I am in the Dunce's corner for sure.

It seems that this is the place for me.





A few weeks ago I was reconciling my bank statement and realised that I had been way overcharged for my mobile phone. I have a contract  with a few months left to run, now that I have finished work I will not renew and just keep it as a pay and go.

I spoke at length to a prepubescent boy young man who, after the third time of listening to me, accepted that I was correct. He very kindly arranged for a refund and told me that it would take up to 7 working days, "fine" said I, "thank you so much" Anyhow a credit note duly arrived and I put it in the appropriate file and forgot about it.
Fast forward to Friday morning, I once again find myself reconciling my statement and what do I see, no credit payment! What is more they had again taken too much. Shock, Horror, Such Surprise NOT. On the telephone I went and spoke to A genius who tried to tell me that I had not been charged for this month ( even though it showed on my statement) and that I was supposed to ring them up and say "Thank you for my credit note, will you please put MY MONEY which you took fraudulently back into my account".
Now things may have changed in the world of money, but a letter telling you that you have been credited with a sum of money used to mean that said sum would appear in your bank account PDQ. Not that you then had to incur the cost of a phone call and beg for it to be returned.
It is allegedly on it's way back to me, I will not hold my breath.

Rant over, it is safe to come out from behind the sofa. I have started playing with my crochet hook and wool, my tension leaves a great deal to be desired but that will come. The wool is rather coarse and the hook is a sticky plasticky stuff, my new set has been dispatched so should be with me soon. Regardless of that I am having fun, I will make 1 each of the 6 squares and then go and buy some decent yarn and see what I can do with that.
I will show and tell when all 6 are completed.

I happened to say, in someones hearing, how funny I found Mrs Brown's Boys. I know that it is rude, crude and verbal slapstick,  but I find it funny. I digress, I have been gifted the first 3 series on dvd by a friend who has watched them until she knows them word for word.
If I can resist I will save them for next month when Francesca is home for a weekend.
We have had a really lovely day so far, bright bright sunshine and a gentle breeze, within the last 10 minutes the wind has picked up and the clouds are gathering. Ben has been out 3 times so far today and I plan 1 more outing before the inevitable happens and it rains.
I was planning on popping into the CS, to drop off those tissue holders and have a rummage but time is ticking away, it may wait till Monday.
Reasons to be grateful.

1. The garden seems to be shedding last nights rainfall quickly.

2. My store of apples is still in very good condition, the late apples are still crisp and juicy.

3. More work is being done in the village shop (rubs hands together in gleeful anticipation)

4. My hair has grown enough that I can get it cut to one length at last.

5. I have another book by David Baldacci to read, thank goodness for the Library.

My neighbour Neville has been suffering with back pain for most of the week, this morning he is not in so much discomfort and is feeling much happier. He was a gardener for many years and before that worked in Horticulture, heavy lifting combined with working outside in all weather has not helped his back at all. I tried to get him to see the doctor for help but nothing doing. He did at least borrow my hot water bottle and some Ibuprofen gel.
Ben is padding around, he is either hungry or bored so I better go and see. I hope that all those on the Coast to the Southwest stay safe, I heard somebody on the Telly talk about a sea surge.

      TTFN                                          Pam

A Thoughtful Gift and an Overdue Finish.

I think that I may have been wittering on about crochet a tad too much. This was bought for me today.

It was a very thoughtful gift, one that will hopefully kick start a new craft for me.

There is a double page showing the main stitches, and even I can understand them.

6 different Granny Squares, which I will attempt as my starting point.

There are several patterns all using the "free" wool, some of them are knitting. it is an excellent way for me to start but I would not have thought to buy it myself, in fact I have never seen it before.

 I subscribe to 2 sewing magazines and that is enough.

While looking for something I unearthed this from the very back corner of a cupboard. It just needed lining, so I ran that up yesterday evening and finished it off.

Another bag to keep in the car, I will not use carrier bags I do not like them plus they saw your fingers off if they are heavy.

I am still cutting my way through anything smaller than a fat quarter, mostly into 1 1/2" strips, some 2 1/2" strips and crumbs. I am taking selvedges off at 1 1/2" for a future project. I am nearly halfway through and can see the benefits, my storage looks better, I can see my fabrics without having to shuffle through them.

