What Day Is It Then?

I am remiss in not mentioning some new followers, as you will see as you read down it is not that I am deliberately ignoring you, I am just scatterbrained on a good day and brainless on the rest. hello and welcome aboard. I hope you are entertained by my ramblings, please jump in and leave a comment from time to time, if only to reassure me that I haven't sent you off with the screaming abdabs.

Hands up anyone who spotted my "deliberate" not error, yesterday was A Manic Monday, full on with bells and whistles. Today is Totally Tuesday. Take one woman whose mind wanders off on its own, add in a day spent indulging in sewing and baking, throw in empty laundry and ironing baskets, stir well and garnish with a FREE vintage Singer.
It is no wonder I got my days muddled up, I am just so relieved that I did not go into work, that would have been the UTTER END.
I am off to pick her up tomorrow.That will be Wednesday, note to self, I put it down to the still glorious weather.
The Black Banana Cake is soooo good, but then it is a Nigel Slater recipe so it is a given that it will be moreish and just about irresistible. The ginger and marmalade cakes were for my neighbours, we are not that greedy, well perhaps we could be if I had not passed them over as soon as they were cool enough to handle. If it isn't there we can't pig out on it.

I watched a tutorial on the Missouri star Quilt Co a few days ago, if you remember, I spent ages surfing the net looking for white Honey Buns. Just as I was realising my error in yesterdays blog title I had a "EUREKA MOMENT" Tucked away with all my rulers I have one of these.



It is a wonderful gadget and I bought it ages ago when I needed How Many? 2 1/2" strips for a set of quilts in a tight colour group. The cost of buying Jelly Rolls would have been astronomical as at least half of each Roll would not have been usable for the project. I bought yardage, the Shape Cut and did it myself.
I have dug it out of the cupboard and later on I will be slicing like a woman possessed into my White yardage.
I picked some more Cherry Plums this morning and will stone and freeze them later on they will be mixed with the apples, pears and blackberries from the garden and feature in all sorts of puddings, pies and cakes during the winter. I did stash a lot of diced mango in there, well at 50p each for huge ones from work it would have been rude not to.
I do not freeze much veg, it takes up loads of room and the saving is not that big, what I do not grow I get in the village or from the staff shop at work. The big exception is Veg Hash, on my shopping day I empty the fridges and clean them, all bits and bobs of veg, celery, peppers and so on get whizzed round in the processor with some onions, carrots and garlic and frozen in tubs, just the job for starting a curry, chilli, shepherds pie base etc any recipe that says finely dice one onion blah blah blah, will benefit from a tub or two of veg hash. Plus you have saved the time chopping and washing up, and the tears that go with the job.
Before I start pressing the white cotton I am going to rummage in my cupboard to see if there are any more treasures that have slipped my mind. Now if I were to find that long arm quilter in there, complete with frame.................It's a cupboard not the Narnia Wardrobe, I know that I really do but it is nice to day dream, just a teeny bit.
Besides if I had one of those in the cottage I would be living in the Man Cave, fate worse than.......
being at a quilt show with your purse at home on the coffee table!
Ben enjoyed his walk this morning although he got a shock when a cat shot out from under a parked van and almost ran him over, quickly followed by a second cat who ran slap into him. I don't know who was the most surprised, but there was a split second Mexican Stand Off while the three of them looked at each other, and I held my breath for a life time, and just like a Tom & Jerry cartoon they all moved together, the cats legged it over the field and Ben looked under the van just in case!

I do hope that the remainder of my day is less eventful, I do like a peaceful life.
Tonight's dinner will be a Tuna Pasta Bake, we have not had it for a while and it will be served with salad for Michael and I and Veg for Francesca.

Reasons to be grateful.

1. Only 28 hours to my "new" Singer.

2. Another glorious day (and no laundry!)

3. Watching a little Jack Russell tearing around for the joy of it this morning.

4. A free addition to the freezer, for my winter table.

5. The news that an old friend, who has been quite ill is on the mend.

Which brings us back to                        TTFN    Pam.

PS if anyone would like the recipe for Black Banana Cake let me know and I will email it, I do not think I am allowed to publish it here.

