A Year of Normality and Tea No 2

Time to start thread two, hope you will all join me on here shortly.

Hi I am John and this will be my Sixth time with the 75ers and I must say I have made some great friends along the way.

I am 55 years old and have been married to Karen for 34 years, I have two children, Robert who is 31 and lives with his partner Louise and has a daughter Hannah who will be Eight at the end of February and a step-daughter Shannon who is 16, and Amy who is 29 and married Andy in October 2015.

I love books and currently have just over 2,500 books on my shelves and this doesn't include my Cricket collection which stands at about 400 books. While reading I do enjoy the odd pot or two of tea.

CURRENTLY READING

BOOKS READ IN JANUARY.

1. A Gull on the Roof by Derek Tangye, PB - 216 pages. No1 of ? in The Minack Chronicles Series.
2. Mrs Palfrey at the Claremont by Elizabeth Taylor, PB - 206 pages.
3. Fragile Lives, A Heart Surgeon's stories of life and death on the Operating Table by Professor Stephen Westaby, HB - 340 pages.
4. The Trial by James Patterson, PB - 114 pages.
5. 16th Seduction by James Patterson, PB - 350 pages. No 17 of 20 in The Women's Murder Club Series.
6. The Maze Runner by James Dashner, PB - 371 pages. No 1 of 3 in The Maze Runner Series.
7. Lacey's of Liverpool by Maureen Lee, PB - 481 pages.

BOOKS READ IN FEBRUARY

8. To Play the King by Michael Dobbs, PB - 309 pages. No 2 of 3 in the House of Cards Series.
9. A Darkness More Than Night by Michael Connelly, PB - 403 pages. No 7 of 22 in The Harry Bosch Series.
10. Manna from Hades by Carola Dunn, PB - 305 pages. No 1 of 4 in the Cornish Mystery Series.
11. Where have all the boys gone? by Jenny Colgan, PB - 340 pages.
12. Manhunt by Janet Evanovich, PB - 219 pages.
13. A Painted House by John Grisham, PB - 466 pages.
14. Dying in the Wool by Frances Brody, PB - 356 pages. No 1 of 10 in the Kate Shackleton Mysteries.
15. The Cleverness of Ladies by Alexander McCall Smith, PB - 101 pages. No 13.5 of 20 in the No.1 Ladies Detective Agency Series.

BOOKS READ IN MARCH

16. The Medical Examiner by James Patterson, PB - 125 pages. No 18 of 20 in the Women's Murder Club Series.
17. 17th Suspect by James Patterson, PB - 348 pages. No 19 of 20 in the Women's Murder Club Series.
18. Remembrance by Danielle Steel, PB - 477 pages.
19. The Payback by Simon Kernick, PB - 457 pages. No 3 of 3 in the Dennis Milne Trilogy.
20. The Burning Girl by Mark Billingham, PB - 449 pages. No 4 of 15 in the DI Tom Thorne Series.
21. Fatty O'Leary's Dinner Party by Alexander McCall Smith, HB - 174 pages.
22. The Broker by John Grisham, PB - 465 pages.
23. The Final Cut by Michael Dobbs, PB - 452 pages. No 3 of 3 in the House of Cards Trilogy.

BOOKS READ IN APRIL

24. The Moon of Gomrath by Alan Garner, PB - 153 pages. No2 of 3 in the Alderley Series.
25. Boneland by Alan Garner, PB - 149 pages. No 3 of 3 in the Alderley Series.
26. Plum Island by Nelson De Mille, PB - 574 pages. No 1 of 8 in John Corey Series.
27. Home Truths by Freya North, PB - 449 pages.
28. the Five People you meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom, PB - 208 pages.
29. Starting Over by Jack Sheffield, PB - 333 pages. No 11 of 12 in the Ragley School Series.
30. The Little Grey Men go Down The Bright Stream by 'BB', PB - 256 pages.
31. Dream Angus by Alexander McCall Smith, PB - 173 pages.

KAREN'S 2019 READS

JANUARY

1. Quality Street Girls by Penny Thorpe
2. Fragile Lives by Professor Stephen Westaby
3. Essence of Malice by Ashley Weaver
4. The Mobile Library Case of the Missing Books by Ian Samsom
5. Sing Your Name by Jodi Picoult
6. The Cheltenham Square Murder by John Bude
7. Uncommon Type by Tom Hanks
8. A Drake at the Door by Derek Tangye

FERUARY

9. How to be Happy by Eva Woods
10. Over the Gate by Miss Read
11. Farther Afield by Miss Read
12. Starting Over by Jack Sheffield
13. The Case of the Poisoned Chocolates by Anthony Berckley
14. The Magic Touch by Kelly Florentia
15. Mrs Sinclair's Suitcase by Louise Walters

MARCH

16. Five Go Parenting by Bruno Vincent
17. Diary of a Bookseller by Shaun Bythell
18. Donkey in the Meadow by Derek Tangye
19. Death in August by Marco Vichi
20. The Curious Heart of Ailsa Rae by Stephanie Butland
21. Manhunt by Janet Evanovich
22. Where Have All The Boys Gone ? by Jenny Colgan

BOOKS BOUGHT IN JANUARY

1. Haunted by James Patterson, PB.
2. To Die But Once by Jacqueline Winspear, PB.
3. The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley, PB.
4. Starting Over by Jack Sheffield, PB.
5. One Day in December by Josie Silver, PB.
6. Mexico by James A. Michener, PB.

BOOKS BOUGHT IN FEBRUARY

7. Ventoux by Jeremy Whittle, PB.
8. Death in the Tunnel by Miles Burton, PB.
9. Scarweather by Anthony Rolls, PB.
10. The Long arm of the Law by Martin Edwards, PB.
11. The Female Detective by Andrew Forrester, PB.
12. A Rising Thunder by David Weber, PB.
13. Sail Away by Celia Imrie, PB.
14. West End Girls by Jenny Colgan, PB.
15. The Man in the Middle by Gordon Greenidge, HB.
16. The Magic Touch by Kelly Florentia, PB. Karen won this on her book club, signed by the author.

BOOKS BOUGHT IN MARCH

17. No Middle Name by Lee Child, PB.
18. The Dead Shall be Raised / The Murder of a Quack by George Bellairs, PB.
19. Absolutely Foxed by Graeme Fowler, HB.
20. The Burning Chambers by Kate Mosse, PB.
21. Death in Sardinia by Marco Vichi, PB.
22. H.R.H. by Danielle Steel, PB.
23. Winners by Danielle Steel, PB.
24. Without Fail by Lee Child, PB.
25. Persuader by Lee Child, PB.
26. Misspent Youth by Peter F. Hamilton, PB.
27. The Quiet Side of Passion by Alexander McCall Smith, PB.
28. Date with Mystery by Julia Chapman, PB.
29. The Roses Matches 1919-1939 by Neville Cardus, HB.
30. The Good Pilot Peter Woodhouse by Alexander McCall Smith, PB.
31. A Quarter Past Dead by T P Fielden, PB.

BOOKS BOUGHT IN APRIL

32. The Mystery of Three Quarters by Sophie Hannah, PB.
33. Playfair Cricket Annual 2019 by Ian Marshall, PB.
34. Anna by Amanda Prowse, PB. Freebie from a colleague
35. Theo by Amanda Prowse, PB. Freebie from a colleague
36. The Wandering Wombles by Elisabeth Beresford, PB.
37. The Coniston Case by Rebecca Tope, PB.
38. The Windermere Witness by Rebecca Tope, PB.
39. Emperor of the Eight Islands by Lian Hearn, PB.
40. 2019 Wisden Cricketers Almanack by Laurence Booth, HB.
41. the Magic Strings of Frankie Presto by Mitch Albom, PB.
42. Bill Mitchell's Yorkshire by David Mitchell, HB.
43. Changing Places by David Lodge, PB.
44. The Silver Sword by Ian Serraillier, PB.
45. Lethal White by Robert Galbraith, PB.
46. From The Pavilion End by Dickie Bird, HB. Signed Copy

I just love Big Books, these are my 1000+page reads so far with more to add.

1.Shogun by James Clavell, 1243 pgs
2.Gai-Jin by James Clavell, 1578 pgs
3.Noble House by James Clavell, 1435 pgs
4.War & Remembrance by Herman Wouk, 1171 pgs
5.Whirlwind by James Clavell, 1343 pgs
6.Centennial by James A. Michener 1100 pgs
7.The Covenant by James A. Michener, 1080 pgs
8.Sarum by Edward Rutherfurd, 1344 pgs
9.Homeland by John Jakes, 1138 pgs
10.Russka by Edward Rutherfurd, 1007 pgs
11.A Suitable Boy by Vikram Seth, 1474 pgs
12.Love and War by John Jakes, 1019 pgs
13.Texas by James A. Michener, 1508 pgs
14.My Life by Bill Clinton, 1000 pgs
15.Child of the Phoenix by Barbara Erskine, 1086 pgs
16.Voyager by Diana Gabaldon, 1059 pgs
17.The Journeyer by Gary Jennings, 1219 pgs
18.Pandora's Star by Peter F. Hamilton, 1144 pgs
19.Judas Unchained by Peter F. Hamilton, 1235 pgs
20.Drums of Autumn by Diana Gabaldon, 1185 pgs
21.Wicked by Jilly Cooper, 1007 pgs
22.The Fiery Cross by Diana Gabaldon, 1412 pgs
23.London by Edward Rutherfurd, 1299 pgs
24.The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett, 1076 pgs
25.A Breath of Snow and Ashes by Diana Gabaldon, 1391 pgs
26.World Without End by Ken Follett, 1111 pgs
27.Kushiel's Dart by Jacqueline Carey, 1,015 pgs
28.The Executioner's Song by Norman Mailer, 1,056 pgs
29.An Echo in the Bone by Diana Gabaldon, 1,065 pgs
30.New York by Edward Rutherfurd, 1017 pgs
31.Hawaii by James A.Michener, 1130 pgs
32.The Company by Robert Littell, 1281 pgs
33.The Reality Dysfunction by Peter F.Hamilton, 1225 pgs
34.Spangle by Gary Jennings, 1276 pgs
35.Gone With The Wind by Margaret Mitchell, 1024 pgs
36.Alaska by James A. Michener, 1073 pgs.
37.Memories of Ice by Steven Erikson, 1180 pgs.

Thread now open.

Finished book 11 late last night, Where have all the boys gone? by Jenny Colgan. This is from the genre known as Chick Lit in the UK, some of it I am not keen on but I do like Jenny Colgan's work.

Katie works for a PR firm with her friends Louise and Olivia ( it is Olivia's PR firm) and is finding a lack of spare men in London. After a night out with her friends she finds herself walking home on her own and is the victim of a mugging, luckily she is not harmed but is very shook up. Following this episode she wants to get away from London and applies for a job as Press Officer for the Fairlish Forestry Commission.

Katie takes the long drawn out train journey to Fairlish and is met at the remote request stop point by Harry Barr, who runs the FFC. After a brief, taut, chat, Katie immediately gets the train back to London, she is fizzing after the chat with Harry who she thinks is a chauvinistic pig.

Once back in London she resumes her job at Olivia's firm but is still not quite herself. Harry thinks he needs to use a PR firm rather than employ someone himself and contacts Olivia's Firm who are quite happy to take them on. Olivia remembers that Katie applied for a job with the FFC and in her present state thinks working up in the wilds of Scotland would do her a lot of good so she tells Katie that she is moving to Scotland to oversee whatever PR Harry's firm require.

Despite the fact she's never been a girl for wellies - and Fairlish is in the middle of nowhere - the tiny town does have one major draw: men. Lots of them.

But while Katie relishes the chance to do battle with armies of admirers, she's not reckoned on going head to head with her grumpy new boss, Harry, shadowy developers intent on destroying the beautiful countryside and Mrs McClockerty, the least suitable hotelier since Norman Bates.

At least there's the local eye-candy to distract her, including gorgeous newshound Iain. But he is at loggerheads with Harry, and Harry despises her. Life in the country might not be one big roll in the hay but can Katie ever turn her back on the delights of Fairlish and return to city life?

A light-hearted and enjoyable read.

The last few days have been pretty good and busy.

Wednesday: We were up and about early as Karen had an appointment at the hospital for a biopsy of her Lichen Planus, she was a little nervous but it went well and she wasn't in long. Once she was done in the Oral clinic she went to visit her great nephew's wife who has recently been diagnosed with Leukaemia, as I had a little bit of a sniffle I went and got a coffee while she quickly popped in to see Jasmine. Not long after I had sat down with my coffee Karen joined me and told me how Jasmine was doing.

After I finished my coffee we made our way home as Karen was feeling a bit sore, I made us a pot of tea and we just sat and relaxed. We had been home about an hour when Amy arrived, sadly Andy was working but his good friend was coming over when he finished work so Amy didn't have to dash home.

I made us all a drink and then we chatted about her new job and what was going on with everyone, we had a sandwich later and before long it was time for me to go and collect Hannah from school. I didn't tell Hannah that Auntie Amy was here so she had a nice surprise. After playing with some toys, Hannah got the tablet out and showed Auntie Amy some of her games. After having tea and a bit more playing on the tablet it was time for me to take Hannah home.

By the time I got back from taking Hannah home Karen and Amy had made something to eat, we had our food and another drink before Amy made her way home.

Thursday: We got up early again as Karen had to go and see the Doctor, we were already dressed to go out so once she was done we made our way home and had breakfast and by this time the washer had finished so we put the bedding on the airers, once all this was done we headed out and went down to Meadowhall Shopping Centre.

Once we got to Meadowhall I parked up and we made our way into the mall and headed to Costa Coffee for a drink, after our drink we had a wander around. We went into one or two stores either together or just Karen went in while I found a bench and did a bit of people watching. We had a good look around the bottom level and picked up a couple of small things before heading to the eating area to decide which restaurant we wanted to eat in for our Valentine lunch. We decided on Italian so went to Carluccio's, the waitress who showed us to our table complimented me on how I looked in my Burgundy Corduroy trousers, shirt and burgundy sweater and my brown with red and burgundy stripes jacket.

We had a nice lunch and drink before once more wandering around the upper level, Karen went into Marks and Spencer's for some food and I went into Waterstones, I picked up a cycling book, Ventoux by Jeremy Whittle. Once we met back up we made our way back to the car and headed back to Wakefield.

We went into Wakefield as Karen had a couple of parcels to pick up from Next, once she had got her parcels and got back to the car we headed to the Snowhill Aldi to pick up the little bit of shopping we required. Once the shopping was done we headed home. We had a relaxing evening.

Friday: Up early as it was a work day for Karen, we had breakfast and our meds and then it was time to take Karen to work. I dropped Karen off and then parked nearer to the store entrance and then went in to get the few bits we required. Once I was done I made my way home and unpacked and put the few bits away, once this was done I made a pot of tea and then read for a while. After making another pot of tea I had to ring Roberts Radio up to see why I couldn't get a small Sony Bluetooth speaker to connect. The lady I spoke to at Roberts was lovely and after a quick check with a colleague she told me I needed a Bluetooth Transmitter and that would do the trick. Once this was sorted I did a bit more reading before doing some book notes and stats.

After finishing the book notes and stats I had a pot of tea and set the DVD recorder up before doing the downstairs housework. Once the housework was finished I made myself some sandwiches and a pot of tea before reading until it was time to go and collect Karen from work. Unfortunately by this time I was in a bit of pain with my back and neck and so once we had eaten I went up to bed to try and get some ease.

Happy new thread! :)

Happy new thread, John! So sorry about the back and neck pain.

Happy new thread mate.
Hope all is well despite the odd ache and pain.

Give my love to Karen.

Happy new thread!

Happy new thread, John!
How nice to see you include the books Karen reads this year.

Hello John, happy new thread!

You're really coming along with the books and should make 75 easily this year!

Sorry about the neck and back pain, as always.

How's Amy's new job going or is it too early to tell?

Sending love and hugs to you both!

>15 ChelleBearss:, Thanks Chelle my dear.

>16 quondame:, Hi Susan my dear, it is just the ups and downs of the weather at this time of year that causes me the pain issues. It is annoying but I am used to it and just have to work around it and make sure that it doesn't impact too much on Karen and that we can enjoy her days off.

>17 PaulCranswick:, Hi Paul, thanks mate, the back and neck issues are a nuisance but I am used to working around it, just making sure it doesn't impact too much on our time together when she has her days off.

I have passed on your love to Karen mate and she says hi.

>18 drneutron:, Thanks Jim.

>19 FAMeulstee:, Thanks Anita my dear, I need to keep everyone informed about Karen's reading and to see how many books she is in front of me, lol.

>20 karenmarie:, Hi Karen my dear, if I fail to reach 75 books I will be very annoyed but the way things are going I will reach it easily and hope to hit the magic 100 mark.

The pain issues are a nuisance but I am used to it and just try and make sure that it doesn't impact on our time together as that would really get me down.

Amy starts her new job in the morning and we have sent her best wishes for her first day, hopefully everything will go well for her.

Sending love and hugs right back to you and Bill dear friend.

Yesterday was a nice steady day, after a pot of tea in bed we got up, washed and dressed and came downstairs to have breakfast and our meds. Karen set a dark load of washing going, mainly towels and flannels and once they were done I was able to hang them outside for the first time this year as it was a lovely sunny morning with a light breeze.

Once we had done with breakfast we watched James Martin's Saturday Kitchen and whilst watching we had a couple of pots of tea. Before long it was time to take Karen to work.

I dropped Karen off and then parked nearer to the store entrance and went in to take a polo neck sweater back that didn't fit or suit Karen. Once this was done I got back to the car and went into Wakefield to take Seven pairs of shoes back to Next for Karen. Karen has to order shoes online as she is a size nine and so she ordered a few pairs to look at to give her some choice. Once I had dropped the shoes off I picked up my usual Saturday copy of the Yorkshire Post and then made my way home.

Once home I made a pot of tea and read the sports section and the magazine before picking up my book. I read for most of the afternoon interspersed with a few pots of tea until it was time to go and pick Karen up from work. Once home we had a pot of tea and then Karen went for a shower before we had something to eat. We had a relaxing evening watching a bit of TV before going up to bed and reading for a bit.

Today has been a fully relaxing day, after a pot of tea in bed we got up, washed and dressed before coming downstairs for breakfast. Once we had had breakfast we sat watching the best of the BBC's Saturday Kitchen before Karen decided to do a bit of baking.

Karen made some Cranberry and Apricot rock buns and a sunken Amaretti Chocolate cake, the cake is the dessert for when Geoff and Linda come for a meal next Saturday night. Karen also covered some Stem Ginger with Chocolate. Once the baking was done we listened to some CD's for a couple of hours and while listening I read and Karen did some knitting and playing some games on her phone. We had something to eat late in the afternoon before watching a bit of TV and Karen resumed her knitting and I finished another book.

Finished book 12 in the late afternoon. This is one of Janet Evanovich's early romance novels before she started writing the Stephanie Plum books. It was light hearted and fun to be honest and I did enjoy it.

Congratulations on the new thread, John, and book #12. I've enjoyed Evanovich's Stephanie Plum series for many years, but never tried any of her other books.

Happy new thread :)

Happy new thread, John.
Sending sunny greetings from Davos.

Hi John!

There must always be sweets at your house - Karen seems to be always baking. If I baked all the time we'd eat sweets all the time and I'd have more trouble with my weight than I do.

Sending love and hugs to you both!

>27 jnwelch:, Thanks Joe, I love the Stephanie Plum books and on one of our trips out I spotted this in one of the various shops I go in and thought I would give it a go. Once I get an author I like I tend to want to read every book they have written including YA books but not any that are for under Eleven's unless Hannah wants to read any.

>28 figsfromthistle:, Thanks Anita.

>29 Ameise1:, Thanks Barbara, hope you are having a good time in Davos my dear.

>30 karenmarie:, Hi Karen

Karen loves baking and she always makes sure she has most of the ingredients she needs for most of her baking and she really does look after me. Some of the baking goes in the freezer but yesterday she just made enough to last a week and obviously the cake for next Saturday's meal with Geoff and Linda

Karen finds baking relaxing when she feels a bit stressed about things, but yesterday she wasn't stressed but just wanted to bake, I am a really lucky boy. Karen's mum was a really good baker and I was looked after right from the start and she also made fantastic Sunday lunches and stews and soups. I was quite thin when we first met and so she decided that it was her task to fill me up, Cakes were made and both Karen and her Dad had to wait for a piece until I had had the first, her Dad used to say that if I bent over and she was stood behind me she would get a sun tan, ha ha. I just wish Karen's dumplings were as good as her Mum's and that she made them more often for me in stews but Karen doesn't like Dumplings.

Hope you had a really good weekend and send love and hugs.

Happy new thread, John. Great news that Amy has a new job. I hope it goes well for her. >33 johnsimpson: Mmm, I love dumplings but it is years and years since I had any.

I am starting to get around to the threads as it has been a very busy week. The public schools close to the University were off on holiday Monday and Tuesday of this week, so all the students in the Teacher Education Program were in the library working. I was very busy all the way through noon today. Next week I have to teach a bunch of classes so it will be busy and then I can start to think about my spring break.

It has been raining here for a solid week. It cleared a bit this afternoon but about 3:30 p.m. it started raining again. It will not clear until Monday. Winter storm after storm has been rolling through the U. S. and dumping snow and rain all along the fronts. This is rather unusual for us, as usually by this time we have started spring.

A friend of mine who retired on January 31 has set off on her first retirement trip. She is going to spend two weeks in Oxford with her daughter. I asked her why she was only spending two weeks. Now that she was retired she could stay longer. She reacted with surprise and told me that she never thought about it. Two weeks is the longest vacation she has ever taken at one stretch so she just thought two weeks was a good amount of time. If it were me and I had a free place to stay in Oxford I would be there until my daughter rolled up the welcome mat and hid it in a closet!

