Just Stop It Now!!!

Woke up to an absolutely vile morning this morning.
Thrashing it down with rain and snow at the same time and unfortunately we had got to go into town.
The road there....although very wet was fine but coming back the flood water was starting to close over the road. We managed to get through but as the rain has continued to lash down since we got in I should imagine that it's now completely flooded and will be in another couple of places too.
We were so cold when we got in that the heating went on and comfort food was needed to warm us up. Slices of sourdough bread were filled with cheese and rhubarb and ginger chutney and toasted until golden brown and oozing. Oh my word it was so good. Not something to be eaten every day but jolly good as a reward for braving that weather.
I'll be glad when it all stops and we get some decent days for a change.

Worked towards the end of my cross stitch project last night but didn't quite finish as my fingers were getting achy. Just the bottom border to finish which will get done shortly and I can then kit up for my next one.

More comfort food for tea....Hash Jacket Potatoes with pickled beetroot and then snuggling on the sofa for season two of Last Tango In Halifax......bliss.

Hope you are all safe and warm.
Sheila-x-

Men!!!

Andy has scuppered my oven cleaning today as he has had the oven on and I need it cold to be able to do the job. I am not in the least bit bothered really as I have redesignated today as a play day and have been having some fun dying cross stitch fabrics ready for some future projects...varying results but I am pretty happy with them.
My current project is very nearly finished so I will show that and my new start in another post when it's done.

The weather is fairly nice today and has inspired me to put salad on the menu for tonight. I can't wait until it it will be on the menu every night as I am heartily sick of Winter meals now....although I am rather looking forward to using the mutton I have in the freezer to make a stew next week sometime.

Ruby came for tea last night in an absolutely brilliant mood having been given an achievement award for computer studies. She hasn't much confidence in that class and often comes home upset so it has given her a real boost.

Last night we had a lazy night in front of the tv and started our new box set of Last Tango In Halifax.
Why have I never watched it before? It is absolutely brilliant and we all love it.
We won't watch the new one on catch up as it doesn't take long for the DVD to come out usually after a series has ended.

Andy has just handed me a lovely mug of coffee so I am going to drink that while I read some blogs and then I am off to stitch for a while.

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

Sod's Law!!!

It's a beautiful day today.....sunny with blue skies and fluffy white clouds tinged with a tiny bit of grey. The breeze is a bit spiteful but never the less it would have been a great day to get out for a bit of fresh air except Andy's car is in for it's annual service so we couldn't go anywhere.
You watch.....it will be vile again tomorrow.
Still....I have got some jobs done this morning...two loads of laundry washed and dried and the oven doors scrubbed.....the rest of the oven will get done on Thursday as I will have to start cooking shortly.
I have also sorted out all of my crafting paints and varnishes so that they are now all in one drawer ready for when I need them.
Quite a productive morning for someone who didn't get much sleep last night due to a restless DD one floor up. All the bangs and wallops woke me up at 2am and I never did get back off properly.

Two meals to cook tonight as Andy wants braised liver which DD and I will not eat. I think we'll just have good old beans on toast with a nice cup of tea but I'll wait and see if she fancies that when she gets in.....it may all change depending on her mood.

Right....I'm off to sort out that disgusting liver.

Hope you all have sunshine today.
Sheila-x-

Another Quiet Sunday!!!

Nothing much going on here yesterday so I didn't post as I didn't want to send you all to sleep....lol.
I cooked lunch, we ate lunch, I stitched, DD read and Andy watched tv through his eyelids as usual.

The rearranging of the freezer got put off until today as the wind kept banging the shed door into my legs as I was trying to sort stuff on Saturday but that job is now done and I have no need to do a freezer shop for a good while by the looks of it although everything in the two freezers is hearty Winter meal stuff. I am ready to get it all used up and refill with lighter meals for Spring.
Looking at the weather forecast for this area for the next fortnight though there are blue raindrops nearly every day so I think Spring is a little way off yet.

Another flood has appeared on the lane into town. Buses, lorries and vans seem to be coping with it but for cars it's a little too deep so we are having to get to town along the A50. I hate the A50 even though I am only ever a passenger so I am not going out much at the moment.
This is a minor inconvenience compared to what others are having to put up with but annoying none the less.

As DD was off work last week the laundry basket is quite light today for change so it should all be done and put away before tea time and I can have some stitching time.

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

A Busy Few Days!!!

