Clocks - Computers and Crosswords

Last night the clocks went back an hour. This meant of course that we awoke late according to the bedside clock, but we still had our cup of coffee before we got up. We always have a cup of coffee and a cow biscuit..sort of gets you going for the day. VT always goes down to make them, my balance is dreadful for carrying things around and there would be no coffee left if I did it.
Computers...well..I had a bit of a look at the sites I go on earlier and the puter was very slow, so I thought I would close it down and restart it. What a mistake...I came up in the late afternoon to get the big MOS crossword done, and I was still sitting here half an hour later waiting for it to get going!!! Why aren't home computers like the ones you see on CSI and the like, and work instantly!!
Crosswords...both quite easily done today, no difficult ones which caused a problem. I did use the Quizzes and Puzzles answers.com site for one or two though, that is a wonderful site for getting the unusual answers.
Made a pizza dough in the new bread machine this morning. It is a really nice dough and looks good for our pizza later. Last week we used a pizza dough base mix, and it was a bit disappointinmg, but we are back on track this week.
My recipe is:
Sourdough Pizza Dough...in the bread machine..
1 1/2 cups of strong bread flour. Today I used 1 of white and 1/2 of Spelt.
1/4 cup of Honey
Tsp of salt
A good slurp of Olive Oil.. we used Basil Oil
1/2 tsp of yeast dried
1 Cup of Sourdough Starter..proofed overnight,
1/4 cup of warm water, this varies according to the type of flour.

Put everything in the bread machine on the dough cycle, and when it is completed I take it out and leave it in a covered bowl to rise. Then use as normal for the Pizza. It m,akes the most wonderful pizza base.

Tonight we are having:
Sourdough Pizza, with
Home made tomato sauce,
Roasted vegetables,
Salad with avocados and a mixed egg salad from M&S for a change.
Assorted potato salad and wild rice salad.

Yummy.

Friday Feast...

Well today dawned grey clod and windy, so VT decided that he didn't fancy the burgers for tea that I suggested. So I said well what do you fancy, and after a while of silence he said a curry. So, curry it is. I do a good Egg and Madras curry from the delia site, which has a tomato accompaniment which is very tasty.
Today our money went to Morrisons n Ormskirk, I like Morrisons, they are very good for vegetables, and I miss the one in Formby that is now Waitrose. That is a nice shop, but very pricey for pretty nearly everything. The only thing is that you can get the more unusual items there. Also went into M&S to get salad, and avocados etc., and spent £25 very quickly!
The Yankee candles arrived today and they are gorgeous. I'm really pleased with them. Beautifully packed with four glass holders, and 18 little candles of different "flavours" of all types. Both VT and I found that you don't get the scent on your nose though or you will have it for ages. Beautiful scents and colours, and an excellent way of trying out all the scents. Bought them to use so we are trying out Vanilla Lime in the kitchen to begin with.
Tonight we are having:
Madras egg and spinach curry,
With 4oz of basmati rice,
Mushrooms Poppadum, and sliced banana,
With mango chutney and tomato cachumber.
This is extremely tasty, and well worth making.

The weight is still the same for both of us, VT around the 11st mark and me around the 11 1/2 mark, no matter what we seem to do. This seems to be our plateau level. I did lose about 6lbs when I had that dreadful Noro virus in Feb and haven't put that back, so that was the only good thing out of that.

Clear Out...

Cleared out a cupboard today, came across a load of tops and blouses that are either shapeless or worn. So, threw them out. Mostly cotton ones that can be replaced later.
Day dawned grey and rainy. Rusty came into the bedroom and was soaked but the proceeded to jump all over us. Funny how you let them!
Jane hasn't rung up for a bit, probably still high on the Canabis..not literally, the fumes are probably coming through the floorboards!!!
Still waiting for the Mother's Day card by the way..Dream on Mummy!
Really fancy doing some baking today, would love to make a cake or some scones but the claories are the problem aren't they.
Post is coming very late these days..the last two days it has arrived at 1.30 ish..in early times that would have been second post, now it's the first post..and they call that progress! Not really is it. I hope the letter to Australia gets there quicker than post in this country. Still waiting for the QVC candles, but they shouldn't be long now. Looking forward to those, 18 different scents to give a flavour of each.
Tonight we are having:
Roma Tomato Fillet,
Potato Dauphinoise (from Morrisons)
Chanterey carrots, soya beans and sweetcorn.
Basically it is what is leftover and things out of the freezer.

