We decidid last night to go into crosby , mainly because Vin had to go to his bank to get some money out, and then along to my bank to pay it into Jane's account for her MOTtest. That turned out to be £260 in the end.But, that covered all the work it needed and the two new tyres also so wasn't too bad really. She rang last night to say she had collected it and it was driving better.
Then this morning I said i didn't really want to go to the Crosby Sainsburys to get our weekend thing, firstly I'm a bit bored with Sainsburys, and also because it is a really small shop and they don't carry a huge stock. So, in the end it was decided that Vin would go into Crosby, do his banking things and then come back and pick me up and we would go into formby to Waitrose to get our weekend things. Got to Waitrose, and there was a parking space right next to the front door..couldn't believe it, we never park there. Good omen..
What a cold shop!! There is a blast of cold air through a fan as you enter the store, mainly as a warning I think, then the chilled foods area is absolutely freezing..I mean really freezing..there are about four aisles of this and then it starts to get a tad warmer. Not a store you want to browse in i can tell you.We got our weekend stuff, things that we can't get in crosby like decent avocados and perfectly ripe pears and really nice egg and potato salads. Not a cheap shopping basket though..you pay for the experience of being frozen. I was reading in the paper yesterday that john lewis are suffering from falling profits..down to 15millions last year or was it in this year so far..never mind.. They coukld do with reducing their prices a bit though.Their excuse was that their policy of being "never knowingly undersold" was causing them trouble because other stores are cheaper. Well that's not hard!
Anyway we were home well in time for our coffee break, which was a good job because their coffee shop/restaurant was heaving.
Vin is clearing up his stuff this afternoon, and since he was getting grumpy about it, I left him to it.
Funny day weather wise, quite nice this morning but cool and even a touch misty. next doors have a big line of washing on their line, all little stuff, and then after lunch it started raining, so he came out and took it in. Short while laterm as I type this in fact there is a bright sunshine. Very odd day.I hope the visitors from America have got umbrellas with them, or they'll get wet.
Tonight we are having:
Fishless fingers,
Mushy peas for Vin and green beans for moi
Chips!! Hooray, a treat..200grms between us.
Friday, 16 September 2011
Thursday, 15 September 2011
Busy...Busy...
Started the day off quite early, because the carpet cleaning firm were due to bring the rugs back.What a good firm they turned out to be..Pro-Clean. They collected the rugs when they said they would and returned them earlyish the next day. I must say they have done a good job too, the rug that was in the middle room which does take a lot of wear and foot traffic from humans and cats looks really good, like new. So well done that firm.
I set about doing the bathroom, wanted to give it a good clean and Vin disappeared outside. Wasn't sure what he was doing then i spotted him painting the outside wall. This was supposed to be done a couple of weeks ago, and he had scraped the old stuff off the wall, then the tank trouble cropped up, so it had to stop. Last week we had bad weather and the hurricane or strong winds threat, and so it was delayed again. he had the paint and everything..Sandtex..in Clotted Cream, which has turned out to be a lovely colour.
What a difference, before and after, the bit on the right was what it looked like scraped and waiting to be done.
All done and beautifully too! The hanging baskets will look gorgeous with some winter flowering pansies in them.
I set about doing the house brasses, we have quite a lot round the fireplace and my Mum used to do them every week to keep them shining. To my shame i leave them till they need doing these will last till Christmas now HaHa. So that was our morning, we are getting there.Vin doing the garden wall reminded me of the time that Mrs Thatcher visited the school where the old school meals centre was. She was Minister for Education at the time, and because she was walking past the end of the building, the council painted the end wall a brilliant white. Nothing else..just the bit she was walking past!!!!
Jane was having a busy day today too. She had to get up early to get to college because she had to get a bus and a tram to get there with not having a car. Then she was doing a full day there and collecting her car mid afternoon and had to get it to the Quik Fit place to get the free MOT retest. As long as you get the car there before 6O'Clock they will do the retest.
Tonight we are havi9ng:
Cheesey Kiev,
Mixed vegetables with a few potatoes as a gratin.
I set about doing the bathroom, wanted to give it a good clean and Vin disappeared outside. Wasn't sure what he was doing then i spotted him painting the outside wall. This was supposed to be done a couple of weeks ago, and he had scraped the old stuff off the wall, then the tank trouble cropped up, so it had to stop. Last week we had bad weather and the hurricane or strong winds threat, and so it was delayed again. he had the paint and everything..Sandtex..in Clotted Cream, which has turned out to be a lovely colour.
What a difference, before and after, the bit on the right was what it looked like scraped and waiting to be done.
All done and beautifully too! The hanging baskets will look gorgeous with some winter flowering pansies in them.
