Ah, I love the leaves at this time of year- each time I go on a walk I cannot resist taking a picture or two! The other weekend I made some tea bread and have been enjoying it topped with a little peanut butter (most things are improved with peanut butter).
The last few weeks have been a bit out of routine too- I did my usual Tuesday after work run but I got home fairly late and so did jut short of 4 miles. I’ve signed up to the Wimpole 10 miles this year (last year I did the half marathon, which I loved, but it was tough as both races ran together, and then at 9 miles, which I tend to find a tough point in a half, the 10 milers headed to the finish and we did an out and back down a big hill to make up the distance). Anyway, the shorter distance means I don’t need to worry so much about doing 5 mile runs midweek.
Yoga was on Wednesday in that week, and then we had tickets to the cinema (Ad Astra) on the Thursday, so I decided to get up and go on a run before work. As I leave around 7.20am, it means getting up just after 5am to make sure I have enough time to wash (and dry) my hair etc. Anyway, I got dressed, realised it was super dark, got my torch, found it had no battery, and then looked outside properly and realised that the streetlights weren’t on! This really made me reconsider- the pavements aren’t the most even, and you never know who’s lurking in the shadows. If I hadn’t already got dressed (and needed to wash my hair) I would have watched TV instead. Near our house is a more main road, and the junctions were still lit, so I ran up and down the same stretch of road to stay in the light, and when my 3 miles were up I have never felt so relieved to be back home. At one point a van pulled over to the pavement ahead of me, so I turned around and ran back the other way. I’m not taking any chances. I know the council are on an awful budget, but it did make me think about people who do shift work (the hospital is around the corner from us) and how they feel going to work in the pitch dark.
It did mean I could catch up on a bit of Bake Off when I got home from work, before we went to the cinema. I took some gorgeous Doisy&Dam almond butter cups (they are so good) as a cinema snack, and that was the most interesting thing. I actually fell asleep in the cinema at one point, but I don’t think I missed anything. It was weird, in that there were some impressive visual ideas, but the story made me think a bit of Lord of the Rings- let’s have a problem here, sort it, then go somewhere else, have a problem, repeat endlessly …. not my kind of film but at least we didn’t pay for the tickets!
Friday I had booked a massage and it was just what I needed to chill out and get ready for the weekend.
Of course whilst in town I couldn’t resist popping to The Pudding Stop- they had little banoffee pie cookie cups so I got us one to share for later. I’m not a big banana fan usually (I like actual bananas every now and then but not flavoured things) but this was really good with gooey sauce and a few fresh banana slices.
On Saturday I went back to Westmill again (inching ever closer to the p-index of 6- still on 5 currently)- another glorious day, I wore longer socks so my trail shoes didn’t hurt my ankles, and I managed a bit of a quicker time than the previous week.
In the afternoon I had some work to do, so I made my office a bit more cosy by lighting some candles. We’d got some of the gorgeous Nush cream cheese (it’s made from almonds and it’s amazing) and some bagels for lunch, and them later walked to town to get my glasses adjusted (again) and get my free drink. Writing this in October it seems hard to remember when an iced drink seemed like a good idea!
After my run on Sunday (9 and a bit miles in my Run Disney top as the Disneyland Paris half marathon was happening on the same day) I had Peach Cobbler tea and I found some IKEA cinnamon buns in the freezer.
I had a bit more work to do, then needed to walk into town to meet someone (selling things in Gumtree is not my favourite), get my glasses adjusted again and also donate old pairs to the charity box. I never know what to do with old pairs, and I usually keep the most recent old pair for emergencies, but the other ones it seems a shame to get rid when they just don’t fit my prescription any more. Anyway, Specsavers have tubs to collect them and they send them to a charity. While I was in town it bucketed down with rain, so I decided to go to Caffe Nero and wait it out!
I also did rather a lot of sorting through old paperwork (payslips from 10 years ago, credit card statements from cards I don’t have any more…)- a few small piles turned into 3 bags full of shredding! I got to the point where I wished I hadn’t started but it was too late to turn back!
Then it was back to Monday again. I visited my parents after work, got home just as it was getting dark and had a quick walk (got to keep the steps streak up) and then Andy was out so of course it was beans on toast (and marmite and violife cheese). A friend had lent me a film (The Dream House) and after I worked out how to play a DVD, it turned out it wasn’t the best film to watch when home alone!
On Tuesday it poured with rain but by the time I got home it was beautiful so I had a lovely run (4 miles) of course taking more pictures of trees!
Also the new flowers in our garden are blending beautifully with the autumnal colours.
Wednesday was yoga and then Thursday we had cinema tickets- this time for Hustlers. I didn’t fancy another run without streetlights, so had a walk and put the run back to Friday. I took some cinema snacks with me (this time the hazelnut butter cups).
I wasn’t a big fan of the film. I thought it would be more like Ocean’s 8, a sort of girl power thing, but the main story bothered me and I kept thinking that if things we reversed and it was men taking advantage of women in this way there would be outcry. Anyway, the nut butter cups were good!
On Friday a few of us went out for lunch at Starbucks- I went for the toasted fruit bread. I love the little jam pots and always save them- not sure what for (any ideas?). I wasn’t home too late, so I had a quick 3 mile run and then an evening of chilling- after a busy few weekends it was good to have a Friday evening at home.
Have you seen good films lately?
Are the streetlights on near you the whole time?
What do you do with your old glasses?
Yeah I was a bit “meh” about Ad Astra. Kyle love dit as he loves space films but I just got a bit bored of Bra’d inward monlogue… like we can SEE what’s happening, don’t keep telling us in your monotone voiceover. I will disagree with you on the Lord of the Rings thing though. That for me was an epic journey of a film and I loved all the characters and the different stories going on.
We were meant to see Hustlers last night but the cinema cancelled (no idea why!) and we’ve basically run out of time before we go to Chicago to see it… We’re seeing The Joker before we go though.
When I walk Alfie in the early mornings I’ve managed a few times to be there when the street lights turn off – it’s very creepy (but thankfully done when the sun has come up).
I think if I had a dog with me I wouldn’t be quite so freaked out!
I love your pictures of the autumnal leaves – really miss this time of year living in Dubai as we don’t really have seasons (or that many trees!). I had no idea that glasses could be recycled – I have a few old pairs which I can’t wear anymore as they are old prescriptions and have always felt bad about the idea of just throwing them away.
Aw thanks!
It must be weird living somewhere without seasons.
Yes, I had no idea too about the glasses- I was so pleased because I always keep the last pair in case of emergencies, but the old prescriptions wouldn’t be good for me to use but it seems such a waste throwing them away.
That’s so weird about the street lights. I’m fairly sure ours are always on if it’s dark.
That’s so cool that you wore your Run DIsney top on the day of the DLP half.
Last time I got new glasses I sent my old ones away to a company that updated the lenses at a low cost. That means I have spare pairs all over the place now!
I wanted to replace my lenses, but when I asked they said that the frames I had would not work, something to do with the frames being brittle or something. A good idea to have spare pairs though! I try to keep the last pair in case of emergencies as I figure those are the closest to my prescription, but it’s hard to keep track!
Our councils have to save money so most of them turn the lights off- it’s spooky if we get back late and they are all off, but I hadn’t thought of the mornings.