Last but one Friday off

 Oh the outrage at the fact my six weeks holiday is actually only five weeks and three days! Every year it goes faster and faster. 

Today I’m having my hair cut so am really looking forward to it . I love having my hair washed for me. Especially since the arthritic shoulders arrived! Then tomorrow we are away with friends just overnight, to see lovely old friends for a covid postponed catch up. 

I’ve been playing a kind of fabric patchwork soduko/sudoko/sodoku ( all pronunciations covered! 

My friend had a clear out of all her fabric bits n bobs and the other week I ironed and sorted and decided not to stash it away but to make something with it. So I decided on new outdoor cushions and a tablecloth for my outdoor table. Typical- the HG worked like mad to tidy up the garden by getting rid of the scrap metal he was collecting ( £515!!! So worth it - free money but I’m glad it’s gone and I’m not looking out on Steptoe’s yard ) and done the bay tree and power washed ( sorry drought stricken friends in the south ) and done a tip run and now weather has changed, the nights are drawing in and SPIDER SEASON has already began here!

 Back to my patchwork, I wish I’d read Poppy Patchwork’s Hexi post and considered the different cottons and poly cotton qualities but too late. I’d have left out the yellow with red roses, the green and red printed with daisies gingham ( which I love ) and the red anchor fabric. Anyway - for the tablecloth I started with large squares but I really do like these smaller squares so I may just join four large squares together and chop them up!I tried to join a light to a dark, no spots, squares, plain or flowers together haha failed but it’s cheerful and I’m enjoying my little self. 

I’ll see. This is laid out on the floor and I’ve been switching and switching! I had to walk away! 

I am almost done with my other little sewing project too - pictures to follow! 

I’ve also done one jigsaw which was a birthday present. The lighting for the photo wasn’t brilliant. It doesn’t do it justice! Lovely rich vibrant colours. I’ll keep this one and do it again. 

I’m also on with this Lego set my son bought me for Mother’s Day. I’m only doing one a day as I’m enjoying it so much, I’m ekeing it out! No smelly flower water to change just a dust with the feather duster now and again! I will take again with better lighting - it’s the dining room windows behind my table. 

I’ve something on the needles. A little white baby cardigan for my future if any grandchildren stash. I’ve baked, walked the dog, almost finished Game of Thrones. I’ve read the first Cornish Cafe book - easy light frothy reading but so enjoyable! About to start the second. 

Google found me this photo! 

Me and my friend went to the poshest hotel everrrr for afternoon tea. We go in memory of her Mum in August and because we like a good old gossip over iddy biddy sandwiches and tiny cakes! 

We are now employing ourselves as Secret Afternoon Tea -ers 

So this was The Belsfield Hotel, Bowness on Windermere. If you have ever been to Bowness where you get on the ferries right at the bottom of the hill, and turn around and look up the banking, there’s the hotel! It was as hot as the surface of the sun but it was cool and quiet inside. Such a beautiful old building. Of all the visits we’ve had so far this one tops the charts for the venue. 10/10

Staff - again very lovely  and attentive with the right amount of ‘madam’ and manners! One young chap should have had a dressing down off the Maitre D for his uniform. Desperately needed a wash and some needlework. 8.5/10 marks - loss of marks for unkempt waiter and a significant wait for the second pot of earl grey. We had to ask a second waitress to remind our waiter! It would have been a 7, but we awarded a 1.5 for them allowing us to put our boxes of uneaten delights in the fridge whilst we had a cold drink on the terrace! 

Food 

Sandwiches - fresh doorstep bread, white, brown and seeded

Egg and cress - needed seasoning - I had double egg because I don’t like salmon 

Cream cheese and roasted red pepper - our absolute favourite - delicious

Salmon - my friend ( we need to make up some Lady names I think ) said it was lovely 

Ham - roasted on the bone and the mustard was good though my friend wasn’t a fan. 

Cakes - the very lightest strawberries and cream square - the one we liked the most. It was gorgeous. There was a thick rich chocolate torte, a piece of good old fashioned vanilla school cake and then the scones. A fruit one and a plain with clotted crem and strawberry jam. Very light in texture and they were delicious but a tad on the crumbly side. Also a bit tight with the currants! The plain ones we took home! Stuffed. We also had a glass of fizz each - Prosecco for me and champers for her! 5/10 

Have a guess how much this pint of lime and soda and half a pint of lemonade cost! 

So that’s the lowest score for food but made up in ambience and opulent surroundings!! 

I may start up a side page for these ! We are hoping to squeeze another in on the Tuesday or Wednesday before we go back to work! 

Enough chit chat for now. Stuff to do, patchwork squares to wrangle! 

Love from 

Rachel *new hair day* *same style as per but shorter* Radiostar xx

How much more can we stand?

