Yesterday, All my troubles were so far away.

We enjoyed glorious sunshine yesterday, washing done and line dried, ironed, aired and put away. Lovely. A spot of gardening, some ambling around with Ben, it was far too nice to hurry, a few jobs done around the house and a cheap, tasty dinner.

This was taken early afternoon, the sky was even bluer than on the photo. Then within a couple of hours this happened.

We did not get rain but the temperature dropped alarmingly and by 6.00 it was dark and the heating was on for a couple of hours.

Dinner was less than £1.50 for two, I had a cheaty moment and bought some chicken kiev from Lidl, half price offer and did a tray of roasted veg to go with them. I chopped up a carrot, a parsnip, a large sweet potato, half a smallish squash and 2 red onions, I also added a head of garlic separated into cloves but not peeled. I tossed these around in a splash of oil, some balsamic vinegar and a good pinch or salt and pepper. The garlic head was huge and would have pushed up the cost but was free. I went out one day last week to a "do" (also free) and bought a raffle ticket, I won a food hamper, fresh and tinned which will all be used.

I did take photos and loaded them onto the lap top which promptly hid them from me. Take my word that it was colourful and delicious. The Kievs were very tender but not so garlicky as I would have liked, I did expect this though and that was why I put so much into the veg mix. It was very filling and some veg was left over, it will become the base for soup with some stock and a few of my cherry toms and a tin of cheapo baked beans with the sauce washed off.

My new to me front door curtain is in place and looks good, I will repeat some of the photos that are awol and post later, It cost me £4.50 and is good Sanderson fabric, fully lined and still had the hooks in place.

My new crafty idea is about to commence so again I will take some repeat photos.

The rain that was forecast is here, but I care not. I have lots of things to do and only need to go out to walk Ben and we both have raincoats. I just wish he had wellies as well.

I had a very good enjoyable and productive day topped of with a delicious meal that cost very little ans cooked itself. Today I am going to cook some Lamb Chump Chops in the slow cooker, just as Frugal Queen and Karen of Chelmarsh Chunterings do. I bought a pack of 11 for just over £4 from Lidl, 3 of them will become Scotch Broth at some point, I normally use scrag end or breast for this but the celebrity chefs have promoted those cuts and pushed the price up, just as they did with Oxtail and pigs trotters.

 I do like winter food, a dish of something steaming hot with little dumplings swimming in a lake of rich gravy, heaven.

 Soup made with all the odds and ends of veg from the fridge bottom served with toast or a handful of rice or pasta added during the cooking time.

Chicken noodle soup, a stew more than a soup, made with chicken bones saved from roast dinners and hoarded like gold in the freezer.

All of these make my heart sing and put little strain on my purse.

That,s it, I am now in dire need of breakfast, oats cooked the Scottish way with water and a pinch of salt is my favourite, but as I need the calcium I will use skimmed milk.

TTFN                                                           Pam

The Beast is Tamed

The Beast is of course the lap top, my photos are now loaded and I can share them with you. Be aware this is the stuff of which dreams are formed.

I am going to have this framed, there is a little shop in Ammanford that do framing, and hang it on the wall in front of my sewing station where it will inspire me.

I have taken a couple of close ups.

How beautiful is that, one day, maybe, I will be sharing my work with you.

In my present were lots of other goodies to help me get started.

Pretty thread in glorious colours, I am going to have so much fun with these.

Some beads, charms, fabric ( I see a very special book mark for me in that) and 2 needles in a holder. Everything that I need in fact to make a start.

With a very happy card inside to encourage me on.

It felt like having an extra birthday, I am so pleased for this and will be sure to "pay it forward" at the first opportunity.

I have found, in the short time that I have been blogging, that Random Acts of Kindness happen frequently in blogland. The American blogs, that I started off reading before writing my own, would often mention RAK's. I took them with a pinch of salt but have come to understand that this is worldwide. I have had parcels from the States, Australia, Germany and Singapore alongside some from the UK. I have also sent some out myself, as my Granny said, "What goes round comes round." and I read The Water Babies and Mrs Do as you would be done by was a favourite character.

Digressing to the world of blogs, I recently stumbled across Frugally Challenged and would like to follow but there is no way that I can see to do so. I do follow her other blog, Trundling Through Life so will have to remember to click over to check regularly.

