The Wise and Wonderful

We got as far as soaking and cooking the chickpeas the other day. Got waylaid with Mother...who is suffering with, amongst other things.. gallstones. She is learning the hard way to stick to the appropriate diet...naughty Mother!! lol Anyway, Junior watched her gran and got another language lesson while I hot-footed it to the pharmacy for all her meds. Believe it or not, Mother is well known (and liked) over there. Made her mark already:o))

So.....today, we managed to make the mini vegan 'cornish' pasties. They are DEELISH:o) Really, you must try.

They are basically shortcrust pastry circles (we used a wide-brimmed coffee cup as the cutter and a shop bought pack of pastry) filled with veg (obviously) consisting of sauteed chopped onion (one), grated carrot (three littlies) and potato (three medium)..with seasoning (lots of ground black pepper and Maldon sea salt). I made a samosa type mix with half of the mixture by adding chickpeas, tomato puree, a drop of water, ground cumin, coriander, paprika and chilli flakes. The pasties were baked for about 20 mins on 180C and were about three mouthfuls big...if you get what I mean...'arry?'
Vegan Pasties.

Tried making the spicy chickpeas, but I guess they're not meant to be in our house. Turned out like tasteless bullets. They need LOTS of spices if they are to hit the spot say, like Bombay Mix...sigh.....
The doomed chickpeas

Aside from cooking...there was a Christmas 'Do" at Mother's place tonight. Junior and I dutifully attended and it was actually very okay. Fun, even. We were made very welcome. The warden and her family sorted it all and will go to heaven for their kindness to the residents. The elderly do have a sense of humour and definitely tell it as it is....which is good...I suppose. Big, wide-eyed lesson for Junior! lol

I treat her well......for,.... when the time comes, she'll choose my care home. lol (One with a G Clooney or P Brosnan would be preferable!!!)..sigh:o)))
Honey Pot...wishing on a star:o))

Food Glorious Food

Sushi making is on the cards for today. And mini vegan pasties. Plus butternut squash soup. And chocolate orange brownies. And bread....and mini calzone pizzas and spag bog sauce. I'm going to try out toasted, spicy chickpeas, too. The list goes on and on.. All recipes will end up in Junior's cookery book.

We're fed up of not having anything to 'snack' on, so we're up for a Snack Making Extravaganza! Some of the goodies are destined for the freezer, but the sushi, I think, will not last the day, even if we could freeze it! lol 'Tis Junior's favourite at the mo. We don't have wasabi, so I'll have to dig out a bit of horseradish from the garden.

I've been perusing some of the American blogs and am impressed with what people can and do preserve, especially by means of canning, which I have no chance of doing here. But still, would be nice to have rows of preserved food in jars, grown from ones own garden displayed on my non-existent welsh dresser. Just wait til my Square Foot Garden takes off. lol

We're (ahem...I'm) hoping to organise the freezer. You know how it is when it all goes to pot and you can't see what you have in there for the ice!....:o) I have visions of loads of little food containers, all neatly lined up and labelled. We shall see:o))

My new mog-free craft room/office (still a tip a the mo) is also going to be trebled up as a 'warm little potting up and grow on the windowsill' place. Am fed up of running out of the tender herbs and salad leaves (and paying such high prices) so shall see how it goes.

On with it, as they say. First things first, though. Shall have to have a nice cup of tea:o))

Yay!!

Musical bedrooms, again!

Junior has decided that she'd like the little bedroom. It's next door to mine and was being used as a dumping ground, basically. It's tiny, but she says she feels snug and safe in there. Her old room is at the back of the house and she can hear next door's rabbits scratting during the night. She doesn't like the landing either, same as me. There's something about it..like you're being watched.....cue X-Files music! lol

So, there's stuff all over the place. She is 'in' and happy. Meanwhile, boxes seem to have morphed out of nowhere and have instantly been 'bagged' by the mogs. We have way too much 'sentimental' clutter (mainly my mother's stuff) so it's off to live in the garage:o)....once I find a nice strong person to help rickety old me shift it!

