Lady GaGa...

Oh my Goodness...yesterday when I was leaving the house to go out, Vin said..that's a very nice top you have on..the only trouble is that it is on inside out!!Well I didn't spot that..
Today we went over to the Walton Sainsbury's to get our weekend things, and when I got there I thought that my Navy Blue trousers were a bit odd! Walked around and did the shopping and when Vin went off to get the cat food, I tried to get a tissue out of my pocket. What's this..pockets wrong way round? Think for a moment and then light dawns..the trousers are the wrong way round. The elasticated bit was at the front.. Very embarassing to say the least. So left Vin with the trolley and went off to the Ladies to change them round. That's better!! No doubt he won't let me forget that in a hurry...
Sainsburys was a bit annoying actually, quite a few spaces on the shelves, especially the salad things..no egg and potato salad for our tea on Sunday. No potato salad for me either but Vin did get what he wanted. He treated himself to a vegetable sushi for his lunch, which he doesn't deserve because he has been horrible over the Peter Kay show. Jane has got three tickets for five rows from the front and only £35 a ticket, and he refuses to go. He says stupidly that he will drive me there and wait somewhere..Crackers..As If..I could go and he would be waiting around. Sometimes he makes me so mad...
Peter Kay was on our North West News last night, because the anchorman is retiring after fifteen years. Gordon Burns is very popular and has done some terrific interviews over the years, including many Prime Ministers. He will be sadly missed on the programme.Tonight is his final programme so I expect there will be a rew surprises.
Another scorching day here today, Jane rang up before and said it was very warm in Manchester. The news said it was 28degrees there.That is a bit warm for this time of the year..What's going on?

Wouldn't mind being here...
Tonight we are having:
Cheese and onion pasties from Waitrose
A few baked tomatoes
Rice puddings from Waitrose too!

Phew!!!

What a scorcher! Way too warm for the end of September. We could have done with some of this warm weather in the what was supposed to be Summer.
We decided to go over to Dobbies today, mainly because Vin wanted to get some plants for the basket by our front door, which is well past its sell by date, and also an empty one by the new fence on our lovely newly painted wall at the back of the house.
I dug my very light jacket out and Vin went back to a short sleeved shirt today. What a change from the other week when it was blowy and cold and we had heaters on, and the electric blanket at night.More of the same for the rest of the week too apparently.


Reminds me of our last holiday to New England..similar weather but cold sometimes with it. Gorgeous blur skies and fantastic tree colours.
We had a bit of a look round, and finally decided on some very pretty primroses that will look lovely against the wall, and a plastic hanging basket full of little pansies in a beautiful blue colour that will go with the front door. I hat plastic pots but this was only £5.99 complete, and complete with the compost also so a good buy. Vin will take the plants out of the plastc pot, and put the whole thing in our nice woven hanging basket.
I have actually got a window open as I type this..last week I had the heater on! can't believe it really.
There was a school outing at Dobbies, nicely behaved children who were there to do and educational trip. Whiole we were having coffee though they were playing on the big wooden adventure climbing and slide apparatus they have outside. Where so they get there energy from? Spent an absolute age running round and round it was quyite surreal watching them. Then as we were getting our things to go, there they were in a lovely little crocodile two by two making their way to the double decker bus waiting outside. We followed the bus for ages too going the same way as us, so wonder where they were going.
Stopped in at Waitrose in Formby on the way back,I wanted to get a salad for tomorrow, and Vin got his fix of Cheese and Onion pasties for tomorrow night. Picked up a lovely pack of pears..the perfectly ripe ones, then Vinspotted some on the reduced section for half price. Excellent, I love a bargain.
Tonight we are having:Broccoli and cheese escalope
Squashed potatoes
Carrots and green beans.

Boring Day...

We got up this morning, and couldn't for the life of us think of anywhere that appealed to us to go. We went through all the local places and didn't fancy anywhere, and the further away places we didn't fancy either, so in the end we didn't go anywhere. Nice day too, it was just one of those days that no-one could summon up enough energy or whatever to go out, so we didn't.
Vin got the cat blankets out in the open and had a go at getting some of the hairs out then put them in the wash.
Vin was expecting a parcel to be delivered anyhow so it didn't matter that we were in. In the event, the tracking of the parcel revealed that it had been delivered, even though we had been in all day, and carried the doorbell round with us all the time. You can track your parcel online, and the records showed that it had been delivered and signed for but the trouble was, that the signature was totally undecipherable, so we have no idea where it has gone actually. Now we have to wait for someone to bring it.All a bit of a mystery really, and Vin is on edge wondering where his parcel is as you would expect.
Phone call from my hearing aid centre, to say that my aids have arrived. That was quick because I only went last Thursday. She arranged an appointment for next Friday morning...so it will be the beginning of the week eyesight and glasses, and the end of the week will be hearing aids. That's two days accounted for anyway.

Heard about our ginger boy yesterday. The landlord from our new neighbours hose was about yesterday, and he said that it had settled in well now. it was a bit scratchy for the first two weeks, but that is understandable, having been shoved unceremoniously into a cat cage, put into two cars, driven through the Mersey Tunnel and taken somewhere strange. Poor little thing, at least it won't have another winter of sometimes being left out in the cold and horrible weather. There were many nights we would worry about it. I hope it's fallen on its paws!!
We caught a bit of a programme last night channel hopping, about people with addictions..strange ones..not the normal ones. This was about two women, one had an addiction to being with puppets, who she treated like her children/friends, and would take them out, and talk to people with them. Very attractive woman too. The other was a woman, who lived in a modern house outside New York..Long Island I think, and she was addicted to cats! She has 23 of them..lovely house, and beautiful cats..but 23 !! too many.The therapist was encouraging her to get some going to other homes, but I don't think so....
Tonight we are having:
pasta with a tomato and mascarpone sauce
mushrooms
Green vegetable medley
A bit of garlic bread and some parmesan cheese.

Another beautiful Day!

