Rude Awakening!!!

Our smoke alarm seems to be on the blitz. It went off twice yesterday for no reason and then started screeching at some ungodly hour this morning making me jump out of bed and race down the stairs to switch it off.
It was fitted by the Fire Service. It's a sealed unit so you can't change the battery and is supposed to last for ten years. We have had it for no more than three years.
I think we'll buy one of our own this time so that we can change the battery when needed.

Oven cleaned yesterday so all nice and sparkling now.
Some presents wrapped but not all so I shall carry on with that today.
We decided against going in to Derby today as I'm not feeling great and there was nothing urgent to get so DD has just gone into the big town and I have stayed at home.
No big jobs to do and no cooking as Andy wants fish and chips tonight so just a tidy up and a hoovering session when he gets up.

We'll all be out tomorrow morning....DD and I will be at the Christmas Market and Andy is going down to look after the girls while DS goes to the hospital for an x-ray on his bad shoulder. I'm sure the girls will run rings around Grandad....lol.

Anything fun planned for your weekend?
Have a lovely one whatever you are doing.
Sheila-x-

A Day Of Two Halves!!!

Today I am starting off the day with the horrible job of cleaning the cooker. Both ovens and the hob need a really good scrub.
All change this afternoon....I am going to make a start on wrapping the Christmas gifts. Shopping for both Ruby and Marlowe is finished so that will be a huge part of the wrapping done today.
I am slowly gathering things for Andy. He is so hard to buy for but I think he will love some of the things I have for him.
DD is another one who is hard to buy for. As she is a working girl she tends to buy anything she needs throughout the year but again I think I have managed to gather some things she will like.

DD has a day off tomorrow so we are popping to Derby for some bits and pieces and then on Saturday we are going to a new Christmas Market at the racecourse. I haven't been able to find a list of traders so I don't know what it will be like. I hope it's good and I hope that the Christmas shopping will be done and dusted.

The oven should be ready to clean out now so I will go and get it done.
Thanks for dropping by today and I hope you have a lovely day.
Sheila-x-

Just A Quickie!!!

Making this post a quick one today while I have internet connection as it keeps dipping in and out today for some reason.

No Ruby today but I have still made the chicken pie. DDIL has an unexpected day off work so she is taking the girls out for tea and a play session.

A little bit of crafting yesterday..............

.....just very simple. I used some wooden tags from Poundland.....8 in a pack. I bought two packs and they were all fine but one which I had to throw away.
Buttons from my obscene stash and Christmas string and twine from my other obscene stash....lol.
The stitched outline was done with a fine permanent pen.

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

Doing The DIY Shuffle!!!

The DIY job got shifted over onto my list for today as I just ran out of time yesterday.
We have been noticing a rather nasty draught in the sewing room and on investigating we found that there is a gap between the windows and the wall underneath the sill.
The job is now done but not without a bit of hassle which always seems to be the way in this house...lol.
Andy bought me a tube of sealer yesterday but the flaming thing was too long to go into either of the contraptions we had for squeezing it out.
Not wanting to put all the furniture back until I could get the right one I improvised with a disposable piping bag and an icing nozzle after finding two bottles of squeezy sealer in the shed. It went on like a dream.
All the furniture is back now and I am having a bit of a rest. After shuffling around on my bottom for nearly an hour and moving furniture I am aching like Billyo.

Nothing outside today to inspire me to go out apart from a quick nip across the yard to fetch washing out of the dryer although I do have to go out tonight to do a top up shop as we have no eggs, hardly any bread and the milk situation is looking pretty dire. Ruby has requested chicken pie for tea tomorrow so I had best pick up some leeks so that I can get on with the filling in the morning.

I hope it's not too wet where you are.
Sheila-x-

Ruby's Christmas Weekend!!!

Ruby arrived just after 5pm on Friday and went home at 2:30pm yesterday and every single minute was filled with joy.

