A forced break.

I want to say a big thank you for all your well wishes on my SW journey. So far  (only a few days) I am sailing through it with no issues or worries.

It is much easier as the SO has decided to join me, in part at least. He still has a few goodies left from birthday and Christmas!

We have some family issues which means that we have a houseful for the next few  whatevers days, weeks, months, only time will tell.

They are all happy to eat SW with us and can order in a takeaway if they feel the need.

This will make blogging on a frequent level, if at all, nigh on impossible, even the sewing room has a bed in it now.

I will try to keep in touch but will see you when this is done with.

Au Revoir , toodle pip, tatty by for now.

                       TTFN                              Pam

Is it a bird? Is it a plane?

No, it is Pam flying from here to there and back again.

Visiting the baby, deep joy. playing with and reading to Ivy, even deeper joy.

Cutting grass, well more like making hay! Not ours, one of the houses that the SO maintains. The tenant could not or would not.

Cleaning another house prior to decorating, no gardening here thankfully. There is outside painting to do, fingers crossed that will be completed today as it should be cloudy. (with no chance of meatballs)

Sticking to the SW plan, proving to be quite painless, too hot to eat fat laden food. A gift of cucumber and tomatoes was a big help, my young plants were attacked and died. but the courgette plants are very productive.

It was quite late on Friday when I shopped and most of my shopping was yellow stickered. It was mostly fruit, veg and salad and my fridges are full. 

I made a chocolate mousse with fromage frais, quark and cocoa powder, I wanted silken tofu but had run out it, was still very good. A dollop on top of a sugar free raspberry jelly, full of berries, slipped down our parched throats a treat. 

I have watched a few vlogs and picked up some cracking ideas. The Budget Slimmers are very down to earth, they are now on a "skint week" and are showing how beneficial it is to have a store cupboard and freezer stock. 

There are still 4 days till I weigh in, Thursday evening at 7 is the witching hour. I have no idea how I am doing, I do have scales, they are in the very back of the cupboard under the stairs and can stay there.

I have an early dog walk today and then we are off for the days dose of work. There is an enclosed garden so Ben and Herbie will be coming with us. Much better than having to run back at lunch time to let them out.

Time to go, see you on the other side.

                     TTFN                                  Pam

It may be late

But it is never too late to take on a new challenge.

This evening I joined around 30 other women and men at the local Slimming World group.

I had the "newbie" chat,along with another new starter, and then we joined the group. There was lots of good natured banter and general chatter, many were congratulated upon their weight loss a couple were commiserated with on a small gain.

After the weekly "business" was done we (the newbies) were registered and weighed.

I weighed in at     11 st 12.5 lbs, too much but not as heavy as I had imagined.

I have set a final target at 10 st 7 lbs, this is still heavier than I used to be but I feel it is an achievable and acceptable weight.

I have made my overnight oats, I add cinnamon to mine and soak them in water, milk is not on my favourite food list. I will have my dairy in cheese form.

That's all for tonight, I am surrounded  by snoring males and will be going to bed and leaving them to it.


                         TTFN                             Pam.

Big PS. I spent a wonderful hour this morning meeting the new baby.
 Of course she is Perfect.
Of course she is as cute as a button.
Of course she is the most beautiful girl in the world.

Second thoughts on that last one, she is joint first with her sister.

It may be a good thing that I can not take a pattern.

I Eat my Words.

I got to the ribbing on the new socks last night. I had recently watched the Bakery Bears latest episode and Kay was knitting her first pair of short socks. She used 1 x 1 twisted rib for more stretchyness, now I do not enjoy knitting rib. 
I would rather get on my knees and scrub floors.

I found myself emulating Kay anddddddd enjoying it!!!!

The neatness, the stretch factor, the look. It may well become my go to rib for everything.

having said that I have had reason to eat my words this morning.


I will NOT be buying any more PDF patterns no matter how much I want them.
 I am not keen on stretch clothes, that extra "cake room" is far too dangerous.

Well, the road to hell may be paved with good intentions.

I was reading the latest post from Jo at Three stories high. 

She has made a simple stretch top.

I want it.

She used a pdf pattern.

I now have that pattern, before the week is over I may just have a stretch top, or 2, or maybe 3.

Those words are a bit chewy, I might need custard to swoosh them down with. After all custard makes everything better.

