We're Going on a Bear Hunt sculpture trail in Scunthorpe!

When I first saw on social media that there was going to be a We're Going on a Bear Hunt sculpture trail in Scunthorpe, I knew I wanted to go and have a look. I don't have little children anymore but that didn't matter. I love anything that gets us out and about and it sounded like a fun way to spend a day with Ellie.

From 11th July until 1st September, ten giant decorated bear sculptures based on the much-loved We're Going on a Bear Hunt story have been placed around Scunthorpe town centre, with eight smaller bear cub sculptures dotted around local attractions too. Each bear has its own unique design, giving families something different to discover as they make their way around the trail.

Ellie and I decided to make a day of it, head into town, have a bit of brunch and then see how many bears we could find. We had no real plan apart from a starting point and a vague idea of where we were heading. I sensibly had a map on my phone with the location of the bears and off we went! We started off full of energy, convinced we'd find every single one in no time at all. It didn't quite work out like that.

We saw our first bear just as we got off the bus. We weren't the only ones hunting for bears. There was a queue to get a photo. The only difference between us and the other people was that they had a car and we heard them saying they were driving to the park to hunt for more. Ellie and I decided that was cheating. If you were hunting bears you should walk and walk, we did.

After the bear outside the theatre we made our way to North Lincolnshire Museum for the next bear. Well tried to. We got a little lost but found ourselves exploring streets we had never been down before. After the museum, we knew where we were going, the train station, leisure centre and then onto the university campus to find our first bear cub. That was a bit of a puzzle. We knew what we were looking for with the big bears but the bear cubs were much smaller and hidden away in the windows of buildings. By now we had walked around a mile and a half.

Next up was Central Park! It covers around 55 acres (22 hectares) making it the town's largest and most well-known park. It was lovely to have a break from the busy town centre. We strolled along past pretty flowerbeds, decorations and of course, the big water fountain until we realised we were heading in the wrong direction. oops! We needed to be in the bug area, which is a small wildlife-friendly space that's been created to encourage insects and other mini beasts to make themselves at home. I think this was the prettiest bear of all the ones that we saw! Every bear had its own personality and style. You could tell that so much thought had gone into each one, and it made the trail much more interesting than if they'd all looked the same.

We carried on through the park and found another and then we got a little stuck. We couldn't find the next one even after walking for a bit. We had a sit down for a think and to have a look at the map and spotted it in the distance. Hooray! Every time we found another bear we'd get a little burst of excitement. Then it was straight over for a closer look and, of course, a photo. I'm pretty sure anyone watching us would have known exactly what we were doing because every few minutes we'd suddenly change direction after spotting another bear in the distance.

The weather helped too. It wasn't too hot, which made all the walking much easier. If we'd picked one of those red hot summer days, I think we might have given up halfway through. After walking around the park, we had probably walked another 2 miles.

After a half-hour walk back into town, we found another bear cub, two more big bears and called it a day! We'd managed to find 9 out of the 10 big bears and 2 out of the 8 bear cubs, which I was quite pleased with. Of course, I would have liked to have found them all but we had run out of energy.

The walking did seem so much easier when we had something to look for. If someone had told me to simply walk around town for hours, I wouldn't have fancied it but a bear hunt and suddenly walking for miles doesn't seem like such a big deal.

Have you ever been on a sculpture trail?

Our weekly meal plan! 17th - 23rd August! #MealPlanningMonday

Happy Monday! I hope you all had a lovely weekend. Ours was a good one and we had a lovely time celebrating Stu's birthday. We went out for a meal on Saturday and had a lazy day at home yesterday. That was what he wanted for his birthday, so that's exactly what he got! We have a little break from birthdays now and then it's Ellie's in less than two weeks. I don't know where this year is going.

Last week's meal plan went really well. We ate everything on the day I had planned until we got to the weekend and swapped things around a bit. It all worked out well though. I feel all off with what day it is, as Becky and Stu both took the weekend off work, so every day has felt like a Sunday. I am writing this yesterday afternoon and it looks like it might rain, it probably won't but it's chilly compared to what it has been and we can hope!

Today is going to be a busy, productive day. Ellie has a job interview, I have paperwork to sort out, I have no idea what Becky is doing but I don't think she is home and Stu is going to do some more work on decorating the bathroom. Today also marks 17 years since my eldest had open-heart surgery to fix a hole in her heart and tomorrow is 17 years for my youngest! Those days were some of the hardest days of my life. I never thought we were going to get through the day, the week or even the month at the time. There were so many worries and so many things going through my head but here we are 17 years later and they are both fit and healthy.