Happy Happy Thrifty Tuesday

I'm H A P P Y, RINSE AND REPEAT. Sorry for shouting but I am over the moon,I have just been given an electric 1930's Singer sewing machine. I met up with an old work colleague the other day in the Co op and told her all about my Singer in a table that I found in Suffolk. She obviously told a friend who mentioned it in passing and just like Chinese Whispers someone ended up up hearing that I was desperately looking for a Singer in a Table I just had an email from the first friend who has her Mothers machine "Cluttering"!! up her Front room and would I like it. Would I Like It, as the saying goes "is the Pope catholic" Of course
I would like it, I would love it. It is only 5 minutes away and I will get it during the week, Where it will live I have no idea yet but If I have to put the telly in the Man Cave to make room so be it.

On a more calm note I did not manage to make the food bank, I did not get my car back until after 4.00, so it will be a double dip on Friday.

There it is, all shiny and new, Lovely man even washed it for me.

As I was "confined to quarters" I decided to get the washing done, dried and ironed and indulge in some more scrappy sewing and some baking.

I used some of the Lincolnshire cherry plums to make a crumble.

This is one beside a small Kiwi Fruit to give an idea of the size.

Here they are in the dish ready to be topped.








So far so free, how thrifty is that. The crumble topping took 150 gm plain flour, 75 gm buttery stuff and 75 gm sugar, I threw in a handful of oats just because I could. I do not add sugar to the fruit, it is quite sweet.

I made 2 ginger and marmalade loaf cakes and a 2lb Black Banana Cake, the black comes from the little chunks of dark chocolate that are in there. These may not be free but they are thrifty and have no enhancers or additives, the only thing that made them rise was the elbow grease it took for me to whizz the wooden spoon.

Bread rising, a friend from work went home for a holiday and brought me some Stoneground organic wholemeal Rye flour from her village bakery, they also grind it themselves, in the North of Poland.

This is one for us and one for her and her husband. Not quite free but 7 gm yeast and 2 tsp salt do not cost much.

I had to put some petrol in the car so popped into the library and found a few books, hopefully I will not touch these before we go to Wales.

So all in all a very thrifty sort of day, and no work until tomorrow, a very good day, one worth shouting about.

On  serious note, I was told today that the newspapers reported a police force was handing out food vouchers to shoplifters.

GOOD ON THEM! They have the resources to ascertain if the guilty party really is stealing to feed their family.

My concern is, why do they not know about food banks?

Is there a gap that needs plugging?

Is the information required getting to the right people?

And most important to me Is there any way that I can help?

I did not see the article, but am going to look online for it, so I have no idea where this happened,.There may not be a food bank in the area, but it looks like there should be.

Reasons to be grateful.

1. A new to me vintage machine on its way.

2. A house full of the smell of baking.

3. My lovely neighbour Marina still with us.

4. Mobile again, I have not needed my car, but I felt as though my legs had been cut off, so to speak.

5. Empty laundry and ironing baskets.

That brings me to                       TTFN    Pam

Scrappy Sunday Sewing

I would like to welcome Frugal Queen, I hope that you enjoy reading my, at times, inane scribbles as much as I enjoy reading your blog, it is lovely to think that all of my followers read me and that peeps from all over log on and have a look.

I am having a wonderful day, I woke up at around 8 and hit the ground running. Michael was already up and my first tea of the day was ready and waiting when  got downstairs. There is nothing much to compare to the first cup of the day, whether your drink of choice is tea, coffee, chocolate or ice cold milk, it is pure magic, and the only feeling that I can compare it to is having a pee when you are desperate.

We both got the prep done for dinner and the Pork shoulder is cut into large chunks and is simmering away in the slow cooker submerged in a sea of tomatoey, garlicky, paprika and chilli enhanced sauce studded with carrots and onion diced to around 1/2". We will have some tonight with mashed potato and cauliflower in a little cheese sauce, and possibly some sweetcorn.

Enough of that, down to the sewing. I have been playing with scraps, chain sewing little pieces together, pressing trimming and repeating.

After every sew and press I straighten the edges, Scrappy I like Wonky does my head in.

