Reverse Advent & Do More Good!

I never make new year resolutions as a rule because I know I will be doomed to failure.  As soon as I put pressure on myself to lose weight or something I fail at the first fence.  I do, however, have a new mantra for 2016 which will be

Do More Good!

 

I am again taking part in the Reverse Advent challenge.  I enjoyed taking part last December and intended blogging about it this year but another blogger mentioned that she thought it 'show offy' so it put me off.  Now I find she is putting up photos of her items anyway.  Oh bug*er, I should have gone ahead and been 'show offy'.  Anyway, 6 items so far have been dispatched to the CS and I have given extra to the local food bank. Another bag of items will go to the CS today.

 

 

To 'Do More Good' I needed to find a recipient for my handmade goods and I have found a lovely lady at the local Hospice CS who is delighted to accept my baby knitting.  One of her volunteers gathers all the new hand knits and sells them at craft stalls throughout the year as they can get more money for them that way.  I took in a bag of baby tops and hats and she was very pleased with them.  More will be knitted for them once I finish my new winter cardigan...I have lots of small balls in my stash which I need to sort out... and I have a quantity of my handmade cards to donate today too.

Is anyone else doing the Reverse Advent?

Changing the subject completely, I can hear the rain lashing down so I expect there to be some flooding on the local roads again :/  I have to go out to take dear FiL shopping but that's nothing compared to what some people are facing  My heart aches for the people in Cumbria who have lost all their possessions yet again in the terrible floods. The TV footage shows the sheer devastation caused by the water breaching the flood defences. It makes me feel so helpless for them....

Stay safe everyone x

PS I'll make the draw for the notebook giveaway first thing tomorrow so if you're interested, get your comment in quickly :)
 

Rain, Boobs and a Giveaway.

The rain here has stopped at last.  Heavy driving rain all Friday night turned into drizzle which persisted on and off all over the weekend. Consequently everywhere feels damp and dismal but we are so much luckier than in other areas where the flooding has been horrendous, and is still not over.  I have been told that the flood defences in Bewdley have been put into place and the river is rising scarily fast.  Recent high winds have brought down trees and branches which are now in the river and travelling downstream where they will end up stuck at bridges making the angry water rise even higher in places.  What a nightmare....

On Friday I had my triennial boob squashing session at the local hospital.  I dread it.  I know some women aren't bothered by it but I find it quite painful when they do the 'side to side' image.  Even now, 3 days later, I have an ache on one side which kept waking me up last night.  I know it's absolutely necessary, so do attend every 3 years. My mum survived breast cancer, my cousin didn't so I really do need to be checked regularly.  I can't heave a sigh of relief yet as the results take about 3 weeks but I must put it out of my mind until the letter plops onto the mat.

A Giveaway

I promised a giveaway and here it is; a set of 3 notebooks with lovely suede feel covers.  The largest A5 size has plain paper, the middle one squared paper and the small one lined paper.

If you would like them for yourself or to give as a gift just leave a comment to that effect and I'll make the draw on Friday next (11th Dec) then they should arrive before Christmas.

I still can't get my camera app to work on the PC so I uploaded the photo above from a tablet.  It has to be Windows 10 which is the problem...

Have a lovely day everyone x

Sincere Apologies

Hi everyone,

My sincere apologies for the sudden disappearance of my blog.  I wanted to change it around and refresh the whole thing but messed it up so had to take it down instead, then I couldn't get it to work properly in order to put it back.  OH has upgraded to Windows 10 and now my camera app refuses to work and I simply cannot download any photos :(   I despair at technology sometimes...

I can continue to read other blogs but my posts will be dull in the extreme if I can't use photos.
Please bear with me....

Thanks so much for popping in x

On MOT's and I'm a Celebrity...

My car passed it's MOT with flying colours, thankfully, so it only cost the £29 test fee and I got a complimentary wash and vac and a winter 'Health Check' too.  I decided to wait for it to be done and enjoyed over an hour relaxing on a comfy sofa, reading my kindle and sipping a free hot chocolate.  Simple pleasures ;)
Now my car has been checked and I know it's ready for winter, that's another item ticked off my list....

1* Christmas gifts bought and wrapped...check!

 

2* Car examined and MOT'd....check!

 

I now need to finish making my cards, write them and pop the necessary few in the December post.  I hand deliver as many as possible, partly to save on postage but also because some of my creations are quite thick (being 3D) and are a bit fragile to trust to the post.  Then my attentions will turn to food and stocking up the freezer in earnest in case we get bad weather.  I'm sure we wouldn't actually starve but I like to make sure!