Sorry for the lack of blog posts for the last couple of days. It's been busy here at Tea Towel Mansion with a sleepover and the tackling of a couple of big jobs yesterday.
I finally got round to sorting out the indoor fridge/ freezer. It got emptied into the bigger freezer outside and the fridge was emptied before the whole thing got a good clean. Shelves and drawers were scrubbed to within an inch of their lives before it all got put back together.
Today I will sort out all the stuff that got moved out and make a list of things we need ready for a freezer shop next week.
DD tackled the brick shed outside where we store all the cans and jars etc. Spider were ousted along with their webs and shelves were given a good wipe down and then reorganised. I'm ashamed to say that a couple of things had to be thrown out but it wasn't too bad. I'll do a check to see if we need anything and put that on the shopping list.

This morning started off in a rather nasty fashion with black skies and torrential rain/hail so any thoughts of nipping into town were scuppered. It has brightened up a bit now but I am not in the mood for venturing out so I will get DD to nip and get some fresh veg and milk for me.
I'm going to have a coffee and read the papers before I do the freezer stuff and then I'll spend the rest of the day catching up on my stitching which has been sadly neglected for the last few days.

I hope the weather doesn't scupper your plans for the weekend and that you have a good one.
Sheila-x-

Dennis The Menace!!!

Thank you all for your comments on my last post.

Well it's been a very nasty weekend here much as it has everywhere but I have to say we are very, very lucky. No damage to property around here as far as we can see except for a couple of neighbours fence panels and some flooding on the roads into town whichever way we go.
Andy had to visit the doctors surgery this morning and came across a car abandoned in the middle of the road so the flood must have been quite bad that way.
Such horrible pictures in the papers this morning of places that have suffered so badly. How on earth do you cope when it keeps happening?

Another day at home for us although DD has braved a journey into the big town but the weather isn't too bad this morning....just a stiff breeze and no rain so far.

The bedroom wallpaper has been pasted back down where it had peeled up behind the radiator and the new pole and curtains are up so that is a couple of jobs off the list thank goodness. Many more to go as there always is but they will get done in their turn.
For today I am just doing the laundry and stitching in between loads. I had hoped to finish Peppermint Lane at the weekend but I didn't actually do any stitching at all.

Hope you keep safe and dry this week.
Sheila-x-

The Saturday Snuggle Down!!!

Thankfully the scratchy throat and gritty eyes haven't turned into anything horrible so far. my eyes are still a bit gritty feeling but nothing I can't cope with.

Top up shopping has been done early this morning. DD went and did it for me while I stayed home and put some braising steak and onions on to simmer ready for making a steak pie for lunch tomorrow. I need to get it cooked and out of the way so that I have room for the cooking of tea tonight which will be a Chinese Fakeaway.......sweet and sour chicken with stir fried veg and noodles and vegetable spring rolls.
It's so disgusting outside that nobody would want to go and fetch a takeaway. If it rains all day the road will be flooded and a homemade meal means it's much cheaper.

So.....today we are just snuggling down and enjoying a quiet day at home all doing our own thing until after tea when we will settle down and watch some more Game of Thrones which we are working our way through again as we now have season eight to add to our collection.

I hope you all stay safe and warm in this horrible weather.
Sheila-x-

Wednesday And Twenty For 2020 Progress!!!

Who would have thought that a ten year old's tea party could be so much fun. We had such a lovely time and Ruby was thoroughly spoiled.....which is just as it should be on your birthday.
Now it's Wednesday and Ruby will be here for tea later. A roast pork meal today as we didn't have our usual roast on Sunday and I am really looking forward to it.

Just a pottering day today. I don't usually involve myself with big jobs on a Wednesday  with Ruby coming as I do like to finish a job once it's started so a tickle round with a duster and run round with the hoover is all that will get done today.

Twenty for 2020-Progress

Peppermint Lane by Country Cottage Needleworks

I've not managed to get as much done as I would have liked but there is at least some progress.
Really pleased with the colour changes I have used for this.
I'm hoping for a weekend at home to get lots more done.

Well it might be sunny outside but it's flippin' cold so the kettle is going on for coffee which I shall drink while I read the papers.

Have a wonderful day.
Sheila-x-

Water, Water Everywhere!!!

Good morning.

Thank you for the comments left on the post on Friday. It seems like you were all preparing to weather the dreadful storm yesterday.

Saturday wasn't too bad here until later on in the evening but Sunday lunch time it hit really bad while we were out looking after Marlowe. By the time we left the green fields we had passed on the way there were like lakes although the roads were OK until we got onto the lane leading home which was flooded in a couple of places.
I hope you all stayed safe and didn't sustain any damage. 
I've not checked our forecast yet for today so I don't know if we are in for any more.

