Category: Stuff I love!

Usually my birthday is around the May Bank Holiday, so often we’d head off somewhere for a 3 day weekend. We’d not booked anything for this year, partly because we had Disneyland Paris for the following weekend, and also because the Bank Holiday had moved to the Friday, so it was just a normal weekend. On Saturday morning I still wanted to do my not a parkrun run, and be back for the quiz. Typically if we were around, I would have gone to Ellenbrook Fields for parkrun, met my dad there, run with him and then headed back for pancakes made by Mum. In order to replicate that, I made us pancakes and sent my parents a photo!

It was sunny on my not-parkrun at least!

Danny on With Me Now had mentioned postbox cyphers, and I had thought that all the ones near me would be ER ones, but by chance I glanced at one on my run and it turned out to be an Edward 7th one (I had to google it when I got home because I could make out the VII but not really work out the letter shapes).

At home Mum usually gives me my own mini pot of tea on a tray (everyone else has coffee) and also my own milk jug, which has turned into a bit of a joke with my dad and brother trying to use it without my mum seeing…. so of course I had to replicate this too! I had some Vicky’s Sponge Cake tea (black tea with raspberry)- yummy. Andy joined me for birthday pancakes. I felt very lucky because despite the lockdown, lots of people had sent cards and messages (including my absolute favourite – a video of my niece and nephew singing happy birthday to me), and someone sent me some beautiful flowers(in the top picture)- they even came with instructions on how to put them in the vase so that was an enjoyable activity to do. The Post Office did sterling work delivering some Hotel Chocolat hot chocolate sachets and the Fearne Cotton Happy Vegan book (it even has a recipe for vegan French Toast!). Andy got me a card themed perfectly, with someone wearing a Stitch hat and eating a Dole Whip- the BEST Disney snack (officially- voted on by DFB!). As with so many things, actual outings are postponed or cancelled- we had got ourselves tickets to see Queen as a sort of joint birthday thing, and that’s now been put back to 2021. Andy got us tickets to see The Killers- it should have been this June but it’s now in 2021 too. For both of our birthdays my parents had got us tickets to a comedy show in St Albans (next week- currently being rescheduled)- we were going to go out for dinner together and then go to the show.  We shall have fun next summer. So that I had something to open Andy gave me a pack of those wafers from Austria- I love them and we have been re-watching Friends and there is always a box on the counter- he must have been listening because I now have a 12 pack-one a month until we see the band apparently! Not sure they will last that long!

It was glorious weather so we spent a lot of time outside- Andy was digging a pond and I was pottering about with seeds and things. I’d made a carrot cake so we had a pot of tea and cake in the garden in the afternoon, and then I had a few calls (I love a Whatsapp video call) to my parents and Andy’s parents.

I’d gone for a Totoro theme with my t-shirt and hoodie, and requested that as my birthday film.

We watched the subtitled version and at the end I found out that they don’t subtitle the end credits- the song is very sweet and basically tells the story, so we had to then find the dubbed version. We then went down a bit of a You Tube wormhole, watching the Kimmy theme tune,  some random songify songs,  the Disneyland Paris Christmas parade, and finally  Wishes (the final one where all the crowd sing along).

Dates + Nut butter shall always be the greatest food once back from a run.

On Sunday I went for my run over to Panshanger. I kept it a bit shorter though as we needed to do more decorating. Although most of the paths are wide, I got a bit stressed towards the end because I came across a few groups of people who just would not move. I always feel that it is polite for both lots to move- if I move to the left, please move to the right and show me that you are making the effort. I was ending up running a long way into the fields, where it’s all rutted under long grass, because people would not even step one foot to the side. Grrr. Also, the car park is closed but people are now parking in the laybys and along the country roads- it was a lot busier than I had seen it before.

