A Touch of Spring..

Nice this morning..a real touch of Spring in the air. Sun shining and daffodils everywhere, really quite pretty at the moment.
I had to take a jacket back to the Bon Marche in Maghull so we decided to go there quickly and then back to the Ladygreen garden Centre to get our last free coffees for the month. They have run out now, but don't think we will be renewing their one because it is always so busy and the coffee isn't that great.  Vin did want to get some plants for a hanging basket he has put up outside the back window, so it killed two birds with one stone so to speak!
Extremely busy in the cafe part, mostly people having lunches, some ppeople have an enormous amount, a big dinneer then a pudding as well. Not cheap either.  We had our coffee, a pack of biscuits then went off to get his plants. Got some very pretty purply violas which are now in the basket by the window and look great.
Home to find a card from Bon Marche offering %20 off everything next week! guess where we will be going thenm !
The Tassimo delivery came on Saturday morning, couldn't believe that, we only ordered them on Thursday afternoon, after getting the phone call from Jane. So we are well stocked up with coffee packs now.
Tonight we are having:
Pizza with a bit of salad for Vin,
Potato salad

Coupons!

Vin said ast night he would nip out to Waitrose this morning to get some pasties for tonight. So...I started to make a list! he wasn't chuffed about that,
Then I mentioned about the £5 off £30 coupon that we had got from them by email,but it hadn't printed clearly enough to use. So he spent a while getting the printer cleaned and then it said we had exceeded the number of coupons we were able to print. So he wasn't happy about that either. My fault though, I had tried to print them off.
Anyway off he went to Formby, about eleven and he was back by twelve..all the shopping done! he must have whizzed round there.
Jane has just rung up..she has her new phone but hasn't transferred all the stuff from the old one yet. Seems pleased with that. She was talking about the Christmas holidays!!! couldn't believe it..but she has to work on Boxing day so doesn't look like she will be home this year. Good job we had a nice one this Christmas.
Tonight we are having:
Cheese and onin pasties from Waitrose
Carrots
Rice puddings from Waitrose.

At Home..

Not out today, expecting a deliveryfrom Bullens, so we were in for our coffees today. Floors done, and Jane rang up on her way to work. She told us that she had an email about special offers and one was a Tassimo one. It was for £10 off an order with free delivery and a minimum spend of £25.Very good offer actually.
So, off we went to the Tassimo site on the computer, chose our coffees, we tend to choose the ones you can't buy in the shops, paid on the card. Job done. We bought £26 worth of packs for £16. Great deal. Thanks Jane XXX
Vin had gone off to Formby to Tesco to get a new mop we have worn the old one out! have a new mmop head but it won't fit the handle that we have. Grrr. Hented to get a few things for his car but they didn't have them..not Tesco, a car place he goes to. He back for his coffee we both had a Petit Dejuner today..very nice too.
Tonight we are having:
Pasta with either a tomato or a cheese sauce
Any veggies left in the fridge + mushrooms
A bit of garlic bread for Vin.

Outing!!!

After what seems like an age stuck in the house for one reason or another we actually got out this morning.
Beautiful bright sunny but coolish morning and Vin decided he wanted a coffee out, so we went off to Maghull. Not a bad little place to go to, there is a Bon marche there and a B&Ms and a Home and Bargain for cat food etc., plus it was ages since I've been out.  I had a nice mooch round the BMs., and giot a little jacket/cardie to replace the horrible fleecey one that I have which is like wearing cardboard! so was fairly happy with that.
Then we walked over to the Costa for our coffees. Lovely sofa right by the window, very pleasant. Vin had a large soy milk latte and I had an Americano. When he sat down he said yu could have had an upgrade for another 25p but I didn't get you one!!!! He got one for his latte though!!!! Right...I'll remember that.
Very nice half hour in there. It used to be a Blockbuster video shop, but is now the Costa, and I know which makes more money. Wouldn't mind shares in Costa..all sorts go in there, very young to very old, and lots of couples..seems classless and ageless.
Back to the car parked nicely in the square and I went into Superdrug whie he went into B&Ms. Home to the little cats.
Must say vin has done the barrel at the front of the house well this year, full of little daffodils and little primroses in the hanging baskets are looking great.

