Blogmas Day Twenty Five - Happy Christmas to You All

 Wishing all my readers, friends, family and blogging buddies the very happiest of Christmases.  

May your day be everything that you want it to be.

And always remember the very best present we can give ourselves and our loved ones is time.

Take time for yourself at some point today and breathe in the wonder of the season, or just of a simple December day.  

However you celebrate, or chose not to celebrate, take part of this day for yourself.

Happy Christmas from Sue, Alan and Ginger xx

Blogmas Day Twenty Four - Christmas Memories

 

Christmas is the time of year that memories come flooding back.  Of good Christmases and bad, hopefully the good outweighing the bad.  We have had many and all of them hold a place in our hearts.

Our Christmas Piggies always used to make me smile when we lived in Wales, and this photo reminds me of the many family get togethers at Christmas time, with food being laid out buffet style so that there was no pressure for anyone to arrive at set times.

I saw this photo on social media and it reminded me immediately of the year me and my brother got a mesh stocking each in the mid-sixties.  The first year they were filled with the plastic toys that they had come with, which I thought was brilliant.  Then in subsequent years my Mum and Dad filled them with little toys and things that they had bought specially for the stockings.  But as a child I had loved the plastic 'tat' of the first year the best.  😄

Each year we would get a selection box, always a real treat to have all those lovely sweets all at once.  Oh how I loved Spangles.  Look at the prices in this image, we were obviously just into decimalisation!

Me and my brother posing with our presents in the late 1960s.  We opened everything in our bedroom and then later had to put everything under the tree for a photo opportunity ... my Dad loved his camera.  It also kept us out of the way while Mum cooked the Christmas dinner in the tiny kitchen/living/dining room.  

We lived in just three rooms for the first thirteen years of my life, while I think of them as reasonably happy years my Mum's memories were always very different.  But I do remember the stress she felt, the anger of cooking a full dinner and my brother refusing to eat any vegetables.  So when I had children of my own I always made sure that they shared the preparation in some small way and shared in every part of Christmas Day ... I do hope they have good memories of that time.

It's lovely to have time to think about Christmases past, be they good, bad or indifferent they were all a turning point in the year and a very special celebration.

A little smile for Christmas Eve.

Sue xx

Blogmas Day Twenty Three - Charity Shop Purchases and Homemade Goodies

 

I called to two of my favourite charity shops while I was in town last week.  One day I was in town to visit the dentist and called to the Age Concern shop and the other I was in town with Alan and nipped into the local Children's Hospice shop.

In both I got a book and a little something that caught my eye.  It's Christmas time and it's a nice way to support any charity, something for me, something for them and a 'please put the change in the donation pot'.

I definitely felt more charitable towards them than the dentist did towards me!! 

At home after putting away the new shopping that I showed on yesterday's post, I used the last of my old bananas to make a batch of Banana and Walnut cakes.  Half each for me and Alan and nothing gone to waste.

To make a bit of space in the freezer I also took out all the lemon ends and apple cores and made a little batch of Compost Heap Jelly.  Two of the little jars were then labelled ready to go into Alan's stocking.

 A bit of charity, a bit of frugality and a lot of satisfaction.  

Sue xx

Blogmas Day Twenty Two - Cheap Veg and Other Shopping

 

The supermarkets loss-leader vegetables are a brilliant way to make the Christmas dinner a very budget conscious affair.  Each of these vegetables, 2kg potatoes, 1kg carrots, and a red and a green cabbage were just 5p each.  

The 'supermarket wars' as they are known at Christmas time, have been going on here in England for quite a few years now, their main aim is for the supermarkets to get you into THEIR doors and not their rivals, and hopefully once there you will be spending lots of money on the other foods that they have actually increased in price in the run up to Christmas Day.  I guess it works sometimes, although some canny people do visit multiple supermarkets to pick up the various other vegetables on offer, before settling back in their favourite one to do all the shopping. 

It's being stressed loud and clear this year that it really is the supermarkets absorbing the price cuts and not the farmers ... I do hope that this truly is the case.

Anyway as soon as I got home with my shopping and my 20p worth of vegetables I set to, to make sure that they would last as long as possible.  First they were all left to 'breathe' for a while out of their plastic bags.  Then the carrots were checked over and laid on a  double layer of kitchen roll before being popped into a Stayfresh bag ready for the fridge.

