It Had To Be Done!!!

I'm a bit late posting today as DD and I have just got back from the big town.
We had to go as there was a growing list of things needed from there. 
Thankfully it was fairly quiet when we arrived at about 10am but heaving by the time we left at around 2pm.
Everything was ticked off the written list but I forgot the pan scrubbers which were on my mental list. I really should accept that I need to write everything down.

There was a little bit of money in my crafting fund so I have treated myself to a couple of sewing books, a cookery book and a book on needle felting which is something I want to try this coming year.
I also picked up some small click and lock boxes from Poundland for organising some of my small sewing stuff.

Whenever I go to the big town I always come back feeling absolutely filthy so after tea I think a shower, a change into some jim jams and a night of film watching.
We don't do going out on New Year's Eve. It's always seen in at home with a drink and Andy always buys a pack of rockets to let off so we'll slip into 2017 with a bang.

Goodbye 2016 and good riddance.
I wish you all a very happy, peaceful and healthy New Year.
Love Sheila-x-

I've Got It Covered.......!!!

.......the dining table that is.
Pom Pom trim, embroidery threads, lace....you name it and it is on my dining table being sorted and stored as logically as space allows.
The charity shop bag is filling up nicely and my mind is being decluttered as well as the sewing stuff. 
There is hope that my mojo will return sometime soon. I love it.

Andy is also on a decluttering mission on the small piece of land at the back of the house. 
A part restored trailer has gone to a new home and other stuff is being shifted to make way for a greenhouse for DD. 
We are on the lookout for a secondhand one which you quite often see in the local paper.

With all of this busyness going on we will have a simple tea tonight of chicken and salad followed by a homemade Orange and White Chocolate Chip cookie.....which I am just about to make.

So all is well at Tea Towel Mansion today....well apart from the fact that it is absolutely freezing here today. It was white all over this morning and the fog hasn't shifted all day.
I've just lit the fire so we'll warm up soon.

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

 

Not Much To See Here!!!

Well the sun stayed for a little while and burnt away the mist but now she has gone back to bed and it's all rolling in again.
I don't think it's as cold as yesterday but it's still cold enough that I think we'll light the fire when Andy gets back from having his blood test.

The dining room is now completely clear of festive stuff so I will be working on bringing back my sewing things.....sorting as I go to see if there is anything that can go to the charity shop along with the pile of books I sorted out for them.
Once everything is back and tidy I am hoping to get back into the sewing that I have not been in the right frame of mind to do for so long.

Poor old DD is out in this cold for the day so I am thinking that a nice curry will be just the job to warm her up when she comes in tonight. I don't know what I will have as although I love the smell of curry cooking...I just can't eat it.

A couple of foodie things we tried over the holidays that will definitely be added to the list of things to have again......

Jamie Oliver's Spicy Parsnip Soup
http://www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/vegetables-recipes/spicy-parsnip-soup/
Absolutely gorgeous. Everyone loved it including Marlowe.

The Rich Winter Berry and Rum ham....beautiful. Really tasty and moist.
I thought cooking it in apple and blackcurrant juice would make it taste sour but it didn't.
Sorry I can't find the recipe on the A**a website but if anyone ever wants it I have kept the little book it was in so can easily put it on here for you.

......and my new favourite Christmas leftover thing....half of a small crusty baguette filled with thinly sliced turkey, bread sauce, cranberry sauce and squished cold garlic roasted brussels. Oh my word 😋😋😋

Right I am off.
Thanks for dropping by today.
Sheila-x-

 

Deconstructing Christmas!!!

Hello on this very misty and frosty morning. 
My most favourite kind of frosty morning when everything is covered in white without there actually being any snow. It looks gorgeous.

Lots of jobs to be done inside today including........

........the wrapping and putting to bed of the dresser decorations.
They look quite sad now that they have been taken off and the dresser is very bare......a blank canvas for a new display which there will have to be to stop Andy covering it in random c**p.

Laundry.....there is always laundry to be done in this house.
Hoovering......Andy has been at the nuts again and there are bits of shell all over the floor as he never quite manages to hit the bin.
Dusting away.....fake snow and coal dust and wiping away the soot from what must have been the smokiest candle I have ever burnt.....not impressed Yankee Candle Company.

After the mania that is Christmas it is good to get back into the swing of the everyday, mundane tasks. I find it rather soothing and relaxing to be pottering about and cooking simple meals again.
Tomorrow I will bake and use up the ingredients I bought for the Ruby baking session which didn't happen and I'll have a sort out in the fridge for leftover veg for a pan of soup.
Goodbye Christmas 2016.

A new calendar and diary are waiting for the new year to arrive and hopefully they will get filled with nicer things this year than hospital and doctor appointments although Andy does have both in the first half of January.

Right....one load of laundry ready to go in the dryer and six more loads awaiting washing.

Hope you are all enjoying getting back to normal.
Sheila-x-

A Little Bit Of Peace!!!

Just for an hour or so I have the house to myself and it is bliss.
All I can hear is the oven fan whirring around starting off the joint of beef that is in there cooking.
Andy has gone out to get some more parsnips and potatoes and DD has gone out to spend the vouchers she has from work at Christmas.
She uses them to buy her toiletries for the next six months which is very useful.

I am going to have a lovely fruity few months as I use some of the toiletries I got for Christmas.....Orange and Neroli bathroom goodies and Cranberry and Pomegranate handwash and lotion. There will also be lots of dancing around the kitchen to my new First Aid Kit cd's and probably an inch or two going on my hips as I eat the gorgeous chocolate chip shortbread biscuits made by Ruby and Mummy that were in the beautiful new biscuit tin they gave me.
For the first time in about twenty five years I have had no crafting gifts as there was nothing I really wanted to be honest and that did make me a little sad as crafts have been such a huge part of my life for so long.

After the year Andy has had I wanted something special for him to look forward to so he has had an experience day where he gets to drive an Aston Martin and then be a passenger in a high speed drive in an Atom. He loves it and can't wait to book his day for when the weather is nice enough for us to make a day of it and take a picnic out.
DS and DDIL got him a book printed called The Book Of Andrew full of facts and funny things about him.....it's brilliant.

DD is all about gardening, books and dvd's so she got garden centre and Amazon gift cards and a gardeners handcare set in a beautiful red watering can plus the most brilliant pack of socks from her friends. Every sock is different so I don't have to bother about matching them up when they are laundered....fantastic.

Some of the decorations will be coming down today....probably everything but the tree which stays up until DD's birthday on January 3rd.
The dining room needs to be put back as it was so that will get done today too. I am so ready to get back to normal.

Do you take your decorations down as soon as Christmas is over or do you keep them up until Twelfth Night?

Rightio.....I shall go and get on with this dinner prep.

Thanks for dropping by today.
Sheila-x-