A Sitting Down Job!!!

Ooooh me aching legs.
I feel like I have been on my feet all weekend.
Saturday was spent walking all around Bridgemere and Trentham and then a mad rush around T***o to pick up some veg for tea and some cake making stuff I needed.
Sunday was spent bending, stretching, pulling and pushing as I shampooed carpets and cleaned the bathroom so I think I have had pretty much enough exercise to keep me going for a month.....lol.
Today then I will be mostly sitting down and finishing off the pumpkins for the cupcakes which I started yesterday along with bobbing up and down to see to loads of laundry.

We had the most lovely experience in the Lakeland shop at Bridgemere. When I walked in from outside I was absolutely freezing and the greeter asked me if I was OK and would I like a hot drink. I jokingly told her that I was fine but I would come back in just over a week to take her up the offer when I had got my head shaved as I would be even colder then. We got talking then about her husband who has skin cancer and she called over another lady who's daughter has trained to be a nurse in Oncology.
Anyway to cut a long story short....they very kindly made a donation for us to add to the collection when we go down to be shorn next Wednesday and took our photograph to put into the internal newsletter.
What lovely, lovely people.

Well I had best go and get on.
I hope you all have a fabulous week.
My blogging and visiting may be a bit sketchy this week as I have loads to do to get ready for the weekend.
Sheila-x-

Early Bird!!!

I was almost up before I went to bed this morning as I wanted to get into town to the bakers to order the bread rolls for next Saturday. That is another job ticked off the list.
We managed to get home before the rain started and boy has it poured down since we got in.

The house has managed to stay remarkably clean and tidy this week so that all I have to do today is go around with a duster and have a quick hoover. 
There will be quite a bit of time to fill this afternoon so I am thinking that I will have a practice at making the little pumpkins before I set up my conveyor belt production at the weekend.

Tonight I will be off out to do a top up shop and tomorrow I am having a day out with DD at Bridgemere Garden Centre and Trentham Gardens. I need to visit Lakeland and while there is a store in Derby we can kill two birds by going to Bridgemere and calling at Trentham on the way home to see their Christmas displays.
Sunday I will be cleaning the upstairs carpets while DD cooks lunch and then more pumpkin making in the afternoon.
It's going to be a busy weekend.

What are you all planning for your weekend?
Sheila-x-

For Jules!!!

Jules....thank you so much for asking about the donation page....here is the link......

https://bravetheshave.macmillan.org.uk/shavers/julie-pratley

I will be sure to post a photo when I have had it done.

No Fire, No Problem!!!

Much as I love the oil fired heating for it's cleanliness I must admit that I do miss having a fire in the living room So over the last few weeks I have been collecting things for our fireplace to try and replace the glow of a comforting fire.........

......and I am loving LED candles.

They flicker gently, they are nice and clean and they save my scented candles as I now only have one burning on a side table.

Since I started seeing the TV adverts asking people to Brave The Shave for the Macmillan Nurses I have said that I would do it if the opportunity arose and so on November 7th along with DD and some of her work colleagues I am doing just that.
Short hair doesn't suit me so gawd knows what I will look like with a shaved head but I don't really care as it is for such a good cause.

.....and for Sharon.....this is the carpet cleaner recipe I used....

https://happymoneysaver.com/homemade-carpet-cleaning-solution/

I had to tweak mine a little as I didn't have Tide sachets....I cut open two of my laundry pods. I also didn't have the Astonish cleaner so substituted Flash floor cleaner and I reduced the amount of water to six pints.
It really does a good job. The rug I cleaned yesterday looks like new.

Today I am tidying the fridge and making tomato sauce before I clear the sewing table ready for the next lot of party crafting.....making teeny tiny pumpkins for the cup cakes. I probably won't start them until the weekend but at least I will have the room to start.

Have a wonderful day.
Sheila-x-

The Beast Had An Outing!!!

Well I quite surprised myself yesterday. I  actually dragged the beast out and got a couple of carpets shampooed.
The sewing room and the top end of the kitchen are done.
Today I will do the living room and the hall and then upstairs will be done on Sunday while DD cooks the lunch.
I used a home made recipe for carpet shampoo which I found online and I will definitely be using it again. It is absolutely brilliant and did a much better job than the branded cleaner I have used up to now. It also smells nicer which is a bonus.