The potatoes had a similar treatment.  I was not impressed with the quality of the potatoes at all to be honest, but hey for that price does it really matter!!

They are now all safely stashed in the fridge.  Just because these were cheap to buy it does not mean that anything will be wasted in my home.

I didn't pick up the other items on offer as I don't really like parsnips ... or those little green round bullets that are the food of the devil.

The rest of my shopping looked like this, including a few things that I really needed and a few treats for myself.  The Iceberg lettuce is an absolute beauty it weighs so much, I have never had a lettuce that heavy in my life ... another vegetable bargain.

My receipt for posterity.

Now apart from nipping out for some fresh bread on Christmas Eve that is my shopping completed.  Alan has an order from Booths to pick up that morning which includes a couple of little desserts that he has treated us both too, and then he also is all done and dusted.

Sue xx

Blogmas Day Twenty One - Will I Make It Until Christmas Day?

 

I already have so much of what I need, and these days there is little extra that I want to add to that, but consumables or usable things that I like to use regularly are always very welcome.

So every year for Christmas, almost since the year we met over twenty one years ago Alan has bought me a supply of my favourite body cream for Christmas, and occasionally for my birthday too.  Sometimes it's six tubs and sometimes it's three ... so I do get a surprise.  My gift comes in those particular numbers as very regularly this particular cream is on offer in Boots the Chemist on a '3 for the price of 2'  offer, and sensibly Alan takes advantage of this.

Why do I like this one so much, well it doesn't bring me out in a rash as so many scented creams tend to do, and almost as important I can remember the scent of it.  So with me still having no sense of smell I at least know what I smell like immediately after a shower.

Last year he bought me six tubs and I still had one left over from the previous year ...

 

... this is what I have left this morning.

Will I make it until Christmas Day? 🤞

He used to buy his Mum Fenjal products every year without fail, and I used to wonder if she was happy with that.  Now I know for sure that she probably was really happy, and Alan is happy that there is at least one present that he doesn't have to think too much about that he knows will always make me happy.

Sue xx

Blogmas Day Twenty - A Look Around Our New Home - BEFORE

 

I've been feeling guilty that when so many of you asked about wanting to follow the progress of the renovations of our new home, I was very uncertain if this was what I wanted to do on my blog.  Years ago you were let into all the nitty, gritty of our day to day lives, with maybe more access than I would dream of now.

But I have had a rethink, and maybe I mellowed slightly to the idea, after all it would also give me a record of things as they happen.  Then last week Alan asked me to video the bungalow as it is now, and then at regular intervals as the work progresses so that we have a record.

So why not share it with you, although for obvious safety reasons on the internet I will not be sharing the front of our property at all.

I thought I should start by sharing some photos of the kitchen, as rather weirdly I forgot to turn right after I came in through the front door.  We usually use the side door for access so coming through the front door for the first time I instinctively turned left and then didn't go back that way.  The front door is in between the living room and the kitchen.

So these first three photos show the kitchen.

Already it has changed massively, and Alan has managed to get all the wall cabinets and the tiles off the walls this week.  We are trying our best not to send too much of what we rip out to landfill, so wherever possible we are selling things really cheaply on Facebook Marketplace.  For instance someone is coming to pick up the fully working, but really needing a clean electric cooker for £10 tomorrow.

The kitchen while looking very good both in person, and in photos is actually not worth us keeping.  It has more years of life left in it, but not enough to see us out, and this bungalow is all about us future-proofing our lives.  So once it has all been removed, I will be photographing it and offering it for sale as well.

Below is my video of the rest of the bungalow, I notice that some of you have already found it on YouTube and left comments, thank you for those.  If you have any questions about anything you see please ask them on here, as I am terrible at responding on YouTube, I only use it as a tool to get films off my phone and don't even think to check back ... oops!!  😄

https://youtu.be/Ws9x9bvxh7Q?si=Aby89oJdQPfPbovU

Now I know that I am sharing any videos on here I will talk my way around next time, but this was just going to be for our use.  I know how much you all love my dulcet tones with my Mancunian accent.  😆

Happy viewing.

