The best laid plans.....

I had so much planned.
I had a comprehensive list.
I did the boring stuff first, changed beds, dusted, polished and vacuumed. Thank goodness.
Then the tired bug bit me, hard.
2 days slipped by, the only good bit was a visit from Jess and Ivy.
Jess gave me a lovely card and a wonderful painting of the Black Mountains.
She is an accomplished artist and her work is very much to my taste.

Apart from that I have walked the dogs, rustled up food and cleared the kitchen after eating.
I need to say here that most of the food has been cold. based on Cous cous, Bulgar Wheat and loads of fresh salad and herbs. I did go a bit overboard on a batch of tabbouleh and managed to foist some on to Jess. We had massive bowls of it and there is some left for tonight, I just need to decide what to serve with it.

I still have to load my photos and will try to get it done today.
I have been mostly sofa bound with knitting and you tube or free books on my new tablet.
 I was in bed by 8 last night, I did intend to read but soon realised that it was not going well. I threw the towel in and went to sleep, the dogs woke me early so I am glad of that.

I did get into the garden for a little while, weeding was done and it looks much better for it.
There is a growing collection of shrubs waiting to go in so I hope for another session out there soon.

The SO is busy sorting out a kitchen, he has moved cupboards and put some new ones in. He is now tiling and once that is finished has new flooring to put in.

There was a damp issue in one corner, a few people had been and looked at it with no resolution. He put ladders up outside and found that the neighbouring property had diverted their bathroom waste water into the guttering!!
Needless to say that has been resolved, as has the cost of putting it right.
Today and  Monday should see the job finished, fingers crossed as I need a fence putting in. The last stage of Herbie proofing the garden.

On that note I am off to have a cuppa before my morning garden walk round.

                         TTFN                                   Pam

Just call me clumsy or butterfingers

I am nursing a raw, sore and very scratchy throat, when I speak it sounds like a cross between Marlene Dietrich and Marlon Brando. I am slurping on strepsils, guzzling ice cold water and dreaming of eating my way out of a container lorry of Ben and Jerry's best.

I have had a lazy day, I have sewn some of the blocks together, some of the seam joints are rather thick, I had to put a thicker needle in the machine. All in all I think that I like it.

I had to feed my new batch of sourdough so rather than throw half away I made some rolls. They do not have the flavour yet but are pretty good none the less.

I made a big batch of base tomato sauce this afternoon, some of it had meatballs added and was poured into a dish of pasta, the rest I cooled down in a sink of iced water while I ate dinner.

I went back into the kitchen and took the pan out of the sink, turned to put it on the side ready to decant into freezer containers and dropped it straight onto the floor.
It was like a volcano, the sauce erupted into the air and splattered over half the kitchen, and me.

luckily I was wearing an apron so my clothes were mostly ok, I do have to wash it out of my hair though. I cleaned the floor first, so that I did not walk back and forth through it, the cooker front and hob, the work tops, my trolley, the fridge freezer, you get the picture. I did leave one little bit to share with you.

The absolute worst part is that I had put a stack of clean tea towels and hand towels in earlier and yes they were covered as well. They have been rinsed, soaked in Home Bargains finest oxy clean stuff and are now in the washing machine.

On the bright side my kitchen has had another blitz and is squeaky clean. Plus there was a large pot full of sauce left in the pan, so not all is lost.

The greenhouse is completed all but some glazing as some bits were missing, they have been ordered and will come via courier.

While digging out the ground in and around the base Michael unearthed several Bricks marked Cwmgors, they will all be incorporated somewhere.  I had been told that there used to be a brickworks here and it is nice to have these.

Reasons to be grateful.

1.  A sparkling clean kitchen.

2.  Some more goodies in the freezer.

3.  My sewing is looking very effective, it will be a gift.

4.  The sun has shone all day again.

5.  I have been given a load of young plants and cuttings for my garden.

I am so lucky with the people who live around me, they are kindness itself. If I am not careful I will have more plants than Kew Gardens.

Ben is sleepy tonight, our last walk was quite long and he was in a hurry to get back, I was nearly trotting on the way home. he will be going out again soon though otherwise he will be waking me up at goodness knows what time in the night.

Now I think there is time for a quick cuppa before that last walk  then it will be bed and a book.

     TTFN                                                                   Pam

Lots of Garlic, oh yes indeed.

Numbers 28 and 29 from my challenge are done and dusted, one is for me and one for Cerys.

