Zero Waste

A new zero waste shop opened nearby recently and at the weekend we finally managed to find time to pop in. What a lovely surprise we had.

It's such a well stocked shop, so many more products for sale than we'd imagined. There's dry food, everything from pasta to granola, many different kinds of nuts, dried fruit, all different kinds of flour, every spice you can imagine, and they also have a great range of eco friendly products too, reusable make up remover pads, bamboo toothbrushes, metal straws, reusable sanitary products, bamboo lunchboxes to name just a few.

You're able to take your own containers or use paper bags. There's also a very good selection of reusable containers for sale too.

There's a whole section of cleaning products as well as toiletries, soaps and body washes.

The shop has been opened by a local couple who are very friendly and knowledgeable about their products.

I like the idea of being able to purchase just the amount you need, it cuts down on food waste. Also, you don't have any unwanted packaging here. The prices compare very favourably with those in the local supermarkets, which is really good. It seems to be very popular already and it's somewhere I shall definitely be shopping in the future.

Yarny Advent Calendars

Following on from my last post, No Apology, about Christmas goodies coming to the shops, I just thought I'd mention that I've made my first purchase towards celebrating the big day, a yarny advent calendar. In fairness to the dyers, they have to put up the listings for these yarny advent calendars very early in the year as they have such large batches of yarn to dye so they need to know numbers well in advance and get them out to customers in plenty of time for the countdown to begin.

When I was a child I had a charming little paper advent calendar with a picture behind each window. It was very carefully opened so that when Christmas that year was over and done with, we could close up all the windows and pack it away ready for the countdown the following year. It was used over and over again. Advent calendars these days are big business, it's quite rare to see those paper versions which I had as a child, now there's chocolate calendars, candle calendars, even beauty calendars where the windows open each day to reveal a cosmetic product. I've never had an advent calendar since I was a child but I decided that I'd like to have a yarny advent calendar this year.

Many dyers offer yarny advent calendars so I shopped around a bit and finally settled on one by Hedgerow Yarns. I've had yarn from this dyer in the past and have been very pleased with it. Each little parcel is numbered one to twenty four and each one contains 10g of hand dyed yarn. There was also a little stitch marker and another couple of extras included in the box.

Some dyers offer twelve days of Christmas calendars to open from Christmas day onwards and I decided that I'd also like one of these. Again, I shopped around and settled on one by Craft House Magic for this. Again, there's 10g of hand dyed yarn in each parcel. The dyer also sent an extra mini skein in the Pumpkin Patch colourway.

I'm also taking part in an advent swap. I've been given a partner and it's turned out to be the dyer behind Down Sheepy Lane yarn. We'll be making up an advent calendar to swap with each other.

The mini skeins will be the perfect size to add to my scrappy blanket with plenty of yarn left over for other things. There's lots of patterns now which use oddments of yarn so I may take a look at those to see what I can knit.

I'm looking forward to the countdown to Christmas and the twelve days afterwards. Will you have an advent calendar this year?

No Apology

I make no apology for this post, after all, there are just 76 more sleeps until Christmas Day, and I do love Christmas!

Actually, I don't like to see Christmas in the shops too soon, the 1st of December is soon enough for me, but we popped to our local garden centre yesterday and they've just started putting out their Christmas display so I thought I'd snap a few photos to share with you.

I thought these (not so) little mice were so cute.

We've collected different Christmas decorations over the years but I'd like some new ones this year. We're going to have a proper look at what's on offer before making our choice.

We really need a new tree too but our old one will last one more year. Have you seen the price of Christmas trees? So expensive! I fancy a real one but Mick's concerned that Archie will be cocking his leg all Christmas.

We saw some good bargains in the sale at the beginning of the year so I'm hoping we can pick up something nice for half the price in January ready for next year.

It's not only the garden centres which are getting ready for Christmas, there's mince pies in the supermarkets already, along with other goodies.

So what do you think? Is it too soon for the shops to be stocked full of Christmas things or do you welcome it? Do you like to buy well in advance of the big day or are you a last minute shopper? Do tell.