Friday night we just had some tea and then settled down to watch a couple of films with the obligatory popcorn.
Saturday morning we had to go into the big town to collect my glasses and then we started on the Christmas shopping list. Ruby helped to choose some clothes for Marlowe and soft old Ganma couldn't resist Ruby's shiny little eyes when she saw a party dress covered in sequins that change colour by pushing them up and stroking them down....and she looks awesome in it.
Next stop was a toy shop to search for a new baby doll for Marlowe and then Aunty DD was the soft one when she found some of Ruby's most favourite collectable figures at a ridiculous sale price so they had to come home too.
Back home....the tree was decorated beautifully by my two girls followed by fish and chips for tea and a cup of Ganma's special hot chocolate which also did double duty as dessert.....

.....aren't those snowman marshmallows just adorable?
Asda....£2 for quite a large bag.....only at larger stores it seems as they didn't have them at our local one.
The leftover candy cane teaspoons and marshmallows went home with Ruby so that I cannot be tempted to indulge in another.

Yesterday I cooked lunch at home while DD and Ruby visited the garden centre. She had an hour or so to play before we had to take her home and that was another Christmas Tree Weekend over and done with.

Christmas plans are sorted and we have no visitors this year although my Brother in Law may be coming to have his dinner but leaving shortly afterwards. 
DS is working Christmas Day so DDIL and the girls are having a pyjama day at home with her sister and then spending the day at home with DS on Boxing Day.
We are visiting for tea and gift exchanging on Christmas Eve. I will be cooking a ham to take down for tea.

Today I have a bit of DIY to do, a pile of laundry to get done and a casserole to make for tea so I will go and crack on.

Hope you had a lovely weekend and that you have a great week.
Sheila-x-

Black Friday!!!

My Christmas shopping list is set in stone and there is nothing we need in the way of household appliances really so I will not be doing any shopping for the sake of it today.
The only thing I could do with is a new mixer as mine broke when I was making the buttercream for the birthday cupcakes at the beginning of the month.
The only ones in the sales will be the super expensive ones which will end up costing more than I want to pay anyway so I will be passing on that.
Reading in the papers over the last few days I can't see that there are many real bargains out there as a lot of the things have actually been offered at lower prices earlier in the year than they are being offered for today.

Just a few more things to do today before Miss Doodle arrives this evening and then we will be able to have our hot chocolate/popcorn/film night in our pj's.

(A short break here while I went and cleaned up the mess Andy just made by kicking over the dogs water bowl😖 Luckily the beast was still in the kitchen after the shampooing session yesterday so I sucked it up with that and it should be dry in an hour.)

Anyhoo after I have fetched my glasses and the tree has been decorated tomorrow I think we might take Ruby for a ride out somewhere....probably just to the garden centre for afternoon tea and a play in the playground if the weather is fit.
She won't be going home until early evening on Sunday so lunch at the pub may be on the cards. I'll see what Andy feels like as he is a bit off it at the moment...aka....a bit grumpy.

I found a large tube of sausage meat in the freezer so that will be turned into little meatballs cooked in a tomato sauce to serve up with some pasta and garlic bread for tea tonight. Ruby may well have had her tea before she arrives as she is not coming straight from school today so I can freeze hers for either another day or a lunch for DD or Andy.

Right....I will go and finish off the last few bits and then I might go and wallow in bath for a few minutes to get rid of some aches and pains.
Have a wonderful weekend.
Sheila-x-

White World!!!

I am so glad that I was up early this morning to see the heavy frost we had. Everywhere was white and it almost looked like it had snowed.
Now it is all gone but the cold remains so the heating is on.

I'm just waiting for Andy to leave for work before I get the beast out for the carpets. He likes a bit of peace before he goes and I can't say I blame him. In the meantime I will mix up another batch of the home made carpet cleaner.

Scotch eggs and salad for tea tonight for quickness as we have to go out for a while after we have eaten.

Last Saturday I had to go for my eye test and I decided to have some new glasses. I have worn the same style for years so I have gone for something a little bit different this time. I can't wait to pick them up on Saturday. I didn't go for anything expensive as I am terribly abusive to me poor glasses. I leave them all over the place, I sit on them and have even been known to drop them into a pan of gravy when I was holding them and trying to stir at the same time....lol.

I can hear Andy's tummy rumbling from here so it might be a good idea to go and feed him before he fades away.

Have a smashing day.
Sheila-x-

A Little Upcycling For Christmas!!!

I felt the need to have a bit of a break from housework this morning so I have been making some pretty things for the house for Christmas.

