My bag is Packed..and ready to go!

Off tomorrow for the long awaited op in Aintree Hospital.  So this will be  the last blog for a bit until i get home again..hopefully sorted out.
i do have to say that Vin has been an absolute star throughout all of this, he has the patience of a saint and i am so grateful to him. Can't imagine what I would have done without him, and it certainly can't have been easy living with me for the last six months.
Had a nice phone call from someone I was in college with way back when, we are both retired now of course, it was lovely to catch up a bit.
Just watched Strictly results, and poor Lisa Riley was voted off tonight. What a shame, she has been an absolute joy to watch each week. Thankyou Lisa for the fun you have brought to the dancing world.
Tonight we are having:
haven't a clue really. Certainly not Pizza and salad! Vin reckons he is going to eat all unhealthy things next week!!!   Well he deserves that at least!

So..bye bye blog till I get back!XXX

Curtains!

Started the day with a phone call from daughter number one. She was on her way to buy some trousers from Manchester. She had been out last night for a meal with some of her friends from Uni which was really good she said. It seemed to be a buffet type place and she said there was some good choices for vegetarians which is always a problem. So often you get lots of meaty things and not a lot else.
The reason this is called curtains was because the door curtain on the front door had to be washed because one of the cats has taken to weeing in the corner of the hall over the curtain!! lovely!! one of the joys of having cats. So this had to be ironed which is a bit of a faff.
I told her about going in on Monday, but she said she already knew because she had been reading this!!! Little monkey..she never said a word.  She is working next week anyway for some of the days, so we shall have to play it by ear so to speak.
She sent a parcel this morning with some limited edition M&Ms in dark chocolate..yum yum..and a pack of marmiite cashew nuts..Aaah.
Seems odd Vin not going out shopping today, but he went out yesterday, so no need. Anyway it was wet and drizzly today and a very dark day. Everywhere you went today, you had to put lights on.
had a practice day with the bag things today. Not as bad as I thought..albeit embarrassing. You are supposed to try it for 24 hours so that will do. What a performance.
Jane rang again at lunchtime to say she had put an Amazon voucher on email for me to get some books to take with my Kindle. Aaah bless her. her heart is in the right place.
Tonight we are having:
Cheese and onion pasty from Waitrose.
Possible a baked tomato.

An Outing!!!

I actually went out today..other than to keep a hospital appointment! My hair has been growing longer and more straggle by the day, so it was a necessity really to go and get it done. Went off to the hairdressers I usually go to, explained that I was pressed for time and just wanted a cut quickly. Had a new girl today since the one I always had has left and gone somewhere else..story of my life that is..The very first one I had who was a mobile one left to go to University to do radiography, then I found a new hairdressers in Formby and a new girl. She left to look after her baby..then my last one just left..so I am on Emma mark two. Very nice she was too, and she has done a good cut as well. I wanted something that I could just run a comb through next week...and she has done just the job. Half the price I usually pay and half the time also. Great!!
Vin picked me up, and we nipped up the bypass to the Ince Blundell garden centre just quickly to get a holly wreath for the front door. Looks a treat now..I love holly wreaths.
That was enough for the day. came home for a quick cup of coffee and Vin went off to Tesco to get some stuff, we had run out of veg. He went armed with his list, and also got some things for me for next week..like a little tube of toothpaste etc., Goodness knows what you need to take in..it's a bit of a new experience really.
He was home for lunch then the doorbell rung. It was a neighbour of ours who is now a single mum and very capable, but she had a problem with her doorknob to her front door. The man had been to renew it, but had cut the spindle too short and it wouldn't work, and he couldn't be contacted. Typical!! So she asked if Vin could help. he is terrific at fixing things so went off to do it for her. He cut the spindle to the right size..job done. Well done Vin. he says he is going to take up a trade as a handyman!!
So, plenty on today..Christmas card now beginning to come through, I'm glad we did ours the other day.
Tonight we are having:
Something from the freezer, with a mushroom sauce
Mashed potato
Carrots and green beans.

Doorbell Day...

One of those days when the doorbell was busy. Started quite early with the courier from Hermes collecting a returns parcel. She told Vin she was so busy that they had to enrol her son in the business as well.I have returned a fleece robe that was lovely but too bulky for my purpose, so I've washed my trusty purple one instead. Postman rang later with a parcel that wouldn't go through the letterbox. We are getting a few cards trickling through now. Vin and I spent last night doing ours, so they were all posted off this morning.  I do have to say that the 50p postage for a second class stamp is one heck of a hike and makes them more of a luxury. I wonder how many just won't bother?
Finally, the coalman at lunchtime with our delivery of four bags..£75. Vin says the bunker is now full so we are stocked up for the weather to come. Although it is supposed to be wet next week..we shall see. He told Vin that they had never been so busy..people must be doing what we are and stocking up. Cold today so it isn't surprising.
Jane rang up on her way to the shops to buy some black trousers. She said she washed hers yesterday and they came out of the machine with a tear in the eg, and she needs a pair for tomorrow for her practical exam. They do that in their uniform.. top and black trousers and black shoes. Nice to see that she is taking it all seriously at ong last.  Good luck Jane.
Tonight we are having:
pasta of some sort with tomato sauce
A garlic bread for vin
butternut squash and sweet potato.

Brrr...

Very frosty when we woke up this morning, frost all over the shed roof which has stayed all day and doesn't look like it is going to move at all. We stripped the bedding off this morning, so got that going in the wash and the tumble drier has been going all day. Takes quite a bit of drying because it's pure cotton, but it gets there in the end. New gorgeous Latte set on the bed now, don't think we will want to move tomorrow.
Vin ordered some coal this mornng too which will come tomorrow another four bags of the homefire type. He went off to Formby later to get some logs in Homebase. So we are at least stocked up for anything that the weather throws at us. He nipped into Tesco as well to get a few veggies for the week to keep us going, he picked up some decaffeinated coffee on offer too...He's learning!! Well done Vin XX
Jane rang up a couple of times today too. She was doing exams in Uni this afternoon, so she was on her way there. She said her windscreen was frozen this morning, and the silly girl hasn't got any de-icer either , she says it's too dear in Tesco. She will get some in B&M Bargains tomorrow she says. She wanted to go into Primark to get a couple of jumpers but rung back later to say they were way to busy..it was Mental she said!! There's a lot to be said for shopping online. However, I had bought a new fleece robe for going into hospital with from Debenhams, but thinking about it for a couple of days I thought it was a bit bulky, so have sent it back today. Lot to be said for trying things on.
Tonight we are having:
Escalope with a mushroom sauce
Carrots and beans
Potato croquettes.

The Home stretch!!

Well, one weekend and one week to go. Can't believe it has taken so long to get sorted really. Today i had an appointment with a Stoma nurse clinician who explained everything that i should expect , gave me some reading material and "practice" bags. Vin went in with me for this appointment in case I missed anything,. This was a new thing for him, normally i don't let him within a mile of my appointments, but this one was a bit different, and to his credit he asked some very intelligent questions. i won't be making a habit of this though!!:)
Must say it will be nice to get it over and done with on the whole, it's dragged on since June when I first went to the GPs, pity it is all over the Christmas period though.
Little Rusty seems to be better now. She has had a cold, not something you expect cats to get, but she has been sneezing a lot (get out of range) and had a runny nose. She hasn't been off her food though so didn't need a vet, not that they could do much for a cold anyway.
Tonight we are having:
Remaining pizza
Egg and potato salad with avocado
Rice salad for Vin and potato salad for moi.

Funny Friday..

One of those days today, we stopped in..which is nothing unusual for moi but Vin usually goes out shopping. However he went out yesterday so didn't need to go again. He spent the morning poutting lights up outside the house, we have lovely white lights and they look lovely against the fence. I love Christmas lights but not too many. Some people use far too many then it all looks tacky.
So not a lot done today actually, jane has just rung up, she sent me an email with a picture of her wardrobe covered in post it notes with revision notes on them. She learns by writing things down, strangely enough I used to do that too, not having a particularly good memory for facts. She was on her way to work and said it was cold, she rang up last night at about half eleven to say how freezing it was, and she had to defrost her windscreen and blow up a tyre which had gone down. Poor kid..I do feel for her, she is certainly a grafter. Well done Janey XXX
Tonight we are having:
Fishless fish style bakes,
Chips
green beans for Moi and mushy peas for Vin.

Definitely Wintry Now!

Gone dark quite early today, when I came upstairs today to do this post it was already dark. Lights have to go on everywhere and heaters. No central heating, but our coal fire heats up some that we have and also the hot water also, so not bad value.
Vin went off to Tesco this morning to get some stock in. Armed with the £4 off £40 he ended up spending a lot more than that, so it's a good deal for Tesco. They end up winning. Poor man, he must be getting fed up with shopping, but I do have to say he is really good at it now, looking out for offers and reduced things that are good bargains.  There actually is a lot to be said for going with a list, at least that way you don't forget things, and now he has the way of looking at other stuff too he's really good.

He bought a few bread mixes because the one he made last week turned out extremely well, and lasted ages, so he made a brown loaf this afternoon. He does the dough in the breadmaker and then turns it into our own loaf tin so you get a proper loaf shape. The only problem with breadmakers is that the loaf shapes are dreadful, sort of oblong.
The house looks lovely at the moment with all the decorations up, brasses done and gleaming and waiting for the Christmas cards. I have two already so need to get on with mine.
Tonight we are having:
Pasta with tomatoey sauce,
garlic bread for Vin.
mushrooms

Oh Christmas Tree...

