Mingy With The Maple Syrup!!!

Today..friday we thought we would go to Waitrose in Formby since we didn't need a lot of things, and it is quite near. Plus it is a nasty day again, drizzly rain and grey.
Parked right outside the front door which is always a bonus,thought it was going to be busy with the new Year approaching, but it wasn't. Another bonus. Got our groceries and everything on the list, then mooched around for anything reduced in the sales. I did get a box of crackers (the pull kind!) which were half price, and a really nice box of very posh chocolates again at half price. Since we didn't have that many treats for christmas i thought I'd get us those. Bought some Covent garden soup for our lunch one which we hadn't had before..carrot and maple, and a tomato and basil because they were on offer. 2 for £3.00
Home for coffee so Vin was a happy bunny.
Lunch then was soup, Vin had a toasted Marmite bageland i had some of my bread. When i served it up, i took the jar of maple syrup out of the fridge and put some on the top of the soup bowls. vin got a bit tetchy at this, and said Whoa..it doesn't float you know!!!!! Uh yes..i did know. can't believe he was being so mingy with the maple syrup..which incidentally I buy!! and he pours liberally over pancakes, and crumpets and the like.So..I had a mega sulk, and he tried to pass it off as a "joke".
Terrible television at the moment on daytime. After lunch we usually sit down and have a small espresso and watch Doctors that we have recorded, but it isn't on at the moment.Be glad when everything gets back to normal again. can't be doing with all the repeats.
we did enjoy the "Great expectations" that has been on for the last three nights. Very atmospheric and good acting, apart from Pip who was a bit effeminate for the part really. ray Winstone was excellent as Magwitch. Didn't Charles Dickens have fantastic character names. Enjoyed the series about Living with the Amish as well and it was the last of those last night. Not as good as the others though. The first one was my favourite, they were a lovely couple and he had the most wonderful narrative voice. i could listen to him for hours.
We had a very interesting chat with our coffee this morning..well it was more of a monologue really. Amongs other things we talked about jet engines, motor bikesand fossil fuels. he has a butterfly brain my husband, and is actually very clever. i wonder why his brain wasn't channelled in the right direction at school. Shame.
Tonight we are having:
Cheese and onion pasties from Waitrose, been in the freezer,
Rice puddings from Waitrose also from the freezer.

One of Those Dark Days...

Very very wet dark and miserable here today. raining pretty much all day, and really raining too with it lashing down the windows and looks like some sleet with it too. So, needless to say we didn't go anywhere today, we stopped in and did bits of things. Vin has spent the morning going through papers so he has a pile now that he has read, and another that he hasn't gone through yet.
Next door came to the door this morning, they are off to Scotland, and they are welcome, driving up there in all this rain too. it's horrible driving on motorways in the rain with the spray, and the traffic , must be worth it though. She is Scottish, so I judge it must be to relatives.
At least Vin doesn't have a little cat to look after, he has looked after the little ginger one from next door for years, and he still misses it. I hope it had a lovely Christmas over on the Wirral.


Sad day on the Delia site today, it is the funeral of one of the really well known and lovely members, down in London. She will be sadly missed on the site. She wasn't old either, and it was all quite sudden really. It's odd how you get attached to someone you have never met or spoken to, but she was a popular member of the site. Always had a sense of humour and sharp wit, and we shared a love of cats, which she adored. R.I.P. "Squeaky"

Tonight we are having:
Cheese and leek escalope
Potatoes gratin
baby carrots.

Back to Manchester...

Took the prodigal daughter home today back to Manchester. We left at around 10-15 and got there at around 1135 which was good timing. Traffic was quite light, and Vin cruised along and made good time. We had a bit of a breather when we got there, and Vin put some light bulbs up for them in the overhead lights. Doesn't appear that jane has forgotten anything, in fact she seems to have taken quite a bit of stuff from our store cupboard and fridge, but that's ok. It was too early for our lunch so we had a good coffee and a biscuit to put us on, then left at about 12.30. Traffic along the motorways was quite light for us on our side, but it was really building up on the other side, Loads of lorries and cars going in the Manchester direction, and some slow moving stuff. Good job we left this morning when we did or we would have been caught up in that.
Left on a good note..Vin gave Jane a coat he had bought from the Claire House Hospice Shop, which is a Nike brand, weatherproof and never been worn..a bargain at £3.50!!! Jane was thrilled with that, which is good because she is very finiky over her clothes.So that will be great for her when she is coming home late at night in the bad weather.
We got home at 2 30 with the best travelled sandwiches known. All the way to Manchester and back again, we enjoyed them when we got home, and the little cats hadn't moved I don't think, but they both got up for their chicken though!!
So...it has been an odd Christmas with her here.. Not too bad all things considered, and at least she was pleasant.
Tonight we are having:
Pea and courgette quiche,
Something tomatoey spaghetti hoops maybe..
A few chips to go with..well it is still Christmas!

happy Christmas...

