Weekend Watching

Our motley little crew hoping to share Alan's lunch, I think it's the corned beef they are after rather than the figs and beetroot. 😄

And here for Weekend Watching are a few of the YouTubers that have entertained me this week.

https://youtu.be/5slnHqMG22Q

Farmhouse on Boone ... a recent home tour.

This is one of my more recently discovered channels, she does some lovely relaxing cooking videos too, and now they are a family of ten.

https://youtu.be/EQHcunpixHI

Three Rivers Homestead - Jessica is currently doing her #everybitcountschallenge.

I used to love preserving our produce for the Winter months, but I never reached the volume that Jessica does ... well there are only two of us and lots more of this lovely family.

https://youtu.be/n_T1qayJk0I

If you are even thinking of moving onto a narrowboat here are some great tips delivered in a unique way by Vic, of Holly- The Café Boat fame.

https://youtu.be/zx-tD8w8rBk

And the lovely Grackle is all grown up, married and sharing some of the things she enjoyed on her honeymoon.  It's been like watching a daughter grow up and find the love of her life.

And finally -

https://youtu.be/7FIfcScc1JE

A couple living in a tiny space in Brooklyn, New York.

I'm not sure if some of the things they have done would suit me, but they have lovely taste and so much of this apartment I would love.  They also have even less space than me, my small home is just over 336 square feet and theirs is just 300.

I hope you enjoy some of these YouTube videos as much as I have over the past week or so.  My current favourite is watching Farmhouse on Boone while I wake up in the mornings with a nice cup of coffee, watching while she makes her sourdough bread or organise her food for the day is a lovely peaceful start to my day.

Little glimpses into other peoples lives is very nice isn't it, and I would much rather this than all the 'celebrity news' and gossip that is bandied around.

I hope you have a wonderful weekend, I'll be back soon to let you know what we've been up to on ours.

Sue xx

Rhubarb, Almond Milk, Weekend Watching and Scarecrows

 

You're not really supposed to take a harvest from newly transplanted rhubarb during it's first year, but I had no option.  Like something out of The Day of the Triffids it sprawled over most of the woodchip area of the garden getting bigger and bigger by the day.

I pulled most of the stems leaving just a couple behind for the plant and after a good wash and a chop cooked it all up.  I ended up with enough  for a rhubarb and custard tart, two containers that are now in the fridge that can be turned into crumbles in the blink of an eye, and the excess juice from the cooking I poured into the little jug.  This was drunk over the course of a couple of days mixed with sparkling water and was beautifully refreshing.

Literally a week later and the plant is almost as big as it was before ... I'll have to watch it doesn't eat one of the dogs!!

In my ongoing ultra processed foods discovery journey I had my occasional breakfast of Aldi dupe weetabix with almond milk.  Although I didn't have the cereal box to check the ingredients of the Wheat Bisks I could look it up on the Aldi website.  This is what I found - 

Whole 𝐖𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐭 (95%), 𝐁𝐚𝐫𝐥𝐞𝐲 Malt Extract, Sugar, Salt, Niacin, Iron, Riboflavin, Thiamin, Folic Acid.

 Not too bad  actually, and something that I am happy to keep in my diet.

The almond milk I'm not so happy about ... I think it's time I went back to making my own!!

*** *** ***

Here's some Weekend Watching for you, chosen from some of the channels that I've been watching and enjoying this week. 

 First a new one to me that I only discovered this week - Farmhouse on Boone

https://youtu.be/DWrSk-175Kg

I find it so relaxing watching someone else cooking or cleaning, and it's been nice to take it easy with a cup of coffee first thing in the morning and watch from my armchair.

Next a massive haul for Freakin Frugal, thank goodness there's some food that can be rescued before it ends up in landfill.

https://youtu.be/fwdj9sHyMH8

From Jessica at Three Rivers Homestead there was this lovely video at the start of her canning season.

https://youtu.be/ymeuMLCzy6U

Some shopping from Madelaine Olivia -

https://youtu.be/kHATnMEgm_E

And the follow on video when she uses the shopping bought at Lidl to make meals, is here:-

https://youtu.be/OQJL-6yYbto

I hope you enjoyed a couple of those, I'm always on the lookout for more channels to watch so if there's one that you love do let me know in the comments below.

