Totally Amazing!!!

As the day wore on yesterday I felt less and less like going out to the cinema but I dragged my sorry carcass out and I am so glad that I did. Bohemian Rhapsody was totally amazing.
I have loved Queen since I was a teenager (and once got banned from a pub for playing Killer Queen constantly on the jukebox...lol). I expected to be a little underwhelmed but not a bit of it and I can't wait for March 4th when the DVD is released.
I am almost tempted to go and see it again tonight.

Not much going on here today. DD has gone for a little trip into Derby, Andy is watching telly and I am doing laundry and tidying the sewing table ready to set out a jigsaw for DD and I to do over the next couple of days.
I was going to bake but there is enough sweet stuff which needs using up so I'll leave that for now.
Tea is sorted as the gammon was cooked yesterday and I just need to make a bowl of salad and defrost some rolls to have with it.

I hope you are all having a lovely New Year's Eve and I wish you A Very Happy and Healthy 2019. May it be full of everything you wish for.
Sheila-x-

Apologies!!!

How very rude of me to forget to thank everyone who left me such lovely messages when I decided to take a break from blogging.
Thank you all-x-

Yesterday I decided to go out and do a bit of shopping for myself. I had a clothes shop voucher which got spent. I wasn't particularly looking for sale stuff but the shop had 20% off everything which was nice.
With some cash I had been given I treated myself to a couple of new jigsaws....not in the sale but they weren't a bad price anyway and they are Winter scenes which will be lovely to do when this bad weather comes that they are predicting.

Today I have cooked a proper Sunday lunch of roast beef and I am just about to put another gammon joint on to cook for our tea tomorrow.....we enjoyed the one we had on Christmas Eve so much that we decided to get another for New Years Eve and Day.

The cheese wheel I bought from the racecourse Christmas market is fantastic and like an idiot I forgot to save the label from it in case we want to order another one.
Who would have thought that cheese with chocolate and orange would taste so good. We still have plenty of flavours yet to try so we'll have some with any leftover ham and some salad on Tuesday.
We don't party on New years Eve really but we will see in the new year and Andy will let off his rockets.

Tonight I am off to the cinema with DD to see Bohemian Rhapsody at last. When it first came on I was too busy and too tired to want to go so I am really pleased that they are showing it again.

Hope you are all having a nice restful day today.
Sheila-x-

Dipping My Toes In!!!

Well hello there....I hope you are all well and have had a wonderful Christmas.
We had a smashing Christmas Eve with The Doodles. I cooked a ham for us all and The Doodles provided salads, rolls and the traditional Christmas Eve chips.
It was so lovely to be all together. The girls opened their gifts and judging by Ruby's screams and the amount of jumping up and down we had chosen well and Marlowe was over the moon with her Baby Annabelle doll and outfits.

Christmas Day was quiet with just the three of us and Boxing Day should have been the same but we had unexpected guests and I had to cook a hot meal instead of the simple cheeseboard and salad I had planned.

.....and all of a sudden it is over. DD is back at work although she finishes today for a week....her traditional week off for her birthday which is on January 3rd. Hopefully she will be rid of the nasty cold she has had over Christmas and can enjoy it.

I had some absolutely wonderful gifts....a matching Ness handbag and purse, scented candles, Sanctuary Spa bath goodies, lovely frames with pictures of the girls in, a voucher for clothes, a poncho and a huge surprise of a ticket to visit The Making Of Harry Potter with DDIL and Ruby in May. DD has managed to book a ticket too so we will be off on a girly road trip.

My absence from blogging has been longer than I intended and I am so sorry about that. I thought a few days rest would see me straight again but obviously I needed more time. I think it was a combination of exhaustion both physical and mental as I don't seem to have stopped since the party in November and I was starting to feel ill.
I'm just about back on track now and things are getting back to normal.....the beast has had to come out this morning to clean the carpets which is very much my normal these days.

Andy is watching some godawful film on tv so I am off for a soak in some Sanctuary and despite having to cook tea later I think I might put me jim jams on and have a lazy couple of hours before I have to do my kitchen duties.

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

Christmas Wishes!!!

Wishing you all a very

Merry Christmas

I hope you all have a wonderful, peaceful and joyous time

Sheila

-x-x-x-

Taking A Break!!!

I'm a little weary, tearful and not awfully good company at the moment and need to take a short break from blogging.
Batteries need recharging desperately.
I won't be gone too long.
Sheila-x-

Lovely Morning!!!

It was so lovely out this morning. Crisp and cold with sunshine and bits of blue sky. It was a bit nippy queueing outside the butchers at the farm but we were soon home to warm up with a nice hot cup of tea.
Now the beef I bought has been cubed and is simmering away on the stove. Once it is cooked it will go into the fridge to get all nice and tasty ready to make a steak pie for our Sunday lunch....yummy.
While the beef is cooking I am going to rustle up a batch of chocolate and peppermint cupcakes decorated with crushed candy canes to take down to the girls tomorrow morning.
I am going to be looking after them while Mummy and Daddy go out to do some festive shopping in peace so I thought I'd take down a nice little treat for them.

