Well there was a change of plan for today. I had intended to go out with Vin to get some shopping and have a nice coffee out, probbably Costa at Tesco. However when I did my blood sugar this morning it was quite low..and Vin was muttering about not going out with me with it that loow!!! So, change in what we did.
He went off to tesco armed with a shopping list, and instructions to get our Jane a Costa card (which he has bought for her) and a gift card for Tesco for £50 in lieu of an Easter present.
He was back by 12 o'clock..which is actually a lot quicker than we would have been if I had gone with him :) So, a lovely quick trrip, and he got everything on the list too. Got Jane two packs of tassimo vanilla lattes which she will use I'm sure.
Very odd day weatherwise. Extremely blowy last night Vin said it kept him awake, although it didn't bother me. I take my ears out and that's it. Dead to the world as they say. Still blowy this morning and cold too, with patchy rain and sunshine although the sunshine isn't warming anywhere up much!
The daffodils are looking gorgeous this year in our little front garden. The barrel is absolutely full of them, tiny tete-atete ones he got from The Daiy Mail on an offer. Well worth it this year.
Tonight we are having:
Either a cottage pie Quorn or little yorkshire puddings with sausages in them.
Carrots batons,
Gravy
Potatoes if having the toad in the holes.
Start the week with a wet monday. At the time of writing this it is pouring down, and quite grey outside. typical Spring weather really. The clocks went forward on Sunday so we are getting the lighter nights, and it was fairly sunny when we awoke this morning too. Need to get some heavier curtains for the bedroom so the light doesn't wake us up so early. !
We stopped in today, we have our tea for tonight so no need to go anywhere today. Will go somewhere tomorrow for the veggies.
Jane rang up yesterday, she is in her placement this week, and has an interview at Salford on Wednesday afternoon at One o'clock. Good luck for that our Jane. Her friends are beginning to get jobs now, so the pressure is on a bit. Just hope she gets the one she wants.
She is coming home on the Tuesday after Easter just overnight because she is going to have a look round Aintree hospital. I had a CT scan last Friday and the radiographer who did my scaan turned out to be the one she emailed about a look round which is quite a co-incidence. Lovely she was actually very pleasant and friendly.
Tonight we are having:
Pizza for Vin with salad
Chilli noodle salad..
A baked potato for me.
It is really, a sort of day when absolutely nothing happens.! No repair men, no parcels, no callers nobody. We stopped in today and did bits and bobs.
Nice and sunny outside but cold so Vin hasn't been out in the garden much yet, and I don't blame him either. The hanging baskets are still looking good outside the kitchen windows so don't need replacing yet.
I love the colours of the primroses they look so bright and cheery against the white wall and brighten up a dull day no end.
The news is still full of the airplane crash in the French Alps and they are now saying that there were sounds of the Captain banging on the cockpit door to get in and then the plane descending so it is looking like it was the co-pilots fault for whatever reason. Oh dear..not looking good whatever happens.
Nice coffees at home today. I had a less sweet macchiato and Vin had a Chai latte. both lovely. Just like in a coffee shop.
Tonight we are having:
Not altogether sure, maybe pasta,
butternut sqquash
Cheesey sauce.
You really wouldn't believe this ..but after lunch we came upstairs to look at the tracking of our Tassimo order. You can check where it is up toand Vin had noticed that it had left Warrington this morning. We had the site on the screen and the doorbell went!! Unbelievable!!.Vin went down and it was the order..he told the bloke who delivered it who was laughing. Good delivery we only ordered them on Sunday.
Quiet day otherwise, tried out the refurbished washing machine which is working just great, and some of the washing out on the line since it is nice and sunny today.
Vin went off to Tesco this morning to get a few veggies for the rest of the week, came back with a good selection and some Linda McCartney frozen plaits that were very cheap end of line apparently 50p each. Excellent..well done Vin
Had our coffees when he came back, I had an Americano with a milk pod and he had a morning coffee with a milk pod. We now have more tassimo discs than Tesco I think!!
