More cold weather...

Hello again!

This another of the dresses I bought from Vinted. I love the sleeves. Worn with my OTK boots which were online retail and leggings underneath.

I went for a 5.5 mile walk along the river on Wednesday. It was a mild day with a bit of a cool breeze. The river had flooded its banks in places and footpaths were closed. I had to cross at least three bridges to follow my usual route whereas I normally need to cross only one.

All jewellery charity shopped.

Both the left and the bottom right photo show an area by the river that's normally a grassy path; now swans and other waterfowl had taken it over! The top right photo is of the Suspension Bridge over the river; one of three the I had to cross to avoid closed, flooded footpaths. This bridge was built in 1888.

(Source: Bedford Borough Council artist impression) A second bridge; the Butterfly bridge w built in 1998 as the Suspension Bridge was difficult to access for people with disabilities and for those with pushchairs.

(Source; Bedford Borough Council) In 2019 a third bridge was opened and linked a new leisure complex; 'Riverside;' making it accessible to all on both sides of the river. This is usually the only bridge I need to cross on my walk. I don't think it has a name and if it has I don't know what it is!  Looking straight ahead you can see the spire of St. Paul's Church; to the right part of the court buildings. We only have a county court left; both the juvenile and the magistrates courts were moved to Luton. To left and just peeking over the roofs you can see the tower of St. Peter de Merton Church. Both churches date back to the 13th century with St. Peter's having a door dating back to the 11th century. We also have two road bridges that cross the river taking vehicles into and out of Bedford.

I finally made a start on my next crochet project on Wednesday evening. It's going to be very colourful...

Thursdays outfit. Everything charity shopped except the purple velvet cardigan bought from TK Maxx about 7 years ago. 

On Thursday it was grey and gloomy. We had heavy rain in the afternoon and it got steadily colder. Whatever the weather the shopping doesn't do itself so I set off at usual to the farm shop at Sharnbrook;  then onto Aldi, Sainsbury's and Lidl. When that was done I had to go into town to the bank; they shut early these days. After I'd put the shopping away I spent some time reading before making dinner. I'm reading this: a Victorian Gothic fantasy very steam punkish. And a stonker at 750 pages. I'm not a huge fan of the fantasy genre but this is pretty gripping and I'm enjoying it. I also loved 'The Rivers of London' series (by Ben Aaronovitch) and introduced my brother to it. Highly recommended.

All jewellery charity shopped. The necklace is by Laura Ashley. I  didn't even know they did jewellery! They've been gone for several years now; we used to have one in town but it closed down and now it's a Marie Curie charity shop. I noticed, too, when I was at the food bank on Tuesday the business opposite the food bank was gone. It was an engraving company and had been there for 38 years. They did the engravings on trophies for all the schools in Bedfordshire; also for lots of local and national sport organisations including the Premier League. Covid had brought all that to a halt and they couldn't carry on. 15 employees out of work. Just think they are one of probably tens of thousands of small to medium businesses gone.

On Friday it was bright and sunny at times. I took advantage of the weather and went for a 6 mile walk. On the way back to extend the walk a little I walked along a road called 'De Parys Avenue' and it boasts 3 blue plaques:

Dora Carrington went to school in Bedford and one painting

of hers is called 'Bedford Market'. I have a copy on my bedroom wall.

I wasn't too surprised by this one. We're only about 14 or 15 miles from Bletchley.

I've never heard of this performer although I may well have heard hm on the BBC 'Light Programme' when I was growing up.

Everything is charity shopped. Trousers by Laura Ashley; top by Primarni; jacket/kimono no label. Boots by River Island.

Ring and earrings retail.

On Saturday after getting up at my leisure and getting ready OH and I set out for a drive to Kettering where we dropped off my brothers Christmas presents. We had a brief doorstep chat; we stayed in the car and then off home we went. It was lovely to see them; what was also a bonus was due to a road diversion on the way there we found a lovely riverside village called Ringstead with a lock and a fabulous looking pub. It looks like the perfect place for a meal or a drink and a wander on a warm summer's evening. With Storm D'Arcy on the way I needed to hold onto images of warm summer evenings!