I’d made some more bread for us to have on Sunday. After lots of online reading, it turns out that the baskets for proving need to be sort of seasoned (heated in the oven a bit, or put in there are the oven cools). The rice flour seems to be helping too- it came out more easily but was still a bit flat. PB&J for one and honey for the other piece. We actually finished decorating the hall too! Well, I mean we have now painted the walls (and reached the high bits with a brush taped to a mop handle)- still need to do all the woodwork but at least all the sheets and mess can be cleared away. I also plucked up the courage to record a voice message and send it in to With Me Now- it’s my fave parkrun podcast, and it’s great that they are still keeping going despite parkrun being paused. They had asked for audio contributions for the last few weeks but I didn’t feel brave enough, but then they asked again to hear from different people so I had a go (had to download a new app and everything).

On Sunday night Andy made a lovely but rather spicy tomato and spinach pasta, so to cool down I had some of this delicious ice cream (it’s oat based and sooo creamy) with some berries, and we started watching the new series of Bosch. A good end to the weekend.

What is your record for the longest time spent decorating one room? Seeing as we started in August 2019 we are probably going to reach a year before we properly finish! Have you had many things postponed or cancelled?  I don’t mind so much if things are postponed, we have a long list of those (seeing the Athletico Mince podcast being filmed, Rhod Gilbert comedy show, seeing Ash, Queen) but a couple of things have just been cancelled (including Nick Offerman- from Parks and Rec- he was going to be brilliant) and that’s a shame because you don’t know if you will get another chance, whereas at least with postponed things you can still look forward to them eventually. Have you started on postbox bingo? I’ve seen a few GR’s on my walks so I am going to do a run to see lots of them too.

Last week I was back in work (instead of working from home). I managed to keep my routine fairly consistent though which I was pleased about.

The weather had taken a turn for the worse! On Monday I did some yoga in the morning, and when I got home we headed out on a walk. The skies were very dark in one direction and we ended up getting soaked!

I had ordered some pretty new shoes so decided to wear them to brighten up the day a bit! Not so happy with them getting wet on their first day of being worn…

The weather was forecast to be rubbish all week, so even though the streets probably would have been quieter had I waited until getting home for my run, I decided to go out first thing. This meant getting up the wrong side of 6 am so I was back and out of the shower in time to get to work.  I did 10k on the Tuesday for the Brooks Run Happy at Home medal- the cup of tea was perfect for the weather too!

I got so cold during the day (as we keep the doors open so people don’t have to touch the handles) and I had to drop some things off to my parents on my way home, and ended up standing at the end of the drive and having a chat with them- only for about 5 mins but I was just freezing once home. So it was a blanket, cup of tea and a movie- Andy laughed at my choice of Frozen (won’t it make you more cold?) but it was a good film to watch to feel cosy.

On Wednesday morning I did a shorter run- this time it wasn’t raining for most of it. I thought I’d charged up my watch, but once back it was saying 1% battery. I charged it while I was having a shower and breakfast, but I didn’t want to be without it at work. At around 9.30 I looked down and saw that the screen had gone off- the horror! And then I never realised how many times in a day I look at my watch or fiddle with the buttons to see my steps! When I got home it charged up while I watched a bit of TV, and then had my weekly yoga class via zoom a bit later.

I’d been looking on Strava and I’d gone over 100 miles for the month a week ago. I would usually do 4 runs a week when I am at work, and 5 in the holidays, but often they might be 3 or 4 miles long. I’d often have a walk in the same day, but now because it is either a walk or a run, I am making the runs a bit longer to make the most of being outside, so they’ve tended to be 5 miles or longer. Over a few weeks those little extras creep up. Anyway, I went back through, and my highest monthly mileage was back in 2015 when I was training for the Brighton marathon-  I managed 132 miles. Looking at my total, I only needed to do 3 miles and I’d beat it. I went out for 5 miles, to total 135 miles for April. I am not sure I will get that high again for a while!

