The Christmas that Never Was.....

Hello again Blog! it's been a while..
What a Christmas! One best forgotten I think. I had a return of the virusey thing that I had in early November, and poor VT had a terrible awful streaming cold. A really nasty one, eyes streaming and all his head affected. So unfair..
We had a Christmas dinner of sorts, our usual Quorn sage and onion escalope, and then all the trimmings. VT enjoyed his actually, and we had a nice table and everything, but my heart wasn't in it really. He had a lovely little Christmas pudding and I had a big bowl of brandy sauce!
What a week! We have been sat round like a pair of miseries..at least I have! VT has struggled through. He has been looking after the little cat next door too, but she has been no trouble and has gone in each night. He has got her into a little routine and she is responding to that.
That's enough for now I think!
Good news is that I am about a stone down in weight! Not to be recommended though. VT has also lost weight..must be all the running up and down the stairs!
God Bless Him.. VT the Saint!
He did lose his rag the Thursday before Christmas though.. Jumping up and down and swearing! Didn't recognise him. But My God I don't blame him.
Bye for now XXXX

Shorn the Sheep!!

No funny parcels today to wake us up,so we were left to lie in a bit. I woke up really early because the cats suddenly decidid to have a run round the bed. One ended up on my hip..wobbling..and the other ended up round my head on the pillow, purring like an engine. Thing is ...you don't move them. Sometimes you turn over so you don't get the whisker torture, but you leave them where they want to go. We must take a picture of them both one day, not that they get together very often. They did sit in the middle room nose together the other day, but that is very unusual. They have never been what you might call close.
Vt nipped out to Formby this morning to get his hair cut. Came back a bit later for his coffee because he said it was too busy, and he hates waiting. Then he decided to go back again and have another go. This time success. But, he came back talking about the woman who cut it. She wouldn't stop talking, and he was in a hurry. Nice hairdo though.
I have rung up my hairdressers for an appointment this morning too. Made one for 10 0'clock,Tuesday. My hair is a mess at the moment and needs tidying up. I think that when I was ill a few weeks ago it has really affected my hair and it is so lifeless. Maybe a nice cut and blow will help.
VT has just come up to say the BA strike is now off because of the High Court ruling, and it is snowing in London.Apparently we are due for a cold snap. Wonder if it will be a White Christmas.
I had an invitation for today, to a celebration mass at my old school, a celebration dinner (£30) and a disco and buffet at the Village hotel. Declined the invitation, problems getting there and I don't really do social occasions. One of the difficulties of having a hearing problem is that you struggle in a social context. VT does quite a lot of interpreting for me, for which I am ever grateful, and I'm not good in a crowd. Still I hope everyone has a good time.
Tonight we are having:
Something out of the freezer
With Baked little potatoes
green beans and the rest of the mushrooms.

Grey and Drizzly..

Not beautiful white snowflakes like on all the Christmas adverts!! We went over to Ormskirk this morning for a bit of a look round, and there was a market on. Not a lovely Christmas market but the ordinary one which is usually on a Thursday. The stalls looked grey and quite forlorn in the drizzle, not like the Bath market!! Not many people buying either, maybe the rain putting people off.
I changed a top I had bought in Bon Marche last week. Didn't like it on when I got home.. Got a new jumper which is lovely...and...got £4 back because it was in the sale!! so did better in the end. Then went into Superdrug to get a new lippy, and saw a lip balm that I was running out of so got those, and the assistant said the make-up items were 3for 2 so I got a mascara as well, so one of the items was free. I like bargains!
VT was looking at blogs last night..the ones that come after mine on here, and some of them are amazing. A lot of them American women, and they lead such interesting lives. Makes you feel very inadequate. One of them mentioned a site they use there called ETSY.com which is a site used for selling and buying craft items. Some really gorgeous fantastic quilts etc. I must have another browse.
I had a parcel delivered this morning from QVC..VT had to run down to answer the doorbell, and it turned out that it was a big box with a heavy chain in it from Butler and Wilson. Totally not what I ordered at all. I wouldn't be seen dead in it.
Jane rang us up last night, she said that she has ordered a parcel to be delivered between five and seven tonight. it is a joint present for Christmas, wonder what it is? Bless her. She is at work today, selling lots of tickets for twickenham she said.
Actually, as I type this the doorbell went and VT said it had arrived!
What a fantastic surprise..it was a delivery from ASDA with lovely treats for Christmas! Double Bless her. There was Wine for both of us, little tins of whisky for VTMarmite nuts, Veggie chilli with rice, Garlic olives,some lovely flavoured truckles of sheeses, and even..cat mmilk for the cats and a cat toy! What a wonderful present. So thoughtful.Made me feel quite emotional.