I went into Ammanford this morning, silicone stuff was needed for the glazing bit of the greenhouse. I popped into Lidl to get another bag of bread flour and some lard, £1.07 to add to my total. I did pick up 4 ground cover plants for the side of the greenhouse for £5,00 but that comes from the garden budget. That also applies to the roll of green covered wire netting that I picked up for £3, that will form a tunnel to protect my garlic from marauding cats and playful birds. There will be loads left for other projects and as the cheapest ready made tunnel cloche that I have seen was £3.99 and too small makes it a Bargain.

I can see myself turning into a Garden Bore, I will try to restrain my self and not publish photos of every new leaf that unfurls.

Reasons to be grateful.

1.  My lovely gift, I will use every last thread.

2.  My new found friends who have welcomed me to the village.

3.  The sun that continues to shine on us.

4.  My poor neglected roses that have bloomed continuously.

5.  The wonderful Welsh people who are friendly and helpful where ever I go.

I am so glad that I finally plucked up the courage to move across the country, I could not be happier. I know that I go on about the sun a great deal and I know that summer will end and there will be cold winds and rain. I also know that I will enjoy those times as much as I can, my days will not be spent moaning about the weather but rejoicing in my crafting. being thankful for cooler evenings with my crochet spread over my legs without melting from the heat of it. 

The smell of luscious casserole meals wafting from the slow cooker and the scent of freshly baked bread or herby dumplings perfuming the air.  There will be fruity jams and jellies to spread on thick slices of toast, oozing with salted welsh butter, from a local farm. Jars of spicy relishes to add a bit of oomph to savoury foods and steamed puddings swimming with the afore mentioned jam.

The of course as soon as Spring arrives I will have to garden and walk like a mad thing to get the weight off.

That is not quite a mere jest.

I have a small piece of RTC welsh beef to roast for dinner and as I have a fancy for sausage rolls will be sliding a tray of them into the oven while it is hot.

I have also started a new batch of Sourdough, I will have to divide it tomorrow so will let you know how it turns out. I do not waste the bit that I take out, I make something if only pancakes or flatbreads.

I am off outside now, I need to tidy round a bit and put my new plants into a water bath, they all need a good drink. 

    TTFN                                                  Pam

A Rose is a Rose by any other name.

I owe an  apology to the owner of Isabeau Inspirations, I have been rattling on and calling her Hayley when her name is Hilary. I have no excuse and I have apologized in person. She is a lovely woman, as you will see a bit later in this post.

I wanted some simple sewing, chewing gum for the brain really, a No Sleep Night left me unable to cope with thinking.
I pulled out some pinks for a cushion and found my Thangles, I must have had them for 3 years.

I picked my fabrics and started sewing on the lines, and on and on and on. Tedious. I persevered and with the aid of some white on white I now have this for a cushion front.

This is for Fran, I was going to make a log cabin back for it but when searching for the white I found these.

These were the scraps from some projects at least 2 years ago sewn into HST as leaders and enders, the little pile on the left are still pinned.

All sewn now, the small pile on the left are trimmed to 2 1/2", I have left the trimmings so you can see there is very little wastage. All of this was new fabric and even at sale price ( I tend to mainly buy in the sales) I hate to waste a smidgeon.

I will finish this job when it cools down a bit and lay out ready to sew tomorrow.

It is too hot to eat much, I rustled around and found some almost crisp celery, scrubbed and dunked into iced water and it was  soon revived. Some natural yogurt and crushed garlic with chopped herbs, Yummy.

I did have the heel of a loaf of bread with it and a smallish bit of cake for pudding and enjoyed every mouthfull.

I walked past "Cherry on Top" mid afternoon, they make amazing cakes and do a good range of home made food, the heat was rolling out of the door and there was a family group eating inside. I do not know how they could do it, the sun was full on the front of the building and I would estimate that the temp inside was well over 30c.

Ben is loving the sun and if I did not watch him he would follow the sun round and lie in it all day.

Back to the lovely Hilary, when sewing all those Thangles I remembered watching a Missouri Quilt Company tutorial, Jenny wqas sewing WOF strips together down both long edges then using a 90 degree triangle ruler to cut the strips. When opened up they were perfect HST, WOO HOO.  OOOPS I do not have such ruler. Solution, ring Hilary and ask,   YES Result she has one and will bring it home with her, how about that for service. It is a double win for me as not only have I saved petrol, I also did not swelter in the car and I did no impulse buying. When surrounded by haberdashery and fabric reason flies out the window PDQ.

