ROCKING YOUR WORLD FRIDAY - 4TH OF 2026

 Good Morning lovely people tis Friday time to clock the silver linings and grateful moments from the last 7 days time for

So last Thursday evening me and hubby had a good walk to a local pub that does excellent food.  We went early and I had my favourite meal which is a chicken shish kebab with chips, salad and flat bread it was mighty tasty. 

Then we walked back home over the motorway which was still very busy, I was glad I wasn't rushing around in the dark on the motorway but rather meandering home having had a lovely meal out. 

On Friday I met my daughter-in-law and grandson, my sister and my niece at the local heritage centre, we drank coffee and whiled away a couple of hours before having a wander around the centre, I fell into a craft shop and bought more paper, I'll be honest this genuinely wasn't a surprise. 

Photo of his lordship enjoying the fresh air. 

Then two shots one taken by my sister

and the other taken by my daughter in law

Saturday and Sunday were tootling around the house days to be honest as the weather hasn't been great.  We've still managed our walks but they have been mighty wet.  I managed to finish this book which was a strange read. 

It also meant that I got some scrapbooking done these are all from 2023, the boat trip that my Mum adored

Said 25 year old hunting for potatoes with my Mum in the garden

My Mum at my son and d-i-law's wedding

Before the wedding as we got ready for the photographer

More wedding photos

A layout from YSP 

The haircut our son had pre-wedding

More wedding photos, it has been a joy to get them scrapbooked helped by the pack of paper I bought when I was out. 

A layout from art at Wentworth Woodhouse in 2023

My Mum and my niece in 2023. 

The rest of the week has tripped along, lots of work, I didn't get blue Monday but did feel a bit down Tuesday and I've no idea why, thankfully support from hubby, my sister and daughter-in-law have helped of which I'm definitely grateful 

I did see some blue skies (albeit fleeting) on one of our walks

The poetry books that I'd sent to be printed have arrived

I finished this book which was a lovely read

and we went to see 'The Incident Room' at the local theatre which although a hard watch (it's about the Yorkshire Ripper investigation) was a particularly good watch. 

I hope you've had a grand week. 

Hugs

ROCKING YOUR WORLD FRIDAY - 3RD OF 2026

Morning all tis Friday time to clock the silver linings and positive moments for it is time for

So one of my tasks this year is to catch up on my scrapbooking as I'm still scrapbooking 2023.  This is bittersweet as it means I'm still scrapbooking photos of my Mum, but it also means that scrapbooking of my grandson is going to take an age to get to.  Nevertheless I'm determined to put best foot forward. 

This first layout is a double page, it was family making some headway on my Mum's garden which had got a little bit wild.  Me, hubby and my sister set too getting it sorted, and my Mum dipped in and out helping as much as she could.  She was really pleased that it was a more usable space after we had finished and the following weekend my niece, her partner and his sister helped recover the first tier in the garden. 

Then this layout I took of my Mum when we were at a craft class, she loved nothing more if I'm honest and we always had a wonderful day. 

Then this was a theatre trip out, the show a one man show about Laurel and Hardy, they were childhood heroes of mine so it seemed apt to see it with my Mum (hubby was there too)

and then documenting seeing the Ocean at the End of the Lane, which was a fabulous touring production

Layout for the Motley Crue and Def Leppard gig 

I feel that my layouts have become very similar, so I'm attempting to mix things up a bit, you'll have to let me know if you think I've achieved it with the next set I share. 

So how has the rest of my week panned out?

Well I finished this beautiful book last Friday, it is a set of four and showcases Angela Harding's linocut artwork and is beautiful.  I have the other three which I will be reading as the seasons appear (Spring, Summer and Autumn still to read)

We also woke to a smattering of snow, but it didn't last (thankfully) although it did make everything look very pretty. 

We had some persimmons lurking in the fruit bowl and as we both have a real issue with food waste hubby made a persimmon parfait, which was lovely, topped with pistachios and then he added to it the following day with baklava biscuits which are what are sticking out either side.  The dessert lasted us 4 days in total and fully used up the persimmon so definitely a win. 

I also finished this read, I've had the book an age, I think it was published back in 2013.  It is a riotous read and I thoroughly enjoyed my first read of a biography.

You may recall my first knitting kit coming through the post, this was my first couple of rows, I am very rusty and I don't think it will be very pretty but I'm off.  For reference Lisca my intention to learn is one a month not one a week, I don't think there are enough crafts out there for me to learn that would enable one per week. 

I also finished reading this book, which also proved a good read and allowed a little bit of focus. 

The knitting was coming along OK later in the week

and Wednesday night after my working week was done we headed out for our walk and accidently fell into the pub.  I had the none-alcoholic Old Mout cider cherries and berries and hubby enjoyed a pint of cider. 

