Thursday 24 September 2015

Trying hard to be serious, and failing

Hello. Let's have a natter. I'll start, you join in if you want to. I've been to the doctors twice this week, very unusual for me to go even once. I got called in for the annual flu jab on Tuesday. Our medical centre is usually closed on a Tuesday afternoon, but this week it was packed. It was a case of all hands on deck, needles at the ready, line us up and chuck darts at us, no not really, I'm kidding. We were pretty quick in and out though, it was like half the village was there, pity they weren't serving coffee and cake. I was larking about a bit, I can't help myself. We sat on a row of chairs and shuffled up when one dropped off the end. Then it was my turn and the nurse stuck the needle in. I grimaced and said 'chuffin heck, that hurt'. Then when I was walking away I looked at my arm and said, 'it's bleeding'. Made a few people smile, ha ha.  
I've been to the doctors today as well, but not our local medical centre, I went to the big one in the neighbouring village. You get an appointment quicker if you are prepared to drive the two miles to get there. I have now got a black spot on my cheek, that's the one on my face, not on my bum. For some strange reason a wart decided to erupt, spoiling my naturally beautiful, normally clear, and glowing skin. Can't have that I thought, it will spoil my chances if I ever decide to go out on the pull. Oh it's nothing, the doctor said, it's what happens when you get older. Charming, is this the start of a downhill slope, am I going to get scabby lumps appearing from now on? He prodded it with a plastic straw thing with some chemical on the end of  it. 'There you are', he said, 'it will go black and drop off, keep it dry for a couple of days'. Oooh good I thought, won't have to have a wash, ha ha. 
This is a nice view, spotted on my way home. We are surrounded by farmland in these parts, mostly crops, not many cows and sheep. Pity about the electricity cables spoiling the picture though. 
Don't know what these are called, but aint they pretty. Like little lanterns tumbling over a drystone wall in someone's front garden.

Yesterday I made a pan of soup with two packs of mixed ready chopped veg. I left it chunky, didn't bother to zap it with the blender. 
Looks pretty grim doesn't it, like something regurgitated. Tastes alright though. It was a bit watery so I mixed a couple of spoons of humous into it, improved the taste no end. One portion eaten, two for the freezer.

I've had a letter today from the House of Commons. Mr Percy our MP often writes to me, he likes to keep me informed on what he is up to when he is in the big city. This time it's about his campaign to get better mobile phone coverage for our area. Good of him to put so much effort into keeping his constituents happy.

My annual payment to Google Storage has come through on my statement this month. This is the small amount I pay  for a much larger storage facility for my photographs. Because I post a lot of images I reached my limit of free storage after a couple of years of blogging. I see there is a slight increase from last year, an extra 27p to pay, this takes it up to £3.84. Bloomin cheek, everything keeps going up. Don't know where I will find that extra 27p from, will have to cut down on the car miles and use the bus ;o)

Cat rescue news, grey mummy cat has had a touch of cystitis but is alright now, the kittens are doing well. We had to take a cat back in, a lady adopted three cats from us, but one cat was getting bullied, so it came back to us. The good news is that we found another home for it. A much better home, in a village, with one other cat and they are getting on great together.

I've got some brilliant news, it's chuffin amazing. My page views have soared sky high, it's fantastic that so many people want to read my little old blog. I mean, what could I be saying that is of any interest to anybody? It's about what I do with my life, that's all. 25 million page views a day, told you it was chuffin amazing, that's half the chuffin world. I have a stat checker on and watching the comings and goings is like watching the share prices change every few seconds on the boards at the stock exchange. And emails, well, my box is overflowing, don't know when I am ever going to find time to answer them all, if you sent one you're in a queue. I'm getting to be a right old Marjorie Proops, ha ha. Just ask me anything and I'll sort all your problems out for you.

Right, I'm off, need some sustenance before bed time, fancy some rice pudding. Catch you soon. Toodle pip.

33 comments:

  1. Hi.Good for you at getting all your medical stuff taken care of.The soup comment makes me chuckle.Our meal tonight is just as "grim"looking but tastes very yummy(a goulash)and is very budget friendly.Always nice to hear of the kitty's finding new or better homes for their unique situations.Your blog stats are AMAZING! See, lots of people know quality when they read it.Well done,Ilona.Bye for now,D.

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  2. Glad that you doctor visits were not serious. Yes, I need to think about getting my flu shot here soon.

    Those lantern flowers are gorgeous.

    You are getting so popular that you might get an invite to appear on Strictly. I say that because on the U.S. version, Dancing with the Stars, this year one of the contestants is a 15-year-old guy who is considered a celebrity because he has thousands of followers on Vine (some sort of social media).

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    1. Barbara, I really don't fancy some geezer chucking me around on the dance floor in front of millions of spectators. I would be the clown, deliberately stumbling and falling over. They would vote me back on every week just for the comedy factor.

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  3. Those pretty orange lanterns are called Chinese Lanterns. My best advice is to enjoy someone else's! They are very invasive! They took over and spread and it took me several years to get rid of them...as much as I liked the orange lanterns, I didn't want them everywhere. It's a very pretty plant with white blossoms in the spring and the lanterns in the fall. I loved them until I planted them.

    Thanks for the reminder that it is flu shot time.

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  4. Well, my dear, you are just wonderful and now half the world is realizing this!
    More power, fun and joy to you- shared with your eager readers! JanF

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  5. Since I discovered your blog some years ago, I have read it every morning, it puts me right on track for the day. I love how you really live a brilliant life, saving where it is possible to have money for things which are important for you (e.g. your car).
    I am always astonished about the reductions on the food prices in GB. Here in Germany, I have never seen something reduces for more than 50%. And lots of supermarkets now give food to the foodbank instead of reducing it.

