Week 34 One Daily Positive and Project 365

The negatives

Just tiredness from being busy, but that's ok. There's been a lot on and in my mind for a while now. I wrote about Blues this week as my 'word of the week' people just don't get it. 'we all do this from time to time' and 'don't worry about it' just don't cut it and when you try to explain you can see them switching off and you back down and off and watch them retreat further away. I'm really not in a good place right now.

The positives 

Time with grandchildren.

Saturday 22 August I had a good sleep, had a lie in did some blogging and drank tea and got myself ready for a day out in Birmingham to the first home game of the season and a wander round the city as I had a few things I wanted to get sorted. Home to sort out future trips and plans for the last week of the school holidays. The garden had a good soak, all the holiday washing was finished, we watched Paddington Bear and a couple of other programmes and had an early night. Paid an £80 fine for late car tax payment. The neighbour where the post had been going to finally decided to start bringing the post to us rather than throwing it in the bin. Sorted out all the flamingo and tropical party decorations I've been collecting to take to DIL ready for granddaughters birthday next month.

Sunday 23 August A lie in, last two lots of washing hung out, then off to visit the grandchildren for the day. A long day but a good one, got home and got everything put away and sorted for the week. Crafts to do, letters to write, post and birthdays. Wrote a list of everything that needs doing. Peter did the ironing while I tidied up the dining room which had been a dumping ground, I watered the house plants and the garden and cleaned the back room from 2ft of cat hair.

Monday 24 August An early start to the day and spent the day on my own and most of it spent organising files on the work laptop. I caught up with some of my soaps, did some blog commenting and scheduled a couple of posts and cleaned up some files. I called the DVLA and paid the missing two months car tax and explained the situation re the V5C being sent to the wrong address and the neighbour still binning the post. All sorted now and they were very understanding and helpful. Emailed BCFC to resell my ticket v Brentford in Carabao Cup tomorrow due to family commitments and I updated my diary. It was great to have the time to catch up with all the things I've been putting off for ages. Had an early night after a busy few days.

Tuesday 25 August A day with my eldest grandson which involved the park, a bike ride, toy cars, painting and colouring. The youngest joined us for the afternoon for more playing and dinner. I had a relaxed evening, went out for a run and watched the Birmingham cup game against Brentford on the telly as I was unable to get to the match, had dinner and an early night. 

Wednesday 26 August Woke early, had breakfast and did some blogging, then back to be for an hour. Walked the dogs then spent the rest of the morning cleaning and ironing. Grandson was dropped off after school and we spent the afternoon painting and making cards and story boards. There was some time for TV then off to the park and pick up a few things from the local shop. Youngest grandson home after tea in time for cuddles, bath and bed. Bath time nearly finished me off, only half an hour but hectic, you forget what it's like looking after little ones. I went for a run and spent the evening sorting out some issues with my blog and reading.

Thursday 27 August Breakfast with the grandchildren before eldest went to school. After youngest was collected and taken to nursery and son went into work I went to the retail park. Afternoon spent with a variety of activities, painting, drawing, glueing, making gifts for mummy and daddy using hand prints. We went to the park on the bike and had a chin bump on the slide which was made better with an ice lolly from the shop. I went for a run which was more of a walk really, sat and watched some telly and worked through some blog issues. Was in bed at 9.30pm.

Friday 28 August Been waking around 5am then dozing back off till 8am which is nice. Spent the morning with son and youngest grandchild, lots of toys and puzzles and cuddles, he had his morning nap and I had a well earned rest while son collected eldest from school, then it was lunch time and we went out to do a food shop. Bumped into a friend of the parent in laws for a quick catch up. Then it was time for  a last trip to the park, messy play, dinner, cuddles, one last tidy up and bedtime stories as I'll be back into my normal routine next week. My camera roll is full from grandson and I love it.

On the blog this week:

My garden in August 2026 Part 2

Word of the week - Blues

Post Comment Love - Link up with any post written this week

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

28th - 31st August 2026 Post Comment Love

Welcome back to #PoCoLo with Stephanie from Bosworth.Life and I.

Post Comment Love #PoCoLo is a friendly weekly linky where you can link up any blog post you've written this week. If you're new or a regular visitor we're sure you'll find something of interest.

Please leave a comment with the host you link up with and we'd also appreciate your help spreading the #PoCoLo word on Twitter/X tag us and we'll RT. You can find us here: Stephanie - @BosworthLife and Suzanne - @ChickenRuby Please also add our badge to your post.

I'll be catching up with reading your posts, sharing and commenting over the next few days. 

