Sunday 21 April 2013

The paradox of our age





I came across this and thought some of you would enjoy it.

by Dr Bob Moorehead


The paradox of our time in history is that we have taller buildings but shorter tempers; wider freeways, but narrower viewpoints. We spend more, but have less; we buy more, but enjoy less. We have bigger houses and smaller families; more conveniences, but less time. We have more degrees but less sense; more knowledge, but less judgment; more experts, yet more problems; more medicine, but less wellness.
We drink too much, smoke too much, spend too recklessly, laugh too little, drive too fast, get too angry, stay up too late, get up too tired, read too little, watch TV too much, and pray too seldom. We have multiplied our possessions, but reduced our values. We talk too much, love too seldom, and hate too often.

We’ve learned how to make a living, but not a life. We’ve added years to life not life to years. We’ve been all the way to the moon and back, but have trouble crossing the street to meet a new neighbor. We conquered outer space but not inner space. We’ve done larger things, but not better things.

We’ve cleaned up the air, but polluted the soul. We’ve conquered the atom, but not our prejudice. We write more, but learn less. We plan more, but accomplish less. We’ve learned to rush, but not to wait. We build more computers to hold more information, to produce more copies than ever, but we communicate less and less.
These are the times of fast foods and slow digestion; big men and small character; steep profits and shallow relationships. These are the days of two incomes but more divorce; fancier houses but broken homes. These are days of quick trips, disposable diapers, throwaway morality, one night stands, overweight bodies, and pills that do everything from cheer, to quiet, to kill. It is a time when there is much in the showroom window and nothing in the stockroom. A time when technology can bring this letter to you, and a time when you can choose either to share this insight, or to just hit delete.

Remember, spend some time with your loved ones, because they are not going to be around forever.

Remember to say a kind word to someone who looks up to you in awe, because that little person soon will grow up and leave your side.

Remember to give a warm hug to the one next to you, because that is the only treasure you can give with your heart and it doesn’t cost a cent.

Remember to say “I love you” to your partner and your loved ones, but most of all mean it. A kiss and an embrace will mend hurt when it comes from deep inside of you.
Remember to hold hands and cherish the moment for someday that person will not be there again.



yep still here!






Wednesday 17th April

Well, where to start been a bit all go here. Decided to get some help in and move furniture around I have good stuff and as much as I would love to go shopping for some more it’s not an option. Also it’s cheaper to do things this way.
I have however reserved a little cash to try and find a pine chest type box for extra storage and to double up as a coffee table.


Thursday 18th April
It’s also a good opportunity to have a final clear out and decide what it is I want to use for my wedding and what has really had its day here.. Talking of my wedding I went and was measured for my dress pattern and have bought the fabric and all the bits necessary for it so I can pop it in the loft and sewing can start next year. Managed to get a really good deal thought the fabric was £11 per meter read the wrong label it was only £7 it a Good weight and will drape well. Included in the price was all the netting buttons zip lining and a twal fitting for £230 not including cotton as I will need to order that later. I have decided on my florist and helper also we have pretty much decided on a venue. As for catering and the like not too sure. Went to my one and only wedding fair dear god never ever again! I went from being mother of the bride to marring my lesbian lover in one step to a different stall. All I can say is this marry who you love but please don’t make an assumption to my orientation!!!! So I WILL be baking my own cake and finding someone else to pretty it up.




Saturday 20st April

Dad and I put out back into the garden yesterday did a huge clear up and ditched oodles of junk decide we wanted a smaller table and to change the hanging baskets. I asked if we could compromise keep the baskets and maybe change the chain or hamerite it and the same for the base of the sun brolly as it looks tatty but is solid. He reluctantly agreed and we will (I hope) just change the table and re use the seating think we need to see what’s about first though
Also I have been so complacent about my diet of late and it shows me lardy arse is rubbin out me foot prints so back on the wagon I go. I know I can do it I’m just lazy lately.
Any suggestion people have for a bread substitute or some way of diverting my craving I would be very pleased to hear from you.




