Blogmas - Advent Day 13

 

I've not got much tinsel draped about the place this year, but the bits I do have twinkle nicely at me as the light changes over the course of the day.  

I decorated some of Alan's house for him while he was away at work last week as a surprise for when he got home.  He loved it.  Today he is going to take all the rest of the tinsel from our one large box of Christmas decorations and do a bit of draping for himself.  I dread to think what it will look like but I'll smile, un-grit my teeth and tell him what a wonderful job he's made of it. 🤣😊

No socks to show you today as the twelve days of sockmas are over, so instead of showing you a pair I'm wearing them.  The Aldi Beauty calendar keeps on giving in the traditional way and day 13 has presented me with a 'Dewy Lip Balm'.

Sue xx 🎄

Blogmas - Advent Day 12

It's been a modern Christmas with sock and beauty filled advent calendars to open each day, so here's a little step back in time to my little stack of Christmas DVDs.  I do have a couple more ... Last Christmas, The Holiday and Love Actually are just three I can think of off the top of my head but they are minus their covers and stored safely in one of my DVD folders.  I try and watch each film over the holiday period at some point, but any that miss a year get watched first the following one.  I was going to give Love Actually a miss this year, but for some reason I have a sudden urge to see it again ... that final montage of greetings, hugs and kisses just lifts the heart.

It's amazing isn't it that DVDs are even starting to feel like a step into the past.  I remember holding on to my VHS tapes for far too long and resisting the urge to buy new films on DVD because it seemed so strange.  Now most films can be watched on streaming services like Sky, Netflix or BritBox, and all our terrestrial television can be found on various catch up services, and suddenly having a DVD collection seems slightly dated.  But they come in useful when the internet goes off and you just want to sink into a much watched and much loved film or boxset, whether it be at Christmas or any other time.

Day Twelve of the sock calendar and my final pair of new socks ... sporting loved up hedgehogs and little hearts ... along with a little tube of Pineapple Micro-Dermabrasion Scrub. 

Now my sock collection is complete as this was a 12 day calendar, so I have decided for the next twelve days I will be wearing a pair of my lovely new socks each day.  Alans suggestion of hanging them all on the washing line garland fashion to decorate the back garden is being forcefully ignored.  With all the rain we have been having they would be hanging limply and soggily for the next twelve days.  

Far better for them to be on my feet.  🧦

Sue xx  🎄

Blogmas - Advent Day 11 + Weekend Watching 6

Some of my favourite little Christmas ornaments.

The 'Hope' angel I bought for myself from a little shop that was near to the terraced house I rented when I left my first husband.  Me and my youngest son didn't have much that first Christmas but that little angel symbolised so much, and a tealight glowed from the little star shaped holes each and every night through December.  The hand-painted Robin plaque and the transfer decorated bell were both done by my Auntie Barbara, my Dad's sister.  I used to sell her hand-decorated china when I opened my first ever shop, and her beautiful trinket boxes and dishes brought customers to my shop.  Unpacking them every year brings back happy memories ... just as Christmas ornaments should.

Today's socks and beauty product, some gloriously stripey socks and Rose Micellar water ... as the socks say 'A Pretty Pair'.

And don't today's socks go well with yesterdays, I see a perfectly mismatched pair coming up. 😃

And now in the tradition of Saturday morning ... some Weekend Watching for you.

English Country Farmhouse Kitchen Tour - YouTube

Madeleine's Kitchen is finally finished.

Aldi Christmas Launch Advert 2021 - YouTube

The Aldi Christmas advert, one of the best ads this year.

David & Geraldine's Intense Brussel Sprout Competition | The Vicar of Dibley - YouTube

A Brussel Sprout competition anyone ... don't count me in!!

Sue xx 🎄

Blogmas - Advent Day 10

 

Oooh candy canes, I cannot resist the little blighters.

