The Last Migraine Of 2017!!!

Well at least I hope it's the last one.
I was out shopping yesterday morning just topping up on essentials and quite enjoying being out in the fresh air.
First my legs started hurting then my arms and shoulders and by the time I got home I had the whizzy thing in my eyes and that was me down and out for a few hours.

There is still a little tidying to do in the sewing room which I will get done today so that I can take some photos to show you and then I will be starting on some sewing.
My first project will be a draw string bag for DD the sock monster. I don't know how many feet she thinks she has but her laundry is probably half socks and half everything else. They are awkward to carry upstairs on top of a pile of other stuff so I thought I'd make a bag to keep them all together.

I won't be cooking a roast lunch today as we are having one tomorrow so today will be cold meats and salad with some buttered parsley potatoes. Nice and easy.

No partying for us tonight. We usually just have a quiet night. Andy will let his rockets off at midnight and we'll have a glass of Buck's Fizz and that will be it.

I wish you all a happy and healthy 2018.
Thank you all so much for your visits to my blog and the lovely comments you leave.
Happy New Year.
Sheila-x-

It's Getting There!!!

The table is built and I am battle scarred after dropping one of the very heavy metal feet onto my foot which is now bruised and swollen.......and yes I did swear.
Now I am sorting out where everything will go and I think there should be enough storage space for everything I need.....fingers crossed.
There are before photos and I will take after photos once it's done.

Andy.....bless him.....is treating us to fish and chips tonight so that I don't have to cook. He said he was sure that I would much rather be sorting out my sewing room.
Is he psychic or what?.......lol.

Anyhoo....I'll go and get on with me sorting.
Hope you've all had a lovely day.
Sheila-x-

The Table Is In The House!!!

Andy and I were up and out this morning for a trip to Ikea to fetch my table and I was surprised how light the traffic was.....well on the way there at least. The journey back was much busier with the usual quota of idiots speeding and cutting people up.....and when did they do away with the rule of giving way to traffic coming from the right? Gawd they scare me to death and I am only a passenger.

Anyway....the table is in the house. I doubt it will get built today as we have to remove six dining chairs, dismantle the table and move some boxes of fabric into the kitchen to make room to build it in situ. Once it is done there will be some serious organisation going on before I can even think about sewing but once it's done I will be off and running. I am so looking forward to being creative again.

DD has asked for a rug for her bedroom as her birthday gift so we picked that up for her this morning. We shouldn't have to go back to Ikea for quite some time now.

So for the rest of the day I will be pottering about in here creating some order from the chaos and will be in my element.

Hope you are all having a very happy day.
Sheila-x-

......And Wonderful It Was!!!

I hope you have all had a blessed and wonderful Christmas.
Ours has been absolutely lovely.
Christmas lunch went down very well and there was no need for me to do anything for tea as we had our meal late to accommodate Miss Marlowe's nap so that she wasn't over tired. No leftovers to deal with as everything was boxed up and taken home by The Doodles for their Boxing Day meal. We just kept back enough turkey for sandwiches as I do love a turkey and salad sandwich.
Boxing Day was a no cook day apart from a tray of sausage rolls and some part baked baguettes. I laid out cold meats, salad, cheese, crackers and pickles and we just ate when we felt like it....bliss.

The kitchen and accessories we gave Marlowe went down a storm.....with both girls and Ruby was over the moon with all her new crafting goodies. DDIL loved all of her new gadgets for cake icing and DS's chilli themed gifts were well received.

I was pretty over the moon myself with a Wrendale single person stacked teapot and cup with my favourite robin on it and a notebook and pen in the same design, Nigel Slater's Christmas Chronicles and his book Toast, candle holders and candles, fluffy socks and some money which I am putting towards a new sewing table as Andy has decided that the dining room will now be my own sewing room and although sewing on the dining table is fine.....cutting out is not as it is too low and hurts my back so the table I am having is the SKARSTA from Ikea which is adjustable. It can be cranked up to the ideal height for cutting out and cranked down again for sewing. It's the same width as the dining table but longer which is going to be fabulous for when I am cutting out dress patterns.

