Guilty As Charged!

 

This morning I woke early (4.44!) with a stinking headache and by 6am could ignore it no longer, so got up and made a cuppa and took some painkillers.

Hubby had a 9am appointment so didn't need to be up early, typical, we could have both slept in a bit (either one of us getting up generally wakens the other.)

Once up I sandwiched together the coffee and walnut cake and added the icing and scattered some walnuts on top.

By 8am I was ready for bed again...with the headache beaten into submission by a further lot of painkillers!

However, the day had to continue.

 

 

I called in to see our family friend, who is getting stronger by the day, but did have a bit of a set back with an ITU...don't you just hate the side effects of antibiotics for us women!

We had yet another reminisce and then it was time for me to head back home.

 

 

 

I arrived home to an unpleasant surprise!

I had, it appeared, been a naughty girl last week!

When picking up Teen One from school, I was trying to get into the line of traffic...but no one was keen to let me in...when I looked ahead I saw the lane I needed to be in a few yards up was clear....so with just about 20yards of bus lane between me and the lane I drove into the bus lane...oh dear...big mistake!

I had no idea it was illegal and that there were cameras there...had I known either I would have waited out the queue ( honest guv!)

So...for my misdemeanour I have  a Penalty notice of £60 with the usual "pay in 28days and the price is £30."

I was dumbfounded!

Well...the debt is now paid and I have learned my lesson...I will check the next time I am on that road to see if there are any signs..although it was of course dark so even if they are there I wouldn't have seen them no doubt.

 

 

 

The rest of the afternoon was spent in the attic, trying to make some headway with the Christmas presents for the Friday Nighters....it always takes an age...not just the wrapping, labelling and recording of who gets what  (I find that invaluable the following year!) but working out what to give who!

 

 

 

Two hours later I have made a little dent but can sit on the floor no longer so have abandoned it for the day job....

 

 

...which was getting dinner ready, starting with putting the sweet potatoes in the oven for jacket spuds....I don't know who is going to draw the short straw and have this skinny one, masquerading as a carrot!

 

 

 

 

 

It's A "I'm Sorry To Tell You..." This Time

 

Well sadly we are going to need the L plates for a while longer.

Teen One followed in the family tradition of not passing her driving test first time.

She failed on:

Entering a roundabout too soon

Not reducing speed in a 30mph zone soon enough

Not making enough observations whilst parallel parking.

Her instructor said she didn't need any more lessons and to rebook asap.

A slot was available this Thursday which he wanted her to apply for, but she has an assignment due in lunch time, which is when the test was, and she isn't sure she can get the assignment finished by Wednesday, so has booked one at the end of January.

We will take her out in between times, something we hadn't done ( the offer was always there) and hopefully this will be the last £62 we pay out for the test....but will have to brace ourselves for the insurance when she does pass!

So it was a little sad, but she was fairly chipper about it (  I think I cried for a week when I failed at 18!)

 

 

 

Teen Two and I went to see my Monday Recycled Teenager as usual whilst Teen One had her test.

We saw this in Morrisons, and being malt loaf lovers thought we would give it a go.

 

 

My car was really grubby after some long journeys last week, and I still cannot bring myself to let the supermarket car park crew wash it ( I am such a scrooge!) so enquired how much the hand jet wash was.....

...it was £1 for 2.5 minutes.

I had two pound coins and hoped that would be enough, but Teen Two made such a good job with the soap brush we ran out of time to get all the suds off...and I didn't have another pound coin!

So, as there was someone waiting to use the wash after us, I had to drive round the garage area, park up, get some money changed and then join the queue again!

 

 

He thought it was great fun, much better than the machine car washes, which typically they have always loved.

So as this is cheaper, we will do this in future and remember to take a collection of coins.

I did wonder if it was possible to just use the high powered wash if the car wasn't too dirty...that could be done with one pound I think....I like the idea of that!

 

 

This afternoon I did the usual washing, bathroom cleaning, changed the bed sheets and then made  a coffee and walnut cake to take to a friend tomorrow...

 

 

 

...Teen One worked on her assignment...

 

 

...and Teen Two cleaned out the gerbil cage, and spent an hour or so playing with them in their pen.

 

 

I had hoped to do more today than I have, like starting the Christmas cards and finishing off the baby jacket....I hope once dinner is cooked and cleared up I have some energy left to tackle at least one of them!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Will She Or Won't She?

 

 

I was up early today to get ahead with the dinner preparations,

going out most of yesterday meant I wasn't as organised as usual.

So at 6.45am I got up to make dessert.

Today it was something new...

