What I have loved this week! Week 17. #FridayFavourites

Hello there and happy Friday! I have had a nice but busy week. I am looking forward to a weekend of not doing much. Today I am linking up with Erika and Andrea and share some of my favourites from this past week.

Child Trust Fund!

Everyone born in the UK between 1st September 2002 and 2nd January 2011 was given a Child Trust Fund through the government. I set Ellie's up with one company and it was moved to another and another so it took some tracking down as I forgot all about it when we moved house a couple of times. This week we found it! With Becky's hers was in plain savings account and just gained interest so ended up with a little over £1200 when she cashed it out when she turned 18. Ellie's £500 was invested in stocks and shares and her amount has been going up and down for the last 16 years. I looked at the performance and the lowest it has been is £700 and something during the Covid lockdown and highest was last month at just over £1300. Who knows where it will be when she turns 18 next year. She is very excited to find out.

Wrestling!

Since watching Wrestlemania a few weeks ago I am hooked again and have been watching the weekly shows Raw and Smackdown. I am loving it. I used to be a big fan when I was in my 20's and 30's but went off it. Now it's back in my life and I even found myself looking at tickets for the Clash at the Castle live event and it's £500 at least! Eek! That's a combo package for 2 shows over 2 evenings but wow, way out of my budget.

Bingo!

They've started doing bingo at the pub and I think us going is going to be a regular thing after we won big on Wednesday evening. I won the last full house with a prize of £100. 

Baby Reindeer!

I watched Baby Reindeer off Netflix over a couple of days. The story follows the writer and performer Richard Gadd's warped relationship with his female stalker and the impact it has on him as he is ultimately forced to face a deep, dark buried trauma. I didn't realise that it was going to be so dark when I started watching. After watching the trailer I thought it was a comedy, I was wrong. It's pretty shocking but I am glad that I watched it.

The Tortured Poets Department!

I wouldn't say I am a big Taylor Swift fan but my girls are. All I have heard for the past week is songs from the new album and gossip about it. How certain songs are aimed at her ex's and things like that. I do like some of the songs but my girls love them all!

Growing things!

A few weeks ago I planted a ton of seeds. Sweetcorn, tomatoes, sunflowers, peppers, pumpkins, strawberries and a few other things and they have finally started growing. I am thanking the super compost that my dad gave me. He got it from a fantastic gardener so we knew it was good.

Stuffing Crusted Chicken!

Our favourite meal so far this week is the stuffing crusted chicken that we had with lots of veg. Who'd have thought that putting sage stuffing on chicken breast while it cooks makes it taste so different!

Bananas!

My dad was given a load of bananas, too many for him to use so he passed a load on to me. We have been enjoying them this week. I made banana muffins, we've had just bananas and custard for dessert and of course banana and sugar sandwiches. Yum, yum! 

What have you loved over the past week?

Why I still love watching Friends!

Friends isn't just a TV show it's a warm, fuzzy blanket of nostalgia, laughter and life lessons. I only started watching Friends when the last episode was shown on TV way back in 2004 and even then it took me a good few years to get into it. I was so late to the party but since then I think I have watched each episode about 10 times at least.

Why I still love watching Friends!

The Relatable Characters.

Each of the six main characters has a different personality, making it easy to connect with at least one of them. The clean freak Monica, the a quirky Phoebe, the sarcastic yet sweet Chandler, the geeky Ross or popular girl Rachel there's a character for everyone. I see bits of myself and my friends in each of them which makes it so much more relatable than other TV shows.

The Unforgettable Catchphrases.

One of the best thing about friends Friends is all of the catchphrases and one liners that have drifted into our everyday conversations. Who hasn't tried a Joey-style "How you doin'?" or shouted "Pivot!" while moving furniture? We were on a break!! Could I be wearing anymore clothes?, Unagi, Oh. My. Gawwwwwwd!, This is brand new information, He's her lobster, Joey doesn’t share food! They don’t know that we know that they know and so on and so on! I have used so many of these sayings in real life and then chuckle to myself because of Friends.