Well it's all over for another year!
daughter came home and well..slept a lot! She did have a Christmas meal with us though. We had quite a nice Christmas actually,Vin bought me a little book to put books in, and i bought him a book of The kings Carols with a DVD to go with I think.
Funny thing was, he bought me a voucher fror Superdrug..and i bought him one!! great minds eh!!
We had a nice christmas meal with Chicken style Roast from Holland and Barratt, Roast potatoes, sweetcorn, baby carrots and cranberries and Roast parsnips. gravy, bread sauce and cranberry sauce.
My traditional Christmas Pudding is my Hazelnut gateau which Vin helped make this year.

Well it's all over for another year!

daughter came home and well..slept a lot! She did have a Christmas meal with us though. We had quite a nice Christmas actually,Vin bought me a little book to put books in, and i bought him a book of The kings Carols with a DVD to go with I think.
Funny thing was..I bought him a voucher from Superdrug for £10 and he bought me..a voucher for Superdrug for £10!! We had a laugh about that.
our Christmas meal was:
Chicken style Roast from Holland and Barratt with gravy,
Roast potatoes, Yorkshire puddings because Jane wanted them..
Sweetcorn, baby carrots with cranberries and Roast parsnips,
Bread sauce and cranberry sauce.
We had our traditional Christmas pudding which is a Hazelnut gateau

Jane is going back to manchester tomorrow, the little cats have been very good really. I thought they would have been more timid, but even Rusty who is normally very timid and wary has been good with her.
Good Christmas television over the period, especially christmas night with the Downton Abbey episode which was really excellent, and a Poirot last night wghich is always worth watching. ITV definitely had the best of the bunch this Christmas.
Tonight..(Tuesday) we are having:
Quorn broccoli and cheese escalopes,
mushroom sauce
Potato croquettes
mixed vegetables.

Christmas cards...

This morning whuile we were having our coffee before getting up we had a bit of a discussion about Christmas Cards. We now have quite a few and more arrive each day. You cn tell a lot from a card..sometimes they have a bit of a noite in about the family or circumstance, sometimes nothing but the names. I get one every year which has a sort of "Newsletter in it, and it is always the usual perfect family. Vin and I have a laugh about it and swear that one year we will do a spoof one. The one we get is where they have a perfect family, the children all get top marks in their exams, top First class degrees and top jobs. Then they get maarried and have the perfect babies so perfect grandchildren... They are now retired and have been just about everywhere this year. Just makes you tired reading it.
One card we got this year is from a friend who has two children and last year the partners name was on the card, this year it isn't..wonder what happened there. Then there are the missing cards, the ones you send but don't get a reply to..where have they gone? mysteries.
Jane continues to do her sleeping course..if there was a degree in sleeping she would have a first with distinction! The poor little cats have been displaced from their room so are wandering round looking for somewhere to set up home.
We went to Waitrose this morning to get our vegetables for Sunday, and a few other bits and pieces. Luckily for us, as soon as we pulled into their car park a car was backing out so we got a space. The car park was heaving with cars going round and round, not pleasant in the pouring rain either.
Waitrose was absolutely heaving..I have never seen it like that. You couldn't move with people filling trolley's like they were laying in for a seige. Mad really isn't it. We just got the things on Vin's always useful list then made our way home. Guess who hasn't moved a muscle!! got it in one!
Vin made me really laugh this morning..i saw a post it note on the bedroom door, and said "What's that?" He said it says..Keep out, Aged parents asleep!!! he's a scream that husband of mine. I love him!!
Tonight we are having:
Fishless fingers,
Chips 200 grms
Mushy peas for Vin and green beans for moi.

The Prodigal Daughter...

Home for Christmas...weleft home at 1037 precisely, and Vin negotiated all the motorways over to manchester. Got a tiny bit lost when we got there, but he sorted it out. we ended up in Mill Lane cemetry which was a bit up the road from Janes, so he looked at his map and worked out where to go. Got to her house at about twelvish which wasn't bad considering the traffic. No hold ups though.
Her house is quite nice in a little estate, and she has a room with its own bathroom and bedroom so all en suite which is good. After we had some lunch and Vin had a bit of a breather we left at around 1'OClok to come home. never seems as long coming home as it does going. Arrived home at 2'15 so made good time.
The whirlwind has thrown all her stuff in her bedroom, fed herself, cheese on toast, and is now lying on her bed watching a video.
The cats seem unfazed really, I did think little Rusty would have run off because she is normally timid where strangers are concerned, but she didn't. good for her. Bobby wasn't bothered at all as long as she gets her chicken she is ok!.
Seems strange to have the bedroom occupied once again. Plus point was that it was good weather today, in fact it was quite mild and sunny,I had to use my sunglasses today which was the first for a bit.
Tonight we are having:
pasta bake with a tomato and basil sauce,
garlic bread to share
A bit of parmesan to go with.

