Monthly Archives: October 2015

Thursday! Already?

British LibraryA Throwback Picture of the Boys ten years ago!  This was taken when we went to London for Half Term Week and I took them to the British Library to look at all the wonderful books on display.  This is in the entrance and I wouldn’t have minded taking it home with us.  Perhaps that’s why it has a big chain on it!  Youngest was five and Eldest was nine.

It has been a busy old week and I cannot believe it is Thursday already.  I have been working all day today trying to catch up on work.  Tomorrow I will have to get some house jobs done.  The dishwasher has decided to play up this week but I don’t mind washing pots, I dread it if my washer goes, now that really does make things difficult!  Eldest has called to say that he has managed to break his iPhone (!) and I knew this would happen as he managed to break three iPods he has owned!!!!!  DH is going to sort out the insurance!!!! 

Youngest is getting good results on all his mock tests he is doing which is great and hopefully will set him up well for when he does the actual exams.  He is also in the House Plays at Christmas for school and he has been invited out to one birthday party and one party during the weeks holiday coming up, as well as meeting a friend (girl) at the coffee shop!  I will, of course, be playing chauffeur!!!!!

 

The weekend is busy, as always, but I am hoping to get some jobs done without distractions!!!!  Including the four Christmas cakes and preparing the Christmas puddings.  Youngest has asked for some mince pies, already?  Yes and he wants me to get the Christmas music out and into the car!!!!!  But I did see an advert on TV for Christmas 24 which starts on November 1st!!!!

It’s Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas!

 

I think I need some more lists!!!!!

Happy Thursday!  Hugs, Susie x

Christmas & Swimming & Halloween!

The In-House Championships went very well and Youngest got two first and two seconds in his events with two PB’s, so he was really pleased and we are so proud of him.  We didn’t get home as early as we had hoped but not too late to eat.  The second Gala is at the beginning of November when we do it all over again but different distances! 

Sunday DH had to go and help Eldest out as he had managed to pick up a flat tyre! So not so many extra house jobs got done but we did get some gardening done and we did manage to put a net over our little pond to stop the leaves getting into the water. 

I made a start on the Christmas cakes, whilst DH was out, by weighing out all the fruit and dry ingredients and soaking them in the Brandy.

DSC04972

DSC04971Covered to ensure “Long Neck” Treacle does not get any licks in!!!!!! Remember the Chocolate Log from last year?

DSC04973As there was not a lot else I could do, I got my two favourite Christmas books down and with a mug of tea in hand, sat down to plan my other jobs!

Last night was the final Committee Meeting for me of the swimming club.  Next is the AGM and then I have finished and I can honestly say I am not sorry!

DSC04970 DSC04969At the farm they are busy getting ready for Halloween and during the half term school Holiday they are having a ScreamFest for 12 years and over and Youngest is quite keen to go!  This car was at the entrance and was an amazing feature.  Must get our decorations out or it will be Halloween before I know it!!!!

Hugs, Susie x

It’s Friday!

Yes we have managed to make it to Friday again, but the weeks are flying by at the moment!!!!

The weekend is busy as always; we are seeing Granddaughter tomorrow with presents for her second birthday and then get back to take Youngest to the first Club Championships in the evening.  We should be back home again by about 7.00pm and I am not doing anything after that!

The Sixth Form Centre at School

We were at school last night for two hours to get all the information on Sixth Form for Youngest and then sat through five presentations of the subjects he wants to take!  It was quite tiring but interesting.  At the moment he wants to take Drama, Product Design, ICT and either History or Government and Politics.  It will all happen in the next few months with a final decision taken in March 2016 after his mock exams!!!!!!

Christmas is coming up far too fast and I need to get organised!

I hope everyone has a wonderful Autumn Weekend.

Hugs, Susie x

Throwback Thursday!

IMG_0277My Little Devil and his Brother Darth Vader!!! 2005!!!!!!!

