Baking Day!!

Quiet day today, we stayed in mainly because we are going to see jane tomorrow over in manchester. She was having a tidy up today, ho-pe it wasn't especially for our benefit.
Did a bit of baking today for a change. I had got all of the ingredients for a chilli slice that she klikes so we did that this morning. Made two, a big one for her which will probably do four meals. and a smaller one for Vin which will do him two meals. They look quite tasty and it's ages since I made those so a good idea i think.
Cold today but not frosty anymore, there was frost on the shed roof this morning but it has gone, at least it isn't snowing. We did have a bit on boxing day but it didn't last long.

This is a fountain in the garden covered in snow, just to prove it did snow for a while.

Our front door. I like this one. The door is actually darker blue than this but the light makes it look paler i think. The wreath is from the garden centre over the by pass, the little one and looks really nice this year. 
Tonight we are having:
Pizza and salad for Vi, with sweet chilli noodles
Poached egg for moi.

Christmas Done and Dusted!!

Christmas been and gone. All over bar the shouting or so they say. Boxing day today, and apparently people are off to the sales sad people!
We had a nice christmas day. Didd miss the little cats but they were with us in spirit. Very nice Christmas dinner..we had:
Southern fried escalope Quorn
roast potatoes,
baby carrots, sweetcorn for Vin, Maple glazed parsnips
gravy, bread sauce and cranberry sauce.
Our pudding we had later with Downton. That was a brownie with raspberries and a boozy cream with brandy.
Jane rang up on her way to her friends house for her dinner, and then later to say she had come home, had a god day and was stuffed. So glad she had a good day there. She is working today at ticketmaster, but finishes at nine so not too bad.
Vin bought me a lovely oak photo frame quite a large one so we will have to decide which photos to put into it, and I bought him an Emma Bridgewater mug with Barista written on it and his initials on the bottom. he seems quite pleased with that. At least it's something he will use.

Miss you Jane. I hope 2015 will be a great year for you, you deserve it.

And Bobby...

And little Rusty. We certainly didn't think that she would be gone before Christmas.

Christmas Eve..

Really missing you this Christmas little Rusty.

And Bobby. never forgotten. You were such a big part of our family. XXX
Thankyou Vin for uploading these onto the site for me.

Christmas Eve....

So, it's nearly here. Christmas is nearly upon us. Nothing much different about today really except that there is rubbish on the television and none of the usual probrammes.  The trees look nice though and the lights are shining.
Didn't do much today either..think I am missing little Rusty, seems sad without her and Bobby in the house. No stocking for them this year, we always used to hang one up for them with a touy and a new collar. Ahh!
Vin has been doing some clearing up of his things, phoning various people and we did the kitchen floor so that's nice and clean for tomorrow.
Tonight we are having:
No idea at all. Something from the freezer I think.
veggies from the fridge.

If We Haven't Got It Now...

We never will!! We must have everything we need for the two of us to have a nice Cgristmas. We have the food, the trimmjings, all of the decorations up,crackers (last year's) so the stage is set. 
Vin went off to Homebase this morning then to Tesco for a couple of wextra things. he wasn't out long and was back well in time for his coffee which was nice. he said it wasn't busy actually, and the Costa was really quiet!!! Grrr., Why is it that when he goes on his own it is quiet, but when I go with him it is mad busy? 
he did bring me back a beautiful bouquet of foliage today which is lovely. it smells of pine and christmas trees and has some really nice silvery glittery cones in it. Lovely. XX
We got a letter from Janet and Tony this morning with a USB of their photops of their visit to us the August before last.  A beautiful surprise was there were a couple of pictures of our little Rusty and bobby on there too. Rusty was gorgeous because it was before her eye was bad too. I will post some of the pics when I have figured out how to do it. Wish i was more computer savvy really, some people find it so easy.
Tonight we are having:
Cottage pie with gravy
carrots and maybe broccoli for Vin. 

It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas!!

Well, the hustle and bustle of it is anyway. We went off to Waitrose in formby this morning to get a few things in that we wanted like frozen raspberries etc., we had coupons for money off things and a £5 off £50 so we went armed with those.
To be honest it wasn't looking good when we got to the car park to find loads of cars trawling round the car park, so vin dropped me off at the front, and he went off to find a space. Actually he was very quick and caught me up inside by the veggies.   Very luckily we got some veg with a long sell by date on them so it doesn't look like we will need to go out again for them. great! That part of Waitrose was heaving but then it started to even out a bit and we got round really well in the end. We got everything on his list, and some extras (of course!) You wouldn't think it was just a two day holiday judging by the amount of stuff that was flying off the shelves. At least we have all that we need for our christmas dinner now, so that was good.
We stopped for a free coffee which was a really nice Latte and surprisingly the cafe wasn't too busy either, quite a few tables available. So that was a nice breather.
Vin went off to get the few frozen things that we needed and then we went through the checkouts. Nice lad came round with a tin of Quality Street to offer us one while we were waiting. Bet you don't get that in Aldi!!!
Out by neish and home then in ten minutes or so.
What i would call a very  successful morning really. 
tonight we are having:
Pizza with a salad fir vin
maybe a baked potato for moi or an egg on toast.

A Busy Morn9ng...

Well it was a busy morning in the end. i wanted to take back something that I had bought online from the Bon Marche in Maghull so it was a plan that we woukld go there. Firstly Vin had to finish doing the Christmas parcel that we had got for jane to cheer her up a bit over the festive season. We had boight her some things that she will use hopefully, and some treats and Vin had a box that he had got from the post office which was perfect for putting everything in. he is fantastic at putting a parcel together he wraps thing far farr better than I do.It has been sent by courier so it is guaranteed delivery the next day and cost an arm and a leg but never mind.
So, off we went to maghull. The square was busy so Vin dropped me off at the entrance and went off to find a car space. i changed my item very quickly and got a refund, then went into the card shop next door. very reasonable cards there. Vin caught meup outside and I was wilting a little bit for some reason..so had a bit of a breather in the car and we set off on stage two. i went into Superdrug and got my bits and bobs. Then we went to Costa which was heaving. There  se3emed to be half of a school in there. It was really funny because it was like being back in the dinner hall in school!! They were lovely girls  though, really nice all swapping presents .Bless!
Tonight we are having:
Maybe sausage rolls
Leftover v3eggies. 

Wreath!

Got up a bit late this morning for some reason, we both seemed to sleep quite soundly last n8ight. Vin says I woke up early in the morning and said "I'm sure I heard the doorbell!" he said there wasn't a doorbell, and I wouldn't have heard it anyway. True!! Anyhow we both went back to sleep after that so that's probably whjy we were latish. Doesn't matter actually because we weren't going anywhere.
Vin went off to the garden entres over the way. He wanted to get some bulbs for the lights before they were put away. It's actually quite difficult to get bulbs nearer to Christmas. He also went for a wreath for the front door. i told him not to get anything too common and garish lookng, and he came back with a beautiful one. really nice, holly and greenery and a bit of nice tasteful red ribbon. Good choice Mr M.
Vin is wrapping some of Jane's things for her parcel this afternoon. I wanted to get her some stuff for Christmas so she would get a bit of festive cheer. Poor kid is working on Christmas Day and New year's day too which is a shame.I really admire the way she is coping. yesterday she was up at six, off to the hospital for her placement, then left at half past four and drove to Ticketmaster where she was on till ten o'clock. Only trouble was, she rang me at fiveish on her way to Ticketmaster and she was stuck in traffic. gridlocked traffic nothing moving, so instead of parking under the building which she usually does she had to park in the further away cr park and walk, then walk back again at half past ten. then home to bed and up again at six this morning!! Bless her. XXX
Tonight we are having:
Something fronm the freezer,
A few veggies,
potato croquettes
Sauce of some sort.

