A parcel from America.

Today has been a real Red Letter Day, the sun has been shining, even while we had a little flurry of hail.
I had washing on the whirly thing that came in iron dry.
My shopping came to a grand total of £14 and that included food for Ben for the week.

B U T........ Best of all was this,

The post frank. Exciting stuff.

The contents snug inside a ziploc bag.

Look at those dinky leather thimble dots, I will be saving them for my next bit of hand stitching.

Two reels of Aurifil thread, I look forward to finding out whether it is as good as some stitchers say.

No fewer than 3 charm packs, all in colourways that will mix wonderfully and a mini charm pack to match.

I have a pattern in mind I just need to check that I have the correct pre cuts.

All of these came from Lisa at In the Boon Docks, I have followed her for ages and entered the give away and then promptly forgot about it. In fact I found out that I had won from a commenter before I had the email from Lisa.  As this was on the cusp of Christmas I knew that it would be a while before the package would be coming. I put it to the back of my mind and let the dust sift over it, so today was a great surprise.

I have made a start on a second wreath, a few flowers  and about threequarters of the  ring cover are done. This one will be completely different, but you will have to wait to see.

I am off to eat my dinner, left over  curry under a puff pastry lid, it smells gorgeous.

                   TTFN                                                   Pam

Hands Up, Baby Hands Up.

To all those who tuned in to see Ilona on Good Morning Britain I say, WOO HOO, Go Girl Go.

She was remarkable, kept her cool and made her point with no histrionics and no lecture.

I would love to see a special featuring her, it would help to get the message across to some of those who need it.

To the presenter who remarked that veg stew was a strange thing to have for breakfast I would like to say a few things.

1, Have you never heard of Kedgeree.

2, What about kippers.

3, Ditto Devilled Kidneys.

4, Have you never crawled, half comatose, out of bed at the weekend absolutely starving, spotted the remains of last nights takeaway and put it in the microwave or even scoffed it down cold. I know that I have, more than once.

5, What about the pancakes and bacon drowned in syrup.

6, The Aussie lamb chops.

7, Smoked haddock and a poached egg.

8, Rice and spicy veg.

The list of alternatives to the modern concept of cereals, toast or bacon and eggs is massive.

I do not suppose that many of the people from Asia would consider cornflakes and milk to be food, never mind the most important meal of the day.

My youngest sister had 3 chocolate biscuits and a cup of tea for breakfast as soon as she was old enough to say the words. My Mum,s thought was that at least she was eating something.(the biscuits were home made)

My brothers would eat stew and dumplings for breakfast if they could. They certainly had cold rabbit pie every Christmas morning for years. I have often made a breakfast pie, filled with diced bacon, baked beans and eggs. Just the thing to take into the fields to feed hungry small holders.

Right, enough, I am now officially rumbling. 
My breakfast today? 
 A home made biscuit (US recipe) with onion, bacon, cheese and herbs in the mix, defrosted in the microwave and washed down with a cuppa. YUM Cost was minimal, the bacon is from Lidl around £1.40 per Kilo, the onion were £1 for 5 Kilo from Farm Foods and the cheese was about £1.25 per Kilo from Tesco RTC . I used stale milk, rather than tip it down the sink I freeze it to use at my leisure.

Ben loved his walk in the sun shine this morning, as did I, now I have washing to get on the whirly thingy.

                         TTFN                                            Pam

Flowers aplenty

The wreath is on the wall, not too shabby but I know that I can make better colour and layout choices.
No excuses, I am determined to work through the stash before going shopping for more.

I pinned the petals out as they were just a bit curly wurly, a quick spray of starch and time to dry. I could have given them a shot of steam from the iron but that meant plugging in. 

What is wrong with that? I hear you think, apart from the waste of electricity there is a smallish pile of ironing that I am very studiously ignoring.

So starch it was, it did not take long to dry.

I tried pinning on the table and my lap and could not see it at all, then 

                                                                                

I put a ribbon on it and hung it on the wall, Elementary my dears.

Here it is, much as I want to have it close and in view, it will not be staying. I have told my friend Angela about it and she was almost purring, and dropped just a few dozen subtle hints that she would love one "if I had the time and the wool" of course.

