Christmas week 2014

Well christmas finally came, as it has a tendency too whether we are ready or not. 

I was pretty ready although we spent the last few days before Christmas making some homemade drinks for gifts, and generally running around doing last minute jobs. 

It didn't help that my work kept phoning as there seemed to be a domino effect of people going sick. I ended up working my day off, but got Christmas Eve off instead which I think was a better deal. I lost a little money, but sometimes there are just more important things.

On Christmas Eve we dropped off the presents to my mother in law, and then went through to see my stepdaughter and her 3 kids. Aged 5, 3, and 1 the house was busy :) we had bought them (the two oldest boys) gifts of Lego, which they were allowed to open. That was a mistake, lol, we hadn't realised they would be in a million pieces, none of which looked like the race car and fire truck on the box. 

We helped them to assemble something that had wheels and left :). 

We missed santa / the space station by about 10 minutes, and while I looked I couldn't see it from the car. 

Christmas Day itself was a nice relaxed affair, although the turkey took ages to cook, we had our starter of garlic mushrooms about 3 hours before. We watched a couple of films, including my favourite "it's a wonderful life", and later that night my mum and dad came over. It was nice just sitting and chatting to them while eating nibbles.

Boxing Day was spent with me working, and my husband fishing, I'll never understand the urge people have to buy more food and drink Boxing Day :).

Well that was my christmas, I hope you all had a lovely day if you celebrate or not :).

Boxing Day in retail

I work for a large grocery chain, and today I was at work.

Several things struck me about the changing times that we live in, for a start today was reasonably busy. People were buying all sorts, including the snacks in the sales. That always puzzles me as its just rampant consumerism, nobody needs that many snacks or even that much chocolate. 

Apart from that it was strange as people didn't seem to realise it's Boxing Day, they were surprised that we closed early. 

The job itself has also changed, there's a lot more to do as there's the start of all the sale things, and the start of food for new year. It was busy with a lot to do, and of course it's double time so there's only two people in and one of them is on the till. 

I miss the days we were closed, and people made their piles of food last two days, but sadly judging by the sales I don't think we will go back to that anytime soon.

Happy Christmas

Just a quick post to say Merry Christmas to all my readers, I hope you all have a great Christmas.

Third week of December, it's beginning to feel like Christmas

On Saturday I put my tree and decorations up, I go with the whole 12 days before thing like my mum does. I have a large 7 foot white artificial tree, which goes together by poking each individual wire branch in it's hole. It's pretty time consuming, but looks nice when it's done, and at least last year I put it away neatly so I didn't have to sort the branches first. Apart from the tree I just hang some tinsel around the tv and fire place, and then put up my snowman and mouse. The mouse is a bit poorly this year, it sings and jiggles to "let it snow" but you can now hear the whirring noise of him moving. 

Last Sunday was a relaxing affair as I was off work, so I pretty much just sat around catching up online. 

The rest of the week was a mixture of work and getting the last of my Christmas shopping done. The highlight of it was posting my brother's presents to France, and it only taking 5 days to get there. 

On the Friday I went out with my dad, but with the damp weather we just went and had a look around the shops in Morpeth. I didn't even take any photos. 

Overall it was a good week, I got some jobs done, although not as many as I'd like, but overall I'm happy.

Second week of December 2014

Last week was a busy week, as you might expect in December. 

On Monday we went to have a look at what was for sale in the auction in Newcastle, they had some lovely things, although the general sale was pretty empty of things. There was nothing we wanted to buy though.

On Tuesday I went to Seahouses with my mum and dad. My dad is paying for me and my mum to go for a pamper day at their leasure centre, it's our Christmas present, but we won't be going until January. It was a nice day and we had a walk around the harbour. 

Wednesday saw us going across to my parents so my husband could have a look at their outside light. It was completely broken so they've bought a new one, and my husband will fit it when he gets the chance. 

Thursday was my works night out. We went to greyhound racing at Newcastle, it was really good fun. It was also a cheap night, as my work gave us money towards it, and we won a little bit of money, so I came back with £7 more than I went with :). I did end up paying for it on Friday though as I felt ill all day :). I might have over done it, although I only had two and a half pints of cider.

First week of December 2014

This week seems to have flown by and I can't believe it's already the second week of December. It really will soon be christmas, I should probably get on with that christmas shopping.

This is one of those weeks were I don't know what I've done with my time, I wasn't at work a lot as they are cutting back on overtime, but I don't seem to have done much at home except make lists. I'm great at making lists, but not so great at doing them lol.

