Monday.

I woke up this morning with a really sore throat, I had porridge and a cup of tea, packed a salad and a bottle of water and went to work. I had to do 48 bunches of carrots, they didn't take long but the tops the got much worse since last week. I then trimmed leeks for the rest of the day. As the day went on I felt worse and I have a nasty cough and I feel like rubbish. I cooked new potatoes, broard beans, green beans and cabbage for dinner to go with our cold pork. Now I am going to bed with 2 paracetamol. So this is it for today.

Sunday.

I got up at 7 and put on a load of washing. H was already up and had made a pot of tea, had his breakfast, stacked the dishwasher, washed up the big things and taken my bike out of the garage. He was going to ride on his turbo and I was going to do an 'off road ' ride with our son. However when he got up at 9.15 he didn't look too good and thinks he might have the flu.! He went back to bed and I cooked his breakfast and took it up to him on a tray. He has stayed in bed all day so I made soup for lunch, took that up, a cup of tea and dinner. Dinner was nice, roast pork, roast and mashed potatoes, roast sweet potato, brócoli, carrots, cabbage, crackling and gravy.we had sliced pineapple for pud. .....
When I was about 8 years old my parents took us all to see a flea circus at Great Yarmouth. I was fascinated by it, all the little fleas wore skirts made of red net and feathers. Some were pulling minute chariots with another riding inside some were walking a tightrope, pushing pram's, riding on scooters etc. By the time we arrived back home I had made up my mind that I would train something and have a circus. I didn't know how to get hold of any fleas and anyway I didn't fancy them because the ' ringmaster ' showed us his arm where he fed his fleas and I didn't like the look of all those bites. It was mid summer and one of the fields beside our house was a corn field ( oats ) it was harvest time so I decided I would train mice. Harvest mice are easy to catch, I would simply pick them up by their tails and pop them into my little tin. Some of them would swing themselves up and grab my finger with their teeth and they sure did hurt! I decided I would have 8 I thought any more would make it difficult to train them. Anyway I only managed to catch 7 so I thought the odd one could be a clown. The next day I collected several ears of oats and gave them their breakfast then mum said we were going to the City for some of our school things for the start of next term so training was out for that day. The next day mum said we were all going to Wensum park and a swim in the river so no training again. I had hidden my mouse 🐭 tin under my bed and although all seven were fine there was an unbelievably strong smell coming from my bedroom that I could smell before I had got to the top of the stairs, it never entered my head that anyone else would smell it. Well next day my friend asked if I wanted to go to hers to play, yes. When I got home I went up with my corn only to find all my mice had gone, the tin was still under the bed and the lid was still on. It took me years to realise my mother  must have taken them down and let them out. I couldn't ask where they went because I had not told anyone I had them.

Saturday. .

I managed to lay in till 6.35this morning, H was up and had made a pot of tea. I put on a load of washing and made porridge for breakfast. I hung the washing out when it was done and we had a coffee. No 2 son came home last night but as he didn't get here till 11.35pm he didn't get up this morning till 9.20. I made the bed and did a bit of housework and quite a bit of just sitting about. Our daughter has been much more energetic because she and her husband went for a bike ride and did almost 33miles!! For lunch son and I had a salad but H had sandwiches, I bought a gammon joint yesterday so I sliced dome off that for him. We had some with our salad, it was nice. This afternoon i got the washing in, all nice and dry, and sat with a glass of wine watching some cricket on tv. Son has gone to the climbing centre. For dinner tonight we are having sirloin steaks, homemade chips and peas. The steaks are from my butcher and they are the best, they are a really dark red and look ripe. Well we just had dinner and it was delicious, we had pineapple 🍍 for pudding.
Our house we lived in as a child was a ' tied' house and belonged to the farmer my dad did the milk round for. We were surrounded by fields one side and meadows the other and also woods all around. The meadows were fenced off with electric wires to keep the herd of Guernsey cows and the bull in. We used to slip under the wires and take a short cut to school or the shop etc. My brothers used to wait till I was almost through and then push the wires onto me so I got a shock, I hated it so much and they knew this so if I got through they would join hands so one could grab the wire and the other could reach me. I can't believe they didn't mind the shock, it would pass right through them and shock me! At the top corner of one of the fields in the war the airforce set up a search light station and it was manned by American's. One of my Aunties who was single used to take me for lots of walks past there, I was only about 4 years old but I can still remember it and as we walked past they used to call me snowball because I had white blonde hair.