On that humble note I am off to put the kettle on.

The things that custard fails on are mostly sorted with a cuppa.


                         TTFN                                      Pam

lovely news.

My friend has had her baby, a little girl.

Boo Hoo no acrylic 4ply yarn.....................yet.

We had 2 lots of rain...................................not enough but it is better than nothing.

The long scrappy socks are done and delivered. No photo as I finished them during a 10 minute pop in that escalated to a 90 minute chat a long.

The pdf pattern is on the fabric and cut out. I feel no need to "kiss and tell" as it could have just been my cack handedness.

I will, however, not buy any more from that designer, I will stick with Tilly and the Buttons. I have her first book and have sewn just about every pattern with no probs. I did not buy the new one as I am not keen on stretch clothes, that extra "cake room" is far too dangerous.

The dogs had all but 5 minutes of their walk in shade, the sun hid behind some clouds, and it was far better for them and me.

Dinner last night was a green Thai curry, stuffed full of veg, and so Ab Fab.
We finished off the fruit crisp, or should I say that the crisp finished us off.

Tonight I will be making something up with mushrooms, courgettes
and sweet potatoes.
If the oven goes on I will make a SW quiche as well, in fact I will do that. I have some extra large eggs  and some bits of peppers that need using up.

If it keeps dry I will possibly be painting later, once the sun moves round.

There is some ironing, but not enough to drag everything out for. So there might be time for some sneaky knitting, I am half way through the heel increases on the latest socks.

That's all for now folks.


                         TTFN                                      Pam

Pretty Damned Frustrating.

Or, Potential Dress Failure. Or, Project Diabolically Fashioned.

Notice the constant?

P D F. 

sewing patterns.

Tearing of hair, gnashing of teeth......
And a few naughty words.

Nothing lines up exactly.

The pattern was only available in that form. WHY?

This is my second PDF pattern this year. The first one was a free Tee shirt pattern, only 2 pieces so not much to go awry.
This current one was bought and was not cheap.

If I match the shaping lines then there are gaps and overlaps in other places. 
I have persevered and managed a reasonable looking pattern.
It is not the printer, I double checked before clicking to print.

I will be going back to Tilly and the buttons for my patterns. I will NOT be buying any more PDF patterns no matter how much I want them.

I did buy this last year but only printed it off for the first time yesterday.

Now I am going back to wash the fabric, I hope to start cutting out tomorrow.
Wish me luck.

                            TTFN                                 Pam

Here we go again.

Yes, it's the weather                     again.

My prediction, that once it started to rain it would not know when to stop, has been blown out of the window.

It rained and then, far too soon it stopped. We did have 2 cooler, overcast days.

Now we are back to being  hot hot hot.

I want to be wet wet wet.

Having said that, it is not all doom and gloom.

The painting has started on the outside, the side and rear elevations (ooh, get me) are duller than  dull pebble dash.
I had become so accustomed to it that I no longer saw it.

B U T No Longer.

It is being transformed. A coat of exterior paint is going on, simple Mongolia (magnolia really) is making it light and bright.

When we moved in it was to be just while we had a good look round for "the perfect home". Then as we settled in to both house and community, making some solid friendships along the way, this became that perfect home.

No, of course it isn't perfect there is a long list of things that need addressing, both inside and out. We are in no hurry, we used to hurry all the time. Skittering from here to there and back again, rushing through our lives and completely missing out on living.

Then we moved to Wales  (it was nearly Nottingham, I have no idea why) we slowed down, it seemed to be a natural process.
When you wake up to see the sun hitting the top of  mountain, just as it has for millennia, there is no reason to rush and hurry.

There may well be lots of Jones's living nearby, but none that we want to keep up with and none that want to keep up with anybody either.

So, no matter what the Great British Weather throws at us we will stroll through it and make the most of it.

Why do I start off with a plan of what I want to say only to have it evaporate and morph into something completely different?

Anyway it possibly keeps all you lovely peeps on your toes, wondering where on earth I am rambling off to this time.

I have a few things to do today and will be fitting in some sewing.

Dinner will be Iffits with salad, there is plenty of both in the fridge, and I may make a peach and blueberry crisp. I was flicking through you tube, in a mindless state and spotted the recipe. It has been printed off and I have all the ingredients.