On the menu this week we have:

Monday - Cottage pie and baked beans!

We eat cottage pie in this house, not Shepherd's pie because my family have decided that they don't want to eat lamb again. It makes no difference to me because beef mince is cheaper than lamb anyway. Cottage pie is one of those meals that everyone seems to enjoy and it's also a great one for a Monday because it's filling and doesn't take too much effort to make.

Tuesday - BBQ pulled pork in buns with potato salad.

We only had this last month but it has been requested again. I use the simplest recipe and it will be cooked slowly throughout the day in the slow cooker. We will have it in buns and a side of potato salad.

Wednesday - Sausage casserole and mashed potato!

This is a proper family favourite, especially with the girls. I keep it simple and use a packet mix, then add sausages, onions and mushrooms and let it all cook away in the oven until everything has thickened up. I’ll be making extra of this one because it freezes really well and it's great to have something as a backup in the freezer.

Thursday - Vegetable pasta bake!

This is my attempt at getting a meat-free meal onto the table without anyone complaining too much. My family hate the idea of vegetarian meals but I like to try and sneak one in now and again. They love pasta, so they probably won't even notice it has no meat. Lol.

Friday - Pizza!

Homemade or just frozen ones out of the freezer, I am not too sure yet.

Saturday - Burgers in buns!

We'll have burgers in buns with fries and onion rings. I'll put out the usual toppings and everyone can make their own. It's one of those easy meals where everyone can have exactly what they want.

Sunday - Undecided!

Sunday is still undecided! I have no idea what we are having yet. I might see what's left in the fridge and freezer and make something around that or we might have a roast if I fancy doing one. I will decide later on in the week.

What are you eating this week?

A photo every day for a year! 9th - 15th August Week 33 of #Project365

Happy Sunday!! I hope you've all had a lovely week and are enjoying your weekend. I am writing this on Friday evening which is early for me to write this blog post but we were out all day yesterday and I didn't want to rush through it last night. We have had a proper family weekend. We all went to my dad's on Friday. Stu had a day off work so he could have a long weekend for his birthday, so he came along too and my dad does love it when he visits. Stu is into all his cars, things he builds and mechanical stuff that I don't have much interest in, so my dad turns into a real show off. Hehehe. It is actually quite funny watching them together because I have no idea what they are talking about half the time but they are both happy chatting away.

Yesterday (hopefully) we celebrated Stu's birthday a day early by going to our favourite all you can eat place in Hull and on the way home we stopped off at our favourite pub for a few drinks. It was a really nice way to celebrate without making it a big thing. Today is his actual birthday and we have no plans at all. He didn't want a fuss, all he asked for was a lie in and not have to make any cups of tea for us all. That can be done. Hehehe.

Now for a photo every day!

221/365 9th August

Stu started work on decorating the bathroom and got most of the vinyl boards up around the shower. They are waterproof and then he got on with making them watertight with filler and sealant stuff. I left him to it as he didn't want my help. I did try but was just getting in the way and saying things like that's not straight. Oops.

222/365 10th August

More work in the bathroom. Stu has got some wood-like wallpaper but it's thick vinyl off Temu. He started putting it up and it already looks fantastic. The top is the new stuff and the bottom is the old, painted wood. I really like how it looks and it has made such a difference to the bathroom already.

223/365 11th August

I snapped a photo of a Gousto recipe for the Sloppy Joe's we were having for tea. I needed to know how much water to add to the tomato paste and didn't see the point of walking into the kitchen and forgetting and then having to come back again. Lol. Sometimes taking a photo of something is just the easiest option!

224/365 12th August

I was standing just inside the doorway pointing my phone to the sun when the solar eclipse was happening. I was so surprised to see the crescent shape, I thought it was an extra moon or planet. Lol. Google quickly brought me back down to earth. It was an optical lens flare caused by the bright light of the sun reflecting inside the camera's lens elements! Hmmf!

225/365 13th August

Every time I cook for more than just my family, I burn myself. This was off the hot oil when I gave the chips in the pan a shake. I of course ran it under the hot tap but it still blistered. It makes a change burning myself on the oil, usually it's when I am getting food out of the air fryer. It's fine now and nothing to worry about.

