If It's friday...

It must be the weekend shopping trip. Unfortunately since i am still stuck in the house, vin is doing a sterling job on his own. Today he took himself off to ASDA in Southport for a change, armed with his list (Bless Him) and got everything that we needed. I had gone through the bones of what was required and he got all of those. he went to the range shop on the same complex and got jane some new wiper blades for her car. He'll probably post those to her. When he was in ASDA he also put some money on her student card for her. It's a really good scheme. You get two cards, one you give to your student and one you keep yourself. You can then put sums of money on it at ASDA and they can use it at their end at any ASDA store. It's been really good so far. I put £75 on it today for her so she now has a hundred on it, and can use it for her shopping trips. I wonder why Tesco don't do one, they are missing out on a huge market there. Not like them! He went to Dobbies from there and got his free coffee for the month. he said he got a takeout Latte and had that in the car listening to the radio. Aaah I'm a tad jealous there. feel like I'm in prison here! Deluged with appointments today. The village surgery rang this morning to say they had received a letter for me to go for a blood test in about a month, so ring up about two weeks before then. then got TWO letters in the post from Aintree hospitals trust. one is the revised Ultrasound examination date for the 11th of July and the other asking me to make an appointment for the nephrology clinic! i now have a folder as thick as your arm of hospital letters etc., no wonder the bills are so dear, the postage must be incredible. Watching a bit of the tennis at lunchtime. very surprised to hear the Rafa Nadal was knocked out in the second round yesterday..I like him he uis such a nice lad. Rooting for federer again though, he is lovely. never does anything wrong. Most of the players these days have unpronouncable eastern european names both the men and the women. Where have al the Australians and the Americans gone? You hardly see any of them these days. The little British girl heather something who was all over the papers yesterday because she had got through to the third round, looks like she is going out in straight sets to another eastern european player. 6-0,6-0. A bit of a whitewash there I think. poor girl. She is playing the number three seed though. The little cats are doing their usual hibernation act. they come down at lunchtime for their dose of chicken..then disappear again. Not soft are they.

I think they have a little conflab about their plan of action. They certainly have us running round after them. Tonight we are having: crispy quorn fillets mushy peas for Vin and green beans for moi Either a few chips or some baby potatoes sliced and fried.

Odd day...

Started off quite dull, then went a bit overcast and breezy, then torrential rain at lunch time then the sun is cracking the flags right now. Weird! Vin went off to crosby this morning to get some things armed with his list. He said it was really quiet there and he got round easily. He was certainly back in record time for his coffee! I got yet another hospital appointment letter this morning! i thought it was for the Ultrasound department scan which had been redone for the 11th, and the girl had said she would send a letter out for. But no..this was for a Breast screening appointment all on the same day!!! the 18th july. i think it would be better if you had a one stop place where you went to like an MOT centre..just go along a conveyor belt and everyone gets a bit. So, that was..a gynaecology appt at 11.10, an ultrasound appt at 11.20 and now a breast screening at 11.40 in a totally different part of the district. No chance. Said it was an odd day. Wonder why these are all on the same day though. Vin is out in the garden doing a bit of fiddling around. At least he won't have to do any watering because of the downpour at lunchtime. Jane rang up just before lunch, she was on her way to work at Ticketmaster. She was chuffed because last night they were giving out extra hours if anyone wanted them. Something to do with tickets for the Olympics and day passes for those who live near the area. She put her name down for it, and left it till last minute because she said that they give time and a half at the last minute. Anyway last night they were doing double time..so she was thrilled with that.It's double the £6.80 she usually gets. She said they are going mental at the moment selling the tickets, mainly because they keep releasing more numbers.All good for jane though. As i am typing this, they are playing a neil diamond record Sweet caroline. i do love neil, reminds me of when we used to go on holiday in our Morris traveller to Scotland or Cornwall and we used to take a little black casset recorder balanced on the piles of luggage. Aaah., the cars didn't have tape players r radios then really.Do wish the DJs wouldn't talk over the end of the records though. steve Wright is terrible for doing that. Especially over the end of Nilssons Without her..drives me mad.

