Friday Five!

Have a fabulous holiday, PB!  I hope you are treated to great weather, but the time off/away will be great either way.  Enjoy!

I'm struggling a wee bit this week (reading the US news, watching the UK figures, etc.), so I'm not going to do five for fear it'll just sound like a massive whinge/rant.  But I'll list a couple of positives:

1.  For the first time in ages, I submitted a grocery order, and all but one of the substitutions is acceptable, and the one we're not accepting isn't an essential item, anyway.  We will have food this week!

2.  An item we ordered from the US for the workshop is out for delivery today.  It's a (not inexpensive) upgrade for one of our tools that we've been considering getting for a long time, and we finally decided to splurge and treat ourselves.  Funnily, the day after we made the purchase, the part of the machine it replaces broke, so the tool has been out of commission for a few weeks.  We'll be spending the weekend rebuilding the machine and trying it out.

3.  I have bread dough rising.

4.  There's not much washing up today (see #1 regarding the lack of food).

5.  We have leftover seasoned beef from last night's taco night, so soft tacos for lunch in a bit.

Bonus:  It's the weekend in about 4 hours.

Oh... turns out I had 5+, after all.  Yay!

It's Friday, and I remembered!  Hope you're still enjoying your holiday and the weather cooperated, PB!

Here we go...

1.  I just got 7/7 in this week's weekly news quiz on BBC.  If you ever do those, you'll know this means that I read every weird article publushed this week.

2.  I don't know how chicken-fried steak first came up, but I had to explain to my husband what it is.  Then a cookery Youtuber we frequently watch made it (along with the gravy) in a video.  So we decided we'll make it.  Yay! (Cont'd.)

3.  We don't have a meat tenderizer mallet thingie for tenderizing the steak, and we could just make one, but instead I'm trying new workshop skills.  I've power-carved the handle, so far (see below).  I'll make the mallet head this weekend.  Then we'll prepare our steaks. 

4.  I think I 'cracked' bread-making!  I've achieved a recipe/balance of ingredients that caused us to just eat bread (either with cheese, tomato soup, or just butter) for multiple meals last weekend.  I made the first loaf on Friday, and it was so good that I had to make a second loaf Saturday.  They were standard 900g loaves.  We ate a LOT of bread!

5.  My funk from last week seems to have passed, and I'm feeling less negative about stuff.  I worry this is because other news has put my own shiz in perspective.  As my husband said the other day, "The world is on fire" (figuratively in most places, literally in a few others).

Amazing work JFKimberly, you'll have a lovely meat tenderiser in no time. I tend to use plastic wrap and the bottom of a can.

This isn't a happy post, but I've been so quiet I realised I should check in.

1. I left the volunteer role I'd been doing because whew, management was not capable of running a safe organisation. I don't have tons of voluntary sector experience, but I do have common sense, and having the same 3-4 people doing all the work indefinitely, without any resource planning when taking on new projects, is not the way to do things. Especially when the chair is a bully who when threatened by competence does things they know trigger your PTSD. I'm still not sure if I should file a formal complaint or if that'd be more effort than it's worth, since they surely do not have procedures to deal with it (intentionally, because the complaints so far all have to do with the chair).

2. That means I'm trying to figure out what's next. I can only manage 15-20 hours a week maximum, and my confidence is pretty shot after the last 3 years. I am working with an organisation that focuses on disability employment, but who knows if it will lead to anything. The amount of job postings for "fast paced environment" "must be able to multitask" and so on make the job market almost completely inaccessible to me.

3. There will be no return to "normal" for me. I still can't go anywhere local because people stopped wearing masks indoors.

4. I see a hip specialist in London soon. No one has done any imaging on my hip or SI joint since I moved, but it needed surgery in 2016. Time to finally get on the list because its unavoidable and now so horribly painful.

5. My husband still doesn't have a license, but in 4 months I'll be able to supervise him in our car. This has been a rough summer because I've been trapped at home in too much pain to drive, managing pain means too impaired to drive. Its our 5 year anniversary soon and have no plans because I can't drive us anywhere. Driving in the US was a lot easier to manage with pain, you could use cruise control most places and it's mainly straight roads.  *sigh*

Friyay!