Friday.

I got up at 6am, put on a load of washing and after I had made a pot of tea I had a slice of toast for my breakfast. I woke H up at 6.20 so he could have his breakfast and we could go shopping. After we had been to Asda we carried straight on to our butchers in Hevingham, their meat is the best. On the way back from there we called in at the chicken farm for some free range eggs. I hope they will soon be able to let their chickens out again. We had a coffee when we got back and I hung out the washing and brought the bin in again. I then went up and did 45 minutes on the turbo. For lunch we each had a small pork pie topped with Stilton from the butchers, they are delicious. We had pizza for dinner tonight, it was nice but rather salty and I have been drinking ever since.
I was born in 1938,just before the war and my dad, because he couldn't join up volunteered for the home guard. They gave him a tin hat and a rifle. The tin hat always hung on a hook on their bedroom door. Because he had a motorbike he used to have to drive all over the place at night to deliver messages. We were given a thing called a Morrison shelter.. It was like a huge metal table and had wire sides. When the siren went my mum would bring us all down with our eiderdown and our pillow  and we would all sleep in the shelter till the all clear sounded. If we were fast asleep she would just leave us there till morning. Mum never ever came under the ' table' she always sat on a chair looking out of the window. In the day the shelter was covered with a chenille cloth and at meal times that was taken off and a linen cloth was put on and it was used as our dining table

Freezing Thursday.

I got up at 6.15, put on a load of washing and had my porridge. I hung the washing out and we had a coffee. H went up at 10 to ride a race on his turbo trainer and I defrosted the freezer. At 12.15 I went up for a short ride on the trainer. I did 14 miles and then got lunch, turkey sandwiches with a pickled onion and some gherkins washed down with a glass of beer. For dinner we had a quiche with mushrooms and grilled tomatoes.
My mothers mum was one of 4 girls and my mum had a sister. So I think my mum just assumed, after having me and finding she was pregnant again that she was having another daughter. I was almost 3 when my mum sat me down and told me I was having a baby sister. I was so excited, it was what I had always wanted. A few weeks later my auntie came round and took me out for the day and when we got back my dad called me into their bedroom and said 'come and look at your baby brother'.! I was disgusted! I said ' I don't want a brother, you told me I was getting a sister, send him back. It was horrible, my mum had always wanted a boy and John was a perfect and placid baby.( I think i was a pain ,wouldn't eat didn't sleep etc etc.) mum then had the cheek to have another 2 boys after that, rubbing salt in the wound. When i was young i hated them all, they would never let me join in any of their games and were always playing tricks on me. Things on tops of doors that would fall on my head when I opened them, drawing pins on my chair, hiding my teddy, the list goes on.

Freezing Wednesday.

I took sandwiches to work today,it was just too cold to even think of salad. I did a load of washing but it was too foggy to hang it out. I trimmed leeks till coffee break with Andy, my boss said when we left the yard, take your lunch with you so, if it's not too cold you can stay up there but I will let you come down for lunch. Well by 10 I was frozen and it was still thick fog so I wend down to sit in the shed with the men. He saw me there but I didn't get told off! Andy and I went back on to leeks just picking 48 bunches of carrots on the way. We went down again at lunch and then I had to walk back again and spend the rest of the day on leeks with the men joining me later in the afternoon. We had eggs, chips, beans and mushrooms for dinner. I am still trying to get warm.
At my parents old house we had a huge garden and my dad used to grow all his own veg. We had a couple of apple trees and also plum trees. We kept pigs chickens and rabbits. I used to climb over the the pigsty fence and ride on the pigs but I couldn't stay on for very long. We used to go to my nannys on one Sunday a month for dinner and tea. She had electricity and it was such a novelty for us 4kids we would beep switching it on and off, on and off, on and off till my nanny would shout at us and make us stop.

A ps.

One of my blog readers asked what a Primus stove was. Well it was a small table top stove that ran on methylated spirit's rather than oil. It had a pump on the side of the little tank and you had to pump it and add a certain amount of pressure, and the flame was always blue like a gas flame.

