No T Words mentioned at all - a fresh start

hoglet121

Morning everyone :-)

Well I am getting there with Christmas - posting the last of the cards today (bit late but fingers crossed) - we don't send many as it is so expensive to post from here.

Yesterday I got my cousin's son's present - found it under half price in a sale :-) and I'll get her step daughter's present on Friday probably, now I've confirmed exactly what she has already so I know what to avoid! I like to do something a bit different with the kids' pressies so I was thinking this year I might do up a box and put the pressies, with a few little surprises, in as a lucky dip, and they'll get to rummage around for them. Then presents are DONE! For the adults in the family we do a secret santa - we all have one gift to buy of $50 value or thereabouts, so everyone gets a substantial present but we each only have to buy 1 gift. Goodness we sound like there are so many rules around our family Christmas!

We're having funny weather here - either hot or muggy and rainy. It's been raining all night but the garden needed it. We've been eating lots of our own lettuce for a while now, the tomatoes are coming on but the peas and beans are suffering. I think the weather has just not been (hehe) good enough for them this year.

DH and I have drastically increased the amount of vegetables we eat recently (hence my constant foraging for yellow stickers). He doesn't appear to have noticed that we are effectively eating a vegetarian dinner 2 or 3 times a week, or if he has he's happy with it. That wheelbarrow of meat we won a month or so ago is still only about half eaten, but my goodness I feel tonnes better. It does mean that I enjoy what meat we do have much more as it's more of a treat. I've been giving Hugh F-W's Veg book a good work out, and tonight we're having noodles with peanuts, cucumber and green beans and roasted aubergine on the the side. Fairly sure that's quite an odd mixture but it's what I fancy! For lunch I'm having an avo and some of the yelow-stickered sourdough I bought on Sunday, with some homemade pesto to spread on it, with some lettuce from the garden and tomatoes (not yet from the garden).

Well, that sure is enough rambling from me, sorry about that!

love to you all,

Hoglet x

flowertotmum

Good morning all..its a beautiful pink sky here..lots of frost and the chickens are squawking about the cold..bless them..i haven't had any eggs for a week now,,but i have enough to last a few weeks..hopefully they will start to lay again..

Aot..o so glad you have an invite..and that your arm is healing well..when Simon had his tendons done in his hand his scar was hyper sensitive and very sore..it didn't last long thankfully..but still even now 15 yrs later it will twinge occasionally..i love going for dinner at friends and always take some treats that Simon can enjoy..he is allergic to nuts so i have to watch what sweeties he eats..bless him..he looked like the Michelin man a few years ago when he ate a sweet that had Hazelnuts in it..

Hoglet..isn't it great to eat veggie meals and not miss the meat..and its even better if you have grown them too..not nasty chemicals on them..your Christmas prep sounds amazingly well organized..wish mine was lol..i love reading your rambles lol..

MLW..hello..am so glad the concert went well..you must be so proud of Nell..and i don't know about you but i get all excited seeing tree's and lights up all over this time of year..it does feel like Christmas is just around the corner..Baby Ezra is going to be so bewildered by it all..but am sure he will take it in his stride..

Candlelight..o your lunch sounds lovely..its always nice to catch up with friends. Your DGD sounds a delightful..i love my twigs too..we are going to put our decorations up next week..we have some we have made all over the house..tomorrow is my big baking day so i am checking stores today to make sure i have it all..

Well yesterday i had a lovely relaxing ish day..caught up with laundry and then popped to town with Simon..we went and got some last minute gifts for older girls and their partners..he disappeared around the corner in the supermarket and came back with a lovely Christmas cushion..got a squirrel on it in the snow..that was my treat from him..he knows i have a weakness for cushions..my sofa's are covered with them..i love them so bright and vibrant and can quite cheaply change the mood of a room.
We walked home through the park and sat and fed the ducks and had a cuppa we bought from a tea-shop..so nice just the 2 of us for a change..
I have my friend coming today..bless her..not 2 brass pennies to rub together but she never complains about it..her children and home comes first..i have got her a gift..i know she needs some slippers as hers had holes in them when i went last time..so i have bought her some..nice thick soled pink ones that will last her a good while..i also sorted my cupboard and found a red table runner and some lovely matching placemats..so she can have them too..she is so lovely and her children are too..

Well at some point today i am taking half an hour for myself and going to read a lovely book i received yesterday from lyn..o the ideas are spiralling out of control..thank you..i was in need of some inspiration for little projects..
Right i have to go and get on..
love to you all
ftm

[Deleted User]

Oh the house smells like Christmas, I've been baking gingerbread cakes and now have in a cranberry and orange madeira cake, coo I'm feeling every so festive and hungry!!!

candlelight_2013

:drool:Lyn can you send a slice up to the West Midlands please, they sound delicious.