Tonight we are having:
Escalope southern fried
Potato croquettes
Bread sauce
Green veggies and carrots.

Change of Plan...

Tuesday today so we normally go out for a shop to get the veggies for the week. I had thought of going somewhere, but Vin said there was a coupon for £3 off thirty at Sainsburys so with that being a good saving he went there. problem with that is that you get 1/2 free parking and you have to be quite quick so I decided I'd only slow him down so he went. he is a great shopper now, whizzes round the stores with his list. Gets everything on it, looks for specialoffers too and gets anything that he thinks we need. 10/10 for his shopping I do have to say.
Grey drizzly day here today and quite cool and dark. Aranesp delivery early, Vin went down for that, I don't hear the doorbell..once my hearing aids come out I'm dead to the world.:) One phone call about solar heating and energy bills, and a phone call from Jane to say she was in Tesco's doing her shopping. We had a lovely chat, and she said she had put her new earrings in and they looked good. She is balancing her work, Uni and study work really well. I have put a bit of money in her bank which will help her a bit.Poor little kid. She never has any money so maybe she can have a treat.
Tonight we are having:
Cottage pie
gravy and mushrooms
Carrots and a bit of broccoli.

Mr Fixit !

In which Vin fixes the fence with a hole in it.  The hole was caused by a fire in the beack garden one day when he put the ashes out.  It was funny actually because the next door neighbours thought we were having a barbecue... er no!! especially since it was freezing cold at the time..
Anyway he was out there this morning fixing it with some free wood he got from the timber place in Formby where he goes for the fire lighting wood.
Ever resourseful my man!
Very quiet day today the only other thing that happened today was the man from Scottish power came to read the electric meter. Lovely cheerful man he was too, which makes a nice change.
I had a bit of a dodgy weekend..was a bit under the weather on Saturday, so taken a step backwards a bit. Maybe the Spring weather will get me going again eh !
Tonight we are having:
Pizza two small slices for me a nice mushroom one for Vin
Green peppery salad for Vin.

Energy!

I could do with some. Vin could run rings round me. He is up earlyish and doing things, always brings me a little cup of coffee in the morning then goes off for the papers. breakfast, then he went off to Tesco for the weekend thinggs.  Not a good day for moi today, bit on the wobbly side..no idea why. Vin says I am not getting enough nourishment but I am. I tthink the anti-biotics have played havoc with me, my taste has gone strange and don't have a big appetite at the moment. Oh well Spring is springing maybe my energy will return soon.
The new Sky box that Vin arranged is proving to be excellent. He has worked out most things on it, and the on demand facility is proving to be very useful. Seems very easy to use too, he records things almost instantly. We now have a very good set up, with the smart television couresy of the National Shopping monitor, the sound bar which is a Bose one from the Cheshire Oaks, and the new Sky+ box. All we need now is some really excellent series to waatrch.
Tonight we are having:
not totally aure. maybe a baked potato with cheese and a few mushrooms..

Short and Sweet..

Only just started this because Jane rang before and I was chatting to her for ages. She was stuck in traffic in Manchester and was n the hands free while going slowly. She said the journey took about an hour wheras it usually takes about twenty minutes, but she had come out of uni at the wrong time.
Horrible day here very grey and rainy, but the sun has just come out now. Jane said it was raining quite hard there, and was cold too.
We didn't go anywhere today mainly because we didn't get up so early with it being darkish this morning.
Tonight we are having:
Quorn fillets in a white wine and mushroom sauce
Rice or potato croquettes
Left over veggies from the fridge.

In Which Vin Plays mechanic..