I hope that you all enjoy your weekend as much as I intend to.

Take care, and don't forget the sunblock.

                         TTFN                                               Pam

To comment ,or not to comment

Or maybe, To allow comments.
Ilona, aka Mean Queen, has stopped all comments and turned her blog into a true diary. Hers has been a popular blog, read worldwide, for a long time. Her lifestyle is well documented and published here in blog land, on the TV and Radio. 
I have dropped many a comment onto her blog as have countless others.
She is quite right in her belief that things have to progress, otherwise they become stale and repetitive. After all we know the principles, Shop wisely, eat well, live both simply and healthily, become money wise and save up for purchases.

There can be little new to add and few original comments to make.

Over the years she has been plagued by nasty tongued trolls, who are too cowardly to leave a name.

Sooze (her Indoors) has suffered recently from that particular can of worms. I have had a few.

Yes it is painful to read vitriol BUT you can disallow anonymous comments. That rules out a large percentage of the monsters.

If I got enough of this slurry to upset me that is what I would do.

So far I am happy to choose to publish or consign to the spam bin any comments. There have been some hilarious ones recently trying to sell me Viagra. I struggle to swallow pills of any type, it usually takes a glass of water and a cup of tea to swoosh them down my gullet.
If those little blue pills act fast I could end up with a very painful neck area, and for how long doesn't bare thinking about.

I just take a quick glance and click them into oblivion. such a shame that the facility is not there to do the same to the authors of that spite.


We had some wonderful rain yesterday, it tried very hard to get beyond a nearly drizzle, just moisture suspended in the air, for 30 minutes. Then down it came, steady and thorough, exquisite rain for over 2 hours.
We had to go out in the afternoon and it was jacket, lights and wipers on. As we got into the car to come home the rain stopped, the sun came out and the windows were fully opened as it was as hot as Hades within minutes.

Hey Ho, every little counts and we had rather more than a little.

This morning there is a mist over the valley bottom,the sun is shining through a light haze and it is warm.

The garden looks vibrant and fresh, fingers crossed that the sun does not do its utmost to scorch it all again. 

Nothing much planned for today, possibly a shopping trip but it is not essential.

I was woken by Herbie this morning, he was sitting beside the bed with his face as close to mine as he could get it. He put just enough pressure on my pillow to wake me up, I hauled myself to an almost conscious state and came downstairs to let him out. Whereupon he turned tale and went back up to his bed. 

Cheeky Boy, must have decided that I had overslept.

Never mind, the washing machine is on, the bread is on and I sorted through the fridge while the kettle boiled.

There are courgettes to be picked, strawberry runners to peg down into pots, some floppy flower stems to be supported and a myriad of other small jobs to do. I will just work through them as I go through the day.

I did a little sewing yesterday, serged the raw edges of one dress and put the pocket pieces in. If I feel so inclined I will sew it together today, only 2 pieces, and bind the arm and neck openings. This one will not be lined as it is a heavy weight cotton, I have made a waist slip to wear with it if I feel the need.

The other dress may well be taken apart and become a skirt and top. I am not feeling the fabric combination now, probably the reason that it is not finished.

That's my lot for today, I will, no doubt, add to the list as the day wears on and I become more awake and alert. On the whole I intend it to be a slow and steady one. For some reason I was very tired last night and am still sluggish this morning. A walk will blow the cobwebs away, I hope. 

                        TTFN                                               Pam.

Born on the 4th of July. Not.

Well, that WAS the due date, but this baby has a mind of it's own. Perhaps it ought to be called Indie, nooooo nothing to do with Indiana Jones more to do with Independence.

That was a bit clumsy  but I hope that you get my drift.

I spent a wonderful couple of hours with Jess and Ivy yesterday. I had a couple of baby gifts and had made a basket of goodies up for Ivy. We played for a while, once she had woken up properly from her nap, and I even got to read to her for a bit.

I am looking forward to meeting the new little person when he/she arrives. I can envisage how enchanting the new baby will be as Ivy has such a presence. I have watched her grow and develop over the past year and a bit and she has amazed me.
I know that all babies have their own personalities that grow as they grow physically. I have younger siblings and I watched my own son grow and turn into himself. 
But it is still a wondrous thing and I feel privileged to have witnessed some of it with Ivy.