Reasons to be grateful

1.  The hazel nuts are looking good, I see no predation by squirrels.

2.  My celery and dip was delicious.

3.  I am almost half way through a cushion for Fran and have enough precut and sewn squares to make a second.

4.  I have a new ruler to try out, that will save time.

5.  I have had no significant pain for 3 days.

I will be at the vet with Ben tomorrow morning his skin is improving but very slowly. While in Ponty I will pick up some more compost for seeds sewing and plants. I will also pop into Tesco and put some squash and juice in the food bank bin, I am drinking much more in this heat and I guess most people will if they can. I will put a pack of milk in as well and maybe some tinned fruit.

I must get sewing, there is a lot of fabric to get through and the days are slipping away.

    TTFN                                             Pam

Walking in Sunshine Oh Yeah

I have managed 2 reasonable walks today and Ben is a happy boy. We went along the old railway line down towards the village and did not see another soul until we went back into the village.
The bees were out in full force and there were birds aplenty.  I did remember my camera and took a few pics.

Wild Foxgloves abound

Ben was off and running, as you can see the sleepers and tracks have been lifted. The surface is rather awkward to walk on and I have to be careful. It does not seem to bother Ben at all.

More Foxgloves.

Here and there wild flowers are colonising.

.

This tangle of white and purple clover interspersed with a little yellow flower and some Birds Foot Trefoil was almost 5 feet across.

I made a point of sitting down in front of the TV at 8 last night to watch "This old thing" as I had read about it on a blog in the morning. I was rather disappointed. The only set of clothes that I thought worked were the last, the girl who had her Grandmothers dress and the leather skirt. Most of the garments were very expensive and I would never go into shops of that ilk. Far better to rummage round the CS or have a look at Vintage Vixen's shop. I will watch next week just to see if I like it any better.

I am off to stay in Cardigan for the weekend, there will be a barbecue at Jame,s and Sian will hopefully make her wonderful rainbow coleslaw. I can have a dip in the multitude of CS,s and maybe find some Vintage treasures of my own.

Reasons to be grateful

1.  Another glorious day.

2.  Rain yesterday to freshen everywhere up.

3.  All housework up to date.

4.  3 books waiting to be read.

5.  A gift of fresh pulled rhubarb.

I have the rumblies in the tumblies as Pooh would say, I will not head for the honey jar. I have some Pembrokeshire new potatoes, corn on the cob and some spiced chicken wings, oh yum.

I have got to get on with hand sewing the binding down on the cat bed, I want to finish that tonight and hopefully sew 1 more row of  granny squares onto the blanket. Busy busy, just the way I like it.

I hope you all have a good weekend.

                 TTFN                                         Pam

Melissa and Other Thugs in the Patio

True to my word the oven has been cleaned and the washing machine has been pulled out and cleaned under and behind,( there were spider webs but no residents) I did the same for the small fridge. The soak in washing soda and hot water left the oven shelves and the glass doors sparkling clean and the Bicarb paste lifted every mark off the oven floor.

The whole lot took less than half the time I had allowed so as the sun was shining I decided to have a quick wiz round the patio slabs.

It is not that long since I did them but there was a green haze appearing. Once down on my trusty kneeler I was surprised at the culprits, I had expected dandelions and there were a few, stinging nettles none were there, chick weed and there was a little. The main invaders were Lemon Balm (Melissa) and my pretty Aquilegias. The gaps between the slabs were filled with a dry mix of sand and cement when they were laid. Over time some of that has been eroded by weather and by my vigorous sweeping I expect, the gaps have been filled with soil and compost migrating from beds and pots.
I grew various Thymes in pots here and there in the hope and expectation that they would seed into the gaps, not a one to be seen.
Any way I have grubbed out hundreds of seedlings and all I can smell is the tang of Melissa. I have some Common and Lemon Thyme seed in a jar and once the patio has been swept I will mix some with some sharp sand and sprinkle it and water it in. I may not benefit from it but somebody will. 