It is Summer. It is hot. Relentlessly airless and all my pores are cleansed due to the free sweat therapy we have had! My left leg calf has three massive bites from horsefly number one and then think the others are spider bites ( shudders ) but I’m on bite watch as they are inflammed, swollen and hard and ITCHY. I’m on anti histamines, got magic cream etc 

But. 

I write this damp and cool having just come inside. 

It just rained. Big fat warm rain drops. Glorious to stand out in! And now there’s that ‘smell’ of it rains when it’s hot. And again, it’s glorious!

Hopefully those down where they really really need it gets some respite soon. 

A few months ago I wrote a post on the fact we were watching Chicago Fire and loving it and some one commented about the sister shows Chicago Med and Chicago P.D. well we are currently mid season 2 of Chicago Med. We love it and are thrilled haha when the fire department bring in patients! 

Also am watching New Amsterdam - I think it’s superior to CM but neither are a patch on ER which was the greatest Hospital Drama ever in my telly watching opinion haha. 

We went to a friend’s for a catch up last night. I also nipped to my other friend’s daughter’s 18th. She is a most delightful young lady. She’s spent the last two years doing A’ Levels at Chetham’s School of Music or Hogwarts for Musicians as my friend calls it. And oh my giddy aunts, the child is talented. Her Mum is an amazing friend and a wonderful and talented music teacher and she fostered this love for it in all three of her offspring. Bella is the eldest. I’m not sure if this will work but wow! I’m not sure if the link will work but it’s worth a go.

Bella can SING!

Chat soon 

Rachel *tasty left leg* Radiostar xx

Part 2 of the caravan story is in progress but I wanted to blog normally

 I've been a bit of a teenager again with this caravan story! It's like it's turned into homework and I'm brattishly not doing it! 

This is now my third Friday off in the holidays and the time is flying by. Currently it's over 30 degrees but fortunately its cool in my house because I open NO windows or curtains! The dog has been walked by 8am and she has a cool jacket to wear that works brilliantly.

 

She also has a new pool to play in that's better than the foldaway one we have. It's great that one but a right pig to clean and dry. This new one can have just a trickle of water in and will rinse out and dry easier. 

Done a little bit of gardening today. Well, the HG had given our lollipop Bay tree it's annual butchering classeh trim and I've been the muggins slaving away picking it all up. I HATE that tree and love it with a passion. 

I've a few examples of things like that in my life! Moany old biddy grouchy rantings coming up. 

The Bay Tree

I grew it myself into the shape it is now. It looks amazing. The branches and leaves during the haircut fall all over and the fragrant smell of it soon becomes sickly and overpowering to me. And it takes FOREVER to pick all the bastarding twigs up! 

The Tall Chrome Radiator/Towel Rail

Looks gorgeous when polished and warms the bathroom a treat. It's a right git to polish, it gets dusty and condensates and we made the fatal error of not tiling behind it so the bathroom had been half undecorated for far too long. I hate cleaning the bastarding thing. 

The Italian Slate Kitchen Floor

Cool as anything to walk on in Summer, not too cold in the winter. Looked gorgeous when first laid.  Quite easy to keep clean. Has chips in it where I have dropped plates that then smash into a quadzillion bastard pieces from one of my kitchen to the next. It's a good job it's quite easy to keep clean because it looks filthy the minute the mopping has dried.

Anywayyyyyyy, I've done some sewing, knitting, reading, not baking because I am still trying to be less fat, socialising with friends, catching up on TV and marvelling at how fast the weeks have gone. 

I'm new to being a Strictly fan - however there's not many of the celebs I know being announced so far. But I am looking forward to the glitz and glamour and as I type in this deathly hot heat of summer, cannot believe that when it is well under way Ill be lighting the fire and be huddled under many blankets keeping warm! Heat the person, not the house haha  - I am not listening anymore to the scaremongering on the news about the ridiculous price hike coming our way. I have seen a deodorant that lasts for 72hours so that saves on the weekly shower bill hahahaha 

72 hours! I may well test it out! Let it take on my lady of a certain aid flashes! Doubt it would last 72 hours worth of that! Anyway I am going to foot my energy bills by hiring myself out for hugs having an internal core temperature of a million degrees Fahrenheit! I could probably heat a room by standing in a corner and seething over such local matters that are pissing me right off lately. 

I'll chat about the books and jigsaws and afternoon tea next post probably. Hope all my bloggy chums are keeping well and are not succumbing to round 3 of covid, round 1 of monkey pox. global warming and death by who will be the next prime Minister. They are all lying self centred liars and no I couldn't do a better job myself! I am on holidays! 

What's new in your part of the world? 

Catch up soon

Lots of love from

Rachel *I'm Melting*Radiostar

PS. Fully aware of my lovelies darn sarf struggling with drought and hosepipe bans. I don't waste too much water on Bluebell and it then goes on the plants afterwards -  we are not on a water meter so I am fairly relaxed about it! Did you see the satellite pic of the UK on the internet the other day? Fascinating. 

Bloody hell it's hot. I'm TWOT!!