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    1. I'm not surprised you get so many visitors to your blog as its so entertaining and varied. Also unlike other frugal blogs yours is more genuine . I earn a decent amount of money now but will have an income similar to yours when I retire. Your blog gives hope and confidence that I'll manage. Kristel.

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  7. love this post. hope your face is OK. glad you saw the GP , all the outdoor activity makes us a bit more vulnerable to skin problems that can be very serious . One of my patients had his nose removed but the unit in Birmingham has done a wonderful job with a prosthesis. He always tells me to take care and slap on the suncream.

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  8. You'll be taking to the stage next and going on tour . ... an evening with Meanqueen!! Still enjoying the blog - always makes me smile.
    I think the plants are physalis - Chinese lanterns - cape gooseberries. Useful for dried flower arrangements as well as making an attractive garden display.
    Hope your face is improving - oh that sounds rude but you know what I mean!
    Victoria

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  9. Hi Ilona, that is a very impressive amount of followers you have. I look in on your blog most days and enjoy reading about shopping, crafting and pet happenings. But what I most admire is your intrepid walks. I know I could never manage to do this but a little bit of me wishes I could.
    Sorry but I don't always find your food choices to my taste! Ha ha, but then nobody is perfect. Keep on blogging Ilona.

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    1. Yes, my food is not always appealing to others, but, I am still alive :o)

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  10. So pleased the kitties are settled into their new homes. You are such a joker! I was taken in for a while! Love your blog. Jane x

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  11. Dear Ilona Proops, I'm having a spot of trouble with...only joking. Only 25 million?! That means half the country are living in complete ignorance of how to live a fantastic life on a pension! Keep going we need more converts to your way of thinking. I have started getting the 'it's what happens when you get older' comments - first started at the opticians. It felt like a right of passage into the tricky time of transition into middle-age. We still think you are fab... warts and all. Debbie.

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    1. Come come, don't be shy. You can tell me anything, and I promise not to laugh.

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    3. Oh yes, had to comment again. I agree with the comments above - your blog is interesting - no enthusing and smug back slapping. Natalie

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  12. I had to go to hospital yesterday - as I was on the bed, the nurses said that I was the oldest one in the theatre. Good news about your blog. Natalie

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  13. I thought that the bottom (sorry, facial) line would be that the doctor found you had a piece of toast stuck to your phizzog! Has it dropped off yet?
    It reminds me of when I was a child ... well, in a way, not that I had a spot on my face. No, my uncle had had a sight test at the local optician's. I said I wanted a sight test as well, stamp feet, pull face, like a spoilt brat. So parents relent and I have sight test. Optician tells me to "Read the card in front of me" which had lots of letters on it. Right, thought I. I've learned to read, or am learning to read ... CAT spells cat, and so forth. But could I make words out of the letters? Coud I not! NVTVG ... I tried to pronounce them. I really did. The optician seemed a little concerned and asked me to get out of the chair he'd have a word with my parents. Eventually we emerged from the optician's and they looked rather worried. I had to see a specialist. Eventually, I saw a specialist who said there was nothing at all wrong with my eyesight. The optician would, in future, explain more carefully to a child to tell him what the letters on the card were, not to "read" the card!
    Margaret P

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  14. Big Congrats! 25-million page views is called making it to the Big Top! I expect it to keep climbing too and you deserve it. :)
    So glad the cheek thing was nothing serious and was an easy if not aggravating fix. Little bumps, moles and warts should be checked out for the just in case.
    Congrats again Miss I.

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  15. Congrats on the page views!

    Oh... and the issues of storage, I am like an ostrich with my head in the sand on that one at the moment, after I just decided to move the majority of what I do to the Google platform - where Blogger also is! I get lots of storage with Yahoo, but it gets hacked too easily. Good for a while yet, though...

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  16. Well, as a newbie blogger your stats are something to aspire to..........................!!!!!!!! You are a born writer, so natural.

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  17. I think I've got a long way to go to catch up with you on the number of page views. It just shows how popular your posts are. We had an unusual yellowy soup today - tomato soup made with yellow tomatoes. It tasted fine.
    xx

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  18. excellent figures...because you are the best frugal blog going and the real deal....straight talking not talking down

    long may you and your blog continue
    tess

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  19. "...to drive the two miles to get there." That caused a chuckle. I used to driving 75 miles one way to go to the doctor and the dentist. "Two miles" that's out in the middle of some pasture. It took 9 miles to get to the nearest gas station and the highway, 30 miles to the grocery store. Yup, I lived out in the boonies. Moved to town and everything is around the corner, now.

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  20. Congratulations Ilona! I read your blog and I am British but I live in Canada. It is very entertaining and fun. Nothing about your blog is fake, it is the real you, and that is what makes it interesting. I especially like all the pictures of your walks through villages and churchyards. Thank you from Tipp.

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  21. Congratulations on your 25 million, wow, world famous now! I think you should think about writing a book off common sense advice and 'how to do it's'.

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  22. Congratulations and well done Ilona! I'm not surprised about the popularity of your blog, as you write about so many different subjects and make it interesting as well with your sense of humour. You are an inspiration to young and old alike, in fact you inspired me so much I wrote a poem about you shortly after you built a summerhouse with doors. When I can get my husband to show me how to do an e-mail I will send it to you. Well done again.

    Joan (Wales)

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  23. 25 million page views per day?

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