Another mystery is my Mint, I have it in pots and at the start of the warm weather it sprang into growth, only to have given up the ghost and disappeared. I tipped a pot out and broke up the root ball and replanted some in fresh compost, the remainder has gone into the furthest corner of the garden behind the big glasshouse. I will leave it to meet it's fate. 

All in all a good mornings work, after a bit of cheese on toast for lunch I settled down on the sofa to find a back for my Ripple Cushion. I played with various ideas and was unable to make up my mind. I watched Horton Hears a Who, I was amazed at how much I had forgotten, and the St Trinians film with Rupert Everett on TV, it was frenetic and noisy but there were some bits that I found hilarious. 
I much prefer the original Alastair Sim, George Cole, Lionel Jeffries and Terry Thomas films, I have decided to look for them as a birthday present to myself.

I had no joy finding something that I loved for my Ripple Cushion until this morning. Reading my emails I read Little Tin Bird on Bloglovin and she shared some Elmer Granny Squares, BINGO, just the job, and she shared the tutorial. I scrabbled for hook and yarn and have made a start, I Love It. Once the ripple is finished I see an Elmer Cushion in my future, after Mr & Mrs Frank ( fingers crossed I can resist the lure of another cushion).

Reasons to be grateful.

1. A sunny day, lovely.

2. All the jobs on my list done.

3. My jeans are getting loose.

4. A pattern for a new Granny Square to back my cushion.

5. Rain today means time to finish the cushion and start Mrs Frank.

I do love the sun but am happy to see rain today now that I have the pattern to back my cushion, and a Brucie Bonus is that I will have enough yarn left to make a family of Franks.
Lambs liver in onion gravy with veg and dumpling for dinner today, easy, tasty and hassle free in the slow cooker. I do like one pot dinners, cuts washing up to the minimum. I put all the veg in with the liver, today it will be carrots, peas and spinach.

Time for tea and a quick tidy round the kitchen before sorting out what to watch while I hook away. If the rain clears I will have some time in the garden and of course Ben will have his usual 4 walks.

                       TTFN                                        Pam

Penny Pinching 1st of the Month

Firstly I want to extend my apologies to all the people who have left comments, after Blogger drove me mad, 3 days running by putting comments in the wrong place and transposing the words I decided to skip a few days. Frustrating as I like to leave a response to every comment, I will try tomorrow.

I managed to walk Ben 3 times yesterday without getting rained upon, after getting back from the last one I had no sooner shut the door when down it came. The wind was positively Arctic and very strong, Ben was most reluctant to go out later but needs must and all that.

I did a little trip to see Mr T this morning and picked up a bargain or 2. All is now safely stowed away and the cupboards are groaning nicely.

The sun is streaming down today although the wind is much the same as yesterday. Washing is duly blowing on the twirly whirly, the vacuum has had an outing and all the debris has been sorted.
Dinner is in the slow cooker and was based on the RTC beef that I could not resist buying this morning.

Here it is ready to go in to the preheated slow cooker, some dishes are just so much better for being started on the stove top.

 Here are the ingredients, there was 334g of "slow cook beef" AKA shin, I trimmed a little fat off which weighed 32g and that pack cost me the grand sum of £1.78 and will feed 3.

Here is the recipe, just in case someone would like to try it.

1 Tbsp  veg oil

the beef as above

2 Tbsp plain flour

1 Red onion peeled and sliced

3 Cloves of garlic peeled and sliced

2 Tsp dried ground ginger

2 Tsp smoked Paprika

2 Peppers, deseeded and sliced

I also added a few lonely carrots that were lurking in the fridge

1 Tin chopped tomatoes

1 Tin kidney beans rinsed and drained

2 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce

1 Tbsp Brown sugar

2 Tbsp Red wine vinegar

1 sachet sweet chilli sauce

salt and pepper

100ml  Beef stock, I made my own but a stock cube would do.

Dice the beef and toss in the flour, brown in the veg oil in batches, Add the onions and garlic to the pan and put all the browned beef back in. Cook slowly for around 10 minutes, stirring so it does not catch, add the beef stock and bring to the boil, make sure to stir all the little bits off the bottom of the pan. Add the rest of the ingredients and bring back to the boil, stirring. Tip into a preheated slow cooker and cook 6 hrs on low. It should be so tender that it melts around the fork. I will serve this with steamed green veg, it goes well with potatoes, pasta or rice if you are hungry.

