Time Waits For No Man............ or something like that!

Afternoon All,

Whatever happened to 'late summer' we seem to have gone straight from mid summer to autumn, in one fell swoop! The last few nights have been quite chilly and today the old faithful thick cardigan that I wouldn't be seen dead in, outside of the house, came out of store for another winters wear. Am I the only person who has some thing like this cardigan, you know, an item of clothing that is really ancient and has definitely seen better days, but which you just can't seem to throw away. I also have a pair of blush pink socks which are thermal - something like a 5tog warmth and I can see that they'll be making an appearance soon if we don't have a late Indian summer here!

I've been really busy of late, I had a week off work recently, 2 days to have my Grand Daughter, and then the rest of the time was due to the dreaded V Festival, as when that's on, it can take anything up to 4 hours to get home from work. 

Really when I think of it, I've achieved a lot this summer like............

Made my first Union Jack Cushion

Made Strawberry Jam

Been to Gardeners World Live Show ( Oh to have a garden large enough to be able to have this gazebo in it! It even had a 50 inch T.V. on the back wall!!)

Done a jigsaw

and another jigsaw

And turned this into this

I've also worked on a coffee table and did the same -  sanded then waxed the top and painted the bottom part in good old Farrow and Ball Eggshell Paint - Pointing's the colour - looks good doesn't it? Well I'm pleased with them.

We've also moved all the furniture round in the house, made a lot of spiders homeless, (removing the cobwebs!) and got rid of a lot of clutter in the process. Made 2 batches of Chutney, frozen pounds of beans, made plum jam and I've spent today making 2 large meat pies for the freezer.

I've still got 2 door curtains to make and a set of proper curtains, for the office area in the conservatory and those will be my projects for the next few weeks. I notice that the rise in energy prices are worrying a lot of bloggers, I can't understand how energy companies can be allowed to inflict these price rises on householders and then be allowed to make such large amounts of profits. So the door curtains are being made to try to help with the heating costs.

We've got to get a load of logs delivered - I dread to think how much they will cost this year, as everyone seems to have a log burner or an open fire these days, to save money on the gas or electric and they're sure to have put the price up considering the demand for them.

We haven't had a holiday this year due to paying the mortgage off and would love to have a weekend away in September, only to North Wales - Barmouth or around that area -  for a couple of days but the best price that I can get for a bed and breakfast is £85.00 per night! I really don't know what to do whether to go ahead and think blow it! and spend the money or should I continue to be careful and stay at home. If it rains all weekend I will be really upset that I've wasted that amount of money. Decisions, decisions.........

Plus of course if the weather's turning cooler, and the children are back at school next week, then all the Xmas stuff will be in the shops and we'll have to start saving to pay for that!

Time certainly marches on  - doesn't it.............Byee

Whatever happened to.....

Whatever happened to the Doctors of yesteryear who had time to talk to you, explain everything to you and when you left the surgery you didn't feel like you'd just been a spare part on a conveyor belt.

Yes it's been one of those weeks this week - I went to Occupational Therapy at our local hospital on Monday as I have arthritis in my fingers, one middle finger in particular is really swollen. The last time I went I was given exercises for the said finger - this time she said she was pleased with that finger but not so happy with my thumb joints and wrist -  so I left this time with exercises for the thumbs plus supports for both thumbs and a wrist brace! From there is was a quick sprint from Occupational Therapy across the other side of the hospital to the X Ray department where the finger was x rayed.

Today I've been into the Doctors and was asked why was I there - I told her that they'd wrote to me, telling me to go in because they had the results to a recent blood test - "Oh she says! Yes you're still anaemic - I'll send you to see a Gastroenterologist"......."right OK" I said  - "Whilst I'm here could I just ask".. "Oh no sorry not enough time you'll have to book a further appointment" she said and at that I was out of the door!

Turns out that although I booked this appointment 2 weeks ago she happened to be the duty doctor today so if anyone turns up needing a doctor urgently she's the one you see, so patients who have had a legitimate appointment for 2 weeks then get a poor service!

I remember when I was little we had a 'family' doctor, and he had a lovely kind receptionist called Mollie - they both always had 'time' for you and he had the deepest voice you've ever heard - strangely enough I now work in the same old building that was where his surgery was and every time I walk down the long corridor to our kitchen it reminds me of when I used to walk down the same corridor to his room as a child.

Different service completely to this morning! But that's progress for you............

Hope that you're all having a good week  - Byee

At last..........

At last I have a proper working computer - the computer that I write on is an old one of my son's which just gave up on me a few weeks ago. I've got a little net book but it's really not conducive to type on. So my lad has spent the last couple of weeks taking the old computer apart and re building it for me -  bless him and this afternoon the new re-conditioned computer was brought back downstairs for me and I'm back in position at my desk in our conservatory - it's nice to be back.

