Saturday

I have nothing much to report today. I did my ironing, cleaned the house a bit and made some choc chip buns, the first cakes I have made for us since  Christmas. It's been a miserable day and my washing only got half dry. My back is still painful so I am fed up but I don't think it's quite as bad as it was yesterday. I made parsnip, beetroot and leek soup for lunch and it was nice ( our soup maker was a year old yesterday ) it's been used loads and is still going strong. For dinner we had chops with veg and gravy and that was nice too.

Friday 30th

It has been a horrible day for me, I have been in such pain. I pulled a muscle in my back yesterday pulling up leeks and couldn't get to sleep until 4am this morning, then I had to get up at 6 to go to Asda for the weekly shop. ( I managed to keep the bill below £75 ). I pulled a few things out of the garden because bending seems to help the pain in my back. H did another hour on his rollers while I laid on the settee reading. I did manage to get lunch and cook dinner but I haven't done much else. I hope I am better by Monday because my bosses wife in giving us all a ' party lunch ' for my bosses 60 th birthday. Her home made pizzas are lovely. I took a photo in the garden this morning of one of the first signs of spring,we have loads of clumps of snowdrops in our garden but this clump must be an early sort.

Snowy Thursday

It was a horrible day at work, really cold and windy. After lunch the sky turned black it began to rain and then it hailed and finally turned to snow. I had to pick sprouts, trim leeks, bunch carrots, get a box of parsnips, a box of swedes and 2 boxes of loose carrots. We then washed and packed everything and put it in the cold store ready to be delivered tomorrow. When I got home daughter rang to say she has a nasty cold so won't be cycling with us this weekend but as the forcast is so bad I don't think we will be going out anyway, so she won't miss much. We had a nice curry for dinner which was a good meal to warm me up after being frozen for most of the day. No more work for me till Monday, hopefully it will have warmed up a bit by then.

Windy Wednesday

I got up at 5 am this morning, I had been awake for ages, couldn't get back to sleep so I went downstairs and read until I heard H moving about. Then I made a pot of tea put on a load of washing and had my breakfast. It wasn't nice enough to bike so H worked out for an hour on his rollers and after he had showered he said he was taking me to Cromer for fish and chips at Mary Janes for lunch. Their fish and chips are lovely and we haven't been for ages so it was a real treat. We drove to Cromer in torrential rain and walked to the cafe in a gale but by the time we came out the rain had stopped and the wind had dropped. However is was bitterly cold so we decided not to go for a walk along the beach. On the way home we stopped at a shop for donuts and had them when we got home with a cup of coffee. We then didn't want much for tea so we just had a banana and a yogurt with a nice cup of tea. I took this photo of my plate and they tasted as good as they look.

Sunny Tyesday

I was up before 6 and put on a loaf of bread right away so it would be done before we went out at 10.45. Before we left the sun came out and it stayed sunny for the whole of our ride. It was still quite cool but there wasn't as much wind as there has been lately so it was a nice ride. (27 1/2 miles). Our venison steaks were delish' and we had them with jacket potatoes, mushy peas, fried egg and bread and butter. H had a glass of wine but I stuck to water. I burnt over 800 calories on my bike ride but as we had chicken sandwiches for lunch I have eaten a lot of bread today.

Monday 26 th

Back to the grind stone!! Bunched carrots and leeks all morning but this afternoon I had to get a box of parsnips a box of loose carrots and a box of beetroot. Then I went back to trimming leeks till I was picked up at 2.50 to wash and pack everything. Cucumber sandwiches again for my lunch with tomatoes and plums and of course my bottle of water. No more work till Thursday. My boss has the right idea, it's his 60 th birthday and he is in Cyprus with his son for a week. He says its 20 degrees there. I think daughter is coming round tomorrow after she leaves off work and we are going out on our bikes. She works from 6 am to 9.45 and has to get up at 5 so she does well to get ready and come out with us.

We had left over chicken for dinner tonight but we have got venison steaks for dinner tomorrow night so I will look forward to them.