Today has been a day of putting up the decorations in the house. We have three trees. One in the extension, one in the middle room and the third in the front room in the bay window so it can be seen outside.  We have boxes and boxes of little decorations that need to be hung n them, but we put the same ones on each tree every year. very fiddly job and vin has all the bits and pieces stashed away in cupboards in our bedroom which takes a bit of time getting out. he gets there in the end though even if he does get tire, and dare I say it a bit grumpy. he's best left then. trouble is there is stuff everywhere in this house, all over the place, neat and tidy we aint!!
Nice being in today actually with it being cold outside, and now the decorations are up it does at least feel christmassy here.
Tonight we are having:
All stuff from the freezer
Probably an escalope of some sort
potato croquettes
Carrots.

Phew!!!

Did a bit of clearing up this morning and did the kitchen floor which looks nice now.I got my parcel from Debenhams which was a quick delivery I do have to say. Super firm. i had ordered a new dressing gown, in a lovely dark pink shade made in the Jasper Conran range.  Bought it on a sale day they had last week when everything was 23% off so a good buy.
trip out to Aintree hospital this afternoon. i had really been dreading it because it was for a Thoracic test,
which involved using an exercise bike, but it wasn't as bad as I expected. Got there on time for three o'clock, and went in in a few minutes. That makes a change. Had a breathing test first after they had put my electrodes all over my chest and front and attached me to the wires. Had to breathe in normally at first then take a deep breath and let it out as hard as I could. This was dobne about six times. then it was move over to the exercise bike with a big blue mask on my nose and mouth. I had to keep an eye on the numbers and work towards keeping it at sixty. i t got progressively harder till you couldn't do any more. I think it was about ten minutes but it felt like ages.
A bit of a bonus was that the man who was doing the test said when we got to the car park barrier to press the information button give in my name then the barrier would go up. So that saved £3.50.
Tonight we are having:
Pizza from Sunday with cheese and mushroom
egg and potato salad with avocado
potato salad for moi and rice salad for Vin.

Seing Things??

Vin came back from getting the papers this morning and looked out of the bedroom window. he said he saw two Father christmases walking past with numbers on their fronts! turned out it was a Santa dash to raise money for cancer charities. it was on the local news tonight there were hundreds of them a sea f people in red Santa suits running for their charities. Good for them..Well done everyone who took part.
We just did normal things today. Out on tuesday for ecercise tests..not looking forward to that, but must be done.  Then following monday to the Stoma clinic..not looking forward to that either..then the Monday after that admission to the wards. It has all taken so long nowyet everything seems to be rushing towards the end. 
We did our crosswords quite quickly this afternoon and only one or two that were awkward.  I love a general knowledge one to test the brain, and Vin does incredibly well with his one which is often pretty hard. So you get a sense of achievement when they are done.
Tonight we are having:
pizza with extra mushrooms and cheese
Egg and potato salad with avocado
potato salad for moi and rice salad for Vin

Mr Fix-It...

Last thing at night is not when you want to toilet handle to break is it? half twelve when we were going to bed and it goes. So vin got his fix-it mode into gear and did a temporary repair . What a wonder..he said it is the benefit of a good secondary modern education, that he is able to fix things. I think he is just clever.
This morning he went off to Tesco to get the shopping and Homebase then Almonds to get some repair bits. he came back with a kit that looked right but apparently it isn't, so he has gone off to waterloo (very appropriate) to get another type. That is lunchtime and he is still out getting something to use.  meanwhile we are on bucket and chucket !!!like in the dark ages. Funny how you take something for granted till something goes wrong. I can see why people have en suites and two bathrooms now.
Otherwise a normal day for me. The little cts seem quite tired today, and are both keeping warm inside. It is quite cold today again, Jane rang up on her way to Uni, to say she was freezing, and the car park that she usually uses has put their prices up from £2 to £4.50 which is a bit of a hike and she was annoyed about that. So she has used one another ten minutes away and now has a half hour walk across town to get to Uni. poor kid..i do have to say she is working her butt off this year. She has just rung up again on her way to work having been to uni, to say it is freezing, it's a long day today for her she is on till eleven tonight, but off tomorrow till the evening.  keep going Jane I'm proud of you.
Vin has just put a loaf in the bread machine because he fancied making one, so he bought a bread mix from Tesco, nice granary loaf. he does it on the dough cycle then will bake it off in the oven when it has proved.
Tonight we are having:
Cheese and onion pasty from Waitrose with a baked tomato
Rice pudding from sainsburys. New ones to us haven't had them before.

Brrr...

dfinite chill in the air today, frost on top of our garden shed and frost n the ground. Makes a change from all the rain though. The flooding seems to have abated somewhat, though I suspect that is no comfort to the people who have had homes ruined and belongings destroyed.
Vin sent off the parcel to John and Ann this morning, a great big Jiffy bag, with all sorts of bits and pieces in it.  i bought them the Downton Abbey DVD which came with a free very nice diary, a Thomas Kinkade calendar, a dangly reindeer toy,and a turquoise pendant for Ann. All that cost £17 to post, but it was quite heavy so not surprised. The only shame is that you have to put on the customs form what is in the parcel so they will know and won't be surprised.
We did a bit of clearing up in the kitchen, did all the ornaments and bits and pieces on the shelf behind the sink, and vin very kindly did the windows and tiling surround.  That was the morning by the time we had done all that.
yet another appointment arrived this morning for a Stoma clinic on the 10th december a week before my admission date. Will have to see what that is about when I get there.  That is three appointments in two days! things are moving fast now. i think Christmas will be a bit odd this year!!!
Tired today, but was up very early this morning so that is probably why, couldn't get back to sleep when I got to bed because Bobby was all over me. She does pick her moments that cat! She is currently fast asleep on the bed behind me all curled up in her basket. All right for some!
Tonight we are having:
Something from the freezer
Baby potatoes boiled and squashed and maybe baked
Veggies left over..carrots broccoli and sweetcorn

Buses!!

It seems like they are like buses. You wait for ever for one to come along then three come along at once!! One on Monday with the consultant anaesthetist then , I got two letters this morning. One for an appointment at the thoracic exercise testt on tuesday at 3.00 then an admission letter for the 17th december Ward 4 at 11.oo. That will be six months since I first went to my GP. Taken long enough..just hope we get there in the end.
Busy this morning after a somewhat disturbed night. bobby decided she was going to upchuck on the end of the bed at some ungodly hour so that had to be stripped off. Wouldn't you know it but we had changed all the bedding yesterday too. Typical! Anyway there was a huge pile of bedding already to be ironed this morning so did that. vin rang the hearing aid centre and cancelled my appointment which was next week, and got the coal bunker sorted out for the coal delivery. 4 Bags at £17 odd a bag just around £74. That's the second delivery this season but Vin makes it last and we have extra fire bricks so you actually need less on the fire. With the logs it makes a nice cosy fire.That was the morning after all that. At least the heating allowance pays for just about three deliveries!
Tonight we are having:
pasta aof some sort..maybe a simple macaroni cheese type
A bit of garlic bread for Vin

Light at the end of the Tunnel!

At long last! We went yesterday to Aintree to see the Consultant Anaesthetist and have a pre op assessment session. My appointment was for 1.30 and we left at around fourish. Vin had to leave me at the front entrance whie he went to park the car, and I tried to find my way to the correct place. That hospital is a maze of corridors, and I stupid woman that I am missed my turn and in the event vin got there before me!! typical..he enjoyed that!
Saw the consultant who explained things and asked a lot of questions, took my blood pressure and told me what she would be doing. Quite involved with an epidural etc., i just want it all done now. Then I had to see a pre op nurse..a nice young man called Michael who asked me even more questions filled in a four page sheet with answers, and took my blood pressure again! He wrote down my medications as well as the consultant too. Vin and I were laughing about that..every single time you see a nurse or a cionsultant they write down the list of your medications..why on earth don't they put them up on the screen and just ask if you have any changes..He explained even more things and gave me two booklets to go through and digest.
he passed me on to another nursey who did my weight..(gone down) blood pressure (again) and then an ECG.. Then I was done we could go home. All I have to do now is wait for a date.
Finished the letter to John and Ann off today so will try and get that posted off tomorrow. We have to stop in tomorrow anyway because we are getting a delivery of coal and there is a big pile of bedding to be ironed. Oooh how exciting!
Vin took my money off to Tesco this morning mainly because we had a £4 off £40 voucher which is a good reason to use them. He got loads of things we needed and some for stocking up as well, came back with two great big bags. very well done Vin XXX10/10. He went for a haircut this morning too so killed two birds with one stone so to speak.
Tonight we are having:
gruyere cheese escalope
Baby potatoes baked in the oven
Mixed vegetables
White sauce and mushrooms.

Wet Wet wet!!