Review Day..

Comes round with monotonous regularity they do.You start to get little reminders on the bottom of the prescription forms and then larger ones and then Vinstarts nagging although he says he doesn't. So you can't put it off any more and make the appointment.
Mine was for eleven this morning, got there a wee bit early, and went in a wee bit late. nice blokie, never seen him before but quite nice, yungish. He went through my medications and i mentioned that i was tired al the time and no energy. he said it wasn't surprising because of all of the medical problems and that I was anaemic etc., and said to try a mi9ld anti-depressant!!!! Me with anti-depressants!!! Oh well, worth trying he said. 
We3nt from there to Dobbies, mainly because we had to collect the photo frame that was left behind on monday.Collected that, Vin got a few things that he wanted, and I had a bit of a look round. Had a nice coffee and biscuits in what was a very busy cafe area. seemed to be quite a number of groups in today, must be Christmas outings.
Tonight we are having:
Possibly pasdta of some sort, maybe with a cheese sauce,
veggies. carrots broccolii etc.,

No Outing today!!

We didn't go out today, mainly because we went out yesterday and got some veggies at Tesco on the way back. So, it wasn't necessary to go anywhere today for them. 
So, it was a day in today for us. Vin did some tidying up in the middle room, we seem to be overloadedd with papers and magazines at the moment, all lying around in a variety of piles and looking intidy. Needs some serious recycling actually.
He4 did round the fireplace and the brass surround as well, while i got out of the way upstairs on the computer. caught up with a lot of threads today that I've missed. 
Still can't get used to the fact that we are not going to have any little cats for Christmas. The house is really empty somehow. I know vin really misses little Rusty because over the last few years he did so much for her with her eye and her nose condition. You miss her jumping up on the units and just being there for noseying around. 

Funny thing the garden is strangely quiet too, they are there buried by the fence so we have them in spirit, it's just such a long time since we didn't have cats int he garden. The birds are around again now too as if they know there not there.
Tonight we are having:
Quorn cottage pie,
Gravy,
Carrots and broccoli.

A Little Mooching...

Off we went this morning to Dobbies for a coffee and a bit of a look round.Weather was quite nice, cool but not frosty or rainy, at least until we came home then it started to sleety rain.
I wanted to have a look at Christmas cards but they didn't have any that were suitable. I like to get my cards in the january sales for next year anyway. You can usually get them half price then. 
Saw a nice frame for little Rusty's photograph there but vin said they hae them in B&Ms for apound!!!! No way am I going to put Rusty in a cheap frame!!!!
very busy there today, quite a few people in the cafe part, but we got a good table and Vin went off to get his coffees. came back with a large latte for him and an Americano for moi. little bag of honey bun biscuits which were nice, tiny squares of shortbread with fruit in. 
Did a bit of shopping then, bought some things from the food hall and Vin got his vouchers for extra pobts so that was good. Only trouble was that he went to pay then when we got home he discovered that  the frame wasn't there, so he rang them and they found it so will keep it for us.Bit of a pain though.
Tonight we are having:
Pizza with a salad 
Baked potato for moi.

A Change of Plan...

Well we were going to go out this morning but we did have a change of plan in the end. first thing was that we got up a bit loate, and Jane had rung up on her way to work so that meant we didn't get going. the plan was to go over to Dobbies and then call in at Waitrose on the way back to get a few frozen things but never mind. The other thing that decided us was the weather, we looked out of the window and it was horrible, wet and rainy looking so we stopped in.
I did ring up about my medication review and made an appointment for next Wednesday at eleven o'clock. vin has been nagging me about this for an age so that's done anyway. Then I sat down and started doing the Christmas cards and worked my way through those. Will finish the rest tonight, there's not too many to do now anyway. Vin was outside dodging the rainy spells trying to fix the lights over where the cats are, so they have two strands of lovely white lights where Bobby and little rusty are. Gosh we miss them, just being around really. And, being on the bed in the morning, they were very good alarm clocks!
Tonight we are having:
Something from the freezer, maybe sausage rolls,
potato croquettes or chips,
Any veggies left over.

What a Surprise...

We stayed in today. Number one it was a horrible day with wind and rain and some hailstones too. Number two I waspecting a delivery from my health supplier bullens, so we had actually planned tostop in anyway. Bullens came on the dot of eleven as they usually do, and then I had a delivery from QVC with some creams that I had ordered the other day as well.They came quickly I do have to say.
One thing that we did today was the little letter/note that I put in with the christmas cards, Vin very cleverly put a picture on it for me too which is nice. 

I used this one which is nice and christmassy, and one of my favourites. 
Mid morning coffee this morning at home, was an Oreo one for Vin and a macchiato for moi. Both lovely. then by this time the post had come, and I had a white envelope which didn't look familiar. Lo and behold it was from Chat magazine. I had won £1001 pounds in a crossword. Funny thing was I had only said this morning that it was about time that we won something, and here we are. Vin is dividing it up in his head of course into three. Cheek!!! He says that little Rusty has sent it for us to cheer us up. What a nice idea.
Tonight we are having:
Broccoli and Cheese escalope.
Cheese potato croquettes,
Butternut squash andcarrots etc.,
hollandaise sauce.

An Outing!!

A horrible day today weatherwise. it was blowing a gale last night according to Vin. i didn't hear anything because as soon as I take my hearing aids out I'm dead to the world.He said the wind was whistling down the chimney at about half past oneish. 
We had decided to go for my blood test at Aintree this morning, because it was due from the renal clinic. Still blowing a gale and very squally rainy weather on the way. He parks in   a drop off point just outside the building, which is great because I don't have to walk that far from the car park. It gives you twenty minutes so he c9omes up with me to see how busy it is. Luckily today there was only one man waiting so I went in really quickly, and we were out well within the twenty minutes.
Off to M&S after that to have a cffee and a tiny mooch. Very nice coffees, Americanos for both of us, the only thing wrong was that we were sat under an air ventilator that was blowing out cold air. it was freezing, so when two ladies moved from the table at the end we went there. Much better.  Had a little moch in the food dept., and got some things for xmas, like a nice christmas coffee..what6 else!! and a couple of things for Jane. I want to send her a bit of a Christmas parcel since she won't be coming home for Christmas this year as she is working.Aaaah the house is going to be quiet without her this year. 
One downer of going out was that when we arrived home, there was no little Rusty coming out of her hidey hole to greet us. it was horrible, we really really miss that little cat. 

Beautiful little Rusty, she would come out and greet you with a little chirrup and follow you into the kitchen. What a shame.
Funny thing, when I got back we got a phone call to ask whether I had been for a blood test!! I was able to say that we had just gone that morning to Aintree and the woman said that was a co-incidence wasn't it. 
Tonight we are having:
Pasta with a cheese sauce.
A bit of garlic bread for Vin,
Carrot batons to go with and maybe some butternut squash.

Such a Good Shopper...

