Of cars, cookers and funerals....

Well, the problems with the car continue since I've got back.  When I went to do the Lidl shop on Thursday the engine light was flashing and it didn't drive in the usual way. The problem has been diagnosed - the head gasket has gone and will cost a pretty penny to repair. It can't be done until Saturday so I'm car less until then.  The car hasn't really been right since we came back from Ireland last September, despite new coolant unit caps, new water pump and most recently a new radiator. According to my mechanic the new head gasket should fix it once and for all. Therefore, no Rambler's walks this week as I can't get to the start points but no matter I can walk on my own!

Lately, my daughter has developed an interest in walking as part of her exercise regime. She is super fit. She's a PE teacher, goes to the gym 4 times a week and plays netball weekly for a local team.  My son, too, visits the gym several times a week. Going to the gym is my idea of hell! Whereas, walking for me is both a pleasure and a good form of exercise.

Last Saturday my daughter and I went walking and did 10 miles. That's a personal best for me. My legs felt it the next day...

This is about the only other photo of me taken in Ireland. I'm inside Ruby Super (our mobile home) and it's a cold day; I've got several layers on plus an infinity scarf! Everything I'm wearing has been worn in blog posts before except possibly the necklace and silver bangles - both charity shopped.

This is a a fishing lake quite close to the mobile home park. We have the sea close by and 2 lakes.

This photo was taken by my cousin's wife. It's of Cassiebawn Castle at sunset (home of Lord Mountbatten) in Mullaghmore, Co.Sligo. Isn't it a brilliant photo? Well done, Martina!

It's a damn nuisance about the car because on Friday I have to go to Surrey for my best friend's dad's funeral.  Her dad has been ill for years and hasn't wanted to be here for quite a while. He was in pain and it's a blessed release for all. Both daughter and OH need their cars for work so I've hired one for 2 days. It would have been almost impossible to travel by public transport to the church, interment and wake (all in different towns in Surrey) so a car was called for. I was surprised at how reasonable it was to hire a car for 2 days!

So, that's the car dealt with. Now the cooker. In fact, it was the fan oven. It stopped working last Friday. I'm just waiting for the third thing to go. They always seem to happen in threes, don't they?

I couldn't go to the food bank today (Tuesday) as I had to wait in for the repair man to come and fix the oven. Luckily I've insured the oven! Once that was done I set out for a good old rummage. I didn't get much opportunity to rummage in Ireland and was having withdrawal symptoms. I only  bought 5 things in Ireland in the charity shops. A pair of jeans that stayed in Ruby Super (I have another wardrobe there to save me carting clothes backwards and forwards - I keep adding to it!). A brown handbag for 4 euros, the brown leather jacket for 9 euros and a red, plastic bangle bought in Dublin on our last day there.

This is what I wore to go rummaging.

That's some of my jewellery collection in the background....

This red bangle is the one I bought in Dublin. Trousers, Red Cross charity shop (last seen here) as is the cardigan. Top from Save the Children charity shop.  Earrings from Sainsbury's. Necklace charity shopped, but can't remember which one...Boots, on line retail.

I bought this lampshade to replace the one in my bedroom which is a dust trap! It was £3.00 in the independent charity shop  in Bedford. It's for an African charity but calls itself: 'The Independent Charity Shop'.

I bought this (Phase 8) maxi skirt for £4.00 in the Cancer Research shop. I think I might wear it to the funeral, with a black top, my moto jacket, black boots and a hat. Alternatively, I was thinking of wearing a grey patterned, pencil skirt with a black top;  moto jacket and OTK boots but no hat. It's been a while since I've been to a funeral - thank God.

I bought these beads for £2.50 in the Cancer Research shop and the orange bangle in the Oxfam shop for 99p. I just need one or two more orange bangles then I don't need any more bangles - ever!

I'm going walking by myself on Wednesday and Thursday.  I didn't get much walking done in Ireland due to the weather and I've missed it. I'm going to join in with Anne's 52 Pick-me-up on her Spygirl blog. It's Indigo - and I think my top and cardigan might qualify me for it...

Have a good week everyone.

Back to dear old Blighty

Hello lovely people! Hope you've had a great Easter and a bit of break.

