Making a bespoke notebook cover

Making a bespoke notebook cover

cats crafty stuff experimental food sewing vegetarian

Hello. Bugsy cat is looking like one happy and contented cat tonight. He's just eaten one and a half sardines. The vet said to give him smelly food to tempt him so I called in at the shop after I had finished making Santa's Grotto at the Village Hall. We decided to keep the Grotto simple this year, so I covered the two walls in the corner of the entrance hall with white paper and hung tinsel and coloured balls on it. 

I've started a little project to use up some small pieces of cotton fabric. I'm making a cover for a notebook. The red fabric is a piece of bed sheet. Lay the book on the top to mark out the size of the fabric. 

Now I'm covering it with patchwork.  I started it off at Crafty Club on Monday,  hand sewing up to now, but I've started to sew the strips on with the machine. When it is covered I shall add lots of hand stitching over the top of it.

I made extra steamed vegetables last night, and incorporated them into my lunch today. Started off with mushrooms in a pan, almost two weeks out of date, add a chopped onion, a handful of spinach, and some baked beans. Then add the steamed veg.  It was bloomin lovely, filled me up a treat. 

That's another month gone by. If the Walking Group members send in their mileage, I will update the page. I only did two miles today, pacing myself for the final month. I will be doing extra in December, so no need to stick rigidly to my routine.

Thanks for popping in, we'll catch up soon.
Toodle pip

That was a whoppa, no worries.

That was a whoppa, no worries.

budgeting shopping experimental food food

Hello. I've had a massive credit card bill this month, money spent on what I needed, vet, food, and petrol. The days of impulse spending have long gone, everything I buy is what I need, with some cash left over for wants and treats. My emergency fund easily covered the bill, and as always, the balance is cleared every month. 

Keeping a tight hold on my food spending is ongoing, as is eating healthily. I find I am eating less tinned food,  some rice/pasta, very few veggie burgers/Quorn products, and no convenience ready crap. Most of my meals are fresh or frozen veg, sometimes eggs and cheese added. I don't eat much bread, when I do it's always wholemeal or seeded, but I can take it or leave it, some days I eat no bread at all. 

I prefer to spend little time in the kitchen, it's not my favourite room in the house. If I can knock something up in ten minutes that will do nicely. Shorter cooking times saves on gas. 

I got some yellow stickers the other day. Soys beans from £1.50 to 38p. Ready chopped onions from £1 to 25p. Spinach £1.50 to 38p. Mushrooms from 90p to 24p. Stir fry some of these in a pan and scramble an egg into it when it's almost done. One cheap and healthy meal. 

No cooking is even better. Yellow sticker pasta and char grilled mushrooms, £2.15 to 54p. I love this and would never pay full price for it. Add it to salad and it makes a lovely light lunch.

I've only got four bean plants but they are producing quite a lot of runner beans. Some I am eating, and the rest are bagged up in portions for the freezer. I don't bother blanching, just break them into three pieces and into the bag.

My fridge is looking quite full. I have some prepared veg which I will cook up, make soup, and freeze it today. I do a regular fridge inspection checking on quality and dates, to make sure I eat things before they go off. I have some peaches and strawberries which will need eating over the weekend.

All these little money savers means I don't have to worry about out of the ordinary large bills. Planning ahead and being mindful of the cost of day to day living has become a habit for me. It means I can sleep peacefully in my bed at night.

It's the weekend, enjoy. Thanks for popping in. We'll catch up soon.
Toodle pip

PS. Just remembered. If anyone is wondering what I am doing about the new rule that says you have to have a TV licence to watch BBC iplayer catch up, I have stopped watching it and switched to Channel 4od, and yooootoooob. Plenty on there to entertain me while I sit and eat a meal or do some hand sewing. I don't sit glued to programmes when I have other things to do. BBC ain't getting any money out of me.

Get it down you, it will do you good

Get it down you, it will do you good

cooking experimental food food

Hello. I wish the kids were as easy going about food as I am. I've got the oldies, Bugsy and Rocky hanging around my feet because they are not happy with the food I have just served up. They think if they whinge enough I am going to cave in and come up with a fresh bowl with something different in it. Sometimes I do,  to get a bit of peace from them. Tonight they are just going to have to eat what is there, I am fed up of throwing food away. 

When we were little we had to eat whatever mum dished up, and some of it was pretty awful. Some of the meat dishes were unrecognizable as meat, gawd knows which bits of the animal she was giving us. I often felt sick moving it around on my plate and was almost in tears. We moaned a bit but it was eat it, there is nothing else. I remember tripe, I definitely had to go without that day. Later on when I went to big school I looked forward to school dinners, especially puddings which my mum was not very good at making. 

This portion of frozen stew does not look very appetizing, but I know what's in it so it will be tasty. 

This is something I had the other day, simple veggie burgers in buns with potato salad and houmous. It was ok for a change because I couldn't be bothered to cook, but I could have managed on just one, I was too full afterwards.

As you know I often chuck a few things in a pan and scramble two eggs into the mix. I like these simple one pan meals. Here is left over steamed veg from the previous day, I made too much, with a handful of frozen broad beans and some chick peas.