Terrible pictures of the flooding down South mostly. seems to be Cornwall, Exeter and devon. rivers bbursting their banks and flooding houses and properties. looks awful, must be horrendous for the poor people in the houses.  The pictures on the news are just terrible. And, it isn't anything to do with Gordon brown either!!
Spent a nice afternoon doing the crosswords  I like doing the general knowledge ones, can't be bothered woth crypric ones they take too much time, but we both like doing nes that you have to look up the answers to. Vin went off to crosby this morning, took a pair of roller boots belonging to jane from when she was much younger to a charity shop. The girl in Barnados said they would sell, they were quite popular. Jane never really got the hang of them actually, I don't think she had the balance for them. He took some books as well so it all helps, and makes a bit of money for them that's ok.
Guess where I was..in the house again. out tomorrow though, off to Aintree to see the anaesthetist, hoping that we move a little bit closer to getting sorted out.
Tonight we are having:
Pizza with mushroom and a bit of extra cheese
Egg and potato salad with avocado
potato salad for Moi and rice salad for Vin.

Light at the end of the tunnel!!

I hope so...got a phone call this morning from the consultants secretary to say that she had arranged an appointment with the anaesthetist for monday afternoon at 1.30 for a pre operation session.  Well that has been a long time coming I do have to say, since isaw the consultant on the 28th September!!Maybe things will get going a bit now. bearing in mind that I went to the GPs on the 8th of June..I never imagined that it would all take so long to be sorted.The NHS in Aintree certainly drives exceedingly slowly!!
Jane rang up at lunchtime to say that she was on her way home, and they had finished. She had been on a tour of the hospital this morning and gone to all the different sections. She seems to be enjoying this cours thank goodness.Her skelington arrived yesterday from Sainsbury's online. It is a flatpack and you have to put it together yourself with little butterfly clips. It was ten pounds and she said it was keeping her quiet anyway..
Vin stayed in today and did bits and bobs. He did my hair colour this morning, he is really good at doing the root touch up,,it is actually ages since it had been done and the roots were looking quite grey so it was well in need of doing. I am now my normal shade of dark brown. Nosy Vin has just been in here fixing a light bulb and reading this over my shoulder..I told him off and said it was private but he said it was on the Internet and anyone could read it! True I suppose..it's not really private but my sort of diary. i started it in 20007 the day that Gordon Brown became Prime Minister, and at least it's lasted longer that he did. Poor Gordon i still think he got a rough deal...
Tonight we are havinbg:
Fishless fingers
Mushy peas for Vin and green beans for moi
Chiops (Hooray) 200 grms.

Cat Baskets.... Well you have to keep them happy!!

Vin got them one new cat basket from Argos the other day, that was £9.99 for a small one which he has put on the downstairs sofa for Rusty. She is only a little cat so it is just right for her. A bit too small for Bobby though, she is much bigger altogether. He went out this morning to  Dobbies to get his free coffee and while he was there he had a look in the new B&M bargain shop in Kew. He got a lovely bigger one from there for £5.99 which is  a real bargain.  That will do them for upstairs on the stool in Jane's room. Looks really good too, animal print with a very snazzy cording round thee top edge.  So, the little cats have been refurbished.
He went to a variety of places in kew and got his coffee at Dobbies when he rang me up. He said it was a filthy wet day there, but it wasn't raining here then. it is now though..pitch black and very wet..horrible evening. A really nasty British Winter evening. Glad I'm not on my way home from school!! The weather forecasts this evening aren't good either, roads blocked because of wet weather and flooding etc., quite a lot in devon, Somerset and Scotland.
Tonight we are having:
freezer fodder, possible a cheesey kiev.,
Mushrooms
Potatoes sauteed and sliced
Any veggies left over..

Marmalade Fest...

Today we had a big marmalade making session. Made ten jars of the golden stuff this morning with Remy Martin Cognac in it. Vin eats marmalade and he likes the ones with whisky or brandy in it , and he had run out so we decided to get some done this morning. We had two bags of free granulated sugar from a Daily Express offer so it was a cheap make actually. We use a tin of Mamade orange base , then add water and 4lbs of sugar. Stir over the gas till the sugar has dissolved then bring to a rolling boil till setting point. This is the tricky part because it tends to boil ove the sides of the pan if you aren't careful. So, it's a matter of standing over it and stirring until the right stage is obtained.  After about half an hour you try a little bit on a saucer and test fior setting. Then you add the spirit, this time it happened to be the Remy Martin, I add around 4fl oz of that and pot into clean sterilized hot jars and leave to set. Job done..beautiful marmalade which will keep him going for ages.
Apart from that didn't do anything, that is a morning's work by the time you have finished anyway. No post except for our Nectar points balances. Mine has £39 ish on it Vin's has £75ish on hos. Mind, that is because he uses his card when he does all the Sainsbury's shopping..but guess who pays for all the shopping..Correct..Moi!! so he is a cheeky beggar really!!
Little Rusty is now fast asleep in her new cat basket on the sofa..she went straight into it without any trouble. Must get Vin to take a picture of her in it, she looks so lovely.
Tonight we are having:
Sausage and mashed potatoes
gravy with mushrooms,
Carrots and broccoli.

Vin has an Outing!!

We were awoken early by both of the cats jumping on the bed this morning. Rusty got on to my hip, and Bobby was head butting the back of my head, so Vin decided to get up and get the coffee earlier than usual. This was good actually because he wanted to go out to Ormskirk early anyway. We had our usual conversation over our coffee and he was talking about all sorts including giving me a lecture on electricity.
So he went off to Ormskirk this morning. The idea really was to get the cat's tablets  then to go off to the town centre to get our weekly veggies. He parked in Morrisons then went off to the Holland and Barratt to see if they had our fishless fingers. They did so he got what they had which was three packs and also a pack of gourmet fishless cakes which are new.  He was also looking for a new cat bed for Rusty for downstairs and got one of those in Argos. A couple of the cat beds are really beyond redemption they get so hairy and are hard to keep clean.  He at least had a coffee in Morrisons I told him to get one in Costa but he wouldn't..aaah!  he had three big bags of stuff when he got home..well done VinXXX
I stopped in of course, and that was a good job because one of my parcels arrived, no post today just the parcel. We don't seem to get as much post as we used to apart from catalogues and bank statements we don't get really interesting mail any more. I did a bit of John and Ann's letter and am aiming to get that finished soon. We need to send their parcel off so they get it in plenty of time for Christmas.
Tonight we are having:
Escalope with cheese and broccoli
Little baked squashed potatoes
Carrots and beans,
Mushroom sauce.

In Which Vin Is STill Clearing Out !

And good for him too. He is planning to go to Ormskirk tomorrow to get the tablets from the vets for little Rusty actually, so it is just a few minutes further to the town centre. Today he has been clearing out some of the books that we have in order to take them to the charity shops, of which there are many there! I haven't been to Ormskirk in months and wonder what has changed. He'll go to the Holland and Barratt too to see if they have any of the fishless fingers that we get from there..hope they do we like those.
Loads of redundant books in our house..old paperbacks and hardback books like text books and gardening books that we no longer need. You can't keep them for ever so it's a good time to clear out a bit of space.
I've been trying to finish the Australia letter today, getting a few bits and bobs down on paper, but really struggling with this one.  Maybe something momentous will happen in the next few days..or maybe not!!
Jane has started her placement in the hospital today, and she is there for a week. She rang this morning on her way there, and said she had been ironing all her uniforms and making her sandwiches. Hope she gets on well, and gets through the course this time. Good Luck jane XXX
Tonight we are having:
leftover pizza with mushrooms anda bit of extra cheese
Potato and egg salad with avocado
Potato salad for moi and rice salad for Vin.

Another Weekend Gone By!!

Routine..Routine.. get up, have breakfast..bit of mooching about or a chore to do, lunch, do the crosswords watch something on the box, up to do my post, have tea, watch telly, do some puzzles, get ready for bed, read for a while then sleep! really exciting...totally not!! The boring mundanity of nmy life as it is at present :(
Vin did go off to Crosby this morning, at least he can get out for a bit, so he got some stuff at Sainsburys and a card for John and Ann to go in their Christmas parcel. We shall have to think about getting that off soon, but I nered to finish their letter first. trouble is I'm stuck for anything to write about this year, haven't been anywhere except for hospital appointments and haven't been on holiday again either.
He bumped into a lady who used to live in the end house of our terraced block while he was in Crosby. She told him that her cat had died last week, very suddenly but she was 17 years old. She was called Flossie..and was a real little character. She was always at the front of the house, and would come and greet you but you had to be a bit wary because sometimes just occasionally, she would hiss at you. Very pretty little tortoiseshell cat, and was a real sweetie. The lady sold her house and bought a new bungalow further along the road and for a little while Flossie would come back to her old haunts, but then she settled in, and we didn't see much of her unless we went along the road. R.I.P.Little Flossie XXX
Tonight we are having:
Pizzas of a different sort. Vin is having one with peppers etc., and mine is a gluten free one.
Egg and potato salad with avocado
Potato salad for moi and rice salad for Vin.

Cubby Hole!!

