Week 44 - One Daily Positive and Project 365 -Half term, Halloween.

I think we're pushing our luck a bit with camping this late in the year. We're in the van and we have a drive away awning set up so we can come and go for the week to visit child 4, his wife and our two grandsons as well as the outlaws. It's been cold, wet and windy, but we're dry, have heating and it took a while to sort the blankets out so we didn't actually end up getting too hot and then too cold.

I've binged watch Celebrity Traitors up date. I've never seen it before but really enjoyed the concept. 

Sunday 

Day 298 Slightly confused with the clocks going back especially as one in the van did it automatically but the other didn't so for a while we didn't know what had happened or what we could trust. I went for a run, then after breakfast we went to son's house for an hour to see the grandchildren. They left for the outlaws and we followed via the supermarket to buy desserts and wine. We had lunch, played with the children, enjoyed a relaxed afternoon and early evening, then headed back to the van for 7pm to watch TV, read and blog. it was really windy, wet and cold outside but cosy and warm in the van.

Monday 

Day 299 We slept through from 10pm till 6.30am and I think I would have gone back to sleep but I had to go out for a wee. I've got a dry robe and the toilets were heated. Peter had made tea and put the heating on and we sat and read, then had breakfast and headed over to son's house for 9am. DIL out with the baby for the morning so oldest grandson and I made halloween cupcakes, we did some colouring, then went out to the shops to buy ingredients for cottage pie for tea, which Peter cooked while grandson and I sorted through his books and teddy bears. Back to the van by 7pm. It takes about 40 minutes to set up the bedding, curtains etc. We sat and watched tv and read our books.

Tuesday 

Day 300 My best run so far 2 x 8 min runs. We had breakfast and coffee then headed over to see Dil and youngest grandchild for the day to sort through old baby clothes to list on Vinted and I sold my first 4 items within an hour. Finished rearranging eldest room, then off to town to meet son and eldest grandson for his 'Old Macdonalds' early birthday tea. Back to theirs for a couple of hours. DIL off to hockey. Peter babysat while son and I fetched the cot sides out the attic and the rest of the baby clothes to sort through tomorrow. Back to the camp site to sit and read, blog and watch some TV.

Wednesday 

Day 301 Off to the Pumpkin Patch on the farm for the day. We collected grandson at 8.15am and arrived at 9am, heading straight to the pumpkin patch where we selected two pumpkins, which were scooped out and grandson asked for a happy face to be carved into his. Next up with a visit to the sweet shop which he ate while Peter took the pumpkins back to the car. next up was a spooky tractor ride and we were joined by Sally the scarecrow, a ghostbuster and a werewolf along the journey, a play in the park, lunch, a disco, visit to the haunted house and made a halloween mask, then home. In the afternoon we had an early 4th birthday with presents and cake, pjs on and a story before we headed back to the camp site for the night to watch TV.

Thursday 

Day 302 Up early to pack up. Tent packed away wet, although it wasn't raining and the ground sheet was wet and muddy. I went out for a run while Peter had breakfast and I joined him afterwards for a coffee. We set off to sons house, but had to pull over to deal with a call from the neighbour to talk her through a burst water pipe in our kitchen that she discovered when she went in to feed the house. I had to talk her through turning off the water mains and the hot water and central heating, then guide her in the shed for a grip and a spanner, before she ran over the road to see if another neighbour was in. Her husband plugged the hole with his thumb while the other neighbour fetched a cap. Neighbour then mopped the kitchen and got her vax to dry off the lounge carpet where the water had leaked from the kitchen and through the hallway. She said it was all dry when she'd been round the night before to let the cat in. Afternoon spent doing jigsaw puzzles with grandson, playing with his road set, and lots of colouring in and finding space on my laptop to cover with more stickers. I had a shower and repacked the car ready for the ferry. The outlaws came over to say hi and pick oldest grandson up for the night. Last lot of cuddles then we headed to the port and sat in the van watching tv and having dinner before boarding to sail at 10.30pm. It was extremely wet and windy.

Friday 

Day 303 Well the Captain did warn us the crossing was going to be rough. Chairs were swinging all night and several times it felt like we hit a brick wall with waves engulfing the ship up on the 9th deck. We didn't have a cabin, but nabbed two bench seats to lie down on and several times I was woken thinking I was going to be flung off. I got up to go to the toilet around 3pm and my feet were off the ground. We had an uneventful journey home unpacked and attempted to dry the drive away awning in an area we have that is sheltered from the wind and rain, but a pickle to do. The lounge carpet, rug and wooden hallway are drenched through as was the kick board and under the kitchen units. We did some shopping, I got my nails done for the wedding next week, several loads of washing went on, pumpkins were carved, neighbours popped round for a cuppa, door was manned from 5-7pm and the cakes I iced (70) and bags of pop corn I made up (40) ran out. I had a bath, we watched TV and went to bed exhausted at 10pm.