Absolutely gorgeous today, the sun is shining and we could have done with some of this in the summer. Vin has been outside painting his wall with a second coat of the Sandtex paint. Clotted cream colour, , which is really lovely. It is the colour of clotted cream ice cream, but not garish. Since we see the wall a lot from our kitchen it is quite important what colour it is. We have had it white, and pink and all sorts, but this is the nicest. Good paint too, Vin was saying it is really creamy to apply, and he has no splashes on him at all.
Made appointments for our sight tests at Specsavers..Mondaymorning at 11o'clock and 11.20 o'clock.That suits us fine since we can get our weekly veggies at the same time..well afterwards obviously! It is ages since I have had new glasses, and to be honest you do get tired of the same ones. Now, the thing is to work out which are the best offers? You get 25% off for over sixties, or buy one get one free..but that's only single vision lenses. it's a minefield.
Jane has just rung up, on her way to work. She has done a full day at college and is now off to Ticketmaster to work till ten. Good for her..she is certainly a grafter our Jane.She takes her car into work, which is cheaper than the bus. She says it is £3.70 on the bus, but all she pays in parking is £2 for a day. She was saying she has a little friend in the car park who saves her a space now..Aaah bless her.
Tonight we are having:
Not sure really,
mushrooms and sliced and sauteed potatoes,
Something out of the freezer to go with.

What a Beautiful Day!

It really is lovely today. The trees are very definitely turning and there are a lot on the front garden from the trees outside. We needed to go out to stock up for the weeks veggies, so went into Crosby to the Sainsbury's. On the way Vin called in at a Londis shop because there was a voucher in the paper for a packet of crumpets free. he has those for a change for his breakfast so that was worth a trip. Moor lane was absolutely blocked he said so we turned round and went into Crosby via Little Crosby. Really nice little journey actually, with the trees looking good.
Got our things at Sainsburys..Vin wanted to get some cartridges for his pen so went off to look for them, but caught me up in the store later to say the shop he went to didn't have any. Every colour but the one he wanted..Typical.
On the way back hole we decided to call in at the garden centre, for our coffees for the month. Quite quiet for a change,parked right outside. Had a look round the gifts etc., but they are getting the Christmas stuff out . Did spot a tablecloth that I had looked at previously in a sale for half price, so marked that for later. I was hoping that they would have reduced the Jack and Jill bench but they hadn't. Shame I would have bought that. Nice coffees, didn't sit outside because there were some wasps flying around didn't fancy that.
Got my tablecloth and a set of four napkins to go with to make a set. Good value I thought.
Tonight we are having:
Broccoli and cheese escalope,
Courgette carrot and broccoli,
Baby potatoes squashed.
Mushrooms, sliced and sauteed.

Back to Normal...

Nice to get back to our usual Sunday things. Quite nice today, and the washing out on the line stands a good chance of drying today. The garden is beginning to lose its "greenness" and is looking very definitely autumnal now. I think it is early this year.
The cats are both tired this afternoon, and are asleep on Jane's bed within a foot of each other. That is as good as it gets with our two, they have never been close bosom buddies even though they have lived together for a good number of years. Wonder why some cats get close and others don't. We had two before these, Lucy and Inky, and wherever Lucy was Inky would look for her. She would stand at the bottom of the stairs and cry for her, then come looking. Then you would find them curled up together on a bed somewhere. Never happen with these two! They tolerate each other, and where one is in the garden the other will be nearby, but that's it.
Did our crosswords this afternoon, both reasonable and done in reasonable time. My one has a theme each week, this week it was belgium, countries bordering it, capital, major cities etc. One of the answers was Luxembourgh..come to think of it, nothing much happens there really does it. Can't think of anyone famous from there or anything that country has done..hard pressed to think of anyone famous from Belgium either, apart from Poirot, and chocolates and lace, and Jean-Claude Van Damme.
We saw him once outside Planet Hollywood in Orlando. Thing is he was so small that his bodyguards dwarfed him, and all you could see was the tip of the top of his head. He was tiny!! Not what you expected at all. Maybe they breed small men in Belgium!
Next door neighbour, the new ones have just pegged out some shirts and sheets on their washing line. Thought he was mad, but it is blowing away in the breeze so maybe they will dry after all.
Tonight we are having:
Pizza with our tomato sauce courgette, mushrooms pepper pineapple and a mixture of cheeses.
Egg and potato salad with avocado pear and baby tomatoes
potato salad for moi and a pasta salad for Vin.

Well That made A Change!!

Had to get up earl;ish this morning for a hospital appointment! This was at the eye clinic, and it was for 11O'Clock, so we always leave early because of traffic.
However with it being a Saturday, the traffic was exrtremely light and whereas we normally have a real problem parking in their multi storey car park, there were empty spaces everywhere..all over the place!! Oh how I wish it was like that every time we went there. One receptionist at the desk, passed me to the waiting area where my name was called out very quickly. Had the eye test, and then waited again. Then the same nursee called my name to put drops in the eye and do the glaucoma test. Why didn't they do that in one go??
Wait for about ten minutes for the drops to dilate the pupils and then went in to see the Dr. Very charming English young man who was extremely good looking and pleasant, and I could understand him! Eyes examined and he said that they were pretty much the same, but since my pin point test showed that I could see a few more rows of letters I could probably do with getting my glasses changed.
Well, Vin and I were thinking of getting eye tests anyway so that will be on the cards for next weekish.
Lovely experience all in all, wish it was like that every time!!
Tonight we had:
Chinese. vin had spring rollos which I don't have because they have peppers in them
I had quorn nuggets,
Stir fry vegetables
hoi sin and ginger sauce
1/2 a pack of rice each.

Slow Today..

Computer is so slow today, i seem to be waiting ages for every site to show up at the moment.An aawful lot of wasted time really, you want to look at something then you have a long wait while it loads up. pain.
We decided to go over to ormskirk today because we are going to Walton way tomorrow to my eye clinic.
Stopped off at the Vets on the way into ormskirk, to get Rusty's thyroid tablets. £31.50 !!! Good grief! but they keep her thyroid levels right so are necessary. And, she is such a sweetie you just get them. ormskirk was actually really quite busy,a couple of shops closed since we were there a few weeks ago. The Currys/Dixons has shut, and a small sandwich bar has sut and become a rather weird looking dress shop called Papperatzzi.. That won't be there long. Got some stuff in the centre shops, and went round to M&S to get our salads for the weekend. No egg and potato salad!! what a shop!! couldn't believe it. Didn't buy much there only spent about £8 which is very low for us. So, disappointed we went down to Morrisons for our coffee, 95p for a good cup of coffee in a proper mug. it was absolutely heaving..never seen it so busy, but it is a good value cafe. I sat next to a little woman who spotted me yawning and we had a bit of a conversation. They were staying in Pontins Southport,saw the Morrisons and had come in for a meal. Sweet little friendly woman with a lovely round smiley face.
We were running out of our parking time so we nipped round the shop quite quickly, got everything we needed and set off home.
lovely run through the rural countryside that is round Ormskirk complete with manure smells and all. The trees are beginning to really turn now and there are lots of leaves about.
Tonight we are having:
A crustless cheese abnd onion quiche,
A few chips..well it is Friday!
Small tin of spaghetti between us

Ear..Ear!!