It will be on her wall very shortly. I can crack on with another for myself.

Dinner was a hash of left over roast veg, a few rashers of streaky bacon and an egg. I was not very hungry and although soup was planned nothing is spoiling and it can happen tomorrow.

Ben was as pleased as me to see that the torrential rain had subsided to a mere drizzle, we enjoyed 2 good walks and are about to venture out again. We will deliver the wreath and Ben can have a cwtch with Angela, they will both enjoy that, while I hang the wreath. 

No need to drill and screw, it will go where the Round of Robins was at Christmas.

I popped into The Works this afternoon, I had to go to Neath today instead of yesterday, and they have moved everything. The craft section has shrunk to half size or less and there were piles of plastic tat, shame but I will not give up on them just yet.

I looked in the Charity Shops but nothing took my fancy.

I was accosted in the street by a very personable young man,  he was trying to get financial support for Greenpeace. I made my excuses and left, my charity commitment is set in place for the next 2 years.

I had a quick look in Morrison's, nothing to write home about.

I did pick up some laces for my flat ankle boots and some tooth chews for Ben in Wilko,s. That was the sum total of my shopping, I should not need anything else before the weekend and then it will just be milk, fruit and veg.

I must get this walk done.

                            TTFN                                       Pam

The Storm has landed.

At some point in the night the storm landed in Wales, the wind is hurtling down the valley from the south west and various bits of debris are being arranged along the way.
The road is now a shallow ford and cars are creeping along, well the majority are. The odd idiot is ploughing through at a rate of knots and causing small tsunami,s to rush over the pavements.
I had to winkle Ben out this morning and he made all of 10 yards before stopping for the necessary and turning tail for home.
I have finished the sleeve for my wreath and started making flowers. The daffodil tutorial from Lucy at attic24 is so simple to follow and very effective. I will get some more done and attached before I share.
Dinner is done, ready to reheat. Chicken Tikka, Sweet Potato and Butternut Squash curry and I will make flatbreads later. I plan on feeding 2 tonight and having enough leftovers to make an awesome Oggy for the weekend, again to feed 2.
This comes from the legs of a cooked chicken, half price in Tesco. The breast meat has already made 3 meals and 2 sandwiches. The bones and skin are in the slow cooker with some garlic, celery and carrot. The stock will go into a batch of broccoli and Stilton soup, also for the weekend.

Thanks to Ilona, Mean Queen of the world, I now shop very savvy. Ilona is vegetarian, while I eat a small amount of meat and fish, but since I started shopping as she does I have cut my food budget savagely. I am eating far better health wise and it shows. I can walk  for well over an hour, slowly with Ben but at route march pace on my own, with out getting out of breath in the slightest. I am running up and down the stairs easily.

I have never been the kind to throw money, or food, away but never consciously set out to look for rock bottom prices. The odd times that I scooped up a 90% reduction were serendipitous. Then I started to mooch around Tesco on  Friday evenings to while away an hour. I started to pick up bargains on a regular basis and now this is the basis of my shopping routine. I still do not buy vast amounts, just what I can use or freeze but the savings are fantastic.

This weather will keep me in doors today but as soon as the wind drops a bit I will be out. The rain is no problem, I have the correct clothing and will not get wet at all.
I took some raspberries out of the freezer last night and made some jam this morning, just 2 jars and the rest into a dish. The fruit cost me 55p and the 700 gs of sugar works out at 35p, so my jam cost 90p for 2 1/2 jars and is over 50% fruit. I call that a real bargain. It only takes 5 minutes boiling so even the gas cost is minimal.

I have some out of date milk, it needs another day or two then I will make a batch of scones using some of my bargain basement butter. They will freeze well and will supply weeks of treats spread with the jam. I can almost taste them.
Right, time to gear up and get Ben out for a paddle,he is snoozing on his cushion but needs must and all that.
Before I go I just want to grovel a bit to all my new, and newish, followers. Blogger has been changing numbers and the little pictures appear and vanish rapidly. Welcome to one and all, I hope that I can entertain you, albeit briefly, and perhaps make you smile.

