It was getting tough in 2006 and the workhouse still threatens us in 2011

flowertotmum

SDG31000:bdaycake:HAVE A GREAT DAY..enjoy your new toy:D..i love mine.drool:D..

Nualabuala:wave:..hey hun so glad your ok and have come back..

Roseanna..so sorry about the puddy cat..

Mardatha..get well soon lovely..

Had a lazy day today..but still got 3 loads of washing dry on the line..sun is shining and a teeny weeny bit chilly but ok..

Hubby went in the loft earlier and found some treasure aargh(pirate)..we found a dolls house that my elder girls had when they were small..all the bits still in it..so i now have 2 very happy tots playing with it all day and guess what they haven't argued once..thats a relief..o and we found the old wooden sled..he has cleaned it all up and hung it up in the porch ready for the winter:o:o..talk about ready for it this year:rotfl::rotfl:

thats me for today..going out tomorrow..nsd though..going to dd's number 2 for lunch and playdate with the grandchildren..;)..
take care all
ftm

ceridwen

Hiya back again Nuala

Laughing at the thought of "drawing you back":rotfl:. Hmm...chance would be a fine thing to draw much towards me - been a few things and keep telling myself "Must try harder re a nicer house with a decent garden...focus...focus...wheres those candles when ya' need 'em?:rotfl:". I drew this house towards me - so must kick my own butt and think positive...Time to go and buy a few more Premium Bonds methinks...

Finding it hard sometimes to remember achievements to date and think "Right...time for some more....."

Have got a little pressie from my mother in front of me at the moment to try and remind myself - I was a bit surprised to get it from her considering that it has engraved on it "Take pride in how far you have come and have faith in how far you can go"....Errr....my mother gave me summat like that!!!!...<pause for dropping on floor from shock> and tries to remember that...

Anyways - you take care gal and keep on keeping us informed re state of play in Ireland.

******************************

Birthday wishes/sympathies and hugs as required all round.

kittie - dont give up on the tomatoes...think its been a bad year all round for pretty much everyone for them. Now - apples on the other hand - gotta load up that dehydrator and get it rolling again with another load of apples to dry.....

shegar

Happy birthday SGD, welcome back Nuala , nice to see you back dear friend, hugs to all that need them............Been super today 23 degrees and very sunny, been doing a bit of this and a bit of that................weather should be even warmer tomorow.:D....could do with a bit of sunshine dont half make you feel so much better..........Madarther I hope your soon on top form too............:D

Rowan9

Mar - sending you the light from my candle lighting tonight.

suzid

Happy Birthday :bdaycake: SDG31000 What a lovely thoughtful DH you have. Enjoy every minute of using your mixer. Given with so much love it should produce some fantastic results.

So sorry to hear you news about you cat Roseanna (((hugs))) from me at this difficult time, and enjoy every minute you still have together.

Hope you feel better soon Mardatha.

Thank you all for your kind words when I was feeling grotty about disappointing DD. I know in the long run I've done what's best for us but it's still hard to say no. It's going to be a full house for us this weekend as DS1 is coming home with DGD who we haven't seen for 2 yrs, and DS3 is also staying. DS2 will be staying with fiance and her family but will be coming over too. Can't wait to see them all.

My two sisters visited today and we spent a happy hour peering into the ponds and cooing at the froglets in the grass . It's been a lovely day weather wise to match the happy day we had. I have all it takes to make me happy here, travelling miles to sit on a beach holds no appeal for me either. Pottering without any demands on my time is my idea of heaven.

If anyone wonders who is taking wild fruit, I have a culprit in mind. I had to laugh this morning when I watched a large crow swoop into my neighbours garden, effortlessly pick a pear off her tree and fly off. Amazing technique this feathered bandit .

Mrs_Chip

Evening all

Nuala - I don't normally 'do' cute kids, but one that is cooking....lol

Roseanna - so sorry to hear about your cat, having lost two (cars) and many cat friends where we stay on holiday we can only say that getting a new kitten will bring some joy, but you will never forget your lovely girl. See here for a lovely (and in parts very sad) blog. OH tells me off for reading it as I end up in floods on a regular basis.