Thursday was my first full day off, I thoroughly enjoyed a lie in after my three very busy days at work.  We sat drinking tea and reading tablets, made a plan for the next few days and then had showers.  

I had some house jobs to sort, vacuuming through and lots of washing so the dehumidifier is on full tilt today but it shortens the drying time so that is definitely a win. 

I also managed to sort a couple of boring tasks out that were on my to do list, you know the ones you keep putting off and then once you've done them you don't know why you put it off because it didn't actually take that long to sort.  Hubby helped with that and I'm definitely grateful on that front. 

I hope you've had a fabulous week.

Hugs

ROCKING YOUR WORLD FRIDAY - 2ND OF 2026

 Good morning lovely people tis Friday time to clock the silver linings and positive moments from the last 7 days because its time for

I'm attempting to increase my walking this year, so on Friday last week we headed out locally for a good walk it was very overcast and grey, a typical January day

it was also very blowy as you can tell from the selfie

when we got home, hubby decided he wanted to make a pie, having never made one before.  We also thought it was a great way of using the turkey up that we had frozen at Christmas, so he made a turkey and ham pie which we ate over a few days.  It was beautiful to eat and really made the most of the leftover turkey.  We used a shop bought all butter puff pastry with no UPF ingredients, but we agreed next time we would just make a shortcrust pastry instead. 

In the afternoon we had the most beautiful pink sky with purple hues and the moon looked amazing. 

We enjoyed he last day of having the Christmas decorations up, you can see the moon through the window, how beautiful it was. 

Saturday and it was the great Christmas take down, 6 solid hours it took removing lights from outside, removing three trees, decorations that were dotted about, cushion covers, hanging ornaments over the dining table, wreaths on the front door genuinely just so very many items to take down.  We did the decoration removal and back in loft first and then had a major clean through, every room was hoovered, dusted, wiped down, windows cleaned, bathroom thoroughly scrubbed, stairs, hoovered, dusted etc.  Absolutely exhausting and we both needed showers after but it was well worth the effort. 

Which left Sunday as a chill day which was wonderful.

We went up to YSP first thing, enjoyed a naughty treat (sausage sandwich and a cuppa) before having a great walk around the park. 

We walked down to the Wild Wood first, as we don't normally go that way, children were enjoying adventuring, we went past the desert rat first

then down to this little fellow

who really is quite a small sculpture as you can see

then across the HaHa bridge which crosses the haha

a couple more sculptures and the wintry sun shining through the tree branches. 

We wandered over to skyspace, but it was a blue sky day so nothing different to look at after a few minutes, still fun to visit though. 

The bottom lake was partially frozen this week, the previous week it had only been the top lake. 

Another shot of the sun through the trees

The ducks and swans were all in the small piece of lake that was still water, except for the lone swan you can see at the bottom right, who appeared to have been sent out to be an ice breaker. 

We spent the rest of the day reading and I managed some scrapbooking, we also caught up online with our son, daughter in law and grandson which was lovely. 

Monday and my first day back at work, although I was working from home.  I had a huge number of emails to deal with (unsurprising as I'd been off) but rather than stressing about them I worked through them methodically and managed to get most at least read by the end of the day. 

I received some 'happy mail' on Monday as well.  I ordered this kit over the New Year as I've decided I want to learn something new each month.  Many moons ago I knitted a jumper (I was 14) with a huge amount of help from my Mum.  I haven't knitted since, so I thought I would start with something simple and something that comes with both instructions and You Tube links, I'm really excited to start (but also terrified I won't manage it in equal measure). 

Hubby bought me some beautiful flowers as well

Tuesday I was in the office, but came home mid-morning as no one else was in and the office was exceptionally cold.  I got plenty of work sorted so that was positive. 

Said 25 year old called on Tuesday evening to say the sofa they were buying was ready to be picked up but the help that had been offered could no longer help out so could we.  I was still working but hubby went over and within a couple of hours they had collected the sofa in 3 trips, put the new sofa together and moved the old sofa to the garage, which they were very grateful for. 

Wednesday I was in with work colleagues and hubby was volunteering,  It was a bitty and at times stressful day, but we got done what needed to be done so we will take that as a win. 

After we had come home on Wednesday we headed to Ikea to pick up some items that we needed (candles, napkins and felt tips) and then popped and picked some food up for the freezer. 

Thursday and I was at the physio first thing.  I'm seeing small improvements with my heel but it is going to be a long process by the looks of it.  I've got some new exercises, so let's see if things continue moving in the right direction.  

We then went and bought some other items we were in need of, new hiking boots sorry hiking shoes (advised not got get boots by the physio) and a waterproof for me, new hiking boots and new normal boots for hubby and whilst it was not exactly a cheap trip out, we definitely needed the items we'd picked up.  We then picked a few bits up from the supermarket and some fuel and then came home. 

