This and That Thursday

Hello!

It has been a busy summer for me so I thought it was time to do a This and That Thursday post.

Rhodes

For our summer holiday this year we went to Rhodes. We loved Kos when we went in 2023 so we thought it was time for another Greek island. We spent some time seeing the sights and some time by the pool reading loads of books.

Harvington Hall History Festival

I attended two of the events at the history festival this year. One by was Alison Weir and one by Tracy Borman. I also attended the book signings they kindly did at the end. The Harvington Hall cats were also in attendance but I wasn’t lucky enough to get a photo.

National Trust

We have also attended a few National trust places this summer. The first was a new one for us called Canons Ashby. Canons Ashby was a lovely Tudor property which was just like a maze. There were so many little staircases and little corridors I absolutely loved it.

Next was Waddeson Manor which was a return visit for us. It is definitely one of our favourite places to visit and they do a very nice afternoon tea as well.

We met my best friend at Charlecote Park last week and the weather was beautiful. We also had a great time helping my best friend’s son fill out the activity sheet where we had to work out whether certain things were ‘Tudor’ or ‘Not Tudor’.

Bath

We spent Bank Holiday weekend in Bath where we visited the Victoria Art Gallery and No. 1 Royal Crescent. I also did a lot of book shopping and eating of yummy food.

I am back teaching next week but this summer has been a lovely break with some great adventures. I am hoping that we will fit in more adventures around work.

Happy Reading

Etsy

If you enjoy reading my blog and would like to make a donation I would be very grateful. Thank you

This and That Thursday

Hello!

I haven’t done a This and That Thursday post for a while so I thought I would do one. It has mainly been work and my Etsy shop recently but we have tried to fit in some adventures.

Walking Lent Challenge

For Lent this year we decided to do a walk everyday of at least a mile. These walks have mainly been local but with all this lovely weather we have been having it has been wonderful to get outside into the sunshine, especially when I have been stuck inside for most of the day teaching.

Lunch

We have also managed a few nice lunches out which have included some nice walks as well. You can’t beat a nice walk followed by a good lunch! One of our favourite places for walk and lunch is around the Wyre Forest.

Decorating

Work on the house still continues and recently we have been working on the music room door which needed some work and prep before repainting. It is hopefully ready now for the undercoat. The library is slow going but we now need the electrics sorted which we can’t do ourselves so hopefully we can get that sorted next.

Happy Reading

Etsy

If you enjoy reading my blog and would like to make a donation I would be very grateful. Thank you

This and That Thursday

Hello!

I thought it was time for an update which is outside reading. We’ve been quite quiet since Christmas as we have been back at work and trying to do work on the house but we have managed a few little adventures.

Walking

I have really got back into my walking recently and I just love been outside. I do a few sessions a week on the treadmill but mainly I try to get outside as I find a walk outside really helps my mental health and helps me sleep better. My husband and myself are still trying to finish the last Lord of the Rings medal on the Conqueror Challenge but it taking a very long time. I really want to finish it because I have a big list of medals I want to earn next.

Library

The outside of the house is now basically finished so we are really cracking on with the inside now. The room we have planned for the library needs quite a bit of work as we have found a few horrors since stripping the wallpaper off the walls (the problem with old houses). We also had to remove a sink from the room and deal with a large hole in the wall. This week my husband filled in the hole and now I can finish stripping that wall of wallpaper. The next thing we need to sort is the electrics as we need the sockets moving to fit around all the shelving we have planned. I will post pictures when it stops looking like a horror story!

Dinning Out

Last week was half term and I took the week off teaching so we decided to go out for a treat. We had a meal at a lovely restaurant which is quite close to our house and the food was amazing. We will definitely be going back. We’ve also had a few lunches out as well.

So there are our few little adventures. We are really looking forward to the National Trust places opening up fully again but the main thing at the moment is pushing forward with the library so all my lovely books can have a proper home.

Happy Reading

Etsy

If you enjoy reading my blog and would like to make a donation I would be very grateful. Thank you

This and That Thursday

Hello!

I thought it was time to do a non bookish post as I haven’t done a This and That Thursday since November 2024.

Bath

December was super busy work wise but we also managed a little holiday in Bath to visit the Bath Christmas market. I love visiting the market to buy Christmas presents and this year Abbie who owns the Etsy store Britishbookart was doing a stall so I bought several Christmas presents for my niece and myself. I have also since bought more items from her site. If you haven’t seen her book trackers please visit her Etsy and have a look.

We also did some sight seeing and did our traditional afternoon tea at the Pump Rooms.

Etsy

I have also been super busy with my own Etsy shop and the TBR Tickets and Bumble Bee Bookmarks have been super popular. I love my little Etsy shop and love making and designing the bookmarks.