Karen has had the week off and we have had a pretty good week.

MONDAY : After a lie-in with a pot of tea we got up, washed and dressed before having breakfast and our meds. After doing a couple of small jobs we set off to Wakefield. We called into the doctors first so that I could drop off our repeat prescriptions and then we headed to a suburb of Wakefield to drop off the Tassimo coffee machine that Karen had managed to sell along with quite a number of coffee pods as she no longer wanted it. We found the address and she delivered it and collect the £20 that she wanted for it. Once this was done I then went into the centre of Wakefield to drop Karen off so she could meet her best friend Tina, they were going to have a few girly hours.

After dropping Karen off I made my way home and put the washing outside on the line. After a bit of reading and a couple of pots of tea I got on with the upstairs housework. By the time the housework was done I was ready for a drink and had another pot of tea or two and read until Karen rang to say that they were done and ready to be picked up. I picked both Karen and Tina up and dropped Tina off before making our way back home.

The rest of the day was spent relaxing.

TUESDAY: We decided we wanted to have a ride out and so after we were washed and dressed we had breakfast before setting off to Ilkley, in the glorious Yorkshire Dales. Although we had recently been to Ilkley we were on a mission to try and get hold of some Venison Shanks to do when Geoff and Linda come for a meal on the 23rd. Once we were parked up we went and had a coffee before doing what we had come for. First stop was to try and get a watch battery for Rob's watch, we have some watch batteries but could not get the back off the watch. The first port of call was where Karen had taken her work watch for a link taking out, unfortunately he could not get the back off and pointed up to a jewellers.

Karen's best watch, a Longines, needed a new battery and we went to Lister Horsfall jewellers as sometimes they have to be sent away, they could not do it but told us to go to Phillips just down the street. We went to Phillips and they said it was not a problem and could we come back in 20 minutes, as we were about to leave Karen asked about Rob's watch and she said she would have a look. We left the jewellers and went to find some Venison.

Sadly apart from Venison chunks we were out of luck as it was the end of the game season, Karen picked up the sole pack of Venison chunks and we would have to settle on Lamb Shanks for our meal. After a mooch around we went back to collect Karen's watch and hopefully Rob's in working order, we were pleased that the lady had done Karen's and got into Rob's, all for a total cost of £12, a good price. After another mooch we headed back to the car and set off to Harrogate.

After a short drive we got parked up and decided to have a drink and a bite to eat, after quenching our thirst and a sandwich we wandered into the shopping streets of Harrogate. We still couldn't get any Venison and so gave up but we did manage to pick up four more British Library Crime Classics and I also got a small bottle of Diamine Syrah ink and a replacement converter for my Montegrappa fountain pen. After a nice couple of hours or so we went back to the car and made our way home.

>36 johnsimpson: I cannot wear a battery-operated watch. It always stops running. It has nothing to do with the battery but with my body's chemistry. I have high electrical currents in my body. Glad you got Karen's and Rob's repaired. Too bad about the venison shanks.

>36 johnsimpson: How funny, John, you went to replace batteries in watches. Just at the start of this month we took our watches to the jewelery store to put new batteries in. We hadn't used them for over 10 years. Both were still good, and we wear them again.

Hi John!

Sounds like a lovely week for you and Karen.

I hope the dinner with your friends Geoff and Linda goes well; I'm sure the lamb shanks will be yummy.

I hope that you and Karen enjoyed her week off, John and that the planned dinner went well.

I’m so glad that Amy’s found a new job and had two to choose from! Nothing’s more stressful for parents than worrying about the kids, no matter how old the kids are.

It seems as though your back pain has settled down a bit, so that’s a good thing, too.

Do you think you could ask Karen how she like the John Bude book? I have two or three by him on the kindle and as wondering how I’d like them.

Love to you, Dear John.

>37 thornton37814:, Hi Lori, we are both lucky with watches with batteries but I have heard of a number of people like you my dear who struggle with battery watches due to their chemical make-up. When I worked underground I had to have a manual watch so as not to provide a setting where a spark could ignite, I used an old pocket watch from my dad.

Hope you had a good weekend my dear and send love and hugs and hope you have a good week ahead.

>38 FAMeulstee:, Hi Anita, it must be that time of year for watch battery changing.

>39 karenmarie:, Hi Karen, we had a really nice week and I will finish off describing our week shortly. The meal on Saturday was absolutely divine.

Hope you and Bill had a really nice weekend and send love and hugs and hope you have a great week ahead.

>40 Familyhistorian:, Hi Meg, we had a really lovely week and the meal was absolutely fantastic. Hope you had a really nice weekend and send love and hugs and wish you a really great week ahead.

>41 Matke:, Hi Gail my dear, Amy seems to have settled down very nicely in her new job, when Karen spoke to her on Tuesday she said that she had had a really amusing day and was looking forward to the rest of the week. I will tell more in a post shortly.

The back pain is up and down, a bit like our weather, last week was mild and warm for the time of year then later in the week it got cooler. Over the weekend we have had very foggy days with it hardly clearing before it came back in again, this morning it was foggy but not as bad as the weekend and then by mid morning the sun was out and it had burnt away. The record UK February temperature was broken today with 20.6C in Ceredigion in Wales and around here it reached 16C with a possibility it could reach 18C tomorrow and then the forecaster said it would get cooler from midweek, I just don't know where I am with the weather. I did look at the Funchal Webcam and wished we were there as they are having temperatures of 21C to 23C constantly at the moment, oh well only five months to wait before we are there.

Karen has loved the John Bude, British Library Crime Series books and we picked some more up last week, we have just 23 to get to complete the list of BLCS books currently out and we love them. Karen loves this type of cosy crime and she enjoyed the Daisy Dalrymple books by Carola Dunn and we have more of this 1920's / 1930's crime books to read.

Hope you had a really lovely weekend my dear and send love and hugs and hope you have a really nice week ahead dear friend.

Going back to post 36.

WEDNESDAY: we had a day at home today, after a pot of tea in bed we got up, washed and dressed and came downstairs and had breakfast and our meds before I set off to pick up Hannah, as she was on February half-term holidays. By the time I got back Debbie the nail technician was here and doing Karen's nails. I made us all a pot of tea and Hannah wanted some milk. Hannah left us and took Karen's tablet upstairs to play her games.

Hannah came down and picked out the colour that Karen should have on her nails and then went back upstairs, she came down again just before Debbie left. After a bite to eat we had to go out to Featherstone to visit the Aldi and Hannah went in with Karen while I stayed in the car and read. Once they had done in Aldi they put the shopping in the car and then went next door to Home Bargains and Hannah came out with some sweets for her box. Once all the shopping was done we made our way home.

Hannah played on the tablet and we had a pot of tea and shortly after Rob and Louise came to pick her up, they stayed for about and hour and twenty minutes before they left us. The rest of the day was nice and quiet for us.

THURSDAY: After a pot of tea in bed we got up, washed and dressed and then came downstairs to have breakfast and our meds. Once we were ready we got in the car and headed to Holmfirth as I wanted to visit the new bookshop that had opened the previous Tuesday. Once we had parked up we had a stroll around and called into a gift shop and Karen picked up a nice scarf for Catherine, our neighbour who is having a sixtieth birthday party at the beginning of March. From the gift shop we made our way to Read, the bookshop, we entered and it is lovely, we had a good look around and I got talking to one of the owners. I have been following them on Twitter since they first said they were setting up a bookshop and so I introduced myself and showed the lady my reading bible, she was in awe that I had kept a reading record for so long. After she had a really good look at it she said I must come in on a Friday to show Jim, another member of staff as he loves this sort of thing but has not seen something that goes as far back as mine does, I am going back on the 1st of March to see Jim.

After picking up a couple of notebooks and some Unicorn wrapping paper for Hannah's birthday present we left and wandered around Holmfirth, we ended up at Daisy Lane Books, one of Paul Cranswicks favourite haunts, we went in and about 30 minutes later came away with six books. After a bit more wandering we went back to the car and went for a drive. We headed out of Holmfirth towards the Pennine hills and after about 20 minutes we came across a sign post saying we were entering Derbyshire, the scenery was stunning with the rolling hills and reservoirs dotted about. We followed the road towards Sheffield and ended up going towards Barnsley and as we continued following the road we ended up doing a full circle and getting back to the Denby Dale road that we travelled on not three hours previously. We head towards home and as we neared home we called into the Asda supermarket and ordered our sunglasses to paid this week as it is double discount week for staff. Once the glasses had been ordered we went into the store to do our little bit of shopping. Once the shopping was done we made our way home, unpacked and put the shopping away before I made us a pot of tea. the rest of the day was spent relaxing.

FRIDAY: Once again we had a pot of tea in bed before getting up and having breakfast and our meds. we set a load of washing going and while it was washing I went and picked up our prescriptions from the pharmacy. Once back home the washing had finished and as it was a nice day I put it out on the line. After another pot of tea I did a couple of small jobs while Karen did a bit of ironing. Once the ironing was done we prepared the vegetables for the slow cooker and Karen added the red wine and Lamb stock along with various herbs and spices and then covered the pot with cling film and put it in the fridge ready for Saturday morning.

Once this was done Karen got the photo frame that she had bought along with the wadding and I went and got my staple gun and with a nice piece of black velvet we converted it into a padded frame so Karen can display her collection of brooches. Once this was done I got on with the downstairs housework. When the housework was finished we had a bite to eat and then watched a couple of programmes that we like, after another pot of tea or two we had something to eat and then had a nice relaxing evening.

Saturday morning dawned and it was quite foggy, I made us a pot of tea to have in bed and once this was finished with we got up, washed and dressed and came downstairs and had breakfast and our meds. Once this was done with Karen got the slow cooker pot out of the fridge and then browned off the lamb shanks before placing then in the slow cooker, she set it at a low temperature and set it going for seven hours. Once this was done I peeled the potatoes for Karen to chop up and then she did the green beans ready for later.

Once the preparations for the main course were done Karen made the two dips for the starter and then whipped up some cream and added Amaretto for the dessert. While this bit was being done by Karen I was in the living room reading. We had a nice steady afternoon and Karen checked on the lamb periodically, the smells were amazing. Once the Shanks were just about done she thickened the stock up a bit for the last cooking period. We had a light lunch in mid afternoon before we both had a shower.

I went to pick Geoff and Linda up at 6.30pm and we were back here by 6.55pm, we had a couple of drinks and a chat before we sat down for our meal. We had Salmon salad with a choice of dips for starters before the main course of Lamb Shanks done in a red wine and lamb stock sauce with Mustard Mash and Green Beans. Once we had finished the first two courses we retired to the living room to let our food settle and we chatted, listened to music and had more to drink. After a good period Karen served the dessert with the Amaretto cream and once this was eaten we had a nice liquor and more to drink. Geoff and Linda departed at around 11pm and once we had tidied up and loaded the dishwasher we went up to bed with a pot of tea and read for a bit before dropping off to a nice sound sleep.

I finished book 13 on Friday evening, A Painted House by John Grisham. I really enjoyed this book, it has been on the shelves along with quite a few more of his books for too long. The story of the Chandlers and in particular seven-year-old Luke and their rural cotton farm in Arkansas was very good and kept me wanting to read. I look forward to reading one or two more of Grisham's books this year.

A big congratulations to all the Oscar winners but personally a special congrats to Olivia Colman and Rami Malek. Olivia Colman's speech was so funny and she was having a ball and Rami Malek was excellent as Dear Freddie Mercury. I did feel sorry for Glenn Close, I am sure she will win an Oscar as she is a really lovely actress.

>50 johnsimpson: I love Olivia Colman, John, and her acceptance speech was so charming. I was very happy for her. Rami Malek was well-deserving. What an amazing performance he gave as dear Freddie. I think there's widespread sorrow for Glenn Close; she was such a good sport laughing with Olivia about it.

In my younger days, I would bring a thermal pot of coffee to bed on Saturday morning and read until the pot was empty. I haven't done it for years...but I'm planning a lie-in with a pot of coffee for Friday morning. Thanks for the inspiration!

Hope you are well, my friend!

Hello dear friend. I am happy to say I am all caught up on your thread again. Phew!

I know you can never have enough tea, so here you go...

Sounds like you all had an enjoyable rest of the week!

>51 jnwelch:, Hi Joe, the thing with her speech is that that is how she is, I listened to her on a radio interview and she comes across as so understated and she is always amazed at the adulation that she receives, to her she is doing her job and as long as the programme or film is well received then she is happy. I think she is quite a shy person and I just loved the raspberry she blew when told to start winding her speech up.

>52 witchyrichy:, Hi Karen my dear, I hope you enjoy your Friday morning Lie-in with your coffee pot, we find it nice to have that extra 30 to 45 minutes with a pot of tea and once finished we are ready to get up and face the day. I am glad I have inspired you dear friend.

We are both well Karen and looking forward to Hannah's Eighth birthday on Thursday although Karen has to but her birthday card tomorrow as she cannot find the card she believes she has already bought in the house, it will turn up next week in that really secret place she has hidden it in, ha ha.

Sending love and hugs dear friend.

>53 Berly:, Hi Kim my dear, I am glad you have caught up with my thread BUT it is me that should be saying that on your thread as I have got behind with being busy last week with Karen having the week off.

Thank you for the pot of tea, you know me very well. A pot of tea and me are never far apart, I have had to buy another big bag of tea bags today as we were nearly out, the 1100 bag will keep me happy for the next couple of months. I shall pop along to your thread to make sure I catch up with what you have been up to.

Sending love and hugs dear friend.

>54 thornton37814:, Hi Lori my dear, we had a really lovely week together, we visited a few nice places and got a few jobs done and then had a lovely meal with good friends.

Sending love and hugs dear friend.

Yesterday was a nice steady one for me and Karen was back at work after her week off. After a lie-in with a pot of tea we got up, washed and dressed before coming downstairs to have breakfast and our meds. Once breakfast was done and dusted with I went to the garage to find a picture hook and nails and put Karen's framed brooch display up in the bedroom. Once I had done this we watched a couple of programmes that I had recorded before we had some lunch.

After lunch we watched Politics live before I made us a pot of tea and we then watched the lunchtime news before it was time to take Karen to work. After dropping Karen off I had to go into Wakefield to pay some money off the credit card and then I made my way home. As soon as I was indoors I set the DVD recorder up to record a couple of programmes for Karen and once this was done I made a pot of tea and did my book notes of the last three books I have read.

Once the book notes were done I made another pot of tea and did the bank statements and then I cleaned the large plant pot at the back door and the crocks that were in it ready to put a new Camellia in. By the time all this was done I made another pot of tea and then tried to set up the Bluetooth Transmitter so we can use the small Bluetooth speaker in the kitchen. Sadly it would not work and I would try the Transmitter with the laptop later, I then decided to read for an hour or so. At around 6pm I decided to put some Sausages in the oven and when they were just about ready I warmed up my plated mash and cauliflower cheese and put them all together and used the lovely gravy from Saturday night's meal. After I had eaten I fired up the laptop and tried the Bluetooth Transmitter, it worked so I needed to contact Roberts Radio to see what I need to do now. After checking threads and posting on my own it was time for me to go and pick Karen up from work.

Today has been much the same as yesterday in some respects. The alarm went off at 7.30am and Karen gave me a nudge as I was in the spare bed as I usually am on a Monday night so that Karen can get a good nights sleep after her Monday shift and so that she is refreshed for her long Tuesday shift. We would normally get up at this time with Karen starting work at Noon but she wanted a pot of tea in bed, bless her. I obliged and went down and made us a pot of tea which we had in bed.

Once the tea was done with we got up, washed and dressed before coming downstairs and having breakfast and our meds. While Karen did some checking in her phone I had to go out and drop a repeat prescription at the Doctors for my Fentanyl patches. once back I made us a pot of tea before Karen had a bite to eat before going to work. I dropped Karen off at work and then went to the garden centre to pick up a bag of Ericaceous compost for the Camellia and then went into town to get a large bag of teabags. Once this was done I made my way home.

Once home I made a pot of tea and watched the lunchtime news before setting the DVD recorder up to record a couple of programmes for Karen. Once this was done I went out to put the compost in the large pot at the back door and then planted the Camellia, I watered the Camellia and hope it settles and flowers nicely. After doing this I made a pot of tea and read for a while before going to do the upstairs housework.

Once the upstairs housework was done I put the Vacuum cleaner away and my duster away before making a pot of tea and some sandwiches. I had my sandwiches and then rang Roberts Radio to see what I can do to set up the Bluetooth speaker. The chap I spoke to said I needed a Bluetooth Transmitter that is plugged into the Aux rather than having a USB plug in, we will now have to send the Transmitter back for a refund and order a new one with a AUX plug. After ending the call I read for a good hour or so, first the new Radio Times listings magazine then my book before watching the news. After another pot of tea I decided to read another couple of chapters before firing up the laptop to come on here and I will post on here until it is time to go and pick Karen up from work.

I forgot to say that before watching the news I sellotaped my driving licence up, I still have my original paper licence from when I passed my driving test in December 1987, it is quite worn now and as we are going to the dealership tomorrow to order the new Qashqai I need to make sure it is suitable to be photocopied by Sophie, the Motability ales consultant.

Finished book 14 in the early afternoon, Dying in the Wool by Frances Brody, this is the first in the Kate Shackleton Mysteries.

Kate Shackleton is 31 years old, a widow and lives on the outskirts of Leeds, her late husband Gerald was a surgeon at Leeds General Infirmary and joined the war as a surgeon but was reported missing. Kate still hopes that by chance he will turn back up but she knows their were lots of big explosions around the last place he was seen. Kate served in the VAD in the war and since then she has helped find missing men from the Great War.

Bridgestead is a peaceful spot: a babbling brook, rolling hills and a working mill at its heart. Pretty and remote, nothing exceptional happens....
Until the day that Master of the Mill, Joshua Braithwaite goes missing in dramatic circumstances, never to be heard of again.

Now Joshua's daughter is getting married and wants one last attempt at finding her father. Has he run off with his mistress, or was he murdered for his mounting coffers?

Kate Shackleton has always loved solving puzzles. So who better to get to the bottom of Joshua's mysterious disappearance? But as Kate taps into the lives of the Bridgestead dwellers, she opens cracks that some would kill to keep closed....

This is an excellent story and I loved it by the time I had got to page 25, looking forward to the rest of the series that we have on the shelves.

>56 johnsimpson: It is something of a tradition in my family to send multiple cards for that very reason. We forget we already bought a card and then find that one after buying another one. So, we send them both! More to open. Have fun with Hannah tomorrow. Eight is a GREAT age!

We have had a decent day with wonderful weather yet again for this time of year. We were up with the alarm as we needed to get ourselves sorted as Karen had her Breast Screening appointment at 9.30am.

Once we had our meds and a pot of tea and I managed breakfast we set off to go into Wakefield, we got parked up and walked up to the Clinic. Karen wasn't long at the clinic and once done we walked back down to the shopping area and Karen went into the card shop to pick up a few cards and Hannah's birthday card for tomorrow. Once we were done we went back to the car and as we had quite a bit of time to kill before going to order the car we headed to the Snowhill retail park to do the little bit of shopping we needed at the Aldi.

I stayed in the car and read while Karen went and got the bits we needed and once back we had time to go home and unpack the shopping and for Karen to put the two bunches of Daffodils in a vase. While Karen did this I made us a quick pot of tea and put the bedding that we had set off in the washer out on the line. We finished our tea and then headed to the Pentagon Car Dealership to get the new Qashqai ordered. Karen only came along to pick the colour, lol. We both liked the Vivid Blue but I wanted to have a look at the Chestnut Bronze. We had a good look and settled on Vivid Blue, the paperwork was quickly done and then I booked my current car in for its MOT on the 26th of March. The new car should be delivered to the dealership by the 20th of May and then I will pick it up on the 24th of May unless they let me have it once they have got it.

We left the dealership and headed back towards home, on the way we popped into the Asda as Karen wanted some flowers for her best friend Tina who sadly lost her dad on Sunday. The flowers for sale were poor so she left them and so she picked up a small bag of Cadbury's mini eggs and I needed a pack of cigars and so while paying we got some cash back and asked for it as a ten pound note and ten one pound coins, these coins were for Hannah as part of her birthday present. With Hannah having Autism ten pound coins seems more than a single ten pound note to her. After doing this we made our way home and had a pot of tea and a quick bite to eat before I went to pick Hannah up from school.

Hannah loved the mini eggs and the drink I took for her to have in the car and once home she asked for Karen's tablet and disappeared upstairs. Hannah came down a bit later and we all had something to eat and then we went upstairs to make up our bed with fresh, clean bedding. Rob arrived at around 6.15pm and Karen made him a sandwich and a pot of tea while I sorted the printer out so that he could print off some documents for his Junior Cricket meeting. Rob left at 6.50pm and said he would be back by 7.30pm and then take Hannah home. Rob was back as planned and after Hannah thanked us for her presents and cards from us and Auntie Amy and Uncle Andy they set off for home.

Finished book 15 late this afternoon, The Cleverness of Ladies by Alexander McCall Smith. This is a small novella in The No.1 Ladies Detective Agency Series.

Although only the first of the five stories is related to the No.1 Ladies Detective Agency, the author brings his trademark gift for storytelling and brings five tales of love, heartbreak, hope and the cleverness of ladies. A nice gentle read.

>61 johnsimpson: I think you may have liked it a little better than I did. I didn't hate it, but I don't think I liked it as much as you did.

Hi John!

>48 johnsimpson: Your dinner sounds lovely. In fact, the whole evening sounds lovely.

>50 johnsimpson: I agree 100%. I didn’t watch the Oscars, but watched both acceptance speeches on YouTube after.