Not playing exactly because he knows what he is doing. He has a twenty year old Toyota Carina estate which he has had from new and has cared for it brilliantly over the years. At the moment there is a bit of a problem with the windscreen wipers which didn't work the other day. he looked in the manual and sorted out what was wrong. This morning he spent taking the motor off, cleaning it and the wiper covers too, he had them in the back garden cleaning them. Stopped for coffee then went at it again. He was saying that if he had it done in a garage it would have been very expensive because it is a mechanics time on a tricky job. He did try to buy a motor from some of the car factors in the area but none of them had one..it would have been a dealership job. So the boy done well as they say.
I have had a nice day catching up on the computer, looking through some of the sites that I haven't seen for a while.
Tonight we are having:
A pasta with cheese sauce and mushrooms
A bit of garlic bread for Vin
 Some green veggies to go with.

Car Tax Done...

Budget day tomorrow and I hope the car tax goes up in it because Vin has renewed his for another year today. £225 it is at the moment. No wonder people don't bother renewing it. What an expense, especially when you consider the state of the roads these days after the winter rain.
I didn't go out today but Vin did. He went to Saainsbury's to get some veeggies for the week, and was back pretty quick for his coffee. We both had very nice Capuccinos beautifully made on the Tassimo. What a great machine that has turned out to be. Definitely not one of those gadgets that you put in a cupboard after having used like mad for a short time then forgotten. Cupboards are full of those.
No post today and one silly phone call from a foreigner asking about green energy! Vin gets annoyed with those because they don't answer straight away. At least they are marginally better than the ones that don't answer at all and you pick the phone up to get a bleep at the other end. Grrr.
Tonight we are havinhg:
Cottage pie with a mushroom gravy
Carrots and maybe a bit of broccoli.

Out!!

Well the plan was to go over to Maghull this morning to exchange two t-shirts that I had ordered online from Bon Marche. They have a store there, and you can take the goods back to the store for an exchange within 14 days.I liked them and they fitted fairly well but just a bit too fitted so I reckoned that a size larger would be great.  Seems odd because I've lost weight recently and they should have fitted well. So, after breakfast off we went over to Maghull. Lovely sunny day which was a bit of a pain because the lenses on my glasses went dark brown which is a pain when you go in the shop and everything is dark!
Straight to the shop and got two t-shirts in the new size straight away no problem at all.Vin had a bit of a look at B&M's and I went to Superdrug for a few things. Then it was off to the Costa coffee shop for a treat for him for driving me.  A cup of Costa and he is anybodys!
Home then, Vin had a couple of things to do and places to ring. got the Sky bill today so paid that into his bank, and he is trying to track down a new part for his windscreen wiper motor..not much luck so far but he has to ring the dealer yet.
Tonight we are having:
Pizza with salad for5 Vin..(I don't fancy any yet!)
Potato salad

An Outing At Last!!! And Rusty Has A Walkabout !!

We got up in reasonable time this morning..Bobby did her usual alarm clock trick. Standing in Vin till he moves!Anyway we had our morning coffee then got up for breakfast. Nice and early so the plan was to go out over to Dobbies for a coffee and a mooch.
first though, as we were having breakfast, little Rusty went out of the back door, and then under the garden gate. i saw her little legs turn to the r5ight and didn't think any more about it, till some minutes later and we got a phone call from a man who was working on the road saying he had found a cat.! Vin went to the front and there is little Rusty large as life miaowing in one of the neighbours gardens. Naughty little girl. She is a nosy ittle thing and probably heard the men working so went to have a look. They probably thought she was lost so rang us up. Aaah. nice to know people care though!
So then it was off to Dobbies..my first outing for ages. little steps at first eh! Vin was a bit grumpy going because the window wipers on his car weren't working and he hates things not working on his car. Settled down when he got there though, especially when we got our free coffees. nice to be back in the old routine. I had an Americano and he had a very nice looking flat white.He said if we were paying for them it would have been £4.55 and we didn't buy biscuits either because we take our own being cheapskates. it was actually very busy today, but we got a nice table and had a leisurely coffee and chat. Then had a little mooch, nt much of a one because he wanted to get petrol and a few things from Waitrose on the way back.
Parked in Waitrose and Vin ran in for some cheese pasties and rice puddings a salad and got a free paper! Then to Tesco for petrol, £40 pounds later and off home. job done. Me out of the house and getting back straight again.
Tonight we are having:
Pasties from Waitrose
Rice puddings from Waitrose.

