Catch up part two

 Good evening, hope you are all well! 

During my little absence from here, hubby had two weeks annual leave. We would normally just take ourselves off to a holiday cottage somewhere to have a chilled out break, but of course everything is different this year, so we just decided to ‘go with the flow’ weather wise and have some day trips, taking advantage of the Eat Out offers. 

Well, we managed to have two of the most rainy weeks unfortunately. However we still had some good days out. On one of the more drizzly days, we just popped down to Exeter Quay for a bite to eat and a bit of a walk. Lunch was partaken in Puerto Lounge. It was relatively quiet, nice and airy, tables nicely spaced out and a lovely choice of Tapas for me! Hubby had a burger, as he doesn’t think Tapas fill him up, but I was very happy with mine (with a side of sweet potato fries!)

We walked our food off along the quay. It looks very dull here, but it is still a nice walk.

Twice, during the two weeks, we went to Teignmouth. The first time just the two of us and the second with our sin too. We parked at one end of the seafront, with my little car managing to get into the last tiny spot and strolled along the length of the promenade. 

We stopped by the pier to have a coffee in the sun, yes sun! Normally I would want to go onto to pier, but it was quite busy. There were a couple of cruise liners with their anchors dropped in the bay, P&O’s Ventura and Azura. It’s not a fantastic photo as it was a bit far for my phone camera.

When we reached the end of the promenade, we sauntered into town for lunch. I love these pastel painted Victorian houses. I love to imagine what they would’ve been like in their heyday! 

We had lunch on both visits at a really old pub, Ye Olde Jolly Sailor. It survived the French Invasion of 1690s because the French used it as their headquarters! Back to 2020 and the food was delicious. This was the view from the outdoor dining area at the back, looking over to Shaldon.

We also popped into Dawlish on the way from Teignmouth, but the weather was turning, so it was a quick walk to the beach and back. I love the black swans at Dawlish and the ducks always amuse me....bottoms up!

Sidmouth also featured in our away days. Walks along the seafront and coffees/cake, there is a pattern isn’t there! The red cliffs in this photos are a feature of this area. Unfortunately, at the other end of the beach, there has been a lot of cliff falls, so part of it is closed off, as there were people still walking close to the cliffs. 

 I’ve had quite a few dog walks with my friend and Bruce. Here is Bruce being my best friend while my friend is getting the coffee/cake. It might have something to do with the fact that ‘Auntie’ Ann has some gravy bones! 

And of course there have been lots of walks with my daughter & Bumble. We recently took a trip to Lydford Gorge and the waterfall there (something on Bumble’s bucket list) I hadn’t been there before and it was beautiful. Bumble had a whale of a time in the river and by the waterfall.She snoozed all the way home, with some not so little snores coming from the back of the car! 

So that’s about it. All caught up, I think, so I’ll just leave you with a photo of Karma taken yesterday morning, sitting on the fence post after racing around the garden like a loon in the wind. She had to sleep for hours to get over it, haha! 

Until next time, cheerio for now, Ann x

Catch up part one - domestic stuff and volunteering

 During my absence here, I was called up by the Blue across and allowed to come back to volunteering on a Friday. There was plethora of online paperwork to do with COVID before I returned, but to be honest is common sense. It was strange going back after such a break, particularly as I was the first and only volunteer for a few weeks. Of course, Blue Cross Fridays means Baking Thursdays! They’ve had freshly baked scones with jam and cream and a request for warm sausage rolls for a change. Here are a couple of the goodies, Toffee Cupcakes and a rather chocolatey cake! 

It was lovely to spend time with the cats again. Tigger was a lovely big ginger boy and so cuddly! Well, they are all adorable really......

The garden has been doing well and I’m just ripening up the last of the tomatoes. It was a bumper year for me this year....

My sunflowers were beautiful too. I grew 3 this year, not the mahoosive ones, these were about 6ft tall. The bees loved them!... 

I haven’t been the only baker in the house in recent times. Hubby tried his hand at Millionaires shortbread and Lemon Drizzle cake. They were both delicious and made their way around the golf course too. A little sustenance for his golfing buddies...

One of the things I find very relaxing, is jigsaws. I know they’re not everyone’s cup of tea, but I find them very absorbing. They stop my mind being overactive. My daughter bought us the Peaky Blinders one ( we really enjoy this tv series) and the Allotment Shed was a present a few years ago, which I hadn’t got round to doing......

So that’s part of what I’ve been up to at home in the last month, as well as continuing regular Joe Wicks workouts, gardening, knitting etc. Part two will be some of our days out we’ve enjoyed while hubby had his annual leave. 

Thanks for popping by, cheerio for now, Ann x

I’m still here!

 I’ve been bloomin’ rubbish at blogging since lockdown!  It’s over a month since I last posted anything. I’ve been taking photos, thinking I’ll post about that and that’s as far as it has got! I’ve not read blogs and have been on very little other social media. Just feeling a bit bleugh about things. 