We had an amazing 2 weeks in Crete, followed by a full on week with the grandchildren and in-between there was football, shopping, a lot of washing and ironing, unpacking, tidying and removing 2ft of cat hair from sofas, curtains and carpets and and an abundance of tomatoes despite the lack of rain.

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Word of the Week - Blues

After a colourful two weeks in Crete it was back to the UK and to a brown and dull countryside.

Crete itself was very brown with a very low rainfall, but perfect conditions for bouganvilliea to blossom in giving everywhere a pop of colour. I've tried and failed several times to grow it in the UK. 

You may be wondering what this has to do with 'Blues'. 

There are two parts to it, Blue as in feeling sad and Blues as in Birmingham City FC. 

My GAD and PTSD has been in overdrive the past few weeks, even a holiday hasn't helped. It's difficult to explain but it is possible to be happy and do nice things and even look and sound like everything is ok, whilst underneath your whole life is falling apart and you're catastrophising and the whole world is against you.

I used to think it was normal to say 'I imagine the worst, then anything else is a bonus' I realise now that this has been going on since my late teens and this approach is not normal. I of course know my life isn't unravelling and my world isn't falling apart and I'm not going to jail for not having paid my car tax back in May, but in the 4 weeks whilst I've been waiting for my £80 fine to reach me (it arrived on Saturday) I have indeed been thinking that Jail is the worst outcome, so a CCJ wouldn't be that bad, but why if they've taken our car and crushed it whilst we've been away, so I've been checking the camera on the front door almost hourly (yes whilst I've been by the pool and on a coach trip) and I've still got to pay the 2 months car tax I missed and I don't know how or to who and telling me not to worry because they'll contact me eventually isn't helpful and I'm just exhausted by it all. I contacted the DVLA on Monday and paid the £106 outstanding and they couldn't have been more helpful and understanding.

Back to the other Blues.

I went to Birmingham to watch the football on Saturday, the day after we got back. It was the first home game of the season and my first game in my new seat as a season ticket holder.

I've opted not to buy this years shirt as I just don't like it and decided to go in something colourful and summery to carry on the holiday feeling a little bit longer.

I need to do something about the colour of my hair, the blue has faded since the start of the holidays, just in time for back to school, but I'm not happy with this grey, there's no shine to it.

I've had to sell my Cup ticket back to the club for the match against Brentford on Tuesday due to family commitments.

It was nearly a blues day all round after going behind and a disallowed goal, but we managed to pull back an equaliser in the dying minutes.

As it was a lovely day I opted to walk back into town rather than catch the 1875 bus and I noticed just how colourful the area was.

I've carried on taking photos of colourful things this week for my One Daily Positive and Project 365.

The rest of the weekend and week has been spent with the grandchildren, rearranging appointments, booking hotels for my upcoming Ultra Marathon next month and the London Marathon In April 2027. Getting files up to date for going back to work next week. Football tickets have been bought to take our great nephew to watch Barry Town, letters have been written and birthday cards sent and 101 photos have been uploaded onto Vinted and all this productivity and family time has lifted the Blues and things are looking a lot brighter and more colourful.

My Garden in August 2026 Part 2

The garden didn't do very well while we were away. The neighbour was looking after our cat and then she was also away for a week, funnily enough we all ended up in Crete, just an hour apart and her cousin took over looking after both of our cats.

We're very grateful for them looking after the cat and they used to look after our dog along with another friend, who we don't see anymore, but our neighbours are moving soon and we're already wondering what to do with a cat that will be 19 next year when we plan a month long trip to Australia. I'm thinking we'll drop her at the neighbours new place, she spends most of her time there anyway.

Well back to the garden, there's no hose pipe ban with Severn Trent, but we've not been using it and have been conservative with the water and it's time consuming filling up watering cans from the taps, we didn't feel we could ask our neighbours to water the garden as well, but they kindly watered the raised beds which kept them in tomatoes and peppers while we were away.

We didn't get round to planting up the hedge in the front garden or painting the trees out from the pots sue to the dry weather and the hard ground and will be doing so this autumn, hopefully everything will come back with some TLC and some water.

The pear tree.

Apple Tree.

Twisted willow.

Stephanie's Rose.

Memorial Rose.

There was some rain in the few days before we came home and it rained over night on Saturday.

The pots seem to be doing much better half under the cover, more protection from the sun.

The hanging basket has survived being in the back on the soil.

The grape vine is struggling.

The pots in the front garden haven't done well at all without the rain.

But the plants in the borders have thrived, including the fig tree under the kitchen window. 

 

Week 33 - One Daily Positive and Project 365

The negatives

Although I know I can't buy souvenirs and send a postcard to Stephanie it's still upset me. Migraines and food choices.