Sunday 21st April

Today is lots of scrappy jobs prepping lunch and making Yorkshire puddings. We will be needing a desert and I have already put laundry on the line. Packed my bag for the gym and will after this do a very quick pick up of the house and pack a few boxes. Hope to do this before Dad is back from church save him a job as he’s tired and also a friend of his who was married for over 50yrs lost his wife to a stroke last week. I try and imagine a lifetime of such a close relationship and I am in awe of him and his generation I know we in more recent times have weathered our own trials and they are not too dissimilar on occasions to those that have passed before. Theirs was a life of witness, war welfare state and its now faltering demise. So many things that we have always known. I know grief is not exclusively theirs but it makes me think, that’s all. Different time, different way of being.
Right the house is calling me and I need to get a wriggle on.

Hope you all have been well and happy.
Take care


Rachel



Wednesday 10 April 2013

Fridge picnics.



Today is going to be a bit of a busy one have lots of odds and ends to sort out and a hospital appointment to go to as well as the usual bits of life to also fit in. So I went for a trawl through my fridge came up with this.




I had some leftover mash and mushroom that began to look a little wan in my fridge and decided that I needed to use them up. So I went on a wander and cobbled together this recipe. Regarding the mash it doesn’t have to be it can be left over cooked spuds just smash um up a bit and season to your liking. As for the mushrooms I would go with at least half a dozen reasonable sized ones. Though the older they are the stronger the flavour. For the onion bit I use either one or a combination of the following. Celery, leek or onion.



Potato and mushroom soup

Sauté off you onion, celery or leek and add chopped mushrooms gently cook for about 5 mins.
Add the potato and gradually mix in a pint of stock beef normally works quite well. Cook for a couple of mins more. Then if you have a blender pop it in there and blitz to your liking. I serve this with sandwiches and if there is blast all in the fridge I make up a sandwich filler of egg/ cheese or both. if you want you can add a splodge of plain yogurt, sour cream or milk.


Sandwich filler

1 egg per person or 2 between 3.
Any leftover scrap cheddar or the like (not compulsory but helps)
If you want you can spice it up with any flavours you like or add a little raw onion finely chopped.
Boil the eggs until the yolk is just cooked (if you can do this fab as it saves on you binding with butter, salad cream or mayonnaise)
Mash down using a masher. If the egg is a bit dry add some of the butter mayo or salad cream if you want and then any “extras” like spices herbs and mayo’s. This goes a surprisingly long way if you need to stretch it out a little further you could do so by adding some bread crumbs or any salad veg you have. And then I pop it in a sarnie with or without basic salad it really is a case of what do I have in the fridge.



Leftovers bake or cauliflower cheese with or without broccoli.
This is a low fat version.

I use Sainsbury's Low Fat Natural Yogurt, Basics 500g
2 eggs
Some cheese
2 teaspoons grain mustard Aldi 45p per jar (last time I bought it)
Season to taste. Now you can use cauliflower and or broccoli pre cooked with this pored over and a grating of cheese or any leftover veg, meat bacon always seems to work well and I buy a lot of scrap bacon Sainsbury’s cooking bacon £1.09p for 200g a little can go a very long way
Bake in the oven at 150-175oc until you like the way it looks. This served with leftover salad or a jacket spud works well.
I use Sainsbury’s basics stock cubes 10 for 15p. (1.5p per cube)
Eggs (for me) average at 10p each

Talk is cheap aint that grand!





Today I finally made the call to change providers for my internet and phone. I went with Talk Talk (T.T). We have used them before in the old property but on moving in here we were compelled to be with Bt as we needed a BT line so for 18 long long annoying months W put up with paying them £45 per calendar month and then on occasions a few pounds extra if we made chargeable calls.