DS is taking the dining table and chairs off our hands and I have an office chair upstairs which will do for my room.
The plastic drawers have gone to Ruby for craft storage and been replaced with a bargain Ikea childrens toy storage unit complete with boxes picked up from Barnado's for £20 on the Saturday before Christmas. The room looks much less cluttered now.
I think 2018 is going to be a good year for sewing at Tea Towel Mansion......I just need to work on making time for me to sew....lol.

The weather today has been quite pleasant which is lucky as DD is back at work.....only for three days as she has booked a week off for her birthday. We will start dismantling Christmas at the weekend but the tree will stay up until after her birthday on Jan 3rd.

The oven has just gone on and I am making baked potatoes with cheese and beans for tea. Good simple food for a change from Christmas food....lovely.

Are you all still enjoying some post Christmas peace and quiet or are you back in the swing of the everyday?
Sheila-x-

It's The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year!!!

Wishing you all the most magical Christmas

Today is my most favourite day of the year.
Andy will be pottering about and DD and I will be together in the kitchen preparing what we can for tomorrow.
There will be Christmas music, laughter and the smell of mince pies baking and much excitement about seeing our girls tomorrow.

I hope you all have an amazing time.
Peace, Joy and Love to you all.
Sheila-x-

Baby......It's Mad Out There!!!

I'm done and unless we are on the verge of starving....I will not be going out again until way after Christmas. No Boxing Day sales for me. I will be staying at home out of the way.
We were in town before 9am and already T***o had run out of cucumbers, they had hardly any fresh tomatoes and none of the coleslaw we like. Home Bargains had absolutely no loo roll. How does a shop run out of loo roll for goodness sake?

Anyway....we were back home by 10am and now the ham is on and cooking ready for our traditional Christmas Eve meal of ham, salad and chips.
Most of tomorrow will be taken up with food prep and cleaning ready for The Doodles arriving on Christmas Day.
Bring it on......I am ready.

Hope you are all having a good time getting your last minute things done.
Sheila-x-

Utter Bliss!!!

It's not very often I stay in bed until I am totally ready to get up but I did this morning. I knew there was nothing desperate needing doing so I turned back over, went back to sleep and didn't rise until just before 10am. It felt so good and I feel like a new woman so I have decided that I will not feel guilty about it....lol.

Only one Christmassy job on the agenda for today and that was to take the joint of ham out of the freezer to defrost ready for cooking tomorrow. The rest will just be pottering about and cleaning up carrot crumbs.
Andy finished work this morning and won't be back until January 8th so he will be transformed from The Grinch to a slightly less grinchy Grinch by the time he gets up...ha, ha, ha.
No cooking today. DD is going for a drink with her team straight from work and then going to collect a Chinese for us all. I'm so grateful as I am just about all cooked out for the minute....until it all starts again tomorrow.

Although I don't feel particularly Christmassy at the moment I am excited that the Doodle family will be here for lunch on Christmas day. Since DDIL went back to work after having Marlowe we don't see them all together quite so much so it's going to be just wonderful for us all to be together.
I am also super excited to see what Ruby thinks of her Christmas gifts. We have bought her a BigShot die cutting machine and some dies and lots of slightly more grown up crafting goodies so that she can make her own cards and maybe do some scrapbooking. She does love her crafts so hopefully they will be a big hit.
Marlowe is getting her very own kitchen with pots and pans and play food. Up until now she has been playing with the one we bought for Ruby when she was little and it is looking a bit worse for wear now. It's being replaced with a rather swish little wooden one so I hope she likes it.

Only one more trip into town tomorrow morning for salad and milk and to soak up a little daytime Christmas madness. Most of our shopping is done at night so it's not quite the same.