Police getting Younger!

Came back from an outing yesterday to see the Police doing their training in our village. Can't believe how young they looked..poor little things, walking around in pairs, all kitted out in new uniforms with all new equipment, and they looked about 14 ! Quite literally, the little boys looked like they hadn't started shaving yet, let alone doing Policing. This is a regular occurence in the village, they seem to use it for training about once a month, and I swear they get younger each time, or maybe it's that I am getting older.
Made a nice Sourdough Oatmeal and potato loaf today, mainly for toast and sandwiches for the rest of the week. We have been using the fruit loaf from the variety pack that I got from lakeland. I must order some more of their bread, they are very good indeed.
Sent the Cranford DVD off to Australia with a bit of a letter this morning. Cost £2.20 to post which is very good really. I hope it gets there OK now. VT who is excellent at packing got it all addressed and packed in a good Jiffy bag, and was just about to take it to the Post Office, and it started to rattle about in the packet. He said that it sounded like the disc had come away from the holder so we had to undo it again and repack it. Shame, but we couldn't leave it. I put a note in to say that we hadn't opened it to watch it!!
Tonight we are having:
Meatballs, fried in fry Light or maybe baked,
Puy lentil and Tomato sauce from ASDA,
4 oz of Pasta,
Cabbage and Leek mix, stir fried on the side.
Something a bit different from the Escallopes.

Late Night Excitement...

Jane rang us up last night at about midnight to tell us that she has a Canabis factory next door!!!! She was quite excited about it all, as you would be really.
Apparently Rachel had seen the next door house door open and gangs of kids coming and going so they rang the police. turned out that there is a canabis factory in the house. The police woman asked them if they had seen lights going on at strange hours, or people coming and going etc., and Jane said that was their house! because they all work odd hours and come and go a lot! Jane said there were pots of plants all over the road, and it looked like Ground Force..HaHaHa...Anyway the police are guarding the property and the Forensic people are there. Bet it isn't like CSI though.
Waiting for parcels is a pain..my books from Amazon have eventually arrived, they had been sent two doors down, now only waiting for my QVC order which is Yankee Candles.
Tonight we are having:
gruyere Cheese and Leek escallopes,
Squashed potatoes,
Cabbage and Leek stir fried.

Easter Monday..

Missed my Blog yesterday, I had done half of it, the VT came in wanting the answer to a particularly awkward question in the cross-word. Since I don't like him looking at what I put, I clicked it to one side. Of course when I had gone through the other pages, it had disappeared. The time by then had flown and it was time to go and get the evening meal on the go. So..it didn't get done yesterday.
Last night we had the usual pizza but since we forgot to roast the vegetables at lunch time it was a plain cheese tomato pineapple and veggie sausage one. The salad was the usual one, but the tray of Avocados I got from Waitrose were all brown and soft so that was a disaster as well.
VT has taken them back today and got a double refund! Well they were £1.99 !
Tonight I will do something with the roast vegetables do them with some little baby potatoes, then add the vegetables. probably have a Quorn escallope with them. I'm not wasting the vegetables, so will concoct a meal with those.

Easter Saturday and the living is.....Cold.

Cold and wet and rainy and forecast for snow tomorrow. Is that typical easter weather...probably. I remember one Easter just after we were married that we went on holiday up to the Highlands of Scotland and we were snowed up. In those days we didn't have a lot of money so we stayed in a poky little cottage, with barely any heating and few mod cons. We were frozen, and we actually did come home early from that one. At least we stay in decent places nowadays, ones with all the luxuries.
Not much doing today, everywhere is quite quiet..funny putting those two words together..VT went over to Maghull to get a few things and some cat food.
Tonight we are having:
Spring Rolls,
4oz egg fried rice,
Stir fry vegetables,
Sauce.Possibly a honey and coriander one.

Good Friday

Good Friday today. When I was a child that would have meant church visits, especially in the afternoon where it would have been the Stations of the Cross, and the kissing of the feet ceremony. Never used to like that, it always seemed to me to be a bit well unhygienic really. Then probably Benediction in the evening. I wonder if that has made me any more holy..No!
At the time of typing this it is chucking it down, really quite torrential, but sunny as well. There must be a nice rainbow somewhere.
With it being friday, we took our money to Waitrose, since we didn't want to go too far today. Formby was quite busy actually, and you can really tell that the school holidays have started. Kids running around all over the place.
Well we spent £60....£75 actually, so we got our voucher for £6 off. At least that paid for our wine.
Also treated ourselves to a slice of cheesecake, New York baked cheesecake to be precise. Sold in a double portion so at least that is regulated. We haven't had a pudding since Christmas, so I think we deserve a little bit of a treat.
Tonight we are having:
Fishless Fish fingers...well it is good friday!
Peas for VT and green beans for me,
Chips..150grms.

