Happy Easter!

Hi and Happy Easter!

I've had a lovely day with my family, playing board games all afternoon!

Ashley's girlfriend is spending the weekend with us, which is special because she's been in France, teaching children how to ski since the first week in December. 

I've been away from blogging for a while because I haven't been well. After my back problem was getting better, I got a cancellation appointment to have my upper wisdom teeth removed at the John Radcliffe hospital in Oxford. These teeth prevented me from going to the dentist for 10 years! Silly, I know, but I was petrified of having teeth out. One had developed early decay because I simply couldn't get at them with my toothbrush, so they had to go. It was nearly 3 weeks ago now, but they still haven't healed up completely. I have followed all the rules so haven't had any problems and I am getting there at last. The procedure began with the injections (I'm fine with these) and two of these were into the roof of my mouth. This made my mouth swell up and the roof was touching the back of my tongue. This set off my gag reflex and I was sick 4 times :-(
After that, I had to sit with my head bowed to prevent any further vomiting. The surgeon then removed them with me sat with my head right down and my mouth nearly shut! He was so good and understood my anxiety. The dental nurse and surgeon really looked after me and sat me in a side room to recover (head still bowed until the anaesthetic was wearing off). It was traumatic because I was so scared, but the actual removal of the wisdom teeth was really quick and easy (definitely down to the skill of my surgeon) and I'm so glad they're gone now.

My recovery has been slow because I was living on sloppy mash potato and mousse. I felt so tired, sick, dizzy and weak. I am just beginning to eat more solid food now, but finding chewing some foods difficult.

My lovely daughter Alice has been really ill for some time now. We know part of the reason why she's been so sick, but then she had a water infection that developed into having E-coli in her bladder. Our GP wouldn't admit her to hospital because her immune system is low and the hospital has too many bugs that she would have then caught. We were really worried because she was dehydrated, not even able to keep fluids down. We never worked out if it was the E-coli or the anti-biotics making her sick, but thankfully she has been fine the last couple of days. She eats very little and has lost so much weight. I just hope that her health will improve now, I feel so helpless. I'll say why she's ill another day because it's not for public knowledge at the moment.

Also, my other daughter crashed her car and was very lucky that the car coming the other way was going slow, otherwise it would have hit her and she could of been seriously hurt. She is ok though and bought another car the following day!

Doom and gloom as usual, but hopefully things will start to improve for us soon.

Hope you're having a lovely Easter weekend,

Mandy x

Candle making and the Buckingham Garden Centre

Hi,

Over the past few days I've been pottering about the house, getting my back moving again and catching up with the jobs I couldn't do when my back was painful.

Yesterday I made candles:

I put all my candle scraps in a tin (mine was an old soup tin) and put the tin in a saucepan with a little water. As the water simmered away, the candle wax in the tin melted. I used the same containers that the candles came in when I originally bought them. First I measured and cut a length of string to fit the containers and then tied one end to a pencil. When the wax had melted, I poured it into the container and left it to set overnight. This morning I removed the pencils and tested out my new candles - they were fine with simple household string, just like new candles. I'm really pleased because I didn't have to buy wick, but managed to recycle what I would have normally thrown away. Different cooking smells are making my daughter feel sick at the moment, so we have a scented candle burning most of the day. I'm proud to be a money saver!!!

I also made some little pencil pots:

I used old instant gravy granule containers and covered them with pastel blue paper. I then covered the paper with pretty hearts tissue paper. I hid the edge with thin red ribbon to neaten them up. I have loads of pens and pencils to sell from when I left my job as a Teaching Assistant. When I worked, I was always buying things to make my activities more exciting for the children, and I hadn't realised just how much stuff I had collected in my walk in cupboard. I have no plans to go back to teaching, so I will try to sell all of my stuff at the car boot sale. I have packets of unopened pens which will look nicer in these little pots, so hopefully they will sell, clearing the clutter and getting some much needed cash for my daughter (I'll tell you why another day). The car boot sale starts again on Saturday and we will be getting ready for that this week.

On Sunday we (Steve and I) went to Buckingham Garden Centre. I really love looking round garden centres (especially Burford) and we had never been to this one before. We bought some seeds and seed potatoes for the vegetable plots and some wild flower seeds to try and perk up the back garden. We also bought some little Yankie Candles (for Alice), as they have such a strong scent (but are also really expensive). There was loads of Cath Kidston toiletries, but I was good and didn't buy anything that we didn't need. I love Cath Kidston things, but I don't need them !!!

We bought some lovely primrose plants which I will hopefully plant out tomorrow. I have planned to get out in the garden and begin the big tidy up that it needs. Flo loves to dig, so it could be quite a challenge to keep the garden looking beautiful. The dogs love being outside, so we may have a lovely day with lots of fresh air ahead of us (weather permitting).

Before we left the garden centre we sat outside with a coffee and a bit of cake! Not necessary, I know, but important, because we were spending time together, away from our troubles, just relaxing and enjoying each other's company. This is something we rarely have the time or opportunities for. Steve had carrot cake (because I never make it) and I had millionaires shortbread (because I'm greedy!) I am inspired to make some millionaires shortbread now, something I have never made before.

