Tuesday

I was up at 6.40 ish and put on a load of washing. I made my porridge and had my breakfast. H was up an hour later. I hung the washing out and cleared a bit of rubbish from the garden. It was freezing out there so we decided not to bike but thought we would ride indoors instead. H did 50 miles!!! I only did 20 but that was enough for me.😅We had hard boiled egg sandwiches for lunch and for dinner we had quiche with fried leeks. My washing all got dry again even though we were supposed to have showers. I have to work tomorrow but my boss gets back from France tonight so I know I will have a nice busy day.

Wet Monday

Work today so I was up early, 5.30. I can never sleep well on work days. I did a load of washing and had my porridge for breakfast. I packed a salad and a bottle of water and off I went. My boss is in France and Andrew is also on holiday so there was only Andy and I there. The day really dragged and was the longest ever. I did bunched and loose carrots, then leeks. I had to wash more greenhouse glass so was soaked again. I was glad of my huge mug of tea and hot bath when I got home. We had eggs and beans on toast for tea tonight. I have to work again on Wednesday but the boss will be back by then.

Sunday.

I managed to stay in bed till 6.40 and then I got up put on a load of washing and had my breakfast. I hung out the washing and H made us a coffee before he went up for a ride on his turbo trainer. I said I was going out on my mountain bike and he told me that as his race was only short he would come out with me if I waited till  he was finished. As I don't like going on my own much I was happy to wait. I cleaned upstairs while he was riding ( vacuum and dusted). Then I changed into my cycle gear and we left at 10.30. We went on our mountain bikes and we had only just got on to the track when we came across our first obstacle, a huge tree right across the track. There was no way round it so H climbed over and then lifted our bikes over,I climbed over last. We got almost 2 miles before we came to our next trees, they were also right across the track and there were 2 of them, we managed to get under both of them by bending double. It was more difficult for H because he is so much taller than me. The whole track is strewn with debris and there are many more trees down but not blocking the path. It was soup and a hot cross bun for lunch, we watched a cycle race this afternoon with a nice glass of wine and for dinner tonight we had roast chicken, potatoes and peas with lemon cheesecake for pudding. My washing all got dry again outside which makes me happy. I have to work tomorrow which doesn't!!

Saturday

We both got up at 6.15 and had toast for our breakfast with a cup of tea. We then went to Asda for our weekly shop. I spent a bit more this week but I have started to get Easter eggs, I have to buy so many I have to make an early start. ( 12 ). As soon as we were back H made us a coffee while I unpacked and put everything away. He then changed into his cycle gear and went up to turbo. After I had finished my coffee I cleaned the whole of downstairs and did the ironing. We had soup for lunch and this afternoon we watched a cycle race on tv. For dinner tonight we had pizza, grilled tomatoes and potato wedges. Tomorrow I shall clean all upstairs.

Friday

We were lucky with the weather yesterday with no damage from Doris. I was going to clean right through the house today but H got a credit card bill so we decided to go to Holt to pay it. I hung the washing out and emptied the dishwasher, we had a coffee and then got ready to go. We went to Holt first but didn't stop there because I wanted to go for a walk at Cley. We parked and walked to the sea, it was lovely and blew the cobwebs away. Even though Doris had gone it was still pretty breezy. We saw a marsh harrier, little egret, swans and geese, ducks and a buzzard being mobbed by rooks. When we got back to the car H changed out of his boots and we drove to a pub in the village called The Three Swallows where we had a pub lunch. It was very nice,H had ham, egg, peas and chips and I had gammon and chips with mushrooms egg, pineapple,orange, grilled tomatoes and a salad. It was a huge plate full but really nice. When we got home it was wine o'clock. We were both too full still for tea so we just had a cup of tea and one of the jam tarts I made yesterday.

Doris Thursday

I had a horrible night, for some reason I couldn't get to sleep and in the end had around 3 hours. I had porridge for breakfast with a mug of tea and a bit later we had a coffee. I hung my washing out when it stopped raining, it was only out for around 2 hours, it began to rain so I got it in and was amazed to find it was dry.( it's an ill wind that blows nobody any good). It wasn't good for our granddaughter and partner, it blew their shed down and our daughters fence. H went on his turbo trainer but after he had done 20miles we had a power cut and he lost all his details, when the power came back on he carried on riding. I got all the ironing done up to date and we had cheese and biscuits for lunch. For dinner tonight I made a sausage and onion patty with eggs in and a few jam tarts with the left over pastry. We had the sausage patty with potatoes, cauliflower and sprouts. It all turned out nice.

