Sunday

I am very thankful for a quiet day today.  It wasn't going to be quiet until just recently but plans have changed/fallen through and I have a whole day just to myself.

Yesterday was hectic.  First of all there was the strain of driving somewhere I'd never been.  Silly, I know, but even with Google maps and a sat nav, I find this incredibly stressful and tiring.  I HATE getting lost/not knowing where I am.

Then there was the sale itself.  Lovely people, small hall, no pressures, but it was four hours in a different environment, something else I can find tricky.

The drive home was nice, even though my sat nave tries to send me the wrong way.  Fortunate, Beth knew the main route and kept me straight.

How did we do?  Well, we sold a bit.  Not as much as we would have liked but it wasn't a zero.  We were glad to be supporting Craftable.  I had a stroll round the other stalls and bought some lovely multicoloured yarn for £1.00 a ball and I've started another virus shawl with it.  I think it will be lovely.

But now I'm feeling a bit frayed around the edges and glad for a very quiet day.  I shall get out the sewing machine and have a go at some dress making I have been planning to do for a while.  I ummed and ahed about making it a pj day but I think not - I might want to enjoy the sunshine in the garden which is a bit overlooked.

I hope you all have a lovely day too.

IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT

Do you live near to Southend?

Beth and I will be having a table at craft fair today at Westcliff Free Church, 635, London Road in Westcliff, Southend between 11 and 3.

It is in support of the lovely Jen Snow and her super organisation Craftable. 
Craftable brings together people with long term physical and mental health issues who might otherwise be isolated, through the medium of craft. If you are local, it was in the paper last week. 
smile emotico
Anyway it is a great cause so please do support if you can.
As well as our own Kitty Stitches stuff (craft kits, keyrings, table runners, dolls blankets, bags etc...) there will be other craft stalls plus some other bits and bobs like Body Shop, a healthy living info stand, etc.

Look for two stout ladies and a stall packed with crafty goodies!

Friday

Goodness, I am bleary eyed this morning.

Fiddler on the Roof was fab.  Trinity Music and Drama put on a good show and this was top notch.

Once home, Jackie and I started chatting over some nibbles and a bottle of good red wine she had brought with her and before we knew it, it was well past one o'clock.  As I woke at around five after a restless night punctuated by 'Sunrise, Sunset' earworming its way into my dreams, I am now pretty tired.  It was worth it though.

My tomato plug plants arrived yesterday after three days in transit (not brilliant) but I bunged them straight into pots and they have picked up well.  They'll spend a couple of weeks being mothered inside before I put them out at the end of May.

I got a pleasant surprise when looking at the middle bed - I saw something was coming up and, thinking it was a weed, looked closer.  It's not a weed, it's a fuschia coming up.  Nice one!  I remember it as a very pretty pale pink flower which should be perfect for where it is.

Today will be a busy day.  Beth and I are getting things ready for the craft fair we are taking part in tomorrow.  Sorting out our things, pricing them, etc.  So I have to stay awake.

Food:
B:  toast and melon
L:  beans on toast
D:  crustless quiche and salad (leftover from yesterday)

Thursday

Morning, all!  The sun is shining, the humidity has dropped, I slept well.  What's not to like?

The seeds and seedlings are doing very well.  I'm putting them out during the day and bringing them in come the evening.  They certainly got a good drink yesterday - it poured for much of the day!
We have planted borlotti and runner beans, baby corn and yellow courgettes and down the allotment we already have mange tout growing, potatoes planted and rhubarb doing it's best to provide us with crumbles and pies.  I must look up some recipes.  I also have the strawberries in my own garden and they are looking very healthy at the moment.

I realise this is quite a limited list of veg but it's a start and is giving us a good deal of pleasure as well as the manual hard work it is taking to get things ship shape again.

Matt came to look at the boiler and found that the boiler is fine, it's something wrong with the water cylinder in the airing cupboard and quite simple to deal with.  Phew!  A great relief.  I would have had the money to sort out a boiler problem but I am glad I don't have to.
Matt is coming back on Friday and for now I am using the immersion heater.  When he comes I will arrange for a boiler service.  It hasn't had one for a while and now I am (or can be) at home during the day, it's not such a biggie.

Today looks like being a fun day.  This morning I will be busy in the house, baking, cleaning, etc.  Later on a friend is coming over for a light meal before we pop off to the Civic Theatre for a performance of Fiddler on the Roof by a local dramatic society.  Their shows are usually pretty good so we anticipate an enjoyable time.

I thought I would do a crustless quiche and salad, followed by a sponge cake so I need to get baking!  I also have to get the spare room ready because she's going to stay over and drive home tomorrow.

The bread is already on and rising and I think I will get the cake done good and early too.  Have a good day, everyone.

Wednesday

Good morning!  It's a dull, damp, humid, gloomy early morning here, not exactly raining but when you step out you feel slightly soggy.  Not nice at all.  I have the french windows a little bit open because the germinating seeds in their soil are creating a mildly musty aroma in the living room but I'm not confident enough to leave them out overnight yet.  The beans are mostly doing well and I can see a few little courgettes emerging too.

Thank you, Google Images

Later I have to go to the parcel office because they tried to deliver my plug plant tomatoes yesterday and, typically, I was out at school, darn it.  So that's the first task.  Fortunately I also need to go to B&Q which is nearby so I can kill two birds with one stone, so to speak.

Then it's back home to deal with the new little plants and to get the house in some sort of order.  Late afternoon Matt is coming to look at my boiler and, hopefully, sort out whatever has stopped it working (no hot water which is a pain, not fussed about any lack of heating).  Thank goodness for the immersion heater which is currently heating enough water for my bath.

And all through the day the forecast is for dull, dank conditions, warmer that at present but still not very nice.

That's it really.  Not particularly exciting or even interesting.
Hoping you all have a great day

Tuesday

Good morning - or, more accurately, good afternoon, everyone.  Sorry this is a bit late.  I woke this morning just before 2 - yes, your eyes are not deceiving you.  So you would think that I would have had plenty of time to write my blog but I just couldn't focus, even after coffees.

I've spent the morning in school, hearing readers, gradually getting dozier and dozier (after all, I have been up ten hours now) so I am absolutely sure I'll get some kip this afternoon which, hopefully, won't spoil tonight's efforts.

Yesterday was pleasant.  The morning saw us at the allotment where we seemed to spend much time and effort on small but significant things, Beth in particular.  I was going to go down early morning to water those moved trees but, guess what - it's chucking it down with rain so no need.  I gather it is going to get colder towards the weekend with possible frosts so I'm glad I have nothing tender planted out yet.

Well, I'd better get some lunch and sort out the kitchen.  I won't be going out again today, not in this wind and rain.  At least the humidity has reduced somewhat which is something to be thankful for.

Stay dry!

Monday

All over now, apart from finishing off the leftovers.  We had a lovely celebration yesterday, quiet and small, just right for Alex.  We'll be having a larger family get together in the summer once exams and work experience are done and dusted.

His gifts were all laid out with 'this is your life' type messages for each year of his life.  It was perfect.  Clever Beth!

Here's one of them

. . . and the gift was a promise of some driving lessons.  He also got a fair amount of cash to go towards lessons too.

So now we are back to normal again.  Allotment this morning and bread baking this afternoon.  Life goes on.

After yesterday's blow-out, today's food will be simple.  There's not too many leftovers as Beth and Al took plenty with them.

B:  fruit - apple, orange, grapes

L:  simple salad - lettuce, peppers, carrot, tomatoes and maybe some home made coleslaw

D:  cold meat with new pots and peas.

Have a great day!