Samhain

I'm sat here dressed in black complete with witches hat, mask & besom, we have 2 tubs of sweets ready for the trick or treaters. We usually get quite a lot but we've never had any trouble, they only seem to knock if there is a sign outside, we have a carved, lit pumpkin hanging by the door. The local children seem to be getting used to me answering the door in my witches outfit, last year some of them seemed scared but not this year.

Yet another trip to the Dr's this morning, he says I'm a pain in the bum, literally, I like a Dr with a sense of humour. He tells me that the colonoscopy I had was so thorough that they'd been able to count my fillings! Another set of results, they point to one thing but nothing else does, yet more tests, the results in a week. The list of things I don't have is growing, if there is nothing conclusive next Friday we are considering the 'We don't know what it is but it ain't going to kill me soon ' approach.

Cheap & Cheerful

We like to eat home made soup at least once a week and I often make a batch to use for lunch, it's cheap & filling especially if I can use our own veg but even with bought veg it's still a cheap meal.

It's taken me a while to convince my L&M to try home made soup, but now he likes it.

I make all my soups the same way, I start by softening some chopped onion in a little oil or butter & then add the other ingredients.

Here are some of my most used recipes.

Simple soup, one onion, one carrot & one potato, one of the cheapest.

Leek & potato is hubby's favourite, we grow leek & potatoes.

Roasted tomato & red pepper, again very cheap when the ingredients are home grown.

Mushroom if I can get a punnet of mushrooms cheap enough, usually I pay about 40p

Broccoli & Stilton is my favourite, I use broccoli stalks & any cheese I have as long as some of the cheese is Stilton, I make it after Christmas as I usually have some cheese leftover from a cheese board.

Today I tried Kings soup, leek & oatmeal, the recipe can be found on Elaine's blog, Mortgage free in Three

I'm also going to make some Cullen Skink as I think hubby would like it, I use the BBC recipe.

Funny things you hear

What with the wedding reception & other hotel guests I overheard some funny conversations at the weekend.

There was the couple sat in the bar, the man obviously drunk & was singing what sounded like some sort of Irish lament.
Wife hissing through gritted teeth, 'Will you stop singing that godawful song You always sing it when you're drunk!'
Husband, 'I'm not drunk, I just want to sing this song.
Wife 'Why this bloody song it's horrible'
Husband 'It's an Irish lament, it's part of my heritage'
Wife 'Don't talk bollocks, you're fecking Jamaican, not Irish'

At the breakfast table a couple with 4 small boys
'Mum 'But they had a good time'
Dad 'I know they did, but you told me Legoland was in Bristol!'
Mum 'But you won't travel any farther from Cardiff, so I had to lie!

Guest 1 'Is Martin coming later?'
Guest 2 'Yes & he's bringing his girlfriend'
Guest 1 'Martin has a girlfriend, wow, what does she look like?'
Guest 2 'Like him, but in a dress!'


And finally, my L&M & I were having an 'animated discussion' just before we left for the wedding on Saturday, getting annoyed with me he put his hands on his hips & demanded 'Are you taking me seriously!'. 
I turned to look at him & replied ''Not whilst you are standing there with your flies undone!'

What fecking time do you call this

My poor L&M is still struggling, because of his sore toes & having to squeeze them into shoes for the wedding he's altered his gait. This has triggered the arthritis in his ankles & worsened the pain of his plantar fasciitis. He having great difficulty in getting around so obviously I'm helping him where ever I can, last night I got up a couple of times to help him get to the loo & get him some more painkillers.
At 4:15am I could hear the click click click of the lodger's claws as he paced the floor, he often moves from room to room during the night, but this was different he was pacing to & fro. I got up to check he was OK & he had his legs crossed, so I came downstairs to let him out in the garden. Usually he's reluctant to use the garden as a toilet but I was hoping this time he would as I really didn't want to have to get dressed & take him for a walk this early in the morning! He shot out into the garden to relieve himself, after reassuring him that he'd been a good boy, I made a cuppa & took it up for hubby, the lodger followed me upstairs & went straight back to sleep! 
Me? I'm wide awake, I've hung washing on the line & unloaded the dishwasher!

