Every morning, on our short walk to the beach with the dogs, we pass the RNLI lifeboat station. It has been an exciting few weeks with the arrival of their new Shannon class all-weather lifeboat.
This vessel can accommodate six crew members and is built to withstand even the fiercest weather conditions. The lifeboat was funded by a generous donation from Chris and Jo West, a couple who were inspired to contribute after witnessing a rescue at sea.
The RNLI does an incredible job, and living so close to the ocean, we truly appreciate the power of the waves.
I feel privileged to walk past this magnificent lifeboat every morning.
Its been a couple of months since my daughter and family have had their Weimaraner puppy Otto, The joy and his comical antics have brought so much joy and laughter, even to us who live in the midlands.
I have been inundated with what my daughter calls puppy spam.
I dont mind this type of spam from his first time out video where he really made me laugh out loud running because his long ears were flapping so much I thought he would take off.
This was quite appropriate as they live on an RAF base. When she sent me pictures the other day of Otto sleeping I really did laugh.
Ive never seen a dog sleep as he does, he really does contort his body into the weirdest positions sometimes it is hard to see where his head is.
So I thought I would share his funniest pictures to date.
Our grand daughter that lives with us sent a message yesterday asking if we liked banana mangoes. Our response to that was what is a banana mango, thinking it was some sort of exotic banana or mango that somehow someone had managed to cross.
Was it a banana that tasted like a mango or a mango that tasted like a banana. I love bananas and I love mangoes so was interested to see what on earth it was. Anyway she brought four of these banana mangoes home. Well they looked like a mango on the skin but were more the shape of a banana than a mango.
I cut it open and it looked like a mango. Intrigued to see what it tasted like so I tried it and it tasted just like a mango!! A very nice mango too. Not stringy and quite sweet. Until now my favourite mango is the Calypso mango. It too is very sweet, not stringy and usually huge.
They are always on my shopping list while mango season is in full swing. I was curious to know more about these banana mangoes though. It seems that it originated in Thailand and are fairly new to Australia. It appears there are several growers in Australia now. They also are called dwarf mangoes.
I love the Calypso for eating but I think the banana mango would be great for smoothies as the Calypso has a lot more flesh to eat.
…. Youngest granddaughter, Olivia age 12, was competing in the Nottinghamshire Schools Cross Country again last weekend. This is a series of 3 races with an accumulative score card for the total of the 3 races.
Olivia had already won the 1st race and she won this 2nd race by a country mile too! The 3rd race in this competition is in a few weeks time. As shes won the 1st 2 she can come 1st, 2nd or 3rd and still take the title!!
Shes also running in a couple more races between now and then too, and Ill be cheering her on fat the side if the course each time too! lol
Last week I wrote about the storms that have been lashing the SE of Queensland. Well yesterday was day 5 of afternoon storms with more forecast for today. Yesterday we had a rather spectacular sky with mammatus clouds overhead.
Mammatus often form in association with Cumulonimbus clouds, which in turn bring thunderstorms due to their huge mass of unstable air.
All these storms bring back memories of my younger years when summer would see hot days (weve been having daily temps of 35 to 38 deg C) with the good old summer storm in the afternoons almost daily.
There is a song with the words we watch the lightning crack over cane fields and that is what my childhood was due to living for the majority of the year in Mackay.
Mackay has a lot of canefields surrounding it and that is exactly what would happen …..we would watch the lightning cracking over the canefields.
But even if we were living back in Brisbane, we would still get those daily storms.
Fortunately we have been spared any damage but in some places this week the winds up to 146kph have done damage.
That strength wind is equivalent to what one would get in a Cat 2 cyclone. No cyclones just yet as cyclone season starts in a few weeks but the ferocity of these storms in places have ripped up trees and blown roofs off homes further to the west of us.
So we brace again for more storms this afternoon and see what it brings. Weve had no hail but streets about half a kilometre away have. Forecasts each day are for strong winds, hail, heavy rain and so far weve been lucky.
I cant believe how quickly this year has gone by. For me thats a good thing as I will be glad to see the back of 2024. However, Christmas is just around the corner and that is something to look forward to.
So crochet Christmas things are on the menu and I have been crocheting these super festive mug cosies, which I called a mug in a hug.
The plan is to fill the mugs with treat like chocolate bars and sachets of drinking chocolate and marshmallows and give them as little gifts.
They have been a joy to make because of their simplicity and not like my usual detailed creations.
It was my husbands Birthday on Wednesday. It was a bit low-key as it was mid-week. But as I am now retired and trying to remember my cooking skills, I promised him his favourite dinner, which is my veggie take on good old-fashioned steak and kidney pudding.
I used to watch my nan make it when I was a little girl and was fascinated, and I still remember how my mouth watered as she dished it up.
When I started married life it was one of the first meals I cooked, and then when we became veggie over 30 years ago I adapted it by using Quorn pieces and mushrooms.
When I was working I didnt have the time or energy to cook much, so this was my first time making it in a few years.
And my hubby can vouch for the fact that it was just as delicious as it always was. Here is a picture of it before it went on to steam for a few hours.