1.  It’s my birthday! 

2.  This year we are towing a touring caravan around Devon and Cornwall.  I’m a bit “over” this kind of holiday. It’s not a holiday. We have to build our house every few days. I’m very glad we are seeing more of Great Britain these past two years, but I want to wear shorts and not get caught in pouring rain every 5 minutes. Going shopping for more jumpers and joggers in a few minutes. And slippers! 

3.  It’s certainly not all doom and gloom, but would appreciate the sun making an appearance. We’ve chartered a boat this afternoon and no rain would make me weep with joy!  If nothing else, I got two bottles of gin for my birthday!   

4.  Highlight so far was an alpaca trek.  Lovely young farmer telling us about her family’s farm and how they are really working with what they have and making it work for them, as opposed to bringing food in, etc.  Very impressive and I can easily see how she was awarded the farm from the National Trust at the age of 21!!

5.  Hoping my headache I woke with shifts soon. Took Nurofen! 

Happy Birthday KFD!!! 

I really hope the weather cooperates and you enjoy the rest of your vacation!

Happy birthday KFDancer! Shorts and sun would be nice after this rainy cold summer, but I'm glad you're taking a holiday.

2.  I don't know how chicken-fried steak first came up, but I had to explain to my husband what it is.  Then a cookery Youtuber we frequently watch made it (along with the gravy) in a video.  So we decided we'll make it.  Yay! (Cont'd.)

It was Chef Tom.  My husband just saw my post and says the cookery Youtuber should get recognition.  My husband said "Poor Chef Tom..." because I just called him a Youtuber.  His name is Chef Tom, and he hosts "allthingsBBQ" on Youtube.

Happy birthday, KF!  So much rain (#1) that you had to charter a boat (#2)?!!    Wow!  I hope it improves!  The gin should hope, at least. 

Margo, I was lamenting the loss of my cruise control, too, but I recently received my husband's granddad's car when he decided it was time for him to stop driving (he's 96!!)... and his car has cruise control!  The roads still tend to be windy and twisty, but we're so rural that I go for the dual carriageway and then have a reasonable stretch of smooth driving for most destinations.  (Not that I've been anywhere except to get my two vaccine doses in the last 18 months.)

Happy Birthday KFDancer!   

I'm glad to hear it isn't just me with the rain this year.  When we were in France we camped near the beach and the first two times we got the kitebuggy out it literally poured rain precisely at the moment we arrived on the beach. Our clothes didn't dry for days.

I've decided to go to Camber sands for a little buggy action and guess what?  The tide doesn't go out until 4 pm and the forecast says it will be clear tomorrow except for rain between 4 and 7 PM!  I'm going anyway.

Glad to see you back Margo, I was getting worried.   

Friyay!

1.  It’s my birthday! 

2.  This year we are towing a touring caravan around Devon and Cornwall.  I’m a bit “over” this kind of holiday. It’s not a holiday. We have to build our house every few days. I’m very glad we are seeing more of Great Britain these past two years, but I want to wear shorts and not get caught in pouring rain every 5 minutes. Going shopping for more jumpers and joggers in a few minutes. And slippers! 

3.  It’s certainly not all doom and gloom, but would appreciate the sun making an appearance. We’ve chartered a boat this afternoon and no rain would make me weep with joy!  If nothing else, I got two bottles of gin for my birthday!   

4.  Highlight so far was an alpaca trek.  Lovely young farmer telling us about her family’s farm and how they are really working with what they have and making it work for them, as opposed to bringing food in, etc.  Very impressive and I can easily see how she was awarded the farm from the National Trust at the age of 21!!

5.  Hoping my headache I woke with shifts soon. Took Nurofen!

Happy Birthday kf!! Should have come to Fort William……we’ve had amazing weather and should be 23 or 24 again by Tuesday! Rain or shine….gin will fix it!

Friyay!

1.  On the road to our last stop on our “tour” of Devon and Cornwall. SO pleased the sun decided to come to the party this second week. Makes a big difference.  I’ll make a post sometime next week about caravan v motorhome.  Aren’t you all excited? 

2.  Extension is coming along.  Bathrooms are shaping up nicely and WELL within budget. Kitchen design appointment (number 2) next Friday.