                     TTFN                                                   Pam

Still poking and hooking

The raggy rug is growing slowly, it would be slower still but I have a volunteer to cut the fabric into pieces for me.

I have put a candy stripe binding on the edges, not the best bit of stitching, I should have done this job first. Judging by the sheer volume of scrap fabric that is cut up I will be making a few more of these and will be binding first. It is soothing to gather a handful of colours and then poke the bodger through the hessian, snap up a strip and pull it into place. There is quite a bit of fraying and I think that it gives a soft, impressionist look to the project. Once finished I will run the vacuum over it and spray with a light coat of fray stop.

The scumble bag has been tucked away for a little while. I have  spent an inordinate amount of time drooling over crochet wreaths, Amy from Love made my home and Lucy from Attic24 to name but two  sources of envy have made some beauties. 

I bit the bullet, grabbed my scrappy wool bag and set to, this is the work so far.  

It is almost long enough to cover the ring form that I have and I have a good supply of crochet flowers to decorate it with. I will need to make some leaves and I do have a couple of little crochet birds to tuck in. This will be spring/summer, I plan on an autumn and a winter one as well but will need another form from Hobbycraft. 

The walking is coming on also, by tomorrow I will be bang on target.......Providing that storm does not blanket Wales with 2 feet of snow.

I spend a few lazy, indulgent hours over the weekend watching Simon Rimmer and James Martin make some glorious food. My hands were busy even though my backside was glued to the sofa.

 I do not copy their makes but cherry pick the bits that appeal.

For instance I planned a tray of roast root veg for yesterday but after seeing Simon cook potatoes I cut all the veg into 1/2" cubes and tossed them into hot oil with lots of flavouring and roasted for 30 minutes. With some spicy sausages it made for a fast and very tasty dinner. I had intended to throw in a good amount of sliced spinach to wilt down but forgot to pick it until it was too dark.

I will get some today and use, I have some cheesy garlic bread slices (RTC 15p a pack of 9) and with a few bits from the fridge will transform some of them into pizza.

I picked up the equivalent of a whole pineapple, prepared ready to eat, for 10p. That went into, or rather under, a  3 egg sponge mix yesterday and made a cake/pudding to give 8 decent portions. I only used half the fruit, the rest is in the freezer for another day. Half of the cake will be going to another home later today. I was given 3 lovely salmon steaks yesterday, and like to return the favour.

It is high time that I made a brew, I was awake very early this morning and have been busy. 

The sitting room has been tidied, clean throws and cushion covers are in place. The sewing room has had a good firtle and looks much better for it. I was speaking to Fran yesterday and told her that it looked like a scene from The cat in the Hat.

OOH, before I forget, Ilona the Mean Queen from Life after money, is in the Daily Mail. I went and had a look, signed up and left my little comment. There are, of course, lots of negative comments most of which focus on the fact that the reporter was told by Ilona that if she drank tea to bring a tea bag (as Ilona only drinks coffee) but, true to form, that bit was left out.

But, hey ho, the paper does have a reputation to live down to so I was expecting much worse.

Off now for a much needed brew. 

                  TTFN                                             Pam

Iffits, slice and poke.

Dinner was a repeat of Iffits, but different to yesterday. Smoked Welsh Cheese with salad, a splosh of Balsamic and a crusty Tiger roll to soak up all the juices, YUM.

The slice was not pudding, it was to sooth my furrowed brow. I still can not find my knitting pins, I have resigned myself to having to buy new ones and make another roll to keep them in. SIGH, mutter, putter, swearswearswear.

See my slices,

Just a small selection, I have been busy with rotary cutter and rulers.

A closer look, now you get it.

An unintentionally blurry shot of my playing, the background is some of the blue Hessian (Burlap) that I was gifted.

As usual I was impatient to start so I did not stop to cut the Hessian to size or hem the edges. I am going to carry on for a little while and then decide on what size. I am considering binding the edges, just like a quilt for a neat finish, I have lots of binding left over from my quilts.

These strips are from retired duvet covers and sheets, there is also a bit of leftover quilting fabric as well. And I have been given a huge bag of tee shirts to cut up. I may have to make a carpet ;-)

This will keep my hands busy while I watch a bit of telly and make a change from crochet, we won't mention Knitting.

