Out of the House..

Seem to have been in for a few days, so we went out to Dobbies to get some plants for our hanging baskets. Had a good look round, but it was one of those days when we didn't spot anything worth getting really. They do boxes of assorted plants for tubs and baskets and last year they were great, all we needed. Very disappointed in this years efforts. Leggy plants or ones that looked distinctly not well.So we didn't get anything there. We will try the garden centre near home and see if they have any. VT did get a catmintplant for our two, and all the other cats in the neighbourhood for that matter! I bought a box of after dinner mints and that was it. had to wait ages for a till to get going, annoys me when there are people wandering about in purple tops and only two on the tills working their socks off.
Had a lovely coffee in their cafe part which is huge. They have a nice part, where they have lovely chairs and tables but it is waitress service. Totally empty!!!! Seems stupid to me, you should be able to go in there if you just have a coffee or tea, what a waste of space. I think the trouble is that people don't know what it is for really, it would look much better if there were customers in there. I'm getting to be a grumpy old woman!
As soon as we got back VT put the catmint outside on the table, and Bobby immediately jumped on it and started rubbing her chin on it. It must be Cannabis for cats. Drives them wild and its great to watch.
Tonight we are having:
Gruyere cheese escalope,
New potatoes sliced and sauteed
Cauliflower with a bit of cheese sauce on it,
Sliced mushrooms.

Typical Bank Holiday...

Usual start..dark windy and looking very much like rain, which it did later in the morning. However it has cleared up now and is nice and sunny.Probably too late for people to get out and about much.
VT has been looking after the little ginger girl from next door all weekend. She has been no trouble at all, and has come in and gone out with the weather really. She doesn't seem to like being out in the cold and the rain..who does..despite our former neighbour saying that it was an outdoor cat. It isn't really, she likes being in the sun, but is willing to go in when it goes drizzly. Very well behaved little thing VT says, has left no mess and eats it's food beautifully. Very good little thing. She is due back this afternoon, so it will be back to normal. It must be the most confused cat in the villageit must wonder why VT can't let it in all of the time.
I thought this morning..Oh Well we aint going out, so I would do the ironing, so set about doing all the bedding that was looking at me. it's a bit of a slog, but lovely when it is done, and gorgeous on the bed.
Had a bit of a flip there for a while. As I was typing this it disappeared..totally disappeared. i thought I had lost it which has happened before, but by a circuitous route I found it again.Phew!! Not being particularly good, in fact terrible with computers that was quite a relief.
Tonight we are having:
Toad in the hole. I have a pack of quorn sausages to use up,
Mushroom gravy,
Chanterelle carrots.

Little Snapshots...

I sometimes do wish that I had a mobile phone with a camera on it. I see wonderful pictures on people's blogs that are obviously taken on the spur of the moment. On Friday, going round Sainsbury's I saw a tiny little girl walking round the store with her Mum, dressed in a Bee costume. The girl that is...She had huge wings, and little stripey socks and just looked fantastic. Obviously I would never take a picture of a child, wspecially thes3e days, but you do see some things quite often that you want to capture in a picture.
There again, do I need a mobile phone...No!
Gorgeous picture on YouTube I saw today, of a tabby cat hugging her kitten. Just such an Aaah moment.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cQSQn6c_Y6M
So sweet..what a lovely thing to watch.
Very quiet Bank Holiday weekend, nothing doing at the front of the house or at the back for that matter. At least the windy weather is keeping the barbecuers off, so we aren't getting the beefy smells coming over the fence. Very changeable today, VT went into Crosby to get a few things, and just as he left it poured, but then it cleared up later. Did a load of bedding today and hung it out for a bit which would dry it a little. Wonder how our parents used to manage without tumble driers and suchlike. No wonder there was always a scent of drying clothes on a Monday..nice smell though.
Last night (Saturday) we had:
Chinese bits from the freezer
Lemon sauce
Stirfry vegetables
1/2 a packet of rice.

Tonight we are having:
Pizza with our home made base and tomato sauce
Mushroom, peppers for VT and courgette for moi Mozzarella balls and portobello mushrooms
Egg and potato salad
Cous Cous for VT and potato salad for moi

Bank Holiday Weekend...Again!!

It seems this year that we have had such a lot of Bank Holidays, and we have yet another this weekend.
VT is in charge of next door's little ginger girl again while her owner has gone to London. He wasn't sure whether it was in or out last night, but he didn't want to open the door in case she ran out, which she tends to do. So he left her, and this morning when he went to open the door she was waiting, so she has been out all day so far. It doesn't go hungry because we leave biscuits on our doorstep, so she knows where to get food, and there is always a bowl of water in the garden. It is a lovely little cat, with a curious bobble on the end of its tail. When you run your hand up her tail you can feel it. Aaah.The wind has died down a bit, and the sun has come out, but the weather forecast is for rain this weekend. Typical.
We went off to Sainsbury's Walton to get our weekend things,took our coffee with us, and were finished quite quickly. We seemed to whizz roundit is a nice shop actually, never hugely busy and big wide aisles so you don't get crowded. Our Sainsbury's in Crosby is tiny, and if you get two people in an aisle having a conflab it's hopel;ess,
Home for a nice lunch, I had a potato and egg salad and VT had mini veggie sausage rolls and the cats had their chicken.. Then VT went out to Formby because he wabnted to get a particular magazine from Waitrose, and of course his favourite pasties from there!!So...
Tonight we are having:
Pasties one vegetable and one cheese and onion
Rice pudding from Waitrose.

