5 OS Pleasures in your Day Today part 2

jexygirl

dum dum dum dum duuuuuuuuuuum..... (thats a dramatic intro, not me calling people dumb!)

2 posts in like 3 days, you lucky lucky people! *those that dont know me feel free to scroll, I wont be offended! Those that do, already scrolled so arent reading this

1) my girlies! I went out to put them away, and 2 were just settled right outside the bar door, on the grass, sunbathing with not a care in the world. I was so taken aback, I had to go disturb Joost to make him come see as they looked so cute! The customers in the bar were even looking from the window and loving it!
2) my girlies totally being like pavlovs dogs. 6 months since I got them, and today, I did the usual "clap hands whilst saying hometime ladies", and not only did the ones near me start heading to the pen, but the ones up higher and miles away started heading home too! First time they have done that!
3) the loch went so low a month ago that buster could run with us as we kayaked, then it rained, and rained and rained, then rained some more. And then it rained. Its rained for about 3 weeks, I lost all 6 of my tomato plants, my beautiful dill, most of my tubbed veg, and my mass of strawberries rotted on the soil its been so wet, really it rained!. It didnt rain yesterday so went out on the kayaks and buster managed to half swim, half run around the edge, and loved it, he is so awesome and brilliant I want everyone to meet him!
4) We planted 2 trays of beetroot, myself and my 2nd chef joost. My tray owns his... nough said!
5) We are up on last year. Buisness is as it should have been last year after we worked so hard to build and change things the first year, but wasnt due to recession. The stuff we put in place would have paid off last year and we would have made a profit after breaking even the first year against all odds, but patience is a virtue and Im glad we put things in place prior to recession, which meant we survived the initial hit, and are hopefully not going to be in such a worrying situation this year.

I feel bad that in a way mine are materialistic pleasures, when im not a materialistic person at all, but, I dont have family, and sacrificed my life and friends to do what I thought I wanted to, trust me the grass isnt always greener, no matter how it looks from the outside
hugs to all
Jex

house_elf

Morning!

Off on hols today :j:j

Sparrer: Recipe for Ragu is 'reduced down' from Tamasin Day-Lewis.

Warm oil and butter and saute 2 chopped onions until translucent. Add chopped celery (3), Carrots (3) and 3 to 4 cloves of garlic and cook for a few mins. Add 1kg beef mince or (beef and pork mix), and stir until lost it's pink look. Add 2 bay leaves and 240ml milk and simmer for 10 mins. Add a sprinkle of nutmeg and 240ml wine simmer til evapourated and add tin of tomatoes.

Transfer to the SC to simmer on low for 3hrs +.

I use the ragu for spagbol, lasagne or base for chilli etc.

Working my way through Tamasin's Weekend Food is another holiday project. I loved the TV programme, but the recipe book is very fussy and the type is very small so needs time and patience to make anything! And if I'm honest it's the lifestyle not the recipes I want!!...... (And the hair wouldn't go amis either!!).

5 for yesterday

1. Packed for hols in good time.
2. Invited to friends for tea, so didn't have to make food.
3. DS2 playing with his friends at our friends house. They all get on so well together.
4. DD saying she misses family hols as the last few years she has been away with friends or swim camps instead. Aawww. If only the boys felt the same!
5. The vouchers for the Merlin passes arrived:j DS2 will be so pleased about going to Legoland.

6. Cut up a skirt to lengthen another skirt and used it to finish making a maxi dress so counting these as 'makes' for my list, and tidied the cutlery draw.

Just to mention that I have a yellow watering can .

Will wave to CCP and Alisong when we get down to you. (Sorry about your lost PM Ali. Hate it when that happens:mad: .Thanks for thnking of ideas. OH will have his iPhone so I will keep an eye out if you try again.

Have a lovely day. HE x

noynoy

more lovelys!

Sparrer i know we are very lucky to still have a jumble sale its every week at the local church to raise funds for the homeless shelter better still they save me bits and bobs i might like as they know i will allways recycle before buying new ..but then i do give them stuff i find too i love the lady who runs it shes 70 if shes a day and so old school, the boys adopted her as an honary gran lol!

not sure who said this
5) Found a free range chicken reduced to £3 in Tesco - that's best part of a week of meals if I rubber it.
what is rubber it mean..streach it out ?? i can get 3 meals out of one medium chicken i don't know why people just pick off the best bits then throw it away..theres at least another 2 meals in it!

todays pleasures will include

1..going to argos to get my new push along mover half price at £25.no one had a second hand one .my electric one was given 2 me second hand and it must be about 100 in lawnmower terms time to put it out to pasture
2. more crochet or knitting
3..sitting here drinking real "plungered" coffee whilst my 2 sons play nicely becuase daddy come in from a wetting a babys head so he has a bit of a hangover ..ha ha ha and ive had nothing for 2 days so feeling doubly smug..
4..making a lovely sunday roast sirt down with the whole family..we try to do it every sunday.the last few have been ploughmans though..too hot for cooking a roast...i fancy lamb
5..taking my 2 sons to my eldest sons best friend birthday party..great thing is i get on really well with his mum too so will be nice to socialise

anyway have a great sunday all xx

sparrer

house_elf wrote: »

Just to mention that I have a yellow watering can .