I got a this box of giant candy canes in my Vegan Kind Hamper the other day and as I put them into a little jug ... so that they can be decorative as well as delicious ... my mind raced back to Wyevale Garden Centre in Altrincham, where me and Mum used to go for coffee and lunch every Wednesday for years.  A couple of years ago they were selling off the remains of the Christmas stock well after the festive period and they had so many candy canes that they had all been reduced to just 10p a box.  Needless to say I bought ten boxes with ten candy canes in each for just £1, so 100 at just 1p each.  We had Cineworld passes in those days, so every time I went to the cinema I would take a candy cane or two to stop me from being tempted by the sweet displays in the foyer.  My teeth might not have thanked me, but my purse sure did. 😀

I was sure I had done a blog post about this over on my old blog Our New Life in the Country, so I trawled through lots of old posts and fell down a rabbit hole of my own making ... two hours later and still no post about my bargain candy canes, (there were some others but not the right ones), but lots of other bargains ...

... and a good look into my old larder to boot.

Anyway, back to the business of the day.

Day ten of the sock and beauty advent calendars and this time I have pretty little Fir trees on my socks and a bottle of Vitamin C and Turmeric oil.

By ringing the surgery bang on the 8am opening time yesterday and waiting in the queue of phone calls for 25 minutes I managed to snaffle the last face-to-face appointment available with my doctor this morning, the receptionist sounded so pleased that she was able to fulfil my request that she got us both laughing.  Gosh they have to work so hard at the moment, it was nice to hear her laugh.

Sue xx 🎄

Blogmas - Advent Day 9

 

It was a much quieter night last night, after a wild, windy evening everything went suddenly still and seemed so peaceful.  I picked up some calcium tablets after a discussion with the pharmacist yesterday and then because it is right next door we called to Booths for something to eat and a coffee.  Then after getting himself organised Alan hit the road to Reading for an overnight stay before a full day in the workplace today.

It's took Mavis a while to get used to Daddy disappearing overnight once a week, the first few times she sat in a hunched-over sulk for hours but now she seems to get the gist of daddy vanishes then reappears just a day later ... and the world doesn't end.  Ironic then that perhaps with the new work from home instruction he might be home a bit more, we'll see.  He still had to travel during all the previous full lockdowns and stay at home instructions so this might not change too much.

Todays Advent calendar socks are covered in gorgeous little owls and the little pot of cream from the Aldi beauty drawer is a 'Cleansing Balm' ... all these products who even knew your skin needed them!! 😁

The doggies at 5.20 this morning.

 I woke at 4.43 according to the clock on the cooker but after a glass of water I went back to bed, although I couldn't manage to get back to sleep.  So after a bit I got up again, needless to say the dogs didn't ... they stayed tucked up like this while I sat and watched some YouTube, then as if by magic at 7.30 they got out of bed and demanded breakfast.

Sue xx  🎄

Blogmas - Advent Day 8

 

Sorry I'm a bit late with this one, I've been as sore as hell since my DEXA scan on Monday night, it was the lying flat bit (added to the journey there and back) that did it, it was worse this time than the MRI, and things are just running away with me.  I used to cope with so much so easily but last night I went to bed at nine o'clock with a hot water bottle, had a good cry and then slept until 4am this morning.  I'm feeling a bit fresher now but no doubt getting up so early will mean I droop early again tonight ... at this rate I'll be getting up before I've even gone to bed!!.

A quick update on my results for all those of you kind folk asking, your concern is very appreciated by the way.  I have got osteoporosis of the spine, although my hips are classed as 'good for a woman of my age' ... how to make you feel old in one sentence eh!!  I was told to phone my doctor to initiate the right treatment, which sounds exactly the same as that which my Mum has been taking for the last five or so years.  In the meantime Charlotte the radiologist, said to get myself some vitamin D and calcium tablets from the chemist and start on them, no doubt she had the inkling that me getting to even speak to a doctor at the moment might take a while.  When I finally got through yesterday morning after an hour of trying, all the phone consultation appointments were gone and I was told to try on again on Thursday when the my doctor has a few appointments still available.

So I'm going to have a word with the local pharmacist today and buy some calcium tablets and check that the vitamin D I already take is enough ... it should be, seemingly with my Veg 1 tablets from the Vegan Society and my multi-vitamins and iron tablets from Tesco I should be getting 500% of my daily requirements.

