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but I couldn't not buy this very pretty covered serving dish. I love the pale pink base and the 1950s floral grey, pink and blue lid, and it will get used as we usually have our veg served up in Pyrex bowls at the moment - without lids. This dish will ensure the potatoes and veg stay a lot warmer until we want a second helping. It is by J&G Meakin, is in perfect condition, and only cost £1.25 in the charity shop. Still don't know where I'm going to store it though!!
Although the weather forecast for today was supposed to be really good (the sun has come out this afternoon and it is indeed, a lovely late summer day now), this morning it was lowering thick grey clouds and by the time I was on the bus to the car boot sale, it was raining hard. But apparently only where I live! By the time I got off the bus the pavements were totally dry and I was really pleased I had made the effort to go (I had been silently cursing the weather whilst on the bus, imagining a total waste of £3.20 bus fare).
The Thursday car boot sale was the best it has been all summer, and I came home with some great things.
An unworn pair of slippers for 50p (sadly, I can't get my hoof into them due to the odema I suffer from - but they should fit Mum OK), a nice pale green enamel pie dish - 10p, and a couple of packets of stick-on wooden heart and ladybirds - 60p the lot.
Some of them have already been used on labels.
There were also two nice tops for DN and, amazingly, some good books for re-sale, particularly the ones that were being sold by a very nice South African lady at the stunningly great price of two books for 5p.
Best of all were the two very useful Indian shopping bags - 20p each. One of them was used there and then as I had a very full shopping trolley, and still had to get a few things in Sainsbury's. The lady selling these had loads of them in different designs - I wish now I'd bought a few more but I was running out of change. Fingers crossed, she'll be there another week. Yup, it was a most satisfactory morning.
Mum - let me know what you think about the slippers, and if you'd like one of the bags.
Money was certainly spent last week - after all we were 'on holiday', and an excellent time was had by all. But some of the best entertainment for DN was very cheap. There were the two trips to the local swimming pool - council run and very reasonably priced. Indeed, on Friday afternoon there were only a few other people in the pool and it was almost like having our own private swimming pool - just as well as the sight of me in a swimming cossie is not pretty!! Even if said cossie is a nice charity shop buy and a 'slimming' dark blue colour. But, lets be honest, there's only so much 'slimming' a dark colour can do when the garment is skin tight!!
There was the lovely afternoon spent at Southend beach. DN was content to spend hours bobbing about in the sea and the only costs involved were the train fares and a delicious Rossi ice cream cone each. My sister and I were able to sit and have a lovely long chat whilst DN amused himself digging up grit and sand from the bottom of the sea and pouring it over his head. He was so happy and content we could hear him singing to himself the whole time. Of course, a trip to the beach would not be complete without building sandcastles and DN built a nice one and topped it off with a paper flag he found floating in the sea.
That's my boy, making good use of what he can find. Oddly enough, the flag was for the Taoist Tai Chi Society which P and I used to go to. Essex is a real 'hub' for the Taoist Tai Chi Society in this country, and I suspect the flag was from a demonstration they had been giving somewhere in the area. It made a great addition to the sand castle.
Sunday's entertainment was totally free as it involved DN kicking Uncle P's football about in the front garden and having a great time with the neighbourhood children. We're very lucky in where we live as it is really quiet and children can safely play out in the road - although they have to watch out for cars, of course. Indeed, every evening there is the sound of footballs being kicked about, or tennis balls being hit, it reminds me of when I was little.
A large stack of children's videos also proved a godsend for when DN was tired and wanted to just watch something on TV. At home he has cable TV but as we don't have that here I was a bit worried he'd miss it and get upset about not being able to watch 'Ben Ten'. No worries, the Disney videos proved to be a huge success - and none of them cost more than 30p each. Indeed, Auntie Elizabeth has also enjoyed watching 'Stuart Little 2' and 'Toy Story' herself.
Just a small 'shout out' about a new website called The Love Factory - www.thelovefactory.co.uk. There are all sorts of eco friendly products and handmade item for sale there. In fact, under the 'Handmade' section my hand-knitted dishcloths are for sale. I was immensely pleased when I was asked if I'd like to sell them on the Love Factory site, nobody has ever approached me to sell any of my handmade items like that before.
Whilst rummaging in the fridge yesterday I found a humungous tub of plain cottage cheese with that day's use-by date. I knew I didn't want to eat such a huge amount of cottage cheese as is - even though I do like it A LOT. Also, I needed to cook myself something for the evening meal so I 'adapted' a Rose Elliot savoury pancake recipe and used it up with a sort of cottage cheese lasagne. I mixed a tablespoon of mustard powder and one chopped garlic clove into the cottage cheese, made a spicy tomato sauce from a tin of chopped tomatoes, with sauteed onion and a pinch of chilli powder, layered the whole lot with sheets of lasagne and added some grated cheddar to the top. It was good and tasty, although not overly pretty to look at - which is why there is no photo.