I think that the ingredients came to around £2. 80, Half a cabbage will cost 25p and half a head of broccoli is also 25p so dinner for 3 will be £3.80. A bit more than I would like to spend, if I add carbohydrate it would feed 4 at a cost of around £4.25. I want to have a pudding, Apple Something with custard, probably Eve's Pudding as it is a favourite. The apples are from the garden and a 2 egg sponge with a pint of custard would come out at around £1 50, and would serve 4-6 depending on how greedy hungry you are.

This would work with pork shoulder but I would use a white bean and probably add some celery, use white onion and chicken stock and a chopped apple.

Reasons to be grateful.

1. Dinner done and dusted.

2. Washing done and dried.

3. Sunshine.

4. Steve Irwin recording for me to watch later.

5. My copy of "Love Patchwork and Quilting" to read.

The magazine came yesterday but I was too uncomfortable to settle down and read. I did skim through it and found a cushion that I just have to have, so I have it all cut out and ready to sew. This months edition is chock full of wonderful things to make, even more so than usual, and that is no mean feat.

I have carried on sorting and removing items from the cottage and have 2 baskets full of "stuff" to take to the CS. I could be a lot more ruthless but there are some things that I can not part with just yet. 

I am off to check that the kitchen is put to rights then out with Ben, I am looking forward to walking in sunshine.

     TTFN                                                       Pam

Shiny Sunday Morning Quilts and other Tales.

I was mooching through my blog list, just popping in and out, and went to visit Melanie at A Patchwork Robin. If you haven't been to see her you ought, her work is varied and lovely. I stayed for 20 minutes and it was only my timer alert that took me away.
It was for the oven I had a late dinner, procrastination made it late, I could not make my mind up what I wanted. I settled on a pizza, not just any old one but a Chorizo and vegetable folded one. It was delicious served with a salad drizzled/drowned in Maple Balsamic Vinegar.

I was full before I had eaten it so I gave some of the crust to Ben, who woofled it up.

I did a stack of pressing, cutting and sewing after dinner. I was itching to start the boy,s quilt. I took Ben out at around 11.00 and there was a very sharp frost. When I got up this morning the sun was blazing and the sky was azure, but it was still white with frost.

Right in the center you can see a lonely apple clinging on against all odds.

BTW I wasn't being an idle lay abed I had showered, dressed and prepped a stack of veg for yet more soup. I have a pot of mixed veg in a tomato and chicken stock simmering away and will be having that for lunch, and probably dinner, with some toasted home made bread.

Here is a quick look at the boy quilt fabric so far and a little peek at the girl top.

I have made a start on the strip sets.

Some more strips of a different size waiting to go through the machine. This quilt is going to be a version of Candy Coated from  my book Sunday Morning Quilts.

The finished Candy Bar quilt top, I am still dithering between 2 backing fabrics, I want it to be girly but not just for a very young child, it is full single bed size.

Reasons to be grateful.

1. I have to say it again....Sunshine, glorious golden sunshine.

2. A pristine gleaming white frost, very easy on the eye, if not good for travel.

3. Ben enjoying a good run around the field and no mud.

4. The seed and plant books that plopped onto the door mat yesterday morning, my ordering is done but I will enjoy reading them.

5. My use it up campaign is going strong, total spend this week £1.50 and nothing to buy until next Friday. My budget week starts on Friday.

I am in the fortunate position of having some over ripe bananas so 2 Banana and Walnut cakes and 2 Apple and Sultana cakes will be going into the oven later. I will be baking bread as well and while the oven is on I will probably make some Buttermilk Biscuits for the freezer. The cakes will go to Derbyshire on Wednesday and James can take one of each back to Wales along with his surprise quilt. 

I stored away a huge amount of apples from the garden and they are keeping very well, I did freeze some ready cooked and bottled some as well. I do not intend to buy much fruit when I have this bounty growing free.

I can feel a cup of tea coming on so it is,

                TTFN                                                      Pam

Weather you like it or Weather you don't the year has turned.

