Half Term and Window Cleaning

We have enjoyed a chilly half term term week with my boys at gym camp in the morning and trips out in the afternoon. We visited the South Bank centre for the Imagine children's Literary festival, the POD a soft play area at the YMCA and Mercedes Benz World at Brooklands.  Quite fancy a smart car although they only have 2 seats so not very practical for me!

Had the windows cleaned by a different man and he was very enthusiastic about our house! He loved the big white uncluttered space and couldn't believe how different it looked compared to the other houses despite them being the same footprint! 

Dejunked outgrown swimming shorts and a bin to my sister!

  Cooked sweet potato and chickpea with roasted cumin soup

Read The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer. A beautifully writen story about the occupation of Guernsey during the second world war and what happens once the war is over for my book club group.

Happy Husband

New bike stand came out today due to good weather!  Earlier in the day R and J had been to the local bicycle maintenance workshop. This is a great opportunity to learn a bit more about bike maintenance and benefit from their selection of specialist tools. They replaced J's rear derailleur which had seized up after only 18 months.  Then later R cleaned and adjusted his bike using the new bike stand at home. He was very happy!

Dejunked

Older son J had a bedroom tidy up and sorted out some bits for the bin, art projects etc
He donated a couple of science games to the local Beaver colony for their experiment badge.

Friday Funeral

Friday was my grandpa's funeral.  It is a relief that it is over. It has been a very long, tiring and emotional two weeks since he died.

The service at the crematorium went really well and lots of the people who attended congratulated us on a lovely service.  At the wake we ran a slide show of photographs of my grandpa through the years from boyhood until recent months which people enjoyed watching.

My gran who was anxious and nervous in the morning was really pleased with how the day went too.

Dejunked

Extendable baby hangers to my pregnant sister. My boys have outgown them and graduated to adult sized hangers.

A half tin of white paint also to my sister to decorate her newly skimmed porch.

Bicycle stand purchases and umbrellas

Dejunked 

 

A black umbrella to my mother as I have a duplicate which doesn't get much use either!

Husband has been dealing with grief in his own way! We all love cycling and it is a major source of transportation for our family. He and my older son go to a local youth club some Saturday mornings to a bike maintenance workshop. They enjoy tinkering with their gears and cogs etc!

He has purchased a bike stand to enable them to tinker in our back garden with more ease than they currently have which involves hanging bikes off the fence! It folds up into a tripod so not massive but I was a bit mmmm about this purchase.  He promises me it will get lots of use.  If it doesn't I can always donate it to the youth club bike maintenance workshop!

Funeral Arrangements and Clean and Lean Cookery!

My grandpa died on Saturday after a long illness of Vascular Dementia.

Were all very sad but glad that he is no longer suffering from such a very cruel illness.

We have been looking after my grandmother and busying ourselves with funeral arrangements. Because my grandmother is so organised and has spent many years organising financial affairs and downsizing possessions and property this process has been painless

My lovely friend Lizzie has been looking after me!

She has been cooking lunch for me. Kedgeree yesterday and Beluga Lentil salad today both so good and from James Duigan's Clean and Lean Cookery Book.

Dejunked 

Crock Pot slow cooker to a friend with a red meat eating husband as its perfect for slow cooking red meat something which I no longer do.