>56 johnsimpson: Ha! Karen does what I do – hides things and then can’t find them when needed. And, of course they turn up after they’re needed. This year for Christmas I couldn’t find a mug and a gift card that I had bought for Jenna and found them at the end of January. They’re sitting on the hutch in the dining room so I won’t lose them again.

I hope you're having a wonderful day. Sending love and hugs to you and Karen.

Finished book 16 of the year, The Medical Examiner by James Patterson. This is another in between book in the Women's Murder Club Series and finds Detective Sergeant Lindsay Boxer and her husband Joe Molinari going away for a vacation and not going to use or answer her phone.

Two bodies arrive at the morgue, One was still breathing.

A woman checks into a hotel room and entertains a man who is not her husband. A shooter blows away the lover and wounds the millionaires, leaving her for dead. Is it the perfect case for the Women's murder Club - or just the most twisted.

Lindsay's partner Rich Conklin gets assigned to the case and is a little perplexed after talking to the millionaires and still thinks that things don't add up. Wanting to talk to the lady again, Conklin finds that she has gone missing, meanwhile his wife Cindy decides it is a story worth following up on and goes against everything her husband has told her.

A short fast paced novella in the Bookshots series, a bit of fun in between the main books in the series.

Yesterday was Hannah's 8th birthday and she loved her presents and cards.

We were busy just darting here, there and everywhere, once we were up and about we had breakfast and then pottered about before we had to pop into Wakefield. On the way in I called into the pharmacy to pick up my Fentanyl patches, sadly the script had only just been sent across to the pharmacy and they needed to order the patches, I was not in immediate need of them and they said they would be in on Friday. As we were driving along we were listening to Five Live and Emma Barnett and she was following the traumas of a listener called Chrissie who was trapped in her Kitchen. Listeners were phoning in with advice and one chap had been a locksmith and so they patched them together so he could talk her through what to do. We got parked up at Sainsbury's at Trinity Walk and we both had to get out of the car. We went to the Post office to send the Bluetooth Transmitter back and then Karen needed some Flowers for her friend Tina, I was told to get back to the car and find out if Chrissie was free from her kitchen.

I got back to the car and put the radio on and whilst we were out, Chrissie had got free with the help of the caller mentioned earlier. Once Karen had got the flowers and some hairspray we made our way to see Tina and have a chat with her. We spent an hour or so with Tina and found out more about her Dad's funeral to be held next Thursday. We left Tina and made our way home, once home we had a pot of tea and a bite to eat and watched Escape to the Country before heading back out to see Debbie the nail Technician as Karen had a problem with three of her nails. We got to Debbie's and after 20 minutes all was sorted out.

Once back home we had a pot of tea or two before having something to eat and then had a nice steady evening.

Karen nudged me at 6.55 am and she didn't look too good, she said she had a migraine and would I go and make her a pot of tea, I was still half awake and wondered what the time was until I looked at my clock. I went and made a pot of tea for both of us and popped a couple of dissolving co-codamols for Karen, by the time I took the tea back upstairs she had vomited the dissolving tablets up. We had our tea and then I got up, washed and dressed and went downstairs to have my meds and some breakfast. I had a pot of tea and then Karen shouted down to me to ask for a slice of dry toast and a small strong tea.

I took the toast and tea upstairs and made sure she was ok before going out to do the bit of shopping that was needed, I was back within an hour and unpacked and put the shopping away before going to check on Karen. Karen wanted another drink of tea and her phone in case work rang and then she said I should go to the bookshop in Holmfirth as I had planned to do to show one of the staff my book bible and a couple of my other stat resources. Once I was sure Karen was ok I set off calling at the pharmacy to pick up my patches which they had waiting for me.

I got to Holmfirth and parked up and made my way to the bookshop, I was a bit early as Jim didn't start until noon, Louise, one of the owners made me a pot of tea and while waiting I perused the stock. A chap and his daughter came in, Louise obviously knew them and it turned out that the young girl was going to be helping out in the afternoon as she wanted to know how a bookshop runs and the ordering etc.

Jim arrived and Louise told him I was here to show him the book stats, I quickly explained how it was all set out and handed him the book, he was fascinated and loved all the different bits I log down, we chatted about various things in it and I told him of some of the other bits of recording I do and told him about Librarything, Fantastic Fiction and Fictfact, all useful tools to me. By 1pm we were done and I paid for the book I had picked up, No Middle Name by Lee Child and the book pin I had selected which says "I like Big Books". I thanked Louise for the pot of tea and said my goodbyes and that I will be calling again.

Once done in the bookshop I made my way back to the car via the Oxfam bookshop, I didn't pick anything up so got back to the car and headed home to make sure Karen was ok. I got back just after 2pm and once I had put everything down that I had come back with I went up to see Karen, she still looked very pale and she had managed to come down for a pot of tea but she was glad to be back in bed. I made Karen a pot of tea and took her some digestive biscuits before going back downstairs to have my pot of tea and a bite to eat. Once I had eaten I finished off book 16 and then watched a bit of TV before making another pot of tea for both of us.

Karen decided to come downstairs for a bit around 6pm, we watched the news and we had a pot of tea before I made myself something to eat. Karen looks a bit better at the current time and hopefully she caught it early, she hasn't had a migraine since she had bariatric surgery 8 years ago and wonders if it is playing a game on her phone quite a bit over the last couple of weeks and in bed last night, it is something she doesn't normally do and not as much as she has done recently.

I have updated Karen's reading on Post 8, we are now level pegging as of 1st March, lol.

Latest reading stats:

Books on shelves at 1-2-2019 - 2508
Books added in February - 9
Books read in February - 8

Revised book total - 2509

Pages to read at 1-2-2019 - 1,053,205
Pages added in February - 2,869
Pages read in February - 2,499

Revised total pages to read - 1,053,575

FEBRUARY'S READING STATS

Books Read...................... 8

No of Authors.................... 8

New Authors...................... 4

Male Authors..................... 4

Female Authors.................. 1

Pages Read....................... 2,499

Daily Avg........................... 89.25

Book Length avg................. 312.38

>69 johnsimpson: I hope Karen feels better when she awakens. Migraines can be very nasty things. Glad to see you both doing well on your reading!

Looks like you had a great February! :)

Happy birthday to Hannah!

>73 thornton37814:, Hi Lori my dear, luckily Karen had caught it early and made sure she did all the right things and by this morning she was fine but she did say it was bad and could not remember one as bad but then again she would have to go back probably ten years since the last bad one as she has not really had a migraine since 2011.

We have both enjoyed the books we have read, I will make the best of being level pegging with Karen as she will get ahead of me soon.

>74 ChelleBearss:, Hi Chelle my dear, February has been good for both of us reading and in general.

>75 drneutron:, Thanks Jim, she had a really nice day and we have just found out that besides some lovely presents she also accumulated £70 and now she says she is rich, lol.

Karen was fine this morning after her migraine, she caught it early and so was able to manage it but she did say it felt awful. We had a steady morning, we had breakfast and set a load of washing going, when the first load was done I hung it on the washing line as it was a lovely sunny morning. Karen set a second load going but by the time it was done it had clouded over a bit so we hung it on the airers indoors.

After a pot of tea it was time to take Karen to work, luckily it was only a short shift of five hours. I dropped Karen off and then went into Wakefield to do some banking and pick up a couple of cards. Once I had done the banking, got the cards and my usual Yorkshire Post I made my way to the Antique Fair at the Grammar School. I had a good wander around, there were a few Fountain pens available but not much took my eye. I did pick up a 1960's Platignum Silverline for £5 and then spotted an old pen that looked familiar to me, I had a look and it was the same as one I had but on mine the glass piston filler is broken, this one was intact but the nib was a bit skewed, I asked the price and it was only £1 so I bought it. After having a better look and feel of it I managed to set the nib correctly but the cap is loose, I will transfer caps and see if that works otherwise I will change the nib and glass filler onto my original pen. I had another quick wander around before making my way home.

Once home I had a pot of tea and then got on with the downstairs housework and cleaned the kitchen before doing some book stats. Once all this was done I had a pot of tea and read my paper before going to pick Karen up from work. Once home with Karen we had a pot of tea before she went to get changed out of her work gear and then she finished off the Chicken and Ham pie, putting on a Puff pastry top and with the spare Puff pastry she made some Jam Turnovers. The pie was lovely and there is some left for me tomorrow and the Turnovers were lovely.

We are having a nice relaxing evening watching a bit of television.

>79 johnsimpson: That pie and the jam turnovers both sound great!

>80 thornton37814:, they were both lovely, Lori my dear. It's great having my own private cook, she does look after me.

As you have no doubt seen on previous posts we do like a nice lie-in with a pot of tea but not this morning. I set the alarm last night but Karen did not set hers and so this morning mine did not go off at 8.30am and it was 9.25am when we awoke. This seemed to throw us out of sorts, we got up and as Karen had to take her Omeprazole tablet and not eat for at least 30 minutes we put our dressing gowns on and went downstairs to have a pot of tea. While the tea was brewing I put out our meds and then Karen spotted that I had forgotten my night time Naproxen tablet last night, no wonder I was a bit tender this morning.

We had our meds and drank our tea and then went back upstairs to get washed and dressed, once this was done we came back downstairs and had breakfast before popping into Wakefield to pick up a couple of bits. We managed to get most of what we needed but had to rely on Amazon to order the correct Bluetooth Transmitter as our electrical store could not help.

Once back home we had a pot of tea and then Karen did a bit of ironing, as we got home it began to rain and the wind picked up. Karen finished her ironing but we both still felt out of sorts. We checked our phones and then Karen searched for the Transmitter on Amazon and also order some vitamins that we need, as she was doing this a Jinhao pen that she had left in her online bag came up a lot cheaper than when she set it aside. Karen looked at the pen and one or two more that I had mentioned and the deals she was getting were really a good price so she has ordered me two that should be with me within a week or so, she is good to me bless her.

Time passed by and we decided we ought to get lunch prepared, Karen put the small Beef joint in the oven and I peeled the vegetables and Karen chopped and cut them up and put them in the pans ready to go. The Beef was lovely and we had a nice Sunday lunch mid afternoon, Karen also used up the last of the Chocolate Panettone by turning it into a bread and butter pudding which we had an hour or so after we had lunch and it was delicious.

We have watched a bit of television since around 5.30pm but are currently listening to the radio as we record Call The Midwife, it is the last episode of this series but we are a bit behind so it had to be recorded and we probably have six of the eight episodes to watch starting tomorrow morning hopefully.

>82 johnsimpson: Good idea about using Chocolate Panettone in a bread and butter pudding. I'm sure that was yummy! I might need to consider getting some Chocolate Panettone at Aldi the next time I see it there just to make that pudding!

>83 thornton37814:, It is worth it Lori my dear.

Finished book 17 mid afternoon today, 17th Suspect by James Patterson. This is the 19th in the series

I don’t remember anything I have put in an online cart for later ever going down in price, John. That is lucky. I hope you are both doing well.

>86 Familyhistorian:, Hi Meg, we are both fine my dear. Karen is lucky sometimes when she puts things in her online cart, more on standard sites as they are desperate for her to buy the product she has selected and so they tempt her with a reduction. She puts things in her amazon cart if she is waiting for payday and on a couple of occasions they have reduced the items. On Monday she decided to order a new pillow for herself, she has not been happy with her pillow for a while and bit the bullet and ordered the one she wanted, it was quite a bit more expensive than others but she knew this was the one, she had sent the order and gone through the payment and was going back to look at some vitamins when she got a recommendation, the recommendation was for the self same pillow but £8 cheaper. Karen quickly went back to her order and cancelled, she made sure the payment was cancelled and then went back to the recommendation and made sure it was the same pillow and then ordered this cheaper self same pillow, luckily she was quick enough to cancel the earlier order but how bad is this, she was a little miffed but managed to get the pillow she wanted cheaper in the end.

I must pop along to your thread my dear as I have been a bit re-miss on visiting threads over the last few days, I hope all is well with you and send love and hugs to you from both of us dear friend.

The last few days have been wet and miserable here and today was no different and suitable for a funeral, which sadly we went to today.

We got up with the alarm and got washed, dressed and then went downstairs to have breakfast and a pot of tea and our meds. Once this was done it was time to take Karen to the hairdresser's to have her hair done, I went in with Karen in the hope that Lou could do my hair as well. My barber is closed this week, I only found out when I went for my hair cutting on Tuesday. Luckily Lou said she would do me before she started doing Karen's as it wouldn't take her long to whiz mine. Once I was done she estimated what time Karen would be ready and I left and went home to have a pot of tea and read.

I got back to Lou's about ten minutes before the estimated time, I stayed in the car and read until Karen appeared. Once Karen was in the car we went to the Asda supermarket, I had my sunglasses to pick up and I needed a pack of cigars and Karen went to pick up the shirts for me that she had put t one side. Once we were done in the Asda we got in the car and drove the short distance to the Aldi so that Karen could pick up the couple of bits that were on offer today. When all the shopping was done we made our way home and unpacked and put everything away, I made us both a nice pot of tea and we then watched the news.

After another pot of tea we went and got dressed in suitable clothes for a funeral and made our way to the crematorium, it was Karen's best friend Tina's dad's funeral. The short service was very nice and when everything was done and dusted at the crematorium we all made our way to the Three Houses' Pub for a drink and bite to eat. As normally happens at these things, we met people we haven't seen for quite a while and so we caught up with them and hope we bump into them in better circumstances. After about ninety minutes we left and made our way home, once home I made us a nice pot of tea and then we watched the evening news.

>88 johnsimpson: I'm not sure that "done and dusted" is the best description of finishing up at the crematorium, John!

Sorry to see Karen's pal lose her dad. I must admit the local papers are full of the passing of pals these days - one of the banes of getting older isn't it.

Love to both of you. I do believe that in several months time, yours truly and Hani will be based in nearby Sheffield and regular meet-ups and chewing of fat will be available to both of us.

Hi John!

Thanks for keeping us posted with Karen's reads. Sorry about her migraine, am amazed that Hannah's 8.

>85 johnsimpson: Congrats on book 17!

>89 PaulCranswick: I thought the same, Paul. Done and dusted...

>89 PaulCranswick:, >90 karenmarie:, Hi guys, I suppose Done and Dusted does seem a bit harsh, lol. The other day with the sad passing of Keith Flint, lead singer of the Prodigy, my SIL put up a nice post on FB, I agreed with this and commented but then added a Post Script wondering if he would be Cremated, my SIL fired back with a comment, it is not normally like me to be this quick but I wasn't being disrespectful.

>89 PaulCranswick:, Hi Paul, I could have phrased things better but I've said it now, lol. It seems that this is now a common occurrence now with a few old mates from the Pit days passing away recently.

It will be nice to see you nearby mate and look forward to chewing the fat and regular meet-ups mate.

Hope you are all having a good weekend and send love and hugs to you all from both of us.

>90 karenmarie:, Hi Karen my dear, I will keep adding Karen's reads at the end of each month so you can all see what she is reading and the amount as she doesn't have as much time as me, if she did she would be at the 30 mark by now. It was strange how the migraine struck but she has been fine since, it had been a long time since she had one as bad as that.

Hannah being 8, where did the years go, she had a really lovely birthday and got lots of presents and money, although when I asked if she could lend me £5 she said no, I told her I would pay her back and she still said no. I told her I was joking and she told me not to be so silly, that told me then.

The reading is going well and the book buying even better, I need to stop or I will never get through the TBR pile, lol.

Hope you and Bill have a great weekend my dear and send love and hugs to you both from both of us dear friend.

>91 johnsimpson: & >92 johnsimpson:

don't worry John, I was only pulling your leg.

>94 PaulCranswick:, I knew that mate but I am a devil sometimes with comments I come out with, lol.

>93 johnsimpson: I understand--and I have a Thingaversary this month. I'm probably going to try to do quite a few ebooks so they are not cluttering the house. I'm still trying to narrow down my choices!

>96 thornton37814:, Yay to a Thingaversary Lori my dear.

Finished book 18 in the early afternoon, Remembrance by Danielle Steel. Karen was a bit sceptical when I started reading Ms Steel but now she just thinks I am a bit daft.

A nice read from Ms Steel and it is not the ending that you would think, I am reading her books in publication order and have a helluva lot more to go at on the TBR pile with still more to purchase. I must say that I do enjoy them.

Hi John! Congrats on hitting book #18 already. A wee bit faster than last year I think. And how in the wrold can Hannah be 8 already? Yikes! ; )

Sorry Karen had such a bad migraine--glad they are not frequent at that level. Also sorry about having to attend a funeral. They are always hard events.

Wishing you a wonderful week ahead--hugs to you both.

>98 johnsimpson: John, too bad you weren't at our library's adult fiction sale last summer. You could probably have completed your Steele collection. We had just over 100 Danielle Steel books donated in hardback AND about 150 donated in paperback! We said we were going to FORCE every person that bought one to take one free. As it turned out, all sold although there were still quite a few on the third day when we started the $2 a bag sale. Can you imagine how much money that woman has made?? But good for her, I'm just jealous!

>99 Berly:, Hi Kim, reading this year is a tad faster than last and book 19 should be finished by late Tuesday or early Wednesday. It has been a long while since Karen had a migraine on that scale and hopefully that is it for a long time to come, funerals are hard events and it was her best friend of near on Fifty years, Dad so she wanted to pay her respects and be there for her best friend. Sadly it is either Funerals or Weddings where we see folks we haven't seen for quite a while which is a bit sad really.

We are both fine my dear and have had a good last few days.

Sending love and hugs dear friend.

>100 clue:, Hi Luanne my dear, I am sure I would have completed my Steel collection, I am not doing too bad though but need to pop along to our local Hospice shop as they usually have a good selection.

Like James Patterson, Danielle Steel has made a pile over the years and I wouldn't mind being a few Dollars behind her, that's for sure but as you say good luck to her and to all writers successful as the two I have mentioned or those that are doing reasonably well. They are all rich to me with their talent for writing, it's not something I could do despite everyone saying to me that because I read a lot I must have a book in me. If I have it is well hidden, that's all I can say on the matter, lol.

Hope all is well with you my dear and that you had a good weekend and I hope you have a good week ahead, sending love and hugs dear friend.

After the Funeral on Thursday, Friday was back to normal for us and I did the shopping after dropping Karen at work. Once home I unpacked and put it away and then read for an hour or so before getting on with the downstairs housework.

Saturday was a nice steady away day and after dropping Karen at work I went to nearby Ossett and visited the Secondhand bookshop, I had my lists with me and came away with five more books which I have added to the march Buys. Once Karen was home we had a pot of tea before she got changed out of her work gear and then we had a bite to eat before settling down to watch some TV.

Sunday was a miserable day with the weather, after we had breakfast we had to pop into Wakefield and Karen quickly got what she required and once home we had a pot of tea and then I peeled the vegetables and Karen put the Chicken in the oven. Once this was done I put some music on and while listening I read and Karen continued with her knitting. We had a nice lunch mid afternoon before continuing reading and knitting.

It has not been a bad day today, once up and about we had breakfast before I went to the neighbouring village to post a parcel back to Amazon, another darn Bluetooth Transmitter that wouldn't do what we wanted it to do. We have given up now and will get a small DAB Radio for the kitchen instead. Once back from the Post Office we had a pot of tea or two before having lunch and then it was time for me to take Karen to work. Once back home I have spent the time reading, sorting some books out and generally pottering about.

It looks like we are going to have to batten down the hatches as bad weather is due from first thing tomorrow morning, very heavy rain for most of the day followed by high winds up to 80 mph for most of Wednesday and then it looks like rain right through to the end of next weekend.

I am hoping it is not too bad on Thursday as we want to go out into the Yorkshire Dales to visit Grassington and the Stripey Badger bookshop and then wander around the Dales, I think we will have to see what it looks like when we get up on Thursday morning.

Karen has to go to the Harrogate Asda on Friday to help them out as they are short staffed due to six drivers jumping ship to another firm nearby. I thought I was going to have to take her and if so I would have done the weekly shopping at this store but transport is being provided for her and a colleague.

Finished book 19 in the late afternoon, The Payback by Simon Kernick. This is the last in the Dennis Milne Trilogy, Dennis Milne was a Metropolitan Police officer until he went rogue, since then he has been living around South-East Asia apart from a brief visit back to the UK to avenge the death of a colleague.

Dennis Milne is a former cop and part-time assassin. He kills the bad guys - people who, in his opinion, deserve to die. Now he's in Manila, waiting for his next target: a young woman who's made some deadly enemies.

DI Tina Boyd is in Manila hunting down the man responsible for the death of her lover. She knows he's dangerous. She knows he's ruthless. But she's determined to bring him to justice - even if it kills her.

Two cops with pasts that haunt them - and a present that could see them both dead.

They are about to meet.

And when they do, it's payback time.

I really, really enjoyed this and as it has taken me less than 48 hours, it shows. I could not put it down, the pace was relenting and I just had to read and read.

The weather has been as forecast, we had heavy rain throughout the night and right through to about 1.30pm, at this point it stopped and the sun made an appearance. The rest of the afternoon was sunny but cool and then around 6.30pm the winds started to pick up and currently it is quite windy with the full force to come through tonight and into tomorrow.

We had an inadvertent lie-in this morning, as usual I sleep in the spare bed on a Monday night to make sure Karen has a good nights sleep after her Monday shift and before she has her long shift of the week on a Tuesday. As normal I turn my alarm off and the clock to dimmed so as not to disturb Karen, last night she failed to alter her alarm and instead of getting up at 7.30am, it was 8am when we got up. I know in the scale of things 30 minutes is not much but Karen does like to have a reasonable amount of time up and about when she has to set off to work at 11.30am.