The Life Lessons

Friends delivers some valuable life lessons. It teaches us about the ups and downs of friendships, relationships, and the importance of finding your own path in life. It's not just entertainment it's a guide to being an adult!

The Nostalgia!

Watching Friends is like travelling in time, taking us back to the 90s and early 2000s. The fashion, the hairstyles and even the technology (or lack of) remind us of a simpler time. For those of us who grew up during that era, it's a sweet trip down memory lane.

The Re-watchability!

Friends is endlessly re-watchable! No matter how many times you've seen an episode, it still manages to make you laugh and feel warm inside. It's the kind of show you can turn to when you're feeling down or just need a good laugh.

The Love Stories!

Monica and Chandler, Phoebe and Mike, Chandler and Janice, Ross and Emily, Monica and Richard and of course Ross and Rachel! Friends gave us some of the sweetest love stories in TV history. 

The Endless Laughter!

One of the most obvious reasons why I love Friends is the sheer hilarity of it. The humour in this show is like a fine wine, it gets better with age!

Both of my girls now love Friends, Becky especially! She has so many things in her bedroom which are Friends related. Lamps, blankets, Funko Pops, Lego, mugs, duvet sets and even a Monopoly set!

You can’t beat the classics can you? Joey has to be my favourite with Phoebe coming a close second. I know most of the episodes word for word and I think my favourite has to be "The One Where No One’s Ready!". Could I be wearing any more clothes? hehehe or The One with the Embryos, that should have been called "The One with the Contest.".

Do you like Friends? What is your favourite episode?

Crafty ideas to upcycle old baby clothes!

 Nearly all parents will have a box or two of keepsakes of when their child was a baby. Often it seems a shame to store them in a box where no one is going to see them. I know I do! We have at least 4 big plastic boxes of things from where the kids were little. The outfit they wore when they left the hospital, first shoes, party dresses and favourite blankets.

These items hold some of the fondest memories in our lives. There are so many ways to breathe new life into baby clothes and blankets. Whether you pick something from this list or experiment with a different craft.

Here are some different ways to upcycle or get crafty with old things that will help you to remember past times and give them a new place in your future.

A memory bear.

Reusing all those clothes that your child seems to outgrow quickly is a terrific idea. Although sewing a stuffed bear might seem challenging, there are plenty of free, easy to follow patterns available online. You'll have a sweet little teddy bear to treasure for years to come once you're done. You can either give it away as a keepsake, display it as a memory bear, or wait to give it to your grandchildren.

Memory book.

For a project that doesn’t require sewing, you could use old clothes and fabric to create and decorate a memory book or album. Use a large piece of fabric for the cover and fill the

pages with pieces of other items along with photographs of when your kids used to wear them. That way, when you look back and remember times past, you’ll have a piece of them

with you as well as a photo to look at.

Patchwork blankets.

Using a patchwork technique, you can create a new patchwork blanket by sewing square pieces of fabric from old blankets or clothes together. As you may use several items and each patch will tell a different story from when your children were babies, this is a great method to preserve memories. You could even embroider significant names or dates on each piece if you're good with a needle. After that you can pass your patchwork blanket on to other family members and future generations will be able to add their own patches to expand it.

Cushions.

A cushion made from pre loved baby clothes could make a great decorative piece for your bedroom or even a gift for grandparents. They’re simple to make, and you can do all sorts of shapes and sizes depending on what fabric you have on hand. Use the same patchwork method that you would use for creating the blanket. Or try following different tutorials for different patterns and styles.

Christmas decorations.

While Christmas is still a little way off yet, there’s no harm in getting prepared early with some handmade decorations.

Christmas is a time for the entire family to be together, share memories, carry out traditions and perhaps even start some new ones. Now is the ideal time to make cherished ornaments that you can display every year. If you're at a loss for ideas, there are lots of ways to decorate. Make patchwork stockings out of discarded garments, blankets, or muslins. Craft fabric ornaments shaped like snowmen, angels, penguins or polar bears. Your children will love receiving ornaments shaped like their first initials, since they will get to hang theirs on the tree every year.  