Tonight we are having:
Cottage pie with gravy
Veggies probably carrotsand broccoli for Vin
Mushrooms?
Been off again with a recurrence of the gastric problem. Getting to be a habit these days. Seem to take three steps forward and two back.
I was rreally picking up too after the last one. Ah well..
This morning the man from Hotpoint came to fix the washing machine. He was supposed to come between eight and eleven so Vin got up early bless him, and the man came at around a quarter to eleven. He put in the new drum, a new door seal and a new heater at the back as well, so it has had a complete refurbishment. Vin has been online and saw that a new drum costs around £180 on its own so that would have been quite a bill. Good job we had the insurance.
Nice and sunny today but cold. Vins Hellibores came this morning too so they are going to have to be protected a bit. Pity we don't have enough room for a little greenhouse.
Tonight we are having:
No idea really..maybe a bit of an Amy's kitchen macaroni cheese
Garlic bread for Vin and some sort of veggies.
Out yesterday so in today. We started with the bedding, which is a tiny bit didgy because the washing machine is presenty awaiting a new drum..arriving on Tuesday. Thankfully nothing happened so that worked ok. We now have lovely clean bedding.
Vin made a really nice brioche loa, started in the bread machine then finished off in our bread tin in the oven. Result a beautiful looking loaf with a very brown top which he can use for slicing to make toast. looking forward to seeing what it looks like tomorrow.
Coffees out yesterday so a coffee in today with the Tassimo. I do have to say that was one of the best purchases that we have made. A wonderful bit of kit! i had a Kenco cafe crema and Vin had something with a milk pod..Americano I think.
Jane rang up yesterday, very tired poor kid. She is amazing the way she keeps going, up really early to go to her placement then drives to her job at Ticketmaster, and finishes at nineish. She is presently in a children's hospital and was doing little tiny babies yesterday..torturing them she says. Takes them out of their lovely little warm incubators and puts them on a cold board for x-rays. Aaah. I do hope the jobsd start coming up for her soon. I put £100 in her bank for her yesterday supposed to be for some new shoes because she said her feet were killing her, and there are some special ones by Sketchers that she is after around £50. Then when she rang she said that it would cost £50 for the hire of her graduation gown!! what a price..oh well it will be worth it.
Tonight we are having:
fishless fingers
Mushy peas for Vin and carrots for moi
Chips 200 grms.
Tartare sauce.
Out this morning. Started off very misty/foggy but cleared up beautifully later on with a real touch of Spring in the air.
We had planned to go out to Dobbies this morning since we haven't been in March so were due for our frree coffees!. Had a bit of a mooch round when we got there, vin went off and I had a look for anything suitable for Ann for her birthday. Did find a nice little heart shape with a message on it which isn't too heavy either so that is put away.
It was quite quiet there today and the cafe part was better than last time when it was really busy. We had a pair of lovely Lattes..very nice too, and our own biscuits. Bit of people watching..I was watching a grandad with a little boy. He was really lovely with him, and he was beautifully behaved too, for a little tot. Then a table with young girly mums alongside us. They had coffees and great big meringues with cream in and fruit on the top! Skinny things they were too!
Went and bought the heart, a pack of shortbread biscuits and a pack of pumpkin bread mis. Paid for those then spotted a pack of the same make brioche mix on the reduced counter so bought that aas well. Vin will make that tomorrow.
Two phone calls when we got home..one from Hotpoint to say that they will deliver the new washing machine drum on Tuesday next week. Then followed almost immediately by one from the surgery over the way about the repeat prescription which they didn't have a letter for. the Doc would ring me back before three to ask some questions which she did. No problem with that so the prescription will go over to the chemist over the road.
So quite a lot going on today in the end.
Tonight we are having:
Linda McCartney leek and cheese plaits.
Root mash left from the other day,
Any veggies left from the fridge.