Sunday

I had porridge for my breakfast for a change today and washed all my filthy clothes from yesterday's ride including my shoes. H went out with son in law at 8 am to ride 60 miles. He got back at 11.30, he says it was horrible and neither of them enjoyed it!!! He has ridden 101 miles this week but I have only done 47. I made some nice flapjack for no2 son to take back with him this evening. He brought some mixed seeds he wanted me to add and I also added sultanas and cocoanut, put it in the tin and sprinkled more cocoanut on top. It turned out well and is very tasty. He went for a run this morning so he has also had some exercise its just me who hasn't. We had cheese on toast for lunch and roast chicken for dinner. We are all stuffed but the other two have earned theirs it's just me who is lazy. I have got work tomorrow so I will get plenty of exercise then. 

Sat

Another good day!! 2 in a row is good.H and I rode along the track again but it was much harder today because last nights rain made it so sticky. No 2 son was in bed when we left but up when we got back. I was in an awful state, mud from head to foot, and had to make most of my clothes on the step outside.H hosed down our bikes and my shoes etc. which I have put in the washing machine ready for tomorrow. No1 son rang to see if we are all ok ( yes ), he is busy tiling his bathroom at the moment but says he will pop round tomorrow if he has time so he can see his brother.

We had steak, chips, mushrooms, peas, sweetcorn and oven bread for our evening meal which was lovely, the sirloin steaks came from my butcher and melted in the mouth. We go out to Clarkes butchers in Hevingham about once a month and stock up the freezer.(their sausage rolls are to die for).H took these 2 photos yesterday when we were out on our ride. Today we got really close to a buzzard, it was an amazing bird.

Friday 23 rd

Today has been a good day. Last night I had a message from no 2 son saying that he will be home this evening for the weekend but even with the extra shopping I then had to get I still managed to keep my shopping bill to just under £60. When we got back and had put all the groceries away we had a coffee and waited for our loaf of bread to be done before getting ready to go out on our bikes.we decided to ride on the track because we thought the roads might be icey. Marriotts way was frozen so it was ok to ride on but you had to be careful of the frozen ruts. The ride only took an hour and a half, when we got back home we had a shower,a cheese and ham roll with a hot chocolate and it was time for me to go to the hairdressers. They did a good job and now you can't see the join!!!  On the way home we went to our favourite chippy in Costessy for fish and chips for our tea.

Thursday

Sprouts, carrots,bunched and loose and leeks again today but not quite as cold. I took cold toast with butter and marmite for my 2 breaks also 2 plums and a satsuma, I couldn't drink all my water it froze my throat up!! I am going to the hairdressers tomorrow for a colour and trim and then fish and chips for tea. It was nice to come home to a warm house.

Boiler day

I got up at 6.20 and H had already taken the door off the airing cupboard, had his breakfast and been into the garage to sort all the tools he needed for the horrible job of sorting out our central heating.while he was draining the system I went into the garden and filled my brown bin ready for collection on Friday. It began to rain so I came in and had to spend the next 3 hours holding a torch or running up and downstairs with buckets. We finally finished at 1.50 but already our house is lovely and warm again. One of the reasons it took so long was because H has arthritis in his hands and really struggled to undo the bolts. I am just glad today is over. It's work for me tomorrow and I haven't any cucumber !!!! Goodness knows what I will have in my sandwiches!!

MOT day

All went well with our car so good news for once. We left it at Robinsons and walked into the City. We were going to put our folding bikes in the boot and cycle home till it was done and then bike back again but as we have no heating we thought it would be warmer to stay in the City. We went to Jarrolds for a coffee and a cheese scone and I also bought my tv magazine for next week and some of our favourite " black bomber " cheese. The only other place I have found it is in Holt.we left our car at 10 am and couldn't collect it till 2.30 pm so after walking about for hours we went and sat in the forum library where I read my mag. When we got home we had a cup of tea and I got dinner. As we were out all day we had a quick easy meal which was lovely. I chopped up small potatoes put them in a tin with olive oil added a sprinkle of salt and some dried thyme. They only take 30 mins.to cook at 200 fan. I also cooked a couple of mushrooms and a thin pizza, added peas and sweetcorn and it was all very nice.

Chilly Monday

It was pretty cold in the field today but I managed to keep fairly warm. I had to bang my hands a few times to get the feeling back but the day still passed quite quickly. When I got home H had bought the bit he thinks we need to fix our heating but can't fit it till we are both here so only the lounge is warm because we have a gas fire in there. Tomorrow is M O T day so the heating won't get fixed till Wednesday!!! We have to drain the system etc so it's not going to be fun. Thank goodness the hot water is still alright so I could have a good soak to warm me up when I got home.