No visit from Ruby this week as she will be off on a residential thing with school for a couple of days doing all sorts of exciting things like zip wiring, orienteering and climbing. I hope she has a fabulous time.
Tomorrow then I shall have a good sort out of the fridge and cupboards and DD and I will go out and do a top up shop.
Anything that needs using up will get made into a tomato sauce for the freezer ready for any recipe that calls for it....like the turkey meatballs which still haven't been made because I keep forgetting to take the mince out of the freezer....lol.

Anyhoo....I had best go and clear the floors ready for this shampooing session.

Have a great day.
Sheila-x-

Sunshiney Day!!!

It looks lovely outside this morning.
Sunshine and a hazy blue sky and not a breath of wind.
I have a couple of things I need to do out there so this may be just the day to get them done.

The carpets are in desperate need of a clean and have been on my list for a while. They keep getting pushed down to the bottom as the thought of dragging that beast of a machine around just fills me with dread. It's an excellent tool but soooo heavy.
I will try though to get that job sorted this week.

I'm just waiting for Andy to come back with the papers before I make a coffee  and then I shall get on with my day.

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

Our Usual Quiet Sunday!!!

After a fairly hectic day yesterday we have decided to stay at home today.
Roast beef has been roasted and eaten, the washing up is being done by Andy and I am just about to spend a bit of time catching up on the Family Cooking Showdown episodes I have missed and waiting for laundry to wash and dry.
Later on we shall snuggle down to watch more Downton Abbey. We have watched it before...probably three times but it is always worth a watch and we have nothing new in at the moment.

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

Thank You!!!

Thank you all so much for your lovely comments yesterday.
I am just about firing on all cylinders again after a trip out this morning and a good old intake of farm fresh air.
A few weeks ago our favourite butcher a few villages away retired and closed his shop but yesterday one of the young butchers who worked for him opened his own a shop on a farm in the same village.
This morning we have been up to order the meat for the party. The shop is small (we had to queue outside) but absolutely wonderful. They are stocking a fabulous range of the meats we are used to as well as veg and bakery so they will now become our go to butcher.

The heating has been fixed too this morning thank goodness as we will have Miss Doodle staying tonight.
The thermostat had actually come down in price to £68 and the plumber just charged us £10 for sorting it out so not as bad as we anticipated.

Now I am just having a bit of peace and quiet for five minutes before I go and do some prep for our evening meal. I am copying the Cajun chicken meal I have at the local pub and am hoping it turns out as nice as theirs.

Hope you have a lovely day and a wonderful weekend.
Sheila-x-

Me Pesky Head!!!

Three lots of zig zags between yesterday morning and tea time. No headache so I nipped out to The Range, got home and boy did I feel bad.It felt like someone was knocking nails into my shoulders and then the headache started.
It's still here this morning so I am going to have a quiet day and see if I can get rid of it.
Ruby will be here tomorrow and I don't want to be under par for her visit.

Have a lovely day.
Sheila-x-

Waiting!!!

I was so cold last night that I decided against going out and had a hot bath and snuggled under a blanket on the sofa instead.
Winter PJ's, fluffy socks and a hot water bottle kept me lovely and toasty when I went to bed and I had a fairly good night's sleep but got up this morning with the nasty zig zag migraine warning in my eye.
I am just waiting to see if it turns into the full blown headache.....hopefully it won't.

Also waiting for delivery of the new thermostat which the plumber has ordered. Ninety flippin' quid for a little white box. This one had better last a bit longer than eighteen months.

.....and waiting for the delivery of my order from a cake decorating company of some of the things I need for the birthday cupcakes including a new cupcake stand as ours has developed a distinct wobble.

My burst of energy yesterday seems to have pretty much seen off the job list for now so I think today may just be a lazy pottering day until it's time to cook tea. I'm not going looking for jobs to do....lol.

It doesn't look too bad outside today......there may even be a bit of sun.
Have a lovely day.
Sheila-x-

Happy Days!!!