Everybody has one don't they..a cubby hole under the stairs where everything is put? Ours is a real cubby hole and all sorts are in there... Vin has spent two days clearing it out, mainly to make room for the newish vacuum cleaner which is a bit bulky. So, he did a bit of shopping yesterday and today he has beavered away in the hole... looks a lot better for it too.  The trouble with living in a little terraced house that doesn't have a garage is that you are actually short of storage space, especially for things that you would normally keep in a garage, like tools etc., So, they get put in unusual places. We have a nice pine chest in the front room for example that holds all of his do-it-yourself tools like his power drill etc., and the work bench is in the cubby hole!! You have to be a bit crafty.
Jane has just rung up quite pleased because she got a bonus in her pay packet of £42 for selling X number of tickets, plus she had got four days extra holiday too so she is a happy bunny today. She wanted to know how much she had on her ASDA card so she could go and get some shopping on her way home at eleven o'clock tonight from work. I do have to admire her, she has been in to Uni today till three, then she does a shift at Ticketmaster till eleven tonight. Poor kid, she is working hard for her new career move. So, I have put another £50 on her ASDA caard to allow her to get some more stuff in that she needs. She is welcome, she is certainly working for it this year.
It was really going dark early tonight and was quite murky at fourish, maybe it was raining which makes a difference.
Tonight we are having:
Cheese and onion pasties from Waitrose..Vin's favourite!
A baked tomato
Rice pudding from Waitrose too..Yummy!

Voting Day!!

Vin went off to vote for the new Police person in charge. i didn't bother today..just couldn't be bothered. We had nothing through the letter box save for one leaflet from the Independant person a Kiron somebody, so he voted for them since they were the only ones bothered. he said there was quite a long list, and two columns so yu voted for your first choice and your second choice.  haven't a clue what it is all about really there should have been more information given out. Blame the government..part of the cutbacks apparently.
He went off to Waitrose this morning to get the pasties for tomorrow night, and some other stuff for the weekend, he said he wanted a change from the usual going out on a friday and who can blame him. I certainly don't.He also came back with a bag of free wood from a timber place on the industrial estate, they aare off cuts and he usus them to light the fire, yu just help yourself to what is there so that's more than a bargain. Saves on the gas poker, and works better than firelighters.
Must admit to being a bit tired today..had a bad night must have been something that didn't agree with me and when I eventually got back into bed couldn't drop off again, so ended up having a bit of a doze after our lunch. Ah well won't do any harm.   There was an item on the news today about hospital waiting list having fallen dramatically, not in my case they haven't. Five months is quite long enough thankyou.
Tonight we are having:
Something that appeals from the freezer
Sliced and sauteed potatoes 8oz.,
Carrots and the remaining veggies that are left over.

Well Done Jane!!

She has just rung up to say that she had been nto Uni and had a look at the exam marking for the Anatomy mock that she took on Monday. it was a computer paper and marked online also but some of the markings were wrong. She thought she had got 54% but when she looked some questions that were in six parts and should have got a mark for each she got five right so should have got five marks. But, the computer marked them as 0 marks. Another one had the answer "justified" which she put, but the answer had missed out the "t" and everyone was marked wrong. Bit weird all that. So she has actually got 76% which means a first, and she had got 77% for the physics too so she was happy bunny. Glad someone is happy!!
Vin has been doing a lot of clearing up today, mostly the cupboard under the stairs which is a real junk hole (everyone has one!" and all sorts gets put in there.Loads of plastic bags and other assorted bits and pieces.
Going dark really early now..it is only 4.30 and it is well dark here, most of the leaves have gone off the trees and there is a touch of Winter about although the weather actually is fairly mild given that it is the middle of November.
Me...I just did the ironing..a big pile of the bedding that we use. must admit I actually do quite enjoy doing that, getting all the creases out, and smoothing it all overand it is gorgeous bedding to use.  The cats? well one of them takes to the bed morning and afternoon, that's Bobby who wakes up usually when I go to the bathroom about fivish in the morning! and little Rusty she just follows Vin about. He went round to get the bin in this morning, and she trots down the garden and along the entry after him like a little dog. Ah...bless.

My poor little orchid plant has finally given up its last flower this morning. Vin bought it for my birthday on July 18th and it has lasted all this time. Wow!
It was such a beautiful thing. very good value. He will try and keep it foing now, and it will probably flower again sometime.
Tonight we are ahving:
Pasta cheese with mushrooms
Mixed green vegetables
A bit of garlic bread for Vin.

Somewhere In Cyberspace???

I sit down at about fourish every day to do my blog entry, and yesterday was no exception. However, the puter was playing up a bit, or it could have been the site..probably was..and my entry for the day which was quite a long one totally disappeared.  The computer just said "goodbye" in that infuriating female voice and it all just went.. God knows where..I don't and I couldn't retreive it either. I do wonder where they all go!
Ah well, another week is passing by and there is still no more news about an appointment. I can't believe that it was the beginning of June when I went with my problem to the GP and she referred me to the gynae clinic..here I am having had tests etc., and an eventual referral to the right clinic colo/gastric one and still waiting.  Over five months later and no further on really. The wheels of the NHS are grinding exceedlingly slow in my case.  Christmas adverts all over the show and not really feeling like Christmas at all. probably will when the decorations go up.
Vin took my money off to Crosby Sainsburys today, it is the nearest store I suppose, and only takes about ten minutes to get there. He is getting really good at shopping now and spotting the offers too. He also went to B&M bargains where we get cat food..household paper like kitchen rools and loo paper etc., excellent quality and much cheaper than the supermarkets. The cats love their cat food..and will turn their noses up at the big brands sometimes. Fussy little beggars! They are funny at the moment. Vin had got some new cat litter, which is in granules in a blue bag, and they are both just sitting on it ..we think it makes a noise they like, but it's really odd to see bobby just perched on it with a rapt look on her face. Hilarious!We used to have a tiny little cat called Jemima a tiny bundle of ginger fur, who used to roll over in the new cat litter, she used to go on her back and turn over in it and that was the old fullers earth stuff so you would get clouds of dust everywhere and she would be covered in it. Poor little Jemmy, she had epilepsy quite bad, and it used to be bad when there was a full moon..very strange that. She went missing one day and we searched and searched but never found her. We think she probably had a fit somewhere and didn't recover. Little sweetie she was..a rescue cat too.

Tonight we are having:
Escalope with mozzarella and pesto
Baby potatoes squashed
Mixed veggies with a hollandaise sauce
Mushrooms.

Another Weekend Looms!!

Another Friday again..it's amazing how quickly the weeks slip by. The television programmes are full of Christmas adverts now, a lot of supermarket and department store ones, and of course furniture ones too. Can't say that I feel very Christmassy this year not yet anyway.
Dorbell went this mrning but this time it wasn't a delivery for moi but one for next door, Vin and the lady who delivers in the courier van are alsmost on first name terms now!! Jane has just been on the phone on her way to work after having done a day at Uni., poor kid she is having a long day, she doesn't finish till eleven tonight, but she drove into town so her car is in the car park for getting home. She was saying that she needs to get some glasses so she will get into town early tomorrow and go to specsavers. Maybe she will get some money off for being a student.
Vin took my money off to tesco today. He had a coupon for £6 off a Forty pound spend so that was the incentive.Plus he had a load of vouchers in the post the other day for money off things that we usually buy too so a good deal today really. he actually saved loads of money with them so worth going there. He came back with amongst other things a tub af Tesco Finest butternut, honey and sage soup which we shared for our lunch, and it was delicious too. Well worth buying, vegetarian, and no chillies or peppers which I can't have at present. Really tasty. What a good shopper he is..well done Vin.
Tonight we are having:
Chips!! 200 grms between us
Mushrooms sauteed lightly in fry light
Something tomatoey
Something from the freezer to go with them.

Smells like a burger bar in Here!!

Well it does. Vin decided that he would have a burger for his lunch for a change since he had a nice bun from the shop at the end of the road. So I said there was one in the freezer and he found a box of two that were freezer burnt and missed the one I meant. Anyway he found that and gently fried it for his lunch. Now the house smells like a burger bar. Quite a strong smell but he's lit some nice Yankee candle things so it will go soon.. I hope!   I had a cheese sandwich and a pack of crisps for mine..The poor relation!!
Very dull and dark today, it seems to be one of those days when you have to put lights on everywhere you go, and it's going quite dark already at four thirty. Not rained today but looked like it was going to.
Very little to say today really. Nothing much happening in the house, and not much happening in the news either. Bradley Wiggins was knocked off his bike that's all really :), not that that is funny but it makes the headlines!
Vin went off to Formby to get some logs from Homebase and get some petrol. So I sit at home and spend my money even if I don't move... Jane hasn't rung up today, but she did ring up yesterday wanting me to lend her the rent money for this month because her student loan hasn't come through yet, and she can't get her bursary sorted till that is done.  Bank of Mum and Dad eh!!!
Tonight we are having:
Baby potatoes.
mixed vegetables
Something to go with them from the freezer.

Another day at the Fun factory...Not really!

Stopped in today..made a change for me...not!!  Vin was outside doing a load of gardening this morning. he planted some nice ittle daffodils (the mini kind) in the barrel in the front garden and I did the brasses at the front of the house. I always forget to do these,and with not going out of the front door don't see them to remind me. Shame really because they look nice when done.  The barrel is good and clear now with the little daffodils waiting for spring, and he had enough left over to plant a hanging basket for the back of the house too.  Most of the leaves have gone from the trees at the front of the house now..one last big blow will get rid of them.
Well the USA elections are over for another four years..barak Obama has got in again it was supposed to be a close run thing but in the event it wasn't, but by no means a landslide. Perhaps we will get a bit of peace from that now. I expect the Obamas are pleased they don't have to up sticks and move out of the White House.
Still waiting patiently to hear from Aintree... seems to be taking an awful long time:( Ah well...
Tonight we are having:
Pasta with a pour over sauce of tomato and mascarpone,
A bit of garlic bread for Vin
Some green veggies to go with.