Well after nearly 5 years of waiting I finally got to see the US Navy Demonstration Team The Blue Angels.I originally booked to see them in March 2019 at Los Angeles but when COVID hit everything was cancelled and every time we tried to see them after that didnt work out,This year we traveled to Disney for our holiday and I looked to see if any airshows nearby featuring the Angels… low and behold there was and it was only a 2 hour drive from Disney so we made the arrangements and went.I couldnt contain my excitement and I certainly couldnt wait to get there, but finally on the 19th October 2024 I made it.
I saw them and they certainly didnt disappoint me!!!They were absolutely amazing, so much so Ive booked to see them again next March when I travel to Vegas for Red Flag
Weve had a couple of rogue storms over the past month but early this week Mother Nature let us know that from now on we best be prepared for whatever she throws at us.
All afternoon we could see the storms building over the Qld/NSW border.
The question was would it make it up this far as a lot of storms that build in that direction turn and head out to the east missing us.
Very slowly it came towards us, gathering intensity and then she let loose. Hail!
No rain, just hail. 15mins of it and although where we are we got pelted with hailstones the size up to golf ball size, just down the road they got bigger hail, what the locals are calling frozen corn.
You can see by the photo how big it was and yes, it looked like corn!! Another storm the day after but just rain and rumbles and the forecast one yesterday didnt eventuate.
Temperatures are hotter than they should be for this time of year with 4 consecutive days of 37 deg C recorded here at home.
Should be an interesting summer (starts 1st Dec here).
Last Sunday was another big day for Alfie, it was his second skills bout in boxing. This took place at Newberry and it means having completed this one, he only has one more to complete before then embarking on proper tournaments.
Whilst there are no winners in skills bouts, they do have demonstrate technique and footwork. All those who compete do get a medal for completion of each stage. I was able to watch via video and Alfie really did go for it and his coach was very pleased.
Harry did enjoy a moment on a bench in Newberry with a certain famous bear and marmalade sandwich. A win, win all round.
The latest post box topper on our dog walk is now up, and it is dedicated to Remembrance Day.
As you may know, this memorial day has been observed in Commonwealth member states since the end of the First World War to honour armed forces members who have lost their lives in the line of duty.
Remembrance Day is also commemorated in several non-Commonwealth countries. The topper is an impressive display, featuring poppies arranged around The Cenotaph, which is adorned with flags representing the United Kingdoms armed forces, along with the words We Will Remember Them.
My daughter and family have always enjoyed this time of year, whether doing spooky trails, trick and treats or parties.
This year they seem to be doing it all.
They did a spooky enchanted forest trail at a local farm a couple of days ago and have already done a few parties at the local youth clubs and today 31st they are trick or treating and going to a party.
My son-in-law as Donald Trump, Harry as Jack Skellington from Corpse Bride, Alfie I have no idea but his mask glows in the dark, and my daughter is Elpheba from the musical Wicked, which has a movie coming out soon and she is a massive fan.
Their surname is Crawley so I thought it appropriate to name them the Creepy Crawleys.
….. it was a scary, spooky, frightening time we had this week! lol We had a house full of excitement for Halloween! lol Our youngest grandchildren, plus one if our older granddaughters, her partner and our great grandson here for the day!
The house was full of laughter and squeals! lol we (of course, had to do some crafting, and made ghostly danglies! followed by baking, decorating and eating Scary Halloween Eyeball Cupcake! lol Luckily the cakes tasted much nicer than the name of them suggests! lol
When we left Hervey Bay we brought one banana sucker with us. We planted it and waited till it grew and threw another sucker. The tree was about 2 foot high.
Well it grew, threw a sucker, grew some more, threw several suckers and we now have about 10 banana trees, some of which are probably around 20 feet high.
A few months ago we had our first bunch of bananas which werent as big as sugar bananas usually are but they were beautiful to eat.
We were so excited then.
Well two weeks ago I went down to check if any more were growing and woohoo we had a pod on the tree.
But this pod was double the size in length and thickness than wed ever had or seen before. It was huge. At the start of this week the pod began to open one leaf at a time and couldnt believe our eyes.
There is 16 bananas on this first hand and they are roughly double the size of normal sugar bananas. Since then another 6 hands have appeared with around 16 bananas on each one. It will take a couple of months while they grow and begin to ripen so we are eagerly waiting to see just what we will harvest from it.
Looks like even more hands will pop out yet too.
The other day, we drove a few miles up the coast to take a walk along Frinton-on-Seas high street for a change.
Most of the shops there are independent businesses, ranging from bistros, cafes, and bars to bookshops and a shop that sells Art Deco memorabilia.
There are also many charity shops, which we enjoy browsing. As you know, I love post-box toppers, so I was very impressed with the one I saw there.
It was made by Frinton Methodist Church and is themed for Harvest, featuring lots of knitted vegetables and a scarecrow in very bright colours.This week, I added many designs to my new Walking in the Snow series.
I hope you like them! If you would like a different breed of dog or a boy or girl, please let me know by sending a support request, and I will be happy to make it for you.