Thank You!!!

Thank you all so much for the retirement wishes for Andy and also the recommendations for places for our few days away.
Scotland, The Lake District, Northumberland and many more places are on our wish list for places to visit when we take a longer break but for now we have settled on Tintagel in Cornwall....a place we both love.....as a base and we will get out and about to other places while we are there.

We had a wonderful meal out last night at the Miller and Carter Steak House and I can highly recommend it if you have one near you.
Steak is not really my thing so I opted for the pork fillet wrapped in bacon with apple three ways, Dauphinoise potatoes and Mediterranean roast vegetables.....it was divine and I could quite happily go back and have it again today....lol.

The lamb shanks and vegetables are all ready to be made up into Andy's birthday pie for lunch today. I cooked them in the slow cooker yesterday. I'm not usually a fan of my slow cooker but I didn't have a casserole dish big enough to take three shanks plus all the vegetables and the gravy. I must say though that they have cooked beautifully.
As there are already potatoes in the pie it will just be served with steamed Cavalo Nero and baby greens with the obligatory mint sauce.....I can't eat lamb without it.

I expect the Doodles will come a-visiting later on and we will have tea and birthday cake then the celebrations will continue next Saturday with afternoon tea down at the Doodles and a small party laid on for Andy and two of his colleagues in the evening....wives not invited....thank gawd...lol.

Cleaning has been done this morning so all I have to do now is make pastry and prep the veg but that will not happen until I have had a coffee.

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

All Done!!!

......and that's it. Andy's last night at work last night and he is currently in bed sleeping it off.

I have been tasked with finding us a little holiday somewhere for mid October......just him and me......it's over 15 years since we had some time away together and we haven't a clue where we want to go although Cornwall has been mentioned.
We spent many happy holidays there when the children were little but I'm not sure if I want to go back or not.

Today I am at a loss as to what to do with myself. Not in the mood for sewing and no cooking to do as I have to go and sit with my girls later on over tea time so we are picking up fish and chips once I'm done and until he gets up and we have a bit more discussion about our holiday I am so over scrolling through hotels, guest houses and cottages.
Can't do any baking as he has used the last of my eggs this morning for his breakfast so it looks like I might be stuck with tidying out a cupboard or something....lol.

Tomorrow we are taking Andy out to a steak house for a special meal for his birthday which is on Sunday and then on the day I am making another special meal.....James Martin's Lamb Shank Pie. It looks rather Desperate Dan as it has the shank bones sticking out through the pastry but he will absolutely love it.
They say the way to a man's heart is through his stomach and it has definitely been that way with him.....lol.

I think I might just have a coffee before I find myself something to do.

Have a wonderful day.
Sheila-x-

Life As I Know It!!!

Two more night shifts to go for Andy now and then life as I have known it for the last few years will come to an end.
I must admit that I am a little apprehensive and am wondering how on earth I am going to keep him occupied and stop him spending all day watching tv.
Will I still get time to spend on my hobbies or am I going to be spending most of my time feeding him?
I haven't a clue but I shall soon find out.....lol.

It's a grey old day today and it looks like there is more rain to come. It won't bother me much as Ruby has requested roast beef and Yorkshire pudding for her meal tonight so I'll be prepping that and then scrubbing worktops and mopping the floor.
The weather forecast for our area has us down for rain every day for the next fortnight so it looks like garden tidying may be delayed a while.

Right.....I'll get off and have a bit of breakfast....rather late this morning as I didn't feel like eating when I got up.

Have a lovely day.
Sheila-x-

A Night Out!!!

Thanks so much for comments on my last post.

Well it's not very often that Andy, DD and I go to the cinema together. Andy will only usually go and see Bond films and DD will go with him for company as I refuse to pay to go and see them....I have enough of the damn things at home.
....but on Saturday night he came with us to see Downton and we all thoroughly enjoyed it. We will buy it when it comes out on dvd and then have a binge watching session of the box sets and then the film.
Andy then gave us a lovely treat of picking up a Chinese takeaway on the way home which we ate while watching a dvd at home.
It was a lovely evening.
Two things that spoil cinema trips for me....one is the fact that you don't see many trailers for films any more. We saw just two and the rest were consumer adverts which you see on tv anyway....and two....bloody mobile phones....nuff said.

Sunday we had a bit of a lazy morning while the lunch cooked and then I had to nip to the supermarket as I had forgotten to buy bread rolls for packups.I don't know why I forgot them as they are a staple on my shopping list every week.
We watched Millionaire and then that was another weekend over and done with.
Next weekend we are taking Andy out to a steakhouse for a special meal for his birthday and then I will have been out every weekend of the month which is very unusual for me so I am looking forward to October with just one weekend thing planned.....so far.

The weather continues to be reasonable although we had heavy rain yesterday which is the reason we had the lazy morning as we had planned to do some tidying in the garden.
I think it's still pretty warm during the day but night times are chillier and my hot water bottle is being used just for cuddling while I am sat up reading as my hands get really cold.