226/365 14th August

Did anyone else panic and get really confused when we got a Severe Alert warning on our phones? Even Ellie's phone, which is always silenced made the alarm noise. Eek! I seriously thought the world was ending, we were being attacked or something like that. It was basically telling us not to start fires, have barbecues, use firepits and things like that because of the wildfires. It has been all over the news for days, so I don't think the Severe Alert was needed.

227/365 15th August

We were out all day yesterday and I did no blogging, so I will add Saturday's photo on to next week's post, if I remember!

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This week my Word of the Week is: Questions!! #WotW

This week my Word of the Week is:

Happy Saturday and I hope you have all had a good week. This week seems to have flown over as we have had a lot going on, all good things, so there is nothing to complain about. Apart from the heat. I am definitely going to complain about the heat!

It has been another very warm week and I am starting to wonder if we're supposed to call this another heatwave or if we're just accepting that hot, hot weather is the new normal. I don't mind a bit of sunshine, but I'm at the point now where I would happily swap it for a few days of rain. I want the sort that lasts for a few hours and soaks everything. I can't remember the last time we had any decent rain. Surely it has to rain soon?

Interview questions have been a big part of our week. Becky's partner is applying for a promotion and Becky and I were helping by coming up with questions and answers that may be asked at the interview. AI was very helpful and gave us lots of ideas that we wouldn't have thought of. Then our attention turned to Ellie. She has two interviews coming up for two very different jobs, so there were more questions and answers to come up with. It was actually quite fun sitting there trying to think like an interviewer. What would they ask? What examples would they want? What would be a good answer? What questions could catch them off guard? Hopefully, all the practice will help and they'll go into all the interviews feeling confident.

Another big part of my week has been catching up with the Lindsay Clancy trial. I've been following the coverage and thinking about it a lot. It's such a sad and difficult case and there are so many things about it that leave me with questions. Lindsay is accused of killing her three children before seriously injuring herself. The trial has focused heavily on her mental health, with the defence arguing that she was suffering from severe postpartum psychosis and other mental health problems and wasn't responsible for her actions. The prosecution says that she knew what she was doing and should be held responsible. I've been watching the coverage of the court case and hearing about her mental health struggles, the medication she had been taking and her husband's account of what happened that day. Some of the evidence has been really hard to hear, especially the details surrounding the children’s deaths, which I thought was not needed as there is no argument about how they died. The trial is still ongoing. There are still plenty of questions that haven't been answered but three children have died in the most tragic circumstances imaginable and there is a woman who appears to have been experiencing a very serious mental health crisis beforehand. Whatever happens at the end of the trial, there isn't going to be a happy ending.

For the last few weeks, the girls and I have been asking Stu what he wants for his birthday and he has been the same as the girls, answering with I don't know. Why don't they know what they want for their birthday? I always had a list. lol He said he just wanted a family meal out but the girls have bought him a couple of presents and of course a Toblerone, his favourite chocolate! I haven't got him any presents as he said he would rather save the money and we could put it towards something for the house. I don't know what yet but next time he asks for something, I must remember he has a free pass.

How has your week been? I hope you have had a good one! I am of course linking up with Anne who blogs at Raisie Bay to join in with her Word of the Week linky!

What I have loved this week! Week 33. #FridayFavourites

Happy Friday! I hope you've had a good week. I have had a quiet week but it has been a good one with lots of nice things happening and plans being made. I am of course linking up with Erika and Andrea to share all the things that I have loved this week.

Being over the cold!

I am back to being as fit as a fiddle! Hooray! We are all over the cold that Stu brought home from work and it feels good to be well again and have all my energy back. I have got back on top of the housework, enjoyed being back in the kitchen cooking and have been out and about more this week. I think being stuck inside made me feel worse than I actually was.

Decorating the bathroom!

The bathroom has been getting some attention this week with Stu cracking on with the decorating. I have been letting him just get on with it and not interfering because he has a plan. So far, he has covered half of the wood on the walls with vinyl roll. It looks like wood but is washable, which is going to be much better for a bathroom. He has also put the waterproof wall panels up around the shower and has been using all the filler and sealant stuff to make sure everything is properly watertight. It sounds simple but of course nothing in our house is ever as straightforward as it should be. Our walls aren't straight. It would have been so much easier if Stu could have just put the panels up and been done with them, he's had to measure, cut and adjust everything to fit our slightly wonky walls. It's looking really good so far and I will share photos soon.

Exciting news!

