Bluebell wood

For quite a few years I have visited a bluebell wood with friends except last year when I was unwell and missed it.

I was determined to get there this year so this afternoon a friend and I went for our walk.

The wood also contains quite a lot of water.

Plus a colorful field.

There are some beautiful walks around here. If you walk through this field up the hill we see an amazing sight. The Henry Moore Foundation is here and in the fields are some of his huge works of art. We have been given free tickets so over the summer that will be another day out.

Bus pass

I finally had a day out using my bus pass last week. That morning a news item suggested taking away the bus pass and other perks from pensioners and using the money for young people.  I don't get involved in the political debate but was thinking how important it is for all of us whatever our age to be able to get out and about.

I am fortunate enough to have a car but I don't really enjoy driving especially towards London. I do love my frugal days out when I totally relax and enjoy the scenery from the bus instead of keeping my eyes on the road and worrying about getting lost and where to park when I get there.

I was thinking about a trip my friend and I had a few years ago to Amsterdam. We bought a 48 hour pass for the trams and buses and it was so economical and convenient. We had an easy to follow route map and if you missed one tram, another came along quite quickly. There didn't seem to be the congestion on the roads we get in our cities here in the UK. If transport was efficient and affordable more people would use it and pensioners probably wouldn't need bus passes.

I will post about my day out another time.

Frugal things

Some blogs post 5 frugal things each week but I can never think of 5 things as mostly I am frugal all the time. I tried to make a note of things this week.

First on Tuesday I went to Sainsburys about 7 pm for eggs and ginger and to see if any yellow stickers. Not much but I did get 450g of River Cobbler fish reduced from £5.80 to £1.44 so that is in the freezer. Also on promotion the Yeo Valley blueberry yoghurt that my daughter loves reduced from £2 to £1.

I mended holes in a pair of tights and my gardening trousers.

Enjoyed the nice weather for free sitting in the garden and walking along the river and in our beautiful park.

On Friday I made two loaves of bread which were sliced and frozen.

Then I harvested some herbs from the garden which were also frozen.

Dill, parsley and chives.

Tulips and Chinese medicine

These beautiful tulips, a gift from DS and DDIL, make me smile and is something to be glad about.

Yesterday I collected the second stage of my Chinese herbal treatment. I had powdered herbs last time which I stirred into rice water so nice and easy and didn't taste bad. After that the therapist text with loads of questions before she prescribed the next lot. The reason for this is as symptoms change so the treatment has to change so she only gives 6 days at a time. She asked if I still have psoriasis and as I only had one patch along the hairline on my forehead, I hadn't noticed that it had gone and just left faint dry skin. The medication was for my gut but the psoriasis was on the pressure points for the gut. I thought that was amazing. The other thing I hadn't noticed and she asked about was that the itching in my ears had gone. I definitely have more energy since the first treatment. This time though I have to boil the herbs up with root ginger and Chinese maltose which is the stickiest substance I have ever seen. I had a job getting it out of the pot.

It's a slow business but seems to be working.