We got washed and dressed quickly and came downstairs for a pot of tea and we had our meds, more importantly for Karen she had her Omeprazole which she has to have 30 minutes before she eats. Once we had finished our tea, Karen went up to wash her hair and I had my breakfast.

Once Karen had washed and dried her hair she came down and had something to eat and then we watched the first episode of the new Mary Berry cookery programme and then watched Homes under the Hammer. After another pot of tea it was time to take Karen to work. I dropped Karen off and then made my way home.

Once home I made a pot of tea and then flicked through the new Radio Times listings magazine that came in the post, after this I picked up my book and read whilst listening to Politics live in the background. I continued reading along with another pot of tea whilst the lunchtime news was on and then the local news. I set the DVD up to record a couple of programmes for Karen and then made another pot of tea and read some more. I was left with 57 pages when I decided it was time to go and do the upstairs housework.

I had a quick shave and a shower and then did the bedrooms and then cleaned the bathroom before going back downstairs to make a pot of tea and make myself some sandwiches. After I had eaten I picked up my book and didn't out it down until I had finished, I really, really enjoyed it. I did my books stats and then made a pot of tea and id the main book stats in the book bible and took my book notes onto record cards.

I filed the cards and updated the individual author files and then selected my next book before coming back downstairs and having a pot of tea and watching the news. Once the main news had finished I microwaved my Prawn Linguine and ate that while watching the news special about the latest Brexit vote, as expected Prime Minister May lost with a sizeable majority so now I have no idea what is going to happen about whether we will leave the EU on March 29th as planned.

>106 johnsimpson: What's the name of the Mary Berry show? I really like her style as a cooking show host. A friend gave me a cookbook last year and I have enjoyed the recipes.

Hope all is well! The US has its own issues but the UK really is in something of a pickle isn't it?

>107 witchyrichy:, Hi Karen my dear, the new Mary Berry show is Mary Berry's Quick Cooking, we all love 'Dame' Mary, the first episode showed her in Italy being taken around on a scooter, next week she is attending a music festival for the first time and Rick Astley helps her out.

Sadly the Great British Bake Off is not the same without Mary, Sue and Mel but we still watch it, Karen uses many of her cookbooks including Mary's and then she adds her own bits, the results are 99% successful and I am not complaining.

We are both well my dear and have Hannah for a few hours today. I agree that the US has its own problems but we are a close second I think. Tonight's votes have added to the confusion, what will happen in sixteen days time is anyone's guess at the moment. I must admit that we voted to stay but leave was the result and I will abide by the decision, the biggest problem is that when we had the referendum, both sides told lies and now things are coming home to roost. It could be ok after a rough few months or it could all go pear shaped, no one has any idea of what the problems may be, at the moment panic is setting in about travel within the EU at the moment and people are being urged to renew passports before the 29th but no solid reason has been given. We had to renew ours a few weeks ago as they naturally ran out at the end of February so we have got ours and will be ok.

Sending love and hugs dear friend.

A very steady day for us, with the weather being as it is we decided not to go off today and hope that it will be better weather next week. After a pot of tea in bed we got up, washed and dressed before coming downstairs to get our meds out and make a pot of tea and have breakfast. Whilst the kettle was boiling Karen set a dark load of washing going and once that was done I was mashing the tea.

We had our meds and had breakfast and by then the washer had finished so the washing was out on the airers before we set off to the Aldi in Featherstone. Once at the Aldi Karen went in to get the bits we needed and I stayed in the car and read. Karen came back to the car with the shopping and then popped next door to the B&M store to pick up two items, once this was done we made our way back home.

Once home we unpacked and put the shopping away before having a pot of tea and we watched the Politics show before watching the lunchtime news. Another pot of tea was made and I read while Karen continued knitting Chickens for the Hospice. Karen put our pies in the oven and while waiting for them to be cooked we watched Escape to the Country, towards the end of the programme our lunch was ready and we had it whilst watching the end of the programme.

Once we had eaten we watched a bit more TV and Karen continued knitting, I read a bit more and then played Freecell on my phone.

The weather has been so changeable all day with heavy showers, high wind and sunny spells, at least we were nice and warm inside. We have had a nice relaxing late afternoon and early evening, we had some homemade Apple and Blackberry pie with ice cream before Karen resumed knitting and I fired up the laptop to come on here.

>109 johnsimpson: We hosted the faculty book club today in the library. Before Alison left for lunch we decided we needed to serve pie on Pi Day so she took some of my money and hers. Since we're doing the Gothic genre this semester, we decided chocolate was the most Gothic pie so that's what she picked up.

Hi, John!

Your staying in the car while Karen does the shopping sounds like Tomm and me - he always wants to stay in the car! Ha!

Hi John!

Just a quick hello here, it seems like things are perking along nicely for you and Karen.

Sending love and hugs to you both!

Hi, John. Debbi LOVES the Great British Bake-Off, and is just finishing watching them a second time through. I alerted her to Mary Berry’s new show - not sure when we’ll get it this side of the pond.

>110 thornton37814:, Nice Lori my dear.

>111 scaifea:, Hi Amber my dear, I only stay in the car when we do the Aldi shop as I do the few bits in Asda after I have dropped Karen at work and it gives me a bit more reading time.

>112 karenmarie:, Hi Karen my dear, things are not too bad for both of us at the present time.

>113 jnwelch:, Hi Joe, I'm glad Debbi likes the GBBO and I think she will like the Mary Berry cookery programmes and hope you will get them soon.

The last couple of days have been busy and varied. On Friday we were up early as Karen had to be at work for 7.45am to meet up with Lucy and another colleague as they were going to the Harrogate store to help them out. Once I had dropped Karen off I went into the store and did the bit of shopping we needed, once done I made my way home and everything was unpacked and put away by 9am. Once all this was done I made a pot of tea and then had some breakfast before doing a bit if reading.

I was a bit sore as I had pains in my shoulders and neck so after awhile I went upstairs to lay on the bed with Karen's neck pillow to continue reading and I finished my book. After a pot of tea or two I began to feel better and after watching the Politics programme and the lunchtime news and then setting up the DVD recorder to record a few programmes I got on with the downstairs housework. Once the housework was done I made myself some sandwiches and a pot of tea. Karen messaged me to say they were setting back from Harrogate at 3.45pm and she would message me when they were nearer to the store.

By the time Karen messaged me the neck and shoulder pains had started again, I made Karen a pot of tea in the travel mug and went to pick Karen up. Once home I made a pot of tea and Karen had a look at me and told me to go for a lie down until tea was ready. Karen gave me a shout and I came downstairs gingerly as not only was the pain still with me but I felt a bit under the weather. I barely ate much before Karen packed me back to bed and brought me a pot of tea. I had selected another book but couldn't really be bothered to read. Karen brought me another drink of tea and just before 10pm I came downstairs to put my phone on charge and I felt a little better. When Karen followed me up to bed not long after I felt like reading and got to within 50 pages of finishing that one.

On Saturday morning I didn't feel too bad, we had a pot of tea in bed before getting up. Once downstairs we got our meds and vitamins out and I made a pot of tea before we had some breakfast. We had time to watch a bit of James Martin's Saturday kitchen and have another pot of tea before I took Karen into work for 11am. The weather was mixed with mainly rain with an occasional flash of sunshine. I dropped Karen off and popped into store and picked up my Saturday copy of the Yorkshire Post before quickly popping into Wakefield to do some banking. Once the banking was done I made my way home.

Once home I made a pot of tea before reading and an hour or so later I had finished another book, I selected my next book before making myself some sandwiches for a late lunch and then watched a bit of the Rugby Union International. I had another pot of tea whilst watching the Final Score programme and then made a pot of tea for Karen in the travel mug and then went to pick her up from work. Once home we had another pot of tea and I read while Karen did a bit of knitting, we had another pot of tea and then went and got ready to go out. We had been invited to our neighbour Catherine's 60th birthday party at the Sports and Social club.

We had to put our big coats on to walk the short distance to the club as it was still windy and luckily the rain had stopped. We had a really good night and Alan and Teresa joined us, they had our house before us and we haven't seen them for a while. We ended up being just about the last ones out apart from Catherine and the family as they were tidying up the food remains. We had had a few alcoholic drinks and I was a tad wobbly but still managed to make us both a pot of tea and take it upstairs although I wasn't in a fit state to read.

We awoke with the alarm at 8.30am this morning, I felt a bit stiff around my shoulders and neck but I was fit enough to go and make us a pot of tea to enjoy in bed. It was 9.30am when we got up, washed and dressed before coming downstairs. While I got our meds and vitamins out and make a pot of tea, Karen set a load of washing going before toasting Crumpets for our breakfast.

Once we had eaten we popped out to the Aldi store in Featherstone as Karen had a couple of items to take back and wanted a couple of things for our lunch. Once these were bought we made our way back home and once home I emptied the dishwasher while Karen put the washing on the airers. Once this was done we had a pot of tea and Karen did some knitting and I read. After about an hour we prepared the vegetables and Karen seared the mince before everything was put into the slow cooker.

We spent the rest of the afternoon reading and knitting before we had a late lunch.

Finished Book 20 on Friday morning, The Burning Girl by Mark Billingham. This is the fourth in the DI Tom Thorne Series.

X marks the spot, and when that spot is a corpse's naked back and the X is carved in blood, DI Tom Thorne is in no doubt that the dead man is the latest victim of a particularly vicious killer.

A brutal turf war between North London gangs is being played out. Organised crime boss Billy Ryan is moving into someone else's patch, and that someone is not best pleased.

And when an X is carved on DI Tom Thorne's front door, he knows the smouldering embers of this case are about to erupt into flames...

I really enjoyed this book and just kept reading and reading, the last two books have both been good and have been completed very quickly.

Finished Book 21 on Saturday afternoon, Fatty O'Leary's Dinner Party by Alexander McCall Smith. This is a lovely gentle read and quite enjoyable.

It takes a lot to get under the skin of Cornelius 'Fatty' O'Leary, but then there is a lot of skin to get under.

The heroically proportioned Fatty can normally take life as it comes. Right at home in easy-going Fayetteville, Arkansas, he is happily married to his childhood sweetheart Betty, and likes nothing better than the company of good friends Tubby O'Rourke and Porky Flanagan.

But when Fatty and Betty head off to Ireland on the trip of a lifetime, they find that they have left their comfort zone far behind. Calamity and mayhem ensue as one mishap after another befalls the beleaguered couple.

Can Fatty's broad shoulders take the strain or will he suffer one indignity too many? Will he get his just deserts, or just desserts?

Glad you finished two books over the weekend in spite of your stiffness and pain. Hope you are feeling better this week.

>122 thornton37814:, Hi Lori my dear, I seem to have been on a roll completing books over the last week or so and should finish another tomorrow. I was a bit tender yesterday but that was probably due to the seats we were sat on at the 60th birthday party and then because I had had a few to drink, I forgot to take a tablet before going to bed.

Today it wasn't too bad but then sorting and moving some heavy books this afternoon has not helped and I am a bit tender but my Fentanyl patches are due to be changed tonight.

Finished Book 22 this afternoon, The Broker by John Grisham. In his final hours in the Oval Office the outgoing President grants a controversial last-minute pardon to Joel Backman, a notorious Washington Power broker who has spent the last six years hidden away in a federal prison. What no one knows is that the president issues the pardon only after receiving enormous pressure from the CIA. It seems that Backman, in his power broker heyday, may have obtained secrets that compromise the world's most sophisticated satellite surveillance system.

Backman is quietly smuggled out of the country in a military cargo plane, given a new name, a new identity, and a new home in Italy. Eventually, after he has settled into his new life, the CIA will leak his whereabouts to the Israelis, the Russians, the Chinese and the Saudis. Then the CIA will do what it does best: sit back and watch. The question is not whether Backman will survive - there's no chance of that. The question the CIA needs answered is, who will kill him?

Another enjoyable read from Mr Grisham, ready for another and another.

Yesterday was a really good day and I got quite a bit done. We were up with the alarm so that we could have our meds and vitamins, a pot of tea and some breakfast before taking Karen to the doctor's for her annual blood test. It didn't take long for Karen to be called in and a sample of her blood taken. Once this was done we made our way home and had a pot of tea and Karen boiled a couple of eggs for her break at work.

After an hour or so reading and knitting while listening to Ken Bruce on Radio Two it was time to take Karen to work. Karen was in for 12 noon rather than 2pm so that she could finish at 5pm on Tuesday and then she is off until next Monday. After dropping Karen off I made my way home in the rain. Once home I made a pot of tea and read while listening to the Politics live and then the lunchtime news and local news. Once the news programmes had finished I set up the DVD player to record programmes for Karen and then I went and made a pot of tea before going upstairs to sort out my Cricket books. I began with the books in the little bedroom and the first lot of books just stacked in the loft near the hatch. I noted down the book title and author and whether hard or paperback. After noting down the first lot of books I needed another pot of tea and a smoke.

By this time the rain had stopped and the sun was out and it was quite warm for the time of year. I made my pot of tea and then did a bit of weeding in all the pots and planters. After washing my hands I made another pot of tea and read for 30 minutes before going back upstairs to finish off the books. I had to go into the loft numerous times to bring the books down from the bottom shelf and then take them into our bedroom so that I was more comfortable noting everything down. It was just before 6pm when I had finished and found that I have 405 cricket books, luckily I had the Wisdens, Playfairs and Yorkshire Yearbooks already done as they are noted down by year and contributed 194 to the overall total.

After washing my hands again I made a pot of tea and then made myself something to eat. After I had finished eating I fired up the laptop and came on here, I checked the threads and then started adding books to my library in here, more have to be done and will take me a few more days.

Hi John. I just got my latest INDIEspensable shipment and along with a book they included a fountain pen (!) and I immediately thought of you! It is not a super high quality one, made of plastic by ooly. Still. : )

>126 Berly:, Hi Kim my dear, glad your shipment arrived and including a fountain pen, wow. Nice of you to think about me via the fountain pen dear friend, sending love and hugs to you and the family.

Just curious, John. How many fountain pens do you own?

Hi John! Sounds like you are keeping busy :)

I have been largely absent from the threads for the last two weeks. Work has been hectic and the week off for the college Spring Break went by so fast I didn't have much time to enjoy it.

After 26 years of driving back and forth from Kansas to Alabama I finally stopped at the National Quilt Museum in Paducha, Kentucky. This was a disappointment because I really wanted to see pieced quilts and what the museum has the most of is appliqué and art wall hangings.

I spent the night in St. Louis, Missouri and got lots read in my book. An early start the next morning on my way to Kansas left me with enough time to stop at a quilt shop in Columbia, Missouri. For a smaller city there are a large number of quilting stores in the town, and I always manage to buy something there. This time I picked up some quilt patterns and plastic templates for my sister's birthday.

I then spent four days with my mother in our hometown in Kansas. I am going to have to start preparing my sister for the fact that our mother will not be able to live by herself much longer. She is not eating properly. She doesn't like to cook for herself and as a result is getting weak. We are going to have to think about some kind of assisted living for her.

Then it was back to Alabama and the daily grind of work.

Except for us visitors it's kinda quite around here - I hope you and Karen are doing well, John.

>128 thornton37814:, Hi Lori my dear, I have around 80 Fountain pens with about 12 always inked, I have a few more coming in the post. Karen was ordering something from Amazon and added a Jinhao pen to get free postage, a few days later she got a voucher from Amazon to spend as we have had an issue with a supplier on the site and they did this as a bit of goodwill, Karen was pleasantly surprised with this. With the voucher she ordered a small item that she has been tracking and then it gave her some things she had previously looked at with big discounts on them so she checked with me and the deal was really good so she ordered a 12 pack of Jinhao shark fountain pens in different colours and a Moonman M2, they should come in another two weeks from China. When she checked the price they had another reduction, the 12 pens set was £4.20 and the best price at UK online pen sites is £2.99 each. When they come I will have to order some Diamine ink in colours that match each pen and then I will know what colour each pen is inked in.

>129 ChelleBearss:, Hi Chelle my dear, we are keeping busy and the last few days have been good as Karen has been off so we have made the best of the time together. All this has kept me off LT due to tiredness and sorting my Cricket Books out so I can catalogue them on here and in my Cricket Memorabilia notebook so that I don't duplicate any books as I do with my Fiction notebooks.

>130 benitastrnad:, Hi Benita my dear, it sounds like you have been very busy over the last two weeks but what a disappointment at the National Quilt Museum my dear. So sorry to hear about your mom my dear, it is always sad when our parents start to decline and we worry about them living on their own. I hope that you have a good discussion with your sister and get the right place for your mom.

>131 quondame:, Hi Susan my dear, the last few days have been good and we have been busy as Karen has been off. We have been off and then had things to do and along with sorting out my Cricket book collection it has limited my time to come on here but I am back now with lots to do. I will post what we have been up to shortly.

I have been absent since Tuesday, this has been due to a mix of sorting my Cricket book collection out and the fact that Karen has been off since Tuesday evening and we have made the most of the time together.

Wednesday: After breakfast we set off to Ikea at the Birstall Retail Park as we needed some breakfast bowls and to check on a small table for the spare bedroom. Sadly the design of the bowls has changed so we only bought two, we saw a nice small unit that covers two bases for us, it will take the Printer and the shelves will hold books, result, ha ha and then on the way to the checkout Karen spotted some Orchids and she picked one up along with a Bath mat. Once we were done at Ikea we made our way home calling in at the Aldi at Snowhill to do our shopping.

Once the shopping was done we made our way home and unpacked and put it all away and then had some lunch before it was time for me to go and collect Hannah from school. We had Hannah for a few hours before I took her home and after dropping Hannah home I called in to the Supermarket to put some Diesel in the car ready for our trip out on Thursday.

Thursday: we got up with the alarm and got washed, dressed and then came down to have our meds and breakfast before setting off to Grassington in the Yorkshire Dales. We had a lovely drive once we were North of Leeds and took the route via Bolton Abbey and Burnsall, once through Burnsall the roads narrowed with each side boarded by dry stone walls. We soon arrived in Grassington and parked up and then made our way into the village, the main port of call was the Stripey Badger Bookshop and Café.

We were thirsty and so went into the café for a coffee and some Lemon Curd sponge, after finishing our drinks we chatted with the two girls serving and then wandered next door to the bookshop. The young man on duty was very nice and informative and the family dog was gorgeous, he is a Border Terrier called Raps and he has his own spot in the bookshop. After chatting with the young man we perused the books and purchased two books, paid for our coffee and cake and a jar of Passionfruit Curd. We said goodbye and will call again when we are next in the area.

On leaving the bookshop we wandered around the village calling into a secondhand bookshop where I purchased just one book and then we continued wandering about. We next visited a craft shop where everything is in wood and Karen spotted a small duck which will go with the two we have on the fireplace, Geoff and Chrissie. We had a good wander around and then made our way back to the car. We decided to go onto Settle and so left Grassington but sadly I headed in the wrong direction and so once I realised this I turned around. We drove through some lovely scenery with the roads narrowing again with dry stone walls to cope with. As we got back on track Karen checked the time and said we would be better going into Skipton so that we could eat as she was feeling hungry and needed to eat.

We parked up in Skipton and headed to the Red Lion pub for some food, after a good helping of Fish, Chips and Mushy peas we paid and left to wander around Skipton. I visited the Oxfam bookshop and came out with a Cricket Book while Karen was getting something for our tea. We had thought to give Karen's friend Janet a phone call but decided against as we thought Thursday was one of the days she worked and that she wouldn't want visitors. We found out later that Janet has retired and she was in Skipton shopping and WE should have rung her and she has told us to call next time we are visiting nearby so we can have a catch up.

We left Skipton and made our way home calling in at the Asda store as Karen had a package to pick up, once home we had a pot of tea and then something to eat. We were a bit tired and watched a couple of programmes, I was going to fire up the laptop but when I checked the time I realised it wasn't worth it as we would be going to bed not long after.

Friday: we awoke with the alarm and I went and made us a pot of tea to have in bed, once we had finished our tea we got up, washed and dressed and then came downstairs to have our meds and breakfast. Once we had eaten and finished another cup of tea I went to collect Karen's prescriptions and while I was out Karen ironed. Once back I made us a pot of tea before we caught up with a couple of programmes that I had recorded. We had some lunch and then I did the downstairs housework while Karen cleaned the kitchen.

Once the housework was done we had a pot of tea and then caught up with some more programmes we had recorded along with another pot of tea or two. We had something to eat before watching the news and then I changed channels to watch an old episode of Top of the Pops. Following TOTP there was a programme about Kenny Rogers which although we hadn't intended to watch we thoroughly enjoyed. Once this had finished we turned the TV off and put the radio on and enjoyed some good music. I was feeling very relaxed and forgot to fire up the laptop again but did some Cricket book notes.

Saturday: We were up with the alarm as Karen was going into Leeds on the train to meet up with Amy for a girly day. We quickly got washed and dressed and came down and had breakfast and our meds and then Karen realised she could get the earlier train. I took Karen down to the station at Sandal and Agbrigg and she got her ticket and a few minutes later her train arrived, I waved Karen off and made my way back to the car.

I left the station and decided to go up to Ripon and see if the fountain pen we spotted last time we were there was still available. I got parked up in Ripon at about 10.30am and had a wander around, I went into the store where we saw the pen and spotted it, I had a look at it through the glass and then left it. I left the store and had a wander around and found the newly extended Little Ripon Bookshop. I had a look around but came away empty handed, I wandered around and headed back to the store with the pen and then moved on. After a bit of humming and ahh-ing I went to see what deal he would give me. With all my dithering I wished I had left it on one hand but I went in and asked what he would take for it, it was marked at £54 and he countered with £48, I shot back with £45 and the deal was done. I made my way back to the car after getting my Saturday copy of the Yorkshire Post and then headed home.