I hope you are all ready now and looking forward to the festivities.
Sheila-x-

Getting Older Needs An Off Switch!!!

Just three hours or so ago I was warm, cosy, comfortable and completely pain free while I was lying in my bed. Launch myself out of bed to get started on my day and everything goes to flippin' pot. I hurt, there is a headache on it's way and although the thermometer tells me that it's warmer than it has been for a few days.....I am absolutely freezing even with extra layers on.
I would love to be able to go back to bed with a hot water bottle but that ain't happening so I'll drag myself through some jobs and maybe have a nap on the sofa later.

Poor DD was supposed to be meeting some friends last night for a pre-Christmas drink but got let down at the last minute which is becoming a regular occurance so we went out for a coffee instead. Just as we got over the brow of the hill just down the road from our house we came across the most frightening scene I have ever seen. There must have been a really bad road accident because I have never seen so many emergency vehicles all in one place at one time. Two fire engines, about six police cars and some ambulances. We had to turn around and go a different route into town.
I don't normally pray as such but I did last night....hoping desperately that nobody had lost their life.
That piece of road has seen so many accidents even though it's just a country road. There is a speed limit of 40mph which nobody adheres to and I wouldn't walk along there if you paid me. Where the accident had happened is where another road comes down off the side of a hill and drivers just fly out of there as if traffic on the main road doesn't exist. You certainly have to have your wits about you when approaching it as they will carry on coming even when you are almost upon them and DD has had to slam her anchors on more than once. It is very scary indeed.

Well I had best go and get this poor old excuse for a body into gear and crack on with something.

Have a lovely day.
Sheila-x-

Pleased As Punch!!!

Now that the cold weather is here and we are using the new oil heating more I am wondering why on earth we didn't change over sooner. We are all amazed that we are so warm and cosy without having to lug buckets of coal and lay the fire.
We don't have the heating on a timer as we prefer to just put it on when needed. There was never any heat in the morning when we had the coal fire so we don't see the need to wake up to a hot house and similarly none of us like a warm bedroom so it is turned off to leave time for the rooms to cool a little before we go to bed. It is turned on late afternoon so that the house is warm for when DD gets home from working outside and turned off at about 9pm.
All in all it is working out to be quite economical so far.....and there is the added bonus of no mess.

Last night I decided to take advantage of us being in town dropping Ruby off and pick up some things off my list for the festivities. I was lucky enough to be in T***o at the right time and picked up a half price loaf to use for my bread sauce and £5 worth of sprouts for 90p. I can't believe they were clearing them out as they look perfectly fresh to me. They are now in the cool of the shed to keep them nice until Christmas Eve when DD does all the veg prep.
All I have left on my list now is salad and carrots which will be fetched on Saturday morning and that will be me done with town. No going out on Christmas Eve for me.

Today I aim to make a pan of soup which will be the starter on Christmas Day.....as requested by Ruby.....and I'll make the bread sauce too so that will be more of the meal sorted.
I also need to have a sort out in the fridge and make some space but I am putting that off as long as I can.....it's cold in there you know.
Tea tonight......I haven't a clue.....lol.

OK....off to warm my hands on a cup of coffee and then on with the chopping.

Are you all having a lovely day?
Sheila-x-

The Day After The Nightmare!!!

Poor old Smudge....he must have worn himself out yesterday as he done nothing but sleep since we got him calmed down.
I must admit I still feel a bit sick but I'm sure once I get stuck into my jobs today I'll be able to get over it.

Lots to do. The Christmas wrapping stuff can finally go back upstairs along with some other stuff that has no business being here in the dining room. 
Ruby is coming for tea today instead of tomorrow and it's really cold so I think she will love a cottage pie to warm her up so I need to make that but it won't be too bad as I had some prepared meat in the freezer.
Just a pan of potatoes for the topping and some veg to prepare.
I want to clean the kitchen windows and the cooker is also on the list to be done but I might do that on Friday.
There's a bazillion little things want doing too but I'm sure they all matter more to me than they do to anyone else so if they don't all get done what does it really matter in the grand scheme of things.