Tuesday 😊

I stayed in bed till 6.40 put on a load of washing and had porridge for my breakfast. There was a freezing fog outside so I had to wait till it had cleared before hanging out the washing. We had a coffee and H went up to ride on zwift island. I went into the garden and cleared up some rubbish to put in my brown bin. We had soup and a hot cross bun for lunch and at 2 pm I changed and rode for an hour and a bit on the turbo. In my first hour I managed to ride 18 miles. I had a shower and we watched some bowls on the tele before going to Costessey for fish and chips for our dinner. I got the washing in before we went and it's dry again.
In my parents old house because there was no power we had a Primus stove and an oil stove and apart from candles the only lights we had were oil lamps, they were lovely, all brass with a tall glass chimney and they had a fine mantel and a wick that the to be trimmed regularly. I have 3 brothers so mum and dad had one of the large bedrooms and my brothers had the other, the third room ( mine ) was tiny. It held a bed that was only 2 feet wide, a chest of drawers and a chair. The only other room I haven't mentioned is the walk in pantry. We, of course had no fridge so there was a marble slab to stand stuff on if you wanted it to stay cool. We had a meat safe which was like a small cupboard with a mesh door to keep flies out and let air in. All summer our milk stood in a bucket of water too keep cool.

Monday.

It was cold all day at work so I was glad to come home and warm up. I took a salad for my lunch and for dinner tonight we had a pizza and oven chips. This was because I forgot to take anything out of the freezer this morning so we had to have something I could cook from frozen. I trimmed leeks all morning and in the afternoon I did 2 dozen bunches of carrots and a box of loose ones before going back to leeks.
Another bit about our old house. We had a scullery, a living room and a sitting room. In the scullery there was an open fire and either side of it there was a wall oven. Mum had to cook in those ovens, she lit a fire under the ovens and had to keep pulling the ' damper' in and out to regulate the heat. Her bread, pies and cakes were amazing, I don't know how she did it. The fire in the living room was black leaded and had hobs on either side where a kettle always stood with boiling water, she also had to heat her flat irons on them or a Primus stove. The fire in the sitting room was also black leaded but small, we only used that room on high days and holidays. We had 3 bedrooms, 2 of them also had fireplaces but we never used them. We had no bathroom and washed daily in the scullery except Fridays when we had a bath in front of the fire. Dad carried it in and it was filled with water heated with the kettle and saucepans on the fire. Our toilet was at the bottom of the garden ( bucket style). My grandad was a blacksmith and carpenter, he gave my dad a large plank of oak and my dad carved 2 toilet holes side by side, 1 large, 1 small so mum used to take us to the loo and we would sit side by side. Often on the way down the path to the toilet our candle would blow out. I forget to say that our bath was galvanised tin with a handle at each end.

Sunday 🏡

When I got up it was minus 4 degrees. I put on a load of washing and had my breakfast. We then watched a bit of news ( all rubbish) and had a coffee. H went up for a race on his turbo trainer and I did a bit of housework. Then I made some vegetable soup for lunch and poured us both a beer. I prepared all the evenings veg and finished the book I was reading. I got my washing in at 2pm and even though there has been no wind is was dry.
I Was quite upset yesterday because I heard that the house I was brought up it till I was about 14 years old has been raised to the ground. My parents moved there when I was 18 months old. The 2nd world war was about to start and as my dad was stone deaf due to having measles when he was 14 years old and unable to join up he was made to move and work as a milkman. The house came with the job. The house was in the middle of a field with a pair of semi detached. We had one of those at first but they were ' 2 up and 2 down' so when my mum had my brother and the 3 bed detached became empty we were moved into it. The semis have been gone for years. We never had gas or electricity and we had a cold water tap in the scullery which froze up every winter so we had to carry milk churns of water from the cottages at the top fo the meadow. We had a huge ' copper boiler' in the scullery, my mum had to light a fire under it to heat the water to do her washing and used to have an old broom handle it kind of mash it up and down to clean it. She would do the whites first then drag the hot coals out so the water would and she could put the coloureds in. We had a huge mangle to wring the hot water out and the washing would go into a zinc bath of cold water to rinse with a bit of ' blue bag ' init . The same happened with the test of the washing and it used to take my mum most of the day. All the dirty water had to be scooped out by hand, poured over the step which was scrubbed within an inch of its life. More of our life tomorrow.
 Our lunch soup was nice, I expect H will think he is having flashbacks at dinner because we are having exactly the same as yesterday. Work for me tomorrow.