Today is laundry day  and although it is dry at the moment there are some dark clouds gathering so I am not chancing pegging out....maybe one or two lighter things but certainly not the heavier stuff.
I have chicken marinading in fajita spices for our tea which we will have with some salad.
No sewing today as I am not in the mood but I plan to get some done tomorrow while Andy is in bed.

Hope you've had a lovely weekend and that you have a good week.
Sheila-x-

......And Breathe!!!

Apologies to anyone who has been knocked off their feet by the collective sighs of relief from the Oliver family as one part of my Brother in Law's problems have been put behind him.
There are still a couple of issues to resolve but for the first time in well over a year he is smiling and happy which is so good to see.
I'm quite happy that I won't be spending inordinate amounts of time with my ear welded to the phone either.....not that I begrudge him a single minute of my time but other people's problems can get very wearing when there is nothing you can do to help apart from listen.

Today I am having a quiet day after a couple of days of washing curtains, cleaning windows, shifting furniture, building furniture, cooking, baking and entertaining my gorgeous Miss Doodle who came for her usual Wednesday visit yesterday.
I've not come out of the furniture building unscathed as while screwing in the screws to hold a small desk together I have rubbed huge blisters on the palm of my right hand which are very sore....but does that get me out of washing up....does it 'eck as like....lol.

I have cooked Andy's very last afternoon shift lunch today.....he doesn't have one on a Friday as he starts earlier. Oh the bliss of not having to decide what to cook for someone who doesn't even know himself what he fancies.
The next highlight will be getting rid of the huge bag that sits on my kitchen floor in between shifts. I can't tell you how many times I have tripped over the ruddy thing....lol.

So a nice peaceful couple of hours now until DD comes in and wants feeding. Not in the mood for sewing so I am watching You Tube videos....only because one of my all time favourite shows popped up this morning....This Old House....house building and renovating in New England.....I love it.

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

Ouch!!!

We had a brilliant time at the Midland Game Fair at Weston Park. The weather was gorgeous....albeit a little hot for me at times.
There were dogs by the hundreds from the tiniest Yorkie to hugest Newfoundland and everything in between. Lots of Border Terriers which are my most favourites and DD and I spent most of the day ooohing and aaahing over them all.
The cutest thing we saw was a large caged area full of the most beautiful Beagles all fast asleep on top of each other.
We didn't stay right until the end as we had clocked the vast amount of cars and decided we didn't want to spend hours trying to get out so instead of eating there we visited the food festival and purchased artisan bread and an assortment of beautiful cheeses then headed for home to have them for tea with some salad.
My back and legs were just about destroyed by the time we got back to the car and I am suffering today but it was well worth it and I think we may well go again next year.

There is not much going on in the way of housework today....just a bit of hobbling about doing what I have to as bending is a slight problem for the moment.

I think Andy is getting into retirement mode a tad early....he made me laugh...falling asleep just a few minutes before he was due to leave and then waking up all in a flap and leaving the house without his snap bag and his shower bag and having to come back for them....bless him.
Only two weeks to go now.

Right I'll go and hobble round a bit more while the painkillers are doing their job.

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

Frugal Kitchen Doings!!!

Thank you all for the lovely anniversary wishes yesterday and a Happy Anniversary to you Sandi.
It was a quiet-ish day. Andy is still recovering from the virus and not feeling great. I hope he is better by the weekend.

After I made the pie for last night's tea I had some pastry left over so it was wrapped and left in the fridge where I also found a couple of slices of ham that needed using up, half a peeled onion, four eggs getting close to their use by date and some grated cheese so that little lot has been turned into eight individual portion quiches this morning. One each for tea with salad and five to go in the freezer for another meal and a couple for packed lunches.
Not bad for a few leftovers and slightly healthier than the mince pies I could have made with one of my 4p jars of mincemeat....that needs using up before Christmas so next time I need to make pastry I'll do that.

Over the last few weeks I have been buying things for my food store ready for when Andy retires in two weeks time. We will do a meat shop before then and I aim to spend some happy hours in the kitchen cooking and baking for the freezer so that I have stuff to pull out if we are going to have a busy day and I won't have time to be in the kitchen. I'm looking forward to that.

As tea tonight will be quick and easy now that the main part is done I think I'll go and rev up the machine and get a bit more sewing done.

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

A Day Of Remembering!!!

9/11

Never Forgotten

Today is also my 43rd wedding anniversary.....43 years where the flippin' 'eck has all that time gone ?

We won't be doing much to celebrate today as Andy is on night shift but Sunday we are having a day out at The Midland Game Fair near Telford. The weather is looking nice so it should be a good day.

Miss Doodle will be here for tea later so I need to get busy in the kitchen. I have a minced beef and onion pie to put together and a tray of brownies to bake. She is always hungry when she comes in from school.

