Thank You!!!

Thank you all so much for your prayers and kind thoughts for my niece yesterday.

The operation she had was a tracheostomy as while they kept trying to wake her from her sedation for the brain bleed she was choking on her tube which was very distressing for her.

When she came round after the op she smiled at her partner when he told her that we all sent our best wishes....apparently a good sign that there is no brain damage.

I am still waiting to hear from my sister how things have gone today...hoping that no news is good news.

Meanwhile here at The Mansion we have had a fairly quiet day.
An early start with a birthday breakfast at The Doodles for Andy which was just so lovely.
He then went one way in town and DD and I went the other.
I needed dowel rods for the advent calendars and pineapple to go with the gammon for tea.
Andy beat us home and we opened the door to a house stinking of onions which he was peeling ready for pickling.
They are good strong ones as they were making my eyes water in the back room and he was in the living room.

The day has turned really nasty now....cold and wet....so the heating  is on and my pair are watching a film which doesn't appeal to me much.
I'll go and snuggle the gigglies (guinea pigs) down for the night and I might just go and veg on the sofa regardless of the film.

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

Sorry!!!

No frivolous blog post today.
I am anxiously awaiting news of my niece who is at the moment in the operating theatre after suffering a brain bleed.

Any spare prayers and healing thoughts would be so much appreciated right now.

Thank you.
Sheila-x-

Not So Crazy Today!!!

Ahhhhh....that's better.
No crazy today....all is calm and peaceful for now.
This morning I have pottered about and then pottered some more, prepared the veg and everything for the evening meal. I am using up a tray of pork chops today from the freezer.
The inside one is nearly empty so I will soon be able to start bringing stuff in from the outside one to get used up.

It's a reasonably nice day here....cool but bright and sunny. No breeze though so I am not even going to bother doing any washing.

After dropping Ruby off last night and spending a bit of time being entertained by Miss Marlowe....who gets cheekier by the day....neither DD or I felt like going shopping so that will be done tonight. Just basics like butter, milk, bread and fresh veg so we shouldn't be too long.

Tomorrow is Andy's birthday but it will be a fairly quiet day as he comes in from his last night shift and spends the best part of the day sleeping.
DD is treating him to Chinese for his birthday tea and we have been invited down to The Doodle House for a birthday breakfast on Saturday morning. I will think of something special to cook for tea on Saturday and then that will be his birthday over for another year.
I don't know why he didn't book tonight off so he could have a full day up tomorrow and we could have gone for a ride out somewhere.

Now I am off to finally iron, prep and pin the calendars ready for sewing over the weekend.

Have a smashing day.
Sheila-x-

Crazy Day!!!

It's a bit mad here today.
Andy has had to get up early so that we could go and have our flu shots.
Not long back from there and he has gone out to pick Ruby up from school to bring her here for tea.
A few minutes rest and then he'll be back out to the doctors again for his diabetic review appointment and he won't be back until after 5pm.
DD comes in at about 4:45pm so we'll have our tea and then Andy's will have to be cooked when he comes in.
Good job it's only sausage, chips and beans tonight then.
6pm-ish we will take Ruby home and then DD and I need to go and pick up some bits from the supermarket.
Once we are home from there we will not be going anywhere else until it all starts again tomorrow...lol.

Hope you've all had a lovely day.
Sheila-x-

Back In The Groove!!! And For Joan (Devon)

This is going to be a big post today...a two for one kind of deal as I have at last managed to put together a post about die cutting for Joan.

Anyhoo....yesterday was quite a productive day after my fairly lazy day on Sunday.
Lots of niggly little jobs finished off and a plan made to start on clearing the freezers ready for cleaning them out before restocking them....although the calendar panels are still sitting on the airer awaiting sewing.

Andy and I had a quick ride up to the garden centre as I needed a bottle of glitter glue and while we were there we picked up two Christmas gifts. Luckily they have not finished the Christmas displays yet so I couldn't waste any time looking around them.
On the way out we stopped the van to collect some more conkers and got some absolute beauties for our spider scaring mission.

This is the Christmas dec I picked up from Poundland

The letters have now been filled in with wood filler and it's been put on one side to dry. Once dry I will give it a light sanding and then I'll be covering that panel with some decorative paper and adding die cut letters and some more snowflakes.