I find that for me it is best to pick a line and use that as my guide,

Here I picked a seam running up the left top half and lined my ruler up to it.

Trimmed off the edges with my rotary cutter, this gives me a straight edge. I just rotate the block round and use this edge as my guide to trim the rest.

Second side.

Third

Last side.

Then just find another block that fits, sew, press and trim, I do have slanting seams within the blocks, sometimes deliberate sometimes not. I like these after all it is scrappy.

I will keep doing this until I have a large slab of fabric, some will become cushion covers some will find its way into a quilt or a bag or even place mats. Not a bit will be wasted.

reasons to be grateful.

1. A relaxing day doing nothing much and achieving lots.

2. Working as a team with Michael.

3. The empty ironing basket, thanks to Michael.

4. A wonderful TV program about The Mississippi in the background.

5. A steady supply of tea and coffee, delivered to my side all day.

I am so fortunate and I realise it, tomorrow I get my car back from the Body Shop and will be heading to the food bank with a contribution. I will be giving thanks that

A, I do not need to use the bank myself, and

B, I can do this on a regular basis.

And now the time has come                        TTFN    Pam 

Orange and Aqua, with some grey on the side

Remember the little blocks that I did not like? I thought that they were too scrappy and then I discussed it with Michael. He reminded me of a saying from Bonnie Hunter, " if a fabric is ugly you just haven't cut it small enough", so I set to with ruler and rotary cutter, Toyota and iron.

I got these little stacks and I like them, all I need to do now is attack the strip sets and see how they turn out, as for the large block, I still do not like it so may have to persevere with the ripper. Big Sigh!

I also set to and made the block for my swap.

I am afraid that although it is better I still do not like it. I have decided that the components are just too big for my taste, so I am going to repeat the block on a smaller scale.

I had a little stack of "bonus" HST blocks,

I like these, which proves my theory, and the myth, size does matter!!!

They are pressed and waiting to be trimmed, a job that I do not really enjoy.

I had a quick look in the garden  and the herbs are really loving this weather.

You can just see the three wise monkeys hiding in there along with an elderly Koala clinging to his branch.

I am going to cut and sew the rest of my Orange fabrics with some Aqua and Grey into small blocks, I will then look for a background to make them stand out. I intend to make them into a single size quilt.

Talking about quilts, I watched the latest tutorial from The Missouri Quilt Co. yesterday and have to make one myself. It requires a white Honey Bun, rather than go on line and order some I put it off until today. 

BIG MISTAKE. They are out of stock, so I trawled the net for 20 minutes and NOTHING. Not a sausage, not even a sniff of one. Yes I could cut them myself and I do cut Jelly Rolls but these little treats are only 1 1/2" wide and the margin of error is high, I could find myself wasting more fabric than I use.

So if any of you know where I can get them please let me know.

I am making meatloaf for dinner, we will have it with mashed potato and baked beans. Comfort food, I think it is the US version of Cottage Pie and we love it, I make enough to have some cold for sandwiches.

Tomorrow we are having Pork Shoulder in a tomato and chilli sauce, it is marinading now and will be in the slow cooker in the morning.

Reasons to be grateful.

1. A garden full of good things.

2. The empty laundry basket.

3. My Swap Block done and ready to post.

4. Ben, lying behind me on the sofa back snoring gently.

5. The Lincolnshire wild cherry plums are ripening, yum yum.

These little plums are about the size of a Cherry Tomato, shaped like a cherry but with the oval stone of a plum. They are sweet, juicy, delicious and best of all   FREE.

I am about to enjoy a mug of tea, Fran is in the kitchen, and then I will put the oven on,i need to make some scones and maybe some cup cakes.      TTFN       Pam

Post Op Day

We had a loooooong visit at the hospital in Kings Lynn yesterday. Michael's appointment was for 14.30 so we arrived 5 minutes before, as you do, to find an empty waiting room. Ho ho, I thought, we are the FIRST.
1 hour later and there are a few more peeps and we are still in the same place........................................
another 15 minutes and they call him in.  WOO HOO  soon be out of here I thought. 3 minutes later he comes out...................What's occurring?..........Waiting for the anesthetics to take effect, ok, I get that. ................20 minutes later.....at last they call him in, then two more medical types go in and I start to get concerned. Another 10 minutes or so and out he comes, drooling and dribbling and talking scribble.
Nothing new there then. he he
Apparently the tooth was lying on its side and caused a bit of bother but there are no stitches and it looks tidy.
No solid food for 24 hours, no hot liquids for 24 hours. Off to the freezer and out comes soup, off to the shop and out comes Thick Chocolate Fudge Milkshake YEURCH, how could he, how could anyone?