National Trust

We have been visiting some of our favourite local National Trust places. At this time of year a lot of National Trust places are closed but we like to support any that are open. Berrington Hall is definitely one our favourites.

Walking

We have been trying to get back into our walking again because we are still trying to finish our Mordor medal with the Conqueror Challenges. However, the house is still undergoing building work so have we have been a bit house bound at times. When we have managed to go for a walk it has been really nice to see the sheep and the horses that are in local fields near where we live.

Centre of Excellence

I have also been back to studying with the Centre of Excellence. I am currently about a quarter of the way through the History of Art course and I am absolutely loving it. I really enjoy their courses and find them perfect introductions to subjects that I might decide to do further reading around.

So there are my recent exploits.

Happy Reading

Etsy

If you enjoy reading my blog and would like to make a donation I would be very grateful. Thank you

This and That Thursday

Hello!

Now I will be honest but I haven’t been up to much other than work and been stuck in the house due to the ongoing building work but I have tried to do some other activities.

Northern Lights

This month we were very lucky to see the Northern lights from our back garden which obviously meant a photo opportunity. It was amazing to be able to see them and I couldn’t believe the colours the camera picked up.

Wightwick Manor

Wightwick is a favourite of ours and we managed to go there last week for a break from building work. It was really interesting as they are having restoration work done and it is always good to see how they do everything.

Christmas

I love Christmas and I love visiting garden centres and seeing their Christmas displays. We went to our local on the first day of Christmas decorations and it was beautiful. I can’t wait to visit some more soon.

Etsy

I have been quite busy this month with my Etsy which has been wonderful and I have more products planned which I want to sort out during half term.

Knitting

I have started knitting again. For my birthday I got a Lord of the Rings inspired knitting book which is fantastic! I have started the pattern for a throw and so far I am really enjoying it. I love knitting but haven’t done any for ages. It is a perfect activity for a winter evening.

I’m really hoping we get to go on some adventures during half term as it will be nice to get out and about.

Happy Reading!

Etsy

If you enjoy reading my blog and would like to make a donation I would be very grateful. Thank you

This and That Thursday

Hello!

I thought it was time for a post about the things that haven’t involved books. I am back to work fully from Monday so the reading and adventures might slow down but I’m hoping not too much. Work on the house continues and this week has involved a lot of noise from the builders which has been rather distracting. We really hope the end is in sight as we would love to see the house all finished and no longer covered in scaffolding.

Decorating

Whilst the builders have been working on the outside of the house we have been busy trying to get work moving on the library. I have done more wall paper removing this week and I hope to get that finished this week. There is a very long way to go with this room before it becomes a library but maybe if we are lucky we can get it done before Christmas.

Afternoon Tea

We took my parents for afternoon tea at Stanbrook Abbey the other day and the food was fantastic. I do love an afternoon tea especially when they have a great choice of teas to choose from which this one did.

Recital

My husband and myself have been busy working on a recital over the summer and finally we did the recital last weekend. It went really well and the treble recorder and organ combo sounded fab. Here is a little snippet.

Cat Cafe

Husband had a voucher to go to Paws Cafe in Shrewsbury for his birthday so we went last week and it was brilliant. We have never done a cat cafe before but we will definitely be going back. We both fell in love with the Maine Coon there called Darwin. Lady Grey was also an absolute cutie and loved having cuddles. I’m definitely considering getting a Maine Coon one day.

Happy Reading!

Etsy

If you enjoy reading my blog and would like to make a donation I would be very grateful. Thank you

This and That Thursday

Hello!

I have had the week off this week and it has been lovely to catch up with friends and family and go on some adventures. We haven’t done much on the house this week but we did do quite a bit on Monday.

The Great Waddle of Worcester 2024

We went and found loads of beautiful penguins in Worcester this week. I love the events that Worcester put on and it is always a joy to see the talented artists work. We didn’t manage to find them all but managed to find quite a few.

Belton Estate

We met up with my best friend this week and visited Belton Estate. I’ve never been to Belton Estate but I was really excited as I know it has an amazing library. It has also been the filming location to Pride and Prejudice (BBC version) and a Jane Eyre adaptation as well as other TV shows and films. However, I was really disappointed because only a quarter of the house was open to visitors so I never got to see the library. This wasn’t mentioned on the website and was a real disappointment after driving two and a half hours to get there!

The Darby Houses

We visited the Darby houses today which consist of two houses called Rosehill and Dale House. I really enjoyed seeing these houses especially Rosehill which has been beautifully restored and set out. The houses are Georgian and there were quite a few features which were similar to our own house which was really interesting to see.

We are going out for afternoon tea tomorrow so our adventures continue. It will be a big shock to the system when I start teaching again next week.

Happy Reading

Etsy

If you enjoy reading my blog and would like to make a donation I would be very grateful. Thank you

This and That Thursday

Hello!