A Touch od Spring...Not...

Absolutely blowing a gale today, vry dull, cold and rainy. Not at all Spring like! and not the sort of weather you would want to be going away in, especially in this country, at the prices they charge here!
Made a beautiful Hot Cross Bun loaf today in the bread machine. Well I do the dough in that and then finish it off in my own tin. I used the basic mix then added a cup of mixed dried fruit, and a half cup of chopped walnuts and dried cranberries. The house at the moment smells divine, like a hot-cross bun factory..Must order some more of the bread mixes from Lakeland I only have one left, a soy and linseed one.
The bell went this morning early at 8 o'clock, and it was a parcel from Crabtree & Evelyn, with a bath set in it. Wasn't expecting that actually, and a letter apologising for the error. Tell you what though it makes you more careful at the till points.
Tonight the Vegetarian meal we are having is:
Potato gratin,
Carrots and mushrooms,
Maybe sausages and apple wedges, not quite sure yet.

Early Rise

Woke up early this morning with low blood sugar, so VT got up and got me 2 Lucozade tablets which did the trick. Trouble is this was 6o'clock! which was too early for us. So, he went down and made us a cup of coffee then we went back to sleep. Of course we didn't wake up till 10 o'clock then! We were going to go off to Ormskirk to get a new iron so we did this anyway, and had a good mooch round there. Got the new iron from Argos, a Russell Hobbs which looks good. Has to be better than the last one which was leaking everywhere including all over the clothes! That was a Moulinex...remind me never to get anything Moulinex again!
Beautiful bright sunny day but coldish. Had to wear the sunglasses though it was too bright for me. Don't like the bright sun, the glare is bad for the eyes.
Not sure what we will have for tea tonight... Big weigh in today by the way, VT is the same and I have stuck at 11 1/2 which I am really pleased with.
Tonight we are having:
A medley of vegetables, covered with a cheese sauce I tthink,
Baby potatoes included,
Something Quorn from the freezer maybe sausages and apple..not sure till I see what we have. Could be a Quorn kiev..they would go with that.
Yesterdays meal was delicious, a Tomato, Squash and Spinach curry, I got from the Godd Food magazine site. Very tasty indeed. Definitely would make that again.

Cars and Cupboards!

VT has spent the day sorting his car out. An early rise to take it into Crosby, and then he came back on the little bus that comes through Little crosby..£1 not too bad..cheaper than the taxi anyway.
I haven't done much today but have sorted out the bottom of my wardrobe. I tend to stuff it with the clothes I use most, and after a while it gets really untidy. Plus I have a lot of clothes in there which are too big now, I don't need the big sizes now so there is no point keeping them.
Did some ironing this morning and our iron is leaking, so I think it will be a visit to Argos in Ormskirk tomorrow to get a new one. We have £30 worth of vouchers from the NSM left so will use those. had a look at the Argos catalogue, but there are numerous pages of all sorts of irons, and it's a minefield. Which do you choose? We went for cheap last time..wouldn't do that again, it isn't worth it. Think we will go for a Russell Hobbs, at least it's a name we can trust. I hope..
Yesterday when I was messing about on here I came across a recipe that looked quite interesting. A sort of curry, so...
Tonight we are having:
Squash, tomato and Spinach curry.
I had everything in stock except the curry paste, so VT is going to get that when he goes for his car.
We will have 1/2 a pack of basmati rice to go with it.

Blood Pressure..