I see that Ilona, Life After Money, has done another yellow sticker shop. She certainly picks up the bargains. I will have a look tomorrow night but do not need much. The cheese that I had for dinner was a RTC bargain at £3.00 a Kilo for Llangloffan smoked cheese, it is usually £15 per Kilo.

It is really smoked not the injected or soaked in smoke flavoured liquid sort.

I have kale, spinach, parsnips and purple sprouting broccoli in the garden. I picked up a massive bag of onions from farm foods for £1, I have carrots and swede in the fridge. Oh and I nearly forgot the big vine ripened tomatoes that Tesco were selling off for 20p a tray of 5, they are big enough that each one sliced will do 2 sandwich rounds.

They also make lovely soup.

Ben is curled up beside me making "old man sleeping in a chair" noises, little snuffles, snorts and almost snores.

I am going to settle down with some vintage Midsummer Murders and my ragging.

           TTFN                                                           Pam

PS, After the lovely crisp air and sunshine from yesterday we were back to grey and soggy today.

A Sparkly Heart and Iffits for dinner.

I am fast getting back to normal, a 3 mile walk, albeit in 2 parts, and a trip out to Swansea has filled today.
Yesterday I did my usual run to Neath  and whiled away my hour waiting with a snoop round the shops. Poundland is stuffed with Christmas leftovers but nothing took my eye, not even the cheap as chips Crunchie bars. My sweet tooth was still in bed I think.

Marks and Sparks was full of fuddy duddy "old person beige" even the colours were a bit on the beige side.I may well be pulling 60 but I am not ready to dull down.

The indoor market was busy, but again held nothing to tempt me.

The next shop was The Works and I had some points on my card, £3 worth exactly. Well  I walked up and down, round and round and even tried sideways. Nothing reached out to me, nothing that is that I did not already have at home.
In desperation I looked at some kits for bags and what nots, then BOOM, hiding behind some amorphous stuff was this.

The inner solid heart is black and the ribbon is beige!! but I saw possibilities and it was £3 so free with my points.

I got it home and after a restorative cuppa set to work.

Off came the ribbon and out came one of the plastic containers, the one with the sparkles in.

Some strips of gold glittery ribbon and a few gold sequin strands and I am almost pleased with it.

Think think,

Ouch, that hurts a little.

Got it,

Well, maybe. I may have to try a rose either ribbon or crochet. What do you think?

I still have to find my Knitting pins, they seem to have vanished. I just hope that they did not hide in one of the bags that went to the charity shops.

There was a very hard frost here this morning but the sun has been shining out of a baby blue sky all day. washing dried on the whirly gig, I will get it ironed after dinner.

On the subject of dinner I have nothing planned, yesterday was poached eggs and bubble and squeak  which was gorgeous, and I can think of nothing but chips today, No No No. I have lots of healthy food in the fridge so it will be Iffits. Iff its in there I will eat it. I have salady things and home made coleslaw and may whizz a jacket potato up to go with it.

I walked to the local library this afternoon, just over a 2  mile round trip, to see about ordering some of the Mary Stewart books. I had checked the on line index and they have them all, but the computer was down, rats. I am in Neath again next week so will go into the big library there and have a look.

It is turning bitterly cold again, the curtains are pulled and the heating is on, Ben has a full tummy and is snoozing, I have an empty cup so am off to make a brew.

Keep warm, there are lots of bugs out there looking for a chink in the defences.

                          TTFN                                         Pam

Itchy, fuzzy and luggy, still hanging on.

Morning all, a nice grey drizzly one at that, Ben does not mind at all, he still wants his walk.
The ears have stopped popping but the itchy and squelchy feeling has spread inwards and met in the middle, so I am still fuzzy and my balance is a bit off kilter. BUT I do feel much better and want to thank you all for your concern and comments.
There has been no crafting, I dare not trust myself with scissors and sharp pointy objects, I am hoping to do some easy sewing later today and I want to hunt for my knitting needles. They are in a roll somewhere, I may have to empty out the sofa storage and even under the grace frame. I want to gather some different textures for my scumble project.
On a good note Mary, one of my lovely neighbours, has given me what seems like acres of royal blue hessian fabric, even more lining fabric and a massive pair of curtains made from the same stuff.
I have unpicked the curtains and one of them is in the washing machine right now. I am certain that this will shrink alarmingly so I washed one and then will compare it to the other to find out exactly how much.
I will make her a couple of boxy bags, as requested, for her and maybe a little something from the "ready made" box will go into them.