I hope everyone is having a good week so far. I thought it was time for a post which doesn’t involve books.

House and Garden

Our house is still covered in scaffolding and work on the roof and the rest of the house is progressing. We have been busy inside the house whilst the builders have been busy outside. We have been clearing the room that is going to be turned into the library. Yesterday I was taking tiles off the wall as the room has a bathroom sink in it from the previous owners. The library is proving to not be as simple as we originally thought but I’m still hoping to get it all finished before Christmas.

Garden wise we have now had two massive clear outs and filled nearly three skips! Now we have some space to lay slabs and create our new pond area.

Powis Castle

We managed to both get a Sunday off together which is something my husband and myself very rarely manage so we went to visit the pea fowl at Powis Castle. We love Powis Castle and always love seeing the peacocks so it was nice to visit the super cute peacock babies.

West Midlands Safari Park

This week we went on our annual visit to the safari park. We always go in the Summer and sometimes to the other events they run during the year. It was a super hot day so we were very grateful for the AC in the car and we got a little pink walking around during the afternoon but it was so nice to see all the animals. My personal favourites are the elephants and hippos.

Walking and Dining Out

We have also been trying to keep our walking going and thankfully we have had some good weather to help with this. We have also been treating ourselves to a few nice meals out, hence the need for so many walks. We haven’t managed a holiday this summer due to the work on the house so we are making sure we go for some nice treats instead.

Happy Reading Everyone

Etsy

If you enjoy reading my blog and would like to make a donation I would be very grateful. Thank you

This and That Thursday

Hello!

I hope everyone is having a good week so far. I thought it was time for a post about my recent escapades.

Walking and Step Challenge

I am still trying to complete my final medal for the Lord of the Rings walking challenge run by The Conqueror Challenges. The final medal is very long but I really enjoy the challenges and it keeps me moving. If anybody would like to join a challenge here is a link for 10% off. I have also signed up for the 1 million step challenge run by Diabetes UK. This runs from July and is three months long. Here is a link if you want to see what it is about. To be honest averaging 11,000 steps a day is proving quite challenge and I am slightly behind because I got Covid but hopefully I will manage the challenge and get some decent sponsors.

Witley Court

We went for a recent visit to one of our favourite English Heritage properties, Witley Court. I always love visiting but I also find it rather sad to see the ruins of what would have been a wonderful house. I do however find it very shocking that they ripped out the library and replaced it with a ballroom! The ballroom is huge so would have been an amazing library. Walking around the ruins and grounds also meant a good step count.

Brockhampton

Another favourite is Brockhampton which is a house owned by the National Trust. It was a beautiful day so we did loads of walking. The house is also really interesting and is deceptively a lot bigger inside than it appears on the outside. I also really enjoyed how each room was set up as a different time period from the house’s history.

We are limited in how far we can go at the moment and we sadly don’t have a summer holiday in sight because our house is still covered in scaffolding and we have people working on the house 5 days a week until possibly September.

Etsy

If you enjoy reading my blog and would like to make a donation I would be very grateful. Thank you

This and That Thursday

Hello!

I thought it was time for a post about everything non book related going on currently. It has been a busy couple of weeks here with all the work on the house beginning but it is very exciting because once everything is done on the outside we can start work on the inside which will eventually mean I get my library! I am still learning Greek with Duolingo and I have also started some courses with the Centre of Excellence.

Coalbrookdale Museum of Iron

We recently visited the Museum of Iron and it was really interesting and fascinating to see all the things people had made out of iron. There is a lot of reading to do there and I found it hard to take it all in so I hope to go back soon and read the rest and also see the things which were outside as we missed the outside things due to the weather.

Coughton Court

Coughton Court is one of our favourites and we went to visit when we actually had a nice day. Coughton Court are also having a lot of work done so half of the house is currently covered in scaffolding. It was really interesting to see how they are storing the paintings and keeping the house safe during all the work that is going on.

Attingham Park

Today we took a break from all the roofing work and spent a few hours at Attingham Park. It was so nice to go for a walk around the grounds and go around the house. We learned all about how they clean the valuable carpets. It was a shame to not be able to see the Drawing Room properly but it was interesting to see what work they were doing. Sadly, yet again we weren’t allowed upstairs even though on the website it said upstairs was open. It seems every time we go the upstairs is closed due to lack of volunteers! Of course I also paid a visit to the second hand bookshop.

Croome Court

Over half term I met up with my friend and we had a lovely few hours at Croome Court. Croome Court doesn’t have much furniture in it but it is still fascinating and has beautiful grounds to walk around. We were blessed with another day of good weather.

We have also spent quite a bit of time working in the garden and managed to fill a skip in one day with all the stuff we removed.

Happy Reading

Etsy

If you enjoy reading my blog and would like to make a donation I would be very grateful. Thank you