Wednesday, 8 October 2025

The Wednesday Hodgepodge #30

I hope you are all having a good week? It's Wednesday which means it's time to join in with the Wednesday Hodgepodge with Joyce who blogs at From This Side of the Pond! Each week there are 6 questions, we answer and then link up. Simple!


1. 'The apple doesn't fall far from the tree.' How does this saying ring true in your own family, either the one you grew up in or the one you made?

I think it’s so true, especially when it comes to myself, my dad and my brother. We’re all so similar. It's those little things that give it away like the looks we give when someone says something silly or the way we always stand with one hand on our hips when we're listening to people talk or waiting for something. It also makes me chuckle how we all love a bargain. I get that from my dad and he has always taught me to be careful with money. My dad has this thing, when we go shopping where he asks, "Do you want it or do you need it?". It’s his subtle way of trying to keep us from buying unnecessary stuff. Of course it backfires on him sometimes. My dad has a soft spot for old vintage cars and when he buys one my brother and I can’t resist saying, "So did you want it or did you need it, Dad?". Now I catch myself saying the exact same thing to my girls. They just roll their eyes and say "you’re turning into Grandad!" and I really think I am. I often find myself thinking that's what my dad would say or do when I say or do something!

2. Something you're nuts about these days? How about something that's driving you nuts?

Right now I’m totally nuts about cosy living. Autumn has officially taken over my life like it's my whole personality! Hot drinks, oversized sweaters, blankets, candles, baking and making the kitchen smell amazing, shutting the curtains early on an evening and getting into my pj's at about 6pm without a shred of guilt.

On the flip side fireworks are driving me up the wall! It’s that time of year when over enthusiastic youngsters start setting them off just as it gets dark. I get that Bonfire Night is coming, but surely they don’t need to start a month early? The other night we had a storm and there were fireworks going off at the same time. There I was jumping at every bang and thinking is the house falling down or is it just fireworks!

3. What does abundance mean to you?

Abundance to me isn’t about having mountains of stuff, to me it's a mindset. It’s noticing and appreciating what’s already in front of me like the cosy, ordinary, lovely bits of life. A warm bed, a good cup of tea, the laughter of people I love bouncing around the kitchen, the kind of quiet evening where you just breath and everything feels OK. That’s abundance, those little, quiet moments where life feels full without the flashy extras.

4. Caramel apple-caramel cake-caramel corn-caramel sundae-caramel macchiatto...what's your caramel treat of choice?

Starbucks caramel macchiato

I am not a big caramel lover but I do eat/drink it now and again. I think my favourite would be a caramel macchiato. I often get the Starbucks one's delivered with my food shop as a treat, usually part of a meal deal with a sandwich, snack and drink.

5. What's a childhood memory that always comes to mind as the leaves start to fall?

It has to be about Halloween. When I was a child Halloween wasn't a big thing over here in England. One year my brother and I decided it was going to be and we wanted to go trick or treating which was easier said than done. We lived on a farm in the middle of nowhere and the nearest house was a good ten minute walk away. The next house was another ten minutes. Definitely not the skip from door to door kind of Halloween we see now. My dad, being the absolute legend he is drove us around to bother the people he knew. My brother wrapped himself in a white sheet as a ghost and I was covered in a black bin bag with a kitchen sweeping brush for a broom. Halloween costumes weren't a thing back then and pumpkins certainly weren’t. My grandad carved turnips for us, that was the closest we could get to pumpkins. I still can’t figure out how he did it as they’re tough little things! It was special though and those turnip lanterns are a memory I’ll never forget.

6. Insert. your own random thought here.

I have just seen something on the TV about next years FIFA World Cup. I am getting ahead of myself and was getting excited about it. Over here in England football (soccer) is a big deal and even non-football fans will end up watching. Anyway I have just realised that because of the time difference between here and the USA I won't be watching half of the matches. Hmmf. Kick off times are expected to be 5pm, 8pm, 11pm and 2am our time. The later matches will probably shown the next day but watching when you know the result is no fun!

The Wednesday Hodgepodge

Tuesday, 7 October 2025

365 Days Of Gratitude. In September I was grateful for...

I keep saying it but where did September go? It was another blink and you missed it month. All in all it was a good month. It feels like we had a good balance of productivity and fun!

I have seen many people on social media list something every day that they are grateful for and thought I would join in. I did this for the whole of the last couple of years and it has really made me realise that even on the bad day's I have something to be grateful for.

