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.