The day started off with wind and rain but cleared to bright sunshine for about 3 hours, we are so lucky compared to much of the country.

Reasons to be grateful.

1. Good friends.

2. A gift to keep me busy for a few hours.

3. A big pile of ready cut strips for my next quilt.

4. The garden is nearly dry enough to work in.

5. The village shop is nearly ready to reopen.

There has been lots of activity in the village shop, new floors and storage, a window bricked up and the internal walls have been moved. There has been some rather large refrigerated units moved in  and some work done at the rear.

I do miss the shop, not that I used it much but it was a good central meeting place and source of information.

I am off to brew up and open my wool pack and see if I make a Granny Square or a Spiders Web.

     TTFN                                                       Pam

Rain Changed Plans and a Woolly Question is asked.

I managed to get an hour in the garden yesterday, and then the sky darkened, the rain hammered down and the wind tried to blow the village away. I retired to the shed and spent another hour tidying and sweeping away cobwebs and dust. 
After a cup of tea the rain just about stopped so I whizzed Ben out for a fast trot, no time to walk, before the rain came back. A shower and change, cobwebs and dead spider legs are so not me, I decided on soup for dinner

2 sad leeks, 3 sticks of celery, 1 red and 1 green pepper, 1/2 a small swede, 4 carrots and a few cloves of garlic. I tin chickpeas, 1 tin chopped tomatoes and some tomato sauce from the freezer.

This was the star ingredient, a big bag of spinach for 40p, I bought 3 and the others are in the freezer, wilted and pressed to remove as much water as possible. I still have 1/2 bag in the fridge for tonight's dinner.
I just diced all the veg, crushed the garlic and sweated it in a little oil, when soft I added 2 tsp smoked paprika, 1/2 tsp allspice and some salt and pepper, gave that a couple of minutes then added the chickpeas, tomatoes and sauce with enough veg stock to just barely cover the veg. 5 minutes in the pressure cooker and then I stirred the spinach in just before I filled a bowl to eat. It was so good, I had a slice of wholemeal toast to soak up all the liquid and had to restrain myself from licking the bowl. I did take 2/3rd out and chilled it so I have 2 more dinners. The chickpeas and tomatoes were 25p a tin and the spinach was 20p, all the rest came from stores and I estimate a generous £1, so 3 dinners for £1.70. I am happy with that, if I wasn't so greedy hungry after working outside I could have got 4 servings.

A few days ago I had a little look round Sew and quilt, a fabric shop owned by one of the bloggers that I follow. I found some pretty Liberty fabric in the sale and I 'fess up that I did not resist. I had a email back to say that there was not enough stock to fill my order. CHING, a bell went off so I replied asking to have the order filled with any random fabric they liked. Just look at these pretties.

these are the prints that I ordered.

Here they are with my "surprise" selection. Don't they go well together? I know that I do not need any more fabric but I wanted this and sometimes it is good to have what you want, just because you can. 

That sounds selfish and self indulgent and I know that there are many thousands of folk in this country who do not get what they need. I am not about to wear a hair shirt over this, I contribute where I can, or stop buying the occasional treat. In fact if we all stopped buying anything other than the bare essentials think how many shops/factories/distribution companies would fold. Think how many more folk would be jobless.

 A friend once told me to take every leaflet and pamphlet that I was offered. It keeps paper mills open, it keeps ink makers, printers, transport firms and delivery people working, giving employment to lots of people and then goes to recycling and provides more employment there.

Oops that was my Soapbox coming into play and I did not plan it at all. 

I had an hour to fill before bed time last night so got some scrappy bits out and ran these up.

These little tissue holders make good fundraisers and cost pennies to make, if you use scraps. The tissues come from the poundshop and 3 packets do 4 holders. I have just noticed that there are only 7 in the picture and I made 8, I will round the missing one up later.

I chain sew and made these up as leaders and enders, on my next session they will become 9 patch blocks. I have a sneaky suspicion that there will soon be enough 9 patch blocks to sew together in blocks of four. That is a good cushion size with a border or a large quilt block.

Reasons to be grateful.

1. My little shed is now tidy and cobweb free.

2. I filled 3 rubble bags to go to recycling.

3. Some things for the CS to sell.

4. Good food at a good price.

5. A new to me book to read. A gift.

Ben has had a decent road walk and a run round the field and, weather permitting, will have a repeat of both later.