His hanging baskets are looking terrific at the moment. They don't seem to mind this funny weather. Tonight we are having: Small potatoes fried and sliced Something from the freezer the remaining veggies, green beans, broccoli and butternut squash.

Happy Birthday dear Blog!!

Five years ago today, I started keeping a blog. It was the same day thatGordon brown became the new Prime Minister. Glad to say that my blog has lasted longer than his reign. Poor Gordon..Well I still liked him anyway. The original idea f the blog was to keep a sort of diary to chart the progress of our "Healthy Eating Plan".. it was really a sort of diet for us both, but vin has always said that diets don't work so a healthy Eating Plan it was. We actually altered a lot of what we used to eat. out went the home made cakes, and the large portions of potatoes, rice and pasta to be replaced by measured quantities as per the Rosemary Conley instructions.We stopped getting shop bought cakes and used Fry Light spray to cook with instead of the olive oil i used to dollop on. No added butter on or in foods and it did make a difference. We both dropped around two stones and since then have kept it off too. So, the Healthy Eating Plan did work really. I've still got some to go but I'm happy with what we do now. Got a strange hospital letter this morning, to go to the ultrasound department of the Women's hospital on the 18th July at 9.40..a bit odd since I have already got an appointment on the same day for 9.20 at the gynaecology clinic. No note of who had referred me for this appointment so I rang the number on the letter. got through straight away which is unusual to say the least, and found it was the gynaecology consultant who had done the referring. The really helpful girl said that I needed to go the week before so she has given me another appointment for the 11th july at 1.20. I wish they would just put the name of the Dr who had done the referral on the letter, it would make it simpler. What a nice helpful girl though. Quite sunny today, and a lot warmer. Vin has just been round to the village hall to see some plans that have been shown for building land by the railway here.He has come back and said there were two lots of plans, one for nine houses and the other for fourteen. Our village has spread out so much since the old village days. All new estates and the village is quite busy now. I used to know everyone in the village when I was young..far from that now. Still not a bad place to live, if you have to live on Merseyside. Tonight we are having: Pasta weighed out 4oz tomato and Mascarpone sauce Mushrooms and green beans and broccoli. A couple of garlic slices for Vin.

My Lovely Husband...

I needed some new slippers for wearing round the house. For some reason they don't seem to last very long particularly the cheap ones. had a look at some online sites including Hotter shoes which I love..but theirs are £39 !!! for a pair of slippers..Ridiculous! Eventually had a look on M&S onlineand they had loads of different styles and shapes and fairly reasonlbly priced. So, went through the rigmarole of signing up..registering etc., and ordered two pairs of very nice slippers from them. You could have them delivered to your home for £3.50 or you could get them delivered free to a store. So this morning Vin went off to Aintree to the M&S and collected them for me. What a star! He said he wanted to get some things from Maplins which is on an adjoining retail park, so that was ok. He was after some watch batteries, which are becoming increasingly hard to get hold of, and he wanted a tool which you use to get the backs off watches. job done..he got those. then he went to M&S, got my order, and then went round the food store, to get the veggies etc., for the week. got everything on his list, chose some nice veggies and a few ther things we needed from there. He is such a kind, patient man, always makes me laugh and so thoughtful. An absolute gem. It's all the little things, like bringing me a cup of coffee every morning when we put the world to rights before we get up.. he will go up when the weather is cold and put the blanket on, and makes sure all my prescriptions are up to date. What a total Star!! No wonder the little cats adore him. Jane rang up before on her way to work. She is doing a stint on 2-10pm which she says she likes, and is picking up some extra shifts because they are busy with the Olympic sales at the moment. bet she's glad all her work has finished, that must make a difference. Bobby having a bit of a mooch..not for long though the minute the sun goes in she is back in the house. Tonight we are having: Escalope with a mushroom sauce Baby jersey Royals Green beans and broccoli.

It isn't To Be....