The following pictures I took on the way to the senior school to collect Youngest yesterday afternoon.  We had had lots of rain but by 3.00pm it had cleared and the sun had appeared.

DSC04959 DSC04964 DSC04963 DSC04962 DSC04961 DSC04960

As you can see the leaves are turning and falling well!  I love this time of year.

Today was supposed to be a house jobs day but I made the mistake of sitting down at my computer to do a bit of work and I am still here five hours later!!!!  DH and I have to go to school tonight for Youngest to discuss Sixth Form for him! 

I hope you are having a Thrilling Autumn Thursday.

Hugs, Susie x

The Wednesday Wag!

DSC03574I am lolling on Mom’s bed this morning as the very noisy man is here cleaning out the gutters and checking the roof!  So Mom said I was best off in her room as the doors and gates are all open and I have been known to escape!

DSC02643The weather has been awful over the last few days and I am getting very tired of being dried every time I come in from outside! Mom’s also given up on mopping the floor until the rain stops as I just bring more and more muddy paw prints in with me.  I don’t know how it happens they just follow me in!

The family are busy over the weekend with the Club’s swimming championships and Youngest is swimming and hopefully Eldest is helping.  Youngest is going for some trophies this year so I am keeping my paws crossed for him.  They are also going to see Evalyn whose 2nd Birthday is next week.

DSC02637I think I am going to stay in the warm in my basket!

Have a very Woofy Wednesday.

Treacle

 

Rain, Rain Go Away!

I know we have to pay for all the nice days we have had recently, so yesterday and today it has been raining heavily!  Good for the gardens and ducks, not so good for us!!!!!

 

The Roof Fixer is coming hopefully next week to clear out the drains and gutters as they are overflowing and full with leaves, moss and anything else the birds manage to throw in!  There are also a couple of plants growing!  Unfortunately as we are on a hill and the first floor is already up a story we don’t have long enough ladders to do it.  Whilst he is up there he is also going to check all the tiles as they have also forecast high winds over the next few days!

I have been busy with work over the last two days as well, but I did sneak off this morning to get some birthday presents organised for later in the month.  I also picked up a present for Youngest which was on sale.  But don’t tell anyone I also got a couple of Christmas Presents!!!!  Also on sale!  I did also get our pumpkins and some sweets ready for Trick or Treat!

Eldest is coming home today from visiting Girlfriend.  She had a great day yesterday, her 21st, and no doubt they will both be sad but it won’t be long before they will see each other again.  Her Mom and Youngest sister will be going over during our half term at the end of October.

Swimming tonight and I am just dropping off as I have a basket of ironing to get done.  I hope your Tuesday is drier than ours!

Hugs, Susie x

Dinner Is Served!

DSC04953Had a great afternoon yesterday getting dinner ready for our friends in the evening.  I chose to make French Onion Soup to start, Beef in Beer Casserole for main with mashed potatoes, broccoli, peas and carrots and to finish a pudding I created!!!!!!  A biscuit base with blackberries on the top covered with apples and then topped with puff pastry, made in ramekin dishes.

As you can see from the pictures above and below this is my table set for dinner.

DSC04955The cutlery I inherited from my Mother which was given to her as a wedding present.  The water glasses are my Grandmother’s and the wine glasses were a wedding present to us.

DSC04958The French Onion Soup ready to be served

DSC04956Here are my Blackberry and Apple creations waiting to be baked.  I didn’t have time to take a picture when they came out of the oven but they loved them!  They were served with custard.

It was lovely to catch up and hopefully we will get to see them again before Christmas.

DSC04951 DSC04949 DSC04948Youngest decided on Friday evening that he was too tired to walk around Goose Fair so he decided we could drive past and see all the lights and then go and have something to eat, which is what we did.  I also think he missed his brother, who always comes with us, but he was on his way to visit Girlfriend in France!  We were also late leaving home so we would have been quite late getting to the Fair so it was a good compromise.  As you can see the pictures were taken as DH was driving past, so not very clear but you get the feel of it.

