My book list for March

 Here we go with my reading list for March, three very different books!

Once again Freida McFadden has had me thinking I know which way a storyline is going and then completely taken me by surprise. Before I go any further I need to say that this book is not for the squeamish!

Sydney is looking for a caring, compassionate partner but is having little luck with the men she is meeting via a dating app.  Then she meets someone who seems to tick all the boxes of the qualities she is seeking, he's charming, successful and is a doctor at a local hospital.  

But let's go back in time to a young boy called Tom and his friend 'Slug', both boys are unpopular with the 'cool' kids and both seem to have slightly odd interests.  Tom is obsessed with the girl across the street, Daisy, whose father is a local police officer.  After the disappearance of a girl who Tom was tutoring, Daisy's father says that she should have nothing to do with Tom anymore as he suspects he may not be all he seems.    

Let's return to the present day, where Sydney discovers that her best friend has been brutally murdered.  In a total state of shock she is supported by a mutual friend, Gretchen, and her boyfriend who happens to be the caretaker of the apartments where the girls live.  But Sydney's boyfriend is starting to act suspiciously and she is now wondering if he could be the mystery doctor that her murdered friend was dating before she died.

I smugly thought I knew where this was going.  I confidently believed that I could match up the characters from the past to those in the present.  Reader, I was wrong!

What a twist at the end and what a feeling that things have not been tied up as neatly as it seemed!

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I decided it was time for a different genre of book for my next read, I needed a break from murders!

Emilie de la Martinieres travels to her family home following the death of her mother.  The two had never been close and Emilie feels that she knew little about her. Being an only child, Emilie inherits all her mother's worldly goods, which includes a chateau and vineyard in the South of France.  Here she meets Sebastian, with whom she falls in love and marries before moving to his family home in England while renovations to the chateau are taking place.

In the midsts of checking out the chateau and trying to make decisions for the future she discovers a book of poems written by a previous occupant.  These lead her to search for more information about the author, her aunt Sophie, whose love affair changed the course of the family history.  

The story moves between 1943 and 1998, as Emilie discovers more and more information about her family's connection to the chateau. This part of the story introduces Constance, a young British agent who finds herself involved in the de la Martinieres family. Realising that their lives are in danger at their home in Paris she travels with the daughter of the family (Emilie's aunt Sophie) to their home in the south.  

There is a lot of family connections in this story but it is one that I enjoyed and would recommend.

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For my last book I decided to try something different.

I really enjoy the TV series Gavin and Stacey and wondered if Ruth Jones would be as good an author as she is a scriptwriter.

Us Three follows three girls who are best friends at school and swear an oath on a Curly Wurly sweet wrapper that they will always be there for each other no matter what life holds for them.

After they leave school and before they go to university they plan a fantastic trip but on their return, things take a huge turn and their friendship possibly lies in tatters.  Their innocent childhood promise looks unlikely to be fulfilled.  Sometimes it is hard to be the one in the middle of two friends who fall out and are either unwilling or unable to forgive and forget.

I enjoyed this book, and I changed my opinion of the characters several times before the ending! If you are looking for a nice easy read, this is one to try.

#WBOYC in March

 

So another month has gone past in fast forward mode and suddenly here we are with British Summer Time beginning in a few days. Here's a brief resume of how my month progressed, noting that I ended the month a whole year older than when it started 🎉

Watching and Reading

I managed to read a variety of books this month and you can see my reviews of those in a couple of days time.  On TV we watched the Netflix drama that everyone is talking about, Adolescence.  What a powerful performance from everyone concerned.  It makes me grateful that the online world was not as compulsive when my children were growing up but concerned for my grandchildren.  I think that it should be viewed by all parents of young children and teenagers to forewarn them of the dangers that they may be vulnerable to experience. We are also watching Protection which we are enjoying and we've also just finished The Bay.  I am watching White Lotus (Paul has given up with that one!)

Eating

We are still enjoying experimenting with the recipe spice box that our son arranged for our Christmas present - tonight it is the turn of lamb rogan josh.  We were sent all the herbs and spices needed, we just have to provide any fresh products.  I love Rogan Josh in Indian restaurants so have high hopes for this one!  

We have been to lunch twice at friends' houses and enjoyed a lovely Sicilian lunch out in Cambridge for my birthday.

Self Care

I'm still continuing with my pilates class and think there may be a tiny improvement in my flexibility.  Plus I am managing to hold all the positions a bit longer and don't find them quite so difficult.  But ... there is still a long way to go!  Still enjoying my Zumba Gold classes, you really do feel lighter and more positive after an hour of dancing.