A good start on the freezer plan today as tea will be all made from leftovers from the freezer. So a lasagne made from leftover fresh pasta sheets which I froze, a tub of spicy mince and beans and a half jar of white lasagne sauce which had been frozen too. This will be served with roasted cauliflower and green beans sauteed with garlic and black pepper.
Should be quite tasty.....and it has freed up quite a bit of space in the indoor freezer so I can move some stuff in from the one outside.

.....and on to the post for Joan

Unfortunately Joan if you want to get into die cutting you do need a machine to do it.
This is my machine of choice

Image from Sizzix

This is the Sizzix Big Shot and the cheapest I can find it currently is The Range at £54 and the dearest I have seen it is £109.
It comes with all you need to get started but this does not include any dies.

The Works has a small range of dies at the moment and these are what I have purchased from there

These are low profile dies and can be used for cutting paper and card....although not chipboard. You can also with some of the less complicated dies cut felt and fabric although you may have to run the die stack through the machine a few times.

You can also buy sets of stamps with matching low profile dies. These were free with magazines.

For using low profile dies you get a platform with the machine and two clear plates. So you layer the plates as per instructions place your die and paper on one plate and cover with the other....roll it through the machine and out comes a perfectly cut shape.

Also in the machine you can use steel rule dies. These are completely different to low profile dies and can be used to cut a much wider range of materials including chipboard, this includes leather, balsa wood, sticky back plastic, fun foam and many others.

A steel rule die comes fixed into a tray and is covered with a dense foam which helps to release the shape after cutting.
The die above will cut out everything you need to make the gorgeous gingerbread man. I am going to be making some in both felt and fabric which cut very easily with these dies.
To cut these you only need to use the two clear plates and not the platform.

This die is also a steel rule die but is longer (about 13") and does require a pair of longer cutting plates. It too will cut out everything you need to make these stockings.

I should also add that steel rule dies can cut multiple layers of paper and card which can save lots of time.

Well I hope this was useful to you Joan....and I am so sorry it took me so long to sort it.
If you need anymore help or information just ask.

Right....there is a kitchen floor needing mopping and a couple more jobs to do while I wait for Andy to get up so that I can hoover.

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

Heavenly Day!!!

After my busy week today has been like heaven.
Some time spent in the kitchen this morning getting an early lunch ready while Andy and DD pottered about doing their own things. Then just a fairly lazy day surfing the internet for Christmas ideas in between loading and unloading the washing machine and dryer which means I won't be at it all day tomorrow. Just two loads of bedding left to do now.
The fabric panels have been sprayed and soaked with starch and should be dry enough to iron tomorrow. Steaming them just didn't get the creases out.
I might also get the Poundland decoration sorted this week as Andy picked me up some new wood filler after finding ours had gone hard in it's tube.

The plumber came on Friday and now we have a nice neat outside loo and basin. The old loo was so cracked that Andy had wrapped it in duct tape to stop it breaking any further...lol. Just need to replace the loo roll holder and do away with the towel and soap holders. I don't keep a towel in there as spiders hide in them.

I think our next expense is going to have to be a new cooker as my top oven/grill has just about had it and all the control knobs keep breaking and having to be mended with wire and superglue.
We are trying to work out if we can fit in an all electric range cooker by removing a small piece of worktop.
I will be one very happy cook if we can......especially if we can do it before Christmas.

Well I think I will do a bit of blog browsing and then have an earlier night......I quite fancy a reading session before I go to sleep.

Hope you all had a lovely Sunday too.
Sheila-x-

Grubbing About!!!

Sorry for the short absence but I have been a tad busy doing some sorting out in the attic bedroom trying to relieve DD of several boxes of my crafting stuff which are cluttering up the eaves storage area. It's all cardmaking stuff some of which will come downstairs but much of which will have to stay in it's boxes on the landing sideboard for now.
Lots of ferreting in boxes under beds looking for stuff I know I have but didn't have the foggiest idea where it was and total shame at the dust bunnies found living under there😲

The Christmas packaging/card boxes have also been dragged out and checked and a list made of what we need. Definitely no cards this year apart from family ones as we picked some up in the sale last year and they will probably last me for five years.
Some gorgeous gift boxes have been purchased from B&M for The Doodle Family's gifts so I just need to stock up on gift bags now and I will be ready to wrap everything as we get it to save a mega wrapping session later on.