I came away feeling relaxed and as happy as Larry (whoever he is) and carrying 2 jars of homemade piccalilli. Oh Yum. 

Dinner became a simple vegetable and chickpea dish in a tomato sauce, I had an extra fat courgette so sliced it into ribbons and layered the dish like lasagne. I used fresh herbs from the garden in the sauce and put fresh Basil leaves in between the layers. I made a topping of bread cut into tiny cubes mixed with chopped nuts and more herbs and baked it in the oven for around 35 minutes. It was really good and I had a greedy serving. Followed, a bit later, with a slice of Black Banana cake. Stuffed to the gills I could not even manage a cup of tea for a while.

I nearly always cube the bread for toppings rather than make breadcrumbs, for one thing it is quicker than getting the processor out, and then it is easier to wash a bread knife up than said processor. Plus the bread becomes lovely and crunchy in the oven. I use my own bread which has lots of seeds in and that gives another layer of flavour.

This morning is pleasantly cool and fingers crossed it will stay that way. It was cloudy here for most of yesterday and at one point we had a little drizzle with a few real raindrops. It was a fleeting visit though and not enough to lay the dust. 

I was finally able to pick my knitting up in the evening and finished the toe increases and knitted quite a bit of the foot on a new pair of socks. It also enabled me to frog out several rounds on the long stripy socks. I got carried away while watching something on the TV and forgot to stop and measure. Consequently I had 15 rounds to frog back. It was not so bad, I just put a lifeline in and bingo it was done.

Now I am ready to shape the toes, my friend will have her socks tomorrow. 

There is still sewing to be finished but knitting will have priority while it remains cool.
There has been a whisper that we may get rain soon, very soon. Bring it on.
Just not so hard that it flattens everything.

Now it is time for me to get a wiggle on, it may be cool but the dogs are waiting by their leads.

                              TTFN                                      Pam

What? No Not me. How did that happen?

I was so stupid yesterday. 
We had cloud cover.
We had a cool breeze.
Ben and Herbie had their first walk at 6, and it was longer than usual. Because it was cooler than it has been for weeks.

Then Rufus was not up to a walk and Herbie wanted a longer walk again. All that young terrier energy.

We got home after 45 minutes.

It was still cloudy.
It was still breezy.

I could not settle to anything.
Sooooooo.

(here comes the stupid bit)

I went for a walk. Simples.

I was out for about an hour.

When I got back indoors I was really thirsty.

No probs, get a brew on.

Tea made and drunk.

Then I came over "all unnecessary" as an old friend used to say.
I was hot and cold, I actually shivered. My legs were wobbly, and so was the rest of me, I was very woozy, and not a drop of gin in sight.
I sat for a few minutes and then went to lie on the bed. My heart was racing and thumping and it was just a touch scary.

Then sleep hit me and I was out for the count for around 2 hours.
The first thing that I did on waking was to have a drink.

Looking back over the morning I realised that I had only drunk about a pint, 2 cups of tea and a coffee.

I had let myself get a little dehydrated, it was most unpleasant and I will try very hard not to let it happen again.

It was that fast and so easy. I usually drink plenty of water though the day, yesterday I was just revelling in the cooler day and dropped the ball.

What stands out in my mind is the number of people who were dog walking. Some were throwing balls for the dogs to chase, it may have been cooler but not enough for that.

I stopped to speak to a friend in the village who was off out, she had her baby in her arms and was standing in shade while her car engine was running. She had the air con running to cool the car down, she knew that the heat would have an adverse effect on the baby. She was visiting friends and had made certain that she could park the car in their garage. It would be easy to get the car cooled down for the journey back.


That made me aware of how quickly cars become little ovens and how there is minimal shade in supermarket car parks. I know that this amount of heat, over this length of time is rare, but we do have hot days.

The only supermarket car park with some deep shady spots that I can think of is Morrison's in Neath. I always park in the shade and there are always spaces free. This may be because they are the farthest away from the shop doors.
I had a brother in law who would ride round the car park to get as close to the doors as possible, he would have parked inside if he could have.

Anyway once I got back downstairs it was a glass of water while the kettle boiled and plenty more during the rest of the day.

Because of my afternoon sleep I was later to bed than usual. I watched that program about the man who makes microscopic miniatures. Am Az ing.

