Bank Statement Blip

Got my bank statement the other day. I rarely look at them apart from a quick glance but VT has a good look through. He spotted an error, an entry from Crabtree & Evelyn in Street for the same ammount coming up twice within a minute of each other. Since the sum involved was for £50.96 it is quite an item. So that determined where we went today, to the Nat West in Formby. Left it with them to sort out, but since it is New Years Day tomorrow it will now be Thursday probably.
We then went to M&S to get a few vegetables etc for the next few days, and came home in time for a nice cup of coffee thereby saving about £4!!
Spent the afternoon doing the MOS crossword we didn't do yesterday.
Jane rang up to say she had got her travellers cheques, and dollars for their trip. Hope she keeps them safe.
Tonight we are having:
Quorn Escallopes,
Potato croquettes 2 each,
Vegetables, peas and sweetcorn or broccolli.
Maybe peaches in brandy with some brandy cream, reduced from M&S.
Happy New Year to all, since this will be the last blog for the year XXXXX

Usual Sunday ..Bits and Pieces.

Quiet Sunday today, VT let the cat out at 10.30 ish and in again at 4.00ish. Quite a nice day today so I don't think it minded being out. Wonder if it is lonely on its own, but it is sheltered and VT looks after all its food etc. He even took the vacuum cleaner to clean up its cat hairs Bless him..who else would do that?
I did the celebrity birthday quiz, while he was mooching in Maghull. Today's one was Robert Duvall who is 77 on Saturday.
We watched "Hetty Wainthrop Investigates" while having our after lunch coffee and doing our crosswords. It is a good old fashioned detective series with Patricia Routledge and the bloke out of Lost who must be earning millions by now.
The only problem with it is the REALLY annoying theme tune which is a brass band, and really gets inside the brain. It was all I could hear the other night when going to sleep and it kept me awake for ages.
We mmanaged to finish them both with just a tiny bit of help from the Internet.
I made another loaf of the bread mixes I ordered from Lakeland, the Australian ones, and I must admit that I am very impressed. Made a Wholemeal one today, and while it isn't very brown it is a good looking loaf.
Also did some Roast vegetables, with onions, peppers, artichokes which I steam first, and little baby tomatoes.
Also did a Pizza base in the bread makers, very successful too.
So tonight we are having:
Pizza with home-made tomato sauce,
Roasted Vegetables,
Mozzarella or Goat's Cheese not sure which,
Salad with avocado and baby plum tomatoes
Tasty Munchy Seeds.
Yummiest meal of the week...

New York New York..

No not I but our daughter Jane has booked nine days in New York in January. The 8th to be precise. She is really excited and so would I be too, what a place to go. So much to see and so much to do, and it sounds like they are going to do it all.I think it is a place you need energy to go to if you want to get everything in, and they are young they will do it.
Really manky weather today, rainy, dark and very blowy, the trees way at the back of the house were bloiwing away like crazy, and the cats have barely been out. VT is still looking after the little ginger cat next door, he let it out at about 10.30 this morning and he went off to Formby to the bank and then the garden Centre and when he came back it met his car miaowing to be let in. So it went in for the shelter and has been there since. I hope cats don't get lonely.
We spent the afternoon with the papers and watching hetty Wainthrop Investigates. Quite old now but not a mobile phone in sight and a VERY annoying theme tune which really gets in the brain.
Had a nice drink mid afternoon and a mince pie, won't be having too many more of those eh...back on the healthy eating plan after the new year.
Tonight we are having the usual:
Chinese
Mini Spring Rolls,
Sauce of some kind,
Mushroom stir-fry,
4oz Egg fried frice.
When I say fried rice I really mean it is done with the oil spray so it is extremely low in calories, not adding extra oil because of Christmas.

Out For A Mooch...