I have also realised that I never got around to sharing the last of my Santa sack swap. I can not remember how far I got so will show the last 4. I know that I could look back and check but that seems too complicated for my fuzzy brain just now.

Gorgeous cards and a cute Owl key ring, the cards are in my bureau and the Owl is on my favourite bag as a charm.

Jigsaw fridge magnets, now holding my notes to me on the fridge.

A perpetual calendar, Francesca took one look at it and begged for it, so it now hangs on a wall in Beckenham. 

I am off now for some hot chocolate, my throat is a bit scratchy and I could not tackle tea or coffee. It is far too early for ice cream, plus I do not have any. I may have to make some later.

                      TTFN                                                Pam

Sneezy, dozy, sweaty, shivery, achy. luggy and dopey.

That's all me, specially the last two. Both ears have been bunged up and it has been bzzzzzz, bzzzzzzzzzzzz, POP for days. The treatment has rendered me incapable of coherent thought, in fact of any sort of thought. Do I want a drink was a hard one to cope with at one point.
The bug bit me very hard and floored me in a few hours, I think Francesca sent it via a text message, and from fine to foul took from lunch to dinner.
 As the days progressed I have managed to skip read through a few books. Watch several episodes of Stella and a few less of The Sopranos, I tried to get it but just can not see what made this so successful. Perhaps I should wait a little while till the brain has cleared properly before having another go.
I have started to catch up with blogs, the news from Dawn was so sad, and have found a couple of new ones to read.
The house needs a good bottoming but will have to wait, hopefully I will be up to it next week.
I did summon up the spirit to make a batch of Pea and Ham soup this morning, it looks good but my senses of smell and taste have been affected. I do have a guinea pig who will taste it for me though.
I have a few things to get sorted and some books ready to send out, once I can make it to the post office. I am now sadly behind in the walk 100,000 miles challenge but will play catch up on that as well.

I am going to take Ben out for a little walk soon, I am sure that he is sick of plodding round the garden on his own. I willplay safe and use a walking stick, just in case.
The sun is shining after a wet and somewhat snowy start, the mountains were white this morning.
The forecast is a mish mash and I will wait and see what each day brings, tonight's trip to Pontardawe has been called off, I dare not drive quite yet.
A quick look at emails is overdue, I rather fancy that the delete button will be in overdrive, I will winnow through them and only read the ones that I have to.

See you soon, hopefully with something to show you.

                 TTFN                                                    Pam

Mt gast is absolutely flabbered.

Last year I cancelled my computer protection with Norton. I kept the emails confirming this, thank goodness.
Today I went through my bank statement only to find that they had taken a years payment from me. Cue steam pouring out of ears.

I got on the 'puter to contact them and got someone called Yogesh.

I stated my complaint, asked for my money to be refunded and gave all the necessary details, after several exchanges, I got this,
"Pamela, Norton protects your computer from thousands of threats and vulnerabilities. However there are some threats, blah blah. My response was,

" this is not the issue, Please deal with the refund now"

back came,
"Pamela, we have free virus removal assurance blah blah"

"Also I see that you are using Norton protection for your computer since long time. As a valuable and existing customer I can offer you, blah blah blah"

"would you like to go with the offer?"

I sent,
"NO, I want my money back, what part of this can you not understand, perhaps I should speak to a manager"

Back came.
"Please allow me 2-3 minutes while I organise the refund for you.
Thank you for your patience"

My mind boggled. Where was the patience. Had we been face to face it may have been a case of ABH.
I have printed off the complete exchange and have saved it in documents for future reference.

It is a good thing that I do not keep alcohol in the house otherwise I might well be stinking drunk now.
Ben and I went for a good walk.
My equilibrium is restored.
I feel good.

Heaven help them if they try it on next year.