Saturday 

Day 304 Day started with a run and coffee with a friend. Tent still drying, so turned over to air more. Roof popped on the van to ensure it is dry also. Peter still drying the lounge carpet. I caught the train to Birmingham to the football which we won 4-0 while Peter drove to collect granddaughter who is staying the night. I got home to do bath time and read stories for bed.

Things to make you smile:

Our grandson turns 3 next week and he comes out with some gems as they all do, b He told us today 'I've have my hair cut, so I did' and 'it's raining heavy, so it is' He also asked me to wash his hair before bed 'I'm a big boy now granny, I've got product in my hair' Yet when we went to the supermarket he asked to go in the trolley, I said to him that I thought he was a big boy now and he replied 'I am granny, but I've got little legs'

Things that made me happy:

Being able to run a full 20 mins with couch to 5k. A week with the family. I signed up to walk the London Marathon on an Ultimate Challenge in January 2026, just because. 

On the blog this week:

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Word of the week - Fun

Autumn and Halloween crafts and plans

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Autumn and Halloween crafts and plans

I love Autumn, it's my favourite time of the year. Apple Crumble.The colour of the leaves on the trees and the sound of the leaves underfoot. The golden hue of the sky in the evenings and the mornings and the glimpses of blue skies. The crisp misty mornings and the randomness of the weather on walks.

It's my favourite time for clothing also, jumper, jeans and boots and fingerless gloves. No need to drag out the heavy winter coats just yet, stick an umbrella in my bag for the odd bit of rain, the blankets come out for the evenings, the curtains get drawn and life just gets cosy.

I don't enjoy what follows though, the clocks going back, the darkness and the wet and the cold, but I do look forward to Christmas.

I love seasons, planning the gardening, rotating the contents of my wardrobe. It's something I missed when we lived abroad, just endless summers in Dubai, which whilst they sound appealing, it gets boring and half the year just too hot to enjoy. South Africa'w weather was perfect, with only two seasons, Summer and Winter and the opposite of the UK, and the days being almost of equal day to night. 

I've always enjoyed Halloween and decorating the house and taking the kids trick or treating, it wasn't something that was done in South Africa, but in Dubai, like every other festival, it was celebrated in style. 

Since we've been back in the UK we've been to child 4's for Halloween with our grandson and taken Bob to the pumpkin patch with our granddaughter.

I've still got my decorations I made from a sponsored post during covid and quite a few that are over 20 years old. I've made a few new ones this year and now the grandchildren are older we've booked a trip to a pumpkin patch and a visit to West Midlands Safari Park.

This years halloween decorations:

Pool noodle, cut into four lengths, wire added with cable ties to form the legs, wrapped in black plastic and tied together in the middle.

Old cushion covered in black plastic and attached to legs.

Add googly eyes and tan dah!

I've added the hedgehog and squirrel and the mushrooms to the wreath this year. I need to find a better way to attach it to the front door. It's currently attached with a ribbon threaded over the top and through the letter box.

I've decorated the dining room ready for our granddaughters visit on the weekend and I've a few more decorations to out on Friday morning and in the hallway for when I open the door for trick or treat.

I saw these decorations at a National Trust property and decided to have a go at making them myself. they were easy to make but time consuming, around an hour for each one.

I've also got some fabric and china pumpkins in the lounge that will stay out, along with the door wreath until the Christmas decorations go up, then will come back out until the beginning of March when they will be replaced with the decorations for Spring time.

We're currently visiting son 4, his wife and our two grandsons. We're camping. We're off to the Pumpkin Patch. We've got dressing up costumes to wear. We're baking halloween cakes. It's also our grandsons 4th birthday next week, so we're celebrating that while we're here also.

I often feel winter kicks in and starts once the clocks go back and bonfire night is over even though it doesn't begin until the 21st December, it's made harder by the fact Christmas has been in the shops since September just as we got into Autumn.

Post Comment Love - 24th - 26th October 2025

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.

We'd also appreciate your help spreading the #PoCoLo word on Twitter, tag us and we'll RT. You can find us on twitter here: Stephanie - @BosworthLife and Suzanne - @ChickenRuby 

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

I'm back to work after the half term. It's done us the world of good to have this extended time together to get our thoughts in order about our future without Stephanie as we marked the first year of her death. We returned to the UK and to this part of the world to be near her. Not only did Stephanie die, but so did a huge part of our lives. Due to her disabilities, we always had the worry of who was going to care and fight for her, after we were gone, in the natural order of things. We no longer have that worry and in equal measures, as much as it's a relief, it also causes great sadness that that battle came to an abrupt end also and that has taken just as much adjusting to as her death has. We just didn't realise it.

