Dear friends.
February always feels like a busy and bustling month, thanks to its brevity. The weather was pretty abysmal most of the time, but there were a couple of tempting peaks of Spring. I had a good month except for a falling out with the washing machine!
Sun 1 February
I'm at FitFarms, a nutrition and fitness bootcamp, staying in a cottage next to a lake on the outskirts of Matlock in Derbyshire. Arrived on Friday. Meals, exercise and workshops take place in a building that resembles a church on site.
7.45 start, did a wakeup workout, quite tough - lunges. This was followed by a session with barbells and dumbbells - more to my liking. Lunch was houmous, beetroot and cottage cheese on sourdough. Breakfast was a pancake with blueberries. There was a workshop, and we did a bums and tums class. Had a free hour so did a walk in the rural lanes and rang J.
A relaxing restorative session preceded a dinner of chicken Thai curry.
Monday 2 Feb
Had good sleep. Day started with a fabulous dance class. I'm usually not great with these, but the instructor Kim was so good! Then goal setting workshop. Lunch was wraps with chickpeas and cottage cheese. Resistance bands, booty burner, Tabata. Saw colourful lights again during restorative. Dinner was a beef casserole with kale and thyme. Had an aromatherapy massage, bliss.
Tuesday 3 Feb
After dance class and breakfast I went home. Got an Uber to Derby and direct train St Pancras. Smooth journey, home by 3. Apple with peanut butter for lunch. Had tuna Nicoise salad and grapes for dinner.
Weds 4 Feb
Lost 2 pounds, 1 inch off waist. Not bad for 3 days.
Did walk, just under 5 miles. Cloudy, 8 degrees. Chicken salad for dinner. Booked the Schiaparelli exhibition at the V&A.
Thurs 5 Feb
Washing machine repair was unfortunately cancelled today and they rescheduled for Mon. Not great, have not had a working machine for nearly a fortnight. The washing is piling up.
Raining heavily so did an indoor YouTube workout and weights.
ChatGPT helped resolve some of my back end blog issues that Google constantly flags. It told me not to worry too much about it, as pages are still being indexed.
Fri 6 Feb
Rainy. Forest is saturated. Went to Pilates. Salmon with broccoli, black beans, leeks.
Saturday 7 Feb
Raining. Went to a church jumble sale, first one for decades. Not very good so wasn't there long. Carried on with my urban walk. Saw some daffodils.
We started watching Yellowstone (Netflix).
Sunday 8 Feb
Did forest walk ahead of the rain. Got muddy. Feeling a bit tired. Cooked chicken upside down by mistake. Thought it looked a bit puny!! Started Unfamiliar, Netflix. Very promising
Monday 9 Feb
Did walk trying to stick to gravel paths. Washing machine engineer came. We've already had 1 visit and it's been 2 weeks. Unfortunately he still didn't have the parts, as the previous guy hadn't ordered them. Coming back on Weds.
Tuesday 10 Feb
Didn't rain till afternoon. Did an indoor workout, 20 mins HIIT and weights/resistance bands. Burned good number of calories. Cosy Gardens came round to do a survey for the garden makeover. Had a bath, which I hardly ever do these days. Used Olverum oil received at Christmas. Beautiful scent.
Wednesday 11 Feb
Still dull and rainy. We did forest walk, 4.5 miles. Saw the coos.
Have now been told I do have to do a tax return so started that. Washing machine engineer returned, just before 6pm. Installed new motor and board. Working OK now. 2 loads so far....
Thursday 12 Feb
The arctic weather and snow is swerving us again. Wouldn't have minded some snow. Still grey and rainy. Walked to gym but on way realised I didn't have my lock. Didn't want to buy another. Did urban walk instead. 4 more loads of washing and some ironing. Still got lots of bedding and more of my stuff.
Friday 13 Feb
Wasn't able to do trail laying and Pilates as I had to stay in for Dishpatch delivery for Valentine's Day. We don't normally mark it, but I liked the look of the Michel Roux dinner. Annoyingly, I could have gone to Pilates because DPD just leave parcels now without a signature.
Was speaking to Uncle Brian when washing machine started making a horrendous noise and jumping around again. It was the first time I'd used the 1400 spin cycle. Rang John Lewis to complain. They spoke to Bosch. Engineer coming again Tues.
Had our Valentine's day feast (early). Was delish! Will definitely do it again. They have a lot of different chefs and options. Unfortunately J wasn't feeling too good so didn't eat it all.
Sat Feb 14
Beautiful blue sky, first time for weeks. Did forest walk. Used the washing machine rather tentatively, did lowest spin. Held onto the machine as it did its spin, and was OK. But not very tenable going forward.
Had salmon with kale, carrots, red pepper, onion. Tons of grapes. Trying to eat more fruit and veg as the antioxidant score on my watch is low. I know I have a problem genetically metabolising antioxidants. Have ordered some supplements to address the issue (folate, curcumin with black pepper).
Sun Feb 15
Did workout. 30 mins HIIT walking then weights. Had lunch at King's Head, roast beef.
Mon Feb 16
Had lovely day in town with Margery. First the Seurat at the Sea exhibition at the Courtauld. Very good. Busy, but not overcrowded as it is sometimes at the National Gallery. Two of my favourite paintings:
We were going to visit another church but it was closed. Had a hot chocolate instead to dodge the rain.
Tues Feb 17
Engineer was early, 7am, for washing machine. We're on first named terms. He couldn't find a fault. Aaargh.