Well it aint going to be Sir Wayne Rooney and Lady Colleen after all. What a shame...Not!! Can't say I'm sorry, if there is a sport I really really dislike it's football. it was terrible teaching in Kirkby with the kids allegiance to either Liverpool or Everton. They used to moan obout their uniforms..but given a non uniform day they would turn up in their droves in the football kits!! crazy... Well, apparently it kept people off the streets last night anyway. Bits and Bobs day today.. Cleaned the cooker..and the front door brasses. with not going out, I had forgotten how much they needed doing. Took some scrubbing, but got there eventually. Watched a bit of tennis at lunchtime..just enough to see venus Williams go out in the first round to a russian girl. What a shame..mind you she is an old lady of tennis now apparently at 32!!Wonder how Serena will fare. federer is playing at the moment, I really like him but he seems to be a bit on the wane too.Nadal won something big recently so he is still going strong. Bright and sunny day today, started off a bit dull but cleared up beautifully, and the sun is shining through the window now. Very pleasant. Bobby has gone downstairs..she goes out when it is sunny, she really likes the warm weather, and will sit in the sun for ages. nice life eh! Bobby "Mooching" The Spireas are doing well at the moment. We have a lot of these because they are very hardy, come in dofferent colours and grow well it seems anywhere. Good in pots and containers too. Vin said some of them had suffered a bit in the warm weather that we had last month, but are picking up now. Tonight we are having: The leftover pizza from last night..and a very tasty one it was too Egg and potato salad with avocado Potato salad for both of us.

Changeable...

Yesterday was a horrible day. it rained most of the day, and was extremely windy too. Today it is quite nice and bright although still cool I think. The sun is shining through the window though. Vin went off to crosby this morning, he took some clothing to the charity shop, and a big bag of books which he spread around a couple of them. There were some that I hadn't read, mainly because the print had got too small for me, and others that i had and wanted to pass on. At least they will get something for them, and it's a good way of giving to good causes. he is sitting outside on the patio with his cup of tea at the moment, hardy soul that he is! Wall to wall football tonight. england are playing italy so the country is getting whipped to a frenzy. Just a thought ...if England got to the final, and Wayne Rooney scored some goals..would he be created a Knight..Imagine!! Sir Wayne Rooney and Lady Colleen Rooney !! OMG.. what a thought. I hate football and especially the way footballers are so revered. terrible. it's creeping into tennis too..with Andy Murray being treated like a god. awful, and i do love tennis. can watch a Wimbledon match quite happily, but not with Andy Murray in it. Tonight we are having: pizza with our tomato sauce and portobello mushrooms Egg and potato salad potato salad for moi and for Vin too because he forgot to get a salad for himself..and it was on his list too!!!

The Longest Day!!

Yestrday was the longest day actually, I suppose it should be the height of midsummer. We should be sitting on the patios enjoying the evening air. Well!! What a day today. It is tipping down with rain, and blowing a gale. We have the heaters on everywhere we go. I think the little cats think it is Winter again because they haven't been out, or moved from their baskets much today either. Don't really blame them. Next door's garden is full of stuff they have bought clearly for the good weather, and even the poor little solar powered butterfly isn't going round today. i bet their conservatory is noisy in all this rain too! That's the trouble with plastic roofs the noise is terrible. we stayed in a cottage once with one and it was dreadful, we couldn't stand it. obviously vin isn't out in his garden today, he would be drowned in a few minutes! he went to Waitrose for the weekend things this morning, said it was moderately busy. he must have whizzed round there because he was back in an hour. Speedy Gonzales. The poor little flowers are struggling in all the rain. And, what did Vin buy some weeks ago? yes a new hosepipe fitting etxc... Tonight we are having: Cheese and onion pasties from waitrose baked tomato Rice puddings from Waitrose..just gorgeous.

She Done Well...