I arrived home just after 12.30pm and made myself a pot of tea and then looked at the pen, I should have had a better look. The pen body is immaculate and the nib is perfect BUT the button fill button was rusty and the barrel to hold the ink inside was shot. I can get it repaired for a reasonable cost from my good friend Nick but that will cost another £20, it will be worth it as it is a fairly rare pen from and Italian manufacturer with a US website wanting $250 for the same pen. I have learnt my lesson with this as I would have tried to knock him down to £30 at best or I would have walked away. I was going to leave it and call in at the Antique fair at Wetherby Racecourse on my way back, that would have cost me £4 entrance fee and I would probably have seen Nick and possibly got a pen from him, if I had I would have had a fully working pen. I will treasure the 'Corona' pen when it is fully working and I will enjoy it but I need to check next time, I usually do but because I wanted this one I didn't check as I normally do.

After my pot of tea I went outside to have a look at dismantling the old wooden greenhouse, I potted about and got four panes of glass out intact and took the door off and got the glass out. I cleaned myself up and made myself something to eat. After I had eaten and had a drink I read for a short time before going back outside to take some more glass out. I got two more large panes out before deciding I needed another pair of hands to help me as I need one of the last three large panes of glass for the rear garage window. I cleaned myself up again and had just put the kettle on to make a drink when Karen rang to say she was getting the next train back home. I looked at the time and realised I didn't have enough time for a pot of tea, I got another pot out and put a teabag in so that I could make us both a drink once I had picked Karen up.

I went to collect Karen and once home made us a pot of tea, told Karen what had happened and she just laughed and said I always call when you are making a pot of tea or when you have just made one. We had another drink after the initial one and then Karen made us something to eat. We ended up watching Pointless, the good the bad and the bloopers before watching All Together Now. After that there was nothing on TV so I put the radio on and we listened to the Rock Show and then a Country Music show, we were both yawning by the time it had finished so we went to bed, reading for only a short time, so again I failed to fire up the laptop.

Today has been a nice steady day for both of us, the alarm went off at 8.30am as we needed a lie-in and I went and made us a pot of tea. Once this was finished we got up, washed and dressed and came downstairs to have our meds and breakfast. Once we had finished our breakfast we watched a cookery programme before Karen decided to make an Eve pudding but instead of using Apples we used some frozen Blackberries.

While Karen was making this pudding I got the vegetables out and peeled them ready for our late lunch, Karen put the Pork medallions in the oven along with the Chicken Curry that she had done. Once the meat was cooked and the veg cooked we had lunch and she put the Eve pudding in the oven. While the pudding cooked we caught up with more programmes we have recorded before having some pudding.

Karen did some more knitting of Chickens and Rabbits for Easter and we watched TV as we are doing now, I decided to fire up the laptop a short time ago and check up on everything I have missed over the last few days.

Hi John. Sorry to read about the difficulties with the fountain pen that you just purchased. I'm glad your days have been mainly steady. Dave spent his 5 days off repairing a plumbing problem at our place. He's exhausted by that ,and now is back to work on Monday. Love and hugs to you and Karen and the best the next week!

>139 vancouverdeb:, Hi Deborah my dear, the pen will come good in time but I need to take note of this lesson and fully check a pen out next time. I think I was swayed when I found out a bit of information about the make once we got home after visiting Ripon and seeing it as I normally do have a look at the filling system, I did check the nib and the body but not the all important bits.

It sounds like Dave could have done with a rest never mind going back to work after a five day plumbing repair, bless him. Apart from the plumbing issues I hope that you both had a good weekend and send love and hugs to you both from both of us dear friend.

It has been a good day today. We were up with the larks this morning as Karen had changed her shift from 2pm - 10pm to 8am until 3.30pm as she had an appointment at the Oral Surgery clinic at the hospital. Once we were up, washed and dressed we had a pot of tea and Karen had something to eat and then it was time to take her to work. After dropping Karen off I made my way back home and made a pot of tea and had my cereal. After finishing my breakfast off I read for a short while before getting on with the main job of the day.

After putting my book down I went outside and got some tools out and proceeded to take the rest of the greenhouse down, taking my time to make sure I got the glass out intact I gradually took it down a side at a time. The main pane of glass I wanted remained intact and I got a bonus as the four angled glass panes from the front and rear sections will also fit my requirements, five pieces to go at to get the piece I need for the rear garage window. One large pane cracked and one of the small triangular pieces cracked but overall I was pleased with how things went.

I tidied everything up and the old timber is ready for the recycle centre tomorrow and hopefully I will get the glass cut and put into place, once the window is done I will then take the glass to the recycle centre. I cleaned myself up and made a nice pot of tea and relaxed for 30 minutes with my book. Once I had finished my tea I took my repeat prescription to the doctors and called into the pharmacy so they could take our details down from our pre-paid prescription cards. Once this was all done I made my way home and a well earned pot of tea and watched the news.

Once the news was over I set the DVD recorder up for a couple of programmes this afternoon and then I made myself some sandwiches and a pot of tea. Once I had finished my lunch I went back outside and took out the old rotary airer and put the new one in the ground about a foot away from the old one. While in the garage Karen rang me from work to remind me I was picking her up at 3.30pm for her 4pm appointment. I had time for a pot of tea and then made one for Karen in the travel mug. I picked Karen up at 3.30pm and we made our way to the hospital, I dropped Karen off at the main entrance and then went and got parked up. I got my 20 minute free ticket and sat and read until Karen rang to say she was near the entrance and I went and collected her and then we made our way home.

Once home we had a pot of tea and then had another before Karen warmed up the two Sunday lunches for our tea, we watched the news before watching a bit of TV and then Karen warmed up the remaining bowl of pudding from yesterday for me. The rest of the evening has been restful with Karen knitting more chickens and I fired up the laptop to come on here.

Hi - I just read my first Miss Read book which has one of the first mentions of Cricket in a children's book, Tales from a Village School.

Wonder if that was one of YOUR early ones?

>142 m.belljackson:, Hi Marianne, sadly no mention of Cricket in the books I read in my early years, My Dad took me up to the village Cricket field on match days and that was my first bit of Cricket I saw and Auntie Flo would always give me a bottle of Pop and a bag of Crisps. My love affair with Cricket began in 1971, as a Seven year-old I watched England Play Pakistan in a Three Test Series on TV and then watched the John Player Sunday League on TV and then England played India in a Three Test Series. My Dad bought me my first Playfair Cricket Annual and I have loved Cricket ever since, I now have all 71 editions of the Playfair Cricket Annual with this years edition due out in 14 days time. I have 58 Wisden Cricketers Almanack and 65 Yorkshire Cricket Club Yearbooks and then add to this 213 other Cricket books, I am a Cricket Nut.

I have learnt today that I am not cut out to be a Glazier, I have managed to put glass into the frame I made at the back of the garage but it was a good job I had a few panes to work with. I was on the third pane of glass with the Diamond glass cutter when it all worked out.

>143 johnsimpson:

Auntie Flo and your Dad both sound like gems.

Maybe Auntie Flo read Miss Read too!

Though Baseball is as close as we came to Cricket, I enjoyed Miss Read's entire chapter on the sport as played at her school.

For me, as a retired 4th grade teacher in the U.S., a true highlight of this first Village book was reading about
the incredible FREEDOM that teachers had back then Just To Teach. I wonder if it is the same in England now.

(Here, it is astronomical amounts of Daily, hour-by-hour, Lesson Plans,
Testing and More Testing, arriving very early and staying very late,
Nightly Homework contacts with each family,
Endless involvement with computers and now tablets and keeping up with All That,
as well as with Reading, Writing, Math, Social Studies, Field Trips, Science...)

Miss Read's life -
except for having to be in that hot school for ALL of July - only a 5 week summer break back then -
sounds a whole lot healthier and more relaxing all around!

I need to set aside a time in the next few years to re-read the Miss Read books. I really loved them when I stumbled across them in the 90s. I loved both the Fairacre and Thrush Green series. Perhaps I'll even purchase Kindle versions (assuming they exist).

>145 m.belljackson:, Hi Marianne, Mum and Dad were great and sadly I lost them too soon but Dad was always interested in sport and it rubbed off on me. He played amateur Rugby League and I played it at Junior school before having to change to Rugby Union at Grammar school. I joined Old Sharlston Cricket Club in 1975 and played for five seasons before a bit of a fallout with the first team captain after splitting up with his daughter and I had just started work and found girls and drink, lol. I played amateur cricket for Walton a year after getting married and only stopped when work commitments with West Yorkshire Police gave me little time off and that needed to be spent with Karen and our two babies.

Auntie Flo was an amazing lady, she gathered together a fine group of ladies who did the Cricket teas and raised funds for the club and her family are an OSCC dynasty, her husband played for the club, son Eric played for the club for 50 years and is club president and his son Jason has played for 30 years and his son, Oscar is a future OSCC player.

Sadly Marianne, teaching here is just the same as in the States, I helped out listening to children read at a nearby junior school for nine years until I quit to look after Karen's Dad when he had his stroke. I was also a Governor at our local High school, now called an Academy, for sixteen years and only quit that because of the state of how education and the direction the school are going in.

Oh for the days of teaching in Miss Read's day and the schooling I had, I remember fondly the two teachers who inspired my love of reading, Miss Beaumont and Mrs Dews along with the old chap who ran our village library which was only open for two hours on a Tuesday and Thursday evening.

>146 thornton37814:, Hi Lori my dear, Karen has read just about all of the Miss Read books and just loves them.

Unfortunately the exertions of Monday and Tuesday, of which I didn't think I had done too much, have caused me a lot of pain. When I went to pick Karen up from work last night I was struggling and 30 minutes after getting home we went up to bed and everything ached from fingertips to my toes. I decided to sleep in the spare bed to make sure Karen had a good nights sleep and so that I could try and get comfortable. When I awoke this morning I was still struggling but just about managed to go and make us a pot of tea to have in bed.

The day has been steady and I have done virtually nothing apart from picking Hannah up although Rob did come to collect her as by then I was in quite a lot of pain. The weather changed today and it has to get progressively cooler over the next week which is not helping. I feel so frustrated in that what are small jobs that I di at a steady pace can cause me such damage, it is a catch 22 situation, the jobs need doing, they are not really jobs you would get someone in to do and if their were someone to do them I cannot afford to do that. Although I have been suffering the back problem since 1991 and it gets a little bit worse each year, I am only 55, 56 in July and these are what I would term as nothing jobs, just routine maintenance and yet some of them can cause me so much pain. I am trying not to get down too much as this does not help, I feel bad enough that it is Karen who goes out to work although I do the household jobs.

I am a bit old school where I believe I should be the breadwinner, I am all for women going to work and having careers but in my head I am not pulling my weight, Karen has told me not to be silly and we have just changed roles. Approaching 35 years of married life we have certainly followed the vows of in sickness and health and for richer or poorer and we still love each other as if we had first met.

I will be fine when the sun comes out on a regular basis and the temperature rises, I just need to get through the next few weeks, hopefully pain free as I still have some work to do to get things as we want them and there isn't really much Karen can do, nor can either Rob or Amy and they have their own homes to keep up to.

Sorry if this seems like a moan but at the moment this is how things are with me at the present time, at least I have my books and need to keep up with Karen, lol.

I'm sorry to hear about your chronic back pain, John. I pray that things improve for you soon. It's great that Karen is so supportive and caring...and a great cook!

>149 johnsimpson:

Likely you have tried everything - most recently, my daughter has been helped by a new chiropractor who uses more alternative methods
and by acupuncture and wearing a neck brace when she drives.

>150 kidzdoc:, Hi Darryl, the back pain is a damn nuisance but I am used to it after all these years but it does leave me frustrated at times. Karen and the kids have been great about things over the years and everything I do is for them, they never moaned when friends were doing things that we couldn't afford or they had the latest devices etc and I am super proud of them and Karen is my rock and soulmate.

I see some folk who at the first sign of problems are ready to call time on their marriage but we have just got on with things, I have changed jobs to try and better our lot and it has not always paid off, the only time period with work that should not have happened was when leaving the mining industry three years before I would have had no choice about it and joining the NHS, that 21 month period was horrible but you have to learn from these things.

The saving grace is Karen, my wife, my mistress, my friend and the best thing that happened in my life and she is a fantastic cook.

The weather will get better and that will ease things and we are going to Madeira to celebrate our 35th wedding anniversary in July, there are a lot of people in this world a lot worse off than me and don't have a fantastic lady like Karen and my two kids in their life, I am a very lucky and blessed man.

>151 m.belljackson:, Hi Marianne, over the years I have tried everything that has been offered to me, some of it I have paid for myself but most of it is down to being tall, I am 6' 4" and worked in the mining industry in an old mine with small coal faces and roadways and have got into spaces that I really shouldn't have or in tall spaces I was used and did things to get the job done which I shouldn't have. Sadly the pain has progressed up to my neck and shoulders and down my left leg into my foot and age is not helping me either.

I hope your daughter has been helped and is not suffering too much pain, it just gets to me sometimes and then other things crawl into my head and I feel down for a few days and then bounce back. I get up every morning and it is a new day and I just get on with it as best as I can and as long as Karen is not stressed and the kids are as happy as they can be then I am a happy bunny and I have my books. I am not sure if you are aware of my targets, initially it was to read 1,000 books and reach 1,000,000 pages read. The 1,000 books has been reached and now onwards to 1,500 books read and then 2,000 books and I am at around 523,000 pages read so a bit more to go yet. I am determined to hit this target and that also keeps me going, I am a bit of a stat freak, just ask others on the group, lol.

Sending love and hugs dear friend.

It has not been a bad for the pair of us, we awoke with the alarm and I went and made us a pot of tea to enjoy in bed. Once we had finished our tea we got up, washed and dressed and came downstairs to get our meds and vitamins out and make a fresh pot of tea and have our breakfast. Karen set a load of washing going and once it had finished I hung it outside as it has been a really sunny and warn day.

With the washing hung out and breakfast finished, Karen went upstairs to wash her hair and I went to collect my meds and then call into the car dealership to apologise for failing to take my car for its MOT test on Tuesday and then re-book a new date. Once these two things were done I called into the garden centre on the way back to pick up some nest boxes for the Robins and another for other birds and some sandpaper.

By the time I got back home Karen had started baking, she made Chocolate Brownies with small Chocolate eggs to decorate the top. I made us both a drink and we watched Politics live while having our drink and then Karen decided to sandpaper the top of the small side table that she damaged with nail varnish remover. This meant I had to get off my backside and go into the garage to find either some stain or some varnish, what I did find was four small tins of hardened stain and varnish but the tin of yacht varnish was ok. Karen varnished the area she had cleaned off and then on further inspection she got me to varnish the whole of the table top, it looks good now.

When all this was done we had a pot of tea and watched last nights episode of Britain in Bloom before Karen made some sandwiches for lunch and we watched Escape to the Country and then Money for Nothing. When the programmes had finished I went upstairs to measure the small gap at the side of the bookcases in the little bedroom and then I measured up the space for the shelving I am going to make to store my Wisdens and hopefully the Playfair Cricket Annuals.

When the post came I had a nice surprise, the Jinhao x750 fountain pen that Karen added to her Amazon order arrived, it looks a really nice pen for just a couple of pounds.

Just before Pointless came on, I brought the washing in, most of it was dry but the towels just needed to go on the indoor airer to finish off at room temperature. We watched Pointless and had a pot of tea before watching the six o'clock news, another pot of tea followed as Karen couldn't eat for 30 minutes as she took her omeprazole tablet so we watched tonight's episode of Britain in Bloom before having something to eat. I must say that I do feel a bit better than the last couple of days and so I will make sure tomorrow is a steady day.

Sorry to hear about your struggles with your back pain, John. Kudos to you and Karen for keeping on with daily life and enjoying it. I'm glad you're feeling a bit better.

Although I'm not married, I'm "old school" when it comes to marriage. I believe too many people enter marriage thinking, "If it doesn't work out, we'll divorce." That's not the approach to take. I believe marriage involves commitment. I'm thankful my parents shared that commitment so we grew up in a two parent home. I'm glad you and Karen share that commitment.

I'm enjoying some iced tea. I like hot tea also, but like many Americans, I love the iced version! Unlike most Southerners, I prefer mine unsweetened.

>155 jnwelch:, Hi Joe, the back pain is easing nicely and I have made sure that I haven't done too much especially with the weather about to change for the next week. Today we had temperatures of 17C but from late afternoon tomorrow and right through to next Friday it will halve. Luckily I have a nice steady indoor project to be getting on with, new shelves for the Wisdens and the Playfairs.

Hope you and Debbi are doing ok mate and send love and hugs to both of you.

>156 thornton37814:, Hi Lori my dear, we both come from parents with happy marriages, my Mum and Dad had 34 years together until Dad passed away due to Leukaemia and Karen's Mum and Dad were married for 63 years with her mum passing away two days after that anniversary. We take each day as it comes and deal with what life throws at us, together we can overcome most things and she still makes my heart skip a beat.

I am glad you are enjoying your iced tea, sadly it is not something I am keen on although Karen does enjoy an iced tea now and again. I hope life is good with you and send love and hugs dear friend.

Today has been a nice steady day, once up and about we had breakfast and then it was time to take Karen to work. I dropped Karen off and then went into store to do the weekly shopping, we didn't require much and so I wasn't too long inside before I had finished and was on my way home.

Once home I unpacked and put the shopping away before stripping the spare bed and putting the bedding in the washer and setting it off. Once this was done I made myself a pot of tea before loading the glass from the old greenhouse into the car. Everything was going well until the large rectangular piece decided to explode as I was putting it in the car, it took me a good while to make sure I had picked every piece up and put it into the trug. Once the car was loaded up the washer had finished and I hung the bedding on the rotary airer to take advantage of the lovely warm, sunny day.

With the washing hung out, I set off to the recycle centre to get rid of the glass, the trip to the recycle centre didn't take too long and I was on my way back home. Once home I made a pot of tea and watched politics live before watching the lunchtime news. While the news was on the post came and it was a nice surprise as my 12 pack of Jinhao Shark fountain pens in a plastic case arrived, I hadn't expected them for another week at least, I now need to order some inks to match each pen. With the news finished I decided to have some lunch, I had some Oxtail soup before going out to do a bit of weeding while I had a cigar.

After having a cigar I then did the upstairs housework before doing the downstairs housework, once this was done I had a pot of tea and did a bit more gentle weeding until it was time to make Karen a pot of tea in the travel mug and then go and collect her from work.

Once home with Karen we had a pot of tea before Karen got changed out of her work clothes and then we had something to eat. The rest of the evening has been spent relaxing.

John, I'm glad you're taking care of the robins on your side of the pond! I have about fifteen feet of day lilies in in my backyard and late in summer I let grass grow up around them. At exactly this time of year the robins come and pluck out the dried grass for their nests. I saw the first one pull some out a couple of days ago and now about half is gone. I know it sounds silly for me to do that but I love to watch them every spring and I think it assures that robins will be back in the neighborhood from year to year.

>136 johnsimpson: I've been to Bolton Abbey a few times with Mr SandDune. It was one of Mr SandDune's favourite childhood outings from Halifax but it must be well over ten years since we have last been there as I remember J being quite small.

>160 clue:, Hi Luanne my dear, still need to put the nest boxes up but haven't seen any Robins hanging around on the trees between the houses but have seen lots of Goldfinches and Blue Tits. Lovely that the Robins with you are taking advantage of the long grass to use for nest building and that it ensures that they come back year after year. Over here they say if you see Robins it is loved ones that are coming to see you and so last year we were so impressed with them taking advantage of our garage.

Hope you are well my dear and have a great weekend, sending love and hugs dear friend.

>161 SandDune:, Hi Rhian my dear, we regularly go up into the Dales as it is only an hour's drive for us, unfortunately we have to either get through Bradford or Leeds to get on our way or go up the A1 but that way means we have to cut across so it is easier to do the former routes.

It seems that Dales towns are doing well on the bookshop front with a new one and one has expanded plus a new one in Holmfirth, I just hope that people call in and make a purchase to help keep them going.

Finished book 23 just before midnight on Thursday, The Final Cut by Michael Dobbs. This the third and final book in the House of Cards Trilogy. In a few months, Francis Urquhart will make history as he becomes the longest-serving Prime Minister this century.

Yet it seems the country is tiring of him at last, and the movement to force him from power is growing. But Urquhart is not yet ready to be driven from office. If the public demand new blood, that is precisely what he will give them....

I remember watching this series in the late eighties and early nineties and Ian Richardson as Francis Urquhart was mesmerising and evil personified, what a character Urquhart is.

>146 thornton37814: >147 johnsimpson:

While Miss Read's Tales from a Village School did feature that intriguing chapter on her schoolyard Cricket,
it was the one on Conkers that had me mystified. Even the drawings did not illuminate whatever was to be going on.

Fortunately, YouTube has two gentlemen (one obviously embarrassed) deftly showing how Conkers is played!

>165 m.belljackson: YouTube often comes to the rescue!

>165 m.belljackson:, Hi Marianne my dear, thank goodness for YouTube as it is not easy in words to convey how Conkers is played, it is an old traditional game played across schoolyards but sadly not as much now due to health and safety rules and the poor kiddies should not be harmed bless them, pah! codswallop. The upsurge in ambulance chasing lawyers and the "Where their is blame, there is a claim" culture has curtailed far too many things over here. Everybody is out to make a quick pound or two, forgetting what they and the grandparents used to do and it is barmy.

Oh for the days of Miss Read in the schoolyard and when I was at school, they would rather them tapping away on keyboards be it a phone, tablet or laptop, not getting any exercise, not conversing with fellow pupils and having the attention span of a gnat. I will stop now or it will be a full diatribe on the ails of the snowflake generation, I must stop, stop, lol. Also you will be very bored of this, ha ha.