Wet Wednesday

we got up this morning and it was pouring with rain. I hoped it wasn't going to be much because H was having a Spanish lesson this afternoon, we were going to cycle there and I was looking forward to a ride outside but it kept raining off and on all morning so he went in the car and I had another ride upstairs. I rode 21.1 miles in 1 hour and 10 minutes. I thought I could do 18 miles in an hour but I was annoyed because it took me 3 seconds over!  We both had a pot noodle for lunch and for dinner we had a steak and Guinness pie with cauliflower, sprouts, carrots, leeks and potatoes. I did a load of washing this morning but couldn't hang it out so I will tumble it in the morning on cheap electricity. H and I both managed to get over our flu type virus that we had and he is completely back to normal but it has left me with a nasty cough which I fully expect to have till May.!!

A nice Tuesday

I didn't have enough washing to make a load this morning, one of my rare days. I had a slice of toast for breakfast, I couldn't make up my mind weather to have marmite or marmalade so I halved it and had both. We had a coffee later and when I was dressed I spent a bit of time in the garden, clearing up. H went up to do a virtual bike race and I drove to the garden centre for some moss killer, and a few gladioli bulbs. I went from there to the chicken farm for eggs, the poor things are still having to be kept inside because of the bird flu threat. I called into Tesco on my way home where I bought my tv magazine, 2 packets of hula hoops and a garlic and 4 cheese flat bread. When I got back home H was still riding away, he did 52 miles. When he finished we had a corned beef sandwich and our hula hoops with a cup of coffee. I then changed and had a ride on the turbo but I only did 20.4 miles which took me 1 hour and 12 minutes. After my shower I poured us a G&T and read my book for an hour before getting dinner. Sausages, egg, fried onions,baked beans and the garlic bread, it was all very nice.

Monday.

I got up at 6 put on a load of washing and had my breakfast. While my porridge was cooking I made a salad to take to work. I had to do 60 bunches of carrots first then leeks till lunch. The men came to pick up the leeks so I was given a lift back to the yard. We washed the leeks and carrots, also some parsnips the men had harvested. After lunch we packed everything ready for our customers and i then had to spend the rest of the day washing the greenhouse glass with a fungicide. It's one of the worst jobs ever, I have to do it every year and I hate it! As I reach up the water runs down my arm and I came home wet through to the skin. H had got all my washing dry for me. I made spaghetti bolognese for dinner tonight, it was nice. I am not working anymore this week.

Sunday.

I was up at 6.15and put on a load of washing I had porridge for breakfast and hung my washing out. We had a coffee and H went up to turbo and I went outside to work in the garden. I worked out there from 10 till 12.45and now I have a nasty blister on my right forefinger. We had a corned beef sandwich again for lunch and a piece of my fruit cake. This afternoon we watched a Miss Marple and for dinner tonight we had a fish pie with sprouts and leeks. I have to work tomorrow but then I have the rest of the week off.

Saturday

I got up at 6.30 and had a slice of toast and marmalade for breakfast. I put on a load of washing and we went to Asda. When we got back we unpacked,put everything away and had a coffee. I hung out the washing and we changed ready to go out on our mountain bikes. We started off along the track which wasn't too bad, but after we had ridden 6 miles we came to a section where they are felling trees and for 2 miles the track is a terrible state where all the traffic has been up and down. It's muddy and dreadfully rutted which made it very hard work. Either side of it looks a right state as well. They have taken down so many trees and it's a right mess. So anyway we decided not to come back the same way and rode back on the road. It was pretty breezy but the sun was out and that made it nice. We had a corned beef sandwich for lunch with brown sauce and a couple of gherkins. My washing all got dry and I was wrong yesterday when I said my cake is dry, H cut it up and it's perfect. For dinner we had a pork slice, sautéed new potatoes, corn on the cob,peas and a fried egg.

