Friday 31 January 2014

Whata Grey Day!

As larry Grayson would say.."What a grey day!". It is indeed. Grey dripping with rain, and cold too. Darkish this morn8ing so we didn't get going early either. We dragged ourselves off to Tesco with my money this morn9ng. Like everyone else in Formby by the looks of it too. Quite busy but we did get [parked near to the front so didn't get too wet.  Thought we were only getting the weekend things but ended up getting a small trolley full of bits and pieces that we saw or needed. Some things pushed up the costs for instance shampoo which I was looking for was half price so I bought two! I was looking for a bunch of flowers because I always like flowers in the extension and they are around £4 for a decent bunch now. They've gone up a bit recently. They'd better last!
Vin had it in mind to get a Costa coffee from the bar that is a part of Tesco because he has some Costa cards, but it looked really busy. However, by the time we had done our shopping and gone through the checkouts it had cleared a lot, so he went and put the things in the car, and I bagged a nice table. Then he came and joined me. I had a medium Americano and he had Soya milk latte, and we shared a pack of ginger biscuits.
Funny thing.. there was a couple who were sitting by the window, a man and a woman, and he was blowing his nose. Well, you have never heard such a loud blow in your life :) :) about three times as well. Everyone in the shop turned round to look at him, and Vin said even the girl who was serving him looked up from what she was doing as well. I would have been mortified if it had been Vin. He wasn't an old bloke either. !!
Home for lunch and little Rusty meeting us at the door. She looks a bit better today for her injection. Bless her.
Jane rang up last night, we haven't heard from her for a while because she was having a sulk about her exam, so she tends toi get stressed and not like to talk about it.  She's all right now though thank goodness.
Tonight we are having:
Fishless fingers and tartare sauce
chips! 200 grms
 green beans for moi and mushy peas for Vin. Mushrooms

Thursday 30 January 2014

Miaow...

Up earlyish today, started off today by taking the little baby to the vets over in Ormskirk. her appointment was for 11 O'Clock so we have to allow at least half an hour for getting there. Spot on for timing..it is quite a trek but she was very good. She has to go every now and again for an antibiotic injection for her nose thing because it seems to affect her breathing and obviously makes her not feel right.  She saw the nice Dr Tim again, who is really good with her, knows her well and always gives her a good check over every time we go. It's much better going to the vets than it is going to the hospital. Anyway she got her injection and we shall see how long that lasts for. Takes about an hour all told and I am £28 poorer but she is worth every penny XXX
Home in time to do the ironing of the bedding..Oh what joy  !!So, that was the morning taken care of. Came upstairs to find the computer playing silly beggars, wouldn't log off and wouldn't log on either..totally stuck in a sort of loop. Yell for Vin..and he comes and fixes it.OK now touch wood. just a blip I think. Check the banking online and find the household account a bit down, so topped up with £100..so spent £128 today without going anywhere or doing anything really. Ah well.
Very nice Tassimo coffee today. Vin had a caramel macchiato and I had a cafe Intenso. lovely. Gosh it's such a good machine that one.Still can't believe it was only £30.
Tonight we are having:
Cheesey Kievs
little baked potatoes
carrots, squash and anything else that needs using up.

Wednesday 29 January 2014

Off Out Today !

Weather not too bad today, bit wet and fairly cold but still a milder Winter than we have had for a while. here at least, can't speak for those poor sould who live in Somerset on the levels who are flooded out.
Anyway it wasn't bad so we went out over to Dobbies for our free coffees for January, and to have a bit of a mooch round there.  For once I didn't see anytthing that I wanted to get, but Vin did spot a nice pair of leather driving gloves that he fancied..in their sale and half price spo he got those.I bought Jane another pair of woollen gloves with the pads for wearing while using her phone etc., they were half price too at £1.75 so have put them away for Christmas. HaHa shopping early!!!
We went for our coffees then..very quiet in the cafe part which is why we like going there,Vin had a flat white and I had an Americano. We tok our own biscuits so a cheap job. !  We spent some time watching a poor little girl who obviously had been told to clear tables and was wandering round with a spray bottle and a cloth in her hand, clearly bored to death! Aaah, at one poibnt she sat down at a table and wiped one bit of it over and over again. She'd been told to clear tables but not been told to do anything else if it was quiet.  Oh dear  !
Nice morning out, and that's it for January..we've used all of our coffees but could still go to Waitrose!! HaHa.
Tonight we are having:
Pasta bake with mushrooms
Butternut squash to go with,
A bit of garlic bread for Vin.