Today we decided to go out for a mooch to Ormskirk, and to give our Friday shopping money to Morrisons for a change. While we were there we had a mooch round Ormskirk. I thought it would be really busy but in fact it was quite quiet.
Got some bargains though...a nice new white jumper from Bon Marche for £6 reduced from £12. A Yankee Candle in a jar called Holiday Sage, we've never had one in a jar since they aare usually too expensive, this was £6.99 from £13.99. Also got some Acidolphus tabs for VT and me and these were half price too. Good bargains today.
Tonight we are having:
Fishless fish cakes, with Tartare Sauce.
Chips..a measured ammount,
Mushy Peas for VT and green beans for Moi,
Maybe a Tomato.

6 Months today!!

Today is our six month anniversary.. the time has gone quite quickly really. We began our "Healthy Eating Plan" on the 27th June, the same day that poor Gordon Brown became the new Prime Minister.
Mostly we have done fairly well, with a few hiccups along the route I think. Birthday meals and Anniversary meals, and two holidays away haven't helped, but we have lost mostly about 18lbs each.
Mind you VT has just stepped on the scales and gone "Oooh" meaning that we have gone up a bit. But we'll soon lose that.Won't we!!
There was something on the Delia website today,
"It's not what you eat between Christmas and New Year that matters, it's what you eat between New Year and Christmas". How True.
We have had a quiet stay at home day today, apparently according to the news the busiest shopping day of the year. Since we did a load of shopping in The States, and in Bath, we aren't bothered about the sales. It isn't the same when you don't go to work, you don't have to worry about clothes rfor work etc.
Tonight we are eating out of the freezer:
Wild Mushroom and Chestnut Grill. VT said they look like Burgers!!!
Brocolli Cheese,
2 Potato Croquettes each.
Whether we will eat the remaining Hazelnut Gateau will be seen.

All Over Bar the....

VT has just gone off to Formby to get a paper. Our local shop is closed today, and who can blame them? it must be Hell being a shopkeeper at this time of the year.
We had a lovely Christmas actually. Just the two of us, but we make a good team. The cats really enjoyed their presents, especially the little cat-nip mouse, and the toy with the feathery bits on the end and the cat-nip in it.Bobby pounced on that as soon as we took it out of the bag, and lay on the floor with her paws round it trying to tear the tissue off.
VT gave me a beautiful Diamond pendant to go with my diamond earrings, and I love it. It is the perfect length and is really sparkly. I gave him a book he had seen in the National Trust shop, and a selection of Nomad Products from Crabtree and Evelyn, so I think he was pleased.
Yesterday we had our Christmas Dinner of course...
Chicken Style Roast,
Gravy,
Bread Sauce and Cranberry Sauce,
Peas, Carrots with cranberries and Maple Syrup,
HoneyRoast Parsnips,
Roast Potatoes
I actually did a pudding too!!!
My traditional Hazelnut Meringue cake, which is two layers of hazelnut meringue, with whipped cream and raspberries, dusted with grated fine dark chocolate. Not just ordinary food...it's Jenny nine toes food!!

Today we are having:
Our usual buffet food. We have done this for years, on Boxing Day we have a selection of picky style buffet things, not very healthy eating plan food but who cares..
Happy ChristmasXXXX

We Wish You A Merry Christmas XXX

Christmas eve, and VT and I have just wrapped the cat's presents! They have done quite well this year, with things from America and Bath and Southport. Lucky little babies.
We started the day by going to Formby because we didn't have any chicken for the babies..well you can't have a Christmas without chicky can you. We got some from Waitrose.Formby was quite busy and VT left me in the shop while he parked the car, and it was pouring down...very Christmassy. Then we walked into the village, and VT got a fantastic set of Apilco crockery from the Help the Aged shop, only £6!!!!! A real bargain...2 coffee cups, a teapot, small jug and a large sugar bowl and a smaller sugar bowl. Quite a buy because it costs a fortune to buy separately. We also got a Chicken style roast from the Health food shop for tomorrow, so we are totally sorted now.
Tonight we had:
Quorn Lamb Grill,
Little baked potaatoes,
Mixed frozen vegetables with Hollandaise sauce.

Merry Christmas one and all from Jenny Nine Toes, VT, and Rusty and Bobby XXXXXXXXXXXX

Christmas Ready??