I set about doing the house brasses, we have quite a lot round the fireplace and my Mum used to do them every week to keep them shining. To my shame i leave them till they need doing these will last till Christmas now HaHa. So that was our morning, we are getting there.Vin doing the garden wall reminded me of the time that Mrs Thatcher visited the school where the old school meals centre was. She was Minister for Education at the time, and because she was walking past the end of the building, the council painted the end wall a brilliant white. Nothing else..just the bit she was walking past!!!!
Jane was having a busy day today too. She had to get up early to get to college because she had to get a bus and a tram to get there with not having a car. Then she was doing a full day there and collecting her car mid afternoon and had to get it to the Quik Fit place to get the free MOT retest. As long as you get the car there before 6O'Clock they will do the retest.
Tonight we are havi9ng:
Cheesey Kiev,
Mixed vegetables with a few potatoes as a gratin.
Wednesday, 14 September 2011
What a Day!!
First things first. We wanted to get a photograph printed so yesterday vin rang round some local places like Supasnaps etc., but a lot of them only did smaller sizes like A4, and this is bigger than that. He got through to a place in crosby that copies digitally and does larger items so he made plans to go there today, this morning in fact. Because the address was 44 Liverpool road he thought it was over the road from Supasnaps which is 41. i said we'd be better parking outside in case it took a while so we drove round. it proved to be a long way up the road in fact,Nearly in Waterloo in fact, as i took great pleasure in telling him. it was exactly the place that I had described to him last night but does he listen to me...No!! he left it there along with a couple of others to be put onto disc also so that was done. our visitor will be pleased with that I think.Since it would be twenty minutes we decided to go to the bank and Sainsburys for the cat's chicken. the bank to pay money in for Jane to pay her car insurance with..
She was having her car in for its MOT today and was a bit worried about that, she thought it would need quite a few things done. Rang up at lunchtime and as expected it had failed because it needed two new tyres,a cv something or other and a bit of welding round a seat belt and on the nearside sill. Vin knows all about cars so he said find a little garage to do the welding, because that would be cheaper. Quik fit would do the tyres and the tracking and the other thing for £200 odd pounds. Then she rang later to say she had found a garage that would do everything she needed including the welding for £230, she could drop the car off and cp;;ect it mid afternoon tomorrow. If she gets it back to the MOT place before 6O'Clock tomorrow she gets a free test again. her Dad will help her out with that bill and I've done her car insurance which she is going to pay me back monthly..so the bank of Mum and Dad have sorted her out.
Then the doorbell went at lunchtime. it was the carpet man come to collect the two rugs we are having cleaned. they take them away, clean them and deodorise them and bring them back tomorrow. The one in our middle room takes a lot of foot and cat traffic so needed a good clean..it is a good rug so worth doing. Actually it is amazing how much wear they save the carpets, when they were taken up the beige carpet underneath was a totally different colour to round the edges HaHa.
So, we are stopping in tomorrow..having a breather. God knows how we found time to go to work!!
Tonight we are having:
Tricolour pasta with spinach and ricotta sauce,
Mixed green vegetables with asparagus
Three slices of garlic read between us.
She was having her car in for its MOT today and was a bit worried about that, she thought it would need quite a few things done. Rang up at lunchtime and as expected it had failed because it needed two new tyres,a cv something or other and a bit of welding round a seat belt and on the nearside sill. Vin knows all about cars so he said find a little garage to do the welding, because that would be cheaper. Quik fit would do the tyres and the tracking and the other thing for £200 odd pounds. Then she rang later to say she had found a garage that would do everything she needed including the welding for £230, she could drop the car off and cp;;ect it mid afternoon tomorrow. If she gets it back to the MOT place before 6O'Clock tomorrow she gets a free test again. her Dad will help her out with that bill and I've done her car insurance which she is going to pay me back monthly..so the bank of Mum and Dad have sorted her out.
Then the doorbell went at lunchtime. it was the carpet man come to collect the two rugs we are having cleaned. they take them away, clean them and deodorise them and bring them back tomorrow. The one in our middle room takes a lot of foot and cat traffic so needed a good clean..it is a good rug so worth doing. Actually it is amazing how much wear they save the carpets, when they were taken up the beige carpet underneath was a totally different colour to round the edges HaHa.
So, we are stopping in tomorrow..having a breather. God knows how we found time to go to work!!
Tonight we are having:
Tricolour pasta with spinach and ricotta sauce,
Mixed green vegetables with asparagus
Three slices of garlic read between us.
Tuesday, 13 September 2011
The Big Clean!!!