Wedding & a night in a hotel

The wedding went off well, the bride looked beautiful if 40 minutes late. The service wasn't too long there were 2 hymns & 2 readings. One of them was Corinthians 13, The gift of love, the other was I like you & I know why, by Sandol Stoddard.

The reception went off without a hitch, the food was good, salmon & prawn salad for starter, roast beef for main & profiteroles for dessert, followed by coffee & mints. There was a buffet at 9:30pm & the disco went on until 3ish, hubby & I went to bed way before that.

Our room was lovely & the bed was comfortable, we treated ourselves to a full cooked breakfast this morning as this night away was our holiday this year.

We arrived home at 9:45 this morning to a rapturous welcome from the dog we are looking after, my DD looked after him last night & left ours at 9:15 to take DGS to a party, so the dog had been alone for all of half an hour!

From pzazz to CCC

I like clothes with pzazz, that make a statement, a bold colour or unusual design, but as I buy my vlothes from charity shops my choices are limited.
I now buy my clothes according to the 3C rules

I need to be Clean, Comfortable & appropriately Covered!

Half term, woo hoo

A week off, great, I'm really looking forward to it.
We have a wedding tomorrow, & an overnight stay in the hotel where the reception is being held, it's the only way we can attend the reception as the hotel is in the middle of nowhere & I wouldn't be able to drive home in the dark afterwards. MIL & FIL are staying too, my L&M & one of his brothers have paid for the room, a birthday gift for MIL.
DGD Norah is staying Monday, I have a visitor on Tuesday, an ex colleague, it will be nice to catch up. Plus I'm having my oven cleaned professionally.
We're dog sitting until Wednesday, it's nice to have a dog around & the DGC love him to bits.
Other plans include housework, crochet, making mead & sewing, all in all a nice break from work.

Death by toenail & a companionable evening

My L&M is not a good patient, he isn't a patient patient, he doesn't watch TV, he does read his kindle but mostly he likes to be busy either at work or in the garden.

His lack of patience makes him irritable, bad tempered & inclined to nit pick, so far I have refrained from killing him but I'm not sure how long this will last.

We have had a a pleasant evening though, we were sat side by side on the sofa each looking at our favourite porn catalogues.

I have the Lakeland catalogue & my L&M has the Selco catalogue, each to his own!

Triple shit day

1) I've spent three days using the guillotine almost nonstop, today I finally got to the end of the job only to be told there is an item missing so the job will be scrapped. I've basically wasted three days because someone forgot to order something!

2) I spent an entertaining half an hour trying to explain to a TA that I couldn't print email attachments when all she had was a paper copy of the email!
I explained 4 or 5 times that I needed her to forward the email to me, she was unwilling or unable to do so.

3) I had to use my lunch break taking my L&M to the Dr's to get signed off, I don't mind, it's a two bus journey for him otherwise. But I ended the day with a thumping headache as I didn't get my lunch.

People are strange

On Friday evening I listened whilst a neighbour told a long and exciting story about something dramatic that had happened to her husband in a local car park the previous day. The story included police & ambulances & other exciting embellishments.

But it was a pack of lies, I was there for the duration, I saw her husband arrive, I saw him leave. He obviously didn't see me, nothing happened, I know this for a fact. There were no police, no ambulance, no heroic acts.

I don't know if the neighbour is lying, or if her husband lied to her, maybe their life is so boring they have to make up tales of daring & excitement.

I didn't say anything, I just looked suitably vacant & then said goodbye.

Not one but two

I asked for a lightweight vacuum cleaner for my birthday as I was finding it a struggle to lug my Henry up & down stairs.

So my beloved bought me not one but two vacuum cleaners, and the best bit, he likes them both so much he's doing the vacuuming!