Well, he has turned into an excellent shopper my Vin has! He makes his list before he goes out which is something I never diod, and he makes sure he gets everything on it. Then over the time i have encouraged him to think beyond that, so he gets the extra things nowadays. He went off to Tesco this morning via Homebase because he wanted to get a new lampshade and take some of the drain things back that he bought the other day. it's money off on a Tuesday for over 60s so that saves dosh on the lampshade too. Well done. 
Then off to Tesco. he had a voucher for £6 off £40 which is it has to be said a good deal, so he knew what to look out for. He came back with all sorts of things, 2 boxes of decent mints for example which were on offer, a big box of wash tabs for £6, plus our veggies for the week, and two bottles of very nice wine. one a Chablis my favourite, and the other a  nice white for consuming over the new year.  Very well done Vin XX
Home in time for coffee, we have a great stock of tassimo discs, more than Tesco i suspect, haha. :)
Tonight we are having:
Quorn cottage pie with gravy,
Carrots broccoli and green beans.

What A Weekend!!

Well it was for poor Vin. Saturday afternoon he noticed that the drains outside were leaking somewhat into the yard, and the water wasn't clearing away as it should. he had been outside most of the afternoon putting some christmas lights up, especially over where the cats are. he had said I'm not having my Rusty without some nice lights. Well one of the strands was awkward because the bulbs weren't working soit was well dark when he began on the drain. he was out there in the cold, and dark and miserable weather but nothing doing.  Sunday morning he rang the helpline of our insurance which is LV and they said they would contact a drain clearing firm and they would ring back. in fact, quite quickly after that phone call the man arrived mid morning  from Metro Rod.  Vin said he wasn't hopeful at first but then he got going with hhis plunger thing, and got it leared, so the water was running freely. Phew!!! that was a load off our minds. Poor Vin was very tired last night, he didn't get much sleep the night before for thinking about what to do. but, mr Fixit does it again!!
Today i did three Christmas cards for the girls in Australia. nice cards from M&S I bought in the January sales last year, Vin did the addressing and i wrote the cards, sealed them and he took them off to the P.O. £2 each to post!!! That's a disgrace, no wonder the P.O. is losing business and money! 
Since we weren't going out today we did the bedding so that's all nice and fresh. he will sleep well tonight!
Jane rang up after lunch in a bit of a fix. Her bank..horrible NatWest !! have reduced her overdraft by eight hundred pounds so all she had in the bank was £42 and her rent was due tomorrow or this week, so she was asking for a loan. I don't mind that, she works so hard, so I have just transferred that into her bank for her. At least obnline banking is easy to do!
Tonight we are having:
Pizza for Vin, no salad because he couldn't go out yesterday,
Apoached egg for me i think.

It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas!!!

It is starting to look a lot like Christmas in our house today. Vin got the trees out of the shed yesterday, and the one out of the cupboard in the bedroom  this morning. We have three trees. One in the front room so that it can be seen through the front window, one in the middle room  where we are most of the time for us in the afternoons and evenings, and the third in the extension which we use in the mornings and the evenings at dinnertime.  So there are quite a lot of decorations to put on them. The ones above the fireplace i particularly like, it always makes the room look cosy somehow and really Chrristmassy. 

This was last year's, but it is the same this year, except for the Christmas cards, so far we have only had two.  Vin is putting everything back in the right place now which is nice. he did get a little tiny bit grumpy this morning, but I don't blame him I must be a pain, plus we are both missing little Rusty like mad.  It just isn't the same without her and Bobby chasing the baubles etc.,
Tonight we are having:
Quorn fillets with a white wine and mushroom sauce
Rice or pasta. 

Little Rusty Robin...

Vin has been out in the garden a bit over the last couple of days, and he has been nurturing a little robin who comes near him when he is out there. I said that it was sent by little Rusty to keep him company. just a flight of fancy really. nice idea though. it perches on the fence and he feeds it little bits of bread. Aaah! Today he had some soup for his lunch, and i had a slice of my bread with cheese spread on it, with the crusts cut off. he chopped these up into tiny pieces for it..what a softie. 
Very sad news on the television just now. on tuesday evening a young mother walked out of a hospital in Bristol with her four day old baby in her arms wrapped in a blanket. the police had reported that they were very concerned for her well being, and it has just been confirmed that her body has just been found in a gorge near Clifton or thereabouts. What a terrible tragic story, always 


seems worse at this time of the year, when new babies should be such a happy event.
jane rang up at coffee time, talking about her night shift last night which she seemed to enjoy.Jane is very much a night bird so I think the hours would suit her to a T.  She liked the staff she was on with, and that is always half the battle with our jane.  i am so proud of her and the way she is coping with all of the work and the job she does at ticketmaster as well. XXX
Tonight we are havibng:
Something from the freezer.

Short and Sweet...

Won't be a long post because I've only just come up here, so a bit delayed in doing this. 
Vin has done loads today, all sorts of bits and bobs. Me....not a lot. i look at him and he makes me tired, he has so much energy. I am just tired all of the time, don't know why, takes me all my time to get up the stairs while he is bounding up them like there is no tomorrow.  He has started getting grumpy with me today, I think I'm annoying him. Then Jane rang up on her way to the shops, her daddy started telling her why he was grumpy and she started having a go at me as well! So, I had them in stereo, one in one ear and the other in the other ear!! :)  Ah well! Just one of those down days I guess. maybe it is a case of Rusty misery..really missing her. 
Vin had a load of coal delivered this morning. 4 bags so that is the first of the heating allowance £200.
Autumn budget day today today, but not expecting any joy there either. 
Tonight we are having:
Baked potato for moi,
A Quorn curry for Vin.

Hello Blog!!

Hello Again. Haven't been on here for almost a week now. Started with a blockage about last Wednesday and was bed bound for a few days,till it cleared. just about getting up and around again, but got no energy. I wish I knew what vin was on, he has the energy for everyone.. For example, i was in bed last thursday, and he was downstairs making a lovely batch of marmalade. looked beautiful, orange marmalade with whisky, so he has a good stock now.  Then on the same day he did the brasses over the fireplace and the front. Makes me tired thinking about what he does. And, all that with running up and down the stairs tending to me as well.
What a Star XXXX
Got our first Christmas card today, it is always from the same person, she sends it every year on around the same date. Vin was in the back garden putting the flag back over little Rusty's grave , so now we have a row of little cats. Rusty, Bobby, Lucy and Inky. Most of our little animals. It is terrible without little Rusty and Bobby, so quiet. When bobby went we still had Rusty, but now we don't have any little cats running around. Vin has taken to a little robin in the garden, and I said maybe Rusty has sent it down for him to keep him company. Aaaah !
Food has been all over the place I haven't felt like eating for most of the week, and Vin says he hasn't felt like cooking much on his wn. he has had some pretty nice meals though. he had a really nice pizza and salad last night for his tea. 
Tonight we are having:
Something from the freezer probably.

Amazon!!Tonight we are having:

We didn't go out today, mainly because we stopped in to receive a parcel from Amazon. It was a DVD that I had ordered for John and Ann for Christmas of the latest series of Downton Abbey. It was delivered yesterday but we were out so they sent a message to say it would be delivered today. At any rate it did come but the courier gave it to a workman who was working at another house along the road. good job he was honest!
So, I finished off my letter to them so it could go in their parcel, and Vin got a good big envelope from the P.O. for everything to go into. Ge5t them wrapped and that will be done. 
Being at home today really makes you miss the little cats. the house is terribly quiet, and I still find myself looking down so that I don't walk into one or other of them. Very weird. Mind you she was here for so long that we are bound to miss them, still can't believe that they have both gone. What a shame.Escalope 
potato croquettes
carrots.
OR 
Cottage pie with carrots

An Outing!!

Quite nice today, dawned sunny for November.  Vin is really missing our little Rusty, he comes upstairs with our morning cups of coffee very quickly because he doesn't have to do "cat" things. Previously he had to give her a tablet, do her nose and wipe her eye for her. Check the cat litter etc., now he isn't doing that, so it must be hard for him. The house is terribly quiet without them, it just seems so hard to believe that within six months they would both be gone.

