Making Good Use

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.

Bullseye

And we officially have a ripe tomato.  Very small, very red and very tasty.  Can't wait for the rest of them to ripen up now.

Fool

In a bid to have a change from just stewed plums I thought I'd get all creative this morning and make a plum fool.  Not having made a fool before I checked through some recipes on the internet and they seemed pretty darn easy - just stewed fruit swirled round with wipped cream.  So off I pop to Aldi to get a few bits and bobs (the milk having turned to cottage cheese literally overnight - how did that happen in a fridge!) and got myself some single cream.

I get back home, decide to make an iced lemon cake (the organic unwaxed lemons were looking a bit 'tired and emotional' and needed using up) so got out the hand mixer.  Great thought I, I'll check which attachments I'll need to whip up the cream later on.  Whaaaaaat!  Apparently you can't whip single cream!  Thinking this was some over-fussy manufacturers hype I double checked with my Mum and, nope, you can't whip single cream - only double or whipping cream.  B*ggerations.  So it'll just be boring old stewed plums again for pudding tonight.  Or a slice of iced lemon cake.

Sunday Bargains

Yesterday, for the first time in quite a few weeks, we went to a car boot sale.  The weather was just right for it and there were masses and masses of both sellers and buyers - probably the biggest boot sale of the year as yet.

I found a few new tops for my nephew and half a dozen or so books which I hoped would be good for re-sale (they weren't, and are now in the shed awaiting a trip to the charity shop.)

I also bought a huge peg bag full of old wooden pegs for £1.00.  That should put a stop to my obsessive colour matching when hanging out the washing as it will now just be a choice of wood or wood!

Then there was the enormous bottle of Vidal Sassoon shampoo for 20p - very nice and has made my hair lovely and silky, six bottle of various posh French ungents - 20p each, and a small tub of Body Shop Body Butter for 30p.  If nothing else at least I'll be smelling sweet in the next few weeks.  (The Cath Kidston towel was a birthday present and is so nice I don't want to use it as yet.)

Fungi Fabric

I picked up this mushroom and toadstool patterned tablecloth a couple of years ago and apart from making one small cosmetic bag from a small bit of it the rest has just been lurking in the fabric boxes ever since. 

All of a sudden I got the urge to make a cushion cover from it.  The front was cut from two triangular corner pieces to try and make the best of the red polka-dot border.

The back is my usual simples (as the meerkat would say) envelope-style opening cut from the middle portion of the cloth. 

The feather cushion pad was a recent charity shop buy and was inside an Ikea / Cath Kidston Rosali cushion cover which was subsquently sold on ebay for a nice profit so, technically, the cushion pad cost me nothing.

I'm quite pleased with how it all turned out and the cushion is certainly livening up my dark green settee very nicely.