Talented Talon & Jobs on a Hot Day

It feels like another scorcher today (as it was yesterday) but yesterday evening I spent several hours in the blissful cool of an air conditioned theatre watching a wonderful acoustic band called Talon.  They are known for being an Eagles tribute band but their talents extend far beyond that.  I left on a high, especially after a hug from a member of the band! If you want to hear what I mean try www.talonmusic.co.uk/acoustic and click on the All Of Me video to hear Johnny Miller's version of the John Legend song.  I buy a ticket for the show every year and it's the highlight of my year.  I have to go on my own but I wouldn't miss it for the world :)  Do take a look, they might be playing near you....

This morning while it's a little cooler I need to crack on with a bit of housework.  It's been sadly neglected with the energy sapping weather we have been having, so it's:

• Change the bed linen and put it in the wash
• Mop the kitchen floor
• Clean the bathroom & en-suite
• Vacuum the lounge
• Breath.....  ;)
• Crafting! Yippee!
• Lunch
• More crafting ;)

I managed to get my car serviced at last as I put it off last year in order to save money. Because I do so few miles I thought it could wait.  This year I shopped around and, instead of going to the dealer at a cost of over £300, I went to a local chap who was VW trained.  He did the same kind of service for £133; at least £167 cheaper!  This meant that we could help DD out with the GC's school uniforms.  They are growing so fast they will need lots of new stuff for September.

May I offer a warm welcome to Cathy, my new follower …. hello!

I now have another £6.63 after fees to add to my challenge pot so total updated below.  I'm slowly getting there :)

How are you spending your day?  My Son, who lives in Australia, has been COLD.  It's only 20 degrees...Ooh that sounds good at the moment.  What's the temperature in your part of the world?

Stay safe and thanks so much for popping in x


Stash to Cash total £91.12

Relentless Heat & Home Produce

The relentless heat has continued all week, with nights so humid and hot that it has disrupted our sleep.  Last night, in particular, I was so restless that I just couldn't sleep, even with the windows open to let in the cool night air.  My joints ached, my back twinged and I was hot to the extent that I got up at midnight to sit in the cooler living room for a bit.  I went back to bed at 1.30am but slept fitfully. I know I should be grateful but excessive heat really doesn't suit me and my tummy feels bloated because my normal eating patterns have been disrupted :(  Pleeeease let us have a drop of rain soon.....

On a happier note, a very warm welcome to my new follower, Rosemary, I don't always moan I promise you! :)

Also on the plus side, we have been eating some absolutely gorgeous strawberries from our pots, a few tasty radishes too and our potatoes are almost ready to eat.  The flowers have gone over so they should be ready in about a weeks time, I think.  Apparently, potatoes stop growing if the temperature reaches 25 degrees, which it certainly has for about two weeks now, so they could be very small (but perfectly formed, I hope!)  I'll show you when we dig some up.

On the Stash to Cash challenge, after fees and postage there is £25.31 to add to my pot from selling my makes and I have some bids on items closing today on eBay.  I am going to persist with the monthly craft fair until the end of the year because I would like to make a total of  £120 for shhh… Christmas ...gifts and the next one is a week tomorrow. The current  total is below....

Enjoy your day folks and thanks everso for popping in x



Stash to Cash:  £84.49

What a Scorcher! and Blue Eggs

Oh boy, has this week been a scorcher. I remember Sir Terry Wogan saying that everyone complained it was too cold and we needed some sun, then as soon as it warmed up the cry was 'it's too hot for me!'  Well, Sir Terry, it is!  I simply cease to function at a reasonable level once the thermometer reaches above 22 degrees.  The only way I can survive is to close the blinds or curtains on the sunny side, open windows and doors on the cool side and stay indoors until early evening when we get a blissful breeze in the back garden and I can sit and read in comfort.  It's already too hot now at 11.30am and no sign of any letup.  I seem to be drinking gallons of ice cold water and eating fruit and salad almost exclusively.  We could really do with a gentle rainfall now as the grass has turned to straw.  Our strawberries, however, are lush :)

I'm finding sleep hard to come by too, what with the heat and OH's restless head next to me.  BTW I've decided to refer to OH by his initial G from now on.  It seems less impersonal and he deserves recognition after all he is coping with, I think.  How are you coping? Do you like the heat or loathe it?