Getting ready for our visitors on Sunday afternoon. It is surprising how much dust collects, particularly when you have an open fire and two cats. Bobby seems to be mouting really badly at the moment for some reason, and there are clumps of white fur all over where she goes, which is pretty much wherever she wants to. I do have to admit that I can't see the dust really so I live in blissful ignorance.In truth the eyesight is a bit like looking through a net curtain permanently, so the dust blends in i suppose, HaHa.
We did quite a bit this morning, between waiting for a postman to bring the parcel that wasn't delivered yesterday. That was a pair of earrings that I had ordered in murano glass, but in the event I didn't really l;ike them so have sent them back. felt a bit guilty about that because of the faff over the delivery. Poor Vin has such a lot to put up with.
Our visitor used to live in Hightown when he was a child in a house two doors down, and the last time he came someone gave him a copy of a book that had been written about the village. At the back of the book, was a photograph of an aerial view of old Hightown before all of the changes, and he really wanted a copy of the photo for his study. Turned out that the photo belonged to a resident in a road round the corner, so Vin went round to see her this afternoon, and had quite a chat with her. Came back with three photos which we will get copied tomorrow. he will be thrilled with those. The other thing he wanted to do was have a look round his old house so Vin was in the garden this morning doing some trimming and had a word with our neighbour, she said it would be fine, so that was sorted as well. He done well today didn't he!
Fairkly windy today but more of a strong breeze than anything. Really tipped it down at lunchtime, just as vin was going round the corner, and it went really cold too. What a strange country we live in weather wise, you just can never tell what it is going to do.
Tonight we are going to have:
Burger Puffs..a quornburger wrapped on a thin coat of puff pastry and baked
little baby potatoes sliced and sauteed,
A small tin of something tomatoey.
We did quite a bit this morning, between waiting for a postman to bring the parcel that wasn't delivered yesterday. That was a pair of earrings that I had ordered in murano glass, but in the event I didn't really l;ike them so have sent them back. felt a bit guilty about that because of the faff over the delivery. Poor Vin has such a lot to put up with.
Our visitor used to live in Hightown when he was a child in a house two doors down, and the last time he came someone gave him a copy of a book that had been written about the village. At the back of the book, was a photograph of an aerial view of old Hightown before all of the changes, and he really wanted a copy of the photo for his study. Turned out that the photo belonged to a resident in a road round the corner, so Vin went round to see her this afternoon, and had quite a chat with her. Came back with three photos which we will get copied tomorrow. he will be thrilled with those. The other thing he wanted to do was have a look round his old house so Vin was in the garden this morning doing some trimming and had a word with our neighbour, she said it would be fine, so that was sorted as well. He done well today didn't he!
Fairkly windy today but more of a strong breeze than anything. Really tipped it down at lunchtime, just as vin was going round the corner, and it went really cold too. What a strange country we live in weather wise, you just can never tell what it is going to do.
Tonight we are going to have:
Burger Puffs..a quornburger wrapped on a thin coat of puff pastry and baked
little baby potatoes sliced and sauteed,
A small tin of something tomatoey.
Monday, 12 September 2011
Well It's Blowy, but Not That bad!!
Yes it is blowy but it isn't hurricane level..at least not yet anyway.The trees around our house are going like mad, and I suspect that there will be quite a few leaves on the ground afterwards. Mind you, just listening to Radio Two as i type this, the Sally Traffic lady is reading a long list of roads that have been closed due to the weather, including lorries that have blown over and trees that have fallen. It actually sounds quite bad all over. I love a good storm though, just as long as I'm not out in it.
Vin has started clearing up..which usually means piles of his stuff put in strategic places around the house. He says it will all magically disappear in time. At least the house will look nice for Christmas HaHa. Won't be long before the Christmas trees go up actually. Some of the shops already have Christmas stuff out, and it isn't even Halloween.
We went out to Sainsbury's Crosby this morning. 1/2 an hour free parking, which just about gives you enough time to walk up to the bank machine, then whizz round the aisles in Sainsburys before your time is up. Got my usual veggies and assorted groceries for the week, good job Vin goes in with a list because you don't have time to browse. Came home for his coffee, and found the post had been, leaving a leaflet for a parcel. Typical that is..on the days you are in you don't get parcels, but the minute you go out the leaflets appear..missed your delivery,Vin reckons they hide round the corner and wait till you go out then deliver their leaflet.. Maybe...
Tonight we are having:
Mozzarella and pesto escalope
Little potatoes 8oz squashed and baked
Mixed vegetables with a mushroom sauce.