Had an appointment today at the hearing aid centre that I go to, usually every six months. Should have been yesterday, but they rang and changed it to today..didn't matter.The appointment was for 11-45 but we cut it a bit fine really, just about got there. Parked in the small Sainsbury's car park which is just over the road, and you can have 11/2 hours free if you spend a fiver in the store.
Had quite a long examination with the dispenser..Steve at the David ormerod shop. i have been going there for years and have had a number of different dispensers, you just get used to one and they go..typical.
Anyway, Stevdid a hearing test on me this time since it was about a year since I had one done. The hearing in my left ear which is my "good" ear is a bit worse, which isn't good really, and means that my aid isn't really powerful enough. The aid in my right ear is broken anywayapparently and would cost an arm and a leg to repair.Out of warranty for a long while now. I've had these for about 6 years so they don't owe me anything..but I didpay nearly £4000 for them then. He came up with some better ones for me.He said the technology is much better now, and I could get more powerful ones. I need them for conversations and speech really, when our visitors were here on Sunday, I really struggled to hear them and it does make life hard. They are a huge part of my life and if I can have better ones then I will get them. These will have a volume control again, and will be £1895..a lot cheaper than six years ago!!!
He did the impressions of the ears, and now I wait to hear from them.
Our time was nearly up in Sainsbury's so Vin ran in and got a few things that we needed, and we left for home. I felt very guilty because he missed his morning coffee which was a shame, he loves his mid morning coffee break.
Got home in time for a later lunch. Vin was trying to make an order online for something he wanted just before we went out, and it froze just as he nearly finished the order..what a pain ordering online is sometimes. So after lunch he used his Netbook to make the order again, and this time it was ok. Not easy ordering online. He was saying, tyhe trouble is there is no-one to ask you have to work through things on your own.
Lovely day here today, the sun is shining and it is really a nice sort of Autumnal day.


OH to be in new England now that Autumn is nearly here...
Tonight we are having:
Escalopes
Babay new potatoes baked and squashed
Mixed vegetables,
White sauce.

Quiet week....Not..

in the end it is proving to be a busy week all round. Today we decided to go out for some fresh air since we were in all day yesterday. So we went over to Dobbies to use up our vouchers. Found them in a state of re-arrangement, all the summer stuff is put away, and the shelves etc are getting ready for Christmas things. I don't think they bother with Halloween things there, probably isn't worth it. Vin spotted an Orchid stick to support the still flowering absolutely beautiful Orchid that is in our kitchen on the table.

There are so many flowers on the stem that it is bending over, and they are really beautiful, so this is a tall spike made for Orchids especially,and you fasten the stem onto it. very clever.of course it is a beautiful purple to go with the pot and the flowers.
We had our free coffees, Vin had a "Flat White" and I had a plain black one. Had a bit more of a look round after,I bought some more after dinner mints, some reduced smoked cheese, a pot of damson cheese and a box of shortbread biscuits. He didn't buy any bulbs in the end he said it was still a bit early for them.
Home for lunch and Vin did a bit of his sorting out. he has a man coming a bit later on to take some rubbish away, the old fence panels and posts etc., so he has been getting that organised this afternoon.
As regards my Saturday appointment that I wrote about yesterday, it seems that it is fairly normal in certain areas of london, but not oop here in t'north! the other thing was that I only got the letter on Tuesdaay and it is for this Saturday..bit short notice that is..
Tonight we are having:
A version of macaroni Cheese with my gluten free pasta, a tub of four cheese sauce
Some sauteed mushrooms
mixed green veggies.

Appointments!!

Well this is a first! I got a hospital appointment this morning. Nothing new there given the number of clinics that i go to..But..this one is for my eye clinic, and it is for a Saturday Morning!!!
All the many years that I have been going to appointments, I have never ever had one on a Saturday before. Has anyone else? is this a new initiative or what?
very odd I wonder if they are trying to meet targets, or if it is a new initiative. Still very strange, and what is more it is for the Saturday after next. Bit short notice, bu t it doesn't matter really. Ah well, I'll find out when I get there.
Stopped in today. I did a load of ironing, all the sheets that we had washed yesterday instead of Sunday, and Vin did some bits and p[ieces. He had bought some stuff from Home and Bargain called Stain Stop, which is supposed to cover up any damp patches on your ceitlings etc. We have a patch on our bedroom ceiling which is left from when the tank in the loft leaked. So he did that this morning.He was laughing actually, because he said some Muppet in Home and Bargain had put it with the Laundry stuff instead of the Decorating stuff!!!Aaah Bless!. Anyway it has worked and done the job, and the ceiling no longer looks like it is damp. So, mr Fixit strikes again.
Out somewhere tomorrow, then he has arranged for someone to come and collect some rubbish from the garden and shed in the afternoon. So that's tomorrow sorted.
Tonight we are having:
Not sure actually. One of those days when I shall look in the freezer and decide.
Small potatoes sliced and sauteed and mixed vegetables anyway.

Tooth Hurty!!