Peg bags, not exciting but very handy, my last one fell to bits, it was over 20 years old and had seen lots of service. I did pick out the green binding for the pink with white daisies to match the dot in the flower middles. I just thought that it was a bit too matchy matchy so changed them round.

This is not my old pattern but one from this book.

Written by Debbie Shore, I have been a fan of her work since I first saw her on the TV a year or so ago. Her style is straightforward and uncomplicated, just how I like it.

I have this book by her as well but have made nothing from it as yet.

I have been dipping in and out of all my books since I moved, and found several that I had forgotten.

I made a small batch of Carrot and Garlic chutney, the ingredients are always available so no need to make loads. I was intending to make the Date, Apricot and orange but have 4 jars from last year. Again I can make this in small batches when ever I want to.

Lots of fat cloves of garlic, because they are cooked whole they are sweet rather than pungent. Little nuggets of flavour on the plate, brilliant with a sausage roll or pork pie, and superb with veggy burgers.

My first harvested courgette, 6" long and about 2" wide, I had a few spring onions and some mushrooms, and a few cooked French beans and sweetcorn kernels. Add a splash of white wine, a good dollop of creme fraiche, garlic puree and salt and pepper. Poured onto cooked Fusilli and hey presto, Pasta Primavera. A delicious and cheap dinner for 2 cooked in 10 minutes.

It might not be the classic recipe but it used what I had and was just the job.

Reasons to be grateful.

1.  After a near miss on Sunday I am feeling fine.

2.  Regardless of the weather reports we have had more sun than rain.

3.  More excess things have gone from the house, giving more space.

4.  I have started to dry some herbs ready for the winter.

5.  I am thoroughly enjoying the Elly Griffiths books.

On Sunday I went to Ammanford, shopping, with friends and after putting the shopping trolley away a blind,deaf idiot almost reversed over me. He/she drove away in a roar and left me on the deck. Luckily there were some decent folk there who helped me to my feet. I was very shaken and have been back on pain killers, I was stiff for a couple of days but am much better today.

 I hope to pick more blackberries tomorrow for cordial. The rose hips are on the way and I will make syrup and jelly from them as well. Rose hip syrup is so old fashioned, my Granny made it during the war and she taught me. I like it as a long drink with fizzy water and poured onto plain yogurt or vanilla ice cream.

The last 2 evenings have been on the cool side, I have been glad to have crochet on my lap, my big granny blanket is having the last 3 rows around it and will then go on the bottom of Francesca,s bed.

That is it from me tonight, I still have to read my blog list today.

      TTFN                                                     Pam

And another one bites the dust.

I pulled my basket out this morning, I had the liner all cut out and ready to sew, ready for ages, so cracked on with it. This is to be for my crochet so I decided to decorate it a little.

Because this is all about yarn I stepped outside my rainbow and used a simple bit of cream fabric with a small flower print. I had to add a splash of colour so raided my bag of crochet flowers.

Quite nice if I say so myself, baskety and a little flower power. My new Love patchwork and Quilting mag came today so I took an hour, and 2 brews, to amble through it. There is a positive waterfall of new fabrics in there that set my heart fluttering, BUT I will resist, I have more in the house than you could shake a stick at, why would anyone do that!, I have vowed to buy nothing till my 100 items are made.

My chutneys and jellies  are all boxed away and I have just got to pick up several heads of garlic for the next recipe. Carrot and Garlic, it comes from Sophie Grigson's Country Kitchen, a gift from my son in 2003, I have not worked my way through it but the recipes that I go to are used regularly. The oat bread is a favourite of Francesca's.

The minute I typed the last few words I knew that I was mistaken. The bread recipe does come from that book, but the chutney recipe is from an earlier book, also a gift from my son, Feasts for a Fiver. I do change one thing in the recipe though, Sophie states 3 heads of garlic, I use 20. It sounds an awful lot, but it is 2 heads per jar and we are all garlic lovers.

I was going to say that I use this book a lot, what I actually do is make many of the recipes, over and over again, so often that I hardly have to open the book at all now.

As I pottered my way through the morning, doing all the mundane chores, my eyes kept seeking out my basket. I like it, yes I do, but I do not love it was going through my mind. I gave up on the polish and took scissors, yarn, needle and my box of crochet flowers.

There, much better, now I love it.