Wet little Cat...

Well I am used to little cats jumping on the bed early in the morning, but this morning I got a bit of a surprise. Bobby is quite a big cat, so you know when she jumps on the end of the bed, she lands with a big thump, usually on my feet. She did this this morning, then walked up the bed and draped herself round my head. Wonder why she never goes on VT's head?
Maybe it's because I'm nearest the door. Anyway, that woke me up and I put my arm out to get her flat, and stop her pawing my neck and lo and behold her fur was all wet!!! Horrible..wet cat, not nice. Looks like a typical Bank Holiday weekend then. Keeping the barbecue brigade in though.
VT is looking after next doors ginger girl again this weekend while her owner goes to London to see her daughter.She came to the door to hand the keys, and VT said "Have a nice time" and she looked up at the sky. I hope it's nice down there for her. She is doing really well actually, been decorating a lotm so maybe she is staying. At present ginger girl is in and asleep upstairs she said, which probably means if he goes in later she will run out..it's a tricky little thing.
Did the kitchen floor this morning, and bits and bobs..wonder where that came from?
Tonight we are having:
A mozzarella and baby tomato tart from M&S,
Potato and egg salad
Potato salad to go with.

One Little Tablet...

For a little cat..how can they cost £29? They are little tiny tablets for a thyroid condition that Rusty has. She has two a day, which the gallant VT gives to her at twelve hours apart. We had to renew the prescription so went and collected them from the vets in Ormskirk.
We were late getting up this morning mainly because the two of them were playing let's wake them up at six o'clock in the morning. It's a great game that is, they jump about on the bed, then Bobby settles on top of my feet so I can't move, and Rusty goes on my hip so I can't go anywhere. great fun!
Since we were going to the Vets, we combined that with a trip into Ormskirk. We parked behind M&S so didn't have to call in at Morrisons to spend the five pounds to get the parking free. Cost about a pound, but then we didn't have to spend anything in Morrisons so I reckon that was worth it really. I went to Bon Marche to swap a T-shirt I wasn't too keen on, and got a pair of slippers and another top, so that was good. Holland and Barratt for fishless fingers, but no pepperoni style sausage which is a shame. We like those on our pizza. Superdrug for some items I wanted, and got yet another card for my purse, this is a beauty card!!! pretty pink with a mirror on it???? not very good actually. You get points when you shop there, it's a new thing...one more to add to the list.
Called in at M&S since we were parked right outside. Horrible shop..far too much temtation! so many things you want to buy but know they are not good for you. We did get some things for the freezer which is totally styffed now.
Had a coffee in our old cafe which we haven't been in for ages since we go to Morrisons now, and the television was on about the O'Bamas visit. Wonder why they weren't invited to the Royal Wedding? seems a bit mean, given the State visit now..
Must say it is still pretty cool here,had my electric blanket on last night to warm the bed up, and didn't see too many people out without coats yet!
Tonight we are having:
What I said we were having last night!
last night we had,A chicken style pie, with carrots and mushrooms and baby potatoes.
So, tonight we are having the pasta with spinach and ricotta sauce.

Pottering...

A day of doing this and that. We started off by making our tomato sauce for our Pizzas on a Sunday..This is a top secret recipe..not..
5 tins of chopped tomatoes
A good dessertspn of mixed dried herbs
A couple of sachets of brown sugar,
Salt and pepper
About two tspns of bouillon powder,
A small tin of tomato puree and
A good squirt of garlic puree.
This is all put into a large pan and left on a really low light to simmer away till well reduced and thick. Cool, and put into small plastic boxes, one for each week. It makes about twelve.So that's done for the next three months.
This can pretty much be left with the odd stirring for quite a long time, so VT went off and did the barrel in the front garden. It is the green bin this week, so he put all of the rubbish in that. The daffodil bulbs were saved for another time, and we have bought some nice plants to go in the top of the barrel. There is a loveloy geranium of a deep maroon colour in the centre, and alternating cineraria which are silver, and blue fuschia plants. Should look nice when they flower.
Our little touch of Chelsea!
I did the brasses on the front door..the only trouble with that is that it is bound to rain tomorrow now!
Tonight we are having:
Pasta with a spinach and ricotta sauce
A little bit of garlic bread
Mixed greeen vegetables and asparagus.