The positives

I've managed a couple of runs while we've been in Crete, it's been hot and my time has been improving.

Saturday 15 August It's the day of the Virgin Mary in Greece and we were advised that many places may be closed and the roads busy, so we opted to spend the day on the beach. It was very windy and the sea was rough so we went to the harbour beach which is sheltered but there were no sun loungers. I did have a swim and spent a bit of time beach combing for litter after getting attacked in the water by a bag for life. I prefer to have my main meal during the day and Peter had a bowl of soup. Back to the hotel for the afternoon in the pool and reading. Down to the village for dinner for Peter and I had a cocktail and a dessert. Walked back in the dark and watched some TV.

Sunday 16 August I don't join Peter for breakfast as I can't eat much, so I have tea and and cereal or yogurt and fruit in the room. We then walked into the village for coffee and were back poolside by 11am as it was too windy for the beach. We had snacks throughout the day and at 6pm we headed back into the village for dinner at a restaurant over looking the harbour. Back to the hotel at 9pm. Dinner really is a relaxed affair. 

Monday 17 August Our last day trip and off to Chania on the west of the island. A beautiful and colourful City with so much to see and do and of course a Starbucks. we didn't have a lunch, but I'd taken a gluten free sandwich and Peter bought one and we walked around eating them. I also found a gluten free cake shop and bought a rose flavoured cake that we took down to a park near the sea to eat. On the 90 minute drive back we stopped at Koumos Lake for a swim, there are fresh water turtles there and a variety of restaurants where we had some cold drinks and explored local potteries also. We were dropped in the village, enjoyed dinner and saw an amazing bright red sunset, before walking back to the hotel.

Tuesday 18 August A lie in as I woke with a migraine and I needed time for my tablets to take effect. We went out for a coffee and sat in the shade watching the world go by. I then went for a swim in the sea while Peter watched the bags and then back to the hotel to laze by the pool. Back to the room around 2pm for a late lunch and a rest, then into the village in the evening for dinner. It's getting hard to find something to eat every night without repeating the same thing. I miss just being able to have a jacket potato or a toasted sandwich.

Wednesday 19 August After breakfast we caught the bus to Rethymno and explored the the fortress and the old town. It was really hot today as there was no cloud cover or breeze. I had gluten free pasta for lunch, there were lots of drink stops and after we got back to our village I stopped off for a coffee and Peter returned to the hotel to get a spot by the pool. I joined him and we read for a couple of hours, with me floating on my giant inflatable. We then returned to the room and watched TV while doing our packing and in bed around 11pm.

Thursday 20 August We had a lie in and checked out around 11am, leaving our cases in the hotel and wandered down to the village for a coffee, dropping off the books we'd read in a lending library which was a shelf on a wall in the street. I had a swim in the sea and we had a late lunch and returned to the hotel for a swim in the pool and to read our books. We were given another room we could use able to shower off and get changed and spent the evening reading our books on the veranda waiting for the bus to pick us upper our transfer back to the airport and our flight home. Smooth collection on time, if you've flown in and out of holiday airports you'll know what I mean when I say it was a long wait. CSKA Sofa football team were there after their match against Crete in the Europa League, they caused a bit of a stir because no one knew who they were but had loads of security. I just googled their kit sponsor and football and fixture list and word got round lol.

Friday 21 August A good flight home, we dozed a little but no real sleep. landed at 4am, bags, got a train to New Street and had a coffee while we waited 30 mins for the first train home. I left Peter at the station while I fetched the car for the cases. The cat pleased to see us, case unpacked, everything in the wash, had a bath and we both had 3-4 hours sleep then went out for a food shop. Deforsted a home made curry from the freezer and Peter put dinner together while watered the pots, most of the garden is dead, but we do have a glut of tomatoes and peppers. Whilst we ate we caught up with some TV. I then went round the neighbours to fetch the cat home, several times, the kids brought her back several times. I was in bed by 9pm.

On the blog this week:

Post Comment Love - Link up with any post written this week

Word of the week - Colourful in Crete

My garden in August Part 1

Managing a food diet on holiday - Gluten Free

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

Post Comment Love 21st-23rd August 2026

Welcome back to #PoCoLo with Stephanie from Bosworth.Life and I.

Post Comment Love #PoCoLo is a friendly weekly linky where you can link up any blog post you've written this week. If you're new or a regular visitor we're sure you'll find something of interest.

Please leave a comment with the host you link up with and we'd also appreciate your help spreading the #PoCoLo word on Twitter/X tag us and we'll RT. You can find us here: Stephanie - @BosworthLife and Suzanne - @ChickenRuby Please also add our badge to your post.