3.  Missing Sobe, especially on our holiday.  Have shed a couple of tears this week. 

4.  Currently in a terrible traffic jam after being routed off the A39.  Travelled about 1 mile in the past two hours….

5.  Travel home on Monday, the bank holiday…..  that’ll be fun.  😂

My Friday Five:

1) I have 1 week left in the Falklands... fingers crossed that this time next week my plane will be about to take off

2) We went out for a team dinner in Stanley on Wednesday night and I decided to splash out and stay over at the hotel... I had the luxury of a double bed with a lovely mattress (my bed here is a single with an uncomfortable military mattress), a proper shower (the shower in my room is basically a plastic 'porta-shower' with magnetic doors and limited hot water) and a full English breakfast (the mess on base doesn't even do fried eggs!)

3) I also booked an hour to myself in the hotel spa (jacuzzi and sauna) yesterday morning before driving back to the base... it was lovely

4) For the first time in months I woke up without a sore neck yesterday, as I was in the hotel bed... but of course, it's back to normal again this morning, with a sore back and neck again (only a few more nights of this though and then I can sleep in a nice bed again)

5) Since I started my fitness regime in mid-June, I've been to the gym at least 5 days a week, sometimes 6 days... I haven't really been weighing myself but I've definitely noticed a difference

KF, sunshine!  We're enjoying it up here, too.  It's been a long time coming.

Ksands, you can do it... just a few more days.  Your brief hotel holiday sounds well deserved in the meantime.

My five:
1. My in-laws phoned yesterday.  They usually email because we don't 'do' phones and they generally respect that.  Plus, they tried my husband's phone first and he missed it, so they immediately rang mine.  I thought it was urgent and anxiously handed my phone to my husband so I wouldn't have to hear whatever bad news it was.  *stares*  My MIL just wanted to know if we wanted certain decorative rocks for our garden.  Not exactly the emergency I feared.

2.  The workshop machine upgrade was a success.  My husband is especially pleased.

3.  My meat tenderizer mallet is finished, and it is beautiful (in my opinion).  Photo below.  The handle is ash from a tree that couldn't be saved, and the head is oak off-cuts from some project or other.

4.  Chicken-fried steak this weekend!

5.  It's not even officially the weekend, but work has been so slow that my husband has joined me in the garden.  We're in our loungers basking in the sunshine, I've got this weekend's bread proving in utilikitchen, and we're entering three more days of sunshine and free time.  Yay!

Bonus:  Birthday Month commences next week.

Happy Friday! Lots of work chat this week, only because there isn't much else to write about. 

1.) Glad it's Friday! Been another crazy ,busy week. 

2.) Some new exciting work projects. Finally! Very excited to get stuck in!   

3.) Voice lessons have been amazing   

4.) Got a pork shoulder to smoke tomorrow on the Weber Smoker 

5.) Trying to clean up some messes I've made a work.   

Glad you had a good bed for a night ksand, shame it couldn’t be longer!

We’ve been very surprised at how comfortable the caravan bed is. It’s two “benches” at the front that have slats pull out from a cabinet to make a double bed.  So you flip the bench cushions over and the “backs” to fill in the void and put a sheet on.  No complaints from either of us.

Only thing is that it’s 200cm long.  As is my husband. Which means he can fit if his feet are flat against the wall.  So he has to be angled, thus practically laying across me most nights.  We can never have a bed with a footboard! 

1.  Finishing up work today for a week off!  Training for my new role at work has been hard-core for the last 4-5 weeks and I could definitely use this break!

2.  Greyhound Trust walk on Sunday... I love getting my 2 out with all the other hounds.

3.  My birthday is next week... I'll be 58!!!  HOW DID THIS HAPPEN TO ME???

4.  Dogs are going to the groomers on Thursday to get their claws clipped.... this is going to be an abject nightmare, I predict.

5.  Other stuff I'm doing on my week off:
a. organise courier for my US tax submission (thanks again for all the help, KFD!!!)
b. renew my Costco membership and *maybe* buy myself a birthday cake
c. lunch with the girls... not seen them since June, so lots to chat about
d.  set up my new work laptop, if it happens to arrive next week
e.  SLEEPING!!!

Have a good one, everybody!