Word of the Week - Mornings

It's the school holidays. 

The alarm is off.

I'm still waking at 6am.

I'm more productive in the mornings than afternoon and evenings, although I do have a flurry of activity just before bed.

I've always woken early and I do enjoy the peace and quiet of a cup of tea, sitting in my happy place outside, regardless of the weather.

6am on a Friday before work.

6am on a campsite.

6am in bed.

No matter how hard I try to stay in bed, I'm awake by 6am most mornings. But as it's summer I'm not so worried about it, because the first thing I do, is make tea, feed the cat and go sit outside with my laptop or phone.

Most of my blog posts are written at 6am. It's rare to read a book and normally I just flick through social media on my phone.

Sometime I wake earlier and just stay in bed for a while hoping I'll go back to sleep, but the traffic noises keep me awake, vans pulling up with engines running and the occasional tooting of a horn to hurry their workmate up for his lift to work and car doors banging.

Are you an early riser? Do you have a time of the day where you get more done?

Word of the Week - Sun

It's been the most glorious week.

The sun has been shining.

BBQ's have been enjoyed.

Dresses have been worn.

Books have been read.

Pimm's has been drunk.

The flowers in the garden are out in bloom.

I'm sunburnt.

It's too hot to sleep.

There's little breeze.

I keep forgetting to water the plants.

My Achilles hurts from wearing sandals.

My head is thumping from too much sun.

But ...

I'm happy.

I love the outdoors.

Wearing a dress and sandals without having to fluff around with a jacket or remembering to carry an umbrella.

Leaving the table set up so it's ready for use, comfy and relaxing.

It reminds me of our lives abroad, a lifetime away now in South Africa and Dubai. 

23rd-25th October 2020 Post Comment Love

Welcome back to Post Comment Love. A weekly linky hosted by Stephanie at Lifeat139a and I. We love reading about what people have been up to each week, whether it's fashion, crafts, gardening, pets or just life in general.

It's been a mixed week weather wise, but it hasn't stopped Bob and I spending as much time as possible outdoors. 

We visited Croome on Monday,  a Pumpkin Patch Tuesday, took a walk up the hills and through the woods on Wednesday, rambled in the Forest of Dean on Thursday and today we'll be walking to the retail park for a take out coffee. We average 3-4 miles each walk, some days up to 8 miles. Most of our walks start from the front door, within 45 mins we can reach the top to the Malvern Hills, woodland, lakes and streams and open fields. Quite a lot of our walks are just around the streets, exploring alleyways and discovering shortcuts.

Stephanie and I would love to read about what you've been writing about this week.

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

Things to do in Monmouth South Wales.

There's a lot to do in Monmouth in South Wales. Since buying a flat here I n October 2016, I've been spending summer there, escaping the heat in my home town Dubai.

We chose Monmouth to put down UK roots as my parents lived there for 18 years, sadly my father died, but my mum has remained local. Monmouth has a population of around 9,000.

As well as being a pretty market town, Monmouth has good road links to the Forest of Dean, Ross-on-Wye for the M50/M5, the Wye Valley and Chepstow for the Severn bridge crossing to Bristol and Newport for the M4. There's a fairly decent local bus service and the National Express now stops there.

Entering Monmouth either by car brings you into either the top or the bottom of the town, with ample car parking both ends. Visitors usually favour the parking by Waitrose as it's easier to find.

Monmouth is a pretty town, with its share of high street stores and an abundance of local shops and weekly market stalls. It also has its fair share of coffee and charity shops and pubs with accommodation and a newly opened Premier Inn.

I'm going to start my tour of Monmouth at the Medieval Monnow Bridge across the River Monnow. Monnow Bridge was still open to traffic up until early 2000's. It was erected in 1180 from stone, previously it was wood and the remnants remain today.

If you walk through the Gate and cross the round about to the left, you'll find this lovely little fairy door.

Located behind the Bridge is the Church of St Thomas the Martyr dating in parts from 1180, although the exterior was largely rebuilt in the 19th century. It is one of 24 buildings on the Monmouth heritage Trail, marked with blue plaques.

Looking up the town on the right are the public toilets with a wealth of literature about what is on in the town and outside the Robin Hood Pub is the information on the rest of Monmouth Heritage Trail.

On a nice day, you can grab fish and chips and picnic by the river or follow the Monnow to where it meets the Wye, passing allotments and open space good for walking a dog in.

Alternatively at the back of Waitrose car park you'll find Chippenfield park with plenty of open space, shaded areas, benches, a children's park and the Nelson Gardens. There's a very strong connection with Lord/Admiral Nelson and Lady Hamilton here, despite only spending a few days here, in 1802, this is evidenced by the gardens, museum and the Kymin. Monmouth is also 35 miles from the sea as the crow flies, but the Royal Forest of Dean near by supplied timber for the battle against the Spanish Armada.

Take you time exploring Monmouth and the side streets, make sure you visit one of the many pubs in the town for food and drink. We prefer to visit the Estero Lounge near the coach station for food as it's reasonably priced and quality is ok when we meet up with family and friends and freshly cooked which is a bonus compared to the alternative chain in the town. It also has a secure garden, ample seating and is dog friendly, as are the coffee shops also.

