What I have loved this week! Week 41. #FridayFavourites

Happy Friday! I hope you've all had a good week. I've had a nice week and have a few things that have made me smile so of course I am linking up with Erika and Andrea to share what I have loved this week!

Armageddon - The movie!

I saw it being shown on TV last week a few times and it got me in the mood to watch it again. I do love that film. I always laugh most of the way through it and then cry at the end, even though I've seen it about a million times and know exactly what's coming. Armageddon got me thinking about films from the 90s that I used to love and haven't seen in years. I've made myself a list including The Rock, Face/Off, Con Air, Independence Day, The Mummy, Demolition Man and Air Force One that I am planning on watching soon.

Having time to get dressed up!

On Saturday I had the house to myself, so I had a little pamper session before going out. It might not sound like a big deal but it was lovely having the time without feeling like I was racing against the clock. I had a shower and then had time to let my hair dry while I did a face mask and my nails. I did my hair and make up without rushing, had music playing and it put me right in the mood for a night out.

Lots on TV!

All summer there is nothing much on TV and I spend my time using streaming services but now I seem to be watching more and more normal TV. Mondays there is Geordie Coppers, a show following the police in Newcastle City Centre. Tuesday it's Great British Bake Off, Wednesday there's always something to watch, Thursday and Friday Celebrity Traitors and Saturday The Voice UK and Strictly Come Dancing. There's also Big Brother every night too and loads of new TV shows starting!

Jobs being like buses!

You know the saying: You wait ages for a bus and then two come along at once? Well, that seems to have happened with jobs for Ellie this week! She is now hoping the temporary job she has really is temporary and another job can wait a couple of weeks for her to start. This new one is only a Christmas job running until the beginning of January but it's work for the next few months and more experience to put on her CV! Now she has options!

My big tomato!

It finally turned red! I could have left it a bit longer but was scared to because of bugs and I didn't want it to go mushy! I had a basic tomato sandwich with it and it was so good!

Lighting candles!

I light candles all year around but this time of year I get more excited about them. This week I have had a few burning! I've had a blackcurrant and something one on the go and a gingerbread one. My favourite ones are the ones with the crackling wicks. They make it sound so cosy in here and I can just imagine sitting in front of a log fire.

A fixed roof!

It is fantastic to have a brother who is great at DIY. On Wednesday morning, Stu noticed a dripping noise in the bathroom and left me a note telling me. Instead of calling in the experts I just rang my dad who sent my brother with his ladders, tools and what not and of course, he fixed it! Phew! I'm very lucky to have a family who can help with things like this.

What have you loved this week?

365 Days Of Gratitude. In September I was grateful for...

I have seen many people on social media list something every day that they are grateful for and thought I would join in. I have done this for the whole of the last few of years and it has really made me realise that even on bad days I have something to be grateful for.

September was another month which flew over. I think it's because we were so busy here. Becky had her birthday, Ellie started full time work and we had lots of things going on. It was a good month but like I keep saying it went too fast!

In September I was grateful for:

Day 244 of #365DaysOfGratitude

Today I am grateful that Becky brought me candyfloss back from the beach!

Day 245 of #365DaysOfGratitude

Today I am grateful that Ellie's latest job interview went well. She said it's the best one she's had yet!

Day 246 of #365DaysOfGratitude

Today I am grateful for a Pumpkin Spice Frappuccino! Tis the season!

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Today I am grateful for a walk out and lunch at my dad's.

Day 248 of #365DaysOfGratitude

Today I am grateful that I could catch up on the housework! Had the music blasting to help me along!

Day 249 of #365DaysOfGratitude

Today I am grateful for a day of watching sport. Football and F1!

Day 250 of #365DaysOfGratitude

Today I am grateful that the grass has been cut in the front and back garden! It's grown so much over the last week!

Day 251 of #365DaysOfGratitude

Today I am grateful that Becky had a day in the kitchen! Made lasagne from scratch and a cake for after!

Day 252 of #365DaysOfGratitude

Today I am grateful that Ellie helped me wrap Becky's birthday presents.

Day 253 of #365DaysOfGratitude

Today I am grateful that Becky had a great birthday! I think it's time for bed now!

Day 254 of #365DaysOfGratitude

Today I am grateful for Costa for lunch! I just had my usual Chocolate fudge frappe, bacon bap and lemon muffin!

Day 255 of #365DaysOfGratitude

Today I am grateful for a day with just Becky and me at home. We had a nice day, I even convinced her to watch some Harry Potter!

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Today I am grateful for a proper roast chicken dinner cooked by me! We have leftovers for tomorrow too!

Day 257 of #365DaysOfGratitude

Today I am grateful for a few hours with my dad and brother. It's always fun to spend time with them.

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Today I am grateful that Becky brought me treats home from her shopping trip! A fancy doughnut from M&S and some Percy Pigs.

Day 259 of #365DaysOfGratitude

Today I am grateful that Ellie takes everything in her stride! So far this week she's had appointments, a job interview, phone calls to deal with which she struggles with because of her hearing loss, things to organise, important forms to fill out and there she is just getting on with it.