Just got off the phone with jane. She had been into the college to get her last results and sign off on her work for the year. She needed a total of 30 distinctions to get on to her Radiography course, and she has got 47 !! So well done jane I'm proud of you. it's the equivalent of doing three science A levels in Physics chemistry and biology. Quite an undertaking for the year, and with working at Ticketmaster as well she's had a hard slog, but there is light at the end of the tunnel for her now. She was telling me that they are being driven mental with selling Olympics tickets now. Pretty much everything has gone now, but they re release unclaimed/ unsold tickets every now and then and it's those that are being sold now. She had a little old lady on the phone three times yesterday, getting sorted out. She wanted a day pass for the Complex but they had all sold out. then jane told her that there were tickets for the volleyball for a few pounds more, and that enables you to get on to the complex, and she said she was really excited about that. reckoned she would be cheering for thenm..jane was saying Bless her. Aaaah. Nothing doing for me as usual, the letter finally arrived from the hospital for the 18th july but i changed that yesterday to the 17th. Vin went off to Tescaw this morning to get some stuff that we had run out of. Weather is dull, had been raining this morning but just dull now. His lovely barrel at the front of our little house. Looks really nice at the moment. last year it went very leggy, but seems to be fine this year. Tonight we are having: Something from the freezer. Baby jersey royals mixed green veggies.

Tedium...

Getting very boring being in the house all the time. Poor Vin AKA The Saint..must be getting very tired of it all now. Still waiting for a letter from the Hospital, but I went online via the Choose and Book system that you seem to have to use nowadays, found my appointment registered so that's alright. I also managed to change the appointment from 9.20 on the 18th which is my birthday to the day before the 17th at 1.01 pm. so that's a bit better. I wonder why they give you an appointment at 1.01 precisely!! seems a bit strange. Vin has been out with his camera in the bit of sunshine we have had this week. Took some pictures of the hanging baskets and the garden at the back of the house and the front. The wall that he painted last year still looks really good, just lovely and cottagey, and a pleasure to look out on from the sink in the kitchen. This is little bobby taking the air..she likes being in the sunshine, and rarely goes out of the garden. A real little home baby she is. My Budda..i got when I retired from school over ten years ago now. he sits there smiling..rain, snow, gale force winds and sunshine. Vin's garden does him proud. Tonight we are having: Pasta..gluten free with a four cheese sauce. A bit of garlic bread for Vin and some sauteed mushrooms.

Waiting...

Both stopped in today. i did a load of ironing this morning, mostly the bedding and clothing. Vin did a bit of gardening, and sorted out some of the papers that are in the house. i buy a number of magazines each week to do the competitions and he likes certain of the stories, like the old style murder articles, so he cuts those out to read at night. Nice!! they are quite interesting though. he went outside for a bit to go through some of them but came back in after a while saying there was a horrible smell of bananas out there and it was knocking him out!.. he's just come up now..mid afternoon to say that he could hear the next door neighbours discussing the fact that the girl had put the wrong things in the wrong recycling bin..so that must have been the bananas... Ah..such is the trivialities of life lived in a terraced property. next door the other way..the new neighbours have had yet another addition to the garden..which is already really quite full. There have now appeared three big black planters along the side of their table. It must be like an obstacle race going up and down their garden.What a scream! In all the years I have lived in this house I can honestly say that no-one but no-one has put so much stuff in that garden before. but it takes all sorts doesn't it. Little Rusty is doing her faithful doggy act again today. Vin took the green bin round, and she follows him all the way round and sits waiting for him. What a sweetheart. Bobby will go out with him too, but isn't so clinging as Rusty. bobby likes her cuddle at night, she shoves vin off his sofa and then gets beside him on the floor to have her chin tickled. Funny little things they are all so different. Tonight we are having: Escalope with a sauce of some sort, baby new potatoes..still some Jersey Royals around so we have those while we can Mixed vegetables..carrots broccoli and corn.

A Long haul...

Whatever the problem is that i have..well I know what it is it is horrible. Can't really leave the house at the moment, and poor Vin is having to do all the shopping that we normally do together. I think he quite likes whizzing round the stores though, and he is getting really efficient at it too. My hospital appointment is not until the 18th july so it seems that it is a long wait till then. never mind. Still waiting for the letter from the hospital though, all I have had is a phone call. Maybe they are in need of chasing up. Today vin went off to Sainsburys in crosby. There and back in an hour. Speedy Gonzales.... And he got everything on the listand some other things we needed as well. Top marks vin... Brighter today, certainly not as cold as SaturdaySunny periods, with bits of dull weather. nice at the moment though, the sun is streaming through the window as I type this. The house fire in the road at the back of our house is quite bad apparently, about 80% of the roof gone, and ceilings fallen through. It was up for sale at £450,000 as well. Don't think they will be selling it any time soon! Shame though. Tonight we are having: The remaining pizza with a potato and egg salad, potato salad for moi and sweet chilli noodle salad for Vin.