I have some exciting news that I can't share yet! I'm not pregnant, Ellie doesn't have a job and Becky hasn't moved out or has a place to rent. lol I know it's very annoying when someone writes something like this on their blog but I wanted to write a little note here because when everything does happen and I can finally share it, I will be able to look back at this post and say this was the week when everything started. Without being dramatic, this little thing could be life changing for my family.

2 more interviews!

Ellie has two more job interviews lined up! I keep saying it but I really am so proud of my girl. She has probably applied for around 50 jobs in the last month and has heard back from at least half of them but got the dreaded "we've had an overwhelming response to this vacancy and have decided to progress with other applicants" message. Ugh! It is frustrating because she's doing everything right but people live closer to the workplace, have more experience or are just a better fit. I keep telling her that this is probably one of the worst times of the year to be applying, because everyone who has left school, college and university is also looking for work but she hasn't given up and that makes me so proud. I'm now hoping one of these interviews turns into a job offer because she deserves that chance.

Parcels being delivered!

All the girls birthday presents that I ordered have arrived. I am not going overboard with presents this year because they have everything they need. If they want something these days, they tend to just buy it themselves and when I've asked what they want for their birthdays, the answer has mostly been I don't know. So I have picked a few things for them to open on their birthdays and then we are going to have a day out together.

The solar eclipse!

We saw the solar eclipse here in North Lincolnshire and we were not prepared for it. I hadn't even thought about needing special glasses to watch it, then Stu came up with the idea of using the welders' masks we had in the garage and it worked. It was safe. I checked online and the glass in it was strong enough so our eyes weren't damaged. It was quite strange watching the moon move across the sun and apparently 90% of the sun was covered where we were and it did get darker but not as much as I expected. The last solar eclipse back in 1999. I was on the bus on the way to work and completely missed it. I'm glad I got to see it properly this time.

What have you loved this week?

What I listened to in July!

At the start of the year, I started listening to audiobooks. I always wanted to be a reader but couldn't/wouldn't make the time, so audiobooks were a way around it. I could be busy doing something while still listening to a book. Anyway, I thought I would share what I have been listening to. All of my audiobooks come from my local library through the app BorrowBox. I know lots of what I listen to might be considered old but they are all new to me!

This is what I listened to in July:

You Sent Me a Letter by Lucy Dawson!

At 2 a.m. on the morning of her fortieth birthday, Sophie wakes to find an intruder in her bedroom. The stranger hands Sophie a letter and issues a threat: open the letter at her party that evening, in front of family and friends, at exactly 8 p.m., or those she loves will be in grave danger. What can the letter possibly contain? This will be no ordinary party; Sophie is not the only person keeping a secret about the evening ahead. When the clock strikes eight, the course of several people's lives will be altered forever.

This had psychological, thriller, romance, comedy and mystery all rolled into one! I was hooked from the first chapter because I immediately wanted to know what was in the letter. I did enjoy listening to this and it kept me wanting to find out what happened but I didn’t find it quite as thrilling as I expected it to be. The plot was quite basic and I felt like I could see where the story was heading fairly early on. I had a theory about who was behind the letter and I was right for the first time ever! Even though I had worked out who sent the letter, I still wanted to keep listening because I wanted to know how everything would play out. I think this would be a good book if you’re just getting into psychological thrillers because it wasn’t too complicated and was easy listen to.

The Saturday Night Sauvignon Sisterhood by Gill Sims!

Claire’s family has gone nuclear. Her precious moppets keep calling Childline when she feeds them broccoli, and her darling husband is having an affair with her best friend. The question isn’t whether she needs a glass of wine, but is there one big enough? Enter the Sauvignon Sisterhood, a new set of friends brought together by a shared love of liquid therapy. Together they might just be able to convince Claire that, like a good bottle of red, life really can get better with age. Or at least there’s more to it than the joy of an M&S non-iron school uniform.

This was brilliant and had me laughing out loud several times. There were so many moments where I found myself thinking Yes, I can totally imagine someone saying that!” It had that very British humour that just works. Claire’s situation is obviously awful and there are some really difficult subjects covered, including betrayal, grief, loneliness and dealing with huge life changes but the humour always stood out above everything else. I loved the idea of the Sauvignon Sisterhood and the friendships that formed between these women. It was a lovely reminder that friendships don’t always happen when you’re young. I think this is one of those books that wouldn’t translate as well to other countries because so much of the humour is very British. The references, the sarcasm and even some of the situations are things that I think many UK readers will instantly understand.

Just Got Real by Jane Fallon!

