So Sad...

We decided that we would go out today, since we have to stop in tomorrow for a coal delivery and also for my Aranesp delivery too. So we went over to ormskirk mainly because we wanted to get some fishless fingers from Holland and Barratt..we were in luck, they had one packet.
The sad bit is that my very favourite store the Bon Marche Ormskirk one is closing down. I am really sad about this, since i get all my stuff from there. Apparently the one in Southport and Maghull are still open, wonder why this one is closing? Vin says it's about profitability, must be about something. i feel very sorry for the girls who work there they are really nice women, i shall miss them a lot.Hope they all get other jobs.
Did a bit of looking round, got a pair of trousers and a really nice top in their sale. then went next door to Superdrug for my bits and bobs, and finally to M&S for a couple of things. Always disappointed with M&S actually, you look round but they never have what you really want
Went from there to Morrisons where we wanted to get the cat's chicken. Well they can't do without can they? Had a good coffee there in their restraunt which was absolutely heaving. extremely busy. it's such good value which is the reason for that. Loads of people getting food which we don't do, we just have coffee and a biscuit. Got our stuff from there, and came home in time for lunch at around one thirty.
The fields between Ormskirk and home were quite misty ooking, it seems like there will be some fog later. Still no sign of the icy weather that is forecast, but time yet!
The nights are definitiely drawing out now. it is still light as I type this at a quarter to five.
Tonight we are having:
Hot Pot or moussaka depends on what Vin fancies.

Monday...Getting to The End Of January..

Doesn't time fly really. here we are nearly in February already. Only seems like a few weeks since we were getting ready for Christmas. Now the shops are full of Valentine's Day things. Then i suppose it will be easter.
Dry and cold today, but doesn't look like snow or anything else yet. We took ourselves off to Sainsburys to get our normal weekly provisions. for us it is either come out of the village and turn right to crosby and Sainsburys or turn left and go to Formby and Waitrose or tescaw where we do not go very often. Today it is Crosby.
Very quiet on the car park so we parked easily, and just got a half hour ticket. That's free so if we whizz round and just get the things on the list plus whatever veggies we need that's just enough time.Then we are home for coffee which pleases the Lord and Master!
No post to speak of these days. Today we got two bits and one of those was a Lakeland Catalogue. That firm must spend a fortune on those.This one is all about cleaning things..getting ready for Spring Cleaning I suppose.
Tonight we are having:
Mozzarella and pesto escalope
Mixed vegetables
Mushroom sauce
little baked potatoes.

Sundays Musings...

just typing this after having a really lovely Pizza for tea. The house smells gorgeous, all sort of bready and tomatoey. very tasty.
vin went out this morning to get an egg salad and some other bits, and said it was very cold. maybe we are going to get some wintry weather after all.
We did our crosswords this afternoon, it's a lovely afternoon, sat by the fire working away on our two from the Mail and the Express magazines, and then the Big Sunday general knowledge one from the Mail on Sunday. We do them mostly from our own knowledge, plus the little crossword machines, and then as a last resort with the help of the Internet.
just enjoyed Dancing on ice. This week they were skating in couples as a competition and the judges could give one couple immunity from the vote at the end of the show. Andy Wyman who is Kirky in Corrie is our favourite and he was skating against rosemary Conley. The judges..two of them went with Rosemaryso we voted for Andy at the end of the show. hope he stays in..he is so lovely.
Tonight we had:
Pizza with our tomato sauce,
Portobello mushrooms pineapple and courgette and pepper for Vin.
Potato and egg salad with avocado pear and baby plum tomatoes
Potato salad for me and sweet noodle salad for Vin.
I do have to say it was a really gorgeous pizza too. well done Vin.

Interesting Conversation...

This morning we had a very interesting conversation in bed while enjoying our pre getting up coffee and cow biscuit.
vin had been reading an article in one of his magazines he was going through, and came across one about "Wartski". He said Wwhat is the link between Bond Street and Llandudno?" Then he explained.
It was to do with the Marquis of Angelsey who liked to spend money on extravagance and jewels etc. He died at age 29 bankrupt by the way. Anyway he got a chap called Wartski to set up a shop in Bangor and then Llandudno to sell Russian wares and in particular Faberge. Then they opened up a shop in Bond Street which is still going today. I have just had a look at their website actually which is Wartski.com. and everything on sale is Price on Application!! Whish kind of says it all.
He has gone off to Maghull to do a bit of mooching this morning and I am fiddling aroundon here a bit. Dry today for a change, but the weather forecasters say that we are due for a Siberian month soon! Wonder if they have got that right?
our new neighbours are amusing us at the moment. Last night they had a sort of disco ball in their conservatory flashing red and green lights all night. This is presumably to go with the silver disco ball hanging up, and the red berry fairy lights festooned everywhere.
Tonight we are having:
Tacos with quorn chilli mix
Lettuce, grated cheese and tex mex dips.