Detective work..

Vin came in from doing his recycling on Friday night with a bus pass he had found in the road. it had a photo on it and a name, so he looked in the telephone directory for someone in the village with the name. No joy..he did get one name but their mobile was on answerphone!! typical. he left a message and the chap rang back and didn;t know anything about it. Next step was to ask the ladies in the shop but they didn't know anyone of that name either. So he put a card in the window. Then he noticed a phone number for the issuing authority on the back so he rang that this morning. The chap said he would contact them and lo and behold there was a phone call a short time later. Mystery solved. The reason noone knew them in our village was that they live in Thornton, and he was visiting the village for a walk with some friends. The photo on the train pass looks about 11 but the chap said the boy was 16 and 6ft tall!! i suppose they get a photo done in year seven then that stays. Anyway the travel pass was returned. long way round though. Vin has done all the shopping again this weekend, he went to Sainsburys on friday, morrisons yesterday and Waitrose today. he gets everything he's really good plus some other things we needed or he saw. He rang me up on Saturday morning to say that on his way out of the village there were loads of fire engines at a house on the roundabout..well near it. It appears that there was a fire in their roof space which had spread, and needed six fire engines. he said that today going past that it was a real nmess. Last night we had: Crustless cheese flan from Morrisons..very nice, some mushrooms and a small tin of pasta in tomato. tonight we are having: pizza with mushrooms pineapple and our tomato sauce egg and potato salad with avocado Potato salad and sweet noodle salad for Vin.

The Power of a List!!

Vin went off to Sainsburys in Crosby this morning. For one thing it was tipping down, cleared up a bit now but still showery, and for another thing I'm still stuck in the house. Total pain. And a horrible thing to have. never mind. He goes out armed with a list, and knowing that you get 1/2 free parking spurs him on. I think shopping is a bit of a race for him. When i go round I pick things up that I think that we need to put in stock, he just gets the list things. if it isn't on the list he doesn't get it! he got all the things for the weekend. very well done Vin...I trained you well. Saw an item on the website today about a hoarding that was put up at one of the railway stations, it said In the bible it said that it rained for forty days and they called it a disaster, but in England they call it Summer! Someone with a very good sense of homour there.That must have brightened up some travellers day.. Tonight we are having: Fishless fingers baked tomato and Chips green beans for moi and some mushy peas for Vin.

Car wash? It's Bound to rain!!

Vin had a car wash today. Well he didn't his car did. he took it off to the new garage in formby where they have a Jet wash, because he reckons it's covered in muck from our glorious sycamore trees that are in front of the house. they are an absolute pain in the neck, drop things all year round really except in the Winter, but at the moment they are dropping the green furry bobbly bits that get everywhere in a car. When he came back he said that they had an offer on and you could get five minutes for £1 which is quite good, he used two goes so it was well washed. then he went to the garden centre and came back with some lovely little plants for some colour in the front garden.He is getting really good at his gardening Bless him.. Post today as well. He heard the doorbell go this morning just after breakfast, and the postman had brought our vouchers from national Shopping monitor for Argos. 20 by £10 or two hundred pounds worth.. These have been saved up for years actually, every time we go shopping it is scanned and you get points. Those are added up and you can claim the vouchers. We have hundreds of points and still have about the same amount left. The plan was to get a cat and dog vacuum possibly a Miele which is around two hundred. Our vacuum is just about giving up the ghost and isn't doing the job, so it's like a free vacuum cleaner really. The little cats aren't going out much at all these days. Rusty did go round the front with Vin this morning. he said he put her in the wheelbarrow for a ride, but she didn't like it. She follows him round the passage at the rear of our houses and up the entry and waits for him. unbelievably loyal little cat she is. Every night she comes up and just sits in the middle of our bed, then goes when we go to sleep, then there she is in the morning waiting. Vin says she miaows in his ear until he gets up to feed her. She doesn't do it to me..she must know I'm deaf and wouldn't hear her!! What a sweetie she is. bobby is too, and quite often she will venture on to the bed in the morning for a bit of a cuddle. I love cats, they are all so different. Tonight we are having: Something from the freezer, with little sauteed potatoes, Mixed green vegetables and a mushroom sauce.

