I don’t usually go out to find bargains on a Black Friday sale, but I did this year.

I know that a lot of prices on items are increased before the sale and then decreased again to look good at that point.

I desperately needed a new pair of trainers, and I noticed a sports store had a half price deal on a pair that I liked. With that in mind I went to take a look, expecting them all to be sold out! To my surprise there were a number of them and in varying sizes, including half sizes.

Time spent trying them on and I eventually found a pair/size that fitted me. You see I have quite broad feet and I always say that I should just buy the boxes they come in! They were very comfortable and were indeed half price. My hubby even found some for himself.

A good deal we thought, which makes a change. We were happy with our purchase, and we could even leave the boxes behind for the shop to dispose of.

We are wearing them currently and they are indeed very comfortable.

Black Friday was not such a bad day after all.

Smile and have a great day 🙂

With Christmas just around the corner, I thought I should get organised. I always used to be organised, of sorts and moving to another country it is a case of getting into that habit.

The post pre-covid was semi-reliable, bur, since covid the postal system is really hot and miss. The costs have skyrocketed along with everything else! I don’t have many parcels to send away, although it seems to be a mission with having to weigh each item and then the total weight of all items in the box. The totals need to match.

Having brought the gifts and packaged them up, I took them to the local post office. The cost was I guess what it was as I could do nothing about it. All my Christmas parcels are now on their way to friends and family. It will take around three to four weeks to arrive, subject to any staff shortages en-route, or any strike action. I am keeping my fingers crossed that they arrive before Christmas.

Now all I have to do is write the cards and organise the day (which is not a now item on my agenda). It will be a December item to sort.

I don’t know about you guys, but I seem to be running to catch up with this year. The last two years have just disappeared and although we know why, it seems like this is the norm now. Time just seems to be eluding everyone.

With that being said, let’s hope next year 2023 will be a kinder, happier, normal (your normal) year without any issues.

Smile and have a great day 🙂

So, I hear that it is only about ten weeks until Christmas.

Firstly, where the heck as the time gone?

Secondly, are you ready for it.

I cannot believe that it is only ten weeks away. The Christmas cards, paper and decorations do not appear to have been in the shops for that long. I have brought some cards but cannot get my head around sorting the presents at the moment.

I have to send gifts abroad and with the cost of living having gone up and the price of freight these days, I am not quite sure what to send. It is not cheap to send things abroad, although it is cheaper than an air fare every year!

I do go home as often as I can, but I always look at the freight costs in that way. When you are sending around eight parcels abroad to different people it does add up.

We are not sure what we are going to be doing for Christmas this year, nut we will have fun. There is still time to sort something out and no doubt I will blog about what we are planning.

Smile and have a great day 🙂

Spring has finally arrived.

On Monday we had heavy rains and some winds, but so far, the rest of this week has been warm and sunny.

It has given me some time to tidy things up in the garden and finish painting my fence. As I walk around and go about my day, the plants have started to bloom. New leaves opening up and it is all looking healthy out there.

The lambs are in the fields with their parents, and it is a sure sign that spring has sprung.

I have even seen some yellow daffodils and they look gorgeous.

It is also a good time to have a good spring-clean of the house. As I have tidied up outside, it only seems fair that I have a good tidy up inside!

Don’t you just love this time of year?

Smile and have a great day 🙂

Now it doesn’t matter what kind of rubbish you need to get rid of, there is a bin/skip for you.

We tidied up our garden after winter a few months ago, so that it looked nice for the summer. It meant that we had a lot of trees and bushes to cut down. We also had dead flowers and plants to replace and so, ‘what to do with all the green waste?’

We have a green waste bin that is emptied every month, but, that was too small for all the cuttings we had. We decided to hire a skip and oh my! We filled it up, although not to the lip, so were happy with that.

A couple of weeks ago we needed a skip for tiles and pavers. My hubby had a driveway he needed to replace for a client and so all of that dirt etc, that he dug out needed to go somewhere. We hired a skip and had a follow on with another as there was going to be a lot coming out.

We completely filled both skips and it was still coming out. We named it ‘The driveway that kept on giving.’ I do not know where it all came from, but, we needed a third skip to clear it all.

What a nightmare to have three skips being filled up and removed, At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter how the stuff goes, it needed to be gone. The job has now been completed and all the rubbish has gone.

It was a good workout for me and certainly cheaper than the gym. Bending and heavy lifting, definitely toning the body.

Everything seems to come with so much packaging and that has been something else to dispose of in our bin. All of it sorted into recyclable and landfill stuff, such as shrink wrap from pallet wrapping pavers and bricks.

It has been a hectic week, but certainly have enjoyed the workout!

Smile and have a great day 🙂

For a number of months now I have been out for a daily walk, which is great, as not everyone has that opportunity to be able to do that.