One thing I have accomplished this week is to make more money online, I use a combination of different earning sites, and this week I've made about £20, although the only thing I've actually cashed out is a £10 Complements voucher from the Ipsos Mori survey site. I've also joined Clixsense, and restarted doing Neobux. Both are paid to click sites, I've made a little bit on them, but my laptop overheats so I don't get the clicks in I'd like.

My mum and dad came back on holiday this week, and they both seem to have had a nice time. They went whale watching at Tenerife, and on a horse and cart in Las Palmas. When it came to my usual friday out with my dad we both went to a local pub called the Kitty Brewster for a bite to eat. The food was nice, I had a bacon egg, and mushroom sandwich, which came with chips and salad.

I think that's about it for my week :)

Last Week Of November 2014

Last week was the last week of November and the year seems to be flying by, or I should say has just about flown by.

I started the week last saturday with a trip to the coast with my husband, he wanted to film the sea :). It was quite rough as the tide was coming in and I managed to get some great photos. It was a nice day, chilly but sunny and dry.

We went around nearby Seaton Sluice bay, and my husband got chatting to a fisherman at one end, while I took photos of nearby St Mary's lighthouse. By this time it wasn't long before sun set so the light was great for taking photos.

That looks like a great place to fish, if you like standing on the edge of a cliff.

The rest of the week was pretty wet, and I didn't seem to get much done except work.

I did send the court paperwork in for taking the council to court for the loss of his hackney carriage license, but they've returned it as they wanted more information for our fees remission. That was pretty annoying as it was all there, but I've added another bank statement which had come in the post, and hopefully this time it will go ok. 

A ship heading into a rough North Sea, Brave men

A great video of a boat plowing through the North Sea

Newcastle Castle Keep

My photo slideshow of photos of Newcastle Castle Keep

My Mum's Birthday Week, November 2014

The third week in November is also the week my mum's birthday falls on.

I booked the week off work as I never know if she wants to do something or go somewhere. It turns out she did, her and my dad have gone on a cruise to the Canary Islands :). I was pleased I had the week off work though as we they got picked up at some motorway services at 5 in the morning, and we dropped them off. The services are normally about 30 to 40 minutes away by car, but their were road works on the main route and the road was closed so we went the long way round. We left just after 3 in the morning and got there about 4. We stopped to have a coffee with them, to make sure they were settled. My mum's a worrier so I was pleased when it all went smoothly for them, and they texted me that night to let me know they were safely on the boat.

The highlight of my week was going into the nearby city of Newcastle with my dad on Monday. I had bought a Groupon (a deal site) voucher for two for the price of one entry into Newcastle Castle Keep. We got the metro through to Newcastle, it's a smaller version of the London Underground, and visited the keep first.

I really enjoyed the keep, although it was a bit tiring. It's quite small but there are a lot of stairs. The best part is the view of Newcastle from the top, the keep is close to the river so we could see several of the bridges, and across the city to Grey's Monument and St James (Home to Newcastle United).

A Model Of the Keep

The Great Hall

The Keep

 The view across to Gateshead

The Tyne Bridge

The High level (right) and Swing Bridge

Grey's Monument

St James

The Gateshead Millenium Bridge

The railway station

After visiting the keep we took some photos from the High Level Bridge, and then visited the beautiful St Nicholas Cathedral, which also has a great cafe and a lovely chaplain.

The Altar

The stone masons

The Mayor's Tomb

St Nicholas Cathedral

Finally we had a look at the christmas market, which confusingly I think is only there until the end of November, and the department store Fenwick's Christmas window, which is Alice in Wonderland this year. It was a great day out.

The rest of my week off seemed to pass in a blur of catching up with my favourite writing site Bubblews, doing surveys and tidying the house.

Remembrance Week 2014

Last week started with Remembrance Sunday here in the UK, at 11 am on the sunday and on Remembrance Day itself which is the 11 of November we hold a two minutes silence to remember those who lost their lives. 

I was at work both days and on the Sunday I was surprised by whoever runs the radio station as they chose to play bird sounds instead. It sounded nice, but was a strange choice for a two minute silence :). 

On the Tuesday I was really annoyed by a customer, as despite the fact I was holding a sign to warn people we were holding the two minutes silence, and the radio had just said he proceeded to harass me for a bag and moan that the two minutes must be over. He even suggested when the two minutes was over that it was something we'd made up, as if I have that much spare time on my hands at work.

While I don't always remember the two minute silence when I'm at home, Remembrance Day is important to me as the day we remember all those who gave and continue to give their lives so that we can live and have a better life. I'm only sad that a hundred years on from the start of world war 1, the war to end all wars, that we are still having to fight wars to let people live safely. 