This was a good picture of them in our garden, and abut as close as they would get, but they were usually together somewhere, or near each other anyway. 
We did decide to go out today for a coffee, so we took ourselves off to Dobbies. It was really sunny when we were going, a lovely day actually. Quite quiet there, but it makes a defference there being no children around. I spotted a couple of things to go into J&A's Christmas parcel, so got those. Got a nice card too, and a little book for john. All I need to do is finish their letter and get the presents wrapped and posted off. 
Enjoyed our coffees it was a bit since I've been out, and it was lovely just sitting there people watching and chatting. i had an Americano and Vin had a flat white with a very pretty leaf pattern on the top. We do take our own biscuits so that keeps it cheap. Mind you i did end up spending £29 in there so they get that back!!
Funny coming home to an empty house, with no little cats to meet us in the hallway or in the middle room. very strange feeling really. 
Jane rang up today just around lunchtime. She was in Tesco's doing her shopping. She had meant to get up early but overslept so was out a bit later. She was going to swap being in tomorrow for friday because she said she would not be able to get up at six o'clock tomorrow with getting up late today. Poor kid it must be hard juggling everything she has to do.
One annoying thing today was that we missed a delivery from Amazon. The number of times Vin takes in parcels for other people along the road and the one time we get something delivered they go away again. Still they say they will deliver tomorrow instead so hopefully nice and earlyish!
Tonight we are having:
Pizza and salad for Vin.
I might have a poached egg on toast, quite fancy that.

Little Rusty R.I.P.

We are very sad indeed in our house today. last night little Rusty died in her sleep, and when we went to bed at about half past twelve she was in her basket sleeping and looking really peaceful. vin got up at around three this morning and went down to see if she was alright and she had gone.  Quietly, and peacefully, she never caused any trouble that little cat even at the end.
We reckon she was 21 which I know is a good age for a cat, but it really doesn't make it easier to manage the loss.
Rusty was the sweetest, gentlest little cat you could ever have wished for never ever bit or scratched or did anything wrong. just a beautiful little puss. 
We buried her in the garden this morning in a space next to Bobby , I hope somewhere they are playing together. Wesaid our goodbyes in the rain this morning, put her in a nice box with a blanket and some toys, she looked like she was asleep. 
It is only 6 months since Bobby died too so now we do not have any cats at all. Who would ever have thought last Christmas that both of our cats would have gone by November.
So, a really sad post today. And an extremely sad Vin and jen. We had to tell Jane when she rang up this morning too which was hard because she loved Rusty she is gutted, and it is hard when she isn't here. Gosh you miss them. XX

Tonight we are having:
Fishl3ess fingers
Chips 200 grms
Any veggies left
Tartare sauce.

Rusty Update..

Little Rusty is still holding herv own. She is veryweak and is sleeping quiten an lot,b mainly on the kitchen floor, where shen doesn't look very comfyb but she seems settled enough. She has a basket that Vin made her out of a box and she goes in that, and he brought her upstairs this morning while we had our coffees which was lovely. 
So, we didn't go out today because we wanted to keep an eye on her really. We have done bits and bobs today. I did order the series 5 of Downton to go into J&A's Christmas parcel so hope to get their letter done soon. I start writing a letter, this one began in Sept., and then add bits as I think of them. hence the letter goes on for ages. I do get there in the end though!
Tonight we are having:
Sausage rolls
potato croquettes
Something tomatoey,
Mushrooms for Vin,
Whatever veggies are left.

Oh Rusty!!!!

Oh Rusty! We didn't go to bed too early last night, then sat up reading so didn't go to sleep early either. Consequently we were out light lights this morning. However, Vin jumped up at about ten to nine,because he could hear a knocking at the door. He went to see who it was, and came back with Rusty in his arms. A man in a red coat with a bicycle was standing on the doorstep trying to get our attentin because he had found little rusty in the middle of the road.!! He was concerned because a car had already swerved to avoid her!!
Goodness me, she does seem very confused today as if she is n a trance almost.  Then not long after that, the girl who lives in the end house to our terrace rang the bell to enquire after her. She was out for a run at half past seven this morning and had found little Rusty half way down Blundell Road which is over a busyish road  all hunched up on the pavement. She recognised her and brought her back. We didn't hear the doorbell at that time so she left her on the step with some water, and had to go off to take her kids to school. 
Rusty definitely isn't herself today Vin had been keeping an eye on her all day, she will be locked in tonight and every night now She just doesn't seem to be able to settle today and is quite confused. Hopefully it is just a bad day.
Tonight we are having:
Pasta  with a cheese sauce 
A bit of garlic bread for Vin
Butternut squash and sweet potato.

He is..my Vin.Didn't get up early because I'm still a bit doddery, so he brings me my rice cake to bed. What a star. Then he gets his list ready and off he goes to Tesco for a few top up things. Came back with all sorts. he is now getting good at getting other things that aren't on the list but he sees and thinks will be useful. I did ask him to get a quorn cottage pie, but he said there weren't any on the shelf. So he asked a bloke in case they had some in the back. The "chiller" man did come out with one but said that unfortunately they had been withdrawn from sale. Apparently something wrong with the packaging and some may have lasagne in them which is not gluten free! So that's it. Anyway we did have one in the freezer so that was ok. He did get some Tassimo pods though which are on offer and about a pound off so that goes in our stock. Must tell Jane about those. Nice coffees when he got home. I had a cafe Hag and he had I think it was an intenso?
Tonight we are having:
Cottage pie,
carrots and butternut squash
gravy.

Doddery Old Git!

That's me not Vin, he is anything but! . Not been on here for a few days because I've had a bit of a blip again. getting to be boring. Ah well, plenty worse off than me.
Poor Vin has been up and down the stairs like nobody's business waiting n moi and keeping me company. he is a real trooper that one, I wish I had some of what he is on.
Jane rings up most days either on her way to ar from work or sometimes both. She seems ok at the moment but snowed under with work on her course and at the hospital. Not long to go now though nearly at Christmas and then next year. 
Little Rusty is still being tended to by her daddy who makes sure she is ok, fed watered and looked after.  She has been up to the bedroom a bit lately which is good.
Tonight we are having:
No idea,
I might have a baked potato.
Vin had a nice chilli and rice last night, don't know what he feels like tonight?

Change of Plan...

Well we were going out over to Dobbies today for a bit of a look round. But..I woke up this morning with a bit of an ear wobble, still a remnant of the ear infection that I had earlier in the year, so Vin said we aren't going with you like that so we didn't. Ah well best laid plans of mice and men and all that!
he did quite a lot of bits and bobs round the house including putting up the new lights in the bac k garden. These are l e d ones that are on a timer so I hope that they will brighten up the back garden a bit on the dark nights. The solar  ones don't work any more so it is really dark out there.  He did some work in the front garden too clearing away some stubborn ivy and the drain pipe. He is a regular Mr Fixit.He can fix anything. Bless him.
Jane rang up after lunch to tell us she has just got a jury summons and it is for the first week before her exams but you can get it deferred so she is going to do that. She also had an appointment at the eye clinic today too and had drops put in so was having to get the bus to work after.  They do wear off after a bit though but a bit inconvenient for the time being.
Tonight we are having:
Escalopes
baby potatoes sliced and fried
squash and carrots
hollandaise sauce.

Naughty Corner...