On Sunday I got up; cleaned the kitchen, had breakfast and went for a 5 mile walk. It was very cold and I was glad to get back indoors. The usual housework was done and I made a roast chicken dinner. OH and I finished watching 'Bullets' another Finnish crime series; it made for very tense watching in parts . 

Everything charity shopped except the boots by M&S. Local buy and sell FB group. Green jeans by New Look; green striped top by Primarni and the green tunic has no label.

All jewellery charity shopped.

We woke up to snow on Monday and it was bitterly cold. I didn't warm up until the evening when the fire was lit! Homeschooling with the youngest grandson; I was a bit flummoxed by the algebra. I'm quite sure I didn't do algebra until I got to grammar school aged 11; and it baffled me then. Grandson is not 11 until June. I was very good at maths at primary school but at grammar school I was awful at maths and hated it. I had planned to take the grandson into town and show him how to pay money into the hole in wall (ATM); he knows how to withdraw money but it was so cold neither of us wanted to do it. I made chicken soup with the leftover chicken from Sunday. OH got an a message from our doctor's practice to book his covid vaccination. He booked for Saturday. I hoped my invite would be following on shortly...

I treated myself to 3 pairs of Snag tights as so many people in Blogland have recommended them. I realised as I sorted my tights out recently that a lot of my coloured tights are fine so I have got rid of those and only keep the warmer 60/80 denier plus coloured tights. I'm wearing bottle green Snag tights here but also bought a red pair; and an orange pair which I'll have to wait until March to be delivered. The tights were a great fit; nice and warm for the food bank although it was so cold there I put the heater on for the first time ever. It didn't make much difference as the doors are always open. My boots are by River Island and charity shopped in my Barnardo's; skirt by Red Herring and top by Lulu H both charity shopped. I usually wear my navy blue coatigan, a scarf and gloves as well when I'm in the warehouse.

 

All jewellery charity shopped.

In the afternoon I had errands to run in town. All my hand towels, which are white, have gone that yucky greyish colour. Nothing brings the whiteness back; I've tried boiling and bleaching to no avail. I used to have white bath towels too (all charity shopped)  but replaced them with coloured ones eventually for the same reason. I usually buy bath towels at Sainsbury's when on sale as their towels are very good quality. I've also  quite recently bought wonderful bath towels from Cancer Research; part of their own merchandise. I went to QD in town and bought five new hand towels; more bird food and a new shopping list pad. I also succumbed to some balls of green and blue wool as my stash of these colours was almost non-existent; my previous crochet project used up most of it. Aldi does very good wool; usually in packs of 4 x 100 grammes for 3.99. 4 of one colour is not always what I need although the Aldi wool is definitely the best value. When I got home I suddenly thought I could have bought some fabric dye and dyed the old hand towels. I will do that as well - you can never have too many hand towels! UPDATED. My goodness have you seen the price of fabric dye? I'd need possibly three to dye all the towels and at that rate it would cost as much as I paid for my new hand towels! They're off to the ragbag unless my neighbour wants them for her animal sitting business...

On my way back from town I stopped at the food charity and bought some flowers

The house was

 filled with the scent of hyacinths.

Wednesday was another freezing cold day. I decided to brave a field walk as I thought the ground would be frozen over. It was and so much easier to walk on than wet, slippery mud. I broke lots of iced over puddles; sinking up to my ankles in water on several occasions. Luckily, my boots are waterproof and the water didn't get in over the top. I walked from  Milton Ernest to Clapham, 6 miles; I wished I had a balaclava to keep my cheeks warm. It was a very bright day which made up for the cold; and the air was full of birdsong. I heard my first skylarks of 2021!

Thursday was yet another day with temperatures below freezing. I wore thermal leggings under this M& Co skirt. I found it in my wardrobe and have no memory of when or where I bought it. All I know is that I've never worn it before. I wore it with a polo neck by Tu and this cardigan by John Rocha. All charity shopped; boots bought online.

