Too Much Choice? Yes or No?!

I don’t usually put up a Post so soon after my last one, but here I am.  Lucky you! 🤨😂.  I’m delighted to say that the snow has all melted and normal service has been resumed over here in heavenly Devon.

What gave me the title for my meanderings today, you might be wondering.  But then again, you might not!  I shall tell you anyway, so pin back your ears.  Actually, it was all brought about by Hot Cross Buns.  Hot Cross Buns, I hear you cry - how come?

Next week it will be Easter (and, yes, we have been threatened with another bout of snow over the holiday period, but I am choosing to ignore that just at this moment. Sticking my head in the sand you might say).  Anyway, I was at my local Supermarket this morning, and I just couldn’t believe the range of Hot Cross Buns that were on sale.  I started taking  photos - I’m sure the other customers were thinking, who is this crazy woman taking photos of Hot Cross Buns.  But when I’m on a mission, I won’t be deterred.   Last week, I even bought a packet of Salted Caramel and Chocolate Chip ones.  Unfortunately, I can’t show you that packet, as I’ve eaten them all. 😱

So hence my question, do we have TOO much choice these days?  You go for a packet of crisps and there are TWO aisles full of assorted crisps.  I can remember (alright, I know I’m ancient) when we just had a packet of Smith’s Crisps, with a little blue sachet of salt inside.  Who else remembers those ? No, you’re far too young!

Looking at that packet of crisps, it reminded me of other things that we used to use.  An ice cream wafer, when, if you squeezed them too hard, the soft ice cream would ooze out. 

I’m thinking that perhaps these memories only apply if you lived here in the UK back in the day!  As a child, I used to love to do this......!

When I was first married, back in the mid 60’s, I used to use these tongs to lift the heavy, wet washing out of the washing machine part of the twin tub, into the spin dryer.  We didn’t need to go to the Gym in those days - housework was far more strenuous than it is today!

Who else remembers sitting on the top floor of a double decker bus, and the Bus Conductor coming around with his ticket machine?,

Thinking of Easter again, when I was a little girl, we all used to dress like this on Easter Sunday.  My, how things have changed!

These were the prams we used to have, and they would be placed outside in the enclosed back garden, complete with sunshade to keep the sun off the baby.  

These prams were very heavy to push, especially on the hills here in Devon. See...no Gym needed!

It’s funny how pictures can bring the memories flooding back.  The above retro pics are all courtesy of Pinterest.com.  

I’ll close again for now, but I’m sure I will popping in again fairly soon 😊

It’s A Winter Wonderland In The Garden Today ❄️

Hallo again everyone.  Sunday greetings to you all.  It appears that the Beast From the East is with us again here in the South Hams of Devon.  Easter is only a couple of weeks away now, so here’s hoping that the weather will start to warm up very soon.  Even the little ones were saying this morning that they’ve had enough of the snow! 😂😂

So I decided to venture out into the garden this morning, to take some photos for you.  I hope you enjoy them.  Meanwhile, I hope the week ahead will be kind to you, and I’ll pop in again next week.

I found a few snow quotes on Pinterest....

March Roars In Like A Lion ...

Hallo out there! I’m actually sat in my car writing this, trying to charge the battery on my IPhone. It’s 1 pm now and we’ve been without power for around ten hours. 

March suddenly came in like a lion in the South Hams of Devon!  In fact, virtually the whole of England has been severely affected, causing the usual chaos. Last night my friend’s husband took 16 hours to get home from Exeter, a mere 35 minutes drive away.

The problem is, you see, we are just not geared up for this sort of weather. They were calling this weather front The Beast From The East, as it came down from Siberia. Then, on top of that, we had Storm Emma coming up from Spain, so we were being hit on all fronts!

Certainly, the last time we had snow in this part of Devon was ten years ago, and it was nothing like this.  The wonderful thing, as always in unusual situations, the community spirit really kicked in. Drivers with four wheel drive vehicles were offering to go and visit vulnerable people, farmers were turning out with their tractors to rescue people from cars stuck in the snow, and even offering to get medical staff to their shifts in Hospitals. As the staff were saying, you can close schools, shops and offices, but you simply can’t close the Hospitals. 