I was up at my usual time this morning and made sure to drink a glass of water while the kettle boiled.

Nothing planned for today, sewing to finish, decide on dinner, go through the fridges and make meal plan and shopping list.

The SO wants to give the walls another coat of paint in the utility room. 

I would love to sit outside and knit for a while. I have moved a few things around and made a little knitting nook in a spot that is shady in the afternoon.

Ben is mooching around the house, I think that he is ready for a walk. Herbie is still snoozing in his bed, if I rattle the leads he will be awake and ready to go. We will be back before 7 and the day can begin.

                         TTFN                                 Pam.

The First Sighting.

Ripe glossy Blackberries, ready to eat, just full of juice and plumptiousness.

They have the very best growing conditions, roots in deep shade and heads in the sun.

They are still in situ, there is no way that I would pick them.

Two reasons.
1, They are right on the roadside.
2, They are at prime dog watering height.

Such a shame, they are the first to ripen every year and are just about the largest wild berries that I have seen.

There will some in a safe picking place soon, unless of course they are blasted into oblivion by the weather.

I have just returned from dog walking, no Rufus today the heat has done him in, Herbie had a lovely snuffle round and is now tucked into the sofa corner snoring.
Luckily the sun was in hiding for the duration and there is a cooling breeze blowing through the valley.

I tried knitting last night and again first thing this morning, it was not a success. I did precisely 2 rounds on the toe up socks before the yarn stuck to my fingers and the fingers stuck to each other.

I finished sewing a gift yesterday, and even that was a sticky job.
 It required frequent visits to the kitchen for iced water, and just as frequent visits to recycle the water and wash my hot hands.

I am beginning to feel like a character in an Austen novel, ready to swoon at the drop of a hanky.
I am so glad that I do not have to be laced into corsets, just imagine how you would feel under all those layers.
I still shudder at the memory of wearing a liberty bodice. Only until I wised up and took it off  after breakfast and hid it under the mattress.

On that thought I am off to get a brew on.

                TTFN                                                    Pam

Old Guys Rule. Mmmmm

In their dreams perhaps, but in this house it's all about the shorts.

Fresh from the machine, straight onto the body! He is worse than a child with a new toy when it comes to new clothes.

There is one glaring error here, I do not think that he will ever be a recovering workaholic.

This pair are not quite finished, I ran out of steam.

It was a hot day but we got lots done, the kitchen is back to rights. washing all caught up with and, apart from the stuff waiting to come in, it is all ironed and put away.

There are 2 boxes of china, glassware and a couple of crochet blankets all ready for the CS next time that I go out.

Lunch was a sandwich and a glass of water, too hot for anything else, dinner was a cobbled together fakeaway again, just what I dug out of the freezer.

A small pizza, 2 Burritos and some salad. I would have cooked but the SO said not to bother. I had a box of breaded mozzarella in there and  dug them out as well. They were tasty with some cranberry sauce, and are one of his favourite snacky things.

I will have to cook today, there is a limit to the amount of scrappy meals that I will eat. Once my tea is drunk I will prep all the veg for a stir fry. 

I hope to get some more sewing done today, there are 3 part made garments lurking and someone wants his other shorts.

Those shorts fabrics came from the Flying Goose, I had been eyeing them up for a while and bought them on Saturday. Sue has some gorgeous prints in and there is a panel print in particular that I love.

It is dress length but too narrow for anyone over a size "How Small". But I think that I could use 2 of them as the fronts for a Kaftan or kimono style top. It needs a bit of thought and I will look at a few patterns and have a ponder.

Apart from that nothing much has happened around here. My lovely neighbours are helping me to cope with the marvellous crop of strawberries. Part of me wants to make jam but the realistic part says " Just look at the preserves shelf in the pantry, rather make that shelves.

We are hardly eating sweet stuff at all in this heat, the SO still has cookies left from the last batch. They are getting soft now so I may break them up and stir into some banana "ice cream". With some mashed avocado to make it creamy and some chocolate sauce to make it dreamy.

That really is it now, my tea is drunk and I want to take a little walk round the garden. Once the dogs have been walked it will be too hot, for me, to be out there. I will be buying some meal worms for the bird table on my next trip out. W said that they need extra protein now, he is very wild life orientated, so I will pick some up this week.