Than hanging around all morning waiting for a repairman to call. Wednesday today so we were waiting for the man from Hotpoint to call to fix the washing machine. We got an email to say they would call on Wednesday and would send another to say what sort of time. That never came despite Vin looking sbout a dozen times yesterday. Oh well, it was a good job
that he had ordered some coal to be delivered today as well. That arrived on time this morning..three bags £57.
Eventually the washing machine man came at about two fifteenish..had a quick look.. said it needed a new drum and he would have to order the part and went after about four minutes!!! Good job we are covered by insurance or that would have been expensive. Anyway it will be delivered early next week. So it looks like next week is going to be another busy week as well as this week is proving to be.
Nice and sunny today, Vin is presently in the garden trying to get his solar lights to work. Some of them are working but he reckons that the batteries have gone on others. The nicest set of lights we have in the garden are along the fence and are a lovely string of coloured lights that work on a timer, I got from QVC.
Tomorrow we are off out somewhere..time for a free coffee out I think!!
Tonight we are having:
Pasta cheese with veggies to go with
Butternut squash maybe.
A piece of garlic bread for Vin.
Yesterday it was the aeriel man.. worked wonders too..everything is working beautifully (touch wood ) Today it is the diabetic review over at the surgery with the Practice nurse. That was 11.30 so the plan was to go over there, get that done and then go and get some shopping..veggies etc.
Got there on time, nobody in the waiting room waited about ten minutes then she called me in. Nice nursey actually named Louise. Did my blood pressure..fine, did the usual tests on my feet which I can't feel as usual, asked me some questions then did my weight and height. weight has dropped a bit more which she mentioned, height the same. haven't shrunk anyway. A bit worried about my weight..that makes a change and said she would mention it to the Dr., Grrr. All done then and out fairly quickly.
Off to Tesco for our week's stuff. Car park quite full, Vin dropped me off at the front and I went to the bank machine and he went to park. Quite quick round the store..Costa looked very busy..Grrr... and we got everything on his list, plus a few other bits and bobs. The checkouts very busy so he went through a self service on..I hate those!!
Then to Costa. Emptied nicely by then so he parks me in a nice corner seat, and he goes off to put the shopping in the car. I had a skinny Latte and he had a Soy milk Latte, and we shared half a bag of little shortbread biscuits. Lovely sit down, opposite Steven Gerrard the Liverpool footballer, and another man and a girl.Looked like a footballers wife type :) I said to Vin i wonder what car he has and he said a white Bentley!!!Typical for a footballer I suppose!! The girl got into a top of the range Range Rover. i wouldn't like to park either of those in Tesco's car park!!.
Home in time for lunch. Then got a phone call from the Practice nursey..she was a bit concerned about the weight. Would I like to make an appointment with the Dr to discuss it. No not really. I have an appointment on Monday at the renal clinic so we will see what they say! Then..would I like to see a Dietician? No not really... Once they get their hands on yu they really get you. Oh well.
Tonight we are having:
Cottage pie and gravy,
Broccoli and carrots.
The Aeriel man came to call...He said he would come between ten and twelve. Spot on ten he arrived. Went up on the roof to have a look and sorted out the problem. It wasn't the aeriel as we had initially thought but a cable and power box that was causing the lack of picture on all of the televisions in the house. Good job we had the Sky, at least we were able to keep up with some of the things we watch.
He was here just over an hour and fixed it properly with a new power box and that was all £95 which isn't too bad considering the last time we had him about eight years ago it was over a hundred. So that was today taken care of, the next thing is my appointment over the way at the surgery tomorrow and the washing machine man on Wednesday. It has turned from being a clear week to one of having things done in the end.
I did ring QVC this morning because I couldn't log in to my account it wouldn't register my email. Got through to a girl who said that my email wasn't on their file which is a bit odd because I have been with them for well over twelve years if not more! Anywas I tried again after and it still didn't work so rang them again and got another girl who said they were having technical difficulties and it would be sorted soon. Well that will put paid to my ordering for a bit!!!