All jewellery charity shopped.

As it was Thursday that meant food shopping. I went to all the usual places; farm shop in Sharnbrook (no queue for a change) Sainsbury's, Aldi and Lidl. After it was all put away I had to go out again to collect my prescription. I also went to our biggest international supermarket which stocks food from all over the world and has a halal butcher in it too. I buy all my seasonings and spices here and I also bought some oxtail to make a stew for next week. I haven't tried out the pressure cooker yet in my pressure cooker/rice cooker/slow cooker/steamer thingummy. I received a text in the late afternoon inviting me for a Covid vaccination; I booked an appointment for Saturday at the Gurdwara!

Another freezing day on Friday with an icy wind. I forced  myself to go out for a walk and I walked to Queen's Park along the river to Great Denham on to Biddenham and along the by pass back to Bedford 6.7 miles. There were many huge iced over puddles like this one:

Saturday was V Day. Vaccination day for OH and I! My appointment was at 4.20 pm and everything was organised extremely well; just a small scratch and that was it. Back in 12 weeks for the second dose. We have been so lucky to have the vaccine but also enough vaccine to allow the Borough Council to start vaccinating the fifth section of priority groups the 65 - 69 year olds. I was both pleased and grateful to receive mine. I had planned to walk to the Gurdwara for the vaccination but it was so bitterly cold I drove!  

                                                                   

This was Saturday's outfit worn with leggings underneath. Everything charity shopped.

Skirt by Rapp. All jewellery charity shopped.

Jacket by Fenn Wright and Manson.     

Sunday was a warmer day but it was bleak; cold, grey and breezy. Both OH and I had woken up feeling achy and my arm was sore where the vaccination was given.   I took some paracetamol and immediately felt better. Feeling guilty about not walking yesterday I set off for a field walk and walked 6.5 miles. I saw a flock of Fieldfares; they were stripping a bush of its berries. When I came back from my walk I  did the housework and then made a roast dinner. Then it was time to chill out. No home schooling on Monday: both youngest grandson and I could have a lie in if we wanted. OH and I watched the final 3 episodes  of 'The Grey Zone' a really tense Danish/Swedish thriller from Walter Presents. Have to find something else to watch now but we are spoilt for choice so that won't be difficult.

Monday was a huge contrast to the past weeks weather. It was warm and sunny with a bit of a breeze. Taking advantage of the change in the weather I took the grandsons to Stanwick Lakes where we had a walk; it's an archaeological site with human settlement there dating back to Neolithic times. We stopped for an Oreo McFlurry on the way back. I think the grandson appreciated out being in the open after being stuck indoors all last week. In normal half term weeks I always try and do something with the grandsons; trips to London or the seaside or to a place of interest. The lockdown has put paid to those trips. We have a week to wait to see what our government's plan is to ease us out lockdown. I, for one, can't wait!

Everything charity shop except the tights and boots. Skirt by M&S; striped top by Matalan and cardigan by B-Me.

All jewellery charity shopped. I lost one of these earrings on the walk. I'm off to clean out the fuel burner and light the fire; the temperature's dropped again.

See you in two weeks!

                                                      

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            

Lockdown Blues

It's February - nearly Spring!

All jewellery charity shopped except the lapis lazuli ring bought retail many, many years ago.

Tuesday's outfit worn to the food bank.

We're finally managing to make some space in the food bank; I think a lot of stuff was taken to our other temporary warehouse about 5 miles away so we had space in places I haven't seen free for several months. I packed away all the toiletries and then I put away cereals. I do like organising things and making them look tidy!

Plaid trousers by Red Herring; jumper by Principles and boots by Vanilla Moon. I meant to change into my red boots when I got back from the food bank but forgot. Everything was charity shopped. 

It was a much warmer day on Tuesday 11 degrees. It's been a while since we've such temperatures but we were awaiting the arrival of Storm Cristophe bringing more flooding across the country.