I've made the most of the time off, with visiting family and friends, chilling out and getting jobs done around the house. I've started running and have just completed week 4 of couch to 5k and have several craft projects underway to work on throughout the winter months.

This week I've been getting my halloween on.

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Grandson Birthday and Halloween fun

We spent half term with our son, Child 4, his wife and our now 2 year old grandson. We stayed with them for 4 nights returning on Wednesday.

It was our first trip without Bob The Dog since he died in September 

We still had the dog bed, food and leads etc with us to give to our sons dog, Molly who loves her new bed, but not as much as our grandson does.

Grandson turned 2 on Sunday so we had an early birthday treat for him with gifts and a cake.

We had lots of fun with the little man, who was more than happy to see us, despite it being 3 months since my last visit. We do have video calls with him but it's not the same. 

We babysat on our 2nd day while mum and dad went to the rugby and he was happy to come with me to the park, wearing his new gloves.

However, he decided he actually wanted my gloves to wear on the swings.

Our friend gave us this swing for our other grandchild a couple of years ago, Peter did it up and we bought a new seat so grandson can enjoy it in his garden.

We spent a lot of time colouring in and wondering where the food had gone (he'd eaten it all)

Halloween was fun, the dog wasn't too keen and stood rooted to the spot until the costume was taken off.

It was just the two of us for 'trick or treat' and I had just as much fun, even though it was raining.

We had fun with puzzles and reading

And there were lots of cuddles and soon it was time for goodbyes.

I'm joining in with 30 miles for Birmingham Children's Hospital in November. I'm actually doing 3 miles a day, as I cover a mile easily around the home and in work.

Post Comment Love 13th-15th October 2023

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 and all we ask is that you leave a comment on either mine or Stephanie's post which you linked up through and at least one other post. We'd also love it if you could RT us on Twitter when we tag you to help us reach a wider audience.

It's been a busy and emotional few weeks with MIL staying with us after a health scare and having to have the dog put down The house seems rather empty now with just the two of us and our 14 year old cat, we're having a couple of days 'down time' before we do some rearranging and get used to the extra space. 

I still can't get used to coming home and not being greeted by the dog and I've kept the walking up, just empty handed.

I had fun at youth club on Wednesday where I volunteer with decorating cup cakes and I've been gathering supplies for Halloween parties with my grandchildren.

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

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What I'm celebrating in 2022.

I like to mark the seasons with decorations and gifts. It doesn't cost a lot other than time and some of the decorations I have are years old, others are hand made or I've picked up cheaply.

There are also birthdays to celebrate throughout the year, with the dog turning 12 this month and the cat 13 next month. We're combining their parties in March as travel and then covid with others scuppered our plans. But the dog doesn't know or care and neither does the cat, if the truth be told. I'll be baking some dog and cat treats.

So far we've only acknowledged Valentines Day. I made bunting and stuffed hearts and posted a box of love to one grandchild, our eldest child and visited our grandson for a long weekend. The bedroom window was decorated.

I did travel to Birmingham to purchase the material but I picked up other things I needed at the same time.

Next up is St David's Day, because I'm Welsh and pancake day.

I'm sure I'll end up getting involved in Red Nose Day as I'll be working in a school.

We'll acknowledge Ramadan in March and Eid as we lived in Dubai for 7 years.

Then there is Easter. My neighbour gave me the grey fleece and I bought bright yellow duster for £2 which I'm going to turn into bunnies and chicks that will be sewn into bunting.

There are chocolate eggs bought, plus named bunting to be made for 2 more family members. I'll also be making easter chocolates.

Mothers Day will be a table set with a tea pot, cup and cakes. Then there's the Jubilee, which will involve at least the front of the house being covered in bunting. Then Father's Day, a Sunday roast with as many of the kids and grandkids as we can gather. We'll also be celebrating 20 years of marriage in October.

I love Halloween and Bonfire night, we'll acknowledge Remembrance Day and finally Christmas.

I enjoy making decorations from items around the house and in the garden. Collecting the pebbles is the hardest part.

Week 43 One Daily Positive and Project 365. Spa weekend and Pumpkin patch.

Another busy week for me anyway out and about with family and friends, still spending as much time outside as possible and LFT testing and mask wearing.

Have you seen the price of petrol after the imaginary shortage? It's not just fuel, but the cost of building materials etc. I guess it's down to the shortage of drivers and being in higher demand so people can just charge what they like. It's certainly not down to increased head count in the work place or pay rises. I can imagine with the new raise in the minimum wage that it will be passed down the chain to the customers. 

296 Collected my friend and off to Warwick for last years birthday present treat from Peter. The Spa was great, everything explained on arrival, treatment, lunch, pool and saunas, one two many cocktails and dinner.