By the time all this had happened it was time for me to shower and get ready for work., That went very well for once and I got away at 3.00. I had to deliver the car to the body shop at 8.00 for the repair work from my accident this morning. I went straight to bed to find Michael sprawled across the bed with an abandoned plate and an empty milkshake bottle. He woke up and 'fessed up to having a bread roll with sausage, cheese and coleslaw.......so much for no solid food!!!

When my alarm went off at 7.00 I flew up the bed as though a giant wasp had stung me somewhere very tender. The car has been delivered and comes back on Monday. I intend to do a little blitzing here and there and a great deal of sewing. 
I will post photos as I go.
Tonight's dinner is "you know who,s" bacon chops cooked in cider with mashed potato, carrots, cauli and broccoli. I have a recipe for banana and chocolate muffins that I want to try out. I also have to plan a celebratory meal for Francesca signing her contract, we will have that on Sunday when Michael s mouth is a bit more healed.

Reasons to be grateful

1.  Michael is sleeping off the anesthesia/painkillers.

2. Francesca has just rung me and is elated about her job.

3. I do not go to work until Tuesday.

4. The sun is shining after some lovely rain.

5. My washing is on the line.

all is well with my world                    TTFN      Pam 

A Little Light Relief.

First a quick recap.

My visit to the food bank was good and bad. The good part was seeing how controlled and well organised it is, how dedicated the people who run it are and how friendly and approachable everybody is.

The bad part is not really bad I suppose, there were not many people coming in to pick up a food supply and I did really expect to see it busy if not teeming. When I queried this I was told that it does vary but that Friday is usually the busiest day.

The proceeds of Saturdays collection at Asda was unpacked and it was quite impressive, over 1200 items were collected.

My last two posts were a bit "shout it from the rooftops" so today I am back to my true love, sewing, well one of them anyway. I am a bit fickle when it comes to play time.

You may have noticed that i have a Sew Many Ways button on my blog page, this is a blog that I have followed for ages and find it very helpful. There are lots of tutorials and tips to help with a myriad of problems.

I have joined in a 12 1/2 inch patchwork block swap and there just happens to be a BOM happening on the blog that fits the bill, so I had a little look see.

The swap that I am in calls for a block in Aqua, Grey and Orange, mmmmmmmmmmm I do not have much Grey or Orange, so a little trip to Button Up and Stitch was called for. Then I had a proper look through my stash, which included opening up Charm Packs, Jelly Rolls and Layer cakes, I even found a scrap bag that  I had tucked away, it was amazing just how much I came up with.
This is what I found in Wisbech.

Not bad at all, don't you love those little Flamingos, too cute for words. Sorry, what was that, Oh yes the Pirates he he, not much orange there. They sort of snuck in ready for the Eye Spy Quilt that I am planning.

Then I started cutting, stitching and pressing. Along with some cussin' and whingeing when I went too fast and had to unpick ( shh, I sewed some the wrong way round)

I made this block and I do not like it at all, now I never thought that I would utter these words..............................It Is Too Scrappy. There are also some thick bits to sew through and the Toyota did not like it. I am going to redo it with the Aqua Flamingos, the Orange  Feathers and a very pale grey, which I forgot to snap, so you will see that later.

A bonus from this block is a little stack of  2 1/2" HST blocks that just need trimming.

These get used in the next BOM which is Shoofly, it calls for these plus light and dark 2 1/2" squares.

A few of these and then I "got clever"

I sewed some into strip sets, layed them out in blocks and Oh No Not Again.....Too Scrappy. But they will not be wasted, I have a cunning plan...............I am sure I do, I am just not sure what it is yet. Suggestions on a postcard to ....Please.

