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 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.,
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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 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.
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.
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 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.
