So, another week has gone by and we are now in a new month.

I noticed when I was in the shops today, that some of the Christmas gift sets are sneaking onto the shelves. Oh my goodness! Please let us get a little nearer to Christmas before we start to see these items out to buy.

Hubby and I decided to pop into a fast food outlet when we were out shopping to buy a large mocha to drink as we walked around outside. The fast food outlet was slow in service and had no-one that we could ask about a problem.

When we finally received the mochas we walked outside and took a sip, expecting it to be hot, as it usually is and as it should be. We were both surprised to find that not it was not even slightly hot. We were going to return them, but as it took so long to get them, it would be just as easy to drink it and carry on walking. They were warm and as we reached the bottom, there were crystals of what we guessed were sugar crystals and coffee which tasted pretty sickly sweet.

It was such a shame, as a mocha is something we really enjoy drinking when we are out and about. This is the second time we have had this issue and so we will not be going back there from here on in.

Next weekend we will be back to our local coffee cart for a better tasting, and hot mocha for our walk around the block.

Smile and have a happy day :).

Well this week has been one heck of a week.

We have had some awful weather which included heavy rains and very high winds. A fair amount of sunny and cloudy days as well. On Wednesday we have our rubbish collection and on this day we had strong gale force winds which blew the bins over. I had to collect some of my rubbish that had taken flight from my bin from around my neighbours gardens. As the bin had not yet been emptied I decided to bring it back in and put it out again this week. If I had put all the rubbish back in, the bin would have just been blown over again and I would have had to run around a second time/

At the end of the week someone I worked with some time ago was tragically killed. I only found out when an old colleague text me and then I read about it in the online newspaper. To read how he died was just saddening. Such a lovely man and so friendly to everyone. R.I.P.

Saturday we took the train to a nearby shopping mall and then walked out to the nearest town and then back again. The weather was good for the most part, but at least we had a good walk. We brought a packet of pop tarts, which I have not tried since they first came out and I don’t think I was a great fan of them then, so I was interested to see what they tasted like now.

Today we tried those pop tarts and I still am not a great fan of them, but I know they are very popular. This afternoon I made some dark chocolate and raspberry muffins. I am not usually great at making muffins, but gave it a go. They actually came out really well and tasted moist and had a lovely fruity flavour. I did a good job and even hubby loved them. Tonight is a restful evening watching a film, yet to be decided which one.

Smile and have a happy day 🙂

Do you have a sweet tooth or a savoury one?

Some of my friends have a penchant for savoury foods like pies, pasties and quiches. This is not great for your health if you are eating more than you should be.

Equally my other friends have a need for sweet things like cakes, sweets and the like. This is also not a healthy option to take. I am one of those people who have a sweet tooth and although I eat a lot of fruits and vegetables, I still find myself craving sweet things on occassions.

Sometimes, however, I have no willpower and if I am out and about and need to pop into the supermarket for a couple of groceries and I fancy something sweet, I will buy it. I am not talking a whole cake or bar of chocolate or even a family packet of sweets, but something small. It is a sometimes treat I know and for the most part it is.

When things do not go as well as I had hoped, for what ever reason, this is my go to. Luckily these days, it is not that often.

Some people may say that I am being lazy in choosing something sweet to eat and that is okay. We all have a small vices, some have a drink, smoke, savoury or even sweet. They are all bad for us and we all know that, but hey life is for living and everything in moderation.

Smile and have a happy day 🙂

The one thing I missed whilst we were in lockdown was a mocha and a muffin whilst I was out and about.

Walking around the block at that time meant that we had to wait until we arrived home to have one. Why is it that it always tastes nicer when others make them? We don’t have a café or coffee cart where we live, which is a shame.

Anyways we do like to support local businesses and when we found out that we could pick up a mocha on our walk, we were for it. Every weekend for the last few weeks we have done just that. Today I jokingly asked that maybe they should look at making muffins to sell too. They have just started doing them and had a couple of blueberry muffins left if we were interested. Well, needless to say we were f=definitely interested. Lets face it who wouldn’t be?

With a mocha and a muffin in hand each, we walked around the block in the warm dry morning that was our Sunday. The muffin was moist and had a number of blueberries in it and if they have any again we will buy them. I would like to try the orange and almond one next time, if they have any left.

A great morning and it’s great to support a local business.

Smile and have have a happy day 🙂

Who would have thought!

Yes, this is a real problem.

The disease itself is, always being busy and I was guilty of that myself. Since Covid 19 and the lockdown, the need, and, indeed for me, has become a thing of the past.

Now Covid 19 lockdown has gone, it seems a lot of people have reverted back to their old ways.