Todays Advent calendar socks have little foxes, very cute and the tiny little hand-cream from the Aldi beauty calendar will be great for slipping into my handbag.

While I've been opening my socks and toiletries calendars each day Alan has been opening the doors on his to reveal a selection of cheeses, chutneys and crackers.  

I photographed the ones he hadn't eaten like this ...

... but Alan said they should be laid out this way!!

Seemingly an engineers brain cries out for symmetry in everything ... even cheese and crackers. 😄

He had another calendar too but he seems to have completely eaten all of his Lindt chocolates including the Christmas Eve teddy bear ... naughty boy!!

Sue xx 🎄

Blogmas - Advent Day 7 - and an Offer

 

Ooh err ... socks with lovely little Robins and a little Vitamin C Serum thingy, one can only hope that these things work 😉

Every year since 2008 Alan has received a lovely Christmas food hamper from a company he works through, I say Alan as although it's a gift to a company owned by both of us the hamper rarely contains anything I can eat.  I think last year's one dairy or meat free option  was a packet of Chilli Kettle crisps ... and I don't like chilli crisps!!  So when I was on the Vegan Kind website on Saturday night and I spotted a vegan hamper bundle I just couldn't resist treating myself.

It came yesterday morning  😀

Lots of lovely goodies, all of which I can eat and some of which will make up my Christmas dinner.  Although I have never had a Yorkshire Pudding on my Christmas dinner before ... it seems to be a popular addition these days,  when I was growing up Yorkies were only served with Roast Beef.  One with our dinner filled with gravy and one for dessert sprinkled with sugar.

I've also never had this and really fancied trying it.

The ingredients don't seem too bad ...

... and it's got a lot of protein per serving.

I've also seen these vegan cheese gift packs advertised by a lot of the supermarkets and had decided that I would buy one, although I hadn't seen them in any of our local branches.  I was a bit shocked when I slid them out of the cardboard outer to put them in the fridge and saw how thin they were.

This is a block of the Applewood that I already had in my fridge ... it is twice the weight at 200g as the ones in the gift pack.  So be warned folks, unless you don't mind the smaller blocks it might work out better value gram for gram to buy four individual blocks of these cheeses instead of the pack of four.

Anyway while I was ordering my hamper I thought I might as well make a few additions, some of my favourite 'Crunchie' type bars, a couple of tins of Squirty cream ... I've not been able to find any at all around here ... and a bag of bacon flavoured crisps.  Something I can share with Alan while we watch a Christmas film.

Then I spied another treat.  

It's not really an offer as it worked out quite expensive.  But the one thing I have really missed since having to be dairy-free is buying a tin or two or three of Roses, Quality Street, Celebrations etc etc.  This is a fill-it-yourself selection of wrapped sweets and a nice Christmassy tin to put them in.

Normally I might have seen the idea and replicated it myself, buying a tin from a charity shop and then lots of wrapped sweeties from various shops, but this year I just cannot wander around the shops at all, as much as I would love to.  So this was a nice easy option and then next year, fingers crossed, I will be able to buy bargain packs of sweets from here, there and everywhere and do it myself.

While I was checking out and paying for all my goodies I noticed I had a £10 voucher available to redeem.  Seemingly last time I shared a link on my blog one of you lovely lot used it and got herself (or his self) £10 off their shopping - and that meant that I got it too.  Thank you whoever you were, it is very much appreciated.  

No sooner had I paid for my order than I got an email saying that if anyone of my Friends ... and yes you are all my Friends ... wanted £10 off a first order all they had to do was enter my name in the voucher code box as they checkout to get £10 off any order of £40 or more.

So if you were going to do a bit of dairy-free or vegan shopping this Christmas, and they have toiletries, gift sets and normal shopping items too, you could have a browse of The Vegan Kind Supermarket and if your order comes to more than £40 take advantage of the discount code Sue Hall. 

I've never been a discount code before!!

And if you're slightly more restrained than me and spend on or just around the £40 mark it means you are getting 25% off your shopping bill.

Sue xx 🎄