 

Changing the subject completely, is anyone watching I'm a Celebrity...Get me Out of here? I don't know why but I find it strangely fascinating and can't drag myself away.  Last night I watched in fascinated horror as the argument unfolded between Lady C and the rest of the camp.  Is that woman for real? A lady she is definitely not! I know the contestants play to the camera but she spits venom whenever possible.  How horrible....

 

It's dark and dismal this morning but we need to take dear FiL shopping so I must get a wriggle on.

 

Have a good day everyone x

 

 



Thrifty Carrots, Warming Food and a Bargain Cake

When I did the food shopping yesterday I needed some carrots. When the weather turns cold I think about making soup, veggie casseroles and sausages with mash and gravy. Carrots are essential . There were some very pretty ones with lovely bright green fronds on the top but at £1 for 6 small carrots I left them on the shelf and bought these.....

They are certainly not pretty but they come from the UK and will taste delicious once cut up and cooked, one is broken but I will simply use that one first.  At 35p for 1kg...a bargain!

I also wanted to stock up with onions, another essential for hotpots. 1kg for 55p also UK grown...

I had a £5 Morrisons voucher from the loyalty card and used it to buy this lovely Christmas cake which was priced at exactly £5 and so FREE to me :)  I used to make my own cake but they are so rich that we usually eat a slice on Christmas or Boxing day and then have had enough. It's just not worth making one.  This one will be shared... half to my DD, a big slice to FiL and the rest for us two to add yet another inch to our waistbands ;)

Whilst waiting in the queue to pay, I discovered another coupon in my purse for £4 off a £40 shop.  I didn't think I would spend enough to use it but with a bottle of wine to add to the wine rack for Christmas, the cake and some cans of cider for DH (for which he paid me) I reached the target. The total came to £53.83 but I had coupons worth £10.80 making the final total £43.03. OH gave me the £5.80 he owed me bringing the shopping down to £37.23 I was really pleased with that as it included a large box of washing powder as well as some bits and pieces to stock the freezer up with.

A meal plan has been prepared for next week so I shouldn't need to buy much more, perhaps some bread and milk at the weekend.

Now that Mr M has changed the criteria for their loyalty cards I don't think I will be getting so many points, and vouchers will be few and far between.  Does anyone else have a card and do you think the new system will be better or worse?

Anyway, must dash as I need to take my little car for it's MOT.  It will cost £29 to get it done and I really hope it will not need any work.  It was treated to 2 new tyres not so long ago so I live in hope!  It rained heavily all last night so there should be no frost to scrape off the windscreen, thankfully.

Catch up later, have a great day x

A Frosty Morning, A Birthday Cake, and Christmas Preparations

We have our first serious frost this morning, everything looks cold and sparkling and fresh.  It's lovely seeing it through the window from my warm living room but I need to go food shopping later on so I will definitely need to wrap up warmly.  I think I will leave it a while until the streets are aired :)

Since I last posted (crikey.... 3 weeks ago) I have been taking things a bit more slowly but I have bought and wrapped all my Christmas gifts, managing to buy things I know the recipients wanted and even having £3 left of my budget too, which is marvellous. There seems to be quite a lot but everything was bought at a discount from various stores....

On the 1st of November it was my birthday and I was really pleased to be given a voucher from Morrisons, along with my change, for a free bunch of flowers. I didn't spend it right away but waited until 2 weeks later when I felt a bit better.  I could choose something up to the value of £2 so I chose these.  They are still going strong after 9 days. Aren't they a lovely cheerful colour.....

I share my birthday with my son in law so DD invited me to Sunday lunch on the very day and brought out this...

The candle plays 'Happy Birthday' !! Now I have only ever had a birthday cake once before in my whole life so to have one at the age of 66 is wonderful, even if I did have to share it...lol...it was delicious too.....

There are just over 4 weeks left until Christmas so I need to get a wriggle on and finish making my Christmas cards, especially the ones which need to be posted.  They need to be tackled this week, I think.  I have made a start on giving the house an extra tidy too. The fridge/freezer has been turned off, defrosted, cleaned thoroughly and is now back on ready for the winter stores of food in case we get any snow.  My feet seem to go off in different directions the minute I try to walk in snow so I need to be prepared ( and, yes, I was a Girl Guide once!)

I am planning a giveaway in the next few days so watch this space...

Have a lovely day everyone x

Life Getting In The Way

It has been ages since I last posted, for which I apologise to anyone waiting for my input :)  but life just keeps getting in the way.  My eye is still very uncomfortable although I am hoping the issue will eventually resolve itself but with other issues surfacing almost on a daily basis I am finding it too much of a chore to keep my blog going.

Please bear with me. I will continue to read and comment occasionally on other blogs I follow and I hope to be back again soon ...

Take care all of you x