                              TTFN                                  Pam

No respite.

The world and his wife are talking about the heatwave. It looks as though that will  not change at any point soon.

My water butts are holding out, but 2 more weeks will see them at empty. The flowers are getting enough to keep them alive, the fruit trees are getting the lions share. If all else fails and the fruit does drop there will be enough for the birds and the insect population. Butterflies love apples, you only have to be in an apple orchard to see them thronging round the fallen fruit.

Knitting is a no go area, but I am sewing in small bursts. The SO has a penchant for bright coloured shorts and there are 2 pairs in progress.

We had a fakeaway curry last night, all dug out of the freezer, while it was very tasty it was just too much.
I had planned on making a fish pie, by special request, but that has gone out the window. 
We will have a stir fry, if I can stand the heat, or a big salad.

That's all that I have strength to write now. I need to check the washing whirlygig, I pegged out 30 minutes ago and I think that it will be crisp and dry now.

                          TTFN                                           Pam

A nice little windfall.

A couple of days ago a letter from my building society dropped onto the mat.
It contained a letter and a cheque for well over £100.
Apparently when I paid off my mortgage an error occurred and I paid a little too much.
That mistake came to light and compound interest has been added. Very nice indeed, I did think that perhaps I would buy another overlocker.
But common sense won though, thank goodness, and I have paid it into my account. It can sit in there till I need it. 
The  washing machine is quite elderly and sometimes does  not spin that well, so it may well go towards a replacement. One with lots of ECO features to save money in the future.
Whatever, it is a nice little addition to the coffers. 
Every little helps, as the jingle goes.

Yesterday was another hot one and not much sewing happened after all. I have the bodice and skirt together and the bodice lined on one dress.
The other is still in waiting, mainly because I cannot decide on which lining to use. The background colour is a soft pale cream, my linings are white, pale blue and pale pink. I think that either of them will show through, so I may have to look for some cream fabric.

All the necessary jobs were done and a tour of the garden led to a slightly painful decision.
We have lots of birds in and around the garden. We have feeders and shallow water dishes and they are being emptied almost as fast as we fill them. This dry weather is obviously having an effect on my feathered neighbours.

The protective covers are now off the soft fruit and the birds have free access. The dog bed "paddling pool" has some rocks placed in it so birds can alight and drink or bath if they so wish.

I can manage without the fruit but it may keep many birds alive and healthy. When we clear the top area of the garden that will become a little wildlife sanctuary. I already have  Hawthorn and Elder up there and will build from them. I need to do a little research first and then source the best food supply.

I would love to have a beehive, one of my friends in the village is a bee enthusiast who has hives scattered around various gardens, but there a several small children close by. Another thing to research.

Our cold dinner last night was lovely, we had a few hours of very heavy and humid conditions. It felt as though a storm was gathering but it came to nothing more than an increase in both temperature and brightness.

Tonight we will be having a pasta dish, I took a tub of basic tomato, onion and garlic sauce from the freezer. To that I will add whatever veg I have and some edamame beans, we love them. There are some Parmesan rinds in the freezer and one of those will be grated in for an extra hit of flavour.

I had a look online yesterday for a shelving unit for the utility room and found a bargain. It is on its way and will hold all my cleaning supplies that used to overflow the old shelf.

Now I think another cuppa is called for before I walk the dogs.

                          TTFN                                   Pam


PS. I have just been into the garden and there were 3 sparrows perched on the stones in the "pool".

Pop Up notifications grrrr

I can guarantee that within seconds of starting to write a post I will get a pop up from Toshiba, mostly regarding putting Office on here. I dismiss them all and would love to block them, that may well be a task for Francesca when she is here next.

Then there are the websites that offer recipes, patterns, whatever and every few lines there is an advert. I just click straight off, I assume that this gives the writer an income. I just wish there was a warning so that I could avoid the annoyance.

Ooh Er, am I turning into a whinger, perhaps I have already turned.

It is all these little things that mount up  and get right under my skin, I imagine that I am not alone in this.

I have a sewing sort of day planned, yesterday was a clean through day. I have finally persuaded Herbie that the vacuum cleaner is not an enemy and is not to be attacked. That makes for a much easier life. 
Threads and Herbie hair is what I am mainly picking up and have to stop and clear the brushes regularly. I can live with that, I would love a small cleaner but mine does a wonderful job. Plus it works (please let me not have put a hex on it) and while it carries on it will stay.