Getting Ready..

For the visit tmorrow. This morning we went off to Homebase first to see if we could get a rug for jane's room. The one that is in there is very drab, and I wanted to get something a bit brighter, but to no avail. They really only had one type and that was brown, coffee and mushroom oblongs, not very bright at all. So what we have done in the end is to swap the rug from our room and put that in there.
Then we went to Tesco's which is just over the road. Vin had a coupon for £2 off £20 so that was an incentive. Armed with his list, and some idea of what she wanted us to get her, we fought our way round a very busy store. I hate that Tesco's it's so cramped and people everywhere, but we seemed to get most of what we wanted, in fact everything we wanted. About half way round we bumped into an old school colleague, who I taught with at All Saints, and had moved to be in the Art Dept., of the school that our Jane went to. She is lovely and we had a good chat, catching up on her family. She has a daughter who is a senior registrar in London at the moment for a while, and another who is working for AQA in Manchester, so they'v e done well. She is retiring in July after 20 years at that school, I couldn't believe it was that long since she left my school. Doesn't time fly!
By the time we left her still shopping, it was getting on so we had to whizz round and get the other things, but we were all right in the end. At least it wasn't raining like the other day!!!
Vin vacuumed Jane's room this afernoon, so at least it is nice and clean now ready for Madam..
Tonight we are having:
Something from the freezer, quick and easy,
Maybe a flan and something tomatoey to go with.

Preparations...

For the Royal Visit..Jane is coming home on Thursday as far as we can tell anyway. She has just rung up to ask if we had a spare timer switch so they can rig it up to one of their lamps because there will be a couple of days when there is no-one there. At least she is thinking of security. That is a good thing anyway.
Didn't go out today we stopped in to try and get her room sorted a bit. Did all the bedding so that will be nice and fresh, and the quilt, because the cats unfortunately treat that as their private bedding too, so that is all fresh and nice. She has just rung up actually on her way to work, then she is off for about ten days which will be a lovely break for her. I only hope her and her Dad don't start arguing, they are terrible when they get together, similar personalities I think. And..Stubborn!
She wants a Physics text book for christmas..How sad is that! but it is about £30 and she says she usus it all the time. She has a copy from the library which she keeps renewing, but if someone requests it she is snookered, and she says she will use it next year on the radiography course.I've also saved some pound coins for her in little pots so that will help a bit too I think.
Vin was going to vacuum her room, but the cats are in there so that couldn't be done, he can see the cat hairs, I can't, and miss them. I just did all the ironing, at least I can see that!
Tonight we are having:
leek and cheese escalope
Mushroom sauce,
Baby baked potatoes
Mixed vegetables.

Tipping Down..

What a horrible miserable day it was today! really manky and wet. We had decided to go over to Ormskirk to get some of our Christmas things and it was just light rain when we left, then when we got there the Heavens opened and it was tipping down. i suggested we park in the little park behind M&S because we were going there anyway, and after going round once a bloke pointed to a space so we were lucky there. Poor Vin got soaked just going for the ticket.
Anyway we got there in the end..there was a market in the middle of Ormskirk today too which we weren't expecting it's usually Thursday or Saturday, but they were all there today. Didn't bother with that though it was too wet. Got Jane a card from tesco with some money on it so that will help with her shopping for a bit, and we got our chicken style roast from Holland and Barratt plus our fishless fingers. Ended up in M&S and got some Christmas stuff there, so we did really well today. Got back to the car and went down to Morrisons. Vin went for the ticket and came back to say that the machine hadn't given out tickets but had taken the money..that didn't please him..anyway there was no sign of the parking man but a woman uinside said go to the customer services and he got his money back there..so fair enough. Well done Morrisons. Had a really nice and welcoming cup of good coffee and a shortbread, only £2.75 for all that..2 big mugs of coffee and a packet of biscuits..best value in town actually. Proper mugs too.
Then we started to go round there. We got loads of things for Christmas, including a really nice carton of "Merry Christmas" Soup..Covent garden which is mushroom, stilton and pearl barley and some of the proceeds goto the sally Army too. We had that for our lunch when we got home and it was lovely. Got a trolley full of stuff, especially some things that Jane had said she wants, and paid with our saver card which has £49 on it, and if you spend it in December you get another pound so it was £50..I only had to pay eight pounds for all our shopping!
Still tipping down and we were late getting home, but the soup was lovely.
A few Christmas card on the mat,they are coming in quite slowly this year.
Tonight we are having:
Our leftover pizza from last night,
Salad with egg and potato,
All the remaining salads from last night.

The Weekend Again...