Today dawned grey and looking like rain. Really quite wintry looking in fact. All the leaves have gone mostly from the trees now, and it will be the last green bin next week. 
We decidid to take my money off to Tesco this morning. Vin had gone through the coupons and we had quite a few for there, and then of course there is always the tempting costa to get me going there.  We weren't too early, in fact a bit on the late side but it doesn't matter. Went round the store quite quickly actually,got a nice selection of veggies for the week, plus other things that were on the list that we had run ut of. Vin always has a list in the kitchen and whenever we run out of he puts uit in the list so that goes with us.
Costa then..hence the naughty corner, our favourite seats were all taken so we had to sit elsewhere. never mind. They have the christmas flavours going on at the moment. Vin had a sticky toffee latte and I had an Americano. Very nice too.
Tonight we are having:
Cottage pie,
carrots and broccoli,
gravy..

Washday Monday..

It always used to be washday monday in our house when I was young. then as you get married etc., you tended to do the washing on a weekend instead..God knows how we fitted it in with everything else. now we are retired you can do the washing whenever, so you can take advantage of the weather conditions. Mind, at this time of the year it is colder so drying is harder. The bedding was done last week and dried in the tumbler largely, but we woke up this morning and Vin said it was quite bright outside so he put the klast of the sofa covers in the machine. Thankfully it has been out all morning and no sign of rain so has dried quite well.
We did the ironing from last weeks bedding this morning so that has gone thank goodness. 
Jane has just rung up after lunch as we were watching Doctors. She is in a grumpy mood today she says, still got a headache she says it is from a sinus thing, and that isn't helping. She always seems to be grumpy when she comes back from Uni, i think it is the group she is in and that they are all moaning, she says she loves her Ticketmaster job becaus nobody moans there and they are all happy. Oh Dear! Too much work and too much stress. 
Nice news about the little cat from her next door neighbour though over the weekend. She saw the chap from the house and they had a cat that was run over quite some months ago. It had a big operation and a lot of vet care, and he said it had started walking again recently which is lovely news. 
Tonight we are having:
pizza with cheese and mushrooms for Vin
Green salad
pasta salad

A Rainy Appointment...

Pouring down this morning, and I had an appointment with a Diabetic nurse at the Diabetic centre in Aintree. this was at five to twelve so getting up at our usual time was just about ready for getting there on time..allowing me my usual long time for getting my gear on etc.,Horrible weather this morning, really raining, it is such a good job that Vin's new car has great windscreen wipers :)
Got to Aintree dead on time and he dropped me off at the clinic while he went off to park the car in the multi-storey. I went to reception gave my details in and sat down to wait. Obnly about five mins later the nursey came and called me in. good start. A lot of a waste iof time though because she didn't go over anything i didn't know, just said that they were pleased with my progress, and keep on doing what I was doing. out in about ten mins!!!! Vin went off to get the car, and because we were under the half hour it was free!! good start. 
We were going to come home after the appointmenmt, but because we were out so early we decided to go to M&S anyway as we were planning to do. This time for a coffee because we were early enough. had a lovely long coffee, i an Americano and Vin a latte. One of them was free because we had a full stamped card. good start. :)
Picked up another hand towel that I wanted and went down to the food hall. vin had to go via the front door because on the way down a lady told him that he had a ladybird on his coat, Aaah! so he went off to put it outside on a bush. Bless him. They are supposed to be lucky aren't they. He could do with a bit of luck my Vin XXXX
Food hall next, very busy and we were getting pressed for time so went round quickly and got what we wanted. saw a couple of nice things for Christmas though so got those.  out and home by about a quarter to two. Turned out quite well this morning then.
Tonight we are having:
Crispy Quorn fillets
Chips 200 grms
Tartare sauce
Any veg that we have left over and something saucey and tomatoey.

What a Change...

Definitely a change in the air today and yesterday. A lot cooler and almost a touch of wintry weather. Bonfire night last night, and there were some foreworks over at the Hotel but they didn't seem to disturb Rusty so that was good. 
Vin surprised me last night by doing a fire, so that is the first of the season. Lovely it was, warms the whole house up,because we have some radiators which run off the boiler at the back of the fire. 
Today we did the bedding, not a suitable day for drying, so that means the tumble dryer on all day. Lord knows how our parents managed with cotton sheets etc., and drying them. We used to do the washing on a Sunday mostly in the early days when we were working, and the drying was doneon a clothes horse round the fire. Mostly the house would smell of steam and laundry. 
Jane has just rung up, she is off today, and was on her way to tesco over the road to get some supplies in. She isn't working tonight either so that will be a bit of a break for her. 
Tonight we are having:
Something from the freezer, not sure what yet.
Veggies, asparagus, broccoli and beans.
potato croquettes.

Bonfire Night...

November the Fifth already. Doesn't time fly, now it will be all systems go until Christmas!
vin has started the preparations already. he arranged for the chimney sweep to come today at twelve o'clock which he did pretty promptkly too. that meant covering all the furniture with the dist sheets, and moving all of the clutter. He was gone fairly quickly, and Vin said there was a load of ash deposit from the chimney. in fact he had to give him a bin bag to collect it al in. So now he is putting things straight. Only thing is that he won't let  me do anything because he says I'll trip over things etc., Grrr. Wish I had more energy though hate him doing everything. Well done Vin XXX
Jane has sent us a Christmas present today. It is a beautiful Yankee candle advent calendar. You open a new window every day in December and you get five different flavours of tealights. What a lovely surprise that was Bless her.  So thoughtful, and just up our street.
Tonight we are having:
Quorn cottage pie,
gravy and mushrooms for vin
carrots broccoli and green beans.

What a Difference..

Indeed..what a difference a few days makes. we went to Tesco last friday and it was absolutely heaving, car park fullish, store heaving, and a Costa with no spaces at all.   We took my money off there today to get our stuff for the week, and hopefully to get a coffee out. 
carpark was spaces everywhere, and the shop was really quietish so got round easily, and no annoying kids running round in front of the trolley. gre3at! Got all our things, and some nice veggies so done for the week. Bought |Jane a card too so keep that for her Christmas. Hopefully we will get over there to see her b3efore Christmas if she can keep a few hours free.
Since our Costa was nice and quiet we went for our usual coffees. We both had an Americano with the new l8imited edition coffee type which was really nice. Shared a half of a little bag of biscuits. Sat for ages just people watching and chatting. Interesting that, people come and people go and they all do different things. 
Two nurses sat to our right chatting over a cappuccino and a man typing away on his computer with a cup by his side. lovely places these coffee shops when they are quieter, hate them when they are busy.
Jane rang up before talking about her first night shift last night. She said it went well and she enjoyed it. Sounded quite tired though, but she is off tomorrow so hopefully will catch up.  Glad she enjoyed it though. She is a night person so I think it would probably suit her.
Tonight we are having:
Escalope with broccoli and cheese,
broccoli and green beans
Potato croquettes.

Trivia!

Monday morning. We have had Halloween on friday, no callers again this year which was good, and fireworks on saturday evening over at the hotel. They were quite loud but didn't seem to bother rusty, but Vin says she can't hear as well these days so maybe she just didn't hear them.Anyway she was ok. it is actually bonfire night on Wednesday so we shall see what happens then, but they were the big ones over there.
nice morning to wake up to, although at the time of typing this it is raining. did a washing load this morning which Vin hung out and had to run out and get them in when he noticed that it was raining just after lunch. We weren't going anywhere today, so i had a lovely shower this morning, i must say that the new shower is really good, looks great too. Beautiful chrome which matches the new light fitting. The bathroom is looking quite good these days. it's surprising just what a difference a few alterations make actually, vin bought a new door handle for the back door on Sunday in Crosby, and fitted that. it now works perfectly and the door coses properly. So much better. Well done Mr4 Fixit!!
Tonight we are having:
pizza with a side salad for Vin.

