On the Beer Again

We have already had International Beer Day which G celebrated for me and so when on Thursday it was Drink Beer Day he was the one with the beer stash and could oblige.

Friday was World Heart Day. A day for raising awareness about maintaining a healthy heart.
A healthy heart recipe for our evening meal would have been the obvious thing for today but I had that rare thing happening, a chance to go out for a drink with work colleagues. One of the team was leaving and I can't usually go on a Friday because of taking S to dance but this week she was grounded and so off out I went for a couple of hours.
Instead I went for the option of wearing hearts.
A black and white knitted top and with it I wore a necklace T had bought for me a few years ago.

You may be forgiven thinking Halloween had arrived early looking at the next photo!
Today is Mud Pack Day so first thing this morning I borrowed one of S's hairbands to hold back my (desperately needs a colour on those grey roots) hair and I slapped on a face pack.
I was trying to keep a straight face when G took my photo but, just between you and me, he said something which was a tiny bit rude which made me grin and showed those wrinkles to perfection!

The Man in Black

Alvin Stardust.

What a wonderfully showbusinessy name.

Today is the birthday of one Bernard Jewry who was also known at various times in his career as Shane Fenton and Alvin Stardust.

 In homage to his leather clad look I wore black trousers with a black t-shirt and accessorised with a large black ring.

The lyrics from his songs from the 70s are a nonsense but they are so catchy, I have been humming My Coo Ca Choo all day.

This evening I attempted a bit of microphone swinging along with Alvin as he sang You, You, You.

I have a newly found respect for Mr Stardust, that microphone action is much harder than it looks!

Kerpow

Batman Day is probably one of the sillier days of the year, but I'm not complaining as we like a bit of silliness.

S looked extremely cute.

G looks like he is taking it all very seriously.

As for me, I'll let you decide!

I had a great brooch to wear today though. It tied in with the theme very well I thought.

Family Day

Today is Family Day.
This is the first photo to appear on my blog and so without question it had to be the one I chose for today.
It makes me so very happy. 
Hold them close.

Brooches, Biscuits and Cake

Every day may not be good, but there is some good in every day.

I try and remember this when I feel like I'm not having a great day.

Taking a step back from the situation you find yourself in and thinking 'ok this part of the day isn't the best but what good things have already happened' is something I attempt to do when I find myself thinking what a rubbish day I'm having.

Although I don't to it every single day, I do try really hard to keep to the habit of writing down one thing that day I am grateful for.

Yesterday was World Gratitude day.

There are so many things I am grateful for in my life.

Friends for starters.

People with whom I am still friends after being at school with them over 30 years ago.

Friends in blogland which is why I wore Kezzie's brooch on my lapel to remind me of all I met through the wonders of the web.

Friends at work.

I took a box of shortbread into work with me and explained that not only was I grateful there that was something as delicious as shortbread in the world, I was also grateful I could share it with some lovely work colleagues.

My boss has been so supportive when I have needed a bit of time off here and there with S that I bought her a separate pressie as she hasn't much of a sweet tooth.

She eats breakfast at work and most day this consists of some kind of yogurt, so I bought her a big tub of this gourmet raspberry which she said was very scrummy indeed.

Another little brooch was worn today for Ice Cream Cone day.

Last night I baked these cakes in a cone and then popped them in a tin overnight then they would be ready for me to finish off this evening.
Now the point of them being in a cone is that the buttercream icing should look like a Mr Whippy ice cream but as you can see that part was a massive fail.

I set to this evening and then found I didn't have as much icing sugar as I thought I did and so I decided to just go with half the amount quoted in the recipe. But I mis-calculated the other ingredients and it ended up as runny icing instead. 
Blame it on being impatient to finish them, a bit tired after a tiring working week and just a general lack of concentration.
Never mind, the point is I tried and I'm sure they'll taste just fine.

Punch

I was quite boring and went for this straightforward, but nevertheless very refreshing, mix for Punch day.
Had I known that T was going to have some incredibly exciting news today in the shape of a job offer I may well have planned something a little more celebratory.
So proud of that boy. 
Fingers crossed all works out well for him.

Ahoy There

Well shiver me timbers, today, of course, has been Talk Like a Pirate Day.

Good old Pinterest came up trumps again with a quick and quirky idea which resulted in me getting busy with mini cheeses and black food colouring.
S had a little pirate babybel popped into her lunch box today.

This is one of my designated work dresses and it was very apt wearing it today what with the parrots and desert island palm trees contained within the pattern.

Cheese please

Cheeseburger day made the choice of evening meal an easy one.
Meat burgers for G, vegetarian burgers for me and S.
Lashings of sauce and mayo all round.

Tuesday to Sunday

Well that was a week I don't want to repeat again in a hurry.

I haven't been able to get on the www at home as we stopped with one internet  provider to transfer to another and in theory we know these things should go smoothly but we also know that that isn't always how it goes.