My quilt is coming along slowly and I'm just about halfway through the 56 squares I need. I keep thinking it's a slow job but then I remember that I am actually doing the quilting on each square as I go along and it won't need to be quilted once it's all put together.....there will just be a backing and binding to add.

Hopefully it will be done before the really cold weather comes.

It's a lovely day outside.....sunny but with a lovely breeze to keep the heat down.

I hope it's as nice where you are.

Sheila-x-

Sick House!!!

Andy just about scared me to death yesterday.
He said he didn't feel well in the morning but managed to eat his lunch but by mid afternoon he looked and felt very ill. His head hurt and he felt sick so he went to lie down upstairs and that is where he pretty much stayed for the rest of the day and night.
This morning he has managed to see the doctor and been diagnosed with a virus so no work for him today.....bed rest and Ibuprofen/Paracetamol has been prescribed.
His colour is already better than it was yesterday but a day of rest will do him good.

The weather is filthy and wet today so with a patient to feed and a girl who is going to be coming home soaking wet I think a nice pot of chunky leek and potato soup will go down very well for tea.
As for the rest of the week's meals.....I will have to go and do a slightly bigger shop tonight as the freezers are pretty much run down now apart from a few odds and ends so once the soup is simmering away I need to make a meal plan and a shopping list.

The heating thermometer is saying that I can switch it on if I want to but it still feels quite warm to me and I won't be bothering with that unless it gets really chilly tonight. Last night I had my first hot water bottle in bed and I slept like a flippin' log.

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

A Grand Day Out!!!

We were up at 4:30am yesterday. A little hard as I hadn't slept very much at all.
We managed to find our way with one tiny blip but some lovely locals put us on the right track and we found we were just literally seconds away from the studios.
The tour was every bit as magical as the first time although the 250 mile round trip and five hours walking around has left me feeling rather battered today.
I am just cooking a lovely roast chicken lunch and then I am going to have a relaxing afternoon of sewing as I caught up with laundry on Friday and everyone has the clothes they need to start the working week tomorrow.

Hope you are all having a smashing weekend too.
Sheila-x-

Blinkin' 'Eck!!!

I checked the weather forecast this morning because I wanted to see if DD and I would be able to give the car a hoover and wipe out before our trip to Leavesden tomorrow. 
I wasn't much bothered about the morning weather but it did say light rain......well weather person what we got was in no way, shape or form light rain.....it was a deluge. Luckily it didn't last too long and it is now dry, sunny and breezy so we should be good to go on the cleaning when DD gets in from work.

Weekend cleaning has been done this morning so the house is nice and tidy for Andy to have a peaceful day tomorrow although I don't suppose it will be as clean and tidy when I get home and most of it will have to be done again on Sunday.

I'm really looking forward to tomorrow. I loved our first visit to the Harry Potter Studio Tour but there is just so much to take in that I just had to go again.

Have you got anything good planned for the weekend?
Hope you have a great one.
Sheila-x-

A Gentle Grey Day!!!

It's grey but fairly bright here today with a lovely breeze although it is still a little warm for me during the day. 
Still wearing the fluffy socks at night though. Last night the bedroom was quite cold when I went up....lovely 😀

All my jobs are done for now so I am just about to sit at the machine and put some more blocks together for my quilt. I am really enjoying this one as the colours I have chosen are my most favourite Winter colours....navy, turquoise and different greens. It's looking nice.

Saw the girls last night and got to hear about their new schools. Ruby didn't need any words really as her beautiful smiley face said it all but she loves it and has had a good couple of days.
Marlowe didn't have a lot to say apart from the fact that she had had raisins and milk for her snack at break time but DDIL told me that they have a job to get her to leave at 11:30 as she is having such a good time.
So if my girls are happy then this old Ganma is very happy indeed.

Okey dokey....I am off to get a cold drink and then sewing here I come.

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

Tissues Please!!!

I have just been sent first day at school photos by DDIL. Oh my word they both looked so cute in their brand new smart uniforms........and yes I did need a tissue or three 😢
Apparently Marlowe wasn't at all bothered about being left but I am not surprised as she is a very outgoing and sociable little girl.
Ruby was nervous as this is her first day at a big school rather than the little village school she is used to.
I can't wait to see them both tomorrow and hear all about their day.

My quilt is coming along nicely although sewing is on the back burner for some time today as I have had to cook for His Nibs, I need to prepare the meat for a cottage pie for Ruby for tomorrow and cook tea tonight when DD comes....although I think we are having something quick today.
I need to get some tea towels in the wash as I have only two left in the drawer and as usual the hoover needs throwing round. If I'm lucky I might get an hour at the machine.

Last night it was quite chilly and my feet were freezing so I resorted to fluffy socks for bed.....it was sheer bliss. I love to be cold when I go to bed so that I can snuggle up. Looking forward to many more nights like that.

.......and that is me today. I'm just going to have little lunch shortly before I tackle that mound of minced beef.

Hope you are all doing well.
Have a lovely day.
Sheila-x-