Tuesday 28 January 2014

I(n Again..

Well we did go out yesterday so we stopped in today. Did the bedding and other bits and bobs. Vin has rung up the vets abnout little Rusty who is ready for another antibiotic jab, and made an appointment for Thursday at 11 O'Clock so it looks like we will go out tomorrow which is fine.
Not a very nice day today, very grey and overcast and has rained off and on. Currently clear, but wet looking.
I caught up a bit online on some of the sites, seeing what was going on and what people were up to. We had to wait in  for deliveries today anyway. One from Aranesp with the injections and the other from Bullens with all my stuff. They are both good firms and come when they say they will, and really reliable. Bullens in particular are excellent. So I'm well stocked up.
Tonight we are having:
Goat's cheese and cranberry escalope
Baby baked potatoes
Choice of vegetables from the fridge
sauce..maybe a bread sauce.

Monday 27 January 2014

Getting To Be a habit !

Nothing bad!  Just going out for our coffee on a Monday is getting to be a habit. This is the third week on the run now.. two weeks ago we had to go to Aintree for a blood test, and last week to the renal clinic this week we didn't have to go anywhere but we do have to stop in tomorrow for two deliveries. One for the Aranesp injections and one for the Healthcare delivery from Bullens. So we had to go out today for our veggies.
I said to vin this morning that we would go to Waitrose..I do like the vegetables that they have, and I had it in mind to get a free coffee at the little coffee shop area.
Surprisingly the car park was quietish which it usually isn't, mainly because it is the only free car park in formby. Very blowy though, a cold wind blowing around the bank machine :).
We were intending to just get the vegggies..Haha, some hopes..ended up getting lots of extra things some treats and some things that we saw and had forgotten about. I am terrible for putting things in the basket or trolley that I spot. Vin does it occasionally when he thinks I'm not lookeing !
Busy checkouts and some woman tried to get me out of the way by ramming her trolley into my back..cheeky pushy women in Waitrose!! Vin went and put the things on the car then we went for our free coffees. Very nice too..must be costing them an absolute fortune! Every cup has a little biscuit on the saucer as well God knows what the total cost of those is on their own. Can't see them keeping that up really.Very generous of them though.
Home and a lovely long letter from John and Ann. Will read that later with my afternoon coffee.
Tonight we are having:
pizza with mushrooms and cheese,
Green salad with abvocados and baby plum tomatoes
potato salad for moi and a celery fruit and nut for Vin.

Friday 24 January 2014

Tooth Hurty!!

No not really..except that I had an appointment with the dentist at 2.30 !
Off to Tesco this morning with my money. Very cold wind too today, really blowing up our road.And a sort of very fine drizzly rain that gets you wet in a short time but you don't bother putting an umbrella up.
Went armed with a list but still got other things that were on offer or that I spotted on the way roun d. That's not hard.  We had a bank account for the RBS that we wanted to close but it had £16 and a few pence on it so we were looking for something to get for that amount. Surprisingly dofficult actually. Then we saw some cat food for two for £6 and I suggested that we got a Costa Coffee card for £10. Job done..Sorted. I hate this bank..it sends you a statement which always has a shouty message on the statement no matter how much you have in it..and we are never overdrawn..so am glad to get rid of it.
Going in to Tesco past the Costa it looked really busy, and I had planned to go in for a coffee before we came home to save time, so was a bit disappointed, but after we had done our shopping and cleared the checkout, the coffee shop part had emptied and there were loads of spaces. So we had our Costas. We both had Americanos which were lovely and some dinky little shortbreads that melted in your mouth.  Then it was home, unpacked and scanned everything and and an early lunch before my appointment.
dentist is only two doors down and we had a nice chat about our families. All the kids going their own way but none of them going into dentistry, seems a shame, no-one to pass the practice on to.
So bits and bobs today.
tonight we are having:
Cheese and onion pasties from Waitrose
Carrots for me and mushrooms for Vin
Rice pudding from waitrose All of which were in the freezer.

Thursday 23 January 2014

Brrr !