Tonight we are having:
Pizza with a salad for Vin
Chilli noodle salad to go with
Maybe a poached agg for me.
Well it is friday the 13th...
Firstly the aerial has gone Kaput..so none of the televisions in the house are working. Luckily we do have the Sky so we can get and record programmes, so not transported back to the dark ages without anything to watch. Then the washing machine started to make a weird noise, especially when spinning, definitely something wrong there somewhere.
So Vin had to make phne calls this morning. first the aerial man..who last came about eight years ago. Someone said he would ring back which he did so that was a good start. Anyway he is coming on Monday morning..so that is under way. Then he rang Hotpoint..thankfully we have their insurance plan we pay each month. he got through right away, and an engineer will be out n Wednesday..so that is underway as well.
We did have a clear week next week! Now it looks like it is going to be a busy one. Aerial on Monday..my diabetic review over the way on Tuesday morning and then the washing machine on Wednesday. Good job we have a calendar with everything written down!! And, a good job we stopped in today as well!!
Vin is presently doing a bit of clearing up today. Still quite a lot of cat dust about apparently..not that I can see it. I just live in blissful ignorance :) :)
Tonight we are having:
Cheese and onion pasty for Vin with mushrooms.
Not sure what I will have..maybe a baked potato.
In today, well we did go out yesterday. Vin started off this morning by putting a Sourdough loaf in the bread machine. he did it all by himself too..getting really good at kitcheny things these days. It was ready by the time we were having our coffees and then he put it in the oven when we finished our drinks. He does the kneading and everything. brilliant. The aroma of bread coming up the stairs is wonderful, it must be one of the most appetising smells ever..apart from freshly brewed coffee that is :)
Look at this...absolutely gorgeous. it will last him all week for toast in the mornings, toast with his lunchtime soups and some for freezing.
Quite cold today, started off a bit windy but that has gone now. very overcast though, and not really Spring yet, or warm enough to sit out at all. Vin is doing some clearing up in the garden, trying to fill up his green wheelie bin I think!
Tonight we are having:
Mashed potato we have in the fridge,
Something from the freezer to go with that,
Any vegetables that we have left over.
Spring I mean! You get a couple of niceish days and you tend to think that Spring is on its way. Nooo! it isn't. Today woke up to a wind blowing, and wet looking outside.
We had decided that we were going to go over to Maghull to have a bit of a look round, and get a coffee at costa. I don't mind going there because i can have a look round the Bon marche and Vin goes into the Home and Bargain and B&Ms so there is something for both.
trouble is that started not too good because the square was busy so we had to wait for a space..vin doesn't like that! anyway he got a space eventually and it was free again.
I went into Bon M.. and had a look round. It was full of sleeveless tops and short sleev3ed tops not really what you want in this weather. Did buy another pair of slippers in a size 5 !! very small for me..wonder if my feet have shrunk.
Went for a coffee then good job because I was getting a bit wobbly for some reason. Went round to the Costa. Vin had a soy milk latte and I had a lovely skinny latte. very nice breather.
Tonight we are having:
Pasta bake with a cheese sauce
Butternut squash and broccoli for Vin
garlic bread for Vin.
Beautiful sunny day again today with the sun streaming through the window this morning. Still cold though according to Vin. We stopped in today because I had a delivery expected from Bullens. Sure enough the man came at about elevenish as usual, what a reliable firm they are. Packed them away and more boxes for recycling. vin often says he wonders where it all went before the recycling bins arrived.
He took some photos outside with his new little camera and loaded them on to the picassa website. lovely Spring flowers.
These are the daffodils in our little front garden. tete-a-tete miniature daffs. beautiful tiny little things with lovely heads.
His hellebore in the back garden which he has been nurturing for long enough It was supposed to flower at Christmas which it nearly did, at least it was in bud and just about to come out. You can get them in many different colours apparently including a really deep marroon colour. I'd like one of those.
Beautiful primroses that were just left over the winter and have come up again in full bloom. Gorgeous colours and a really lovely way to spice up a blank wall.