 It's the Scarecrow Festival here in our little northern town, so it will be quite busy around town and the carparks will all be full.  The theme this year is Films.  On the canal one of the narrowboats near to our house is now the Titanic, I do hope history isn't repeated.  😉

While in the Pizza shop, Laurel and Hardy seem to be tucking into a lovely Italian meal.

Happily, we have had to drive around town twice today so we have managed to see most of the scarecrows and we can avoid the crowds tomorrow and Sunday.

I hope you have a great weekend.

Sue xx

Cucumber Plants, Weekend Watching ... and Moving House?

 

Yesterday I finally got my cucumber plants out into their final places, two in this bed near the shed and the other in a pot so I can stand it in full sun and see what difference it makes.  Quite a lot I should imagine as cucumbers love to be warm.  Unfortunately, the areas I have for growing vegetables in our little garden are mostly shady except for at certain times of the day, but like so many gardeners I'm doing my best with what I have.

The one in the pot is now here as the this side of the lodge gets the sun for most of the day until early evening, so it should have a head start over the ones that get the evening sun and lots of shade.  As you can see in this photo, I think this last couple of weeks of hot sun has been a bit hard on the tomato plants.  Thank goodness there are a couple of smaller tomato plants in pots on that top shelf waiting to go into larger pots in the next week or so.

All the time I was working in the garden the fat-ball holder was being visited by lots of little birds, they're very brave at the moment as I was literally only a couple of feet away most of the time.  Possibly they're braver because we have stopped putting out all other food that seems to attract the larger birds and have just been using up our supply of fat-balls instead.

Here's a bit of Weekend Watching in case you want a bit of sitting in the house out of the sun for a change ... and aren't in the mood for the FA Cup Final.

First some gardening inspiration from Tanya at Lovely Greens.  I used to use the terracotta plant pot method of the Olla's she is showcasing in this video in my polytunnel ... I would love a Polycrub!!

https://youtu.be/IDRiBJsqjyg

Next a channel I only discovered this week and I've been watching quite a few videos from, We Cook Vegan.  Some of the ideas are brilliant, if a bit samey but it's been good for some new inspiration.  The only thing I don't like is the almost permanent titles of 'Better than meat'.  If you like meat I doubt you would find them better than meat, but hey ho!!

https://youtu.be/dMugENc-6mg

And finally, a lovely little apartment to drool over.  I do like small space living ... both doing it myself and watching how other people do it.  This space is smaller than mine by about 60 square foot and I love the way that it's laid out.

https://youtu.be/XmtCv4pMfKE

Here's a lovely little cottage in almost original condition that's just come on the market in our little town ... am I drooling over it - yes, am I tempted to buy it - yes.  I must remain firm and not view it.

2 bedroom semi-detached house for sale in Church Street, Garstang, PR3 (rightmove.co.uk)

 Tomorrow we are heading to Morecambe for the annual Vegan Fair, and of course it will give the dogs a lovely walk along the seafront and might even take my mind off Church Cottage.  😄 

I hope you have a lovely weekend, what are your plans? 

Sue xx

Weekend Watching

 

Ginger is turning into an avid television watcher, usually it's from the sofa but yesterday he took things to a whole new level and got up close and personal with Cottage Fairy.

The Downsides of Life in a Rural Cottage - and why I need a change - YouTube

I think it will be another sofa day today, just hopping up every now and then to keep things moving but it's grey and very cold outside so me and the animals are going to keep cosy with YouTube, coffee and sweets.