Well we were going t go out this morning, Vin wanted to go over to Dobbies to get some logs for the fire, but it was very blowy whjen we woke up. Then as we had our breakfast there was a massive hailstorm so we decided to stop in instead.
Wehad planned to get our free coffees for the month from there, but we had our tassimo ones instead.  That machine is truly wonderful..definitely not one of those gadgets that are bought and destined to stay at the back of the cupboard after a few uses. Vin had a Chai Latte today and I had an Americano.The coffee is brilliant and as good as anything you would get in a coffee shop.  if I won a lot of money on the Lottery I would have a little coffee bar built in my big new house :) Dream on Jennifer!
No post today apart from one letter for me with a Podiatry appointment for the 4th of february at Netherton health centre. The last time I went there was some years ago and I had to go for a blood test, it was so icy you could barely stand up let alone walk. terrible, it was that long Winter of snows and ice.  We have been very lucky this year so far, it's really been very mild.  I bought a new hooded parka with fur round the hood for the Winter in the Autumn and have obnly worn it once. Maybe february will be colder.otherwise it will be going away for the Summer without having been used !
So pleased that Corrie won the best drama serial last night at the television awards, and Julie Hesmondhalg (sp) won for best dramatic performance. Her portrayal of Hayley's struggle with cancer has been wonderful, and her and Roy are such good actors. She is a lovely person, and I hope she does well in her future career. They are brilliant actors. Don't like any of the other soaps but have always watched Corrie, been a watcher since the days of Ena Sharples !! That's dating me !
Tonight we are having:
Lamb style grills,
baby new potatoesCarrots, broccoli and squash
Mushroom gravy.












Wednesday 22 January 2014

January Blues?

Sort of that january feeling today. We got up and didn't really have anywhere to go..didn't needdd any shopping and didn't have anything in particular to look for so the plan to go out was scrapped. It was a bit of a grey day anyway, so wasn't conducive to going out.
In the end Vin decided to go to Formby to get a hair cut. He has very thick hair and when it grows and needs cutting it starts to look fluffy and a bit unruly, so off he went. He has one particular one he goes to mostly but he rang up later to say that there was a sign on the door to say the shop was closed due to staff illness, so he went off to his second choice. Then Homebase for a mooch, nothing doing there but he did get some free firewood on the way back.
I stopped here and just about heard the doorbell. the postman with two parcels. One was an Amazon packet and I thought there was a mistake but it was from my lovely friend James from the Delia site with three packs of ferrero rocher chocs inside. isn't that lovely. he is a gorgeous boy would be proud to have him as a son. the second packet was from my personal online store QVC :) :) who else. it was a necklace I had ordered ages ago and it had been out of stock so I'd forgotten about it. Gorgeous glass beads really nice heavy necklace and very classy. nice surprises both of them. I do love a Ferrero !
Tonight we are having:
A pasta dish with a cheese sauce and mushrooms
Butternut squash to go with,
A bit of garlic bread for Vin.












Tuesday 21 January 2014

In and Out..

Out most of the day yesterday so it was in today. Doesn't do to go out every day, anyway we were up late this morning because of getting up early yesterday!! Not early risers that's the problem.
Not really a day you want to go out today anyway, it's very grey and overcast and really raining quite hard now. The cats go out and hurriedly run back in again with wet furry bodies. horrible to stroke. poor little things, they are waiting for the sunshine again to get some fresh air.
I wanted to finish off a letter I was doing to go in John's birthday parcel this morning so that's mainly what I did. Vin got the washing on, which is going in the tumble drier. Wonder how they managed years ago? i have a memory of clothes maidens round the fire on a Monday with steaming washing drying on them. gosh they must have had a hard life really compared to us nowadays.  Our first washing machine was a small Hoover with a mangle on the top, that was in the early seventies and that was hard enough. We had a spin drier that used to move across the kitchen when it was going :) We don't know we are born these days really.
Tonight we are having:
Escalope with gruyere cheese
A selection of veggies from M&S
Baby potatoes boiled and baked
Hollandaise sauce.

Monday 20 January 2014

Yawn !!