Despite the scary weather we did have a lovely time with Marlowe although we opted to stay in rather than take her to the play barn and she was quite happy for us to be at home.
Ruby thoroughly enjoyed her day out shopping with Mummy and Daddy and came home laden with carrier bags full of exciting things....bless her.
Tomorrow is her actual birthday and we will be going to visit for tea and cake and that will be it.....she will be ten years old....wow.

Just the normal jobs to do today....laundry,  a bit of cleaning and a pan of savoury mince to put on for tea as requested by Andy.
I must try and get some more done to my cross stitch project too as I haven't put a single stitch into it since Friday.

Now I am going to make a coffee and have a catch up on some blogs while the first load of laundry is doing.

Have a wonderful day.
Sheila-x-

Shiverin'!!!

Golly I am cold this morning. The sun has been out this morning so it's been lovely and bright but there is still an icy nip in the air.

Missing in action yesterday as we had to go into the big town to get a replacement curtain pole. We were trying to be frugal and reuse one we had in the shed but couldn't find the fittings to make it work. It will get used somewhere else eventually.
While I was in W***o I found two bargains.....a reduced reusable Christmas shopping bag....50p and a desk tidy reduced from £3.50 to 90p...perfect for my cross stitch charts and journal.
A visit to a new charity shop I'd not seen before yielded the most fabulous house shaped photo frame which will be altered and used as a mount for some cross stitch...£1.25.
I came home a happy bunny.

Today is just a pottering kind of day with some little jobs done and this afternoon I will be stitching.

Tomorrow Andy is being taken out for lunch.....his Christmas gift from DS.....so he is off to Nottingham. DD and I are going to Derby for an hour or two and we may have lunch out.
No Sunday lunch to cook this week with me being at The Doodle House. We are having ham and salad instead and I'll make a roast dinner in the week.

Have you got anything nice planned for the weekend?

Have a lovely day.
Sheila-x-

And It's Wednesday Already!!!

I feel like I have lived life on fast forward for the last couple of days and here we are at Wednesday again.
A certain little lady is due for her tea as usual and there is a requested cottage pie in the making.....it's smelling good.

My start number two is well underway for my Twenty For 2020 and this is what I am working on........

Peppermint Lane by Country Cottage Needleworks

As you can see I have changed the colours. I'm not totally averse to pink but I didn't feel it would go too well with what I already have. I've gone for more traditional colours and again it is being worked on 14 count Yorkshire Oatmeal Aida.
When finished it will be about six inches by six inches.
I can't wait to get to the lettering as it's one of my most favourite things to stitch.

Looking forward to the weekend this week as I will be off to The Doodle House to take care of Marlowe on Sunday while Mr and Mrs Doodle take Ruby out on a birthday shopping trip....her second in two weeks....lol.
We will have to gauge Marlowe's mood and if she feels like it we are going to take her to a play barn and then out for lunch.
Before then I have a few jobs I'd like to get done including replacing a curtain pole and hanging some new curtains and repasting some wallpaper that has come away from the wall behind a radiator in the bedroom. That has been driving me mad for a good while so I shall be glad to get it done.

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

First Finish!!!

.....and it's done.....

My first finish of Twenty For 2020.
It just needs trimming up and steam ironing and then I can choose my next project.

I think I may be on the verge of getting my cooking mojo back at last.
Last night I made a very frugal pork and root veg tray bake with some yellow sticker thin cut loin chops I had lurking in the freezer. Nothing groundbreaking there but I served it up with steamed broccoli and a pork and cider gravy and it was absolutely delicious.
While I was in the kitchen I thought I would get ahead with tea for today and poached some chicken ready to make a chicken and leek pie with a crispy crumb topping instead of pastry. I hope Ruby likes it as she is a huge fan of my normal chicken pie. It will be served with Parmentier potatoes (ooooh get me.....lol), carrots.......and the obligatory gravy.

Nothing much going on here today apart from a bit of tidying and some hoovering when Andy has done tramping in and out so I will make myself a coffee and have a look through my charts for my next project.

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

Surely It Can't Be.......!!!

.....coming up to the end of January already!!!
Although it's a pretty boring month and usually drags it has flown by this year.
We've had one milestone birthday as DD turned forty and we have another one coming up in a couple of weeks when Ruby ticks over into double figures and turns ten. She is mighty excited about that....Ganma just feels old.....lol.
She's coming to stay this weekend and DD and I are taking her birthday shopping so that she can choose what she wants. She is into so many collectible things and has so many that we just don't know where to start anymore and I prefer her to have something she wants.