Upshot is that I now have a spare double bedroom....which is going to be, in part, my NEW CRAFT SPACE!! Yay!! My own office:o) Makes a change from the loo:o) Even in there I can't get any peace and quiet. lol There are lovely views of Hill Billy Land from that room. Might inspire me to make something 'different'.

Anyway, Rule No 1 for Mum's Office...........Unsupervised cats are banned!!

Meg v Min

Don't half ask for it!!

Joints are doing their usual...and now knee has chipped in. Blumming arthuritis!! Resulting in one mega bad-tempered moi!

Everything takes double...treble the time than it ordinarily would. Very frustrating and annoying.

So, it is 11.20pm. Min is pooped and wants to call it a night. Hotwater bottle is at the ready for knackered knee:o))

I hears a trill (cat language for 'Coooeee'). I hears the 'cat flap with no locks 'cos sex-mad Megan broke it' going.

Trill, trill....then growl. This means 'keep away, it's mine!!'. It is Megan's growl.....bad tempered so and so. So, oiks Meg out from under the coffee table and, true, there is another poor rodent clasped in her jaws.

Eeeek!!! I don't want another one romping around the living room, so I boots Meg out.....who was naturally growling away at me. It IS forecast Arctic weather, after all. Tough.

So, there am I. Guarding the 'cat flap with no locks 'cos sex-mad Megan broke it". Ooops,,,there it goes and oooops, there I boots her out. This goes on for a good 20 minutes. Ping pong in and out.

Ha!!! I won!!!.....said poor, pathetic Min. No chance. Turns my back and Meg whizzes in, rodent still attached to jaws. She eyes up the Laura Ashley slub sofa...then the stairs (and my bedroom door is OPEN!! Yikes!!

Eventually, my shrieking directs her back into the kitchen. Does she vie the knackered catflap. NOoooooooo.

She jumps up on the table and ceremoniously lays mouse on my new oilcloth!! Swine!!

Anyway, by now deceased mouse has been removed and a certain Megan Schooler has a mega bag on!!! (Having a 'bag on' is Yorkshire speak for mega sulk). I think she is crabby because she knows she is going to see a Mr/Ms Vet next week for 'contraception purposes'.

It is now past midnight. Shall hobble upstairs to my pit (bed).

Megan is in the kitchen... sat staring at a dish full of Whiskas biscuits...and my ears are ringing. Wonder what she's called me this time?

Nite all:o)))

Not a Prickly Problem

We were walking Cilla tonight
when we spotted our first hedgehog of the year. Was quietly trundling along (until we came along and then it hot-footed it down someone's drive).

This is the first time Junior has actually seen one 'in real life' as she puts it. She was asking me loads of questions about the creatures and I was explaining how (during my own childhood) we used to play host to a female each year. She 'borrowed' our outhouse and raised her broods there, year in/year out. They all were different in their features...and so cute. It's a shame you don't see them so much nowadays. (blumming fencing.....AND cars!!) So, the questions were a flowing and now I can feel a project coming on:o))))...and a hedgehog house being built....pronto.

Junior is very much into music at the mo. Loads of stuff on her blog..and it's so varied:o)...which is nice. She spends ages researching stuff and getting the tunes she wants.

Bedroom's a tip...still:o(

She gets the sniffing out music stuff from me. I'm always playing DJ here. Can't be pinned down to any style or genre am afraid. I like everything...except doobedoo Cleo Laine type jazz...and brass bands...and some Motown..or is that Mowtown? So.......Saturday night is usually....gooooood! The oldies sometimes are the best...but not always:o))

James Morrison & Keisha Buchanan in sidebar......Ahhhhh:o)))

If family are reading this. DON'T buy Min a karaoke machine for Crimble!!! Bad news for neighbours:o))

The advantages of having long, asbestos claws!!

