Driving Hearses

Now this might seem like a strange topic to blog about, but, I was surprised by this.

This is not the first time I have seen this and it will probably not be the last. I am sure some or many of you have seen the same sort of thing.

I respect and admire those who are in the funeral business. I know of people who have done the job and I have to say it is a hard one.

Driving hearses is all part of the job and they need patience and understanding when driving through busy streets and traffic jams. It happens to us all. Imagine my surprise then however when I was travelling down a busy road doing the speed limit and a hearse undertook and then overtook going over the speed limit, only for me to catch up with them at the traffic lights. I don’t know why they felt the need to speed, but it never occurred to me that drivers of those particular vehicles would be speeding.

I mentioned that this was not the first time. That was some years ago whilst I was actually driving on a road that was being repaired. It had a low speed limit on it so as to keep workers safe. A hearse overtook me and drove ahead for a while. I drove past a side road and as I did a police car pulled out and put the sirens on. I pulled to the side thinking I had done something wrong, as you do. It passed me and as I rejoined the traffic, I passed it pulling up the hearse that had only just minutes before overtaken me.

I guess nothing should surprise us as we are all capable of doing something unexpected. Others might look as us and think “That is not what I expect from….”

Anyway I thought I would share with you all.

Smile and have a great day 🙂

Phone Walking

I know there will be a lot of people out there that will know what I am talking about.

So, be it in the mall, walking around or in the park meandering around, you will have seen them. The people I am referring to are those that do not seem to notice or even seem bothered that they walk into you as they have not noticed you. By that I mean, they are walking with their heads down looking and scrolling on the mobile phones.

You see it when you are out driving and I had an incident when I had indicated to turn into a road and an individual just stepped out and carried on walking. They did look around as they were halfway across the road. Luckily I had no other vehicles coming up behind me.

I am not really bothered if people want to do that or not, but, they should be aware of their surroundings. I am more concerned with people potentially walking into something or at worst tripping over and face planting the floor or road. I did read somewhere that a few people have lost their lives whilst trying to take a good selfie.

It is just a case of every now and again looking up to take notice. Be aware of your surroundings.

Smile and have a great day 🙂

Jam Making

The weather here has not been that great and so spending time outside has not been a lot.

When we have had good weather we have been in the garden or out and about walking and enjoying the dry days.

Over the past few months I have enjoyed making jam and yesterday made some more green kiwi jam. Today I am hoping to make some mixed berry jam. It does not matter if you use fresh or frozen fruits as the jams still taste the same. It was raining yesterday and is raining again today.

I love the satisfaction of the end product and the pleasure of seeing the faces of people who taste it. It may not be as cheap as the shop brought, but at least I know what has been put into it.

I hope to make some marmalade again soon, as I made some a few years ago and it was delicious.

I do need to buy some more jars however as we have given some away to friends etc to taste. If you are able, why not give it a go. It is easy and you will be rewarded with your own homemade jams.

Smile and have a great day 🙂

A muddy walk!

The weekend went too quick, but we had a great one. We had a lovely walk and a good time shopping whilst the weather was kind to us.

Yesterday we decided to go for a walk at a local park of which we had not done yet. The weather was dry but showers were due at some point. We parked the car and started the walk around the outside towards the centre. The pathway was concrete that then became a sort of tarmac pathway.

The walk was lovely and as we were in a different park I was really enjoying it. We started to navigate the various paths to the centre. Some of the paths were grass, tarmac and some were muddy. We started down a dirt pathway the became muddier as we continued. We then saw that the path did not actually go anywhere and so decided to turn around and head back.

It was slippery and then it happened! Yes, I slipped and fell into the mud. Was I happy? No, I had clean jeans and tidy trainers on. One side of my jeans was muddy as was the inside of my other jeans leg. My trainers looked awful.

I did stand back up and my husband mentioned that it was not so bad. I had a muddy left butt cheek too and a dirty jacket, but at least it was only mud and nothing else! We carried on our walk and popped into a small shopping mall to buy some new trousers. We wanted to buy a hot cup of tea/coffee and I could not sit down in a cafe in my muddy clothes.

A cheap pair of trousers and small packet of wet wipes later I had changed and wiped all dirt of my trainers. At least they now looked sort of tidy. I could at least sit down and drink a cup of tea and eat a muffin.

We continued our walk back to the car but remained on the firmer pathways this time.

The walk was great and the weather was very kind to us and so next time we go, we will make sure that if the pathway starts looking a little muddy, we turn back around again.

Another wash was needed when I got back home for my clothes and my trainers. I have to say that those trainers are the cleanest I have seen them for some time.

Smile and have a great day 🙂

Surgery

I have had a small cyst on my neck for a around eight months now. The doctors had checked it and was advised it was okay and that it may go away by itself or just stay there.

About a month ago I noticed it was getting a little bigger, not that much bigger. We decided we would go out for the day and before I left noticed it had become swollen, but not red. We carried on with our day and on the following day noticed it had become red and inflamed.

I tried to book an appointment with the doctor but one was not available for a few days. I rang the surgery and managed to see a nurse. She was unable to do anything with it but did magae to make an appointment at the doctor in a couple of days.

I saw the doctor who advised me that the cyst has become infected and was give a course of antibiotics to take. They were unable to drain it and told me I needed to see a plastic surgeon to have it removed. This would have to be done privately as the hospitals were overwhelmed and trying to deal with patients that had already and were not going to take this on.

I made the appointment to see the plastic surgeon who booked me into the hospital a couple of weeks later.