Sue xx

Blogmas Day Nineteen - Pocketfuls of Peace

 

Artwork by Ann Baratashvili

This Christmas...

You don't have to be full of joy

All merry and all bright

You don't have to force festive cheer

If you don't feel alright

No, you're not obligated

To be jovial and jolly

To string the lights and sing the songs

Or deck the halls with holly

Perhaps you're missing someone

And perhaps they miss you too

Perhaps you're feeling burdened

By how much you have to do

Perhaps the bleak mid winter

Leaves you feeling rather cold

Perhaps it's hard to drive

December's darkness from your soul

Perhaps you'd rather hibernate,

Let Christmas pass you by

But remember; it's not long ‘til you

Can bid this year goodbye

For now, don't paint a smile

Upon your teary, tired face

Instead, find quiet moments

Where this season gives you space

And recognise that songs

And decorations cannot hide

The flurry of emotions

Overwhelming you inside

Yes, find those little moments

Where the lights don't feel so bright

Where you don't have to keep pretending

Just to be polite

Where you can breathe in peacefully

Away from all the noise

Away from expectation

That you're full of festive joys

‘Cause when the day is over

And the lights are taken down

When it’s another year

Before next Christmas rolls around

Yes, when the joy is fading

And the merriment has ceased

You’ll be so very grateful for

Those pocketfuls of peace

Becky Hemsley 2023

Blogmas Day Eighteen - Making Space for Christmas Food?

 

I have been slowly and surely eating my way through the freezer drawers over quite a long time now, but have I been making space for Christmas food?

If I have I've failed miserably!!  No matter how much headway I make I quickly fill the gaps with random leftovers that I just do not want to go to waste.

There are some gaps, although looking at these photos you wouldn't think so.  I have been trying to eat the odds and sods that were in boxes taking up more room than they should have been, and that has been going well ... with some interesting results.

Three hash browns for breakfast must have been my most random meal, and one that I lived to regret.  All day long no matter what else I ate or drank I could still taste them.  It's put me off buying any more that's for sure.  Maybe I should have had them as part of a meal instead of the whole meal!!

But I did manage to throw away the box.  😄

I've done so much better at using up the things that are in the food cupboard.

Seen here from both sides of the dividing bar, as I can't step back enough to get a straight on shot.  There is so much more of the wood visible now than there was in my last photo taken in June of this year.

This was how it looked in June of this year when I sorted out the 2025 foods and those that were out of date.  I'm happy that some of the oldest foods have now been used and nothing has been wasted, but I guess I could have done a bit better.

Ah well, my not so little stash has kept me going nicely this year through my tiny pension payment months.  There are only five months until my State Pension now, or as Alan insists on calling his 'my old age pension'.

But have I made space for Christmas food ?  The answer really is no.  But then I don't have much to buy, and what I have already will fit easily into the new spaces in the cupboard.  I have two boxes of mini  mince pies, and one of some teeny tiny fairy cakes to take to Mum's on Christmas Day.  I have cheeses in the fridge and chutney in the cupboard, along with the little silverskin pickles and jar of beetroot that are visible on the bottom shelf.  I have stuffing in the jar on the top shelf and Linda McCartney sausages in the freezer, so for my 'main item' I will make a sausage and stuffing Wellington or plait.  

To compliment all that I will hopefully, be able to pick up some of the cheap supermarket vegetables to complete my Christmas lunch.  Alan has ordered his main item from Booths, I don't know what his final choice was as he kept changing his mind, he's also ordered a couple of  dairy-free 'cheesecake style' mini desserts for us both to have.

So that's it, we are pretty much sorted.

Sue xx

Blogmas Day Seventeen - Eat Them

 

There are very few shops in our area that consistently have a dairy-free option on the cake or dessert menu.  One such place is usually Daisy Clough Nurseries, so when we go there I try and support their wonderful endeavours.   😁

On this occasion we had already had a small lunchtime meal there, so I opted to ask for a doggy-bag for my cake.  I enjoyed it much later with a nice cup of coffee at home.

It was small but perfectly formed, but also quite expensive for what it was.  It reminded me that I must get back to baking in the New Year.

I apologise to Angela for the glaringly obvious error in this meme ... I didn't do it honest!!