We now collect Conkers and put them in the corners of each windowsill as we were told when in Abergavenny a couple of years ago that they stop spiders wandering about the house. Two years of doing this from when the Conkers are available to putting them in the bin in mid April and we have not had spiders in the house, it may be coincidence but it seems to have done the trick.

Hope you are having a good weekend my dear and send love and hugs dear friend.

>166 thornton37814:, Hi Lori my dear, YouTube is useful at times I fully agree.

It has been a lovely day one way or another.

We went to bed last night and put our clocks forward and awoke with the alarm at 8.30am, I went and made us a pot of tea to enjoy in bed. Once the tea was finished we got up, washed and dressed and on my side I had a shave before going downstairs to put a load of washing on and then getting our meds and vitamins out and making breakfast and a pot of tea.

After we had finished our breakfast Karen cut up some Chicken breasts and sealed them in the pan before adding a Honey and Mustard sauce and setting it off to cook. While Karen was doing this I did some book notes as I had forgotten to add two books to my book bible and the record cards. After a pot of tea the Honey and Mustard Chicken was done and could be put in a container for the freezer.

I popped outside to sort a couple of things out and whilst having a cigar at the doorstep I noticed Karen was doopy-dooing about, I questioned her and asked what she was doing as it was 11.55am and we were told to get to Louise's Mum and Dad's for between 12.30 to 1pm. Karen looked at her watch and realised that it said 11am, she had forgotten to add the hour and I got the blame for not telling her. I said that as it was nearly 10am when we got downstairs and we had done quite a bit that could not have been done in an hour, what time did she think it was, Karen finished off what she was doing and asked me to finish off and then set the dishwasher off while she quickly went and put some make-up on. We set off about 15 minutes later to arrive as specified.

We got to Louise's Mum's and found out that Louise had done and afternoon tea as a Mother's Day treat, Cards were given and both Mum's got a lovely bunch of flowers. We had a lovely afternoon treat and had a good catch up, time seemed to fly by and before long it was 5pm. We bade goodbye and made our way home.

Once home I made us a really nice pot of tea, although Peter did his best the pots of tea were not quite up to my standard, Karen thought he had a headache starting and so asked for one of my specials. We have had a relaxing late afternoon/early evening and have only just put the television on so that Karen can watch the second episode of Victoria while I am here on the laptop.

Happy Sunday, John! Sounds like you enjoyed your weekend

Your reading is going much more quickly than last year, John. You seem to be on a bit of a roll. Hope your back is better soon.

I wish we could get rid of the time adjustments required for Daylight Savings Time, especially in spring when we move our clocks forward by one hour. I use my mobile phone as an alarm clock, and I'm always very aware of the time change, but that doesn't make the adjustment any easier.

Per her comments on my Facebook and Instagram accounts Karen and I are of like minds when it comes to meal prep, as apparently your freezer and mine are both filled with individual containers of homemade food. She had asked me about my opinion of the Birds Eye frozen mashed cauliflower that I had purchased earlier this year; please tell her that I liked it, and that I'll try the frozen riced cauliflower by Birds Eye soon.

>170 ChelleBearss:, Hi Chelle my dear, it was a really nice weekend for us and very enjoyable.

>171 Familyhistorian:, Hi Meg my dear, the reading is going very well and I have the added spice of seeing how much Karen reads even though she only has limited time. The books are coming thick and fast at the moment but when it warms up and I get into the garden it will slow down a little bit so I am making the most of it at the moment.

I am being careful with what I am doing in relation to my back, it is still tender but the weather is changing again so it will help me rest it up.

>172 kidzdoc:, Hi Darryl mate, I must admit I quite like the clocks going forward and then backward and at least now it will be getting lighter and warmer so bring it on, lol.

I must admit mate that you and Karen get on like a house on fire but them you have a mutual love of food and cooking, Karen always likes to have meals in the freezer and also there is always cakes etc in there. With all the trauma about Brexit and how we will run out of certain things, Karen just laughed and said we could cope quite happily for a month at least with the food we have and we haven't done any stockpiling like some have.

I will pass on your opinion regarding the mashed Cauliflower and that you will try the frozen riced Cauliflower when it becomes available mate.

Latest reading stats:

Books on shelves at 1-3-2019 - 2509
Books added in March - 15
Books read in March - 8

Revised book total - 2516

Pages to read at 1-3-2019 - 1,053,575
Pages added in March - 6,350
Pages read in March - 2,947

Revised total pages to read - 1,056,978

MARCH'S READING STATS

Books Read...................... 8

No of Authors.................... 7

New Authors...................... 0

Male Authors..................... 6

Female Authors.................. 1

Pages Read....................... 2,947

Daily Avg........................... 95.06

Book Length avg................. 368.38

>175 johnsimpson: I am with Darryl, John, I really dislike the clock going forward (and backward in autumn). It takes me a few weeks to adjust.

>176 johnsimpson: Your numbers of books books and pages are daunting, even to me!

>177 johnsimpson: I guess it should be MARCH instead of February?

Finished book 24 on Monday evening, The Moon of Gomrath by Alan Garner. This is the second in the Alderley Trilogy.

Had Susan and Colin known that the Moon of Gomrath is the time of year at which the Old Magic is most likely to be aroused, they would never have lit a fire on the Beacon, but when they find their blaze is giving off no heat, it is only the last in a line of eerie discoveries. Foe already Susan has suffered strangely at the hands of a black and formless evil in the old quarry, and rumour has it that the hideous Morrigan, too, has left her haunts in the bleak northern wastes to bring death and destruction to pleasanter lands.

As the elves and dwarfs come swiftly to the caves of Fundindelve, home of the Wizard Cadellin Silverbrow, to seek council for the coming struggle, more fearsome forces are gathering in the woods on Alderley Edge, and they, too, are preparing for battle.

I really enjoyed the second in this Trilogy and am currently reading the third and final part.

The last three days have been pretty good.

Monday, we got up with the alarm and had a pot of tea in bed before getting up, washed and dressed and then coming downstairs to have breakfast and our meds. Once this was done a load of washing was set off and then Karen dug out her exercise DVD and did one of the short sessions, I pottered about while she did this. Not long after she had finished her friend Maxine, from the Bariatric support group rang her as part of a help package that Karen has signed up for to help her kick her sugar craving. Karen needs to get back on track and lose about 18 pounds before we go on holiday at the end of July.

When the call ended we caught up with some programmes I have recorded for us, while watching we had a pot of tea or two before we had some lunch. Once lunch was over we had time for a drink before it was time to take Karen to work, after dropping Karen off I made my way home. Once home I made a pot of tea and set up the DVD to record some programmes for us before ordering some inks for my Jinhao Shark fountain pens. After this was done I read for a short while before going out into the garden. I decided to fill one of the compost bins with soil from the top bed so that I can mix it with some manure to improve the bed. Once and area had been cleared I made a pot of tea and then thought I would sort out the last bit of path to finish off the edge of the bed ready for some railway sleepers to edge the beds properly. I got a bit carried away and got all the blocks in place to take the paving slab, everything was level and then I decided to move the three foot by two foot slab on my own. I managed to do it without trapping any fingers or doing myself an injury to my back. When this was done I broke up some of the old broken bricks to fill in the gaps ready for some cement to be poured.

I tidied up the mess from breaking up the bricks and put my tools away before cleaning myself up, when this was done I made a pot of tea before making myself something to eat. The remainder of the evening was spent reading and catching up on the threads on here.

Tuesday, we got up with the alarm and had a pot of tea in bed before again getting, washed and dressed and then coming downstairs to have breakfast and our meds. Once this was done Karen did an exercise session before we had a pot of tea and she had something to eat before it was time to take her to work. After dropping Karen off I had to pop into Wakefield to pick up a book she had ordered online form Waterstones and I also spotted that the Playfair Cricket Annual 2019 was out and in store, so I purchased this. Once done I made my way back to the car and headed for home. As I was near to the Pharmacy I went to collect my Fentanyl patches that they didn't have last Thursday, I forgot to go on Friday and only remembered late on Monday. Once the patches were picked up I made my way home.

As I pulled onto the drive Catherine next door spotted me and came out with a parcel for me that she had taken in form the postman, I knew what it was straight away, it was the inks I ordered the day before. Once inside the house I made a pot of tea and collected the post from the doormat and then watched the news before setting the DVD up to record some more programmes. Once this was done I had a flick through the Radio Times listings magazine that had come in the post before opening up my package of inks. I took the inks into the kitchen along with the pens and proceeded to fill up the pens to the colour of ink, sadly not all could be filled as the bottles I have ordered are the refill bottles for the larger glass bottles and so the neck is a bit small. I managed to get ink in four of the eight and so after cleaning my hands of ink stains I checked out Pure pens for syringe fillers. The initial order was from Cult pens but the other four inks plus a treat ink for me and now the syringe filler were going to come from Pure Pens as Cult don't have syringe fillers or the Aurora Borealis ink in the small bottle size.

After checking Pure Pens on my hone I had a pot of tea and read for a while before going upstairs to do the upstairs housework. Once the housework was done I had a pot of tea and read a bit more before making myself something to eat. The remainder of the evening was spent checking threads on here before going to Asda a bit earlier so that I could pick up Karen and June's plant purchases up. Between them they had got a nice selection of plants that had been for Mother's Day but had not sold and so had been drastically reduced.

Today has been a good day, the alarm went off and I went and made us a pot of tea to enjoy in bed before getting up, washed and dressed and coming downstairs to get our meds and vitamins out and make some breakfast and a pot of tea. Debbie the nail technician rang to say she would be a bit early if that was ok with Karen and she appeared ten minutes later, I made her a pot of tea and went back into the living room to read.

Karen had her nails done and I made us all a pot of tea midway through the nails being done and listened to them chatting, Once Debbie had been paid, she left and we got ready to got to Aldi to do our little bit of shopping there. I sat in the car reading while Karen went and got the bits we needed and then once she was done and the shopping was in the car, we made our way home. We unpacked and put the shopping away and then I made us a pot of tea before we had some lunch. After watching an episode of Britain in Bloom it was time for me to go and pick Hannah up from school and bring her home.

Once home with Hannah I made a pot of tea for myself and Karen and Hannah had some milk and some cheese, I then went onto my phone to do my Pure Pens order, I had to change an ink colour but finished the order and then got a couple of e-mails back, one to confirm my order and then another to say it was ready to be collected by the postman tomorrow and should be with me on Friday, Hannah played on Karen's tablet before saying she was hungry and could she have her tea. Karen opened a small tin of Beans and Sausage for her and warmed them up, we then watched Money for Nothing and The Repair Shop while Hannah played on the Tablet. Karen took Hannah up for a bath before we had our tea and then Hannah had some more milk and a biscuit before I took her home. On my way back home I called in to the Asda Petrol station to fill up with Diesel and to get some money out of the cash machine ready for tomorrow as we have decided to go up to Richmond in North Yorkshire. Once home I made us a pot of tea and we then watched the final of the Great British Sewing Bee and an episode of The Repair Shop. I fired up the laptop and cam on here to update my thread and check on other posts.

Just checking in to make sure you're getting the required number pots of tea per day! The rest of the week may be a blur for me. Days will approach 18 hours. Hopefully I'll get some extra sleep on Saturday although I have client work to catch up on then.

>182 thornton37814:, Hi Lori my dear, I am keeping up with my quota of pots of tea a day, can't be slacking now, can I. The rest of the week ahead for you sounds busy, busy, busy and 18 hour days are going to be a killer. I do hope you get some good extra sleep on Saturday to recharge your batteries my dear.

Sending love and hugs dear friend.

We have had a lovely date day out in Richmond, North Yorkshire. It has been quite a while since we last visited this market town in Swaledale and it was worth the drive. Once we were parked up we made our way into the town square and a coffee stop, once refreshed we had a wander around. First call was Castle Hill Bookshop, what a surprise there, we had a good look around and picked up a couple of small books of walks in the area and had a chat with the two ladies serving. We had watched Britain in Bloom a couple of days ago and it featured Richmond and that gave us the idea to go there, we mentioned this to the ladies and she suggested a walk around the old castle. The recommendation was well worth it and we had a good stroll around.

The walk took us back to the town square and we went into the small market hall, we picked up a couple of books while we were in there. Once back outside I left Karen to have a wander while I went and moved the car as the only parking was in short stay parking, once I had moved across the road and parked up I made my way back to the town square and rang Karen to find out where she was. I met up with Karen in the antique shop where she had picked up a felted Rabbit, I left her to go up the staircase to see what else was on offer, I came across and old paperback by Elisabeth Beresford - The Wandering Wombles and could not resist getting it. I came back down to find Karen and she had picked up a couple of small ornaments of a Chicken and a Rabbit along with a stick pin brooch. Once everything was paid for we left to continue wandering around the town.

After calling into one or two shops and a couple of charity shops, we made our way back to the car and headed to the old Station which is now a nice Café, Gallery, a three screen cinema and now an artisan bakery and a mini brewery along with an ice-cream bar. We had a nice pot of tea and then headed back home as Karen had a headache starting and a cold that has taken hold as the day has gone on.

It was nice to get out and about, the weather wasn't too bad, the sun was out but there was a sneaky breeze that kept it a bit chilly. Our next date day out will be on the 13th, Karen is off that day due to a shift swap and so we will go back up to North Yorkshire and visit Masham. We have been told it is a nice little market town with two small breweries and it is market day and the market is really good, from there we could go onto Reeth where there is a nice selection of small independent shops and antique shops.

>184 johnsimpson: Delightful place, Richmond, John. Wish I could have joined you both.

Have a great weekend.

>185 PaulCranswick:, Hi Paul, Richmond was lovely and it was nice to visit again, couldn't believe it had been four years since we had last been, won't be that long before we visit again. That is it for our travels until next Saturday when we are going to Masham, another place we haven't been before and we are looking forward to it.

Finished Book 25 yesterday morning, Boneland by Alan Garner. This is the third in the Alderley Trilogy and was published 50 years after the second one. I must say that I was heartily confused at times but it kept me reading which I found strange. I am still not fully sure that I have understood it all and may read the series again in a year or so but then again I may not as I don't really re-read books only ones that I had read before I started recording my reading back in 1995.

Professor Colin Whisterfield spends his days at Jodrell Bank, using the radio telescope to look for his lost sister in the Pleiades. At the same time, and in another time, the Watcher keeps the stars above the earth.

Before the age of thirteen, Colin's mind is a blank. After that he recalls everything: every minute of every hour of every day.

But Colin will have to remember what happened if he wants to find his sister. And the Watcher must fine the Woman. Otherwise the skies will fall, and there will be only winter, wanderers and the moon...

Friday was a pretty good day, once we were up and about we had breakfast and our meds and vitamins before it was time to take Karen to work. After dropping Karen off I went into store to pick up a few bits before heading into Wakefield, on the way in I had to call in at the main Post Office centre to pick up a parcel that could not be delivered on Thursday. I had an idea of what it was and was proved right although I wasn't expecting it until Friday anyway, I ordered some inks from Pure Pens late on Wednesday afternoon as before and so expected them to come on Friday but obviously this time they were able to pack my order up before their post was picked up.

Once I had done at the Post Office Centre I got parked up in the Ridings multi-storey car park and headed to the bank to get some money out to pay the first instalment of this years Council Tax. Once I had got the money I went to Next to collect a parcel for Karen and then went into Post Office in the W H Smiths store to pay the Council Tax. Once all this was done I made my way back to the car and made my way home.

Once home I unpacked and put the small amount of shopping away and then made a pot of tea before opening my ink delivery. Once I had all my inks out I took them into the kitchen and with the syringe and blunt needle I filled up the Eleven Jinhao Shark pens that I couldn't fill up previously with a colour to match the pen colour. Once this was done I listened to the County Cricket on the radio while reading. After a pot of tea or two I got on with the downstairs housework before having a bite to eat. Karen had messaged me to say she was finishing at 5.30pm instead of 6pm.

I took Karen a pot of tea in the travel mug and she was grateful for a nice drink when she got in the car, we made our way home and I made a pot of tea. After a bit of a chat she went for a shower as she felt a bit cold and ached a bit. Once she was back downstairs we had something to eat before watching a few programmes I had recorded that afternoon.

Hi John - no real chance of catching up on over 70 posts - I hope you and Karen are doing well.

Sending love and hugs to both of you.

>189 karenmarie:, Hi Karen my dear, we have had a lovely day and Karen has felt a bit better so that is promising for the week ahead.

Sending love and hugs to you and Bill.

Yesterday was a nice steady day, we had a relaxing morning after breakfast and setting a load of washing going. We watched Saturday Kitchen with James Martin and had a pot of tea, I put the washing out when it had finished as it was nice and sunny.

Before long it was time to take Karen to work and after dropping her off I parked up and went into store to pick up my Yorkshire Post paper and some Sinutab for Karen. Once I had paid for my purchases I made my way home, once home I made a pot of tea and read for a while before going outside to potter about. I started tidying up the old Greenhouse base, sorting out the plastic plant pots and bagging up some rubbish. Once this was done I broke up some old bricks to act as ballast for the flag stone base, it is now ready for me to get some plywood to act as shuttering when I pour some concrete.

I had a break and made a pot of tea before filling up the feeder in the front garden, I decided to put up the new bird feeder and so filled up all the different types of feeder and then put all the scrap metal together on the shed base ready for a run to the recycle centre. Once I had finished my work I cleaned myself up and then decided I would like some toast, I made a pot of tea and put three slices of bread on the grill and later enjoyed three large slices of toast with Blackberry Jam on. By the time I had finished eating and my pot of tea it was time to make Karen a drink and go and pick her up from work.

After picking Karen up from work we got home and had a pot of tea before making something to eat and then spending the evening watching a bit of TV and I fired up the laptop to check the threads.

Today has been a nice relaxing day for both of us, after a pot of tea in bed we got up, washed and dressed before coming downstairs to have some breakfast. We pottered about before briefly popping into Wakefield so that Karen could pick up a couple of bits and I went and collected a parcel for her.

Once home after popping into Wakefield we had a coffee before peeling the vegetables ready to have lunch mid-afternoon, Once the vegetables were prepared Karen made some curry to be put into freezer boxes for me to have at a later date. While Karen was doing the curry I took an old wooden gate down and a cracked fence post before getting the Hedgehog house out as it appears that we have visitors again.

We had a lovely lunch of Lamb steaks and vegetables with enough left over for us to have a similar lunch tomorrow before Karen goes to work. Later I put some food down for our Hedgehog visitors as they obviously have young to feed.

>192 johnsimpson: Oh the hedgehogs are back! Where do they winter? We aren't allowed them as pets in California, although there are some desperate law breakers in my circle, and I haven't actually met one. I'd probably be allergic, worse luck, as I am to foxes and small rodents.

It sounds as though you and Karen had a lovely weekend and are back in good health. After reading your posts I was inspired to make tea, for probably the first time this year. The kettle is heating up water now, and I’ll make a small pot of Twinings Gunpowder Green Tea, to bolster my effort to finish The Moor’s Last Stand by midnight.

Sounds like a nice weekend with some good eating!

>193 quondame:, Hi Susan my dear, their are fields just behind us so we think that is where they may go or they may wander up to the allotments. We are hoping that it is the Hedgehogs that are back, I put food down last night and when I checked this morning the plate was clean. I have just put tonight's food down and hope I may spot one before I go to pick Karen up from work, if not I will have a sneaky look when I get back with her as it seemed that on Saturday if the Hedgehog visited it was around 10.15pm, the time they seemed to visit all last year.

Hedgehogs can't be kept as pets here also, the only time they are handled is if they are taken in to Hedgehog rescue centres where they are looked after until they are fit to go back into the wild.

>194 kidzdoc:, Hi Darryl mate, we had a nice weekend and Karen does seem to be getting better from her cold, it is going to be a nice steady week until we go off for the day on Saturday back up to the Yorkshire Dales when we visit Masham for the first time. I hope the tea worked and you finished The Moor's Last Stand.

>195 thornton37814:, Hi Lori my dear, the weekend was good, very relaxing and some nice food was eaten.

It has been a steady day for both of us, after we had breakfast I took Karen to Pontefract Hospital for her dietician appointment, everything is fine and she is pleased that Karen has got some extra help to try and beat her sugar craving.

Once we were done at the hospital we called in at the Tesco supermarket to get some tin vegetables to keep in and then we made our way home. We had a pot of tea and watched the news programme before we had some lunch. We pottered about until it was time for me to take Karen to work, after dropping her off I made my way home and had a pot of tea before going outside to Vacuum the car and then give it a good wash. I have to take the car for its MOT test tomorrow and I will sit and wait for it to be ready as I cannot go anywhere so I will use the time wisely and read.

Once the car was done I cleaned up and put things away before making a pot of tea and doing a bit of reading. A pot of tea or to later and then I made myself something to eat, after eating my Ham Tagliatelle I had a yoghurt and a pot of Mandarin oranges before setting the dishwasher off. I made a pot of tea and fired up the laptop to come on here.

>199 johnsimpson:

It would be welcome if Karen can share any of her tips to curtail sugar cravings!

Hi John! Nice to hear your hedgehogs seem to be back. Of course, animals remember where they get nice treats, and they must be hungry now.

You seem to be doing well, when it comes to reading. I liked your Alan Garner reviews. I've read one of his books The Owl Service and liked it, but was a bit mystified as well.

Wishing you and Karen a good week ahead.

>200 m.belljackson:, I will get her to make a note of what is helping Marianne my dear and then post it on here.

>201 EllaTim:, Hi Ella my dear, after last night I am not so sure as the food had gone early so I hope to see if it is Hedgehogs that are about.