Toblerone Cheesecake.

Recipe is below, but I have to confess to going off piste as usual!

I missed out the gelatine and sugar and used

 2/3rds of a pot 250ml pot of cream

 one tub of cream cheese

half a standard toblerone

 

I had a feeling it would be too cloying  for me so got some raspberries out of the freezer and everyone thought it was a good addition.

 

 

I don't think the gelatine would have added anything to be honest, it set well as it was, but was possibly a different texture that's all.

 

 

The rest of the day was the "same old"

Church, roast dinner, Rummikub, but no time for Scrabble,

Hubby was preaching in Bognor for their "Friends and Neighbours Service"

So we headed out there soon after 3pm

 

 

 

The drive took us mostly along the coast and the sunset was lovely.

 

 

 

Teen Two was doing some experimenting, inspired by something he saw on YouTube....

I am not too sure exactly what it entailed...other than freezing some toys to make it look like they were encased in ice and trying to get out!

 

 

 

 

He was impressed with the how they looked and since these are toys he doesn't play with anymore, should the ice have any lasting effects it won't matter.

He does love his experimenting that's for sure.

 

 

 

Tomorrow is a big day for the family....

Teen One's driving test!

It hardly seems possible!

So...think of her at 11.11am won't you!

Hubby and I took two attempts, so lets see if she can beat us!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It Worked!

 

This morning was a slow wake up, followed by a cuppa in bed and the sounds of the road sweeper clearing away the shed load of leaves that have blown down in recent weeks...I was thankful to be warm and cosy in bed I must admit!

 

 

You will remember I had left the muffin dough in the cold last night....and I was surprised to see it had risen this morning!

I didn't read the instructions properly and had assumed they  were going to be cooked in the oven...so I put the oven on and let the muffins do their second rise in the warmth of the top oven.

It was only when I went to put them in the oven 45mins later that I re read the packet and saw it said to fry the muffins!

Well I didn't want to waste the heat in the oven so cooked them in there instead...which I think accounts for why they aren't flat....

 

 

 

...but once split in half and buttered, the looked and tasted like a muffin...albeit it not a toasted muffin.

I really don't like toasting fresh bread, it seems such a "waste" and I felt the same about these muffins...

 

 

..I had mine simply buttered, but the rest of the family chose the "egg McMuffin" option...really easy to cook eggs in the microwave for one minute ( add some cheese as a treat!)

We all enjoyed our cheap and cheerful brekkie and I will definitely be happy to use the other two packets I bought....but don't think I will rush to pay the full £2 for it.

 

 

The rest of the morning was spent with Teen One decorating the tree....

 

 

...Teen Two hung up the chocolates and Teen One does the prettying bit...

 

 

...we alternate between a star and an angel on top, and this year it was the turn of the star.

 

 

We try and buy a new deccie for the tree each year but this year Teen Two decided to make a Lego Candy cane for us instead!

 

 

Hubby continued with the garden fence, and we now have one whole panel up!

Teen Two did some bunny hugging, whilst I made soup and pottered putting decorations up around the house.

My camera ran out of charge so I will post some pics tomorrow.

We then decided to do something special and go out for lunch "just because!"

We went to a local marina and eventually chose a Tex Mex restaurant

Teen Two and I went for the Christmas burrito, which was filled with turkey, butternut squash, green beans, cranberry and stuffing, with a side of sweet potato fries and more cranberry sauce ( and a chipotle one which I didn't bother with)

 

 

Hubby and Teen One went with a chicken and beef burrito...

 

 

 

...we had all chosen the lunch meal deal, so Teen One had a banana burrito for her dessert...

 

 

 

...whilst Hubby and Teen Two had the honeycomb smash cheesecake.

I had chosen a starter of nachos, which we all shared...and the kind waiter brought along an extra spoon for me, on the assumption some kind member of my family would share theirs with me too!

 

Its been a lovely take it as we find it family day.

Tonight we are going out to a Bible study a few miles away, where the Teens tell me they have great suppers!

Good job we are by passing tea!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Proving Dough In the Fridge?

 

My morning wasn't the morning I had expected, but it was enjoyable none the less.

Teen One had a call to say her friend wasn't able to go to Uni today, there wasn't enough time for Teen One to get the bus and as she was only in for two hours, ( the same time the bus can take) its easier for me to take her the 30-40mins drive, do some shopping, then bring her home again.

They have a nice big M&S Food Hall in Bognor, so I had a wander round to see what their Christmas treats were like...the ads certainly look amazing!