No not really..I have a back tooth that is filled to capacity, and every now and again the filling drops out like it did last night, and I was only eating an after dinner mint! So, before we went to Sainsbury's this morning I nipped into the dentists to see if they had an appointment. They are two doors down from us and we've known the dentist for years, since he opened the Practice in fact. The receptionist said that there was one free on October 6th but then she looked at the book and said there was one at 2.30 this afternoon, so took that.
Then went to Sainsburys for the weekly shop, the veggies and suchlike. I whizzed round while Vin went to the do-it-yourself shop to buy another length of copper tubing to finish the water tank. We now by the way have a roof leak, but that's a whole nother story.. Caught up with me in the store, which is useful because he remembers the few things I had forgotten..like the cat's chicken.God forbid we forget that!!
Home for coffee and time for Vin to start his work in the loft. He really has done a sterling job up there.
The house is still lovely and clean after our visitors..it's so lovely to see the stairs without something on each step!!

This is him outside his childhood home.He was thrilled to be able to have a look round. I'll bet it seems small to them since they have a ranch house in Texas.
Went to the dentist at the appointed time, and got the tooth done. No injections or anything it is just an empty tooth case really. Had a tickle in my throat at the end, so made another appointment for a check up on 11th October. Will pay the bill then..get it back off MediCash though. That is a terrific organisation, you only pay a small ammount each month and you get money off dental treatment, glasses, in patient stays in hospital, day case stays and so on. Wellworth joining. I've been in it for years, joined at work and just kept it on.
Enjoyed Downton Abbey last night..what good television that is,
good writing and very good characters. i can feel myself getting into that again very nicely. Excellent Autumn/Winter viewing. And, a Christmas special too apparently..Lovely!!
Tonight we are having:
Cheese and Broccoli escalope,
Baby new potatoes squashed and baked.
Mixed vegetables with a white sauce and mushrooms.

Visit Day...

Finally arrives..the house is looking spotless..well almost, and all the clutter is out of the way. Don't like to think what would happen if you open some of the cupboards though!.Everywhere is clean, and all ready for Christmas which is only something like 98 days away!!
Our American visitors said they would be arriving early afternoon, in fact it was about three o'clock. We had been hanging around for ages, didn't know whether to have any lunch so we did eventually,we did all our crosswords while we were waiting too. In fact they were quite easy today, apart from one clue that I got wrong on Vin's one. The clue was ..Who pplayed Miss Marple for 12 episodes? I said it was Joan Hickman, in fact it was Joan Hickson which meant one of his intersecting clues was wrong. He got there in the end.
Our visitor used to live two doors down from our house,and he spent quite some time talking about Old Hightown and the things that went on and some of the people he remembered. The only problem was that I had a job hearing him I have to admit. He is quite softly spoken actually,so it was hard to catch the drift of the conversation.God, it must be lovely to have good ears..if I had three wishes one would be to have good ears, aniother good eyesight..don't know about the third, I'll think about it.
Vin gave him the photos that he had done for him, and the disc that he had had scanned of the other three , and he seemed really pleased with those.Our next door neighbour had said that he might like to look round his old house, so when they had finished with us, Vinknocked on her door and she took him through to his old house. Then Vin took him round to one of our neighbours who still lives here, and who had supplied the photographs. They chatted for a while then they left to go up to the Lake District area. I should imagine it would have been a lovely trip back in time for him, seeing his old family house. So, all in all a successful visit!
Vin and I had a bit of a row last night. Jane rang up to say that we were to keep the 12th of October free. When pressed she said that there were three tickets to see Peter Kay in manchester. 5 Rows from the stage ..Well Vin got all crabby, grumpy, cross and everything else as well. He started waving his arms about, and said he wasn't going..he didn't like peter Kay and so on and so on..he wasn't driving to Manchester in the dark, and then coming bacck late from there either..etc., etc.,. it ended up with us having a fairly long argument, which is quite unusual actually. I told him to ring Jane to say that he wasn't going..which he did, so she was annoyed and will probably sulk for England now. What a performance.Went to bed cross...not a good idea. Seem to be ok today though..
Tonight we are having:
pizza with tomato sauce,Oops forgotten to take it out of the freezer,
potato and egg salad with avocado pear and baby plum tomatoes
potato saladd and a pasta salad for Vin.

V Day minus One!!

Another dday of sprucing up the house. One of the problems is that I can't see the dust these days so things get left. We did our net curtains this morning with the GloWhite, haven't used that for years. I was considering getting some new ones, but they have come up beautifully actually, look like new again. So they can stay for a whiloe longer. I'm not a huge fan of net curtains, but they do stop people looking in through the windows. The new neighbours have had vertical blinds installed which don't look great either, I think it makes the house look like an office or a dental surgery. Not sure what the answer is really, the trouble is that there is only a small front garden so people walking past can see in easily, so you do need something. Hence Nets..
Weather wise a very funny day, rainy and d5rizzly in parts and now clear and sunny but cold. I have decided to put my sandals away for the cooler weather , it is getting a bit cold for them now.

Vins newly painted wall looks really lovely in the sunshine, it is a creamy light yellowy colour called clotted cream which is what it says on the tin. Very pretty and cottagey. Maybe we will have to stick "Cottage" after our house name too like some of the other incomers have done..but there again maybe not!
Sad story in the news about the four Welsh miners who have lost their lives in a mining disaster. Terrible for the families. There was an item in the paper about the loss of life in mining disasters since the beginning of the nineteen hundreds..massive numbers actually. One mine in 1934 lost 435 miners!! you just can't imagine the devastation that must have caused on a town..and then there were many others with huge losses. Terrible price to pay for coal. You don't expect it these days though.
Tonight we are having:
Cheese pasties from Waitrose..well that will please Vin anyway,
Rice puddings from same store..
Easy tea tonight.

Plans..