Dispatch Department!!

One of those funny days today when all of the Mail Order things came at once. Started earlyish with my Aranesp delivery..(medical not mail order) followed in a few minutes by the courier with my QVC night cream which I ordered last week. Very quick delivery for that.
Vin was about to go to Sainsburys and the doorbell went again, it was the post van with his replacement salt ball which he had returned to the makers, and my Amazon order. This was the Downton Abbey DVD for John and Ann as a Christmas present. Mail order at the moment seems to be extremely good (touch wood) and together with the order that came yesterday from M&S everything has arrived. At least we can start packing up the Australia parcel now and get that done in good time for posting. All I need to do is finish off their letter.
Vin took my money off to Sainsbury's this morning and came back in record time, with everything on the list too. Considering he has been doing all the shopping for the last five months we are very well stocked up, and he is getting good at spotting the offers now.
The news today is wall to wall American elections which seems to be extremely close between Obama and Mitt Romney. Goodness knows who is going to win the election this time round. Shouldn't think that the poor people in New York who are still without electricity are too bothered about it all though.
Tonight we are having:
Escalope..cheese and broccoli
Mushrooms sliced and sauteed
Potato croquettes
Carrots and beans
White sauce.

Bonfire night...

Monday and it is bonfire Night proper. There was a firework display last Saturday night in the Hotel park area. very loud and at one stage you could really feel the noise through the floorboards.  The little cats didn't seem too bothered actually, Bobby slept throughout it all, and Rusty wasn't worried this year. We locked the cat flap though just in case. Don't know whether there will be any tonight, I suspect that most people aren't bothering because of the cost of them. Gone are the days when you would get a good box for a fiver!
Big parcel arrived this morning from M&S..I do have to say that they are an excellent firm to deal with, I only ordered my things late last week and they are here today. Very good. I treated myself to a new handbag, a proper ladies one with two handles to carry, in a lovely shade of pink..a dark shade so not garish. It will make a nice change from the one that I have been using for a long while now. Also got some dangly soft toys  a reindeer and a snowman. One of the reindeers I will send to John and Ann as a bit of fun for Christmas.
No bonfire night food tonight..we used to have baked potatoes etc but we are just having normal stuff tonight.
Tonight we are ahving:
Remaining Pizza with mushroom and extra cheese
Egg and potato salad with avocado
Potato salad for moi and rice salad for Vin.

Another Friday...

Another weekend looming up and this patien is still being patient. Seems an awful long time since my last appointment..Perhaps the NHS should be called No Hope Service!
Nasty day here it is turning out to be. Getting quite blowy and very wet. We had a bad hailstorm a few minutes ago, now it's pouring down. Not a nice day to be out really.
Jane rang up after lunch again she was on her way to work. She rang up this morning too on her way to the bus to Uni. The car park that she usually uses had closed down for some reason and she had to use one further away so she was walking quite a way to the bus. She was there till three then at work till eleven poor kid, I am proud of her. She isn't having it easy this time round at all, but we are halfway through the first term already, and it wil probably go quickly.
Vin took my money off to Tesco this morning, mainly because we had a £5 voucher off the next shop of £40. He came back having spent nearly seventy, but that included cat food and cat chicken, and a printer cartridge.He got a few types of coffee also including a nice caffeine free Millicano which is really good, so a lot of fairly expensive items anyway. O don't mind, I don't have anything to spend my money on anyhow!!!
Tonight we are having:
Cheese and onion pasties from Waitrose
A baked tomato to go with them
A few green beans to use them up ( a very few where Vin is concerned)
Rice pudding from Waitrose.

Cats!!

What is it about our two that makes them want to wander around in the middle of the night? i can understand when it is getting light but in the dark?  Trouble is they sleep all day except for coming down for their chicken, then they are awake at night. They also have a tendency to come on me as well rather than Vin. He turns a bit more than I do so probably why. Makes you tired during the day though. Never mind, they are lovely!
Said on the news today that Comet are going into receivership next week with the likely loss of 4000 jobs. There are quite a lot of Comet stores round here so that will be quite a loss. I think if I had vouchers for them I would want to be spending them pretty quickly.  Must say that the last time we were in Comet we were buying an electric kettle and we wandered round for an absolute age with no-one approaching us, they don't help themselves. They say it has been caused by the Internet..not surprised really.  I bought some new phones for the house from QVC the other day rather than Comet or anywhere else. It was easy shopping and they came in about three days, and I could see them demonstrated online too.
Vin went off to Formby to get a particular nut for his car today, he was putting some on yesterday and dropped one in his engine somewhere so he went off for a replacement..  gets him out anyway!!! Poor man..I'm not much fun to live with at the moment.
Quite cold and wet today with some nasty little rainstorms with a touch of hailstones as well. Halloween was very quiet last night, didn't have any callers here at all. Last year we had one, not very popular round here but there aren't many children in our roads.
Tonight we are having:
Sausages and mashed potatoes.
mushroom gravy
Mixed green vegetables.

Christmas is Looming...

Only eight weekends away now..it will be November tomorrow and all the adverts will be starting soon. Already seen lots of them so far, they seem to get earlier each year.
People going to New York for Christmas must be wondering what they are going to. The pictures on the news look awful, subways flooded and cars and houses ruined, terrible devastation. Must have been one helluva storm.
Vin went off to get a spark plug spanner this morning! Gosh he does lead an exciting life! he needs to replace the spark plugs in his car, but since the last ones have been in for over eight years, not before time really. I wouldn't know how to do any of that nowadays, but I did on the old Morris Minors. They were such simple cars..loved them. if we won the Lottery I would get one of those to play with. Not that I can drive now though. Be nice just to sit in.
Tonight we are having:
Pasta with a cheese sauce
Green vegetables to go with
A bit of garlic bread for Vin.

Oh What a Perfect day! ....Not!!

Cold and rainy..and very grey outside. At least I'm not on the way to work..thank goodness. Jane has just rung up on her way back from Big School or Uni..she is off till Friday now and is going to catch up on her work.
Vin has just spent an exciting ten minutes mopping up cat sick from outside her room..one of the lovely things about having animals!
Spent the morning doing ironing mostly the bedding which is cotton and quite hard to iron but does iron beautifully and is a treat when it's on the bed. Really going dark early now it's only a quarter to five and darkish already.  Big bad storms in the States aroung the East coast..Atlantic City and New York particularly badly hit. They are calling it Frankenstorm..very original given the time of the year./
Tonight we are having:
Escalope of some sort
Baked mushrooms
Mashed potatoes
Mixed vegetables with hollandaise sauce.

Cats!!!

I adore our cats. I do...but...there are times when I wish they would sleep a bit more at night and less during the day! Last night, or rather this morning they were all over us, sitting n my hip...purring in my ear and picking my front which is not great fun when you have a thin nightdress. Bobby has really sharp claws too.
Little Rusty is not quite so notieable because she tends to just sit and wobble on my hip, needless to say they are both at the moment fast asleep..storing up the energy for another night of jumping around.

Vin went off to crosby this morning with my money and visited Sainsburys. it seems that the kids are back at school round here so it was quieter. he didn't have a lot to get so he was back quite quickly. Washing day today, we did the bedding and other bits but couldn't make the bed up because guess who was fast asleep on the pillow...Bobby!! The nights are really drawing in now it is already dark now and it's only a quarter to five.
Tonight we are having:
leftover pizza
Egg and potato salad with avocado
potato salad for moi and rice salad for Vin.

Fall back...

This means the clocks went back an hour last night. Nice to have an extra hour in bed this morning though. Going dark about five thirty now and pitch black by six so the long dark evenngs looming ahead.
Bit of an atmosphere in the house for the last two days although it seems to be waning now. All about nothing really, but both of us really grumpy , which funnily enough was one of the clues in my crossword today.
Rained all day today. Vin went off to Formby top get some stuff from Waitrose and then on to Crosby to get things from B&M bargains. Their cat food is good value and the cats seem to like it.
At least it is Downton tonight which is a real treat.
Tonight we are having:
Pizza with mushrooms and extra cheese
Egg and potato salad with avocado
Potato salad for moi and a rice salad for Vin.

Another weekend Looming..

Yet another Friday dawns. Bright and sunny but Vin says it is cold out, and beginning to get a bit blowy now too.
The coal delivery did come this morning as promised, just before he went out. It was brought by a very big tall brawny coalman, who had left his van parked in the middle of the road. Vin said that you wouldn't argue with him about it though. 4 Bags of coal..smokeless stuff, and eighty four pounds poorer now.  Vin is on a bit of an energy kick at the moment, and is using two fire bricks in the grate which he reckons will save some of the coal, which it should actually, and a good idea. He's also altered the tim er on the immersion heater so it is on for less time during the day which is no bad thing. Then if we want extra for showers etc., it can be switched on manually. All helps.
He was in a bit of a rush when he went out this morning. Took my money off to Tesco but forgot to take the £4 voucher with him. Came home grumpy about that tooplus he said there were kids all over the place today with it being half term. So he's a bit of a grumpy git today. Good job it wasn't his money he was spending eh! Only joking...he's doing a grand job of the shopping.
Jane rang up before, she is on her way to work, after having been at Uni for the day. It makes a long day for her since she doesn't finish till 11 o'clock, poor kid. She said they were on the dummies today, doing ositioning etc., which sounds good fun.

