High Expectations!!!

I do make myself laugh sometimes at my unreasonably high expectations of myself.
I have ongoing lists of things that need to be done and things I would like to get done and I have added quite a few things to the latter list for this next week.
Now let's just remember that although my two are back at work this week there will be at most twelve hours when I have the house to myself and can really crack on with the jobs with nobody under my feet. I would think looking at the need to be done list that I will need more than twelve hours just for that. So how the heck do I fit in making two tiny dolls quilts, two tiny sleeping bags and four pillows before Wednesday?
Ruby loves to play sleepovers with her dolls so we have bought her the DesignAFriend bed which sleeps two with a pull out bed under the main bed. Trouble is she has four dolls now with the new one we have bought for her birthday so sleeping bags are needed for the two that won't be sleeping in the bed. I must be quite mad but I do like her to have everything she needs to play her little pretend games.

For today I am just using the last of the sliced beef in gravy for a quick Sunday lunch with fresh veg and Yorkshires.
No plans to carry on with Atlantis tonight as there is Call The Midwife and The Good Karma Hospital to watch.....mmm...I may be able to get some cutting out done then before we sit down.

Quite dark and dreary here today but doesn't feel too cold out.There are signs of spring in the garden with bulbs shooting up everywhere but it's still very sludgy and mucky out there.

Hope you all have a fabulous Sunday.
Sheila-x-

Fully Stocked!!!

DD and I nipped out yesterday afternoon and stocked up on things we were low on. Chicken, fish and veg for the freezer and store cupboard items so now I have everything I need to make meals for a month without having to do a big shop. We will just need fresh veg, bread, milk and maybe some eggs.
Ooooh I foresee a new pair of curtains in my future. I have been looking but can't see any ready mades that I like at all so it looks like I will be fabric hunting instead and making my own.

The plumber finally arrived this morning and our quote will be ready on Monday....again I won't hold my breath. I don't know if it's something in the air but tradesmen around here are so laid back that they are almost horizontal....lol.
He has given us a rough idea of the cost which made my eyes water just a bit but it will be worth it in the end......just the removal of the immersion heater and all the back boiler pipes will make it worth it to me as I will get a large storage cupboard on the landing and a pantry in the kichen.

It's quite a nice blue sky day here today. We are all doing our own thing. DD is still decluttering, Andy has done his jobs he wanted to get done and is now sofa hugging and reading the papers and I am as usual doing housey things....finshing the laundry and then there will be some ironing.
After an evening meal of gammon and salad we will all be snuggling down to watch some more episodes of Atlantis which we started last night. Not the best thing I have ever seen but watchable.

Thanks for all the lovely comments yesterday. I was so glad to know that I'm not the only one who hankers after the old ways...lol.

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

How We Used To Do It!!!

Image from Google

A picture similar to this came up on my Facebook feed this morning and set me off thinking about laundry as it was done by the generations in my family.
My Grandma had a dolly tub and mangle out in the garage and I well remember standing on a wooden stool to help her with the dollying exactly the way she used to help her Mother.
Everything was dried outside all year long unless it was raining and then it was pegged on lines in the garage and the doors at each end were left open for the draught to blow through. If it didn't dry completely it was then transferred to the clothes horse which had been handmade by my Grandad before being ironed on a beautiful wooden ironing board....again handmade by my Grandad.

The first washing machine I remember my Mother having was an absolute beast of a thing. It had to be connected to the gas by a pipe, filled with cold water and then lit to boil the water. When it was ready to go the clothes were put in and the lid closed and then the washing had to be agitated by hand via a handle on the lid. Once done it was removed into an oval tin bath and taken out to the back yard to go through the mangle.
After doing a morning of laundry the kitchen walls would be dripping in condensation and would have to be wiped down.

My first washing machine was another beast found from goodness knows where by my Grandad and it cost five pounds. A single tub with a mangle attached but luckily it did it's own agitating and the mangle was electric. I was so glad when it gave up the ghost and I got a twin tub in the late 70's. It was second hand and cost about fifteen pounds if I remember right and lasted until 1983 when I went over to the dark side and got a new fangled automatic. Then the washing took all day to get done instead of just a morning.
I wish I still had a twin tub. I used to love the smell on washing day.
I know we do have it a lot easier these days but sometimes I do miss the old ways of doing things. Now you can just shove a load of washing in and go off and leave it but I do miss the sense of order.....washday on a Monday with leftover roast meat or corned beef, mashed potatoes and pickles for tea. Ironing day on a Tuesday with everything put away and no more done until the next Monday. Every job had it's place in the week and try as I might I just can't get into that kind of routine any more.
Ah well....that's progress for you.

We are all busy here this morning. Andy is doing outside jobs....not sure what but at least he is occupied. DD is cleaning her room and decluttering and I am doing laundry and making a meal plan from the freezer inventory. We have more than enough meat to last until the end of the month although I could do with some more chicken and a stock up on frozen veg. Next week I want to get in the kitchen and make up some sauces to go with some of the meats which will go into the freezer for quick and easy meals so I need to stock up on things like tinned tomatoes and puree to make some tomato based sauces. I am aiming for a well ordered freezer so that I can have a better turnover in everything.

Well I have bored you for long enough so I will go and crack on. The plumber is expected today (still not holding my breath) so I'll run the hoover over first....and maybe have a cup of coffee...lol.

Have a lovely day y'all.
Sheila-x-

Ooooh We Are Naughty!!!

DD and I have been waiting since October to watch the latest season of Rizzoli & Isles. With Andy back at work on Monday night we were able to start watching it.......and we finished it at 3am this morning. It was brilliant, ended on a cliffhanger and now we have to wait until October to see what happened when the next and last season are available on dvd.
I had a couple of things I wanted to do after we finished watching and finally went to sleep at about 5am on the sofa. I had the best night of sleep I have had for ages.

Not much going on here today apart from a bit of tidying up. I'm not having to cook as DD and I are going down to watch Ruby and Marlowe at teatime and DS is cooking a spag bol for us all. Andy will just get himself whatever he fancies.
DDIL is having a fabulous day in London with her sister and DS has to go out to a work training session.....on his day off the poor fella.

Smudge seems to be responding very well to the medication he is taking and is much brighter and bouncier bless him.

The promised wind is starting to get up. The old apricot tree is swaying rather alarmingly but the new fence panels look pretty solid thank goodness.

......and that is Tea Towel Mansion today....nothing too exciting but I can live with that...lol.

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

Just A Normal Wednesday!!!

It's still cold and very damp here and poor old DD is quite miffed that she can't get out in the garden. She has taken herself off out to shop for Ruby's birthday present instead.
I won't be going out until we take Ruby home after tea tonight so I'll be doing a freezer inventory to see what meat we have and if I can make it last until the end of the month.
Any money saved on the grocery bill will go towards some new curtains for the lounge....either ready mades or fabric for me to make some depending on what I find. I think I would prefer to make some as we have a very wide window that is difficult to get ready mades for and I do actually like making them.

The plumber was supposed to come last week to measure up and give us a quote for our conversion to oil but he didn't make it so now we are expecting him on Friday this week instead. I'll not hold my breath....lol. I would like it done soon if we decide to go ahead as that will save us having to buy another load of coal.

I've just had a lovely hot cuppa and got myself nice and warm and now I have to go digging in the freezers. I should have done it the other way round really shouldn't I....lol.

Hope you are all having the kind of day you want to have.
Sheila-x-