And that is a weather too far, this morning started off bright and clear but by the time I had showered, dressed and made a brew it was 50 shades of grey, each one more depressing than the last. The wind picked up and down came the rain. Ben and I had a brisk 20 minute walk just before the rain started, I spoke to my neighbour Nev who needed some things from Asda and I offered to nip out and get them as he was feeling under the weather. Oops more weather.
I whizzed round scooping up the items on his list and then skidded to a halt. It was not a pretty sight I am sure, my mouth was hanging open, my eyes were wide and my nose is a fetching shade of pink (I have a bit of a snuffly cold)
Right in front of me was a stand full of............ HOT CROSS BUNS.
and to make it worse I could see a sign in the bakery asking for 2 racks daily. I pinched myself just in case I was dreaming, after all when I left the house it was New Years Day and suddenly I found myself on the cusp of Easter.
Had I traveled through time and space, was I hallucinating, had I been abducted by Aliens ? No, I went and checked the newspapers and it was still N.Y.D. 
I decided to ignore it, I LURVE HOT CROSS BUNS and as I still weigh the 11 Stone that I did when I took up the challenge from Frugal in Bucks

 I beat a hasty retreat, grabbed the rest of the shopping and came home. 2 cups of tea and I felt better.
To digress Nev has been running me about to walk Ben with Greg, his car is bigger and a Collie takes up a deal of space. He has a "back issue" and has been looking for a decent wing back, high seated armchair for a while, however the prices are prohibitive for him. I check on Lobay regularly and on Monday put in a bid at the reserve price on a really nice one and I got it. I went and picked it up yesterday to find that it was in As New condition and was quite ashamed to only have to hand over £7, I have seen worse on Ebay for 10 times as much. Nev is as happy as Larry, I feel that I have gone a little way towards repaying his kindness and the elderly vendor was pleased to get her price.
She asked me if I would like a rowing machine, that's right a rowing machine I was speechless but took it away as she needed the space. It is destined for the Charity Shop tomorrow, I haven't the space either, or the inclination, but I hardly ever refuse a Freebie. if they get £10 for it that's a fair bit of cat food.
Reasons to be Grateful.

1. A gift of a bottle of Welsh Single Malt whisky that will last me a good while.

2. A gift left at my LQS to be enjoyed as fabric or trimmings.

3. A pile of seed catalogues waiting to tempt me.

4. The small bedroom stripped and ready to prep for decorating.

5. Some Trout fillets for dinner tonight.

The trout will be sandwiched round a filling of soft cheese, pesto and spinach, wrapped in pastry and baked. They will be lovely with some dill sauce and steamed Green veg.

I am doing a bit of hand sewing, on my hexie quilt in spare moments I dare not sit at the sewing machine as I will get carried away and do nothing but sew.

Ben has been snoring beside me but has woken up and is staring at me, if the rain has eased I will take him out for 20 minutes, if it has not he will get a fast gallop up the lane and back. First i will swallow some paracetamol with a squeeze or two of lemon in hot water with a trickle of honey, Yuck yuck, yuckety yuck, I hate it but it helps.

              TTFN                                       Pam

Two Step Forewards, One Step Back!

Oh my  we have been busy, after the skirting board discovery, much scratching of heads and ifs and ands talking a decision was made to crack on with the decorating.
The coving could be done, the cupboard doors, the 2 doors out of the room and most of the skirting could all be glossed, leaving a stand alone wall that joins the rotten bit to be done once replacement has happened.
So a start was made, Saturday all went well, I even gave the windows a thorough clean inside and out, nets down and washed,shiny shiny.
Today all started well, then it went belly up, while scraping down some loose paint on 1 wall a little plaster fell away. On investigating a bit more fell and then some more. I now have a semi circular cavity right down to the brickwork 2' long by 18" wide where, I think, the plaster was too dry. It is all in hand and should be made good next week. The joys of living in such an old house.

On the other hand I have sorted through the CD,s and the DVD,s and have a large bag of each to dispose of. I haven't summoned up the will to go through my cookbooks, it will be painful.

Reasons to be grateful.

1. 2 jobs knocked off my list.

2. Sparkling windows, inside and out.

3. Two sunny days side by side to walk Ben.

4. An offer of some well berried Holly for my mantelpiece.

5. A long chat on the phone with Fran later.

I changed my bed and vacuumed as usual and I am amazed that Ben has any hair left, that was all that was picked up. 
I have linen on the bed that has been buried at the back of the cupboard for months if not years.
I have a delicious dinner cooking and the smell is driving me mad, add to that the fact that I spent an hour watching the sublime Nigel cooking yet more Festive food, and it is no wonder that I have "the Rumblies in The Tumblies" and quite a bit of mouth watering going on.


