Handy Andy!!!

Day one of his first week off and the cupboard shelves are nearly done.
Rather a lot of huffing and puffing going on as there's not one square wall inside the cupboard.
Taking out the old jerry built shelves has uncovered the fact that some painting needs doing desperately so that can be added to the big job list to do later as I want to get the painting done in the bathroom first.

Out to the doctors this morning for a blood test and then straight into town to pick up a few bits and bobs. I managed to pick up a pack of nautical tea towels which will be turned into bunting for the bathroom window and a lovely tin with a beach hut print for cotton buds.....and a skirt for myself for £5.....bargain. I've done really well with bargains in the last few days so now I will probably go for another twelve months before I get any more.

Going veggie for tea tonight with a butternut squash and sweet potato bake with fresh green beans sauteed in garlic and black pepper. I hope it fills me handy man up....lol.

Itching now to get everything back into the cupboard so that I can make a start on the cooking but he is just having a tiny bit of trouble with one of the shelves....might be a late tea then.

Hope you are all having a good day.
Sheila-x-

 

Long, Slow Sunday!!!

Today Andy and I are mostly spending the day at home.
DD is at work doing her last ever weekend shift...yay. Due to shift pattern changes she will now be working a little later at night and having weekends off.
Andy is pleased because it means he will get his Sunday lunch at lunchtime and not nearly teatime some weeks.

I had a very good shopping trip out yesterday and picked up a bargain in the shape of four lovely navy blue bath sheets for £5 each instead of £10 each from B&M. The money saved on those paid for a loo roll holder/storage cupboard and a storage container for by the side of the bathroom sink.
Even more bargains....my garlic with allicin capsules that usually cost £8.99 a bottle were on offer at Holland&Barrett for 2 for £10 and my cod liver oil capsules half price at £5. The money saved on those paid for some ornaments and candles for the bathroom.
I was a very happy shopper 😁

Just waiting now for the wall panels to be fitted and then there will be a little painting work for me to do and a carpet to be fitted and we'll be done.

The weather is pretty nice today. Still quite cool but it's dry and breezy.
Hope it's nice where you are.
Sheila-x-
 

Caught Up!!!

I've just caught up with all the new blog posts I have missed out on over the last couple of days and replies to my post.
I should have made myself a cup of coffee as it took me a while but I'll wait now and have one with Andy when he gets back from taking all the old shower room stuff to the recycling centre.

He's been a busy lad this morning and has already been out and done some grocery shopping for me while I waited in for a parcel so when I go out this afternoon when DD gets in from work I get to do the nice bits of shopping....namely stuff for the new bathroom.

Andy wants a simple tea tonight that we can eat while we watch his new film that he bought this morning......I don't mind a bit of King Kong....lol.....so we will have bacon rolls with a spoonful of beans in them....yummy.
If it's cool tomorrow as it is today I will do him a Sunday dinner with some pork chops I have in the freezer....mind you I will probably still do it if it's warmer. He deserves it as he has promised to start on shelving out the cupboard which I am so desperate for.

Until DD gets home I am getting the laundry done so that I don't have to do it in the week which will leave me free if Andy needs a hand or wants us to go out somewhere.

So...that is what is going off at Tea Towel Mansion for the weekend.
Hope you are all up to something a tad more exciting.
Sheila-x-

Old Soak!!!

I had an hours soak in the new bath, slept like a log and woke up virtually pain free. Fluke or not?
Whatever it was I have spent pretty much most of the day doing housework and have only really just sat down to have half an hour to myself before DD gets home.
We are supposed to be going out for tea but I am going to see if DD would prefer to have Chinese and snuggle at home to watch more of the new box set....24-Legacy that she picked up last night. It's brilliant. It's thrashing down with rain and the thermometer says that the heating can go on so I know what I would rather do.

Hope the Doodles are having a safe journey down to London where they are spending tonight and meeting up with DDIL's sister and partner before they travel on to Cornwall tomorrow and I hope the weather stays nice for their week away.

Bit of a quick post today. DD's arrival is imminent so I'll go and put the kettle on.

Thanks for dropping by today.
Sheila-x-

 

Bang, Crash, Wallop!!!

Today we have had the thunder that was predicted for us about three weeks ago. Honestly....anyone else that bad at their jobs would be fired wouldn't they...ha, ha, ha.

I'm very late blogging today but Ruby has been here since early this morning. I had plans for entertaining her but she had her own plans which involved half an hour of You Tube, a film and a bath. The rest of the time has been taken up with drawing, playing Ants In Your Pants and Sweetie Swoop board games and dancing.
She has gone home a happy girl with spending money for her holiday and instructions to collect some shells and a piece of driftwood for Ganma.
I won't see her for two weeks now 😟

The plumber has gone for the time being and we won't see him again until Tuesday or Wednesday depending on when the wall panels arrive. We can use the bath in the meantime so I will be heading up there before long.