Yes pretty ready for the festive season. Most things bought, the only thing we need to go out for tomorrow is some"you know what" for the cats. We never say Chicken because they come running!! VT went to Maghull this morning but there wasn't any to be had.
He got caught by the Carol Singers last night! ha ha it cost him 20p!! normally he ignores the bell, but he had to go and answer it in case it was the neighbours leaving the keys so he can feed the cat bext door.
We did the usual crosswords in record time today all except for one clue I had to look up..an actor in The Godfather..Duvall. The Mail on Sunday crossword is the Christmas one which has a quotation all round the outside of it, and takes ages to do. We will do that in bits.
Made a white crusty loaf yesterday from a box of bread mixes I ordered from Lakeland and it is very good. They are Australian, and we have already done the Soy and Linseed which was excellent, quite impressed with these. I fear the bread machine is on its last legs though, maybe I'll keep an eye out for one in the January sales.
Tonight we are having:
Pizza with roast vegetables and asparagus,
Home made tomato sauce,
Mozzarella cheese,
Salad with baby plum tomatoes and avocado
Lovely..one of the best meals of the week!!

Vincent and Jenny At Home!!

Today we stayed at home. Two reasons, one..the weather was not nice, very wet and drizzly and cold, and two..We expected the shops to be heaving.
So we stayed in, and enjoyed being quiet with the papers, and the cats, lovely.
The only thing is there isn't much to discuss. VT lit a fire this evening and it was the most miserable fire you've ever seen! I said we'll all sit round the roaring log fire...not! it was really funny. Then he came in with more fuel so it now looks lovely, Bless HimXX
Tonight we are having the usual:
Chinese, Spring Rolls,
4oz egg fried rice with fresh peas,
Stir-fry vegetables,
Sauce of some sort.

A Bit of Quiet Shopping...Not!!

Went to Tesco this morning to do our usual friday Shopping. Started by going round and round the car-park before eventually finding a space. Tesco was Heaving!! people everywhere. You'd think that the end of the world was nigh! Got everything we wanted and waited for ages in a checkout. On the way out I said to VT I just want to look at the flowers, and he said I'll wait outside. I walked round the flowers then out of the store..no sign of VT..completely disappeared!! Stood by the bank machine for ten mins freezing..then decided he'd gone to the car. Walked up and down looking for his car still no sign, back tothe store front..getting colder and colder. Went back to the car again!! and still no sign, stood there for ten mins..really frozen..so went back to the store, lo and behold he is stood like a lemon INSIDE the shop nice and warm!!!!!! Swore blind he had been there for 35 mins! and swore blind he didn't see me either outside the store or going past him..Now..who is the one with the eyesight problem?? By the time I got back to the car I was a block of ice, and all hge did was argue all the way home...
Got home did the scanning then cleared up a bit because Emma was coming to cut our hairs. Had a quick lunch and a bit of a breather.
Glad to have my hair cut and coloured, makes you feel tidier.
Tonight we are having:
Fish Cake,
Chips and mushy peas for VT
Green beans for me.
Lakeland parcel arrived this afternoon too all the things I had ordered so that is everything organised now. All over bar the shouting as they say!

Clearing Up Day..

Emma is coming tomorrow, so we are doing the clearing up. We generally do the kitchen floor and make sure it is nice nd clean. Emma is the hairdresser who has been coming for years, since Jane was small. In the meantime she has trained to be a Radiographer and is now a fully qualified one. Wish Jane would take the hint!
We also do the bathroom floor and the porch and clear up a bit too, so the place looks nice.
VT has just said he read yesterday's blog, and "Where is the Meatballs?" Well, what happened was that I went to the freezer and couldn't find them!! so had to think on my feet, and in the end we had Squashed potatoes, gravy with mushrooms and caramelised onions, carrots and green beans, and a Quorn Cornish Pasty, which proved to be very nice actually. So I hope VT wsn't complaining!
Tonight we are having:
Maybe a Pasta with Seeds of Change Tomato Sauce,
Something simple, OR
Something out of the Freezer..God knows we have plenty in there.
Last night we actually had a DRINK!!! I had a G&T and VT had one of his Whiskies, and we shared a pack of smoked cashews...very naughty, but it is the Festive Season, and I can't remember when we last had a drink!
Happy Christmas!
Poor VT is a bit grumpy, and who cam blame him. He came down this morning and found the cats had chucked up in a variety of places..Yuk!! might be due to some reduced chicken we got them from Waitrose as a treat, so they aren't getting any more of that..