Sunday 18 th

I am not having a good day! I woke up at 4.30 and couldn't get back to sleep so I was up by 4.45 but so I didn't disturb H I just sat and read a book. Then when I went up to dress I found I have a nasty rash all over my chest and neck!! It's gone now so I don't know what caused it. I have done nothing all day as I haven't felt quite right. Now our central heating has suddenly stopped working!! What a nightmare with the coldest week of the winter coming up.

Snowing

Snow day

Today I was going out with our daughter and H was riding with our son in law. They rang at 8 and we decided it was too frosty to ride so said we would leave it for today and all do our own thing should it warm up. H and I decided to go for a short ride around ten o'clock, but at 9.45 daughter contacted me with a photo titled yippee!! And it was snow falling in her back garden. I then looked out of the window and it was snowing like mad here too. I had a line of washing out and it was white! It all looked pretty but soon stopped and then melted,but it was enough to prevent us cycling. So I have sat about most of the day reading and eating.

Friday 16 th

Asda first today and then H cycled to a bike shop to get a few bits for our daughters bike. When he got back we went for a ride along the cycle track, it was really a bit too muddy and I, being at the back got coverd in mud !! H hosed both our bikes down when we came back and then went into the garage to put all the bits onto our daughters bike. I have just had a text from her saying it might be too cold for us to go out in the morning!!! We won't go if it's freezing,I struggle to breathe if it's too cold. We had homemade soup for lunch ( carrot and potato ) it was nice but H says whatever I make it with it tastes the same!! We are having paella for dinner tonight it's chicken, chorizo and king prawn.But I cheated and bought it in Asda. They say shopping is getting cheaper but there is only two of us and this morning my bill came to £115.08 !!! I did buy a box of wine which was quite expensive and also my second dressing gown.but apart from that it was just the usual things, I will have to try harder next week and see if I can get it below £ 80.

Windy work day

It was very windy at work and quite chilly but I was busy and the day went quickly. I had to bunch carrots, pick sprouts and trim leeks. I rode back to the yard on the trailer and helped to wash and pack the leeks before it was time for me to go home.i had my usual cucumber and Mayo sandwich's for lunch and some fruit. The 2 men I work with have enormous lunch boxes with loads of sandwiches, cakes and biscuits, which is why they have to have a half hour lunch, it takes them that long to eat it! I only have 15 minutes. When I got home I had a soak in the bath but didn't bother to dress again so I am writing this in my flurescent Orange dressing gown! Below a photo of my lunch.

Lazy Wed.

Today I have done nothing much, a bit of washing which I managed to get dry and a bit of ironing. It was too cold and windy for a bike ride so we went to the Range and had a coffee and a toasted tea cake. I made soup for lunch,( potato and leek ), Christmas cake for pudding. Then for dinner I made meatballs with pasta in an onion, tomato and mushroom sauce. That's it !!!

Tyre day

This morning our daughter came round at 10 30, after she had already gone to work at 6 and done 4 hours and we all went for a bike ride. It was quite cold and windy. H went on his mountain bike and we went on our road bikes. This makes it harder for H and he gets a better workout and we can keep up. With him ( almost) . We rode 27 miles, it was hard but we enjoyed it. When we got home we had a cup of coffee, a shower and then we went first to the chicken farm for eggs and then to a garage for 2 new front tyres for our car. However when we got there they discovered a large spike in one of our back tyres!! So we ended up with 3 new tyres and £500 less in our bank account. We had to have a glass of  wine when we got back home to help us get over it. It's a good job I used over 800 calories on my ride.

Monday

Another windy day at work but at least it was mild. Carrots and leeks were the order of the day and it was easy to walk across the fields because all the wind has dried them out nicely. No more work till Thursday for me so daughter is coming round in the morning and we are going for a bike ride if it's not raining. She is leaving her bike here after our ride so her Dad can sort her gears out for her. He has some spare bits which should do the trick. It's the first day of me cutting down on my food now that all the Christmas goodies have gone and even though I have had my evening meal I am hungry!!! I am sure it's all in my mind but it doesn't make it go away.