The internet was playing up never did like the system BT had this is just my opinion and no one else’s. So we called T.T not only was I able to get a call anytime package with broadband there was no connection fee£30) nor were they going to charge me for voice mail. They also had a half price package £3.50 and if we wanted to pay a year’s line rental in advance we would save another £65.40 so the line became £114.00 for the year. However there was an option if we were unable to pay upfront it would bring it to around the £20 per month can’t remember the exact amount as I went for the upfront payment. So now we will pay £8.25 per calendar month. Not just a little saving but MONUMENTAL! S DB will have an extra £26 (aprox) a month in his pocket. Yea us xxxxx



Also had another good day finally got a family member to agree to get someone in to move around the furniture as I feel we will get more mileage out of it. So will ring the removers in the morning and see when they can fit us in as I’m not designed for moving very large bulky things in tight spaces the family member concerned really doesn’t want to do it but I had a firm put polite moment when I realised that one of the cats had anointed my sewing machine with personal water! ARGH!!!!! Its gonna be hell but worth it so so worth it.




Next week we pay off the last of the vet bill so that will bring my debts down. I do owe DB some pennies as he made ma a loan for my part payment to dads birthday present and I was caught short for some pennies regarding my glasses. Had no choice but to agree to vari focals and now I have joined the rest of the family wearing glasses permanently. Thank god there not as bad as they were when I was a kid! Vain I know but fear god they were just awful and stigmatising.




And lastly I bought some bits from eBay and used DB card for the last purchase of a gift for someone and failed to change the card back. So there I was merrily shopping and he was being charged! Eeek



I would much rather bite the bullet and pay in two or three chunks and get it done with. Luckily I am not in desperate need for anything and if something crops up I will find another way of dealing with it. After that I’m sorting out my funeral and savings. Won’t feel settled until I do.





Lastly Dad was so sweet he bought home some stunning tulips (and on offer)so my old large ewer I am truly lucky to have those I do in my life.

Right you wonderful lot how’s your day been and life in general?

Love to hear from you.
All the best
Rachel

Monday 8 April 2013

On reflection





It’s been a funny old couple of days Next week I will pay the last instalment of the vet bill and essentially be debt free, apart from the usual bills and I will be looking at how I can reduce those a little further.



It also got me to thinking about the lack of savings I have. What’s been happening is I would save some back things would get iffy or a bill would come in. I would then use it to square away that problem and end up back where I started. OK but not good.


I have no plans for a funeral or even a will. Morbid I know but look to this I must.

Savings what is affordable and feasible ways of earning a little extra.

Formalise some of my wedding plans and act on the results

Organise my wardrobe. Do I need all I have? Make repairs.

Thin out my stash of craft stuff and re home what is no longer needed.

Continue to sort out the freezers and food cupboards.


I also came across a link to a blog called A girl called Jack about the struggles she has had and the way in which she dealt with them.
This is no flaky look-at-me-I-can-pretend-to-be-poor-but-I'm-not-really-blog. Like me there are many of you out there struggling to find a way through this seemingly never ending time of recession. This is beautifully written and compellingly honest.

I found myself responding to her post regarding this daft (in my opinion) of what social group you think you belong to and in truth (supposedly) you belong to. This is my response...


Hello
Apparently according to this I am Precariat (whatever that means) it does not take into account that I am a full time career or that I withdrew from university( got there under my own steam despite being very dyslexic and having dyscalculia) to be so. My fiancé is the foster son of the retired world authority on Ben Britten who stipulated on his demise he should be given (foster father) first refusal to purchase his home from the estate. I am also a house wife user of the library go to what I can for free and pay my way by giving back appropriate to the situation. I barter and cook from scratch love the theater and the arts but can’t afford to go. I have been on the verge of homelessness twice and could only afford to buy into a shared ownership property that it is unlikely I will ever be able to move from this. It took every single penny we had and then some from the compulsory purchased ex local authority home we bought . Me I see life this way. I am me slightly lumpy from life (aren’t we all) and I love the life I have. Glad to see you are up and running again Jack love the blog and recipes thanks for continuing to share.
Rachel.

http://agirlcalledjack.com/2013/04/04/i-am-the-lowest-of-the-low/#comment-4115


SOOOOOO this silly calculation of class bracket doesn’t have a category for me (thank god)! And if you are ragingly normal like the many millions of us are you will thankfully not fit into their box either. (Welcome to the dark side)