Change tack day!

Today was a bit of a change really. the phone went during the morning, and it was the hearing aid clinic, to say that my hearing aid had come back from the repairers. The receptionist said she was going out this afternoon so we decided to go and get it in the morning. So that was an unexpected trip into Southport. On the way back we called in at the ocean plaza as we were going past, and went to the pet shop. I bought the cats some Christmas presents. A new collar each, and a pet chum which is like a little doggy with cat nip in it, and a long chasy feather thingy that they will love. £10.96!! on cat presents!!! but they are special...and we did put them in the cattery for three weeks poor little things.
Apparently little Rusty up and barfed on the quilt last night at 3.30 in the morning. Poor VT got up..sorted her out, sorted the quilt out with the light on and I was fast asleep, never noticed or heard a thing!
The new covers came yesterday for the suite in the front room, so VT has spent the afternoon putting them on. Must say they look really good, he has made a lovely job of them. The new colour makes quite a difference to the appearance of the room.
Tonight we are having:
Meatballs Quorn ones,
With tomato sauce and mushrooms and baby leeks,
Pasta 4oz and Carrots.

We just need a few vegetables...

Famous last words!!!!!! We go into Waitrose for a few vegetables and a few other things that only Waitrose sell, and come out about 40mins later having spent £85. We had a coupon for £5 off £50, and at one point I said to VT have we got £50s worth and he said I don't thionk so , so we put 4 bottles of wine in, then found thatwe had spent 85 pounds worth!! We now have a groaning larder and freezer and enough things to sink the Titanic! They do sell nice stuff in Waitrose though..like smoky oatcakes, and giant pretzels and very good veggie things.
We did get a few vegetables though..
Today the new covers for the sofas in the front room were delivered from Kirkdale. They are a fetching shade of green, a sort of mid-green not too dark. So that held us up really, we didn't go out till aboiut 11.30.And, didn't even get a cup of coffee either!
Tonight we are having:
Quorn Escallopes with goats cheese and cranberry,
Chanteney carrots and green beans,
Baby red potatoes probably baked.
Maybe...a little hollandaise sauce?

Twas On A Monday Morning......

Everybody came to call....postman early with a parcel...left behind the plant pot! from my good friend Jayne. VT rang the Satellite man who initially said he was too busy but would put us on his list. (The satellite conked out last night completely) Anyway he rang later to say he would come round later which he did so that is fixed. The parcel from Lakeland also arrived at least part of it..one box of flour/ bread mixes to be precise.
We had originally decided to go to Formby because we wanted to go to a few shops..Waitrose Julian Graves etc., so that has had to be postponed till tomorrow. Tonight we will be eating out of the freezer then;
Mashed Potatoes..frozen,
Sausages and gravy,
Whatever vegetables I can find.

Technology!!!!!

Spent the morning...well the day really doing the Christmas newsletter. It has taken quite a while to organise, since this year we have included some photos to make it a bit more interesting. I have tried to keep it fairly simple because I don't like the ones which are one long brag from beginning to end. So just wrote about what we have done in the year really.
The technology is beyond me so VT did most of the work. I did type it in though!
Today was Delia Secret Santa day too I opened mine this morning, and have got a scarf and a book called Clangers to something else I can't remember. VT immediately picked up the book..it is just up his street actually. It's not about recipes but more about the history of regional food dishes, for example it mentions about Bendicks Bittermints, which originally came from a chocolate shop called Ben Dicks in London.
Tonight we are bacxk to our normal so we are having:
Egg fried rice with 4oz rice,
Stir Fried vegetables, with a sauce of some sort?
Spring Rolls
Be nice to get back to our normal routine!!

Brrrr Cold Today.