So what have I done since I've been gone, well quite a lot really - I started another 120 runner beans for the allotment as the cold nights of early June put paid to the first 120 that we had planted out. I've done 2 jig saws, read the new Maeve Binchly book 'Minding Frankie' painted the summer house country cream and wild thyme, sewed 2 union jack cushions and 2 trimmed cushions and paid off my mortgage!!

Yes we are now totally mortgage free and it feels brilliant! I paid it off early and when I came out of the building society, I just sat in the car and shed a few tears, it was  such a feeling of relief  - for a few days I kept looking round our little old house and thinking I own all of this - it really is a great feeling.

Now it's a case of starting to save for my old age - I just cannot see how I can carry on working in the job I do, till I'm 66 it's hard enough at 56 and the arthritis in my hands is getting worse, so it's a case of carrying on, being careful and getting to a point where we can save as much as we can.

No photo's yet I'm afraid - I'll have to load all the software on to this computer for the camera and then perhaps I can show you a few photo's off the summer house, although there is still work to be done on it - the weather here hasn't been very good today so I've cleared the welsh dresser of a lot of bits and pieces and just put my white dinner service on it. Then I've started to paint a small dresser top, all white, that I have in the kitchen and then all my Cornish wear will sit in the kitchen (it's been split between the kitchen and the dining room) and all the blue and white willow dinner service has been moved into the conservatory.

I'm going to look out on ebay for either a dresser top or small welsh dresser for that dinner service to sit on and then everything will have space instead of being squeezed onto the dresser in the dinning room - but where does all the dust come from? - I clean every week, but still it appears!

Oh well that's enough news for today -  Byeee

Hi there

Sorry I haven't been about for a little while but life seemed to take over - I haven't even had the time to read many blogs just lately. Working life just seems to get busier and busier - I've long forgotten what a lunch break is and the temptation to either work longer hours or log back on when I get home seems to get worse - at times it is really hard to switch off and to think about something else.

Plus it is that time of the year again when everything in the greenhouse is straining to get out and there aren't enough hours in the day to get it all put out at the allotment and in the garden.

To add insult to injury I have been complaining to our local council about the management of our allotment site, for the last 7 months - the lady who manages it - appears to make the rules up as she goes along (it may have something to do with the fact that she is married to the former leader of the council, prior to the recent voting day!)

 I have been requesting the next plot to ours which a council employee had for 3 years and which was never cultivated and have continuously been told that they don't give out half plots to make full plots (ours is a half plot) and that we'd have to wait until a full plot became available. However this didn't stop her giving extra half plots to make full plots to her friends, who work at the council!!

So we got to the point, with nothing to loose, where we threatened to go to the press (this was just as the council changed hands so to speak) and amazingly we have been told at we can have the extra half plot to ours to make a full plot. What upsets me, is that firstly, we've had to fight so hard for it and secondly they could have given it to us, so much sooner and it wouldn't have been such hard work to get it dug over, weeded and filled with veg. But it's amazing what perseverance can achieve even against the big boys like local councils!

I've been on annual leave this week and due to finances a holiday is out of the question for us this year - so we've spent this week either at the allotment or in the garden - we have a wedding to attend tomorrow which will be nice - my 2 small grand daughters are going to be bridesmaids, so looking forward to seeing them and I've got to say that we have really enjoyed this break - we have worked hard but at our own pace instead of having to rush, because we're back at work the next day and it's ok going away but the chairs and the beds are never as comfortable as your own are they? So it has been an enjoyable week

Going to do some patchwork now - will hopefully have time to post again soon - so much to talk about

Byeeee

Evening All............

Evening All,

Sorry I haven't been about for the last few weeks but getting jobs done seems to have taken over. But the garden and house are looking so much better for all the work undertaken. Plus we've had our Grand Daughter's 5th birthday, Easter and a wedding to attend too, so it has been a thoroughly busy time.

The garden is starting to look a little better, the tomato houses are all set up ready for the tomato's and cucumbers to go in, (at the end of May) the garden furniture has had a good dosing of teak oil and I've given the summer house a really good clean today, the nets have been washed and are hanging out drying. All the spiders webs have been removed and the furniture moved about in there (I will take photo's promise.....just didn't have time today!).

At the allotment - lots of onions and garlic are in, so are the broad beans, and potatoes. Runner beans are popping through in the greenhouse as well as all the salad leaves, radishes, rocket and spring onions.