Oh house elf, you tease! You tell us you have a yellow watering can then disappear on holiday before you tell us where you got it :eek:. Now we have to wait til you come back and I'm such an impatient person. It's going to be a loooooooong wait!

PetuliaGristle

Hi all, I'm catching up again after a few days, hope you're all well. Hugs to everyone:

Tealady so sorry to hear about your friends dh, thinking of you and your friend at this sad time

Mine for today:
1) dp getting up and going off to work very very quietly so I got a lie-in
2) cuddles from dd. Her wobbly tooth came out last night. It's one of the front ones so she has a lovely gap-toothed smile
3) 45 minutes on the Wii fit
4) enjoying the sunshine
5) reading Martin's 'an act of genuine kindness' post
6) helping dd with her party bags for her birthday party next week

Ladyhawk have you tried apis mel for your mossie attacks? Though it doesn't stop the mossies biting, I've found it stops the swelling and itching. It's worked for friends, though I can't guarantee it'll work for you.

CCP

Evening all.

noynoy wrote: »

5) Found a free range chicken reduced to £3 in Tesco - that's best part of a week of meals if I rubber it.
what is rubber it mean..streach it out ?? i can get 3 meals out of one medium chicken i don't know why people just pick off the best bits then throw it away..theres at least another 2 meals in it!

Yes, that's exactly what I meant. My personal record is 8 one person meals, three rounds of sandwichs, 2 meals for the cat, and a pot of chicken stock, all from one chicken - admittedly a big chicken!

house elf - have a lovely holiday - I'll try and wave back as you go past. :wave:

jex - it's lovely to read your 'waffle' again - your posts always cheer me up. I'm so sorry about the loss of all your plants - what a disappointment after all that effort to grow them! I'm glad the business is going OK, despite all the sogginess.

Ladyhawk - your 'bites' might well be an allergic reaction to the antibiotics - I have exactly the same reaction if I take anything penicillin based. Make sure you tell your GP that you've had that reaction - I've been warned never to take penicillin again as that sort of reaction is a warning that next time the allergic reaction could be really bad - i.e. ambulance to hospital bad. :eek:

My five pleasures for today:

1) Very nice lie-in to *.30. I really needed it though - I spent all day yesterday feeling like I was sleep-walking.

2) The tomato plants I tied up yesterday are still upright, and have loads of tomatoes on them. (I fancy having a go at making ketchup this year as I've got so many toms to use up. )

3) My French bean plant has about a dozen flowers on it already, so I might get a half-decent crop even though I've only got one plant left.

4) Spent this afternoon watching the grand prix with a lap full of cat. Shame about the result (I'm a McLaren fan), but it can't be helped.

5) I got a load of plums in my fruit and veg box, so I've decided to treat myself to plum crumble for pudding tonight.

Have a nice evening, all.

Ladyhawk

Evening all,

Hope you are all well.

1) A lovely relaxing day

2) Popped into town to choose my new glasses... you may remember a few months ago I had the saga of getting D&A to replace my glasses which keep bending out of shape. I had had to choose yet another style as the ones I wanted are last season. Anyway - I think the new ones will be nice.

3) My lovely friend G popped round to put up my curtain rail in my bedroom which I pulled of by mistake about a year ago. He is such a love!

4) I have started knitting my first square for about 20 years! I am hoping to make a blanket but we'll see how far it get.

5) Lovely curry for supper made from curry sauce sample from work. It packed loads of beans and lentils in to bulk it up and think I will get at least 8 portions out of it!

6) Went to the library and lot loads of books out, including one on how to recognise wild foods. Looking forward to reading it.

Night night.

L

Wee_Jo

sparrer wrote: »

Jo I'm going to Kovalam, in Kerala. Useless info - Kerala became a bit of a hippy place to go when the Beatles went to meditate with their Marharishi Yogi back in the 60's, part of their supposed anti-drugs period . I'm going for 2 weeks in Feb with my fellowship, there'll be a few meetings and a lot of sightseeing, sunbathing and eating .
I'd love to go to Oz, are you visiting family or going just because you want to?