He's not who he says he is. Then again, neither is she. When Joni finds Ant via a dating app, neither is entirely honest about who they are. But when they meet in real life, they fall for each other. Soon they are a happy, steady item. Until Joni discovers Ant is still on the app, still dating other women. Having secret rivals devastates Joni. So she decides to take revenge. But not on them. Can she turn these rivals into allies to get back at the real enemy, Ant?

I went into this expecting a fun revenge story and that is exactly what it was! I loved hearing the women come up with their plans and seeing Ant get what he deserved. hehehe One of my favourite things about this book was that the characters were a bit older and have already lived a bit of life instead of it focusing on people in their 20s. I loved the friendship side of the story just as much as the revenge. The only downside for me was that it was just too long. I did really enjoy the story but it seemed to drag at the end.

The Flower Girls by Alice Clark-Platts!

The Flower Girls. Laurel and Primrose. One convicted of murder, the other given a new identity. Now, nineteen years later, another child has gone missing. And the Flower Girls are about to hit the headlines all over again.

This is a tense, chilling story and a lot darker than the rest of the books that I read this month. The murder of the two year old girl really made me think it was a lot like what happened to James Bulger which is still horrifying all these years later. I enjoyed hearing the story from different characters and different sides to each bit of the story with different emotions being shown. It discusses the debate between being born evil or learning it and explores the age of criminal responsibility. It doesn't go into gory details about the 1997 murder, it lets you fill in the blanks for yourself, which in a way is worse. The ending, the last couple of chapters were shocking, I did not see that ending coming! 

What have you been reading or listening to lately?

The Wednesday Hodgepodge #68

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. I saw a meme on Instagram that went like this-'The movie Dirty Dancing came out in 1987 and was set in 1963, so if remade in 2026 it would be set in 2002. Now I need a little lie down in a dark room for a while." Time is crazy isn't it? So...what were you up to in the year 2002?

2002 was a massive year for me and I spent most of it pregnant! It was the year I became a mother! Becky, my eldest was born in September! The last six weeks of my pregnancy were terrible. I suffered from sciatica and my feet and legs swelled up really badly, so I spent a lot of time sitting in bed. I went for a routine check-up with my midwife on the Thursday before Becky's due date the following Wednesday. The midwife was a bit concerned that Becky's heartbeat was too fast and also said she might be breech. By the time I got to the hospital for a scan, her heartbeat was fine but yes, she was breech. The doctors said I needed a c-section and Becky was born a day early! It all seemed rushed and crazy but all was good and I settled into motherhood!

2. "Me? I'm scared of everything..." What's something that scares you that you'd like to try anyway?

The first thing that came to mind was skydiving! You really can't get much scarier than that. Just the thought of even going up in a tiny plane terrifies me, so throwing myself out of the plane is just a whole other level of terrifying. That said, I know that the adrenaline rush afterwards would be completely unreal. I know I'd need someone with me the whole time encouraging me, holding my hand, telling me that the plane isn't going to crash and I am not going to die but how cool would it be to be able to say that I had jumped out of a plane!

3. Watermelon-yay or nay? Which melon is your favorite-watermelon, cantaloupe, honeydew. Of the watermelon food/beverages listed which would you say yes to... watermelon salsa ~ watermelon feta salad ~ watermelon sorbet ~ a watermelon Jolly Rancher ~ a watermelon margarita.

I’m not a big fan of watermelon, it's one of those fruits that I could take or leave. I don’t dislike it but it’s never something I would see in the shops and I think I need to buy it. I haven’t tried any of the things on the list but Jolly Ranchers are a blast from the past! They were a big thing when I was at school but I don't think you can get them over here anymore. I might have tried a watermelon one without realising. If I had to pick one, I think I’d go for the watermelon margarita. I’m always willing to give something a try, especially if it comes with a little bit of alcohol!

My favourite melon is honeydew! When my girls were little, we used to go through two or three a week, especially in the summer because we all loved them so much and they were a healthy snack. They never lasted long in our house! It’s been ages since I last bought one and I hadn’t really thought about it until answering this question. Now I’m sitting here thinking about how nice a big piece of cold, juicy honeydew melon would be. I think I might have to pop one on the shopping list this week.

4. August 12th is National Middle Child Day. Are you a middle child? If not, where do you fall in the birth order in your family of origin? Do you think this has influenced your personality? Elaborate.