I was summoned to the Surgery last week by the receptionist. Apparently it was time for a blood pressure test. Made an appointment for 9.30 this morning, and eventually got in at 10.15! Watching other people come and go..not my idea of fun..and it's not like the Doctors programme on the television is it.Nurse did the blood pressure and pronounced it fine 135/70 which is quite good. I wonder if losing the weight helps..it must do. She weighed me and said 12st but that is with all my clothes on and shoes also. I'm quite pleased with that anyway. Supposed to go back in a month but we will have to see! Got a blood test form for later too for a liver function test.
Had a nice reply from Crabtree&Evelyn..comment earlier on the blog. Since I got my two e-mails returned I had initially thought it was a wind up..but it seems not..seems that it was genuine. I did the e-mail as given in the comment, but the third time I left the stop off after p and that must have worked.
If they do something about their common courtesy then that is a good thing. It is a lovely shop and I always enjoy going in there..especially at US prices!!
Did a bit of shopping in Sainsbury's..and I do mean a bit since we only had half an hour. Got some veggies for the week, so meals are sorted.
Tonight we are having:
Escallopes with gruyere cheese,
Baby potatoes crushed with sea salt and rosemary,
Carrots and Brocolli,
1/2 quantity of Hollandaise sauce with mushrooms.

Crabtree&Evelyn and Slow Computers

Sent an e-mail to the mail address given, but it was returned twice. Wonder if that was a wind up? Very clever one if it was. Well Mr Townsend you got my attention!
Slow computer today..it seems that we waited five minutes for every clue this afgternoon!.. We only need one bnow and have given up...Name describing savage civil war of 19th century spain... not getting anywhere with that one.
Not made any bread today..will do a Soy and Linseed one tomorrow. VT is making a pizza base himself today..all that good training paid off.
Tonight we are having:
Pizza with a base mix
Our tomato sauce,
Roasted vegetables
Mozzarella Cheese and Olives,
Salad with Avocado baby tomatoes, cucumber and mixed lettuce.
Best meal of the week..

Who's Boring?

Probably us. Mind you I think this retirement lark is great. We do exactly what we want. Apart from Hospital Appointments our time is our own so we come and go as we want to. Who wouldn't like to turn over in bed on a rainy Monday morning? Plus the money situation is great, not having to spend money to get to work etc. Not much in the news at present..so the papers are not up to much today. Mostly about the child who was found and the families. The websites are very quiet too, people doing things at the weekend I suppose. The thing is when you are retired the weekends aren't the same, you don't need them you see. Every day is a weekend!........Tonight we are having: Chinese..Spring Rolls, Sauce of some sort, Stir fry vegetables, 4oz Egg Fried Rice. The usual really, but we like that. So What!!

Vouchers!

We took our money off to Formby this morning. Didn't want to go too far so that suited. Bought a few things in M&S and in the village, then off to Waitrose. lovely cup of coffee with our own biscuits, and a fair bit of shopping. Why do salads have such a short shelf life? I know that they go off quickly, but it is Friday, and we want our salad for Sunday evening and some for Monday lunch. Some of the bags have a sell-by for tomorrow! seems awfully short to me. Anyway managed to get what we wanted in the end. We got a mailing through the post the other day with vouchers for £6 off £60 spend. VT said we wouldn't be spending £60 so we didn't take the voucher.
The total bill came to £55!!! so if we had got a couple of bottles of wine we would have had enough! I said he is the voucher man..he said I had said we wouldn't spend £60 so we argued a bit about that. Ah well..in the scheme of things it doesn't relly matter except that I like saving money..
Jane rang up again this afternoon..moaning again..she is off work with her bad shoulder and says she is like a zombie on all the pills. She only rings up when she is bored or complaining..she needs another New York holiday!
VT is still looking at cars. He has a motor magazine and is comparing them and the prices. He showed me one in Formby, and it looks good just up our street. Now he has to make up his mind.
Tonight we are having:
Fishless fish fingers,
Mushy Peas for VT and green beans for me,
250grms of Chips.
Tartare sauce.

Cars and Roots

Today VT went into crosby to see about his car. The petrol leak needs doing, and he has found a garage just around the corner from the Doctors who will do it for him on Tuesday. Heslop's garage, they have been there for donkey's years, little garage opposite Maitlands.
While he was in Crosby he went along to the Nissan garage to see what they had, and saw what he thought was a good car, four years old and a CitroenPicasso of some sort, Xaris I think, but not sure. About £7.000 but they would do a deal. He seems quite keen on this. I have offered him £3k towards it but he is a stubborn cuss and won't take it...he is mad.
I stayed at home to do my roots. Showing the grey around the hairline, and bought the kit from Boots. On offer and only £3.50 so good value. Dark brown this time, last time I used Auburn but it was a bit red really. This is much better match.Quite pleased with it actually, and will make the hairdo last a bit longer.
I am going to do a version of Macaroni Cheese that is a bit healthier.
I saw The Barefoot Contessa do one with 1lb of Cheddar, and 1lb of Gruyere and all sorts of extra s like butter and half and half. I think I can do better than that.
So tonight we are having:
Macaroni and Cheese with 4oz pasta..
A packet of Colman's Cheddar Cheese sauce mix,
Broccolli and Mushrooms mixed in,
Tomato on the top and a sprinkling of parmesan and breadcrumbs.
Green beans on the side.
See...Much healthier.