Andy is not now working a week of his holiday so I shall have him at home for two weeks from next week. Hopefully my jobs will get done that I have planned for him namely shelving out the cupboard in the kitchen so that I can store things better and levelling the side of the garden that never makes it into the photos. Fingers crossed he is in the mood to do them.

Well there are some very black clouds rolling in so I expect we have not seen the last of the thunder for today. I'd best turn the computer off for a while as I don't want it frying if the lightening strikes the sub station as it has done a million times before.

Hope you are all safe and dry.
Sheila-x-

Wet Wednesday!!!

Woke up to a cool and very wet morning which is just fine by me as I am going to be in the kitchen today.
DD and I have been quite chilly the last few evenings so the sofa quilts have been out and we have decided on a hot meal tonight instead of our usual snacky, salady type meals.
A large pack of mince has been taken out of the freezer and will be turned into a pan of savoury mince and a cottage pie for tomorrow when Ruby comes.
We'll have some of the savoury mince with a jacket potato tonight.

The plumber came up with an excellent idea yesterday to avoid having to re-tile in the bathroom. We are going to be having shower boards. Brilliant all round really as there will be no grouting to be scrubbed with a toothbrush....one of my least favourite jobs.
Today he is replacing some water pipes which were cut out by the last plumber and then the bath will go in and be up and running tomorrow.

I was very pleased on Monday to find Boiler Juice which is a comparison site for domestic oil. All they need is the quantity required and your postcode and they find you the cheapest oil in your area. We ordered and were given a delivery date of July 31st but got a phone call yesterday to say it will be arriving today. I am very impressed and will definitely be using them again.

Rightio....I shall go and get on with me jobs.
Have a lovely day.
Sheila-x-

This Chaos I Can Cope With!!!

Hammering and banging, thumping up and down stairs. The hurried emptying of DD's wardrobe so that we could pull it out for the plumber to gain access to a small cupboard that has the shower pipe in it and me lovely clean house now looking like a dust pit.
I can cope with it....I really can....because it means we are so much closer to the bath going in.
There is a lot of preparation work going on. The shower cubicle and base are out and this afternoon a false wall will be dismantled after the shower has been removed and stored away safely to be refitted over the bath.
Some tiling will need to be done but as yet we don't know to what extent. We are hopeful that B&Q still have the large white tiles to match what we already have but if not we will have some kind of accent tiling done.
Roll on the weekend.

Good news about our neighbour. She is currently in the cottage hospital for a week. Her doctor is involved and a descision will be made about her care after she is discharged.
I am so relieved that she is getting the care she needs.

There isn't much I can really get on with for the moment. Just a quick clean up when the plumber leaves for the evening so I am doing a bit of Pinterest ooohing and aaaahing looking at Christmas crafts. Oh there some amazingly talented people out there. I'd need a mansion with forty rooms for all of the beautiful Christmas trees I have seen....lol......and I desperately wish I had room for a Christmas model village.

DD picked up season three of Homeland and we watched some last night....we are loving it. So thanks to you all who let me know that you enjoyed it too.

Well the plumber is back from his lunch so I'll go and put the kettle on for him. He's a good lad so we like to look after him.

Have a lovely day.
Sheila-x-

 

Busy Bee!!!

I have a good few hours to myself now that the mister has gone off to work so I am tackling jobs off the big list with an added extra of having to shampoo the kitchen carpet as Smudge has had yet another accident.
Luckily I won't have to do too much cooking today as I have taken the makings of a lasagne out of the freezer that I just need to layer up and bung in the oven. I'll serve it with a green salad.

No further contact from the lady up the road so I assume her sister is still there with her.

There will be no Doodle Day on Wednesday this week but I am not sad.....she'll be coming for the whole day on Thursday instead...yay.
We plan to do some cupcake baking and some crafting to make some little food items from craft foam for her dolls and then if it's ready to use she wants to have a bath in our new bath.
I'll make the most of Thursday because I won't see her next week. She is off on her holidays to Cornwall.

Anyway I will go and finish these jobs and I might manage to get half an hour to have a cup of tea in peace.

Hope you are all having a lovely day.
Sheila-x-

Thank You So Much!!!

Thank you all so much for replies to my post yesterday.
You all addressed the issues that were concerning me such as us getting sued if we inadvertantly injured the lady while trying to help her.
Andy has had a word with her this morning about getting someone to come in and help her more than we can and so she now has her younger sister staying with her which I am hoping will be a full time thing for now, that her sister will see that she needs round the clock care.....and actually do something about it.
We'll see how things go.