I'll be catching up with reading your posts, sharing and commenting over the next few days. 

We're back now from 2 glorious weeks in Crete.

We'd definitely come again but we probably won't. There are so many other wonderful places to explore in the world. 

Crete is one of the more colourful places we've visited.

Our next trip is probably back to Dubai as we're unexpectedly free in October half term and it's nice to go somewhere where you can just step off the plane, know your phone works, get in a taxi you can trust the price of and be able have a local bank card and not have to spend the first 2 days working out how everything operates and tracking down gluten free restaurants and supermarkets. 

Saying that, there are some good deals in Portugal, but the weather won't be as good or it could be good to have a week in the campervan. who knows? It's good to have options and school holidays.

Want to find out more about Post Comment Love #PoCoLo? 

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Word of the week - Colourful in Crete

Crete in Colours

RED

PINK

ORANGE

YELLOW

GREEN

BLUE

WHITE

Managing a food diet on holiday - Gluten Free

Managing any diet is tricky, you can't rely on eating the same things over and over without checking as manufactures regularly change ingredients as I've found out to my expense and restaurants often don't know what they're doing and the servers often don't understand how an allergy and cross contamination can affect you.

Yes, I can hear you, they should, yes, you've had training, but it's not everyone and when it's not just mild bloating or discomfort and can land you in hospital as is often the case with me, it is very serious, in some cases with allergies it can lead to death. For me it's an intolerance and cross contamination doesn't affect me, however a build up can. And at the end of the day it is MY responsibility to check it out and if I can't or I'm in any doubt, I just don't eat and lack of food can make me poorly as well with migraines.

So here we are on holiday for 2 weeks in Crete, eating out every day.

I have two weeks worth of breakfast cereal, porridge oats and I brought bread rolls and biscuits and crackers with me. We have a fridge and small freezer in the room and have bought cheese, fresh fruit and salads as well as tins of tuna and I brought a cool bag, picnic cutlery, plates and a small kettle, milk frother and take away pots so I can make sandwiches, salads, lunches etc for the day. But the room is NOT self catering.

On our 2nd day here we booked a trip into the city for day 5 so I'd be able to stock up on some gluten free products as the shops in the village where we are staying don't stock any alternatives, other than products that don't contain gluten. I'm fortunate that it's only wheat gluten I can't eat, so we bought some Ryvita to eat with the salads.

We're eating a main meal out every evening and there are some amazing restaurants to choose from, I think we've eaten in everyone the village has to offer. But not one of the restaurants has been able to offer anything gluten free unless it has been naturally gluten free and if the meal has had a sauce, we've not been able to establish if it contains gluten or wheat flour and even with the help from google translate and our phones we haven't had much luck. So unless the meal has been plain (looking at the pictures) I've not ordered it) then every single meal has been served dripping in butter, oils, covered in herbs and that's caused me stress as I've also got gall bladder stones and have been avoiding surgery with a well managed diet and being gluten free causes gall bladder issues, so I have to avoid fats and red meat and ice cream and watermelon and this country is nothing but all the above.

We found a restaurant in a local town that was able to swop out the pasta for gluten free, but it's over an hour away by bus and I don't want to eat the same thing every night. We'll be going back again before we go home.

But I have found plenty of fresh fish to eat and have managed to communicate 'no lemon' no herbs, no oils' I like to taste the fish.

I love sea food in anything and everything and this is the most amazing risotto ever and I don't care how rude I am when I grab my plate and move it away from the parmesan as they try to shovel it over without asking me.

Grilled vegetables will always be eaten and I love balsamic vinegar thankfully, but again, why isn't it listed as an ingredient?

My hunt for gluten free puddings and cakes led us to a shop in Chania that didn't disappoint, initially. They had 3 cakes to choice from, rather than the standard pre wrapped brownie.

Sadly though, it turned out to be a mousse and was chocolate caramel and not rose flavoured, the only rose thing about it was the rose petal that wasn't edible.

And whilst I can't eat the watermelon, sometimes there is cantaloupe melon on offer.

And there is always room for an ice lolly.

I get so disheartened with eating, full stop. I can always find something to eat when we're out, but it's not the same as looking at a menu and deciding what I want to eat. I have to discount all the pastas and pizzas, anything with a sauce, then of course I have preferences, we all do.

I'm looking forward to getting home and being able to prepare my own foods. Eating out for 2 weeks has been difficult and hard work with a food intolerance, it's not just as simple as avoiding gluten,  it''s about making sure my diet is balanced and I'm not just eating junk food which always seems to be the alternative, filling up on crisps and chocolates.

Our next holiday will defiantly be self catering eating out for two weeks is just too long with dietary requirements.