When I got home I fancied another film, so this time put on Moana for the opposite weather to Frozen! I just love those songs. When it finished it recommended Lilo and Stitch to me- I mean a good choice because I love it, but I only watched it the other week! Although I could have got up a bit later, it was made it feel like I had some bonus time when I got home. Although I would have to get up a lot earlier for a run before normal work (a combination of the traffic being lighter and our caretaker opening up later means I don’t have to leave until around 40 mins after I would usually leave).

The rain even cleared away by 8 o clock so we didn’t get soaked for the clapping!

On Friday I did some yoga in the morning- I’m working through the Yoga with Adrienne 30 day challenge, only I am only doing it a couple of times a week. I do like it though- this was a stretch session and really satisfying. When I got home we went on a walk, and then I made a carrot cake  for my birthday (at the weekend). I also did a lot of the cleaning jobs that I usually do on a Saturday, so I didn’t have to do them on my birthday.  The cake took a lot longer to cook than the recipe said, and we couldn’t cook dinner until it was done so it was a rather late meal in the end- we had planned to watch a film but started watching the new series of Bosch instead.

How busy are the streets near you at the moment? What films or TV have you been enjoying recently? Do you keep track of your mileage? Have you been running more or less recently? 

So a week ago last Saturday, as is my new routine, I was up early for a run to get back in time for the parkrun quiz.  I think I got 10- not as high as the week before.

Then it was off to do yet more decorating- we are going over the walls with two base coats and they are just so huge. We now have a pole (for cleaning windows) so we taped a brush to the end of the pole to reach the really high bits- even with a ladder we could not reach them any other way!

I experimented with adding some fruit to the sourdough. I’m still having trouble with it sticking in the proving basket, but it tasted good.

I was also itching to do some baking, because Pret had released some of their recipes, and their chocolate almond butter cookies are my absolute fave! I gave them a go and I was so impressed with the results!

We watched Rocketman on Saturday evening as our film choice.

On Sunday I headed to Panshanger for a non-parkrun sandwich. I ran there, ran the route (starting in the middle) and decided to take a photo of each km marker, then ran home for a total of 10 miles. The photos show a bit how varied the route is, with woods, open fields and farm tracks, although you couldn’t see any of the lakes in the pictures. It makes me happy that the signs are still there though- it’s just paused!

Once home we had a croissant for breakfast (plus some fruit and yoghurt but no photo because it wasn’t very pretty!), and did a bit of gardening.

I also made sure to actually enjoy the garden so I sat out there catching up on magazines- I’d made a chai latte by putting some B&B sticky chai in milk and leaving it in the fridge to infuse. Not as good as the ones they make in store but pretty tasty still.

I’d decided to do the two point six challenge (as lots of charities were not going to have the big boost from things like the London Marathon, they asked people to do a challenge at home and either donate or get sponsorship)- I thought I would do 26,000 steps, so we did a bit more decorating, and then I walked laps of our garden to make it up to the total. I didn’t want to ask for sponsorship, but I donated some money to ARUK in memory of my Nan.

Andy says it looks like I am having a breakdown as I walk around the garden (I listen to a podcast too) but I love it because I really notice all of the buds and flowers. I have never looked in that much detail before. Thoughts?

I also got a new jumper (from Etsy) and I love it! Things like this make me chuckle a lot!

Would you or do you walk laps of your garden? Did you do anything for the 2.6 challenge? Is there anything from shops or cafes that you really miss at the moment?

I’ve been lucky enough to be able to run outside, and although I live in a fairly residential area it’s not been too bad since the first week. Partly I was still at work so I was running in the late afternoon and everyone seemed to be out then, but also, a bit like a January gym boom, it seemed like more people were out and now the novelty has worn off.

