Having some more fun.

The day dawned, wet and windy, very windy. I managed to get Ben out between the downpours, then picked Maggie up for our weekly foray to Lidl. I did my shopping for the week and it was under £14, £2 of that was food for my visitor cat.
She is a very slinky grey striped girl, wary but getting more confident by the week. She started calling in towards the end of last summer every week or so. Then as the visits got closer together she started to "talk" to me. I responded with a saucer of Ben's food. When the cold weather started I fed her every time she came and now it is almost daily. She is not a fat cat but equally she is not a bag of bones. She has been in the house a few times and I hang on to Ben, just in case. He puts his head on one side and gives her a quizzical stare, almost as though he can not decide what she is.

If the situation improves enough that I feel she is safe I will let her stay in as and how she wants. Until then she is a visitor only. I will try to get a photo.

The frame was assembled yesterday, but I was too late to worry about posting it.

 

Here it is, single size and ready to go, but............. The "Muscle" thought that I may as well have the extension on it as most of my quilts are Queen sized. So this morning and afternoon he was busy, and now I have this.



 

There is a lot of empty floor space under there, at least there was.

My large plastic boxes of fabric are now underneath and there is still space. I am going top get a quilt layered tomorrow and have a little FMQ playtime.

 

And now for something completely different.

Remember my pink roses from last week, well just look at them now.

 

 



 

The tulips finally bit the dust Monday so I got some more from Lidl, £2 a bunch as the roses were.

 



 

I love the colour and look forward to another 2 weeks of them.

 

Knowing that today would be busy, and that there would be a hungry man at the end of it, I got the slow cooker on first thing.

I soaked some chickpeas overnight and then as I was up very early I drained and rinsed them and got them in the slowcooker. I poured on a kettle of boiling water, chucked in a couple of bay leaves, 4 peeled cloves of garlic and a small piece of root ginger, I bashed it a bit to let the juices flow. That lot went on high for about 4 hours.

I drained them and added diced peppers, onion and some more ginger, this time I peeled and minced it. about a pint of passatta, and some chicken stock, enough to just cover the chickpeas and veg. Then I chopped and threw in half a smoked pork sausage, the end of a pack of cooking bacon and a small chunk of chorizo, all of these were dug out of the freezer and needed using up. I added a squirt of some spicy tomato sauce and a good glug of Worcestershire sauce, stirred it well and put it on high. About 5 hours later I dropped it down to low.

 



 

This was around 11.00 this morning.

 

This was at 6.30 this evening, just before I set to it, yum, yum, yum. The muscle had 2 lots and now can not move.

 

I have had lots of fun today, playing in the kitchen and turning lots of nothing very much into a delicious dinner, 2 helpings left for another day.

Watching my quilting frame rise from a couple of boxes of bits.

Getting my visitor cat fed and doing the shopping in the dry spells.

A very good day for me.

I nearly forgot, Maggie has made me a lovely bracelet, I will share it tomorrow, and hopefully let you see the frame at work.

I am going to buy a machine to go on the frame permanently, I think it will be a wise investment. I would hate to drop my Janome while transferring it from frame to sewing cabinet.

 

It is quite amusing, Ben and "the muscle" are side by side on the sofa, both snoring gently. While the madness that is Top Gear unfolds on the TV. I am not a petrol head but I like James May and the Richard Hammond.

 

Now I am off to wash up and then decide which quilt is going on the frame in the morning, I also need to reposition my sewing cabinet and table.

 

  TTFN                                                                  Pam