At the end of last month I was awaiting results of my scan and I cannot put into words how relieved I was to receive a call to say that there was nothing sinister detected and they did not want to send me for more tests. 

Days Out

We went to Cambridge on my birthday, it is such a lovely place.  Full of character and atmosphere and always somewhere new to discover.  

We also went to Walton on the Naze when we went to visit friends who live near there.  It's a place of two halves, on one side the seaside resort and pier that was so popular years ago but now looking a little tired, and on the other side a more wild, natural area which is sadly at risk of coastal erosion.  

There’s a bit of a story behind the new car I got this month.  Let’s just say that I am driving a new car, but it’s not the one I ordered 😬 I'll elaborate more after the garage manage to get the car that I wanted in the first place - hopefully not too long to wait!

Here's the month, 1 Second Everyday

Now please do pop over to Deb's World in Australia who co-hosts this fun monthly round up.  Better still, join in the fun and share your month too!

Me on Monday

 Hello to another new week!

This one is starting off with an exciting event, I'm picking up my new car today 😁. It is another mini, let's just say I've found a car I love to drive and see no reason for trying anything else.  I've just cleaned and emptied my existing one and woe betide the grandchild who makes the first muddy footprint in the new one!

We went to visit friends who live close to Frinton on Sea at the weekend.  After a lovely Sunday lunch we decided to pop to the beach which is only a five minute drive away.  However, as we got closer we could see a traffic hold up.  There is only one road in and out of Frinton, and that road has a railway crossing through it. One of those crossings that has white gates that close the through way to traffic before and after the train has passed. When we realised that traffic hadn't moved after the train had gone through we guessed something was wrong.  Our friend got out the car to investigate and it seemed that the barriers had locked in the down position.  So no one could drive into Frinton and even worse, the people wanting to leave were trapped the other side of the barrier!

So a change of plan was hurriedly made and we diverted to the next town along the coast, Walton on the Naze.  We had a lovely walk along the Naze but were shocked to see how much coastal erosion there has been.  It won't be long until that footpath we were using would fall to the sea.

The week ends with the start of British Summer Time which will mean lighter mornings and later sunsets.  It's also Mother's Day here in England so I will be taking some flowers to my Mum's grave and remember how much she meant to me and how she taught me to be the mother I am today.  How grateful I am to have had her as my mum.  My children are now parents themselves so hopefully they will be organising something special for our grandchildren to treat their mums and I will make sure that my Sunday involves a favourite lunch as a treat to me!

Have a good week, I'm just off to Pilates so will no doubt spend a lot of tomorrow wondering why my legs ache so much - I may have to take myself out on a little drive in my new car to take my mind of it 😀

Me on Monday

 Well here I am, another year older 😊 I had a nice relaxing birthday; we went to Cambridge as that’s one of my favourite places to spend time. We had lunch in the Sicilian restaurant that we love

Yes that toasted focaccia sandwich was almost the size of my arm but I promise we shared it! It was a Saporita Spianata, Provola cheese, pancetta, roasted red pepper, and caramelised onions on sourdough focaccia. Yum 😋 

The two guys sitting behind me were discussing the problems food outlets have with people hogging tables, and spending hours over one cup of coffee.  Their particular pet peeves?  Young mums with toddlers/babies in buggies, not only monopolising a table but cluttering the spaces between tables, and - wait for it - 'ladies of a certain age' chatting for over an hour with a toasted cheese sandwich and a drink.  Had it not been my birthday I may have felt inclined to give him the opinion of one of those ladies of a certain age!

My ‘knit and natter’ group have been making squares to join together to make blankets for the palliative care unit of our local hospital. It’s been quite a challenge and I am almost finished putting the crochet edge on the second one.  I have a new, much smaller project on the go now. I’ve never made myself anything to wear so I have a hexi cardigan on my hook. At the moment it looks like a teeny tiny cardigan for a toy doll, but it will grow with every row!

Last Monday I was telling you how lovely the weather had been. A few days later and we were caught out in a hailstorm while walking Coco! British weather eh? 

This week I have a couple of lunches out, I am making up for hibernating for the last few weeks. I have to make a fast exit from pilates this morning as I need to be at a friend's house within 45 minutes!  Good job both places are very local to me.

Have a good week and here's hoping we have more sunshine and less hailstones this time x

Me on Monday

 I feel like I should rename this 'Me on every other Monday' as it certainly hasn't been a weekly theme recently!

This Monday finds me feeling much less stressed and more happy than the last ones have - all due to a telephone call I received on Friday from the consultant gastroenterologist to say that my CT scan was clear and I don't need to have follow up tests.  Oh the relief.  As I finished the call I was in tears of joy and quite literally felt as if a weight had been lifted.  I do hope that all the other patients on the appointment list were as fortunate as I was because I know that things could have been very different and my heart goes out to those who find themselves on a different journey.

