly enjoyed myself, not so sure about my Dad!

This evening hasn't been so pleasant. Karma has been so frightened, I ended up cocooning her in a fleece on my lap, a bit like a thunder vest.....

She stayed there quietly for about an hour and a half, until everybody's private fireworks has subsided. I do wish they wouldn't sell them to the public and just had the organised displays. Good on Sainsbury's this year, for not selling them.

Today has been a day of nice bits and pieces. A visit to a farm shop and also to the hairdressers. I walked through the churchyard to get to the hairdressers and noticed how lovely these cyclamens looked amongst the old headstones...

Tomorrow my Mum is popping up from Plymouth for the day, so I hope the weather is kind to us. Until next time, cheerio for now, Ann x

Belated anniversary treat

Our 26th wedding anniversary was on Wednesday, but as hubby was away working last week, we decided to go out for the day today. He gave me the choice of where to go and I fancied going up on the moor, Dartmoor that is.

We are lucky to have the sea and moorland relatively close. We drove just under an hour and stopped off at Bellever Forest for a walk. The weather was bright, but with a chilly wind, so we wrapped up warm and I donned my rather fetching flowery wellies. For some reason my walking boots are no longer waterproof and with the amount of rain we’ve had recently, I didn’t want my tootsies getting cold and wet!

This area is mainly large firs, however the Forestry Commission, are doing quite a lot of work here. Some of the large firs have been felled and Spruce Christmas trees have been planted amongst the existing taller trees. Some people, I’m assuming children, had started to make a shelter. It was rather good I thought!

Further along our walk, we came across a slight obstacle! The amount of ground brought up by this tree falling was quite amazing!

Rather than climb over the trunk, we decided to head back to the car. Hubby’s back had had enough walking and we were feeling hungry. So we made our way to our chosen hostelry, taking in the scenery as we drove along...

 I love it up on the moor and I think sometimes we take it for granted, as it is so accessible. We had to pull over at one point, we saw some Highland cows, which I adore. Unfortunately the photos are not good,  a) It was very windy and b) I couldn’t get too close. I was comfortable with the two settled down, but wasn’t sure about the one on the road.

Eventually we got the the Warren House Inn at Postbridge. It is an inn owned by the Duchy of Cornwall and has no mains facilities at all, even the water comes from an underground spring. The present inn was built in 1845 and the fire has been burning continuously since then....

We settled down to eat a rather delicious roast beef for me and  chicken & tarragon pie for hubby. He couldn’t manage a dessert, but I enjoyed Baileys bread and butter pudding with clotted cream. Extra work at the gym next week! We left the inn feeling very relaxed and extremely fat and full. The wildlife outside the inn, were having their grassy lunch too...

The weather was changing, and as happens up there, changes very quickly. By the time we parked up at Princetown, overlooking the prison, it was very murky indeed...

I  remember when I was very young, we used to go for ‘a run in the car’ on a Sunday and often drove to Princetown. My grandma always watched to see if she could see anyone escaping! It’s a very bleak place.

The weather worsened, so we headed back home to the warm. I then cooked up a massive chilli con carne for hubby, our son,  daughter and her partner. None for me, I was still full! So it’s been a lovely day and I’ll sleep like a log tonight. Thanks for popping by, cheerio for now, Ann x