I’m the eldest, with a younger brother. Looking back, I do think that has shaped my personality. My parents were definitely stricter with me growing up. I was their first, so they were just figuring it all out as they went, which meant more rules and a lot more worrying. I remember having to be in at 7pm at a certain age while my brother got much more leeway and was allowed out later when he hit that age. At the time, I thought it was the most unfair thing in the world but now that I'm a parent myself I totally get it and I can admit I was way more relaxed with my youngest compared to my eldest too. Being the eldest also came with more responsibility. I had chores and expectations before my brother did and I was always the one who was supposed to set a good example. My brother and I spent a massive chunk of our childhood arguing over literally anything and everything but at the same time, I was protective of him. I could boss him around all day long but if anyone else dared to upset him they had me to answer to!

I think all of that just made me more independent and someone who takes charge. I'm so used to having things expected of me that I tend to just step up and handle responsibility rather than waiting around for someone else to do it and I can also be a bit bossy which I'm sure my brother would be very happy to say!

5. Would you rather talk to everyone at a crowded party for a short time, or have a significant conversation with two people? Explain.

I’ve been blogging for years and I connect with so many people online but in real life I’m not really a people person. I have a few close friends and I’m very happy chatting away to people I know but put me in a room full of people I hardly know and tell me to make small talk and I’d probably want to hide in a corner! I think I’d rather have a really good conversation with two friends than spend a whole evening going around a crowded party trying to make small talk with twenty different people.

6. Insert your own random thought here.

I am looking forward to the end of this week. It's Stu's birthday and as much as we don't have anything planned, we have lots of things that we might do and we're going to decide on the day. He has a few days off work and we are going to make the most of that time with maybe a day out.

Share Our Lives - Favourite current music!

It's that time of the month again to share some of my life and join in with the other Share Our Lives bloggers. This month the prompt is: Favourite current music.

I’ve realised something about myself over the years. I am not a music person in the way other people are music people. I don’t go hunting for new releases and I can’t tell you what’s number one in the charts unless the girls are playing it loudly but music still plays a big part in my life.

I always say I’m not into new music, which is mostly true. I do technically know current music thanks to TikTok but only the good bit, the catchy 30 seconds that everyone dances to or mouths at the camera. Most of the time I don't know who sings it or what the song is even called.

When I’m cleaning, cooking or doing anything around the house, music is happening and when it goes on it’s always the same stuff. My girls like to remind me that my music is old. My happy place is cheesy 90s pop. Proper sing it like you mean it pop, the kind of songs that come on and make you feel happy! Then there’s the rock side of my music taste, which feels very serious compared to pop but still ends up being equally dramatic. Classic rock is what I love. Bon Jovi is basically a household staple. Guns N’ Roses also make regular appearances, especially when I’m feeling a bit grumpy or need motivation and then there’s Meat Loaf. He was an absolute legend! I do dip into rock from the early 2000's like My Chemical Romance, Green Day and Limp Bizkit. A while ago, my youngest said she had found this great group but I probably wouldn't like them because of their bad language. She played me a Limp Bizkit song that I sang along to. That was a proud parenting moment for me which really shouldn't have been but the look on her face was priceless.

The songs from musicals have a big place in my heart too. You have to sing them loudly and I usually do when I am in the kitchen making tea. My family find it hilarious. I'll be halfway through cooking and suddenly realise I've got an audience watching me put on my own little performance. Then there are the big power ballads. If I've got a ton of housework to get through, I'll usually be listening to Celine Dion or Whitney Houston singing and dancing along. Folding clothes, mopping floors and hoovering is much more fun with good music.

I'm quite happy listening to the music I've always loved and I probably always will be. I think I always go back to the same music because it's comfortable and familiar. So many of the songs remind me of different times in my life, I don't feel like I have to keep up with every new artist or know what's in the charts.

What's your favourite music at the moment?

I am linking up with:

Adrienne from Mom Life with Adrienne.

Dara from Not In Jersey.

Jen from Show me & Sweet tea.

Joanne from Slices of Life.

Our weekly meal plan! 10th - 16th August! #MealPlanningMonday

Happy Monday! I hope you all had a lovely weekend. Ours was a good one. Nothing exciting happened apart from me thinking the shower was broken with water coming out of the bottom but it turns out the shower head was blocked with limescale. The girls were doing their own thing with friends, so it was quite at home. I am getting used to having two adult daughters who have their own lives, plans and people to see. I spent most of Saturday catching up on the housework that I didn't do during the week. Being full of cold and feeling sorry for myself, cleaning wasn't a priority. Saturday was a catch-up day with tidying, cleaning and doing the washing. Sunday was much more relaxed. I started watching the Lindsay Clancy trial on YouTube after seeing so much about it on TikTok. I had seen lots of people talking about the husband and things that apparently weren't adding up so I decided I wanted to watch the trial for myself rather than just relying on short clips popping up on my TikTok feed. It is interesting but also such a sad, sad case.