So I am going to take my socially low self off and cook in a semi rented oven in a semi rented house in the charity shop pans that I bought with my careers money and scrounge up a leftovers meal of quiche and a budget collage pie I can afford to do as the mince was reduced and so were the spuds. Lol

So tell me what floats yer boat or makes you exasperated? Speak soon

Rachel


Sunday 7 April 2013






Yesterday was a much better day. I was speaking to DB just about life in general and we go to talking of housekeeping and what I do and where it goes and I was able to let go of some of my concerns. I try not to burden him as he isn’t well but as he said “darlin” what the (bleep) do you think I’m here for.



So today we are going to go through all the cupboards and the freezers and make an inventory see what we have and where we can go from there. I said that I was feeling overwhelmed and that if there was any leftover food the need for me to use it up and cook different for him and my Father. We discussed also how some days he starts the day wanting one thing but goes off the idea by the time he’s ready to eat and I have already cooked it. This isn’t because he’s an awkward sod it is to do with the condition he has. So we will find a better way of how to combat this. The weight he has lifted from my shoulders is huge I feel truly up lifted and able to achieve so much more regarding the house and our life in it. I am good at some areas budget craft and other frugal bits and my cooking is fine. Just with moving house DB and myself re adjusting to a change in his heath I got lost.



Dad was really kind yesterday (not that he isn’t) He came home with not only a pressure washer but a new hose and real for the garden. Is a small space mostly laid to patio and after all this rough weather we have been having he has offered to spruce the garden up. Even suggesting a different garden table as what we have is really too big. I didn’t like to suggest it as I made a bit of a song and dace about finding the patio set we have now. I did say to him about the cost but the delicious rotter has be secretly saving pennies back and wanted to surprise me. I will treat him to a good lunch today I have a small joint of beef in the fridge I was going to stretch 4 ways, bleep it roast n yorkies it is think I will go mad with a rice pudding as well!




How do you make your Yorkshire puddings I use the following recipe but if you have one that is successful and a little more cost effective I would love to try it out.


9oz plain flour
4 large eggs
1/2 pint full fat milk
Seasoning
Beet the living heck out of it and leave to stand for a bit. re beat it and then ladle into searing hot bun tins half filled with hot hot oil.

What are you doing with you Sunday? Would love to hear from you
Have a wonderful day
Rachel

Saturday 6 April 2013

FOOOOOOD GLORIOUS FOOOOODDDDDD.




I have been having a tidy up of my files n stuff and came across these recipes I have saved back for various sites. Annoyingly I did not make a note of the person who wrote/published them but I thought some of you would like to have a go. the self saucing lemon pudding is fab



Lemon self-saucing pudding
Ingredients
• 50g butter
• 200g caster sugar
• 1 lemon , zested
• 100ml lemon juice (include the zest from the zested lemon)
• 3 eggs , separated
• 50g plain flour , sifted
• 250ml milk
• icing sugar for dusting

1. Heat the oven to 180C/fan 160/gas gas 4. Whizz the butter, sugar and lemon zest until they are pale and creamy in a food processor. Add the lemon juice, egg yolks, flour and milk one by one until you have a smooth batter. Whisk the egg whites until firm but not stiff, and fold the two mixtures together.
2. Pour into a buttered ovenproof soufflé or baking dish and put it in a baking tray half filled with hot water. Bake for 45-50 minutes until the top is lightly browned and set and there is a sort of gooey lemon curd below. Remove the dish from the tray, dust with icing sugar and serve hot, with or without cream.
Per serving
441 kcalories, protein 9.1g, carbohydrate 68.2g, fat 16.5 g, saturated fat 8.5g, fibre 8.5g, salt 0.43 g







Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients
Serves: 15
• 115g butter
• 50g caster sugar
• 110g soft brown sugar
• few drops of vanilla extract
• 1 egg (beaten)
• 170g chocolate chips of your choice
• 155g plain flour
• pinch of baking powder
Preparation method
Prep: 15 mins |Cook: 10 mins
1. Preheat the oven to 185 C (170 C for fan assisted ovens) and line a baking tray with greaseproof paper.