It’s like going back to the olden days, being without power, because you don’t realise how much that affects everything, including, these days, the landline. We have oil for our central heating, but the pump is worked by electricity. How we take these things for granted in our everyday lives.   Fortunately, I have a wood burner in the lounge, with endless supplies of logs from the garden, so when I’ve finished writing this, and the battery is charged up a bit more on my mobile, that is where I shall be, hoping that our power is restored before it gets dark. I could really do with a lovely warm hot chocolate at the moment. 

The snow does look very pretty, of course, but it is miserable if you have to drive in it. In fact, the local Police are still advising people not to drive, as the conditions are so treacherous.  Tomorrow we will have sheet ice apparently. 

My youngest grandchildren were thrilled about the snow of course, and have had a great time out with their sledges, which sold out very rapidly, as you can imagine. 

My poor little chickens don’t like it at all.  This morning when I went up to see to them, I heard a lot of squawking going on, and found that the door to their little cubby hole had frozen, so the automatic door hadn’t worked to let them out.  Bless them, they’re still laying eggs though. 

By the time I write my next Post, I’m hoping that this will be just a distant memory.  Keep warm, and more importantly, safe out there if you are affected by the weather. We really thought that Spring was well on the way, with all the daffodils in the garden, but, no, it turns out that Winter had a real sting in its tail! 

I’ll close again for now, but see you again soon. 

Take Time To Live Well .....

Hi there again everyone.  When it becomes time for me to write another Blog Post, I usually have to think what I can write about.  This particular week, there seems to be so much news out there and, believe me, there’s nothing to find much joy in at the moment. That’s why I always think it is so important for all of us to make sure that our own little corner of the world is filled with love and kindness.  

“Take time to live well” sounds fairly straightforward, doesn’t it?  To try to be a good person, a good neighbour, a good friend, and a good family member.  To treat others with kindness and respect, to encourage and not put down, and I’m sure the majority of you strive to do that each and every day.  However, sometimes, if we’re not careful, the evil out there threatens to overwhelm us.  Having said that, I still firmly believe that good will always outweigh evil, and that is what I hang on to.

Obviously, the first event this past week was yet another school shooting in America.  Can anyone imagine the horror of sending their children or grandchildren to school in the morning, only for them to never return home.  As I live here in England, I don’t think it’s fair for me to comment on another Country’s way of doing things.  All I will say is that I cannot fathom how these senseless killings are allowed to happen over and over again. 

I know just how powerful America’s Gun Lobby is and I know the sort of money that many  Congressmen receive from this Lobby.  All I can say is - how on earth can these people sleep at night. The sad thing is, I can’t see things changing,  because these people actually think they are right in their attitude to guns. 

The second thing is the terrible scandal of large Charitable Organizations, whereby their aid workers are abusing young girls in the disaster zones all around the world. Take Haiti, for example, where it is reported that men from European and American Agencies took young girls from their tents in the Refugee Camps and took them to their villas or hotels for sex.  Bear in mind, these young  girls/women had lost everything in many cases - their parents, grandparents and siblings.  

Can anyone imagine anything much more horrific than that?  These men were sent there to help these people.  According to reports, this is just the tip of the iceberg, and has been going on for many, many years. Just WHO can we trust?  That seems to be the question at the moment.

Then, over here, we have had the Football Coach who, as the Judge said, abused young boys on an epic scale over many, many years.  These young boys are now men in their forties, and you only have to look at them to see the effect this has had on their lives.  The sad thing is that these men carry feelings of guilt and shame. This was a very clever man, who fooled everyone and was trusted by everyone.  Indeed, the boys’ parents had even invited him into their homes. My own young grandson loves football, and plays for the local team, and to think of things like that happening, just makes me shudder.  Thankfully, I don’t think this sort of thing would be covered up any more. 

Well, this Post doesn’t make for easy reading, does it?!  I usually always try to keep my Posts positive and upbeat, so I hope I haven’t offended anyone reading this.  I just felt that I needed to write about it today.  Normal service will be resumed next time - I promise!

After all that, I will try to leave you with some positive and encouraging quotes, courtesy of Pinterest!  See you again soon....