Last week's meal plan went really well. We ate just about everything that was on the plan, which I am taking as a win because I had no interest in cooking for most of the week. Stu did the cooking on Monday, which was a massive help as I just couldn't be bothered and for the rest of the week we just muddled through.

This week is going to be a little busy, we have a few things going on. Stu has a couple of days off work, Ellie has a couple of appointments and at the end of the week, it is Stu's birthday! I love this time of year, it's Stu's and the girls birthdays over the space of three and a half weeks. It's busy but a lot of fun!

On the menu this week we have:

Monday - A fry up!

We're starting the week with a proper fry-up. On the plate will be sausages, bacon, mushrooms, black pudding, hash browns, baked beans, tomatoes and toast! It is one of those meals that works at pretty much any time of the day. We could have it for breakfast, lunch or tea and nobody would complain.

Tuesday - Meat-Free sloppy joes with potato salad!

Tuesday is one of our favourite meals and it is something we originally used to get from Gousto. Meat-free sloppy joes with potato salad. I remember the first time we had the meat-free mince. I was very curious about it because I'd never really used it before. I am pretty sure I didn't even tell my family it was meat-free until after they had eaten it. I thought I would see whether they noticed and they didn't! lol The sloppy joes are really tasty and messy, which is all part of the fun.

Wednesday - A help yourself evening!

Wednesday is going to be one of those nights where I have no plans. Everyone can help themselves to whatever they fancy and use up bits from the fridge, freezer and cupboards. We always seem to have random bits of food hanging around. Half a packet of something, a few potatoes, some cheese, leftover meat, something in the freezer that I bought ages ago and forgot about. This is the night to use things up.

Thursday - Ham, eggs and home made chips!

I have a couple of joints of gammon in the freezer so they are coming out for Thursday and Friday. I'll boil the gammon and we'll have it with fried eggs and homemade chips. It's such a simple meal but it is so good and homemade chips are always worth the effort!

Friday - Ham salad!

We'll be using the leftover ham with a salad. Lettuce, cucumber, tomatoes, hard boiled eggs, beetroot, sweetcorn and some new potatoes. I'll probably end up adding anything else I find in the fridge too.

Saturday - Pizza of some sort!

I haven't decided exactly what we're having yet. It might be homemade pizza or it might be fresh ready-made ones from the supermarket. It will depend on how much time I have and what everyone fancies.

Sunday - Stu's birthday!

We sort of have plans, but nothing is definite yet. We have talked about a few things we could do but we'll see what happens. Whatever we end up doing, I know it will involve something nice to eat!

What are you eating this week?

A photo every day for a year! 2nd - 8th August Week 32 of #Project365

Happy Sunday!! I hope you've all had a lovely week and are enjoying your weekend. I am glad to say I am well and truly over the cold that I have had. We all seem to have finally got over it and thankfully, it seems to have passed Ellie right by! Phew! I was getting a bit fed up with feeling rubbish and on Friday was at that stage where I thought I was better but felt exhausted after just walking to my dad's. Now I feel full of energy and I'm raring to go!

I was writing this yesterday, it's 11:10 and I feel like I have had a day of it already! lol. I had some good news about a family thing. Don't worry, it was nothing bad, quite the opposite. I will share more about it when things are a little more definite, because I don't want to say too much and then have to say that didn't happen but it's good news and it really put a smile on my face. Then I went to go in the shower and there was water coming out of the bottom of it. So I did the usual thing of ringing my dad and asking for help. Thankfully, he came round, took the shower head off and suddenly it was working perfectly again. It turns out the shower head was filled with limescale! That stuff tortures us here, the kettle and washing machine are always filling up with it and the drains outside too. My dad only knew what the problem was because he had the exact same thing happen to his shower a few months ago. The water couldn't get through the shower head properly, so it was finding another way out. I then had to sort Ellie's hair because she didn't have time for a shower before she went out. Thank goodness for dry shampoo because it has saved us more than once! I am hoping for a nice relaxed afternoon but I sure do have a lot to talk about with Stu when he rings at lunchtime. lol

Now for a photo every day!

