Rockin' The Rotary Cutter!!!

Well.....I have surprised myself....the quilt I wanted to do.....I have made a start on getting things ready to make it instead of putting it off.
Yesterday the rotary cutter was smokin' as I cut out all of the ten and a half inch batting squares I need plus a huge pile of two and a half inch strips.....still a few to go which I will be starting on shortly.
Tomorrow I hope to get going on the sewing.

This morning I have been busy in the kitchen peeling. coring and chopping a bagful of apples given to us by a neighbour. They have been cooked and will be frozen in tubs to have with pork.....I love apple sauce.
At one time I would have made apple pies but we don't eat puddings very much now.
Tea for tonight is easy.....a previously made curry pulled out of the freezer so that all I have to do is cook some rice.
I am planning on making a lot of meals to put in the freezer for when Andy retires so that if he wants me to go out anywhere with him I can do that and not have to worry about cooking from scratch on the day.....plus I do think curry's, chilli and casseroles taste so much better after a sleep in the freezer.

It's very quiet here today. I can't hear any children out playing so I wonder if they are all out getting their final bits and pieces ready for going back to school next week.
Ruby is so excited about going to her new school and she loved that they had a couple of sessions at the school last week for all of the newbies to get to know each other.
Marlowe's school won't know what's hit them when she arrives....lol. I hope the teachers have stocked up on Weetabix cos they will sure need them. I would love to be a fly on the wall on her mornings there.

Right I am off to crank up the cutting table and heat up the iron to get the rest of this fabric cut up.

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

Wilting On A Wednesday!!!

I'm getting back on track now with the housework but boy is this heat sapping my energy. I feel like a wrung out dishcloth.
Cool evening baths though are helping with some good nights of sleep which is something to be grateful for.

Perversely my crafty mind is wandering down the path of quilt making again and I am wanting to have a go at a 'quilt as you go' one. Tomorrow I am going to make a start on choosing and cutting fabrics and batting for a double bed sized quilt. Luckily you just work on ten inch squares to start off with and by the time I have to sew them all together we will hopefully be into some cooler weather.

I am really missing having Ruby here after her being here for the week last week but she should be coming for her tea today. There is a filling made for the chicken pie she requested so she will be a happy little girl.

For now there is some tidying to be done and coffee to drink so I will get off and get started.
Hope you all have a lovely day.
Sheila-x-

Oh My Word......!!!

........it is hotter than Hades here today.
I made the mistake of going out to do some top up shopping and I really wish I hadn't. It was busy as well as hot and I feel quite frazzled.

I'd forgotten it was Bank Holiday weekend so I have Andy and DD both here today so he won't be going to bed this afternoon.......the noisy jobs have been shufted over to tomorrow morning and I am spending the day hugging the fan....lol......in the hope that it may be cooler tomorrow.

The oven is on holiday and we are gratefully eating cool and refreshing salads although Andy has asked for a few chips with his tonight. I may indulge....it just depends how hungry I am come tea time.

No need to be in the kitchen then until tea time so I am going to do a bit of stitching by the fan with a cold drink.....bliss.

Have a wonderful day.
Sheila-x-

Been And Gone!!!

I can't believe that Ruby's week with us has been and gone already.
We had such a lovely time together and she has gone home with new skills under her belt......making the dough for pizza bases from scratch, using chopsticks when we took her to the Chinese buffet and cross stitching.....just a very simple block in rainbow colours to get her used to the fabric and the stitches. Next time we will try the small kit of a unicorn that I have put by for her.
We spent time at the park in the sunshine....spotting dragonflies and butterflies and just generally had a wonderful relaxing few days. I feel as if I have been away on holiday...lol.

Back to normal now and the housework lists which never go away. I've spent today doing the laundry so that I can be free on Monday morning to get some of the noisier jobs done before Andy goes up to bed for his nap before going on a night shift.
With the predicted temperature for tomorrow there is no way I am cooking a roast dinner so we are having cold meat and salad which I am really looking forward to and if the heat lasts that is what we will be eating all week....with variations along the way.

Mostly a lazy weekend here at Tea Towel Mansion then. 
Andy has been out with DS and Ruby to get her sports equipment ready for going back to school and DD has been to the Makers Market in the little town. I have not been nor am I going anywhere this weekend. In a couple of weeks DD and I will be going to The Making of Harry Potter and the week after that we are all going to a country fair so I will wait for those to come around.

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

Sunday!!!

Crikey I seem to have been MIA for a few days.....where did that time go?
I have been a bit under the weather with a particularly vile headache that just wouldn't budge and I have been sleeping quite a lot as I seemed to need it but I am back on track now.
Good job as today once lunch is out of the way I have jobs to do to get ready for Ruby arriving tomorrow for the week. She has had a very busy Summer break so far and is looking forward to coming to Ganma's for a rest....lol.

There are gorgeous smells coming from the kitchen. I am roasting a large piece of beef today for our lunch which will be served up with the usual roast potatoes and Yorkshire pudding etc. The leftovers will be sliced and frozen in gravy for future meals which I must be honest I always enjoy more.

I hope to find a spare half an hour to finish off my cross stitched Christmas piece today too. I have just a few letters and three stars to complete and then I can plan what I am going to work on next. So far I have done all of my stitching on Aida so I may well challenge myself with some evenweave if my eyes will cope with it.