Best Laid Plans!!

Well the plan was to go to Tescos this morning..do a bit of eisurely shopping for the weekend and then have a Costa.  Huh!!! When we got to the store, the cars were driving round the block, the queues out of the petrol station bit, and nowhere to park.  Obviously going to be busy. Lord knows why,Maybe it is the Half Term effect plus the Halloween effect too. Anyway people everywhere, cars everywhere, and even worse the Costa was jammed. Hardly a seat to be seen anywhere. 
So,it was get round, do the basic shopping, get the things we needed and hope that the Costa would be quieter by the time we had finished. It wasn't in fact it looked even busier, with a queue at the counter too. So, we decided that we would go hom,e and have a tassimo instead. I had bought Vin some tassimo milk pods so he had an Americano with one of those and I had a kenco cafe crema. very nice. 
Jane rang up just as we were having those and she was on her way to work till ten tonight.Long day for her. She is on her night duty on Monday. That should be interesting for her. 
Tonight we are having:
Fishless fingers
Mushy peas for Vin and green beans for moi
Chips..200grms
Tartare sauce.

Internet Christmas...

I have got a few things for Christmas already. mostly off the Internet I might add. I have one nice thing for Vin..hope he likes it, and another came this morning for Jane..hope she likes that too.  Already bought some things for John and Ann for their parcel. It is quite a good way of shopping especially early before the rush, because that is when things go missing, and deliveries get awkward. 
Didn't go out today, because there were one or two things to do. Vin had a go at clearing the kitchen, especially the dishwasher which was spattered with tiny blobs of cat food. Did the floors so they are nece and clean now.Of course little Rusty comes out of her hole and sits by the mat which the cat food dish sits on, and looks like she is never fed. She is of course, and the mat wasn't there because it was being washed in the sink. little monkey. I always thought it was Bobby who splashed the cat mat, but not so sure now, Rusty makes a good job of it. Butter wouldn't melt in her mouth would it.
I just did a bit of typing up here today, getting darker much earlier now, Autumn is really here now. 
Tonight we are having:
maybe a macaroni cheese,
Butternut squash with sweet potato,
A bit of garlic bread for Vin.

Lovely Autumn Day..

It is a beautiful Autumn day today. The sun was shining and very bright. 

I wish we were here though. new England in the Fall. Absolutely gorgeous photo opportunities at every turn. this was the sight that greeted us just around the corner from the hotel where we were staying. Just unbelievable. Pumpkins everywhere.   Nothing like that round here though. 
We went off to Dobbies this morning for a bit of a mooch and our free coffees. had a look at the decorations and got myself covered in glitter from somewhere.. but didn't see any that I liked. Vin was looking for a diary but didn't see any that he wanted either. Then we went for our coffees. I asked for an Americano but the girl did a large latte instead!! and Vin had a flat white in a small cup. So, he didn't have the heart to point out to the girl that it should have been an Americano so what we ended up doing was swapping cups. i had his flat white and he had my large latte. very nice too. It was really busy, far busier than normal, probably the half term effect, lots of grans and grandads with kids, and mums with buggies. Still room to move though.
We had a look round the food hall, and noticed they had a favourite chutney back in stock so we got two of those. One for the cupboard and one for the box upstairs where we keep things for special occasions etc., like Christmas. 
Tonight we are having:
Escalopes from the freezer,
Baby new potatoes squashed and boiled
Carrots beans and broccoli
Sauce maybe hollandaise.

Dark and Dull!

Well it is nowQuite a nice morning to start with, Vin was in the front and baack garden tidying up bits and bobs for the Autumn. He did a bit of lead flashing on the flat roof at the front where the guttering was in need of it. Bits of washing and a bit of sorting out too. One of those days .
As i type this it is pouring down, hope Jane isn't out in it. She wasn't sure whether she was going into the hospital today to get some more data for her assignment, she'll probably ring later on. The clocks going back at the weekend have made a heck of a difference actually. it is already getting dark, and I don't think there has been anywhere we have been today that we haven't put lights on.  Something nice and warming for tea tonight I think.
Tonight we are having:
Quorn chicken stye fuillets with a white wine and herb sauce,
Rice 
mixed vegetables and extra mushrooms for Vin.

Let There Be light!

Yesterday Vin went off to Homebase to get a new bathroom light fitting that he had seen. it is a three light fixture, and is myuch brighter than the one we had before. Thing was it was 20% off if he bought it yesterday, but when he got to the til there were further reductins so it was a good buy and instead of it being £33 it was £19 so he was well pleased. he fitted it just before lunch and it is now a matter of getting the lights at the right angles now.
We took ourselves off to Waitrose this morning because we had two vouchers one for £3 off ten on cleaning products and another for £1 off dairy. All of which we needed so that was worth the trip. Together with the free newspaper and the free coffees it was worth going. Went round quite quickly and got our veggies for the week also so we don't have to go anywhere tomorrow if we don't want. 
Jane rang up at lunchtime on her way to work. One thing she did mention was that she didn't like her middle name!!!!! This is Lara and her daddy chose that. I chose the first name..Jane after my mum and always said if she was a boy he could choose the first name which actually was going to be Alexander, but obviously she was a girl so he chose the middle name..lara. She doesn't like that  and wants it left off her graduation certificate. Oh well you can't win them all. 
The clocks went back on Saturday night, so we got an extra hour in bed on Sunday. makes a difference to the light too. As I type this it is getting darker and it is only a quarter to five. 
Tonight we are having:
Pizza for Vin with salad 
maybe a poached egg for moi.

A Clean Sweep!

Not quite. One of the things that Vin wanted to do today was to contact the chimney sweep to get our chimney done for the winter and the start of the fire season! he did ring them and is presently waiting for a ring back.
Since the windy weather has calmed he went outside to do the garden bench which he has used a water based product on. It looks great actually, seems to have given it a lovely gleam, and will be ready for putting away for the winter nw. Anther stage in his wintering of the garden plan!!
Jane rang up this morning on her way to work, she was starting at two today till ten so a longish day for her. She was telling us about a friend of hers from Uni a few years ago, and it had been posted on FB that her sister had died. terrible shame, she was nly about 29ish. Seems to have been the result of a chest infection and asthma.Just awful for the family, they must be devastated and it appears to have been quite quick too. No age that, it doesn't seem fair at all.
Tonight we are having:
Fishless fingers 
Chips 200 grms 
Mushy peas for Vin and butternut squash for moi
tartare sauce.

Yay! An outing !

Haven't been ut of the house for over a week now, so thought a little outing would be in order. 
So, tesco's it was and of course a Costa. just right for a bit of a mooch. Quite busy actually, the car park was fullish so Vin dropped me off at the entrance and he went off to park the car. i got some money out of the bank machine while he was doing this, and then we went into Costa. Bust in there as well so we didn't get our usual table, but got a nice little table round the corner. I had an Americano with the new limited edition coffee and he had a caramello with soy milk which he likes. lovely sit down and chat about all sorts for ages. Then had a little walk round the store for a few things that we needed and home. very successful.
Jane rang up after lunch to have a bit of a rant really. She had been into Uni this morning and was frustrated because she said they didn't learn a thing today. The groups are having meltdown at the moment with all of the work that they have to do and no-one is helping themj at all. It's all a bit much with their study, work, assignments and her part time work as well.  It is going to be a tough year poor kid.  She was on her way to the city to meet her friend and have a bit of a look round town. Hope that cheers her up a bit.
Tonight we are having:
Amy's kitchen macaroni cheese
Butternut squash and carrots
garlic bread for Vin.