We got back very late in the early hours of Thursday morning and had a lovely time in Ireland, but it took us 3 days to get to Donegal! The bloody car started to play up when we got 

off the ferry and we had to stay in B and B just outside Dublin for 3 nights while we waited for the car to be repaired. None of this was helped by it being Easter weekend but we went with the flow and went into Dublin on Easter Monday to see the commemoration of the centenary of the Easter Rising in 1916.

The Easter Rising was an important event in Irish history as it paved the way for the Irish Republic and allowed the Irish nation to no longer be a colony of Britain. There's still the problem of the six counties after partition but that's a problem that will be around for a long time. Anyway, the laying of the wreath ceremony pictured above was for the relatives of those who lost their lives during the Easter Rising in 1916.

The ceremony took place inside the Four Courts.

This is the infamous GPO building where a lot of the fighting took place. You can still see the bullet holes today.

Trinity College, Dublin.

This is me on the Ha'penny bridge in Dublin. It was a chilly day!

This was taken in the local park in Lucan, Co. Dublin where we stayed in B and B.  It was a nice village where they had 2 charity shops and I bought a lovely, real leather jacket for 9 euros in one. I'll wear it in a future post.

On Monday last we went to Derry and did a bus tour.  Derry (Londonderry) is about 55 to 60 miles from Donegal. I'd done the tour before but there were some changes from 2005.

These are some of the murals from the Catholic side of the city. This is where the civil rights march took place and where the British army opened fire on the protesters.  It became known as Bloody Sunday. This young girl is one of those killed by a bullet.

When I was here in 2005, the Protestant side of the city had its own murals, too. Union Jacks abounded as did the Red Hand of Ulster and lots of slogans such as; "No surrender!" Now, this is all that's left. It's all about peace and harmony.  It makes me wonder if the other set of murals will also be revamped in due course.

The journey home was loooong!! The ferry disembarked 2 hours late and there was a junction closure and diversion through Birmingham on the M6. I have decided never to take my own car again but to fly and hire a car whilst I'm in Ireland. That way, if there are car problems someone else can take care of them.

It's good to be home.

Problems with Blog - again

I'm sorry to say that the problem with the blog I and many other bloggers experienced a couple of weeks ago is back. I get google+ notifications that I have a comment but when I click on it to get to the blog it's not there. I can't even read the notification in it's entirety so its pretty frustrating all round.

I'm hoping the problem will be resolved by the time I return on 7th April.

Here's hoping!

Wishing you all a blessed and peaceful Easter.

We're off to Donegal!

Yes -  we're off to Donegal on Easter Sunday for 11 days. I'm getting excited now and can't wait for Sunday to come. 

When I retired in March 2014, one of things I bought with my occupational pension lump sum was a mobile home in Co. Donegal, Ireland.  I had been  returning to Ireland regularly since 1997 for holidays. I often stayed with relatives and sometimes in rented cottages, but I really wanted a base as I knew I would be visiting Ireland regularly in the future as long as my health and mobility held

 out.

 

This is 'Ruby Super'. She sleeps 8. Her decor is a bit dated but I don't mind. We're only here for between 6 - 8 weeks a year and she's very comfortable. (When the youngest grandchild can go to school by himself I will probably stay for longer spells). The only drawback is she is not centrally heated; I couldn't afford a centrally heated one. The windows on the right hand side look out onto St. John's Point, which is about 5 miles away and Donegal Bay.  I can also see Ben Bulben, Co.Sligo (a mountain made famous by a W.B. Yeats poem here) from these windows. 

It is such a beautiful and peaceful place.There are several lovely beaches a short drive away and last year I had the magical experience of watching a pod of dolphins at play at Fintragh Bay.

This is our nearest beach at St. John's Point. I swam in the sea here last Easter - it was freezing but exhilarating!

When we get up in the morning in Donegal and look outside we often see hares playing. There are lots of them around and sometimes they bound past the mobile home when we're out on the decking. We also had an eagle fly over the site last year - and I missed it! I was out walking on my own and only found out when I got back. 

This is Tramore Strand at Port Noo. A lovely beach that is about 2 miles long. When the tide is out you can reach the little island. We nearly got stranded last year as the tide came in so fast - we waded back  to the beach thigh deep in water!

Internet connection at the site is sporadic so it is unlikely I'll be blogging until I come back but if I can I will. There is a lovely little cafe we eat at regularly in a nearby town which has free Wi Fi, so it's not impossible to keep in touch.