What is it With fridays?

Last week it poured. This week it was drizzly when we left the house, then when we got to Sainsbury's in Walton the Heavens opened. Horrible sleety hailstoney stuff. Cold too, the car was lovely and warm, you didn't want to get out really. It's been like that all day too,grey, nearly black skies full of something nasty.
Had a quick look in the Next store but didn't see anything. Their clothes are terrible quality now, they used to be good clothing, but now they are cheap and tacky looking and the cotton so thin you can nearly see through them.
Then went to sainsburys two doors down. Got most of the things on the list, didn't get an egg salad for my lunch, thought it was a bit cold for a salad, so decided to have a toastie instead. Vin has Quorn sausage rolls and a tin of baked beans..he loves that. No Iceberg lettuce!!!! What sort of store doesn't have iceberg lettuce? we wanted that for tomorrow night for Tacos. Vin will get some tomorrow when he off on his mooches. Apart from that we got everything else.
Went back to the car in between showers and went to a quiet part of the car park to have our coffees. Lovely Millicano coffee..it is an excellent instant coffee and smells and tastes like ground coffee. Then home in the rain.
The cats hadn't moved i don't think, but came down in time for their chicken though! i think they smell it on the breeze. Wonder what gets them going..is it some sort of internal clock I wonder. Rusty wakes us up every morning round about the same time. Vin said yesterday she got on his chest, then he felt a little nose pressed up against him, and she miaowed..right into his eardrum. Well that's going to work isn'tit.

Tonight we are having:
Cheese and onion pasties from waitrose
baked tomato and a small tin of something saucey
rice puddings from waitrose.

"Nothing Day"

Did absolutely nothing today, not of any note anyway. No phone calls, no post, we could be dead and buried today!
Vin went out this morning very quickly for a haircut, to the barbers next to the Police Station in Formby..£6 a lot cheaper than mine I have to say! And,that was it really.
Lovely long hot bath this afternoon trying to finish my book..didn't quite get there but will finish it tonight i think.
Cats very quiet today too, both haven't moved much at all. just come down for their dinnertime chicken then disappeared again.
nights are beginning to draw out a bit now too. Went quite windy this morning but still mild for this time of the year.
Tonight we are having:
pasta with a sauce
A bit of garlic bread
Butternut squash to go with it.

Hunt the Slipper!!

Vin's slippers are on their uppers. They have got to the stage where they have totally come apart, and are dangerous, so he has been looking for a replacement pair for a while. We decidid that we woud go to the Ocean Plaza in Southport this morning because we weren't doing anything else. There is a brabantia shop there and a Matalan, a Pet Store and a Dunelm Mill. So that's where we went. Surprise Surprise the tide was in at Southport..which is something you don't see very often, and it was quite high too. No wonder Southport people are called Sandgrinders!
Free parking for two hours which is good. He went into the Brantia store and looked for slippers. lots of old men types, but he normally wears the backless sorts, he's had some great German ones which are the ones that have given up the ghost. Spotted some on the end of an aisle on sale £3 a pair! not bad.. looked good so he got two pairs which will tide him over till he gets some leather ones that he likes.
Then went along to the Pet Store and bought Rusty a lovely new red collar, to go with her red tag, and Bobby a blue collar to go with her blue tag. very pretty they will look.Felix cat food at two for £6 so got those and put them in the car. Walked along to Dunelm Mill shop. we were looking for tablemats to go with our new red tablecloth, but didn't see any. they were all the wrong colour and too big. Our table is only small. Went and had a lovely cup of coffee in their refurbished coffee shop, sitting on comfy leather sofas..very nice. Then had a wander round and Vin spotted salt and pepper balls, our salt one has broken and we have been looking for a replacement for an age, so that was really good. then he spotted some red tablemats in a range of homeware called poppy, that weren't with the other tablemats. So bought four of those. Excellent. Job done.
One of those days when everything went right..and we got everything that we were looking for.
Tonight we are having:
Moussaka with vegemince and a cheese sauce on top.