The guinea pigs have been moved up into their Winter quarters. They are now in the shelter of the house where the rain and wind doesn't tend to reach so they should be nice and cosy.

So several jobs done that have been wanting doing for a long time.

I am a bit over traditional Sunday lunches for the moment and have decided that this week we will have a lovely lamb stew with mashed potatoes and cabbage. The stew is simmering away now and then will be cooled and put in the fridge overnight so dinner will be fairly quick and easy tomorrow.
Tonight is a simple tea of pasta with tomato sauce and a grating of Parmesan with tear and share garlic bread so now the jobs are done and the meals sorted I might get some time to myself tomorrow to make a start on these flippin' Advent Calendars.

Hope you are all having a fabulous weekend.
Sheila-x-

The Conkers Are Primed!!!

Cobwebs are vanquished and the conkers are in position ready to frighten off the eight legged monsters.
I really hope they work. Some people swear by them and some say they don't have much effect so we will see.

I've had a bit of a lazy day today after all that swishing about with the feather duster and dragging the hoover round yesterday.
I have been watching You Tube videos on overlocking for beginners as Andy will be buying me an overlocker on October 8th when they have them in at Lidl.....although I will only have one if it's a Singer like my other two machines.
They usually are from there so my fingers are crossed and I am proper excited.

The Advent calendars are out of their box but they need a bit of prep work before I can get sewing. Neither one had been folded very well on to their card bolts and they are very creased. A good spray of starch which I will let dry and then a good steam iron should put that right but I didn't feel like hunting the clothes airer out of the shed to hang them on to dry.

To go with my lazy day....a lazy tea of cold meat, salad and crusty rolls while we watch some more Lucifer.....lovely.

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

Too Much Of A Good Thing!!!

I like nature....I really do but there is far too much of it making itself at home inside my house for comfort at the moment. Not so many flies now but spiders....huge spiders and my least favourite.....Daddy Long Legs.
There were two flying around around in the kitchen last night. DD was kind and tried to catch them to put them outside while I was screeching in a corner. I would just have whacked them if she had let me.
Today I will be ferreting in corners to remove all cobwebs and placing pierced conkers in all the nooks and crannies. It may work or it may not.

Miss Doodle is coming for her tea today as there will be nobody to drop her off tomorrow. Just a simple tea of tomato soup followed by trifle for her and beans on toast for DD and me as she will be going out shortly after getting home.....the cinema visit was rearranged for tonight.
Daddy will have to pick Ruby up so once she has gone home I am going to see if I can summon up the mojo to get out the Advent calendars I need to make for my girls so that I can then start filling them ready for the start of December. It's very hard finding small things that don't cost a fortune to fill them up so I like to make an early start.

I must admit to having already bought a Christmas decoration from Poundland. It's so beautiful that I knew if I didn't get it they would all be gone. I do need to alter it slightly as I don't like the fact that it says Merry X-mas but that will be easily remedied.
I'll show before and after pics when it's done.

Just need Andy out from under my feet now so that I can get on with my spider hunt and do some tidying before Ruby gets here.....if the dining table is tidy I will be more likely to get the sewing out.

Hope you are all enjoying a sunny day today as we are here.
Sheila-x-

Sunday And Monday!!!

I was going to blog yesterday when I got back from watching the girls....honest I was......but just ended up with no time again.
When DDIL is on call she can't really take the girls out very far so she asked if Ruby could come back to our house for lunch and a play so that she got a change of scenery to ward off the boredom.
Unexpected but lovely just the same although she wasn't in the best of moods.
By the time we had taken her home in a very scary thunderstorm, had another squidge or two with the gorgeous Marlowe and got home again I wasn't fit for much.

Today....well today is Monday so that means laundry and clearing up after the weekend so nothing really exciting.
Tea will be one of DD and my favourites....leftover veg and roast potatoes from Sunday lunch with some lamb gravy and mint sauce. We eat it out of a bowl with a spoon so we call it Sunday Dinner Soup.....very comforting and warming.
I'm sure DD will appreciate it today as it is very chilly.