 I am in for a very late night tonight. Bonnie Hunter is having a Quilt Cam session and I haven't sewed with her live for ages. I have a bin of strips and squares to sew through and there is always those 9 patches to get done. I may have a nap and set my alarm.

I have a small table that is just big enough to take my smallest machine, I set it up in front of the TV and link the laptop in so I can watch on a big screen. My fabric goes on the coffee table to my left and I set my iron on my right. Every thing in easy reach, all I have to do is turn slightly in each direction. How lazy is that. Ben will manage to sprawl out over the sofa and snore gently till I pack it all away.

I have been through my seed tin and there are just a few things to buy, that will happen in the next 2 weeks. I am amazed how dry the land is getting after our down pour yesterday, I expected to be slithering around in the mud on the field with Ben , it was quite dry underfoot and the lakes that have been slowly increasing have gone.

A question for all you crocheters out there, should I buy cheap wool to learn with or start as I mean to go on with good quality.

My hooks will be here soon and I want to be ready with a small stock of wool.

Toodle Pip, BTW it is still dry here but no sun to be seen, we should be in the middle of a monsoon according to the weathermen.

I rang Button Up & Stitch about that fabric, they were closed so I left a message, I need to ring today and make sure. I want those Dolls so I do.

                     TTFN                                                    Pam

Wednesday in Wisbech

I made a flying trip to Wisbech this morning, My neighbour Nev had to go so I went along for the ride. I picked up the new slow cooker from Argos, I used 2 x £10 vouchers from work and made up the remainder from my Nectar card. Because of the way it works they had to take £7.50 off the card and give me 51p change?! So I interpret that as  "free" cooker and "free" money to boot. Happy smiling face.

Now it is no secret that I can not go into Wisbech without popping into Button Up & Stitch, and here you can see why.

Three lovely people, three generations with a wealth of knowledge.

She doesn't know yet but the one in the middle will be showing me how to crochet if I get into a muddle.

I am booked in for a lesson on foundation paper piecing, I have read tutorials and watched some on you tube but decided to go to the oracle, it is an afternoon out and I thoroughly enjoyed the last 2 that I went to.

Dig those fancy aprons, a pocket for everything, I am going to make one with 2 deep pockets to hold pegs, I hate fishing around in my peg bag, it always slides away just when I need it.

Enjoy this peak at the goodies, it will no longer be there, they are moving, YIPPEE!!

No I have not gone doolally, they are moving next door into bigger premises.

Rats, I have just spotted the Russian Doll print, I may have to call and reserve some.

I did buy some fabric, I will share later, what I am excited about is the iron on wadding that they stock. I read about it on a blog recently and am chuffed to bits that it is readily available. It is a little pricey but no more crawling around pinning what seems like acres of quilt and no more spray cans. I bought enough to do a small quilt and if I get on with it I will be buying a roll.

Dinner tonight will either be soup, I want to use up some veg, or an omelette. I intend to spend the rest of the day in the garden, once I have finished I will not want to cook. The soup will be done in the pressure cooker and will not take much longer than an omelette.

Reasons to be grateful.

1. Rain overnight has cleared and the sun is shining bright.

2. My sewing table is clear all but a heap of 1 1/2" strips that I am sorting out for the next quilt to donate.

3. I have some pretty fabrics to drool over.

4. I have pulled fabric for another project and it is cut and boxed ready to go.

5. I am infection free.

Part of my 52 week challenge is to be better organised, as I get near to the finish of a sewing project I start to fret. What shall I make, do I have what I need, and so on. So my ongoing goal is to have something planned, cut and ready in a Ziploc bag or plastic box ready to pick up and start sewing. My only concern is that I do not build a mountain of these, it would be so easy a trap to fall into.

Oh and my test results came back clear, so goodness knows what all that Lab test business was about. But I am drinking Cranberry Juice every day.

It is now 12.20 and time I had a brew and got my btm outside.

I hope you all have as good a day as I am.

                 TTFN                                     Pam

A day out and a Freebie.