We decidid last night to go into crosby , mainly because Vin had to go to his bank to get some money out, and then along to my bank to pay it into Jane's account for her MOTtest. That turned out to be £260 in the end.But, that covered all the work it needed and the two new tyres also so wasn't too bad really. She rang last night to say she had collected it and it was driving better.
Then this morning I said i didn't really want to go to the Crosby Sainsburys to get our weekend thing, firstly I'm a bit bored with Sainsburys, and also because it is a really small shop and they don't carry a huge stock. So, in the end it was decided that Vin would go into Crosby, do his banking things and then come back and pick me up and we would go into formby to Waitrose to get our weekend things. Got to Waitrose, and there was a parking space right next to the front door..couldn't believe it, we never park there. Good omen..
What a cold shop!! There is a blast of cold air through a fan as you enter the store, mainly as a warning I think, then the chilled foods area is absolutely freezing..I mean really freezing..there are about four aisles of this and then it starts to get a tad warmer. Not a store you want to browse in i can tell you.We got our weekend stuff, things that we can't get in crosby like decent avocados and perfectly ripe pears and really nice egg and potato salads. Not a cheap shopping basket though..you pay for the experience of being frozen. I was reading in the paper yesterday that john lewis are suffering from falling profits..down to 15millions last year or was it in this year so far..never mind.. They coukld do with reducing their prices a bit though.Their excuse was that their policy of being "never knowingly undersold" was causing them trouble because other stores are cheaper. Well that's not hard!
Anyway we were home well in time for our coffee break, which was a good job because their coffee shop/restaurant was heaving.
Vin is clearing up his stuff this afternoon, and since he was getting grumpy about it, I left him to it.
Funny day weather wise, quite nice this morning but cool and even a touch misty. next doors have a big line of washing on their line, all little stuff, and then after lunch it started raining, so he came out and took it in. Short while laterm as I type this in fact there is a bright sunshine. Very odd day.I hope the visitors from America have got umbrellas with them, or they'll get wet.
Tonight we are having:
Fishless fingers,
Mushy peas for Vin and green beans for moi
Chips!! Hooray, a treat..200grms between us.

Busy...Busy...

Started the day off quite early, because the carpet cleaning firm were due to bring the rugs back.What a good firm they turned out to be..Pro-Clean. They collected the rugs when they said they would and returned them earlyish the next day. I must say they have done a good job too, the rug that was in the middle room which does take a lot of wear and foot traffic from humans and cats looks really good, like new. So well done that firm.
I set about doing the bathroom, wanted to give it a good clean and Vin disappeared outside. Wasn't sure what he was doing then i spotted him painting the outside wall. This was supposed to be done a couple of weeks ago, and he had scraped the old stuff off the wall, then the tank trouble cropped up, so it had to stop. Last week we had bad weather and the hurricane or strong winds threat, and so it was delayed again. he had the paint and everything..Sandtex..in Clotted Cream, which has turned out to be a lovely colour.

What a difference, before and after, the bit on the right was what it looked like scraped and waiting to be done.

All done and beautifully too! The hanging baskets will look gorgeous with some winter flowering pansies in them.
I set about doing the house brasses, we have quite a lot round the fireplace and my Mum used to do them every week to keep them shining. To my shame i leave them till they need doing these will last till Christmas now HaHa. So that was our morning, we are getting there.Vin doing the garden wall reminded me of the time that Mrs Thatcher visited the school where the old school meals centre was. She was Minister for Education at the time, and because she was walking past the end of the building, the council painted the end wall a brilliant white. Nothing else..just the bit she was walking past!!!!
Jane was having a busy day today too. She had to get up early to get to college because she had to get a bus and a tram to get there with not having a car. Then she was doing a full day there and collecting her car mid afternoon and had to get it to the Quik Fit place to get the free MOT retest. As long as you get the car there before 6O'Clock they will do the retest.
Tonight we are havi9ng:
Cheesey Kiev,
Mixed vegetables with a few potatoes as a gratin.

What a Day!!

First things first. We wanted to get a photograph printed so yesterday vin rang round some local places like Supasnaps etc., but a lot of them only did smaller sizes like A4, and this is bigger than that. He got through to a place in crosby that copies digitally and does larger items so he made plans to go there today, this morning in fact. Because the address was 44 Liverpool road he thought it was over the road from Supasnaps which is 41. i said we'd be better parking outside in case it took a while so we drove round. it proved to be a long way up the road in fact,Nearly in Waterloo in fact, as i took great pleasure in telling him. it was exactly the place that I had described to him last night but does he listen to me...No!! he left it there along with a couple of others to be put onto disc also so that was done. our visitor will be pleased with that I think.Since it would be twenty minutes we decided to go to the bank and Sainsburys for the cat's chicken. the bank to pay money in for Jane to pay her car insurance with..
She was having her car in for its MOT today and was a bit worried about that, she thought it would need quite a few things done. Rang up at lunchtime and as expected it had failed because it needed two new tyres,a cv something or other and a bit of welding round a seat belt and on the nearside sill. Vin knows all about cars so he said find a little garage to do the welding, because that would be cheaper. Quik fit would do the tyres and the tracking and the other thing for £200 odd pounds. Then she rang later to say she had found a garage that would do everything she needed including the welding for £230, she could drop the car off and cp;;ect it mid afternoon tomorrow. If she gets it back to the MOT place before 6O'Clock tomorrow she gets a free test again. her Dad will help her out with that bill and I've done her car insurance which she is going to pay me back monthly..so the bank of Mum and Dad have sorted her out.
Then the doorbell went at lunchtime. it was the carpet man come to collect the two rugs we are having cleaned. they take them away, clean them and deodorise them and bring them back tomorrow. The one in our middle room takes a lot of foot and cat traffic so needed a good clean..it is a good rug so worth doing. Actually it is amazing how much wear they save the carpets, when they were taken up the beige carpet underneath was a totally different colour to round the edges HaHa.
So, we are stopping in tomorrow..having a breather. God knows how we found time to go to work!!
Tonight we are having:
Tricolour pasta with spinach and ricotta sauce,
Mixed green vegetables with asparagus
Three slices of garlic read between us.

The Big Clean!!!