I'm a bit later blogging today as I woke up with another excess of energy this morning and I cracked on with some housework as soon as I got up which is just not like me.
The kitchen got some attention and managed to stay clean and tidy until Andy got up. Now there is spilt tea and water all over one worktop which I will go and wipe up shortly as he never does.
The turkey mince is still in the freezer as I forgot to take it out last night so they will get done tomorrow.

Still no heating. The company the plumber spoke to about the faulty thermostat hadn't got back to him by teatime yesterday and I have heard nothing so far today.
The fluffy socks and hot water bottles are out and the sofa blankets are in use. I just hope it doesn't take too long.

I was hoping to have Ruby for tea on Thursday this week so that we could take her to the garden centre's Christmas Open Evening but forgot That Thursday is Brownie night. Instead she is staying over again on Friday night and DD and I will take her up for breakfast on Saturday morning. I want her to see the amazing miniature Christmas village set up they have this year. Usually they just display their Lemax pieces on a shelf with one out of it's box and working but this year they have an absolutely gorgeous set up. I am entranced by it and I think Ruby will be too.. I'll try and take some photos.

Cold as it is today we are just having a salad for tea. Nice and quick as I need to go to The Range tonight for a couple of things.

I hope you are having a lovely day.
Sheila-x-

The Weekend.......!!!

.....can be summed up in very few words......it rained, I cooked, we ate and the heating packed up.
How boring is that?

Friday afternoon was quite cold and as I was expecting Ruby I thought I would put the heating on to take the chill off a bit.
It didn't come on although we had hot water.
A quick call to the plumber and he came out on Saturday. The boiler is fine so the problem lies with the thermostat not communicating with the boiler. He will hopefully sort it for us today......I hope so anyway as it is another wet and cold day.
I did get a bonus of an unexpected sleepover with Ruby. We snuggled under the blankets and watched Harry Potter.
She had to go home straight after breakfast but it was lovely to have her for those extra hours.

The candle jars are almost finished and this picture is one of each of the colours I've done........

......and a close up of the leaf........

They have been stamped and triple embossed with a sprinkle of gold in each layer of clear. I am quite pleased with them.
Not bad for a load of old pickle jars....lol.

Today I have one and a half kilos of minced beef which I took out of the freezer last night and I will be turning that into some meals. A minced beef pie for tea tonight and one for the freezer and a couple of cottage pies for the freezer. Tomorrow I will make a couple of batches of turkey meatballs. They will all be handy to pull out as we get busy leading up to the party.

So cooking and laundry today.
What are you up to?

Enjoy your day whatever you are doing.
Sheila-x-

Blowing A Hooley!!!

Goodness me....it's wet and wild outside today so just the right kind of day for staying inside and doing some cleaning up ready for the weekend and a visit from Miss Doodle later.
There will just be Ruby and me for tea as DD will be rushing in to get changed and then straight back out to a leaving do for a colleague so I think hot dogs and popcorn while we watch a film will go down well.
Andy will have something when he comes in just after 7pm.

DD and I actually made it out for our meal last night. Sometimes we say we are going out and then change our minds in favour of something simple at home....especially if she has had a tiring day at work.
The meal was just gorgeous.....a starter of crispy halloumi with harissa dressing, pea shoots and fresh mint followed by chargrilled Cajun chicken with oven roasted cherry tomatoes, flat mushroom, onion rings and chips. Oh my it was sooooo good. No dessert as a starter and main are enough for us so we just came home and had a nice cup of tea.
She does spoil me.

Right....I shall go and get on. I have a heap of craft stuff that can be boxed up and go back upstairs to give me a bit more room to finish the jars on the table. It's looking a bit like a jumble sale at the moment.

Thanks for stopping by and have a lovely day.
Sheila-x-

Idiot!!!

I know maths wasn't my strong point at school but any idiot with an ounce of sense could work out that a party on November 3rd is actually three weeks away and not two as I had convinced myself.
Honestly....there is no hope for me.

Another job ticked off the list. I actually got the kitchen windows and frames scrubbed yesterday. It's a job I tend to put off sometimes as it's a bit of a task. The windows are a long way from the steps I have to stand on being beyond a worktop and a wide sill. I don't feel awfully safe doing them.
The curtains came down and are staying down. They are very old and they are never closed. Basically they are just dust and grease catchers.
As they are nice wide curtains they will be used as windscreen covers through the Winter should we get any bad weather.