When we got home, hubby made a persimmon parfait recipe which will hopefully be delicious and then read and plotted and planned. 

It has been a busy week but very fulfilling and as I finish this post the snow has started.

I hope you have had an excellent week and that you are managing with this storm we have. 

Hugs

ROCKING YOUR WORLD FRIDAY - 1ST OF 2026

Good morning, how are you, how is life are you still soaking up the festive season or is the tree down already and you've turned the page, welcome to the first Rocking your World post of 2026, time to clock the silver linings and positive moments from the last 7 days. 

So boxing day was a quiet affair we were genuinely recovering from Christmas day which is always fairly manic and tiring.  

We both ended up rather snuffly with cold which we were worried might turn into something else, but it is just a lingering cold so weirdly that has become a grateful for the week. 

On the Sunday we went to my sister home for pig table day (so named because the majority of the items on the table are pork related).  We had hot roast pork sandwiches, homemade sausage rolls, homemade roast potatoes, homemade cookies, it was a joy to spend some time together and it is the first time my sister has entertained since she got her new table, so it was nice for her to be able to put it through its paces.

On Monday we went to Wentworth Woodhouse to enjoy their Snow Queen exhibition with said 25 year old, d-in-law and grandson. 

As it isn't particularly accessible (although they have put a lift in since we last visited), they had my grandson in a baby carrier. 

We wandered the rooms and whilst there weren't many to venture to we took it slow, soaked up the story and enjoyed the visit. 

This was the marble ballroom

Me and hubby in a photo and not a selfie for a change. 

There was headwear to try on in the last room which made me smile

Hubby was misbehaving as normal

And on the final landing the lovely volunteer asked if we wanted a group shot which was lovely, she also confirmed they had used an outside company this year for the displays and what did we think.  We said we loved it, thought it was better this year than last (at this point we didn't know they had done things differently) and commented that we missed the outdoor light display, but she indicated that they had made a huge loss on that last year which is why it wasn't going ahead this year, if memory serves me correctly there were a number of nights in 2024 when the weather was poor and they had had to cancel it which probably made things worse. 

Afterwards we went for a cuppa and cake, by which time my son had the baby carrier and our grandson continued to be all snuggly and warm in there. 

Three generations of men in my lives. 

My daughter in law treated me whilst we were there to the Billy the Bat book and a Billy the Bat, there had been a trail around the house that we'd enjoyed and the book has been written specifically around Wentworth Woodhouse which is fantastic.  

New Year's Eve was another quiet affair, although we decided to have a final jaunt of 2025 up to YSP for a walk which was excellent. 

We had a cuppa and a sausage sandwich at the main centre, then headed down the hillside, the wind was bracing but I'd worn a big coat so it didn't matter. 

We spent far too long enjoying the Oak tree in the chapel, I genuinely could sit and watch it all day. 

Then off down towards the lake, going along the path to the right of the lake this week, which wasn't too bad. 

We enjoyed the sound of the ducks laughing, saw two different swan families out on the water and noted the number of empty nests on heron island.  We then went to the top lake, enjoying the view and the rustling leaves along our path, although many are now breaking down as leaf mulch.

Up through the park the spike was brightly lit, was stopped for a coffee and cake as a bit of a last hurrah for 2025 before walked the long path up to the Underground gallery and following the path up to the Bothy where we grabbed these shots. 

Home and we sat in front of the fire reading, but then got a call from our son, who said not to panic (which always makes you panic) but they'd ended up with an ambulance for my grandson as he'd been throwing up and coughing etc.  The reason for it being on here you might ask, is the speed at which things were sorted, the ambulance was upgraded because 111 did a video consultation and felt it was needed, he went straight to children's ward, they checked and confirmed it wasn't flu.  They believe it to be virus based and so just wanted him to keep a feed down, if he did he could go home, if not he was to stay in.  Thankfully he managed a feed and kept it down so they sent them home with a two day open door to return if things changed, so they were all home for New Year's Eve and hopefully now on the mend.  

Also another major grateful was my sister have a facetime with me, whilst we waited to see the outcome of the feed, she genuinely kept me focused whilst we were waiting on news and it was lovely to catch up. 

Hubby let the New Year in as always, he now carries a tray with all the things he needs, a piece of coal, money, a drop of rum, a piece of bread and salt.  Big Ben sounded out on the screen and in he walked letting in the new year as our first footer. 

We stayed up very late making a goals list, hubby drinking champagne and me on my 0% fizz, but the list is grand so it was definitely worthwhile. 

We were up very late on New Year's Day and we had a local walk which was bitterly cold but quite exhilarating.  We came home and sat in front of the log burner reading, a lovely leisurely day it was to be said. 

And that was my week that was, I hope yours was similarly positive and that you had some silver linings and positive moments to enjoy. 

Hugs