Autumn

I had a lie-in yesterday. I'm usually an early riser but I've been waking in the night just recently with a bad back which is very tiring. Couple this with the darker mornings that autumn brings, I woke rather late, but decided to stay put and read my book for a while. Heavy rain was forecast for the whole day but, even though I'd heard the rain hammering against the window when I was awake in the early hours, it had stopped when I finally got out of bed. Not wanting to waste any bit of dry weather, we put Archie's lead on him and headed off to Lotherton.

There's no denying now that we're well and truly in to autumn. Leaves are turning colour and dropping from the trees and so is their bounty. We passed quite a few children collecting conkers, but there's plenty for everyone at Lotherton. The squirrels will be very happy too as there were lots of acorns underneath the oak trees.

We followed Archie's preferred walk, into the woods. Actually, you wouldn't know it was autumn looking at the trees here, still plenty of green around.

Usually, we turn around and retrace our steps through the woods because dogs can run free, off their leads here. Yesterday though, we decided to have a walk through the formal gardens. Archie was a bit put out having to go back on his lead but he did get to have another run before we headed for home.

I loved these little ferns growing out of an old wall.

There's still quite a bit of colour around, you don't have to look far.

They say that an abundance of berries is supposed to herald a harsh winter. Well, I think we should get our hats, scarves and gloves at the ready as there's lots of berries around at the moment.

We brought these little treasures home with us. Spider deterrents. Well, they're supposed to stop spiders from coming into the house if you lay them around doors and window frames but I'm not convinced they work. I still lay a few out each year though.

I'm so pleased that we got out when we did because the heavens opened when we got back into the car. It did stop again a while later only for the forecast rain to materialise later on in the day and it's here today too. I think we're going to have to get used to this soggy weather for a while now.

Setting Up A Nature Journal

I recently found Eleanor's old flower press from when she was a child. Mick and I had been looking for a flower press for her and was unable to find one, and then we were browsing in all the little shops in The Shambles in York one day when we came across this one. It was in a shop which sold all manner of wooden goods, but sadly, I don't think the shop's there any longer.

When I opened the flower press earlier this week there were lots of little flowers still in there. It took me back to a walk we'd taken years ago in some woods near where I lived as a child. Eleanor had collected a few flowers and pressed them when we got home.

It's got me thinking, I'd really like to start some sort of nature journal.

Wouldn't it be lovely to add pressed flowers to it.

I think the lovely Traveller's Notebook which Nikki from Notes of Life made me would be perfect to use as a nature journal.

I think I'll collect and press flowers throughout each month and then I can journal and use the pressed flowers at the end of the month. A project for the new year I think.

Nella Last's War

I saw a review of Nella Last's War on a podcast I watch and I thought it sounded intresting so I popped it on my wish list and Mick bought me it for my birthday. I've thoroughly enjoyed reading it.

Mass-Observation was a UK social research organisation founded in 1937. It aimed to record everyday life in Britain through a panel of around 500 volunteers who maintained diaries or replied to open-ended questionnaires.

Nella Last was a housewife who lived in Barrow-in-Furness, Lancashire. She wrote a diary for the Mass Observation Archive from 1939 until 1966. Nella Last's War is an edited version of the two million words she wrote during World War II.


' In September 1939, housewife and mother Nella Last began a regular diary that lasted for thirty years. The account that she left of life during the Second World War is moving, fascinating and unique.

While Nella's younger son joined the army, she and the rest of the family tried to adapt to the transformed rhythms of life in Barrow-in-Furness, which suffered terribly from enemy bombing raids. Writing each day for the 'Mass-Observation' project, Nella grows in confidence as a result of her new work, and her diary entries tell a powerful story about the war years, covering everything from sex to the genuine fear of invasion.

This was the period in which Nella turned fifty, saw her children leave home and reviewed her life and her marriage - which eventually she compared to slavery. This is the war as Nella Last lived it'.