We had a family packed weekend which was just what I needed after such an anxious time. The weather has been absolutely glorious and we’ve made the most of it because it’s early days to assume the run of good weather will last. We watched Leo play football on Saturday morning and that had the added bonus of his team winning the match. 

We try and get the family together for lunch on the Sunday between our son’s birthday and mine and this Sunday was the day. We had a lovely time and the children all enjoyed playing together in the garden. Naturally there was cake, even though my birthday isn’t officially here until Friday

So today will be starting with a pilates class (yes I signed up for another block of lessons!) and then I do need to catch up on the dreaded pile of ironing which seems to have built up while I wasn't looking.  Hopefully I can find something on the tv to watch while doing my least favourite chore.

The week will be ending with my birthday and we are planning a trip to Cambridge and then Paul is cooking me a meal in the evening.  Sixty seven!  The years are flying by.

How are your weekly plans looking?  I hope you have something good planned x

#WBOYC in February

 What's been on my calendar?  Truthfully, not very much!

The weather has been miserable, but that's no excuse really for not doing things but boy does it take more of an effort!

So here we go

Watching and reading

We have started watching Zero Day on Netflix which seems like it may be something we will both enjoy.  Also enjoying Amanda and Alan's Spanish Job, where Amanda Holden and Alan Carr are renovating a large house in a small Spanish village.  The chemistry between them is hilarious.  The new series of Unforgotten has begun and I'm already wondering how all these different strands of story are going to link together.  I am ashamed to say that I have only read one book this month.  You can see that review here.

Eating 

I've met up with a few old friends for coffee this month.  Paul and I haven't been out for a meal at all, but we did cook a special meal at home for Valentine's Day and we did have friends over for a takeaway Indian a couple of weeks ago which was really tasty.  You see what I mean when I say February = hibernation!

Self care

I am still going to the Pilates class, I'm not sure there's been a huge improvement in my balance and flexibility but it's still early days!  Zumba is still a lot of fun and always puts you in a feel good frame of mind for the rest of the day.

There was a Pneumococcal vaccination for me, another 'benefit' of being over 65!  You only have to have it once in your lifetime and I had no side effects so that was good to do.

I had the CT scan on my liver at the beginning of the month but am still waiting anxiously for the follow up consultation which isn't until the beginning of March and even then it will be a telephone appointment rather than face to face.  

Naturally there has been a hair cut and I had my BIAB manicure removed to let my nails breath.  The minute that polish comes off my nails go from looking perfect to different sizes and shapes.  I really should look after them better when they are more vulnerable to breaking!

Days out

We haven't had any days out this month - what a boring post this is!  At the risk of sounding incredibly British, the weather has not been conducive to going out for the day.  Plus our local councils have road works going on with closed roads and traffic lights on every approach road into and out of town.  On the day of my scan, it took us 55 minutes to do a trip that should take 20 - thank goodness Paul had come with me and was able to drop me at the door and then fight for a parking space.  I would have been even more stressed if I'd been late and not able to park!

At the risk of blaming the grandchildren, obviously as it was half term we had them here for longer on the days that I normally just do school pick up and dinner duties.  So that was lovely, except Olive was not impressed by having her big brother gatecrashing her Nanny and Grandpa day.  

Although we haven’t ventured far, I tend to forget that most weekends we go to the country park which is close to where we live. It’s a favourite walking route for Coco. As it’s on our doorstep I don’t include it as going out, but for many people who live further away it is considered a lovely place to travel to for a day out.

Here’s my 1 second everyday video!

Deb in Australia has been far busier than me, check out her monthly round up Here

Me on Monday

 This week it finally feels like Spring is trying hard to come through

I met a friend for coffee at a farm shop in a village which is half way between us both and look at the view from the window, blue skies … BLUE! I also wore a jacket, not a full coat 😎

Then on Saturday is was warm enough to be out in the garden tidying up the flower borders rather than sitting inside looking out the window at the jobs that need doing. It was a good surprise to see that an anemone that Max had given me on my birthday last year is coming back into flower.

We have even bought a new garden bench, but may wait until we’ve had more than one warm day before we put it in the garden! Don’t want to tempt fate eh?

I was reminded of this photo which was taken ten years ago

I had taken part in a quilting square swap with a group of other bloggers and this was the lap quilt I made with the squares I was sent. Such a lovely group of bloggers. I miss those days! 

So this week, what does it hold? A Pilates class, a hair cut, a day of looking after Olive, a Zumba class and a knit and natter get together. A good selection of things!

How is your week looking?