Iwoke up this morning at five O'Clock with a little cat balanced precariously on my hip. bit early that is rusty!! Got up at six O'Clock to go to the bathroom, and then got back into my nice warm bed. Could I get back to sleep..Could I thuimp! All sorts of things going round my brain,mainly the state of the middle room where Jane will be sleeping wnhen she comes home. There are quite a lot of boxes etc in there because it's become something of a storage room since she left home. Vin says he has it all in hand and it will all be sorted. I believe him.
Yesterday was a bit rainy and cold, Vin went out to Maghull to get some stuff, but was back as usual for his coffee! he wouldn't miss that!
Today he went off to Crosby because we had forgotten to get the cats some chicken which would never do would it! They line up in the kitchen every day at around half past one so how could you tell them there isn't any? Mind you when Jane comes home they are going to have to find new spots to sleep on because they both are quite often to be found on her bed in their baskets.
Vin said Crosby was quite vusy with a lot of the shops that aren't normally open, trading today..Boots for example and the jewellery shop etc., Very unexciting place to go though it really wants bringing into this century with a vengeance.
Spent a pleasant evening last night watching the final of Strictly..What a good series this has been this year! I voted for Jason but he was voted off as third despite a wonderful show dance. Harry and Chelsee were left with Harry eventually winning and deservedly so.Very polite and nice young man too. Thought Brucie was going to blow a gasket at the announcement because all of McFly surged onto the stage to surround him, and he was batting them off with his cue cards..hilarious.
We then watched a film on Sky called "Black Swan"..not the sort of film we would normally watch, but my word it was a cracking film. I can see why natalie Portman won the best actress Oscar award last year for her portrayal of the main ballerina. Excellent film.
Jane rang up just before on her way to work, and she said it was freezing and the pavements were lice glass. They seem to be colder in Manchester than we are here, and she was a bit iffy about leaving work tonight and driving home. Hope she's careful.
Tonight we are having:
Pizza with our tomato sauce,
Portobello mushrooms pineapple, pepper and courgette.
Egg and potato salad with avocado and baby yellow tomatoes.
Potato salad for moi and pasta salad for Vin..

See Amid The Winter's Snow!

Woke up this morning to a very dark, grey day. Looked like it was going to do something, then it started to rain. We had decided to go over to Ormskirk to do our shopping, and I got my slap on ready to go. Now I have a back tooth that has beenfilled so many times I have lost count, and last night some of the filling came out, leaving a hole where my tongue kept finding..you know the way your tongue finds the hole. Since the Dentist is only two doors down, I nipped in before we left for Ormskirk, and the girl said they had a cancellation at 12O'Clock, but i said we were just going out, so she gave me an appointment for next Thursday. Went back to the car, and Vin said you'd be better taking the cancellation and he would go to Waitrose instead to do the shopping. So that's what we did. I went back in the house, Vin made a list, and went off to Formby. He rang up after about ten minutes to say that it was snowing there, and was coming down quite hard.In the end it was a good job we didn't go over to ormskirk because it is quite high up there and no doubt it would have been quite snowy.
I was about twenty minutes in the dentists and Vin came home soon after me with two big bags of shopping.
What a good litttle shopper he is, he had everything on the list and some more useful Christmas things as well. Not long after he came in it started to snow here, sort of sleety at first, then a spate of those lovely big fat snow flakes, looked really pretty for a while, but it's gone now, and everywhere just looks grey again!Vin has just come in and said that he had been down to the coal bin for lighting the fire, and everywhere is quite icy. He says that there has been a drop in temperature since lunchtime and it has gone really cold now.
Jane has just rung up on her way to work, she says it's freezing cold but not really snowing there, just wet. At least she has her new shoes, so her feet won't get wet!!
Tonight we are having:
Cheese and onion pasties from Waitrose, Vin's favourite..I think that's all he went for!
baked tomatoes to go with,
Rice puddings from Waitrose..so Vin is a very happy bunny..

"Gathering more Winter Fuel"...

We were going over to Maghull this morning because I wanted to have a look at the Bon Marche shop..they have a %30 reduction today. But...decided that I have enough stuff from there so we went out tto Dobbies instead, to finish our free coffees for the month. Vin wanted to get some more of their bags of logs which have proved to be excellent, they don't splutter and burn really beautifully. They are specially seasoned in a kiln so are totally dry and safe for use in the chimney. So he got two bags of those.We now have..coal..peat bricks and wood logs. So if we have a cold Christmas wer'e ok!
Had a bit of a look round there too, Vin saw a book that he wantedso I got him that for Christmas, and we chose some nice treats from the food hall, like pickled walnut chutney that he likes, and little thin cheese wafers that I like and go well with a drink. The box upstairs is now overflowing with goodies, gleaned over the past few months.
Had our coffees and a good chat in the spacious restraunt areathen home for lunch.
We did most of our Christmas cards last night, didn't do a newsletter this year, mainly because we get some terribly naff ones that we laugh about, but..my writing is getting very shaky these days so will possibly do one next year, simply because it is easier.
Watched the Royal Variety performance from the Lowry theatre in Salford last night which was a really good show we thought. lovely to see Tony Bennet singing his heart out..what a voice. And Leona Lewis who was a big find from the X factor but we didn't like her new song though.
Bit mournful.
Funny weather today, it was really wet on the way to Dobbies driving through Woodvale there were huge puddles at the side of the road, but dry here where we live a few miles away. Odd country this.
Tonight we are going to haveQuorn chicken style pie,
sweet potato and butternut squash
A few boiled squashed potatoes
Gravy to go with.