The Post...What Post??

Just seen an article on the AOL news about post not being delivered on wet days.. Good grief..the price of stamps nowadays and we are already getting post at two thirty in the afternoon, and that's our daily delivery. i was saying to vin.."Do you remember the heady days when the post would be on the doormat when you got up in the morning?" Now we have progress and we get a mid afternoon delivery if we are lucky. Yet another day in today..poor Vin must be getting cabin fever. trouble is that I daren't go too far from the house at the moment, and am waiting for a hospital appointment to arrive. i have got one given over the phone for the 18th july which is my birthday..Nice!Wonder why all my health things happen on my birthday? Just watching a shopping channel..on in the background while I am typing this, and they are showing a dress which goes to about two inches over the knee. looks nice on the models but in a size 3XL !!!! i don't think so. They are amazing some of these dress designers,a lot of them just don't think. Vin is out in the garden again trying to keep the weeds down and doing very well too. It is at the moment nice and sunny after a morning which was dull and cloudy. Bit of rain overninght which will water the plants. he's done a lovely job of the barrel at the front of the house, that is looking really good. The hanging baskets that we bought at Dobbies have opened up a bit now,they were well worth it. Tonight we are having: pasta with a tomato and basil sauce A bit of garlic bread mushrooms for Vin.

In Which Vin Does gardening...

He took himself off to Sainsbury's this morning to get some veggies etc for the rest of the week. On the way back he went to the garden centre to get some plants for the barrel at the front of the house. We are late doing that this year, it is usually done sort of late May, but here we are in the middle of June, and he's just put them in. I couldn't go with him due to my dodgy health at the moment, but he came back with some nice Cinneraria and some geraniums for the middle. Looks lovely now. last year everything went very leggy, because of the weather we had, wonder what will happen this year? In the lap of the gods as they say. Very mixed day today. a bit sunny and a bit overcast, but for those down South it looks like it is rain, rain, and more rain! pictures of flooding in the papers today, which look pretty horrendous. price to be paid for living near a river i suppose. Tonight we are having: Escalope of some sort, baby jersey Royals which vin got for half price.. Mixed veg and a hollandaise sauce.

Funny Weekend...

Saturday was horrible, really blowy and cold you would have said that it was March id you didn't know any better! Sunday was much better, and I actually sat out in the garden for a bit in the afternoon. Next doors spent the whole day in their garden, titivating and planting things and putting up yet more lights. two barbecue things in a day too..I think they are a scream..they have more stuff than Dobbies now, and it's only a small garden. Ah well each to their own. Poor vin has had to do the shopping again today, I must say he is very efficient. he goes out armed with a list, and just gets thaose things on it. he did buy me a lovely bunch of flowers yesterday though to cheer me up...Aaaah. What a man!! I can't go out at the moment and am confined to the house which is a pain. Did get a phone call from the hospital this morning giving me an appointment for 18th July which is my birthday..very nice. never mind. we spent some time this afternoon trying to find out how you can get a cancelled appointment but to no avail. it seems that you can get everything else but what you are looking for. Always the way! Tonight we are having: The remaining pizzaq Egg and potato salad with avocado and baby plyum tomatoes Potato salad for moi and rice salad for Vin.

Flaming June!!! I Don't think So!!