Bobby who was asleep in her basket behind me on the bed in Jane's room, has just sat up in the basket and hissed really loudly. Wonder what brought that on, maybe she was having a nightmare? I wonder if cats do dream? Maybe she was chasing a mouse or another cat more likely.
Tonight we are having:
Crispy quorn fillets
Chips 200 grms
Carrots for moi and mushy peas for Vin.
Tartare sauce.

In Which Vin has a Busy Day...

Following on from yesterday the coal didn't come, so vin rang them up this morning and she rang back to say that it would arrive tomorrow (Friday) . Just in time since the weather is forecasted to become very cold next week!
It was a day for him getting his car sorted today. He got up early and went off to Formby to the industrial estate to get his brakes fixed. the plan was to go in the car obviously, and get a bus which does a circular tour of Formby including the station so he could get the train home. Well that all went well, and I was amazed to see that he had arrived home at ten past ten! he said all the buses and trains were on time so he got home in good time. He thought it would have been most of the day, but the chap from the garage rang him at twelvish to say that it was ready. new brake pipes and the tracking done. £117 which seems quite reasonable.So off he went back again after checking on the bus and train timetables . You can do that online now which is really good and useful. The trains run every fifteen minutes and the buses every thirty so it's a case of getting them co-ordinated.  Anyway he did that and was back again at about twenty to one all done with his car back to normal. He'll sleep well tonight!

Car sitting outside the house again. The one in the far left of the picture..
He has spent some time today looking at the electricity bill, it turns out that it is a minefield. Standing sharges or no standing charges? cheap tarriffs or not  etc etc.,. Work in progress.
Tonight we are having:
Remaining potatoes baked and squashed
carrots, broccoli and mushrooms
Something from the freezer.

Fuel Day Today...

Seems to be a day of stoking up the fuel. Firstly there is a delivery of coal being delivered four bags at £18 a bag!Won't be long before the Winter Fuel Allowance will be used up at that rate.
Vin went off to Formby this morning to see about his brakes and had a conversation with the man at the garage who looked at his car and said in his opinion that is was a collapsed fluid pipe that was causing the problem, so he has booked his car in tomorrow for that to be done. On the way home he called in at Homebase and got three bags  (on offer three for two) at £6 something a bag,of lovely hardwood logs for the fire, so there's three types of fuel. Then there was a letter waiting for him when he got home from Scottish Power with revised electricity prices on it. They have gone up 13%!!!! So he will be looking at comparisons for that.
Me? Guess what..in again! and a bad day for me today. Think I'll just stop eating altogether since there doesn't seem to be any reason why different foods are affecting me. it's all beginning to get really wearing now, like being in prison. In a sort of Limbo waiting for any further news.  Ah well!
Tonight we are having:
Pasta with a cheese sauce
A bit of garlic bread for Vin

23rd october...

23rd October. Nothing special about today , but it would have been my Dada birthday today. He was born in 1901 so he would have been 111 this day. I must get Vin to put some pics on here one day that would be nice to se some famiily photos.
He took my money off to Sainsburys this morning to get the weekly things. Some stuff we have run out of, and the usual veggies and stuff that we need to keep us going. He has ordered some coal to be delivered tomorrow which is the smokeless kind and £18 a bag so he got some cash out of the bank for that. That's the first of the Autumn/Winter. Wonder how many of those we will need before the Spring again?
Very impressed with the new phones, I do have to say they look good, nice easy buttons to use and a good clear voice soumd. He has just rung me on the sort of intercom from the extension and it's really clear.They have a good liong battery life to them, and umpteen ring tones. Do have to say some of them are dire, just awful, we prefer the ordinary ring noise.  He has used them to ring up some tyre and brake places to try and get his car fixed. Giving them a good tryout!
Nothing new to report from my end, Seem to be in for the long haul on this waiting business.
Tonight we are having:
Escalope of some sort
Mushrooms maybe in a sauce
Baby potatoes baked and squashed
Mixed vegetables.

Experiment......

Watch this space. This is by way of being an experiment since I haven't been able to access my blog via AOL for a long while. I have been doing it on the Internet Explorer site which I wasn't happy with at all.  So, we shall see how this goes.
Normal weekend with me stopping in and Vin taking his car to the garage on Friday. Then when he got back he had noticed a hot smell coming from one of his tyres so he
arranged to take it in today, (Monday). Up early to do this took the car in and came home on the little bus. They rang up around twelvish and said it seemed to have righted itself so off he went back on the little bus to collect it. Bit of a faff for him but I'm glad it is ok at the moment. He has decided that it needs a bit of a run, and he isn't using it enough.  Think that's my fault, because we haven't been anywhere for months now. Forgotten what the Cheshire Oaks looks like!!
I ordered some new phones for the house last week and they arrived today. Great looking phones too. You get two and they have nice big buttons to use, speakers and different ring tones. At the moment they are charging up so aren't in use yet we will see what they do tomorrow.
Just started a letter to John and Ann this morning, but a tad stuck for things to write about since we haven't been on holiday or been anywhere except hospital appointments  so just chatting about rubbish really. Will have to get my thinking cap on.Have ordered the latest series of Downton Abbey for them, it's on pre order and is due for release on November 5th so nicely in time for Christmas.  I have them a calendar and there is a diary with the dvd so maybe send that as well. This series is such a good one we are really enjoying it but there are only two more left :).
Tonight we are having:
Left over pizza from last night
Egg and potato salad with avocado and plum tomatoes
Potato salad for moi and pasta salad for Vin.

Another weekend looms...

Friday and yet another weekend looms ahead with no prospects of anything being done..so another week of patience. feel so sorry for poor Vin, it can't be easy being lumbered with me at the moment.
He went off to Tesco this morning armed with a voucher for £4 off £40 which isn't a bad deal. So, with some offers he got and some things that we needed he just about got the money off. he went to the garage on the way back to put some air in his tyres and was a bit annoyed because you get two minutes for 20p and the air ran out before he got round the four tyres!! Aaah. Anyway he found what he thought was a nail in one of his tyres so he downloaded a free puncture repair voucher from the tyre garage where he goes in Crosby, and has gone off there this afternoon.
He judt rung up to say that it wasn't a nail but a stone stuck in the tread, but they took the tyre off and discovered that it was a leaky vavle which they have repaired.
Put the phone down on Vin and Jane rang up from Manchester to say that she had got some shoes, that she was desperate to buy for work. They have to be black and have good grip. She has also got some trousers and a top and a belt and spent £55, which is quite a lot for her.  Everyone is spending. I ordered some new phones for the middle room yesterday from QVC they have big buttons and are smart with a good speaker. The big buttons will make it easier to ring up numbers.Another delivery to get Vin up in the morning!
Tonight we are having:
Southern style burgers
Chips!! 200grms between us.
Something tomatoey to go with.

Just another day!!

Well yes just another day in the house. Once again..the waiting  ah well get there one day i suppose.
Vin went off to Homebase this morning and came back with a new lamp for the middle room to replace one that had broken. Really good too and only five pounds and a bit more. It's one of those that comes in a flat box and you screw it together. very clever..and part of their basics range.
He also got some lovely little tealights called apple and cinnamon. Reminds me of little craft shops in New England. Oh to be in New England now that Autumn is here! Pumpkins and spice and Halloween decorations. dream ON.

 

Look at the pumpkins gorgeous blue skies and pumpkins everywhere. What a lovely sight. Wish we were there.

Tonight we are having:

Something from the freezer

Potato croquettes

Mushrooms and any veggies we have left over.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Poor Satterthwaites!!

This is a bakery in Crosby and surrounding areas. Quite a big concern and have eight shops in the area. They have been going for 102 years and I can remember going to the shops when I was a little girl with my Mum to get their pies and cakes. They have always had a name for quality and their cakes are gorgeous.  Well they have closed!! it was the most shocking news of the week really by a long way. Vin said he was in Crosby centre on Sunday and the shop there looked so sad. What a shame. I suppose they can't compete with the likes of greggs who sell the cheaper products.  Christmas without their bun loaf!!!! Terrible. R.I.P.Satterthwaites..you will be missed.
Stopped in today...there's a surprise. Did all the bedding ironing which is a chore but so worth it.
Jane hasn't rung up for a few days, probably busy, the last time she rung she said she had a lot of work on with her Uni course, and she tends to ring when she is walking back to her car at night, but I don't think she is working at the moment. Except for weekends that is.

Little Rusty is looking very smart today. She has a collar on but it was looking very scruffy so we found another one for her. Now she is pretty again. Well a girl has to look her best for all the boys out there doesn't she. Her new collar is a blue one , Bobby will probably be jealous now and hiss at her. Aaah. We will get Bobby one for Christmas.
Tonight we are having:
A simple pasta bake with mushrooms
A bit of garlic bread for Vin.

Appointments!!!!