I love my babyXXXXX
Tonight we are having:
Pasta with
Asparagus, green beans and peas, and mushrooms
Spinach and Ricotta sauce.

Christmas creeping up...

We have done bits and pieces today. VT fitted his new wheel trims, and his car looks lovely and smart now.
I wanted to get a bit of a newletter going today, so started one on the word processor. it was quite difficult to think of anything to write this year, but got there in the end. VT has tweaked it a bit for me so it fills a page quite nicely.
He was on the little Netbook last night, and was loking at the blogs next to mine. Some of them are amazing..they lead such interesting lives. It's all very humbling really. A lot of the American ones are fascinating..there was one where the couple had gone to the Plimoth Plantation for their Thanksgiving dinner, and it looked awful..really really awful. Like it had been thrown on a plate! You would at least expect them to do it properly wouldn't you.
Jane has just rung up to say one of our presents is being delivered tomorrow. There is an Email but we are NOT to open it..or it will spoil the surprise. Can't wait now.
She has had a rest today back in work tomorrow. She is working so hard..I'm so proud of her. What a good kid she is.Love her loads.
Tonight we are having:
No idea at all. Maybe pasta.

Trims and Trimmings..

Very dark today, it is a case of putting lights on everywhere you go in the house today. Completely dark by fourish today too. Steve Wright has just said Good Evening..I am saying that because it is dark outside.
Drizzly this morning, i was about to go out with a new fuzzy scarf this morning and VT said it will look like a drowned cat, so I didn't. We went to Maghull to get VT's wheel trims changed today. He bought a new set yesterday but one of them was faulty so he got a new set. Then we went to the M&S in Aintree. Parked right outside fortunately, a car was coming out as we arrived..lucky for a change/ VT went over to Comet while I had a look around. Bought a nice necklace and earrings and some Christmas Cards on 3for2 offer. Then got our veggies for the week. They do have very tempting things do M&S but not a huge amount of vegetarian food. A bit disappointing in that direction. Very confusing vegetables too , lots of different offers, 3 for2 or2 for £1 etc. Kept picking up the wrong ones, good job VT was there as eyes to check. The lighting is really bright in that store, makes it difficlt to see everything.
Joe McEldery won the X factor last night we did vote for him, and apparently he was ahead by two thirds of the votes. Lovely Susan Boyle programme last night. Beautifully done, very well handled and some good tracks. She did a duet with her idol Elaine Paige which was really good. She obviously enjoyed that. It really is a Cinderella story that one. Steve Wright has just announced that she has celebrated her success with a new fridge and a sofa. probably for her cat Pebbles!!
Tonight we are having:
Quorn Escalope,
Veggies from M&S
Baby squashed potatoes.
Mushrooms with a white sauce.

Cross Words

The Sunday crosswords certainly caused a problem or two today. Mine had a proverb in it which was a real pain. In the end it was Give a dog a bad name and hang him!! Never heard of the hang him bit.
VT went to get some new wheel trims and came back annoyed because one of them was faulty, and when he went to change them the shop was shut. Did anybody know it was the thirteenth today?
Quite cold today, it seems we are in the middle f a bit of a cold snap. Bobby has just jumped on my knee and sent all the letters of the computer haywire. Poor Bobby, she wasn't to know.
VT is bringing the coal in. He gets smokeless fuel from the garage which isn quite reasonable makes a nice fire, gglows like an electric one.
X Factor final tonight, hope little Joe wins. Glad Stacey didn't.
Tonight we are having:
pizza, a Dr Otker one
Salad from Sainsburys

Television!!!