DUMPSTER DIVING FOR FRESH BAKERY PODOCTS - YouTube#

Amy has just posted a new video so that will be my first stop once the kettle has boiled.  Does anyone else find someone they like watching and then have a good old binge-watch.  I've been subscribed to Freakin Frugal for a long time now and it's quite addictive watching the amount of food they manage to stop going to landfill.  Feeding your family for free, now there's a good incentive to climb into a dumpster/skip.  Unfortunately it's illegal in the UK as all supermarket dumpsters are on private property and usually behind locked gates ... drat!!

Yesterday I watched half of the first series of Killing Eve on BBC iPlayer,  I meant to just watch the first one and then got a bit carried away ... oops  😄

Low Cost Meals - Falafels and my Potato, Cheddar & Leek Tart - Delicious Vegetarian Classics - YouTube

Of course there's someone lots of us bloggers know that has got a very popular YouTube channel now ... Frugal Queen.   Called Frugal Queen in France she gives lots of her hints and tips for continued frugal living now that she and Mike have both retired to the countryside.  There are some brilliant recipes shown including this latest one, and with over 10.5 thousand subscribers she's doing really well.

So while I get stuck in with some watching I thought I would share some of what I'm seeing with you, just in case your weekend is looking to be as grey and chilly as mine.

My son is out delivering heavy machinery, so the only thing he'll be watching is the road.😀

Have a great weekend. 

Sue xx

Weekend Watching - 3

 

Sometimes on these cold, dreary November Days it's nice to come in from the shops, hang up your coat, then put the kettle on while you grab a packet of biscuits and sit down in front of the television or computer screen for a bit of relaxing screen watching time.

So here is something for your weekend entertainment, just a couple of the things that I've been watching this week.

I Found New York's Smallest Loft... and It's Cheap - YouTube

Find somewhere to live in New York with Cash Jordan ... some of these apartments and town houses are amazing.  And I could quite happily live in lots of the tiny ones ... I think I would need one with a little balcony though.

THE CORNWALL VLOG feat. cornish pasties, ice cream, beaches and more - YouTube

Grace Booth on Extra Grack, her second channel ... the first is called Grackle.  Just a young girl that brings a breath of fresh air to YouTube.  Not in the usual 'Influencer' mode at all.  Throughout me being forced to rest so much she has been something that I could just have on while I ate my dinner or just vegged on the sofa and I have managed to watch virtually every video she has made on this channel.  Also Mavis is in love with Banksy, her cat.

Arrange 7 Tortillas In The Pan Like THIS & Wait 40 Minutes – WOW! - YouTube

Scrumdiddlyumptious, just music, food preparation and easy watching, quite fascinating and good for ideas even if some of the actual recipes are HUGE or just not my cup of tea.

TESCO CHRISTMAS SNACKS TASTE TEST 2021 | Soooooo Many Festive Goodies! - YouTube

Sopherina, a channel with lots of food taste tests and food shopping hauls.  Sophie and her lovely hubby and now joined by their new baby Orin have just started off their annual Christmas taste tests of all the new things available our favourite supermarkets.  It's nice to watch to see what's available in the shops and just pick up on their happy joie de vivre.

Hope you enjoy a little watch at some point over the weekend.  I'll make it my mission to find you some more for next week.

Have a great weekend.

Sue xx

 

Of Dogs and Mud ... and Weekend Watching

 

Suky is a clean dog, she hates getting wet, hates going out in any weather other than sunshine or wind and has never ever played in mud.

Until the day of my aunties funeral last week that is.  

Alan took the dogs out for a second quick walk before we left for Manchester, to give them the opportunity to stretch their legs, get some fresh air and do their usual business.  Suky decided that that day was THE day.  She got the Zoomies and raced through muddy puddles and ended up rubbing her entire body in the mud at the side of the canal.

You can't tell much from the photo but her undercarriage was a muddy mess and her ears were full of mud.  Alan knocked on my door and gave Mavis to me and took Suky into his house for a bath.

If looks could kill. 😄

Yes, she also hates baths!!

She always looks darker after a bath as it shows off all her underlying black fur, her dad was a black Pug.