I picked 3 shades of yarn and using a size 6.5 hook made a long fat chain. Keeping it fairly tight I wound it around the handle to cover completely. Then using Lavender and a pile of flowers I started stitching, I did have the sense to leave a space at the top for carrying. There may be a band of flowers round the edge yet, I will sleep on it. I am claiming this as the next finish and I believe it is 27/100. I still have not checked back.

Reasons to be grateful.

1.  The glorious finish to yesterday and start for today means that I need to go pick blackberries.

2.  My X ray results are back, no sign of any degeneration of the joints.

3.  I have been looking for a sieving mushroom and found one last week, it arrived today.

4.  My new Janome has had a deep clean this morning, it was quite disgusting, and not that long since I did it last.

5.  Dinner is all but made, Pie filling cooked and cooled, pastry made and in fridge, veg prepped. 

My little load of laundry was not worth doing but I emptied another box and found 3 sweaters, they were clean but smelled " shut up" so they made a load up and are now outside just about dry.

No more housework till Monday, Woo Hoo.

I am hoping to put off shopping till Monday as well, the shops will be quieter then. I just need to make some bread later, I will time it so that it goes in with the pie.

Ben is making " come on " noises so I am off out. Have a good weekend.

                      TTFN                                             Pam

A Day of Contradictions

Weather wise it has been a funny old day, we have had cold wind, driving rain, gentle drizzle and baking sun. My washing has been in and out like a fiddlers elbow, it is now in the corner of the kitchen sulking. It may have one more trip out, the sun is beating down now.

I started my day chopping all the components for a batch of River Cottage Gluttney, Onions, Plums, Courgettes ( a gift), huge Tomatoes and Apples ( from James). I did not make a spice bag, I could not find my muslin, so I used a generous helping of dried ground spices. It looks and smells lovely and will be just right for Seasonal Gift Hampers.

My Maslin pan was getting full and I still had the sultanas to add.

Ten jars came out of the pan, 2 had already been labeled and boxed before I thought to get the camera out.

While in  Hugh mode I though I would share my version of his Banana Bread with you, I baked it yesterday. It is the first time that I have used his recipe, I normally use Nigel's Black Banana Cake recipe, well my take on it.

I made one recipe up and if I make it again I will use a smaller tin to get a deeper loaf.

I did not have any apricots so used double the quantity of sultanas, then I crunched a couple of handfuls of walnuts up and threw in. The texture is "cakey" and light, it is too fruity for my taste and I will slice and freeze and use it for puddings. Nice as it is I prefer Nigel's version.

I had to get a bit of sewing in, I have unearthed a few UFO,s and this was one of them.

This will be a project travel bag and has 3 hexy flowers around the side. I made a whole stack of these a couple of years ago for a quilt, that is another UFO, and made far too many.

I had another lurking about so popped it on the base. This is another one knocked off my 100 challenge, I may have lost count but I think I am up to 27, I will have to check back through the blog.

Reasons to be grateful.

1.  The 2 aggressive dogs next door should be going on 

Saturday.

2.  I have enough plums left to make an upside down cake with flaked and ground almonds. They go wonderfully with plums.

3.  There will only be a small shop this week.

4.  I have put no weight on.

5.  I read a library book this week which is full of new to me cupcake recipes, I have copies.

Of course number 4 also reads as I have not lost any weight, not to worry, my jeans still fit me.

The sun is shining, albeit watery so the washing will go on an airer and Ben will get another walk in the dry.

I am off before it changes its mind, again.

                 TTFN                                               Pam

Order out of Chaos and a happy find.

It's been a busy old day, I woke up full of "get up and go" and did not want to waste a crumb of it. It was glorious and sunny although by the time I had 2 loads of washing pegged out it decided to go black and rain. Oh well the soft water will make it all lovely and soft.
I decided that Today was THE DAY, the day the utility and under the stairs get blitzed.

This little box opens off the kitchen and I used to avert my eyes when washing up. It was a dumping ground and I had a clear path to the washing machine, the rest was full. A trip to Ponty to pick up storage shelving and an hours sweating and swearing and all is nearly well. I just want to put some hooks up to hold the broom, mop and brush and dustpan, and find some little shelves to stand on the deep shelf at the back, all Ben's stuff is there and my cleaning kit and so on. 

(An hour later and the bottom 2 shelves now hold my boxes of jam jars and my stock of new lids for them, they had been hidden right at the back of the understairs cupboard.)