I wore this to the charity shop on Monday. Jeans bought at Lidl £7.99 - bargain! Jacket £1.00 rail, Age UK, Rushden some months ago. Top, Monsoon -  bought in last week's rummage from the RSPCA shop. Boots - Primarni.  All jewellery charity shopped except earrings - present from OH last year and turquoise ring - retail.

Oi you - who you looking at? I was talking to my OH while he was taking this photo...

I left the shop with some t shirts for the two grandsons. Nothing for me until  I went to the British Red Cross shop to see if they had opened up again after being closed all week because of flooding - and they were! I got really lucky. Another pair of green, loose summer trousers, a lovely patterned dress/tunic - with pockets -  and a fabulous cobalt blue Geiger jacket with embroidery and gold buttons that looks like it's from the 1980s. All three items were £1.99 each.

Jeans same as Monday. Cardigan - La Redoute sale about 6 years ago. Top - charity shop, boots charity shop.

Beads picked up last week in Keech Hospice shop. Bangles charity shopped and watch.

Earrings present from daughter about 2 years ago.

After the food bank on Tuesday I had to go into town.  I picked up a white cotton hat to take to Spain in July, and a lovely red disc necklace -  both for £1.00 in the Reuse Centre.

I'm off to Patti's 'Visible Monday' party at 'NotDeadYet'  here -
someone said we're having chocolate eggs!

Ramblings - not the BBC Radio 4 programme!

On Wednesday we went walking in Sandy and did just over 8 miles.

This rather beautiful house (complete with garden waste bin!) was on one side of our walk starting point  at Beeston Green; Sandy, Bedfordshire on Thursday. It was an amble and we walked 5.5 miles.

 This green, which was one of the biggest village greens I'd ever seen, had 44 different varieties of trees!

As we returned to our starting point we passed an information board which told us that part of the route we had just walked was called the Skylark Walk. It was true  - we heard and saw so many Skylarks including one flying up from her nest on the ground. The sound of skylarks is one of my most favourite sounds.

On Saturday I went out walking by myself and did 5 miles. I walked from  the village of Ravensden to the outskirts of another village called Wilden and back to Ravensden -  I did a big loop.

These are some of the beautiful houses I passed. There's something just so romantic about a thatched cottage!

This made me laugh. I expected to see a grossly obese animal but when I looked further into the field I saw this horse. I had no idea horses could choke on apples and carrots; if I remember when I go walking I try to put apples or carrots in my rucksack in case I do meet any horses. I won't be doing that again!

Sunday was a beautiful day, in fact it would have been ideal walking weather but we went to a visit a very good friend in hospital. He had a stroke 7 weeks ago and is off to a rehabilitation unit on Monday in Northampton. He is much improved from when we last saw him and it was lovely to see him sitting up, out of bed and talking.

I got OH to take some pictures outside as it was such a lovely day. Garden needs a good tidy up and cutting back which we'll do next weekend before we go to Donegal. I gave the checked trousers another whirl. They're really quite heavy so I won't be able to wear them in the summer. Unfortunately, the British Red Cross shop where I bought them has suffered from flooding and has been closed all week. So no more £1.99 bargains for a while.

Black top £1.00 rail, cardigan charity shopped, creepers on line retail.

Leather moto jacket Christmas present from daughter.

All jewellery charity shopped.

Have a good week!

Rummaging...

I actually managed to leave the Save the Children charity shop on Monday without anything for myself! I did get a few bits for the two youngest grandsons  - so not completely empty handed.

After walking on Wednesday I was still in a decent enough condition; i.e. not covered in mud with muddy boots, to do a bit of rummaging on my way back home.  I had some birthday money left even after buying a badly needed new pair of waterproof walking trousers. As always happens I then found a perfectly good pair of walking trousers (although not waterproof), and in another colour for £3.99, when I went to Ampthill; a very small market town with only 4 charity shops.

I'm trying to be sensible with my purchases now as I have too many clothes. This time I was looking for clothes for my holiday in Spain. I've already picked up a skirt from a charity shop for summer here and a greatly reduced, brand new,  pair of sandals at the Tesco outlet shop for £4.00.

This is what I've bought this week...