Another wonderful morning with my two gorgeous girls.
Ruby had a new hula girl dressing up costume so she found some Hawaiian music on their tv and we had a good old dance to that.
Came home to a lovely chicken dinner cooked by DD after which I was totally exhausted and I have to admit to a rather long nana nap. I still feel tired and I expect I will have another early night tonight as I need to be up and doing in the morning to get the bathroom cleared out ready for Tuesday morning....yes the plumber has actually phoned and confirmed that he is coming then. I am beyond excited.
If I disappear for days on end.....you will find me in the bath....lol.

Hope you have all had a fabulous weekend.
Ours has been a bit weird but never mind there will another one coming up.
Sheila-x-

A Bit Of A Nightmare!!!

Friday evening just as we were about to think about having tea we had a call from an elderly neighbour up the road to say that she had fallen and needed help getting up and would Andy please come and help her. Unfortunately Andy was out running an errand so DD and I had to go up and see if we could help.
We managed to get her up on to the sofa eventually but she had really hurt herself and I was concerned in case she had broken anything. It was very hard to tell as she is in so much pain anyway from arthiritis. She wouldn't let me call an ambulance or a doctor so we settled her as best we could and promised to go back later and settle her for the night which we did and in all I think we spent about six hours with her and had to end the day by locking her in her own home for the night and then go back this morning to check on her.
Her sister has visited for an hour this morning and then buggered of and left her even after seeing the state she is in and so now the lady is phoning us all the time to go and help her use her commode and everything. We really don't know her that well and I am so worried about it. I think I am going to have to phone her doctor on Monday and see if anything can be done because she isn't fit to be left to see to herself and with my back problems I daren't keep lifting her. She either needs round the clock care or she needs to be in a home but that is not our decision to make.
What a nightmare.

I did have a very enjoyable morning/early afternoon looking after my girls today though. I don't think Marlowe stopped smiling from the time I got there until the time she went for her nap after dicovering that covering your legs in bracelets and bangles is great fun.
Ruby entertained herself by throwing little toys that looked like nothing more than lumps of snot at the wall and watching them creep down the wall. Made me feel quite sick....lol.....but she found it hilarious.

Some shopping had to be done as we were in town and I knew I would be exhausted by the time we got home so I picked up pizzas and a tub of coleslaw for tea. I know....how lazy am I....but at least it was ready in less than twenty minutes so that we could settle down to watch a film......or at least that is what we were going to do.....and then the phone rang with another call for help.

Anyway it will have to be an early night for me tonight as I am on child entertainment duties again in the morning and want to be up to get a shower before I go out.....hopefully one of the last ones I will ever have because the plumber says he is coming to start on the bath on Tuesday morning.

Hope you have all had a fabulous day.
Sheila-x-

 

Questions!!!

Good morning from a dull and very windy Staffordshire.

Today I have questions......

No 1.....Does anyone else have trouble with an Outlook e mail account?
I have not had mine long but twice now they have suspended my account saying that spam e mails were being sent from it. I rarely use it and only signed up for it to be able to carry on with my blog as my old e mail provider was shutting up shop.
The only e mails that go into that account are crafting updates from a quilting site and I have never used it to send an e mail.
It is really bugging me as I now have to wait for DD to get home before I can get a code sent to her mobile to unlock it.

No 2.....Has anyone watched all of the seasons of Homeland?
DD and I finished season 2 last night and loved it but reading the synopsis for season 3 I am wondering if it is one of those that gets really silly and annoying.
DD will be off to buy season 3 tomorrow and although we only buy box sets from That's Entertainment and they don't cost much I would rather spend our money on something else to watch if the rest of Homeland isn't up to scratch.
I would love your opinions.

Andy has to go to a funeral today so I will be taking advantage of the fact that he is not in bed to go and sort out some cardmaking stuff to bring downstairs and get it sorted out to wherever it will fit.
Once that is done I will be having a whirl round the living room with a duster and the hoover.

Tomorrow and Sunday I will be down at the Doodles entertaining Ruby and Marlowe for a couple of hours while DDIL does some work from home without any interruptions. I'm looking forward to that and as I will be in town already I will leave my shopping until tomorrow afternoon instead of making a special journey tonight.

That's Andy just gone off so I will go and do some ferreting about upstairs and get it done as he may want to go back to bed when he gets in.

Have a good day.
Sheila-x-





 

Today We Have.......!!!

......this

Beautiful cooling and cleansing rain to get rid of all the dust that seems to be covering everything outside. I love it.