No blog yesterday mainly because we ran out of time and got back from Aintree to late to do it. I had an appointment at the opthalmology clinic yesterday at 2.40. We got there in plenty of time since we always arrive early for things, gave my letter in at reception and waited, and waited then eventually got my visin done and the drops put in. Then waited in another area, so long I thought we were taking root. One woman sat by us gave up and went home and that after waiting till she was five in the queue!! another woman went to sleep!! Got into the consultant eentually and he had a look at the eyes, said they were stable, and he was discharging me into the diabetic screening programme. Apparently you go to a centre nearer your home and are monitored there. They took photos of my eyes..done in another area, and they would be used to match up.So there we are..at least there shouldn't be any more two hour waits.
Vin went off this morning to get his new battery for his car. He went to Formby to get it checked there first then went to buy it in Crosby.86£ gone up since the last one, but that was seven years ago. He bought himself some new slippers too, really good ones actually from Windsors and only seven pounds. I pay a lot more than that for mine!! I think he got a bargain there.
Tonight we are having:
Escalope with broccoli and cheese,
Potato croquettes
Mixed veggies or carrots and beans
White sauce with mushrooms

7/10 for effort!!

Vin took my mney off to Tesco this morning. Armed with his list, and even a phone call from outside when he had finished to see if I had forgotten anything, he still managed to not bring some of the things on his list!! Mind you he did do very well because he did get most of the things we needed for the weekend. I had told him to get some Seabrook crisps which \I like and he brought back some sort of Golden Wonder baked things I don't like.  No cakes and no shortbread biscuits, but he did get a nice offer on two big pizzas for him !  He will probably read this and have a hissy fit now!!This is because of the infernal information from the dietician which he is following on my behalf. Wish he wouldn't.  No wonder i don't let him in any of my appointments!  He had a nice little lunch of quorn sausage rolls and a tin of curried beans. I had a mingy cheese slice sandwich with a tomato and a mingy bag of crisps!!!
jane rang up just after lunch on her way home from Uni, mainly to order a book Introduction to Radiography by Suzanne Easton at £23.79. Bank of Mum and Dad again. We ordered it from Amazon and it took ages to get the order done actually because it wasn't straightforward. We had to change the address to hers in Manchester and then give the card number for security. Then the free delivery didn't come up so we had to edit our order again. Bit of a faff but we got there in the end.
Apart from that not a lot today. no word about my appointments but I do have one at the eye clinic on Monday which will be fun not!
Tonight we are having;
Cheese pasties from Waitrose
A baked tomato
 Rice pudding from waitrose.

An Outing!!!

Oooh how exciting..not!! it was yet another hospital appointment for a blood test. got a phone call yesterday to go for a blood test at Aintree Ward 20, so we duly went at 11 o'clock. Vin spotted a parking space right outside the back door which was really lucky since the parking is terrible. Went uup in the lifts..when we eventually found them to the ward.. and were put into a waiting room to..well..wait! Quite a while later a nurse came and took me to another ward where she took my blood and I had a little talk with a very nice dietician who was from Australia. Sydney actually. She spent ages writing down everything that I ate during the day, and came to the conclusion that I was doing all the right things anyway, and knew all about potassium, so I then went back to join Vin in the little waiting room again. .2 Hours later she came back to say that my results were fine and I could go!!!!!
Home for a well deserved lunch. Poor Vin. He does all the driving, waits without complaining and drives me home again. What a star!!
Quite wet today, and not a nice day at all cleared up a bit now but blowy and quite cold. Mind, I'm always cold.
No phone messages and a few letters all for Vin.Oh what an exciting life we do lead. I did notice that it is becoming quite Autumnal now with the trees turning lovely shades of autumn hues.Fields are still very wet, and the farmers are having terrible difficulties getting their crops harvested apparently. Vin said there was a notice in tesco the other day to say that the potatoes were affected by the weather so were in short supply.
Tonight we are having:
Something from the freezer
Potatoes sliced and fried in fry light
The remaining veggies that we have left
Mushrooms

Another Exciting Day..Not!!

Midweek wednesday, and nothing much doing today..not even the postman delivering anything! We did the kitchen bathroom and porch floors this morning. Wow, isn't that exciting..not... That was mainly because one of the cats..probably Bobby missed the litter tray a bit so it had to be done. Now all nice and clean. It's a lovely quarry tile floor actually so is easy to do.Phone call a few minutes ago to go and get a blood test before Friday, so we said tomorrow at around eleven o'clock in ward 20.  Thought for a minute it was the other lot but no..for that I'm still waiting.
This computer is really playing up today so going to cut this short. I had typed a lot more about our cats, but for some reason it has disappeared into cyberspace..so bye bye post.
Tonight we are having:
Pasta bake with cheese
Mushrooms
A bit of garlic bread for Vin.

Get the Veggies In...

Vin went off to Dobbies this morning. It seems ages since Iwent there..since I went anywhere for that matter, apart from medical appointments:(.  He wanted to get some stuff from the Home and Bargain store and from tesco on the way back, for our weekly veggies.
 He rang up from outside there..dobbies..because his coffee was too hot!He'd had a mooch round, and got a few things for our box upstairs. Got himself a nice latte and a biscuit from home...aaah all alone in the car park with his coffee.
I stayed here of course as usual, doorbell rang and it was some man looking for antiques..gold..silver etc., i showed him the silver box we have that is very good quality and heavy, and he said there is probably a lump of lead in the bottom of it to make it heavy!!!! I'll give you £150 for it!!!! I snorted and said it was worth a lot more than that!! and shooed him out the door. Cheek..even Michael Hogben would offer more than that. So it stops in the house a bit longer..
Big treat today..Vin bought me an absolutely gorgeous bunch of white roses  really lovely..to cheer me up. God Bless Him..what a star he is.XXXXXX
Funny thing today..Another delivery from debenhams! We think these are the ones that should have been the replacement ones for the ones that went missing..very complicated, and I'm not sure what to do with these. Keep them for a bit till I work out what has happened.
Tonight we are having:
Gruyere cheese escalope
Baby potatoes
Vegetables with a mushroom sauce

Internet All Completed!

Finally all of the items ordered arrived, and all correct. The last few weeks have been a revelation int Internet shopping. It just happened that I had ordered a number of things from different sources, but the service and results were very different. I do have to say that most of the companies have very good telephone people, and extremely helpful, also quite quick to deal with a problem. M&S proved to be the best at delivering goods with Amazon running very close too. QVC take a little longer but it depends on the item, and their P&P rates are getting quite high these days. Amazon is better there with free delivery. The websites are getting good these days too, with easy, user friendly sites that are clear and simple to get through.  Debenhams was the only one that sent the wrong item in an order which was a bit of a faff to return, but there was no charge, just a lot of wasted time . We got there in the end though!
Vin had a bad bacck on Friday night, he couldn't straighten up and was bent over like an old man. I wouldn't let him go out on Saturday which he didn't like very much, but he would never have driven his car. Plenty of Ibuleve back rub and a good hot bath on Saturday morning and it seemed to ease off. Think he was lucky there. He tends to have the view that you need to keep moving and he is probably right. He went off to Tesco yesterday anyway, and Waitrose, and met half of the village in there he said.
He lit a fire last night since it was quite chilly, so we had Downton Abbey and a lovely fire..Ooh Bliss !! It is such a good series this one, loving every week and it's certainly the highlight of the viewing week..apart from Corrie that is!
Vin has just come in to say it's quite mild outside at the moment, but he thinks it will go colder later.We are just using heaters at the moment though.


Tonight we are having:
The leftover pizza from last night
Salad with egg cucumber and avocado
Potato salad for moi and rice salad for Vin.

Internet Shopping Part Three!

Two arrivals today. The Amazon Calendars arrived this morning which is very good service since I only ordered them on Monday.They come in a big box, quite why they have to send such a big box for two calendars I don't know. Then my earrings arrived with the post later on. So all has been delivered except the elusive knicks from Debenhams. The order tracking says they have been despatched, so we shall wait and see.   I do have to say that both Amazon and M&S are excellent, with QVC running a close second. Gorgeous earrings though..Murano glass, really pleased with them. A little treat to moi!
Jane rang up this morning on her way to Uni., she was walking having left her car in the car park so she could get it back after going to work and finishing at 11.  Better driving home than getting a bus at that hour of the night in Manchester. She was quite excited because they were x-raying the dummies today, doing hands and feet. I think she said these dummies are £8,000 each because they have the skeleton inside them. They were doing the positioning of the hands and the feet.
Very sad news on the television at the moment about a little girl who had been abducted on Monday evening, despite an extensive search there hasn't been any sign of her. it is now being treated as a murder enquiry. What the poor family must be going through it's hard to imagine.  i bet there are some men in Wales would like to get their hands on him.
Vin took my money off to tesco this morning. We aint Tesco fans, but he had a voucher for £6 off £40 which is a good deal so off he went with his list and voucher and my dosh.  Got some good offers too.. Starbucks coffee very cheap, and some other stuff that we needed. Good shopper he is turning out to be these days.
Tonight we are having:
Little asparagus and leek tartlets
 Sauteed potatoes
Vegetables.

Ineternet Shopping (Part two)

So far M&S is winning by a mile! Got the first part of my QVC order this morning, which was the vacuum cleaner bags ordered at the same time as a pair of Murano glass earrings which still have to arrive. You would think they would be here first, but no..the bigger parcel comes by the post van and has come today. Stll waiting for my replacement/replacement order from Debenhams, and two calendars from Amazon.  You practically need a diary to keep track!
A nothing day today again. Nothing much to do and nowhere to go. Suppose I've had my little outing for the week going to the clinic the other day!!Can't expect too much. Need to get my hair cut one day, shall have to make an appointment for that soon, it's getting scraggy.