Saturday. 🚴

All the morning I thought it was Sunday and when H asked what was for dinner tonight I told him it is roast chicken with roast and mashed potatoes, sprouts, carrots, batter puds and gravy.! We had a lazy breakfast,then a coffee and I didn't bother to get dressed because we were going out on our bikes at 10 and I would have to dress again. We walked our bikes out of the gate and before I had even mounted I found I had a puncture in my front tyre. H changed the tube for my spare one I always carry, ( he found a huge thorn in my tyre ). We rode 23 miles all off road and it was quite hard because the track was pretty soft and muddy. However we really enjoyed it. When we got home we had a fried egg sandwich,a hot cross bun and a glass of wine. H had white and I had red. I have almost cooked the chicken so I am now off to do the vegetables. H has just mended my puncture.

Friday.

H had to come in and wake me up at 6.30 this morning! I had a quick slice of toast and marmalade with a cup of tea, a quick wash and brush up, dressed and went shopping. I put the washing machine on before we left. I want to defrost our freezer so I am trying to use as much stuff from it in the following week so I can do it next weekend. Because of that I didn't need to buy much and my bill was £39.95 . I normally spend around £100!! Bonus. When we got home we had a coffee and H plumbed in the washing machine, it took a little while because the pipe was larger than the last one so he had to make the hole in the wall a tad bigger. Anyway he did a good job, we tried it out and it works well. H has had trouble with his hearing for the last 2 weeks so this morning he went to he doctors. While he was gone I washed the kitchen and downstairs cloakroom floors and vacuumed right through. I hung out the washing and made some vegetable soup, it was delicious. We had a glass of wine and then watched some rubbish on tv. For dinner tonight we had sauté potatoes, sausages, corn on the cob and eggs. ( sweet corn and sausages 2 packs less in the freezer. ).

Thursday.

As I had to work again today I treated myself to sandwiches for my lunch. H cut me off 2 nice slices and I filled them with cheese and tomatoes. I did a load of washing, made the bed, packed my bag and off I went. I had to pick 144 bunches of carrots first and 3 boxes of loose ones. After that I spent the rest of the day trimming leeks ( again). When I got home I had the most horrific headache, it's caused by being bent over all day I think. I have taken some pain killers but but they are taking a while to kick in. H hung my washing out and got it dry. For dinner tonight we had a fish pie with stir fried kale, it was very nice. I don't have to work tomorrow so we will do our weekly grocery shop. My new dishwasher arrived this afternoon it looks ok but is not plumed in yet, H will do it tomorrow.

Wednesday.

I was up st 5.35 and had my porridge. I packed my lunch and now know I didn't pack enough! I took a banana a tomato and a small flat tin of mackerel fillets in tomato sauce. I had the tomato and banana at coffee break and the fish for lunch, the fish was delicious but there wasn't enough of it. Luckily I took a small flask of bovril so I had just enough to keep me going. I had to do a sack of sprouts first then leeks till coffee break. It was hard work, they were frozen into the ground. After that I had to do 72 bunches of carrots and then go back to the leeks for the rest of the day. When I left off my boss said the temperature didn't get above 2 degrees all day. He then said I have to work again tomorrow!! When I got home I had a nice cup of tea and a bath straight away so I could get warm. Dinner was tasty, lasagne and stir fried kale.

Tuesday.