I then took my life in my hands and emptied the cupboard under the stairs, it is deep and narrow. There are some coat hooks on the wall behind the door and my Drizabone will live there with some umbrellas to keep it company, I will need to have some wellies also.

This is where all the clutter went to be sorted, the sewing/dining room, needless to say I have done no sewing today. Also the weather did a U turn and my washing is dry so I have an overflowing ironing basket.

This is the result, all electric tools on shelves, big bits of kit stacked right at the back and I managed to empty 3 suitcases and stow them away, result.

I will not be showing you the sewing room as there is still a pile of things to go through before it is presentable. My ironing will have to be done today, I hate hanging it over to the next day, it seems to take twice as long. 

There is a chicken in the oven that will go nicely with roasties, cabbage, broccoli and some swede and carrot mash. I did not cook dinner yesterday, I just cut some raw veg sticks, opened some cheesy snacky things and made some dips, lovely.

Tomorrow I will make a Lamb Curry for the freezer and huge, as opposed to tiddy, Oggies using some lamb, potato. swede and peas in a minty gravy.

Reasons to be grateful.

1.  A much tidier house.

2.  Room to move in the utility.

3.  Laundry done and dried outside.

4.  As always the Sunshine.

5.  Lots of help of the muscle variety.

There is no way that I could have moved all that stuff by myself. My 2 outside storage units have been assembled, 1 is in its designated place and the other is ready to be sited once the area chosen is ready ( a job for tomorrow maybe)

I have Michael to thank for all this achievement, he has worked hard for 3 days getting everything assembled and in place.

I ordered some storage units for James and Carys from Argos, they were out of stock and I was promised an E mail once they were available......Nada, zilch, a big fat nothing. So I looked on line a little while ago. Oh Yes they are in stock but the price has gone up quite considerably. I had a pootle round on the web but could find nothing else. Then I thought about Ikea. My nearest branch is in Cardiff, a 100 mile round trip which if you count the cost of petrol and time will effect the cost. I am going to have a look at their site later and see if I can get what I want and if they deliver. If the stars are in alignment and with a back wind James may get his storage soon and Michael will be putting yet more stuff together. Fingers crossed everybody.

I have still managed to get Ben out and walked and this afternoon I made a wonderful discovery. Peeping out of an overgrown bank of shrubs and blackberries was a beautiful crab apple tree, it is not laden with fruit but there will be enough for at least 2 batches of blackberry and apple jelly, and the berries will be ready to pick in a couple of days.

I must go and check up on the one and only Elder tree that I have found. I will be extremely peeved if I am beaten to the fruit.

The chicken smells wonderful and the roasties have to go in shortly, all the veg is in the steamer and I am really looking forward to it, I am rumbling.

  I have tea to drink so I will see you all tomorrow.

                          TTFN                                               Pam

Cushion Heaven

Numbers 9 and 10 have been filled, James and Cerys move tomorrow so I thought that some bright new cushions were needed. 

A bright red log cabin, so easy and quick to make and uses up some small scraps in the middle.

A scrappy Strip top, I sew these 5" strips together as leaders and enders while making blocks, before long you have enough for a quilt or a stack of cushions. I am only doing 1 cushion with these as I want to make one in Rail Fence blocks and 1 with HST. Watch this space.

After my enormous dinner on Wednesday I thought that I better eat healthier yesterday.

A mixed leaf salad with peppers, cucumber , celery, radishes and fresh herbs. I cute up a small piece of Cheddar and a smaller piece of cheese with Chilies.  It was lovely I used some Pomegranate Balsamic Vinegar and the little pops of heat from the chili cheese were tasty.

I had a small slice of my Banana Cake for pudding, it is small the plate is only 6".

This the log cabin cushion from the book I used for the knitting bag, I prefer the traditional method of dark on one corner and light on the opposite. I have made the Courthouse Steps version a long time ago, maybe I will make another once I have finished the other 2 for James and Cerys.

On another note altogether, my nails have been weak for years, they split and splinter at the slightest touch,I put it down to the fact that I always had wet hands at work or I wore rubber gloves and at home I was in the garden for much of the time.

I have tried various products at odd times but none of them stood a chance to work because as I handled food I could not wear any of it at work.