Getting ready for our visitors on Sunday afternoon. It is surprising how much dust collects, particularly when you have an open fire and two cats. Bobby seems to be mouting really badly at the moment for some reason, and there are clumps of white fur all over where she goes, which is pretty much wherever she wants to. I do have to admit that I can't see the dust really so I live in blissful ignorance.In truth the eyesight is a bit like looking through a net curtain permanently, so the dust blends in i suppose, HaHa.
We did quite a bit this morning, between waiting for a postman to bring the parcel that wasn't delivered yesterday. That was a pair of earrings that I had ordered in murano glass, but in the event I didn't really l;ike them so have sent them back. felt a bit guilty about that because of the faff over the delivery. Poor Vin has such a lot to put up with.
Our visitor used to live in Hightown when he was a child in a house two doors down, and the last time he came someone gave him a copy of a book that had been written about the village. At the back of the book, was a photograph of an aerial view of old Hightown before all of the changes, and he really wanted a copy of the photo for his study. Turned out that the photo belonged to a resident in a road round the corner, so Vin went round to see her this afternoon, and had quite a chat with her. Came back with three photos which we will get copied tomorrow. he will be thrilled with those. The other thing he wanted to do was have a look round his old house so Vin was in the garden this morning doing some trimming and had a word with our neighbour, she said it would be fine, so that was sorted as well. He done well today didn't he!
Fairkly windy today but more of a strong breeze than anything. Really tipped it down at lunchtime, just as vin was going round the corner, and it went really cold too. What a strange country we live in weather wise, you just can never tell what it is going to do.
Tonight we are going to have:
Burger Puffs..a quornburger wrapped on a thin coat of puff pastry and baked
little baby potatoes sliced and sauteed,
A small tin of something tomatoey.

Well It's Blowy, but Not That bad!!

Yes it is blowy but it isn't hurricane level..at least not yet anyway.The trees around our house are going like mad, and I suspect that there will be quite a few leaves on the ground afterwards. Mind you, just listening to Radio Two as i type this, the Sally Traffic lady is reading a long list of roads that have been closed due to the weather, including lorries that have blown over and trees that have fallen. It actually sounds quite bad all over. I love a good storm though, just as long as I'm not out in it.
Vin has started clearing up..which usually means piles of his stuff put in strategic places around the house. He says it will all magically disappear in time. At least the house will look nice for Christmas HaHa. Won't be long before the Christmas trees go up actually. Some of the shops already have Christmas stuff out, and it isn't even Halloween.
We went out to Sainsbury's Crosby this morning. 1/2 an hour free parking, which just about gives you enough time to walk up to the bank machine, then whizz round the aisles in Sainsburys before your time is up. Got my usual veggies and assorted groceries for the week, good job Vin goes in with a list because you don't have time to browse. Came home for his coffee, and found the post had been, leaving a leaflet for a parcel. Typical that is..on the days you are in you don't get parcels, but the minute you go out the leaflets appear..missed your delivery,Vin reckons they hide round the corner and wait till you go out then deliver their leaflet.. Maybe...
Tonight we are having:
Mozzarella and pesto escalope
Little potatoes 8oz squashed and baked
Mixed vegetables with a mushroom sauce.

Weekend before the Storm??

I wonder if the weather people are right and we are due for Hurricane Katie by Monday. if we lived in America we would be panicking by now and buying everything in sight. Mind you they have every reason to because they have had some terrible hurricanes. We were there one year when Hurrican Andrew hit Miami, and the papers and television were full of it. Everything in Disney stopped but it didn't actually touch that part of Florida. They cancelled some of the rides and a dinner show we went to etc., and nbothing. Didn't matter though,. We still had a great time and the plane coming back landed earlier because the wind was behind us apparently.
We have caught some of the 9/11 memorial services today both in New York and in London. Very moving services and some very emotional stories.It seems incredible that it is ten years since it happened, it seems like only yesterday we were watching the second plane hit the tower. Did see an item on the news about a group who were burning an American flag in London..that doesn't seem right somehow.
We have had a normal weekend. A touch of coolness in the air,definitely a touch of Autumn coming along. I do love Autumn though it is by far my most favourite time of the year.

Mount Washington in the background and the gorgeous colours of the Fall. There is a lovely little train that takes you up to the top of Mount Washington..one of those cog railway ones, and it takes ages. When you get to the top it is freezing cold and covered in ice..but there is a huge big cafe on the top also!. Typical USA.

Lovely trip..
Did our crosswords this afternoon which weren't too bad. We completed them in reasonable time, so that gave us a bit of time to have an individual mooch afterwards.Jane rang up on her way to work, and we started to have a conversation then got cut off and she didn't ring back, so I assume she got to work. She often rings when she is on the bus and is bored!! Don't mind that though, we've had some good chats that way.
Tonight we are having:
pizza with tomato mushrooms pineapple, sausage and Emmenthal cheese.
potoato and egg salad with baby plum tomatoes and avocado
Potato salad for moi and a Medditerranean pasta salad for Vin.

Upside down Day!!

I had an appointment to get a blood test at the Formby clinic at 2.05. So we decided that we might as well go and get our shopping after I had been there. The Formby clinic is only five minutes away from Waitrose, so it made sense to get everything done at once. So we had an early sandwich lunch and went off there.
Never been to that one before, central waiting area, and then your name is called. Waited about five minutes then Mr. Dracula called me in. Think I'll go to Thornton next time!! HaHa..Talk about digging around..and then some. I am supposed to use my right arm for blood samples and leave the left arm clear, so he started on the right. Nothing! So he went round almost in a circle and eventually said I'll have to do the other arm. Had a bit of a dig round there and got his sample eventually. Funny with blood takers or Phlebotomists..some just seem to have the knack and get it straight away, others don't. Think it's to do with confidence. Two blobs of cotton wool and two even more horrible strips of the sticky plaster that they use and we went off to Waitrose.
Vin had his list so we didn't forget anything this time. Still feel that I came out of there having spent a lot more than I normally do. There is no getting round it, it is an expensive shop, I wouldn't like to shop there all the time. I wish it was still the Morrisons store. Home for a coffee then a bit of time to ourselves. I come up here and Vin does his paperwork and finances etc.,

On TV lately there have been a rash of programmes about 9/11. There was an item on the Jeremy Vine show this morning about where you were when it happened. i can remember exactly..we were waiting for Emma my hairdesser to come and colour my hair so were watching the news. Vin has always watched the American news channels which are often more interesting. They were showing the Twin Towers just after the first plane had hit one. Then as we watched there appeared in the sky what looked like a little light plane aiming and then hitting into the second tower. of course we learned later that the plane was in fact a Jumbo Jet..full of passengers. Then the terrible events unfolded.
A couple of programmes over the last two or three nights were really well done. One was a programme about the children of 9/11 and how they had been affected. Of course 10 years on many of them are now young men and women and they were affected in many different ways. That was quite emotinal to watch. Then there was one about twins on Tuesday night. Apparently 46 pairs of twins lost a twin in the disaster. One was a pair of firefighters. Zachary and Andre..Zachary had been sent back to his firehouse to collect oxygen tanks and his twin Andre went into the tower to save people. Then the Towers collapsed and he was lost. His was one of the very few bodies to be found 11 days later. You really felt the separation of the surviving twin. One said that everyone understands when a husband or wife is lost but not a twin..and yet it is like losing your other half. Very well done docummentary.
Such a lot of people affected and so many familiesand you have to wonder Why on Earth it happened.