It's a pretty decent day out today although not fit for drying as there is hardly any breeze so looks like I will be using the tumble dryer again. At least that means I should get everything finished today and it will be out of the way so that Andy and I can go out tomorrow.
The forecast is cloudy with some sun and just a small chance of rain so we are off to Carsington again to try and do a longer walk than we did last week. No lunch out this time just a cuppa at the cafe when we are done.

In between laundry loads today I will be finishing off my cross stitch project (hopefully). The row of houses and trees and the top border are finished and I am just working on the snowflakes and confetti stitching before I  add backstitch to the lettering. The pattern didn't have backstitch on it but my personal preference is for solid looking text so that is another change I have made.
There needs to be some chalk painting and distressing done before it's a completely finished piece and I am thinking I may leave that until I have two or three pieces to do so that I don't have to get the paints out after every piece.

Time for coffee 😀

Hope you have a lovely day.
Sheila-x-

Cobwebs Blown Away!!!

We made it to Carsington Water yesterday and I am so glad we did. It was really lovely up there. The sky was blue, there was frost on the ground, the sun did actually shine and there was some warmth in it. Not enough to take my coat off but very nearly.
We had a good walk and a cup of tea and I bagged a couple of lovely bargains from the RSPB shop in their sale....a gorgeous notebook and a matching pen to use as a journal type thing for my cross stitch.
By the time we got back to the car the coat had to come off and then we took a leisurely ride back to our local for a carvery lunch which was absolutely delicious.
It felt so good to get rid of some of those cobwebs and we are going to try and make it a weekly thing....not always with lunch out but at least for a good walk.

Today I will be in the kitchen cooking ready for my Ruby. She had asked for tomato soup for today but she is coming to us tomorrow too which will a quick turnaround.....pick her up from school, give her tea and then deliver her to Brownies in the little town. I will save the soup for that and tonight she will have lamb meatballs in gravy.

A progress report on my first project of Twenty for 2020.....

I've not done too bad for saying I had those two days out last week and I didn't do any yesterday. I would have liked to have been finished with the houses and onto all of the snowflakes and confetti stitching but never mind....it's getting there.
I hope these progress reports won't bore you. They are really just for me to keep a check on how far I get each week.

Right....I am off to brown meatballs.
Thanks so much for visiting and the comments left on Monday's post.
Have a lovely day.
Sheila-x-

Monday!!!

Another gloriously sunny and frosty day and I am wishing Andy and I had discussed earlier what we want to do this week.
He has suggested a ride up to Carsington Water to blow some cobwebs away which would have been perfect for today. It is planned for tomorrow and although it should be dry.....it doesn't look like it's going be sunny.
Today I'll get all the laundry done and dusted and any other jobs that need doing and then we can go out and not worry about getting back. DD is off tomorrow so she can either come with us or stay home and have a bit of peace and quiet.
There is an offer of lunch out.....I am up for that as I am in a bit of a rut at the moment with meals. A day off from planning and cooking could be just what I need.

The cross stitch I am working on is coming along very well despite having had two non stitching days at the end of last week. Once the jobs are finished today I will be stitching in between washing and drying loads.

.....and that's about it for today. Andy has just nipped out for a walk around the fields at the back of us and once he gets back I'll make coffee and then get back to the jobs.

Have a wonderful day.
Sheila-x-

Two Sunny Days In A Row!!!

We woke up to quite a heavy frost this morning but the sky has been the most amazing blue and the sun has shone so we can't complain at that.

This morning I have roasted a lovely piece of lamb and served it up with all the traditional stuff. Andy and I have had ours but DD's is plated up ready to be heated when she gets in from work at 5:30pm.
She is absolutely loving her new job but I am not loving her new shift pattern very much. It's messy with three different shifts within a week, odd days off, early finishes and late finishes....I just don't know where I am but as long as she is happy then it's fine.

Pots are washed and I just have to run the hoover round then I am back to my stitching which I made good progress on yesterday.

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

It's Doodle Day!!!

I do get quite excited when I wake up and realise that it is Wednesday and Ruby Doodle will be coming for tea.....then I have to poke about in my brain and try to drag up what it was she had asked for for tea. Luckily today there will just be veg prep to do as she has asked for sausages and mash with stuffing and gravy. She does love dinners with gravy does Miss Doodle.