Car problems

poor VT has had car problems today which is worrying. He had noticed a small petrol leak yesterday so took the car along to the garage this afternoon. Apparently it is corrosion on his petrol pipe, and it has to be fixed. The problem is that when they start going underneath it generally is not a good thing, so I think he is thinking of a new something or other. he has had that car for 14 years so it doesn't owe him anything. We will have to wait and see what happens next.
Very blowy today, off and on, it was windy last night but didn't keep me awake, mind you not a lot does really.
The funeral of the lady from the Post office this lunchtime, it is all very quick really. She died late last week, and all over today. VT was only speaking to her in the morning, and she died suddenly that evening. You never know the minute do you as people say.
Tonight we are having:
A gruyere tart from ASDA,
Small baby new potatoes sliced and sauteed,
Whatever vegetables I can find..maybe carrot diced, peas and soya beans.

Crabtree & Evelyn..letter

First thing I did a letter of complaint to Crabtree & Evelyn in Street, to state my disappointment about their lack of response. I refer to a transaction I had with them on December 4th when I bought some Christmas things from their Street store at Clarkes Village. Spent £50.95 and was charged twice on my bank account. If my eagle eyed lovely VT hadn't noticed that on my statement they would have got away with that. He generally checks my statement, I don't bother. Good job he does though. Anyway, not a word from them, nothing, not an apology... nowt.
Gave them a while then felt a letter was necessary. So off it has gone this morning. See what I get back.
VT has found a slight petrol leak in his car, so he went off to the garage this afternoon to get it checked, but they were too busy, so they will look at it tomorrow afternoon. Hope it isn't too serious.
The new Delia programme aired yesterday evening. Very good it was too. It was on the lines of the Barefoot Contessa, with her going out and about a bit. It was really good to see a more human side to her then the one in the kitchen. I thought the programme was excellent, and might buy the book now.
Have just ordered two books and a DVD from Amazon. The dvd is "Cranford" which I will send to John and Ann in Oz. I was going to buy it in Feb when it came out but thought that they would not be able to use it in their machines. Anyway, someone on the Delia forum site said that he had seen it in a shop and that it was the right region for Oz. I have also ordered two books, The Chocolate chip cookie murder, and The Strawberry Shortcake Murders, both by Joanne Fluke. Was only intending to buy one but if you bought the two you saved money, and also they were eligible for free p&p. So that sorted that.
Tonight we are having:
The green lentil recipe made into a Shepherds pie.
I will use that as a base and do some mashed potato on the top with cauliflower in it to extend it a bit.
Carrots and peas,
Mushrooms and a bit of gravy.
Think I will do them in little individual dishes and make them look nice with a tiny bit of grated cheese on the top.

And the Winds Doth Blow...

Not here they didn't, bit wet and rainy but certainly not storm conditions. Very stormy down south though according to the news. We went off to Formby this morning to get the usual Monday veggies, and it was steadily raining but nothing too much. Storm in a teacup eh!
Delia is on tonight, the first time in about 5 years, so will be watching that one. Her Cheat cooking is all over everything, but the book is a lot of meat or fish recipes so I don't think it is for us, and ingredients are appearing with the word Cheat on them, the woman doesn't half sell some stuff. Her recommendation must be worth a fortune to the manufacturers. Aunt Bessies frozen Potato is flying off the shelves.
Tonight we are having:
A reduced price Quorn Gruyere cheese escallope,well it was a bargain.
Tenderstem Brocolli and green beans,
Baby baked potatoes with salt and rosemary,
Mushrooms in a little hollandaise sauce. Weighed ourselves this morning and both stuck on the same weights. VT is about 11st and I am 11 1/2 st that looks like 111 but I am not that bad.