When a poor man came in sight..Gathering Winter Fuel...

Fuel that is..you would be poor if you were paying for fuel these days. Coal delivery this morning £100 for five bags of smokeless fuel, mind you Vin says that has filled the bunker andwill last about six weeksish. Then there was a delivery of Peat from Hortex, two bales at £10..So the "Old man of Good King Wenceslas would need a deep pocket indeed. Mind you he would have his Winter fuel Allowance of £200 between us, it was £250 but this government took £50 off it!! I blame David Cameron..I bet he doesn't have to worry about the heating in his flat or houses!
Vin nipped out to Crosby this morning to get the cats their chicken because they had run out.
Jane has just rung up..a much happier bunny, because she has a new pair of trainers, she got them from the sports shop..Adidas and they were only £25. so at least she hasn't got a hole in her shoe tonight!
Quick note tonight because I was late starting..
Tonight we are having:
Pasta with a pour over spinach and ricotta sauce
Vegetables to go with it,
A bit of garlic bread.

Miscellany..

Of things happening today. we had thought of going over to Ormskirk to get some stuff from Holland and Barratt, including our fishless fingers, but Vin rang them up to see if they had any in stock, and they didn't so that stopped that idea. Added to that, it is a fair journey over there, and it is very blowy and cold today, so saved us a wasted journey really.
So, in the end we stopped in. Vin mended the ceiling outside the bathroom door which has been letting draughts through.Now it doesn't. Mr Fixit rides again. i cleared out the fridge, and washed that down, loads of jars with well gone sell by dates..and half jars of jellies or things that were decidedly dodgy looking. They get shoved to the back of the fridge shelf and forgotten. So now we have a lot more room. We were going to do the bedding but little Bobby was asleep on my pillow and we didn't have the heart to move her, so left that. by lunchtime she had moved though so we did in the end.Just after lunch we cleared out the freezer too, got rid of lots of bits of things that have been put in there and never used, and some stuff that was freezer burnt or out of date. So that has cleared a lot more room for Christmas things now.
Oh what an exciting life we do lead!!!All sorts of gale warnings today on the weather forecast, and the trees outside are really blowing. Vin's draughtproofing will be tested tonight I think.
Jane has just rung up a bit happier because the biology assignment that she had handed in with a page missing, she got a merit for. She thought she would have failed that,so she was good about that. She is on her way to work still with a hole in her shoe, and hoping it wouldn't rain tonight!!
Tonight we are having:
Quorn chicken and mushroom style pie.
Potato croquettes
Carrots, and beans.

And Another Week Starts...

two weeks to Christmas isn't December flying by, and I haven't started my Christmas cards yet either. Must get them on the go asap.We have all the decorations up though so not too bad.
Went into Formby this morning to get our weekly veggie fix. So Waitrose it was this morning. The thing is..you come out of our village, and you turn right and you get to Crosby and Sainsburys, or you turn left and you get to formby which is Tesco or Waitrose. Since we never go to Tesco it is Waitrose this morning.Nice store but so expensive, and you are tempted by things that you see all round the aisles, so that encourages you to spend more. Spent £45 this morning and didn't get that much either. Did get a few bits for Christmas though, so not too bad. I do miss the Morrisons that used to be there.
Vin has ordered some coal this afternoon which will come on Wednesday, 5 bags I think it was, and he ordered some peat last week but that hasn't come yet, seems to be delayed.
Jane rang up yesterday, very annoyed because she had left one page of her biology assignment in her bag, and not handed it in. She reckons that the tutor is a bit of a split personality and won't accept it. kids..there's always something.I certainly didn't think that at 28 she would still be doing assignments like a college kid.Funny thing as I was typing this she rang up. On her way to work, and she said it was freezing, but she has layers of clothes on and a hole in her trainers! Oh dear, she sounds like a bag lady!!!No money for new ones till she gets paid again. She had to pay her rent and the bills first.
Must say i don't envy her going out in this weather in the dark and the cold.
Tonight we are having:
Mozzarella and pesto escalope,
Small baked potatoes
Carrots beans and broccoli with a mushroom sauce.