I had a much better night last night. Three hours, a bathroom break and then another three hours. So nice after two or three nights of just a couple of hours.....and I woke up relatively pain free which is a huge bonus.

I have just finished sorting out these......

......and filling them with cardmaking paraphenalia.
I would have liked some to go with my New York boxes but this was the only grown up pattern they had and they are very pretty.
There are still a couple or so drawers to fill and the New York box on the right is empty so that can be used for dies and cutting plates. Once they are sorted out I will be good to go although my Cricut Expression will have to stay upstairs and just come down when needed as there is just nowhere to put it.
This does make me chuckle a bit as when I was cardmaking, teaching and demonstrating as a job I had over 15,000 individual stamps and two or three hundred ink pads along with all the embossing powders and much much more......I don't think it would all fit in these....lol.

The simple meals went down very well last night so we are repeating that today and just having some bacon and tomatoes with some crusty bread. Andy will probably want mushrooms....and he is very welcome to those but I will pass. I don't really like mushrooms.

There is a little ironing to do today which shouldn't be too much of a chore with it being a bit cooler so I will get that done and then maybe make a cake. I think Lemon Drizzle should please the workers and I do have some lemons which need using.

For now I need to go and sort out this fly that is driving me mental.

Hope you all have a lovely day.
Sheila-x-

 

Cooler!!!

The air feels deliciously cooler today and I think I can smell rain. There is that kind of feel to the morning which is a blessed relief after the hot and uncomfortable night I have just spent tossing and turning. I feel like a flippin' zombie.
Hopefully if it rains it will chase my headache off and give me a bit more energy.

DD and I got so into Homeland last night that I forgot to take anything out of the freezer for tea tonight so I will be resorting to the simplest of simple meals and we will be having beans on toast. That will work out quite well actually as Ruby will be here and has asked for tomato soup. Two simple meals means I get to spend more time sitting and talking to her.

As there is no cooking to be done I don't have that much to do so I think I might make a start on bringing a few cardmaking supplies down to the dining room.
I have purchased two A4-ish sized drawer sets from B&M and everything will have to fit into those so I think stamps, ink pads and embellishments first and then I will see what room is left for anything else once those are in place.
I'm really looking forward to making a few cards again.

Andy should have been starting a fortnight of annual leave in a couple of weeks and I had a couple of jobs I needed him to get done but now that fortnight is reduced to one week as he is going to work one week of the shutdown so that he can have his two weeks off at Christmas. The firm he works for has always had a two week shutdown at Christmas but this year they decide to change it to one and if anyone still wants the two they have to use accrued holiday.
What's the betting my jobs don't get done at all now?

There is hope at last that the plumber will be starting on the bathroom next week...yay.  I haven't had a proper relaxing bath for five years so lots of time to make up for. I shall be buying some Badedas this weekend in preparation...lol.

Well that's me for today. I'm ready for a coffee first and then I will go and get on with sorting out me stamps and ink pads.

What are you up to today?
Sheila-x-

Lark Rise!!!

DD bought me this beautiful cookery book and cook's note book on Saturday from the hospice book shop in town.
I am so pleased that the note book hasn't been written in so that I will be able to fill it with my own recipes to pass on to DD.
I have had a quick look through it but to me it is one of those books to be read in the winter while snuggling under a quilt with a nice cup of tea.
Meanwhile it's gorgeousness will be propped up on the dresser.

It's absolutely sweltering here so guess what this mad woman is making for tea......steak and onion pie.
There is a pan of meat braising and obviously the oven will be on later but at least Andy will go off to work tonight a happy man with his tummy full of pie and chips.....I did offer new potatoes and veg but no....he wanted chips.

I missed a quick cuddle with my Ruby this morning when she was dropped off for Grandad to take her to school. I hadn't had a good night as it was so warm so I overslept. I will send kisses with Andy when he picks her up to take her home later and then catch up with the cuddles tomorrow when she comes for tea.

Although the thermometer only says 24C it feels so much hotter and I can't get up much enthusiasm for doing anything so the order of the day will be pootling and faffing with a bit of hoovering once Andy gets up. The jobs still get done but maybe not as many as should be done and at a far slower pace than normal. Who cares? Tomorrow is another day....lol.

I'm off for a cool drink and a read of the papers.

Hope you are all having a good day.
Sheila-x-

What A Gorgeous Way To Spend A Morning!!!

