Books, Puzzles and Cards

A little round up of the past week is needed.

Back to last Saturday and we were toying with going to Winchester for the day.

The record fair was on and G likes to go for a mooch to see what he can find to add to his vinyl collection.

However in the end we decided to stay local as G was going to Portsmouth in the evening to see The Temperance Movement and one eye would always be on the time thinking about when we needed to get back so G could go out again.

We took S and her friend L down to the park instead.

They scooted and we wandered at our own pace.

I took my camera, but yet again I forgot to check it contained it's memory card so no photos to share.

We walked round the football pitches and strolled by the river and stopped for a while so the girls could run off more energy in the play area. 

Our route had been planned so we would finish at the shops.

 At The Veg Shed we purchased the parsnips for our cakes, then we stopped at The Songbird - coffee for the adults and ice cream for the girls.

Within the clutch of shops is a branch of Barnardos which is always worth popping into.

G certainly came up trumps in there.

For £10 he found 5 LP's and he was particularly pleased with ones by Cream and The Kinks.

My purchase was less exciting.

A pack of 10 Christmas cards reduced to 69p which will be perfect for sending to our neighbours when the festive season comes around again.

When we got home G checked on-line and found the records were worth a little bit more than he had paid and so this week I made sure I dropped off to them the 3 bagfuls of donations, mostly books and some clothing, from our latest round of delcuttering.

Talking of books I've made a good start on this month's book club read. The tag line describes it as 'A reimagining of Pride and Prejudice from the point of view of the servants'. So far so good.

On Wednesday afternoon I had to go into work as we were having our annual first aid refresher session, so for the morning I made sure I had something to do to make the most of the time off I did still have. I planned on having a charity shop session primarily because I needed to buy a birthday gift.
When our friends G and M came over at Christmas with their young children M had been drawn to my new cat jigsaw puzzle. G text me a couple of weeks ago to say that since then the four of them have gone jigsaw mad.
As G and M are keen charity shoppers I knew M wouldn't mind a birthday jigsaw coming from one of them and I hoped that the 7 I had in mind to visit would turn up something suitable.
The first shop didn't have anything for M but I found a great book for me, a copy of Cath Kidston's Stitch for £2.00. 

The next few shops also drew a blank and then the 5th one was where I found exactly what I hoped I would find.
A 1000 piece jigsaw of Liverpool Street Station in London. To go with it I bought a bottle of London Lager. Fingers crossed he likes it.

Thursday was squirrel appreciation day which meant that there was only one choice of ear-ring that day.

Friday was a bit different this week as I had the morning off.

Once the children had gone off to school G and I took ourselves off into town for breakfast.

One of my Christmas presents to G was a mini poster of rock guitarists and he is on the look out for a frame. There is a shop in town we wanted to try for one whilst we were there but they didn't have anything suitable so that quest goes on.

I ended the week as I started it by buying another pack of reduced Christmas cards.

These were 29p and are for S to use for her school friends. 

Luckily she liked them so they've been stowed away with the others.

Kindness

One evening last week I came home from work after a really rotten day.

When you work in a doctor's surgery you don't always see the best from people.

Sometimes they come in and they anxious about their, or a loved ones, health and they can be a bit short with you because their minds are occupied with concern.

You don't take it personally, some people are dealing with a lot.

But some people think the way to get things done is to bully you and this was the very unpleasant behaviour I had been subject to that day.

I couldn't wait to get home and shrug of the way I was feeling.

Once home there was something which turned my day around in an instant.

Inside a little padded envelope was a little box and inside the little box was the cutest little brooch.

Not just any brooch.

A brooch which had been made just for me.

Someone had taken the time to make me something they knew I would love.

That someone is Kezzie.

If you aren't familiar with Kezzie's blog then please do pop over and have a browse, you'll be dazzled by her extensive range of brooches and hats, her outfit combos with an inspired hint of Doctor Who about them, her enthusiasm for being a music teacher and her zest for grabbing any and every opportunity which comes her way.

Thank you Kezzie. I absolutely love my cherry decorated teacup and saucer, it's perfect.

Hidden Veg

As well as getting more fruit into our diet with the Nutribullet S and I have made some cakes which are bursting with goodness.

Parsnip and Pineapple.

Not an obvious combination I grant you but one which we are enjoying.

You don't taste the parsnip at all, it's just an alternative to carrot really.

The recipe was photocopied from a cook book a while ago, although I have no idea which one.

If you fancy giving them a go here's the recipe.

Preheat the oven to 180c, Gas Mark 4.

In a bowl mix together 2 cups of self raising flour, 1/3 cup of soft light brown sugar and the same of caster sugar, 1tsp baking powder, 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda, 1/2 tsp cinnamon and the same of salt.

To this add 1/4 pt sunflower oil and 2 beaten eggs.

Finally mix in 1/2 cup grated parsnip and 1 cup crushed pineapple.

Bake for 15-20 minutes.

In celebration of Tin Can day I thought I'd share another recipe. This one is quick and easy and good for a midweek meal. I cooked it last night and served with carrots, broccoli and Yorkshire puddings.
Boil a pan of potatoes for mashing.
Fry bacon, onion and garlic.
In a casserole dish empty a tin of Campbells condensed mushroom soup and whisk in just under half a pint of chicken stock. 
Add sweetcorn (and peas if you like them) to the casserole and then add the bacon mix.
Top with the mash (I add cheese to ours) and then bake in the oven at 160c for 25 minutes.