Good photos eh!!
Tonight we are having:
Cottage pie (Quorn) one.
gravy with some mushrooms for Vin
Carrots and broccoli
This morning dawned grey and wet looking. The weather forecasts said yesterday that it would be windy with possible gales this evening, and it started off like that. Cleared up a bit now though.
We decided to go to Waitrose today mainly for a change, loads of parking..must be the weather putting people off going out. very quiet inside, be nice if it was like that all of the time. Got our veggies, they do have nice veggies there I do have to say. You pay for them though! Then had a bit of a mooch and picked up some things we get from there that you can't get anywhere else. Funny going to Waitrose, they do have a very upper market, very snooty really!
Then we had a break and went for our free coffees. Their new rule is that you have to buy something to eat as well now, but we always get a pack of biscuits so that is countedd..at least they had some proper biscuits today not the horrible lemon ones that we got last time!! I do have to say that the coffees were delicious. We both had Lattes which came in a proper latte glass.So we had a breather and enjoyed the people watch. Interesting couple today..a nice smiley look8ing little japanese woman with a much oldergrey haired gentleman. Wonder what the relationship was there?
Finished getting the rest of our things then went off home.
Jane rang up this mornuing to say that she was locked in the house! she was clearly late for work too. Apparently it turned out that the new girl in the house had gone off to work herself, and deadlocked the front door, so effectively locking Jane in!! jane still hasn't met her yet. When she gets home from Ticketmaster which is quite late the new girl is in bed so she has been there since Saturday but they haven't seen each other yet. Maybe they will catch up tonight.
Tonight we are having:
Pizza for Vin with a morroccan salad and pasta salad
maybe a baked potato for moi.
Alarms set this morning for an earlyish get up because I had an appointment at Aintree for 11-15. It does take about half an hour to get there so we had to leave by half past ten.
Got there about eleven so did well..no traffric to speak of so a good journey. Gave my letter in and sat and waited, then Vin caught me up when he had parked the car (on the top floor of the multi storey car park). Then a nurse said there would be a half hour delay for Mr Skaife's team, so Vin had a ppeek at the corridor where the blood tests are done and there was only one waiting so since i had brought a form for a blood test for the renal clinic in a couple of weeks I nipped along there while I was waiting. jennifer did my blood as usual..we have a bit of a joke about our names..nice girl gets the blood first each time.
Then sat back in the waiting room and was called pretty soon after that. Met a really nice registrar on Mr Skaife's team, didn't catch her name but she was very thorough, asked the right questions and listened. I LET Vin come in with me this time which is pretty much of a first..thought he would be an extra pair of ears. I quite often have a problem hearing what they are saying so he could listen too and add his bit. Proved to be very useful actually. She did some questioning which was relevant, and then gave me the options. She wanted to use a camera to see what is going on in my middle but some of the procedures are a problem with a renal perspective so it was decided that I should have a C.T. Scan with oral. A letter will come in the post.
Vin went for the car and we went off towards M&S to get a coffee . Wasn't too busy there actually, Vin had an Americano and I had a Latte for a change. Very pleasant, but they could d with making their cafe area bigger it is quite crowded. Should have made it bigger in the first place! A little look round the food hall afterwards I wanted to get a loaf and we just got a couple of other things then home. About twenty five miles there and back in his lovely little car.
Home for lunch. Vin made himself a really really nice looking potato cake with some leftover mash from last night, and had that with some beans. I had a toasted sandwich.
Tonight we are having:
Fishless fingers
Chips 200 grms
Mushy peas for Vin and carrot for moi.