               TTFN                            Pam

A Happy Tuesday, A Gift and A Reunion.

To day dawned bright and sunny and reasonably warm, enough so that I did not need a jacket when walking Ben. I seized the moment and bustled two loads of laundry through the machine and on to the line. After going to the library and changing my books I gave the bathroom a good going over. The window is always open and the wind that we did have has driven dust and tiny bits of dead foliage into all the nooks and crannies. I took the time to go through the cabinet and turf out everything that had been put back empty! and wipe all the sticky residue off the bottles of shampoo etc. Tomorrow I will tidy the linen cupboard, again. It was a step too far for today.

Last night Ben decided to destroy the sofa only to turn into a moonstruck softy when Francesca sat next to him.

The Postie brought me a parcel yesterday, I thought that I would save it to share today

Looks a little  ordinary, well looks can be deceiving.

Bit more interesting now.

I have a visitor, he has come from Anglesey for some TLC and will then go to a new home to be loved as befits a legend. I have the power to put him back together without help from the kings men. The missing bits are all there and I have some Boy fabric to make him a carry sack, which can double as a sleeping bag.

There was more in the parcel.

This lovely fabric, some of which has been cut to go into a project already.

This lace collar, I have a plan to incorporate it into a mini quilt to hang near my sewing machine.

This piece of lace will also be used, I just hope that my hands can make what my mind can see.

Thank you Vicky, I will have fun with these.

Now to the reunion. I had an email from " The person once known as The Silver Sewer" I have a link to her new abode, if anyone would like to find her leave a comment and I will forward it to her.

I am going to catch up with her new blog later with a cup or 3 of tea. She was plagued by Trolls so felt that a move was necessary.

Reasons to be grateful.

1. Laundry done, dry and ready to iron.

2. Curry and rice from the freezer for a quick easy dinner.

3. Ben fit as a fiddle and playing with an old toy.

4. Francesca had another work from home day as the trains were still "iffy" this morning.

5. My smallest jeans are now a bit on the loose side.

I am now about to dive into a cup of tea so 

        

                                    TTFN                            Pam

Why am I not surprised? And a walk down memory lane.

What can I say, I see people who do not work pushing trollies piled high round the supermarkets. I also see families with a basket picking things up thinking about it and putting them back. There are two sides to every story but to sell newspapers you will mostly see only the worst.

Any how, my swap block is done and sent.

I like this block and am glad that I made 1 for myself.

This version looks unbalanced but it still has to have a border. I have 2 of these.

These are destined to become cushions, now that the borders are on I will quilt them and then add envelope closures. 

I had a look in the fridge this morning, something different for dinner, but what?

A walk down memory lane was called for.

I found 3 small parsnips, 3 small carrots, 2 small onions and 2 big sticks of celery, scrubbed, peeled topped and tailed. Chopped up roughly and into a pan with a spoonful of buttery stuff, add 3 small red apples washed, cored and chopped and sweat for 10 minutes, add a grind of pepper and 3 tsp Korma curry powder, sweat for another 5 minutes to cook the curry powder, pour in enough stock to just cover. Then I drained a can of chick peas and added to give protein and creaminess to the texture.

Bring to simmer, cover and cook till all the veg is soft, then attack with a wand blender. You can pass through a sieve if you want but it is not necessary. Thin out with extra stock if needed.

We will have this with a swirl of cream and a sprinkle of chopped 

coriander on mine. I have not made this for ages, goodness knows why. The smell is amazing and the taste is too. Dinner tonight and 4 portions for the freezer for a cost of around £1.50.  25p per portion,

I will toast some homemade wholemeal bread to go with it and have some Apple Fool for pudding, equal parts of cold custard and thick cream mixed into twice as much apple stewed with cinnamon. The cream was RTC 10p and the custard was left over from another meal, apples from the garden, all in all I guess that it comes to 35p per meal and I am happy with that.

Reasons to be grateful.

1. Pain under control today.

2. Ben happy as Larry.

3. Repeats of Duck Dynasty on TV.

4. Tea flowing like a river, the meds make me thirsty.

5. A wet start to the day but glorious sunshine by lunchtime.

Ben decided to have a mad five minutes on the sofa! This is where he landed.

                                              TTFN                             Pam