Vin has started clearing up..which usually means piles of his stuff put in strategic places around the house. He says it will all magically disappear in time. At least the house will look nice for Christmas HaHa. Won't be long before the Christmas trees go up actually. Some of the shops already have Christmas stuff out, and it isn't even Halloween.
We went out to Sainsbury's Crosby this morning. 1/2 an hour free parking, which just about gives you enough time to walk up to the bank machine, then whizz round the aisles in Sainsburys before your time is up. Got my usual veggies and assorted groceries for the week, good job Vin goes in with a list because you don't have time to browse. Came home for his coffee, and found the post had been, leaving a leaflet for a parcel. Typical that is..on the days you are in you don't get parcels, but the minute you go out the leaflets appear..missed your delivery,Vin reckons they hide round the corner and wait till you go out then deliver their leaflet.. Maybe...
Tonight we are having:
Mozzarella and pesto escalope
Little potatoes 8oz squashed and baked
Mixed vegetables with a mushroom sauce.
Sunday, 11 September 2011
Weekend before the Storm??
I wonder if the weather people are right and we are due for Hurricane Katie by Monday. if we lived in America we would be panicking by now and buying everything in sight. Mind you they have every reason to because they have had some terrible hurricanes. We were there one year when Hurrican Andrew hit Miami, and the papers and television were full of it. Everything in Disney stopped but it didn't actually touch that part of Florida. They cancelled some of the rides and a dinner show we went to etc., and nbothing. Didn't matter though,. We still had a great time and the plane coming back landed earlier because the wind was behind us apparently.
We have caught some of the 9/11 memorial services today both in New York and in London. Very moving services and some very emotional stories.It seems incredible that it is ten years since it happened, it seems like only yesterday we were watching the second plane hit the tower. Did see an item on the news about a group who were burning an American flag in London..that doesn't seem right somehow.
We have had a normal weekend. A touch of coolness in the air,definitely a touch of Autumn coming along. I do love Autumn though it is by far my most favourite time of the year.
Mount Washington in the background and the gorgeous colours of the Fall. There is a lovely little train that takes you up to the top of Mount Washington..one of those cog railway ones, and it takes ages. When you get to the top it is freezing cold and covered in ice..but there is a huge big cafe on the top also!. Typical USA.
Lovely trip..
Did our crosswords this afternoon which weren't too bad. We completed them in reasonable time, so that gave us a bit of time to have an individual mooch afterwards.Jane rang up on her way to work, and we started to have a conversation then got cut off and she didn't ring back, so I assume she got to work. She often rings when she is on the bus and is bored!! Don't mind that though, we've had some good chats that way.
Tonight we are having:
pizza with tomato mushrooms pineapple, sausage and Emmenthal cheese.
potoato and egg salad with baby plum tomatoes and avocado
Potato salad for moi and a Medditerranean pasta salad for Vin.
We have caught some of the 9/11 memorial services today both in New York and in London. Very moving services and some very emotional stories.It seems incredible that it is ten years since it happened, it seems like only yesterday we were watching the second plane hit the tower. Did see an item on the news about a group who were burning an American flag in London..that doesn't seem right somehow.
We have had a normal weekend. A touch of coolness in the air,definitely a touch of Autumn coming along. I do love Autumn though it is by far my most favourite time of the year.
Mount Washington in the background and the gorgeous colours of the Fall. There is a lovely little train that takes you up to the top of Mount Washington..one of those cog railway ones, and it takes ages. When you get to the top it is freezing cold and covered in ice..but there is a huge big cafe on the top also!. Typical USA.
Lovely trip..
Did our crosswords this afternoon which weren't too bad. We completed them in reasonable time, so that gave us a bit of time to have an individual mooch afterwards.Jane rang up on her way to work, and we started to have a conversation then got cut off and she didn't ring back, so I assume she got to work. She often rings when she is on the bus and is bored!! Don't mind that though, we've had some good chats that way.
Tonight we are having:
pizza with tomato mushrooms pineapple, sausage and Emmenthal cheese.
potoato and egg salad with baby plum tomatoes and avocado
Potato salad for moi and a Medditerranean pasta salad for Vin.
Friday, 9 September 2011
Upside down Day!!
I had an appointment to get a blood test at the Formby clinic at 2.05. So we decided that we might as well go and get our shopping after I had been there. The Formby clinic is only five minutes away from Waitrose, so it made sense to get everything done at once. So we had an early sandwich lunch and went off there.
Never been to that one before, central waiting area, and then your name is called. Waited about five minutes then Mr. Dracula called me in. Think I'll go to Thornton next time!! HaHa..Talk about digging around..and then some. I am supposed to use my right arm for blood samples and leave the left arm clear, so he started on the right. Nothing! So he went round almost in a circle and eventually said I'll have to do the other arm. Had a bit of a dig round there and got his sample eventually. Funny with blood takers or Phlebotomists..some just seem to have the knack and get it straight away, others don't. Think it's to do with confidence. Two blobs of cotton wool and two even more horrible strips of the sticky plaster that they use and we went off to Waitrose.