Friday

I didn't get up till 7.15 and H wasn't up till 8. I did my usual load of washing and had my breakfast. I hung the washing out and made a boiled cake but I am a bit disappointed with it. It looks a bit dry. When it was done I worked in the garden for an hour and a half while H was on his turbo. We had cheese on toast for lunch when he was finished and then I sat and read till it was time for us to go to see our granddaughter on her crutches and in her leg brace. She is managing well on her crutches. It's her birthday tomorrow so we took her card and presents round. Our daughter had bought cakes which were yummy. This evening she is going to a spinning class I don't think she is looking forward to it.we bought fish and chips on our way home for our tea and they were delicious. We are going shopping in the morning, if H isn't up I will go on my own.

Thursday

I was up at 6.15 and put on a load of washing. I had toast for breakfast and H got up an hour later. I hung my washing out and filled my garden rubbish bin ready to go out tomorrow. We had a coffee and I did a bit of housework before getting ready to go to Fakenham to try to sort out our suite. I took in photos of the suite and of the code numbers on each item. We then went to the stores cafe for a complementary coffee and a scone each, H had a fruit scone and I had a cheese one. We then to do a bit of shopping before we stopped for lunch,H had ham, egg and chips with a pot of tea and I had sausage,egg and chips with an orange juice. We had a look round a few more shops and came home again. I had a bath and washed my hair, then I got tea, kipper fillets with bread and butter. It will be interesting to see what happens with our chairs etc.

Wednesday

I got up at 5.45, put on a load of washing and made a bowl of porridge for my breakfast. I packed a salad for my lunch and went to work. ( H was still in bed when I left ). I had to pick a sack of sprouts first then pick 144  bunches of carrots. After that I trimmed 6 boxes of leeks and finally ended up the day strawing the rhubarb patch. Andrew joined me so we managed to finish it and wash the leeks. The boss then said I could go home and it was only 3.41so I was home by 4 o'clock.
Yesterday I had a phone call from my daughter to say our youngest granddaughter had dislocated her kneecap,!! Poor little girl, they spent a few hours in A& E and had to go back again today. She has it in a brace and is on crutches. It's her birthday on Saturday,she will be 14. For dinner tonight we had chicken pie, new potatoes, cabbage,leek, carrots and gravy. I don't have to go to work again till Monday, tomorrow we are going to Fakenham for lunch and also to try to sort out our furniture.

Everything happens to us!!

Well I just can't believe today! It's the day we have been looking forward to since before Christmas. We ordered a new suite and today is the day it was arriving. I got up before 6, put on a load of washing and had my breakfast porridge. I hung my washing out in the sunshine and cleared the lounge ready for our new furniture. We were swapping a brown leather 4 seater sofa and 2 chairs for a 4 seater sofa and a ' snuggler ' chair ( H and I fit in it with room to spare ). Also a large glass coffee table. It all arrived on time (8.50 am) , 2 nice jolly men carried our old furniture out and the new in with no trouble at all. We then placed it where we wanted it and I stood back to admire the view. Shock! Horror! The chair and settee are different colours and do not match!! H went off to his Spanish lesson and I was left to sort it out! So far it's been 2 phone calls! But we will have to wait to find out what happens. I don't mind which one I end up with as long they match! The colours are very subtle so there will be no big difference, just shading. When H left I worked on the turbo, it was a hilly course,so hard work and my average was 15.5 I rode 17.5 miles. When H got home we had a fried egg sandwich and a beer. For dinner tonight we are having pizza,chips, mushrooms and grilled tomatoes. I have to work again tomorrow.

Monday

I have had a really hard day at work. I took a cheese and tomato sandwich for my lunch and wrapped myself up warm ready to spend the day in the field. I had to do 72 bunches of carrots first and 2 boxes of loose ones. Next I had to trim the rest of the leeks that had been lifted, it was 8 and a half boxes. All this took till 12.30 so I had my lunch and then spent the rest of the day strawing the rhubarb bed. The straw is in those huge round bales and so hard to pull loose. I completed the first bale when Andrew joined me. We then spread another 3 before it was time for me to go home and there is 2 left to spread. I was far too hot but unable to take my coat off because the straw gets into all your clothing. The ends of my fingers are really sore too. I am glad I don't have to go tomorrow. We had a chicken curry for dinner tonight, and I have come upstairs to watch my soaps but I don't think I will manage to stay awake.