Well a while ago I read about a new product from Sally Hansen, Miracle Cure, it comes in a little blue bottle with a gold top. You have to apply a thin coat on to bare nails every 2 days. I have now put my 8th coat on and my nails are no better at all. I am doing less gardening (and less housework with all this sewing and crochet) and had hoped to see a distinct improvement by now. I will carry on for 2 more weeks and if there is no improvement I will be contacting the company. This pretty little bottle was £10 and I expect  to get something for my money.

Reasons to be grateful.

1.  The thunder during the night brought a little rain and hot sun all day today.

2.  My sewing is going well and you can not see a dent in the stash.

3.  Ben is still scratching but not as madly.

4.  I have a big salad for dinner tonight.

5.  Fran requested a Bakewell Pudding, so I have made 1 for the weekend, 1 for her to take back on Monday and 1 for a friend.

I did step out of tradition and used strawberry jam, I have used all the raspberry from last year. I will be out looking for some fruit next week. I say jam but it is all seedless, Fran can not cope with the seeds and I prefer to have jelly as well.  I am watching the blackberries, they are growing strong and I will be going off the beaten track to gather them. I do not want to upset the people who pick them every year from the easy to reach places. The Cobnuts are growing apace, I keep an eagle eye out for Grey squirrels but have seen no sign so far.

I am not sure what we will have for dinner tomorrow but Sunday it will be meatloaf, Fran will take a sandwich filled with some on Monday to get her through the train journey and I am going to make one for Maggie. I was having a cup of tea with her yesterday and the subject of weekend food came up, she almost drooled when I mentioned the meatloaf. It is not a recipe for one person so I will make extra and she can have it Monday.

 I filled my slow cooker with beef olives today, they are to be dinner for friends on Saturday, they do not have a slow cooker so I offered to make and cook for them if they bought the ingredients.

I have some seeds to set and I have to look for some more pots and troughs over the weekend, I have plenty of compost. 

I will not do any sewing now until Fran leaves on Monday, we will be far to busy talking. it is a good job that the cushions I have planned go together really fast. 

On that note I am off to the kitchen toot sweet, I feel the need for tea.

Have a good weekend.

                 TTFN                                                 Pam

Sunshine Jumped Boldly Through My Window Today

I woke at around 6 this morning to strong, hot sunshine blazing through the gap where I had not closed the curtains fully, deep joy, I was out of bed in an instant.
I have wittered on about making things and working my way through my fabric mountain, shown photos of bags and stuff. Last night I had a long look at the mountain and decided to throw myself a new challenge.

By the end of September I want to have 100 items sewn solely from the stash. That sounds like a lot so I am starting from last Sunday, the 6 bags and the baby quilt will give me a kick start.

I made this knitting/crochet bag yesterday and I am calling it number 8 from 100. It was in my book, Quilting In No Time by Emma Hardy that has been languishing on the book shelf for many a long month.It went together very quickly and I am really happy with it. I will use it for crochet it will hold several balls of yarn, and hopefully keep it under control.

This just jumped at me for the lining I will probably use the rest of the print in the same way.

These blocks were left over from a project 2 years ago at least, 15 blocks not enough for 2 cushions or a single quilt.

I found the border fabric in with my big yardage cuts, it was half price ages ago and is a Michael Miller print. The binding will be the red and white stripe from Marmalade by Bonnie & Camille for Moda. Both have been sitting waiting to be called to action. The blue print reminds me of the gum nuts from Australia and this is destined to be a small quilt for my SIL Sue in Perth WA. She will be able to lie on it next Australia Day, she is tiny and this will be perfect for her. It is in the obligatory Red White and Blue but does not look like a flag, it is unique and that will appeal to Sue.

I did not stop to eat much during the day so by dinner time I was really grumbling and growling. I had a big casserole in the fridge so ladled some into a saucepan. Then I whipped up a Yorkshire Pudding mix, while the oven was heating up I weighed out the ingredients for 2 Banana Cakes. The Yorkies went in, once they came out the cakes went in.

You need to see what  gannet that I can be.

My Yorkie filled with beef and root veg casserole and a small mountain of cabbage.

The Yorkie was 4 1/2" tall. and nearly as round as the plate, cooked in an 8" tin that is 2" deep. I did not mange it all, not quite, Ben was more than happy to find a wedge of pudding in his dish.

I did not think to take a photo of the Banana Cake but will share the recipe with you.

For a 2lb loaf tin I use:-

175 gms mixed brown and caster sugar.

175 gms soft buttery stuff.

75 gms ground almonds.

175 gms SR flour.