Plus we have had a minor blip of an incident with S.

All sorted now.

I have been keeping up with my daily activities but with no internet I haven't been able to post so this is a little round up.

The post will be a little photo light as two days were based around edible delights and they were consumed before photos were taken!

Tuesday was chocolate milkshake day.

G concocted this for S.

Wednesday was peanut day and so I took the slow cooker out of the cupboard, dusted it down and made this chicken meal.

Thursday was a celebration day in India called Hindu Divas. 

I went with reflecting the design of the flag in my outfit.

Friday was International dot day.

My love of polka dots has been documented here over the years.

Dots feature on a multitude of items here at home from china, the tablecloth, our bedding and of course my clothing so it was easy to find something suitable to wear to work.

Yesterday was Gymnastics day.

Now my gymnastic abilities have always been pretty much limited to forward rolls, I could never do a cartwheel or a proficient handstand so this activity needed us to get busy with the chalk again.

Now it's Sunday and we are at Wife Appreciation Day.
According to the blurb it's a day for husband's 
d this is a this is a chance for husbands to look back and remember all the big and     l to look back and remember all the big and little things that add up to so much.

I have to say that G does make me feel appreciated pretty much most of the time. 
Of course we have our moments like every other couple, life isn't perfect and neither are we.
We do spend a lot of time laughing together.
Take for instance earlier this week.
I had ordered a necklace.
It was in the shape of a badger's face.
The necklace arrived and it was much bigger than I thought it was going to be which actually was just fine.
But the chain it was attached to was hideous.
A great big thick chain.
G took one look at it and said 'who do you think you are MC Badger?'
The next thing I knew he had thrust his baseball cap at me and said 'pose.'
Ridiculous behaviour, but fun.

Please bear with me over the coming week as I start to visit everyone and catch up with posts to see what you've all been doing.

Friday to Monday

After a long first week (although it was actually only 4 days worth) of getting back into the school routine, Friday night rolled around and I just didn't have the energy to blog.

Couple that with hardly going near the laptop over the weekend and the result is a catch up post today.

So let's rewind to Friday when Alecia Beth Moore had her birthday.

Who? I hear you say.

She is more commonly known by the name P!nk.

A glass of rosé would have gone down well but as I had to collect S from her dance class I made do with a different kind of pink fizz and had a glass of raspberry lemonade instead.

It was delicious and something I would definitely buy again.

I had been looking forward to Teddy Bear day since the start of the month because I couldn't wait to make these super cute pancakes for Saturday morning breakfast.

The national Heritage Open Days event was on over the weekend and luckily for us there was a very local event to pop along to.

There is a new theatre opening in our city next year and their very first production is to be a play all about Southampton's link to the Spitfire. Members of the cast were at the event recreating a little snippet of the story, once the tickets go on sale G and I will be booking to go along to see this slice of local history.

Walking back home I popped into one of the charity shops and found these badges for 50p.
You just know what was written on the one which is missing don't you!
How perfect would they have been for Patrick Swayze's birthday? 
Oh well at least I'll have them for next year.

Sunday was Grandparents day and so I spent a little time thinking about each of mine in turn.

This is a photo of my mum's dad (sitting) and my dad's dad (standing) on my parents wedding day, making the date this photo was taken 29th July 1967.
I have very fond memories from when I was 16 and 17 going to the library with my maternal grandad each Monday on my day off from work. He passed away a couple of years later and so I'm so glad to have shared those times with him.

My paternal grandad we called Grandad Poochie. 
I don't remember why we called him that though!
I know he had a dog and maybe it was called Poochie. 
I was born in the front bedroom of his house as my parents lived with him for the first couple of years of their marriage. He lived near to the senior school I one day hoped to go to and so I would be able to go and visit him at lunchtimes. 
It wasn't to be as he died when I was in the first year of junior school. 
I can still so clearly remember my dad telling us that grandad had died. It was the first time I ever saw my dad cry.

Ok let's lighten the mood a bit and talk about a rom com G and I watched.
Made in 2009 New in Town stars Renée Zellwegger and Harry Connick Jr. She is a business executive relocated to sub zero Minnesota from sunny Miami to close down a food factory. He is the local union rep. They start off by bickering and then fall for each other. No huge surprises for how things turn out!
It's a good Sunday afternoon type of movie which is exactly when we watched it.
If I was being very strict about these things we should have actually seen it today as 11th September is Mr Connick Jr's birthday but as G is on a late shift today viewing it together wouldn't have been possible.

Anyone For Tennis?

We've been busy with the chalk again.
7th September 1980 saw John McEnroe beat Bjorn Borg in the Mens US Open Final.
Who would you have been rooting for?
Were you a fan of the The Brat or the Ice Cool Swede?
Borg everytime for me.

We didn't quite succeed with getting the speech bubble in the right place, it looks like it's coming more from the chest region.
Just be thankful I don't own any shorts!!!!

