Making Good Use

Little Things

A couple of very small projects have been completed recently.  First up, a little cloth pouch for P to keep his tie in on the way to and from work.  He has to wear a shirt and tie (and a suit) for his work but hates the tie and only puts it on just before he gets to work and takes it off again immediately he leaves.  For the past few years he's been putting his ties in a very manky old carrier bag in his briefcase but now he's got a custom made little pouch to keep them in.

Made from an offcut of denim which I've had so long that I've no idea where it came from, fastened with some of the trim I bought earlier in the year

and lined with a bit of the check shirt from the charity shop which turned out to be too frayed on the collar and cuffs to wear.  It's not the neatest sewing job I've ever done - I had a bit of trouble with the trim - but it's definitely an improvement on a ratty old Boots carrier bag.  P seems to like it anyway.

And for myself, there was the addition of a couple of buttons to a very plain black top.  The top was one of a few I got for 50p each at the car boot sale a couple of months ago but which I hadn't worn because the fabric was a bit too thick when the weather was really warm.  Things have cooled down a tad now and I really like the style of the top - nice and long over jeans - but the funereal black was a bit too much for me so I added a couple of flower-shaped buttons to the pockets. 

I know they're only a tiny detail but they seem to alleviate the tedium of plain black just nicely, and the colour goes well with the washed-out charity shop jeans I wear this top with.

Jam

Yesterday, I finally bit the bullet and got to it with making some plum jam.  Thanks to my Mum giving me LOTS of help via the 'phone I found it quite an easy thing to do and was really really pleased with the results.  4.4 lbs of fruit and 4.4 lbs of sugar (pesky stuff is in 1kg packets so I had to slightly metricate my imperial measurements) gave me eight jars of jam.  I think six of the jars are 1 lb jars and two of them are 12 oz ones.  There was also a bit of jam left in the pan so I filled a small jar as the 'tester' pot.  It was lovely this morning on fresh baked bread for breakfast.

Now I've just got to write some labels for the jars in my bestest handwriting (I tried to print the darned things on the computer and couldn't find the correct label size!!) and then I reckon there are still enough plums on the tree to make at least another eight jars of jam - yum!

Big Bag - Small Price

Amid the flurry of toy buying at last Sunday's car boot, I did manage to find a few bargains for myself, including this ginormous waterproof bag.

It's a huge great brute measuring 21 inches high, 12 inches wide and 10 inches deep.  It's got a good deep zipped pocket on the front and a smaller purse-type bag inside which is attached to the main bag by a clip and cord - useful for locating it in the depths of this giant.  The orange and pink stripes are really bright and zingy and I can imagine the bag getting a lot of use on wet autumn days (which, very sadly, are not too far away I guess.)   The price - the tiny sum of 20p.  I was very pleased.  Although not quite as pleased as my Mum was yesterday when she found one of these bucket bags by Cath Kidston in a charity shop.  OK, it did cost her a tad more than my 20p but it was still a fabulous bargain. 

Staycation

I may have not been away from home but I've had a lovely week with my nephew and my sister, doing all sorts of things that I never normally do when I'm not having a 'staycation'.  The sun has shone pretty much all the time and we're all A LOT browner than we were last Thursday (thank heavens for the extremely ancient bottle of sun-tan lotion found in the bathroom cabinet otherwise there would have been some very nasty sunburn!)

There have been visits to the seaside, to amusement arcades, to the local swimming pool and 'Adventure Island'.  Lots of sandwiches eaten at lunchtimes, ice creams, a barbecue and a lovely evening meal at a country pub.

The mini goalpost in the garden proved an enormous success with both six-year-old nephew and somewhat older Uncle P, as did the 75p foam swords from Somerfield.  The £2.00 scooter from the local car boot sale also turned out to be a wonderful buy - despite the fact that the handle-bars refused to budge from their lowest position.

My sister has gone back home with a 'new' pair of sandals that I'd had put away in a box for at least ten years - nice to know someone can finally get to wear them, and a suitcase full of DN's 'new' toys from the car boot sale.  For a boy who was adamant he didn't want to get up and go there on Sunday morning he certainly managed to come home with an awful lot of new 'stuff.'

Yup, when the sun is shining and you've got such great company to enjoy things with, you sure can't beat a 'staycation.'

The Calm Before ....