If you’ve got some old Christmas outfits taking up storage space, you could also try turning them into a memory ‘reindeer’ instead of a bear.

Repurpose as dolls clothes.

As children get a little older they might enjoy pretending to look after a doll as their “baby”. A really simple way to help them play out the fantasy and get more use out of old clothes is to repurpose them as outfits for the dolls. This can also work for stuffed animals.

Upcycle into new clothes and accessories.

Transforming pre loved clothes into new garments can be a fun and sustainable way to keep them for longer rather than throwing them away. You could add to existing clothes for example, covering pockets with bright patterned fabric can jazz up an otherwise plain pair of jeans. Or make new pockets for clothes, it will give your kids a place to keep all the things they collect when they’re out and about!

There are so many ways to breathe new life into baby clothes and blankets. Whether you pick something from this list or experiment with a different craft, I hope this has inspired

you to think twice before throwing items away or leaving them to gather dust.

Have you tried anything like this before?

We used to rescue animals.

Last week I wrote a blog post "Thinking about getting a pet!" and I said that if we did get one it would have to be a rescue one as all the pets I had as a child and teenager were rescued. There is a story behind every one of them and I thought they were stories worth telling.

The first animal I remember my dad rescuing was a pony that we named Chips as we already had a pony called Scampi and we had a thing about matching names. My dad rescued her from being slaughtered. The person who owned her wanted rid as he was short on money, he said to my dad if you get a trailer to get her you can have her for £30 which at the time was still an amazing price. It was a mad dash but we saved her after the drama of finding our trailer with a puncture and having to borrow one. She was beautiful to look at but imagine a horse with PMS. That was her, she bit, kicked, galloped off with me on her back, threw me off (no wonder the guy wanted rid) but I did love her.

My brother and I rescued a dog. We lived on a farm in a pretty rural area. The nearest house to us was a 20 minute walk so when we saw a dog tied to a nearby gate we thought it was strange especially as we knew the farmer who owned the field and he didn't have a Springer Spaniel. My dad went and asked him if he knew anything about it an he said it had been there since early that morning. My brother and I took the poor thing some water and food and gave it a stroke and it was friendly. We carried on our day and went and checked if it was still there just as it was getting dark and it was and we decided then to take it home. My mother said she was having nothing to do with it but my dad rang around a few people he knew and spoke to the police and they said if no one comes forward to claim it, just keep it and we did and Judy became part of our family.

My dad had a skip hire business and all the yards that had wagons had guard dogs. We had a fantastic one, Rocky! He was very scary unless he knew you. One time a few guard dogs escaped from their yards and got a little carried away and one had pups. Most of the pups were sold but the runt of the litter was going to be disposed of so my dad took it in, hoping it would be a good guard dog. It wasn't! It would be more likely to lick you to death than scare away any intruders. He ended up being called Mouse. After a year or so he was retired as a guard dog and moved onto the farm where he spent his time being best friends with the cows.

Millie the Border Collie was brought home by my dad. He had been somewhere and saw someone mistreating a dog. He had words and the person told him take the dog if you want it so he did. She wasn't a trained sheep dog but could herd the sheep without any instruction. He came home with Muffy the kitten when a farmers cat had too many kittens and some were going to be disposed of. Our older cat was not too pleased and always looked at Muffy like she was a disgrace to the family. She was a menace and if she could get into any trouble she would. lol

My dad used to buy race horses, calm them down and then sell them on as normal horses. His friend had the same idea but had no idea about how highly strung race horses are. This guy was at a loss what to do with these horses so my dad took them in. They were nutcases but were left in a field to calm down for a year and then turned into the nicest of horses. They were given new names with their new attitudes. Rosy and Red. One went on to do pretty well in show jumping competitions and the other was the first horse for a teenage girl.

My mother had the patience of a saint! Have you ever heard the saying you might use when you ask where someone is and they say "gone to see a man about a dog" you never really knew with my dad, whether he would come back with a dog, cat or horse. hehehe

Have you ever rescued any animals?