The two jars at the back were already candle jars but I removed the rather tired decorations and cleaned them up.

The glittery one was coated in Mod Podge and then a coarse white glitter before I wrapped the neck in an off white jute twine which I then decorated with some bits stolen from a bag of Christmas pot pourri and some lovely striped ribbon. This will have an LED candle placed in it.

The second one just has green jute twine around the neck and it has been filled with goodies from one of my impulse purchases from Harrogate......a bag of assorted dried fruits scented with cinnamon, orange and cloves. It smells divine.

The silver filigree container had a candle in it so I have just cleaned it out with some white spirit and filled with some of the fruits.

From the bag I have managed to fill four containers so one for the sewing room, one for the kitchen and two for the living room. There are four fruits left which will go into an organza bag and be hung in the hall.

It's beginning to smell a lot like Christmas 😁

Other than that I have done absolutely nowt today but I will make up for it tomorrow as the carpet cleaning beast needs to come out.....again......as Smudge has had several accidents. We do clean them up as he does them but it still seems to leave marks that need the beast to remove them no matter how hard we scrub.

The oven is just about to go on for some jacket potatoes for tea and they will be served with cheese and beans....DD's favourite.

She'll get a shock tomorrow as we are having salad....lol.

Two weeks today since the head shave and I can report that my hair is slowly growing back. There is about a quarter of an inch of soft fuzz now.  Way more of it is white than I would actually like but hey ho....I'll see what it's like when it has grown back to a reasonable length and then decide if I am going to go back to dyeing it.

Hope you are all keeping warm today.

Sheila-x-

Filthy Weather!!!

It's absolutely foul outside today so I have been pottering around inside and getting things ready for the weekend.
I have achieved so much more than I expected so I may treat myself to a Christmas film on You Tube later on....my guilty pleasure when I have the time to spare 😁

I'm so glad that I set to and made the stew yesterday. DD will be soaked to the skin and cold when she gets in so the heating will be on and I will have a bowl of it ready for her when she has got into some dry clothes.
Andy should have had it for lunch today but he had to go to work for 9am instead of 1pm and won't be home until 9pm so he will have it for lunch tomorrow.
I sent him off with a portion of fish pie so he has something hot for his break.

The sofa blankets have been washed this morning ready for DD and I to snuggle up tonight and carry on watching Call The Midwife on DVD.

Well my tummy has started rumbling so I will go and remedy that before I do anything else. Usually if I have breakfast I can last out until tea time but obviously not today.

Hope you are all keeping warm and dry.
Sheila-x-

A Morning In The Kitchen!!!

Apparently it is going to get really cold this week so I have spent a morning in the kitchen cooking lunch for Andy and preparing a huge pan of beef stew.
It is now simmering on the stove and smells very nice indeed.

I'm just having a quick break for a cuppa and then I have more jobs to do in the kitchen as the fridge needs a good sort and a wipe out. I'll make a list of anything we are short of and if DD feels like it we'll go out and do a top up shop tonight.

The Christmas tree is definitely going up this weekend. Ruby will be staying from Friday night until Sunday to help with that so I had better check supplies of hot chocolate and marshmallows. We already have some candy cane teaspoons which we picked up at The Range a few weeks ago and she is very excited about those.

We had a very exciting letter in the post the other day telling us that our mortgage will be finished on January 1st. We have paid a couple of large sums off it over the last couple of years so there will be a nice little lump sum returned to us to start off the new year which can be put towards something that needs doing in the house. I am hoping kitchen but we'll have to wait and see.

The Christmas shopping is going well. Ruby's is finished and just needs wrapping. Two gift cards to buy and another two will be done and then I just have Marlowe's, Andy's and DD's to finish off.....before the end of the month hopefully.

How are your festive preparations going? Have you started or have you finished?

Have a lovely day.
Sheila-x-

Harrogate!!!

Well....I can't believe that our trip to Harrogate has been and gone already.
We had a good time and came back with very sore legs and feet after all of the walking round.
I can't say that I got all of my Christmas shopping done but I did get a few things off my list and also a couple of impulse buys.
Lunch on Thursday was the most gorgeous hot meat roll....turkey for me and pork for DD........ bought from the market and eaten sitting in glorious sunshine....although there was a very spiteful cold breeze blowing.
We had planned to treat ourselves to lunch at Betty's Tea Rooms but the queue was very long so we decided against it.
We checked out of the hotel as soon as we got up and started for home and somehow we missed our exit for the M1 and ended up nearly in Lincolnshire...lol.....but we found a route home across country and called in to Derby for breakfast and yet more shopping for things from the list.