In not Out...

One of the photos we sent..of our Christmas pudding, the Hazelnut meringue cake.
Stopped in today. We wanted to get John's parcel organised and posted off to Australia so he would get it for the 2nd of Feb.

it packed up nice and flat, and Vin is such a good packer of parcels. (Is there anything that man can't do I ask myself!)
He had a big jiffy bag, and in it went:
A card and a letter, a bit rambling but got there in the end,
A new Motor Cycle Magazine that I hope he will find interesting
A DVD od the Christmas Downton Abbey,
Some photos of our Christmas things and New year,
A newspaper article about Woolworths and a cartoon of cats that was funny,
And a Hamish McBeth book.
Made quite a nice little parcel, well not so little actually, cost £9.08 to post!!!
By that time it was nearly coffee time so we had that, then did the kitchen floor, which hasn't been done for a bit. Sorting out this afternoon, Vin has taken the recycling over, we seem to get an awful lot of it! and got the fire ready for later.
So that is the exciting day in our household.
Tonight we are having:
Mushroom and ale pie from Waitrose frozen section,
Squashed potatoes
Butternut squash and sweet potato
Mushroom gravy

Brighter..

Actually a lot brighter today, noticed that a few of the bulbs that Vin planted in the barrel outside our front door have started to come up. hope we don't have a frost now to do them damage.
We went into crosby this morning because we wanted to get some photos printed off at the photo shop there. Vin took the card with him, andand we selected some of the ones that have been taken over Christmas and new year and some of the loft that he had been working on last year. got about 14 done and that was around £3.30 not too bad. We then had a look in Martins because I wanted to get John an up to date motor cycle magazine so he could compare it to the old one that we sent for Christmas. Got that, then went to Sainsbury's for our weekly veggies. Quite quiet actually, so we got round quickly for a change. Got everything we needed and were home for a coffee as usual. So, we have now got a good selection of things for John for his birthday and if we post them off tomorrow they should get there in tim e for his birthday on Feb 2nd. At least he should be having a nice warm day over there, hope it isn't too warm.

My orchid plant that Vin has carefully been tending has sprouted another shoot. When it finished flowering last time he cut it right back to the first codule and it is growing a little bit more each day. What a Star!
Tonight we are having:
gruyere cheese escalopes
Mixed veggies,
baby baked potatoes
Mushroom sauce.

Beautiful pizza!

My husband makes the most beautiful pizzas. We have just enjoyed a pizza Sunday night tea with our salads. very tasty. He is a whizz at making them now, good practice over the years, and he has it off to a fine art now. well done vin it's better than any you could buy. bespoke as well.
Actually Sunday afternoon is very pleasant, a nice coal and log fire, the Sunday crosswords from the papers and a couple of railway journeys on the box. Very pleasant.
Vin says our new neighbours next door have more lights up in their conservatory, he likes them, they are like little red berries, I'm sure they will go very well with the glitter ball that they already have in there. it must be like a disco parlour...
Watched Dancing on ice, i really enjoy that, it's a highlight of Sunday when it is on. Always vote for Andy Whynam who plays kirky in Corrie. he's so lovely, and tonight he was done up wioth a grease style hairdo. very fetching.
Tonight we had:
Pizza by Vin..
With pepper for him and courgette for moi, portobello mushroom pineapple and it was gorgeous.
egg and potato salad from waitrose with avocado
Potato salad for me and a fruity cous cous salad for Vin.

What a Miserable day!!

really truly horrible miserable day. drizzly rain all day turning to heavier at times..usually when you are out in it. We had decided to go to Ormskirk today because there were a few things we wanted to get from the shops there, and if we hadn't I would have gone somewhere nearer. it's a bleakish place at the best of times, but at least it was quiet.
We were going to park behind M&S which is in the middle of the centre, but it was full, and after going round a couple of times we gave up and went down to morrisons, which was full as well. got a space eventually..it's getting more and more difficult to find parking these days.
Walked through the centre to the shops dodging the puddles and the traffic and the dripping rain. I have a little umbrella which was looking like it was going to turn inside out, and Vin has a bigger one from Head, which is sturdier but going rusty. I think we need an umbrella revamp.
We nipped into Holland and barratt to get our fishless fingers..in lkuck one packet left! then over to Bon Marche, where I usually have a look around. Bought a top reduced in the sale and a pair of trousers just in case they do close. Fingers crossed that they don't, I love that shop, always get something in there. Then into Superdrug to get bits and bobs, bit annoyed because I forgot to get my nail varnish! Then, brave the weather again and trudge back to the car park. Morrisons for a nice cup of coffee. really good value, £2.75 for two good proper cups of kenco coffee and a packet of shortbread biscuits, and a pile of yellow serviettes..they do a very good serviette do Morrisons.
Got most of our weekend things, but didn't get plum tomatoes or an egg and potato salad, they didn't have them. Slipping. Came out of there, and if anything it was greyer and wetter than ever, so ran to the car and home for a nice broccoli and Stilton soup lunch.
It really was one of those days that if you didn't have to go out you wouldn't bother. the cats have the best idea..stop in and cat nap all day and just get up for feeding occasionally.