Sue xx

Day Sixteen - The Christmas Tree Festival

 

  

It was our local Christmas Tree Festival at the weekend and as usual we went along to see the trees and support the local church and Foodbank, which they run from the church hall every Monday.  Admittance to the festival is a couple of items from the Foodbank request list, and we always buy a cup of coffee each and Alan has a slice of cake to support the church funds.

There were some very unique trees this year.

But I think that a lot of people had seen the 'book Christmas tree' on social media, as books were a recurring theme.

The Foodbank entry.

The one we both independently voted for, and which also won the friendly competition.  I guess lots of people could see how much work had gone into it.  It was called 'Fleece Navidad'.  😄

Lots of trees, and lots of colour schemes.

More books, but on a smaller scale this time.

A tiny 'booky' offering, I think this one is lovely in its simplicity.

A view of the stained glass window and the altar nativity.

We loved having a wander round looking at these trees and all the others, then we went onto a Christmas Craft Fair, where all we bought were a couple of old hooks for the back of our bedroom doors in the new bungalow and stayed for a sandwich and yet more coffee.  The stallholders all seemed really quiet and demoralised, it does make you want to support more of the crafters, but sadly there was nothing else that we needed.

We had left home at 9am in the morning for a meeting at the bungalow, and didn't get back until after 4pm, so we managed to get a lot fitted into one day, leaving Sunday free for visiting Mum.

Sue xx

Blogmas Day Fifteen - Taking the Pressure Off

 

For yet another year our family is doing the whole 'not buying gifts' thing.  

The only person that consistently flouts it is my brother, he always insists on swapping presents.  So to please him I grit my teeth and buy him a bottle of good Port.  The youngest of the grandchildren get cash sent directly to them, and the great-grandchildren all get money sent to their parents with the instruction that they can use it for whatever they need to use it for.  The little ones are happy with a big but cheap present, but now the eldest great-grandchild is nearing double figures he 'needs' the latest computer game seemingly, so his money won't go as far.

https://youtu.be/KIXFSnNe_wQ?si=mmjEfNU8ay0DD_Ib

Taking pressure off Christmas for everyone, especially parents with young children can only be a good thing in my opinion.

Sue xx

Blogmas Day Fourteen - The First Four Words

 

Mine were:

Gratitude

Alignment

Money

and

JAKQWHCSANKNLALA

Sorry I couldn't resist, but that's the way my eyes landed! 😁  

What are yours?

Sue xx

Blogmas Day Thirteen - A New Home for Christmas

 

Art by Maja Lindberg

Yes, we have a new home for Christmas. 

 Hopefully we will actually be in it by next Christmas ... there is a lot of work to be done.  But it was the only way to be able to afford to get the shell of something that we can redesign to our own specifications as this will be our last ever home.  Our last ever move ... thank goodness for that.

We have lived in so many places both individually and together, moved so many times that it seems ridiculous, but hopefully this bungalow will be totally future-proofed.  We are using everything that we have learnt from doing our previous works, and the work that we had done on Mum's bungalow ready for my brother to move into, to get this final home just right and future-proofed.

We picked up the single solitary key on Wednesday afternoon after we had visited Mum.  It all worked out very well timewise, we were sat in the services having a coffee when the email from our solicitors arrived, telling us to collect the keys from the auction house which was just a slight detour into Preston, which is one our way home.  I have to say buying at auction, with our brilliant solicitor made for a very easy process.  It was just 28 days from bidding on the property to us picking up the key.

Now we are having lots of meetings at the bungalow with the architect, the builders, the solar guys, the roofing guys etc etc, I can barely keep up with Alan's timetable.  But as long as we can fit Christmas in I will be very happy.

I spotted what could be the perfect front door as we were driving home from Mum's a couple of weeks ago, we were stationery at the traffic lights at the time so Alan said 'quick get a picture' ... so I did.  That's one thing ticked off my list of things to choose then.  😄

Sue xx

Blogmas Day Twelve - Minimal Christmas Deliveries This Year

Usually at Christmas time I am enticed into ordering things online.  Feeling festive always used to loosen my purse strings somewhat, especially after a year of the Challenges that I used to do.  