An opressively hot afternoon yesterday was spent in the garden with a spot of quiet reading, some gentle knitting of the no-need-to-concentrate variety (another waffle dishcloth) and a large glass of water.

As I write 'the storm' is en route to Essex and should be here in an hour and a half.  Luckily for those travelling, it's much cooler today.  I think everything has been fairly well sorted out for his arrival after much cleaning, sorting and tidying has gone on for the past week.  I'm sure if I actually did some housework now and again I wouldn't have to work so manically when guests come to stay but without a good reason to do it I never seem to get round to it.  I'm so looking forward to giving 'the storm' (my nephew) a good old squeeze when he gets here although any signs of affection will be accepted only under great sufferance on his part.  He'd much prefer to greet his auntie with a huge blown 'raspberry!'

Misinformed

The label definitely said 'courgette' and it was the last one that was left - so I bought it.  I had perused the cucumber plants that were also for sale but decided a courgette would be more useful.  Several times since I've regretted not having bought the cucumber plant instead.

I needn't have worried - looks like I ended up with a cucumber plant after all.  Now this little devil's a bit larger I'm pretty certain it's a cucumber and not a courgette.  Which is lucky really as I've developed quite a taste for cucumber lately.

Fifty Pence Pyrex

Do I really need it? - No.

Is it somewhat enormous? - Yes.

Can I easily store it? - No.

Was it a great bargain? - Oh, yes.  So it came home with me.  I'm sure I'll use it for something at some point in the future.

Sunday Booty Bargains

Another gloriously warm and sunny Sunday here in SE Essex and therefore another bumper car boot sale.  Yet again I didn't manage to make it all the way round - too many sellers and too heavy a bag.  Plus I'd been given a lift by my lovely next-door neighbours so I didn't want to keep them waiting.  And there were some good finds again.

Two rather nice shower gels for me - Normandie 'cleanse me softly'  (which sounds a bit of a dodgy name to me - or is it just my grubby mind!), and 'clean up' by FCUK (now, that is definitely a dodgy name!)  there were both 50p each.

A Ped Egg with handle which apparently is the ultimate foot file.  Oddly enough I saw this advertised on TV yesterday afternoon (when I was watching 'North by North West' whilst tackling a humungous pile of ironing.)  It sounded just what I've been looking for as my feet are truly a disgrace at the moment.  I was really pleased to find it being sold brand new by a trader for £2.00.  I think it was advertised on telly as costing £9.99 but I could be mistaken.

Also from the same trader was this brand new Disney Store 'Lion King' play set - £3.00 instead of the £9.00 it cost in the Disney shop.  This is, of course, for my nephew who is coming to stay for a week in a few days time.  He very seriously informed me, when I spoke to him on the phone the other day, that I'd have to get him some toys in as he will need something to play with when he's here!  Any excuse for a new toy or two!!

And something else to keep DN occupied is this unopened Lego 'Life on Mars' Solar Explorer kit for £2.00.  Apparently it contains 242 pieces, I'll be willing to bet at least a couple of them go walkabout before it gets built!!

Teeny Tiny Veg

There is the teeniest little courgette developing and a lot more flowers on the plant.  Woohoo, this grow your own veg lark is quite exciting.  This little fella has certainly prompted me to get out the watering can and the veggie feed this evening to help plump him up.  I'll be keeping a close eye on him though as I don't want him to turn into a marrow overnight.  (Can't imagine why I feel the need to classify a courgette as a 'him'!!)  Oh, and another teeny tomato is just turning red too.  Pity we've eaten all the salad leaves for the time being otherwise we could have quite a homegrown feast.

More For My Boy

I went to the local Thursday Car Boot Sale this morning and the place was really busy - lots and lots of sellers, the most I've ever seen there on a Thursday, as well as lots of buyers.  I had a really good haul for my nephew.

Three T-shirts - John Rocha, Jasper Conran and Jeep brands, 50p each.

Three pairs of shorts, again 50p each.

Three Lego bionicle sets (very popular these with my nephew at the moment) and a Lego Knight set too.  These were all 75p each.  I was assured they're all complete but we'll see.

My nephew and his Mummy (my sister) are coming to stay next week so I also popped into Sainsburys whilst I was down that way to get him his favourite 'baby sausages' and a few other titbits he might enjoy whilst he's here.  I came home loaded like a pack horse, and most of it was for 'my boy' but he's worth it.