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.