I stayed in bed till 6.45 this morning so I had a good lie in. H was up and had made a pot of tea. I put on a load of washing and then made my porridge. We had our breakfast,I hung out the washing and we had a nice cup of coffee. H wanted some electronic device from Maplins so I went with him so I could go to the M&S food hall next door. If I was rich I would do all my food shopping there, they have such yummy things. On the way home we went to the insurance centre because it's house and contents time of year. Than I popped into a newsagents for my tele magazine. On arriving home we had another coffee and a packet of potato hoops. H then went up to turbo and I put on a jacket and went outside to fill my garden rubbish bin. I managed to dig up one large shrub that is past it's best then I went to the front of the house,pruned the lavender and began to cut down a wisteria we have growing up the side. I bought 3 in a pack around 16years ago, one died, one is over an arch over the path leading up to the gate at the top of the garden and is a mass of flowers every spring and the third was supposed to be trained, on wires along the side of the house. It started off well and I pruned it religiously but then the wire broke and I also needed another higher up, never got the first replaced or another higher, it's never ever had a single flower on so now it has to go. I have cut off loads of it and H says he will dig it up for me at the weekend. There is no hurry because my bin is full. All this will leave me a nice strip of garden so I am looking forward to going to the garden centre. We had soup for lunch and for dinner tonight we are having M&S pizza with grilled tomatoes and mushrooms. My washing hung in full sunshine till 2.15 pm and it's all lovely and dry.

Monday. a

I put on a load of washing, had my porridge, packed my lunch made my bed, dressed and got ready to go to work. When I arrived my boss said we were really busy, everybody wanted leeks. I was offered a lift to the top of the field but I decided to walk so I could keep warm. I then spent the whole day trimming leeks. The men came to pick them all up at the end of the day so I had a lift back to the yard. When I got home I had a nice cup of tea and then a soak in the bath. I took a salad with me and for dinner tonight we had yesterday's liver and mushroom casserole that was left over, it always tastes better on the second day. I have to go again on Wednesday and I might have to work Thursday as well because there is a farmers market this weekend.

Sunday.

I was up at 6.15 and had porridge for breakfast. When H got up I vacuumed all upstairs, dusted and tidied then did the same downstairs. We had a coffee,then H went up to ride on his turbo trainer. At 11am our daughter,son in law and no2 granddaughter all came round with their French bulldog and we left H to his ride while we went for a walk in the rain. It was pretty muddy but we all enjoyed it. The dog, Macy kept chasing after her tennis ball and bring it back, at one point she chased it across a massive puddle and the ice was thick enough to hold he weight. She then brought it back the same way and ent straight through the ice, it was hilarious and I wish one of us had caught it on camera,she was wet through but it didn't seem to bother her. When we got back we had a coffee and a toasted hot cross bun and when they left H and I had a cup of soup.
After lunch we watched a film that H had recorded ( it was rubbish) until it was time for the darts final. For dinner tonight we had a liver and mushroom casserole and were both too stuffed for a pudding.    Work for me tomorrow.

Saturday.

We both got up around 6and both had toast for breakfast. I put on a load of washing and H put on a loaf of bread. We then got ready, de iced the car and went shopping. When we got back we unpacked our groceries, had a coffee and then did masses of washing up.The reason for this was that our dishwasher has breathed its last. It was full of dirty dishes and we had to unload it and wash it all up by hand. I have ordered another which is being delivered on Thursday. I hung my washing out and it's all dry. No 1 son rand this morning for a chat, our daughter rang this afternoon, they are coming round in the morning and I am going to walk the dog with them. Then this evening no 2 son rang, he is home from Spain and his climbing holiday it took me by surprise because I thought he wasn't back till tomorrow. We just had soup for lunch and for dinner dinner we had potatoes,cabbage and pork chops with stewed Apple and ice cream for pudding.

Snow.

when we got up it was all clear outside. ( we had been promised snow overnight) we then had a few flakes and then it stopped. I gave up looking out of the window then and sat and finished the book I was reading. When I next glanced out it was a complete white out! At 11am we had to leave home to pick up my friend Dorothy and go to a funeral. It was awful, we were slipping and sliding all over the place, everything was crawling along and it took us ages to get there. However we made it with 5 minutes to spare. As funerals go it was lovely, it was my old boss, he was in his 96th year and it was a celebration of his life. There were lots of my old workmates there, some who I haven't seen for 30years. By the time we left the wake almost all the snow had melted so our journey home again was fine. For tea we just had cheese and biscuits with a nice glass of red wine because we were still full. I feel sorry for the people living round our coastal area tonight, we have strong winds and high tides forecast so there is a threat of flooding.

A very lazy day.