Lady gaga!!

Jane rang up quite late last night on her way homefrom seeing lady Gaga in the manchester Arena. She had got two free tickets with Ticketmaster one for her and a plus one so she took a friend with her.  She picked the friend up at her house and they went for a Bar burrito first which is a good start, then on to the venue.
Sounded like they had a really good time. She said they had great seats, worth about £110 and an excellent view of the stage which is a terrific bonus. I am so glad it all went well for her, she so deserved that treat, she works so hard. She said it didn't cost her much because she had a voucher for a bogof at Bar burrito  and a coke when they got there and she bought a t-shirt on the way out for half price so they did well. XXXXWell done Janey, you deserve that.

Today is a bit rainy and dull and still quite cold although the wind has dropped now a lot. vin brushed some of the leaves from the front, and then it started raining so he has done things inside. We ordered some new vacuum cleaner bits for the panasonic one which needed a new handle off Amazon so that should come early next week.In fact I have just looked at an email from them to say it has been sent already so that was quick.  
Tonight we are having:
Something from the freezer,
potato croquettes
A few mixed veggies,
sauce of some kind./

Blowy here!

Certainly is blowy here today. Aftermath of some hurricane today and tonight. Gonzales I believe. terrible weather all morning, but sunny. However, it is now absolutely pouring down with rain and looks very nasty. Vin has been out quite a few times already fastening the plastic and the cover to the bench down because it keeps blowing up. 
He went off to Tesco this morning to get some stocks in. A lot of cat food, cat litter and of course a few things for the humans in the house. 
he did ring me up from there and the wind was terrible on the line. Itr even blew his till receipt away this was a bit of a pain because he always ikes to show me the receipt, not that I am worried about it. Just his way, bless him. We do have a thing that we do thought with the shopping where we scan all the purchases for a scanning company. We have done it for years and have built up a lot of points which you redeem in vouchers etc., Anyway he went back inside and got the girl at customer services to print out another so that was ok.
Tonight we are having:
Cottage pie..quorn one.
gravy with mushrooms for Vin
carrots.

Enforced Absence...

Been away since about Wednesday because of another blocking of the gastric bits. Getting to be a bit of a pain in more ways than one. Ah well these things are sent to try us. Poor Vin has been wearing the stairs out again tending to my needs. What a sar! Between me and Rusty he certainly has his hands full. Thanks my lovely. XXXX
Quiet weekend, Jane is innundated with work, keeps ringing up usually on her way to and back from work at Ticketmaster. She is off to see Lady Gaga tomorrow night in Manchester so I really hope it's a good night for her.She deserves a treat. The rhyme Monday's child is definitely true for her. Saturday's child works hard for a living and she certainly does that in spades.  I wonder if Vin was born on a Saturday too. Might try to find out on the google sometime.
Little Rusty is doing ok., Vin keeps her going, and her eye and nose cleaned so that must make her feel better.
Tonight we are having:
Whatever anyone feels like. I think Vin will possibly have his pizza because he has a nice half pack of salad left, and I might have a poached egg again.

Snip..Snip...

My hair was getting quite straggly, so i rang my hairdresser yesterday and made an appointment for today aat 11.30. So that was the plan for today. go and get my hair cut, and then go off to Waitrose just up the road to get ur veggies. I also thought it would be a good idea for Vin to get his done at a barbers as well then we are all done at once.
Anyway, he dropped me off at my hairdresser and noticed a barbers a few doors down so he went to have a look in there. He absolutely hates hanging around so if there were people waiting he won't stay. However, there wasn't anybody in there much so off he went there. great . I got mine done and he got his done too.We both came out at roughly the same time, his haircut is one of the best he has had done, and he seemed really impressed. it really looks good I am very pleased with mine too the gtirl that I have does it just right.
So our hair nice and smart..off we went to Waitrose just a bit up the road.Quick whizz round the veggie dept., and a few other things we needed, very quiet today too for a change. Then to get our free coffees. Beautiful Lattes today in proper glasses too.  So we sat and enjoyed those.
Home to littloe Rust6y waiting for us..or more likely waiting for her dinner :) :) 
Tonight we are having:
Escalopes with leek and cheese
Baby potatoes boiled and squashed
Mixed vegetables
Hollandaise sauce.

Little Monday Outing!

Just for a change we decided to go out to Dobbies for our coffees and a mooch this mo5rning. No r5ush and Jane had rung because she had been into the hospital to get some more chests done for her assignment, but  it was a strike day, so there were no patients. She did say that she had a word with some of the other radiographers and so she had an idea of what to do, so that was ok. She was going to get her hair cut then and off to her friends to do some work.
We went off to Dobbies then. A bit drizzly on the way but not too bad.  We split up a bit when we got there and had a bit of a look round. Just before we went Vin had a brainwave about some initial letters that I had bnought for John and Ann for Christmas. When we got them home the last time we went I tr5ied standing them up. No trouble with the A but try as I might the J wouldn't stand up at all. So he thought that we could tyake it back and swap it for one that did.  He couldn't find the receipt which is totally unlike him but it didn't matter actually because it was a straight swap, and the girl just exchanged it so that was good. 
Lovely cup of coffee then, I had an Americano and Vin had a flat white which comes in a much smaller cup so we shared my one. Very nice chat too. Bought some stuff from the food hall some chutney, biscuits, a fruits for cheese and Vin spotted a bar of white choc that he likes. So, a good trip.
Tonight we are having:
Pizza and green salad
Avocado and baby plum tomatoes
Pasta salad with spinach and pine nuts.

What a Chat Up Line!!

Indeed! More later...
I had decided that we should go over to Ormskirk this morning to get some stuff from Holland and Barratt. Mostly fishless fingers and other things that they have. Quite a nice morning so off we went.
Parked behind the M&S, quite easily today, and went ande got our things from H&B first. Vin had tried ringing them but they weren't answering, but it didn't matter, they had three packs left so that was good.Picked out some other things and my vitamins which were on the penny sale and back to the car. Vin popped into the M&S to get some pears then we went to the Morrisons for our coffee. This is where it gets interesting.! 
He got our coffees while I bagged a table, very nice coffee actually, and half the price of a Costa..not that we mind that. Anyway,he had a packet of sugar in his fingers, flicking it the way you do I wasn't particularly watching, then I heard an Aye..Aye from behind me, and Vin had got out of his seat and was conversing with a woman on the table behind. Apparently the sugar packet had gone flying out of his hand and landed on her table :) He went to retreive it and picked it up, but the packet opened and the sugar went all over her trousers. ! What a hoot..They took it in good part though so no harm done.  i said to Vin you can't take you anywhere. :)
Quick mooch round Morrisons and got some more Quorn things and other bits and bobs we don't get anywhere else, so a really good mornings shopping. Home for lunch then.
Tonight we are having:
Fishless fingers,
Mushy peas for Vin and carrots for moi
Chips 200grms
tartare sauce.

All Change!