Outing??

Well, the plan was tto have a little outing this morning over to Dobbies. have our free coffees and a little mooch.
What happened was, that the cats didn't wake Vin up this morning. Goodness knows why. Usually Bobby gets up with the light then starts trampling on him till he gets up to feed her. She walks on his face and pulls his hair till he moves and miaows very loudly. This morning...nothing..so, by the time we woke up it was ten O'clock, and too late to go anywhere. Plan change then.
Turned out to be a grey day anyway, it was very foggy last night Vin said it was like the Murder on the Rue Morgue last night and you couldn't see the station which is a bad sign from our house and means it's quite bad.  bit misty this morning and Vin says it's cold out too, not really warmed up today which it usually does after fog. Thing is we don't seem to get uch fog these days so it's a bit unusual. I remember the days of my childhood when you got the really bad smogs which were grey and dirty and you had to go to school with scarvves round your mouth. Don't do that any longer.
Tonight we are having:
Mushroom and cheese flan
Something tomatoey
potato croquette.

In Which Vin Has A Very Busy Morning...

We were expecting a few things this morning. the engineer from Sky was coming to fit a new Sk6y+ box and set it up. We were also expecting a coal delivery too withy a couple of bags to see us through any more coolweather that we might have.In the event both happened at more or less the same time. Sky are very good at sending engineers out when they say they will, and he was due this morning at about lunchtime. Vin had spotted the lesser known Sky van bird at the bottom of our road so he thought he would be on his way and he came spot on time actually.  Fitted the box, explained to Vin how to use uit and off he went. Quick job in the end because we already had the cable from the last bloke who fitted the new Sky ariel. Now we have the state of the art technology TV set up. Smart television, Bose sound box and the new Sky + box. Excellent. Of course little Rusty who is very nosy had to go into the Sky box when the man unpacked it. he said all the cats did that!
Used the last of the heating allowance on the coal delivery so any more now will be an extra.  I wonder if we will get any more colder weather yet. Hope the rain keeps off and lets the poor people down South get their homes dried out.
Tonight we are having:
Pasta with a cheese sauce and mushrooms
A few carrots to go with or some green veggies,
A bit of garlic bread for Vin.

In Again..

Vin was going out to the shop today to get some stuff for the week. I did wonder if I could go with him, but he discouraged me, he said it was too much. probably right still getting a bit of stamina back. Don't know where it's gone, seem to get tired very quickly these days. Grrrr !!!

Nice sunny day today but coolish, although Vin is in the garden getting straight. The man from Sky is coming tomorrow to get the new Sky box fitted. It's a plus box so we will be able to record on Sky without any faff. Suppose it will be another remote control, the house is getting full of them HaHa.
Little Rusty is doing ok at the moment, her eye has cleared up and the antibiotic has done her good. She is a little sweetheart.
Jane rang up after lunch..she was going in to work to get another shift in so she can have some time off when her exams are on.
The primroses are settling in really well, and a lovely splash of colour in the back yard. It would be very bare otherwise. Daffodils are beginning to come up now too, the ground must be warming up.
Tonight we are having:
Cottage pie with gravy
Carrots and a bit of broccoli.

Another Weekend Over !

The weeks seem to be flying by, we are now well into March, the nights are getting shorter and it is staying light quite late now. Touches of Spring all over, and snowdrops in the garden with some of the little tiny daffodils in the planters nice and yellow now.
Vin has planted some lovely hanging baskets again for the back yard. he went to the garden centre over the way, and got some trays of primroses so they are in there. Looks really nice against the white wall and with the little solar lights.