The rest of my week was again a blur of work, and I didn't even get time to go out with my dad on Friday. 

The highlight of my week was probably cashing out on the social writing site bubblews :).

Bonfire night week

The first week of November here in the UK is always a week of listening to fireworks. 

On the 5 th of November we celebrate Guy Fawkes or bonfire night.  This celebrates the failure of the Gunpowder Plot to blow up the Houses of Parliament and king James 1 (vi of Scotland). The plot was lead by Robert Catesby, with Guy Fawkes being in charge of lighting the fuse. 

In the UK we celebrate the failure of the plot by having Bon fires, burning a guy (a stuffed representation), and watching fireworks. We also eat hotdogs, and jacket or baked potatoes which are traditionally cooked in foil in the bonfire. 

I didn't go to a celebration as I was working, although I did see a few fireworks. 

My week passed in a blur of work, with the high point being going out for lunch with my dad on Friday. We went to a local pub restaurant, where I had a nice sausage and mash. We spent the afternoon chatting, as it was raining. I did take some photos of the lake the pub is on though.

On the Saturday I went to look at an inside car boot sale with my husband. These are sales in the UK where you put all your old stuff you want to sell in your car, drive to somewhere the event is organised and then out it all on a table to sell. The one we went to looked pretty quiet but I think we are still going to give it a go selling there at the weekend.

Last week of October and Halloween

Well the last week of October seems to have passed in a blur of work, although I did get more done than last week. 

I went back to work on Tuesday, although I was still feeling sniffy and tired from last weeks cold. I combated that by having a few afternoon naps and trying to take it easy at work, not always easy, but I aimed for more of a slow steady pace, which seemed to work. 

On Monday I went to a nearby park with my husband called Jesmond Dene, it's pretty large with lots of different things in it. There is a small zoo with birds and sheep, a visitors centre, as well as lots of old lovely buildings. We walked along to a lovely waterfall, and I couldn't resist looking at the old mill, which is now a ruin. 

On Friday I went out with my dad to nearby Blyth quayside. We had a nice bite to eat at a small cafe which is actually a charity, as its ran by volunteers and all the money goes to the local lifeboat. We then had a walk around nearby Ridley Park, which was lovely and we enjoyed a cup of tea outside :). 

On Halloween I didn't do much, we only had one lot of trick or treaters, and those were my friends children :). I can remember going trick or treating when I was a child, but it wasn't as big in the UK as it is now. I had to make my own costume, and we were lucky to get a couple of sweets, 30p and an apple. Nowadays it's much more commercialised and I know children who get £30 plus lots of sweets :)

October Round up week 3

The third week of October has been a week I've lost pretty much to the common cold. My husband kindly gave me it at the end of last week and I've spent all of this week fighting it.

I was off sick from work for most of the week and spent a lot of the time in bed, catching up on bubblews and reading The White Queen by Phillipa Gregory. I was even too ill to go out with my dad on the Friday, instead he came to mine for a cup of tea.

One thing did catch my eye at on the news last week, apparently it's a waste of time buying cold and flu remedies we should just use honey and lemon. Apart from the fact I doubt it's much cheaper, as have they seen the price of decent honey? I had just stocked up on an own brand hot lemon drink and some Jakemans cold lozenges. I would have bought more but nearly every cold remedy there is includes paracetamol, so clearly these are not something you can easily mix and match. I'm pretty much better now, and in all fairness I suspect it was the extra sleep which helped.

On the topic of our problems with the Asda van hitting our car, after several more phone calls on Saturday we finally got a letter from their claims handlers asking us to provide a statement of what happened, a diagram, photos and to get two written independent quotes. We sent a letter back pointing out my husband is self employed and we don't have time to run around after a company who has performed an illegal act, although we did include photos, the diagram, a description of their drivers antics and a copy of the cctv. We also suggested that they send a claims assessor like any other insurance company, or they can of course just send the vehicle somewhere to be fixed.

I think that's about all for last week, I hope you all had a better one :)

Second week in October weekly roundup

So last week seems to have gone by in a blur of work and sickness. It started off with my husband coming down with a nasty cold and proceeded to him giving it to me, thanks dearest.

Apart from that work remains chaotic as we are still short staffed, but there is light at the end of the tunnel and we should soon be taking more people on. 

The highlight of the week for me was visiting Bailiffgate Museum in Alnwick with my dad. It is a small museum all about Alnwick and the surrounding area, and is pretty interactive and fun. We both had a lovely time trying on hats and reading about the past and seeing different things from the past. We even learned a bit about Alnwick Pants, which are water fountains. 