In the house we've changed the bedroom curtains, and the eiderdown, the kitchen curtains have been taken down and washed, windows cleaned and summer curtains put back up, the brasses and silver have been cleaned and are all sparkling away. Plus a  huge pile of ironing has been done and all put away and I've managed to read a book and I'm half way through another one, so even managed some time for myself!

I can go back to work tomorrow and have a good rest!! (Joke!!!)

Byeee...........

Whoosh - where did it go?

Hello there,

Yes - where did it go to?....... the weekend, of course. It seems no time at all since Friday evening and here we are back to Sunday night and the 'getting ready' again for another long hard week.

I spent yesterday morning, doing the bills and the budget for next month - I'm not brilliant with computers and prefer the old fashioned way of pen and paper, but I do always keep a log of what's to be paid out each month, and I always check the bank statements throughout the month and that, what has been taken out of the bank throughout the previous month is correct. I also keep all the invoices/bills as well as bank statements in folders and they are boxed up at the end of each year and put down the cellar, so that I can always return and check anything I need to.

I then wrote a letter to Dixons/Surrys/PC World for my son, his laptop went in for a repair under their insurance scheme nearly 2 months ago and he is still waiting for it to be returned, they've sent it back once in a worse state then it went in!   I've found some one else to service and check our's (mine and my husbands) laptops and have cancelled our 2 lots of insurance with them - they are rubbish and don't have any idea of customer service - well they have 7 days to give him a full refund or we go to the Financial Ombudsman.

I then went and fetched some wool from the wool shop in Wellington - the lady kindly puts wool on one side for you and I pick it up weekly and then went to see my Daughter and Granddaughter's and Son and Daughter in Law, by the time I got home it was 6 o'clock and the day was gone. My eldest Granddaughter M. is suffering from a really bad sickness bug and has ended up being checked out at the hospital today because of the stomach pain and my daughter in law is still feeling very tired but a little better in herself.

Today has been spent, doing the ironing and cooking - I've made 2 large cottage pies and 1 small one plus I've made 2 lots of cheesey leek pancakes, we'll have one of the cottage pies tonight with one dish of the pancakes, sprouts and roasters. I've frozen the other large cottage pie and my husband will finish off the small cottage pie and last pancake for his tea tomorrow.

We have 4 freezers - one for meat, I go to a butchers and buy in bulk when I can afford to and then freeze all that I buy. We have a small chest freezer which has broad beans, runner beans, cauliflower and stewed plums in it from the garden and the allotment last year. A freezer for all the small items like fish, burgers, frozen chips, sausages and sausage meat etc., and then a final freezer which we keep for when we have a glut of vegs or all the Xmas goodies etc., Well today after shuffling everything round, we've managed to turn one of them off (the cellar one) which should help a little with the electricity bill.

The garden's still not looking good enough to post any pictures so I thought I'd post a couple of photo's of some of my favourite items from the dining room. This house is nearly 160 years old and I like it to look traditional, my Mom, Daughter, and Daughter in Law all like modern furniture and would never dream of owning any clutter - but me - I love to see all my possessions round me - I could never do 'minimulisation'!

We found this welsh dresser in an antique shop in Wellington - 7 years ago, it was filthy dirty when it arrived, and it took a lot of elbow grease and hard work to get it clean and then a lot of wire wool and good old fashioned wax polish, it's not a 'posh piece' it's been a farm house kitchen dresser and still has little knobs of wood to hold the doors shut.

My reading chair, next to the dresser, usually for when I'm checking on recipes

Sanderson 'Rose and Peony' curtains that I made myself  and my Nan's old aspidistra she passed away 13 years ago, but the aspidistra keeps going - I replanted this winter as it was looking a bit sad and sorry - mind, I can remember it being around for 25+ years - The bags are the grandchildren's Easter presents all ready for them.

Well the teas almost ready, got to go and phone my Mum and watch the skating - I'd like to see Chloe win but I don't think she'll do it - so got to go now - hope you all have a good week. Byeee.........

T.F.G.

Yes thank Goodness it's Friday! - I always think that Friday night is the best time of the week and Sunday night the worst. There's nothing like knowing that you've got a lovely weekend in front of you - time to catch up with all the chores, time to spend in the garden, time to see my children and their partners, and my beautiful granddaughters, time to read and time to sleep in........ Sunday night is all about getting ready to start commuting and trying to remember all what I left on my desk and didn't achieve last week. I shouldn't moan should I? -  there's lots of people out there who would give anything to be able to look forward to going out to work again. I suppose I am lucky.........

Well, I've cleaned  the house through since I've been home, the washing is in the washer, no more to be done tonight, so I'm going to sit down now with a nice cup of tea and a magazine and relax (it used to be a bottle of wine before this recession hit and the cost of everything went up!)

Hope you have a good weekend