I love breakfast. By morning, after not eating since about 5pm the previous day, I really enjoy my breakfast, be it toast (my all-time favourite), muffins (a rare treat) blueberry pancakes, bacon sandwich, porridge, muesli… The choices just go on. Like any normal pirate, now and again, I do like a bowl of cereal. Recently though, I had a bowl of cornflakes only to discover they were really stale. I’m the only one who eats cereal with milk, so it’s rare that I finish a box before they go stale. I was lamenting this with my sister recently and we joked about the ‘fun packs’ of cereals that some people buy for children. What a great idea! We found a pack in a cheap shop, and for £1, I have 6 boxes of various cereals. Sorted! This morning I had a bowl of cocoa pops lol, and what a blast from the past that was. We never had these as kids, though my son had them occasionally and I would eat them too – just not very often. In the same shop, I also found small bags of corn flakes that I might buy next time. It’s not the cheapest way to eat cereal, however it will cut down on wasted food, and of course storage. We’re coming to the end of a 3kg bag of porridge oats which I picked up very cheaply from a supermarket and want to replace it but I’ve found the price has rocketed, and very few stores stock this brand. Since when did oats become a ‘superfood’ and prices soar? I’ll simply have to change brand, again.

We’re still experiencing lots of rain here, and I genuinely can’t recall the last time we had a dry day. The forecast is good for Saturday – fingers crossed! Last year all the blackberries rotted off the plant, and this year looks set for a repeat. Apart from a bumper crop of blueberries which are now coming to an end, it’s been a very poor year for fruit in my garden. The vagaries of Mother nature.

Thursday was a slow day. I did a pile of ironing, groomed the Ship’s Dog and got a huge pile of fluff off him for my troubles, vacuumed downstairs, tidied a little, made bolognaise sauce for cannelloni… but the day just dragged by. Hoping for a better day today and I’ll pop out for bread and fruit just to get out of the house. I have a ‘crate’ of artist materials, and may break them out and paint something to keep me out of mischief.

There are now only 6 weeks until the Deckhand jumps ship. We’ve sorted out an overdraft facility at his bank (free) just in case student loans come in late for whatever reason. I’ll also have his bank details and will be able to transfer money to him in case of any difficulties. I’m sure he’ll be fine: he has a grant due to my income (or more correctly lack of) and the student loan, and he’ll have his campus job too. We’ve had the talk about not using ‘payday’ loan companies.

The scurvy dog that is his father has asked his Mother and brother, who will be nearby, if they can forward their contact details in case he needs a family member who can attend in case of any problems. That was kind of him, and a good idea. Obviously, I will go if he needs me, however it would take me a couple of hours to get there.

I’ve bought almost everything he needs to take with him except more trousers, which are on order. I’ve said it before; he’s tall and slim. Getting trousers in his size is often quite difficult and shops don’t seem to get enough stock in for people who are slim. I never have that issue LMAO. He told me off recently for putting myself down, but honestly, I only do it in fun, and it makes me laugh. For example, a colleague didn’t believe my age when I told her I was going to take early retirement. She commented I have no wrinkles, so I explained that having a ‘fat’ face puffs out the wrinkles. I saw that on a movie once: John candy said it, and I like it so I use it. Like I said, it’s all in fun and makes me laugh at myself. I’ll take laughter lines, you can keep wrinkles ;)

Almost the weekend, though for us retirees that doesn’t matter much. Have a great one.