Sunday crosswords...

finished all the crosswords in record time today. Well done in time for the Dancing on Ice programme. Excellent..
One or two tricky ones but a very quick visit to the quizzers and puzzles site finished them off. VT is on a roll today, he finished my You magazine one as well as doing his Sunday Express one really quicky too. Clever Boy..
Used the new bread machine today to make a Sourdough dough. It will take a bit of getting used to I think. One snag we have found is that it doesn't switch off when you open the lid which we are not used to. Also, it has one kneading cycle on the dough programme, so if you want to add more liquid after the kneading cycle has finished it doesn't get mixed in. We will have to watch that. Made a nice dough though if a little heavy , we used more flour and made a wholewheat one for a change.
Tonight we are having:
Pizza made with the sourdough base,
Tomato sauce and roasted vegetables,
Goats cheese topping,
Salad with avocado, baby plum tomatoes, and cucumber etc.
Topped with seeds.

Christmas!

Getting ready for christmas..No not really..Had a quick look at the Website for the cottages that we go to in Bath, and found that the one we like Little paradise is booked for four days when we wanted to go. Drat!!
Never mind though we have stayed in the others so booked Valley View for 11 days from Thursday November 27th to Sunday December 7th. This is slightly longer than last year, but we are not going away to America this year so we can go for a bit longer then.
There is a really good christmas Market in Bath which we like at this time so it is a good time to go. Last year we were a bit rushed to get everything in, and didn't have much time to just enjoy the cottage so we will be a bit more relaxed this time. Total is £414 pounds...nearly as dear as going abroad!
Tonight we are having:
Chinese..maybe Spring Rolls, maybe Dippers. Depends on what I put my hands on first.
Stir fry vegetables with mushrooms.
Egg fried rice 4 oz
Sauce we have a number in the cupboard,

Christmas!

Friday Fun!

No not really, we did the usual Friday shopping, and took our money off to Sainsbury's. Had a look in the Next shop next door but nothing doing. I always think the clothes are very badly made there , very thin and not good quality at all. Can't remember the last time I bought anything from Next apart from maybe jewellery. I think you need to be a size 10 to get anything from there.
Got the usual weekend things from Sainsbury's, didn't see anything new really.People buying Easter Eggs by the dozens, on offer though, BOGOF so probably a good deal.
Don't think I could eat an Easter Egg now, too sickly. The only chocolates I like are good ones in very small quantities, like the Artisan ones that are hand made.
I do have a craving for cakes at the moment though..especially Cherry cakes or Sayers ring doughnuts..I could devour one of them no problem. Why can't you just take a pill that allows you to have treats without putting weight on.
Jane has just rung up complaining that she is tired all the time. VT says she needs to get in the fresh air a bit, I said maybe it is the central heating, that makes you tired. VT said were you tired in New York..she said No she was happy in New York. I think the answer is there somewhere..
Bought some Asparagus at the beginning of the week, it was on a Bogof, and this morning VT said a bit plaintively has all the asparagus gone. Well No it hasn't actually, there is still some left, so will have to sneak it in somewhere.
Tonight we are having:
Pasta Bake, with tomato sauce,
Bits of asparagus sneaked in,
a bit of parmesan on the top to make it crispy,
A slice of garlic bread.

No Name..

Can't think of a title for today so just a no name one. Some bad news today. VT went for the papers to be told by Ken next door that the lady from the post office had died last night suddenly. She was not old only 53, but I think had heart trouble. Real shame, VT had only been talking to her yesterday when he took my parcel for returning. He said she was fine..just shows you never know the mnute as they say.
Quiet today not really much going on. Had a nice lunch with a carton of Covent Garden soup and the last of the Hotpot from last night mixrd in. A slice of toasted Sourdough and real peasant food.
Tonight we are having:
Lamb Grill, not meat of course,
Celeriac and potato mash,
Asparagus and cabbage and leek.
Just peasant food!

Chop Chop!

Started a bit late this morning, we weren't in a hurry to get up, being so comfy and warm. It's great this retirement lark, you can do what you want.
Then decided to go over to Ormskirk where it was really quite cold actually. It is fairly high up and blowy. Didn't buy much though, just had a good look round. Saw a group of schoolkids doing what looked like a geography survey with their two teachers. Can't say I was envious. we were sitting in the cafe having a lovely cup of coffee at the time..which would you prefer eh!
After lunch we started tonight's tea,
Tonight we are having:
Oven Roasted HotPot..courtesy of Celia brookes Brown, but messed about a bit.
We will have a good bowl of that with a dollop of our home made greek yoghurt on top..
In it there is...
Tomato Carrot juice or V8 which I used
Italian seasoning Nutmeg and seasoning
Sweet Potato Lemon Rind grated
Carrots Red pepper Celery
Parsnip (You can actually put whatever veg you like in it)
Mushrooms A can of Chick Peas
It is a gorgeous recipe for a cold night, and once the chopping is done, which is very theraputic by the way it is put in the oven and left to fend for itself. this is a requirement of a good hotpot, and this is a good one.