This morning I drove to Spalding and took 2 neighbours, Nev and George. George is 87 and I had to trot to keep up with him, his car is in dry dock and he likes to visit the market.
I was pleasantly surprised, the market has grown considerably since I was last there. I do not often visit as it is 7 miles further than Wisbech or Lynn and less to see than either. However we had a side trip to Baytree Garden center on the way home.
I got some Nadine seed potatoes, I like these as an early maincrop although they are classed as a second early. I was really pleased as I have not seen them for a few years, I will also grow Arran Pilot and Rocket, all in tubs and bags round the paved area.
I was given 2 bags of bulbs at Baytree, which are now in pots, it is late to plant but if they don't flower this year they will next.

There were several varieties to pick from but I had these, they are fragrant and will make a show in 2 pots 1 either side of my door.

I have completed 2 more cushion covers and am very pleased with them.

I will be repeating this idea through my year of 52 challenges, not just cushion covers, I love bright colours and my head is buzzing with ideas. I saw a display of chiffon scarves in Spalding Market, if I can pick some up in the CS I think that they will make a good replacement for net curtains. 

Dinner tonight was Cottage pie with a sweet potato topping, roast carrots and parsnips and sprouts. Followed half an hour later with a slice of apple and mincemeat sponge with a little cream, yummy.

I earned that walking about  miles round Spalding and Baytree, not to mention the 3 walks that Ben had.

Tomorrow I am sorting out the big greenhouse, scrubbing the potting bench and generally getting ready to start some serious gardening. I am looking forward ti rolling my sleeves up and getting busy.

Reasons to be grateful.

1. A good day out with good company.

2. Sunshine, and lots of it.

3. Free flowers, lovely.

4. I have found a replacement slow cooker, half price. HAPPY.

5. The garden has emerged from swamp, it is looking better each day.

My slow cooker is 6.5 litre and I collect it tomorrow, it is also technically FREE as I have 2 £10 gift cards from work, and there is more than enough on my Nectar points to make up the rest. 

No sewing for a couple of days my garden is singing a siren song and I am on the way to being bewitched.

                TTFN                                  Pam

Monday, Sunshine, Sewing and National Yorkshire Pudding Day

Welcome to a new follower, Lindjemp, I have been and had a quick look at your blog and will be returning later. I intend to have a curl up in the corner of the sofa with a brew and maybe a slice of Apple and Mincemeat Sponge. That is if I have room, it is National Yorkshire Pudding Day and I am making Toad in the Hole, with onion gravy.

I spent yesterday in a whirl of activity, 3 loads of washing line dried, ironed, aired and put away in daylight, Woo Hoo. I don't normally do laundry on Sunday, but have been going through cupboards and found a few things that needed refreshing, and did not want to miss the fine weather. 
Another bag of things for the CS sorted, a few books and magazines as well. I changed my bed, through the windows open and vacuumed through, a quick dash round with polish and cloth, and 2 days jobs done and dusted.
A tidy round the little courtyard garden, 3 walks with Ben ( who also went in the bath) and several tea breaks took me till 5.00. 
A few phone calls, dinner and I read till bedtime. I got so into my book that I did not have time to blog. I finished the book, Steve Irwin's story written by his widow, let Ben out and fell into bed.






My project for this week is to make something pretty for my home and spend no money. Although I have 2 projects on the go I decided that I needed to get cracking with this one. Sewing was the obvious choice, so out came my scrap bins and the Leaders and Enders box. this what I came up with, cushion covers.

I make 9 and 4 patch blocks as I sew other projects, then when I want to create in a hurry the tedious work is done.

The turquoise strips were from my scrap bin and were left over from a quilt and pillow sham set.

I also had a play with some of the fancy stitches . The wadding was left over strips from quilts and I joined pieces together with a zigzag stitch rather than cut into a roll. The binding was also left over from a quilt.

This shows quite dark, the light had gone by the time I had finished the first one, I have 2 more with half the quilting done so far. I am even using up all my part bobbins and reels of white cotton thread.

While I was out with Ben I saw these, unfortunately they were in the shade. If you focus on the little twiggy branch on the left you can see that the buds are swelling.

This is at the entrance to the Park hence the ivy and dandelions.

Two hours have gone since I wrote the last line, a phone call and I had to run.

I will have to close now, nothing disastrous, just a friend in need of time and comfort. Back tomorrow.

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