My least favourite job is peeling the potatoes so if I start there the day can only get better...lol.
Coffee first and then I shall get on.

Have a happy day.
Sheila-x-

Traumatised!!!

Andy and I had to go out this morning. When we go out and leave Smudge alone we are always as quick as we can be because he doesn't like being left so we were only gone for two hours.
I can't even begin to describe the mess the house was in when we got back. I have had to shampoo the carpets through four rooms. I am still shaking with the shock.
In future I think we won't be able to leave him alone at all which is going to make things quite difficult.
My poor little boy....he's never done anything quite like this and I think it has traumatised him. He won't settle down and he is trembling badly and I am really worried about him.

I'm off to give him some cuddles and see if I can settle him down.

Sheila-x-

The Right Kind Of Day........!!!

........for staying in and finishing off some jobs.
It's miserable out there today. Not overly cold but very grey, misty and wet so the trip to and from the tumble dryer is enough for me.

Andy has gone to deliver cards and presents over the border in Nottinghamshire, DD has just nipped in to little town for a few essentials and I am tidying in the dining room ready to finish some gift wrapping so that it can all be cleaned and have it's corners poked at this next week. We are not eating in there on Christmas Day but it will be a useful place to stash the girls gifts until after lunch.

The freezer is just about full to bursting now with homemade goodies all ready to be popped into the oven or warmed through on the day. I think all I have left to do is the mince pies and the bread sauce.
Christmas lunch should be a breeze....she says hopefully...lol.

Right.........it's time for a coffee and then on with the tidying.
Hope you are all having a lovely weekend.
Sheila-x-

Stupid 'O' Clock!!!

I didn't get into bed until 2am.
Smudge decided by 4:30 am that I had laid down for long enough and started padding around the bedroom and stopping every few minutes to scratch himself with much thumping on the floor and other accompanying noises.
I gave up and got up and there is no sense going back to bed as I shall oversleep then which I really don't want to do today.

My plan for today is to get dropped in town and spend some time hunting for some small gifts for DD to open on Christmas Day. I hope I get a good dose of inspiration somewhere along the way as I haven't a flippin' clue what to get her. She is not a 'girly' girl so no make up or glittery things and she doesn't have a favourite perfume so come on Big Town help me out.

I have made the most ridiculous faux pas by taking some sausage out of the freezer to use to make some sausage, chestnut and cranberry rolls for Christmas Day and have just realised that I am not going to be able to freeze them when they are made. So that will be sausage, stuffing and apple sauce cobs for tea tonight then and I will buy some more while I am in town.
What a flippin' numpty.

These got made yesterday.........

Sage and onion with cranberry and orange wrapped in chestnut smoked bacon.

They are now in the freezer along with some braised red cabbage which I made using Marlene's recipe.
Thank you Marlene it turned out great and we love it.

Only the sausage rolls and some mince pies to go and I am done with Christmas cooking until the day.

Brrrrr......it's cold down here. I think I shall have a nice hot cup of tea and a bit of a browse round the internet.

Have a lovely day whatever you are doing.
Sheila-x-

So Weird!!!

Yesterday it was bucketing down with rain all day and got even worse after it got dark and it was freezing cold when DD and I were out shopping.
At around 1:30am the rain was so loud on the dining room roof that I couldn't hear myself think and then all of a sudden it started snowing big fat heavy flakes which even on the soaked ground were laying.....and then it froze over and the roads and paths are absolutely treacherous now.
I won't be going anywhere today then.
There were plans to be making Christmas food for the freezer but a phone call from DS has put a halt on that until later on as I am having a little visitor in the shape of Miss Moo while Daddy goes to watch Ruby in her Carol Concert. She will need lunch and I am very, very happy to put off the domestic stuff.