On another note, I walked a mile today, less than usual as I did not measure the distance I walked around Neath. I especially did not measure the distance round the shop where  6 balls jumped into my basket, and subsequently came home with me.

In penance I helped Maggie to move another car load of stuff from her house, and did not respond when she told me all the things that she was looking for on line.

Dinner is a spicy, tomatoey porky thing with pasta.

I have some crochet to show you tomorrow, I want to do a bit more tonight first.

                        TTFN                                                     Pam

Whiling away the hours, Avoiding all the showers.

Showers, mmm, about 100 power showers all at full blast. We did manage 2 very short walks yesterday without dissolving or being soaked through. In contrast this morning we did 3 miles in sunshine, although I did have to slow down for the last part home for Ben. And in an hour I will be back out to walk to the library, another 2 mile round trip, that will help to make up for yesterday.
So, what did I find to occupy myself,

I now have 40 of these in various colours, all starched, and the yarn selected for another 40.

I did some blog hopping and added some of the blogs from bloglovin to my blogger reading list. 

The last one that I added was Crafternoon Treats, I have been following for some time but Bloglovin is annoying, I log in via email then have to faff about to get it on full screen, so much easier on my dashboard.

I played with hook and yarn trying out different ideas for Scrumbling, so addictive, and have a few bits for the first project. It is not decided upon yet, I must finish my garland first.

I watched quite a few craft videos on various blogs and bookmarked a few to try. While I was at it I removed some of the bookmarked pages that I have used and do not need again.

I drooled over some yarn and fabric, but did not buy anything. Ditto with some clover hooks, and some books.

Then I sat back and watched some of Stella, I downloaded the box set. I have no idea how I missed this the first time round, it must have been on when I was working. I do like Ruth Jones, and am loving this. 

Ben on the other hand was less than impressed.

He did have a quick glance,

But could not see why I was laughing and soon put his head back down. You may also notice that he has a good portion of the sofa, in fact he took my seat when I put the kettle on. I had to move to the other sofa as he was not budging at all.

The sun is shining but there is no real dry out, all the flagstones are still standing with water.

I have some weeding to do and some spinach to gather for tonight's dinner, omelette and chips, I also want to dig up the rest of the parsnips and get them prepped and frozen.

First though it is library time, that is after I have thrown a little pile of clothes over the ironing board and under the iron.

                        TTFN                                         Pam

You Hoo, now for a threefer

I have just found Scumble art, Oh My Goodness It Looks Stunningly Crafty Stash Busting. I need to get the  garland finished so I can get Scumbling.

Do Do go and have a look.

                     Pam

A Twofer no less!!

I have just been trawling my blog list and read Fat Doormouse, and Woo Hoo found another crafty blog to follow.
Crafty in the Med, not only is it crochet led there is a giveaway running, A Fat and Thin one to boot. 
It all looks very yummy, and includes some of everything, greedy old me is going to have a go.
Why don't you all pop over and visit? There is always room for one more follower or visitor.

BTW I got my 2 mile walk in and then took Ben for another short walk and then it hailed and rained and as a little treat did it all again, lovely.

                           TTFN                               Pam

It never rains in Southern California,

That's because it is all in the UK right now, I took these when Ben and I went for a paddle this morning.

Water pouring out of a garden, this is not a drainage channel, it is very silty and is run off from the high ground behind some houses.

It is pouring off the pavement and some of it is going straight down a storm drain.

Then a few yards away it is bubbling up from another 2 storm drains, around a corner and turning into a river on the main road.

This is the side of the road that I live on, and that is the front of my car, I wish it was Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.

But at least the water is running down hill and disappearing into the drains further down. So far nobody has been flooded although those who live opposite me are keeping a close watch, they have been flooded in the past, more than once.

On a more cheerful note I have selected the 2 books to go, that will make room for my new ones.

I realised that I have 2 copies of the Fat Quarter Makes, and I have made all that I want to from the Star Quilt book. Anyone interested?

I am remiss in showing the gifts from the 12 days of Christmas swap.

Day 7 was a ball of squishy soft yarn, I am almost certain that it will become a pair of fingerless gloves.

Day 8 was a sweet treat, chocolate and nougat, the chocolate WAS delish and the nougat will be enjoyed later. I love it but can not remember the last time I had any.