Big blue sky, tiny fluffy clouds, children screaming and rooting for their team mates, a good old chat with London Grandma and of course giggly Miss Marlowe making us all laugh.
Ruby didn't look awfully happy but then she had a bad start to the day after finding that she has lost her school shoes. I'm sure they will turn up but she does take these kind of things to heart and she will be pretty upset until they are found.
I will have to check with her on Wednesday how her team did as I must have missed the announcements while walking Marlowe around.

Today I will be scratting about in the salad and veg drawers to concoct something cold for tea. There will be no oven activity today if I can help it after having both ovens on yesterday.

So The Loch has finished and I for one am extremely glad. DD and I had sort of guessed in the right direction though we weren't totally right.
We have started on the box set of Homeland now and are really enjoying that. We have seasons one and two so just need to pick up the rest when we see them in That's Entertainment.

I'm spending some time now catching up with laundry. Three loads done and three more to go and then that is that done for the week....although if this heat continues DD will be needing a complete change of clothes every day so I'll have to wash those to keep her in uniform for the week.
Being out in the heat this morning has made me really tired so I think my other jobs can wait until tomorrow.

Rightio....I am off into the depths of the fridge and I can't think of a nicer place to be at the moment...lol.

Have a lovely day.
Sheila-x-

Catching Up!!!

Well I don't know what happened to yesterday. I think I blinked and missed it.
After getting a few jobs done in the morning DD and I went into little town just after  midday and didn't get in until after 4pm.
We decided to have a wander in the town centre charity shops before we went to the supermarket and we just lost track of time.
By the time we got home it was time for tea, washing up and settling down.

Andy was supposed to be cooking lunch today but he has wimped out and landed me with it.....can you tell that I am not pleased 😩
I was going to catch up with stuff I didn't get done yesterday but that will have to wait until this afternoon now which means no crafting for me and I was quite looking forward to making a few cards today. I really miss my cardmaking and as there is still equipment and materials in the house I thought I would make a start on using some of it up to make cards for our own use that I can just keep in a box and go to when we need one.

Tomorrow I will be off to school to see Ruby in her sports day. When my two were little theirs was always in the afternoon but Ruby's is first thing in the morning and has to be over and done with well before lunch. At least they will have worked up an appetite.
She breaks up for Summer on Friday and I think she is ready for some fun time now.

Right...I shall go and bang a few pots about and beat the Yorkshire pudding batter.......I make the best yorkies when I am p'd off....lol.

Have a smashing day.
Sheila-x-

All Behind!!!

I'm a bit late getting to the computer to blog today so I think I might as well catch up tomorrow and sort of do a double post.

Hope you are all having a fun weekend.
It's a bit muggy and sticky here.
Sheila-x-

Ding Dong The Rat Is Dead!!!

The last lot of rat poison has done it's job and one deceased rat has been found and disposed of this morning.
I feel really horrible that we have killed a poor innocent creature but at the same time I'm glad I won't be seeing him coming out from under the shed again.
Hope he is the first we've had in twenty years....and the last.

Big birthday here today. Smudge is one hundred and five in doggy years and fifteen in human years.
Mad things that we are we have sung happy birthday to him and he has been spoiled with a new toy and some treats.

DD and I were up and out this morning and have been to the garden centre for breakfast and a walk round to price up some of the elements we need for Maggies garden. We didn't buy any of it this morning as the ground isn't even dug over yet but it's nice to get ideas in place.
I did get a bargain though. They have a clearance on household things and I picked up a can crusher which I have been wanting for ages....£3.50 reduced from £14.99 and I also bought a pack of blank cards as I would like to start making cards again....just for my own use.

Another simple meal tonight for DD and I....tomato soup and a cheese sandwich but I think we will give the box sets a rest for today and start again next week.
We finished Oz last night and it went out with a whimper rather than a bang which was quite disappointing but overall we did enjoy it and it will be worth watching again at some point in the future.

....and that's about it for today just a few things to get the house weekend ready and then we will please ourselves what we do for the rest of the day.

Hope you all have a good day.
Sheila-x-

Kicking Back!!!

DD and I are going to have a lazy day today.
Salad for tea which we will have early and then a session watching the last four episodes of Oz to get them out of the way before Andy comes in tonight. He hates it and we have been a bit naughty as we have carried on watching it most nights after he has come home.
I'm not sure that he will like what we will be watching next either as we are starting on Homeland.
His preferred viewing is what I call Grandad Telly.....Dad's Army, Only Fools and Horses, WW2 documentaries and films and Catherine Cookson dramas so I keep well away from the telly when he has charge of the remote control....lol.

We had a lovely couple of hours with Ruby last night and as Marlowe came with Daddy to drop her off we got to spend some time with her. She was fascinated when we introduced her to the guinea pigs which according to Marlowe are doggys and I finally got to see her walking in person rather than on a video....yay!!!