My walks up until recently were event free, which is great. No-one expects to go for a walk and have a drama filled one!

The other day I was walking past a house where a gentleman was up a ladder doing something. I don’t know what as I was just thinking about other things as I wandered past. I noticed a dog sitting in the garage, but, didn’t look over at it, and carried on. A few moments later it jumped up at my back. I turned around to see if the gentleman was around, but he was still up the ladder. The dog proceeded to jump up at my front and then around me. I stood my ground as I didn’t want to start walking of and it catch me off balance.

I was surprised that the gentleman took so long to come and retrieve his dog. To be fair he did call it a few times, but the dog was obviously deaf!

Once he had come over he had just said that the dog loves company and just wanted to say hello. I didn’t mind that, other than the dog ran straight across the road and behind me and he must have been aware the dog had taken off and he could have come down the ladder sooner.

Having been held against a fence in my younger years by a dog nearly as tall as me when i walked, I was a little shaken to say the least, but, carried on with my walk.

Dogs seem to be able to roam free around the streets. Whether they get out of the garden or are let out, it seems to be a common sight here now.

Dogs like humans need to be looked after. We need to keep a closer eye on our pets. Keep them safe from harm

Smile and have a great day 🙂

Hubby and I decided a month or so ago to decorate our spare room. What we could not decide on was whether to paint or wallpaper it. We had already chosen a wallpaper and had a sample sheet to try.

We went to our local store and collected the number of rolls needed, having made the decision to paper the whole room. We could not find paint to match or another plain wallpaper to compliment it.

We popped into the D.I.Y store to buy what we needed to complete this task over the weekend. Luckily we didn’t need too much.

Stripping the old paper off and cleaning up the walls yesterday, we are now ready to go. It is very satisfying to start the job today and to then have a refreshed room tonight. I hope the decision we made was the right one!

It can be a tough choice to make a decision that at the end of the day knowing that you will have to look at it for quite a few months.

Smile and have a great day 🙂

It is a great hobby and also a good way to keep fit and with many more cycle lanes available now, it is easier to move around.

Today hubby and I went for a walk along a shared walkway/cycleway. The weather was warm which was lovely after the heavy rains and winds we had been having over the last weeks. The walkway/cycleway was quieter than the last time we walked down it,

We saw a few people speed walking and a few generally walking. Cyclists ringing bells and riding past us. I am not sure why cyclists do not slow down on shared paths. I am not sure why they also are able to ride on footpaths and go through red lights, but they do.

Cyclists have the same road rules as vehicles when on the roads, but I think they should at least slow down when people are walking, especially around children and older people who may not be able to move out of the way quick enough.

Take care out there everyone, no matter what you are doing.

Smile and have a good day 🙂

Yesterday hubby and I decided to head into the City on the train, and, yes they were actually running!

Once off the train and out of the station we walked a short while around the City streets before deciding to walk to the zoo. It took us an hour and it was a little warm, but we made it.

I cannot remember the last time I visited the zoo. I think it was over 10 years ago. The price was not too bad and so we made the decision to head on in.

The first four enclosures we looked in were void of the animals they showed to be in there. Maybe these animals were late risers! It was a shame, but, we followed the map and soon found some animals.

It was not long before it rained. For about ten to fifteen minutes the heavens opened and poured everything it had at us, Everyone in the zoo ran for cover, and for the most part, we all got wet, some more than others, I have to say.

We enjoyed some lunch there and after we finished in the zoo, we walked back to the city again to catch the train home.

It was a great day, even though it poured with rain for a while. The decision we did not disappoint us and it wore us out, but in a good way!

You are never to old to enjoy a day out at the zoo.

Smile and have a great day 🙂

I know that I am getting older when I try to keep up with all the new technical stuff. It has been a struggle.

I tried a few days ago to set up a new site, here on WordPress for a hobby of mine. It felt awful when I got so far and then became stuck with what to do next. I had to ask for some technical support, who talked and walked me through it all.

That was until today when someone told me that the site showed ‘coming soon’. Hey! Guess what, I had to ask for some more technical support, who again walked and talked me through it and finally the site was launched.

Do I feel old? Yes! Did I feel a little stupid for not being tech savvy? Most definitely. The problem is, is that I am not ALL that old, just a little tech savvy dumb.

Never mind I tell myself. It was a blessing to have those who know, help and guide those of us who don’t know through these things.

A huge shout out to WordPress for all their help getting me sorted.

If you get stuck and need help with no matter what, just ask, as it can become a little overwhelming otherwise. It can also take two or three times as long to just plunder through and think that you have it right. Don’t feel embarrassed in any way, we will all need help from time to time.

Smile and have a great day 🙂