We didn't go out today..mainly because there wasn't anywhere that appealed to us to go to. We didn't need any shopping so there was no need to go to a supermarket, so we thought we woulod mooch about a bit instead. Nice thing about being retired you can do just what you want to do. To be honest the weather isn't really conducive to going anywhere it is very grey and overcast and still cool. There were pictures in the paper this morning wondering where Spring is..showing identical pictures of places last year with daffodils everywhere, and this year with none out yet. We do have some lovely ones in the barrel at the front of the house though, maybe it is a bit sheltered there.These are last year's.
just had a look through my wardrobe a bit ago. Was of the opinin that there are lots of clothes that are now too big. But...they need going through and might take a day or so to get them sorted. You really need to try things on to make sure before you ditch things.I do have sme really nice things that I am loathe to give to the charity shops when they can be used. i was going to start but it really is a bit of a bigger job than I thought. Another day perhaps.
Had a lovely cappuccino this morning and Vin had one of his own with a coffee disc and some heated milk. our tassimo machine is really proving a terrific buy, Vin was just reading in the paper that they are the biggest brand in the UK selling millions every year. Not surprised really they do make wonderful coffees.
Wouldn't mind going to Waitrose ne day though, get one of their free ones!
Tonight we are having:
Root vegetable mash,
Something to go with that,
carrots and squash.
Didn't go out today, we had sorting out to do. Started with the ironing of the bedding done the other day, so got that underway. Then the kitchen floor which doesn't seem to get so hairy since the cats have gone. Not that we ever minded really. It's odd just how much you miss the two of them plodding in and out. You still catch yourself looking down to make sure there isn't a cat under your feet. Miss you all little cats. XXX
Poor little Bobby and Rusty..still find it hard to believe that they both went so quickly really.
Then I had a bit of a go on the puter and Vin sorted out some of the redundant papers he has held on to. Now sitting all soggy and wet on the draining board!!
Tonight we are having:
Mac and Cheese
Mushrooms for Vin
Carrots and butternut squash.
A bit of garlic bread for Vin.
Got up at usual time today, with the sun shining through the windows. However, not the warmth to go with it, quite blowy and cold outside.
Bullens rang this morning to take my order which will be delivered next Tuesday. Excellent firm that one, very reliable and really helpful. The next ring will be the 31st of March.
Since it is Tuesday we needed to go somewhere to get a few veggies etc for the week. So off we went to the boring old Tesco. Not very exciting but they do have a Costa which is a bit of a draw. very quiet when we got there with lots of car spaces..looking good. Went round fairly quickly because we actually are well stocked up Got what we needed including the veggies, and a few extras then paid and went for our coffees. Vin put the bags in the car first. Thing is when we arrived the Costa didn't look too bad but when we went in for our coffees it was busy and we were left with a not very nice table by the entrance. Bit of a shame but hey ho..never mind. :)
Vin had a Soya Latte and I had a really nice skinny latte medium. Beautiful drink actually. We sat and watched what was going on..which was two girls who were perched at a table trying to sell flight delay forms. Vin says this is a new thing that is being pushed. All the time we sat there they didn't get one enquiry..and they were so bored they were laughing at people going past. Then on the spot of one o'clock they got up, moved the table back and went into the Costa area to get their lunch!! i just wonder who is paying for that..if they are on comission they won't be earning their lunch!!!
Tonight we are having:
Cottage pie with gravy,
Mixed vegetables.
Just another non-manic Monday.. Not a lot doing today. bedding this morning with the washing machine making a very loud noise for some reason. Ah well..as long as it goes. Vin woke up quite early, went and got our coffees..he has a mug full I have a little tiny one and we have a cow biscuit each :) then we had a bit of a doze till we got up later. Not a nice day so we weren't going anywhere. Stopped in, and he made a beautiful Sourdough loaf in th3e bread machine. At least the dough is made in the machine then proved in the bread tin so you get a really nicely shaped loaf.
He is getting really good in the kitchen these days. Well done Vin XXX
Jane is back on placement today for the week but she didn't ring up yesterday so I am aq bit concerned. Very funny thing just as I was typing this the phone rang and it was her. She has done her day and is walking home. Phone was dead yesterday so that was why she didn't phone.
Tonight we are having:
Pizza and salad for Vin
Chilli noodle salad
Poached egg for moi.