A New Book

Sometimes during my lunch break I just sit, eat and watch the world go by.
Other times I may take a brisk walk through the park or perhaps settle on the nearest bench I find and get busy with some list making.

Then there are the days when I take something to read and as today is read a book day I made sure I had my new book in my bag.

Earlier in the year I read Big Stone Gap and I loved it. It's part one of a story which follows Ava Maria Mulligan and her life in Virginia.
When I found the second installment in a charity shop recently I was cock-a-hoop.
G asked me what I liked about Adriana Trigiani's writing.
My reply was 'everything.'
I loved the way she drew the characters with words, the place the story was set, the food, the social history she weaves into the story line.

These are a few lines from the first paragraph of Big Cherry Holler. 

The rain is coming down on this old stone house so hard, it seems there are a hundred tap dancers on the roof. When Etta left for school this morning, it was drizzling, and now, at two o'clock, it's a storm. I can barely see Powell Mountain out my kitchen window; just yesterday it was a shimmering gold pyramid of autumn leaves at their peak......
..........How I love these mountains in October; the leaves turning- layers of burgundy and yellow crinolines that change color in the light- the apples are in, the air smells like sweet smoke, and I get to build big fires in Mrs Mac's deep hearths.

I'm hooked.

Year 8

Here we are at the start of S's second year at senior school.

Year 7 whizzed by and I suspect this year will be no different.

There was the photo by the front door ritual before she trotted off with her friend A this morning.

I have manged to make it look like the dragonfly door knocker is sprouting out of the top of her head!

She went off with a smile and was just as happy when she came home again.

I normally make something quick and easy for the evening meal on the first day back and as today is Cheese pizza day this fitted in just nicely.

Mitzi and Medals

Mitzi Gaynor is celebrating her 86th birthday day.
Before this afternoon the only movie I can recall watching her in is There's No Business Like Show Business.
Marilyn Monroe was in that movie as well and she also had a part in the one we saw today.
We're Not Married is about 5 couples who were married by a justice of the peace before his license to do so was valid.
Complete froth and nonsense but as a huge MM fan it's another one of her movies I can now say I've watched.

I reckon no birthday is complete without jelly and ice cream although if it's on the menu at Ms Gaynor's house I doubt it'll look like the one I made this afternoon.
On 4th September 1972 Mark Spitz set an Olympic record by winning his 7th gold medal so my jelly has been made to look like a swimming pool.

Beard Day

Thankfully I think G suits wearing a fluffy white beard miles better than I do, phew!

We partook in a little photo beard action whilst on the train to Salisbury.

As mentioned yesterday S had been to Longleat with Grandma and J for the day and then stayed over.
Today G and I went up to meet them (and Auntie D) for a catch up over lunch.

A very slow paced and relaxing day, just what weekends are made for.

Wattle It Be?

Today is Wattle Day in Australia.
A day for Australians to show their patriotism for their country by wearing a sprig of the national floral emblem.

According to sources on the web wattle is also known as mimosa.

A Mimosa cocktail is made with champagne and fresh orange juice and most recipes also state a dash of Grand Marnier or triple sec.

Now when I read about this I thought 'hold on a minute I thought that was a Bucks Fizz.'
On doing some further research I found out that a mimosa is made with equal parts champagne and orange juice where as a Bucks Fizz is two parts champagne to one part orange juice.
So now you know.

This evening I have gone for the non alcoholic version and mine contains fizzy lemon and lime and orange juice.

I say mine as it is just me here enjoying a glass tonight.
S is staying with Grandma after having a wonderful day out at Longleat.
G is on a late shift and won't be in for another couple of hours yet.
T isn't here either as yesterday he moved out to live with his boyfriend.
Big news that!
He has been incredibly excited these past few days and very proudly showed us around their flat last night in all it's moving in day chaos.
Huge mixed emotions (for all of us) as I'm sure you can imagine.

If that wasn't enough here is what else is in store for the month of September.
My list so far, which will probably see a couple of changes.

2. Beard Day
3. Merchant Navy Day
4. Mitzi Gaynor's birthday
5. Cheese pizza Day
6. Read a book Day
7. John McEnroe defeated Bjorn Borg in US Open
8. Pink's birthday
9. Teddy Bear Day
10. Grandparents Day
11. Harry Connick Jr's birthday
12. Chocolate milkshake Day
13. Peanut Day
14. Hindu Divas
15. Dot and Grenache Day
16. Gymnastics Day
17. Wife Appreciation Day
18. Cheeseburger Day
19. Talk Like A Pirate Day
20. Punch Day
21. Gratitude Day
22. Ice Cream Cone Day
23. Rabbit Day
24. Linda McCartney's birthday
25. Family Day
26. Batman Day
27. Alvin Stardust's birthday
28. Drink Beer Day
29. Heart Day
30. Mud Pack Day.