Exploring Retirement, Travel, and Nature
Welcome to Simply Stenson
Our Retirement Adventure Begins. Hello and welcome to Simply Stenson! We’re so glad you’re here. This blog is our little slice of the internet where we share our experiences and thoughts on retirement, home and garden projects, caravanning adventures, the great outdoors, mouth-watering recipe ideas and a whole lot more.Meet the Team I’m Ali, self-proclaimed chief blogger. Writing has always been my passion, but I could never find the time – until now. Writing was number one on my retirement list of things to do. When Steve suggested I start a blog I thought what a great idea. So here we are. It’s just a fun little project, but hoping it’s informative and entertaining and keeps me writing. Then there’s Steve our chief photographer and tech guru. He’s been semi-retired for several years, so I thought I’d make use of his amazing talents. I mean, what’s a blog without stunning visuals and someone to fix things when I inevitably break them? And finally, we have Buster our loveable Lhasa Apso and full-time chief mischief maker. Now, he is a real character. Stay with us as I’m sure he will feature regularly in our blog, demanding centre stage.
Caravanning; More Than Just a Holiday
For us, caravanning isn’t just a getaway—it’s an adventure into the beautiful British countryside. Our go to sites are Certified Locations (CLs), tucked well out of the way, occasionally down narrow winding lanes. These secluded retreats offer space, tranquillity, and just enough remoteness to make every arrival feel like a discovery.We have been to some amazing CLs. Steve is great at planning and spends hours on google maps plotting the perfect routes to ensure we don’t end up in a single-track predicament with the caravan in tow. But it doesn’t stop there; he always has some amazing walks lined up in the area. These are places so off-grid you'd never stumble upon them without a seasoned map reader leading the way. The peace, tranquillity and breath-taking views are amazing.
Fireside Feasts and Fresh Finds
When back on site our evenings are spent unwinding over barbecued delights courtesy of our trusty Weber Q1200 Portable Gas BBQ. We love seeking out locally sourced meat and fish turning them into mouth-watering dishes. And the best part? You won’t just hear about our culinary triumphs; we’ll share the recipes with you too.
Home Sweet Home
When we’re home, there’s never a dull moment—especially when it comes to our house and garden. While some people have a casual approach to lawn care, Steve is lawn obsessed, and I mean OBSESSED. Achieving the bowling green lawn we have now was no small feat. It took years; levelling the area, digging it up and resowing three times, then painstakingly removing every rogue piece of meadow grass that dared to show up. Buster of course is permanently banned and not allowed under any circumstances to go on the lawn after he destroyed the first attempt. I must admit all the brown patches did look like a landing site for alien invaders. Anyway, if you need any lawn advice, Steve’s your man.
The Kitchen Overhaul: First Retirement Project on the List
Our kitchen renovation project started as a temporary fix in lockdown and became a five-year masterpiece of prolonged improvisation. Back then, we knocked down some walls and combined the old utility room with the kitchen, relocated the toilet from next to the back door to the back of what was the utility, raised the floor so it was all on one level and patched things together with some bargain eBay units. Temporary he said. Five years later, I don’t think so!We have completed other projects in between, namely building our magnificent mancave. But now it’s time to complete this one and nothing is ever straight forward. This next phase is the full works involving fitting a new floor, moving doors, full plastering job and an entire kitchen refit. It will be fun!! I’m already envisaging chaos. Steve, ever the realist, lovingly calls me CJ (Calamity Jane), given my well-earned reputation for mishaps and mayhem. His finest assessment of me? “Common sense isn’t a flower that grows in everyone’s garden.” Charming, right? But despite the inevitable setbacks (because, let’s be honest, there will be plenty), the triumph of completion and of course the elation when it’s finally finished will be amazing. This will definitely be one to blog about so stay tuned.
Come Along for the Ride
Why not join us as we navigate this new chapter in our life and embrace retirement with open arms and a healthy dose of adventure! Stay with us and you’ll discover some of our spectacular favourite places, mouth-watering barbecue ideas and DIY triumphs and disasters in our upcoming blogs!
Until next time, Ali, Steve and Buster