At the moment I am just trying to organise everybody's holiday bookings for next year as we want to take Ruby away for a week to the seaside in Cornwall. Andy wants him and me to go away on our own for a week and then DD and I will go away for a week and take Ruby so I need to get all the dates sorted out before I can book anything. It's a bit of a nightmare but we'll get there in the end.

Anyhoo....there's washing to fold and more to dry so I had best get on with that. No chance of line drying today so It's all been tumble dried which means very little ironing...yay.

Have a good week.
Sheila-x-

Thursday, Friday, Saturday!!!

I seem to have been really busy the last few days and haven't had time to blog.....and I am not sure that what I have been up to is all that interesting to be honest.

Thursday was spent just doing housey jobs and clearing out the middle brick shed which houses a loo and wash basin which I would like to do away with but find too useful.
Well the loo and basin must be over 25 years old and need replacing so Andy has been and bought a new cloakroom set and engaged the plumber....yes...Mr Dilatory Object himself....lol.
He should have turned up to work yesterday morning but he just turned up to say that he would be coming this morning instead......then this morning we get a text to say he would be coming next week. Hopefully this is the last job we need him for until we can afford to have the kitchen done....gawd help us on that one.

Friday was shopping and collecting Miss Doodle from school to deliver her home and an unexpected trip to the cinema when DD was let down by some friends who were going to see 'It' with her. I couldn't watch that to save my life as I don't like clowns so we went to see Victoria and Abdul. What a beautiful film. We both enjoyed it very much.

This morning DD and I have been down to entertain the girls for a couple of hours while Mummy worked from home. It is her weekend on call so I will be back doing the same tomorrow while DD cooks dinner.

Not long got in from doing that  so I am going to have an hour or so of peace and quiet before I start tea.

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

Wild And Windy Staffordshire!!!

Boy is it windy here this morning.
I wouldn't dare hang washing out in it else I'd be fetching it back from the next village...lol.....plus it keeps thrashing it down with rain.

The minted lamb meatballs turned out really nice.
No photo as they were gone before I could blink.

400g minced lamb
1 Tsp salt
1/2 Tsp ground black pepper
2 Tsp dried mint

Mix the ingredients thoroughly and shape into balls.
I got 16 good sized ones from my mixture.
Chill in the fridge for 30 minutes.

Heat a little oil in a frying pan and fry the meatballs until browned all over.
Transfer to a saucepan and add 2 pints of lamb stock.
I used one stock cube.
Simmer until meatballs are cooked and then thicken the gravy with lamb gravy granules which you can now get from T***o. They are quite strong which is why I only used one stock cube in two pints of water for simmering.

Miss Doodle will be here tonight after school so we always have something that she will eat and tonight it is pizza and salad and as it is quite cold I am making a jam sponge and custard for pudding.
I don't often make puddings so I thought I would treat us tonight.
After tea....a little more crafting on the papier mache Christmas tree that Ruby is making and then it will be time for home 😢

DD and I are watching another box set....Lucifer season one which we have watched before but we are refreshing our memories before we start on season two which she picked up the other day.
The heating will be on, we will light my beautiful Goose Creek Maple Butter candle and that will be us cosy for the night.

Hope you all have a lovely day and a nice cosy evening.
Sheila-x-

Tasty!!!

The Sweet Potato and Butternut Squash bake we had last night was absolutely delicious so I thought I would share with you how I made it and show you what it looked like.
The original recipe from Sue was her way of using up a glut of courgettes but as I can't abide courgettes I decided to do a bit of swapping on the veg front.
It really is one of the nicest dishes I have ever made.

1 small or half a large butternut squash
2 medium sweet potatoes
1 large red onion
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tsp salt
1/2 Tsp ground black pepper
1 Tsp garlic granules
1 440g jar tomato and basil sauce or the equivalent homemade tomato sauce.
2 slices bread
1 handful of grated cheese.

Peel the squash and potatoes and cut into chunks.
Peel the onion and cut into eighths.
In a large bowl mix the olive oil, salt, pepper and garlic granules. 
Add the vegetables and stir to coat and tip onto a baking tray.
Alternatively you could just spray the baking tray and the veg with a light oil spray.
Bake at 180C (Fan 160) until the veg are slightly charred but still hold their shape.