Last night we really struggled to find something to watch on the box. Once Corrie had finished there was a drama on ITV that we started watching and gave up on after about ten minutes. Dreadful girly flick chick thingy. We had begun to record "The Victorian Christmas" on BBC2 so didn't want to watch that half way through. No decent films nothing. In the end we watched the Victorian Christmas at ten o'clock. it was surprisingly good actually. Very pleasant viewing..but Friday night??? you want entertaining really.
This afternoon we watched a Come Dine With Me, recorded from last Sunday which turned out to be a repeat!!! in the middle of a supposedly new series!!. Anyway because we had left the recorder on upstairs we had got a film called Happy Go Lucky, a Mike Leigh film which was actually very good. We both enjoyed that this afternoon.
Tonight is the night of the big finals! Strictly and The X Factor. Not really bothered about any of them this year, but did vvvote for Chris Hollins last week. The X Factor lot are very mediocre this year I think. No Leona Lewis's there this year.
Tonight we are having:
Chinese, Goujons,
Sauce of some sort,
Stir-fry vegetables
Fried rice.

Friday..Back to normal..

Well nearly. We got up reasonably today. Jane rang up last night to say that they had been offered a free breakfast if they went in early for the Westlife concerts tickets which went on sale this morning. They were expected to sell out very quickly she said.
We nipped off to Sainsbury's in Walton this morning, we haven't been there for ages actually quite a few weeks now. VT wanted to have a look in the poundstretcher shop for a set of lights for round the kitchen window, so I went into Next which is next door. Lot of tat in there really, mostly made in China and not that cheap either. The clothes are awful quality, I'll stick to QVC..better materials. Had a look at Christmas Cards but they were quite expensive even if they were 3 for 2. i get mine in the January sales..much cheaper.
Sainsbury's was quite busy really, but at least you can get round, not like the Crosby shop. We got a number of things for Christmas, aiming to fill the freezer up with things we can use. We don't actually need a lot, but it is nice to have spare things. I got things like luxury bread sauce, Madeira wine gravy etc. There were kids packing bags today..VT said they were collecting for a trip to Lourdes. The boy that packed ours was quite good actually, normally they just throw things in any old how.
We got petrol on the way out, that was £25 I do pay my share! Home by 1.30 ish. No post today either. Forecast is cold for the weekend, wrap up warm.
Tonight we are having:
Fishless fingers,
Chips
Mushy peas and green beans.

Tis the Season...

To be jolly. Well the house certainly looks nice with all the trees and the decorations up. The new one that we have bought for the front room is proving to be really nice in the bay window, and with the candle arch in the upstairs window , the front of the house looks welcoming. I think VT is feeling a bit more Christmassy now anyway.
We nipped out to Dobbies this morning, had a bit of a late start because Jane rang up,so we were chatting to her. She was on her way to work on the bus,and is on till eight tonight.
Had a nice coffee at Dobbies this morning, and some decent biscuits for a change. Last time we were there we had some gluten free, wheat free and dairy free things that were horrible. Pity they don't make their own..a nice little shortbread heart would go down a treat. Costa Coffee biscuits are the best actually.
I finished a survey this morning for YouGov, and have finally got to my total of 5000 points, so can claim the £50 cheque. Wonder how it comes? and what to spend it on?
We called in at Waitrose on the way back, mmainly because we needed some cheese slices, and tomatoes. It is a dear shop but a nice shopping experience however. How sad is that! Mind you, the survey I did this morning for You Gov was all about supermarkets, but not Waitrose..Aldi, Morrisons, Sainsbury's, Tesco and it went on for ever, and ever. i began to despair, then it suddenly finished. Wonder when the cheque will come.
Last night in the end we had..Quorn lemon and black pepper escalope with bread sauce, carrots and broccoli and some sliced new potatoes sauteed in fry light.
Today we are having:
A vegetable pasty from Waitrose..VT fancied those,
Maybe a little gravy, and any leftover vegetables we have.
We are also pushing out the boat, and having a tanseys mince pie with our coffee too.. Oooh daring!!

Trees Up..

Did the decorations today. VT has just said that is a day's work..it is actually. We have three trees, one in the extension, one in the middle room and one in the front bay window. Each has its own decorations. Last year VT wrote a list of what goes on each one so it would be easier this year, and it is but it is still a lot of packing, unpacking and fiddling with lights etc. Little Bobby is crawling around and marking everything and wondering what is going on. I think she thinks they are off to the cattery, since the decorations are kept in a big suitcase. Maybe she thinks we are packing.
Sent my email eventually to school today, and got a parcel today too. Jane rang up this morning, on her way to get sellotape for Rachel. She is off today and is having a day at home. She did say they were going to the cinema today too. Some animated film forgotten what it is called.
Tonight we are having:
No idea whatsoever, will have to see what is in the freezer.

preparations...

