New Piece of "Junk"

I had a little nosey around the charity shop today and came across this cute little picture.

It hasn't photographed well due to the glare of the light, but it is such a sweet little retro picture and just perfect to give to my niece who expects a little daughter any day now.

I think I will paint the frame a light colour though as the current one looks a little heavy and dark and it is going into a freshly painted light nursery.

Trouble is, when I was in there I spotted a small collection of blue and white china originally from BHS. Now I don't need any china but I was fretting as I really wanted it, especially as it was a bit retro and with the demise of BHS was a bit special.

So the picture was £4 and the china was £10.75. I had only £10 on me. Luckily the assistant said they would keep the china until tomorrow when I could collect and pay for it.

So there was a teapot, a gravy boat, three plates and three bowls. I will add a picture when I get them.

Slimming World over the weekend.

I said on a previous post that I let myself have 15 syns on a Friday, Saturday and Sunday. This seems to help me from losing it and cheating.

Below is one of my current obsessions. 

It is a version of Slimming World Chips but I cut them across instead. These are made with Albert Bartlett Rooster potatoes which are the best in my opinion but they cost more (of course). I have them with 2 x Quorn Cumberland sausages and 1Tbsp of original Hellmans Mayonnaise. The potatoes get done in Frylight so they are free. The meal comes to around 7.5 syns and I love it, especially on a Friday evening when it seems the entire world is getting take away!

Now on to my (maybe) invention of Syn Free lollies. I got these gizmos from Ebay  They came from China and they did take a few weeks to arrive but they are actually brilliant for making push up lollies.

You just take the little lid off and pour or spoon your mixture in.

So I mixed Quark with FF Fromage Frais and sweetened it with a little Candarel. First time I made them, I mixed in some lemon juice and then stirred frozen (but defrosted) raspberries through the mixture. They were really lovely and refreshing. You can also add vanilla essence.

This time though, I had some leftover sugar free raspberry syrup so mixed that in. I did it in a food processor but next time will probably do with a hand whisk as I hate washing up the plastic bowl etc.

This is the jug of the mixture.

I made quite a lot and only had enough for four of the lolly things as my freezer is full, but the rest I put in containers and it made an acceptable dessert, with some of my beloved Total 2%.

Last but not least I made a Yorkshire pudding which I love. 10 syns in total, and I have half one day and half the next. I make two roast dinners on a Sunday and have the second on Monday.

So that is

56 grams plain flour
1 egg
80 mls milk and water combined
I add half a teaspoon of Sage
pinch of onion granules.

As you can see it makes a really nice Yorkie which is 10 syns in total.

Slimming World Waffles - My take on it.

First of all here is the recipe.

40 grams of porridge oats
1 egg
2 heaped Tablespoons of Muller Light Toffee yogurt
1 tsp Vanilla Essence
2 teaspoons of sweetener

First off I blend the oats and sweetener in this wee gizmo. It has a flat blade for blending spices, coffee etc and that is the blade I use for this.

Then I add the rest of the ingredients, the egg, yogurt and vanilla essence and blend up with the cross blade.

This amount makes enough for two. It then gets poured into the second gizmo, The Waffle Maker.

I don't know how other Waffle Makers work but this one goes red then you pour the mixture in and it goes green then after a while back to red. I check the waffles throughout and keep them in if they don't look as brown as I like them.

Then, this is how they come out!

I think they are really nice. They are a B choice (the Oats) and I use 4 syns for 2 Tablespoons of cream and 1 Tablespoon of Maple Syrup.

When I first started making them, I was having them in the morning but I would much rather have them in the evening as they feel a bit of an indulgence.

Obviously you can have them with fruit and yogurt to keep it all syn free if you like. I am slightly addicted to them this way though.

Sometimes the waffles do stick, so about every third go, I will spray a little oil (not Frylight as I think that ruins things) and count half a syn for 6 sprays that I spread with a little brush.

Seems like a lot of syns to some but much more filling than some wee chocolate bar.

PS. I have had a major failure today in that I ate 4 x bags of Pomme Bears one after the other! Oh dear. Hope to do better tomorrow!

I'm a bit Retro - Doing Green Days on Slimming World.

Extra Easy is not for me. I get that it is easier in that the whole family can eat together but as a single person, I find that the Green day system is more appropriate.

For a start, I can't really afford loads of different fruits (and veg) that you have to have on your plate at each meal. I also would find it very hard to munch my way through a big salad at lunchtime as sometimes I only have 20 minutes to eat and I end up with indigestion!

Also I think it must be quite restrictive. Only one A choice and one B choice per day. 