Day 260 of #365DaysOfGratitude

Today I am grateful for help bringing the food shop in. I stocked up the cleaning cupboard so there was a lot to carry to the kitchen.

Day 261 of #365DaysOfGratitude

Today I am grateful for lunch at my dad's. Who'd have though bacon and pear sandwiches would taste so good! The pears were freshly picked off his tree too!

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Today I am grateful for a fun night out! Food, drinks and lots of dancing!

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Today I am grateful for a lazy day! I have done nothing productive and have hardly moved! Perfect for a Sunday!

Day 264 of #365DaysOfGratitude

Today I am grateful that Ellie got on OK at her job induction. I was stressing all morning but she did great! The biggest excitement was that she was given a proper name badge.

Day 265 of #365DaysOfGratitude

Today I am grateful for a hot chocolate with marshmallows in!

Day 266 of #365DaysOfGratitude

Today I am grateful for a whole day in the house by myself. It felt so strange but good at the same time!

Day 267 of #365DaysOfGratitude

Today I am grateful my documents were returned from the DVLA and my Provisional licence is on its way!

Day 268 of #365DaysOfGratitude

Today I am grateful for a bag of treats from my dad. A pack of bacon, a bottle of coca cola, some black pudding and randomly some beetroot!

Day 269 of #365DaysOfGratitude

Today I am grateful that I had company all day while Stu was at work, Ellie was out and Becky was sleeping for work. It was nice to spend the day with someone different.

Day 270 of #365DaysOfGratitude

Today I am grateful that I've made plans with my girls. Got a day with Ellie tomorrow and Becky on Tuesday!

Day 271 of #365DaysOfGratitude

Today I am grateful that Stu came shopping with me and I got a big chunk of the Christmas present buying done!

Day 272 of #365DaysOfGratitude

Today I am grateful for a woolly jumper. It has been quite chilly today!

Day 273 of #365DaysOfGratitude

Today I am grateful for a hot chocolate with a squirt of Bailey's cream in it!

What were you grateful for in September?

The Wednesday Hodgepodge #76

I hope you are all having a good week. It's Wednesday, which means it's time to join in with the Wednesday Hodgepodge with Joyce who blogs at From This Side of the Pond! Each week there are 6 questions, we answer and then link up. Simple!

1. Let's embrace it shall we? What's something you recently forgot to do? Is your memory these days more like a sieve or an elephant?

I forgot I was supposed to be at my dad's on Monday. We had talked about it on Friday and I said I would pop over to help with some of the admin for his business. He rang me at lunchtime wondering where I was. Oops! I got my shoes on and rushed over. There was no actual rush but I felt bad for forgetting!

I have a memory like a sieve these days. Things can go into my head and then disappear five minutes later. I can remember random things from years ago that I probably don't need to remember at all but if you asked me on Monday morning what I was doing that day, my memory had given up. lol. I think part of the problem is that there is always so much going on. Even when I'm not really busy, there's always things to remember. Appointments, things that need buying, jobs that need doing, people I need to get back to, things I need to take somewhere and those little everyday things don't seem important until I forget them.

2. Share a trick/strategy you have to help you remember things you need to remember.

I write everything down! If it's really important, I write it on the whiteboard in the kitchen. That way I can't miss it because I walk past it all the time. I also leave notes for myself and I put things in the calendar on my phone and I always get a notification the day before to remind me. If I need to take something with me when I go out, I'll put it by the front door or somewhere that I know I'll see it. I think I've accepted now that I shouldn't rely on my memory for anything important. I could tell myself I'll remember that and there's a very good chance that I won't. Writing it down saves a lot of hassle!

3. What's your favorite fall vegetable to cook with? Do you prefer your fall veggies roasted, blended into a warm soup, or fresh in a crisp autumn salad?

My first thought was parsnips! I had to Google if they were an Autumn vegetable and they are. The peak harvest time is between October and February here. I love them roasted with a bit of honey on. I could easily eat a full plate and when I am making them for say a roast dinner, I always make extra so I can snack on them. I also love Brussels sprouts on a roast dinner at this time of year. They were something I hated as a child but I love them now but only ever eat them between now and Christmas!

I'm more of a roasted vegetable person and I do like soup, especially when it's cold outside but if I had to choose between a bowl of soup and a plate of roasted vegetables, the roasted vegetables will always win. The poor crisp Autumn salad doesn't even get a look in!

4. October 5th is/was National Do Something Nice Day. Did you? If so tell us about it. Or maybe someone did something nice for you, and if that's the case please share.

I went to my dad's and helped him with a few things on the computer. He used to be great at getting these things done when they could be done over the phone or in person but now everything is online and he is not great with technology. Everything seems so complicated needing to use an email address, remember passwords and the dreaded verification codes sent to your phone! He doesn't do text messages. lol It didn't take too long to get the admin done and it was nice to be able to help my dad and save him the frustration of trying to work it all out for himself.

5. Nathaniel Hawthorne is credited with the quote "I cannot endure to waste anything so precious as autumnal sunshine by staying in the house."

Do you tend to spend more time outside this time of year?