I was anxious of course but the staff were great and I my surgery had been done on Friday. All seems to be well. I have a waterproof plaster over the stitches which is to stay there until next Friday 13th when the stitches will be removed. The cyst has been sent of for testing and will know results in a week or two.

I am taking things a little easier at the moment as I certainly do not want to pop any of the stitches.

Smile and have a great day 🙂

Planters

Hope you all had a good Easter and didn’t over indulge in those Easter eggs.

I cannot believe that it is nearly the end of April already. Really, where does the time go?

We have had planter boxes in our garden for a few years now and have grown so many different things. The best crops we have ever had have been potatoes and we still pull out the odd random one too. We do well at growing salad onions, lettuce, onions, peppers, courgettes, tomatoes and strawberries.

I would really love to try and grow sweetcorn, but they need a lot of space to grow and are huge plants. We have tried growing eggplant and had one or two but not that many. I think I may try to have a go a growing a pumpkin/squash. We will see what is available when we are ready for planting.

The cost of fruits and vegetables have come down in price a little, but it is always a good feeling when you can pick something from your own garden. it tastes a lot nicer too. You also feel a pride in the fact that you have grown it from seed or a small plant, you have nurtured it too.

I will keep you all informed when I sort out the planter boxes ready for the new additons.

Smile and have a great day 🙂

Best Friends

What makes a best friend?

I have had a best friend since I was about eight years old. We were at Junior school together and when I moved away we wrote to each other regularly. When I returned and saw her again in Secondary school, it was like we were never apart. They have been a huge part of my life and even to this day we keep in touch. I have since emigrated and so do not see them as often as I used to, but that is okay, we just pick up from where we left off when i do see them.

Other friends are made at work or socially and I have a couple of good best friends. What I mean is that we have all been through tough times and happy times and have been there for each other no matter what. Even though my long term bestie is overseas I know that no matter what they would always be there, no questions asked as I would for them.

Isn’t that what a true friend does?

Some friends are fickle in so much as they are there if they need help or assistance but if you need help or assistance they seem to disappear into the ether. I know that we all lead busy lives and so nowadays people don’t really seem to be around so much, but if someone needs help rather than back away and call it ‘ too hard basket’, offer a helping hand. It feels good to help and sometimes I know that you cannot offer the right support that people really need, but as long as they know you are always there for them, that for me is what a true friend/best friend is.

Smile and have a great day 🙂

Happy New Year

Happy New Year to you and I hope that you all had a good festive season. We had a quiet time in-between working, but it was good fun. We hope we can take a break a little later in the year.

I cannot believe that we are now nearly a month into the new year. This year being the year of the Snake. This is the Chinese Zodiac Sign of my other half and my year was last year, the year of the Dragon. Apparently we both get along and I agree with that. We both work well together with different strengths helping each other out.

So far here we have had days filled with heat and humidity and others with heavy rains and winds. Today is one such day. They forecast gales and heavy rains but so far it is fairly peaceful on the winds and rain front. I don’t mind the rain as it fills up our rainwater tanks and in the Summer months the water soon disappears when you start watering plants, fruits, vegetables etc.

Talking of fruits and vegetables. We have had a good number of Strawberries of our plants this year, which is awesome. I picked a few blueberries and soon we will have three or four peppers/capsicums to pick off. Our grapes are growing, although they seem to be growing at a slower rate this year. Last year we picked some around Christmas, but wont complain as there are a number of bunches ready to ripen.

Smile and have a great day 🙂

Merry Christmas/Happy Holidays

Crickey, yet another year has passed us by. Where does all this time go, or is it that as we age it seems that way?

It has been a busy year for us. We finally flew home to see family and friends. We managed to decorate some of our house inside. We became grand aunt and uncle to a beautiful little girl in September and hope to go back home and see her soon.

Throughout the world we are all trying to cope with recessions, cost of living crisis, housing issues etc. I hope next year 2025 will be better for some, if not more of us than this year.

Through all of this our family and friends have always been there. No matter what life feels like.

With Christmas just round the corner, literally, I just wanted to wish you all a very merry Christmas and happy holidays. Enjoy time at home with loved ones and hopefully have a break of some sorts. Stay safe and well as we head into the New Year.

Smile and have a great day 🙂

Apologies

My sincere apologies for the long gap between my last post, it has been a little hectic with work and life in general.

We are getting regular pictures and updates on our new arrival, who I would like to say is oh so cute and gorgeous. I think most people do say that about babies. They have this adorable quality about them and their giggles are so infectious. She is nearly two months old now and soon she will be looking forward to her first Christmas!

I had a big birthday too and that was great. Age for me is just a number and does not define who you are and what you are able to do or achieve. People do seem to get bogged down with age, but, you are only as young as you feel. Keep your mind and body active and nobody will notice how old you are!

About three weeks ago (which would make it early October), we went shopping and in our local store we heard Christmas carols. I think personally it is a little early, maybe wait until Halloween has passed and then for sure go ahead and play them.

Talking of Christmas. I have been doing some Christmas shopping as it is that time of year that I have to send them overseas. At the moment the postal service is working pretty well with parcels and letters taking around ten days to arrive. I find it easier to do them two or three parcels at a time. It makes the cost a little bit more bearable.

I have had my first pickings off my strawberry plants. I only planted three bushes and have had around eight strawberries, which is not too bad. Fresh ones picked off the bush are always the tastiest. No matter what the fruits or vegetables you grow.

Smile and have a great day 🙂