These sleeves were most impractical for cooking.  When I got back from the foodbank I fancied cooking some Dhal (curried lentils) for dinner with chicken for OH; and I had some pudding rice to use up so I made a rice pudding. I dipped my sleeves in both more than once! I do love milky puddings which is very old fashioned of me, I know. I was the only child in my class who would go up for seconds of semolina! I  must get it from my father. His name was Anthony; but his family nickname was 'Ago' (rhymes with sago) as he was such a lover of milky puddings like tapioca, semolina, rice and sago pudding...I wonder if you can still buy tapioca and sago at the supermarkets? It's usually quite a search to find rice pudding rice so I'm not holding my breath...

Dhal in my Dutch Pot donated by OH's sister-in-law.

Rice pudding; no it's not burnt! I just like the top caramelised and I stir the skin that forms on the top ot the rice pudding into it several times whilst it's cooking. I also put a lot of nutmeg on it. I like my rice pudding solid rather than runny, too - and I like to eat it cold...

As you know, we are still in Lockdown No.3 here in the UK; and certainly the rhythm of my week has changed since it began. If I am not at home which is most of the time; I'm only out for a walk, to do essential food and household shopping, or to go to the foodbank on a Tuesday morning. I thought while I have the time I would do something different so I've started to explore classical music. I know nothing about classical music; but luckily before this third lockdown I picked up two 10 CD packs of classical music composers for 1.00 each at the Cat's Protection League. I'm working my way through them and can now put some names and composers to pieces of classical music I've heard on TV or at the cinema. For example the theme tune to the 'Old Spice' advert in the 1970s (remember that?) is Carmina Burano by Carl Orff. Now, I'd never heard of Carl Orff; but I did enjoy Carmina Burano - the whole CD! I did know 'The Hallelujah Chorus' from Handel's 'The Messiah' (from school) and I have also really enjoyed the Handel CD. At this rate I might have to start listening to 'Classic FM' as well BBC Radio 4 and BBC Radio 6!

There has also been quite a lot of good TV viewing. 'The Great Pottery Throwdown' is back which I love. I'd really like to try my hand at pottery; and when things are back to normal might look for pottery classes to join. There are at least half a dozen 'Walter Presents' series we haven't watched yet; and 'Spiral' a French crime series continues to make compulsory Saturday night viewing. We also watched a new drama series on ITV called 'Finding Alice' which was blackly comic.

I haven't worn this jacket by Jaeger for quite a while; and as it wasn't too cold on Wednesday I wore it to walk into town for a few errands. I bought it in 2015 from the British Red Cross shop where everything was 1.99. It has  silver and gold thread running through it as you can see in the photo below. When I was in Iceland (the shop not the country for non UK readers); a woman said how much she liked my outfit and that I had cheered her up in my bright yellow trousers!

All jewellery charity shopped.

Indoors I wore this black and white Next cardigan; with the M&S trousers and the yellow patterned top; all charity shopped from my Barnardo's.

As well as running errands in town I renewed my resident parking permit online; made a butternut squash, sweet potato and kale soup and did a towels wash. Middle grandson had a phone interview for 6th Form College and it seems he has a place for September; as long as he gets his predicted grades. He will be studying Politics, History, Sociology and Computer Science for his 'A' Levels. I also picked up a cross-body bag bought from our local buy and sell facebook group for 2.00. Good for trips out and when I'm doing urban walks. I bought what I thought was a cross body bag from my Barnardo's before the lockdown; but it wasn't long enough. It was a Liz Claiborne shoulder bag and I shall redonate it when the charity shops open again.

I felt like wearing animal print on Thursday. I wore an animal print top, an animal print cardigan; animal print boots and animal print earrings. Everything charity shopped except the boots bought in a Primarni sale about three years ago. Navy skirt by Femme; blue and navy animal print cardi by Dash and top by Tu.

All jewellery charity shopped except the earrings bought in a Debenhams sale.

I have lots of cardigans and need to wear them more; lightbulb moment - I could button them up and wear them as jumpers!

