Willows adventure

Back to Saturday now I have the photos sorted! It was such a lovely day after the rain and wind had gone and the sky was a lovely bright blue, my hubby decided it was a great day for flying.  For the last 10 years he has been patiently waiting for the day when Willow would go with him. Saturday was the perfect day!

Not that many 10 year olds can say they had a go at flying a real areoplane!

Am I doing it right Grandad, I am concentrating very hard!

Back on the ground and I dont know who had the biggest smile.  They both had a brilliant time and all Willow could say was OMG that was awesome! Cant wait to go again!  I think hubby has gound the perfect flying buddy :-)

I was so very proud of her.

Love Karen xxx

Winner winner, chicken dinner!!!

Free veggies, what a good way to start the week and especially useful for our healthy eating regime, even the free sack will be useful in the garden.

Golden beetroot and purple carrots, a little bit more unusual than normal but they taste the same, i will probably cook the beets to have with some fish later in the week.

I wonder what kind of juice this lot would make!!

They look so pretty in the pan but when they were cooked they went really dark purple.

This was my dinner for 9ww points it was a little too much so tomorrows ding dinner is smaller and only 7ww points.

 I had 120gm chicken breast. 4 ww points

150gm mashed potato no butter or milk. 3ww points

Cabbage, carrots, brocolli, 

Celariac and butternut squash had a little spray lite oil before cooking in the oven

Gravy granules 12gm then made with the cabbage water for extra flavour. 2ww points

I am stuffed too full..... If i feel like it I will have some fruit later in the evening, and a small hot chocolate at bedtime.

It has been cold wet and very windy today so havent ventured out, a nice walk is on the cards for tomorrow.

Take care and keep warm

Karen xx

Super Sunday

After another rubbish nights sleep...still awake at 3:45 am! We woke to a cold frosty but sunny morning, perfect for a nice walk to blow the lazy Christmas cobwebs away. We took the car and parked at the Outlet Shopping centre and had a lovely brisk walk around the lake, its about a mile and a half circut not too far but nice all the same. Back at the shopping centre people were busy buying sale stuff, we ventured into M& S but soon turned round and gave it up. To be honest there was nothing I wanted or needed so we came back home and had a lovely coffee, nothing spent!!

My daughter in law invited us to share roast lamb dinner, which was gorgeous., dont meals taste nicer when family have taken time to cook for you. We always appreciate these occasions, there is nothing nicer than sitting round the table sharing home cooked food and just chatting.

Hopefully the weather will be good tomorrow so I can get the washing done and dried outside, i think a good tidy up is needed too.

Day 3 of the diet and all is good ....so far....

Take care

Karen xxxx

D day!

Todays the day the healthy eating starts. I really need to lose the weight I have gained this year, finishing work in February and leading a retirement life has finally caught up with my weight and its time to do something about it AGAIN,! I have been a Gold Member of WW since 2002 having lost almost 5.5 stones and since then have been up and down weight wise. I have all my books from my last stint at class so along with the scales and calculator I am determined to give it a good go at home.

I will be joining in with Frugal in Bucks and her Wednesday Weigh In with a few other lovely bloggers who want to shed a few pounds. Everyone will be doing what works for them, I personally like the points system of WW and shall be working with a max of 29 points but probably only using 26 as I know that will work better for my lifestyle.

I shall be weighing protien and carbs but veggies are mostly free of points as is fresh fruit which is useful for snacking. The one thing I find really helps me to keep on the straight and narrow is to track and point everything i am eating, it makes me stop and think do I really want to eat knowing I will have to write it down.

Wednesday is a good day for me to weigh in as we shop on a Thursday so that gives me chance to plan my meals a week in advance and shop accordingly.  Shopping will still be done frugally and with a strict list and budget.

I have weighed myself this morning and know my starting point, I would like to lose 2lbs for next wednesday, as its my first week it should be-achievable. I won't be giving myself huge targets as I find that too stressful so I will do this half a stone at a time.

Tomorrows job is to get the dusty treadmill up and working again and to start with a 20 minute power walk each day and see how that goes.  I have the full support of my lovely hubby as he wants to lose some weight too. 

Heres to a much slimmer and healthier 2014 ......anyone want to join in? Or sign up to Frugal in Bucks Wednesday Weigh In you are most welcome to do so.

Take care

Love Karen xx

Sorry I dont know how to put links in on my ipad yet xx

Just chillin out!