John installed a wooden barrier that stops the machine dancing about. It seems to be working OK except on the cotton 1400 spin cycle. Will have to make do.
We did a walk. Saw the longhorns. There was a bit of a standoff with two horse riders waiting for the cows to leave the main path.
Weds Feb 18
I did a YouTube with the lovely Shelly, 50 mins aerobics and 20 mins weights. Enjoyed it.
Thurs Feb 19
Showers. Walked to Sainsbury's to get printer paper. Booked for Danish artist Anna Ancher which ends soon at Dulwich Picture Gallery. I had chilli, J had steak.
Fri Feb 20
Grey day. Did Pilates. Curry. Books post published. Had the quote from landscaping company. Looks good. We are making a few revisions.
Sat Feb 21
Warmer but still cloudy. Went to Wanstead Vintage, an event in a church where sellers gather to offer vintage clothing, jewellery, furniture and so on. It's very well done. I bought a brooch, bracelet and two scarves plus two cute 60s Babycham glasses. They're tiny. Just goes to show how abstemious people in the 60s were.
Had coffee on the way home. In the afternoon we went round to see Rachel, Sean and Olive.
Sun Feb 22
Cloudy, cold. However, a few sunny spells developed briefly. Did a home workout. Cooked roast chicken.
One of my pre-molars came out, unexpectedly! I wasn't eating anything crunchy but suspect the very hard croutons last Monday played a part. Fortunately the gap can't be seen unless I smile broadly. And the base, and root, of the tooth is still there so it doesn't hurt.
Monday Feb 23
Still cold and overcast. Made dental appointment. Went for walk. Ordered new printer and table for it, to be in my office.
Did forest walk. The weather forecast was talking about warmer weather but there was a cold wind. Saw the longhorn cattle. They were quite widely dispersed. I don't think there's much for them to eat except holly.
John got the bikes ready as we plan to go for our first ride of the year tomorrow. Bought flowers from the Co-Op.
Tuesday 24 Feb
At last, a warm sunny day! We went on our first bike ride of the year (same date as last year), over to the Lee Valley Country Park. Had coffee as usual at the Whitewater Centre. They remembered our order 😂. Hung washing outside for the first time in months.
Wednesday 25 Feb
A new printer and table arriving today so I tidied office in readiness.
Another warm, sunny day. Able to wear one of my moto jackets. Met Annemarie at Good Housekeeping in London for the VIP members' launch of their Fit (Enough) Club, plus Mariella Frostrup's new recipe book for menopause. Belles Berry, daughter of Mary, co-author of the book, gave a cookery demonstration.
We also did a couple of taste tests for the GH Institute, olive oil and Matcha tea. Both very illuminating. The pricier green olive oil was so different from the cheaper yellow variant, peppery, fresh and delicious. Matcha tea, whether it was cheap or ceremonial, tasted like pond water.
Thursday 26 Feb
Up early and did my pre-order for new Samsung S26 phone, ear buds (both in rose gold) and phone case. Some good offers from Samsung.
We're back to grey overcast weather, quite windy and cold. Did a bike ride. It was hard in the wind.
Friday 27 Feb
Overcast again. J was trail laying for the Orion Harriers. I did Pilates. Rachel and Olive came round.
The spring bulbs are starting to burst forth. Surprising, after all the rain we had. I have hyacinths and several types of daffodil and tulips in two borders at the front. Started watching Drive to Survive, Netflix, a favourite.
WHAT I WATCHED
Film: Small Things Like These (Prime): 9 out of 10.
I loved the novel by Claire Keegan. The film doesn't disappoint. Cillian Murphy is the quiet hero, coal merchant Bill Furlong, who uncovers disturbing secrets in a small Irish town that's controlled by the Roman Catholic Church. It is set in 1985 but seemed like a very distant time. This film reminds us it wasn't that long ago.
Yellowstone (Netflix), series 1, 7 out of 10
We loved Landman (Paramount) and decided to make up for lost time with the rest of the Taylor Sheridan oeuvre. The Yellowstone series kicks off with a film length episode to set the scene. John Dutton (Kevin Costner) faces battles on every side to preserve his huge Montana ranch. There are plans for an extension to an Indian reservation, and a new resort development. Meanwhile his adult children don't fill him with confidence for the future of Yellowstone. There are no redeeming characters among the Duttons. The wranglers, or cowboys, give some more light hearted moments, except when they're breaking the law to fulfil Dutton's wishes. Engrossing.
The Walsh Sisters (BBC iPlayer), 7 out of 10
I've read all the books by Marian Keyes so I was keen to see how they translated to TV. I'm not sure the humour and charm comes across. However they've captured very well the frenetic nature of a complicated 5 sister family. Rachel, who is marched off to rehab, is a study of a messy life, apparently based on Keyes a few decades ago.
Film: The Choral (Prime), 6 out of 10.
I expected more. It's one of those films where villagers come together, in this case joining the local choral society, set amidst WW2. The narrative was cluttered and unfocused. Ralph Fiennes is the stern choir master with a hidden past. He carries the film as best as he can.
Unfamiliar (Netflix), 8 out of 10
In this German thriller former spies Simon and Meret operate a Berlin safe house until a past threat resurfaces. Then they have to flee hitmen, Russian agents, BND, ex-lovers, and old enemies. Very exciting. I loved the kick ass Meret, an older woman who could more than hold her own.
How was your February? What do you think of my TV reviews? Do share in the comments.
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