I had a fantastic sleep but it has made me feel lethargic all day. I did my usual load of washing and hung it out etc I also did a bit of dusting and cooked dinner but that's it!! Dinner was turkey and gravy with potatoes,cabbage and carrots. Our daughter rang, she is waiting for snow ❄️ but I don't think we are going to get any in our area.

Windy Wednesday.

After putting on a load of washing and eating my porridge I packed my salad and water, dressed and went to work. I had to pick 96 bunches of carrots first then I spent all the rest of the day up to 3.10 trimming leeks. We went down and washed them and then packed them all into various orders ready to be delivered first thing in the morning. It was quite cold and very windy. When I got home I had a cup of tea and then soaked in the bath till my body had thawed out. H had a Spanish lesson this morning and rode on his turbo this afternoon. For tea we had eggs beans and chips. I don't have to go to work again till Monday but I will see all my workmates on Friday because we are going to my bosses Dads funeral who used to be our boss before he handed over the reins to his son.

M O T day.

This morning we had to be at Robinsons V W garage by 9.30 to take in our car. We handed in the keys and went off to the City. First we went to the bank, then to a hardware shop for some wood stain and some glass paper so H can finish off our bannister. Then we went to Holland and Barrett for cod liver oil capsules. From there we walked to M&S for a coffee and a scone. H had a fruit scone with butter and strawberry jam, I had a cheese one. From there we went to Cotswolds, a sports clothing store where H bought a baseball cap and some finger tape. We spent an hour or so wandering around a shopping centre and then found a small cafe where we had lunch. We both had eggs,Norfolk ham and sauté potatoes with a pot or tea for two and a large glass of wine. After that it was time to walk back to the garage for our car. We had to wait a few minutes so we had a nice cup of coffee and a biscuit. Everything was fine with the car so we came home, had a shower and I cooked dinner, a pasta bake with onions,mushrooms,sausages and tomatoes,it was very tasty. Tomorrow I have to work so it will be back to the salad and water.

Back to work. a

I had porridge again for breakfast and just added balsamic vinegar and olive oil to the salad I made last evening , filled my bottle with water and went to work. I had to do 72 bunches of carrots first. The tops are going off a bit and I had to dig them all up so I didn't put too much strain on them as I pulled them up. I then spent all the rest of the day trimming leeks. It wasn't very nice,pretty cold and then it rained all afternoon. We had a chicken curry for dinner tonight which was delicious but as I have a cold it stung my throats and now I can't stop coughing! I have to work again on Wednesday but tomorrow it's our cars M O T and a big service so while it's being done I will do a bit of shopping.

Sunday.

I managed to stay in bed till 6.15 this morning and considering I did nothing for most of yesterday and the day before,I slept pretty well. I feel so much better today but now I am left with my usual hacking,grave yard cough. I am not too bad as long as I don't open my mouth, so H is happy! I swept the kitchen and toilet floors and when H went up for a short race on his turbo I washed them both. We had soup and a banana for lunch, ( I had porridge for breakfast ). This afternoon I started a new book and for dinner we had mushrooms, stir fried kale and leeks with a pizza.
Tomorrow I have to work so I have already made a salad for my lunch. It's lettuce,grapes, avocado, cucumber,beetroot, celery,green peppers, olives, tomatoes and king prawns. I am looking forward to tomorrow already. Unfortunately the forecast is for rain so it won't be much fun.

Saturday.

 Had a rotten sleep again and my ribs are so sore from coughing. I had porridge for my breakfast, we had turkey and stuffing sandwiches for lunch with pickled onions and for dinner tonight we had Cornish pasties with potatoes and cauliflower. I did a load of washing and a load of dishes. I also did the ironing and put our sons bed back together. It was damp all day so I didn't hang out the washing I will have to tumble it in the morning on cheap electric. H had a race on his turbo trainer but I did nothing much all day, l will wait till my cold is better.

Friday.

I got up at 6 after coughing most of the night and made a pot of tea and a slice of toast for my breakfast. I got H up at 6.30 so he could have his breakfast before we went shopping. When we came back I unpacked and put everything away while H made us a coffee. We had Heinz tomato soup for our lunch, I haven't bought soup for ages but I just fancied it with my sore throat. I sat and read all afternoon, made a pot of tea, had a bath and then cooked dinner. Lasagne, peas and cheesey potatoes, we had a lemon mousse for pudding which was nice. H has been busy for a lot of the day sanding down our bannister rail. He is making a really good job of it. Well the day is over and I still feel like rubbish! My ribs are so sore with all the coughing, my eyes are itching in their sockets and my nose is bright red!!!