Yesterday, I answered the door to find my lovely neighbour, J, holding a gift for us, some Blue Eggs! I have never seen any, much less eaten them so it was a lovely treat.  I hard boiled one to have with salad and it was delicious.  The taste was no different to a normal brown or white egg but the yolk was deep yellow and gorgeous.  I'll be having an egg and cress sandwich for lunch today as G is at work until teatime....

Anyone know what breed of chickens lays blue eggs please?

Oh, I want to give a big welcome to Veronica, my new follower...hello!

I have been having a measure of success in my Stash to Cash challenge by selling on fleabay this last week.  The challenge has been really tough going but I intend to stick it out for the rest of this year, not least because I am keeping the cash on one side for Christmas...sorry! I'll whisper the word... Christmas....


anyway, I'll carry on.  My stash is reducing in size (although my makes are growing) and during the week I had a sort out and gave a big box of oddments of card, pretty paper, embellishments and stickers etc to one of my neighbours for her Granddaughters to craft with.  She was looking after the youngest on Friday and needed something for her to do.  Like her older sister, the little one loves to craft and I'm all for encouraging the young to have a go.  My stash boxes are now lighter and tidier, and I found more stuff I had forgotten about...woohoo

I have items on fleabay which close today so I'll update my total tomorrow.

Have a wonderful day everyone and thanks so much for popping in x

Scan trauma & stuff...

Thank you all for the replies and wonderful suggestions on my last post regarding plastic pollution.  I'm afraid I no longer get email notification from Blogger when someone responds to a post so I don't get chance to read them in a timely fashion, but they are all very much appreciated.

The last couple of weeks have sped by in a blur.  My poor hubby is now suffering with a neck problem.  After a whole year of dental problems (now resolved) he has a spinal problem.  Physio hasn't helped and I took him for an MRI scan yesterday.  He came out looking pale and in pain.  The problem he has is that his head keeps turning to the left of it's own volition and he has developed a slight head tremor too.  He explained this to the chap at the Hospital so, to ensure a good scan, they placed a pillow under his lower spine to make sure his head connected with the table and supported his head as best they could.  The scan lasted just 10 minutes but hubby was in so much pain trying to control his head movements that he almost pressed the alarm button to stop the scan.  He was just about to press when the nurse told him that a few seconds remained so he gritted his teeth and remained there.  He has been in pain today too although he went off to work as normal to try and take his mind off the pain.  I do so hope that the scan shows the problem and something can be done for him.  He has been slowly getting worse over the last 6 months and the future looks bleak at the moment.  He is so restless because he can't sit to read or watch much TV and it's making me feel restless too...….

Whilst he was at work I have been tidying, de-junking and cleaning.  I also had an hour crafting this afternoon...bliss!  Stuff has been listed on eBay so I might have some more cash to add to my challenge fund.  I have a bid on one item already...yay!  I can't find any other local venues for craft fairs so I'll have to persist with the current one until the end of the year unless something changes. 

It has been announced that there is a shortage of CO2 at the moment.  This affects fizzy drinks and the meat packaging industry.  Well I never...you learn something every day.  It won't affect me very much but OH does like a beer and with the World Cup in full swing a lot of people could potentially be a bit miffed.  Has it affected you at all?  Any shortages where you shop?

It has been a wonderfully warm sunny day today and a heat wave is forecast so yesterday I bought a 4.5tog duvet in preparation.  I used my Nectar points to reduce the cost from £15 to £10 so I AM READY! :)  What's it like by you?  What on earth do you find to eat when it's really hot?  My appetite disappears off the face of the earth.  All I crave then is ice lollies.  Help!

Take care everyone and thanks so much for popping in x