I found this a fascinating read, not only hearing first hand how the war affected the ordinary person on a day to day basis, but hearing about Nella's worries for those around her and her fears for the future.

A further two volumes of Nella's diaries were published, Nella Last's Peace and Nella Last in the 1950s, which I'd now like to read.

Six Months Without My Mum

Six months have now passed since my mum died. I received such wonderful support at that time from friends here in Blogland, comments, emails and cards, so I thought I'd let you know how I'm getting on without my mum.

I've been very close to my mum all my life. My brother and sister flew the nest at early ages, one going off for army training at sixteen and one leaving home to live in at the nurses home as she was training to be a nurse. I lived at home until I was twenty when I left to live with Mick, and ever since then I've only ever lived less than a couple of miles away from my parents so we always saw each other regularly, and used to talk on the phone for hours too.

I knew it would be very hard for me when my mum died but I think I've coped with it quite well. Yes, I've gone through the grieving process, and I'm still going through it, I don't think I'll ever get over losing her, but I think in some ways I'd already done some of the grieving as I lost my mum years before she died to dementia. I also feel that I've had to get on with things to some extent as my dad hasn't coped with my mum's death very well at all and we're having to be there for him. In fact, he's gone downhill so fast in the past six months that it's quite worrying but there's really nothing more we can do for him than we're already doing. It must be so hard to have been married to someone for sixty three years and then suddenly, they're no longer there. I find myself not talking about my mum at all in front of my dad and not wanting him to talk about her either as it just makes him too upset.

The weeks following my mum's death were taken up with practicalities, such as organising the funeral. Everything was left to me and Mick and looking back, I think this helped in one way. Having something to do took up my time and gave me less time to sit and dwell on things. Daniel and Jasmine were already coming home the week leading up to Easter so we arranged to have the funeral then. It took place on the Monday and they were here for the rest of that week, so having all my family around me at this time again took my mind off things. It was really only the following week when Eleanor went back to university and Mick and I had the house back to ourselves and the funeral was all over that I really went to pieces.

Mick has been brilliant. He's allowed me to talk about the things which are upsetting me, the guilt I feel about certain things which happened and obviously, not having my mum here. He's let me cry, but not for too long. There have been plenty of times when I've been sinking into a pit of depression but he's scooped me up and taken me out, even if it's just for a drive. Believe me, you don't feel any happier sat in a car than you do in the house, but a change of scenery really can be a bit of a pick me up.

I miss my mum so much, especially as things have happened and she hasn't been here to share in the celebrations: Eleanor's 21st, her graduation and her starting her first 'proper' job. She would have been thrilled to know how well she's done. It was sad to receive my first birthday card signed from my dad without my mum's name being on there. It was just three days before Mother's Day that she died and the card I'd bought for her is still sitting in the drawer, it was a sad day without her. Her birthday is in November and we've got Christmas to get through yet too.

I'm still having my moments, they come and go without warning, a little reminder of something can set me off, but in the main I'm coping. What else can you do?

What I'm Watching - September 2019

TV and film that I've been watching this month.

I enjoy watching documentaries about true crime, how the investigation is led and what leads to an arrest being made, so when I saw A Confession, a drama based on a true crime being advertised, I immediately knew it would be something I'd enjoy watching. The cast includes Martin Freeman, Siobhan Finneran and Imelda Staunton and is based on the story of the disappearance of Sian O'Callaghan who went missing in Swindon in 2011. Martin Freeman takes the part of Detective Superintendent Steve Fulcher, who breached police protocol to catch Sian's killer. I must say that knowing the events actually happened makes for uneasy viewing.

As well as true crime documentaries, I also enjoy watching medical documentaries. The Big Hospital Experiment is a four part documentary, inspired by a social care programme in Germany, where young people work as volunteers in hospitals to deliver patient care. The Royal Derby Hospital have recruited fourteen young volunteers and this documentary follows them as they're put to work on the wards. At first, I wasn't sure how this experiment would work, but as you see how the volunteers blossom in their roles, and also the additional care and companionship which the patients receive, it's a win win situation. I'm loving this series. The final episode is to be shown tonight.