Eastleigh Streets

Sunday saw us over in nearby Eastleigh.

We wanted to stretch our legs and go for a walk but with all the recent rain something urban seemed more sensible.

Plus we were wanting to seek out some frozen fruit for our Nutribullet trials and so a little grocery shopping was also needed.

Here's a few highlights from our wander.

A new sculpture has appeared outside the train station. 

It is of local novelist Charlotte Mary Yonge who gave Eastleigh it's name.

She is positioned right next to the busy main road through Eastleigh so she won't get much quiet time contemplating her literary endeavours.

The Point is a theatre and dance studio which is situated in the former town hall.
I have very fond memories of an afternoon there with T and S. When they were much younger we went to see an adaptation of The Tiger Who Came to Tea. It was wonderful and the audience had to participate in tiger aerobics. They would probably both be horrified to think how enthusiastically they took part at the time.
The four of us went there a couple of years ago, with friends, to see a panto and without a shadow of a doubt it was the worst thing any of us have seen. We couldn't wait for it to end.
Anyway, outside is the dancing garden which was constructed as part of the council's Millennium celebrations. The tables and chairs look like a lovely spot to sit and relax in the summertime.

Next door to the theatre are the council offices. This impressive looking face presides over the main entrance.

Two Closes in Eastleigh have been named after two men who were famous for different reasons.
The comedian Benny Hill worked as milkman for the Eastleigh based Hanns Diary. 
Heinz Burt lived in Eastleigh as a child. You may not know the name or even recognise his face but you'll definitely have heard the the song he and his group the Tornados were famous for. Just Like Eddie was his solo hit and it's one I remember hearing when I was younger as my dad was partial to listening to a bit of rock 'n' roll.

Good to see that they think highly of Tim, whoever he may be!

Puddles

Today is

Step in a puddle and splash your friends day.

I kid you not.

Maybe if I had a rainproof outfit as cute as this one I'd go out there and jump in a puddle myself.

A is for

Argyle day which was on actually on Friday but as I was at work and couldn't wear this cardi then I chose to wear this grey ensemble on Saturday.

It's the first time I've worn this cardigan, it was one of my last buys from the car boot last year and as I was taking the photo I remembered that's where I had bought the dress as well.

Both cost me a pound a piece.

In actual fact the necklace came from the car boot too but that was purchased for me by my mum as part of my birthday present.

A is also for apricot day.

I've mentioned in previous posts my fussiness over food.

It's a taste as well as a texture thing.

My diet is extremely limited and although I am better than I used to be I do not eat anywhere enough fruit and veg.

Which is one of the reasons why G and I have bought ourselves a Nurtibullet.

I flippin' love this new addition.

So far we have been sticking to fruit based combinations teamed with natural yogurt.

Apricots are something I do not eat normally but as it was apricot day I could not let the occasion pass without chucking these into the smoothie of the day.

Along with pineapple and plums.

Delicious.

We need to branch out and try some with veg.

I'm working myself up to those.

And finally A is for avian - well actually Tuesday was bird day but that doesn't fit in with my 'A' theme for this post.

Anyway for that I wore a new brooch. This pair sat on a branch was a gift at Christmas from my sister.

12 Days of Christmas Swap

To prolong that lovely bubble of Christmas giving and generosity my blog friend Jo and I have, for the second year, exchanged gifts for the 12 days of Christmas.

Starting on 25th December and ending on 5th January it's so lovely having a little treat to look forward to each day.

I always save mine for the evening and the days when I was at work it was so nice coming home to.

I wasn't organised enough to take photos of the presents I sent to Jo, but if you would like to see them then click here to go to Jo's post.

When Jo blogged about our swap last year lots of people commented saying what a lovely idea it was and so late last year Jo very kindly co-ordinated a swap for others who wanted to join in.

So with no further ado here are my gifts......

A necklace and bracelet set in colours and a style which I would definitely have chosen for myself and a very cute lavender scented fox to hang in my wardrobe.

No swap is complete without chocolate and I was lucky enough to receive this pack of Green and Black miniatures. As well as the chocolate I have a tin of Danish cookies, both have been hidden away for me to dip into when I feel the need!
The other item in this photo is a fluffy elephant book mark, hard to get a decent photo of him in the dreary light.

Next is a pretty compact mirror which is now in my handbag, a set of lip balms (one of which is also in my handbag) and three bath fizzers. I think S has her eye on these.

The next two photos are, again, not great.

I love this heart shaped sun catcher. The colours are so deep and vibrant.

At the moment it's hanging up in our bedroom. I'm not sure whether it will stay there, I need to wait for a proper sunny period to try it in different places around the house.

Another foxy item, this time a windchime. I've got this handsome fellow hanging in the dining room at the moment. Again where he'll end up living isn't decided yet.

These two memo magnets are living on the freezer and have already been used for leaving notes to the children.

Last up is the gift I opened first. How cute are these two kitty cats. I do love a good jigsaw and with so much grey, black and white this is a tricky one to do, but it will be completed it.

Thank you Jo for all my fabulous gifts.
I hope everyone who took part enjoyed it as much as I did.