When I was at Junior School we had two teachers who got us all onto the carpet and read books in instalments, one of them was The Weirdstone of Brisingamen which is the first in the Alderley trilogy, a few years ago I managed to pick up the same copy and then a year or so later got The Moon of Gomrath. The first was published in 1960 with the second in 1963 but Boneland was not published until 2013, a fifty year gap to end the trilogy. The first I enjoyed immensely, the second was also good and although I enjoyed Boneland it was weird but compulsive if that makes sense.

It has been a pretty good day, once we were up and about we had breakfast before catching up on some of the programmes I recorded yesterday, both got us with a tear in our eyes. We had a pot of tea or two before Karen got changed for work.

I took Karen to work and then went into Wakefield to try and pick up the free gift that Karen had been notified about at Boots, she needed a cosmetic product and she got an email to say if she got this there was a free gift, we popped in on Sunday and the lady on the cosmetic counter hadn't got any as they had not been informed about it but she said she would query it and put said gift to one side. We got a call from Boots yesterday while we were out and although Karen tried to call back on the number given, no one answered. The same lady Karen spoke with was on the desk and knew who I was talking about and gave me the two gifts, job done. I still had a bit of time to kill before I needed to get to the car dealership so I wandered into the antiques centre, I spotted a few Fountain pens but didn't have enough time to ask to have a good look.

I made my way back to the car and headed to the car dealership for my MOT and service, I sat and waited as I couldn't really go anywhere and so got some good reading done. Two hours later and the MOT and service had been done and the car had been cleaned inside and out, I made my way home. Once home I made a pot of tea and then picked up the post, along with the latest copy of the Radio Times listings magazine was also my Moonman M2 Transparent fountain pen that Karen had ordered from ebay along with the Jinhao Shark pens when she got a £10 gift voucher. I had a good look at it and then filled it with Diamine Antique Copper ink, the pen can be used with cartridges, as a piston filler or as a bulkfiller.

Once I had finished my tea I went and did the upstairs housework, bedrooms and the bathroom. Once done I had a pot of tea and then browsed through the listings magazine with a pot of tea. I made another pot of tea and then put a pizza in the oven. While the pizza was cooking I decided to count up how many Fountain pens I have, I have 109, I think I need to stop getting anymore although there are one or two that I would like but are only available from American pen retailers, the problem with this is the cost of postage and the tax that has to be added to the cost of the pen and so it makes it a little prohibitive, sadly.

I had my pizza and then finished off the lemon Drizzle cake as instructed before making a pot of tea and firing up the laptop to come on here.

Hello, John! I am grievously behind here and everywhere. So let me just say, Happy Tuesday!

>204 johnsimpson: I love lemon cake of any sort. The drizzle cake sounds yummy!

>205 Berly:, Hi Kim, thanks for stopping by my dear.

>206 thornton37814:, Hi Lori my dear, Lemon Drizzle cake is a specialty of both Karen and Amy and I just love it. There were three squares left and as Karen is not eating anything sweet I was under orders to finish it off so it would not be wasted, I am not one to let cake go to waste and I follow instructions from Karen, (well nearly always), lol.

I’m glad you and Karen are feeling better, John, and hope that even better health will arrive with the warmer weather.

I’m intrigued by the Alderley trilogy; it sounds like it would be fun to read. Didn’t you love when the teacher took time to read to the class? Our fifth grade teacher read us The Voyages Of Dr. Dolittle and I remember it fondly all these years later. I always managed to squeeze in at least fifteen minutes for Story Time when I was teaching.

Lemon cake: yummy. You and Karen are wise to have food cooked and on hand in the freezer. It makes life so much easier.

Love to you both, John.

Hi John! Just wanted to say hello and hope you're having a good day. I just finished straightening up the house for our cleaners and have set up camp with the 3 pups in the guest room to keep us all out of their way. I clean this room myself since it was a new addition a few years ago and it's not used enough to warrant our cleaners' time.

I have two empty boxes that I will fill with books that I want to donate to our library book sale. Plus, I need the space for all of my new books! It will be interesting to see if I can actually give any up!

Finished book 26 late this afternoon, Plum Island by Nelson De Mille. NYPD Detective John Corey is convalescing on Long Island when Tom and Judy Gordon are found murdered on their patio. Corey knew the young couple, and Sylvester Maxwell, the local police chief, wants his big city expertise. Maxwell, however, gets more than he bargained for.

The early signs point to a burglary gone wrong, but because the Gordons were biologists at Plum Island, the off-shore animal disease research site rumoured to be involved in germ warfare, it isn't long before the media is suggesting that the dead couple stole something very deadly.

John Corey's investigations lead him into the lore, legends and ancient secrets of northern Long Island. But they are secrets more dangerous than he could ever have imagined - and he becomes trapped in a crime with global implications....

>209 Matke:, Hi Gail my dear, we are both reasonably well, the weather has dropped cool again so I have the odd niggle but overall I am not too bad and Karen has just about got rid of her cold.

I think you would enjoy the Alderley trilogy my dear, when aged 8 and nine the two teachers that inspired my love of books were Miss Beaumont and Mrs Dews, they both made the weekly read on the carpet magical, they read The Weirdstone of Brisingamen, Stig of the Dump, the first three in the Chronicles of Narnia series, Professor Branestawm, The Wombles of Wimbledon Common and one or two more that I cannot remember. Both these wonderful ladies and the old Librarian at the Old Sharlston village library also helped me out and eventually let me take home the Wisden Cricket Almanack, which was a reference book but it seemed that there was only me that ever looked at it.

Karen always makes sure there is something in the freezer in case of illness or unexpected visitors and always makes enough to eat over the following few days and some to put in the freezer.

>210 Dianekeenoy:, Hi Diane my dear, thank you for visiting. Hope the cleaners have done a good job for you and I can understand you doing the guest room yourself.

I have a box of books ready to go to the secondhand bookshop at Nostell Priory once Amy has had a good look through when her and Andy come for Easter Sunday lunch.

Hope all is well with you and the family dear friend.

We had a steady day on Wednesday, after breakfast we pottered about while waiting for a couple of phone calls and then went to the nearby Aldi to pick up a few bits. Once back and the shopping had been unpacked and put away we had a pot of tea and then had some lunch before watching a programme I had recorded. When the programme had finished I had to set off and pick Hannah up from school. We had Hannah for a few hours before I took her home.

On Thursday we had breakfast after a pot of tea in bed and once this was done with I took Karen into Wakefield to meet up with her best friend Tina, once I had dropped her off I made my way to the Barber's and had my hair cut. Once my hair was done I made my way home, made a pot of tea, put the Cricket commentary on and then read until it was time to go and pick Karen up.

I went to pick Karen up and took her the yoghurt and fruit that she had put together for her lunch which she had in the car while I took her to the hairdresser's. I dropped Karen at the hairdresser's and then made my way home, made a pot of tea and put the radio on to listen to the Cricket and read. Karen messaged me to pick her up at 4pm, this was at 3.40pm and I had just made a pot of tea.

Once I had collected Karen from the hairdresser's we made our way home and I made us a pot of tea and we watched a bit of TV before we had something to eat.

Today has been nice and steady, after we had breakfast I took Karen to work and then went into the supermarket to pick up a few bits. Once the shopping was done and paid for I made my way back to the car and then went and put some Diesel in the car ready for our day out tomorrow to Masham in the Yorkshire Dales.

Once home I unpacked and put the shopping away and then made a pot of tea and put the radio on to listen to the Cricket and I continued to read. After a few pots of tea and some reading I decided to get the downstairs housework done before making a pot of tea and reading, I finished my book and did some book notes before selecting another book. I had time for a pot of tea and to make one for Karen in the travel mug before going to collect her from work.

Hey, buddy. Happy weekend.

Lemon drizzle cake sounds excellent.

I read all the Dr. Doolittle books when I was a kid and loved them. When I thought about reading them to our kids, and went back to them, I felt there was too much unconscious racism, in the early ones, anyway. Too bad.

I can't believe a whole month has gone by since I dropped in to your thread! My organization had three events this past week in different parts of the state and preparations for those along with the regular work just sapped my time. I did find time to read but not much else. I am planning some quality time updating my own reading record for March.

It doesn't mean you and your lovely family wasn't in my thoughts and I'm hoping you are in the midst of a wonderful weekend.

>212 johnsimpson: The Weirdstone of Brisingamen was one of my favourite books growing up as well!

>215 jnwelch:, Hi Joe, the weekend was really good.

>216 witchyrichy:, Hi Karen my dear, you have been a busy lady of late what with work and your organization, hope you found doing the March stats therapeutic. We had a really nice weekend.

>217 SandDune:, Hi Rhian my dear, glad you liked as well.

We had a really lovely day on Saturday. We got up at 7.30am and once washed and dressed we had breakfast and our meds before getting a few things ready for our day out. We set off to Masham just before 9am, we had a nice drive up the A1 and found our turn off and had a nice few miles drive through some lovely countryside. We found the car park and it turned out it was an honesty car park, you paid what you thought was right.

Once parked up we set off towards the centre of Masham, we passed a lovely park with really nice facilities for young children along with three all weather tennis courts and Masham Cricket ground. We got onto one of the main streets and after a bit of wandering we found the market, it was not what we were led to believe and although there were a few nice things, it didn't take us long to wander around. We did find a nice cheese stall and we picked up a selection of cheeses before heading to the café for a nice coffee. Once we had finished our coffee we headed back to the car, on the way we found a book stand outside the tourist information centre and picked up a couple of books.

On the way to the car I put some money in the honesty box and once in the car I set the satnav for Reeth. we had a lovely drive around country lanes and then came to Middleham. Middleham is home to a couple of race horse trainers and as we drove through we had to slow down as some horses were coming back from the gallops to the yard. Once through Middleham we continued on our way and the next place we came across was Leyburn. We have been to Leyburn before and it is a nice little place, once through we headed on the road to Reeth and after a final turn off we were on a nice winding road through some lovely scenery before we got to Reeth.

After eventually parking on the green, again it was an honesty box parking facility, we had a wander around. Reeth is a small place, mainly used as a base for walking but it was nice and pleasant. We came across a new bakery/café and so we went inside and had some homemade soup and bread along with a really nice coffee. As we were drinking our coffee, waiting for our soup, I spotted some nice bread on a stand. Karen went to have a look and told me what it was and she bought two loaves for me. While I popped to the toilet, Karen paid the bill and had a chat with a staff member, it turned out they had only opened at the beginning of February, March was quiet-ish but things were picking up. While we were in a few people came to pick up some bread and some homemade sandwiches, we wished them well and left.

We wandered around the corner to a few units that had artisan crafts, we found a unit that did 3D Cross stitch, the lady had some lovely examples of what could be made and Karen found one that Amy would love so she bought it as part of Amy's birthday gifts although it isn't her birthday until September. We left after paying for the purchase and went back to the centre of Reeth, we wandered around a bit more before Karen went back to the car while I went to the newsagents to get my copy of the Yorkshire Post and I picked up a book about Bill Mitchell who used to be the editor of the Dalesman magazine as well as being a well known author of numerous books about the Dales and Yorkshire.

We left Reeth and decided to go towards the famous Ribblehead Viaduct on the Settle to Carlisle railway line. Our route took us back towards Leyburn and one through we were back into rolling countryside and small villages. Before long we were approaching Hawes, famous for the Wensleydale Creamery and its Cheese, we continued towards Ribblehead over the moors. We couldn't get parked at Ribblehead so decided to carry on towards Horton-in-Ribblesdale. Whilst we were driving along, Karen tried to get in touch with an old schoolfriend who lives at Stainforth which is the next village along from Horton. Sadly Janet informed us that they were out and we should have rung earlier, Karen told her that it was a spur of the moment decision to come home this way as we had been over in Swaledale. We had a stop at Horton and had a coffee from the supplies we had made and then we headed for home via Settle, Ilkley and Leeds.

We were tired when we got home but had had a wonderful day.

Hi John!

Once again, I am remiss in visiting your thread. My skimming assures me that things seem to be going well for you both.

From way up there, I see the discussions about hedgehogs. They are legal to keep as pets in North Carolina, but I have never had one nor wanted one. Cute but prickly.

Sending love and hugs to you and Karen.

>221 johnsimpson: What a wonderful sounding jaunt!

>221 johnsimpson: Great description of what sounds like a lovely day out, John! I've loved my trips driving on English country roads with Rhian and her husband, and especially the one Fliss and I took to travel from Cambridge to Aldeburgh and Southwold two years ago, much of which was spent singing along to a CD of the Monkees' greatest hits at the tops of our voices. I think that we permanently traumatized some nearby wildlife and people walking on the side of the roads.

>222 karenmarie:, Hi Karen my dear, nice to see you here again, things are not too bad with us at the moment and looking forward to the Easter weekend.

Sending love and hugs dear friend.

>223 quondame:, Hi Susan my dear, it was a really lovely jaunt out in the wonderful Yorkshire Dales.

>224 kidzdoc:, Hi Darryl mate, it was a really lovely day out, the scenery whilst driving along narrow country roads was gorgeous. I think I could traumatize a few people if they heard me sing.

After our lovely day out on Saturday we had a nice steady, relaxing day on Sunday. The only slight blot was when I went to pick some footwear up for Karen from JD Sports, Karen had sent me the email and I went into to collect and I was told I needed some ID of Karen, I had to ring her up to get her to take a photo of her passport before I could collect the footwear. We had a late lunch in mid afternoon and caught up with some programmes I had recorded for us.

Monday was dry but a bit chilly, although a bit warmer than Sunday. We had a pot of tea in bed before getting up, washed and dressed. We had breakfast and our meds and then Karen set a load of washing going before we put fresh, clean bedding on our bed. We watched a bit of TV before having lunch and then Karen got changed ready for work.

I dropped Karen off and then popped into store to get some cigars and post a postcard to the Dalesman Magazine competition. Once I had my cigars I headed to Earlsheaton to have a look around the Dewsbury Antiques Centre, I could have saved myself a trip as it was more like a dilapidated junk shop. Once done in the "Antiques Centre" I made my way home via the doctors so that I could drop in our repeat prescription. Once this was done I made my way home.

Once home I had a pot of tea and read for a short while before going out into the garden, I decided to edge the lawn and then give the lawn its first cut of the year. Whilst doing the bit of gardening I had a welcome visitor, a Robin wanted to see if my work had un-earthed any earth worms. Once the lawn was done I had a break and a pot of tea before putting up the nest boxes. When all my work was done I cleaned up and had a pot of tea before having something to eat. I microwaved my Ham and Mushroom Tagliatelle and when putting it on my plate from its container I found a foreign object in my meal. The object was a piece of solid rubber tubing, it was 31mm long and 5mm in diameter and blue, I had my meal before contacting Aldi customer services via email to register my complaint.

By the time I had done this I was in a bit of pain with my back and by the time I collected Karen from work I was in quite a bit of discomfort.

Tuesday was a really nice day weather wise, after an initial chill the sun came out and it was a glorious day. We had breakfast and our meds and then caught up with what I had recorded on Monday. After a pot of tea or two and Karen had a bite to eat, it was time to take her to work. I dropped Karen off and then had to go into store to pick up a nice leg of Lamb for Easter Sunday lunch. Once the shopping was done I made my way to the car and headed to the Barnsley Antiques Centre. I had a good look around but nothing caught my eye and so I left and made my way home.

Once home I made a pot of tea and set the DVD recorder up for a couple of programmes before having a quick perusal of the new Radio Times listings magazine that had come in the post. Once this had been done I decided to go into the garden and potter about, I took up a short length of old log roll and turned a small patch of soil over before cleaning up an area that the local cats have been using as a litter area. Once this was done I cleaned myself up thoroughly before having a pot of tea and reading for a bit. When I had finished my pot of tea I went and did the upstairs housework and bathroom. When this was done I had a pot of tea and read before making myself something to eat.

After I had eaten and had some fruit and cream I fired up the laptop for an hour or so, I had a pot of tea or two before putting some food down for the Hedgehogs that had appeared on Monday night. Before long it was time to go and pick Karen up from work and once again I was in a bit of pain. It is so frustrating that such small jobs that I take my time with are causing me so much pain.

I'm sorry that you continue to suffer from such disabling chronic pain, John.

Hmm...I should talk with my father about what we should have for dinner on Easter Sunday. He and my mother would almost certainly prefer ham to lamb, and ham would be a much more traditional meat in the US.

Nice description of your days, as always, save for the unexpected bonus prize in the tagliatelle.

>229 kidzdoc: Ham is definitely the American Easter tradition. I've occasionally opted for lamb since I'm on my own. My mom always made banana pudding on Easter, and I've made some the last few years for myself. Last year I successfully made just enough for one serving now and one later but putting the remaining custard in serving bowls. That way I didn't have to worry about the bananas browning too much.

We have had an odd spring here in Alabama after a warm winter that turned cold late in that season. It has now been up and down. Last weekend I cleaned the refrigerator and did some cooking. I had left over turkey in the freezer so made some turkey and rice Southern style, and I started clearing out the flower bed. I have lots of work to do in it this weekend and then will do some planting next weekend. I started digging around in the smaller of the two flower beds and to my surprise I found a very nice stand of sage. I haven’t been able to grow that herb successfully so just gave up on it last year. It has come in this spring and looks great!

>228 johnsimpson: You can't beat a nice leg of lamb for Easter. We will be having the same.

>229 kidzdoc:, Hi Darryl, the pain is excruciating at times and I sometimes struggle to get off to sleep because of it, if we go up to bed at say 10.30pm and read for an hour and then lights out at 11.30pm, it can sometimes be anywhere between 2 and 3am before I drop off fully and I know that trying to get comfortable disturbs Karen, that is why on Monday nights I go into the spare bed so that she can get a good nights sleep with having a long shift on a Tuesday. I have sometimes gone into the spare bed on a Thursday and Friday night depending on how I am and how much Karen needs her sleep.

Lamb is a traditional Easter Sunday lunch and Fish on Good Friday, I do like a nice Ham Hock but Lamb suits most of us apart from Amy, so Karen has got Cajun Chicken breast for her as it is known to Amy as Occasional Chicken, this is from childhood and we all have a good laugh about it.

I am glad you liked the description of my days, I sometimes worry that they are a bit boring and tend to be pretty much the same, a writer I am not, ha ha.

Hope you are well mate and have a great Easter.

>230 thornton37814:, Hi Lori my dear, I think we all have our Easter lunch traditions and I like both Lamb and Ham but Lamb is our tradition. I love the sound of Banana pudding, although Karen likes a banana, banana cooked is a no-no to her whereas I love bananas whichever way they are given to me. The last time we were in Madeira I had their specialty fish in a banana sauce and it was delicious, the only problem I had with it was that there was too much sauce. When they came to collect the plates they thought that I had not liked it and after I explained they were assured that I did like the dish, looking forward to having it again in July/August.

Hope all is well with you and we both send love and hugs dear friend.

>231 benitastrnad:, Hi Benita my dear, we have been the same with the weather, January was cold as it should be but then February was unexpectedly warm throughout and then it turned cooler in March. March continued to be cold and this ran into the beginning of April. Last weekend was really cold up here although Saturday up in the Dales was warmer than Sunday back at home. Since Monday it has begun to warm up and today has been gloriously warm and sunny with the temperatures continuing to rise over the next three days.

Like you I have been busy in the garden, I have been taking my time but it has caused me severe pain in my back and this is so frustrating. I have a plan of what needs to be done by the end of October and it will all be done, touch wood as things now can be done in small doses. Some of the jobs will need a day or two after to settle as I have some concreting to do before the next step and I will not start this until Monday when Karen is at work and the temperatures will be good enough so that there will not be any ground or air frosts.

Hope that all is well with you my dear and send love and hugs dear friend.

>232 SandDune:, Hi Rhian, you definitely can't beat a good leg of Lamb my dear with lashings of mint sauce. I hope you, Mr Sandune and J are having a good time in Pembrokeshire, we loved that neck of the woods on our first visit last year, it is an area we will definitely go back to.

Sending love and hugs dear friend.

We have had a good day today, busy in the morning and nice and relaxing since we got back from our trawl out. We awoke with the alarm and decided to have a pot of tea in bed. Once we had finished our tea we got up, washed and dressed before coming downstairs to have breakfast.

Once we had finished our breakfast and had our meds we set off out, first stop was to the pharmacy to collect Karen's prescriptions. Once the prescriptions had been collected we headed to the Aldi at Snowhill where Karen went into store to do the shopping while I stayed in the car and checked my phone and read. Once the shopping was done we headed to Junction 32 Outlet as Karen hoped to pick up some Keto cookbooks from The Works.

We parked up and made our way into the outlet, we had a look in a few stores looking for Polo shirts for me but although we looked in FatFace, Billabong, Cotton traders and WeirdFish, we were unsuccessful. the Polo shirts they did have were all a bit boring, I may be coming up 56 but I do like to look my best and not necessarily having to dress as if I was 56 although I don't go as far as the trend with the young of having ripped jeans, I do have standards, lol. We got round to The Works but the books were out of stock and as it is a few miles away we decided not to order as I can always have a look in Wakefield as I am in often enough.

As we were unsuccessful we made our way back to the car and headed for home via Normanton, I needed some cigars so called into the small Asda to get some and then we decided to call into the Aldi at Featherstone to check on something. We got to the Aldi and Karen quickly nipped in and got what she wanted and then we made our way home.

Once home we unpacked and put the shopping away and I then made us a pot of tea, we watched the news and then Karen made us both some lunch and I had another pot of tea while we caught up with more programmes I had recorded. The rest of the afternoon was spent relaxing although Karen had to do a little bit of ironing before it was time for The Repair Shop. We watched a bit more TV and I read for a bit before I watched the news and Karen went and washed her hair before we had something to eat. The evening has been spent relaxing watching more programmes that have been recorded and I fired up the laptop to come on here.