Since getting back I have been catching up on some jobs and today I am doing a roast chicken lunch before I go off to look after Ruby and Marlowe while DS takes DDIL out to partake of the treat he bought her for her birthday.

There is another Christmas Fair we would like to visit a bit closer to home on December 1st so I think our Christmas tree will be going up next weekend so that Ruby is able to come and help. so over the next week there will be some poking and dusting in corners going off....lol.

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

What A Grey Day!!!

We are not forecast to have rain but it's looking pretty iffy out there today. I only have a small load of laundry to dry so I think it can go into the tumble dryer and then it's done with.

Tidying and shifting still going on. My arms and shoulders are killing me but I'll just grit my teeth and crack on with it hoping that I get it done before Ruby arrives later.

A Ruby favourite for tea tonight....chicken wraps with corn on the cob so no real slaving over a hot stove although I do want to make a batch of cupcakes for her so that I can use some gorgeous sprinkles I picked up for her the other day.

Once we have taken her home tonight DD and I will come back and pack our overnight bags ready for tomorrow and have an early night as we want to be up and on our way to Harrogate early in the morning to try and miss the rush hour traffic.

There will be no post tomorrow but I will be back on Friday and with a bit of luck I will be able to say that my Christmas shopping is done.

Have a lovely day.
Sheila-x-

Piles!!!

A pile of junk, a pile for donation and a pile to take upstairs.
I am half heartedly having a sort out in the sewing room which seems to have become a dumping ground for all sorts of stuff that doesn't belong in here or stuff that I don't use often enough for it to be stored in here.
The pile for upstairs is so big that I don't know where it will go once up there so under the bed will have to do for now.

The outside freezer and store cupboard are looking pretty healthy again after our shop yesterday. Lots of chicken, fish and veg for making warming meals. Just a visit to the butcher needed for other meats for a bit of variety which Andy and I will do at the end of the month.

It's very cold here today.The activity in the sewing room should be keeping me warm but it isn't so the the heating is on to take the chill off a bit. I think we are in for some rain too by the look of the thick grey clouds. It won't worry me for today as I am not going anywhere.

Hope you are all warm and cosy today.
Sheila-x-

Good Morning!!!

I am so sorry for the lack of blog posts over the last few days but I have been unwell. I started off with a headache on Friday and by Saturday I was aching and shivering like I was coming down with the flu and felt really quite ill. 
By yesterday afternoon I felt much better so I don't know what it was.

Today I am back on top form and was up early to get to the surgery for my results from last week and it was all good news. Blood sugars....good, blood pressure....good and weight....still coming off. No need to go back until April for my annual review. I am chuffed to bits.

Back home now and I am just about to make a start on a fish pie for this evening's meal and then when DD gets back from her eye appointment we are off into town to do some freezer shopping as the outside freezer is now empty and cleaned out ready for refilling.
Later on we will be doing a check on stocks of Christmas cards and wrapping paper to see if we need anything. I don't think we do as I did buy quite a few cards in the sale the year before last and we don't send many now. Paper should be OK as I now use brown Kraft paper and I'm sure we got lots last year so I'll just need to make some tags.
We'll also make a list of people we are buying gifts for this year and see what we can pick up in Harrogate on Thursday and Friday this week.
I shall feel better for having made a start.

Well I hope you all had a good weekend and that you will have a lovely week this week.
Sheila-x-

A New Total!!!

As of last night the total raised yesterday was £1,600 so we are all extremely grateful to everyone who supported us.

I'm quite liking the new look. It's a tad draughty though...especially on my neck which hasn't seen the light of day for years...lol.
Ruby thought it was great and wanted to use my head as a fuzzy felt board 😁

Today I am playing catch up with housework and laundry......and I have just shocked the hell out of myself by ironing a large pile of tea towels which had been forgotten in a basket and were really creased.