Tonight we are having:
Vin is having his free cheese and onion pasty from greggs with some beans and chips.
I am having an egg salad with a slice of quiche from the freezer.
Plus a bread and butter pudding that Vin fancied from Waitrose.

The Big Clean!

Vin and I are not tidy people..that is a fact. We don't have that many visitors either, so when we do it is a bit of an occasion requiring a clear up..major spit and polishas it were.
We got an email the other night which he didn't tell me about before we went to bed from a man who used to live in the house two doors down from us for donkey's years. All through his childhood in fact, and his University years. Anyhow, he is now an esteemed Professor in the University of Texas. He is coming to Britain and wants to visit again a week on Sunday.
Vin and I were in hysterics last night because the last time he came we had spent the week cleaning everywhere, gathering up books, papers and belongings and stowing them away. Vin was saying he still hasn't located some stuff he moved from last time!! What a scream. Mind you Vin said that it would do for Christmas now HaHa. The trouble is we do have a fair amount of clutter and two hairy cats plus we need a new vacuum cleaner that picks up cat hair properly. So we prepare for the Royal Visit!!
Didn't go out today, weather not really very nice, we sorted out the kitchen floor, and Vin wrote his holiday diary in his proper diary. he keeps a diary every day of his life..isn't that wonderful..and he was filling in the holiday that we took to new England. It was lovely remembering what we did on that holiday..our visit to the Shaker museum which was fantastic, and all the other things that we did.


The second one os one of the wood stores for the winter. Gorgeous place.

Tonight we are having:
Anescalope with mushroom sauce
Baby potatoes squashed
Any veggies we have left over.

Have Car Will travel...

Since his car was in good nick, and the MOT was passed without any problems,we decidid to go and get a bit of fresh air. Just as we were leaving the house, the rain started..poured down. Vin got a bit annoyed because he said it would be wearing his new wiper blades out!! My sandals had to go away, and the shoes and socks on again. Hope this isn't a sign of an early Autumn. Mind you I do love Autumn it's really my favourite time of the year.

Oh to be in New England when Autumn is here..

We went over to the M&S at Aintree, because we haven't been there for ages, and Vin wanted a look at the Men's stuff. I had given him a gift card for his birthday, so he could get what he wanted. he didn't see anything though. Must admit we were very disappointed with the store, i don't think the clothing is as good a quality as it used to be, and quite expensive for what you get. Disappointed with the vegetarian foods too..same old same old, never anything new or exciting.
I bought a new pair of slippers that was all. didn't see anything else that I fancied, prefer the Cheshire Oaks outlet store really. Vin was looking for some of his Woodspice after shave cream, but they didn't have that either. Just one of those days that you don't see anything that you want. Ah well saved some money anyway.
Ear worms!!!! This is the name given to a song that gets into your brain and won't shift. There is a new song on at the moment being played a lot, especially on Radio 2 by Glen Cambell. it is called Ghost on a canvas. But...the other day we heard someone on the radio say they were going to play the Goat on a Camp Bed song..so now everytime that you hear it that's all you get..Goat on a Camp bed. It's a bit like the Celine Dion version of the Titanic song..My heart Will Go ON..someone once said they would play the Hot Dogs song..so that is all you listen for when you hear the song.
Anyhow, I normally never have any trouble with getting to sleep, but last night I had this song ( the Glen Campbell one) in my brain, and couldn't get off. A real pain.
Tonight we are having:
Pasta with a spinach and ricotta sauce,
A tiny bit of garlic bread,
Mixed green vegetables
Parmesan cheese to go with..just a bit!!

M.O.T..and Things..

We were about reasonably early for our morning coffee today, because Vin had arranged for his car to go for it's MOT later in the morning. However, the phone went fairly early around nineish, from the garage to say that the man who does the tests has hurt his hand and has gone to hospital. The bloke who is the back up is on holiday, so Vin said he would ring again later. Well i was thinking if the man had hurt his hand badly enough to go to hospital, he wouldn't be going back to work would he, but Vin was ever hopeful.
Funny thing was, that the second he put the phone down from speaking to the garage Jane rang..she was on her way to College to get her timetable, meet the groups etc. She said it was pouring down there, but it always rains in Manchester. She is quite excited about going back, I hope it goes well for her this year.
At lunchtime, after a morning of sorting out his paperwork and bits and pieces..(I did a pile of ironing) he decided to give the garage a ring..No the man wasn't coming back..Could have told him that! So he rang the other garage in Formby that he used to use, but is more awkward to get to..and they could fit him in at 4O'Clock. So that is where he is now.I hope it goes well..he loves his car and really looks after it.

He told me a joke the other night..
A woman came home one evening to find her Mother on the floor and her husband sitting at his desk. She says "What happened?" He replies "I think she's had a heart attack" So she asks.."What are you doing?" He answers..."Writing for an ambulance!" Well he told me this as I was going to sleep, really made me laugh. I like silly jokes like that.
Tonight we are having:
Not altogether sure actually.
Maybe some little sliced potatoes done in the fry light,
Something from the freezer to go with,
Vegetables.

Vin has just rung to say that it has passed the MOT and he is on his way home, so that is good news for him.

peace and Quiet...