Sunday 10 th

This morning H and son in law went out on their single speed bikes and rode over 62 miles !! You have to give them credit ! It was only 2 degrees when they left here and very windy. After they left I made the bed did all the ironing up to date and dusted the lounge. I was playing for time because H had taken my mountain bike out of the garage for me and I felt obliged to go for a ride. I put on a loaf of bread,I made a ciabatta for a change, it's a really healthy bread ..... 1 teaspoon of yeast 1 of sugar 1 of salt 3 tablespoons of olive oil 1 lb 2 oz of strong white flour and 130 mil of water.all into the bread maker for 4 1/2 hours, job done. When the bread mix was in I changed into my cycle gear and ventured out on my own. I decided to try Marriots Way,hoping that the wind had dried it up a bit and I was lucky because it wasn't too bad. I was more protected from the wind there. There were loads of people using the track, runners, dog walkers, people on horseback, ramblers and other cyclists. It's good to see whole families out on bikes together. H and I arrived home at the same time so we had a shower and I made chicken sandwiches with gherkins and a shandy for lunch and got my washing in, all nice and dry. I don't suppose I will do much else today apart from the evening meal which will be roast chicken yet again ( yesterday's leftovers ) we will have it with mashed and roast potatoes,carrots, sprouts, batter pudding and gravy. All the Christmas choc's,biscuits,and nuts are finally finished so I will try to get back on to the straight and narrow this coming week with my diet. At the beginning of the year on the same Monday I weigh myself and this year I weighed 2 lbs less than I did last year on that day.!!! How soul destroying is that? Diet for a whole year and only lost 2 pounds!!!!t

Windy Saturday

Too windy to bike so I thought I would do a bit of tidying up in the garden. I dressed ready to go out and then it rained!! When it stopped I ventured out but every thing I dug up or cut off blew away before I could clear it up, so I gave up and came in.H did a bit more to our car, it's it's M O T in a couple of weeks so he has started the big clean. I thought it was Sunday today ( because I had yesterday off ) so I had nothing out of the freezer! So we have got tomorrow's dinner tonight! Roast chicken with all the trimmings. I took a photo of my cabbage before I cut it up. I think it looks beautiful, it's a January king and they are a really sweet cabbage. I will save the outer leaves to give my Daughter when she comes on Tuesday, her rabbit will eat them so nothing is wasted.

Jan. 9 th

Shopping this morning which I always enjoy. I needed a new dressing gown, the one I have is past its best. It came from Asda and I wanted another just like it because it's so warm and comfy ( it's pale blue ). Well all they had were fluorescent  Orange !!! But I bought it anyway!! The lady in the queue at the checkout behind me even remarked on its brightness! I also bought a nice t shirt for the summer, if you see something you like in Asda you have to buy it, if you think you will leave it till the following week chances are it will be gone. We had a corned beef sandwich with brown sauce for lunch and I am making a fish pie for dinner. We love fish and potato pie but I don't like making it much, it's so time consuming with making white sauce etc. but H says it's worth it. We rode the same 10 miles I rode on my own on Wennesday this morning. We used our road bikes ( I was on my mountain bike last time which is harder work ) and we knocked almost 10 minutes off the time. It only took us 37 minutes and I burnt 330 calories, so was able to have a slice of my Christmas cake.

Thursday

It was a miserable morning in the field,but it was a bit brighter this afternoon thank goodness. I trimmed leeks from 8 till 2 and I joined one of the men and we did 2 dozen bunches of carrots, 3 boxes of loose ones,2 boxes of parsnips and a few celeriac. We then went to the yard to wash and pack them. My next work day is Monday. I had a nice warm bath and a nice hot curry so now I feel great again and my weekend starts here.

Wednesday 7th jan

Yesterday H and I went for a cycle ride which was hard work. In the first place it was hard to get ourselves motivated enough to even get ready.we rode 27 miles and it was cold and windy. We only saw one other cyclist the whole ride. Today he went out just before 10 and got back at 12.40 so he's had a good ride. I just rode 10 miles on my own on my mountain bike. I can't say I enjoyed it much, it was cold, dull and windy and I was glad to get back home. I made soup for lunch ..... 3 sticks celery, 1 potato,2 tomatoes 1 onion,1 beetroot 1 beef and 1 veg' oxo cube and some cold water,all into the soup maker and done. Yesterday I used ...... 1 leek 1 potato a small beetroot a slice of pumpkin and 2 veg' cubes plus water and it tasted completely different but they were both nice.