Brassed Off!

No not really. We did the kitchen floor, then the bathroom and the porch. While leaving them to dry I came up to use the computer and VT appeared with a smile on his face. He said he had wiped down the front door, and when I checked he had done the brasses. Now..that is my job...I always do the brasses, which are the letterbox, key plate and "Woodford" house sign. Quite a job too, they hadn't been done for ages, usually are forgotten. Now lovely and shining. They do look nice when they have been done.
Cold today so we didn't go anywhere maybe tomorrow.
Crosswords proved harder this week. VT does one in the Daily Express on a Monday, and that was done fairly easily apart from about three clues he had to look up on the Internet. One was...the name of the blunt end of a hammer head..answer "Poll" !! Never heard of it. talk about obscure!
Got the answer from "Quizzes and Puzzles" which is a website set up to answer queries about crossword clues. You can submit a query and mostly someone will answer it. Well the answer was there, and under it someone had written...How many times is this going to be asked today?
Tonight we are having:
Some of the veggies I bought yesterday.
Mozzarella and Pesto Quorn Escallopes,
Cauliflower Cheese,
Little squashed potatoes,
Mushrooms.
Tomorrow is the big weigh in day. VT reckons he is still the same, I think that I have kept most of the weight off that I lost when I had the dreaded Noro Virus, which was about 5or6 lbs!! We shall see.
I have had a real craving for cakes this week. The recipe for the day on the Delia site is a gorgeous looking Austrian Coffee and Walnut cake...Ohmigod...could I just eat that! VT came home on Sunday from Maghull, where he had a look at the ever dwindling Farmers Market, and said Sayers was open. Now, all I can think of is a Sayers Ring Doughnut..haven't had one of those for YEARS!
Oh well..Dream On!!!

Veggie Harvest..

Went off to Sainsbury's this morning to get some veggies for the week. Filled a trolley full of lovely vegetables while VT went off to Somerfield to get some cat food on offer.
After lunch we decided to do a batch of tomato sauce for our Pizzas, we use 4 tins of chopped tomatoes, and that makes about 6-8 containers depending on how thick it goes. that is then frozen and lasts for weeks. The pizza VT made yesterday was one of his finest...and all vegetarian too. He used the tomato base, then courgette, pepper, sliced portobello mushrooms, sliced vegetarian pepperoni (very good) a sliced potato, Mozzarella cheese and seasoning. Very Very tasty. It does us for our evening meal, and for lunch with salad today also.
Tonight we are having:
Green lentils with Quorn apple sausages.
I shall do a sliced apple to go with, as a sort of salsa.
The green lentil mixture is a tasty one with tomatoes, celery leek and carrot. Found the recipe in an asda magazine and it is one of our favourites now.

****** Crosswords

Sometimes..just sometimes they get on your nerves. Sometimes the clues are so obscure that they take for ever to do. I like to finish the crossword before Dancing on Ice because I like that, but today there are a few that defy finding out. A kind of fan fashionable in Queen Annes time...I ask you.. nothing comes up on the internet...nothing.
Driving me mad!!!
Tonight we are having:
Pizza with a beautiful Sourdough base.
Tomato sauce,
Salad with avocado and baby tomatoes,
Caesar salad/

Weekend Wash..

We always wash the bedding on a Saturday. It takes about two loads of washing and pretty much most of the day in the tumble dryer. Then ten minutes to make the bed up and a beautiful clean and fresh bed for the evening. Probably have a lie in tomorrow! Must admit the modern washing machines are good, our first was a single tub with a mangle!!!! Seems so antiquated now!
The yoghurt was very successful, it has made a tub of beautiful Greek yoghurt, set and creamy. Quite impressed with that.
Quiet day today, Jane rang up to say she had a Mothers Day card there but hadn't posted it. Typical really. Can't imagine ever doing that to my mum. Oh well.
Tonight we are having:
Chinese as is our wont on a Saturday.
Goujons with a sauce of some sort, We generally decide when VT looks through the cupboard to see what we have.
Stir fry vegetables,
4oz of egg fried rice,
I know...very boring, but it is what we have done for years now, and it would seem strange to have something else.

Weekend Wash..