'#Project 365 7th-13th August 2022

Sunday 7th August

I went out with Craig and Penny for a walk in the woods as I needed a break from the housework. Penny loves being off the lead and free to roam so places away from the road like woods are ideal.

Monday 8th August 

 It was my turn to take cakes to the W.I meeting so I asked Emma to make a batch of brownies as out and would not be back in time to make them ready for tomorrow.

Tuesday 9th August

I saw these flowers outside the hall where we have our W.I meeting and just thought how much they looked like fried eggs. I have no idea what type of flowers they really are. If any one knows then please let me know in the comments.

Wednesday 10h August

I have never seen this type of butterfly before so I just had to get a picture. Unfortunately it was resting on something that wasn't so pleasant. Yuck!!

Thursday 11th August

It was the first day of the audit at work and the first real day of the heatwave. I had craft group at my nearest W.I where we are making decorations to go on a Christmas tree which will be auctioned off for Francis House. We have decided to go with a Royal theme and this is part of my contribution. There was another seven and I am going to attempt to make crowns out of seed beads. Wish me luck.

Friday 12th August

As it was too hot to cook we decided to go to Costco and order pizza. As we were waiting we had a look around and I really wanted to get this Christmas decoration. Unfortunately, Craig wouldn't let me. Maybe a return visit on my own might be in the near future.

Saturday 13th August

                       

We put this cooling vest on Penny and kept her out of the sun. Like me she isn't a fan of the heat or the sun.

I hope you all are well and didn't let the heat get too you too much.

Happy Homemaker Monday / Menu Plan 8th-14th August

 

I have a busy week in work this week preparing for an audit and I am also out three evenings this week with various W.I. activities. I am not looking forward to the heatwave but at least being in work means that I will be cool as the office is always about 10 degrees centigrade lower than it is outside and we do not have air conditioning. It is great in the summer but not so much in the winter.

Weather

Menu Plan

As things are busy I am keeping it quick and simple this week

Monday -Spaghetti Bolognese

Tuesday - Chicken Fajita Bake

Wednesday -Sausage and Mash

Thursday - Homemade Turkey burgers and Salad

Friday - Smoked Haddock and Pea Risotto

Saturday -Curried Mince Beef (we didn't have it last Saturday)

Sunday -Visiting friends and eating with them.

Looking Forward to

• Seeing our friends on Sunday. They live about 30 miles away so we don't see them as often as we would like to.
• Finishing my travel journal for Colorado
• The weekend knowing that the audit is over.

On my To-Do List

• We are still having issues with wasps hanging around so I have finally persuaded Craig to get the professionals in to sort it out so I will have to arrange the visit
• It is my turn to make a cake for the W.I meeting so that will need to be done this evening ready for tomorrow.
• I have ordered my food shop to collect today so I mustn't forget to do that.
• Now I have sorted out the garage and made a laundry area I want a fun sign to put in there along with a lost socks sign pegboard.

Inspiration

I have chosen this not only for helping me with my weight loss but also as a general motivator for helping me get things done when I am feel like I am struggling.

I hope you all have a good week.

Project 365 -1st -6th August

Monday 1st August- The towel cupboard needed to be organised and some old and worn out towels taken out to use as rags. This picture is the 'after'

Tuesday 2nd August - A trip to Ikea for a storage unit also meant other items were purchased including food bags, drawer/shelf liners, a lazy susan, a travel cutlery set (it is a nightmare trying to find forks at work) and some biscuits.

Wednesday 3rd August - my first tomato. I am so proud that I have managed to nurture a plant to produce something that we can eat. Normally I don't keep anything alive long enough.

Thursday 4th August-Traced and cut out the pattern pieces for my next sewing project, though I have no idea when I might be able to do anymore on it at the moment.

Friday 5th August- Finally getting to see 'Six, The Musical'. It is the 5th attempt to see it, the first four having been cancelled due to Covid over the last two years. I really enjoyed it.

Satruday 6th August.- Completed my first week at Slimming World and lost 3 1/2 lbs which is 2 more than I was expecting. So pleased and proud of myself. 