Very cold today, we had to go out this morning because VT had a dental appointment . he has a cracked tooththat needed a filling. So we went to the library first, and then he walked down the road a bit to the dentists. I got a few decent books to see me over the Christmas period and he got some of his local history ones. He rarely reads novels, I read nothing but...
Then we went to Crosby village, and I nipped into Sainsbury's, for the Magazine. While there I got a few items..of course..what do you expect!! Got some Covent Garden soup on offer..and a couple of party boxes for the buffet thingy we have on Boxing Day. Also bought our stuffing, so now we have almost everything we need for our Christmas Dinner.
Tonight we are having:
Delia Smith's
Madras Egg Curry with Spinach and tomato cachumber
2Poppadums, and
4oz of White Rice.

Brrrr Cold Today.

When its Cold..go shopping!

Really cold this morning, quite frosty. I hope the poor little ginger cat next door hasn't been out all night it would be freezing.
VT has a dental appointment tomorrow morning so we did the weekend shopping today instead. This time we gave our money to ASDA in Southport. Didn't intend to spend that much but in the end spent £83!!! Got all sorts of bits and pieces for Christmas, and a bottle of Talisker Whisky for VT which was on offer at £17 which is a good buy for a 10year old malt. We have actually been to the Talisker Distillery on Skye which was lovely. Bought some frozen things because we have a buffet type meal on Boxing Day so got some bits for that. The frozen lines nowadays are really good.
Last night we had our Hot-Pot in the end and really tasty it was too.
Tonight we are having:
4oz Potatoes gently fried.
Crispbakes from Asda Leek and Broccolli'
Whatever vegetables that are left over on the veg rack.
Got a lovely new CD today from Amazon Rick Wakeman Christmas Variations. Played a bit of it at lunchtime and it is really good Carols, but beautifully done. Some of the piano work is gorgeous.

Clearing out The Freezer..

Took a look at the freezer and decided that it needed sorting out to make way for Christmas goodies. You know the sort of thing, bits and pieces of things that you put in there and think you will use but never do. Or things that I bought when reduced and haven't got round to using. When it came to it though there wasn't a huge amount but enough to fill a bin bag! One was a nut roast that I had bought for last Christmas!!!The bin men are coming tomorrow so it is a good chance to get rid of things.
Haven't decided what we are having for our Christmas Dinner yet..I bought a Quorn Roast last year and it really wasn't too good at all. Very dry and tasteless. Might get a "Chicken Style" Roast from the Health Food shop,or something else that takes our fancy, but not a nut roast, don't really go for that.
The post came this morning, VT gets it held up while we are away, then delivered (should have been Monday) but it came today. Very boring post actually, one appointment for Walton, and my Olive Magazine, and loads of junk mail. Sounds like VT has had a lot of junk mail too judging by the way the shredder machine is going!!!
Last night we had QuornEscallopes with cheese and broccolli,
Carrots and parsnips,
Little baked new potatoes, and cranberry sauce.
Tonight we are having:
Hot-Pot with vegetables OR
Casserole with chicken style pieces and apples and cider.

Back from Bath and Surroundings.

Well we are back from our holiday..again... it only seems a few weeks since we went to New England but we go every year to our cottage in High Littleton between Bath and Wells.
Tell the truth we are glad to be back for a rest. We went somewhere every day, well you wouldn't do that at home would you?
We did the Christmas market in Bath, very pretty but very wet. It did rain a lot last week, and it was stormy rain too,felt sorry for the stallholders.
Didn't buy much actually but it is nice to look round.
Did Street a couple of times, and bought a gorgeous new picture for the middle room, of a barn and buildings by Michael Cooper. Looks really nice and suits the middle room beautifully. Had a few Starbucks and other coffees, and a really good look round.Bought quite a few things but no clothes this time.
Wells is still a lovely city, and this time we walked round the Bishops Palace, which we have never done before, because it has always been closed, but they are keeping it open this year as an experiment. It was lovely to go round there.
Glad to get back to my gas cooker, the cottage has an electric one with a halogen hob and it nearly drove me mad, I like the instant heat.
Surprisingly we haven't put weight on at all in fact I have lost a couple of pounds must be the walking.
Tonight we are having:
I think a nice casserole something like a hot-pot easy to do and tasty.