This morning I did the swimming run as DH is out at a swimming conference (!) so it was like getting up in the week for school!  Although that has given me more time to get cleared up and to sort out my quilting things, which have got in a bit of a mess!

I hope you are having a lovely Sunday.

Hugs, Susie

It’s Friday!

Yep we made it through another week!!!!  What a week!!!!!  The weekend is looking good though!

Now you all know that the new Peanuts movie is out in December and this film is out during the summer next year and I cannot wait to see it.  Do you know I think the children’s films are better than the adults ones sometimes!!!!  Go here and watch the trailer it is so funny : www.youtube.com/watch?v=i-80SGWfEjM.

Busy getting house jobs done today and then finish planning the menu for tomorrow! Also need to get some other things sorted before we go off to Goose Fair tonight!

Also planning on getting some quilting done and sort out the projects I need to finish! 

I have always been a list maker but at this time of year it goes into overdrive!!! Lists of things to do now, things to do for Christmas, things I want to do (!), things to do in the house, things to do in the garden, things to do at work!!  Well you can see where this is going!!!!

It is a sunny day here today but cool, might just have to put the heating on! 

I hope you have a Happy Friday and a great Autumn Weekend.

Hugs, Susie x

Hello October!

Okay so where has nine months of the year gone already?  October 1st has arrived and the leaves are falling from the trees now in showers!!!  Over the last few days they all of sudden seemed to have turned gold and orange and falling off the trees! 

It is still warm at midday but as the sun slowly sinks, so does the temperature.  Even Youngest asked me yesterday when does the heating go back on?!!!!  I said it isn’t cold enough yet although I must admit I did feel cold too!!

nottingham-20111007-00047.jpgOctober also heralds for us a busy month with lots of Birthdays of family and friends (eleven in total!).  Also Goose Fair in our home town of Nottingham is here again and DH, Youngest and I are going tomorrow and we will have dinner afterwards.  It is always a night I love and the weather is set to be good but cold.  This is where DH and I went on our first date 29 years ago!!!!!!!!!!!  Now where has 29 years gone???????????????????  At the end of this month Youngest has a weeks Half Term Holiday when we get to do some fun things, so long as the weather holds up.

 

Saturday night we have friends coming round for dinner.  Not on this scale of course!  This is the dining room at Chatsworth House and I must admit I would love to dine somewhere like this just once.  Or host a dinner party somewhere like this once, so long as someone else was cooking and doing the washing up!!!!!!!!!!!!!  I have chosen my menu and I will take some pictures so I can show you on Monday.  I love cooking, especially when I have lots of time and I can fiddle around with dishes, instead of the “its got to be on the table in ten minutes as we are rushing off to – Swimming of course”!!!!

 

Speaking of Chatsworth House between 2nd and 6th November they will be Decking the Halls in readiness for their Christmas Opening which begins on 7th November until right up to Christmas.  They always have a story book theme and this year it is one of our family’s favourites Wind In The Willows.  We generally try and go and the Boys used to love it when they were little (not so much now!) but DH and I try and visit.  They also have lots of activities going on with a Christmas Market, Carolers and Nativity Scene as well as many other wonderful things.  Well worth a visit if you are able, although you have to book on line this year as the visitors numbers are now so big.

DH has a swimming meeting to go to on Sunday, I was at one with the Leisure Centre where we swim today (!) but hopefully he won’t be there too long and we can then get some jobs done.  Whilst he is out I am going to take advantage and get some sewing done.

All this talk of Christmas and Christmas things is starting to worry me, I need to start doing some planning so I don’t end up rushing around at the last minute.  I always aim to get all the food gifts I do for the relatives made by the end of October and all the Christmas present buying done by the end of November, so then I can relax and actually enjoy the season!  Of course it doesn’t always work out like that!!!!!  But I do keep trying!!!!!  Even Youngest yesterday asked when we could get the Christmas CDs’ back in the car!!!!  A little early just yet!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hope you are having a Thrilling Thursday.

Hugs, Susie x