So....the big job list is being ignored today. There are just Andy's lunchtime pots to wash, a bit of cushion plumping to do on the sofas and a bit of faffing about until we are ready to settle down.
I love a lazy day 😊

Hope you are all having a lovely day.
Sheila-x-

Pictures From My Garden!!!....Or Not...As The Case May Be....Edited to add photos.

The garden is looking really lush this morning after a full day of rain yesterday.
Unfortunately Blogger seems to be having a bit of a hissy fit and won't let me add any photos to my post so I will have to add them when it has got over itself. Now done.

The bottom border looking very lush

Montbretia

Montbretia

The small pink bush is my Hydrangea which DD saved from the brink of death.

Leucanthemum...The bees love these.

Agatha...panthus

The dining room got it's move round at last. Just a few bits to find a place for and we are all tidy and ready for business when I feel ready for sewing again. Meanwhile I have a couple of wooden pieces I want to alter with paint and paper so I may well start on those. Not until tomorrow though as we have Ruby coming for tea today and I don't want anything hanging about with wet paint on it.
Her school uniform is a magnet for muck and I don't want to get my ears chewed for her getting anything on her.

Our meal today will be a Ruby favourite....crispy chicken steak, lettuce and tomato in a roll served with corn on the cob and then a pudding for Ruby but not DD and I.
Once she has been delivered home it will be back to the box set. We are just about to start the last season.
I must say that Oz is not something I would have chosen if I had seen it on the shelf in a shop but it was recommended by DS and we decided to give it a go. It is so different to anything I have watched before. Brutal, violent and totally shocking it has certainly taken me out of my comfort zone.

Anyway....Andy has just left for work so I will go and do a bit of tidying safe in the knowledge that it will stay tidy until 9pm when he returns....lol.

Have a lovely day.
Sheila-x-

I Couldn't Believe It!!!

We have been wishing for rain for days and there didn't look to be any signs of any yesterday so I thought I would hang my washing out on the line. I literally put one foot out of the door on my way to the line and the heavens opened. It hasn't really stopped since.
The most annoying thing is the load I was going to hang out is stuff that I never put in the dryer as I am worried it will shrink.
A bit of Sod's Law in action methinks...lol.
Despite that the rain is very welcome.....we have heavier rain this morning and you can almost hear the garden gulping it down and sighing with relief that it is much cooler today.

As it's cooler today I will be cooking a hot meal which DD and I can only have when Andy isn't here to eat so it's fish with creamy mash, peas and parsley sauce and my tummy is rumbling already.

Obviously no gardening will be going on today so having finally made up my mind that.... yes I will change the furniture round in the dining room DD is going to help me do that this afternoon.
Two pairs of hands on the job should mean it gets finished today but I won't be able to wash the curtains until they can be dried outside.
Once we're done we'll have tea and watch some more of the box set.

Hope your gardens are getting some happy rain.
Sheila-x-

 

Fifteen Minutes!!!

That was all the rain we got yesterday evening.
One short sharp shower and then some drizzles and drips.
This morning is slightly cooler with a fine mizzle occasionally which isn't going to be much use to the garden.

DD is at home this week so my routine....even as loose as it usually is will be out the window and I will just be going with the flow.
As long as the laundry is done and the house is tidy I will try and turn a blind eye to the big job list although the oven is in desperate need of a clean and will be done at some point.
Hopefully the weather will be good enough for her to be out in the garden during the day and then we will settle down with our tea and carry on watching the Oz box set.

Finally....the chap at the bottom of the loch has been spotted which is what I have been waiting for.
Last nights episode took some very strange turns although nothing that made it any better than it has been up until now.

Andy is fed and watered and will be leaving for work in a few minutes and DD has nipped into town so while I have the house to myself I'll go and get the hoovering done....Smudge has done a right number on the living room rug with his carrot this morning.
He's as untidy as his Dad.....lol.

Have a fabulous day.
Sheila-x-

Roasting!!!

I thought it was supposed to be cooling down over the weekend and that we were supposed to be getting some rain but no...it doesn't look like that is happening today.
Roasting outside and roasting inside....although the smell of the pork cooking is very nice.
Andy has opted for the full monty Sunday roast but I will probably feel too headachey and sick to eat it by the time it's cooked.

I have just washed three little tops that I picked up at the charity shop yesterday for Ruby. I am collecting play clothes for her for when she comes to stay the week in August and if I have clothes here for her then she only has to pack her favourite outfits for going out.
The tops cost 33p each and they are gorgeous.
I now have to brave the outside heat and go and hang them on the line.