This morning I have got as much done in the house as I can as DD has a day off tomorrow and we may be having a trip to Derby. I'd like to have a wander round the market as there are some ribbons I need and some particular fabric I would like to find. On the way back we will probably call in at Hobbycraft as we are passing.....it would be rude not to....lol.
As I am fairly up to date with the jobs I feel a bit of sneaky stitching is in order until Ruby arrives.

Today would have been a nice day to go out and do a bit of tidying up in the garden but the lawn is like a mud bath after all the rain we have had so I think it will have to be left until things dry out a bit.

Kettle on and coffee though before I do anything else.
Have a lovely day.
Sheila-x-

My Start On Twenty For 2020!!!

I keep rabbiting on about my cross stitch so I though it might be a good idea to share with you what I am up to.
I have been very inspired by Priscilla Blain  and her daughter Chelsea who also put out a video on Facebook at Flosstube-Stitching with The Housewives every Saturday and would really love to have some Christmas pieces I can bring out every year to decorate with.
My challenge to myself is to complete twenty pieces large and small this year in time for Christmas 2020
My first piece is this one which I am currently stitching....

This was purchased from Etsy as a PDF download and I love it.

This is my version and I have made changes such as using 14 count Yorkshire Aida rather than struggling to use an evenweave fabric which kills my eyes. I also wanted the background to be grey to be in keeping with my decor and this fabric is just gorgeous. If I can find some more I would like to use it for all of my projects.

Other changes made are using green for the tree branches instead of doing them all brown and adding a pale yellow into the windows as light.

I am also using different threads to those called for as I was lucky enough to buy a good stash of Anchor threads last year when Hobbycraft were selling them off at 50p each. I chose lots of reds and greens specifically for doing Christmas projects.

I won't be finishing this piece like the cover photo either. I'm not sure yet how it will be done but it will be different....not because I don't like it but I just don't want it to be the same.

I am absolutely loving doing cross stitch again although my tastes have changed greatly since I used to do it over twenty years ago. Then I used to like doing the huge Mirabilia charts with beads and metallic threads. Not sure my eyes would like those now though.

Now I am all about the Christmas charts and there are thousands out there to choose from so I won't be short of things to stitch anytime soon.

Cupboard sorting has been done over the last couple of days but I still have two to go.

Household jobs have been done this morning so I am going to have a bit of stitching time now until I have to go and chop veg for the chicken tray bake I am making for tea.

Hope you are having a wonderful day.

Sheila-x-

It's A Grey Old Day!!!

I wish the weather would do something other than sit there looking blah. I'd love a bit of snow just for a change from everywhere looking brown and muddy. Just a couple of days would do 😁

It's rather chilly this morning so the heating is on and I am back in the kitchen tackling the cupboards where we keep the foodstuff.....taking everything out, cleaning the cupboards and checking for out of date things as I put them back. There shouldn't be anything to throw away as I am usually quite careful to use things up but you never know.

I didn't do a meal plan for this week so today I'll have a ferret in the freezer and pull out something quick for tonight and then sit and make my plan for the rest of the week before I nip out for top up shopping later.

.....and that is about as exciting as it gets at Tea Towel Mansion for today....lol. There may be time for some stitchy stuff later for an hour or so if I'm lucky.

What are you up to today?
Sheila-x-

The Best Laid Plans And All That!!!

I had a pretty good idea of how my day was going to be today.....empty the indoor freezer into the outdoor one, empty the fridge, switch them off and give them both a really good clean and refill them. Then I was going to make soup for tea with any stray veg lurking at the bottom of the fridge drawers.
Erm....no. Andy has decided that we are going out and that we are having burgers for tea. He is now on his way to the butchers to buy some. Burgers are not on my list of things I like to eat unless I really fancy one which is very rarely. I might just pick up some fresh salad and have that instead.

Didn't get much done yesterday as I did myself a bit of a mischief on Tuesday.....over reaching when I was cleaning the window in the kitchen. My shoulder was so sore but it seems fine this morning after a good soak in a hot bath last night so no excuse for shirking when we get back from wherever we are going this morning.

It was absolute bliss to have some time to get some cross stitching done yesterday in actual daylight rather than squeezing it in at the end of the day and using my bright LED light. I  don't usually start until after Andy has gone to bed so that I can stitch in peace and quiet and not have to listen to the dreadful programmes he watches.

Right I had better go and get myself ready for going out.
Have a lovely day.
Sheila-x-