Another job off the Christmas list finished last night....the cards are written on and ready for Andy to hand deliver at the weekend. We don't send anywhere near as many cards as we used to so I think the stash bought in the sale last year will do for another year at least. I have been really good and not bought any more this year even though I have been sorely tempted.

We've still not had our egg and chips which I have been promising all week so they are on the menu for tonight although we won't eat until just after 7pm when Andy finishes work as he wants it as well.....and I am not cooking twice.

Well I had best go and Moo proof the house. She will be here in about an hour.

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

Calm And Cosy!!!

The jobs are done, Smudge is sleeping really peacefully and I am just about to have a nice cup of tea and get out the notes I have made for the Christmas food needs and preparations to see what can be picked up tonight when I go shopping.
Pretty much everything is in either the freezer or the store cupboards but it doesn't hurt to check just in case I missed something.
This weekend I will be making sausage rolls, mince pies and stuffing for the freezer and I am also considering doing braised red cabbage to pop in there too.
The only thing I am struggling with is what to do for pudding. Nobody ever wants Christmas pud being either too stuffed to eat it or they don't like it so I like to do something a bit lighter.
Maybe I will get hit by a bolt of inspiration or maybe I will have to trawl the internet for ideas. I need to hurry up and decide though.
It's so nice and cosy in here that I doubt I shall want to move when it comes to time to go out but if we go as soon as DD arrives home we'll be able to come back and get snuggled down and hopefully have a couple of hours or so to enjoy something on tv before Andy comes home and takes charge of the remote.

What are you all up to today?
Sheila-x-

Men!!!

Why is it that men if they can find a spanner to throw into the works will invariably find one and bugger everything up.
Yesterday was planned with military precision....Smudge to the vets for the day for his blood tests......DD primed and ready to go directly from work to pick him up and be advised as to results of said blood test and Momma of the house to get a well deserved break from constantly opening the back door for a dog who sometimes wants to out but more often just wants me to hold it open while he has a sniff of the air.
Andy decided to call the vet to see if he could fetch him back before he went to work....rushing about and leaving himself virtually seconds to turn around and get out for work. I had to try and get a message to DD and hope that it was passed on so that she didn't go into town on a wasted journey.
On top of that he spent most of his time snapping and snarling because he had had to pay what he thought was a £700 bill for blood tests when in actual fact he had misheard and it was only £70.
I am still waiting for an apology but I will probably have battered him to death before that materialises.
I say again.....Men!!!

Anyhoo it turns out that Smudge does have Cushing's Disease....not curable but it is treatable with medication and regular blood tests to check that the medication is suiting him and doing it's job. Apparently with the right dose we should get our gorgeous little boy back to pretty much normal fairly quickly.

A very happy two hour treat yesterday when Ruby came a day early for her after school tea. We all had tomato soup and toasted cheese sandwiches which went down very well as it was so cold outside.

Today I have just about done my jobs and am planning on egg and chips for tea and not going anywhere in this foul weather of wind and thrashing down rain.
I'm just going to wash up the lunch plates and then I need to go upstairs to check if there are any more gifts that need wrapping so that I can get rid of all the wrapping paraphenalia out of my way.

This got done yesterday.........

.........so that is all the decorations done for this year apart from decorating the table for Christmas Day.

Hope you are all having a lovely and cosy day out of this rain.
Sheila-x-

We Escaped!!!

About an hour after doing my blog post yesterday a neighbour let us know that the main roads were clear enough to travel so DD and I managed to nip up to the garden centre which was blissfully quiet for a Sunday. When she had gone up the day before she had seen a perfect gift to add to Andy's pile for Christmas and was worried that if we couldn't get up there until next weekend they wouldn't have any left.
We got one and so now that is Andy done and dusted.

We also nipped to T***o to get some milk and a few other bits and bobs just in case we get more snow on top of what we already have and by contrast it was absolutely mad in there.
I doubt we shall go very far for the rest of the week.