Out and about today, it was really quiet. It is amazing how much difference it makes when the children go back to school. Sainsbury's car park was lovely and quiet, and the shop was pleasantly child free. Makes me think of going back to school when I was teaching. it is now 10 years since i finished work..I retired early because of eye problems, and you would have another year stretching before you until the next Summer break. The holidays are good in teaching, and I think teachers are well paid actually. there is plenty of money in education, it's whether schools use it correctly. Rather too many heads of this and heads of that, and Assistant heads etc., teacher in charge of drugs and whatever.. Silly jobs that take people away from the chalk face. Then there was the paperwork..profiles and assessments..targets and initiatives..horrible. kenneth Baker of the Thatcher Government had a lot to answer for..
Lovely day today, nice and sunny but a breeze to cool everywhere down. Bobby is outside in the garden on top of her hut, and Rusty is inside on the bed in Jane's room all curled up. They look so peaceful when they are asleep, very calming.
Vin has been titivating his car up because it is going in for it's MOT tomorrow. He has had the tyres renewed and the wipers changed, and put a new licence plate on etc., This afternoon he was out doing the black plastic and polishing it up. Very smart it looks too. he has had it from new, and knows everything about it. it's a really good car actually, and worth taking care of.
Jane rang up just before lunch this morning. She was in Tesco buying batteries for her alarm clock. She is back at College tomorrow, to do her science course. She has to have this so she can do the Radiography course next September. Fingers crossed that she gets through this course without any hiccups. I think she will because she realises it is pretty much her last chance to get somewhere. I sent her a Lottery ticket for her birthday in her card, just as an extra, with four lines on it. Didn't win a bean..story of our life really. We do all these competitions every week and never win anything..the most we ever won was £1000 once which we used on our holiday to New England. but we keep hoping!
Tonight we are having:
Cheesey Kievs
Little baked potatoes
Portobellini mushrooms
mixed vegetables.

Left It Late Today...

I usually do this in the afternoons, often after we have had our lunch, and I have an hour or two sometimes to catch up on life on the web. Today we were a bit late starting, because Jane rang up for a chat before she went into work, so we were late getting going with our crosswords. We do three every Sunday between us. Vin does the Sunday Express magazine general knowledge one, I do the Mail on Sunday You magazine one which is another type of more wordy general knowledge. Then we do the Big Sunday general Knowledge one which is in the Mail on Sunday paper. This is the one which often gets the brain cells going, and can be taxing sometimes. Today though all of them were a bit tricky, and sio we took a while to complete them. We have never left one unfinished though which isn't bad.
Vin went out into the hall to get something and came back saying "there's a leaflet come for you, it's a Slimming World one!!!!!2 What a cheek!! After his remark about Pudding basin hair dos the other week..he'd better watch it.
Very nice day today, the clothes hung on the line till late afternoon when it started drizzling, now it's gone dull and overcast and going cooler. Getting ready for ourPizza and Joy of Joys a Coronation Street tonight. We do love Corrie...mostly..it's the Northern Humour thing I think, and there are some wonderful characters in it. never watch Eastenders..far too much doom and gloom and shouting in it.
We enjoyed watching the last of the series of Timothy Spalls Back at Sea which has been a lovely series to follow.

Tonight we are having:
Pizza with portobellini mushrooms our tomato sauce, mozzarella cheese
potato and egg salad with avocado and baby golden plum tomatoes
potato salad for moi and a pasta salad for Vin.

Friday..and another Weekend looms...

Started the day with our usual chat over the cup of coffee that Vin brings up. He has a good size mug, and I have a tiny cup and we both have a "cow" biscuit. he started chatting about water tanks,and a myriad of other topics that interest him. He has a bit of a butterfly mind, and can flit from one topic to another in seconds. Very pleasant time of the day actually.
We decidid to go to the ASDA this morning for our weekend things. It's a bit of a trip because it is in Southport, but it makes a change. Could do with one nearer actually because they are quite cheap for a lot of things compared to Waitrose and Sainsburys anyway. I always feel that when we come out of ASDA that I have got a lot for my money compared to the others.
Good car park..and it was quite busy, you would think that it was the Bank Holiday weekend again, thank goodness it isn't!. Still a fair number of kids around so I imagine they are back next week, seems to be quite late this year. Some getting last minute school things which makes it busier.
We got two big bags of things and then stopped for a coffee at the back of their car park. Really pleasant day today, warm through the glass windscreen. Came home along the coast road where there were a fair number of people enjoying the September weather. It usually is nice in September, I remember that from going back to school.The dreaded year stretching ahead of you.All the things that you were going to do in the holidays and not really got round to..save them up for the next year.It's ten years since I retired, can't believe it.

Just wanted to add a nice bright Autumn picture. I feel a touch of Autumn coming on especially with the cooler nights.This was just around the corner from the hotel we were staying in, and you would come round the bend and get the most fantastc shades of yellows and oranges.
I thought ASDA would have had the Halloween things out, but not yet. They're slipping!
Tonight we are having:
Vins favourite pasties,
A pack of butternut squash and other veg from Waitrose,
Rice Puddings for a treat. Well he's worked hard this week. XX

"What a Morning"!!

Appointment with the Nursey over the road at the Drs for a Diabetic check up. This is the nursey who talks away to the computer, so I have to keep reminding her to look at me when she is speaking and to speak clearly . Same old same old really.
We arrived at spot on ten past ten which was my appointment time and waited for about fifteen minutes. Then she came and whispered my name and if Vin hadn't been there I wouldn't have heard her. Never mind... She did the blood pressure about three times and asked all the usual questions. Nothing new. Then she did my feet, and said she was a bit concerned that my ankles were a bit swollen so would I see a Dr about that, in case the medication needs altering. So the Dr had one patient waiting then she could see me ..just wait in the waiting room. About thirty minutes after that I eventually got in to the Dr. In there about two minutes and she said Do they bother you? I say No..she says well leave well alone then!!!! We had been over there well over an hour and seen all sorts come and go.
Vin reckons it is the 1st of September and they are on their targets for the month..He said you will have ticked about a dozen boxes for them today..Funny !! poor man, he is the one who has to wait around.
Went frpm there to Waitrose to get some of his favourite pasties for tomorrow night, and a couple of other things, then home.
Had a bit of a go on the computer when the phone went..Hello it's Lauren from the Nat West bank. Wanted to ask me all sorts of questions about my money. Lovely sounding chirpy girly girl, and everything was "Great" at the end of every sentence. Didn't get very far with me though.. No debts, no mortgage..never had one, and I wouldn't put any of my money in any other account. I think it is a pl;ot to get me today!
Hares and Rabbits by the way..anothe4r month started and a bit nearer Christmas.
Tonight we are having:
Kiev,
potato croquettes
Carrots beans and a few peas.
mushroom sauce.