Do you actively pause to soak in fleeting moments of beauty in your daily routine? Elaborate.

I don't spend more time outside in autumn but I do try to make the most of those days when the sun is shining. I like to potter about in the garden and of course make the most of drying the clothes on the washing line. There's something satisfying about getting a load of washing on the line instead of putting it in the tumble dryer. I know that's not exactly what Hawthorne had in mind when he wrote his quote but we all appreciate autumn sunshine in our own ways!

I do try to pause and notice the little things too. There's always something to do so it's good to stop for a minute and look around. At this time of year, I'm noticing the changing leaves, the pretty sunsets and how nice it feels to be outside when the weather is behaving itself. It won't be long until the colder weather comes and I am not a fan of that.

6. Insert your own random thought here.

Before I saw the questions for today, I already had in mind what my random thought was going to be. It was going to be about me forgetting to go to my dad's on Monday so now I have to think of something else. lol I had a funny moment last week when I was in town which shows I have a really bad memory for faces. I was walking around a shop and a woman said, "Ohh, hello there. I've not seen you in ages". I had no idea who she was, she knew me though. She asked how my dad and brother were doing, so I narrowed it down a little and then had a little chat about them, the weather and it was only when she was walking away that I realised who she was. I must have come across as so stand-offish. Oops! In my defence, I hadn't seen the woman in about a year and she looked so different from when I used to see her in the place she was working. Oops!

The problem with getting dressed in October!

I have a problem with getting dressed in October. Actually, I have several problems with getting dressed in October because this is the month when I never seem to know what I am supposed to wear. I can look out of the window in the morning, check the weather, have a good think about it and still get it totally wrong. It might look freezing but can be quite warm or it might look lovely and sunny but then the wind will be horrible and cold wind that makes me wish I'd put a proper coat on. October really does make getting dressed much harder than it needs to be!

In the morning I wake up and it is cold. Not freezing where I am thinking of putting the heating on but definitely cold enough that I don't want to get out of bed. The duvet becomes my best friend and getting dressed feels like a chore. If I had my way, I would change into my fleecy PJs and stay in them all day. Over the last year or so, I have realised I can't sleep in them any more as I wake up in a hot sweat, thanks to peri-menopause. I will get myself dressed and usually put a jumper on as it's cold when I am out of bed but half an hour later I wonder why I bothered as I am far too warm.

You need to dress for the temperature at 8am but you also need to think about what it is going to be like at 1pm. Then you need to remember that by 6pm it could be cold again. So really, you are trying to dress for three different days while only actually getting dressed once. October is the month when I rely on a T-shirt underneath a jumper so at least I can take a layer off.

The coat is another problem. I have the same argument with myself at this time of year about whether it is finally time to get the big coat out. I will look at it hanging there and think it's not time for that yet and then I will go outside and realise it is actually quite cold and wish I had brought it. So I go back inside, put it on and feel pleased that I have finally accepted that autumn has arrived. Five minutes later, I regret it.

That is the annoying thing. You can leave the house in a coat because it looks cold and then suddenly the sun comes out. Now you are walking around carrying your coat over your arm for the rest of the day. You are trying to hold your handbag, your phone, whatever shopping you have bought and your coat and you are thinking why did I need to bring it? Then the next day you decide you don't need it and that's the day you freeze!

I also don't know when we are supposed to officially stop wearing summer clothes. Is there a date? If it is a mild October day, I am quite happy to wear a T-shirt or a summer dress. I am not ready to suddenly start dressing like it is December just because the calendar has changed. There are still days when the sun is shining and I look outside and think it's not too bad, so I put on a lighter top and head out. Then see somebody wearing a big coat and I start wondering whether I've made the wrong choice but then I see somebody else in a T-shirt and realise that maybe nobody actually knows what they are doing. We are all just guessing.

October has this strange middle stage where my summer wardrobe is still there but I don't really want to wear most of it and my winter clothes are sitting there waiting for me to admit defeat. I don't want to get all the big winter jumpers out too early because once they are out, I feel like summer is properly over. I like autumn but I am not ready for winter quite yet!

I have a wardrobe full of clothes and nothing to wear! None of it is right. A T-shirt? Too cold. A jumper? Probably too warm later. A cardigan? Maybe. A thicker jumper? Too much. A dress? No idea and after trying to work it out for far too long, I will usually end up putting on the same jeans and jumper I wore a few days ago because at least I know where I am with that outfit.

In winter, you know it is cold. You get your coat, your warm clothes and your boots and you get on with it. In summer, you know it is warm and you can put on something light without having to think about it too much. October is somewhere in between. You don't know what you are going to get. Getting dressed should not involve this much decision making!

I think I am just going to accept that I will probably get it wrong quite a lot this month. I will keep my summer dresses out because there will still be mild days. I will keep the jumpers close by because the mornings are definitely getting colder. I will probably continue to argue with myself about the big coat for at least another couple of weeks and I will keep looking at my wardrobe every morning as though the answer is going to suddenly appear. It won't and I will still have no idea what to wear.

Do you struggle to get dressed at this time of year?