Today has not really started as planned. I overslept so am a little behind with things so far.
A cup of coffee and some toast should get me moving and then I'll spend the rest of the day catching up.

Keep safe and warm.
Sheila-x-

White Out!!!

I can't believe it.......we are snowed in.
Andy has been to the main road and says it looks very dodgy so I don't think we will be going anywhere today. We have just watched a 4x4 struggling to get up the slight incline of our road so DD's little car stands no chance.
I think it will turn to rain later by the looks of it though.

Andy has just let me know that he has to do extra hours at work tomorrow so he will be leaving the house at 8:30am. Perfect.....I will do the shampooing tomorrow as I won't have to wait until he goes to work just after lunchtime. That means I can get some other jobs finished off today, do the carpet tomorrow and get my day off on Tuesday....yay....sorted.

So today....finish the laundry, finish the gift wrapping and decorate the kitchen dresser.

I hope you are all warm and safe today.
Sheila-x-

When Can I Go To Bed?!!!

Sleep and I just aren't getting along very well at the moment. I think it was getting on for 5am this morning before I managed to drift off and I am shattered.

The carpet shampooing has been shuffled on to tomorrow's list as I just haven't the energy to push the beast round but the beef stew is bubbling away on the stove and the gift wrapping for DS is almost done. 
I started the laundry instead of doing the carpets so now my day of doing what I want has been moved to Tuesday.....sadly because Smudge will be at the vets for the day being tested for Cushings Disease due to certain symptoms he has. I am almost certain it's not that but I am very scared of what I think it might be which is Cognitive Behaviour Disorder which is basically doggy dementia.
I was watching him last night when he went to get a drink of water and just stood staring at his bowl......he pee'd and he really didn't know he was doing it.
We will see what the vet says.

We have had a couple of snow flurries this morning. Lovely big fat flakes but they haven't settled as the previous bit we had has melted and everywhere is damp. It was nice to watch though.

DD went off to the garden centre this morning as she wanted a new fleece jacket which she got but she also returned with the most bargainous pair of boots for me.....£10 reduced from £50 from Cotton Trader's. My toes will be very cosy if we get any amount of snow.

Very simple bacon, lettuce and tomato rolls for tea while we watch a film or something but first I need to go and hoover up the carrot crumbs and threaten severe pain to anyone who makes a mess before I get a chance to sit in a clean and tidy living room.....lol.

Hope you are all having a great weekend and staying safe and warm if you are one of the areas getting lots of snow.
Sheila-x-

Here Comes The White Stuff!!!

It started snowing in the early hours of this morning just as I was going to bed  I didn't get over excited because it was also raining and I didn't think it would settle.
Well those brave little snowflakes fought a good battle and won and we woke up to a slight covering on the rooftops and cars.
We've just had another little fluttering and if it gets any heavier it will lay as everywhere is pretty dry now.
As much as I love it I'm not really ready for it yet. 
Christmas week would be lovely.

I have just been into town with Andy as I needed to pick a few things up. There was a list and I knew how much I would be spending but forgot to factor in the Andy effect....he should not be allowed in shops....lol.

I'm writing my blog post now trying to fend off the inevitable job of chopping the veg for our evening meal. Chicken stir fry with sesame noodles. Love the stir fry....hate chopping the veg.

This weekend will be busy as I need to shampoo the living room and kitchen carpets.....a thankless job as I know they will want doing again before Christmas due to a certain little doggy boy. I need to finish the hand stamped wrap and bags for DS and write on the few cards we send. Hopefully that will all get done tomorrow and also leave me time to start a beef stew for our Sunday lunch giving me a virtually free day on Sunday to do something I want to do rather than cleaning and feeding. I think I am going through one of those phases where I am sick of thinking what to do for meals and sick of cooking too but I'll be better once I start on making things for the festive season.