I think I have a very good skincare routine and have always taken care of my skin since I was 14 years old; but I have noticed so many new wrinkles in the last few months. It's to be expected of course, I'm nearly 67; but I'm sure the lockdowns have something to do with it! Anyway I took myself and my wrinkles to do the weekly shopping. I drove to Sharnbrook for logs and kindling; and saw many still flooded fields. I am going to brave a field walk at the weekend and hope my usual ones aren't flooded. I then went to Sainsburys, Aldi and Lidl for the groceries. Having packed it all away I set off to Home Bargains to buy more bird food. I saw quite a lot of roses and bulbs while I was there and think I shall get OH to come with me at the weekend and we can choose some Spring planting. Updated to say we decided to wait as snow was forecast - yet again - for the weekend. Neither of us fancied planting in the snow...

One of our cyclamens has burst into bloom!

On the way back my daughter called with the results of their Covid tests. Her partner's daughter had tested positive for Covid at the weekend; and although she doesn't live with them they had had contact; and thought they should have a test as her partner was feeling unwell... Her partner tested positive and was going to self isolate at their house. My daughter gets tested every time she goes to school; but she also had had another test with her partner; and hers, luckily, was negative.

I finally went out for a walk on Friday  afternoon; having home schooled grandson in the morning, as his Dad had to go to work. I did an urban walk of 5 miles but  am so bored with walking in and around town now.

All jewellery charity shopped except earrings bought from Sainsburys some time in the distant past. They were longer but I customised them as I do with lots of my earrings.

On Saturday I went for 10 mile walk in the afternoon across muddy fields, footpaths and bridleways. I planned the walk carefully so it included some farm track and single track roads and ended up with a 50:50 split. It was such hard work walking in mud. I wore this outfit but added walking boots and socks. I had to change out of my leggings when I got home as they were splattered in mud. I should have thought to put my gaiters on which protect the lower part of my legs from mud splashes.

It was a cold day; 3 degrees at the warmest and my face was frozen. There were bursts of sunshine which helped thaw my cheeks out. I was so happy to be having a 'proper' walk even though I was pretty exhausted when I'd finished; and the temperature had dropped to 1.5 degrees.

Everything charity shopped. Top by Oasis; dress by TU; boots by Vanilla Moon. Leggings by Matalan are about nine years old and were bought in the January sales.

Although this is not pretty or picturesque I passed this huge solar farm on my walk. On the left is the entrance; the right photo was taken from the path that runs behind it. It is a truly enormous solar farm; and what is interesting is that sheep were also grazing under the panels.  Creating renewable energy and providing grazing for animals seems like a win win situation to me; ugly as the farm maybe. I believe the solar farm was once the site of a WW2 RAF camp; below the solar farm are several camp sites complete with Nissan huts. One has been partially redeveloped turning the old Nissan huts into stables for a riding school.

The view from the dining room.

On Sunday, the promised snow finally arrived. On the left was the snow when it started at around 11am and on the right is the snow an hour later. Heavy snow had been predicted and it was right! No Sunday walk for me...in fact it snowed all day and by Monday it was frozen. I spent Monday homeschooling youngest grandson; Poetry and poetry tools for English; Angles for Maths; Spellings; ie and ei spellings; and PSHE was alcohol, tobacco and drug use! Grandson had to design an information leaflet on alcohol, so he chose to aim his leaflet at his 16 year old cousin; pointing out he could drink wine, beer or cider with a meal in a restaurant or pub when accompanied by an adult; BUT NOT without one!

The view from my bedroom window.

I didn't want to go out on Monday but I had to buy bread and pick up some parcels in town. I hate walking in the frozen snow and ice as I'm scared of falling and breaking bones. It's not just an age thing, either. When I lived in Nottingham in the 1970s; I lived at the bottom of 2 hills; (the point of the angle if you want to be precise!) and coming back from or going on night duty when it had snowed and frozen over; was a nightmare. I used to whimper with fear at the thought of walking down or up the slippery hill...