Just to sooth my troubled brow i had a quick dip into Tula Pink's book 100 Modern Quilt Blocks and threw these together, they will be sewn into the finished blocks the next time I sew. I like these.

To help me regain my Calmer/Karma I had a tidy up and sort out.

4 ziploc  bags with 1, the left over strip sets. 2, the strips from The Hug Quilt.3, Some Scrappy Blocks and

lastly some smaller bits and bobs, see the tiny pinwheel.

I am off to walk Ben before feeding him and then a spot of baking is called for.

Reasons to be grateful.

1. Another fine day.

2. Michael settled into his new job role.

3. Francesca has negotiated a very good salary with her new job.

4. Our plans for next year are just about in place.

5. Michael's appointment at the hospital to have his wisdom tooth remove has not been cancelled.

It is OMG look at the time time so            TTFN    Pam

Should I Fund Your Childcare?

Let me rephrase that question. Do the tax payers want to fund childcare for households where both parents work
As a pensioner, I pay tax on every penny that I earn, my answer is Not Likely Mate.

Many of my colleagues are married with children and both work, they work opposite shifts and different days, they have mutual arrangements with family members to child mind. Some pay their parents, siblings, aunts etc when there can be no reciprocal arrangements. They do this because they can not afford and do not want to have strangers looking after their children. Some of these are foreign nationals some are Brits, they are all in the same place. They have to work to provide a roof and food, clothing and heating for their families, they will not be drawn into the benefit trap, and consider themselves fortunate to have jobs.

My family has done the same over the years and we made it work because it had to.
I am not in the slightest bit political, I despair of  them all equally, but The Government must be STARK STARING MAD to consider this, never mind announce it..
The truth is that I feel that while couples on low incomes, or out of work through the recession have to rely on hand outs to feed their children, no family with both parents working should have their child care paid for.

A few years ago friends of mine, both in work, were lucky to have a set of parents near by. This meant that school holidays were covered and in the same way non serious childhood ailments did not mean a parent having to go on bended knees for time off.
The Parents retired to a bungalow on the coast and D had to give up work, she earned the least and was part time. D sold her car, she only used it for work, she stopped having her hair done, she was working in reception and had to look decent. She stopped buying new clothes, and sold quite a lot of her wardrobe. The result was that they were no worse off, She had been working to earn enough money to go to work!
Crazy world we live in.
Sure she stopped buying "treats" to make up for not being there all the time, cooked every thing from scratch, days out became beach or park led instead of money fuelled and the four of them were much happier as a result.
So NO Mr Prime Minister, I do not want to fund childcare for couples who both work. BUT I will gladly help a single parent who wants to earn  to enable them to pay their way. 
I WILL keep donating to the food banks for those who can not pay their way.
Right, I am off my soap box now, if I have offended anyone then so be it, these are my views and only my views.
This all came from the answer that I sent in reply to a comment on my last post. After talking with the people from the food bank who were collecting outside Asda I heard the news about proposed funding of child care and I was incensed. I sat on this for a while but instead of subsiding it grew.
Couples  with one parent working are, on the face of it, being penalised.
Parents who both work on opposite shifts, and as a consequence hardly see each other, to enable them to care for their own children are being made fools of.
And the tax payer is being TOLD that they will foot the bill. How many of the top tax payers will shout about it? Oh  but maybe some of those will be claiming the child care payments.

In a short while I will be at the food bank in Wisbech meeting the people that really need a hand up.  I hope to pick up some insight as to how best I can help, and if that means taking my soap box into the public eye then so be it. I am not shy and retiring, and I have a good set of lungs.

Reasons to be grateful.

1. I do not need to use a food bank.

2. Ben snoozing at my side.

3. Sunshine after rain last night.

4. A mug of tea, made by Michael, at my elbow.

5. Francesca negotiating her job offer today.

BTW the weight is slowly going, the juicer is being used every other day and the Hug Quilt progresses.
Ben is almost back to normal, he has stopped searching for Bertie.

So that brings me to                         TTFN   Pam