Tip the veg into an ovenproof dish and top with the tomato sauce.
Make the slices of bread into breadcrumbs, mix in the cheese and then spread over the veg.
Bake at 180c (Fan 160) until the top is browned and crispy.

Serve with extra veg.

I think this would also be lovely served as a side dish to grilled chicken or pork chops.

Today I am cooking for the meat monster.
Minted Lamb Meatballs in Gravy with new potatoes, dark green cabbage and cauliflower in white sauce and mint sauce.
That should keep him happy until break time at work....lol.

......and that is about me today....being mostly a kitchen slave but with the alter ego of a Dark Defender.....fighting off huge and monsterous flies......wooden spoon in one hand and fly swatter in t'other. Just have to make sure I don't get them mixed up....lol.
The evil damned things are out in force today.

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

Sunday/Monday!!!

I didn't blog yesterday as we didn't do anything very exciting.
We just drove up to Carsington and had lunch at The Knockerdown Inn.
It is a lovely drive there though through some beautiful countryside, the town of Ashbourne and my most favourite village....Kniveton.
It was very cold and windy and by the time we had eaten lunch I was freezing cold and ready for home.

Today has started out very wet and windy. Not too cold though and now the sun is out I might chance some line drying of things I don't like to put in the tumble dryer.

Lots of veg prep will be going on shortly. 
Sweet potato and butternut squash for a crispy topped bake which will be served with sauteed sprouts and garlic.
Steamed cauliflower to coat in a white sauce. That will be for the freezer.
A mound of veg for more soup which I will squirrel away too.....a chunky veg soup and leek and potato......and a filling of veg in cheese sauce for a pie later in the week.
Somebody is going to have very sore fingers when she's done.

Christmas wishes for Ruby and Marlowe have been discussed and a list has been made so I will soon be starting on my gift shopping. I would like it done and dusted as soon as possible with everything wrapped and ready before the end of November.
Will I be organised enough? We shall have to wait and see....lol.

Andy has just handed me a lovely cuppa so I will drink that before I go and tackle me mountain.

Have a lovely day.
Sheila-x-

On A Veg Kick!!!

I've just been out in the pouring rain to do a bit of shopping.
Usually we would be straight out of the car and into T***o but this morning I needed to walk through town to the veg shop.
I spent about £11 and got two big bags of beautiful fresh veg including 2 large cauliflowers at 39p each, a massive cabbage at 69p, butternut squash, sweet potatoes, leeks, parsnips and swede.
There are plans for all of it.....a pie with vegetables in cheese sauce, two more soups for the freezer, a squash and sweet potato bake and some fresh veg to go with other meals.
I have been neglecting our vegetable consumption a little bit so this will start to put that right....as long as I get at it before the animals do....lol.

Agnes the Kia Picanto came home last night and we are very pleased with her although it's very strange being so low down after years of travelling about in a people carrier.
Ruby was over the moon that it was blue which is her favourite colour.

Tea will be earlyish tonight as I am off out babysitting the munchkins while Mummy and Daddy go to the cinema.
Marley Moo will be in bed unfortunately but Ruby will stay up and watch a film so I am taking popcorn for her. I can't stand the stuff but she loves it.

Tomorrow we are off to Carsington for lunch....just to give the car a run out for Andy to see what it's like so I think it's going to be a nice weekend.

Hope you are all having a nice one too.
Sheila-x- 

Dodging The Raindrops!!!

Well we managed to get the car cleaned out. It was polished and hoovered to within an inch of it's life while we tried to dodge the raindrops so at least I feel like I did something worthwhile yesterday. She is ready to go and we are really ready for the smaller car that will be coming home tonight.
Ruby will be thrilled to be one of the first people to ride in it when we drop her home later.

Today I will be scratting about in the fridge and using up anything that needs using to make some soup for the freezer.
With DD working outside she will soon be ready to take something warming for her lunch.
The breadmaker will also be going on to knead some dough which I will then take out and make into rolls to part bake and freeze so that they can be whipped out and finished off when she needs them.

Once Ruby has had tea we will be doing some more work on her papier mache Christmas tree.
It has been gessoed and had two coats of green paint so now we need to add the coloured spots of paint ready for their coating of glitter. She is being such a good and patient girl while everything dries in between the stages but she will be ecstatic when it comes to time to put the glitter on.