Sunday.

We were surprised this morning when we woke up to everywhere covered in snow. I had my porridge and we had a coffee. I sat and read for a bit and when H went up to turbo I dressed and went out to work in the garden. On Tuesday we are having a new 3 piece delivered and it's going to be a struggle to get it into the house. They really struggled with our last one and had to lift it fence high to get it up the path. Since then we have a tall water butt in the way a large bamboo and other pots of shrubs. So my job was to empty the water out of the tank and move it and the rest of the things. It was hard work and I managed to get myself thoroughly soaked through in the process but H was pleased it was all done and ready. He was amazed I had managed the water butt. We had a fried egg sandwich for our lunch and for dinner we had new potatoes and broccoli with Cornish pasties. When I bought the pasties from my butcher he only had one Cornish pastie so I also bought a chicken and leek one. I cut each one in half and we had a piece of each one. I asked H which one he preferred and he said they both tasted the same to him!! I wish I had known that earlier because I much preferred the Cornish pastie and I could have had all of it.! It's work for me tomorrow.

Saturday.

H came in and woke me up at 6.20 this morning, I was fast asleep. I put on a load of washing and had a slice of toast for my breakfast. After that I got ready and we went shopping. When we got home I unpacked and put everything away and we had a coffee with a hot cross bun. H then put my bike onto his turbo trainer so I could restart my training. While I was riding he vacuumed the lounge and cleaned the carpet ready for our new 3 piece suite which is being delivered on Tuesday. I rode for an hour and did 17.2 miles which I was happy with. We had a coffee and ashared a packet of M&S hula hoops. We then both sat and read for an hour and I prepared lunch which was yesterday's leftover stew which I liquidised and it made a nice soup. We also had a glass of wine. For dinner tonight I bought an Asda valentines ' meal deal ' . Salmon fish cakes for starters, Spanish chicken and potato wedges for our main course ( I will add peas ) and lemon cheesecake for dessert. The bottle of wine came with it too. H choose all these things and it was supposed to cost £15. Well I am so annoyed because when I checked my bill when we got home they had charged me £19.50! So next week I will be complaining.
When I was little and the war was on food was short and we always seemed to be hungry. When we got home from school my mum would have baked potatoes waiting for us, as there were 4of us she would bake 2large potatoes for us to share. As I was the oldest I was told to cut them in half which I hated doing because I worried in case I couldn't get them exactly in half because the rule was if you cut it the other person choose first. My brothers would chant you cut we choose you cut we choose, the same applied for apples or chocolate.

Friday.

We had a nice lay in this morning, I did a load of washing but didn't hang it out because it was snowing on and off for the most of the day. I did a bit of housework, a bit of reading and some watching tv. We are shopping in the morning. We had cheese and biscuits for lunch and i made stew for dinner.
My nanny on my mums side came from Safron walden. She went to London when she left school and became a ' nanny' for some Lord and Lady in a big house. My grandad lived in Stoke Holy Cross with his parents who owned a laundry. He became a policeman ( a London Bobby ) and he met my nanny while she was out walking with the children in the pram. When they married they came to Stoke and helped with the laundry. My grandad drove the pony and trap to collect and deliver the laundry to all the big houses in the area.Dunston hall, Caister hall Stoke hall etc etc. In his spare time he was a special constable and one day had to go to a suciside where someone had thrown themselves off a railway bridge in front of a train. He had to collect the body up in several buckets. He was called up in the First World War and when it was over and he came back but was never a well man again. He was a horse doctor in the war in Italy and came home with tuberculosis. My mum was only 11 when he died. I really wish I had asked my nanny more about her life in London and the family she worked for. I know they had a butler,a cook and several maids but she never mentioned their name and I never thought to ask.

Thursday

I have had a very lazy day. After breakfast I hung out my washing and then I made H some flap jack, it's chocolate flavour with chocolate chips and is delicious, I must try not to eat too much of it! We had soup for lunch and for dinner tonight we had a kind of roast. H had a pork chop and I had a lamb chop ( H doesn't like lamb) I had mint sauce with mine, we had mashed potatoes, cabbage and carrots, the gravy was nice and I could eat it all again.
When the war was on,we woke up one morning to find a giant barrage balloon that had broken from its moorings and had got its ropes caught in the trees at the top of our field. My dad contacted somebody and the military turned up in jeeps, and when we got back from school it was gone so I guess they must have towed it away.