I am rather partial to their bakery granola bars, but sadly there was no one manning the bakery and whilst I could see the bars on the trays ready to be put in the basket, having waited for a few minutes, no one was in sight...so I had a lemon tart instead.

 

 

 

I bought a few bits and pieces, but some are destined as pressies for the Teens, so just incase they take a peek at the blog I had better not share it all...but I thought these looked fun, and we all love tea cakes and ginger so a good combination I reckon.

 

 

 

I love a bargain, and at 35p this was certainly worth trying...infact I bought three packs in the hopes they are good.

I hadn't really bargained for the fact it would need two lots of proving, so is more of a faff than I was hoping....but I am trying something out...

I heard many years ago you can prove dough in the fridge overnight.

It seemed an extremely odd thing to do when I first heard it, since proving is usually done in a warm place.

I have vivid memories of my grandmother proving bread, covered in tea towels, in front of the fire.

So, the dough has been made and is now in the conservatory ( which is as cold as the fridge at the moment!) and I hope tomorrow to present the family with freshly baked muffins for breakfast....

...you'll find out tomorrow how it goes!

 

 

 

 

 

It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas!

Thursdays are always a busy morning for me, but this morning was more hectic than usual!

For some reason I had marked down Teen Two as having the dentist tomorrow, so was surprised to receive a text from the dentist saying it was today....at 9am!

Yikes!

I usually collect Grandma at that time and we go to church and get the place heated up before the mums and tots arrive.

So, I had to take Grandma half an hour earlier...and then factor in the fact it was going to take ten minutes to clear the car of frost, and get to the dentist the other side of town in rush hour!

Nor did I  factor in the fact the extra heater I took along to help warm the place up, was going to drop its plug behind the telecommunications box outside church and jam itself well and truly!

In the end I managed to get it out with a long wooden spoon, but what a palava!

At the dentist we were then kept waiting 20mins whilst I could hear the staff chatting about Christmas parties, shifts and the like....they are lovely ladies and I appreciate all their patience and friendliness towards Teen Two...but I felt a bit cheesed off at having to wait so long past our appointment time for no genuine reason.

Teen Two had a clean bill of health and I got him to college only five minutes past registration time.

 

 

Just to add a bit of pressure, I had promised to run the activity table in place of someone else who had a busy week...but thankfully I arrived shortly before the mums and the gingerbread decorations were a hit...although I suspect none of them made it to their trees!

 

 

These cheerful festive tubes from Home Bargains were a hit and I found the little ones managed the tubes of icing gel better than the usual icing in those little tubes...they can never apply enough pressure to get it out!

 

 

After another delectable lunch of avocado and poached egg, I tackled the Christmas tree.

I haven't teased out all the branches yet, but it is much bigger than I expected!

It looks really nice, even without any deccies on, although this is a pretty rubbish picture, some of the branches are quite realistic looking and Teen One will love the height.

I think we need more lights though...there are three lots on here and they are swamped by the size of the tree.

I have left the deccies for the Teens to put on, that has always been their job.

I have friends who wont allow their children near their trees, as they have to have them picture book perfect...not so in this house, its all about recreating memories as each decoration is taken out of the box, many of them homemade or gifts...such happy memories!

 

 

I did however make a start on putting some of the decorations out around the house.

This was a gift last year and I had completely forgotten about it till I opened the box...

 

 

...I like to keep this mantelpiece simple....at night time its lovely to walk past and see my "knitted" moose stood so serenely in the lights...he was a present to myself a couple of years ago,

I had admired him in The Range but couldn't justify buying him, we already have so many decorations and had received two more boxes from next door...but after Christmas he was in the sale for £1!

 

 

These knitted carol singers were in the box...and funnily enough I had always intended knitting them myself as I have the pattern...so now I don't have to bother!

 

 

These were also in the box...and you know what Teen Two is like about teddies!

 

 

These three cheeky chaps were a gift when the Teens were tots, I used to have them in the front room window for little ones to see as they walked by on their way to school...but I thought I would upgrade them to the living room this year!

 

 

 

The Christmas table runner is on and  a new candle tray Teen One and I saw in Tiger a while back.

There are still boxes and boxes of things to unearth but I have lost the enthusiasm for the moment and also, the Teens are usually around when we do this, usually the first Saturday in December with an old Peoples Friend carols CD playing in the background...so it feels a little lonely doing it by myself... I shall wait until they are around and then enjoy it together.

I am hoping also to downsize the deccie box...there are some that we never get out...mostly inherited ones.....I think as all the kind givers are no longer here, we don't need to feel guilty about passing them on to charity...well most of them anyway...and somehow I think the guilt will still be niggling away a little!