Fresh Oranges

We have recently did some work in our front garden. Trees cut down and taken out and a general tidy up of all the other plants and bushes.

We now have a large space near our back fence and have decided to put two dwarf hibiscus bushes in there. We will probably plant them over the next couple or so weeks so they will be settled for our Summer. These will give us lovely colour by the fence, which has only just recently been re-painted.

Whilst we were cutting the trees down our neighbour called us and asked us where the tree had gone. It was the one that had the lovely blueish colour flowers. We explained that they had grown quite large and had became a little unruly. Last year we pruned them hard and this year they grew wild. They took a lot of looking after and a few branches had grown through the fence on their side and one of the panels on the fence had begun to bow.

She said she was sorry to see them go and we stood over the fence having a chat about this and that. You know how it is when you begin chatting with someone. She then randomly asked us if we would like some oranges as they had an abundance this year. We accepted and she dropped some off on her way to pick up her grandson from school.

We had a bag full of oranges. We ate some and then wondered what would be the best thing to do with most of the rest. We unfortunately would not be able to eat all of them! It was decided I would make some marmalade. We love marmalade and so I set to making some. In total I made four bottles. Three large ones and a small one.

What a lovely thought would be to hand one of the bottles to my neighbour. The following day as we headed out, we took one of the bottles and gave it to them with a note to say, “Thank you for the oranges you gave us. This a one of the bottles of marmalade made with them. Enjoy.”

The marmalade has all gone now and it was very tasty. Fresh fruit always tastes nicer straight from the tree.

Thanks neighbour.

Smile and have a great day 🙂

New Train Stations

After two to three years of construction, we now have two new train stations. There is a further station that will hopefully be open towards the end of next year.

The new stations were officially opened by government ministers on Saturday last. They were open for the public to use on Sunday.

We thought it would be a nice trip to have a look, so we caught the train and took a ride to the new stations. Passengers on the train were ready to exit at the first new station. One young lady stood by the doors as another couple stayed seated until the train stopped.

Imagine the surprise from them when the train sailed through the station without slowing down, let alone stopping. We all looked amazed and as the conductor came through the carriage, was asked why the train did not stop.

“It is the first day for all of us and just did not remember to stop. It has been a while since they stopped here. We will be stopping at the next one.”

I understand it has been about fifty-four years since they had a train station there, so all the trains are used to just rolling by.

We did not however stop at the next one as it is still being constructed. The following new one it did remember to stop at and the passengers had to cross over the walkway to access the return track and head back. Lets hope the train stopped on the way back!

We enjoyed a walk and had lunch at a local cafe before heading back home. The weather was warm but not too hot and so the day was very enjoyable.

We even laugh at the train that did not stop on the first day of opening one of the new stations. Lets hope it gets better from here on in.

Smile and have a great day 🙂

Fence Staining

Fence staining is usually a job I do in the Summer time as the weather is guaranteed to be a more consistent temperature.

We are not near Summer but, as the weather has been dry for a few days, I took it upon myself to start staining. I love staining the fence with a brush. I find it therapeutic outside and amongst my plants. I do this practically every couple of years. It keeps the fences looking fresh and clean.

I managed to get most of the way around, but the weather has changed and it persistently rained for a couple of days or so. Once the fences have dried out sufficiently I will be back out there staining again.

We have around fifty fence panels to stain which is a lot but it keeps me busy for a while.

Once they have all been done we will be able to complete the rest of our planting ready for Summer. The garden always looks great in Summer and now it is looking a lot better in Winter.

Smile and have a great day 🙂

Grape Jam

It was a while ago I spent some time taking bunches of grapes of my vines. We have three vines that we grow up our fences. One vine is a very slow grower, whilst the other two grown extremely quickly.

We thought we had brought two white grapes and one red grape. For the first year we had a large amount of red grapes on the couple of fast growing vines. For the last two to three years we have picked white and red grapes of them. The slow growing vine have us a couple of bunches.

After we had picked them we thought about what we could do with them. We had actually picked nearly three kilograms of grapes. Some of them were put into the freezer for use later.

I found a recipe for grape jam and thought I would try it. I have made many different jams and also marmalade so I was not too fazed by giving grape jam a go. It was easy to make and poured around six bottles.

I also found a recipe for a grape cake which I thoroughly liked the look of. Making the cake was easy too and it was very tasty when we tried it later.

The grape jam was very nice and had a very lovely taste. We have eaten all but one jar and are looking forward to picking the grapes this year. I just hope they taste as nice as they did this year!

Smile and have a great day 🙂

Fuel

The price of fuel certainly shot up in recent months and stayed there for some time. It has started to come back down, but I wonder for how long?

I don’t think it will return to prices we used to have for some time, I don’t mean a few months, but I think it will take a good year or two before we see prices that we used to see!

You have to feel sorry for the people that do actually need to use it. I wonder if some more freight companies could use the rail system more, thereby freeing up the costs on the company that they pay for fuel. It could be that the logistics mean that they cannot use the rail, but maybe some could.

We do not go out as much as we used to because of the price of fuel. Not only fuel, but everything else that connected with the cost of fuel. We have used the train for a recent day out as it was cheaper than driving to that specific location. We try not to use the car for too many short journeys, but sometimes that cannot be helped.