There are some unusual style buildings in the town, which make it interesting to walk through, especially near the top where you'll find the Shire Hall located.

The Shire Hall in Agincourt Square is a Grade 1 listed building, built in 1724. Formally an Assize Court, it is now the Tourist Information Centre and offices for Monmouth Town Council. They also hold weddings there.

Monmouth is the birth place of  Charles Rolls of Rolls Royce. His statue can be found outside.

Just up the road and is Church Street. It is full of independent shops, restaurants and the Savoy Theatre. 

The Savoy Theatre was refurbished in 1928 and is a Grade 2 listed building retaining it's original features. It has been opened as a cinema since 1910 and was originally known as the Assembly Rooms constructed on the site on the Bell Inn. It was also briefly a roller skating rink at the end of the 19th century.

Next head up to St Mary's church  an Anglian  church founded as a Benedictine Priory in 1075. The current church dates mostly from the 18th and 19th centuries.

At  the eastern end of the churchyard,  is the gravestone of John Renie, his wife and two sons. Renie was a house painter who died in 1832 at the age of 33. It comprises a rectangular carved 285-letter acrostic puzzle. From the larger H on the centre square the sentence reads "Here lies John Renie" which may be read in any direction.

Exit the road side of the church and there's a slope leading you down to the caves, back up the steps and turn right into the Nelson museum.
Just past here back towards the town is Monmouth Castle and the regimental museum of the Royal Monmouthshire Royal Engineers. It is also the Birth Place of Henry V.

Head back towards the church, turn left at the traffic lights, left to Osbaston and visit the commonwealth graves, cross the road and follow the footbridge over the river Monnow, which leads you back into town.

On your walk back to your starting point, the Monnow Bridge, you'll see Bridges day centre on the right, they offer a variety of activities here and I joined in with a keep fit class, it runs on a pay as you go system, which is good for short visits.There's also a newly opened swimming pool at the secondary school, Monmouth Leisure Centre and it has soft play also.

Monmouth has many events throughout the year, from music festivals, Friday markets, street carnival, agriculture shows, seasonal boot sales, craft fairs, flower festivals and so much more. Check out the events and dates at Visit Monmouthshire.

The Green Planet, Dubai.

With the weather being so hot in the UK right now, I'm starting to think I'd have been better off staying in Dubai for the summer, as at least they have air conditioning everywhere. 

When the sun shines in the UK it means I can enjoy being outdoors, it's free to take a walk, sit in the park, have the windows open and enjoy the late summer evenings.

In Dubai, when summer comes it's a case of retreating indoors under the aircon. Going out involves a mad dash to a boiling hot car to get somewhere else that's indoors also.

One of the places I like to visit when I'm in Dubai is the Green Planet which is a bio-dome recreating a tropical forest with over 3,000 plants and animals. It's a great way of bringing the outdoors, indoors. The best of both worlds.

For 2018 I've been linking up posts about construction and unusual buildings I've visited around the world, but mainly in Dubai. If you're interested take a look at the below posts.

Week 158 Dubai Bluewater Islands and Dubai Eye. Man made island a 210m high Big Wheel
Week 159 Dubai Dubai Marina - Reflections
Week 160 Dubai Dubai Frame. A window between the Old and New Dubai and a 150m high glass floor.

Week 161 Dubai Dubai Marina 3 years apart.

Week 162 Dubai Dubai Water Canal Bridge Construction and reconfiguration of roads

Week 163 Dubai New Metro Line for Expo 2020
Week 164 Arizona and Nevada Hoover Dam 2002 - 2010
Week 165 Dubai Dubai Opera House What a difference a year makes
Week 166 Dubai Unfinished buildings. The Pentominium
Week 167 Coventry Mixing the old and the new. Coventry Catherdral
Week 168 Dubai New Dubai Metro Station 
Week 169 Dubai The new extension of the Dubai Mall and Burj Khalifa 
Week 170 Dubai Hotel fire After the Address fire 
Week 171 Dubai Unusual designs The Opus Building
Week 172 Dubai District Cooling. Keeping the desert cool.
Week 173 Dubai Can I visit the Burj Al Arab
Week 174 Dubai The Almas Tower
Week 175 Dubai The Cayan Tower
Week 176 Toronto The CN Tower
Week 177 Nevada The Paris Hotel 
Week 178 Dubai Ibn Battuta Gate
Week 179 A Wedding
Week 180 Dubai The World's Tallest Tower
Week 181 Dubai and Wales Al Fahidi Fort and Chepstow Castle 
Week 182 Dubai New Metro Station in Al Furjan 
Week 183 Dubai Cleaning the windows on the world's tallest building
Week 184 Dubai Ski Dubai
Week 185 Another Wedding
Week 186 South Africa Life in a township
Week 187 Austria Ski Jump 

Going Green in Dubai at Al Khazan Solar Park

The first solar powered and environmentally friendly park in Dubai was opened in 2015.

Located opposite City Walk, it's location means the solar panels receive sunlight, with no shadow throughout the year.

It operates 100% on solar energy.