2. Cream the butter and sugars together until light and fluffy.

3. Add the beaten egg and vanilla to the mixture and mix well.

4. Next add the chocolate chips and mix together to ensure they are well distributed. Most people add them last, although i find if you add them at this stage you don't end up with big clumps of chocolate chips in random places of the cookie!

5. Mix the flour and baking powder together, and add a little at a time to the mixture, until a soft dough is formed. You should be able to mould the dough into shapes without it being too sticky, if it is sticky, add a tablespoon of flour each time to get it the right consistency.

6. Roll an amount into a ball about the size of a walnut and softly press down onto the baking sheet. Don't place cookies too close together as they do spread and you don't want them sticking together!

7. Cook for about 10 - 12 minutes, you really don't need that much longer otherwise they will burn. When you take them out of the oven, they will still be quite soft, leave for a while on the tray until they start to harden, and then move to a cooling rack.




CADBURY'S CREME EGG BROWNIES!

185g unsalted butter
185g best dark chocolate
85g plain flour
40g cocoa powder
3 large eggs
275g golden caster sugar
6 Cadbury’s Crème eggs cut in half.

Preheat the oven to 160C and grease a 20 cm square baking tin.
Melt the butter and dark chocolate together either in the microwave or in a bowl over boiling water.
Break 3 large eggs into a large bowl and tip in 275g golden caster sugar. With an electric mixer on maximum speed, whisk the eggs and sugar until they look thick and creamy, like a milk shake. This can take 3-8 minutes. You will know it's ready when the mixture becomes really pale and about double its original volume.
Pour the cooled chocolate mixture over the eggy mousse, and then gently fold together.
Hold a sieve over the bowl of eggy chocolate mixture and sift the cocoa and flour mixture, shaking the sieve from side to side, to cover the top evenly. Gently fold in to the mixture.
Pour into the baking tin and cook for 15 minutes then take out of the over and gently press the cadburys crème egg halves into the mix, spacing them apart evenly. Put back in the over for another 5-10 minutes.
Leave to cool before removing from tin and cutting into squares.







And the blegh goes on and on and on....


Morning all


Thanks to those who offered suggestions on how to get rid of the cough. Finally I admitted defeat and went to my pharmacist and spluttered all over him. He gave a bottle of something alarmingly pink and completely unpronounceable that is helping quite a bit.

Yesterday was really lazy in fact I did a level of naff all that even surprised me.
In the morning we had one of DB’s cares in, she is a joy to behold and truth be known we would both miss her terribly if ever she needed to move jobs. So whilst she de scuzzed himself I changed the bed and did some laundry. We are never without laundry in this house.



However I did start on some softer hankies made out of an old candy stripped single sheet I had. So look out cold next time I come armed!



I know one of you watched the sewing Bea programme that was on. I managed to catch some of it. I came to on a stupor and caught snippets of it so will do the watch again thingy on line with a cuppa when I get the chance.



Had a nice discovery the other day. The florist that will be doing my bouquet and bits holds workshops for arraigning flowers. My level of skill in this department is this
Open flowers.
Cut off ends remembering it’s the end without the pretties.
Put in water
Hope they last
As I don’t drink, drive, smoke, run a car or go to the theatre (god that looks really boring lol) I thought bugger it I’m going to treat myself to a class.
Today will be a gentle day of easy potter and will prep a roast for tomorrow and something that won’t poison us today lol


Right I need a shower as I smell like the wrong end of a rhino! And I need some brekkie

Thursday 4 April 2013

odds n sods





Not a lot going on here at the moment I am, still full of cold and believe me coughing till yer throat hurts whist wondering if you can blag a free sample of Tenna lady is not attractive. Even less so in writing! And the crowning glory is a cold sore the size of a 3rd head, look out vogue here I come.