Picture the scene.

Bro is down in Hill Billy Land.   Lots of 'maintenance' to do at Min's abode.  Min cannot manage due to rickety joints (bugger!!)  So, bless bro for helping out.

So, bro....not known for cooking himself up hearty meals..is resting, after having completed much in way of repair, etc.  

Min is cooking meat eater bro Aberdeen Angus humungous burgers with lime and coriander rice and veggie kebabs....followed by strawberry cheescake and has already plied bro with a glass of M & S red wine:o)  All is bliss.

Am in lounge, chatting away with bro and Junior.  Goes into kitchen to check on proceedings..ie; is burger cooked and ready?  Being health concious (!) I am grilling it.  It's huge!!...so takes a while.  

Have an electric cooker, oven with grill compartment and hob ontop.  Grill has a door that opens down and will only work if the door is down and level.

What do I find when I goes into kitchen?....but Tinkerbelle and Horrid Henry hopping up and down on the grill door.  Cat version of 'Yippee' going on....'cos they'd managed to oik out the burger from under the grill..onto the shelf and were blowing on it so they could munch as much of it as possible QUICKLY without being sussed out!!

When I spotted them,  red-handed (or is that pawed?) you could almost hear the mutual "oh crap".  

So, bro had to wait another 15 minutes for his burger (good job I had a reserve) and all the mogs enjoyed  their 'prize'.   They obviously prefer 'real meat' to Whiskas or Iams kitten food!    Bro gave them ten out of ten for ingenuity....and bravery!  lol

Was hilarious.  Serves me right.  Needless to say, when I put the reserve burger on, I did not leave the cooker for one second!!  

Tuffy Tree

Junior and I have been trying to conjure up ideas for Christmas decorations and came up with this.  We are wary of having a 'traditonal' tree... because of the tearaway mogs, so we hope they leave this one alone.

Basics of what you need.  Cut the card into a cone shape.  Double sided tape was easier to stick the edges down, 'cos it can be a bit of a fight getting them to stay put!  You could use any colour card/paper to suit your preference.  Even glue down cheaper wrapping paper onto plain card.  Anything goes.
 
You could use an old tin for a 'plant pot' but you need to weigh it down and use the dowelling as a centre trunk.  Stick it to the bottom and attach it to the inside top of the tree with double sided tape, other wise it'll wobble for England and keel over. We tried dried beans.  If you stuck to a colour theme, it could look quite posh:o)

Honey Pot inspecting!!  We decided not to use the pot at the bottom because of the weight of the chocolates and because we used a firm enough bit of card, it stands up well  enough on its own.    

Chocolate Laden 'Tree'.  You'll always be able to tell if a certain person has nicked on!  lol...  Of course Junior....not known for being a minimalist,  did a pizza job and used two thirds of the tin.    You could stick on favourite sweets...as long as they're in wrappers (if you intend them to be eaten). (we used the double sided tape to stick ours on with)   Would make a nice little hand made pressie for someone.  Made with love..and all that:o)


Junior has spent this morning sussing out the camera. She's sussed out how to use the video facility on it, which I fear is bad news. Early morning camera stuck in my unglamorous face I am not looking forward to! lol

That's My Boy!!!

Have to laugh.

With the state of things nowadays and all the tosh going on around me and the world, some people are getting their sequins in a twist for the daftest of things.. like this !

Is it me, or are JS and Jo Brand alike?  They could be twins.