Poor DD had to phone into work sick this morning as she developed a migraine overnight and was quite poorly with it so she is getting a little mollycoddling today. Unfortunately I am a bit of a slow nurse as I went and put my knee out yesterday and it hurts like hell. I don't even know how I did it.

I hope you are all getting ready for a lovely weekend.
Sheila-x-

Proud Ganma!!!

Ruby arrived for tea last night with a beaming smile and two awards that she had been given at school.....one head teacher's award for 100% in all of the spelling tests that she had taken this year and an award for swimming.
I'm not surprised by the spelling award as she is an avid reader and is able to work out some quite difficult words by herself.
The icing on the top of such a good day was the cottage pie and a pudding she had not had before which is now a "ooooh can we have that again" pudding.
When we took her home we went in to view the Christmas tree and other decorations (gorgeous) and to have a quick cuddle with Marlowe who is poorly again. She has only just got over a nasty cold with an ear infection and now she has another nasty cold on her chest.....poor little mite.
I hope she is over it by Christmas.

I've not done much today just tidied the kitchen and cleaned out the fridge. Not much in the way of salad in there except a couple of wrinkled tomatoes and a bunch of spring onions so Andy has gone to pick up fresh for me. We've had quite a few rib sticker meals just lately and I am gagging for some salad so we're having some with Chicken Kievs tonight.

I looked through the brochure at all the extras that you can buy to go with the new mixer and I have decided on just one.....it's called a creaming beater and it scrapes the sides of the bowl as it mixes so that you don't have to keep stopping and doing it. I ordered it straight from Kenwood last night. It had been reduced and I got a further 10% off with a code from when I registered the mixer. It should be here by the weekend.
After serious consideration I can't see that I will need any other attachments really. I have a food processor which chops, slices and grates and I already have a small electric grinder for nuts etc so no....I am not going to be tempted....as pretty as they are...lol.

DD and I are off to the late night at the garden centre tonight. We have been really good with the Christmas budget this year and have decided to buy one of the Lemax village pieces for the kitchen dresser....just a small one for this year and then another one next year and the year after. Three will be just about right I think. 
Anything left over can back into the kitty for next years gift budget.

Hope you are having a lovely day. It's quite bright here but very cold.
Sheila-x-

Be Careful What You Wish For!!!

Yesterday I said I wanted a big job to get my teeth into and boy did Andy make sure I got one.
Last night I did some lamb chops and veggies for tea and of course the obligatory mint sauce.
Andy stirred the sauce so vigorously that he knocked the side out of the glass container and we had mint sauce everywhere. This morning I have had to get the beast of a shampooer out and do the carpet and rug.
If I disappear from Blogland I am either in prison....having committed murder or I have been dragged away by the men in white coats 😧😧😧

So....now that is done I can get on with the things I have planned for today.
Ruby will be here later so cottage pie for tea. The meat base was pulled out of the freezer so I just need to make the potato topping and then I am going to make a coconut jam tart to have with some custard for her pudding. I may also make a lemon drizzle cake for Andy and DD's pack ups.

Before I start anything though the kettle is going on as I need a coffee.

Hope you have a fabulous day today.
Sheila-x-

I've Had Enough Of Faffing And Pottering!!!

I really need a big job to get my teeth into after a few days of pottering around and doing faffing little jobs. After getting up so early yesterday I spent the whole day clearing up bitty little chores and finally collapsed exhausted to write the Christmas cards last night....or at least half of them. I should in theory have slept well last night but I didn't. I tossed and turned for ages before dropping off and dragged my poor old bones out of bed at just after 7am.
There is laundry to finish, card writing to finish, veg to prepare for the evening meal, bread sauce to make for Christmas Day which will go in the freezer and I need to make a pattern for a mixer cover and find some fabric to make one with although I doubt the sewing machine will come out today.
If I get all that lot done I think I will find a couple of hours this afternoon to watch a Christmas film on You Tube.

Have a lovely day.
Sheila-x-

A Full On Day!!!

I am having a bit of a busy day today. Been up since 5am and I don't seem to have stopped.
I'll be back to post properly tomorrow.
Sheila-x-

It's Rough Out There!!!

Although the sun is shining it's little heart out this morning it's very rough out there with the wind blowing a gale.
I'm glad I have no plans to go out.

So....today will be a cooking, baking and faffing kind of day. I have some cupboards in the kitchen that I want to sort out and reduce the contents of and swap around. So many things that I don't use any more and some will be off to the charity shop tomorrow when I have filled the huge box I have saved for the job.

DD has gone off to the big town and Andy is cleaning out the guinea pigs and doing his outside faffing so we are all doing our own thing.
I love weekends.

