Source: https://www.rd.com/health/wellness/health-benefits-of-gardening/ As the characteristics of a neighbourhood can affect the experience of a homeowner, the features of a garden can affect the wellbeing of its plants. Noisy neighbours can disrupt life, whereas quiet neighbours can allow for relaxing living. In order to run a peaceful garden, the needs and wants of each plant must be met and its environment must be tailored accordingly. Companion planting, also known as intercropping, is a common way of ensuring that the environment of a plant is beneficial to its well being. It has been ... read more
Brio Central Train Station and Bus and Train Station
Master C's love of all things rail just continues to grow and grown. Whilst it was originally limited to the trains themselves and pushing them around simple track layouts he seems to have been inspired by all the model train shows that B and I keep taking him to (and the railway modelling magazines that I find him reading in bed by torchlight!) and at the moment he is fascinated by railway infrastructure. Whether that be stations, points, sidings or "end of the line bits" as he likes to call them. He's started thinking much more about the whole passenger journey. How they get to a station, ... read more
It’s Time for These Harmful Dental Habits to Bite the Dust!
Photo Credit When people think about looking after their teeth, the basics are obvious. Brushing twice a day, flossing, visiting the dentist on a regular basis, avoiding sugary drinks etc. However, there may be some habits that you aren’t even aware that you are doing which are causing a great deal of harm to your pearly whites. Here, we will talk about a few of them to encourage you to break them once and for all! Nail Biting Nail biting is the type of nervous habit that may seem harmless (albeit a little annoying) but it can actually lead to chipped teeth and jaw dysfunction. Try applying ... read more
Look After My Bills – saving money with minimal effort
Saving money on your energy bills is one of those thrifty things that should be easy. There are sites out there offering to help you save money on your bills by finding the best tariff based on your usage and where you live, but the key thing that you have to remember is that these sites are just helping you at one moment in time. On the day that you enter your details they assess the market and tell you what the best deal is for you that day. But what about when your current deal ends? Do you remember to make a note of when your deal is due to end? Or do you just wait until you see that ... read more
Spring Is Here! Use These Suggestions To Get Your Garden Ready For Summer
The springtime is now upon us, and so you need to start thinking about getting your garden ready for the summer. The temperature is beginning to improve, and so you won’t have to wear your coat or worry about freezing outside. You just need to work out how you plan to use your garden this year so you can start getting things sorted. There are some suggestions below that should come in handy and point you in the right direction. Use the advice from this article to ensure you don’t overlook anything critical, and your garden looks stunning by the time summer arrives. Clean your patio and get ... read more
The Rustlers Burger Hacking Challenge #RustlersHack
It's all got rather foodie here on the blog hasn't it? I can't even pretend to be some great culinary whizz in the kitchen, but all these years of eating and feeding others, plus buying a crazy number of cook books, does at least seem to have taught me something. I think I've got a pretty good understanding of what things go together and I can get quite inventive with using the contents of my fridge and cupboards to pull a meal together quickly. Being able to produce a meal quickly seems to be the key thing as my kids get older. So many evenings are spend playing mum taxi and driving ... read more
Celebrating Yorkshire Pudding Day with Toby Carvery Yorkie Wraps
I may have lived down South for a while now, but I'm a Yorkshire lass at heart and it will always remain that way. My heart is very much in Yorkshire, and my food preferences too. Therefore when Toby Carvery invited me to join them at their food innovation centre to come up with some new recipes for Yorkie wraps for Yorkshire Pudding Day I just couldn't refuse. Let's start with some basic facts. Yorkshire puddings (or "batter puddings" as my ill-informed Norfolk born other half insists on calling them) are quite simply the nicest foodstuff known to man (or woman) kind. Admittedly it's ... read more
Ladybird Tuesday: What on Earth are we doing?
No - this isn't some statement about the state of Ladybird Tuesday on this blog (although - maybe it should be!) but instead the question posed in the title of this week's Ladybird Tuesday book choice. What on Earth are we doing? is part of Ladybird's 1970s Conservation series (series 727). These books seem to have been published with two different cover versions, but I have to be honest and say that I'm not exactly sure which version of the cover came first. This title was published in 1976 and judging by the man on the cover of both versions I believe it to be just the covers that ... read more
Trying to find a home
For all of the second half of 2017 I kept saying that once Christmas and New Year were out of the way my next plan was to try and find a new home. A family home. A family home that is the right size and shape for our new family shape. I kind of have in my head what I want this home to look like, but unfortunately no matter how good the online house search engine you can't just put in there something like "it has to feel like we can turn it into our forever home". And now we're in 2018, that's exactly what I'm looking for. Of course you can search for some simple criteria. Things like ... read more
Top places to visit in Paris
Paris. The city of love. It's a place that everyone around the world knows, but when I came to visit for the first time I wasn't actually sure where to go or what to see. Since then Eurostar has given us a quick route right into the city centre and whilst I'm far from being a total expert I do at least have a good idea of my top places to visit. So, why not set yourself up finding vacation rentals in Paris and then head off, map in hand, to see what this European capital has to offer. Eiffel Tower No trip to Paris is complete without a visit to the Eiffel Tower. The country's most ... read more