Make do, Mend and Minimise in 2015

nursemaggie

Get well soon silvasava it is a horrible thing hope it is not too painful.

meritaten

Yes - Get well soon Silva! Cystitis is HORRIBLE! I always make sure I have the meds in 'just in case' - it normally happens to me over Bank or Christmas holidays!

silvasava

Nursemaggie & meritaten - thank you for your kind thoughts. Yes I always keep a stock of the sachets in cos you can be sure something like this always flares up at the weekend! Antibiotics have kicked in and I'm starting to feel human now! Been watching Strictly & now starting to watch Red 2 - nothing too taxing lol!

[Deleted User]

Morning everyone well I have been making do with stuff in the fridge and mending ,well decluttering more , in the kitchen I spent to best part of yesterday doing two drawers in the kitchen .Couldn't believe how much junk had accumulated in there.only three more to do,but they take such an age to do so it will be one a day I think ,then I will start on the lower cupboards I have eight of those to declutter along with eight top cupboards Should keep me employed for at least a week:):):)
Nice feeling when its done though. My cutlery drawer will be fun I can see lots of gubbins that I no longer need, or use in there going to the CS I think. Do I really need four carving sets ? I don't think so.Can't do much today as I have to be at DDs by 10.00 a.m. as her and my son-in-law are driving up to Norwich to pick DGS Ben up from Uni,and bringing him home for the holidays. So I have the three younger boys to keep an eye on
Onwards and upwards chums
JackieO xxx

fuddle

I hope you have awoken feeling better silvasava

JackieO that's the best bit about moving - whittling away all unimportant stuff and starting afresh with just the things you need. The only issue is I have seemed to have misplaced my teaspoons. :cool:

We have snow here. It won't stay but it's lovely and a very nice source of entertainment for the children people.

Have a lovely day everyone.

Siebrie

The church I go to celebrates the birthdays of its members if they are on a Sunday. The birthdayperson is requested (but not obliged) to bring a treat. It is only a small congregation, about 50 people every Sunday. As today is my birthday, I was up at 8 baking angel cakes. I made 12 vanilla, 12 ginger normal size, 9 vanilla, 9 ginger, 9 chocolate mini size, and the people really enjoyed it. Total cost about 4 GBP plus the electricity; it took me about an hour (I make these often).

vulpix

Just managed to lose a post.
It included Birthday greetings for siebrie,get well wishes,new home congrats,and thanks for tips.

My kitchen is a no go area,10 props holding the ceiling up,thick with muck,I must've been mad to do this so near Christmas.The whole house is under a cloud of dust.It will be worth it.

All I have done yesterday is pot up some hyacinths for youngest's aunt and Granny for Christmas.We bought nice ceramic pots from the charity
shop for 50p each.

Silva was it you that talked about ginger bread? Could you share the recipe please? I am not a baker but perhaps I would improve with practise.

Nothing will be made in my kitchen next week apart from cement!

Vx

[Deleted User]

VULPIX I make a big gingerbread every year as DD1 makes far better fruit cake than I ever could so here is my recipe if you'd like it

8 oz plain flour + 2 teaspoons baking powder
4 oz slightly softened butter
4 oz dark brown sugar
2 heaped teaspoons of ground ginger
1 heaped teaspoon of ground cinnamon
a good 1/2 teaspoon of ground cloves
a good 1/2 teaspoon of ground nutmeg
2 eggs
1 generous tablespoon of golden syrup
a generous tablespoon of black treacle/molasses
milk to mix
2 oz chopped mixed peel
2 oz of crystallized ginger chopped the same size as the mixed peel

Rub the butter into the flour and baking powder, add the spices and stir, add in the eggs, sugar, syrup, treacle and enough milk to make a cake like mixture then stir through the mixed peel and chopped crystallized ginger. Bake in a 160deg Fan Oven, 180deg conventional oven in a lined cake tin/silicone cake pan for 45 or so minutes (my silicone pan is an 8inch one) until a skewer comes out clean. cool and store until Christmas then when you want to use it ice with a lemon icing and I decorate ours with chunks of crystallized ginger and whole almonds but you could use anything you like and it's nice served plain too.

Hope you enjoy it, Lyn xxx.

camelot1001

Happy Birthday Siebrie!

Very cold here, such a hard white frost all day, foggy at times too. The tree is up and looking very pretty.

Minimised some christmas presents to DDs as we are going to spend the big day there.
Made do with a cottage pie that was in the freezer, DD has taken the rest home to do her lunches for a few days.
Didn't mend anything but did make a draught excluder for DDs flat from the bottom of a pair of curtains I altered a while ago and an old cushion for stuffing, works a treat.

Hope your preparations are going well and are keeping warm and dry.

[Deleted User]

Evening everyone and Happy Birthday to Siebrie. My beautiful DGS Ben is home from Uni today and is in need of feeding up as he is so thin bless him.

We are going out to the cinema the both of us tomorrow night hopefully, and I'll feed him up as much as possible for the next month :)

Its his birthday this Wednesday and he will be 20 and my youngest Dds birthday three days later (46). lots of celebrations before Christmas, as my elders DDs pa-in-laws on the 18th and its him and his wifes Diamond Wedding anniversary on Boxing Day !!! I shall be all celebrated out at this rate :):)

We just watched Home Alone 2 on Netflix this afternoon and the boys are watching Peter Pan at the moment ,very Christmassy afternoon :):)