This project is inline with Dubai's vision for 2010 to reduce energy consumption by 30%

The Park was built in 1980 and the water tower is a landmark in the area. 

Parking is on near by streets and can be reached by a short walk from a bus stop.

Children's play area.

Plenty of open space to picnic and some shady spots under the trees.

Solar panels, opposite City Walk.

Cafe

Book shop

Looking after myself

I implemented the 9am rule, it's working well. It means I have to be ready to face the day by 9am, regardless of whether I'm actually going out or not, it also doesn't matter whether I have a full face of make up on and my hair done or even if I go and have a lie down. I'm not timetabling and scheduling my life I'm just motivating myself to make sure I don't get stuck in rut, which leads to boredom, which in turn, from experience, leads to depression. 

My 9am is now in it's 3rd week, it goes out the window on weekends when my husband is home, he is my motivation then, and it is going well. I've almost completed the whole 'to do' list for January and been getting to bed early.

But there are another few things I need to work on, but this needs co-operationkio from my husband. He works, he is the one with routine, the length of time and order in which he does things in the morning, when he comes home from work, the time in between entering the front door and when he's ready to eat and what time he is ready to go to bed. I don't have a problem with this, however this doesn't suit me. I need to eat earlier, I need to eat less carbs. Peter doesn't always start/end his routine at the same time every day and I find it difficult to get up and start mine or eat earlier knowing I'll have to cook twice or he'll have to eat his warmed up or cook his own, or go to bed earlier without him, as he will travel away often during the week and with me spending so much time in the UK without him, our time together is precious.

I feel selfish if I do my own thing, but it's self imposed and I need to just get over it. Not feel guilty if I go to bed early, eat my main meal at 4pm before he comes home, go to bed early, spend the evening in a another room as due to a bad neck I can't spend hours sitting on the sofa watching TV, as much as I'd like to.

I've always batch cooked, we have 5 kids, I always made enough for 7/8 meals and froze the rest, now I cook for 4 every meal time and freeze 2/3 meals in individual pots. Peter will cook several meals over the weekend and freeze them also. Every morning I'll take a pot out the freezer for him and I'll make myself something fresh each day. This means I can cut down on the amount of carbs I eat, have increased my intake of fruit and veg and dairy products and actually eat less and have stopped snacking as much during the day. 

The mornings are sorted I get up and get on with things downstairs, dishwasher, walk Bob, etc after Peter brings me up a cup of tea to bed every morning. It's just the evenings. Peter showers, cleans his teeth and goes to bed. I can't help doing a million and one taks on the way to bed, followed by bathing, removing make up, moisturising etc which takes far longer than his shower and teeth cleaning.

Thankfully it's winter here in Dubai and both Peter and I love being outdoors. We have bikes, but rarely go for a bike ride at the same time, but we do like to walk the dog together  We like to get outdoors as much as possible. We've recently moved to a new house, 15 minute drive from the beach and we visit it at least once on a weekend, whether it's for a paddle, walk, coffee or all three. We used to live 1km from the beach, but hardly went there, why? because it was at the end of the road, so we could go there when ever we wanted, so we just kept putting it off. We also have a lovely garden, it's small, but more manageable, we've had it landscaped and in the process of having it fenced off, for privacy and so we can leave the dog outside without fear of him jumping the wall. We've also got two balconies, but we only use the one off the bedroom, it means I can sit out there with my tea in the mornings if I choose without having to get out of my pjs first and on a saturday, you'll find us out there, sitting in silence for most of the morning. 

It'll be too hot soon for the outdoor life and we'll have to look at other ways to get out of the house. I'll be spending the bulk of summer in the UK, it's just too hot for me here with nothing to do all day when temps are in the high 40's. Peter will carry on working and have a couple of trips over to visit me. It's fairly typical of what most expats do out here.

Animals on my UK travels

I spent 3 weeks in the UK in spring, every where I visited there were pets, farm animals and birds.

Living in Dubai, one doesn't see cows, horses and sheep in fields, although there are birds, other than a few doves, pigeons in the garden and the occasional parrot, one needs to go to Al Quada Lakes or to Ras Al Khor bird sanctuary to see swans, ducks and even flamingoes.

It was really weird to be able to make and eat a cheese or ham sandwich and take the lid off a yogurt without the cat and dog morphing into the room.

My Aunts cat kept a close eye on me when I drank my tea and my sisters 2 cats were keen to help me eat my dinner.

Dubai isn't very dog friendly and there are few places I can take Bob. I just hope Bob can move back to the UK with us one day and we can take him to the pub and into coffee shops after long walks.

There were woodland walks with my friend and her dogs. 

And entertainment from Morgan who sat and stared a stick, no matter how small until it was thrown for them to fetch.

 Dexter, my niece's dog treated me like a long lost friend.

I've not seen bees yet in Dubai, my friends had a bug house in their garden and I was fortunate to have spotted this bee in a field and not to have stepped on it.

I'll be back in the UK in 2 weeks time and look forward to visiting some summer shows and fairs in and around Monmouth, Malvern and Gloucester, so if you know of any or you're happy for me to join you for a dog walk or a visit to a farm, just give me a yell.