On Green, you can have two of each. I tend to use both A choices for milk, or if I have had only five cups of tea that day, I can use the other A for some cheese. I generally have a B choice (bread) with my breakfast, which is mostly eggs and the other B I save for the evening so I can make my oat waffles, which I will share when I make them later.

I aim to eat at least three pieces of fruit per day. I tend to have 2 oranges and maybe a kiwi. When the price is right I buy some raspberries but you don't get a lot for your money this time of year.

I also keep frozen raspberries in the freezer but often forget to take them out.

Sticking to mainly green days is working for me at present. I may have up to 10 syns per day but I allow 15 syns for Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

I do have the odd red day, but as meat is expensive it may only be one or two days a week.

I no longer expect the weight to fall off quickly (it never has!), so I am ambling along, taking the slow and sometimes tortoise route but 8 lbs off so far.

So this has to some under "stuff" as it isn't junk.

Slimming World - Getting ready for the week ahead.

Yesterday I made a Slimming World Chicken Bhuna. Only I didn't have any chicken! I did have some Quorn chicken pieces however so made it with that.

The recipe came from Youtube @ Tastefully Vikkie. I can't seem to do a link so if you want to look it up just put in Chicken Bhuna Slimming World.

Anyway it looks like this :-

It was really nice and for an extra 2 syns I had 2 tablespoons of Elmlea Cream, which makes it a lot nicer.

For afters I had these :-

Obviously it is a Muller Light toffee flavour (which is my favourite) but I have it with Total 2% yogurt which is a whole lot nicer that the 0% and has only 1.5 syns for the entire 500 gram tub. I rarely even count it as I use a dollop at a time. It makes the yogurt a lot more filling. Also the tubs come in handy for storage. See below. **

On a Sunday, I try to get some food prepared for at least part of the week.

This is a bit of a Hotchpotch soup using up some bits and bobs plus broccoli.
It had a potato, some frozen butternut squash, broccoli,a carrot and some left over salad leaves plus a stock cube, some cumin and a shake of chilli flakes. I leave the seasoning until I eat it.

As you can see the Total yogurt tubs make good containers for it.  I also use them for heating stuff up in the microwave.

So I have to hand 2 Quorn Bhuna and Rice and 3 pots of soup. This means that if I am ravenous, I can have any of them syn free, or my beloved Elmlea which is 1 syn per Tablespoon. I usually take them to work with me to heat up in the microwave. It is nice to have something hot in this weather and they are reasonably quick to get down when I only get half an hour to eat.

** So far, I have only found the 2% Total in my local Waitrose which is a pain as I have to make a special visit for it.

Yes it is a simple thing to do - but I'm still pleased!

I found this pretty green leaf fabric the other day in the charity shop priced at only 50p, which is a bargain. I was determined that this weekend I would do something with it, no matter how simple.

There was not enough fabric to cover both sides, so I found this cream fabric amongst a stash I have.

So, here it is. My new cushion cover. I had bought the pad some time ago in another charity shop which had a horrible cover on it. It was my intention to make a new cover. Well it has only taken about 2 years but there you go!  I was a bit naughty in that my measurements and cutting were a bit slapdash as the table was a mess. Still it turned out ok and it means I have actually made a new blog post.

I really want to start blogging again and hopefully this little action may spur me on.

Today's Boot Fair Haul

So I was going to resist the Boot Fair around the corner but as you can see I caved in.

I was delighted to pick up this old Kenwood food processor for £3.00. Bargain! I gave it a good wash and clean down and had a go at making some butter in it which turned out very well. I had seen a tutorial on Youtube and thought I would try it.

The sock mates cost 20p - they were unopened as you can see. The piece of material was 50p and I think it may be big enough to make a table cloth, either way I shall use it for something.

I have included the tin but I did not get it from the Boot Fair. I rescued it from someone's recycling. It was actually covered in adverts for the cake which came in it. I thought it had potential and used some of my favourite wall paper to cover the adverts. It is not perfect but good enough for me.

I am using it to store my cotton reels in.

I also got a bread board 50p.

All in all a good haul. I am also de junking a lot of my old stuff and the hallway is full of things to go to the tip.

Grrr. So Cross!

So I finally make a decision to do something! I have been thinking about this little chest of drawers which have been out in my shed all winter.

I bought them a few years ago from a charity shop. They only cost £5.00 which was great as they are very well made. They have been in several locations around the house but due to a move around there was no room for them and they ended up out in the shed.

I didn't want to get rid of them and have now found a use for them. I have been thinking about them during the week. About painting them and putting some wall paper on the front of the drawers.

Anyway I bring them in and find that all the drawers are jammed tight. Of course it is obvious that it has been damp winter and the wood has swollen up. Now this has made me so cross and as I am so impatient I have been trying everything I can think of to get those damn drawers open but I have had to admit defeat. They are currently placed up against a radiator in the hope the wood will dry out and shrink back.