Good job the little ginger cat from next door has a good new home, it would have hated being out in this, it didn't like the rain.

Tonight we are having:
fishless fingers,
Chips! 200 grms between us,
green beans for moi and mushy peas for Vin.
tartare sauce.

Rude Awakening!!

Phone call this morning before we had got up. "Is that Mr Jennifer?" Some Indian woman. "Jennifer is a woman's name" replied my husband.Indian woman hangs up. Now that's rude. No manners at all. We still get a lot of these calls, sometimes you pick the phone up and it is a silence at the other end, sometimes they introduce themselves with an obviously wrong name. The last one was Nicky!! I wonder what sort of training school they go to?
Didn't do a lot today. At least i didn't. Vin took the old cold water tank to the tip. it had been sitting in the corner of our front garden since he had done the loft, and he hadn't got round to taking it. So that was a good job done, whilst he was out he went to get some light bulbs for the landing light fixture. Some light bulbsd are getting really difficult to get hold of now that we are supposed to be going to energy saving ones. The ever resourceful Vin has a good stock of them though.
Tonight we are having:
freezer fodder,
Maybe a toad in the hole with Quorn sausages and gravy,
Remaining vegetables from the fridge.

Better Today...

Thankfully, little Rusty is a changed cat today, much brighter and perkier and not running in and out today. So we seem to have caught it early thank goodness. Eee we do suffer us poor women, she must have wondered what on earth was wrong, so it was a good job we took her.
Today we went over to Dobbies mainly because we didn't want to do the Ormskirk journey again, and Vin wanted to get some more hardwood logs. They have oproved to be the hit of this winter, burn beautifully and don't spit.A great find.
We had a good look round, they have bits of Christmas stuff but it is very tacky stuff and not what we go for. Vin spotted some garders soap that he fancied and i had a look round the food hall but no bargains there. However Vin did spot a box of crackers for cheese that were half price so got those for the weekend. Had our free coffees, Vin had a caramel latte today and I had an Americano. Very very quiet in there today, the cafe area was nearly empty and the tea room section where they have comfortable sofas and chairs was empty. Total waste of space that is. I think they should loet people who are just having a coffee go in there, at least it would make it look busier.
Came home via the terrible Tesco's which is on our way home. I wanted a loaf and a couple of other bits so we got them and home for lunch.
very mild today, not as cold as yesterday, but they are predicting snow for the end of the week. Noticed loads of snow shovels in Dobbies, they are going to be stuck with them this year., and it looks like our show grippers aren't going to be used!.
Tonight we are having:
Pasta Bake with butternut squash and mushrooms.
A bit of garlic bread.

Change of Plans..