Candlelightx

[Deleted User]

Virtual cake on it's way to anyone who wants it!

hoglet121

Oooooh MLW that cake sounds delish mmmmmmmmm

Speaking of which, I really must decide on my Christmas baking :-)

Well Hugh F-W's herby peanutty noodley salad was delish last night, and was DH approved! He said I put just the right amount of heat in it (I have a tendancy to blow everyone's heads off) and said the herbs gave a it a lovely freshness - that will be going on the 'to make again' list. The peanuts could be omitted for those with allergies and the dish would still work well, I think. The beans went from growing to to pot in less than 5 mintues, in fact I just steeped them with the noodles rather than boiling them, they were so young and tender they didn't need much cooking.

Other than that, not much to report from us. A hot muggy night and yet one of the cats wanted to go duvet-burrowing twice - strange character! I could think of nothing worse than being under a duvet last night and he's got all that fur to boot!

Hope everyone is keeping well, love to you all,

Hoglet x

scottishminnie

Hi all.

I'm reporting from home today - horrible weather so decided not to attempt getting into the office. I can achieve just as much from here, if not more if there were any travel delays.

The wind is somewhere about 70mph at the moment and we are alternating between rain, sleet and snow. So glad I'm inside although I was outside at 5.30am in my wellies and jacket (with not a stitch underneath:o) as I thought the roof of hubby's workshop was coming off. Turns out it was thunder followed by lightning , more thunder and then a blizzard. A few years back while in Canada with family we experienced "thundersnow" however that is the first time I've ever know it happen here. Hope the wind dies down soon.

Christmas preparations under control. I think I need to wrap some gifts rather than waiting and it will also let me see what little things I have left to pick up. I'm not fussed if I do, there's enough to go round I think.

I finally got round to making cheese bread in the bread maker at the weekend. It was ok but definitely not what hubby is after. He likes the American version where you can see the bits of cheese in the loaf. I did grate the cheese though and am wondering if I cut it in small cubes next time it might not disappear into the dough to the same extent. Will need to experiment!

I spent the day in Edinburgh with a friend at the weekend and we visited the German markets which were really nice. The food stalls smelled wonderful although we were lunching out so I didn't buy anything. You could definitely eat your way round the market though. It was fun watching the small children on the ice rink too - there were black moulded penguin things which they held onto and skated behind to stop them falling. That's definitely what I would need, I never really mastered ince skating:)

I sent off my foreign cards last week and was horrified at the cost. They weren't large cards but for 6 it cost over £12. I tend to keep in touch via email however think it's nice to have cards at Christmas so I'll just have to suck up the cost I guess. Glad I'm not sending any parcels as they lady in front had a small box for Italy which she was being quoted £35 for, must have been heavier than it looked:eek:

So, I'm off for a cuppa then back to the laptop. I have calls through until 5 now. At least I can roam around when I'm on the phone at home. I get funny looks if I wander in the office with a blackberry stuck to my ear!

flowertotmum

Morning all..well its a bit windy here and wet but not as bad as up north.

SM..girls want to know do you have snow and if you do can you send it our way..had to chuckle at you naked under your coat..but drafty lol..i love it when the French market comes to town..smells gorgeous and the sweetie stall is always busy..i have not been to a German one..hope they decide to have one..

MLW..are you looking forward to your trip to the market..i bet its wonderful..

Well yesterday we spent it baking..and can you believe i ran out of flour..so had to cut it short..will finish it off later today..Fern has master the food mixer..she was mixing up eggs and sugar for me..Iris mastered not getting choclate on her white t-shirt..bless her..she had to have a wash though..choclate everywhere..
Today is my DGD Leah's 6th birthday..she wanted a cake like Iris's..so poor Fi had to make it..we are going to pop up later to see her after school..we got her some little bits this year instead of a big one..think it nicer to have a bag full of little presents..


Hoglet o your peanut dish sounds amazing..i would have to make 2..one with nuts and one without..
We had one of Sam's friends pop in yesterday and he ended up staying for lunch..we were having carrot soup with crusty bread..Sam had a ham sandwich..he doesn't like carrots..his mate reckons he is mental as the soup is brill and wished his mum made stuff like that..oops bit embarrassing but i had clean bowls from all of them..
right got to go..
love to you all
ftm

scottishminnie

FTM - we sure do have some snow this morning. It'slike a winter wonderland outside. If I could work out how to get it to you I'd gladly send it - and to anyone else who wants it. Seems very selfish to keep it all up here!

[Deleted User]

Oh yes we are FTM, we're sooooo excited to be going again. It's been a gap since we got snowed in in 2011 and we've both missed going. This year I don't think there will be snow which is a shame but we'll still enjoy the markets and being in Berlin again, it's a wonderful place. We had a christmas card from Singpore the other day, and He Who Knows saved the stamp for the tots, so I'll pop it in the post for them along with any other abroads we might get, and Nell and I will send a postcard from Berlin so they'll get a german stamp too, just love doing it, my girls would have loved it and it's nice that yours do too!

He Who Knows is out for the day he's going to the theatre this afternoon and has a train ride to get there, oh my word, his grin at the prospect was all of 6 years old, definately not 69!!! I had intended to blitz the house today as I'd have time to do it all but in his wisdon he washed all the vacuum filters yesterday and they are still wet today, never mind I'll do what I can and do the floors tomorrow.