Today we started to get ready to put the Christmas things out. We normally do this before we go away so this year it was left a bit longer. I did the brasses while VT cleared the room. Now it all looks really cosy and nice. Shiny brasses round the fire, copper kettle gleaming and the coal scuttle shining. My mum used to do them every week, now they are lucky if they are done once every Preston guild as they say. We will get the decorations out tomorrow and see what the new tree looks like.
Parcel arrived this morning from John and Ann, they received ours a while ago, I got organised this year!
We have been watching the USA Apprentice all series, but last night forgot to record the final one!!! Grrrr. Had to lok it up on the Internet and apparently Randal won, but it turned a bit nasty when he refused to let Donald Trump hire the other girl too. Didn't expect that. Shame we missed that programme. It was an interesting series.
Jane rang up after lunch and had a lovely long chat. She talked about everything, a lot about Globe where she worked, and the stupid bloke who is diddling people out of their wages including Jane. She took what was owed to her and left. Quite right too. I'm proud of her. She seems to be enjoying her job at Yicketmaster and has plans for the future. Good for her. She will get there in the end. She said Rachel was cooking dinner and was making a vegetable stew, but was blending Jane's so she couldn't see what it contains!! No change there then.
Tonight we are having:
Sausages...Might do a toad in the hole with gravy, and mashed carrots and swede.

Home from Sunnyview...

No not really..they never went in the first place. i wonder if they know that they should have gone. Seems strange, when VT tried to get Bobby to go in the basket to go to the vets she disappeared! So she must have known about that. Crafty they are.
We nipped out to Crosby this morning to get some usual veggie shopping. I do hate that shop..it is so small, the aisles are crowded and there is usually a wait at the tills, but not too bad today really. The trouble is it is the only supermarket in Crosby and it should be at least twice the size.
We had the remainder of the pizza from last night for lunch with an egg salad, very tasty too. It was the first home made pizza he had made for weeks actually, and he did a simple beef tomato mozzarella and basil one. Just lovely simple flavours.
This week we are aiming to get some of the Christmas things out. We have three trees to do, not huge ones, but tricky in their own way. We bought a new one for the front window so it will be interesting to see how that looks. Won't be able to put my Bauble swop on it this year, because that arrived in pieces, but we have some lovely decorations we have collected over the years.
Tonight we are having:
Goats cheese and cranberry escalope Quorn
Baby squashed potatoes baked in the oven
Vegetables and mushrooms with a little sauce.

Coming Home Sunday..

Today we would have been coming home from Bath. Last night I said to VT Have you set the alarm? He said What for? I said for the journey home. Got him going there. The little cats would be in the cattery till tomorrow. We would be home about twoish, but you can only collect the cats in the mornings. They don't know how lucky they are really.
Last night we had a nice fried rice that VT did with some schets of rice, peas and an egg.We loked through the freezer and found a bag of frozen mini spring rolls, so used them. Very tasty.
Today, Sunday, we have got the sourdough going again, and at long last after a week of tlc, it is bubbly again, so we have made a sourdough loaf. We also made a pizza dough toour usual recipe to make a basic nice pizza tonight.
VT went to Netherton this morning, he is still after some wheel trims, but they didn't have any. Trouble is he wants cheap ones and the stores that normally sell them have all the Christmas things in so wheel trims aren't on sale at the moment.
Jane rang up the other night, she is having loads of trouble with the first place she works at. The bloke there owed her tons of money, so she has taken what he owes her, and left a note and gone. Very wise too. The c hap is leaving her terrible text messages, but she needs to look after herself for once. He is driving round in a Range Rover and owes money all over. A real twirp.
Tonight we are having:
Home made pizza with tomato and mozzarella and basil.
Small side salad.

Slept in..