Now I don't know what to do with myself!!!  :{

Anyway when they are done I will share them with you.

Spring has Sprung

Looking forward to Easter with a few daffs.

This really is just a practise to get back into using my blog. I find it hard to remember how to do things and it has taken me ages to work out how to get my pictures off my phone and on to the desktop. No matter it is finally here.

A couple of years ago, my niece and me went to a garden centre and they were selling off a load of Easter stuff. There were quite a few of these little vases and we more or less cleared the shelf as they were selling for silly money, something like 49p if I remember correctly.

I only found mine the other day as I was having a sort out and I resolved to use it this year.

A lovely lady bought me two bunches of daffodils yesterday, so I knew exactly where they were going to go. Happy Spring!

I forgot how to use the blog!!

It has been so long since I posted that I forgot how to get back onto my blog but here I am again.

I don't know if anyone even reads it because I don't seem to be able to get comments for some reason, even though they are enabled.

Anyway I have been busy doing little doodly bits and boblets around the place and now I know how to post again I shall catch up shortly.

Finally.....for today!

The little key cupboard from way back when did eventually get painted!

Au Revoir for now. :D

Cupboards can be great too!

For a long time we have stored an old freezer kindly given to me by someone on Freecycle. We had a larder fridge in the kitchen but it seemed to go a bit crazy of late, freezing up and then thawing so consequently our food was covered in water or frozen!!

So we decided that it would make more sense to buy a fridge freezer and move the freezer on to another owner. A guy off Freecycle who proved to be very interesting in that he makes all manner of things from pallet wood, so I have ordered a couple of garden trugs which I will share when he brings them around.

So here is the freezer and the space it was in.

 

I got my lovely friend Mark to come round and build some shelving for me to utilise the space in a more sensible way. We did it on the cheap. Batons and we used a reduced set of laminate flooring which worked out a treat!

 

I am so chuffed with them. It means that all my gadgets (which I am an addict of too!) are now in one place and easily accessible. There is even a space for the vacuum cleaner which usually is hovering in one room or another. My breadmaker can be used in situ as there is a plug close by. Also my JML Starchef. I am very pleased with the result and it cost me £90 including labour so bargainous too.

 

 

 

 

 

 

This last picture is of a piece of wood (maybe a bunk bed ladder found in the loft?) but I have managed to make use of that too. It is now a handy store for all my cleaning odds and sods.

 

 

 

So there you have it. My attempts to get organised are finally coming to fruition! Lots more to go though. See you soon.

I was welll chuffed with this wee cabinet.

I am completely addicted to small pieces of old furniture. I think it was called utility during the war times, but it seems to me, no matter how they cobbled it together, it was far superior and better made than anything you can buy now. Plus I truly love the "spirit" of older things, you know they have belonged to someone else and now you can add your bit of "belonging spirit" to the item.

So......I forgot to take a before picture of it but you can picture one of those heavily varnished dark wood items from the forties/fifties (not sure).

But here it is bought bang up to date.

 

You can see that in the gap at the top there was space for something, so casting my eyes around the house, I came across these baskets which I sewed together with some twine and made a little handle so you can pull it out. It is very satisfying to cobble together some items you have had hanging around just waiting to be united!

 

 

My son and his girlfriend now have it in their bedroom using for storage.

 

 

 

 



 



Sorry for the loooooooooooong delay in posting!

Hi

Yes it has been sometime since I posted. Unfortunately consistency is not one of my traits! This does not mean, however, that I have been idle (though there has been a fair bit of that too), but I have a few up dates. Oh yes, one of the reasons I delayed because I completely forgot my log in details, so when I had a spare minute or two I updated them so here I am back and ready to junk share again. :)

My newest and best Teasmade Ever

I'm not really sure if I have ever shared my complete obsession with Teasmades before. My family are certainly aware of it. You used to be able to pick them up at boot fairs for 50p or a £1 years ago, but now they are going on Ebay for a lot more. This sweet treasure cost me £38.50 plus about a tenner in postage. It was described as new and in the box which is why I treat myself to it. I currently only have 7 teasmades dotted around the house! ;)

Wot I got done this weekend.

Take a pine varnished plate rack and cover it in two coats of Wickes chalk paint, colour Grizzly.

Then rub the edges with candle grease where you want it to look as if it has aged. Then do two top coats of Wickes chalk paint, colour Harvest Moon.

 

 

Rub along the edges gently with some sandpaper to remove the painted bits with candle grease.
Then rub some clear wax varnish into the whole piece and buff off. Then voila!