However the 2m distancing has meant a few of my regular routes are off limits. I often run down an old railway line- it’s now a foot and bike path- but each time I’ve run to the start of it, I’ve seen loads of people heading there; dog walkers, families with kids on scooters and so on. It’s quite narrow in places and so I’ve just avoided it. Sadly this is the way I would run to Panshanger park- it’s only 4 miles away so it makes a decent long run usually. I knew that there was a new way into the back of the park. Part of the park is still a quarry and the people who own it have been gradually opening up more and more of the park. I’ve seen on Strava a few people who live near me heading that way, but looking at maps I just could not work out how to get there. I have a few green spaces near me (and one run I did several laps of playing fields to run away from traffic and pavements) but it isn’t the same. I am missing parkrun, but I am also missing running in greener spaces, and Panshanger park  is really very beautiful.

Thankfully a member of my running club came to my rescue by describing the route (she in fact offered to run ahead and chalk directions for me)- and so on Sunday morning I headed out to find the way.

I had to run to the local playing fields, and they are surrounded by woods on one side, and I was so happy to see some bluebells growing there. I got slightly disoriented in the woods, and I think in the end I went off course because I had to run along a road for a bit (a country road where I only saw one car, so it’s fine) and I think there are footpaths the whole way, but anyway when I found the entrance to the park I was so pleased! Caroline (the lady who had given me directions) had even sent a photo of her daughter at the entrance, so I had to take a photo to send back to show I had arrived!

This is definitely one of my happy places. Like lots of people I am sure, I have been going OK and then all of a sudden get completely overwhelmed by what is happening, and panic about what would happen if my mum were to become ill. Almost as soon as I set foot in the park, I felt calmer and like I could breathe again.  Some sort of reminder that nature carries on, and although we all feel like we are in a bit of limbo at the moment, the world is still turning and the time still passes.

It’s hard to describe but it was probably about the space too. I enjoy my runs around our local streets, but I am always on the lookout for pedestrians and cyclists, whereas in the park I could see all around me and it was so easy to give anyone I saw (a few dog walkers) a wide berth.

Of course I have happy memories here too- of running parkrun with my dad and brother, of running the Panshanger 5 mile race in the middle of summer, of going for a walk with Andy to see the old oak tree, so that helps too.

I saw this lovely rainbow made of pebbles, and some fairy doors, as well as a rather grumpy looking bunny.

This run was not about time at all, it was 100% for the enjoyment of the scenery and being immersed in nature. I stopped so many times for photos, because just when I thought I’d seen the most beautiful carpet of bluebells, I’d go around a corner and see another stunning view.

I was going to do an out and back, but as I passed part of the parkrun course I decided to do a bit of the loop, up the pebble track and around the fields at the back, down through the fields to the cottages and lakes, before heading home. I even saw a deer at one point. I loved it and felt so much happier on my return home. 9.2 miles in the end, so a good long run- and it was certainly a slow one with all the photo stops!

I had promised Andy pancakes for breakfast, so I had a quick snack of dates and nut butter (Mindful Bites do the most amazing flavour combinations, plus their chocolate spread tastes as good as nutella but without the palm oil or milk powder) with coconut water before having a shower, and then make us pancakes.

Pancakes/ High School Musical/ Avocado pasta/ Dough being mixed

I then did a bit of sourdough experimenting- I started a sourdough starter in the previous week (literally just water and flour) and it was bubbling all over the place so thought I’d give it a go. I  mis-read the recipe though, and didn’t notice how long the second prove was meant to take, which meant we couldn’t bake/eat it until Monday. It seemed to make a huge loaf, so I divided it in half, added some spices and dried fruit to one part to make it into hot cross buns, and left the other half plain to be bread.

As a big fan of High School Musical, I had started watching the series on Disney + (which is something like HSM, HSM the series) but it just made me want to watch the actual film. Good Sunday afternoon viewing!

One piece with marmite one with chocolate spread!

On Monday we did more jobs- clearing the old shed (it’s been dismantled for a while), clearing away old lumps of concrete and various bits of junk that were in the shed, so after all that, having some freshly baked bread for lunch was such a treat. The hot cross buns were OK, but totally stuck to the tray so it was a bit of a nightmare to scrape them off. I will keep trying with the sourdough as the starter is going pretty well at the moment.