There are just a couple of jobs left to do now that Andy has gone to work and then I am going to have a bit of an indulgent afternoon bath to make myself all nice and sparkly clean. DD is taking me out for tea today so I had better scrub up.

Have a wonderful day.
Sheila-x-

All The Leaves Are Brown!!!

Well not all of them as you can see....lol.

All of the leaves plus a few extras in case of mishaps are finally cut out and I have added some background texture to them with a stamp and Distress Ink.
Some of them are now triple embossed but they are currently weighed down to flatten them a bit before I shape them to add to the jars. They look really nice and I will show them to you once they are finished.

I thought I had better get a move on as yesterday I felt like I'd been smacked in the head with a hammer when I realised that the party is in two weeks....eeeek!!!.....and I still have a hundred miniature pumpkins to make to decorate the cupcakes. I went haring down to T***o to pick up some packs of the ready made icing before they ran out of the orange with it nearly being Halloween and just managed to get the five packs I needed thank goodness plus one pack of brown for the stem and a pack of green for the tendrils.
All I need to do now is order the cupcake cases and the sugar sprinkles and I will have everything I need.

I'm hanging fire on any meal prep until DD comes in and lets me know what she fancies. I have options for her to chose from. 
It's been quite warm today so she may not want a cooked meal.

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

A Bonus Day!!!

Today I have one of those rare days when Andy and DD both went to work early this morning and I have the house to myself.
Andy should be on an afternoon shift but today they are having what they call a safety day so he had to be there for 8am and will finish at 4pm. Plenty of time to get things done with no-one under my feet and no lunch to cook.
Not that I am doing anything terribly exciting but the kitchen curtains need washing and the window and frames need a good scrub. There is also a pan of homemade garbage soup in the fridge that needs portioning up for the freezer.....four packs of yellow sticker celery, a couple of onions and a pack of stir fry veg from the bottom of the freezer and some stock. It's very tasty.

We watched the last of Lucifer last night and managed one episode of Vikings. Lucifer was quite disappointing and messy. I don't think we'll bother with it if they make another series.

Despite a good start Smudge has decided that he doesn't like the food from the vet after all and we had to go back to his old food yesterday else he wouldn't have eaten anything all day so back to square one we go.

Cumberland sausage swirls for tea tonight with some veg. I'm sure they will be extra tasty as I picked them up reduced in Iceland a few weeks ago....lol.

Well have a lovely day. It's quite chilly here today but the sky is blue and the sun is shining.

Sheila-x-

Busy Days!!!

Plotting and planning for the party next month seems to be taking up quite a bit of time at the moment and I am loving it.
This morning I have been down to the village hall with DDIL to take a look at the new kitchen and it's facilities and now I have seen it it looks like things will be a lot easier than I was anticipating regarding the food so now I can replot and replan some things.

Yesterday DD was at work which meant a rather late lunch so after prepping it all I was able to get on with some jobs that I should have been doing today which now leaves me guilt free for an afternoon of watching Lucifer-Season 3 with DD who is off today.
I would like to try and finish it today as she was able to pick up Part One-Season Five of Vikings which is my most favourite series ever......and I want to start watching it.

A nice easy tea of salad while we watch.
I love those kind of days.

Hope you are having a fabulous kind of day too.
Hugs-x-

As Dull As Ditch Water!!!

Nothing overly exciting going on here this weekend.
Outside it is cold and wet so going out doesn't appeal very much.
DD has gone to drop her Winter duvet off to be cleaned and Andy is out picking up a few things we need so once I have finished tidying up I shall back working on the jars.

The windows did actually get done yesterday and I also scrubbed one side of the wood trim around the flat roof....only the one because one of the other sides I have to get Andy to do as it's very awkward and I can't move the guinea pig cage to get at the other one as it's huge and heavy so Andy will have to help me with that.

We finally have Smudge on a trial diet from the vet. He likes the food so far even though I think it smells disgusting. We'll see how he goes with it.

If it stays this cold we will be having the heating on tonight and snuggling up in front of the tv in our pj's with hot dogs.

Have a lovely weekend.
Hugs-x-

It's A Grey Old Day!!!