I'm hoping that doing some crafting with Ruby will kick me up the backside and get me started again. 
I'm finding it quite hard to get the urge back since I lost it when we lost Maggie but I really need to do something.

Anyhoo......as it it well past 2am I suppose I had better get to bed. I love this time of night when Andy and DD are asleep and the dog doesn't want letting out every five minutes. It's quiet with rain lashing at the windows and I feel quite calm and peaceful.

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

Faffing!!!

I seem to have spent the whole day faffing....flitting from one job to another. I may have achieved something but I am not sure what...lol.
Do you ever have days like that?

Just begging for the rain to keep off for a couple of hours once DD gets in as we need to clean out her car.
The outside got washed at Tesco last night in preparation for her taking it to the dealer tomorrow after work to exchange it for a lovely blue Kia Picanto.
It will make a change from the hulking beast she has driven around in for several years.
Would you believe it....she has just turned into the drive and it has just started raining after managing to keep off all day!!!
Still it has to be done so we'll get off and do it.

Hope it's dry where you are.
Sheila-x-

Wednesday Waffle!!!

Another neither here nor there day weatherwise today......a bit of this and a bit of that.
I've got a couple of things to hang out which may or may not dry so we'll see.

Feeling a bit down as I got a message last night to say that Ruby wouldn't be able to come to tea tonight as there is nobody to drop her round but she is coming Friday instead so I have that to look forward to.

Not much going on here today as I am caught up with most things so I think I might bake some sultana buns to use up some eggs before I buy new when I go shopping tonight.

DD found a car she wants at a local dealer online. Andy has been down this morning and sorted everything out so before we go shopping tonight we will empty her car and get it hoovered out then give it a wash ready for her to take it tomorrow and bring back her new car.
She doesn't even know any of this yet as she was expecting to go and sort it at the weekend so I can't wait to tell her when she comes home.

Haven't given a thought to tea yet but there is salad to use up so it will probably be that and either something out of the freezer or just cheese and pineapple which will mean no cooking which is always good....lol.

Anyhoo....I am ready for a cuppa and five minutes peace now Andy has gone off to work.

Back tomorrow.
Have a lovely day.
Sheila-x-

Traumatised!!!|

Yesterday was a totally vile day.

I am not going into huge detail as it would be just too gross but suffice it to say it involved one disgusting dog, bathing of said dog and me vomiting and nearly passing out.

Believe me you don't want to know any more than that.

Suzanne....thank you for the recommendation of the ultrasonic thingymadoodle.

We have purchased one. It has been in the garden since Sunday and this morning we got up to a clean lawn.

I shall be very, very happy if it continues.

Joan (Devon) I am sorting out a post for you regarding die cutting so keep an eye open for that.

Today I am just having a general clean up downstairs as things have got a bit untidy and I want to have it all nice and cosy for when DD comes home so we can settle down with our salads and rewatch our box sets of 24. We have nothing new so decided on that.

Well the Marigolds await so I'll go and crack on.

Hope you are all having a good day.

Sheila-x-

A Mixed Day!!!

Looks like we are getting a bit of everything today weatherwise.
It's grey but there is a tiny bit of sunshine peeking through.
It's misty over the fields and it's raining.
No sound of the children playing out so I expect they are all being dragged around town picking up last minute bits for going back to school on Wednesday.

Today I will be cracking on with a bit more sorting out and decluttering. 
It's the turn of the wardrobes and in particular I want to sort out the clothes Ruby has here. She has shot up alarmingly and at seven and a half is just about up to DD's shoulders so I expect there will be things in there that won't fit her any more.

A solution has been found for keeping all of the bathroom stuff together in one place.
I have quite a large vegetable rack which used to be in my craft room which will be kitted out with the cleaning stuff, cloths and dusters. It will be stored neatly in what was the airing cupboard along with the hoover and extension cord. I should be able to store the loo rolls in there too and then I will just need to buy a slim unit to fit alongside the bath for spare toothpaste, toothbrushes etc and the job will be sorted.
I'll try and get Andy to come with me to order the carpet at the weekend.
I hope they'll come out and do a fitting in such a small room because I can't tackle it any more.