Coronavirus is always at the back of my mind. I’ve been out and about quite a bit, but mainly in the open. We did go out for a couple of meals during the Eat Out to Help Out and the tables were always very well spaced out. I think if it were just hubby and I, I wouldn't be quite so anxious, but having a 21 year old in the house changes the dynamic, (even though he’s sensible, he does have a social life).  Hubby is back to working away from the home about once a week and has to do weekly Coronavirus tests. 

So, I’m going to pull up my big girl pants (again!) and work at chilling out a bit more. Soon, I will do part one of a catch up blog, full of photos about the things I’ve been up to and part two will follow. There’s probably too much for one post. Tomorrow, I am meeting up with my friend for our weekly walk (with her dog, Bruce) and ‘putting the world to rights’. This week we’re going to Exmouth beach, as the tides are right for a change. We’ll finish off with coffee and cake from a lovely little takeaway cafe and sit on the sea wall.

So, thank you for stopping by and I’ll pop a post on very soon, cheerio for now, Ann x 

Mum’s birthday and other stuff

 Hello everyone, first time of using this new blogger thing, so fingers crossed.

A photo heavy post again (well hopefully!) 

Going down to Plymouth to see Mum for her birthday,10 days ago, was the first time I had seen her since lockdown started. I would normally have taken her out to a restaurant for a meal, but I didn’t feel comfortable with that. Although, I think she would have been ok with it, I’m more reticent. So I said that we would go for a picnic up but Burrator reservoir in Dartmoor.

I packed up my picnic hamper and cool box with lots of yummy sandwiches, freshly bakes scones for a cream tea (I won’t make baking at 7.30am a habit!)  and an ice cool gin and tonic for Mum. It was a gorgeous day, which made it VERY busy at Burrator! So I drove a little further and found a lovely little spot by the river (or a leat, in fact). I set up ‘camp’ and we had a lovely day. A few walkers said hello and offered to ‘help’ with the picnic, haha. Mum really enjoyed herself, she hadn’t been that far afield for a while due to previous restrictions. Just a couple of pics from the day......

In other news, things have been ticking along as normal. I’m still regularly doing Joe Wicks workouts on YouTube and going on nice long dog walks with my friend, once a week. 

The garden is thriving despite it being so warm, although we have had the odd heavy downpours.......

A couple of days ago, I went out to feed the birds early in the morning and was amazed at the number of cobwebs on the planters on the patio!...

Apart from farm shop, garden centre and the odd supermarket visits, I have been out and about much. This is mainly because it feels like half of the uk is down here on holiday! I’m not knocking it, as the south west economy needs it, but there is absolutely no point in going on the roads if I don’t need too. Everywhere is very busy and unfortunately not everyone is adhering to sensible distancing, so I’m happy to stay close to home. 

So that’s it for now. Hubby has 2 weeks off soon, so I’m doing some ‘homework’ to plan some day trips to quieter ‘off the beaten track’ beaches etc. 

Thank you for popping by, cheerio for now, Ann x 

A few bits and pieces

Goood evening! Just some photos of the past few weeks. Nothing extremely exciting, but a few little walks etc.


A surprise mask sent in the post to me from a friend. She sent it anonymously, so I put my Miss Marple head on!

A summer wreath for our front door.

A walk with Bumble (and my daughter!) in a newly discovered field of very long grass at times! There was a mown walkway for walkers. I absolutely love the bouncy Bumble photo.

No, I haven’t been to Rome. But my son spent 4 days there last week. This would normally be packed!

We visited a friend (socially distanced of course). This beautiful hydrangea was in his front garden.

A couple of cards have been made for a neighbour’s little boy’s 1st birthday and my cousin’s daughter’s 11th.

I’ve been planning my meals two weeks at a time.

A dog walk with my friend and her dog, Bruce at Parke, a National Trust place in Bovey Tracey, Devon. A lovely place for dogs to explore and splash in the river. A very well organised, safe outdoor cafe to have a coffee and chocolate brownie too!

Hubby had a very long working day yesterday (morning, afternoon and evening) so to escape the house for a bit, we jumped in the car and a quick drive found us at Stover Country Park. We walked around the lake and sat at one of the many benches dotted around, to eat our packed lunch, perfect. A quick scoot back home and his working day resumed.

Today’s meal was Mackerel with Gremolata (Italian term for a dressing) I love the pattern of the Mackerel skin. I don’t cook fish very often, but was very happy with this!

No baking photos, as I‘ve only baked scones and tea loaves recently. Hopefully, I’ll do something more exciting this coming week. I’m going down to Plymouth to see my mum for the first time since lockdown next week, it’s her birthday and we’re going for a picnic (weather permitting!)

 Hope you have a lovely weekend, cheerio for now, Ann x