Grateful

Day 243 of #365DaysOfGratitude
Today I am grateful that Ellie made it home. She went out last night with friends in town and slept at her friends house. She said never going out two nights in a row, she's tired.

Day 244 of #365DaysOfGratitude
Today I am grateful for a nice day out with Stu. Shopping for the last of Becky's birthday bits.

Day 245 of #365DaysOfGratitude
Today I am grateful Ellie had a good day back at college.

Day 246 of #365DaysOfGratitude
Today I am grateful that Becky tidied her room and got all of her washing done, finally!!

Day 247 of #365DaysOfGratitude
Today I am grateful that my girls think of me when they are out shopping! They got me a Halloween Gonk and some Pumpkin wax melts.

Day 248 of #365DaysOfGratitude
Today I am grateful for a very unplanned night out for Stu & I. The girls are away for the night so Stu text at half 3 asking if I fancied going out. Yes!! 40 minutes later I was on the bus to meet him!

Me out in town

Day 249 of #365DaysOfGratitude
Today I am grateful the kids made it home from their night away with no hangovers. They had a great time at EmoFest!

Day 250 of #365DaysOfGratitude
Today I am grateful for a day sat in front of the TV catching up on things I've been meaning to watch for ages!

Day 251 of #365DaysOfGratitude
Today I am grateful for the farm shop where I got the veg for our roast dinner!

Day 252 of #365DaysOfGratitude
Today I am grateful that Stu and Becky had a nice afternoon out together, playing pool!

Day 253 of #365DaysOfGratitude
Today I am grateful that Becky had a great birthday and got everything that she wanted and more!

Becky's birthday presents

Day 254 of #365DaysOfGratitude
Today I am grateful for a relaxed day after all the fun we had yesterday! That's all the birthdays over with until mine in November!

Day 255 of #365DaysOfGratitude
Today I am grateful that a little medical procedure for Ellie went well.

Day 256 of #365DaysOfGratitude
Today I am grateful for home made blackberry jam! I made it all myself! It tastes amazing!!

Blackberry jam

Day 257 of #365DaysOfGratitude
Today I am grateful for a tissues! I think I am coming down with a cold!

Day 258 of #365DaysOfGratitude
Today I am grateful that I could stay inside today. It has been so windy and rainy this afternoon.

Day 259 of #365DaysOfGratitude
Today I am grateful for KFC for lunch, it was Becky's treat!

Day 260 of #365DaysOfGratitude
Today I am grateful that I seem to be over the worst of the cold that I caught. Phew!

Day 261 of #365DaysOfGratitude
Today I am grateful for a day at home with Ellie. She's a busy bee so it was nice to have some time with her.

Flower in my garden

Day 262 of #365DaysOfGratitude
Today I am grateful to have a new scent in the automatic air freshener thing! Pumpkin Spice!

Day 263 of #365DaysOfGratitude
Today I am grateful for a cosy day at home with my family.

Day 264 of #365DaysOfGratitude
Today I am grateful for Sunday dinner out but mostly for not having to cook and do the washing up!

Day 265 of #365DaysOfGratitude
Today I am grateful for a walk out to see my dad. He was tinkering with his engine for one of his old cars.

Day 266 of #365DaysOfGratitude
Today I am grateful for banana and chocolate chip muffins! I made them myself and they might not be the prettiest but they taste good!

banana and chocolate chip muffins

Day 267 of #365DaysOfGratitude
Today I am grateful for freshly painted nails.

Day 268 of #365DaysOfGratitude
Today I am grateful that I didn't spend as much as I thought I would at Primark!

Day 269 of #365DaysOfGratitude
Today I am grateful for a quiet day at home! I was aching from all the walking I did yesterday!

Day 270 of #365DaysOfGratitude
Today I am grateful that the milk leaked all over my shopping and quite a bit was refunded, I wiped everything down and it was all OK. I did tell the delivery guy it was fine but he said no, it's Morrisons policy to refund!

Conkers

Day 271 of #365DaysOfGratitude
Today I am grateful that Stu did some DIY in the bathroom and put some new sealant stuff around the bath.

Day 272 of #365DaysOfGratitude
Today I am grateful for Chicken Katsu Curry Burritos for tea! I made it all from scratch.

Day 273 of #365DaysOfGratitude
Today I am grateful for Becky taking me out for lunch! We had a lovely afternoon.

What were you grateful for in September?