We had such a wonderful day yesterday with my family, Mum & Dad, oldest son, daughter in law and grandaughter plus their dog pepper. Santa has been extremely generous this year, lovely hubby asked him to bring me this brilliant ipad, it will take some getting used to but Im loving it already.

Our Christmas lunch was delicious, all cooked to perfection...even if I say so myself! We had lots left over so 3 meals went to parents and we ate the rest tonight.  This morning I got out the slicer and sliced up and portioned all the beef and ham and got it into the freezer for later date. The only waste we have had was some buttered bread from the Christmas eve buffet and the birds have enjoyed that. I think tomorrow we will have a nice long walk and get some much needed fresh air, we will probably have soup for lunch and a nice refreshing crunchy salad for tea, i have had enough stodge this week.

We had a bit of a tidy round and got all the pots pans and glasses back into the right cupboards then a quick whizz round with the dyson. This afternoon was spent watching tv and snoozing....just chillin out!!

I hope you have had plenty time to chill out too.

Take care

Karen xx

Merry Christmas Everyone

 I would like to wish all my lovely readers and followers a very Merry Christmas and a New Year filled with happiness.  Thank you so much for all your lovely comments throughout the past year, they mean a lot to me.  Have a wonderful time, take care and stay safe.  Love Karen xxxxx

Ready!

Just finished the last of the shopping with a very quick early morning visit to the little asda. We only needed fresh veggies fruit and salad and a few bits to tied us over to the new year. The freezers and cupboards are full to bursting which will last us many months to come. The only extra catering i will be doing is tea on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day dinner and tea for all the family, the rest of the holidays will be just the two of us. Lots of chillin out and slobbing in front of the telly planned with a couple of long walks weather permitting.

A few houseworky jobs to do this morning and a bit of visiting this afternoon, then we are totally ready for the onslaught lol.

Take care everyone

Love Karen xxx

Busy Busy!!

Thought I would share with you my latest knitting project, its a lovely shawlette just big enough to keep my shoulders nice and warm.It looks a funny shape but its so soft it just drapes nicely around my neck.

 It took me a little over a week to knit, its very simple to do.  If you can cast on and off and knit garter stitch thats all the skill you need.

I used this fabulous wool, being 4 ply natural wool its very fine and light but gives that lovely warm feeling, it was a pleasure to knit with and I'm sure it will last me many years to come. By the way it came in a hank! I remember as a child having to stand still holding out the hank of wool over my hands while my mum patiently wound it all into balls, so it had that feel good factor to start with.

 Free Veg this week from local organics farm, most of it has been used in a big stew and pan of soup, just enough left for coleslaw tomorrow. Love a freebie!!

 Woke up to the smell of fresh bread from the breadmaker this morning, if the coffee had been made too that would have been a perfect start to the day.

 I popped into the back garden yesterday to feed the birds and out of the corner of my eye I spotted this lovely primula, it just shows how mild the weather has been.....so far so good!!  It definitely cheered me up...so pretty at this time of year.

If you are dashing around the shops or supermarket or if you are having the office party, do take care on the roads, there are bound to be some idiots about who drink and drive!!

Stay safe

Love

Its beginning to feel like Christmas!!

Thats us just about ready for Christmas, big food and drink shop has been done and should last until February with the exception of fresh veggies and milk. Its really just a normal monthly shop with a few treats and a couple of bottles of wine and beers, we dont go crazy and meals will still be planned so there is no waste.

 Today was tree day, we bought this tree with a money gift a few years ago, it was from the half price sale in B&Q, its so easy to put up and is a bit like a crinoline skirt with lights on! No new decorations this year, we have more than enough.

 The garland over the fireplace is about 20 years old, its just plain and we put lights on it and then poke whatever decorations I have in the box, it usually turns out the same year in year out. The blob you can see in the mirror is me!! I think weight loss will be on the cards again in the new year!!

 I made these 2 table decorations very quickly last Friday night ready for the Coffee morning on Saturday, they are a mix of fresh and silk, at the moment they are in the cold conservatory, if they survive I will bring them into the lounge next week. Flower arranging really isn't my thing, but I think they look ok, again I used bits from down the lane and out of my box.  I did buy a block of oasis and 2 plastic dishes at a cost of £1.90.

 Its really cold and damp here in Doncaster at the moment so a nice bowl of hot Leek and Potato Soup was on the menu last night along with some homemade bread, it was really tasty and very warming.