Back to work.

I went back to work today so I was up at 5.30 and put on a load of washing and had a slice of toast for my breakfast. H cut me off 2 slices so I could take sandwiches for my lunch. I put cheese and tomato in them and took some celery too. It was an awful day, cold, damp and every now and again we had flurries of snow. I had to pick and bunch 98 bunches of carrots and then spend the rest of the day trimming leeks. I was glad when 4 o'clock came and I could go home. I don't have to go anymore till Monday and next week I have to work 2 days. For dinner tonight we had pasta. I fried 2 leeks some bacon and cooked some pasta, mixed it all in a white pasta sauce and it was very tasty.

Tuesday.

H and I are feeling even better today so we must be on the mend. I had a bowl of porridge for breakfast with a mug of tea and H had toast. He then did all the ironing for me while I emptied the dishwasher and made the bed. At 10.35 we left to go to the doctors so H could have his ears syringed out. He says he can hear much better now. I had a hair appointment at 12 and we only just had time to come back, eat a cream cracker and go off again for me to get my hair sorted. It looks much better now so I feel better. It was 1.40 when we left there and we went along the road to a local K F C where I bought a shared bucket for 2, so 3 pieces of chicken each and 2 packets of chips. We were hungry and it tasted delicious, just right. Now I don't have to cook a dinner this evening, we will just have a cup of tea and a biscuit.
My middle brother is teaching his youngest grandson to ride his little bike and the picture reminded me of how I was taught to ride a bike. I had a tricycle first and they used to be quite big in in those days and I rode it till I was 5or 6 Then it was passed on to my brother. Well my dad was given a bicycle on his milk round and at the weekend his brother, my uncle George came over so they decided to teach me to ride the bike. They took me to the top of our field and put me on the bike, my uncle walked back down to the bottom of the hill and the idea was that he would catch me. The bike was really much too big for me and dad had made 2 big wooden blocks and wired them to the pedals so I could reach them. Well my dad lifted me on and simply gave me a massive push, I went tearing down the hill hell for leather towards my uncle, he took one look at the speed I was rushing down towards him and simply dived out of the way and I shot past at the speed of light straight over a ditch and fell off on a bank covered in nettles. The amazing thing is, that after that I could ride a bike!!

Monday.

H and I both got up this morning feeling so much better, it's such a relief. We both had breakfast, I did a load of washing and hung it out. We had a coffee and and I did all the ironing up to date. We had another coffee and a hot cross bun and I put on a jacket and spent a couple of hours in the garden doing a bit of weeding. I came in at 1.30 because H had made me a soup in a cup. I also had a banana. I had a shower and washed my hair ready for the hairdressers appointment tomorrow. For dinner tonight we are having a jacket potato with breaded cod, corn on the cob peas and a slice of bread and butter.
When I was young my mum always made loads of jars of jam, bottled plums, gooseberries etc.etc.
Our pantry shelves were always full. In the summer my brothers and I were made to go with her to pick blackberries from the hedgerows all round our fields. She would pay us threepence for each punnet we picked. By the time my brothers had picked a punnet full they were fed up and went off to play but me, being such a money grabber, would never stop till my mum had enough. I would always earn at least a shilling and the big rip off was that my brothers always got a shilling each as well. Mum would make blackberry and apple jam and save a few for a pie, crumble or a Betty. The fields around us were always full of wild mushrooms in September and we picked them each morning before school, we ate loads but any spare my dad would sell on his milk round.

Sunday.

I was up half the night with an upset stomach! It's such a nuisance, I thought I was getting better but that was a step backwards. When my boss rang this afternoon to see if I would be in tomorrow I had to say no because it's impossible to be working in the middle of a field with an upset stomach. I just hope I can go back Wednesday. I have started to have porridge for breakfast again which might help. H is still coughing and I know he's pretty ill because he hasn't even looked at his turbo trainer. We had a couple of coffees through the morning and we had 'dippy eggs' for lunch. This afternoon we watched a film and for dinner tonight we had mushrooms, tomatoes, bacon, eggs and FRIED BREAD it was soooo good and the first time we have had any for around 4 years!! That was on holiday, I haven't made any for six or seven years at least. I did a bit of housework this morning and apart from my cough and stomach I feel pretty good. There is one up side to this however , I lost 2 lbs last week.

