Happy workers = happy customers

A shop in Waitrose, a smart UK supermarket chain,  always makes me happy, contrary to a shop in Lidl which is a regular and depressing experience when we are in Italy.

Yesterday driving home from a delicious and chatty lunch at friends we called at Waitrose early evening for a few essentials to take to Italy.  At the till we were served by the nicest gentleman who chatted about our purchases, which he thoroughly approved of and their destination in Lazio.  We then chatted about Waitrose, he said he worked there part time to fill in his retirement and loved it for 4 reasons.  He works with a great bunch of people, he loves the customers who come in and chat, he works in pleasant comfortable surroundings and sells lovely shiny things.  It was uplifting to listen to his positivity, he was a great advertisement for Waitrose, and I will give them feedback to this effect.  I imagine they look after their staff well as they are part of the John Lewis Group but I doubt the man was earning much above minimum wage.  Compared to all the workers currently demanding big pay rises, and some like train drivers still striking when they get them, he was a breath of fresh air.  

We have our own local supermarket Booths in Ilkley which is equally pleasant, staffed with nice people, lots of local products and within walking distance so I use that regularly.    We have to drive to Waitrose so generally call in if we are passing otherwise i’d be there every few days chatting to our new friend.  

Knit yourself happy

Interesting article in The Guardian confirming what I already knew, that crafting gives greater life satisfaction than having a job.  

Among other results the team found engaging in arts and crafts was associated with an increase in happiness on a par with ageing by 20 years (as Keyes notes, wellbeing goes up slightly with age), while the sense that life was worthwhile was more strongly associated with crafting than being in employment.  

I could have told them that, knitting isn’t 9 till 5, you are your own boss, creative, productive, no commuting, no performance reviews though we can be quite critical of our work, calming, I could go on.

So I have been working away at my wellbeing knitting up left over sock yarn.  The first pair worked well as I had almost enough of the multi coloured yarn that I supplemented with some blue.  The next pair I’ve started is more challenging. 

One sock is complete, it’s lovely but now I am wondering if I have enough of the same 3 yarns to make a match.  Not that it matters, there’s no one overseeing my work and no customer complaints number to call and hold on for a week listening to irritating music if you want to criticise my self expression.    

We’ve been away

We had a few days away last week staying with friends in North Yorkshire.  They live in an idyllic little village with a river running through the village green, a smart pub with restaurant and rooms, lovely old houses and pretty gardens, what more would you want. Well maybe better transport links and a small village shop but still.

En route we called briefly to see friends near York, we always like a visit there to see them, their pretty well stocked garden and their two adorable cats.

With our hosts for 3 nights we took walks round the village, sat out in their sunny garden, chatted a lot and relaxed. Together we visited Helmsley walled garden which was a delight and enjoyed a delicious lunch in the cafe, I can recommend it all.

We also found to time to visit friends we hadn’t seen for 35 years.  We received the warmest of welcomes and had a wonderful time, it was uplifting.

On our way home we called at my brother’s where happily both our nieces and 3 of our grand nieces were there to see us too.  We had lunch in the sunny garden and had fun with the little ones.

So lots of people seen, we really enjoyed our days away but as you will have gathered I took no photos at all.

Back in Ilkley we’ve had sunny days and some relaxation on the balcony when we are not glued to the Olympics.  The spare bedroom storage has rather slowed, the drawers are still to fit and we need to source handles and knobs.   MrFF has been busy with our broken boiler and we have had replacement parts fitted to 4 gas flues that run through our loft, our own and those of the 3 apartments below us. According to our lease the flues are our responsibility but MrFF discovered the leaks into our loft were a result of management’s lightning conductor installers drilling our flues for a fixing, which should never have happened.  It’s taken 3 years, during which time we have had to deal with the water ingress, to resolve this, up till the day before the contractors were due the negotiations continued, it was exhausting.  We are leaseholders with a share in the freehold, we are treated like anti social tenants but fortunately we have the strength to stand up for ourselves.

We haven’t had news of our Italian cats for a couple of weeks, we assume they are safe and well with Giovanni and enjoying the August holidays with his family.  We had a major badger invasion in our garden, the pots we thought we’d protected with high netting had been turned over and the contents taken out.  On the security camera at the back door we’ve seen black squirrels, a small fox and a badger eating the cat food Mario leaves in case Grigio comes down, it’s a wild life haven.  The garden looks very dry indeed, I am expecting fatalities when we return.

So another month or so we will return to Italy, I cannot wait to see the cats, maybe not so excited about the garden but being there will extend the flip flop days I am currently loving, I am such a lucky girl.

Whites and brights

My balcony troughs of white flowering plants are coming along nicely,  lots of buds to open and the campanula spreading out to cover the compost.

I am particularly taken with this delphinium which I think is Dark Bee.