Gimme a break

What a week, what with trips to hospital, my L&M's surgery, mastering the art of cleaning & dressing his wounds & then dealing with crap at work. Why oh why don't people ask my advice when they want something unusual doing. Instead of which they decide how they think the job needs doing, make a start, decide it's too much like hard work & then dump the job on me. I managed to get it all sorted, but it would be much easier if I'd done the work from the start.
I left work around 3:30, went to the Dr's to collect a repeat prescription, as usual it took 15 minutes before they tracked it down. From there I went to put petrol in my car, I opted for pay at pump & the machine failed, I got my petrol, but couldn't pay at the pump due to a computer error, neither could I pay at the kiosk as I'd requested 'pay at pump' that too a while to sort out. I went from the petrol station to DD's to collect DGD Eileen, who is staying with us tonight. When I arrived DGD Jojo was screaming her head off, the dog was going loopy & DD was trying to answer the phone & pack a bag for Eileen. I took Jojo, winded her, changed her nappy, sat with Jojo in one arm & mad dog in the other so mad dog calmed down & DD could finish what she was doing. Then I returned Jojo to DD, brought Eileen home with me, she did some gardening with my L&M & played with some of her toys & did some colouring & cutting out. I then served tea, ate tea, opened my present from my L&M (more of this tomorrow). Got a phone call from SIL, he'd gone to work without his keys & was outside his house with one of his DDs, I drove over, let them in, & then came home. Next I changed the dressing on my L&M's feet, washed Eileen's hair as she's got something sticky in it.
I put Eileen to bed, read her a story 'We're going on a bear hunt' it's her favourite. She went to sleep almost immediately after the story so I was able to come downstairs& finally put my feet up around 8:30. I'm going to do an hour's crochet before I go to bed as I need to make some blankies for some forthcoming babies.

I have a nearly cold

For the past 2 or 3 weeks I've had a nearly cold, I have a sore throat, I'm a bit snotty, my ears are drizzling & I have an irritating cough. In some ways I'd rather have a proper cold & then get over it!

I've changer the dressing on my L&M's feet, I made a reasonable job of it, his toes are weeping a bit of pus but this is normal, he is convinced he's bleeding to death!

Both my daughters visited him today bringing Get Well cards & small gifts, he was very touched. He also got to cuddle all the babies, I'm jealous.

We have one of the DGC staying over on Friday night, so that will be fun. 

Ouch

My turn to be supportive today, I took my L&M to have surgery on his toes, it should have taken 40 minutes & it actually took almost 2 hours.

He has stayed in bed today to keep his feet raised, I returned to work after dropping him home, I left him with sandwiches, a flask of tea, a packet of crisps, a packet of biscuits & a can of coke.

When I got home I made him a toasted cheese sandwich & more tea, the anaesthetic has worn of & he's dosed up with pain killers.

Tomorrow we return to have his dressing changed & for me to learn how to dress the wounds, I've been told I'll need a strong stomach.

Gotta love that man

What a wonderful way to spend the day, at the hospital! 
My L&M HATES hospitals but came with me today as I was having drops in my eyes, 5 different sorts, these leave me unable to see properly for 5 hours, I also had to visit 2 other hospital departments hence hubby's attendance to enable me to navigate my way around.

The excitement started early when my beloved noticed I was holding a carrier bag & enquired as to why I was taking a carrier bag of crap to hospital (he probably thought I was taking some crochet with me).
I explained that I was indeed taking a carrier bag of crap with me as I had stool samples in the bag!
A few minutes later he noticed I had a small handful of something light brown that I placed in a sandwich bag & tucked into my handbag. 
'Bloody hell did you just have that in your bare hands?'
'I did' I replied, showing him my hearing aids! which I was taking in to have repaired.

So 3 departments in 2 hours & then an hour to get home as there was disruption to the bus service & 2 more hours of vision problems.

Hey ho, all done now, I'm on the waiting list for treatment for my eyes, my hearing aids now work & as for the samples, I'm burying my head in the sand until I hear back!

Every Bloody Time

I received an prescription reminder via email, so I logged on to my surgery website & placed an order for a repeat prescription, it says to allow 48 hours before collecting the prescription, I left it 3 days.

I attended the surgery to collect my prescription, they could find no trace of it, this happens every time, 6 times in all & counting. They asked when I had requested the prescription as they could find no trace of my request.