Christmassy!

just had our first Carol Singers at the door..afraid we din't answer the door to kids who tend to stand there sing one awful verse of "We wish you a merry Christmas" then go....straight to the sweet shop up the road! Cynical in my old age!
The new neighbours next door have a Christmas tree in their conservatory which snows!!!!! I can't see it , but Vin says he spotted it this morning snowing. Well that's a new one on me. Don't think we will be getting ne of those somehow.
Quiet weekend really,must think about doing the Christmas cards since time is getting on now. Vin was saying this morning that it is only two weeks till Christmas Day, then it will be all over. thankfully we don't have many presents to buy, not having any family, it must be a terrible time of the year for those who are in debt or don't have nmuch money.
Vin went to Formby yesterday to get a few things that we had forgotten then over to Maghull. just about dodged the rain which was very patchy yesterday. The bag of logs that he bought from Dobbies has proved to be excellent, they are hard seasoned wood and burn beautifully.
Watched the Strictly last night and voted for jason again, but fear that he may be one of the ones to go tonight. We shall have to see. Also watched the X Factor, but not impressed at all this year, and it is the first year we haven't voted for anyone. Goodness knows who will win that.
Today he went to crosby for a few things,said it was quite quiet,but he likes a wander round and a mooch. Did our crosswords this afternoon, which weren't bad. mine had a theme of "Just a minute" the radio show, which I haven't listened to ffor years. Ah well we got there in the end.
Tonight we are having:
Pizza with our tomato sauce
portobello mushrooms pineapple, pepper for Vin and courgette for me.
egg and potato salad with avocado pear
Potato salad for moi and sweet noodle salad for Vin.

Gales a Blowin...

scotland has had it bad over the last few days, the Forth road bridge closed which is a bad sign. the pictures on the news last night were aawful with great big lories being blown over on their sides. seems to have calmed down today, but the weather forecast for this region is icy patches tomorrow. well, it is December!
jane rang up at lunchtime just as we came in from the supermarket, she is shattered but told us that she has fot distinctions in all of her exams, so that will keep her going. Good for her!
We went over to Walton Sainsburys this morning for our weekend things, very blowy there too. i had a quick look in the Next shop two doors down while Vin went into Poundstretchers to look for cheap fairy lights. I don't know whuy i go into Next..the clothing is just terrible. Thin and flimsy with no quality to it.I used to quite like their jewellery but even that is dreadful these days, and the Home ware section is tacky these days. What has happened to Next/ it used to be such a good store, but a lot of stores have gone like that now, cheap imported stuff from...China!!
Got quite a lot of stuff from Sainsburys. They seemed to have a few offers that we use today. No ripe pears and no potato salad..what are they playing at? The pears are all like turnips and need about a week to ripen, not like the pears you see them using on cookery programmes when they are lovely juicy things.
We went to our usual spot in their car park for our lovely coffees..it's a huge car park, and very few cars use the back of it, be a good place to learn to drive.
Tonight we are having:
Pasties from waitrose, vins favourite and the ones he went out of his way to get yesterday!
Rice pudding from Waitrose.

Imagine!!

Picture the scene..A school Nativity Play..then two parents have an argument, ond one man ended up biting the finger off another! poor little kids, i nly hope that it wasn't in full view of them.Vin was telling me this as we were going to sleep last night, apparently it was on the news on his in the ear radio. Somewhere in middlesboro i think, at least it wasn't liverpool!!!
Absolutely horrible day here today, very cold and miserable and wet and blowy. vin dodged the showers and went to Homebase to get some foam to draughtproof the extension. he says there is a draught where the ceiling meets the brickwork, so he is fixing that. Mr Fixit is off again Bless him.

The bit he is doing is the top of the bricks where they join the ceiling. these are my Clarice Cliffe plates (reproduction) which I love.
of course on the way back he went into Waitrose to get two of his favourite pasties for tomorrow night!!They didn't have any yesterday when we went and he saw that as a tragedy. he does love his pasties...vegetarian of course.
Jane rang up this morning too, she was on her way home to do her biology assignment which is due in, and she said that she had got %86 on her Physics exam which was a Distinction and the one she was really worried that she had failed. So although she was tired she was a happier bunny.
Posted john and Anns parcel yesterday and it was £16 to post! We sent a card and letter, a calendar Thomas Kinkade one.. a DVD of Downton Abbey the second series, and the latest Susan Boyle CD. A little christmas ornament and two Hamish McBeth books. So, quite a haul. i wonder how hot it is over there/ probably in the nineties. can't imagine Christmas in all that heat somehow, but I suppose it's what you are used to.
Tonight we are having:
Something out of the freezer
A pack of nmixed vegetables
8oz of potatoes between us squashed.