I have always loved white flowers, they feel so calm and in the evenings take on a magical luminosity. All of which contrasts nicely with my love of bright clothing. I read somewhere that if you wear black you disappear so as I get older I don’t steer away from vivid colours.  This applies to my knitting too, I am currently using up oddments of sock yarn and enjoying sorting the various colours into some lively combinations, these are the current pair,  I have even brighter ones planned.

However sock knitting isn’t quite as calm as usual because I worry that I might not have enough yarn to make a matching pair or even finish a pair, which is silly.  I have plenty of leftover oddments and where did it say a pair have to match.

The Book Worm

I reserved this book at the library after a friend’s recommendation.  This is a great library service that costs nothing, they send an email when the book arrives and allows several days for collected.  I was quite surprised when I called in to collect a knitting books I’d also reserved to be told there were two books waiting for me.

I was even more surprised to see how large the latest book was, a hardback of almost 600 pages, particularly as I was not very far into my current read. I worried that I wouldn’t get onto The Lincoln Highway for a few days, not finish it within the allowed 21 days then not be able to renew it as it would be reserved.  

You will be as amazed as I am to know that I read my reserved book in 2 days.  I think the first night I read beyond midnight and next morning opened the blinds slightly to start again reading beside a sleeping MrFF before 6 am.  I think I stopped at 8 and had another hours sleep before starting the day.  I read on the balcony in the sun and did more or less the same the next day finishing that night, or maybe the early hours of the next morning.  

It goes without saying that I was totally engrossed in this book, it was a wonderful read with a wide range of engaging characters, I loved it.

So far I have continued the routine of waking early and reading,  probably due to the sunny mornings and warm days we are still enjoying.  I remember having friends staying with us in Italy many years ago.  I was up before 6 and found the wife sitting alone out on the terrace with a book still in her nightdress, give it a try indoors or out early morning reading really is delightful.

This afternoon the same friend who made the recommendation came round to lend me a book she’s just finished.  This one has 805 pages, just when I’d selected two more books from the library and am in the middle of another.  She did say I could keep it to take to Italy, phew that takes the pressure off.

The day our cat came home *

I never thought I’d be writing this post though I have longed to be able to for months.  Up to last Friday our little cat in Italy, Grigio, had not being seen since Christmas by Mario who feeds her in our absence, we asked him to keep putting food out. We searched for her when we returned in April, calling her every day from the house and whenever we went out for walks until we left in June but there was no trace of her.  

Last Friday Mario messaged us to say he’d been to the house, everything was fine, the irrigation was working and Grigio was there.  We couldn’t believe it assuming it was mistaken identity, we’d seen a cat that looked rather like Grigio on the security camera earlier that week but it’s wasn’t so clear and we dismissed it as yet another stray.

Mario suggested we check that evening’s recording, there was a small grey cat fussing round his legs and mewing, he picked it up and held it to the camera, this was no stray and it definitely looked like Grigio.  Mario gave her food from the stock we’d provided just in case and left the feeder out by the back door where we could monitor it.  Grigio was back next morning for breakfast.

We told Giovanni who is already feeding at his house Vincenzo the young ginger who appeared this year and the cat he thinks is his mother. Giovanni is so kind he said Grigio would be welcome at his house too and there is enough food for them all, I’d dropped off a couple of bags and some treats before we left.

It was hard to sleep that night but lovely to wake up knowing our girl was home and safe.   Saturday afternoon we received a photo of Vincenzo and Grigio dining side by side whilst being stroked by Giovanni’s grandchildren. Sunday they were having a birthday party, Giovanni said for the whole family including the cats.   It’s a dream come true, for us all because apparently Vincenzo enjoys 3 meals a day and Grigio won’t stray far from that routine. 

We plan to return to Italy in September, if we can wait that long.  I suppose we will never know where Grigio has been or how a little cat, the runt of the litter, who was born in our garden 7 years go, had never strayed from our property and never had to fend for herself has survived 7 months in an area of mainly unoccupied houses.  We are so happy that she has, bless her heart and yes it’s definitely her because we recognise the kink in her tail.

* sorry the football didn’t 

Stuck in our ways

When I retired I loved the novelty of my time being my own with no schedule, it felt like freedom.   15 years on I seem to have set my own routines. Nothing major of course but I do like to do things a certain way, like not tackling Wordle until I’ve washed the breakfast pots and brushed my teeth. Speaking of breakfast, throughout my working life I always set breakfast before I went to bed. I stopped for a few years then started doing it again. It was something my Mum always did and I followed her example, I really enjoy getting up to see everything waiting on the table for my favourite meal of the day, such a good start.

I make the bed as soon as we get up, hoover and tidy our apartment in the morning.  Little rituals that happen automatically.   I suppose we are creatures of habit and our good habits make us feel organised and grounded.  

It seems MrFF’s routine is always to have a disruptive project on the go. All week he has been working on the spare bedroom wardrobes, I am desperate to put things away imagining the room restored. He tells me the dressing table in the recess to the left will be the last part of the work because as soon as it’s made I shall be installing my non urgent toiletries.  Quite right I will, possibly before I brush my teeth because I can still do spontaneity.