Oh up very early for us this morning. i had an appointment at the renal clinic this morning at 9.30, so to allow time for getting there and the possible traffic that meant we had to leave the house quite early. So it was an alarm and an alarm phone call this morning. The clock worked anyway because vin woke up with that. I don't hear it. \One of the advantages of being deaf I suppose. :) Left the house at aquarter to nine to a really really bright sunlight. In fact it was so bright and in your eyes bright that Vin had to nearly stop the car because he couldn't see in front of him. The car in front had stopped as well and that was a driving instructor!!  So we went really slowly till we got to the bend and the sunshine was the other was. Awful..I have never driven in sunshine like that, very unusual.
We got to Aintree at a quarter past so in plenty of time. vin dropped me off at the front while he went to park the car which can take ages. We have it off to a fine art now.
Went up, registered in and was called in a few minutes, weighed..ok..phew.. sample given blood pressure ok phew, and then wait to see a doc.  Didn't wait very long today and saw a nice Asian lady doc who was really pleasant, I've seen her before and like her. The last chap I saw was horrible, very arrogant, condescending and messed about with my Arranesp injections expecting the District nurses to come and give me them when I have been doing them myself for years!! Stupid man. Well this one was very pleased and said I was doing well, everything stable and go back in six months.
So, we were out really quickly and went off to the M&S like last week. Were in there by about ten thirty!! Had a mooch about, nothing caught our eyes except Vin bought a rather lovely leather notebook in a box for £7.99 which was half price. Beautiful paper with a lovely gold eedge to the paper..
Coffee time. Went into the little cafe part, full of loder generation with coffees and food. Nice life eh!
Got our veggies from there after that, the Vin called in at Maplins on the way back and we were home by a quarter to one. Smashing.
Tonight we are having:
Pizza with cheese and mushrooms
green salad with avocado and baby plum tomatoes
Potato salad for moi and spinach and pasta salad for Vin.










Friday 17 January 2014

W"ho got My money Today?

Well we have a choice of where we go on a Friday. it's either..Sainsburys..too small and doesn't have everything that we buy. Waitrose..too dear does have everything we buy but more expensive. Do get free coffee there though, Morrisons..to far away..either Maaghull or Ormskirk and a journey, Asda.. A long trip into Southport and a heck of a journey but they are cheap. So...ended up in Tesco. Everything that we buy, very near home only ten minutes,and they do have a Costa..but Vin said very forcefully that we weren't having a coffee out today and we were coming home for coffee time. That's me told.He was determined to have ne of his Tchai lattes!!
So tesco it was. Quite quiet except for the veggie and bread aisles. Why don't people get out of the way when we go shopping? very inconsiderate.
We were only supposed to be getting the basics but there did seem to be a fair number of offers today and by the time we had finished it was £69 worth !!! That did include a ten pound Costa card though.
John's Downton dvd came in the post this morning so we can get his birthday parcel off soones as long as I have finished the letter to go into it.
Tonight we are having:
Fishless fingers
Chips 200 grms
Mushy peas for Vin and green beans for moi
Left over asparagus!

Thursday 16 January 2014

Pressing matters...

Started the day with Vin being pushed out of the bed by one very persistent cat..namely Bobby. She has taken to going on his pillow, and he like a soft thing lets her aalone. So she is nice and comfy and he is squashed to one side. That's the thing about cats..you let them go where they want, and you work round them !
Veery exciting morning..not. Did a big pile of ironing. all of the bedding that was washed on Tuesday. There is a limit as to how long you can leave it on the chair looking at you, so tend to do it within a couple of days. Lovely bedding, Egyptian cotton but it creases terribly in the was so needs a lot of pressing. looks and feels gorgeous on the bed though.
I came upstairs to have a bit of a go on the computer, and Vin came to check on the box that we keep in Jane's room with overflow stock up items and treats in it. There are a few Tassimo bags up there with the discs in and he had a look at one pack with Tchai latte discs in and noticed that they were blown. The bag was full of air, so he opened it up and it stunk!! really stunk!! smelled like bad cheese or sour milk and it appeared that the milk discs had a couple of burst ones. There is a free helpline on the pack so he rang that and got through eventually. the chap said it did happen but it was quite rare, and the milk discs were possibly squashed in transit, because there wasn't anything wrong with the batch. they are sending us another pack. Result.
Tonight we are having:
Something out of the freezer,
Any remaining veggies,
baby potatoes boiled and sauteed.















Wednesday 15 January 2014

Out for the Chop!