The reason I was picking up parcels was I'd missed the charity shops and having a rummage so much this lockdown;  I checked out some second hand clothing sites; namely 'Re-Fashion' and 'Vinted'. I bought a matching skirt and top animal print outfit from Re-fashion; and four dresses (for £21.00 including pp) from Vinted. I've received 2 out of the 5 items so far and am pleased with them. There is no bidding on these two sites, which I like. As I typed this an advert came up on the TV for Vinted! I made a sausage casserole for dinner and after Saturday night's thrilling episodes of 'Spiral' decided we couldn't wait a week for the finale and watched it. It felt like saying goodbye to old friends. 

Tuesdays outfit. Boots by M&S; local buy and sell group. Black Marilyn jeans by M&S; striped polo neck by John Lewis; and jacket by  all charity shopped.

The snow was still here on Tuesday when I went to the food bank; but it did rain during the day and washed some of the frozen snow away. Tuesday was actually a busy day for me. At the foodbank I made up 48 toiletry packs. It was extremely cold and my feet didn't thaw out until I got home. The industrial estate where the food bank is situated was like a skating rink; not one business or organisation had even attempted to clear the snow around their premises and so it had frozen solid.

All jewellery charity shopped.

In the afternoon I cleared out the alley of broken lamps and other broken household items; bricks and broken paving slabs; and loaded my car up with the unwanted stuff ready for a trip to the 'Household Waste Recycling Centre', or 'Tidy Tip', on Wednesday morning. I'd booked a slot a few days ago. I was quite excited by the thought of a trip to somewhere different. You can see what this lockdown has done to me! I normally avoid the tip as I have tendency to 'rescue' things and have often come home with more than I've got rid of. After that  physical  workout I cleaned out the fire and did a towels wash then caught up with blogland. We had a takeaway curry in the evening which meant a break from cooking.

I woke up on Wednesday to see the snow had completely gone. Hurray! The trip to the tip was very quick and well organised. I still have two boxes of old paints to be sorted and taken to the tip; but there wasn't even room to turn around in the alley before the trip on Wednesday, so that will be a job for the weekend and I'll have to make another appointment. As the tip was near the Marina I decided to go for a walk along the river there and walked 5 miles. On the way I met 4 of my walking group friends; they were walking in 2 pairs; we laughed about meeting up as we haven't seen each other since before Christmas; and here we were just like buses one after the other. We had a socially distanced chat and moved on. What a nice coincidence that was! In the evening OH and I continued watching 'All The Sins' a new 'Walter Presents' crime series set in Finland.

I could do with some sort of vertical dividers in this cupboard...

Gail of  'Is This Mutton' HERE expressed interest in clothes storage and especially when there's a lot of clothes and not a lot of storage space...(me). I thought I'd show you some of my storage solutions to this problem. I realised some years ago that hanging everything in the wardrobes took up too much space, so I reclaimed this cupboard from OH which I bought many years ago in the British Heart Foundation charity shop; and made it my own. I hang all my vests/camisoles from hooks on the inside of the doors; neutrals to the right and colours to the left.  I got this idea from Pinterest.

In case you're wondering the baskets are full of my bangle collection! Behind them are hat boxes full of hats and neck scarves.

On the top shelf are some (but by no means all) of my trousers; the really lightweight summer ones are packed  away in the loft. There are also, on the left, all of my linen tops. Below that are 2 metal hanging shelves bought from Lidl many years ago. In one of these I store my bras; and in the other my swimming costumes and cover ups. On the bottom shelf I fold my cardigans and store them on the left and on the right are my folded jumpers. In the big drawers below I store PJs and leggings in the top drawer; long sleeved tops in the middle and short sleeved or sleeveless tops in the bottom drawer. I use drawer dividers in all 3 drawers to try and keep some order. In the wardrobe spaces I have I hang blouses/shirts; some longer length cardigans and some lightweight jackets in one; in another I hang all my skirts (the summer ones are in the loft) and tunic tops. On my third hanging rail I hang dresses; jackets and a couple of dressy outfits. Finally, I share a hanging space with OH in the cupboard next to our bathroom. I hang my maxi dresses and some lightweight coats in this one. Coats and heavier winter jackets are on the coat rails up and downstairs.

