Life Last Week (16-22 February 2026)

   

The weather for the week ahead:::

Everything is so green with all the rain - the yard looks so lush!

On my reading pile:::

 

I finished The Distant Daughter, The Secrets of Trelenna House by Lorna Cook - left us on a cliffhanger so I was happy to see there is a sequel coming in June. 

Meanwhile, I picked up this at the library.

On my TV:::

Still working our way through this.  We're up to Season 7.

Checked off the list:::

• Our oven died a few weeks ago.  It's still under an extended warranty so we called an authorized appliance repair company, and they paid us a visit, ordered parts, and came back to install the parts.  Less than an hour later, whatever is actually wrong with the electrical system shorted out the new parts.  They contacted the appliance vendor and bottom line; we went to pick out a new stove on Saturday.  It will be installed this week.
• Our taxes are done and yay! it's a refund, finally after years of paying the IRS.  Of course, it meant that we had to pay an extra chunk every payday but at least it yielded a refund and not a balance due.  I think we're going to use some of it for this backguard/backsplash - it's a stainless steel backguard with utensil rail and 2 plate racks for use with freestanding ranges.  I'm curious - what type of backguard/backsplash do you have?

• PBS Passport made the first episode of the new series of Call the Midwife available on 20 February, so I watched that.  Love, love, love this show and love PBS Passport.  For $5 a month, it's a winner.

• It was a fairly quiet week after getting back from the coast on Monday.  Laundry, the usual chores, and a video call with Jodie on Wednesday.
• It was another year around the sun for me on Monday and this was my birthday present, an AGA teapot.  I've been wanting one for ages.  It came all the way from Yorkshire.  So many memories of our AGA in the kitchen in our house in Knott End-on-Sea when we first moved to England in the 1970s.

This is the British Sunday Roast model from ThankfullyHealthy on Etsy.

This guy also arrived - Steepy, the Jellycat tea bag - I'll pop him on my England tree.

Crafts roundup:::

Finished my December Daily and our annual Christmas card album.  I sent off for all my London photos so I can get busy with that album next.

And in other news:::

Are you caught up in the curling craze?  Some of the videos are hilarious.  Watch for the one of the elderly couple as the sweepers as they work to move the curling stone (their robot vacuum) across the floor!  I also read up on Kays Scotland, the makers of the curling stones.

This would make a great collectible for a curling or Winter Olympics fan.

Speaking of the Winter Olympics, did you watch the Closing Ceremony?

Well done, Norway!  On to the French Alps in 2030 and then Utah in 2034.

And this!  It's a cupcake from @lindseybakedthis

Also, another current craze - Cadbury's mini eggs.

Filling a crisper drawer with them for easy access is genius, lol! @aoibhinn_raleigh

And such sad news this week, 53 years old, gone far too soon.  The scene where he comes across Patrick Dempsey with his ex-girlfriend, ex-wife, and current fling in the elevator is immortal, "I'll bet you wish you'd taken the stairs".