Up earlyish this morning because I had made an appointment to get my hair done at 10.30. So it was up and at em today. i go to the same place where I have been going for a long time now. Only go about three times a year when my hair gets too straggly or long. Have a bob which I've had for eons, but the last time I went the girl cut it in a layered way so it grew out very straggly, and Vin trimmed it all round for me.
Got there dead on time..and she was waiting for me at the door. I was the only one in there actually, must be the quiet period before the weekend and after Christmas. Very nice too, I like places that are quiet. She has done an excellent job today, and it looks really nice, just what I wanted. That will last me for ages. We had a conversation about, Christmas, the heat in Australia and jane. Only about 1/2 an hour and out finished.
Vin was waiting for me outside, and he had been over the road to the library to look at the local history books. We went from there to the garden centre over the way in Ladygreen for our january coffees hoping it wouldn't be busy..and..it wasn't. lovely and quiet .Must admit it is so nice to be able to go out without having to go via the bathroom all the time!  We had a bit of a browse first because it was earlyish, I was looking for something else to put in John's birthday parcel, and did spot a book about a dog digest with all bits and bobs about doggy tales.  So, with that and the goons cd and the Downton christmas dvd there is enough. All I have to do is finish the letter.
Lovely cup of coffee if a tad small, and we took our own biscuits so it was a free do!!
CD arrived this morning just waiting for the dvd now.
Tonight we are having:
Pasta with a tomato and mascarpone sauce
Mushrooms
Asparagus and any veg in the fridge.
A bit of garlic bread for Vin.

Tuesday 14 January 2014

In Today..

Didn't go out today because we went out yesterday and got our veggies for the week thenm. it was a stop in day today. Did the bedding so got that out of the way, All in the tumble drier in bits and pieces, and getting there. front brasses done, every time I have been past them this week they have been looking at me and all tarnished so finally did them today.  Vin has been clearing out his wardrobe this morning and trying a few things on. Funny thing was he found a pair of swimming trunks that the elastic had gone on..all sorts of stripes. Hilarious. !
Got a lovely letter from John and Ann today as well their printer is working again, so it followed the card she sent the other day as a thankyou for the Christmas presents. Aaah. It is really hot there, completely different from here. temperatures in the high thirties and low forties. Phew..wouldn't like that at all. Much prefer the colder weather.
Tonight we are having:
Escalope with a mushroom sauce
baby potatoes baked
Mixed veggies.

Monday 13 January 2014

One of Those Good Days !!

It was a good morning this morning. started with getting moving quite early, mainly because I had to go and get a blood test at Aintree pror to my renal appointment next Monday. So we went out reasonably but not too early. Got to Aintree and parked in front..you can park there for twenty minutes and Vin came up with me to see how busy it was. first good thing..there were only two people in front of me in the queue so he waited. Got in quite quickly then and the chap taking the blood got it first time which was good.  The nursey over the way last week took three goes!! W"hebn I came out he was still there so we went straight out to the car.
Off to M&S at Aintree which is about ten minutes away and is more or less on our way home.Parked right outside there too I wanted to change a watch that I had bought online because I couldn't see the hands on it, and had a look at the watches. I had a really good look at all sides of the display but didn't see anything that jumped out at me. Then Vin spotted one right on the bottom row with a lovely pink leather strap..perfect. Matches my handbag too !! With my order online I got a card for a free card from M&S too so we got a nice birthday card for John, £2.75. i told Vin to get an expensive one !! great.  Then we went for our coffee (of course) upstairs. looked really busy, but just as I was walking past a table a woman was leaving, so grabbed that. Great !! lovely coffee, mine an Americano Vin's a flat white.
Downstairs to get our veggies for the week, saves us going out tomorrow. really nice veggies and some other things that were on offer. They do a shortbread that we really like and they were ona two packs for two pounds  Great !  lots of decent offers today, must be trying to win the shoppers back after Christmas.
Home then, Little Rusty wwaiting. She is a bit under the weather these days, has a bit of a cold we think and a soreish looking eye yesterday too but vin keeps bathing it for her. Bit better today we think.
Tonight we are having:
pizza with cheese and mushrooms
Potato salad for moi and a spanish potato salad for Vin
green salad with avocados and baby plum tomatoes.

Friday 10 January 2014

It's Friday Again!

They seem to come round with monotonous regularity these fridays. In our house if it is a Friday it's usually out somewhere to get the things for the weekend. Bearing in mind that we have all of the major stores withina ten minute drive, except ASDA which is more of a big trek, it often depends n who has given us the best vouchers, or coupons off. At the mjoment none of them are doing too well on that score, but we had some for tesco so we went there today. Since they have a nice Costa coffee shop instore that is a pull.
It was actually quiet today, car parked easily, and ythe coffee shop not too busy,. Vin had a tesco gift card from the Daily mail rewards club so he bought a Costa card from tesco ( they don't do the Costa ones any more for some reason)
Pause here because the site closed down and my post hadn't been fully saved. Grrr.
Anyway We did our shopping, got a few things for the cupboard..I reckon we could live for a month without going out if we get the predicted freeezing weather!!
Then he put the shopping in the car and we went into the Costa. Both had Americano's today, and a dinky little bag of shortbread biscuits. lovely. Home for lunch later. jane rang up after lunch to say she had been to the hospital to do her assignment..Well done jane.
Tonight we are having:
Cheese and onion pasties from Waitrose
green beans for moi and mushrooms for Vin,
Rice pudding from Waitrose.