Monday, 6 October 2025

Our weekly meal plan! 6th - 12th October! #MealPlanningMonday

Our weekly meal plan

Another Monday has rolled around again too quickly! We had a lovely weekend with lots of family time, good TV and great food! The girls still had time with their friends but spent a good chunk of time at home too which I will always love. We made home made pizza on Saturday, we all had different toppings and they always taste so much nicer than shop bought or even takeaway!

I hope Storm Amy didn't hit you too hard. It was a bit blustery here and we lost another fence panel but it's fine, it was one of the one's due to be replaced and the wood is in the garage ready to be put up. We can't just go an get say a 6ft wide a fence panel because there are concrete posts in the garden, all different distances apart so they have to be custom made. Such a faff but it does mean when parts of the new fence is put up it's solid and the wind doesn't bother it.

Last weeks meal plan went really well, we ate everything and on the day I had planned too! I feel like I should be giving myself a pat on the back, it's not every week the meal plan totally goes to plan. Last week I mentioned that I wanted to make cinnamon buns and I made them and they were a huge success. I made the dough, rolled them out and then left them to prove, I thought they looked too small but after about 45 minutes they had doubled in size! I said to my youngest even if they didn't bake well I felt chuffed with myself as I don't usually do that well with dough. They tasted amazing but I should have let them cool a little longer before putting the icing on.

Cinnamon buns

On the menu this week we have:

Monday - Gousto meal - Chinese Takeaway-Style Chicken Balls With Vegetable Fried Rice.
Tuesday - Gousto meal - Pork Belly Hog Roast, Apple Sauce & Stuffing. This comes in buns and we've had it before and it's so tasty, messy but good!
Wednesday - Gousto meal - Hearty Beef & Carrot Hotpot.
Thursday - A freezer dive! We have lots in the freezer so it will be something out of there which I have forgotten about.
Friday - Pizza.
Saturday - Gousto meal - Sticky Orange Chicken Thigh With Garlic Rice & Slaw.
Sunday - A Sunday lunch of some sort.

What about you? What are you eating this week?

Sunday, 5 October 2025

A photo every day for a year! 28th Sept - 4th October! Week 40 of #Project365

Another week gone just like that and week 40 already, it feels awfully close to the end of the year. I just asked Ellie what week of the year did she think it was and she guessed at about 30. I would have guessed the same if I hadn't seen the weeks flying by when doing these type of blog posts.

I've had a good week, ticking a lot of things off my to do list and some of those things I have been putting off for a while so it was good to get them done. Cleaning the wheelie bin out, upgrading to Windows 11, sorting out some cupboards in the kitchen and deep cleaning mine and Stu's bedroom. I've had a few days out and about and feel like I've had a good balance between busy, fun and quiet time.

Now for a photo every day!

Sunday Carvery and Windows 11 upgrade
Me and my youngest
Cinnamon buns
Hawthorn berries and a little tomato

271/365 - 28th September
Another Sunday lunch out at the carvery. This has definitely become a thing for us now. I’ve decided Sundays are for eating, not cooking and plus the walk there and back makes me feel slightly less guilty about how many Yorkshire pudding's I put away.

272/365 - 29th September
I finally upgraded to Windows 11! I’d been putting it off for ages because I had this vision of everything breaking, disappearing or just generally refusing to work. Turns out the worry beforehand was the worst part. Once it was done it was actually fine with just a few tweaks here and there to get things looking how I like them.

273/365 - 30th September
Becky and I went out for lunch and I made a bit of an effort, slapping some make up on and a nice dress. We had such a lovely afternoon, full of chatter and good food. It’s amazing how just a couple of hours out can feel like such a treat. Definitely something I want to do more often!

274/365 - 1st October
This was Ellie's rebellion outfit. She dressed up trying to push the new dress code rules at college and was expecting a bit of drama. Instead the teachers absolutely loved it and gave her compliments all day long. Totally backfired on her but it gave us all a good laugh.

275/365 - 2nd October
I finally made cinnamon buns and they were incredible! Warm, gooey and sugary goodness! They were better than any shop bought ones I’ve ever had and I may have eaten slightly more than I should have. I’ll definitely be making them again!

276/365 - 3rd October
The hedges around here are covered in hawthorn berries at the moment, a proper sign that winter’s coming. I am sure the birds will enjoy on them. They make everything look so autumnal.

277/365 - 4th October
My one and only ripe tomato of the year, so far, there are still a few green ones hanging on the plants. I found it on the ground, probably knocked off by that storm we had on Friday night. I hope everyone got through the storm OK? We lost another fence panel but it's fine, it was one of the old one's which was due to be replaced anyway and we have the wood in the garage ready.

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