Mavis enjoyed a cuddle with her Dad while he got his breath back, and you can almost read her thoughts can't you ... 'Just look how clean  and dry I am compared to that mad Pug'. 

Mavis is looking a lot older now, but she's loving life, well they both are, even if one shows it by acting completely out of character and the other by chilling out more than she ever did before.  

And now for a little bit of Weekend Watching, here are just some of the videos that I have enjoyed this week.

https://youtu.be/FNrpk8sUhJ0

A tour of a lovely and very normal ... ie, not titivated to the high nines ... English country cottage.  

Isn't it nice to just see a home that is not all minimal, but is lived in and loved by those who live in it.  And I LOVE that the dogs have a bell to ring for when they want to go out ... please don't mention it to mine.  😄

And for a bit more cottage-y viewing ... 

https://youtu.be/n3TWWij5s6Q

... cottage core at it's finest.  

But very relaxing to watch.

And now for something foodie ... 

https://youtu.be/GdWK-b0bTXA

Although the music can get a bit monotonous on this channel, some of the food ideas are brilliant for cheap and easy to make meals.

And finally, a new channel to me and one that I've really been enjoying watching this week is Acre Homestead, and her massive freezer filling cookathons.  It's always nice to sit and watch someone else cooking while you eat your lunch.  

https://youtu.be/fdbrfw6amF8

What a lot of food!!

I hope that you enjoy some or all of this little selection.  

Have a great weekend ... oh and Happy April  🎕

Sue xx

Potatoes In, Plants Drowning, What DID Happen to That Last Sausage ... and Weekend Watching

 

I got my Christmas potatoes in on Thursday ... well that's what the information that came with them said, if I planted them now I would have potatoes in time for Christmas!!  

We'll have to wait and see as I've never actually managed it before, even when I had the poly and net tunnels something always went wrong and the Christmas potatoes always ended up being bought from the shop.

They went into my new posh large potato buckets, and I am pleased I got them as they look much neater in this small space than the Aldi Bags for Life did ... gosh I'm getting snobby 😆

I put one variety in each bucket and used the labels and the net bags themselves to label the buckets carefully.

The compost that came with them was completely dried out for transportation purposes so it got a good soaking with the watering can straight after planting.

And I added the leftover compost from this first opened bag to top up the raised veggie bed slightly after giving it a good water.  The idea being that the dry compost on top would help stop the water from evaporating.

In fact I've noticed that my plants are doing better than usual as I am recycling all my grey-water onto the garden and all of a sudden the planters with my Lavender and trees in and the herbs in my tin bath at the front door have really shot up and bushed out, and the Courgettes in this photo have almost doubled in size over night.  It's made me feel a little guilty as obviously I have not been giving them enough water before.

Only me would have healthier plants during a drought!!

Thank you for all the brilliant suggestions for the lone sausage on the last post.  They made me want to cook up another box full and try them all out, in fact I'm thinking of doing exactly that to have as one of my weekly Bases in future.

In the end I settled for chopping the leftover sausage into small pieces and stirring it into some freshly made Cous Cous that I had made up with some vegetable stock for added flavour.  It went really well with some homemade Coleslaw and a sliced up beetroot and made for a nice light, and extremely flavourful lunch on a hot day.

Here's a bit of Weekend Watching ... just for you if you are hiding indoors and staying out of the sun like I am.

https://youtu.be/MroqIrlwiy4

A lovely couple who just decided to change tack quite recently and live onboard a narrowboat.  The videos are short, the boat and dog are gorgeous and the music is so relaxing.

https://youtu.be/l327LbNx1_o

Possibly THE best tiny home conversion I have ever seen.  Sympathetically taking an old building and making it very liveable for one or two people.

https://youtu.be/ingrpKzD3A4

The Happy Pear at Vegan Camp Out 2022

And to finish off yet another narrowboat channel that I love and subscribe to  ... can you tell how much I enjoyed our narrowboat holiday.  https://youtu.be/dlqT3PxW2B4

https://youtu.be/Ttk3lcbNLik

In this episode Joanna and Vic answer lots of viewers questions ... including the one that I asked!!  