214/365 2nd August

Just a little ice cream and I emphasise the word little! I am sure these used to be bigger. I know everything seems smaller these days but I really don't remember Twister Minis being quite so mini. This was purely for medicinal reasons. I was full of cold and obviously, ice cream is a well-known treatment for these things. hehehe The second one I had later in the day was more for enjoyment though.

215/365 3rd August

Whenever I look at the sunflowers in my garden, they make me happy. I stop almost every day just to look at them and snap a photo. The bees don't seem to get bored with them either, they are always buzzing around them!

216/365 4th August

On Tuesday, Becky and I needed a little pick-me-up, so we had Costa Coffee delivered, although no coffee was actually ordered. I had a mango and passion fruit cooler, a bacon roll and a lemon muffin and Becky had mac and cheese and some sort of frappe. I can't remember exactly what was in her drink but it looked nice! It was exactly what we needed.

217/365 5th August

I got up to Negan's first episode on The Walking Dead! (I am rewatching it). If you have watched The Walking Dead, you will probably know exactly which episode I mean and if you haven't, I won't spoil it for you! When I first watched it, I hated Negan but over time he has grown on me and he is now one of my favourite characters. Obviously, that doesn't include the bits where he is doing awful things with his baseball bat but as a character, he is brilliant.

218/365 6th August

This is what the sky looked like for most of Wednesday. It looked like it could chuck it down at any moment but it didn't. We had about 20 drops of rain and I only know that because when I went to put some rubbish out, I noticed it on the wheelie bin. There were just enough drops to make me think that we were going to get some rain but no, there wasn't any more. Hmmf.

219/365 7th August

Football! Middlesbrough, my old hometown team versus Wrexham, the team that Rob McElhenney and Ryan Reynolds (Deadpool) own. It ended 1-0 to Middlesbrough, which I was happy with. They are through to the next round of the EFL Cup and it was a good way to start the new football season.

220/365 8th August

I have a tomato that I grew in my garden! Just one though. All the rest are still green but this one finally decided it was ready, so I picked it, washed it and ate it straight away. Delicious! There is something really satisfying about eating something that you have grown yourself, even if it is only one tomato.

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This week my Word of the Week is: Slow!! #WotW

This week my Word of the Week is:

We have had a slow week, mostly because Stu was just getting over a cold and then Becky and I caught it. Ugh! Ellie has been really lucky and hasn't had as much as a sniffle and she thinks it's brilliant. Oh, to be young again! I have been feeling very sorry for myself over the past week as I have not been sleeping properly and when I don't get enough sleep I turn into such a grump. Early in the week, Stu and I were waking each other up coughing and each spent a night on the sofa just to give the other one some peace. I only realised after that I could have slept in Becky's bed because she was on a night shift. Thankfully, we are all feeling much better now and are over the worst! I had forgotten just how miserable a summer cold can be. Everyone talks about coughs and sniffles in the winter but having one when its warm outside feels so unfair! Ugh!

The week started with lots of wrestling to watch, which gave me a good excuse to just sit in front of the TV. Over 4 days we had about 10 hours to watch and all the shows were fantastic. A guy returned after 17 months off and neck surgery and did not take things slow, 5 minutes into the match, he was flying over the ropes onto people on the floor outside. Championships changed hands, there were more returning superstars and lots of drama.

I have done the bare minimum around the house and even though I felt a little guilty at some points throughout the week, I knew it was for the best. Stu has been a great help and Ellie too. The floor could do with hoovering and everywhere needs a dust and I might get around to it today but if not, it's not the end of the world. I need to keep reminding myself that the jobs will still be there tomorrow and nobody should be judging me because I've been unwell.

I wrote this yesterday after being out to see my dad. It's the first time I've been out of the house all week apart from being in the garden. It has been nice to sit out there and get a little air and it really helped at times to feel less stuffy. I had a slow walk to my dad's and got a lift home. It really tired me out. I guess I am not fully over this cold yet but it was nice to have a change of scenery and get some proper fresh air. It was good to have a catch-up with him too as I didn't see him last week as I was waiting for the people to unblock the drains again. It's an ongoing problem. There are cracks and damage to the sewer pipes and it makes everything drain slowly and every 6 months or so it just gets too much and blockages happen. It's on the water companies to fix list but until then we just wait.

How has your week been? I hope you have had a good one! I am of course linking up with Anne who blogs at Raisie Bay to join in with her Word of the Week linky!