The second highlight was a belated night out for my husband's birthday. We went to Laos in China town in Newcastle, it's an all you can eat buffet style restaurant. It was a nice meal and there was plenty of choice and nice food. We finished the night of with a drink in Rosie's bar, which is also in China Town. again we had a great time and there was a great atmosphere. The bar is a real mix of locals, townies and students.

The low point of my week was an Asda delivery van knocking the wing mirror of our car and then driving off. Luckily we had it on cctv, so my husband has contacted Asda to see what they are going to do. As of today they should have filled out a claim form, so hopefully we will hear back from the insurance company.

October Weekly Roundup

Well this has been my first week back since my holiday to Mallorca, so how has it been?

I think it's gone quite well although it's felt like a long week 

I've been reading Paul McKenna's book "Change your life in 7 days", although it's took me 6 days to get to day 4, I've been taking my time on day 4 as it's all about setting goals to make your dreams come true.

Work has been busy all week because we are looking for new staff, but the extra overtime will help bring in more money for christmas, and other things, and in a few weeks we will have new staff which is always nice, as I like meeting new people.

On thursday I went out with my mum and dad to the nearby village of Newbiggin by the sea. We had a lovely meal at the cafe in the visitor centre, and a nice walk along the sea front, although there was a lot of dog mess!

The high point of the week was my husband beating The Claims Guys. They are a ppi claims company who he had an agreement with back in 2011 to get the ppi back on a loan my husband had. They got the money back, but they really annoyed us with the fees as they lied to my husband. They had told him that he needed to pay their fee as he was going to receive the money himself direct from Northern Rock, so he agreed to pay on his credit card. The only problem was Northern Rock paid them, and it took them two months for them to pay my husband meaning he had to pay interest to the credit card. He wasn't happy and had cancelled another claim they were going to do for him after the first. He eventually got the money for the second claim last year, and The Claims Guys then attempted to bill him despite never having an agreement for the work. Needless to say he refused to pay. This year they had initiated proceedings in the small claims court, but after they read our defense, and our evidence that they never followed the rules at the time to create an agreement they dropped the case. A win win for me as it's less work for me, and means that I can go out with my dad this friday.

So it was a good week back, and I'm pleased to say I'm still feeling positive :)

Beamish

Last month I went to Beamish museum, in County Durham. It's an open air museum with a hands on approach.

The museum is set out into different areas, each of which showing a different period in north east England's history. There is a 1825 wagonway, called Pockerly Wagonway which has rides on different replica steam wagons. We went on a reproduction of the steam elephant, which was based on a wagon which used to take coal from the mine at Wallsend to the dock on the Tyne.

Next to this is Pockerly Manor house, which has been in the grounds since the 1400s, it now shows what life was like in the 1800s. There are several people in period costumes explaining different things and doing traditional crafts, like baking and candle making. I particularly liked the bed in a wooden box, as this reminds me of the description of the bed in Wuthering Heights.

The view from Pockerly Manor

There is also a pit village, which is made up of different buildings which have been taken down from other places in the north east and rebuilt. They include a 1913 school, terrace houses, a church, and some mine buildings. There is also a drift mine you can go down, and a traditional fish and chip shop.

Pit Ponies

The School

A Pit village bedroom

The other sections are Home Farm which is a farm set during world war 2 in the 1940s.

There is a main farm house, and a terrace of cottages across the road. There is also a few animals, and vegetables and things growing. There was also a lot of old farm machinery. In the house there was two ladies cleaning the old copper kitchen equipment in period dress, and old war songs on the radio. There was also an old air raid shelter in the garden, I was how small it was.

There was also a small outside cafe selling soup and drinks. We just had some of the pop we had taken with us, at a picnic table.

I liked the house in this section, and the animals, although none of them were very cooperative. The horses in the stables both had their backs to us, and the first pig we saw was busy ignoring us, even the ducks in the pond kept bobbing under the water when I tried to get a photo :)*

The last section we visited was the town which was set around 1917, this has old shops, a newspaper press, a bakery, a bank as well as a dentist. I loved this section, although it did feel like everywhere was trying to sell something. There was also a lovely park, a victorian train station and fair ground rides. 

The Hammer house of horrors. I mean the dentist :)

To get around the different sections we travelled on different old fashioned buses and trams. 

It was a great day out and with the ticket price to get in you can get in all year. I really would recommend a visit if you are in the area.

*Extract from my bubblews account