I hope you have a great weekend and manage top stay as cool as you possibly can, in whatever way to can find to stay cool.  I'm finding sitting watching television with my feet in a bucket of cold water works very well to cool me down before bedtime, then the water goes on those lucky plants ... of course.  😎

Sue xx

Daffodils, Muffins and Weekend Watching

 

It's lovely to have some colour in the house and the garden at the moment.  

Inside it's daffodils smiling cheerfully at me from the shelf, and out in the garden along with the daffodils and snowdrops it's lots of little primulas that have reappeared after sleeping the Winter away.

Usually I don't like the smell of daffs in the house ... to me they are fusty and musty smelling ... but for once my complete lack of any form of a sense of smell is working in my favour.  😁

The Fast 800 diet is going well, I'm feeling better in myself and the scales were showing a lower number the other day, so that is hopeful.  I'm sleeping really deeply and really well, but I do find that I'm hungry a lot and I find that hard.  Oh, I so nearly had a chocolate bar last night,  but I went and cleaned my teeth instead ... it seemed to work.

I'm doing a mixture of recipes from the book and things that I already have in that I want to use up, but making sure that I stay around the 800 calories a day mark.  For instance this morning for my breakfast I made the Cheese and Spinach Mini Muffins from the Fast 800 Easy cookbook, but one day in the week I did have two Weetabix with almond milk.  It's all about balance.

These muffins were quick and easy to make, and very tasty.

Although as they stuck to my muffin tin liners quite a bit, I had these three with my cup of coffee and then shared a fourth with Mavis, who managed admirably. 

 If you would like to read more about the diet you can click on this link:   

The Fast 800 Diet

I am currently doing the Fast 800 and combining it with TRE (time restricted eating) which really suits me.  I am easily doing 14/10 without even having to think about it too much.

Now on a completely different topic, how about a bit of Weekend Watching.  I watched the following two videos while having my breakfast this morning ... and yes they are all about food!!

https://youtu.be/rd2Fb4lEEts

Atomic Shrimp's channel seems to have grown massively over the last few months, with over 910k subscribers he has a brilliant following.  My favourites out of all of his challenges are unsurprisingly the limited spending ones, and this latest one and his last one saw him trying to recreate the £1 per day meals challenge, but this time allowing for inflation with £1.37 to spend.

https://youtu.be/p9zm1uYlE_c

This second video is Chelsea from Little Mountain Ranch who is currently cooking recipes both from her own family archives ready to launch a cookbook of her own, and also from some very old books that her husband has just bought her.  She has such a lovely sunny disposition and a brilliant way of life that it's a joy to sit and watch her videos.

Hope you all have a lovely weekend.

Sue xx

Weekend Watching ... and Boy or Girl?

 

Not my photo, but an image shared on Facebook on one of our local groups.  

It has the photographers name so I thought it would be okay to share it, isn't it beautiful.

Here is this weeks little round up of some of the YouTube videos I've been watching.

A new to me channel with this very likeable guy shopping for £1 for a days meals.  He's just started the series and will be shopping at each of the UK larger supermarkets for one day each week.  Here are his first two shops.  First Aldi ...

https://youtu.be/bkf8IHyrjwA

And then at Tesco ...

https://youtu.be/g6MMxD0MIjc

Frugal Daddy dumpster diving at Aldi ...

https://youtu.be/pusfRbgkNOc

Gosh he gets some good food doesn't he.  How can the supermarkets even think of throwing all this perfectly good food away.  I wish dumpster diving was legal in this country, not that I could climb into a skip or dumpster these days!!  There are some UK skip divers, but they have to be very careful as most supermarket skips are on private and gated land owned by the supermarkets.