Late getting up today, mainly my fault. I had a bit of a tummy upset late last night which unfortunately woke VT up. Consequently we were late getting up,VT said he woke up at nineish but turned over again so we didn't move till ablout 10.30. Well it doesn't matter much really.
So he nipped out to Crosby Sainsburys to get a few weekend things. He went to South Road to see if the Home and Bargain shop had any wheel trims but they didn't. The H&B have taken over the old Woolworths store, which seems par for the course these days. Maybe Woolies shoud have gone into that kind of market and they would have lasted longer.Still think it is a shame they went.
The cats are quite quiet today, Bobby has been paying downstairs a bit but is asleep on my sofa at the moment. I can't believe how she has been so loyal the last few weeks, really lovely and purry, a real little pal. Rusty is of course VT's cat,she follows him everywhere, sits on his chest each evening, and stays by his side most nights. Very loyal and trusting little one she is.
Tonight we are having:
Fishless fingers,
Chips.
Mushy peas for VT and green beans for me.

Still Digitalling!!

VT was still trying to scrub the last of the Welsh channels last night. The new video was proving a bit of a perplexing problem, so eventually we went to bed and he had another go this morning which was successful. So now at least we are sorted. All credit to VT who has worked through everything with tremendous patience.
Today has been largely dark and not very nice, but he went out this morning to try and get a new set of wheel trims for his car. When we went to Ormskirk yesterday, he rushed to turn of the awful Tony Cristie Amarillo song off the radio and brushed the side of a roundabout. When he stopped one of the wheel trims had gone. Thus he was looking for a new set. Shame that.
Very little happened today a quiet day. My batteries arrived at long last but not much post otherwise. One christmas card already yesterday, I must start thinking about getting mine ready.
Tonight we are having:
Pasta with tomato sauce.
Maybe a bit of garlic bread.

Technology..and a trip out..

Today is the day of the big final digital switchover. Now this is all very very complicated indeed. i would not have a clue where to start. Fortunately VT is really good at these sorts of things, so he went round the house this morning and retuned all the televisions. We have five...sounds a lot, but there is one in the main room, one in the kitchen, one in Jane's room and one in the bedroom. two of them are the result of upgrading the main room televisions, and the older ones were too good to discard so they just got moved.
This afternoon the printer ran out of paper as I was printing a coupon off and that is proving to be a problem now...Technology!!!
We had a little foray out to Ormskirk this morning, I haven't been there in weeks, so it was nice to have a bit of a look round. I bought a jumper from Bon Marche and some cute little fuzzy wuzzy scarves that were on offer, a lovely deep purple colour and a black and white patterned one. Very warm round the neck. We went into M&S and had a bit of a browse, and bought some of the nibbly things we have at Christmas, also the roast potatoes, so we are getting ready bit by bit. We need to decide what we are having for the main course thoug, since the turkey is totally out, and a lot of the veggie offerings are dreadful nut roasts etc.
Delia was on last night with her Christmas special, it was lovely to watch and very Christmassy.
Tonight we are having:
No idea at all. maybe a quorn escalope,
Potatoes
carrots and beans.

Hares and Rabbits...

1st of december today, and the day dawned cold and frostyish. Been cold all day actually,not going out weather. Jane woke her Dad up at eight o'clock this morning, she was on her way to work and she was walking to the bus stop. She said someone had just fallen off their bike because it was icy, I hope she has a warm coat on. She is working for Ticketmaster at the moment, and she said she had someone ring up yesterday and wanted to buy a book...
So, after that we had an early cup of coffee, and a chat, mostly about cars this morning.Starting handles and all that.
Cleared out the freezer this morning to make a bit of space for the Christmas things. There was a surprising amount of out of date things, about two carrier bags full in the end. I think the trouble is that this freezer doesn't get manually defrosted so things get built up in it. VT got his thick gloves on it and we sorted out all the drawers and the shelves. The things that are in there now are usable for main meals.
He then took the video upstairs from the kitchen and tried to set it up in Janes room. It was the video we had in the main room, and is a really good one, but we had to get another to record from the digital channels so this one had to move. Anyway he got it all going eventually, he is really good with these things, I wouldn't know where to start. This digital malarkey is all a nightmare really, all the changing of the televisions and videos etc., is terrible. God knows how ordinary people manage.
Tonight we are having:
Caramelised onion and goats cheese tarts..from the freezer,
Potato Croquettes,
Mushrooms in a little sauce,
Carrot batons.