DD is on annual leave from tomorrow for a week.....yay a week off of thinking up interesting things for her pack up.
She is planning to make a start on Maggies little garden for me so don't expect to be putting your washing out as it will surely rain...lol.

Episode 5 of The Loch tonight and then thank goodness only one more to go. I am expecting to be left even more confused and then everything will be sorted in the last five minutes of the last episode.
I doubt I will watch if they have a second series.

........and....on that note I am off to melt a bit more.

Hope you are having a lovely day.
Sheila-x-

 

Fried To A Crisp!!!

Started today off with a loving relaxing meetup with my sister for coffee in town.
We had a good old natter and then a wander round the charity shops before I came home to do some prep for tea.
Out again then to Ruby's school fayre....a lovely afternoon of games and competitions, cupcakes and elderflower cordial followed by the sponsored run and lots of red in the face runners. I don't know how they did it in the crippling heat but they did.
Marlowe and I found a shady spot to sit for a little while....and it was only a little while as she soon wanted to be off and wandering.
Such a joy to spend a few hours with her.
Back home now and I feel like I have been fried to a crisp.

Just a quick and easy tea of BLT's tonight.
Tomorrow Andy is expecting a roast pork dinner but if it is as hot as it has been today there is no way that I will be able to cook it so I may just cook the pork and some stuffing and serve it in rolls with apple sauce.

For now I am just going to make myself a long cool drink and go see if there is room on either of the sofas to put me poor aching feet up for a while.

Happy weekend.
Sheila-x-
 

A Right Little Burger!!!

Andy was specifically told that this year I do not want my freezers packed out with shop bought barbecue meats....you know the kind that come in snotty looking marinades that taste of nothing but Chinese Five Spice. Well granted he hasn't bought any of those...yet....but he has filled almost a whole shelf with trays of ruddy burgers that we neither want nor need as I make my own so that I know what goes into them.
Guess what he is getting for his tea tonight....lol.

Today was going to be another faffing about day but I have come down this morning to find a bowl full of greasy pots he has left soaking in the sink.....he obviously did himself a breakfast when he came in at some ungodly hour this morning.....and there is a puddle of spilt milk in front of the fridge freezer which will need to be scrubbed up before it goes sour and stinks the kitchen out.
I may well be serving time for murder before the day is out....I could really do with the holiday...lol.

I hadn't seen the rat for a few days so was hoping that the poison had done it's job but Andy saw him again yesterday. A different type of poison has been purchased so we'll see how we go with this one.

The herb table is filling out rapidly and is looking really good apart from the parsley which seems to been attacked by the little known Rubicus Tasticus beetle. She's a little monkey when it comes to fresh parsley and mint...lol.

Right....I shall go and scrub this floor and then get on with the serious business of faffing.....with a bit of pootling thrown in for good measure.

Hope you have a wonderful day.
Sheila-x-

Hilarious Child!!!

Last night we spent the most hilarious half an hour being entertained by Miss Marlowe who is a little comedian and loves an audience.
She has quite a range of words she can say now and her favourite is ball. Anything round is a ball and we all just about collapsed with laughing when she pointed at her Mummy's chest and said "ball" .
She just loved that we were laughing and so then everyone's chest became a ball. It was so funny.
I have been invited to go to the school fayre with The Doodles on Saturday and I will be looking after Marlowe while Ruby and Mummy do a 2k sponsored run. I can't wait.

Thank you all for your comments about my back. Thankfully the pain has gone.
I know how easily it can be put out and you don't really have to have done anything to put it out. I once picked up a telephone directory and put mine out. I ended up bedridden for six months barely able to move. It was horrendous. My kids were only eight and five at the time and little DD was coming home from school and making meals for us as Andy was at work and that is probably what put her off cooking....lol.
Another time I picked Ruby up when she was a baby and put my back out again and again I had it for six months or more and was walking like John Wayne for all that time.....although that was preferable to being bedridden.

For tea today I am making Fabulously Fresh Frittata Bites....a recipe from the latest A**a magazine. I will be reworking it a bit though as I can't imagine anything more tasteless than globs of mascarpone so that will be replaced with mozzarella and the pesto which I can't abide will be be replaced with some Italian herbs. Everything else can stay as it is and we'll see what it's like.
There is still a little salad left so we'll have that with it.

Nothing urgent to be done today. There are jobs on the big list....most of which I can't be bothered with so I am just doing whatever I feel like today....which isn't very much...lol.

Hope you are all having a blue skies and fluffy white cloud day like we are having here.
Sheila-x-
 

An Absolute Bag Of A Day!!!