I actually cooked a meal last night, the day was much cooler, and I thought that it was about time. I cooked some veg, chopped up some cold roast chicken for a pie filling. I had intended to use soft herb cheese for the sauce but there was milk to use up so a bechemel sauce was duly made.

I made 2 so one will be for tonight with a chopped salad.


The weekend will not include much cooking,  apart from a fish pie that the SO has requested for Sunday. 

I plan on a big laundry catch up over the weekend. It will be squeezed in between other things. I am at The Flying Geese on Saturday and also plan on popping in on Friday. That will be for a catch up and a gossip. There was a small shopping list and I got that done this morning, before the main dog walk. Go Me.

I saw a recipe for chocolate ice cream on a you tube video, frozen banana, avocado and cocoa or carob powder. Guess what pudding will be over the weekend.
I had some ripe bananas, they are now in the freezer, and I will be buying an avocado tomorrow. I always have cocoa powder in the house, the SO loves coconut and chocolate cookies and/or cake.

Now the vacuum cleaner needs to go over the rug, Herbie had a good roll just a few second ago. He is now in his bed snoring. Then I am off to put a new needle in the machine.
I need dark thread in the overlocker, I am tempted to buy another just for dark sewing. It would be an indulgence though as I do not sew dark things much. I better resist.

                         TTFN                                        Pam

Number Withheld.

Do you answer that call?
I do not. nor the "Private Number" that pops up on the odd  occasion.

Even a couple of family members have messaged to say that they keep calling but we are never in. They know that we do not pick up, but still their numbers do not show. They cannot really want to speak to us.

I used to take these calls, then got so fed up with marketing calls and cold selling that I just stopped, I also went ex-directory. Some calls still came through and refused to stop when asked. I rang B.T. and had a stop put on the nuisance calls.

Then the news broke that the DVLA sell phone numbers. I contacted them with a formal complaint, that was when you could actually speak to a real breathing person. Eventually the calls stopped.

Then came the PPI fiasco, everyone that I know had multiple calls. I assume that we had some but by never answering a withheld number call we avoided them.

My landline phone hardly ever rings, but when it does it is usually someone that I am happy to speak to. That suits me fine.

I am not unsociable, I just do not want to interrupt whatever I am doing to answer a phone call that has no interest for me. If it is someone that I know then I am only too happy to stop and chatter .
If the number is not in my phone book so no name comes up I just wait to see if a message is left. 
If not then I ignore it, if there is a message I deal with it in whatever way I deem to be appropriate, perhaps I call back, perhaps I do not.
There are so many people who try to sell over the phone, not interested thank you.
Sky used to call on a fairly regular basis trying to sell upgrades and so on. I asked for the calls to stop, when they did not I told them that I considered it to be harassment. The calls stopped.

I know that those who work in call centres are only trying to earn a living. If there is anything that I need I will go and look for it, I do not want a stream of calls trying to sell me something that I am not interested in.

Right, now that is off my chest I will put the soapbox away.

Another hot day, a little breeze and the odd widespread cloud to give respite from the glare.

A trip to pick up more sand and cement, oh and paint. We considered lots of different flooring possibilities.
Tiles, too cold and can be slippy.
Vinyl, would have to be glued down and I am not keen.
Polished concrete, love it but the polisher would not work in such a small area.
Specialist floor paint, non slip with a rubber content, easy to keep clean. That will do nicely.

The Walls.
Tiles, too much work keeping them nice and shiny.
Paper, goodness NO. Takes me back to my childhood.
Paint then, the stuff for kitchens and bathrooms. Just the job.

Grey floor, white walls. Easy to keep clean and easy to change if I don't like it after all. There will be new metal shelving in grey and the washing machine and freezer are both white. I will possibly have coloured storage boxes on the shelves in a bright colour, that way it will not look like a morgue.

Dinner was simple again, home made scotch egg with a chopped salad mixed through bulgar wheat and quinoa.
The remains of the cheesecake with a drizzle of cream, perhaps a little more than a drizzle, and we were done.