Hopefully I will have some photos of my 'sunny' garden tomorrow, but it will more than likely rain ;-(

Mandy x

Ooops!

I meant to say my BACK not bad!!!!!!!!

I've been poorly!

Hi,

I've not been posting for a while because my bad has been causing me a lot of pain for the last 2 weeks. Exactly 2 weeks ago we walked the dogs quite late in the afternoon and it had started to get dark. We quickened our pace and I struggled to keep up with Jake. It was really muddy and I was worried about slipping over. What I didn't notice until the next morning was the enormous strain that walk had put on my back. We went to do our food shopping in Leamington, and by the time we got back, I could hardly walk. My muscles go into spasm because I had a back injury nearly 5 years ago now (pulled the facet joints in my lower back out of place) and the muscles surrounding the bones can't forget it. They continue to protect the bones by going into spasm when I strain my back. This is really painful and disabling for me. I live on painkillers and my TENS machine helps too. Two weeks on, I still can't sit on a chair or my sofas (I spend a lot of time standing or walking around the house) and I can't reach the floor either. My mobility is improving every day, but I get annoyed because I don't feel ill and get bored. I have started pushing myself to do more (remembering the advice of my physiotherapist) but it took me 30 mins to unload and load my washing machine. I am also trying to look after my very sick daughter at the moment too.  I have been feeling really sorry for myself, but now I am trying to be more positive about things and hope to get back on track soon.

Here are a few photos of what's been happening since my last post:

Ashley's birthday cake with Flo watching with interest!

I attempted to make some microwave jam with the blackberries I picked last year.

I managed to make all these jars.

 I had an order delivered from Approved Food, I spent about £40 and got all of this:

We love this quick pudding in the week.

These batteries cost £1.50 which is a bargain even if the quality is not too good.

Sadly I am having trouble uploading my photos, so I will just tell about the rest...

~Hobnob snack packs~

Handy for packed lunches.

~Small cans of tomato juice~

I put these in any mince dish I make like spag bol.

~Cashew nuts~

Steve loves these.

~Parsley sauce~

I'm the only one who likes it, so I can never be bothered to make it from scratch for me.

~Bread sauce~

We love bread sauce!

~Special K snacks~

I got these on Charlotte's request.

~Barley sugars~

These were my little treat - although not good for my teeth.

~Pork scratchings~

Another treat for Steve.

~Cheesecake mix~

We love cheesecake and this is the cheat's way, but I can't resist a bargain.

~Mint sauce~

I stocked up on this, I eat it with any gravy dinner.

~Fruit pastiles~

These were for Alice.

Ginger cake bars~

These were for Alice, but they weren't very nice.

~Beef oxos~

I get through loads of these.

~Square crisps~

We like them.

~Massive bag of boiled fruit sweets~

This was a shock, the bag will last us several years!

~Paxo stuffing~

This is lazy stuffing - bake in the box, but it was cheap.

~Catering tins of chopped tomatoes~

I got these to do some batch cooking one day.

~White wine vinegar~

Again, a shock - a huge bottle.

~Massive bag of walkers crisps~

We get through too many crisps.

~Steak & Onion crisps~

~Tomato ketchup crisps~

~Biorepair toothpaste~

I thought I would try this out, again a massive tube.

~Chocolate muffin mix~

I don't normally bake like this, but cocoa is really expensive and I know Ashley will love these in his packed lunches.

~Monster munch~

~Cadbury's teacakes~

We love these!

Hopefully there will be more exciting things to write about soon.

Mandy x

Happy Valentine's Day

To my lovely husband,

Happy Valentine's Day xxx

Happy Birthday Ashley!

Today is my son's birthday, he's 22 now.

Happy Birthday Ashley xxx

I hope you've had a wonderful day (he doesn't finish work until midnight)

Love you very much,

Mum xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

A lovely Sunday... walking the dogs and baking cakes.

Today we went for a really long walk over the fields with the dogs. When we got back I had a baking session...

This is a syrup loaf (Ashley had a slice before I took the photo!) It's really easy to make, just syrup, milk, flour, bicarb and a pinch of salt. I think we will have it with custard for pudding tomorrow.

It's Ashley's birthday tomorrow so this will be his cake, I just need to add candles, 22 of them!!!

Ashley asked me to make cake for him to take to work to share. This is a lemon sponge.

I'm actually ahead of myself and organised! This is for my Valentine, my lovely husband.

This was a new recipe - spiced fruit cake. The texture is strange because you add a crumble topping.

Gorgeous chocolate fudge cake squares. I have made these since Ashley was a baby when I was 19. The cake is very moist and the icing fudgy - yum yum! Ashley will take some of these to work too.

I've just watched 'Call the Midwife', a perfect end to a perfect Sunday. I wonder what Monday will bring??? Ashley's special day.

Mandy x