Today was going to be a stay in day, for one reason that it was cold and frosty and for another we had bits and pieces to do.
i wanted to get the bedding ironed out of the way, and vin had stuff to do.
Then little Rusty changed thaat. Vin took the bin round to the front as he usually does on a Tuesday, green bin this week! and little rusty normally follows him round. today he noticed that she wasn't following hom, and was trying to have a wee a couple of times. he came back in quite quickly because it was cold and there was no sign of the errant cat, so he went looking for her. We tend to get over worried about her since she was the one who went missing about six years ago now, and that was n a Tuesday! He spotted her on the big patch of ground at the back of the house that everyone calls "The Plot" still trying to have a wee. So, alarm bells rang, and we kept an eye on her. definitely something wrong, she was running in and out of the house like a yoyo, so he said we'd better call the Vet. We got an appointment for 3.10 this afternoon, so we had our lunch then it was off to Ormskirk.Got there a bit early but soon got seen. very nice vet..Vin thinks his name is Steve, and he had a really good look at her and wxamined her all over..took her temperature which wasn't raised and decided it was Cystitis. Poor little thing..it's a women thing I said in the car on the way home. He suspected it anyway because he had looked on the Internet. So he gave her two injections of anti inflammatory drugs and said she should start to be better within an hour or so.
Got her home, and she actually does seem to have settled down somewhat. She'll probably sleep all afternoon now.Good job we took her, she is well worth the £32 it cost..she is such a sweetheart that you don't want them being in trouble.
terrible news yesterday on the news, that peacocks who own Bon Marche are going into receivership.!! Can't believe that Bon Marche are in peril.. i love that shop. Where will I get my gear if they close down? Report in the Daily Mail today though suggests that Bon Marche are close to finding a buyer. God, I hope so. Ormskirk won't be worth going to if there isn't a Bon Marche...and Vin said, "Where will I park you if that shop closes" Big fingers crossed that it doesn't.
Today we are having:
Sausage rolls Linda McCartney
Something tomatoey
Sliced and sauteed potatoes

Another weekend Gone By...

Main news at the weekend full of the large cruise liner The Costa Concordia which ran aground off the coast of Tuscany on Friday night. 4000 people on board the majority of whom got off safely, just six dead and some injuries. The captain seems to be blamed for going off course and also for leaving the sinking ship before the passengers. Quite a lot about that on the news and in the weekend papers.
Saturday and Sunday relatively normal for us with Vin making his usual trips out, and crosswords etc., passing a pleasant afternoon yesterday.
Today Monday the 16th is the anniversary of our ex neighbour's death in Chichester where they had been for Christmas. it hardly seems a year since that, and what a year that poor woman had. not only losing her husband at such a young age, but also losing her home, moving into a flat and then having to let her cat go too. Thinking of her today, it must be a difficult day for her.
We nipped out to Waitrose today to get our weekly veggies etc., and vin bumped into a colleague from where he used to work. They come a long way to this Waitrose because they like the store and the quality of the goods. i suppose we are really lucky to have all the major stores within easy travelling distance. They travel a total of 40 miles to this one.
I must admit they do have a good selection of veggies which is quite important to us since we don't buy meat or fish like most other shoppers. Didn't get a huge number of extras so the bill today wasn't bad. We had to then go to tesco because we needed some chicken for the cats!! spoilt little pussies they are! but they're worth it.

Bobby is looking very smart at the moment because she has a brand new collar. She has been without a collar for the last few weeks becaus it had made her neck really sore for some reason. it's ok now though so she has a nice new reflective collar to show off in.
Saturday night we had:
Chinese..spring rolls and dippers, fried rice and stir fryu vegetables.
Sunday we had:
A beautiful pizza Vin created.
Portobello mushrooms on a pesto base with crumbled blue cheese on them
Egg and potato salad with avocado, potato salad for me and a pasta salad for Vin.

Tonight we are having:
Cheese and leek escalope
mushrooms in a white sauce
mixed vegetables and baby baked potatoes.

Quick Trip..

Quick out this morning. Last night when we were deciding where to go we thought we would just go to Waitrose to get a few things on the list that we wanted for the weekend. Ha! As usual, we didn't have that much in the trolley but still spent £57 !! Fatal shop to go into though, you never come out of there withoutspending more than you planned. Got some nice things though.
Quite quiet today, and parked right outside which is always a bonus.
Watched anew programme the other night on Sky Atlantic called Cloudstreet. Looks really good and very watchable. Set in Australia in the forties fifties and sixties, it portrays two families who share a house at Number 1 Cloudstreet in perth, and how they develop. Excellently done and very good acting. Six in the series so going to be a must see for the next few weeks.Funny John and Ann haven't mentioned it.
Vin got his Marmite rice cakes returned in the post today marked addressee gone away!!! hello... this is Unilever and he used the address on the pack. Anyway, there was a telephone number on the pack so he rang them and got through to a very nice chap, who said it was a misprint, and he would send abag to return them so we shall see what happens next. Watch this sace!!
Typed most of this with little Rusty perched on my knee Bless her..she is such a sweetie. Just stands there purring away fit to beat the band as they say.

This is how she sits on Vin's chest at night just perching there while he reads his book. Aaah.
Tonight we are having:
Chees3e and onion pasties from Waitrose
Baked tomatoes and a few green beans.
Rice puddings.

Your M&S...