And finally here are some Meals of the Week from 'What's for Tea'.  I've been watching her videos while eating my way through the challenge food that I had last week ... and trying not to drool too much.  😄

https://youtu.be/ZoJo2s2ILyE

I also like watching her shopping videos for some reason, isn't it fascinating seeing what other people buy.  

https://youtu.be/JBbg53BuYz0

I hope you find some of those interesting, I tend to watch either over my first coffee of the day or while I'm sitting enjoying my lunch.  It's nice to switch off from work for a while with something completely different.

Hope you have a great weekend whatever you're planning to do.  

We are heading off for a couple of hours to the gender reveal party in Haslingden, to see what our new great grandchild will be ... oh how lovely was it back in the day when the sex of your baby was a surprise!!

What do you guess girl or boy??

 To help you out ... in no way whatsoever really ... I have three grandsons, one granddaughter, one great grandson and one great granddaughter ... so who's next?

(I'll let you know next time.)

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 18 - Weekend Watching 7

 

Day 18 of the Beauty Advent calendar and I have a tiny little tube of face mask to add to my toiletry collection ... and I photographed it in front of some books just for Sue in Suffolk who's having lots of fun trying to see the books on my shelves when they appear behind my little gifts. 😁

These are just a couple of books that I picked for their colour scheme rather than being of a similar genre.

And now for the final time before Christmas it's time to sit down with a mug of your favourite hot beverage or a glass of something suitably chilled ... depending on the time of day or your mood ... for some more Weekend Watching.

The first one this week adds this delightful 'old style television' frame to your modern flat screen, I loved it and yes, I used to have a television just like this when the boys were small.

Vintage UK Christmas Adverts - Epic Compilation - YouTube

Next, lets go and visit The Cottage Fairy again, I do envy her new job in that gorgeous book store.

I am a bookseller - a day in my life working at a small town bookshop - YouTube

I think I too would want to take my wages in books ... not good if you have living costs though!!

And finally, something for charity, after all it is Christmas ...

Why not download your copy today and help The Trussell Trust this Christmas.

Sue xx  🎄

Weekend Watching 2

 

Sometimes a Saturday morning just has to start with a bacon butty, and these 'No-Pork Streaky Bacon Rashers' from Aldi are a pretty tasty occasional breakfast, and they make the lodge smell gorgeous as they cook ... Alan falls for it every time I cook them and thinks I've gone back to the 'dark-side'.

No little piggies were harmed in the making of this meal ... now why did Spellcheck want to change that to Pygmies?  😄😆

Half of the pack of the rashers and two slices of bread gave me enough for a tasty breakfast with a few little pieces left over for the dogs, who are convinced that Mum has the real deal and want their share of the bacon breakfast.

10 minutes to Ready | Extremely Easy and Healthy | Delicious breakfast - YouTube

And it's nice to eat my breakfast while I'm watching YouTube clips of other breakfast ideas for future days.

EN BASİT YÖNTEMLE ✅ TAVADA MAYASIZ TEL TEL KATMER - YouTube

And ever since doing the Ration Challenge a couple of times I love parathas and I make them at least a couple of times a month.  Watching them being made here by someone more expert than me was really relaxing.  They are just a layered flatbread by any other name ... and they have lots of names depending on which national cuisine you are visiting.

NEVER TOO SMALL Scandi Style Paris Small Apartment - 50sqm/538sqft - YouTube

And it's always nice to have a look at someone else's small living space, in this case over 200sq ft larger than mine.  What is it about small living spaces that intrigues so many of us so much?

Something else I've done this week in-between watching numerous YouTube clips and the second series of Killing Eve on iPlayer, is to sign up for and start playing with this years Jacquie Lawson online Advent Calendar ... possibly the best £3.70 I spend all year.  This years looks as beautiful as last years, and with the room to decorate and all the games to play you can start enjoying it immediately.  I still have last years saved on my computer and I've been playing the games all year when I'm waiting for something to download or just fancy a little play.

I might just go and decorate my virtual Christmas Tree while I wait for the kettle to boil ... it's coffee time.  😀🎄

Sue xx