Thursday.

H came in and woke me up at six am this morning! I was most annoyed, he told me to lay in,we had nowhere to go and then when I try he comes in and wakes me up! I had an awful night anyway, I can't stop coughing so now I have a dreadful headache. Apart from doing a load of washing and hanging it out then getting it in again I have done nothing all day, I feel too horrible. I had soup and a banana for lunch and for dinner tonight we had cod in breadcrumbs, mushrooms, jacket potatoes and baked beans.  We had melon for pudding. I have had a bath, put my nightie on and  am going to lay on the bed with a bottle of water to watch my soaps, I am looking forward to 'murder in paradise'.
 Our no 2 son is in Spain for 10 days on a climbing holiday with friends, our daughter rang earlier and we had a nice chat. As I don't have to go to work till Monday I am hoping I will be better by then.

Wednesday.

I had porridge for breakfast with a cup of tea and then a coffee. When I woke up this morning I had a really sore throat, my eyes are itching in their sockets, my nose is like a tap and I can't stop sneezing! I did a load of washing and hung it out,it was very windy which was lucky because it hadn't been out long when it began to rain, I rushed to get it in and it was as good as dry. H had a Spanish lesson at 11am but as I was not working he was able to go in the car. While he was out I had a ride on the turbo trainer. As I am feeling 1 degree under I just rode steadily and did 20 miles in 1 hour and10 minutes. I then made some soup for lunch which was done as Hwalked in the door. On the way home he had been to the chicken farm for eggs and he also got my magazine so as soon as I had eaten my lunch I read my magazine. For dinner tonight we had fish pie and peas. My boss rang and said he doesn't need me any more this week so he will see me Monday. As I feel quite poorly at the moment I am happy with that and hopefully I will be better by then.

Tuesday

 Today was my first day at work this year, it wasn't nice. It was very cold and the leeks I had to trim were full of ice. There was also some sad news, my old boss mr. Albert Ward died on New Year's Day, his birthday is the same day as mine (but 17 years earlier ) he was 95.I began working for him 48years ago. I now work for his son, Peter, who took over when his dad retired.
I trimmed leeks till 12 o'clock when the men loaded them and me onto the trailer and we went to the yard to wash and pack them. We had our lunch, I took 2 hard boiled eggs and 2bananas. After that we went back to the leeks and trimmed loads more and also pulled up and bunched 3dozen bunches of carrots. We came back down at 3.30, just in time to wash and pack what we had done. As soon as I got home I had a bath which warmed me up and then we had scrambled eggs on toast for tea.

Last day of my hols.

I put on a load of washing when I got up and yesterday's I put into the tumble drier. I had a slice of toast for breakfast and sat and wrote a page in my new diary. We had a coffee and I sat and read my book. Our son in law went out on his bike this morning, he only got to the roundabout at the end of his road and his bike went from under him and he fell off. H has a huge bruise on his thigh. We hung on till 10 am before we ventured out but the side roads were still like glass so we gave up and came home again.(4 miles). H then went up to ride on his turbo, he hadn't been riding long when the programme crashed so he gave it all up as a bad job. I hung out my washing but it hadn't been out long when it clouded over and poured with rain so I had to rush out and get it in again. We had an egg salad for lunch and then I took our Christmas tree down and put it all away. For dinner tonight we had a burger, fried onions, egg, chips and a corn on the cob.

Belated New Year's Day.

when I came downstairs H had stacked and started the dishwasher,and put yesterday's washing into the tumble dryer and that was on as well. He poured me a large mug of tea and I made my porridge. We then did nothing much all day until it was time to get ready to go to our Daugter and son in laws for dinner. We had a lovely time and a fabulous meal. We played 2 games of scrabble, I didn't win either one but I wasn't last! Last year I won! I missed both Eastenders and coronation street,thought I would watch them when I came home but can't get either so now I won't know what is going on.  I watched londons firework display and as usual it was very good but I agree with my son who said it would be nice if they changed the venue as it's now getting a bit 'samey' .