The 20p tin was emptied yesterday and yielded £164.80 so I'll be able to do lots of Christmas present shopping with that.
The food will be taken care of by our Love To Shop and T***o vouchers.

DD has gone back to work today after three days off so as a treat I am doing egg and chips for tea. This has been one of my favourite meals since I was a little girl but we don't have it too often these days.

Right....well that's the first load of laundry beeping at me to let me know it's finished so I'll go and sort it out.

I hope you have a lovely day today.
Sheila-x-

The Shave Has Been Braved!!!

...........and here is the proof...........

Please excuse my scabby lip which erupted with cold sores before the party at the weekend.

This morning the total raised stood at just over £1,000 but there has since been a raffle and more donations into the collection boxes at the event so once I know the final total I will post it.

Thank to anyone who donated via the link I posted in an earlier post.

Hope you are having a lovely day :)

Sheila-x-

Back To Normal...ish!!!

I could have stayed in bed for another hour this morning but had to be up early to go for a blood test, weight check and blood pressure check.
Weight....2 more kilos gone. Blood pressure.....not good but it did go down by the second check. Just need to wait until next week now to see if blood sugars are still falling.
Then....into town to do a top up shop for food essentials and a bottle of muscle soak as I am still aching badly after spending so much time on my feet last week and Saturday.
I also picked up a beautiful Thomas Kinkade jigsaw for £1.99 from Barnado's for DD and I to do on some cold weekend afternoons.

A busy day tomorrow....Brave The Shave at lunchtime and Ruby for tea.
Thursday I will have a good clean through the house and Friday I should be able to make a start on finishing a quilt for a Christmas gift. 
That is all the Christmas I am thinking about just for the moment as DD and I will be going to Harrogate next Thursday to The Christmas Market and I will hopefully find some nice gifts there......all paid for in advance as I have been saving 20p pieces in a tin since last Christmas and there should be a good bit in there.
It feels like I am pretty late starting this year but I wanted to get last weekend over and done with before I even thought about anything festive.

For the rest of the day today it is feet up and Call The Midwife on DVD with beans on toast and a nice cuppa for tea.

I hope you are having a nice peaceful day too.
Sheila-x-

That Was Some Party!!!

Well the planning and hard work paid off handsomely.....what an absolutely awesome night we had for DDIL's 40th birthday.
I cooked and baked for three days solid........

100 cupcakes and a small birthday cake which was not the planned cake. Waitrose had to come to the rescue with one of their ready to decorate cakes after I had a disaster with the one I had made.

The hall starting to shape up. It did look so much nicer when the candles were lit, the lights were dimmed and the DJ had projected a huge Happy Birthday onto the floor.

The Gin Bar set up and ready to go. I never knew that so much went into a drink of gin. Flowers, herbs and all sorts of mixers....quite bewildering. I had a tiny sip of violet gin and it was disgusting so I stuck with my can of diet coke...lol.

The sweet table which was Ruby's domain proved very popular.

......and that was all the photos I managed to get.
Once the kitchen was open for business I never stopped.
The hot meat rolls and desserts went down a storm,  we had some lovely compliments and even offers to go down to London and cater for other parties.....which I declined.

The party started with a dance by Ruby and DDIL to When I Grow Up from the stage musical Matilda which had me in tears followed by a speech by DDIL's sister and then a speech by DDIL who paid tribute to two friends she has lost in the last twelve months. Very emotional but lovely.
The DJ was awesome and I managed to get one dance in....one was enough as my poor legs felt broken by that time...lol.

What a wonderful night....give me a few weeks to get rid of the aches and pains and I wouldn't mind doing it all again.

I hope you all had a fabulous weekend too.
Sheila-x-

Baking Day....And Those Pumpkins!!!

Just a quick post today while I have a cup of coffee as it is baking day for the party.
I have to produce......
100 cupcakes plus a few spare for any disasters.
1 three layer sponge for the bigger cake.
50 portions of stem ginger sponge for desserts.

........these will decorate the cupcakes.......

.....they have taken way longer to make than I anticipated....over 100 of them.....but I think they were worth the effort.

Tomorrow will be meat cooking day and cake icing day so my oven is in overdrive at the moment.
Roll on party day so that I can have my kitchen back...lol.

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