Peace and quiet this afternoon for a change as Andy is at last back into his shift pattern after having to swap about to cover shortages.
I get so much more done when he is out of my way...lol.

Okey dokey.....black bags at the ready and off we go.

Have a lovely day and I will be back to catch up with more blogs later.
Sheila-x-

What A Treat!!!

I didn't have to cook last night as Andy wanted a Chinese which was absolutely gorgeous but today I have eaten something even better........a totally DD made Sunday lunch. No help from me apart from being asked to give the meat a poke and see if I thought it was ready.
It was a delicious meal and DD is rightfully quite proud of herself.

Once lunch was over we decided to go for a drive into the big town and have a look around The Range. I didn't spend much but I got a lovely red tablecloth to use at Christmas....a bargain in the sale at £3. I also found the sea bird with the long beak that I wanted for the bathroom and a couple or so small dies for some cardmaking.
The store was a little messy as it is at that 'between season' stage at the moment but they already have Halloween out and we spotted huge pallets of Christmas stuff needing unpacking in a cordoned off area so I expect that will all be out next time we go.

DD is rather excited at the moment as she has reached the time when she is in need of a new car. She no longer needs to have as big a car as she has now and is really looking forward to getting something smaller. I don't know what she will get but for me as long as it has four wheels and a CD player I'm happy....lol.

Well....as I am having a whole day off today I think I will go and have a play on my game for a while before I go and chuck meself on the sofa.

Hope you are having a relaxing day today.
Sheila-x-

It's A Lovely Day Today!!!

A lovely bright day although it is rather chilly and the thermometer says we can have the heating on if we want to....and we may well do tonight once we settle down.

Dvd's are all sorted and DD has gone off to take them to the shop so that's one big bag of decluttering done.
Andy has been pottering outside so the lawns are mown and the guinea pigs are all clean and sweet smelling again.
I love piggy sitting them while Andy does the cleaning out. Skylar the black scruffy one is so sociable and loves to eat out of your hand and have a little natter. Ginger is quieter but likes a cuddle.
I'm so glad we got them.

Just waiting for DD to get back now and then we are going upstairs to do some sorting up there.
Tea tonight is Andy's choice of a Chinese takeaway to have while we watch a film.

I am loving being back in the swing of things and long may it continue.

Hope you are all having a smashing weekend.
Sheila-x-

Running The Gauntlet!!!

Happy September.

A lovely sunny morning here and nice enough to hang out some washing which I have done although I did have to run the gauntlet of heaps of cat mess all over me ruddy lawn.
I am getting really tired of it now. We are having to clean the lawn every day just lately.
There must have been an explosion in cat owning around here because where as we used to get the occasional mess we now get eight to ten done over night.
Apologies to all cat lovers but I really don't like cats.

I've just replied to a comment from Marlene at Simple Living regarding the oxtail soup.
This is the first time I have ever made homemade and I really don't think that it is worth the time and effort to make. Sure it tastes nice and there are no preservatives in it but it has taken two days to make as you have to leave it in the fridge overnight for any fat to solidify to be able to remove it and that is after simmering it for three and a half hours. Also there is the cost. At one time oxtail would have been very cheap to buy but not now so I also think that cost wise it isn't worth making either.
This batch will be eaten and enjoyed but I won't be making it again. I'll stick to my veg soups.

It's going to be a busy weekend here.
Now that the bathroom is finished all bar the carpet....I need to sort out a storage space for everything that came out of the bathroom but won't fit back in again due to losing the shelves in the alcove.....formed by the false shower wall..... disappearing.
There is other stuff wants sorting on the landing and we are also going to have a sort out of films we no longer want and take them to CEX. Might as well make a bit of money on them and make space for more 😃
DD is hoping to get out in the garden and do some tidying up but I don't know what Andy has planned I'm sure.

I'm slowly catching up with all of your blogs. Boy are there a lot of posts to catch up on but it's lovely to read them.

Well Andy is up now....quite early today so I will go and shove the hoover round and then I might make a start on sorting out those films seeing as I have no cooking to do today.
Just chicken and salad for tea with crusty rolls....yay....lovely to be back in charge of me own kitchen.

Hope you all have a fab weekend.
Sheila-x-