Blown Away...

nearly..wewent out for a run this morning to get a bit of fresh air. very breezy here, you have to be extra careful with the car doorsWent over to Dobbies to get our coffees, and have a bit of a look round. Did spot some lovely crackers for the Christmas table which were all red and gold, very pretty and only £6 which I thought was very good so bought those.Vin was more down to earth and bought a bag of hardwood logs for the fire, and two pots of fruits for cheese from their food hall. I got a jar of peaches in brandy, we always have those at Christmas as a treat.We have a box upstairs in the middle room which we keep treats in and it is getting quite full now. Enough there till Easter I think.
had our coffees and Vin decided he wanted to go in the corner again! I said it feels like the naughty corner! i think it is because he doesn't want anyone to see us eating our own biscuits really!
Very sad news on the Delia website that I am a member of yesterday. One of the members of the site has passed away early yesterday morning suddenly in hospital. The thing about the site is that you do get to kniow people on it really quite well and they do become friends if you can call it that. She was a lovely witty kind woman who has gone too soon, only in her early fifties i think. She leaves a sister who will be devastated and a mother who is in a nursing home and has dementia, and who she looked after for years. everyone on the site is thoroughl7y shocked and saddened at the news. Always seems worse at this time of the year too. RIP Squeaky which was the name she used on site. Very sadkly missed.
Tonight we are having:
Pasta with a pea asparagus and green bean sauce
A bit of garlic bread and a bit of parmesan
A pack of mixed green vegetables to go with.

Oh Christmas Tree Oh Christmas Tree!

Today we have spent the best part of the day putting the Christmas decorations up in the house. Vin does all the heavy work getting the trees down and hanging stuff up. and I do the fiddly things like decorating the trees. We have three altogether. one in the extension, one in the middle room and one in the front room in the bay window which can be seen from outside, and looks really nice with the candle arch in the upstairs window.I think we have put them up earlier than last year so we will get longer out of them. We have collected decorations over the years, and have some really nice ones now. i love the trees when they are up.
Jane has just rung up on her way to work, she says it is raining and freezing cold there and she is shattered. She's been doing an assignment, has had a full day at college, then is doing a full shift at Ticketmaster. Good news though ...she has passed her Physics exam which she was really worried aboutso that is good. her next lot of exams are in January so she has a bit of leeway now, but she has two assignments to do over Christmas which is a shame. never mind, like she says it isn't long now.
Parcel arrived from Australia this morning, so we need to get theirs posted soon, probably tomorrow.I hope they like what we have got them I think they wuill enjoy the Downton Abbey DVD series two that we got. There is a two hour special on Christmas day of that..wonderful. And, a Poirot on Boxing day so that's good viewing. looking forward to those. Vin got the big Christmas TV mag this morning when he went for the paper..costs a fortune too.
Tonight we are having:
Lamb style grills done in the oven in a gravy,
Little boiled potatoes or maybe mashed ones
Carrot batons

What a day..

hailing as I type this. jane has just rung up on her way to work and said it was freezing there.She has had to walk further to another car park because the one she usually goes in was full and the next one was £4 instead of £2..so she walked to a cheaper one.Hope she doesn't get wet on her way home poor little kid.
We went into Crosby this morning and just about dodged the rain etc., went to the bank and paid some money in for her at least that will help a bit.
Sainsburys was quite busy actually, but the car park wasn't. Odd that, must be a lot of people from buses use it. there's always a lot outside waiting for taxis at that one.
got our stuff for the week, so sorted out for evenings. Home in time for his coffee and Vin to do a bit of draught proofing. his latest project which is to go round doors and windows to put strips on so they will be draught proof.
Short and sweet today..ran out of time because Jane rang up..but I don't mind that.
Tonight we are having:
Escalope with a mushroom sauce
baby baked potatoes
Carrots and beans

Weekend Wotsits..

All sorts of bits and pieces this weekend. Vin went off to maghull yesterday to get his bits and bobs that he wanted, said it was fairly busy, but the parking wasn't a problem. jane rang up in the afternoon sounding really fed up with her exams and money worries. She was on her way to work for a five O'Clock shift, horrible night and really cold..don't suppose that helps. She said the Chemistry and Biology was fine but she was very concerned about her Physics. they are having a lot of trouble with the Physics teacher who isn't teaching them properly, so the exam questions were very hard.Hope she passes that one. She is also poverty stricken not having any money and asked me for a loan.Vin and I discussed it and decided that wasn't the answer, what she needs is a drip of money going in to help with the rent etc. her outgoings are more than her incomings at the moment and that is what is causing the problem. We'll try and get her sorted a bit.
Enjoyed watching the Strictly last night and voted for jason since Anita has gone. Thought his singing in the rain the best dance of the evening. terrific.Last night we had:
Chinese Quorn dippers with a plum and ginger sauce,
stir fry vegetables
1/2 a packet of fried rice.