Happy Homemaker Monday /Menu Plan 1st August

 

We have had a weekend of trying to sort out why wasps were 'hanging' around the front bedroom and the bathroom window at the back of the house. Craig went up to investigate and used a wasp nest killer spray and sealed the gaps where they were possibly getting into the house so hopefully that will solve the problem.

To Do

• Sort out kitchen cupboard where plates, dishes and drink cups are stored
• Weed front garden
• Re-pot mint and cola plants
• Cut out pattern and fabric for wrap dress

On my reading pile

The Book Club choice this month is The Girls by Lisa Jewell so that is a must read. On my personal list I have another Agatha Raisin book -Pushing up Daisies  and Atomic Habits by James Clear.

On my craft Pile

I recently bought some fabric to make a skirt but have decided to use it for a wrap dress instead so I want to make that this month. I have also got a knitted dishcloth and a Harry Potter hat to finish this month as well.

On the Menu

I have joined Slimming World to try and lose the weight that has crept on over the past couple of years so not only am I planning dinners but also breakfast and lunches but I will not bore you with those. I will just stick to dinners

Monday - Salmon, new potatoes, broccoli, peas and green beans

Tuesday -Stuffed peppers

Wednesday - Steak with sweet potato wedges and roasted tomatoes

Thursday - KFC fakeaway

Friday - Pork steaks with carrot and swede mash, green beans and gravy

Saturday -Curried Mince beef and rice

Sunday -Meal out with Craig's Masonic Lodge

Looking Forward to this week

After being cancelled 4 times due to Covid we are finally going to see 'Six-The Musical' which is based on the wives of Henry VIII presented as a pop concert with the Queens taking it in turns telling their story to see who suffered the most at Henry's hands and should be the group's lead singer. This was one Emma wanted to desperately see and was so frustrated at it being cancelled all the time she ended up going to see it when she was in London last summer. She is still coming with me as she loved it and wants to see it agian.

#Project 365 -24th July to 30th July

 For some time I have been thinking about joining in with this link as both a way of recording something daily and also because I enjoy seeing what other people have been doing in the link up. I decided that this week I would take the plunge as it seemed as good a time as any so here goes.

Sunday 24th July

The state of the garage had been getting on my nerves for a long time and over the weekend I cleared it all out, got rid of a load of things I no longer needed, bought new shelves and re-organised almost everything (the camping equipment is my husband's responsibility as I would get rid of it all hehe!). By clearing it all it means that I now have space to be able to dry my washing if needed without it getting in the way anywhere else.

Monday 25th July

I have been working on this quilt at the quilting group for several years. It has all been hand sewn which is why it has taken so long. There is still a lot to do but I am pleased to have got this far with it.

Tuesday 26th July

I had struggled to find anything to properly clean my fire surround and there was quite a lot of tarnish build up. I found some Bar Keepers Friend powder so I decided to give that a go after seeing some videos of other people using it. It brought the surround back to gleaming with very little effort on my part.

Wednesday 27th July

I passed my Nebosh exam in April and it has taken this long to get my certificate but it finally arrived. It is a nationally recognised entry level  health and safety qualification in the UK. My boss asked me to do it and I wonder what he has planned for me as a result.

Thursday 28th July

It is my Brother in Law's birthday so we went to a Thai Buffet nearby.

Friday 29th July

Book club tonight and this was the book we were discussing. It was okay. Emma already had the book so it saved me some money. She enjoyed it more than I did.

Saturday 30th July

I wanted to do a travel journal for our holiday in Colorado. I did work on it whilst I was away but could not print out the photos so decided to do some work on it today.

Body Shop and Book Haul

 Craig had been feeling a bit tired yesterday but he did not want to fall asleep too early so he asked me if I wanted to go to the Trafford Centre and get a coffee and have a look around with him. I only normally go to the Trafford Centre (or Trauma Centre as I call it) when I have to and I just go in and out to the shops I need to as I find it too crowded for my liking. However as it was a midweek evening and I needed some moisturiser I agreed to go with him. The kids also decided to come along as well ( especially as they knew they would get a drink out of it).