Thursday 9 January 2014

Cards !

isn't it a faff when you have to change the card details on an online site. I have a debit card that I use all the time, and one or two charge cards. One of those had expired so this morning I tried to alter the details. not as easy as you would think. A pain in the neck actually, took me an age but I got there in the end. So what did i buy with my charge card? Christmas cards for next year !!!ordered two packs of nice ones, so should have more than enough for next Christmas. Nothing like shopping early.  I have always bought my cards in the january sales actually, but this year they didn't seem to be much available in the shops. very disappointing. So, online it is. nice M&S ones.
Didn't go out anywhere today, still a bit cold but a lot milder today. Vin had bits and bobs to do and I had a go on here, catching up a bit. Did the floors ,just one of those not do a lot days really. lovely.
Beats teaching anyway.
Tonight we are having:
Two little pies we bought from Waitrose the other day,
Sliced and sauteed potatoes
Broccoli and carrots
Cheese sauce to go with the veggies.

Wednesday 8 January 2014

In Today !

Well we weren't going anywhere today so we stopped in. Makes a real change from last year which was appointments all over the place. They have gone right down, and just have the odd one now, at least any that I can't avoid.
Did some ironing this morning to begin with, the Christmas linen, tablecloth, napkins and mats etc., so they are done and all put away for next year. That's it really. Vin was doing the lights in the garden this morning because the weather isn't too bad today, not raining anyway. He is a bit annoyed because the solar lights aren't working, and they are ess than a year old. he says he will take them back..he keeps the receipt for everything! good for him..I just lose them.
Biggest decision today was which coffee to have from our tassimo machine. I do have to say that was the best deal of last year by a mile. The discs/pods are gorgeous and the coffee is really good. i ended up with a Cafe crema today, and Vin had a Capuccino, which he did with a dinky little star in chocolate on the top.  Considering the machine was only £30 from a costa Coffee website it has been worth its weight in gold.

The Christmas table..all but a distant memory now.  It was a lovely Christmas this year though, and we really enjoyed having Jane home too. Got our last christmas card this morning from America, must have been delayed. from our Professor friend in Texas.

Tonight we are having:
Pasta bake with mushrooms
butternut squash to go with,
A bit of garlic bread for Vin.







Tuesday 7 January 2014

Love Freebies !

Oh yes we love a freebie. I said that I wanted to go to Waitrose this morning for our veggies for a change, Vin isn't terribly keen, he says they are too expensive. They are, but i do like their veg. Anyway off we went and for once the car park wasn't too bad, must be the cold keeping people away. Went round and got our shopping  quite a lot of it in the end, all sorts of things we don't get in the other stores, posh biscuits etc., Vin had a £5 voucher he has had fior ages and wanted to use so he got a bottle of wine , a nice little Chardonnay for £5.99 which looks good. that was a free voucher for collecting reward points from the Daily mail. Freebie number 1.
Then we parked the trolley and went for our free coffees. Vin had a latte and I had an Americano. I can't see them keeping that up for long..must be costing them a fortune! Apparently it has propelled waitrose into the top buyers of coffee in the land !!! Freebie number two. Checkouts nice and quiet, and Vin collected his free newspaper. Freebie number three.  very good. We did well today.
Heavens opened on the way back..went very dark and big sploshes of rain on the windscreen, but thankfully it had gone off by the time we got home.
Stopping in tomorrow will make a nice change. :)
All the Christmas things down and gone away, vin took down the outside lights this afternoon. They have been lovely this year. the house looks really bare now.
Tonight we are having:
goat's cheese and cranberry escalope
baby baked potatoes
carrots and broccoli
Maybe bread sauce or a white sauce to go with.

Monday 6 January 2014

Bye Bye Christmas!