I am looking out of the window as I type this and it is pouring down and the trees are blowing a gale as they say! really nasty day. we were saying downstairs, that if the calendar said march instead of June we would be having a fire! our neighbour the new ones next door have been buyibng more for the garden. it's beginning to resemble a garden centre!Vin just spotted her in the rain putting up a sign which she has bought saying "Butterfly Garden", then he joked.."How are the butterflies supposed to know it's for them? Do they read these days" HaHa..he's funny, my Vin. We were up early this morning because I had the appointment at the Drs. I woke up really early with a cat on my hip at some ungodly hour and couldn't drop off again,So,had a nice little power nap a bit ago. The Dr was really nice actually.. considering it is an embarrassing problem, she took some specimens, and did an examination and has referred me to the gynaelogical dept of the hospital. Gave me some forms, and and a phone number to ring, and pass words to use, so i rung up when I got home. The hospital I wanted doesn't release appointment dates apparently, so the girl has forwarded my details to them and I should hear within five working days. She sounded like it would need an operation, but we shall see what happens. I have every faith in the NHS. My passport arrived today, just lying on the doormat separate from the post which is odd. Vin says they take a photo of your house and it comes by courier. His didn't come which seems stupid and a waste of money , but there must be a reason. then when our post arrived it contained our old ones..both together. very strange. The photo looks very hazy on the new one and there are loads of what look like anti forgery marks on it. Sign of the times I suppose. Vin went off shopping this morning, i didn't fell up to it, so he went armed with his list and was back really quickly. He got everything on it except for the pasties which they didn't have but he got two little flans instead. So tonight we are having: Vintage cheddar and onion glans, A baked tomato A few green beans. Rice puddings from Waitrose for a treat. These were last year's flowers..nothing like it yet this year I'm afraid.

Appointment...

rang up the GPs yesterday for an appointment to be told to ring back at 8 this morning. too early for us, so I rang later on in the morning. Given one at 5 O'Clock, so the day was spent round that really. Got there on time, seen on time by a very nice male dr., who listened to me and said I needed an appointment with a female dr tomorrow for an examination. He gave me an appointment for 10.40 only for us to be contacted by the receptionist at the surgery later to say they couldn't do that appointment and I had to ring back at eight tomorrow. Bit annoyed about that, but pacified some time later when she rang up to say she had been in touch with the dr and it would be ok. So all back to square one.. Tonight we had Linda McCartney red onion and cheese plaits Little sauteed potatoes Carrots. We'll see what tomorrow brings

In My Next Life....

I'm going to be a cat..what a lovely life they do lead. everything done for them, get petted and stroked when they want it, and sleep whenever they feel the need. As I type this, bobby is fast asleep in her basket in front of the window. It's not long started to rain, and it's quite blowy outside, so not altogether a pleasant day. i didn't feel like doing anything this morning, so Vin went quickly to Waitrose to get a few veggies, and i stayed in to do the big pile of ironing that has been looking at me all weekend. Mostly bedding, so fiddly to do, but worth it when it's done. Vin took my card with him and got some money out of the bank, and bought some petrol at the new service station in Formby.£40 at a time now. Good grief, I remember a time when petrol was 3s and 6pence a gallon!!!!! But..it doesn't seem that long ago since I would fill the car for Twenty Quid..Petrol must be a real problem for people these days, dread to think what it would cost to get to kirkby and back nowadays for a week, plus the extra parents classes etc., And a nice little look out of the window when you want to as well. There are a couple of cats who come visiting in our garden. Thomas who is a largish ginger tom from next door for instance, and a pretty little black and white on who lives way down the road and sometimes comes looking for company. That cat is owned by a woman who works in Waitrose, and you sometimes see her walking her two dogs along to the shops with her kids, and the little black and white one follows behind. Tonight we are having: Escalope with mixed vegetables and some baby potatoes.

Yet Another bank holiday...

Day four of the Queen's Jubilee Weekend.Where does that woman get her energy from? She must be well and truly knackered... last night we had the Jubilee Concert, which actually was very good. Something for everybody..artists for the young ones and plenty of legends too. Tom Jones and Shirley bassey went down well. Apparently Grace Jones was the hit of the evening doing her piece in a red hula hoop all the time. i'll have to catch that on YouTube. Today has been a ceremonial carriage procession with a formal lunch at Westminster and an appearance on the balcony of her, Prince Charles and Camilla, The duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Prince Harry. Then a fly past of old and new planes with the Red Arrows doing their red white and blue thing. Excellent. We stopped in today to see what was going on, still quite cold, but not as cold as Sunday. no wonder poor Prince Philip is in hospital with a bladder infection, they must have been frozen on that barge, and standing all the way for four hours in the rain and cold. That was a bit of bad planning. Still a bit under the weather today..vin reckons it's the Hummus and that is a common cause of upsets. maybe i think we'll give that a rest for a bit. Wish I had a touch of the Queen's energy. The little cats aren't moving much at all really, mostly in the warm in their baskets. Next door were out in their garden last night round their table all smoking away fit to beat the band, with all the fairy lights on everywhere. no sign of them today, must have been a late night. Tonight we are having: Something light from the freezer. Shall have a look when I go down.