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

Grinning Like A Cheshire Cat!!!

.......and the reason for my Cheshire cat grin......it's cold....so cold that the thermometer said I could put the heating on if I wanted to. A bit early for that really though but it does mean that today I am wearing proper clothes....long trousers and a sleeved top instead of shorts and a vest and proper shoes instead of flip flops. So today I feel normal and comfortable.
It will be a good day.
DD and I may even get some snuggle time in and watch something tonight. I have not watched much on tv since the weather got hot because sitting on our new fabric sofa is like being hugged by a bear and I get over heated and uncomfortable so I just stay in the sewing room by the fan where I can....if I want to.....watch things on the computer.

Not only is it cold today it is also chucking it down with rain so the meal plan of a Ploughman's for tea to use up some cheese has been scrapped and I am now making a cheese,potato and onion bake to have with some baked beans. DD will love that as she will have been out in the rain all day and be thoroughly brassed off by the time she gets home.
Do you make a meal plan and stick to it rigidly or do you change it about to suit the weather from day to day?
I'd love to know.

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

What A Gorgeous Day!!!

Weatherwise it is completely gorgeous today. Sunny but quite a bit cooler than it has been with a wonderful cool breeze blowing.....so far. As we know....things can change in the blink of an eye.

I am just sitting down for a quick coffee after a morning of faffing and pootling and then it will be off into the kitchen to make a pan of soup to use up all of the odds and ends of bags of veg from the freezer. That will be tea for tonight and with a good hunk of crusty bread to go with it there shouldn't be any complaints.

There wasn't much time for stitching yesterday so I'm hoping to get some in today. I'm not too far off finishing my Christmas piece and I would like to have it done by this weekend as there won't be any time next week with my Miss Doodle in the house.
I'm expecting a box of mountboard offcuts in the next day or two so I will be able to make a start on fully finishing some of the pieces I have done which I am really excited about. I will have to wait for a few materials I need until the shops start putting out their Christmas stuff as I need artificial greenery and picks....but that will be out before we know it.

Rightio....I shall go and get this soup started....use up the bags of veg and then I should have room to finish emptying the outside freezer so that I can switch it off.

Have a fabulous day.
Sheila-x-

....And That Was That!!!

Not the best fortnight of annual leave Andy has ever had but probably the most expensive without even going away.
The car has spend much of the time in the garage being mended and the bill was a tad eye watering to say the least.
He's back at work tonight and just has six weeks left before he retires and I book myself into a nut house...lol.

So....today involves lots of catching up on jobs that have been neglected and I have started in the kitchen this morning scrubbing and poking in corners along with doing laundry.
No cooking to do as Andy is having something light tonight while DD and I go out for a couple of hours but I'm sure I'll be back in the kitchen tomorrow as I will be starting a big freezer sort out.
The outside freezer is not very well so I am emptying that into the inside freezer. The old one will go and then we need to find a replacement as I can't do without the extra space. I could do with a slightly bigger one so there will have to be some thinking and some shifting going on before we go and buy one.

Anyhoo.....how have you all been?
I have been dipping in and out of my blog list as and when I could and trying to keep up.
Have a very lovely day.
Sheila-x-

Just Us!!!

Nothing much to report from Tea Towel Mansion.
It's been just hubby and me here for the last few days and there has been lots of relaxing and lots of eating out although we have had to stay fairly local as the car is giving a bit of trouble. We have had DD's car as she has been away but Andy doesn't like driving it much.
Lots of stitching done and I am now nearly halfway through my large Christmas piece which I started on July 21st.
Housework?.....nah.....just keeping things tidy and the occasional swipe over with the hoover.....I have all next week to catch up on things and get straight before Ruby comes to stay for a week the following week.
I am cooking today....just a spag bol as we haven't had one for ages and I do love a good spag bol....lol.
There may be some top up shopping done later if I feel like going out. If not I shall just stay by the fan and stitch.

Hope you all have a good week.
Sheila-x-

Yay!!!

Oh thank gawd for that......Andy has just left the building, DD is on her way down south and I am home alone for more than five minutes in over a week 😵😵😵

We had a lovely weekend with the girls last weekend even though the weather was pretty horrendous.
The meal at the pub was gorgeous and then the girls were handed back with lots of hugs and kisses.

Monday we were stuck at home as Andy has had some car trouble but we managed to go out on Tuesday and went up to Dagfields again in Cheshire. This time we went for lunch at The Boar's Head, Walgherton. Talk about being spoiled.....it was amazing.....posh but amazing....lol.
Wednesday we picked Ruby up from sports club and she came for tea. I had spent the day cooking as she was desperate for cottage pie.
Thursday DD and I had a quick trip to Hobbycraft in Derby as I needed some thread.......and today....at Andy's request I am recreating the soup we had as a starter on Tuesday....broccoli and bacon with a cheese crouton which gives him a hot meal without me having to have 2 ovens and four rings blasting out to add to the heat here today. It's all ready to be zapped with the stick blender so while he is out I am going to sneak in a bit of stitching time with a nice cuppa before I go and make him a brioche bread and butter pudding.
He might be on holiday but I'm not....lol.

Anyway I hope you have all had a good week and that you have a good weekend too. Not sure what we will be doing but I am sure knowing the mister that it will involve a pub at some point.
Sheila-x-