2 eggs.

This all goes in a bowl and I beat it up with a wooden spoon. 

Then I add a large soft ripe banana, I just pinch it into small bits with my fingers.

To that I add,

100 gms chopped Dark Chocolate, OR, 100gms roughly chopped Walnuts OR Hazel Nuts OR Toasted Almonds. Usually I add some of everything and sometimes I use 150 gms, sometimes only 50 gms.

I just tip it in and fold through the cake batter, turn it into a lined 2lb loaf tin and cook at 170 for 1 hour(ish) I check with a wooden skewer to see if it is done.

I never make less than 2 at a time and have made 4. they make very welcome gifts and keep well in the fridge. I have never frozen them as they do not hang around. I have used semolina in place of ground almond and chopped dried Apricots with Chocolate for those with an adversity to nuts. I have made it with cocoa powder replacing some of the flour for chocoholics. I give credit to the wonderful Nigel Slater for the recipe, even though I never fully follow it. The fact that no matter how I play with it and what I add it has never failed demonstrates how good his recipes are.

Reasons to be grateful.

1.  Sun glorious sun.

2.  A gift of some Raspberry canes.

3.  I put some Basil stems into a glass of water and they have rooted.

4.  Peppery radishes to add zing to my salad from a pot in the garden.

5.  Lots of sewing to do, love it.

I have decided to finish the current round of crochet on my Granny Blanket and then use the red to finish it off, it is getting too big and too heavy to handle. I had to stop and start last night as I was Glowing like the sunset. I hope to finish it tonight or by Friday night at the latest. I am going for some retail therapy with Fran on Saturday and we are going to Cardigan on Sunday and I would like it done and dusted before then.

I have potted up 2 of the little rooted Basil, I will be pinching them, out regularly so they make bushy plants ready to add summer taste to my winter meals.

You can just see a cropped pot of Parsley in the back, it will be split into 2 pots and will grow again, I have a pot of Thyme awaiting the same treatment, both came from the RTC section in the supermarket.

These poor little dwarf bean plants plus 1 in another pot were all that I got from about 20 seeds that I set, I have popped a few more in today and will keep my fingers crossed. Next year it will be climbing beans for sure, I have never had any issues with them.

I am off to walk Ben before getting some sewing time in and a visit to see Maggie later on.

                    TTFN                                                Pam

More Waiting but No Time Wasted

I did the trip to hospital this morning and it was relatively painless. My gear box has been a bit squidgey for the last 2 days so I dropped into the garage on the way home. There was a problem with the linkage, it did not take long to fix. I did not wish to sit around so borrowed a car and came home.

While I was waiting for the call to collect my car I found this out.

A pattern that has been sitting around for months and a duvet cover that was destined to become something else.

Here it is almost finished, I just have to find a zip and sew it in and finish off the waistband.

It has fairly deep pockets which I love in a skirt.

As you can see my purse will fit if I push it right down and it measures 8" wide by 4" tall.

I like this skirt, it is quite full but there is not a mass of fabric bunched around the waist. I am going to make this again, I already have 2 more lengths of fabric pressed ready to cut out.

Reasons to be grateful.

1.  A new skirt that fits and is just perfect for me.

2.  Two more in the pipeline.

3.  A quick turn round in Swansea this morning.

4.  My car was fixed for free.

5.  The sun has come out this afternoon.

The weather reporter said that today was to be the hottest so far, not in Cwmgors or Swansea. We started the day with a fine mist that turned first to drizzle and then to rain. It has not been cold just wet but as I said the sun is shining now.

The Hostas that were a gift from my neighbour have sent up flower spikes, once they open I will share them.I am keeping them in pots for now just in case I do move later in the year.

One more session of weaving ends and my granny blanket will be ready for a border, I must make a decision on that very soon. I need to get it finished as I want to make at least one more crochet cushion and then a Ripple Blanket. Sometimes I almost wish that I had not found Attic24, there are so many pretty things that I want to make. I need an extra day a week, just for me.

Enough, I have to decide exactly what I am having for dinner. I know that it will include some local new potatoes, mushrooms and garlic sauce. I am off to the kitchen to see what leaps from fridge to hand, I may just steam a heap of veg with the mushrooms over the potatoes. I do not need meat or fish for every meal, I have a plethora of cheese in the fridge and some Stilton would go wonderfully well in a garlic sauce.

     TTFN                                                            Pam