Half Term Break: Word of the Week

You might be wondering what half-term break has to do with us, two women who are almost 60! Well, whenever half -term is coming up, we feel it in our bones. Even though we both gave up teaching years ago, we always still look forward to half term break. That is when we would usually take our kids on a little trip or even to go into the city centre to do some window shopping and sometimes some real shopping and then a treat afterward.

So this week I booked the week off work so that I could do some things together with Leisa and perhaps the extended family. On Sunday we were meant to treat a friend to a birthday meal at Nandoes and we were really looking forward to it. When Sunday morning came however, our friend wasn’t well at all and could no longer make the date. We hadn’t planned to cook so it was a little struggle to think quickly of something that could be cooked for Sunday dinner.

Fish pies were made from scratch and they were delicious. We had some white fish in the freezer and also some mashed potatoes. So all I had to do was to make some cheese sauce which I placed in the bottom of Pyrex dishes, then the frozen fish on top of that, followed by some mashed potatoes. I topped it all with some salt, pepper and grated cheese. No, no salad or other vegetable in sight.

We spent most of the day doing my niece’s hair so it was a good idea I thought of making fish pies as they just needed an hour or so in the oven and we could get on with what we had to do. We also watched several episodes of Survivor, the UK version. I liked it a lot but by the time Sunday evening came, I had had enough of it.

On Monday we used the time to go to the dentist, look into some charity shops, and then went shopping for meat to stock up the freezer. This week I also made some ready meals to freeze for my son who will hopefully pick them up this weekend. I always wonder how he is managing cooking food and so on. Although he can cook, I also know that sometimes he is too lazy to do so and therefore spends a lot on takeaways or eating out. Maybe lazy is not the right word. I’m sure he would want me to think that he is making better use of his time studying for his doctorate rather than cooking.

This week too, we realised that the scotch bonnet pepper seeds Leisa had sown in her room (in a pot sitting on the radiator), had sprung to life! It was exciting to see as we don’t usually have luck planting peppers. We were so excited at the four that came up that she decided to sow some more. They took about 10 days to germinate.

We love half-term breaks as it gives us a chance to live a little slower and do what we want to do, or do nothing. I had planned some ‘nothing to do’ days but also wanted to enjoy doing some things. Needless to say, crocheting was on the list and we did quite a bit of that in front of the TV. I also picked up the book It Starts With Us, which I am still reading. I don’t mind the slow pace. I enjoy the book and look forward to reading a few chapters at a time.

A lot of time was spent searching for a card called a TRN (Tax Registration Number) card from Jamaica. We both have one and it is needed for conducting any sort of business in Jamaica (just in case we decide to stay there and might need to ship a car out etc.) So we pulled out every old handbag, purse, and drawer to look for it. I found mine but as I am typing this now, Leisa still hasn’t found hers. She has the number though, so not bad. While we were searching for the document, we found some old photos of us and the kids when they were little. We sent them the photos via their phones so we all had a laugh.

It was nostalgic to look through the old photographs. The photos above show our kids who are now 25 and 26 years old! It was taken during one half term break when we went into Birmingham city centre. They loved getting a photograph atop the iconic bull, just like so many other children on half-term break.

We went into town on Tuesday for a meeting which should have lasted one hour. Well, it only took five minutes (more about it another time) and the plan was that we would do some window shopping before heading back home. It was a no-go as it was so bitterly cold. So we went back home and chillaxed there.

I specifically wanted to use some time to catch up with friends too, via a video call or WhatsApp. I know sometimes it’s not easy to keep up with friends but I like to do my bit to keep alive the friendships I care about. Did you know you can leave a circular WhatsApp video message for a friend? Here’s how to do it. So a few friends got a nice message from us this week.

Apart from washing and doing each others’ hair, cooking up a storm and batching them up for the freezer, not much work was done this week, It was a half-term full of gentle living and relaxation and I love it! We hope you had a good break too, especially if you have to wake early to help get kids up and ready for school. We are joining in with Ann as usual this week.