Smarties

People are always saying " things don't taste the same as they used to when I was young" but in the case of smarties this is true. When my 3 brothers and I were young we would get a box of them as a special treat.( not often because of rationing ). Well the coffee coloured ones were coffee flavoured ( my favourite ) the dark brown and the red were plain chocolate and I think the rest may have been just as they are now. My brothers and I used to tip them all on to the table and each take turns choosing 1, I always took all the coffee first and then the plain choc' ones. Black magic choc's arent  as nice as they used to be either, we all loved the liquid cherry, the choc brazil, marzipan, and montelimar ( what ever that was) . I have just rememberd that the orange smarties were orange flavour!!!

Back to work

Work for me today,so up at 5.40, a slice of toast for breakfast, pack lunch, dress, make bed etc and leave home at 7.30 . 10 dozen bunched carrots, 13 boxes of leeks and just enough time to wash and pack them before home time at 4 pm. It seemed a long day but it always does on the first day back. A nice cup of tea and a soak in the bath and I feel much better. No more work till Thursday for me. H went to the chemist and collected my blood pressure tablets so that has saved me a trip tomorrow when we are hoping to go out on our bikes. Daughter rang when I got home and said she won't be coming out with us tomorrow because she wants to tidy Christmas things away. I am still eating leftovers!!!

Sunday 4 th

Today we planned to go out on our bikes but it's too cold! I washed the kitchen floor and H cleaned the car. I finished putting away the rest of the Christmas decorations and got everything into the loft.

The pheasant we had yesterday was really tender, one of the best we have had. Tonight we are having venison steaks,( from the butcher) I have never cooked them before but how hard can it be? 

I am supposed to go back to work tomorrow but I am worried that I won't be able to do it! I changed the sheet's etc. on the bed today and it really hurt my back, I struggled to breathe for a while afterwards!! It's no 2 sons last day of his holiday tomorrow it will be nice to speak to him again.

3rd Jan

I missed a day of my blog yesterday, not a good start to the new year!! I began the day with good intentions having porridge for my breakfast, getting ready and riding 27 miles on my bike ( even though I am still in a lot of pain in my shoulder) , coming home and making healthy veg.soup for lunch. But then it all went wrong!!! H opened a bottle of wine and a giant box of chocolates given to us by our daughter. At first I refused the chocs but after the second glass of wine my resistance was low and that was it, not only did I eat loads of chocolates but I also finished off half a tub of twigletts and I don't even like them!!! Next it was on to the nuts and so it carried on!  I think the problem all goes back to the years when I was born. I am a pre' war baby so can remember all the years of rationing and never wasting a scrap of food. 70 odd years later and I still can't get out of the habit😄 well that's my excuse. Today I have started off again with porridge and so far so good. I have taken a pheasant out of the freezer for dinner tonight, it's a nice healthy meat with no fat. The one I have is " road kill " !! When H and I are out on our bikes we often come across them and if they aren't too damaged and smell ok we bring them home. This one was still warm when we found the poor thing so H stuffed it up his jacket and brought it home. He can often be seen with feathers sticking out from his neck. At least the poor things life wasn't wasted because it's feeding us tonight. When we got it home I did not pluck it I cut the skin open along the breast and pealed it back. I cut the breast meat off the bone, pealed the skin back still further and cut out both legs,that makes a good meal for the two of us, a leg and a breast each, I am going to put it in a casserole dish with some veg. I took what was left of it out to where I know there are foxes and the next day it had gone.

New Year's Day 2015

Happy new year.today has been lovely. H went out with son in law and rode 60 odd miles this morning and said it was hard work. I stayed at home and did a bit of clearing up. This afternoon H and I went round to our daughter and son in laws for a meal which was lovely. Cheesie mushrooms wrapped in ham, followed by a huge roast, roast turkey, potatoes, sweet potato, mashed potato, green beans, peas, cauliflour cheese,Yorkshire puddings,stuffing, pigs in blankets and gravy. For afters there was a choice of raspberry.cheesecake, cherry and plum crumble or ice cream. After dinner we had a game of scrabble,H won and I came last ( so what's new)  but it's because I got all the rubbish letters!! 2 v's J and z. We had a great time, I had loads to drink because H was driving so I could.😏