Today (Sunday) is a horrible day here. cold and rainy with the odd hail shower too. vin went to crosby to get some things and came back with a beautiful new bed for the cats. he said it was for Rusty but it is big enough for bobby who is a big cat. he put it on the sofa but it is a bit big there so he has put it on the bed upstairs and Bobby has gone straight in it. She looks really lovely and we must take a photo of her. He said he was dodging the hail in Crosby which he says is a horrible place..like an Eastern european town..bare and lifeless.he passed three cyclists on the way back from there and said they were getting soaked in the hailstorm. can't for the life of me imagine what fun there is in cycling in this weather. hailstones hurt too they sting like mad.
Did our crosswords quite easily today, Vin's had one or two he had to look up on the netbook. That has proved to be a really good little machine, and means we don't have to trawl upstairs to use the one in the bedroomisn't technology clever these days. Don't like all these phones that do everything though, i've seen people using them and looking mindless, touching the screens and working away like they were toys.
Tonight we are having:
Pizza with our tomato sauce,
portobello mushrooms, pineapple, pepper for Vin and courgette for me,
Egg and potato salad with avocado..I hope they are ripe!
Potato salad for moi and a rice salad for Vin.

out and About...

This morning we were up and at em quite early. I had an appointment at the Hearing Aid centre in Southport at 10-15 so we had to leave the house fairly early.Even so, we are always still in a rush on the last minute, there always appears to be last minute things to do. Left the house at 9-45 and were in Southport byabout 10-07 which was good going. Went along the Coast Road which is traffic light free and you get a clear run there.
Steve, the hearing aid man tweaked the sounds somewhat because I had noticed that the tone on the higher frequencies was very crackly and a bit tinny..the sound of clapping on Strictly for example sounded like someone rustling crisps in my ears. We shall have to wait till tomorrow night to see if that has improved.I hope so.Next appointment is in June which is six months off.
We had parked in the Sainsbury's car park which is just opposite the centre (shop) so we had to spend a fiver to get the parking free. We wanted a couple of things anyway that we couldn't get in ASDA so that is ok. Got some egg salads for the weekend and a stirfry and their magazine then came out.
Off to ASDA which is only five minutes up the road. Quite busy but parked near the ffront, when we got out of the car we could hear the dulcet sounds of....Christmas Carols..already and it's only the 2nd of december. The Southport Rotary Club had a float in the entrance with a Father Christmas waving to everyone. very jolly. Put some money in their box anyway, and then had "Little Donkey" ringing in my ears all round ASDA.Not my most favourite carol, but never mind it's for a good cause.
Vin went off down to the Range shop and I had a mooch round ASDA on my own, didn't spot any books that I fancied or any clothes..don't like their clothes anyway..very badly made
Thought my blood sugar was getting a bit low so went off to the Pharmacy to get some glucose tablets. Chewed two of those and was caught up by Vin who said "What are you eating?" told him and he said I can't leave you for two minutes!! What a fusspot..nice though.
Completed our shopping, then went to a quieter part of the carpark for our coffees. Spotted a car park attendant looking round a red car nearby , looked all round taking photos of it as well. Then wrote a ticket out and put it behind the wiper blade.So someone isn't going to be a happy bunny when they come back to their car. Silly really because you get two hours, and you get the money back in the store, they could have come back and got another ticket too. Vin said it is a £70 fine if you go over the time. makes a very expensive day that.
Last night in the end we had:
A crustless cheese and onion quiche from Morrisons in the freezer,
Two potato croquettes each
A small tin of spaghetti rings.

Tonight we are having:
Fishless fingers with tartare sauce
Chips 200grms between us
Green beans for moi and mushy peas for Vin.

Hare4s and Rabbits...

I wonder who else sys this on the first day of the month for good luck.We always do, there is a race in the morning to say it first in our house. Vin usually wins because I don't come round quickly enough to think what day it is never mind the date and month!
Stopped in today, I wanted to get a bit more of John and Anns letter done so we can send off their parcel, and Vin was mooching about outside. he got his long ladders out and was painting the bathroom window giving it the last coat. he said this morning while we were having our chat.."Guess where the paint came from?" then he said Woolworths! it's a tin of gloss paint he has had inside for a while. Poor Woolworths, it is still a shock that they went, and so many shops as well.Most of the Woolworths round here are now either Iceland freezer centres or Poundland type shops, which seem to have taken over the High Streets. Those and the charity shops, in Formby village centre there are about six assorted charity shops now, supporting all sorts of causes. We do tend to go to the animal rescue ones, but the Roy Castle one has some nice things. Haven't seen any Clarice Cliffe or moorcroft yet though!
Wonder how Jane got on with her exams this week, she hasn't rung up yet so maybe they went well. She'll get in touch before long.
Tonight we are having:
Something from the freezer, haven't a clue what.
Maybe an escalope, we haven't had one this week yet.
Or maybe a quiche and something tomatoey.