So no knitting group for me, well they knit and I make granny squares. I have a thing for rag wool and pushing how far I can make what I have go. The randomness of it is very appealing and the real gash stuff I just crochet flat together and uses it for lining a tea cosy. No one can see it and works a treat. This year as a rule people will get one for Christmas. However decided on making another blanket we have some home helpers that come in to give me a little break from being at home all the time in case DB needs me. Sometimes I go out or focus on a craft/job that needs doing. Talking of Christmas, believe there is still some old cards in the drawer that we were sent so a low budget ch5 film me and a pair of scissors have a date this afternoon. I’m thinking gift tags, small boxes for sweets and maybe a few discs to make a Christmas decoration or two. However I really must iron the pre loved wrapping paper I have put away to re use next year.





I desperately want the house to have some furniture re located and one member is dragging his heals a bit. I have no expectation of them moving various pieces, removal me are excellent at that. However 2 days of chaos for long term benefit is not much to ask, so I will keep asking!




As I am still full of crud the hankies I made the other day are fine but I need something softer as all the blowing and rubbing has left me sore. Think there was some soft cotton fabric in my stash so will hunt it out and make some.
Went for a wander in our local coop the day or so ago and they had parsnips on the reduced shelf so I bought about 3 packets. Blanching them and freezing is the way to go as I am in no mood to faf around at the mo. That includes what to do for lunch today that don’t involve me using my I.Q so jacket spud and beans it is .I fancy putting some Marmite in my beans and I have a little very strong cheddar to go over the top.
Any ideas how to shift this cold would be appreciated hope you are all well
Rachel

Wednesday 3 April 2013

Walk like an egyption

Heloooo

Well what a day it was yesterday. My Fiancés son arrived with his new partner and her two children oh my! So, different to the last one. She has a good relationship with her kids and talks to them. Boy is 11 and girl 9. They came into my home and were lily funny and not a bit spoilt. There were please and thank yous. Our home is a bit topsy turvy. It’s a town house spread over 3 story’s and the living room is on the middle floor. I was asked by the eldest if I minded him going into the living room then he came back down to ask if he could watch television! Unheard of with the last lot.

Normally when we would meet up with the last partner his son(J) had she would always declare that they were broke and bills were falling behind and my DB being the sweetie he is would end up shelling out money even for petrol! The income that came into that house was really very good and it was J’s partner who was very bad at managing it, spending as much as £30 one week on trash magazines like star and now. She was quite proud to declare this once when we were on lest frosty terms. What I had worked out early on was her strategy. We would go shopping and there would be little interjections of “oh that’s pretty and such a good price” and DB would end up buying it.

This time he only put his hand in his pocket for them once and that was for coffee. I was going to potter off and do a little browsing then meet up with them later and was in the process of doing so and J’s partner said no we can do bits together. I was so natural.

The icing on the cake was when we went into an antique place (nothing more than posh junk really but the owners like the title lol) and I found my wedding ring. Not only was it vintage but I have big fingers it was my size and to cap it all it was 22 karat Egyptian gold. DB loves Egypt so we had a bit of a haggle and came to an agreement. I was to pop off and get some pennies from the cash point.

I tried to twice and both times the machine mocked me declaring “you have overdone it no more withdrawals for you to day”! Fortunately when asking it for £20 less it spat out the pennies. Relief was ours.

I nipped back to pay and went to find my partner back at the car and he’d sloped off for a cheeky burger at a very popular outdoors cafe we like to use.
To round things off I took a chance at the new dressmakers that has opened up by the key side. Cheekily I asked her if she would supply me with a made to measure pattern and not only was she willing to do that she had the fabric in the colour and weight that I wanted . So will phone and book an appointment with her today to sort this out. I am one very lucky woman.

So far it’s been very hassle free dealing with finding people to help with our wedding. Florist is where we had a cuppa earlier on and she can do all the twiddliy bits as well. Like me she keeps a very close eye on detail! lol and her prices are excellent and she too like the dressmaker is local and independent. The lady who is teaching me how to sew said she would make the dress. My father’s Minister has agreed to marry us. Just need to find a photographer and I believe dad has an ex work colleague who is in the business now so TA DA! So far today’s spending has been well within the monies we have set aside for our wedding.