Although it was a lovely mild day on Thursday it was a bit grey so the light for photos was poor. Everything charity shopped except the red boots as before. Black maxi dress by Items; and jacket by Indigo Moon; both charity shopped.

All jewellery charity shopped.

After a breakfast of porridge and fruit I did the usual grocery shopping and also went to Sharnbrook for more coal and kindling. In the afternoon I made a beef with soy and ginger dish for dinner. We watched the rest of 'All the Sins' and I started a new book; one of my Persephone collection. It's taken me almost 2 weeks to finish a biography of Gertrude Jekyll. It was a proof copy and full of typing and spelling mistakes which annoyed me intensely. As it was a proof copy there were no photographs and I missed them; as I always enjoy the photographs in biographies.

On Friday, I went for a walk of 5 miles sticking to paths and avoiding fields. In the morning I went into town to pick up some cleaning and toiletry supplies. I also needed a birthday card for my son. He, too, has Covid and apart from loss of taste and smell, was recovering after a few days with a sore throat and feeling generally tired. I haven't seen him since September - he lives a 2 hour drive away - but I was very worried when he rang me and told me he thought he had the virus. He got a positive test result on Wednesday and will be out of self isolation this Tuesday. I cannot wait for this damn lockdown to end. I'm used to meeting up with my brothers, my son and my cousin and friends and I'm missing them all so much.

Saturday was wet and sleety all day. Luckily none of the snow was able to settle as the ground was wet...phew!

My daughter and I met up on Sunday and went for a 7 mile walk.

I wore this plus my walking boots. There were snowdrops! It was wonderful to see more signs of Spring; lots of the trees and bushes had green buds. When I got home I did the usual Sunday housework then spent an hour sitting in the dining room counting the birds in my garden for the RSPB Big Garden Watch. There wasn't a single bird for the first ten minutes and I was getting a bit worried but then they arrived. I do this count almost every year and have only forgotten to do it once.

Everything charity shopped. Boots from my Barnardos as were the Next jeans ; the F&F checked top; and the John Rocha blazer.

All jewellery charity shopped.

On Sunday evening as well as watching and enjoying 'The Great Pottery Throwdown' we started watching the second series of 'All the Sins'. I also looked online to see if there were any pottery classes near me as I fancy doing something creative when this bloody lockdown ends. Unfortunately all the pottery classes were booked up and all the jewellery classes; I shall hopefully sign up for one of the next courses which will run after Easter, I presume. They seem to be about 6 weeks in duration and ranged in price from 115 - 170.00 plus materials. As I've saved money by not charity shop rummaging I'll be able to afford it.

This is one of the four dresses I bought from Vinted. Including postage costs it was less than 5.00 so comparable to charity shops prices. It's purple although you can't see it in the photo and I wore matching purple tight. The boots were charity shopped from my Barnardos.

All jewellery charity shopped except the earrings from Sainsburys.

I opted to wear this jacket by BM over the dress for extra warmth;  having ruled out the 2 below: all jackets charity shopped.

Monday was home-schooling. Figurative Writing for English; the start of algebra - linear sequencing in Maths; spellings (words with mit) and positive body image and self esteem in PSHE. I'm pretty shattered by the end of Monday; but I did manage to do two white washes and hang them up, as well as making breakfast and lunch for youngest grandson. I dropped him home about 4pm. I'm ashamed to say I spend most Mondays now in my PJs and only get changed to take grandson home...

On my way to the foodbank I noticed the gym car park had now been converted into a Covid 19 vaccination station. There is also one at our Gurdwara. My cousin, Marian, has had her vaccination even though she's not 70 yet; her GP Practice told her they were ahead of themselves with their vaccination programme.

Tuesday foodbank outfit - warm and practical. Boots from my Barnardos.

Top bought from Vinted (too short for a dress but it makes a cool tunic); cardigan by Next and jeans; both charity shopped.

All jewellery charity shopped.

By the time I next post we should know a little more about whether some of the Covid restrictions are being lifted or if they will continue. Let's pray the restrictions will be lifted!