 

Hope his hips don't give out and that he wins it!!  One up for the normal folk.  He might even encourage non-swollen headed J Public to have a bash.  Vote the judges off I say!!  lol

Weekend

We're babysitting brother's dog, who is a Scooby Doo lookalike, very soft, cat-pecked and blummin HUGE!!!  And he is currently howling for his buddy:o)  Very sad but cute, too, IYSWIM?  He loves my bro, who has gone to Silverstone for the day  (pressie from my niece to her car mad dad)  :o))

Today we're going to plant garlic.  I missed out last year but this time there will be no digging.  I'll plant them in empty tin cans and wire them to the back wall (to save space in my SquareFoot Garden).  Come Christmas I may dangle sparkly lights around them for added prettiness:o)

Came down yesterday to find a certain Tinkerbelle up on the lounge curtain pole, trying to figure out how to get down.   Sigh.
She looks huge on photos, but she's actually quite tiny and slender.  Still got a mean looking, don't mess with me face, even though she's a softy:o))

And, the mogs are getting really good at deleting ansaphone messages and even switching the thing off now!! Perfect PAs...eh?

The weather is the usual...wet.   So we are all cosied up here.  Heating on.  Mogs cuddled together.    Bro kindly brought some books down for Junior.  A few of his old maths books which are, surprisingly, quite interesting.  Better than the tosh you get in the shops nowadays.  So, might place these 'innocently' around the place, open and inviting for Junior to peruse:o)  lol 

Bro is Junior's favourite uncle.  He always bears gifts and they are often made by him.  Little bitty, thoughtful  things that she appreciates just 'cos they're from him.  I think he misses his daughter now that she is all grown up and living her own life hundreds of miles away.  He's the one I would trust to look after Junior if I should peg it early.   He's fun and never raises his voice or loses his temper.  A Mr Happy-Go Lucky who makes you feel safe type of fella.   They would have fun together those two...and he'd let her keep cats:o))  And he'd home ed.  Bonus!!  lol

Am trying to get on with making Christmas pressies, but it's so difficult without Junior spotting what I'm doing (some are for her).  She's started going to bed early lately which means, theoretically, that there is my timeslot for making the goodies.  Trouble is, I'm as knackered as she is at that time and so I usually nod off, too.   Bad news if I'm using the sewing machine.  Ouch!!   Can't win!!  lol  

   

4th November

 Happy Birthday, Stephen. xxx

Up there with the angels......and probably teaching them how to make cocktails:o)  And trying, unsuccessfully,  to beat my Dad at dominoes....again:o))  lol

I miss our natters. x

Jig

Seeing as I have been feeling sorry for myself lately, due to arthritic  stuff attacking the old bod and rendering me useless in certain departments, thought it might help if I got the old arse into gear and.....exercised a bit:o)    

Partner in crime...aka..Junior is up for it.  So.....we are on a dancercise routine:o)    Very technical....just means that we are to jig to certain 'tunes' every day.  Easy peasy.  Soon have all that excess flob dropping off:o)))  I shall, of course. choreograph:o))

This is reason for updated  playlist:o)

Not one to let an opportunity pass...I have, of course, been indulgent and put on pertinent tunes from my past.  All, of course, relevant to the muscles I intend to tone up!!!  (well, you have to pace yourself!!!)  Lots of chill out tunes in between the jigabout ones.  Got to watch the old muscles, and all that.

Junior has gone to bed...on time for once...in preparation.  lol

Actually, I reckon she's going to update her playlist.  Hmmm, should hazard a guess that it'll be mostly Now No 6.  She's been hinting big time for this.  Min has been hinting right back.....Santa!!!! 

Flu and Soup

We made the Butternut Squash Soup and French Bread (recipes in sidebar) today and all turned out well:o)  With the bread I'd advise to not go overboard on the water!!!   You can guess the scenario we had.  lol

Junior has succumbed to this fluey lurgy and is feeling a bit yuk, poor thing. Vick has come to the rescue, again....and rest.

So, Min has been in charge of entertaining the mogs (err, keeping them in order).  They have been well behaved to be honest, though.  Maybe they sense that Junior isn't so well and are giving her a bit of space...bless 'em.  Helps if you have the central heating on, too.  Cats love warm radiators:o)  

Tomorrow is unmangle brain day.  Must try and figure out how to upload piccies from camera to mac.  Can't see the wood for the trees at the mo.  Am pixled.   Sigh...very irritating.