No I don't think so really. It was a nice day today so we decided to go over and have a look at the M&S in Aintree. We haven't been near the sales so wanted to have a mooch and see what they have.
Vin went off to look at Halfords and spend his £2.50 voucher. he actually got a large bottle of screen wash for that. I had a bit of a look round n my own in the M&S. The women's clothes were very mixed up on the many sales racks so couldn't be bothered looking at them much. Wandered over to the handbags which were huge!! what is this thing for having massive handbags? jewellery has moved and nothing shouted out at me there either. Went upstairs to the kitchen and home dept and and spotted a table with oddments on it. Picked up a really really cute little monkey soft toy which we will send to Jane. She likes monkeys.Should have been £15 and it was reduced to £3 so that was a huge bargain.Vin wandered over to the men's dept and had a look there and then we went for coffee. he had a card for a free one. No biscuits!!!! what sort of shop doesn't have biscuits. i found a table one of a very few it was extremely busy, and discovered it was under one of those fan thingies that blow out cold air!! typical. Vin came with the coffees. massive great cups, more like a soup bowl!! i could only drink about half of mine and he finished the rest off.
had another look at the mens section again, and he bought two shirts. onelong sleeved one for £6 and a short sleeved one for £5. Good bargains there. I picked up a double cotton fitted sheet for £9 so we did quite well really. Food hall then and we got some bits there, then off home. Went via maplins and Curry's because he wanted a new memory card for his netbook to make it quicker, but no joy.
In this afternoon. The cats seem very quiet today, sleep all afternoon..what a great life.
Tonight we are having:
pastawith a tomato sauce
A bit of garlic bread
Butternut squash to go with.

Drizzly and grey

So we stopped in today. i had a lovely morning getting the ironing done, and then i caught up with a letter to John and Ann. Felt a bit guilty because one from them had arrived thanking us for the Christmas presents, and i haven't done the same yet.So i've written three pages, mostly just chatter.
Vin nipped out in the back garden in between drizzles, and got the outside Christmas lights in, the white ones that were on the fence outside the back window. They have been lovely, twinkling away all Christmas. He also planted the primroses that we bought yesterday at the garden centre, and they are so pretty against the back garden wall that he painted last year

He made a terrific job of that wall and it looks really good now.Especially with the Spring flowers against it.
I think the nights are getting a weeny bit lighter these night, it is now twenty to five and it isn't completely dark yet., even though it is drizzly again. The little cats are on the bed behind me both all curled up and fast asleep. that's the life!!
Tonight we are having:
No idea whatsoever. probably something from the freezer. we'll see what Vin fancies.

Hair-Do at Last!!

This one went on my pillow as soon as I got up this morning and didn't move till we came back from the garden centre!!
Up earlyish this morning because I had an appointment at the hairdressers in Formby at 10 O'Clock.Since little Rusty had been doing her balancing act on my hip since very early and dark..I was dozing anyway. But Vin had set the alarms anyway so we got up in time.
got a nice hair-do this time, she just did a bob with a bit of a feathery fringe which was just what I wanted.The last time she did it she layered it a bit much so it went straggly when it grew out, but this time will be ok. So I'm £30 poorer and a lot of hair lighter. lasts quite a number of weeks anyway, so worth it. jane has just rung up on her way to work, and she said she pays £5 at the students hairdresser, but she gives them £5 extra becuse it's too cheap.She says she is properly grey too..don't know where she gets that from, i'm not very grey yet apart from my roots, and Vin didn't go grey till just a few years ago. george Clooney is grey anyway and it suits him fine.
While I was getting my hair done Vin went to waitrose and got our pasties for friday, and then on to Homebase to get a flourescent tube for the kitchen, so he did well in that time.
From there we went to the Garden centre in Ince to get our cvoffee for the month and see what they had in the sales. Answer was..not much really. The gift section didn't have anything in the sales at all really, and the Christmas decorations were half price but we didn't buy much. I bought a Noel sign and a box of Christmas cards and Vin bought some very pretty primroses in a lovely buttery yellow colour for the hanging baskets outside the kitchen window.Funny thing was, when we were having our coffee we were trying to decide how many hanging baskets there were on the back wall and we settled on two. When we got home there were three!! Funny how the mind plays tricks.
Quiet afternoon and will possibly stop in tomorrow, don't like getting up early!!
Tonight we are having:
Sausage Rolls, Linda McCartney ones
Small tin of something tomatoey and some sauteed mushrooms
Sliced potatoes done in fry light.