Time to stop waffling and go and chop those flippin' veg.

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

Pickling In Me PJ's!!!

I was up way earlier than I wanted to be this morning because Smudge was werriting at the back door. No going back to bed else I would have fallen asleep and probably not surfaced until lunchtime and I wasn't having that.
PJ's were warm and cosy so I just slung my apron on and started on the cucumbers and onions I had left draining overnight. I'm just waiting now for the jars to finish sterilising and that is one job out of the way today.


For the life of me I can't seem to get a good picture of the Christmas tree so I have had to lift a picture from my Pinterest board taken in 2015.
The tree is pretty much the same except that we have added a giant lollipop to the topper and removed the giant poinsettia. We have also added one new decoration of a front door with a wreath.

The garland on the mantelpiece looks lovely although looking at the photo I do spot a little bare space so it needs some tweaking.

The living room looks so cosy at night with all the lights on.

The kitchen dresser will be done in the next couple of days and then I think I am done with decorating and all the boxes can go back upstairs out of the way.

The weather was awful this morning when I got up. Still some of the strong wind from overnight and then we had a short thrashing down of rain. Now it looks to be quite sunny but there are still some grey clouds about so I expect we will get more of the wet stuff before the day is out.

I managed to pick up a ham when I went shopping last night. This will be cooked and used for our traditional Christmas Eve meal of ham, salad and chips. I'm hoping that I still have the A**a Christmas book from last year as I would like to do the rum and blackcurrant ham I did last year which was beautiful.
The festive food is just about sorted apart from fresh stuff and the few bits I want to make in advance to freeze.....pork, chestnut and cranberry sausage rolls, mince pies and some cheese straws to go with Ruby's request for my no vegetable vegetable soup which is packed with veg but whizzed down to remove all the lumps....lol. She would like it for a starter on Christmas Day.

I'm starting to flag a bit now with being up so early so I think a nice cup of coffee to spark me up and then on with the jobs.

*Edited to add that I have just tried to make myself a cup of coffee with a teabag.......maybe I should have just gone back to bed.....lol*

Hope your day is wonderful.
Sheila-x-

Cooking On Gas.....!!!

.......well I would be if we weren't all electric...lol.

Jobs are getting done at a good rate and I even got the mantlepiece garland done-ish yesterday.
I've never had one before so wasn't quite sure how much decoration it would take........more than I thought so when we drop Ruby off tonight I will go and purchase a pack of snowflakes to brighten it up.
Next up will be the dresser in the kitchen but I need a snow blanket for that so will pick that up tonight too.

Had one of those awful moments at 2am this morning when the phone rang. It only rang once and I didn't get to answer it but my sixth sense just told me that Andy was unwell and was being sent home from work. Sure enough within 20 minutes he was home feeling very sick and with a bad headache.
Packed him off to bed with painkillers and a mug of warm milk and he seems to be a lot better this morning after a long soak in the bath.
He says he will be going in tonight so I expect he will go back to bed shortly.

I am just off for a bath myself. I love having one during the day....it feels rather decadent.

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

Checking It Twice....Or Maybe Three Times!!!

Well.....I rather stunned myself yesterday by getting quite a few jobs ticked off my list....more than I was expecting to get done.....and have now made a new list. I have checked it twice and unfortunately there is no crossing off to be done....lol.

More gifts were wrapped last night and I have reclaimed two more shopping bags which I have been using to keep everything tidy.
Tonight I will be making a start on wrapping gifts for DS but this will be a bit of a long job as I am hand stamping the wrap and bags for him........it was a fun idea when I thought of it but now it's just making me wonder exactly how crazy I am....lol.

There are two lots of meal prep to do today.....cold meat and salad with some new potatoes for tonight and some mince to cook for a cottage pie tomorrow. Andy has also asked for a jar of bread and butter pickles so I might make them today or I might leave them until later in the week. I'll see what I feel like and how well I get on with everything else today.

