That Perfect Toast Moment

 

Is there anyone else out there who has to have that perfect toast moment you know the one I mean, the one when you get to the toast the second it's popped out of the toaster and butter a corner and bite into it before the butter has time to melt.

I do it every time ... it was even tasty this morning when my toast was slightly overdone.  I like my toast pale, or 'hot bread' as my son used to call it.  Hot and just crispy enough on the outside to qualify as toast but not too coloured.  Anymore of the dreaded black on this piece of bread and it would have been broken up as bird food ... or offered to Alan who relishes a slice of charcoal tasting toast 😄

I remember Delia Smith's Cookery Course on the television, it must have been back in the 80s or 90s, and one of the first programmes was about 'how to boil an egg' and 'how to make the perfect toast'.  I tried the toast method her way straight after the programme, which is basically getting it to the colour you like and then letting the toast stand in a toast rack or leaning against the marmalade jar for 60 seconds before buttering it to let all the steam escape.  It worked a treat so it's something I try to do every time now.

I've just actually found the instructions HERE.

Anyway back to the colour, which of these would be your preference?

I'm definintely a number two girl ... with the first corner eaten immediately and the rest buttered a few seconds later and enjoyed with black coffee.  Now I have to go all this talk of toast has made me want another slice and as it's a Bank Holiday weekend here in the UK I don't see why I can't have a second breakfast  😋

Sue xx

Live a Little Bit More

 

I love that my life has been full of chapters.  Full of different houses, different towns and different people.  I take few people with me when I move forward, but there are some that stay ... along with the memories and experiences.

Each fresh start opens new doors and new possibilities and gives me more strength as I work to figure out just who the person is that I am now.  Each new version of me has more layers, more depths to discover and more understanding by me of the old me.

Some people relish a life with static things, staying in the same places and being surrounded by the same people ... gosh the world would be a much more boring place if we all felt the same way and did the same thing wouldn't it ... and I am the last one to criticise anyone who is happy with a quiet static life, but I don't understand the ones that want a different life and do nothing to work towards it.  I just can't get my head around it at all.  Why would you stay in a job you hate, to fund a future you might not live to see, in a place you don't like, it is my idea of a life wasted.

It's not a dress rehearsal, it's our one chance of life, and it is oh so precious.

Sometimes you have to take the bull by horns, grasp at little openings and throw caution to the wind ... and just try to live a little bit more.

❤

willing to burn

 

I just love words

and words that make me think

I love even more

❤

Double-Bedding, Saving Money, Spending Money ... but Saving Money Too

 

I got a bit fed up with all the dog beds lying around the place and the dogs rarely using them, so last week I put the flat grey dog bed inside the brown furry dog bed ... now this double bedding situation is making the dogs retire to their bed at every opportunity.

Obviously double-bedding is the way forward in canine comfort 🐕🐶

In an effort to save money and give myself as much comfort as the dogs have in their bed I decided to give my walking boots a good overhaul the other day.  I went to Timpson and bought new laces, new insoles and a spray can of weatherproofing stuff. 

 After a good wash ... that's why they are allowed on the worktop ... and a good dry on the bench in the sunshine padded out with newspaper I set to spraying, inserting and lacing.

Ironically with all the dry weather we have been having recently they were as dusty as hell after the first doggy walk, but they were also really, really comfortable.

After not finding anything in the shops that I wanted to spend my remaining £40 birthday money on I decided to add to it and treat myself to a nice new Remoska for my new home.   

Now the last time I bought a Remoska was HERE, wow did I really first purchase it back in 2012!!  It has always been in regular use although not by me anymore as Alan has used it for lots of meat, and I just can't bring myself to share it anymore with it's meaty splatters on the lid.  So we decided that he would get 'custody' of the old Remoska and I will have my nice new one.  

In the six years since we bought the old one it has gone up by £40 but they are still worth every penny, they save so much on electricity bills that they have usually paid for themselves within the first year.  BUT for this purchase I had three different vouchers!!

I put in the order, inserted all the voucher codes one after the other to claim my free Remoska cookbook, my 20% off that Lakeland had sent me directly in their little monthly brochure and the £10 off a £60 spend that had been on the leaflet in my magazine, and they all worked.  The next day I had a polite email from Lakeland telling me that I shouldn't have been able to use both the £10 off and the 20% at the same time but as the website had allowed it through they would honour it.

So I have actually got my nice new Remoska for exactly the same price that I paid for the original one over six years ago and a free cookbook too, which last time cost me an additional £9.99.

Does a little happy dance  💃💃💃

Yesterday as I needed to measure my Welsh Bread and Cheese cupboard for the kitchen designer I took my large box to the storage lockup that we have until we move again and added it to all the other boxes that are waiting for us there.  I can't wait until she can be unpacked and put into good use.