Well yesterday was OK for a while.....until my back decided that it didn't want to play nice. I don't know what happened. There was no heavy lifting, reaching or stretching going on....it just went while I was preparing the pork and beans for tea. So I spent most of the day hobbling and shuffling like an old lady.
This morning it has gone so I don't know what that was all about.

I woke up feeling vaguely housewifey so got straight on to the jobs for the day apart from the hoovering which will have to wait until the mister gets up and I have no plans for much else apart from preparing tea as Miss Doodle will be here later.
Her order for tea today.....Philadelphia Flip and Dip cheese, Herb and Garlic soft cheese and hummous with tortilla chips, bruschetta bakes and veg sticks. I may have the same but Andy would kill me if I gave him that for his tea so he and DD will have a ploughmans which should use up the last of the salad ready for new supplies when I go shopping.
Lots of chopping then but at least I don't have to have the oven on......oh poop....yes I do as I have to cook the part baked baguettes😒

Still can't settle to any sewing so once Ruby has gone home tonight I am going to sort out all of my UFO's into bags and put them all together in one place so that when the mood strikes me I can just grab a bag and go and work on it until it is done.com.
I'll need to order some more batting soon as I think there is only enough left for a couple of the quilts.
Once they are done I am going to start on Christmas projects as I still have two Advent Calendars I need to make.

It's feeling pretty warm here now so I think a cold drink today with lots of ice rather than a coffee and then on with the chopping.

Have a wonderful day y'all.
Sheila-x-

 

Cooking For A Cooler Day!!!

By mid afternoon yesterday it was extremely hot here and very uncomfortable but this morning is overcast with a cooling gentle breeze....much better and definitely more conducive to cooking one of Andy's favourite meals......spicy pork and beans with baked sweet potatoes.
I thought I had better make it because he had a bit of a panic on when he couldn't find any of the hot and spicy beans on the shelf in T***o. Then they had some in and he went rather mad buying them to put in the store cupboard so I now have about a dozen tins to go at......although he does take them to work as part of his pack up sometimes.

The day started off well with a quick visit from Miss Doodle who was being taken to school by Grandad. Just seeing her for ten minutes gives the day that extra bit of sparkle.

I didn't get the laundry finished yesterday so a couple of loads still to do and a bit of tidying is all that is on my job list today. Not sure what I will do with the rest of my time but I do need to have a sort out of my sewing magazines which are getting a bit out of hand so I will probably bundle some of those up to go to the charity shop.

What are you all up to today? Anything exciting?
Have a fab day whatever you are doing.
Sheila-x-

A Hot Mess!!!

Well I don't know if it's just me but I am finding The Loch just one big hot mess. The sad thing is that now I am going to have to watch it through to the end as I need to know if they will ever find that poor guy floating at the bottom of the loch.
Thank goodness DD and I will be able to get back to watching Oz tonight. It's a pretty brutal, far fetched prison drama but we are totally hooked on it.

I slept like a log last night but have woken up feeling very achey and out of sorts. I'll soldier on through the jobs though and cobble together a meal for tonight. I have put some chicken to marinate in Cajun spices so that with some salad and some roasted Charlottes should make my pair happy.

The herb table is all planted up now.......

We have rosemary, parsley, spearmint, garden mint, chives, sage, Silver Queen thyme and lemon thyme. There is also a pot of oregano on the bottom which we need to find a container for as DD forgot that there were only eight compartments in the table.
I can't wait to be able to start using them now.

Quite glad of a quiet day today.
Hope you are all having a good day.
Sheila-x-

That Was A Weekend That Was!!!

I think it's going to take me a week to catch my breath after the busy weekend we've had with our Miss Doodle.
We have had a lot of fun despite my plans being scuppered by the resident drivers. Things were just done differently but Ruby still had a great time including helping to make these.......

Strawberry cupcakes with strawberry frosting and tons of glitter.
The chocolate decorations are little Troll biscuits in the shapes of the characters.
We also had glitter jelly which we had found in the supermarket but trust me when I say....that is where it should have stayed. Ruby loved it but I shall not be partaking of that again....anytime let alone anytime soon....lol.

Today we met DS and the gorgeous Marlowe at the pub for lunch and to hand Ruby back. It's so much easier to do it on neutral ground as she does get a bit fractious when it's time to go home....not because she doesn't want to go home....I just think she doesn't want the fun to end and go back to the Sunday routine of bath, hairwash, reading practice and homework.
Never mind....over the next few weeks we will be planning what we are going to do when she comes to stay for the week at the end of August.

I am whacked...lol....so all I will be fit for now for the rest of the day is reading the papers and schlomping on the sofa to watch The Loch later on.

Hope you have all had a lovely weekend too.
Sheila-x-