I will be repainting my bedroom in a couple of weeks so will show you the finished article complete with junk and stuff! It's only taken me about 15 years to paint this piece, but it is very useful for hanging jewellery, bags etc. I am quite chuffed with it. :)

Au Revoir until next time.

My new computer chair. Love it.

I have been looking for a new computer chair and during a visit to Ikea, I spotted this sweet little chair which is just perfect for the space. It is nice an neat and a little bit different to your bog standard chair a la Argos.

Here is another picture of cute dog Flecki. How she manages to look like a puppy at the age of 13 is beyond me. Cute dog alert y'all!

I have been a bit naughty ignoring my blog, but there hasn't been much to say really.

One thing that has changed is that I have signed up for online dating. It maybe a little too soon as I am not six months out of a long relationship but I wanted to do something to get the old brain whirring again and though I don't really have great intentions of getting "out there", you just never know and they do say it can happen when you least expect it.

I had around 35 messages to sift through. One said "Thanks but no thanks" - nice - I mean why bother?? Wouldn't mind but he was no oil painting. My problem is that I take the worst photos in history. My son kindly says I don't look as bad as I do in my photos!!

So all but one message got deleted. I did get a message from a nice sounding man from London. I have replied to that so will see how it pans out. I am not desperate....repeat I am not desperate.

I also got a wink and a message from a pretty hot looking 42 year  old who reckoned I look sweet in my picture. He sounded lovely but I think looking to hook up with someone very soon. I only joined today so that will not be on my agenda right now. It was vaguely flattering though. :)

Au Revoir. x

It is all a bit embarrassing!

In my last post I did say that I had some time off and I intended to do some "stuff" to share with you.

The truth is, I have done very little over the past two days and now this being my third day off, am panicking a little.

I have experienced something this weekend which I think I have not for some time and that is a feeling of loneliness. Feelings about a relationship breakdown came to the surface and I had to face the disappointment, anger and sadness. Sometimes you do just want to blame another person for what has happened but there is a little whispering voice that reminds you of just how equal a role you did play in the dance. It is painful, it is bloody annoying, but it is the truth.

A phone call to an old friend turned into a shared rant about our partners. Mainly anger at ourselves for sticking around so long, due to fears, lack of self esteem and denial.

After this baring of the soul however, I felt a glimmer of hope, release and refreshment coursing through the old veins. A bit like refreshing the computer page, the old stuff remains but there is something to move onto.

So I trundled up the stairs and did something I had been avoiding for ages. Getting this little cupboard out of the junk mass and attempting to re-position it on my landing.

It has an annoying quirk, in that the lower shelf just meets with the top of the box double plug on the wall, so you are unable to use the plug nor push the cabinet against the wall, so it is a wobbling away from the wall.

I knew the cupboard/cabinet needed to be raised by at least 1/2 inch to clear the plug, so I cast around for something to achieve this. Frustratingly I could find very little, due to chaotic tendencies. In the end however, I chanced upon a peculiar looking saw (from Tchibo) and a slat for a single bed.

I managed, with much huffing and puffing, and the odd curse, to finally saw two equal lengths of wood to place under the cupboard. To my surprise (and relief), it worked!

I then relocated some baskets which fitted very nicely into the shelving area.

Now this cupboard is very old, hand made by a distant relative (or so I understand) and while I believe it would look nicer painted or at least lighter, I would feel a tremendous amount of guilt that I had spoiled someone's careful and very detailed work. This is it!

The Latest Weeny Blighter to join the family.

I have started to write stories about my little creations. Here is the latest Weeny who I made last weekend. 

 

I have a day off  on Friday so it is a long weekend. Hope to do something I can share with you. :)

 

Quick update, I have now lost around 8.5 lbs so the wheat baby belly is definitely receding. Very pleased with the progress which is a bit slow (we all want to lose weight quickly) but it is such an enjoyable way of eating that I feel it is worth it for the results.

A quick share!

I am aware that I have not posted anything for absolutely ages so here is something that was achieved today.

A sweet little cupboard painted by my niece. It was a bit difficult to find somewhere to put it and it is a shame about the shower switch but at least it is finally up on the wall.

Makes a nice place to display my little collection of trinkets and oddsies.

Not quite got all the bits in their right places but will have a go at the weekend.

Weeny B for Amy.

The de-cluttering continues and did a bit of Wheat B baking so have been quite productive.

Here is a picture of a Weeny B for a girl I know called Amy. We all have one in this house now!

My son's.

 

And finally mine, which went a bit wonky but I love it all the same.

 

 

 

 

We are all off to a classical music concert tonight so that will be relaxing and take our minds off life for a couple of hours.

 

See y'all later.