Hey Sparrer!

Your India trip sounds fab - I just googled where you're going, wow! Sightseeing, sunbathing and eating....sounds like my kind of trip!

My BiL and SiL live in Sydney, so we are visiting them...though we fly first to Hong Kong where we stay for 2 days, then to Melbourne to stay with a friend for 3-4 days and then on to Sydney. We plan to do some travelling around - perhaps take a flight up to Queensland to see the Great Barrier Reef (hubby and I are both scuba divers) Overall we're away for 3 weeks We're going to pack loads in as it's so far away it would be a shame not to!!! :j

Jo

sparrer

• Lol Jex, as if we'd pass up the chance of reading your funny, zany posts! They're far too interesting to miss. Not materialistic at all, the adventures of the girls and Buster make for a great read . Still think you should write your memoirs one of these days

• Thank you for the recipe house elf, it sounds good. I'm going to try substituting the wine with tomato juice and see how it turns out. I know you won't read this for a while but hope you had a good journey and have a great holiday

• We used to love Sunday dinners noynoy, and the family chat round the table afterwards when we could all, even the youngest, say if we weren't happy about something etc etc. Oldest daughter always, without fail, said she didn't get enough pocket money . We agreed to listen even if it didn't do her any good, ha ha.It's ages since I had real coffee, hope you enjoyed it

• Thank you for the link GirlySquare, what a wonderful story. Bless your DD and her gappy smile , how much do the tooth fairies pay these days?

• Congrats on the rubber chicken CCP, I've not managed that much but have had 8 meals for one and some stock from a £2 whoopsie. Hm ketchup sounds yummy, I'd be interested to hear how it turns out, if you do decide to make it

• Pleased you got your new specs Ladyhawk, and hope you have better luck with this pair.Sometimes it's lovely to have male friends who are always so helpful. My bedroom curtain rail is decidedly wonky but I did put it up myself

• Your holiday down under sounds super Jo, you're certainly going to get around and see as much as you can :j. The weather will be perfect In Nov. We'll have to compare notes when we're both back

My 5 -

• 1. Email saying I'm 'one of the chosen ones' - sounds spooky :eek: - to receive a free pack hair dye. That's £6 saved this month

• 2. Met with some friends for a bring a dish lunch, second time in a row. They're great fun and we get to eat very well on a shoe string, each dish not to cost more than £1 so a really cheap and varied Sunday meal. One or two of them cheated on price but denied it vehemently, however the rest of us knew we could do it

• 3. This afternoon DGD2 helped me shovel another 5 carrier bags of sand. It's lining my side path now so think I have to stop as it's getting difficult to get the bin out on a Tuesday evening! Just need the paving slabs now, which I'll ask for money for at Christmas. A long slow job but it's free and by next Spring I should have a patio

• 4. The rain came just at watering time :j

• 5. Collected together and printed all the free/reduced offers for the holiday and put them together in a ring binder with the myriad ideas the DGC have given me for activities.

• 6. A new pair of black pants got put in with the white wash last night, totally discoloured a new white bra and pants. Tried a mild bleach solution but that didn't work so decided to dye them and some other bits (shirt and old off-white trousers) fuschia pink. I'm impressed!

• 7. Playing with the bullet points. Silly fun

Night night, sweet dreams
S x

Patchwork_Quilt

1) Went to church and it was a really good sermon about not taking satisfaction in material things but to think of other people before we are called to account (Luke 12 13-21 if anyone's interested). Had a chat with a new person with the cutest baby.
2) Soup for lunch made from a stretchy chicken carcass and there was just enough bread in the fridge to go with it.
3) Emptied the compost bin onto the rhubarb and strawberry patch in the garden, since the strawberries have finished. It will help to keep down the weeds and feed the plants for next year. I love compost! Rather smelly though.
4) Got DD's holiday washing dried in the sun. She pinched my cardigan yesterday but I was wearing her earrings. I was going to ask for a new pair for Christmas, since I have no silver-coloured earrings, but then I thought 'I know who's got some' ...
5) DH cut the hedge and I can now get the car up and down the drive without scraping the paint. Should have saved the twigs for kindling. Might go out and rescue them in the morning.
6) Went out to the pub for one drink this evening with friends and it was quiz night. It was £1 a ticket, which included supper! A bowl of chips never goes amiss and DH had curry with his. Our friends paid for the wine so I am going to put some money in an envelope and we will pay next time. A real bargain.