I used 4 large leeks 4 large Potatoes half a Celeriac and a tub of ham stock with plenty of black pepper.  Peel and chop all the veggies place in a large pan and cover with stock and water. Cook until soft and blitz until smooth.  It has made 6 bowls.

 I also made this Ginger Sponge, another winter warming dish using a couple of spoons of Ginger Preserve.

For this I used 50gm butter, 50gm Sugar and 50g, SR flour with a beaten egg, mix together until creamy.  Place the jam or preserve in the bottom of the dish and top with the cake mixture.  Place in the microwave and cook on full power for 4 minutes.  Times will vary according to your microwave output, mine is 850.

Two lovely winter warmers and both freeze beautifully.

Thank you for popping by.

Christmas Fair

Sunday the 1st December and Saturday 7th December my friend and I had a Craft stall at the Christmas Fair and the Coffee Morning at our local Environment Study Centre.  Unfortunately I wasnt able to attend the one on the 1st as we were down in Devon visiting our family but my lovely friend said she would manage on  her own and didn't mind a bit trying to sell my stuff too.  We had a corner table in quite a good position with a good selection of things to sell all reasonably priced, from 5op to £5 (large snowman with the green hat), when deciding to do it we agreed to split the takings regardless of who sold what.  The table cost £5 for the Christmas Fair and nothing for the Coffee morning.

 Here are a few photos of my share of the "stuff" for sale

 Christmas Cards and Gift Wallets  £1 each

 Sewing Kit in a jar with a handmade pin cushion £3 Bag Charms £3 and Christmas Pudding chocolates for the tree 75p and £1, made with Elizabeth Shaw Mints.

 Close up of the sewing kits, they had inside. a tape measure, ribbon, thread, needles, pins, buttons and saftey pins plus a pin cushion £3.  The jars were from Ikea.

 Snowman Soup. as described in a previous post. £2

 Felt Hearts, small £1 and large £2, these were joined by my friends Gingerbreadmen, Puddings, Trees and stockings.

 Handcrafted fancy boxes full of Cadburys Roses  chocolates £3

 Tiny boxes made from the offcuts of the ones above. They were just the right size for a glass Tea light holder and candle, the green are vanilla scented and the red are festive berry. £1 each

 These were very fiddly to make with the acetate in the lids.

 Bracelets and Notepads which were left over from the Summer Fair. 50p  75p and £1

And a selection of Birthday Cards  from 50p to £1.25

 We made the grand total of £6 each lol The Christmas Fair was heaving with people who just werent spending their dosh!!  never mind, everyone was the same and at least we could have another go at the Coffee Morning............ that did better with only a few people attending we made £14 each. So for only £20 it was a lot of effort...... we did have fun making stuff though!!

I also do the refreshments for the Coffee morning and this time we had scones, Victoria Sandwich and bought Mince Pies, another lady donated a Chocolate slab cake, again it was slow and we only took £14.30, about half the normal amount. 

 I think many people are just being very careful with money at the moment, what with Christmas and the price of the next energy bills cutbacks have to be made somewhere!  Lets hope we can get back to normal after the new year and boost our study centre funds.

Thank you for popping by
Take Care

Sealed Pot Challenge 2013

Today was the day for us to open our Sealed Pot, I had delayed it a couple of days as we have been away and I still hadn't found a pot I liked.  Today we called in a B&M and found the exact pot I had been looking out for :-)  So, onto the grand opening.....

 Lets try the can opener........nope that wont do it..........

 Time for drastic action and the big knife!!

 Watch those fingers!!

 Yay!! lots of money!!

 All sorted into nice piles

 WOW!! we had an amazing £171.61..... brilliant!!

Although its a little down on last years £209 I am absolutely stunned at £171.61, with me not working and getting paid in cash, I haven't been popping the oddments from that into the tin so this is entirely from what we have saved from our pockets and by being careful with the housekeeping.  It is so worth doing and I have already started with my new tin by popping back in £11.61, the other £160 will be spent on treats for Christmas and a lovely treat of Sunday Lunch at our favourite eatery for my family.

I would like to say a huge Thank You to SFT for organizing the challenge last year and for keeping it going for 2014.  If you would like to join in just hop over to SFT's blog here and add your name to the list.  Just think by adding oddments of change to a tin you could be in for some lovely treats this time next year.

Thank you for popping by