Have a lovely day.
Sheila-x-

This Week-It's All About The Cleaning!!!

This week I shall be putting on me big girl knickers and cracking on with some cleaning and adding a bit more Christmas to the living room. Me polishing and window cleaning arm will be going nineteen to the dozen and I'm sure my back will be screaming by the time I have done with it all.
I love having a clean house but boy does it cause me some pain to achieve it.
DD has gone back to work today and Andy is on nights. He will be off to bed later to catch up on some sleep so I'll have a bit of time with nobody but the dog under my feet although he will probably sleep most of the day.
Tonight I will try and get the wrapping finished off. I'll be glad to get all of me shopping bags back in the car where they belong.

Home cooked fish and chips for tea tonight and I think a nice bowl of salad to go with it as Andy has gone off mushy peas and I must remember to get some mince out of the freezer as Ruby has requested cottage pie for Wednesday and I will need to get the meat cooked tomorrow as it always tastes so much better the day after it has been cooked.

So what are you all up to this week?
Whatever you are doing I hope you have a lovely week.
Sheila-x-

A Little Bit Of Peace In the Middle Of The Madness!!!

Today we are having a quiet day as a break from all the madness that is Christmas preparation.
Outside is a bit grim.....damp, drizzly and dark but inside is warm and cosy.
There is a tuna and sweetcorn bake topped with mashed potatoes and cheese in the oven smelling really good and Andy is watching Miracle On 34th Street on the tv.
Four years ago today I was actually on 34th Street in New York looking at the Macy's window displays and I am feeling rather nostalgic and wishing I was there today.

There is just one of the London gifts needing a bit of titivating and that job is done so I might spend the afternoon painting the drawers on my thread and sewing storage unit or I might just watch some You Tube videos....it depends what I feel like when we have had our meal.
This will probably be my last chance to do as I please until after Christmas Day so I'm going to make it count.

.......and on that note I think I had better go and see how our meal is doing.

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

Tea Towel Mansion Is Twinkling!!!

The tree is decorated and twinkling away and there are snowflakes dancing on the front of the house but there are still festive things to be done.
For the first time ever I am able to have a garland on the mantlepiece as we no longer have a coal fire and I need to dress up the kitchen dresser.
We've had a lovely time with Ruby but she has now gone home 😢 I would have been happy for her to stay another night but she has other things to be doing and I certainly have things I need to be getting on with.

I need to make time in the next week or so to do a really deep clean in the kitchen and the lounge and I'll be glad to get both of those jobs out of the way although it will only be about three quarters of the lounge really as the area where the tree is has already been done.

For the rest of today I have to sew and finish off the London gifts which didn't get done the other day due to the emergency babysitting .

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

Welcome To The Madhouse!!!

I'm a bit slack in the blogging department at the moment.
The peaceful week off with DD has turned into a mad kind of monster and we have hardly been home at all.
Yesterday we went out shopping for food just before lunchtime and didn't get in until gone 5pm then the phone rang with a request for an emergency babysitting session so it was a quick turnaround and off to sit with Miss Marlowe.
By the time that was done I was totally off the idea of cooking at nearly 9pm so I am thoroughly ashamed to say that we ate at Macdonalds.
Today I have cleaned the bedroom ready for Ruby and changed the everyday duvet set for a Christmas one, cleaned the bathroom and changed the everyday soap dispenser for a Christmas one and I am just about to run the hoover all through downstairs.
DD has built the tree and put the lights on ready for decorating tomorrow and she will be fetching Ruby from school shortly.
We'll have a quick breather and then we'll be out at 5pm for Ruby's Christmas Tree Weekend treat of tea at Frankie & Benny's and then back to watch some Christmas films and drink hot chocolate.
I should sleep like a log tonight if Miss Munchkin doesn't spend the night tossing and turning.....and nicking all the duvet....lol.

Hope you are all enjoying your Christmas preparations.
Sheila-x-