Well there it is All Gone away..nearly. Three trees, assorted decorations from all over the house, and it all looks bare now. You get so used to the trees lit up, and there is nothing now except some nice twigs with lights on in the middle room which are always there.
All signs of the festive season gone.
Had an appointment with the nursey over the road this morning at ten to eleven, so had to go out for that. it was a "review" and blood pressure test and the results of last weeks blood test. All she did was look at the computer a lot, look at my feet, said she would make an appointment for the chiropodist, took the blood pressure (ok) asked me a couple of questions about the Aranesp injections, and that was it. Bit of a waste of time really, but never mind. She did say that I was "naughty" for not getting the flu jab but I have never had that yet.  Why is it that as soon as you go into a nursey's room you lose all your sense of dignity..just pop up here...you are naughty for not getting the flu jab...and they speak to you as if you are about twelve !! This is a woman who used to control a class of thirty very lively fourth/fifth years in a classroom. Grrrr.Ah well perhaps she will leave me alone for a bit now.
One thing..after Christmas..it is nice to get back to a normal routine again, the shops should be quieter and the coffee shops shouldn't b3e quite so busy..hopefully.
Tonight we are having:
pizza with cheese and mushrooms and peppers for Vin
green salad with baby tomatoes and a

Friday 3 January 2014

One of Those Days!!

Didn't start too well. We got up late to begin with. I am not good at getting up early anyway, and usually rely on Vin to get up. he had been hassled by the cats though so slept on a bit. Doesn't matter actually just made everything a bit later.
Went to tesco's because we had vouchers for there, but had to wait a bit because his windscreen wipers wouldn't work. He had to fiddle about with the fuse and got them going after a few minutes.  Cold and blowy and a bit wet this morning, and the car park was full but we got a space near the front.  tesco was heaving this morning, must be everyone stocking up again after Christmas and the New Year. Terrible queues at the checkouts about eight deep, so vin hot footed it to the self scan ones!! I hate these but he is good at them. Did have a few problems though and had to call the woman to put it right, wouldn't take the avocados for ecample and she was getting a bit testy. Got there in the end though.
Vin swept out of the shop so fast we didn't have time to even look at the Costa, so it was home for our coffee this morning. Two Americanos, very nice too and I suppose it saves about a fiver!
Tonight we are having:
Fishless fingers
mushy peas for Vin and green beans for moi
Mushrooms
Chips!! 200grms between us.

Thursday 2 January 2014

2014 !

Here it is ..the second of january. I wonder what this year will bring. Last year seemed to fly by actually, mostly a year of recovery, which did take longer than I thought, but we did get to the Cheshire Oaks at the end of the year and that was a target completed.
We had a really nice visit from John and Ann's eldest daughter janet in August which was a treat, she and her husband are a lovely couple and it was a real pleasure to show them around. Our Jane was home too for the visit and she showed me how to get in touch with the family on facebook so I have been getting to know the girls and boy through that which is nice. They are lovely girls and John should be very proud of them.
Westopped in today, mainly because we justy didn't want to go out, and there was a pile of bedding to be ironed too so we did that, and Vin did the fire etc.,  Hope there is something decent to watch tonight on the box, last night was dire after Corrie there wasn't anything on. Vin didn't fancy the Sherlock and we ended up watching a programme on the BBC IPlayer about Andrew Wyeth which was very interesting. We had seen an exhibition years ago about his work in a museum in London and it was terrific. I remember one painting in particular which was a window with torn net type curtains flying in a breeze and you would swear you were looking through them. Very clever.
Tonight we are having:
Goat's cheese and cranberry escalope
Mushrooms, asparagus and green beans
potato croquettes
 maybe a white sauce to go with.

Wednesday 1 January 2014

All Quiet on the McElroy Front...

Happy New Year little Blog. 2014 already and it only seems a short while since the century changed in 2000! Doesn't time fly.
Well we didn't do much today, and din't go anywhere either. We stopped up to see the new Year in and went to bed about a quarter to one.Got up fairly late and had our morning coffee quite late too. No matter not doing anything in particular.
Vin is catching up on his papers and reading articles he has missed and I am catching up on the computer, seeing what has happened there on the various sites.
The little cats are asleep in their different places. Rusty hides herself away under the coffee table in the middle room, then comes out every now and thenm has a bit of a look round and a shake and goes back. Bobby has been on our bed quite a long time but has come down now for some food. What a life eh!!
Tonight we are having:
pasta with mushrooms and asparagus.
A bit of garlic bread for Vin,
Butternut squash and sweet potato.