Weekend Bits

Well, that's it, the weekend's over, Monday's looming once again. I don't actually mind Mondays though,new week,new start and all that. It seems almost obligatory to hate Mondays these days and people look at you like you're a bit odd if you start the week with a smile, which seems a bit sad really.

Right, what have I done this weekend? Well, the runner beans are planted, I've got two different varieties in the garden and I'm looking forward to seeing them pop up :o) We went down to the allotment yesterday morning to check on everything and it's all looking good, all the stuff we've got planted is coming up nicely, all green and healthy-looking. We've got two allotments, on one of them we've got raised beds. We've got strawberries in one of them and herbs in another. Last year we had courgettes in one of them and they did really well. We've also got raspberries, goji berries and blueberries. Oh, and rhubarb - which is looking very good. My little frog pond which I put in last year needs a good clear out, it's not looking too good at the moment so I'll have to get down there one day this week if the weather's ok and sort it out.

I went to Haverfordwest yesterday afternoon to do a bit of shopping. Went to the pound shop and bought some indoor plant food, a couple of spray bottles and a few other bits and pieces, also bought a fiver's worth of savings stamps at Morrisons and put another fiver on my Wilkinson's saver card.

Today we did the food shopping for the week. I've stocked up on all the flours and bought a bag of oatmeal for baking, so I'll have a bread making day sometime this week. I did a load of oatmeal biscuits the other day but they don't last long, lol - they're too nice! I'll have to make some more.

I gave the bedroom a good sort out tonight. I'm trying to cut the clutter and I'm getting rid of anything I don't use, so I've chucked the useless bits in the bin and put some clothes to one side for the charity shop. The bedroom looks a lot tidier now and it even looks a bit bigger now that I've got rid of the junk!

I bought a bottle of washing up liquid today from Aldi's, it cost 69p and it will last me for about two months, maybe a bit longer. I dilute it and get around five and a half bottles out of it and I only use a little bit at a time so it lasts for ages - to think I used to use a whole, undiluted bottle each week! Actually I just did a quick calculation and I used to spend £35.88 per year on washing up liquid, and now I will spend approx. £4.14 - a saving of £31.74 - wow!! Just goes to show that these little savings really do add up! :o)

Learning Something New

'If you don't use it, you lose it'. That's what they say, right? So this week I decided to use my brain and try something new. My son uses photoshop and he's been on at me for ages to have a go, so I thought I'd give it a try! I found it quite confusing - all those icons! I thought I'd never get my head around it all but I persevered and slowly began to pick it up. I'm still very slow but at least I've made a start. Here's my first creation... It's very basic but you have to walk before you can run!! :o)



The weather's been crap again today so I just pottered around the house before going to work this afternoon. BORING! I hope it brightens up soon - the trees outside are still looking very bare, they should be greening up by now.

My mission for the next couple of weeks is to sort out all my junk and get rid of it - I've really got far too much stuff and it's starting to get on my nerves. I've got a whole shed full of hobby stuff that I don't use any more, but whenever I start to sort through it, I think it's too good to throw away! Then I think that maybe I'll start using it again. I've got to get out of this mindset - it's like those hoarders that are on tele, I can understand how they feel when they say they can't bring themselves to chuck stuff out. Thankfully I'm not that bad - my hoard hasn't found its way into the house yet, but my shed would look a whole lot better without that lot in there. I've got a dolls house in there which needs a clean up and a coat of paint, I think I'll do that and see if I can sell it, and if I can't I'll give it away, probably put it on freecycle, it's a shame for it just to be sitting in the shed doing nothing.

SUNSHINE!!!!

I'm blogging a bit earlier than usual tonight because I'm planning to have a long soak in the bath later tonight and give myself a pedicure in readiness for the long days of Summer (I live in hope).

Me and Nigel spent the morning on the allotment doing some planting and weeding, it was sooooo lovely to get down there in the sunshine! Nigel's been doing bits and pieces whenever the weather's been good enough but it's been so cold up until now that it's slowed everything up. There were a few people there today, making the most of the nice weather. I hope it stays like this now! I was going to take some pictures down there but silly me left the memory card in the computer!

When we got home I made a pan of vegetable soup and a chive and tomato loaf - it was meant to be a cheese and chive loaf but I discovered we had no cheese so I had to improvise. I'm glad I did because it turned out lovely - I'll be making it again!! I made a plain loaf too, as we were running low on bread and I didn't fancy going to the shops.

I decided to start clearing out the cold frame in the garden, it's been really neglected since last year because we put all out effort into getting the allotment going and our poor garden suffered because of it. Anyway, I thought I'd get it sorted out because it's a bit of extra growing space and it's a pity to waste it, I'll use it as a little raised bed. It was in a right state and full of wildlife - the kind with eight legs!! Here we have the 'before' picture. What a mess!



I've cleared it out and it's starting to look better - I'll be able to get some things planted in there soon :o)



Oh, I took the fruit water with tme to the allotment today, and it was lush! :o)

Quick update on today's makes.

Just a quick post tonight before I go up to bed. It's been a gorgeous sunny day, probably the best of the year so far, although the wind is still a bit chilly. Mustn't grumble though, it's been lovely to see the sun in a clear blue sky. I managed to get a good shot of the moon at about 6.30 this evening - I altered the brightness and contrast a bit though and then made it black and white, to show more detail.



Earlier I made a little pot of deodorant using 3 tablespoons of arrowroot powder, 1 tablespoon of baking soda, 2 tablespoons coconut oil and 10 drops of lemon oil. It's lovely! :o)





I also made some fruit-infused water to drink tomorrow morning. Lime, kiwi and orange - can't wait to try it! So simple - I've been meaning to do it for weeks but I never got round to it, which is a bit daft because I've always got fruit in the house. Ah well, better late than never, lol!



I made a bread pudding, too, out of a stale loaf which I was going to throw away. There was still a bit left over so I put in the food processor and made a batch of breadcrumbs! :oD

Damn Dentist!

Today has been a complete disaster - I had an appointment at the dentist which is 40 miles away. I set off an hour and a half before I was due to be there because the traffic can be bloody slow on that particular route and I wanted to give myself plenty of time. Anyway, the traffic was slow as usual but I managed to get there just in time, only to be told that my appointment had been cancelled due to unforeseen circumstances! Well, after driving 40 miles in shit traffic, not to mention taking the afternoon off work and losing a day's pay, I was pretty pissed off. I mean, come on - can't they use a phone? Why didn't they just call me and tell me the appointment was off? I was mad as hell and I made sure they knew it. Oh, they were full of apologies, but what use was that? The treatment I needed was already three weeks overdue because of a previous cock-up on their part, and now I've got to wait yet another two weeks to get it done. I am NOT a happy bunny!

A bit of baking and a trip to the charity shop

Blimey -I haven't posted anything for a while, so I'd better jot something down while I'm in the mood! I've been doing quite a bit of baking lately, mostly soda bread and biscuits, lol (cheap and easy). Soda bread is a recent discovery, I didn't realise how easy it is to make, silly me, but after my success with a cheese and onion one, there's no stopping me! Oh, and biscuits, too - I made the MOST delicious oatmeal, chocolate and raisin biccies in the entire WORLD!!!! I made about twenty of them and they were gone in two days! (no, I didn't pig out on the lot - there's three of us here so it was a joint pig-out!) Here they are, or rather, here they WERE :o)






Today I bought a lovely Summery shopping basket from a charity shop, it was only £3.00 and I LOVE the colour, it's so cheerful! Charity shops are great, I love to have a rummage around them to see what I can find!! :o)