Tonight's meal is going to be mashed potato layered with sliced hard-boiled egg and fresh tomatoes in a cheese sauce. That means I get to use up the organic potatoes which are beginning to sprout, the half a carton of cherry tomatoes which have gone a bit soft, and two eggs which are nearly at their use-by date. I love this recipe as it's one my Mum used to make for us when we were children. There's a real comfort food taste to it, and it's a nice cheap meal too.
On a totally different note, I found two balls of this wool in the charity shop this morning - 50p each. I'm planning on using them for the patchwork blanket (which is still progressing VERY SLOWLY), but even if they'd have been no good for that project I would have had to have bought them anyway, just for the gorgeous illustration on the ball bands.
I've waved my sister and DN off on the train back to Bristol this afternoon. The house seems very quiet without them and I'm missing them terribly already. My sister very kindly gave me a couple of lovely gifts to say thanks for having them to stay.
There was a gorgeous bunch of roses, now gracing the hall cupboard and cheering up a very grey Bank Holiday Monday.
But best of all were these two beautiful Sylvac vases she spotted in the local charity shop. They were hidden away in the 'posh' cabinet there (somewhere I never look as the prices are more than 50p!!) I am absolutely thrilled with them and they look just gorgeous in my living room. I can sit and look at them for years to come and they will always remind me of the lovely week we've had. Thanks, S, it was a real pleasure having you both to stay.
is as a temporary clothes line at the beach when DN throws himself into paddling with such abandon that he is soon soaked from head to foot. Eventually he ended up swimming in just his underpants whilst we tried to dry out his sodden T-shirt on the handle of the shopping trolley.
The shopping trolley accompanied us to the beach with all sorts of useful items inside, sadly, sun tan cream was not one of them, and now my both sister and I are neon red. Anyone remember the old Ready Brek adverts - 'Central Heating for Kids' - we're both sporting that red glow all over!
Ah, the things I've learnt on my summer holiday with my sister and nephew.
I've learnt that anything you have to pay for in London - like the Dr Who exhibition we went to is going to be nice and quiet and you'll be able to see all the exhibits really well. BUT, presumably due to the effects of the credit crunch, if you go to any of the free museums then it will be like hell on earth. 45 minutes to queue to see the animatronic T Rex made even the five-year old nephew realise it was just too ridiculous for words. Even walking from one exhibit to the next was difficult due to the enormous volume of people there.
I've learnt that there is a fabulous park just 10 minutes walk from my house and that the children's play area there is superb.
I've learnt that our local swimming pool is much nicer than it looks on the outside and can keep said five-year-old happily entertained for hours for £3.50.
I've learnt that I'll never criticise Southend-on-Sea again - that it is, indeed. a lovely seaside resort - and that the Adventure Island fun fair could easily give Disneyland Paris a run for its money - and the staff are much more friendly too.
I've learnt that DN is a dab-hand at holding a rifle, even though he's not allowed toy guns. He's also the only person I've ever known who was able to get a prize from one of those mechanical-grab, money-in-the-slot, end-of-the-pier-type machines.
I've also learnt not to take a lot of notice of dire weather forecasts, just take clothes for every eventuality and it will turn out to be a beatiful sunny summer's day.
Making a welcome change from the recent autumnal summer storms, today has been a lovely, warm, sunny day with a light breeze. It was ideal grass cutting and washing drying weather, and the whole neighbourhood seems to have washing on lines, and lawnmowers buzzing across the grass.
I was also prompted to do a mega-quick Gok Wan style refashion of a recently-purchased (charity shop) top.
The original 'angel' sleeves did absolutely nothing for my bingo wings, so I hacked off the worst of the flapping bits, took in the underarm seams a couple of inches, and feel a lot more comfortable in the resulting sleeveless top.
It's not perfect but is a huge improvement
This box of four energy saving light bulbs turned up on the doorstep this morning.
They're a 'free' gift from British Gas. Very nice too, and perfectly timed, but I would have preferred to buy my own light bulbs and have somewhat lower gas bills. The blurb that came with them says that British Gas are sending a total of 52 million light bulbs to all of their customers. How much did that little lot cost them? And wouldn't the money have been better spent on reducing gas bills?
Anyway, gift, horse and mouth spring to mind! I was pleased to receive them, and even more pleased that I could get a full refund on the wrong size energy saving light bulb I bought in Woollies yesterday.
The phrase 'what a coincidence' always reminds me of the line from a certain film 'Deirdre Chambers, what a coincidence!' Tell me what film the line is from and I'll post a little something as a prize. If more than one person knows the answer I'll do a draw. I'm happy to post anywhere in the world.