A grey and white spotted sleeveless dress. I will wear it with a lightweight jacket or something underneath -  a t shirt maybe - because I don't really do sleeveless. As I don't have enough wardrobe space I keep any lightweight summer clothes in the chest at the foot of my bed, and hang it all up when the weather changes to summer - hence the wrinkles. This was on the reduced rail at Barnardo's for £2.99.

Brand new, with tags, loose F & F  summer trousers £2.29 on reduced rail at Barnardo's. I just love green.

This floaty top was £1.50 in the RSPCA shop. I'll have to wear a camisole underneath but I love the colours. I also bought my OH a grey knitted top in here for £1.00 and 3 hot water bottles for £1.00! We're off to Donegal soon and may be needing them.

On Thursday, with the money I had left over I went down to the High Street in Bedford and looked at the charity shops there. There are 4 but I only looked in 3 as I spent all my money. I spotted this Monsoon top in the window of the RSPCA shop for £3.99  - and it was my size. It's not a summer top, but it's a useful tunic to add to my collection and a lovely rusty red colour.

Another summer skirt from Bay (a now defunct chain, I recall) with lots of lovely colours in it   - it looks a bit wrinkled because I had just washed it and hung it up to dry. I bought this in the RSPCA shop for £3.99.

I picked up the lovely chartreuse coloured beret at the Oxfam shop for £1.99. The three bangles were a £1.00 each in Marie Curie. With the exception of yellow; I now have enough bangles in all colours to last me a good long while. The earrings, which remind me of Vix of Vintage Vixen here for some reason -  I bought on Wednesday, in Barnardo's for £1.49. 

 I stopped at the Keech Hospice shop on my way back home and picked up the gold beaded necklace for 99p, as it had a broken catch, but I fixed it with a pair of tweezers.

A good week's rummaging and birthday money all spent!

Memories

Because I'm getting older my memory is not as good as it was. That's my short term memory I'm referring to. I used to have a marvellous memory for names although that is getting rusty now. Apparently long term memory is retained really well as you age. So, I'll have lots of memories I can look back on. This is one from 3 years ago, on my eldest grandson's 18th birthday. There he is combing his hair - as usual! Today, is his 21st birthday. 

 

(Three years ago I used to dye my hair to cover my grey. I stopped dyeing it in December 2014 and I have no regrets at all.  I wrote a post about it here .My scalp is also a lot less itchier)!

To return to the memory theme.  I was present at this and the youngest grandson's birth and what magical moments they were. Now the eldest is at university in London; working his socks off  in a restaurant when not at uni and I'm very proud of him. We're off out again this Tuesday evening to eat and celebrate his birthday and I hope to celebrate many more birthdays with him and the rest of the family.

Here he is after being serenaded by the  Brown's restaurant staff and us and presented with birthday cake made by me.  He was incredibly embarrassed by it all but had the good grace to smile - just as I took this photo. Even though I had my glasses on it took me until later on in the evening to realise those were strawberry quarters NOT carrots!

This is what I wore: OTK boots - birthday present from daughter; black skinny jeans; Lidl, last week  £5.99, striped top; Primarni years old, Bench waistcoat/sleeveless top; Age UK sale rail £4.00 last week. I think I should have left the waistcoat opened.

Beads, bangles, watch, earrings and brooch all charity shopped.

I'm looking very flushed here but I was rushing around before setting off to Milton Keynes and meeting grandson off the train.

I'm also reading a rather sad book about memory; 'There Were no Windows' by Norah Hoult.  It's about an elderly woman, who is clearly suffering from Alzheimer's disease, set in the 1940s. The story is narrated from the differing perspectives of the people she comes into contact with. Some of these people are from her past and some are more recent acquaintances. As her short term memory is exceedingly poor, she constantly repeats herself and asks the same questions to the increasing irritation of everyone she knows. She lives in fear of being sent to the lunatic asylum as she has no family who care for her  - but is at the mercy of her cook/housekeeper - or is she...? I'm still reading it so don't know the if she is or isn't!!

I'm off walking on Wednesday and Thursday with the Ramblers and if it stays dry on Friday I'll go out walking by myself on Friday in between the school run. I've got some birthday money left to spend so should be having a rummage on Wednesday or Thursday afternoon...

Hope you're all having a good week!