Vin is in the garden at the moment, think little Rusty is out there with him, she follows him about like a little dog that cat.
Bobby will go out as well, but she is a lot more independant and just enjoys being outside. She doesn't go much further than the garden though, she is a real little home loving cat which is good. Rusty will go along the pathways at the back of the house but not to the front much. She went missing round about six years ago now, and so tends to stay here now.


The acer tree that is in the picture has lost its leaves for the autumn  and hopefully will grow again in the Spring. It's a lovely little tree that Vin bought cheap from a garden centre to nurture and take on as a project.
Jane rang up just before to say she had rung up about her loan,  it's a maintenance grant for the three years to help tide her over the time she has to do her placements at the hospital. So she was quite leased about that.
Tonight we are having:
Cheesey kievs
Baby new potatoes squashed
Carrots and broccoli.

Internet Shopping..Grrr...

Some of it is good some of it not quite so straightforward. had a delivery from M&S today which was great because I had only ordered on Saturday, and the order is here and all correct and perfect sizing too. Excellent! Stillo waiting for a repklacement order from Debenhams so gave them a ring this afternoon. Got through eventually and they are very nice on the phone, but there seems to be a bit of a blip on their computer and the item hasn't been delivered/dispatched. So she has ordered a replacement..replacement order which should be here soon !!! Hmmmm we'll wait and see. So far M&S well in the lead.
Did a big load of ironing this morning, all the bedding from the weekend. Came out of the drier very creased but it is cotton, and it did iron beautifully. As I type this the phone went. Answered it and it was a nothing call. Why n Earth do they do that.  We seem to be getting a lot of calls about loft insulation at the moment too, even one on the answerphone messages!!!
Tonight we are having:
Pasta with a tomato sauce. Maybe a nice pasta bake.
A bit of garlic bread to go with for Vin.

Yipee..An Outing!

Nothing too exciting however. Only another trip to Aintree to the Renal clinic. 11.20 appointment so left at around 10.30. got there in good time though because the traffic was light.Vin drops me off at the front entrance and then goes and parks the car in the multi storey car park. (£2.50)  Didn't seem to be busy I do have to say. i handed in my letter to the reception desk and went round the corner when my name was called after a few minutes. Weighed..the weight is down! about 9lbs., gave in my saample and blood pressure taken that is also lower. Wonder why? Waiting area again and Vin found me there. Waited some time, definitely quieter than it usually is, and a young doctor female and english called me in.
Bit of a wasted time..she wrote down all my medications..again!!  Every clinic I go to they do that! I think it fills up a bit of time! asked me a couple of questions, gave me a form for a blood test, and said it would be six months till the next appointment. That was it basically.  Waited downstairs for Vin to get the car, and we were home by twelve thirtyish.  Nice cup of coffee then Vin went off quickly to Sainsburys to get the shopping for the week.
Thanks Vin..you are a starXXXXX
Started off fairly bright today, but now gone grey and drizzly. We came through a bit of a cloudburst on the way home but it's just grey everywhere now.
Bobby hasn't been out much at all today, but little Rusty did follow Vin round when he took the bin round the entry at the back of the house. He said she trots along after him, and waits at the steps at the bottom of the entry looking at him. She is such a sweetie, such a loyal cat. She comes on the bed every night and sits in the middle between us till we put the lights out. Gorgeous she is.
Tonight we are having:
Cheese and broccoli escalope
Little baked potatoes
Mixed vegetables and a white sauce

1st October..Hares and Rabbits!

Another day another month! fast drawing onwards towards Christmas.
Did some Internet shopping today. bought some Miele dustbags from QVC and a really nice pair of Murano glass earrings both on easy pay, which spreads out the costs a bit.  Also bought two Thomas Kinkade Calendars from Amazon. i buy these every year, they are terrific calendars with plenty of space for writing appointments on etc., gorgeous pictures too. if you have to look at a picture for a month they are well worth looking at.So spent some money today without leaving the house.
I wonder which will come first?  My money is on Amazon..they are usually very efficient.
Nobody went out today, had a day in. Vin was sorting through papers etc., to take to the recycling bank, and I was mooching about on here. Trouble is shopping online is very easy. All in the comfort of your own home and no messing about in shops.  It does go wrong though! i am currently waiting one order from Debenhams which I received and a part of the order was the wrong size. This had to be returned, and the very nice chap on the phone said that another would be sent out. Stillo waiting for this two weeks later, so don't know what's happened to that. Will have to chase that one up soon. We are out tomorrow at the renal clinic so what;s the betting it will come tomorrow?
Niceish day today. Dull to start with then it has gone sunny now, but the little cats haven't been out a lot. Getting ready for Winter I think.
Tonight we are having:
Leftover pizza with mushrooms and a bit of extra xcheese,
Egg and potato salad with avocado
potato salad for moi and pasta salad for Vin.

Finally!!!!

Appointment day today at Aintree hospital for the general surgery clinic.  Vin did a sterling job of driving as usual, he dropped me off at the front entrance and then went and parked the car in the multi storey car park. Caught up with me in the clinic later. 
After a wait of some minutes I went in to see the Consultant, at least I saw the head honcho and not a registrar this time! he asked me lots of questions took down loads of information, I was well organised and had taken all the blood pressure charts, medication lists, and a list of what I had been given in terms of tests. Think he was quite impressed with that..good bit of organisation.
He explained what the problem was that it involved the diverticular disease, and I needed an operation to remove the section of the bowel that was involved, and a repair job.  I signed a consent form, and the next job is to see the anaesthetist for a per-op beforehand.. Last thing I said to him was I'm not going to get lost in the system again am I? not in my department he said. Didn't like to say that I already had been once!! So, that's another step taken..wait for a hospital letter now.
Home in time to have a bit of a breather and watch Doctors which we recorded, and watch the rain. It was actually quite warm today, even though a bit windy. I had put my lighter winter jacket on, and was getting a tad warm in that. It's hard to know what to put on this weather.
Surprised to see the fields on the way to Crosby absolutely full of water. really quite flooded looked like the Lake District! Ditches full to overflowing also.
Tonight we are having:
Cheese and onion pasties  Waitrose
Baked tomato and a few veg.
Rice pudding.

Another day inside..

Another boring day inside today. Am I getting used to it? No not really. Enforced imprisonment, without doing a crime!  I certainly didn't think when I went to the G.P.s back in June it would take this long to get sorted. Not good enough really.  Times like this you wish that you had expensive private medical insurance. Tomorrow i have an appointment in the afternoon at the hospital..been a long time coming that one!!
Poor Vin has been an absolute Saint..he's done all of the shopping and getting very good at it too now..Thanks Vin XXX
he took himself off on the train this morning to Formby to take the library books back. We usually use the library in Crosby, but it's a bit of a trek to get there, and the car park is chargeable now so not worth going to. You can now take the books back to any library in the borough so we've used Formby a couple of times now. He got some local history books out which he likes, so he's happy. I am happy with my Kindle books and the ones that I have in store by the bed ready to read, so I'll stick to those.
I download some from Amazon now, and some of them are real bargains too.; It's a great little machine, and I have this cute little zip up cover with cats all over it. Love it.
Tonight we are having:
Cheesey pasta bake with mushrooms and green veg.

Death of a Legend..

Andy Williams dies aged 84..R.I.P. Andy..
Total Legend! An absolute star in the real sense of the word.
We had the good fortune to see him in Liverpool some years ago and he was wonderful. Just him..a good size orchestra and some backing singer and him and his voice. We came out to a torrential thunderstorm thunder and lightning and we got soaked but it didn't matter. We had seen the Legend!
Thanks for the music Andy. I will always remember that evening XXX
Stayed in today Idid the brasses at the front of the house, and  Vin did some sorting out of the cupboard under the units. He found a number of items that were out of date some by a coule of years. mostly tins of things that you buy to have in stock intending to use them for casseroles etc., but don't get round to in the end. Not a huge amount, and not much wasted.  just a nice easy day today, at least it isn't raining! in fact it has cleared up a little bit even, and the sun is shining.. Funny that..it always rains after I have done the brasses!

Wet..Wet...Wet...

And still it rains! What a month for rain this has been. All sorts f flood warnings on the news and rivers overflowing all over the place. Jane has just rung up on her way home and she said it was pouring down there too. Mind it always rains in Manchester. She has had a day of lectures today, and she is knackered now. Said she was in bed by half eight last night!!At least it's keeping her busy. Vin went into Crosby on the bus this morning to go to his bank. He was saying that the roads on the way through little crosby were getting flooded and the ditches were full. Must be worrying for the farmers. He did go to the stationary shop to get a bottle of ink for his fountain pen and was shocked to find it was £4.80 for a medium bottle of Quink ink!!!!!! Good grief..why is it so expensive?? A little bottle of ink.I couldn't believe it when he said that was the cost. Be cheaper to write in petrol! I am in the house again as usual..nothing much going on except waiting for an appointment on Friday. It's all been going on so long now it's very wearing. Suppose we'll get there in the end. The little cats are very dormant at the moment. They seem to be turning night into day. Bobby is up at three thirty in the morning treading all over us, then she sleeps all day! Ok for some. She generally likes going out, but with the weather as it is at the moment she stops in and who can blame her. Tonight we are having: Escalope with broccoli and cheese broccoli and carrots Potato croquettes A little sauce to go with.