I explained that I'd emailed my request & told them the date, they checked the system & sure enough, there was my request, and it had been marked as prescription printed. Another rummage in the box, but still no sign of my prescription, they then went through all the outstanding prescriptions & finally found mine, out of order, as usual.

Then I walked to the pharmacy & handed in my prescription, it would be about 20 minutes, as always, did I want to wait or come back later. I opted to return later, visited my daughter for half an hour & then I returned to the pharmacy to collect my medication. No sign of it, no trace of me putting the prescription in & no packet of pills for me to collect. I explained that I had left the prescription about 30 minutes before, another rummage in another box & eventually my prescription turned up, marked 'FILLED'. A few minutes frantic searching & my medication eventually  turned up. 

This happens in the Dr's surgery & the pharmacy every single time, every month for the last 6 months. I can't decide if it because my surname can also be used as a first name, or if none of the staff know their alphabet.

Where did it come from.

My husband does make me laugh, he's gone off to meet a friend for a drink today, he was rummaging in the cupboard for his coat & muttering about needing a new one. 

He put on a lot of weight when he gave up smoking 3 years ago & is now losing it again. He emerged from the cupboard holding a fleece

'Is this yours or mine? ' he asked.

'Not mine' I replied

'Are you sure?' 

'Yep, it's way too big to be mine'

He tried it on & it fitted really well, he put his hand in the pockets.

'Ooh look, it must be yours' he said 'there's crap in the pockets' waving a till receipt & a £10

He started to read out the  details.

'It's from the corner shop, malteasers, onion, mushrooms, it must be yours'

Then he read more, the name of the bank account, Nat West, I bank with HSBC with hardly a pause for breath he said.

'I knew it was my coat, it fits a treat' he grinned & sailed out of the door looking pleased as punch.

As for the coat, I haven't a clue, I've never seen it before, it has a very distinctive logo on it, not the sort of thing I'd buy new as it would be very expensive & not something I'd buy 2nd hand because I don't buy 2nd hand clothes for hubby as he wears a uniform to work & tends to live in his uniform for his previous job the rest of the time.

Hospital visits

I am spending Monday at the local hospital, I have to go to 3 different departments, sounds like fun doesn't it!
My L&M is booked for foot surgery on Tuesday, on Wednesday I have to go & learn how to change his dressings. I have been assured that his wounds will look so horrific that I will be unable to change his dressings, I'll wait & see.
I purchased the dressings needed from our local chemist shop, £26, & that's just for the first couple of days!

Wrong planet

This morning I had one of those conversations where I wondered what planet this person was from, it went like this.
'Is that your car parked in the front row of the car park?'
Me 'Yes it is'
'How come you always manage to get a good parking space?'
Me 'Because I get here at 7:30'
'Well I can't get up in the morning, so I don't get here to 8:30'
Me 'Oh I see'
'I think the people who get to work early should have to park in the muddy spaces, so those of us who arrive late can have some of the good parking spaces'
WTF, why should I wade across a muddy field just because she can't drag her sorry arse out of bed!

This weeks cheap food

We had a very expensive weekend thanks to a meal out with the inlaws, I'm having a very economical week foodwise to compensate.

Breakfast, Porridge
Lunch, Marmite or Peanut butter sandwiches & a handful of HG  tomatoes
Tea, Cheesy pasta bake, packet of penne pasta, 47p, pint of milk YS 15p, stale cheese from the fridge, tbs of cornflour & knob of butter, topped with breadcrumbs made from slice of old bread. Enough to last me the week, nice & cheap.

Bollocks

Well I've heard people talking bollocks many times, but yesterday I heard the biggest load of bollocks ever.
Someone asked hubby if he'd still given up smoking, he has & it's been a few years now, the same person then asked another person if they'd ever thought of giving up smoking as cigarettes are so expensive now, this was their reply.

'I don't need to give up because every 6 weeks I go somewhere nice, Berlin or Lisbon or Paris for the weekend, I buy enough cigarettes to last me 6 weeks & I save enough on tax to pay for my trip. So really I get my cigarettes for free.'