I roasted a chicken for further cold meals, there is a chunk of roast ham left so I may stretch to making a chicken and ham pie. No making a bechamel sauce though, I will stir the meat into soft cheese with herbs and garlic. The pastry will be puff from the freezer, I used to make my own but not now.

Oh, would you look at the time, I am on the drag this morning. That is something to do with a disturbed night, there was a cat fight outside somewhere close at 2 this morning and they woke me and the dogs.
The SO managed to sleep through it.

Ben and Herbie are standing in the hall under their leads, I call that a subtle hint.

                            TTFN                                    Pam

Tuesday delights.

Absolutely nothing to do with Turkish Delight.

Another bright and sunny morning, with a gentle cooling breeze. Ben and Herbie have had their first walk, and breakfast, I am on my second cup of tea, a posh one from the pot. I am still drinking the lovely tea that Francesca brought me, she got it from a specialist tea shop in London, it will be all gone this week.

We are off to B&Q this morning for extra supplies of sand and cement, I may have to have a little look at the plants.

Crafting is restricted to sewing, I did try knitting again last night but the heat from my lamp was just too much. 

Food is mainly salad stuff, cooked grains with lots of chopped up veg and a splash of balsamic vinegar. We had a sandwich for a late lunch yesterday and just a slice of cheesecake for dinner. That was all that we fancied and it was lovely, unfortunately there is more for tonight.

My neighbour W was out yesterday and came home with a rigid plastic paddling pool for the dogs. Our one time neighbour D arrived for the afternoon with his little terrier and a pool party happened. Even Ben went in for a paddle.
I may have got my feet wet.

There is now a shallow pool in our garden, it used to be a dog bed but was replaced with a smaller one last year. It is perfect and has had the seal of approval from Herbie.

I used to have a wild life pool in my garden at Tydd, I think that when we clear the top section we will put one in here. There are some clay deposits scattered through the garden so some of that can be dug out and used to line it. It is along time since I paddled,or should that be puddled about, in clay to make a natural pond. 

Now the SO is making "are you ready yet" signs so I better get a wiggle on.

                          TTFN                                  Pam

Woo Hoo

We Have Rain.

I may have done a little dance.

Herbie possible thinks that I have gone mad.

He did join in.

The water butts are collecting ready for the next dry spell.

See you tomorrow.
                               TTFN                      Pam

It ain't half hot Mum.

Not complaining, I am storing up memories ready for the rain.
Because rain it will, and this being the UK once it starts it will not know when to stop.

I was reminiscing  yesterday about the year that we had to be out picking strawberries at first light and then finish at 10:00 am. 
That was to protect the quality of the fruit, nothing to do with working in a heatwave.
Later that summer it rained, boy did it rain, and we picked the black and redcurrants for dye. They were rotting on the bushes, we got a decent price for them but the laundry, OH BOY. Never mind the purple hands, that lasted for what seemed like weeks.

I had a sewing session yesterday, another dress.

It is very soft cotton and the lining is just as soft, very cool and extremely drapey for cotton.

The socks are off the needles and on the feet.

I made these with a very wide toe cast on, 32 stitches, 16 wraps for a Turkish cast on.

I did that by mistake on the previous pair, and he commented on how comfy they were, now it will be on every new pair.

You remember that yesterday I said no more casting on. I failed.
I needed a mindless knit last night so another pair is on the circular needle.

My fabric arrived, I unwrapped it and had a little stroking session.Then put it away till next week.

The SO asked me to make him some shorts, just simple jogger type, no pockets and an elasticated waist.
I ran up a couple of pairs and while they do the job I was distinctly underwhelmed with them.

I had a little looky looky online and ordered a pattern, we will see how it turns out. The pattern that I used was for PJ bottoms and is a bit on the baggy side. I did some tapering and shortened the top by 2" but would rather have a good pattern.
I also thought that putting those mesh inserts in would be a good idea. You know the things, they are in mens and boys swim shorts to keep it all decent.

I looked online, and I looked some more, then some more.

What did I find?

A big fat nothing.

So, if any one out there knows where they can be had I would appreciate a heads up.

I will share the new fabric tomorrow, it is getting on now and I have things to do.

I am all behind because I cleaned the oven this morning. I managed to spill something sugary on it while it was too hot to wipe off.
The sugar promptly burnt on. DUH.

Toodle pip.

                         TTFN                                      Pip.