Vin thinks that I nly order things from Bon Marche online so that I can go to Maghull and change them, and get a Costa coffee while we are there. Not true..well not exactly,but it does make it more pleasant!
I had bought a new fleece jacket which is nice and am keeping and also a top which is a bit thin and see through, so decided to take that back.It was raining this morning when we were having our breakfast, but then started to clear up so off we went over to Maghull. I don't think that Vin minds going there because he goes in some of the baargain shops and i can go in the Superdrug and the Bon Marche. Changed the top for a nice soft touch jumper which is better for this weather now, in a very nice purple colour. As usual!! Got my stuff in Superdrug, and Vin got his bits in Home and Bargains, then he put them back in the car, and we went round the corner to Costa. Luckily our sofa at the end of the shop was free so he parked me there and he went off to get the coffees. I had a lovely Americano with the new limited edition coffee and he had a Caramello, and we shared half a pack of little shortbread biscuits. We had a really pleasant half hour or so people watching and chatting, then he went next door to the card shop to see if they had any tea lights. He's having a bit of a problem getting decent ones these days. Most of them are cheapish and don't burn very well or for long enough. Must keep my eyes out for some decent ones online.
He called in at the garden centre to see ifthey had any bench covers in yet but they didn't. Why is it that you can never buy what you want at the right time of the year?? Pain. maybe he will find one online.
Tonight we are having:
Quorn fillets in white wine and cream sauce
Baby carrots and butternut squash and broccoli 
Mushrooms for Vin,
Baby potatoes, peeled and squashed,

Best Laid Plans...

Indeed..best laid plans of mice and men etc., We had planned togo out this morning, but we got up a bit later, and by the time we had our coffee and chat, and got downstairs for breakfast it was a bit late so decided not to bother. We will go out tomorrow instead. I wanted to go over to Maghull to change a top I had bought before the month was up but there is a bit of time yet so no hurry. 
Vin did some of his sorting out, washed some socks he had found in his cupboard, and his summer jacket that he doesn't look like he will be wearing any more this season.
Yesterday he sorted out some of the shoes that we have in a little pine shoe box in the front room. What a surprise! He found ssome of them with disintegrating soles..so much so they were coming apart from the seams.. and some of my sandals  with mildew!!! really only fot for throwing away. He was googling these shoes last night and it seems that it is quite common for shoes that have polyurethane soles, especially ones that are shall we say ageing..
Jane rang up this morning after having been to Specsavers for an eye test. A bit worrying because the optician has given her a referral note for her GP to be reffered to an eye speciallist. it appears she has papilledema in both of her eyes so needs further investigation. She was going home with her happiness burrito and then to copy the letter for the GP then drop that off at the surgery.  We shall have to wait and see what happens with that. She does need new glasses, but it was suggested that she waits until this has been sorted. Fingers crossed.
Tonight we are having:
Pasta with cheese sauce,
mushrooms and a bit of garlic bread for Vin
Butternut squash.

Well I Think Summer Has Gone!!

Yes definitely gone.At least it certainly feels like it today. very wet outsideand pouring down this morning..but..it has cleared up a bit now as  I type this.
I was planning to go out for some veggies etc., this morning but Vin didn't seem too keen, so mind changed. Doesn't matter. He whizzed out to Waitrose this morning to get the veg. they do have nice veg there, and it is easy to get to. I stopped here and had a bit of a go on the puter, there were a few things I wanted to look up so did that. 
He got home very quickly actually, with everything on the list, and we then had our nice coffees from the T.  Wonder if Jane is still enjoying hers, I would imagine so.She sounded quite pleased on the phone yesterday, because she has found a nice little number for her options next term, so is a bit chuffed. That's good. 
One thing I wanted to do today was to order a new debit card from my bank so Vin helped me do that after coffee. Once you have found the number it wasn't too bad to arrange. It is a terrible faff re-doing all of the card details on the different sites, and some of them need doing quite quickly now. There is one site I use where you can buy things on easy pay over three months, and they won't accept my card at the moment because it would expire before the payments had been finished. So, I can get that sorted now. They are going to send my new card within three to five days. Done! Very nice chap on the phone too I might add.
Tonight we are going to have:
Escalopes with mozzarella 
Baby new potatoes sliced and fried.
Mixed vegetables.

Funny Things Happen In Your Cupboards!!

Indeed they do.We have a cupboard over a work surface that has bits and bobs of condiments, marmalade etc., in it. Vin was looking for some black peppercorns and thought we had some in there. he did find a honey container that was leaking though so that led to a bit of a clear out, lo and behold..he came across a jar of horseradish sauce right at the back in a corner which has been there for seven years! The poor sauce had all congealed in the jar..and...the jar lid had completely rusted through. never ever seen that before. i have seen jars and cans blown but never seen a jar lid so rusted it disintegrated. It's amazing it didn't blow up really. We think it must have been bought in error for a jar of tartare sauce which we use, because it's by the same maker, and looks the same. We have cleaned the cupboard before so it must just have been pushed to the back without us looking at the sell by date!! That's our story anyway.
Jane's Tassimo machine arrived on Friday, she got a pack of Oreo drinks with it, and also went to Tesco to get some Latte drinks. She seems keen on it too. So that's a success.
Didn't go out today. It dawned very grey blowy and rainyish so didn't look promising. It has cleared up nicely now though, and the sun is shining.Did some clearing up in the extension, Vin washed some bits, and the cushions to the bench which it looks like is being put away for the time being until the sun comes out agin in the Spring. Definitely looking like Autumn now, looking out of the window in jane's room the trees that are over on "the plot" are colouring up nicely, I bet it loks lovely in New England right now. Dream on Jennifer...Deep sigh!
Tonight we are having:
No idea at all. With not having pizza last night we don't have tht to use up, so something from the freezer. 
It will be a wait and see tea.

Is it Friday?

Can't believe it is friday again already. These weekends come round with monotonous regularity. Really your lives are spent in little routines. you have one when you are at work, and another when you have finished work.Get up, breakfast, do something, morning coffees, do something more, lunch, watch something, a bit of computing and afternoon coffees with Countdown. Watch the news, teatime ,watch evening things then bed. There...isn't that exciting?We do have a laugh though vin and me, and there is little Rusty to tend to during the day. 
Vin is presently in the garden looking at the bench that we bought last year, working out the best way to cover it up for the bad weather. I don't think that we will be using it much more this Autumn now, but he remains optomistic.
Vin went off to Tesco this morning. he had a list of things to get, which didn't include pizzaq and salads stuffs. We are going to give them a break for a bit, see if it is the pizza etc., that is affecting my digestin. So, the plan is to have some different things this weekend especially Sunday nights.
Tonight we are having:
Vin is having some little potatoes sliced and fried.
Maybe sausaqge rolls and beans,
I think I will have a baked potato..nice and simple.

Bit of a Rough Few Days...lse

You get them. Good days and bad days. I have had a not very good couple of days really. Started on Monday with what was looming up to be a blocking, makes you feel uncomfortable and veery tight round the middle. Ended up in bed yesterday mainly because it was too uncomfortable to move much.  It is a matter of waiting for it to clear, but vin rang the nurse at Aintree in the afternoon for some advice and she had a word with the consultant next door who booked me in for an x-ray today. It did clear last night however, but since the x-ray was booked we went there this morning.
Poor Vin..he has been just wonderful. really wonderful. All i kept doing was saying I'm sorry which is totally stupid, but there isn't anything else to say really. He is so lovely and patient.
Went for the x-ray this morning. Still a bit wobbly but got there. Very nice dept, and had the tummy and ribs area done, and out quite quickly. Just over the half hour so had to pay the parking but never mind. £3 for an x-ray is quite cheap really. 
Home by half past one and we both had a hot hocolate from the machine which was nice actually. never had one of those and it wasn't too sweet.
Last night Vin had:
Half a cottage pie,
Some mixed vegetables.
Tonight we are having:
No idea at all. We shall have to wait and see.