Yesterday I went to pick Hannah up at 9.40am and also dropped Louise off at work, we chatted in the car and just got talking about things. I mentioned that I do have short periods where I feel a bit down, unlike some sufferers who have SAD Syndrome, normally in the first couple of months of the new year, mine can happen at anytime throughout the year. I also stated that although I want females to have wonderful careers, I was brought up to be the main breadwinner and feel as if I have let Karen and the kids down due to my ongoing back issues, I also said that the hierarchy was Karen, Rob and Amy first then me and now it is Karen, Rob and family and Amy and Andy then me. Louise told me that whenever Rob mentions his childhood, he always says how good it was and the holidays we had were always nice and that both him and Amy always enjoyed what they had. Slightly earlier than this revelation I did say to Louise that I wouldn't comment more as it would have led to me probably having a cry.

I took Hannah home via picking Louise up from work, we chatted about our day and then I dropped them home, nothing more was said about the morning chat. Rob rang us around 7pm and talked to his mum first as I was still eating and then Karen put me on, he said Louise had told him of our chat and he had rung to see how I was and to assuage Louise's concerns. I told Rob that I was ok but feeling frustrated about what my little gardening work was doing to my back and assured him everything was fine with me. I messaged Louise on Facebook and thanked her for her concern for me, things have certainly changed between us all since their little relationship blip and the diagnosis of Hannah's autism and the fact that Louise also has autism. It was nice that she thought something was amiss with me and I made sure that they are both assured that I am ok although I di have a little tear in my eye.

>234 johnsimpson: The banana in banana pudding is not cooked. You just create a custard. Then you layer vanilla wafers and bananas in a bowl, pour the custard over the top, cover it and refrigerate until it is set and chilled.

>239 thornton37814:, Sounds delicious Lori my dear.

>230 thornton37814: Nice, Lori. My sweet tooth is all but nonexistent, so I would probably never make banana pudding, although I would like to try my hand at banana bread one day (although zucchini bread or, even better, the white chocolate bread pudding that a New Orleanian friend of mine told me about would be even more appealing).

>231 benitastrnad: Benita, your post about Southern style turkey and rice has given me an idea. I've yet to make Creole dirty rice, and I'll bet it would taste great with turkey sausage as a substitute for pork sausage. I love dirty rice, so I'll give that a try soon.

>232 SandDune: Lamb for Easter sounds great. We've been invited to have lunch after church with a friend of my parents, so we probably won't make anything on Sunday.

>233 johnsimpson: That sounds terrible, John. Are you receiving any sort of therapy or other treatments for your back pain?

I'll probably go to the supermarket sometime tomorrow after I arrive at my parents' house. I'll check to see if it has legs of lamb...although I suspect not, as I was completely unable to find lamb in any of their local supermarkets several years ago. Very little lamb is grown for consumption here, and the vast majority of what we get comes from New Zealand.

>234 johnsimpson: I suppose you've heard about yesterday's horrific bus crash in Madeira yesterday. I hope that this road is repaired and better secured by the time of your vacation there...or, better yet, that you don't have to take that road at all.

Best wishes to you and Karen, mate. Is your back pain because of pottering in the garden or excessive imbibing of pots of tea!!?

Happy Easter weekend, John and Karen.

>241 kidzdoc:, Hi Darryl, I am on meds only, I have two Fentanyl patches which are changed every three days, 1 x 100mcg/hr and 1 x 50mcg/hr, I also take two 500mg Naproxen tablets, one on a morning and one at night and 1 Lansopramol to combat the Naproxen. I am going to have to go back to my GP to have the patches lifted to a total of 175mcg/hr as the current strength are not really touching the pain.

The bus crash in Madeira was quite shocking, we have not previously travelled as far as Canico before, the old roads are quite winding with steep drops normally to one side. Where we have travelled we have used public buses and marvel at the roads both for their winding and steepness, their "motorways" are called the Via Rapida and what we in England call Dual Carriageways but there are only a few of them and I don't think one goes as far as Canico. We have not been worried before about the roads to that extent, the only worry we had was the very first time we went in 2009 and our private taxi brought us from the airport to our hotel, initially everything was ok until we came to the winding, steep streets down to our hotel, the driver obviously knew the roads but sped down the hill, seemingly ignoring crossroads and we were both gripping onto hand rests until he dropped us off. We have not since had any problems so hopefully everything will be ok. With the way my back has been over the last couple of weeks, I cannot wait to get there to have two weeks of sun, the pool and rest and heat.

>242 PaulCranswick:, Hi Paul, some of the pain has been due to me pottering about but I have done everything I can do to limit any damage, I have taken my time, taken rests and at the end of the day they are jobs that you wouldn't get anyone in for and Rob is busy with work and his own garden. It is very frustrating to say the least but the current level of my patches is not really giving me any help at all so I will see my GP to up them slightly.

>243 Ameise1:, Thanks Barbara my dear.

The weekend has been quite good in certain aspects and not in others. Yesterday Karen was in work at 7am and finished at 4.30pm. After dropping her off I made my way home and had a couple of pots of tea and read before I had my breakfast. I continued reading and having pots of tea until Rob dropped Hannah off at 11am, once Hannah was dropped off he went to the Cricket club as it was their first league game of the season. I had Hannah with me until it was time to go and pick Louise up from work at 1.15pm.

I dropped Louise and Hannah home and then made my way home, on the way I called at the supermarket to get some money from the cash point and picked up my usual Yorkshire Post newspaper. Once home I made a pot of tea and read my paper before listening to the football commentary on the radio.

I went to collect Karen from work, I took her a pot of tea in the travel mug and then we made our way home. We both had another pot of tea before I went and had a shower and a shave, and Karen freshened herself up before we got changed to go out.

We went to our local pub, The New Inn to meet up with Geoff and Linda, and Alan and Theresa for a meal. We haven't been together for a meal or a drink for quite a while so there was a lot to catch up on. We all had a lovely meal as usual here and a few drinks before we all made our respective ways home.

Everything seemed fine when we went to bed and after a quick read we turned the lights out. I took a bit of time to drop off but at 2.20am I awoke feeling a little stiff and went to the toilet, as I got up off the toilet I felt a sharp spasm and it felt like the base of my back was going to lock, the pain shot up through my back and it was awful. I then struggled to get off to sleep, tossing and turning and eventually got up at 5.20am to get some juice and have a smoke. Once more I struggled to get back to sleep and eventually awoke at 7.40am and went and made us a pot of tea to have in bed. My back felt like it was on fire, the aches and pains just wouldn't abate. We eventually got up, washed and dressed, although it took me a little longer than normal as I was struggling.

We have had a really lovely Easter Sunday lunch with Amy, Andy, Rob, Louise and Hannah but I have been in constant pain all day. it is so frustrating as I had done nothing to cause this, it just came out of the blue. Eventually when they had all gone home I retired to lay on top of the bed to try and get some relief, this has not happened and I am typing through gritted teeth. I will be in the spare bed tonight so that hopefully I can get off to sleep and not disturb Karen as she is in work tomorrow, 1pm until 9pm, although she is hoping that they may get away for 8pm. I did think that the warm and sunny weather would help, it has been 25C today but it hasn't had any effect and I am in pain from the neck down to the backs of my knees. I just hope it disappears as quick as it came on, fingers crossed.

Happy Easter, John

Hopefully, your pain disappears after a good nights rest!

Finished book 27 on Saturday afternoon, Home Truths by Freya North. Raised by their loving and eccentric Uncle Django, the McCabe sisters assume their early thirties will be a time of happiness and stability.

However, Cat, the youngest, is home from abroad to begin a new phase of her life - but it's proving more difficult than she thought. Fen is determined to be a better mother to her baby than her own was to her - though her love-life is suffering as a result. Pip, the eldest, loves looking after her stepson, her husband, her Uncle and her sisters - even if her own needs are sidelined.

At Django's 75th birthday party, secrets are revealed that throw the family into chaos. Can heart and home ever be reconciled for the McCabes? After all, what does it mean if suddenly your sisters aren't quite your sisters?

Finished book 28 last night, the Five People you meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom. Karen read this book first and told me I had to read it, I have done and I will add it to Fragile Lives as my best books of 2019 even though it is not quite the end of April. Within 20 pages I loved this book and knew why Karen wanted me to read it and I do hope we do meet Five People in Heaven.

'All endings are also beginnings. We just don't know it at the time...'

On his eighty-third birthday, Eddie, a lonely war veteran, dies in a tragic accident trying to save a little girl from a falling cart. With his final breath, he feels two hands in his - and then nothing. He awakens in the afterlife, where he learns that heaven is not a lush Garden of Eden but a place where your earthly life is explained to you by five people who were in it. These people may have been loved ones or distant strangers. Yet each of them changed your path forever.

If you haven't read this book, please do.

>248 figsfromthistle:, Hi Anita my dear, thank you for the Easter message, sadly it appeared to have eased but it is another false dawn.

By the time it was time for bed on Sunday evening I spent an hour reading in our bed before going into the spare bed so that I could sleep on my back without disturbing Karen.

Karen awoke with the alarm and went and made us a pot of tea to have in bed and gave me a nudge and I joined her in our bed. Once the tea was drunk we got up, washed and dressed and then went downstairs to have some breakfast. I was still a little tender but did feel a bit better. We had a steady morning before I took Karen to work for 1pm, after dropping Karen off it took me nearly and hour to get home. The Asda car park was a nightmare, it just looked like Christmas all over again, the car park is set out badly so that one part, where I was, is difficult to get out of when it is this busy. Why Brits seem to think it is a good idea to go to a supermarket on a Bank Holiday is beyond me. Karen did say that in store it was manic, the store was only shut for one day for God's sake.

Once home I had a pot of tea and read for a bit before taking in a parcel for Matthew next door. A short time later I went to make another pot of tea and spotted Matthew's mum and dad had just come home so I went out and gave them his parcel, while doing this Karen had rung and left a message, she rang my mobile and got nothing and then she rang Rob. I got back in and heard the bleep on the phone to say there was a message, I got halfway through listening to this when Karen rang my mobile again and I answered this. It appeared that because I had not answered she had a bit of panic that I had fallen or something, I assured her I was fine but still a bit tender.

I had my pot of tea and then went out and mixed a small amount of cement to fill the hole for the washing line spike, I took my time and even sat down to do it, I managed easily and set the spike. I spent the rest of the afternoon resting and having a few pots of tea and read. I had something to eat and then rested until Karen rang to say she would be finishing at 8.30pm. I went and collected her and then once home we had a pot of tea and watched one programme I had recorded before going up to bed.

As it was Monday night I slept in the spare bed as usual to make sure Karen gets a good nights sleep before her long Tuesday shift.

Karen awoke with the alarm and then nudged me, we got up, washed and dressed and came downstairs to have a pot of tea and our meds before having some breakfast. I felt a slight tenderness but a lot better than Sunday, we watched a couple of programmes I had recorded and we had a pot of coffee. Before long it was time to take Karen to work. I dropped Karen off and made my way home after putting some diesel in the car.

Once home I had to put some air into my rear drivers side tyre as the warning had come up on the dashboard, when this was done I made a pot of tea and watched Politics live before watching the lunchtime news. When the news had finished I set up the DVD recorder to record a couple of programmes before making a pot of tea and doing the bank statements. When the statements were done I did a bit of shredding before going upstairs to put some receipts in the box and sorting through some paperwork that were no longer needed but needed shredding. I finished the shredding and then sneezed and within twenty minutes I was in intense pain. I had barely done much, some of it sat down and yet it still left me in pain.

This frustrates me no end and it is this that gets me down and makes me feel useless and of not much use. I know this is garbage but when in this much pain, all sorts of thoughts come to the fore. I rested and read before making myself something to eat before making a pot of tea and then firing up the laptop to come on here.

The weather over the last few days has been glorious with the weekend hitting 25C, yesterday warm sunny and warm but today has been a bit hazy although he sun was out but the temperature was a couple of degrees down. Sadly the weather has to go downhill over the next few days with thunder and rain for Thursday and rain right through the weekend. It will be very noticeable, 25C last Saturday and this Saturday it is forecast to be 10C, no wonder I am in the position I am in, a little bit of work and then poor weather. On the other side of the coin we do need some rain as the moorland around Huddersfield and Ilkley is on fire and there is no moisture deep down to help stop it. Our weatherman said tonight that we had 144% of expected rainfall in March but only 6% of April expected rainfall with only seven days of the month left.

Last night my patches were due to be changed, I had a look in my bedside cupboard and found some 25mcg/hr patches so we decided to add one to my current dosage and see if it makes a difference. I will do this again when they are next changed and if after two periods it has made a difference I will go back to my GP and ask to be upped to 175mcg/hr. The small patches were when I was moved to 125mcg/hr and it said they expired at the end of 2015, they have been kept cool and in the dark and obviously in their sealed packaging so hopefully they are ok.

I must say that I have noticed a little difference but am keeping my mind open at the moment but it may be that this is what is going to help.

Today has been pretty good even though the weather has started to change. Once we were up and about we had breakfast before we both started to read. Karen was waiting for Debbie, the nail technician to come and do her nails and I was just resting. As soon as I spotted Debbie parking up I put the kettle on to make us all a pot of tea, once the tea was made I returned to my book and made good progress with it. After making us all another pot of tea, I returned to my book. Once Debbie had finished and been paid, we got ready and went to the Aldi at Featherstone.

I parked up at the Aldi and Karen went into the store, she took the packaging and the foreign object that I had found in my meal to get a refund for it and another meal. When she spoke to the store manager he was appalled at the way I had been dealt with and sent Karen back to me to get the reference code so he could do some follow up. Once Karen had given him the details he told Karen to go and get a bunch of flowers and made sure that she got a refund and another meal and said he would try and find out why the customer services team seemed to be taking this rather flippantly.

Karen did the shopping while I stayed in the car and read, a short while later Karen was back at the car and putting the shopping on the back seat and told me all that had gone on. We made our way home and unpacked and put it all away before having a pot of tea. By the time we had finished our tea we decided to wait a bit longer and have a proper meal at 4.30pm. We watched a recorded episode of The Repair Shop before our meal was ready and then we watched todays episode of The Repair Shop. Once we had eaten and the programme had finished I picked up my book again and Karen did some knitting.

The amount of reading I have done so far today has put me in the position where I may finish my book before we turn out the light and go to sleep tonight.

The weather was warm but dull first thing but by lunchtime the sun was out and it had warmed up a bit, by the time we had put the shopping away it had come dull and a bit cooler. The sun came out again for a short while and then came over dull before it got a bit darker and we heard Thunder and then we had a heavy shower. The shower didn't last too long and it brightened up a bit before we had another short shower. Apparently this is just the precursor to the Thunder and heavy rain we are due to get over the next three days, not looking good for us tomorrow as we wanted to go off for a few hours. At the weekend I had thought we could go to the coast on Thursday but that was before I saw the forecast for the rest of the week. We will have to see what it is like when we get up in the morning and then look at the forecast before we decide what to do and where to go if we decide to go out.

Hi, John!

The forecast here looks like rain for the next ten days or so. Yoicks. I'm sorry that your plans may get jostled by your weather, too.

>256 scaifea:, Hi Amber my dear, so far it hasn't been as bad as forecast but there is still time with Friday and Saturday forecast to be bad and then there is a sign that things might start to improve. At the moment things are in place ready for some decent weather and it gives me time to rest up fully.

Finished book 29 just before midnight yesterday, Starting Over by Jack Sheffield. In this 11th book in the series, author Jack Sheffield takes the reader back in time to the 1952/53 school year. Back to the days when owning a television made you the envy of the neighbours, Woolworth's still had pride of place on the high street and the village panto was the height of entertainment.

Lily has just arrived, ready to begin her first year as a teacher at the village school. There to welcome her is John Pruett, who, after his years in the war, has settled into the role of headmaster. Tom, the local bobby, is also on hand to make her feel at home up north. But Lily has a secret lurking in her past that threatens the new life she's trying to build.

Readers of this series will recall that John Pruett retired at the end of the 1977 school year and Jack Sheffield took over the reins and the unofficial school logbook that John kept religiously each school year. This is a nice look back to Ragley village school just a few years after the end of the war. The next book takes the reader on a few years from 1952 and enters the 1960's and is due out at the end of July, already looking forward to this.

Hi John!

I'm so sorry your back has flared up again and hope the additional 25 mcg/hr patches make a difference and that you can get your GP to up your standard patches. Sneezing 'wrong' is one of the things that sets my back off although I did something on March 20th or 21st that is still giving me fits in my lower back and right hip.

Your reading is coming along nicely.

Sending love and hugs to you and Karen!

>258 johnsimpson: - Hi John. Hope all is well with you and yours.

That book cover has the identical font and design style as the books in the Call the Midwife series of books. At first glance, I thought this was one I didn't have!

Edited to add that the over that shows up in the link is not the same font at all. The 4 CTM books I own all have the font style of the cover shown in your >258 johnsimpson:

Finished book 30 late yesterday afternoon, The Little Grey Men go Down The Bright Stream by 'BB'. This is the companion book to The Little Grey Men.

"The fire went out and it became very cold inside the tree. But the gnomes were as warm as a littler of puppies. They all squeezed up, one against the other, and tucked the dead bracken bed around them and they snored and snored."

Dodder, Baldmoney, Cloudberry and Sneezewort are the last gnomes in Britain and they live by a Warwickshire brook. The book opens when they are in their winter retreat and are awakened by the appalling news that the Folly Brook is drying up and that they must move at once to find a home where they will be really safe.

I loved reading this as it brought back a lot of memories of listening to the original book read by one of the two lovely teachers when at junior school and the life long love of books they instilled in me.

Finished book 31 a few hours ago, Dream Angus by Alexander McCall Smith. A Celtic Myth revamped to the modern era.

I've been in a bit of a physical book reading slump. I just have too much to do at the moment, and sometimes petting the cats wins over reading. I've also got to begin thinking about the conference next week and what I may want to take with me.

>259 karenmarie:, Hi Karen my dear, the back did seem better with the extra 25mcg/hr patch, we did two changes and then last night back to my normal strength. I have been careful today but things have to be done so I got back into my routine and did the upstairs housework and bathroom and then after a late lunch I mowed the lawn. No long ago I put the bins out for the morning and just plucked some dead flower heads and some weeds to add to the garden bin for tomorrow and I am feeling a bit of a twinge. I definitely think that I will have to move permanently up to 175mcg/hr from my current 150mcg/hr.

The reading is just about on track for where I want to be at this point and I am really enjoying my choice of books, hope you and Bill are doing ok and send love and hugs to both of you.

>260 jessibud2:, Hi Shelley my dear, it does have a similar cover to the CTM books and the next one will have a similar cover, we have both loved these books as they bring back a lot of memories for both of us. Karen left school in 1977 and I left in 1979 but we listened, read and did a lot of the things in the books.

Hope all is well with you my dear and I must pop along to your thread, sending love and hugs dear friend.

>263 thornton37814:, Hi Lori my dear, sorry to read you are in a physical book slump, it would seem that you are rather busy at the moment and your mind is on other things at the moment and you have the fur babies to look after. Amy and Andy have just got a 4 year old cat from the Cat rescue, he is called Combie and has just been allowed out. Combie seems to have settled well with them and we are looking forward to going over to see him, hopefully on Sunday.

Sending love and hugs dear friend.

The last few days have been fairly busy and I haven't noted things down although most of it has been pottering about and getting some reading done which has got me into a good position.

We did have a wander to the Outlet Mall on the outskirts of York last Thursday and I got a couple of nice t-shirts for our holidays.

The temporary uplift with my patches seemed to do the trick and last night I went back to my normal strength and will see if that sets me back, if it does then I will have to see my GP and get permanently uplifted. I have done what I normally do on a Tuesday and after a food break I mowed the lawn. Not long ago I took the household and garden bin to the bottom of the drive for the refuse collectors tomorrow, I noticed that some of the bulbs that had flowered needed dead heading so I did this and picked out a few weeds and dandelions to add to the garden bin. As I made my way back into the house I noticed some stiffness in my back, it may just be because of what I had just done but I will monitor it and hope that the pain does not flare up badly again.

As it is the first of May tomorrow I will start a new thread, this one is getting a bit long so I think it is time for a new one and it will coincide with me publishing my April stats. I hope to do it in the morning at some point and we are having Hannah in the afternoon after I have picked her up from school.

Hi John. I am sorry your back is giving you so much pain. I hope those extra patches help you. I have a bad back as well, and sometimes the slightest thing can set it off.

I did have a lot of help from a physical therapist I visited last year. A couple of very firm (and a bit painful) massages have helped me a lot. Have you ever tried it?

Sorry to hear that your back is giving you so much pain. I hope that you can soon get your patches sorted and feel more like yourself. Love and hugs to you and Karen.

>269 EllaTim:, Hi Ella my dear, sorry to hear that you also suffer with a bad back, since it first flared up in 1991 I have had physio, cortisone injections, 35 sessions of Osteopathic treatment and then injections either side of my spine, acupuncture and then finally a pain specialist at Pontefract got me weaned off the 23 tablets a day and then prescribed the Fentanyl patches. I will make an appointment to see my GP next week when I have fully tested being back on my normal patch levels, currently I am as deaf as a post in my right ear and will have it syringed next Tuesday, meanwhile I am putting Olive oil in twice a day.

>270 vancouverdeb:, Hi Deborah my dear, I will get the patches sorted out next week I hope and meanwhile I will get some reading done. Sending love and hugs to you and Dave dear friend.

I have been delayed in putting up the new thread but should have it up within the next 30 minutes, meanwhile please continue on here for the moment.