We had a day off from new business stuff today as the weather was so wonderful, and spent it in the garden What a glorious first day of autumn it was. We are so very lucky as our garden is halfway up a hill overlooking a lovely little harbour and today it looked like somewhere in the med, not the somewhere westerly. Downside is that to get to the garden we have to go out of our front door, along two cottages up a long set of stone steps, then up more steps into the garden. So I packed a basket with lunch and afternoon tea stuff, grabbed the cat and we all spent the day up there. Bliss.

My OS task for the day was sieving out the rocks, rubbish and soil from a huge pile of stuff I have dug out of the back of the garden. All those years watching Time Team have not been wasted! So I have four piles - one of various sized rock that will be used to build a stone wall to retain my raised beds; one of good soil to go in said beds; one of small stuff that will be used to cover the area I have levelled (no need to buy gravel ) and a pile of detritus including gin and wisky bottles and the bones of some great beast. God knows how it all got up there, I know I still hove to dig out the remains of an iron bedstead!:eek:

mardatha

Sorry didnt mean to whine. Just a bit flat and tired and cant pick up.
Kittie thats not good re the weather !! yest and today here it has been cold and grey, not nice at all.
Our back boiler sprung a leak and we need a new one, so my beloved stove is out. No heating, no hot water, and we are huddled round a tiny wee convector & having horrible 8" warm baths !! - HA says it will take 3-4 weeks and then half the livingroom wall needs to come down to replace it..

Rosanna79

Thank you everyone for your support over my poor old puddy tatt. She's a very chatty little cat and it will be very quiet without her. She loves being the Queen of all she surveys and will remain so for the rest of her time. I'm really glad that we hadn't booked a holiday now and our days out will be manageable for her to be indoors in her bed as we'll not be going too far away. She's currently content to sleep by the french doors getting the sunshine and wakes up when we come in for a fuss. Am positive she's not suffering so will take each day as it comes . I'll definitely NOT follow my friends who've lost their pets in the last couple of years and refuse to have any more pets. When we're ready I'm sure there'll another moggie who'll take over as these two did... Yes pets leave pawprints on our hearts and become part of the family. Grief is the price we all pay for loving but how poor our lives would be without that!

We went out to the garden centre for a late bit of lunch- same people who did our front garden landscaping yesterday and bought some perennials for the border. It felt good to be planting something for the future. Proper garden centre staff are so helpful as well compared with the dumb responses one tends to get at the so called garden centres attached to DIY chains- with the usual 'I Dunno' response!!

Today's Market butcher had a massive tray of braising steak for a fiver and it's all cooking in the oven with masses of our home grown veg. Always find chickpeas a good addition to add to these creations and tend to use the canned variety for speed- mainly because I make a decision to use them at the time. Do the dried variety require an overnight soak? If they're loads cheaper I guess I'll have to start using a bit of what my late father used to call 'intelligent anticipation'!! We can all be more OS I'm sure and we don't really do convenience food but I guess we all have our occasional shortcuts..

What do other forum members do by way of shortcuts in cooking that are not strictly OS?

Red_Doe

mardatha wrote: »

Sorry didnt mean to whine. Just a bit flat and tired and cant pick up.
Kittie thats not good re the weather !! yest and today here it has been cold and grey, not nice at all.
Our back boiler sprung a leak and we need a new one, so my beloved stove is out. No heating, no hot water, and we are huddled round a tiny wee convector & having horrible 8" warm baths !! - HA says it will take 3-4 weeks and then half the livingroom wall needs to come down to replace it..

Sorry to hear that Mardatha, I know what it's like not to have hot water and heating, hope it gets sorted sooner than they say. ((((((((Mardatha))))))))))

shegar

mardatha wrote: »

Sorry didnt mean to whine. Just a bit flat and tired and cant pick up.
Kittie thats not good re the weather !! yest and today here it has been cold and grey, not nice at all.
Our back boiler sprung a leak and we need a new one, so my beloved stove is out. No heating, no hot water, and we are huddled round a tiny wee convector & having horrible 8" warm baths !! - HA says it will take 3-4 weeks and then half the livingroom wall needs to come down to replace it..

NO HEATING :eek: is it that cold already in Scotland that you need heat Sept 1 st.?...........move woman to a warmer part of the globe it will be cheaper for you...... plus your hens will lay 365 days .......:Dits been a beautiful day here on the East coast,should be 25 tomorow:j:jhope you feel better soon....