Underneath the beans and chick peas is a portion of cheap noodles, with Danish Blue cheese on the top. It looks more like a side dish you would get at a restaurant because I put it into a bowl instead of a plate. This was my dinner one night last week.

I like to mix and match my food, I don't need recipes to follow, I make it up as I go along. It makes life more interesting to invent new concoctions. Anyone else have a slap dash approach to food as I do, or do you need to have all ingredients close by to create a masterpiece?

Thanks for popping in, We'll catch up soon.
Toodle pip

A bit late tonight.....

A bit late tonight.....

budgeting shopping experimental food

Hello. I'm a bit late tonight, don't know where the day has gone. Crafty Club this morning, then gardening, hedge trimming and bagging up the rubbish. This afternoon I went to the tip with another load, then onto the vets to pick up medication for the kids. Popped into the small Tesco on the way back and found a six pack of kiwi fruit for 11p. Round the corner at the Co op I bought an eight pack of Actimel for 69p instead of £2.89, and a four pack at 39p instead of £1.69. I don't normally buy this because it's far too expensive, but at that price it's ok. I will put it on my breakfast cereals. 

Yesterdays lunch was using up some yellow stickers, a bit of a mishmash but it tasted nice. Ready chopped onions, ready sliced mushrooms, baby sweetcorn, and steamed potatoes and carrots left over from the day before. Served on a bread roll. 

Look what someone gave me today, surplus to requirements. Two single bed duvet's one with a cover. I don't need them and as I am not sure of their history and most people won't accept second hand bedding, I will turn them into pet beds.

My dinner tonight, I couldn't be bothered to cook so I took a ready meal out of the freezer and zapped it in the microwave. Sweet potato, butternut squash, and spinach stew. I added a lump of Danish Blue cheese which gave it a scrummy taste.

Last week I bought two packs of Rye bread. I quite like this toasted. I cut up a plastic bag from the bran flakes and used it to separate the slices. 

Oh dear, I'm falling asleep here, I'd better go. Thanks for popping in, we'll catch up soon.
Toodle pip

Not long now.

Not long now.

experimental food garden

Hello.  Ooooh look. My shed is on the Channel 4 trailer for Shed of the Year, starting on Friday.



It's also in the TV guide of the Mail. Thank you to the readers who told me about it, my friend gave me her copy.

I took some more photo's today, the Summer House looks lovely now there are flowers in the beds.

I have painted this frame for the new picture, just need to put it together now. I love this colour.

I found two courgettes on my doorstep when I returned from town yesterday, that was a nice surprise. Don't know who left them. People round here know me, ha ha. I already had some cooked pasta so I put it in a pan with some oil, a chopped courgette and some frozen sweetcorn, with garlic and veg granules, and this is the result. A quick and tasty cheap lunch.

Thank you to Nikki for the mesh fruit bags. I am getting on with that picture now, it's looking good.

Thanks for popping in, we'll catch up soon.
Toodle pip.

Out of date? Not a problem.

Out of date? Not a problem.

experimental food make do and mend vegetarian

Hello. That's another little job done with a handy tester pot of paint. I have a collection now of these colourful pots. It all helps to brighten up the garden. 

No, not a packet of brains, or a bag of string. I can get vacuum pack noodles from the Cash and Carry, four of these for 30p. they are out of date of course, but that's not a problem. They're handy for knocking up a quick meal.

I've just scoffed this, it will keep me going until my next meal at around 5 or 6 pm. Sliced mushrooms, tail end of a cucumber, handful of baby spinach, cooked in oil for a few minutes. Add spices and a packet of noodles, and cook for a few minutes more. Blimey, I'm stuffed.

I need to go to town now so I'll buzz off. we'll catch up soon.
Toodle pip.

Blood and guts, yum yum ;o)

Blood and guts, yum yum ;o)

cats experimental food garden growing flowers vegetarian

Hello. Bit of a mixed bag tonight. Couldn't resist taking a photo of Mayze snuggled up on my bed this morning. I was up at 6am and she immediately jumps onto it and makes a nest in the duvet. The sun shines through the window and she is in heaven. What a cutie. 

What do you think of this meal I had at lunchtime then? looks pretty gruesome, doesn't it, all blood and guts, ha ha. I had half a tub of chopped onions, and tub of spiraled beetroot, yellow stickers to use up. I don't know whey they call it spaghetti. Cook in a pan with some oil, add water, then add cheap noodles. Chuck in some spices and cook a bit longer. Actually it doesn't taste too bad, there is some left for tomorrow.

Things are growing in the raised beds, not sure if they are flowers or weeds. I have stuck a few plastic flowers in there to add a bit of colour.

I have three of these little trees, found them in the wheelie bins in the churchyard. Such a shame that people throw them away. They are sprouting green tips, so it looks like they might survive.

I'm taking three of the crafty ladies to the Scrapstore in the morning. I don't particularly need anything, but I bet the temptation to fill a basket for £5 will be too much to ignore. I like a mooch.

Hows the walking going everyone? The target for the end of May is 415 miles if you are on track. Don't worry if you are a long way off that, just keep walking. I shall be hitting 400 tomorrow. Although I did extra walking while I was away, I have missed five days in May up to now. I'll try not to miss any more.

Thanks for popping in. We'll catch up soon. Toodle pip