I love primroses, they have such bright colours and really liven the yard up outside the kitchen window.
Vin did the kitchen this morning, the floor, and tidied up the litter tray for Bobby.He ordered some more coal for delivery on Wednesday, and some Argos vouchers from the shopping monitor website, so we will have about £150 ish in those towards something from Argos.Might get another little television for the kitchen..we'll see.
Tonight we are having:
Vin is having Pizza with a salad, and baby tomatoes,
Potato salad
I am having a piece of my pizza with mushrooms and cheese.

Energy?????

Where does he get it from? He said this morning he woke up early so went downstairs, had a small cup of tea then tackled the ironing!!!! That is all of the bedding and clothing that was dried.  Then he brought me my rice cake, went for the papers, and then decided he was going to the garden centre to get some primroses for the hanging baskets. Meanwhile i do nothing!! Just can't summon up the energy to do anything really. Wonder why? Is it still the effects of the antibiotics which haven't done me any favours at all, except to clear up the ear infection. Ah well recover soon I hope.
Little Rusty is getting over her journey yesterday to the vets, and the injection that he gave her seems to be doing her some good. Hope so at £66 a pop, she's worth it though.
Tonight we are having:
Baked potato for me with a bit of cheese,
Curry I think for Vin a Quorn one with somje naan bread to go with.

Rusty's Big Day...

A big day for Rusty today. her breathing has been getting worse over the last week or so, so Vin rang up the vets to make an appointment for today. This afternoon in fact at three o'clock. So that was it for today really.

Here she is the little sweetheart. It's quite hard listening to her wheezing because of her nose condition, so we take her for an antibiotic injection, and that helps her for some time. Vin took her today because I haven't been out yet.  Vin said the vet Dr Tim was very thorough and gave her a good examination, before the injection, and she has put on a fraction of a kilo..Aaaah ! I've been calling her fatty now !!
Tonight we are having:
A bit of pasta probably macaroni cheese
garlic bread for Vin,
Maybe a few carrots to go with.

What is He On ?

My lovely husband. I would love to know what he is on to give him so much energy... I have had to say the least a "tired" day today. No energy at all. Feel like a deflated tyre..like a squashed inner tube. Had a good night's sleep too, so it isn't lack of sleep.  Vin is up and down the stairs all the time, doing all sorts,  and I'm just well there like a blob. he says I tired myself out yesterday because I stayed up too long.  Maybe I need a good old fashioned tonic. Now what could that be!!
Poor little Rusty is a bit under the weather too..her breathing isn't good at the moment, so Vin is taking her to the vet's for an injection tomorrow afternoon. Hope that makes her better.
Vin has just been up, he has been defrosting the bottom of the freezer..see what I mean..energy!!
Tonight he is having:
Cottage pie..a Quorn one
Carrots
A bit of gravy.

Hello Again....

Well it's been over two weeks since I last posted. been off with an ear infection that turned out to be quite nasty in the end. Vin got the out of hours doctor to me on the Sunday night and then the GP on the Monday I think it was. The night Doctor who was lovely actually prescribed me some very strong anti- biotics that did the trick but gave me nasty side effects, weakness light headedness nausea you name it. Seems to be a bit of a catch 22 situation..one thing makes you better, the other puts you back a few stages.
Vin has been absolutely wonderful. He has done things a husband shouldn't have to do, all without complaining, and with always a kindness. Bless him. XXXX Thankyou my love XXXX
Little Bobby has been a good friend, sitting on the bed to keep me company, she is a lovely little cat. Rusty has mainly stopped downstairs, i think she is wary of Bobby really so stays out of the way.
So, haven't been out anywhere, not even for our coffees :( and poor Vin has had to do all of the shopping.
Ah well that's enough for today i think.
Tonight vin is having:
pizza with a peppery salad, little tomatoes and a pasta salad
I am having two little slices of my pizza with mushrooms.