This year, however, the Christmas deliveries have been minimal, in fact there have been just two up to now ... although I am expecting Ella Woodward's latest book to arrive in a few days.  I pre-ordered it a long time ago and I can't even remember what it's called!!  😄

The first thing to arrive last week was my regular three monthly smol order.  I've been using their washing pods for years now and really love the simplicity of the deliveries.   They come through the letterbox, so there's no need to wait in for the postman, I get an email a week before the order is sent to me in case I want to delay it for a while, something I have rarely had to do actually as I seem to find that two boxes of 24 pods does me easily for three months.  This month I do have quite a few left, but not enough for me to want to delay the order.

They still have an offer on for a trial pack for just £6 if anyone wants to try them out for themselves. In the pack you get:

• 1 non-bio trial pack 1 dishwash trial pack 1 multi purpose spray trial pack (bottle, trigger, band and 1 tablet) 1 washing up liquid starter pack (bottle, pump, band and 1 500ml carton) 1 fabric conditioner starter pack (bottle, pump, band and 1 500ml carton) 1 stain gel starter pack (bottle, pump, band and 1 500ml carton)

Not a bad start for just £6.  It's really easy to cancel the subscription too if you decide that it's not for you.  I did cancel everything but the laundry pods after I had the initial pack, but I have stayed with them ever since.

You can use this smol link to get the offer.  

The only edible delivery that I have had up to now has been two boxes of absolutely delicious crisps ... well I had to try them didn't I, even though they were supposed to be for Christmas so I know they are delicious. 

I used to always buy Ten Acre crisps, and then they disappeared off all the supermarket shelves, I was really sad as there aren't many really tasty dairy-free cheese and onion flavoured crisps, and those had always been my favourite.  Anyway a bit of research led me to the original makers of Ten Acre, now selling their own crisps direct from the farm under a new name.  I immediately thought what a great way to support an independent farm family and have the crisps that I love.

So I ordered a mixed box, as you can build your own 24 mixed flavours box with all your favourite flavours.  They are 40g bags at just £1 each, and you can also buy their larger sharing bags in a box of ten of the same flavour, or a mixed box of eight of your choice, for £1.90 for 150g bags.  I got the mixed box of small packs choosing lots of cheese and onion crisps, and a box of the limited edition Honey Roasted Chestnut and Sage flavour sharing bags.

I am currently trying with all my might to resist eating all the Chestnut and Sage ones before Christmas  as they are delicious. 😄

They come with free delivery to any UK address direct from the Fairfields Farm.

I'm definitely trying to support the smaller and family run businesses whenever I can as we head into a new year.  It's easy to do when their products are also superior to those that I can find in the shops.

Sue xx

Blogmas Day Eleven - Changing Traditions, Making Memories

 

This meme is so very true, we don't have to do any of the above.

Every year without fail for I don't know how long, I have bought one new decoration or ornament for the tree, a symbol in it's way of another year gone by, another year survived in this mad at times world.  This year we have been to lots of places with many, many decorations to choose between and I have held back.  Picking up things that I have liked and even momentarily thinking of purchasing them.  But I have always put them down and come away empty handed ... and happy.

I had no need to purchase one, and my brain told me that this was better.  The other day we were clearing the garden for Winter, I had left lots of the dead heads and dried twigs in the garden for the insects and small creatures to use as cover while they needed them.  But now after all the non-stop rain and hard frosts, it was starting to look very neglected and soggy, not the sort of cover any self-respecting creatures would choose for a hidey-hole for the Winter.  

I have left some things though, so any little critters that might have gone for an away-day will be able to find alternative accommodation on their return.  😄 

Amongst my prunings were some of the tall, twiggy things that I have growing in the tin bath at the front door, it had really shot up this year.  They started as the twiggy offerings in a large bouquet of flowers that Alan had bought me for our anniversary a couple of years ago, and someone told me that they rooted easily.  So always being one to experiment I pushed them into the soil at the back of the tin bath, and lo and behold whoever it was that told me that was completely right, within months I had growth, greenery and then more bobbly things.

So it came to me in an inspired flash, the twigs were so willow-like I decided to make three tiny wreaths for the Christmas tree.  Two I slightly decorated, but the tiniest which is barely an inch across, was left as it was.

Now they are on my tree and this years decorations have been sourced ... at absolutely no cost in money to either of us, but absolutely filled with memories of Christmas' gone by.

Sue xx