We rounded off this beautiful day by being wonderfully domestic and very VERY lazy I nipped down the road for a celebratory chippy tea and we ate in bed watching Shrek. I know I know not good but was faaaaaaaab. Mind you I was counting sheep by 10pm
How was your day? Did you achieve a goal you had set or did you have a well deserved gentle day?
All the best
Rachel

Tuesday 2 April 2013

and those who pass...


It was my father’s late fiancés 80th birthday yesterday. We went to the memorial gardens and Dad took some flowers. I learnt something as well I knew he was a strong man private in his thoughts and deeds but compassion in him is deep and he feels things more keenly than he would ever tell. I think this has always been known to me but yesterday it was raw. Mourning a passed loved one is regrettably nothing new and miss J more than I thought possible.
We have benefited from her love and grace (she was in the first batch of women to be ordained priest in Brittan second in the UK) Never thinking in her lifetime that this would happen, but happy to paved the way for others to follow.


Next year I am to be married and would have loved for J to have blessed my marriage. However she will be with me in spirit. Dad was so sweet he allowed me to have the beautiful antique cameo broach he bought for her and I would love to wear it on my special day.
On a lighter note w went into town after and did a little shopping. There is a very well priced charity shop near to the supermarket I use and I found a part Denby dinner service for £6.00. I believe (off the top of my head) there were 20 pieces plates’ bowls varying sizes in total so I didn't feel robbed.


I also got lucky with a lager sized shirt liked the style but not the fabric, so I will be brave and un-pick it as I would like a pattern for some summer shirts. ere get me makes it sound like I have a different wardrobe for each season. Nope I mostly do the I’m-not-naked-please-rejoice! un seasonal wardrobe. Just grateful for not being arrested!

As fabric is (like everything at the moment) soooooo expensive what I have been doing is this buying good quality 2ndhand bedding in plain colours. Often I have also found it cheaper to break down a garment for buttons zips and what not than buying new. With this though you have to make a judgment call and so far I have been very lucky, ok so there was that one crashing failure (I am still learning) tried to recycle a jeans zip. All I can say is I’m thankful that I had a long top on!
So this will be my first shirt not from a paper patter. A might to easy me thinks. I will unpick and make one form this old shirt I found and will use the fabric as anti slip bottoms for the slippers being crocheted for gifts.
Right I need to make a move people won’t be up and sorted and I am meeting my stepson to be new girlfriend and her children. Also need to rummage in the fridge for eats today. I do this about once a week have what I call a fridge picnic normally rustle up something. I know we have some toms and lettuce so am thinking a bacon mushroom and leek frittata and if I remember rightly there is a little bit of very strong cheddar there to top it off.
Right I’m gone would be fab if you wanted to give me an insight to your part of the world
All the best
Rachel

Monday 1 April 2013

Sneezy not happy and there is no point in getting the Doc!

Try as I might im unable to add any pics grrrrr I have had a bit of a light cold lingering and in the last few days BANG it moved in. I have now managed to pass it on to my man. Poor sod hes got enough going on without a cold to make him feel jolly. To top it all we are low on loo paper and hankies are getting low. So I had a eureka moment and remembered in my stash I had some unmatched pair of jammies. Primarnie special no less. So I will be making hankies. Did look at buying some a while back but there were 6 of iffy quality for the best part of £9 and we decided not to pay that for what it was, so I'm going to make friends with my sewing machine today. Need to Make some pastry as well as I managed to get a joint of topside very cheaply and made a roast yesterday. There is plenty over so pasty's and possibly a meat and potato pie will need to see how it goes. A while back I was lucky enough to get some needlepoint wool for 5p a skein and nice n fat they were to. So as Christmas bit me on the bum last year out came the hook last week and into granny squares they go. Beautiful colours and pure wool as well. So I need to be sure to pop a care label in with the gift.. Think thats enough to be going on with for today. So whats everyone else up to?