Day 9 was a packet of hand made cards, lovely and I may send them out or I may put them in a frame and hang them in the sewing room for inspiration.

Day 10 was a cute Owl key ring, I have a favourite leather bag from Australia and am going to attach this to it as a bag charm.

And now for a confession, I have a small pile of stars ready for the next section of wall, but..... I was trawling round Attic 24 and clicked on her snowflake pattern. I was Hooked, he he.

So, last night I had a little time out to do what took my fancy ( take time is my mantra this year) and made these,

I have pinned them out and sprayed with starch, when they are dry I will decide if the next bit of garland will be flakes or stars, or maybe a mixture of them. Any ideas?

The rain has all but gone so we will be off out for a decent walk soon. I just need some milk today and can pick some up from the local C K,s .

It will be a bit dearer than Lidl but no petrol cost evens it out.

I have planned meals for 2 weeks using what is in the fridge, freezer and pantry and apart from milk and some fresh veg there is no shopping involved.

I will be in Pontardawe as usual on Friday evening and will have a saunter around Tesco. I will check out the RTC section but will only buy if there is a real bargain that I can freeze or use in my meals rather than dip into the freezer.

Oops, I nearly forgot, When I walked yesterday morning I popped into C K,s for some wood glue (cheapest place I have found it) and picked up 4 blocks of Lurpack salted butter for 50p a pack. It is in the freezer, there were around a dozen blocks but I wanted to give someone else a chance. It was not my favourite butter but at that price it is now.

The time has come, for that walk.

                            TTFN                                      Pam

Last bargain of 2015

On New year's Eve I took my usual trip to Neath and had a good walk round, picked up a bargain or two as you have seen already. What I did not include was the very last one that I found in Tesco. I stopped on the way home to get a loaf of bread for Maggie. While I was in the shop I took a leaf from Ilona's book and looked at the RTC shelf. I was looking for something specific, cheese. I like to keep a stock of grated hard cheese in the freezer and I hit gold. 

This mature cheddar was already on a half price promotion and then it had been reduced by half again. I found 6 blocks that together weighed just a smidgen under 2 Kilo and cost me £5.43. It has been grated and frozen in  boxes, I have enough for several weeks now. I will keep my eyes peeled for Stilton next week, last year at this time I picked up enough at less than half price to last almost 6 months, I grate it and freeze in small amounts. It does not grate as well as cheddar so I pop the blocks in the freezer for half an hour first.

I have made good progress with the stars, the first section is up and looking good, it has 37 stars and I want to add something starry to the ends. I may add a single large star in the space above the loops.

The second section is under way, I have changed the shades used and added another colour for this one. Not for any particular reason, just to use up some more small balls of yarn.

There it is, too long for me to catch in one shot, it is hanging straight, I was on the bonk with the camera.

We did a 2 mile walk this morning, a bit over as we went as far as the library to check the opening times for next week.

The sun is shining and the air is warm, I had to undo my lightweight jacket on the walk and was still hot. I will be off for another walk later, there is a footpath that I want to explore, it is too far for Ben so I will hopefully clock up 5 miles to help make up for yesterday. I only need to do just over 3 miles a day but know that there will be some days when walking is impossible, either because of the weather or commitments. I am recording the miles in my diary and there will be no cheating, why would I cheat myself.

I am keeping my fingers crossed that this dry spell lasts for a few days, but even if it is just today it is welcome.

I watched Sherlock last night, I am not sure whether or not I liked it. There was great emphasis on the drug aspect and I feel it over iced the cake. I thought that the ending was good, hinting that the modern version was a drug fuelled dream.

I watched Mrs Brown,s Boys, yes it is rude at times but I found it very funny, much better than the Christmas Day showing. I don't know about you but I think that Brendan O'Carroll makes a better looking woman than he does a man.

That was the sum of my telly viewing yesterday, I had a good look through my Kaffe Fasset books and did a bit of surfing.

Ooh yes, I did the draw for the Kirstie book, Empire of Dirt, she is all yours, email me your snail mail and I will get it in the post.

Now my cup of tea is cooling rapidly and demands my full attention.

                   TTFN                                           PAM