Hope you all have a smashing weekend too.
Sheila-x-

All Is Calm!!!

Well at least it is now that I have finished fighting with wrapping paper and sticky tape........yes the wrapping is done dot com for 2018....thank goodness.

Yesterday I gave Katy Kenwood a little test drive and made a Victoria sponge....it was all I had the ingredients for.....and I am impressed.
I popped out last night and stocked up on a few baking goodies and will have a bit of a session this weekend as I have every intention of staying home except for a little drive out on Sunday morning.
We won't have roast Sunday lunches between now and Christmas so tomorrow I will make a big cottage pie....enough for Sunday and for one night in the week. It will be bliss not to have to get up early to put a joint in the oven.

I just have a little job to do and then I am going to sit and watch a Christmas film on tv as it is marked on my list as one I want to see.

Hope you are having a good day and that the weekend is happy one.
Sheila-x-

OMG....Santa Has Been Already!!!

Andy asked me earlier in the week what I would like for Christmas and I said that I would like a new hand mixer.
This morning I took a mysterious phone call to say that there was a parcel for him at the cook shop in town so I told him and he shot up and was off.
He returned with this.......

Oh my life....what is he like?
He said I could have it now and that I was to go through the brochure to see if I wanted any of the attachments to go with it and he would go and order them tomorrow.
I am so excited to use it and have promised him a cake this afternoon.

Here she is in all her glory.......

Isn't she a beauty?
I will need to get sewing and make a cover for her as she will have to live on the worktop......I don't have a cupboard big enough to put her in.

I'm off to make a cake 😁😁😁

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

Halfway Through Another Week!!!

Well here we are...halfway through another week already.
Where does the time go?

It's a very dreary, grey, wet and misty day which I will thankfully be spending inside until we have to take Ruby home later.
There are a few jobs I can choose from to occupy myself so I won't get bored although tidying the kitchen and mopping the floor doesn't really come very high on the excitement table...lol.

I had a bit of a restless night last night. My neighbour has her outdoor icicle lights up. They look gorgeous but I do not appreciate them being left on all night as they are so bright that they light up my bedroom and they kept me awake. I like my bedroom pitch black.
Added to that....the dog was restless and pitter pattering round the bedroom floor and up and down the landing so not a very peaceful night at Tea Towel Mansion.

Gift wrapping will be finished today and I must say that I am awfully glad. It used to be one of my favourite jobs at Christmas but not so much now I don't know why.
Next will be the writing of the Christmas cards. We don't send many these days so that shouldn't be too long a job and then I can get onto decorating the kitchen dresser.

I hope you are all tucked up inside today out of this horrible weather.
Have a lovely day.
Sheila-x-

Faffing So Much I Forgot!!!

After I had a quick visit to some blogs yesterday I went off to do something and the next time I sat down by the computer was 10:30 last night. So I forgot to do a blog post of my own.

I spent most of the day faffing about upstairs which has become yet another dumping ground and is driving me mad so I was trying to restore a little order. It looks a tiny bit better but not much.

Andy has had to go to work early today so I have set to and pretty much finished the gift wrapping. I just need DD to bring down a few things we have up in her room and we should have it finished tonight.

Now that I have done what I can with that I am off into the kitchen to make some braised liver and onions for Andy's lunch tomorrow. Once that is done I'll have a tidy up and then treat myself to watching an old episode of Holiday Baking Championship on You Tube.

It's really cold out today so something hot and filling for our evening meal.....I have leftover veg from Sunday....including some cauliflower in white sauce....so I will just roast some potatoes and make gravy and mint sauce to go with it. It's one of our favourite things on Winter nights.

I hope you are all having a good day....and keeping warm too.
Sheila-x-

Saturday!!!

Well the Christmas Market/Fair was a bit strange to say the least. Probably the most unChristmassy Christmas Fair I have ever been to.
There were only about twenty stalls and at least six of them were charities wanting you to sign up to a monthly donation. We did sign up to support The Dogs Trust but that was all we could do. It's impossible to help everybody.
We came away with a wheel of eight festive cheeses for our Boxing day cheeseboard and that was it.

Next stop was the newly expanded farm shop. Oh my word it was just gorgeous and we got most of the things left on our shopping list. Just a couple more things and The Doodles and The London Family will be finished, wrapped and put away.

My husband is treading a very thin line. You know I cleaned the oven and you know I had the shock of the smoke alarm going off...yes? So I could really have done without him putting a tray of chestnuts into the oven without telling me and forgetting about them until they started exploding. Honestly I nearly shot through the ceiling and I lost my temper which is very, very unusual for me.
Guess who gets the job of wiping out the oven today....I'll give you a clue....it ain't me.

Hoping for a quiet day today with no drama. A late lunch as DD is at work and a bit of gift wrapping is about all I can cope with....lol.

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