Bank Holiday! Another One!

Monday and the first of two bank Holidays to celebrate the Queen's Diamond jubilee. The poor woman must be knackered. Very quiet today, nthing much doing anywhere really. I had a bit of a bug or something last night, obviously something I had eaten, and we therefore had a bad night's sleep. poor vin woke up when I got up, but he is so patient. then of course when I got up, the cats woke up as well, so that disturbed us too. What a night. I think we will be tired tonight though. The little cats are both fast asleep now of course, in little balls. Quite sunny outside but not warm yet. At least it isn't raining. Shame about the Thames Pageant yesterday,all those people involved and getting soaked and frozen. Pity it hadn't been today, but yu just can't guarantee the weather in this country. Big concert tonight apparantly, hope the Queen has some ear plugs! Vin went out to crosby this morning to get a few bits took his list with him and was back quickly for his coffee. Just heard my email click so I pressed the button to see what it was and my post just disappeared. Can't get used to this Internet Explorer site at all!!! Driving me mad!! it just doesn't do what I want it to do. Much prefer the old AOL but for some reason it won't work. Darn and Blast. Tonight we are having: The remaining pizza from last night egg and potato salad with avocado Potato salad for moi and cous cous for Vin.

Bank Ho;iday weekend

typical weather..raining and pourin g. we watched the Thames Pageant this afternoon and it was absolutely pouring down there. the Queen looked lovely, very regal and seemed to be enjoying everything. Union Jacks everywhere and I've never seen so many Union jack umbrellas. We got a letter from John and Ann yesterday to say they were just lighting their wood stove, well we had a heater on too last night. went really quite cold. last night we had: Chinese..goujons and lemon sauce Stir fry vegetables Egg fried rice. Tonight we are having: Pizza with our tomato sauce mushrooms and courgette Egg and potato salad with avocado.

Ear...Ear...

Up early this morning because we had to be at my hearing aid centre in Southport at 10.30. Vin set the alarms last night which I don't hear of course,but they get him up. i tend to have some internal clock that wakes me up uber early then i can't drop off again, and doze until we all move. We wanted to get off early because the Olympic Flame was due in Southport this morning and was going faily near where we go, and we thought there would be extra traffic. In the event, there wasn't extra traffic, and the roads were clear, and we didn't see any crowds either, so we must have escaped it. We got to the car park at 10.00 and parked in Sainsbury's which was really quiet. Went in there first and got a couple of things, so the parking ticket would be cleared, then went over the road to the hearing aid centre. Waited quite a whikle today before we got in then the chap gave the aids a service ..new batteries..new baskets which make a difference, and cleaned them out for me. no hearing test today..pretty straightforward. made an appointment for six months time which is the beginning of December when the Christmas Trees and decorations will be up !!! Left their car park, and spotted the legend who is Hild Ogden..jean Alexander, just walking into the car park with her little shopping trolley. Wish we had stopped and told her how wonderful she was. An absolute star that woman. One of the greatest lines in Corrie ever was a conversation between her and Stan ogden when they were ready to go out. He sniffed and said "What's that smell?" she said with perfect timing.."Woman Stanley..Woman" Wonderful! So we went from there to ASDA just up the road..that was actually quite busy today, and very festive with bunting everywhere, and jubilee things all over. Had a bit of a mooch while Vin went down to the Range shop..clothing as usual terrible, but had a browse through the books to see if there is anything I fancy to get on the Kindle.Got around there fairly quickly then went to Dobbies for our coffee. Very pleasant there sitting in the sunshine listening to the radio with a nice coffee with vanilla milk and a good shortbread. Lovely. Home..boring post, two rubbish letters tody, why don't we get interesting post anymore? Tonight we are having: Cheese and onion pasty A baked tomaato Clotted cream rice pudding from Waitrose.