That was The Weekend...

Every scrap of tinsel gone...
Didn't do my blog yesterday because I was engrossed in "Dancing on Ice". Voted for kirky off Coronation Street and he got through so well pleased. he was quite good but needs more confidence. Mind you speaking as someone who has been ice skating but never got off the barriers at the side I can't talk.
Saturday was a normal day, no Christmas stuff and things getting straight again. grey and drizzly in general.
Sunday vin went off to Crosby to get some stuff and again grey and drizzly
Saturday night we had:
green thai curry
1/2 a packet of rice
stir fry vegetables,
Sunday we had:
Pizza again..yum yum. Our tomato sauce,
portobello mushrooms, pineapple pepper for Vin courgette for moi
egg and potato salad with avocado and baby plum tomatoes
Potato salad for moi and sweet chilli noodle salad for Vin.

Monday dawned..yet again grey and drizzly but not too bad. had to go into crosby to the bank to pay some money in for the Hopusehold account and a Hundred pounds into Jane's account to keep her going. Sainsbury's was really quiet,so we got round very quickly. We had a free half hour parking, and did the banking, and all the shopping in that time, good going really.
Got a lovely letter from John and Ann today, posted on the 4th Jan and arrived on the 9th jan. that's pretty good by anyone's standards. They loved the Downton Abbey DVD, so i must get the Christmas one for them maybe send it to john for his birthday on feb2nd. The motor cycle magazine which vin found in the loft fromj 1955 he really enjoyed, and the funny thing was it was a Christmas issue as well.Sounds like they had a nice christmas, but in her words it is "Stinking hot" there. Can't imagine a boiling hot christmas.
Tonight we are having:
Cheese ande broccoli escalope
mushrooms
Carrots and green beans
Squashed baked baby potatoes.

All Gone!

All has now been cleared away for the next eleven months or so. The tree has gone from the village green too, it was really nice this year, all covered with blue lights.Well done the council.
We took ourselves off to Sainsbury's walton this morning. noticed that the Walton Hospital where I have had many hospital appointments is now completely flattened. i assume they are going to build houses on the site.
Sainsburys was quite quiet which is one of the reasons why we go there, at least you can get around unlike the Crosby store which is so crowded you can barely move with your trolley. had a look in the next clearance store next door, the clothes are dreadful, really tatty these days and totally no quality to them, but I always look at the jewellery and the home section at the back. Spotted some LED tea lights which I thought were quite cute, and were priced at £4.50. Thought about them then put them back and Vin caught me up. I mentioned them to him and he seemed interested so I went back for them, and took them to the till. Good job I did because they turned out to be £2 !!! which was a real bargain, and he was pleased.
Got all our stuff ion Sainsburys then, it's a very good store for having stock so got a few things that we had run out of, plus the things that we wanted for the weekend.No bargains there though! Had our usual coffee in their car park at the back, very nice too!
Weather has calmed down a lot today, but the ditches and the fields round the village are waterlogged, with little mini lakes in some of them.

This years christmas Pudding! I do the same one every year..it's a sort of tradition now!
Tonight we are having:
Fishless fingers
Chips!! Oh yummy a treat,
mushy peas for vin and leftover carrots for moi
A couple of baked tomatoes.

So Bare!!!

Well..all the Christmas decorations are away. Vin is just putting them in our store cupboard as I type. It is the best part of the day taking the trees down and putting the ornaments in their boxed. Then the wonderful Vinpacks it all away in the boxes and a big suitcase wekeep for the purpose, then they go in a cupboard that we have over our wardrobe in our bedroom. All away for the next eleven months.It's now ten past four in the afternoon and he has just popped his head round the door to say the last of the decorations are going away. Well Done Vin XXXX
Finally the winds and gales have ceased here, it was very bad last night we could hear the winds coming down the chimney. Then mid-morning it seemed to slow down and finally settle down. The cats haven't liked it at all, I think it unsettles them and they don't go out as much because the windy weather makes them jumpy. They are both fast asleep on the bed behind me as I type this, and bearing in mind that little Rusty has been on my hip doing her balancing act since five O'Clock this morning, she must be tired.I love her dearly, but that is a bit early!!
Tonight we are having:
Black pepper and lemon escalope
bread sauce and cranberry sauce
A few roast potatoes left over from Christmas,
Carrots and a few roast parsnips.
It is a sort of christmas dinner to use up things, and make the most of the tablecloths and decorations etc. Then they all get washed tomorrow!