Whilst I always thought, and as I was growing up, it was good to keep busy or occupied, it actually doesn’t help, and for me it didn’t help with my mental health and well being in general.

During the lockdown I focused more on myself and it is a great feeling being in the moment and being focused on the one thing you are doing at the time.

Always being busy doesn’t give you the time you need for yourself or even those you love and care about. So, take a step back and try to enjoy a new sense of quiet. I did and it does feel great. I am no expert on this, but. having been that person, being in a sense of calm now, feels amazing.

Walks in nature are great too, as it lowers any stress that I have, as does my exercises. So take the time for yourself and you will start to notice the small changes.

Smile and have a happy day 🙂

Wow! What a day it has been today.

You have heard of four seasons in one day, well we had that today. It rained overnight and was cold this morning when we woke up, and hasn’t really warmed up that much throughout.

I decided to go for a short walk around the block this morning as I knew it would be warmer outside than it was inside. I was right, to a degree. The walk was great and it was warmer to start with. The sun shining up in the sky, dark clouds loitering around it. As I made my way around it became a bracing walk against the winds. A short distance from home and the heavens opened and I was rained upon.

This afternoon we had hailstones to add to the collection.

All in all, today, we had sun, rain, warm, cold, thunderstorms and hailstones along with severe gusty winds. Rubbish bins were blown over onto the pavements and into the roads. Branches have been taken off trees and my garden is definitely now well watered.

What a day! I haven’t heard of any tornados as yet that the weatherman had predicted, but I am sure there have been some somewhere.

Smile and have a happy day 🙂

I am so pleased we managed to get some gardening done over the weekend because the weather has turned.

Over the last twenty-four hours we have had gusty winds and a large amount of rain. I don’t think it will be enough to even begin to fill up the dams, that are so low and may have a major impact on our water usage in the Summer.

It was great to see the rain, although I don’t like the gusty winds, they can be a little unpredictable sometimes. The temperatures have also taken a drop and we even had to have the heat pump on Sunday and tonight.

Hopefully the rains will ease and we will be able to finish what we started outside next weekend. I need to go and buy a couple of things, but otherwise we are all set and ready to go. Rock on the weekend, even though it is only Monday at the moment.

I will be pleased to get the vegetable beds replanted with plants that will be ready for the Summer. It is a great feeling to go outside and pick some fresh vegetables from your own garden and they taste so great too.

Smile and have a happy day 🙂

It is the time to tidy up in the garden and so hubby and I have decided to take out old some shrubs and replace them with new plants. Gardening is all about trying new things and re-designing every now and again.

We have two shrubs to take out and think about what to do with the huge space they will both leave behind. These shrubs are old and even though we prune them, they have become a little woody and they grow so quickly.

This afternoon whilst the weather was dry we went out and cut down one of them. There is a thick stump still in the ground which will take a little time to remove. I cannot believe how thick these trunks can get and how huge the root system is that come from these shrubs.

We will need to get a skip once we have finished, but at least we can tidy up all the garden in that case. We have a side-walk that we also need to re-do, so have we have made these our projects until the end of the year. That should keep us busy. Hopefully it will not cost a huge amount to re-do.

It is always good to keep busy and as the weather is on our side at the moment, we may as well do it.

Smile and have a happy day 🙂

Winter is starting to creep in and the cold weather is definitively here. The evenings have brought a sharp decline in temperature and boy are we pleased we had those heat pumps installed.

Have run the heat pumps a couple of evenings when it has gotten too cold, especially in the bedroom. There is no joy in going to bed feeling cold and waking up feeling frosty. Although we have some cold mornings, the day temperatures are still in double digits and over the last couple of weeks we have had blue skies and sunshine.

We have had some days of heavy rains, which have been well needed, although still not enough to fill up the dams.

It will only be getting colder over the next few weeks, but at least we won’t see any snow where we live. I do miss it I have to say. There is something great about the first dump of snow, but we would have to travel to see it.

Wrap up warm and stay safe out there.

Smile and have a happy day 🙂

Is this really going to be our new norm?

My hubby and I have been to a few malls/shopping centres since we were released from lockdown. They have been quiet everywhere and even during the week the shops are empty.

The cafes we used to go into are now closed and some other shops have also gone. I know that this pandemic will be around for some time to come, but I don’t think many of the shops will be sadly. It makes me so sad to see this, with owners and staff working to build up their business and in some cases building up a regular clientele, only now to be closed and have no business at all.

I am not a huge fan of shopping on line for clothes, shoes etc, as I prefer to go into the shop itself and try these items on. I know that you can send items back if you need to, but it seems a lot of inconvenience sometimes.

I hope we don’t lose the mall/shopping centre because they are a great place to hang out and have a cuppa with your friends once things have settled down.

Smile and have a happy day 🙂