Sue xx

Purple Sofas and Patchwork Patios

 

So I've fallen in love with a purple sofa, and I will possibly get a matching footstool.  There's no space for a chair as well but then there's usually only going to be me and a certain little Pug there so we won't need one.  The footstool can be for tired legs, can be a coffee table if I pop a tray on top or can be additional seating if I do get visitors.

I would say little dogs won't be allowed on it ... but that's never worked out in the past, so maybe I'll get a matching fleecy throw for Suky's half of the sofa 😄

The hardcore from the back has all been taken away now, and over the weekend the Indian Stone paving slabs that were taken up from the right-hand side of the garden were laid into position where the mouldy wooden decking used to be.  It's like a patchwork of stone, and once they have all been properly laid with sand and cement all the stone will be pressure washed to make it look nice and clean.  

Wall Up -  Parking for 2 cars with one blocked in by the other.

Wall Down - Parking for 3 cars, all with access to the road.

We thought we might have to use some of the front parking area's flagstones to finish the patio off but we don't need to, in fact there should be some of the smaller sized flagstones from the back to make good the damage in the front where we have taken the little wobbly wall down to open up all of the front garden to the road.  This now gives us space to neatly park three cars off the road with no struggle and no blocking of the pavement. 

 Although it all looks a bit concrete-y and bare at the moment once we are there we will be adding some plants and colour to soften things a bit.  Little steps but all in the right direction, and I have a guy coming to install my two new interior doors on Monday and the electrician to move the TV point from halfway up the wall to my preferred lower position.

I have also made an exciting purchase from a company called  Vinterior which should be arriving in a couple of weeks, I'll show you it as soon as it's here.  If you like vintage and retro furniture and fittings you'll love looking round this site.

Sue xx

Is Life Too Short to Skin a Chickpea?

 

Remember back in the 70s or 80s I think it was, when Shirley Conran said 'Life is too short to stuff a mushroom.' ... well this sprang to mind when I found myself skinning chickpeas yesterday.

Would it be worth it, half an hour spent at the sink ...

... rubbing the skins off two tins worth of chickpeas.

But the resulting hummus ... I would have to say it is well worth it.

Although I may not be quite so pernickety about it next time, the odd skin slipping through would not be the end of the world after all.  But it made for the most delicious, smooth and velvety hummus, I ate quite a lot just as I was adjusting the seasoning.

I did my usual trick of adding some water to the Nutribullet cup to get every last drop of goodness from it, and make washing it out easier.   The liquid was then added to a pasta sauce I made for tea, but it can also be added to soups or stews ... it's far too full of goodness and flavour to throw away.

Lunch, was nice and simple, but oh so delicious.

The recipe I use is from Deliciously Ella's first book.

Sue xx

A Walk to Check on Progress

The night before last we took a late evening doggy walk along the canal to the house to check on progress.   Alan has been much better this week and our walks have gotten longer and longer so now walking round to the house is back to normal, and both he and Suky have been getting some distance stamina in.  The downside to walking the canal in the evening is the midges, they get everywhere, I hate the little buggers.

Rounding the corner we discovered a nice neat front area, with the skip already loaded ready for pick up today.  Dave, our handyman and whizz at all trades is taking the washing machine and oven to the recycling centre next time he passes there.  A new skip will be in place once this one has gone and after  the space is used for the drop off of the things we have ordered for the back garden.

And talking of back gardens, it is now looking much neater out there, the part with the removed paving stones will be edged with sleepers and a large bed for a tree and some shrubs and seasonal plants will be at the bottom end.  Taking the line from the end of the annexe as a guide, so it will be a nice large bed of greenery and colour.  I still don't like having that much paving though, but Alan does ... hey ho!!

At the end of the annexe the fencing has been neatened up by using the painted panels to cover the old fencing that was there and which doesn't belong to us.  Once finished this will be my growing area for flowers and vegetables ... once I have designed the raised beds that will be going in there and that will be a green and luscious area hopefully.

I have fallen in love with this ... minus the side window and front veranda step but still with the overhang, and am trying to find someone to make it for me.  It would fit quite neatly into the space at the end of the annexe, completely covering the panel that is currently painted green.  💖

While we were there I took a minute to measure to see if I can fit a double bed in the bedroom and still be able to get two bedside drawers in ... I can, just!!  So that is the plan, and yesterday I spent a long time online picking out the furniture that I need, a bed, a wardrobe, two bedside drawers and a new sofa.  Once the annexe is painted they will all be ordered and delivered directly there.  

Before that, next weeks job is to have two new doors hung, one for the bathroom and one for the bedroom.  We have employed a local joiner to order and fit the doors as the doorframes both have unusual dimensions and both the frames and the doors will need to be modified ... and then after that the painting can commence.  Yay  😃

Edited to add:  Dave our brilliant handyman is going to make the shed for me once all the other jobs are completed ... he's a genius, it's official  😁

Sue xx