Strictly Come Dancing is back on our screens. The launch show was a couple of weeks ago and now the series has begun properly. Each celebrity danced with their professional partner on Saturday night and their scores will be added to the scores they receive this week before someone leaves the show. Already I can see some promising dancers, I'm looking forward to watching how they all progress throughout the series.

I missed Bohemian Rhapsody at the cinema so I've been waiting for it to be released on Sky, which it was last weekend so we sat down on Saturday night to enjoy it, and enjoy it we did. I thought the casting was amazing, it was like watching real life footage when they were on stage, and the acting was excellent, even down to the mannerisms of all the characters. I found the film skipped over events at record speed, but there's only so much time to slot in a man's whole adult life. I found it rather sad knowing how it all ends, especially when Freddie Mercury had so much more to give, Queen's final album, recorded during Freddie's final weeks is testament to this. I'd definitely recommend this film if you haven't yet seen it.

Have you been watching any of these? What else have you been watching this month?

A Bumper Apple Harvest

I've started harvesting the apples from my little tree and to say I'm delighted with the haul it's produced this year would be an understatement. Don't they look delicious, all rosy red.

I bought this little tree back in March 2012. My mum and dad had given us some money for our 20th wedding anniversary back in 2010 and we'd been contemplating what to spend it on. We decided on a dwarf apple tree for the garden and after looking in the local nursery, decided that this Gloster variety fitted the bill. It was really just a twig when we bought it.

It's filled out nicely throughout the following seven years and now produces a decent crop to say it's such a small tree. Here you can see what's left on it after the first bowlful was removed.

A couple of years later we added a dwarf Golden Delicious tree to the garden. Unfortunately, this has never performed well since we've had it. The apples look more akin to crab apples rather than eating apples.

Even though I don't grow so many vegetables these days, it's still nice to have fruit trees and bushes in the garden which produce a crop each year without having to put too much work in. Once they become established, they tend to look after themselves.

Nine Perfect Strangers

I've read a few books by Liane Moriarty and enjoyed them all so when I saw Nine Perfect Strangers for sale in a charity shop, I had no hesitation in picking it up.

I wish I could say that I enjoyed this book as much as I've enjoyed all the other books I've read by this author but I'm sad to say that it was a struggle to read. I started the book after reading a few fantastic books which I couldn't put down, I'd read each of them in just a few days, but this book took me between three and four weeks to read, and even then I had to push myself to read it.


"One luxury retreat in the middle of nowhere.

Ten days in which no one can leave.

Nine strangers seeking perfection.

And each discovering the perfect lie..."


I wish I could say that I'd recommend this book, but I really can't. I do recommend the other Liane Moriarty books I've read though and it won't put me off reading more from this author. Fingers crossed that the next book I read is a little better though!

Better Than Expected

I decided not to grow as many tomatoes this year as I usually do. In the end, I settled for just four plants of my favourite variety, Maskotka, a cherry tomato with a thin skin and a sweet taste.

I set out with good intentions and the seeds were sown back in March, not long before my lovely mum died. They germinated and were potted on and then, as you can imagine, they got forgotten about amid the grief and sorrow, and then when I did remember them and bring them back from the brink, they got forgotten about all over again during the busyness of arranging the funeral and supporting my dad.

Somehow they survived but it was quite late when they got moved into their final pots and what with one thing and another this year, they've been quite badly neglected. I really wasn't expecting very much from them at all but they've actually done me proud.

The first tomato started ripening towards the end of July and I've had a steady stream since then. Although early, I finally stripped the plants, which were way past their best, on the 10th of September and this is the final haul. There's only a few green ones amongst this little lot which needed to be ripened off the vine.

I think four plants is just the right amount for me to grow, there's not so many that they take over the garden, but enough for my own needs and to supply friends and family with some too. I do like to share my bounty as there's nothing quite like the taste of homegrown tomatoes.