As we weren't going for anything specific Emma dragged us into her favourite shop, Waterstones. I like reading but generally don't buy books from Waterstones. However, I thought I would see if they had any Agatha Raisin books in that I didn't have. They did and I ended up getting two that I knew for definite that I didn't have.

This one also caught my eye.

This has been a long running radio programme on Radio 4 that I have never been able to listen to but have been aware of and would listen to if I could. I decided to buy the book to see what it was all about and get an idea of why it had been running for such a long time. I always imagined it to be a bit like a radio version of Emmerdale. I guess I will find out.

As I needed some moisturiser I went to the Body Shop whilst Craig and the kids went into Game and Apple. I picked up the moisturiser I wanted and then had a look around. I was initially looking at the Trinny London Vitamin C range but wasn't so keen on the price and after looking around saw this one instead. I like it and I can see a difference in my skin since using it.

 I decided to get some peppermint foot lotion as my feet get really dry and I used to use it a lot many years ago when it used to come in a bottle.

I also looked at the perfumes they now sell as I wanted to try something new and use it for work. When I was a teenager I used to buy the Dewberry perfume which was so overpowering. Nowadays I prefer something a little more subtle for daytime use so ended up buying the White Musk Free perfume.

 As there was a promotion on and I spent over £30 I was entitled to a free gift which was very gratefully received.

I am not a great fan of shopping like this normally and I don't do it that often. I am finding that as I get older I am less interested in buying and more interested in getting rid of stuff so it was unusual for me to do this spontaneously.  We did also go for a coffee, though Craig was the only one to actually get a coffee.

Do you ever have spontaneous shopping trips?

Happy Homemaker Monday / Menu Plan 25th July 2022

 

It has been such a long time since I posted a menu plan. I hadn’t really been doing a menu plan every week as I had just lost any enthusiasm for cooking and planning. I now realise it was because I needed a holiday more than I thought. I now feel motivated and energized to get back to doing the things that I need and want to, including blogging.

This weekend was the start. Since the start of the year I have been frustrated with how quickly the garage gets messed up and you end up climbing over things to get to what you want. Whilst I was on holiday I decided that I would do a proper declutter, especially after seeing how organized my friends house was in Colorado. I was going to get rid of things that I thought I needed but seeing as though they had been in the garage for years then I obviously did not. I also needed a better storage system so that things did not get piled up on top of each other. And that is exactly what I did. I spent Saturday afternoon going through everything and getting rid of the items I didn’t need or want. On Sunday we went to Costco and bought an industrial strength shelving unit which I then assembled and put the remaining items on. There was also a desk in there that I was reluctant to get rid of so I repurposed it by putting it over the washing machine and tumble dryer so I now have an area to store my washing liquids and fold laundry once it is dry. Clearing the garage also now gives me a space to be able to dry the washing when it is too wet to put on the washing line.

Talking of washing;

 On my to do list

After two weeks away with a house/dog sitter staying and then a week of recovering from jet lag and post holiday blues, I feel that my house needs a good clean. I am not sure how much I am going to be able to get done during the week as I am out three evenings this week so the deep cleaning may have to wait until the weekend.

 In my Craft basket

 The list of projects I want to do increases weekly but I am currently working on a Harry Potter hat for my nephew in Gryfinddor colours and a knitted dishcloth as I actually prefer the ones I have knitted to the ones I have bought.

 On the menu

 Monday – Sausage, egg and chips

Tuesday – fresh Soup and crusty bread

Wednesday -Taco Pasta Bake

Thursday -Thai Buffet (celebrating BIL’s birthday)

Friday – Homemade fish and chips

Saturday – Garlic Pork chops in a creamy mushroom sauce

Sunday – Roast dinner with neighbours

Looking forward to this week

Going out for the Thai buffet as I have never been to a Thai buffet before or really eaten much Thai food. I have Book Club on Friday and I am looking forward to having a good chat with the ladies there. Having dinner with the neighbours will also be fun as we get on really well with them and it is a thank you for helping to look after our dog whilst we were away.

 

It feels good to be back and I hope to be able to catch up with other blogs that I have fallen behind with.

Deborah