Jaw dropping

On Saturday I took a parcel in for a neighbour.
This morning, I saw her car was on her drive so I popped over to drop the parcel off.
Now I'm not a tidy person as any of my friends will attest, but ye gods, her house made even my jaw drop, it didn't smell & wasn't dirty, but it looked like a tornado had torn through it.
It reminded me of the yellow pages advert where a guy takes a girl home & pretends he's been burgled rather than admitting that his place is always like that.

Whistle Blower or Shit Stirrer

I'm all for whistle blowing if it means the vulnerable are protected, but sometimes it's just an excuse for petty spite & tale telling.
We've had one of those horrible emails round at work, you know the sort that say 'It has been brought to my attention that some members of staff are spending too much time on their mobile phones/internet'
I rarely use my mobile at work, but does than mean someone has reported me for the call I received from DD asking me to collect the DGC from school as she was in hospital, or for the call I received from the engineer to tell me he was on his way to repair one of my machines, or is it aimed at someone else? I hate the vagueness of this sort of email I'd rather I was told directly if I'd been reported. That way I could defend myself if necessary.
But then we've also had 3 recent incidences where people have been reported for 'alleged misconduct' no proof has been provided but people have been 'spoken to'. Along the lines of 'it has been alleged that 3 weeks ago you were doing xxxxx' Me? I can't remember what I was doing yesterday, never mind 3 weeks ago. I'm not sure which is worse, either way it makes for an unhappy workforce.

Drunk & disorderly

I currently wouldn't be able to pass an American sobriety test, you know, the one where you have to walk in a straight line. Yesterday I was bumping into walls as I wandered the corridors at work. Before you ask if my job has finally driven me to drink, no, I have an ear & throat infection, hence my inability to walk in a straight line. I have a sore throat, cough & sticky ears, so I'm having a lazy day today in the hope that my body will effect a rapid repair.

I have also diagnosed another problem, I don't have a solution yet, but understanding the problem is a big step forward. I get up 3 to 5 times a night to go to the toilet, I then frequently cannot get back to sleep, so I'm knackered the following day (nothing new there then). I have tried cutting down on my liquid intake during the evenings but it made no difference. I eventually realised that the more swollen my ankles were at the end of the day, the more times I was disturbed during the night. I think what is happening is that the fluid is draining away throughout the night via my kidneys & so causing the sleep disruption. I do try to walk as much as possible at work, but there are a few jobs where I stand for long periods & this is when my ankles swell. There is no way of avoiding this, the work has to be done, my ankles also swell if I sit for too long,This isn't a problem at work as I have a low seat & a foot rest, I'm also OK at home as I can alternate between sitting/standing/walking, it happens when I'm in a restaurant or pub or visiting friends  mainly because my legs dangle because I'm such a short arse.

I'm with her

Well my last post seems go have struck a chord with some people, Irene, I think I'd have to dig a hole & fill it after me to avoid people like this. I seem to be surrounded by them at work & in my neighbourhood.

As I've said, I'm pootling through making a quilt or two, I'm also crocheting a baby blanket, as always I'm doing both of these on the cheap. Mean Queen reposted a comment someone left on her blog about her quilting & how she used scraps & leftovers to make her quilts, they found this less intimidating than some blogs that list a scary & expensive amount of equipment & fabric needed before a single thread is cut.
Like Froogs I use a decent batting, I won't use polyester wadding because it threads, but for fabric, apart from some that was gifted to me I'm using old shirts & skirts & for my crochet baby blanket I'm using odd & scraps given to me.

More madness

So what do you do when you've spent all you money on trainers & makeup & you can't afford to eat without borrowing money, of course, silly question, you spend £200 on a fecking tattoo. At the same time telling people that it's not fair & some people are really lucky 'cos they have a freezer full of meat & they  can afford to eat!
And what do you do if you don't work/have never worked & you are depressed? Spend £450 on a fecking puppy! I'm all for people having a pet to cheer them up, but do you have to spend £450, especially when you already have 4 fecking dogs!