Having Fun

We went into Llandudno yesterday morning to go to the Cenotaph at the end of the prom for 11am, along with hundreds and hundreds of other people. 

After the service we went for a coffee and a little mooch along the high street.  Once we'd done all that we started walking back towards the car park,  we had fifteen minutes left on our free parking time so we went into the arcade and there to the background sound of a few games of bingo we played on the 2p 'Tipping Point' machines and added to our collection of little plastic Halloween characters.

We are grown ups ... honest  ;-)

Sue xx

Weekend Pictures

Let's all go this way ....

... or we could go this way!!

" Mum, I think the chickens need feeding. "

" Did someone say feeding? "

There's not a lot happening here at the moment in 'coldsville' ..... can you tell?

Have a good weekend.

Sue xx

A Trip Back Through Time

I was about to phone the AA and give them a piece of my mind about our exorbitant membership fees for this year (when you compare them to new members deals for both the AA and the RAC) but my phone has no service (this happens a lot in bad weather here in the valley).  So instead I sat at the computer with a cup of coffee and flashed up some of the blog posts that I did each year on or around this date

Way back on 9th November 2009 seemingly we were keeping an eye on our landlords dogs for the weekend, scrumping for apples in his garden (with permission).  We lived in Oxfordshire then, just outside the village of Great Haseley.

And I was in Christmas card production mode for my Farmers Market stall.

Here's the original post.

On this day one year later in 2010, we were awaiting the arrival of a late brood of chicks ...

... and someone was dissecting his chainsaw on my kitchen table!!

Original post.

Moving forward another year to November 2011 and we were in the midst of tough times, but animal antics helped pull us through.

Original post.

Oooh ..... exactly one year later in 2012 and I was apologising for bad language!!  What made me swear .... it was BT of course.  We were now living in Berkshire, just outside Pangbourne.

Original post.

November 9th 2013 saw me posting all about making up transportable and easily eaten food for our trips here to Wales to decorate this house.  That is a very tasty looking post ... don't travel over if you are feeling peckish!!

Original post.

In 2014 it was Remembrance Sunday, and this reminds me, we have yet to find a suitable position for Lovely Hubby's Tower Poppy.

Original post.

And then finally last year 2015, when I posted all about the grey and seemingly never ending wet days of November.

Original post.

Well there you are a quick trip back through seven years ..... and you only stopped by to see what I was up to today  ;-)

Well my phone still isn't working so I will have to put on the kettle, make another cup of coffee and do a bit of blog hoping myself ... and not one mention of the political news that we all woke up to this morning.  I'll leave that to other more daring bloggers .... 

Sue xx

Let Food Be Thy Medicine ...

'Let food be thy medicine and medicine by they food' ... said Hippocrates.

How true is that!!

Well at the moment I am stuffed full of a cold and all it's accompanying aches and pains, this morning I slowly and steadily worked my way through the daily chores so that I can collapse in a heap and while the afternoon away on the sofa.  The dogs love a sofa day so they are in for a pleasant surprise  :-)

While I was out watering the polytunnel I gathered in a selection of tasty freshness and collected this  mornings newly laid eggs as I cleaned out the henhouse.  I intend to banish this cold and it's germs with lots of homegrown goodies, lots of hot drinks and two paracetamols every four hours .... I'm not totally relying on fruit and vegetables.

But after reading this I might add a bit more garlic, some turmeric and some more onions to the pot of soup that is currently bubbling away on the Aga, it's doesn't hurt to fight a cold with everything in your repertoire  :-)

Sue xx

Eight Blackberries

Stepping out of the polytunnel the other day after doing a  spot of watering and gathering some salady bits for my lunch, I spied some Blackberries on the bush I have planted in the tyres just outside the doors ...  eight big juicy blackberries to be more specific.

Well one thing led to another and before I knew it I was gathering some cooking apples from the old apple tree in Chicken World, peeling, coring and soaking them before slicing them up ...

... and then cooking everything together in a very aromatic way.

 A third of the lovely mixture was added to the bottom of a baking tin and topped with sponge mix and the other two thirds were put into baking tins, wrapped and placed in the freezer ready to be topped with crumble mix when the mood takes us.

And I only went over to the polytunnel for a couple of spring onions and a few lettuce leaves!!

Sue xx

Doggy Back Drops

Some folk have folded fleecy blankets over the back of the sofas at this chilly time of year ... we have dogs  ;-)

They both like to be able to look out of the window when something catches their attention and then they settle down like this, whenever we drive off anywhere there is at least one little face at the window watching us go.

Mavis sometimes hops completely onto the windowsill, she's very catlike and nimble, she stands there like a tail wagging ornament, keeping the metal tractor wine bottle holder company, it looks very funny from the outside. 

But Rosy, well she just stays curled up until a movement makes the cushion fall over, then she makes a cosy bed on the fabric side of the leather cushion and snoozes the day away.

It's not a bad life being a pooch in our house :-)

Sue xx

Project 333 - Four Years On

Back in December of 2012 I joined in with Project 333 for the first time, so although I've recently been doing some posts about it over on this years challenge blog  'Living Without ...'  I thought I would do my main post about this seasons P333 selection on here, so I have it recorded for posterity.

You can go way back to my original post HERE, if you want to read about the rules etc.  But basically you choose 33 items of clothing and accessories to wear for the next 3 months hence P333.  You don't include underwear, sleepwear, specific work wear or workout clothes, but should include accessories and usually jewellery.

Anyway this is the selection of things that I have chosen to see me through the next three months.  The hanging things in my half of the wardrobe, the accessories on top of the box underneath them and in close up above.  (Also on the box is a stack of vest tops that I wear under the shirts that are hanging, but as they are never worn on their own they do not have to be counted.)

In my drawer are my long sleeved t shirts, cardigan and jumpers.  And looking back at the old P333 posts this cardigan has been in my Winter collection every year since the beginning .... I think I have had my moneys worth here :-)

My waterproof jacket. 

I had to hang it on the mirror to photograph it as the colour wasn't true when I hung it on the door!!

And my footwear selection.

I was going to count my jewellery as one item but I reached thirty three items before I could add it and I honestly do not want to put anything that I have chosen back, so I have decided to be lenient with myself and just not count it.  After all it's a challenge, not a punishment.

How many of you have counted and gotten to 34?  Sorry to confuse you .... one of the tops that is hanging in the top photo was folded and put into the drawer (front right) in between the photos being taken!!

And now I've done my usual trick of turning all the hangers round to the way I don't usually have them, as things are worm washed and returned to the wardrobe the hangers will be hung the right way, and this way I will be able to monitor which clothes get worn and which are not earning their space in the collection.

Are any of you doing either P333 or something similar, to keep your clothes to a manageable level?  I would be interested in finding other blogs and bloggers that do this as I'm in a real 'getting rid of clutter' frame of mind again at the moment.

Sue xx