297 Had breakfast, packed and drove home via a coffee stop in Stratford upon Avon. The rest of the day was spent doing nothing other than watching TV.

298 Our conservatory is too cold now for me to sit in and the dining room is being used as storage waiting for the kitchen and extension to be started as well as us storing stuff for my mum before she moves into her new home in the next few weeks. I decided to move the dining room table into the conservatory and pack everything else up. We've got an oil fire we can use to warm the conservatory when we want to use it and there's now some space in the dining room for me to be able to still use my pod chair.

299 Our 19th wedding anniversary, we sort of don't bother celebrating, I got Peter a card and we walked the dog into town and went for a breakfast. The rest of the day was spent with me organising my dressing table items as Peter is making me a new one (current one from Ikea) I sorted through the Halloween decorations and laminated last years.

300 Up early to collect MIL and off to Avon Valley to visit the Pumpkin patch with Bob, meeting up with SIL, 2 nieces and our great nephew, we had lunch and I dropped some Halloween treats off for my friends twins on my way home. Behind the scenes with MIL and SIL at Great Nephews photo shoot.

301 Collected child 1 and off to Cheltenham to the Christmas fair, tickets courtesy of our next door neighbour, my new Christmas tree arrived so I put it up to check it out and evening spent in front of the TV and blogging. I spotted this on the way to the post office.

302 Day spent in my pjs. Peter walked the dog and did the food shopping while I decorated the house for Halloween and wrapped Christmas presents that I am posting to Australia, South Africa, America, Canada, Dubai and Germany. I like to get them off early as the postal systems differ worldwide.

I ordered a new Christmas tree, set it up to check the branches opened fully. It's now back in it's box waiting for December 1st.

On the blog this week:

Happy Halloween A visit to the Pumpkin Patch.

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A trip to the Pumpkin Patch - Avon Valley Adventure and Wildlife Park

Last year Bob and I visited a Pumpkin Patch in Ledbury. Just the two of us and why not? We also decorated the house (AD)

I love Halloween. I've always decorated the house, me, the dog and even the kids when they were still interested.

I was disappointed to discover they don't do Halloween in South Africa, but I still decorated the table with a more autumnal theme.

On moving to Dubai, I was super excited to see that Halloween in Dubai was done in full swing. 

This years plan involved a trip to the Pumpkin Patch at Avon Valley Adventure and Wildlife Park with Bob of course, decorating the house and a Halloween party over the weekend for our 2 year old grandchild and the neighbours children, pumpkin carving and answering the door to trick or treaters on Sunday evening.

Do you do Halloween?

Next up I'm getting ready for Christmas, but won't be decorating the house until December 1st. Do your decorations go up earlier?

Halloween Door Decorations

This post is in partnership with Design Bundles. I was also gifted art supplies and used their free fonts. Contents, photographs and design is all my own work.

I decorate for Halloween despite the fact the last child left home in 2013. The past 9 Halloweens have been spent abroad, it wasn't celebrated in South Africa, however in Dubai it was much bigger than it is in the UK.

This year I'm in the UK for Halloween and all my decorations are in the container which won't arrive until mid November, I still wanted to decorate the house, even though with Covid there will be no trick or treaters.

Design Bundles challenged me to decorate my front door by making signs and decorations using freebies fonts.

Here's what I came up with.

As my husband pointed out 'who is going to see it at the back door?' Well ... the decorations will be moved to the front door for Halloween and won't be put up the 31st. We live next door to a Primary School and I don't want to encourage children coming up the drive to the door as this will be the first year I've done Halloween and not camped out with the dog, dressed up and handing out home made cakes and sweets.

I'm also planning to laminate everything once my craft supplies arrive so I can reuse the decorations next year, whilst there's no rain forecast, it is pretty windy and it's getting damp out in the mornings.

To access the free fonts I used for this design, after creating a free account, I clicked on Script and selected Midnight Show to install on my laptop. I chose to save on printing ink, by creating an outline, then selecting white for my font colour. I lined the door with brown parcel paper and used masking tape to secure everything.

Using the art supplies, I used neon paint for the lettering.

Each letter was cut out and glued to black card and outlined with glow in the dark paint.

Everything had to be left to dry properly and flattened out. I worked too quickly, using glue before the paint was dry. I need to replace a couple of letters

I used a hole punch on the black card and threaded ribbon through the holes to hang like bunting. We just happen to have a sythe in the garden.

I then added a white sheet over a chair, with eyes and a mask, sadly the trick or treat bucket won't be filled this year.

Here's the UK in 2010

and Dubai 2019.

I had fun but it was a very time consuming job and the last time I made a display involving cutting, sticking and painting I was working as a Teacher in FS. Once everything is laminated and my container arrives I'll be able to use the props I have and have a bigger and better display for next year, when our grandchild is big enough to come trick or treating.