It's a very grey and still day here in our little corner of Staffordshire. There's a slight chill in the air but nothing too bad so I will be out doing the windows today.
I don't mind doing the windows it's the wiping away of the daddy long legs corpses and the spider webs from the sills that freaks me out. Thank gawd for Marigolds so at least I don't have to touch them.

Jimminy Cricut has been pulled from under the bed and bought downstairs ready for my leaf cutting session later and I will finally be using the pack of Autumn coloured card stock  bought from Michael's in New York nearly five years ago and I am very glad that I still have it as good card stock is quite hard to find around here and not something I would order online as I like to see and feel it before I buy it.

DDIL and I are meeting at the party venue on Monday to decide on the tables we are going to use so that we can then get some idea of how we will set them out and I will get to have a nosey at the new kitchen that has been refitted since the last time we used the hall as that will be my domain for the evening...lol.
It's all getting very exciting now.

For today though it's back to the more mundane as those windows won't do themselves will they?

Have a wonderful day.
Sheila-x-

The Day Ran Away & Ruby Makes Tea!!!

I don't know what happened to yesterday but it went by in a flash and it wasn't until very late last night that I realised that I hadn't written a blog post. I couldn't even tell you what I did all day to be honest but there you go....another sign of old age creeping in I expect....lol.

What I can tell you is that there was a visit from Miss Doodle and she had requested a Feta cheese salad for tea with a mint dressing. She wanted to help but first she wanted to get out of her school uniform and into one of Ganma's t shirts as she always does and then we set to........

She loved crumbling the cheese and I don't know if it was just because she made the salad but she wolfed hers down and declared it so yummy.

Dessert was Greek yoghurt with honey, fresh raspberries and a crushed biscuit topping.........

.....really delicious.

I just realised that she didn't put her order in for next week so I might do a cottage pie.

Some more jars have been collected for decorating for the party so I will probably get onto those today and fetch the Cricut down tomorrow to get the leaves done. Once they are finished they can be boxed up and that's a job done.

There is some chicken marinading in Cajun spices for tea tonight and some salad left to go with it so another nice easy day in the kitchen.

Thanks for dropping by.....and have a lovely day.
Sheila-x-

What Is Going On?!!!

I had to go out and do a bit of a top up shop last night and pick up a couple of things for the store cupboard and freezer so I went into T***o for quickness. The shelves were so bare that I'm sure I could have been forgiven for thinking they were closing down....honestly it was that bad.
Salad aisle.....empty, frozen fish freezer....empty and fresh fish chiller.....empty. The yellow sticker veg section has disappeared and I know it was there the other day as I picked up some packs of celery for soup making.
I'll be popping in again on Wednesday so we'll see what it's like then.

No windows cleaned yesterday as I got sidetracked by glue and glitter and I'm not doing them today as it's cold and windy out there. They'll be done before the weekend.

Up until now I have spent the morning in the kitchen putting up the red cabbage and making a huge pot of beef and four bean chilli. I think we'll have some for tea tonight and then the rest can be boxed up in portions for DD and Andy's pack ups. DD says it's getting quite chilly now when she is at work so the salads are getting knocked on the head in favour of something warm when she goes in for her lunch.

After a disturbed night I am feeling quite tired today so I think I am going to make myself a cup of tea and go and have a sit on the sofa. I very rarely use the living room during the day but half an hour with my feet up sounds pretty good right now.

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

You Can Tell It's Autumn.......!!!

.......as today I am going to be cutting up red cabbage ready for pickling.
Andy loves it. I am not a fan but I always do him a good big jar to last him a while.....if he doesn't eat it all with his Christmas pork pie.
No onions to pickle this year as we still have two very large jars left from last year so I think I might have a go at making some tomato and chilli jam to have with the Christmas ham.

The hessian and raffia have been fixed to the jars I have collected. I just need to pick up the ones DDIL has and do those then I can get the Cricut machine out and do all the leaves. 
I am so glad I didn't get rid of that machine and the cartridges when I gave up making cards.

It's a lovely bright but cool day here in Staffordshire and I have come over all domestic goddess. I will be going outside to clean windows and tidy up the herb table later....but first I will go and tackle that cabbage.

Have a fabulous day.
Sheila-x-