Saturday

I got up this morning feeling much better. I had 2 cream crackers with butter and marmite and a cup of tea and was about to go shopping when H came down and said he was going with me. So I waited for him to have his breakfast and off we went. It didn't take long and I got round without coughing once. After we had unpacked etc we had a coffee (my first since last Sunday) and a hot cross bun. I read my tv magazine and rang my daughter to talk about granddaughter 2 and her birthday present. She said she was walking Macy her dog later but wasn't sure her husband would be going as he was feeling a bit unwell, so I said if she was coming this was I would walk with her if she wanted. So at 12 o'clock she came round and we went for a nice walk, I didn't cough again so I think I will be ok for work on Monday. When I arrived home H had sorted himself out some lunch so I just had a soup in a cup and a coffee. For dinner tonight we are having salmon, jacket potatoes and baked beans.
I was born in Stoke Holy Cross in my mums mums house, my Nanny. So when I was christened it was in Stoke Holy Cross church. The vicar was called Mr. Chandler and he had married my mother and father. He had a daughter who was a missionary, Mary, and on one of her visits home she brought her dad a bottle of water from the river Jordan which he kept to christen his 'special babies' and i was christened with that. I am sure I have been blessed ever since. He, his wife and their housekeeper all came to my wedding. When he left Stoke he moved to Saxthorpe and Corpusty, not far from Holt. Mary was in Japan at this time and had given her parents a japanese coffee set and when they left Stoke they gave their loyal parishioners a piece of it as a memento, my nanny was given a cup and saucer, when she died it was passed on to me and is in my china cabinet. We went to visit them a few times at their new rectory. Mr Chandlers claim to fame was that in Corpusty church he found some ancient wall paintings. I used to stay with my nanny and auntie in the school holidays and my aunt and I used to go to the morning service. One Sunday we were the only two people there. They were a lovely family.

Friday.

Today has been headache free so I am much happier tonight. Yesterday my daughter rang to ask how we were and she said she had popped round on her was past and put something through the door. I went to look and found a DVD on the mat with a note saying it was an early Mother's Day present. It's Bridget Jones Baby. I watched it last night after H went to bed and it is great and really funny. I love all 3 Bridget Jones films but I have seen the other two so many times so this one is taking first place at the moment. I had a fried egg sandwich for breakfast, and for dinner tonight we had one of my butchers chorizo and chicken lasagna's with grilled tomatoes 🍅 on the side. It was very nice. I have made a new hair appointment for next Tuesday. When I had to cancel because I felt so ill I decided it was time for me to stop going altogether and let my hair grow out and just be my natural grey, however,now I am getting better I can't wait to get rid of my silver roots. I must have sounded so desperate because first they said they had no appointment's but then managed to fit me in round people.

Post flu.

I think I am beginning to feel a bit better. Tuesday I only got out of bed each time I had to throw up 🤢 I managed to eat a cream cracker around 9 pm which stayed down.H also has flu so we were both in a bad way. Yesterday I managed a cup of tea and another cream cracker at tea time. H hasn't been sick at all and he has still had a full breakfast etc. This morning I had a cup of tea and a fried egg sandwich, it's now 3.20 pm and I haven't bothered to eat anything else because I can neither smell or taste anything. We will have a fish pie tonight because it will slip down nicely. This morning I did a load of washing and hung it out I then had a bath and dressed ( first time for 2 days) but by the time I had done all this I was so shattered I had to go back to bed!! I ache in every joint but my headache is the worst thing, I will be happy when it's gone. I've had to cancel work and the hairdressers appointment I had for tomorrow.
 I went to school 3 years before my brother John and never caught a thing, he went, first he caught chicken pox, only had about 7 spots, I caught it from him and was covered in them I had them in my eyes,ears, you name it I had spots in it. My next brother Richard caught it from me but hardly knew he had it. It was the same with the measles and finally whooping cough which almost finished me off. Well it seems it's still the same! I caught this virus from our no2 son who came home from London for the weekend. He wasn't as bad as me and neither is H thank goodness. I just hope I will be better by Monday so I can go back to work.