Vin had his list so we didn't forget anything this time. Still feel that I came out of there having spent a lot more than I normally do. There is no getting round it, it is an expensive shop, I wouldn't like to shop there all the time. I wish it was still the Morrisons store. Home for a coffee then a bit of time to ourselves. I come up here and Vin does his paperwork and finances etc.,
On TV lately there have been a rash of programmes about 9/11. There was an item on the Jeremy Vine show this morning about where you were when it happened. i can remember exactly..we were waiting for Emma my hairdesser to come and colour my hair so were watching the news. Vin has always watched the American news channels which are often more interesting. They were showing the Twin Towers just after the first plane had hit one. Then as we watched there appeared in the sky what looked like a little light plane aiming and then hitting into the second tower. of course we learned later that the plane was in fact a Jumbo Jet..full of passengers. Then the terrible events unfolded.
A couple of programmes over the last two or three nights were really well done. One was a programme about the children of 9/11 and how they had been affected. Of course 10 years on many of them are now young men and women and they were affected in many different ways. That was quite emotinal to watch. Then there was one about twins on Tuesday night. Apparently 46 pairs of twins lost a twin in the disaster. One was a pair of firefighters. Zachary and Andre..Zachary had been sent back to his firehouse to collect oxygen tanks and his twin Andre went into the tower to save people. Then the Towers collapsed and he was lost. His was one of the very few bodies to be found 11 days later. You really felt the separation of the surviving twin. One said that everyone understands when a husband or wife is lost but not a twin..and yet it is like losing your other half. Very well done docummentary.
Such a lot of people affected and so many familiesand you have to wonder Why on Earth it happened.
Tonight we are having:
Vin is having his free cheese and onion pasty from greggs with some beans and chips.
I am having an egg salad with a slice of quiche from the freezer.
Plus a bread and butter pudding that Vin fancied from Waitrose.
Never been to that one before, central waiting area, and then your name is called. Waited about five minutes then Mr. Dracula called me in. Think I'll go to Thornton next time!! HaHa..Talk about digging around..and then some. I am supposed to use my right arm for blood samples and leave the left arm clear, so he started on the right. Nothing! So he went round almost in a circle and eventually said I'll have to do the other arm. Had a bit of a dig round there and got his sample eventually. Funny with blood takers or Phlebotomists..some just seem to have the knack and get it straight away, others don't. Think it's to do with confidence. Two blobs of cotton wool and two even more horrible strips of the sticky plaster that they use and we went off to Waitrose.
Vin had his list so we didn't forget anything this time. Still feel that I came out of there having spent a lot more than I normally do. There is no getting round it, it is an expensive shop, I wouldn't like to shop there all the time. I wish it was still the Morrisons store. Home for a coffee then a bit of time to ourselves. I come up here and Vin does his paperwork and finances etc.,
On TV lately there have been a rash of programmes about 9/11. There was an item on the Jeremy Vine show this morning about where you were when it happened. i can remember exactly..we were waiting for Emma my hairdesser to come and colour my hair so were watching the news. Vin has always watched the American news channels which are often more interesting. They were showing the Twin Towers just after the first plane had hit one. Then as we watched there appeared in the sky what looked like a little light plane aiming and then hitting into the second tower. of course we learned later that the plane was in fact a Jumbo Jet..full of passengers. Then the terrible events unfolded.
A couple of programmes over the last two or three nights were really well done. One was a programme about the children of 9/11 and how they had been affected. Of course 10 years on many of them are now young men and women and they were affected in many different ways. That was quite emotinal to watch. Then there was one about twins on Tuesday night. Apparently 46 pairs of twins lost a twin in the disaster. One was a pair of firefighters. Zachary and Andre..Zachary had been sent back to his firehouse to collect oxygen tanks and his twin Andre went into the tower to save people. Then the Towers collapsed and he was lost. His was one of the very few bodies to be found 11 days later. You really felt the separation of the surviving twin. One said that everyone understands when a husband or wife is lost but not a twin..and yet it is like losing your other half. Very well done docummentary.
Such a lot of people affected and so many familiesand you have to wonder Why on Earth it happened.
Tonight we are having:
Vin is having his free cheese and onion pasty from greggs with some beans and chips.
I am having an egg salad with a slice of quiche from the freezer.
Plus a bread and butter pudding that Vin fancied from Waitrose.
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