Are there some places that you would usually visit that are off limits at the moment? Do you like sourdough? 

So the past weekend marked the start of the Easter holidays, but with all the measures still in place it means I basically have less to do. (Well, I can spend more time gardening and decorating, when I would have been doing work during the day).

After finishing work I spent a bit of time in the garden, pottering about and also walking around. Because I hadn’t run, once Andy finished work we went out on a walk and then had a pot of tea and a hot cross bun. We started watching Joseph after hearing that it was being broadcast on You Tube, but I thought it was going to be the stage show- it turned out to be a weird film with a sort of fake assembly going on-  I think we lasted about 20 mins! After dinner we went for the Disney classic of The Lion King (and the classic animated version).

I’ve got a lot of holiday projects to do- decorating the hallway (we worked out that we started taking the wallpaper down on the August Bank Holiday  2019- it might be the longest DIY project yet), lots of gardening and planting, and lots of sorting and organising inside. I would usually listen to the radio a fair bit while at home, because it feels like something is keeping me company (and Andy is still working), but at the moment the radio just feels stressful, even if it’s a music station because they keep having news headlines and I just don’t want to think about this stuff all the time.

I have a lot of regular podcasts that I would listen to on my runs, or when driving to and from work, or just doing things like cleaning. But I also like a series that I can get absorbed with, and listen to it while gardening or even just walking laps of the garden.

Recently I listened to all of Girl Taken, which followed the story of a man who volunteered in the Calais Jungle, and ended up working with a journalist to try and reunite some family members. It was interesting and did have a sort of conclusion, and not as heavy going as some crime podcasts. In the past I have liked series such as The Lighthouse (investigating the disappearance of a tourist in Australia) and Death in Ice Valley (I could listen to this again because the person from the Norwegian radio station had such a lovely accent- they investigated a body found in Norway in the 70’s). The Australian has made a few podcasts that I’ve found interesting- The Teacher’s Pet (about a person who went missing 36 years ago), and Who The Hell is Hamish (about a con-man). One I did not enjoy so much was called Fake Heiress- I had heard an interview with one of the friends on a different podcast, but this was a part investigative and part dramatisation of what had happened and I just really do not like radio dramas. I am not sure why- I don’t know if because you can’t see them the actors have to put more emphasis on words or something, but I just got really irritated by the dramatisation bits.

For some total escapism and way more gentle topic I have recently discovered The Bake Down, which reviews each episode of the 2019 GBBO. The idea is to listen each week, but they talk enough about the episode that I can sort of remember. Because two of the people on it were previous contestants, you get interesting behind the scenes things (when they start filming/ who does the shopping/ when they have to submit recipes etc).

I also love a documentary, and luckily for us Netflix is full of them. I saw this article the other day, saying that if you enjoyed Tiger King, these are good for you, and it turned out we had seen most of them already. (Not sure enjoyed is quite the right word- became fascinated and horrified with…). Anyway, Wild Wild Country was very interesting (about a cult being founded), the Fyre documentary was good (about the festival that never was), Three Identical Strangers (recommended by Mark Kermode on the film podcast- sooooo fascinating), Abducted in Plain Sight (terrifying), Don’t F*ck with Cats (again, terrifying), and probably the most relevant, Blackfish (never going to Seaworld again after that). The only one I haven’t seen from the list is Tell Me Who I Am, which is on our list.

I tidied some shelves listened to a Bake Off podcast the other day- a very calming combination!

Left column- before on top, after below. Right column, before on the bottom and after on top.

Do you have any podcast recommendation? Particularly for good series? Or any good documentaries? On a side note, did anyone see that Trump’s son watched Tiger King and his takeaway was that you could buy a tiger for as little as 2000 dollars…… if you watched that series and that was what you took from it, you’re watching it wrong!!!