It's A Blustery Day...

Feels like a line from Winnie the Pooh!It is a blustery day indeed, so no ormskirk again for us. not going there when it is weather likethis, it's up on a hill and worse there somehow.
We went out to Dobbies instead to have our free coffees for the januaary. I just have a black one and Vin has a flat white which he said was lovely so we can go twice in a month if I pay for mine. We had a good look round and bought a few things. I did see a nice bauble half price that will do for next year's bauble swap, and Vin got some marmalade that was on offer quite cheap, and two bags of excellent logs, then we braved the winds and held onto the car door and wended our way to Tesco's in Formby for chicken for the cats.
Saw a few things that we needed and a few things that were on offer, and came out of there having spent too much again. never mind it's all stock.
The plan is tomorrow to stay in and do the Christmas things..take them all down so tonight will be the last night everything will be lit up. The house looks terribly bare when it is all gne, I like our little house decorated. We got it just about right this year, and had around a month out of them. Didn't buy anymore this year, resisted the urge, and didn't buy any more Christmas cards either, got too many.

The front of our little house with the candle arch in the upstairs window and the tree in the bay window. All gone tomorrow!
Tonight we are having:
A pie, country vegetable with mushroom gravy
Potato croquettes
Mixed vegetables.

Thar She Blows!!

One little contented cat!
Very blowy today, the trees outside are going like mad. Quite creepy when you see the bare branches waving in the wind, they look like they are going to come down any minute.
We were planning to go out today, but took one look out of the window this morning and decided against it.So, we stopped in, at least being retired you can do that unlike the millions of poor unfortunates who have gone back to work today.
I did a pile of ironing nstead so at least all the bedding is done, if the wind has gone down tomorrow maybe we will go out then. Vin took the bin round, and little Rusty followed him, so he said he picked her up and carried her round with him. Everywhere he goes outside she will follow Aaah Bless her. Then we made up jane's bed again just in case!! And it is still blowy! The traffic reports on the radio sound quite bad, with roads shut all over and lorries turned over etc.,Just listening to the reports as I type this, and it is really horrendous, Thelwall viaduct closed which is not far from here and would be a nightmare. Pity help the people involved in that.
Tonight we are having:
Pasta bake with a bit of garlic bread
A little bit of parmesan and
mushrooms.

Bank Holiday...

losing track of the days here..it doesn't seem like a new Year bank Holiday. We got up late as usual, must start going to bed a bit earlier..trouble is the cat tends to jump on the bed early, while it is still dark, so you tend to turn over and drop off again, and that's it, before you jknow it it is ten o'clock and late. never mind. Doesn't matter.
Went off to Sainsbury's this morning, to get some fresh veggies and bits we had run out of. car park was quite busy but plenty of spaces, so we got our half hour free and whizzed round. Saw a few bargains, but the idea was to get the veggies really. Home in time for coffee , and to find the garden gate open. Vin said maybe we had a delivery, leaflet or some such. he said that yesterday there was a slimming club leaflet delivered but he didn't show me that in case I accused him of calling me fat!!! Funny !!!
We still have our Christmas things up, and will probably take them down about Thursday. The house will look terribly bare then I love all the Christmas things. We got it just about right this year,put them up in the first week of December.

This is one of my favourites, i bought it in America in New England, and thought it was lovely and cheery. it was quite expensive at the time, but we have had it for a number of years now. The spray under it, vin bought from a fair at Tatton Park and they go beautifully together. Always feel Christmassy when they go up.Tonight we are having:
Something normal!
Escalope with broccoli and cheese
little potatoes sliced and fried in fry light
Pack of mixed vegetables and a hollandaise sauce.

Happy New year...

This is us at the stroke of midnight..well in truth a little bit after because the batteries had run out on the camera. We take a photo every year, in the same place, with our drink to toast the upcoming year. Bobby decided to join us but little Rusty stayed in her basket.

Last night we watched "The King's Speech" which was excellent, we both enjoyed that, which finished just before twelve so good timing. had a drink then went to bed by around one O'clock.
Today..new Year's Day dawned very wet and rainy, so Vin didn't go anywhere. He went down to the shop for the papers so we could do the crosswords this afternoon, we missed them last week.
Tonight we are having:
A sort of buffet with bits and pieces. Cheese pieces, indian snacks and some dips and things.