Hope this situation sorts itself out soon.

Smile and have a great day 🙂

Yellow Watermelom

I was shopping at the local store and picked up what I thought was pineapple slices. When I looked closer, it was in fact sliced yellow melon.

I have never heard or seen a yellow melon but thought I would give it a try. I love the other melons and thought why not? I wasn’t sure what to expect but tried it any way.

It was not as sweet as the watermelon, honeydew or the cantaloupe melon. It was firmer and had a very pleasant taste. The juice did not dribble down your chin which was also good news as watermelon can be a little drippy.

It had a yellow skin and the yellow flesh inside was a slightly lighter yellow. It didn’t have to many pips inside. This makes a lovely addition to a fruit salad or to just even a melon salad. The varieties around are amazing and they are good for you too.

If you like melons like me, then if you see it why not give it a try, providing the cost is right for you of course. The coat of food has gone up so much lately it is truly scary.

Smile and have a great day 🙂

New Gate and Fencing

This blog follows on from my last blog.

We had new gates fitted about a month ago now and all did not go well. Both gates did not hang very well and when they met one of the gates stuck out at the top. Suffice it to say, they are a lot lighter though. They were not as we explained to the guy at the time, but when we saw them, they seemed okay on-site. That was until they were finished. We realised he had hung them on the inside of the gate posts once he had left. They both swung in and out, which is handy for some things but not for our property. They just need to swing outwards. We could not secure them properly and so had a piece of wood across the top of both with some clamps to keep the gates together.

Our neighbour agreed to the fencing quotes and we opted for someone else to undertake that one. When he came to do the quote I asked him about the gates. He said he would take a look and re-hang them for me. After removing the boards from the bottom of the fence, it appears that rather than just the three posts we had asked to have replaced, we actually needed the whole fence replaced. The boards as well as the posts were rotten and a couple of them were bowed. It is now a new fence that sticks out from the rest as it is new and we cannot stain it just yet until it has had some rain. That is okay as we have to stain the gates as well.

It took him and his helper a good day to fit the three fence posts and all the news rails. He also rehung the gates on the outside of the posts and levelled them up. They swing open very easily and are extremely light to use. They were very helpful and very tidy, taking away all the rubbish, which was awesome.

I don’t know what the other guy was doing, but at least we now have operational gates again. We also have a new fence which will not get blown down anytime soon. In a couple of weeks time I can go out and stain them all so they will blend in again.

Smile and have a great day 🙂

Winds

As you may know, we had a short break between Christmas and New Year. We had a lovely time away and came back feeling refreshed and ready to start the New Year.

Whilst we were away and enjoying the sunshine, which was rare, as it is usually grey and chilly., we had winds and rains where we live. We came back to the wooden fence that divides us and our neighbours leaning against one of the trees.

We called around to the neighbour to discuss having this fence repaired. As it is a boundary fence the costs are shared between both houses.

We booked fencers to come and have a look to give us a quote as it was clear that three fence posts had rotted away and needed replacing.

Whilst they were here giving us a quote for the fence, we asked them to look at our side gates. They are heavy and hard to open in the winter and we were looking at replacing them with something a little lighter in weight. Gates that would be easy to open no matter the weather!

We have received three quotes so far and are waiting on our neighbour to arrange for her quote before we decide. Whilst we are still getting winds from time to time, hopefully the fence will be repaired before another strong one arrives.

Smile and have a great day 🙂

Happy 2026

Happy New Year to you all and hope you had or are having a good holiday.

However you all celebrated the end of the year, I hope you all had a great time.

We had a quiet Christmas and went away for a few days afterwards. The weather was very kind to us and for most of the break the sun shone, it was warm and it was very enjoyable. It only rained on our last day along with some strong winds, which all-in-all was very refreshing.

We walked a lot and did around eighty kilometres over the four days we were there. We enjoyed coffee and lunches out which was really very nice and made a change from eating at home most of the time.

The hotel we stayed at was in a great location and the receptionists were very helpful. Our room was clean and overlooked the roads surrounding it, but really could not hear a lot. It was a little dated with worn out carpet and old looking bathroom. The windows had some mould around the edges but at the end of the day, we were really only in the hotel to sleep and to rest on our return for the day.We were going to try the restaurant but we were really enjoying trying other eateries that were on offer.

We had a quiet night in for the end of the year as we had just returned from our short break.

I wish everyone a peaceful, prosperous and most of all a healthy 2026.

Smile and have a great day 🙂

Time has flown by

I cannot believe that in a few days time it will be Christmas.

Days, weeks and months seem to be passing me by. It has been a busy year, what with work, my neck surgery and having things done around the house and garden. I have also been doing things that have been giving me a lot of joy, but, I still don’t know where the time has gone!

We are ready for Christmas and we did our grocery shopping over the weekend. It was crazy in the supermarket and it was only nine in the morning. I pop in Christmas Eve if I need something specific and I can honestly say that it is an insane time. The shop is only closed for a day but most people seem to shop for a month!

I would like to wish you all a Merry Christmas. May you have a great day with family and friends, eat and drink some if you want to. Take care and stay safe out there and I look forward to writing some more blogs in the New Year (2026).

Smile and have a great day 🙂