Plant
Sunday, 6 August 2017
Heron
A couple of days ago, Mum, myself and my grandson were walking to our little town. We have to go by a pond, which is near a brook. There was a heron on the pond. I have never seen one there before, and it happened to be there when I didn't have my camera !!!! So. I went back in the afternoon with my camera, when the grandson needed a nap, hoping it would still be there, and it was :-)
Wednesday, 2 August 2017
Been busy
So. I've taken about eighteen months off away from the blog. I have been busy with my grandson, looking after him three days a week, while his mummy and daddy work. He's now coming up for two years old and is absolutely adorable. Into everything, very cheeky, and now being able to put a few words together. He's been walking since he was ten months. my days are very full when I have him.
I also have my mum living with us now which is lovely. the grandson loves her to bits.
I'm still knitting. Knitted loads for my grandson over the last couple of years. Busy knitting socks at the moment, then back to knitting for the little boy :-)
Also, I'm still doing my best to live as economically as I can. Doesn't always work out, and I have had to waste food, but I haven't done too bad really over the last year and a half. I have manged to re-create meals from left overs, and in more cases than not, used up foods before they would have seen the bin. This time of year is brilliant for using up fridge hanger oners. I tend to do a salad when foods look like they are piling up. I bung it all on the table along with some fresh salad stuff, and usually some hot boiled new potatoes, and it's amazing how suddenly it's enthusiastically munched up :-) Of course, with left over casserole, that usually becomes a pie, or I will freeze leftovers down in containers ready for a meal that I don't have to cook one evening :-)
I'm vegetarian now. Have been since May. I have felt hypocritical for a long time eating meat, because I know that I could never kill an animal myself. When Theresa May said she was going to bring back fox hunting, I was horrified. I re-examined my motives for meat eating, so decided to try it for month and take it from there. So far, I'm still happy not meat eating :-) I did consider vegan, and maybe in the future I will give it a try, but at the moment I'm ok with just being a veggie :-)
Here is a bug bear though. Eating out as a vegetarian is a nightmare, as the veggie food on offer in most places is horrendous. Eating out as a dieting veggie is even worse!!!!!!!! :-/ because the veggie foods often on offer are usually highly calorific. I could have a salad, but boy, don't restaurants charge a mint for salads that usually appear very limp and un-appetising and swimming in salad oil if you've forgotten to ask for a naked salad :-) I did however have a reasonably good veggie meal at Ikea in Bristol the other day. I had their veggie balls with wheat pilau (not sure on the spelling there) and i enjoyed it :-) Also a couple of months back I had a veggie burger in an eating place in Reading Service Station, I hadn't started a diet then, but I was watching what I was eating, I think it might have been a bit high in calories, but it was very nice.
When I first went veggie, I lost half a stone, but it plateaued at that for several weeks, so I decided I would diet. I'd been putting it off for a while, trying to be god, but dismally failing, so I went back onto a Weight Watchers diet plan. I do the no count one, as that suits my lifestyle. I only started it a week ago, so haven't much progress to report. I am however enjoying it :-)
Tonight's meal was chilli bean pasta. One of the easiest meals ever, and 'free' on the WW no-count plan. I saute some onion, garlic and mushrooms in a pan, add some chopped tomatoes, baked beans. a tin of mixed beans in chilli sauce, a small amount of hot chilli powder as I'm a wimp with anything too hot and spicy, herbs and seasoning. bring it to boil, and let it simmer while the past cooks. I cook my pasta in the microwave.I also use wholemeal pasta, as this is 'free' on the no-count plan. When the pasta is cooked, mix it all together and enjoy :-) My lot has grated cheese on theirs, and I mixed a little yeast flakes on mine :-) As today has been a very rainy dull day and a bit cold, despite it being August, to have a warming chilli meal was somewhat comforting :-)
I also have my mum living with us now which is lovely. the grandson loves her to bits.
I'm still knitting. Knitted loads for my grandson over the last couple of years. Busy knitting socks at the moment, then back to knitting for the little boy :-)
Also, I'm still doing my best to live as economically as I can. Doesn't always work out, and I have had to waste food, but I haven't done too bad really over the last year and a half. I have manged to re-create meals from left overs, and in more cases than not, used up foods before they would have seen the bin. This time of year is brilliant for using up fridge hanger oners. I tend to do a salad when foods look like they are piling up. I bung it all on the table along with some fresh salad stuff, and usually some hot boiled new potatoes, and it's amazing how suddenly it's enthusiastically munched up :-) Of course, with left over casserole, that usually becomes a pie, or I will freeze leftovers down in containers ready for a meal that I don't have to cook one evening :-)
I'm vegetarian now. Have been since May. I have felt hypocritical for a long time eating meat, because I know that I could never kill an animal myself. When Theresa May said she was going to bring back fox hunting, I was horrified. I re-examined my motives for meat eating, so decided to try it for month and take it from there. So far, I'm still happy not meat eating :-) I did consider vegan, and maybe in the future I will give it a try, but at the moment I'm ok with just being a veggie :-)
Here is a bug bear though. Eating out as a vegetarian is a nightmare, as the veggie food on offer in most places is horrendous. Eating out as a dieting veggie is even worse!!!!!!!! :-/ because the veggie foods often on offer are usually highly calorific. I could have a salad, but boy, don't restaurants charge a mint for salads that usually appear very limp and un-appetising and swimming in salad oil if you've forgotten to ask for a naked salad :-) I did however have a reasonably good veggie meal at Ikea in Bristol the other day. I had their veggie balls with wheat pilau (not sure on the spelling there) and i enjoyed it :-) Also a couple of months back I had a veggie burger in an eating place in Reading Service Station, I hadn't started a diet then, but I was watching what I was eating, I think it might have been a bit high in calories, but it was very nice.
When I first went veggie, I lost half a stone, but it plateaued at that for several weeks, so I decided I would diet. I'd been putting it off for a while, trying to be god, but dismally failing, so I went back onto a Weight Watchers diet plan. I do the no count one, as that suits my lifestyle. I only started it a week ago, so haven't much progress to report. I am however enjoying it :-)
Tonight's meal was chilli bean pasta. One of the easiest meals ever, and 'free' on the WW no-count plan. I saute some onion, garlic and mushrooms in a pan, add some chopped tomatoes, baked beans. a tin of mixed beans in chilli sauce, a small amount of hot chilli powder as I'm a wimp with anything too hot and spicy, herbs and seasoning. bring it to boil, and let it simmer while the past cooks. I cook my pasta in the microwave.I also use wholemeal pasta, as this is 'free' on the no-count plan. When the pasta is cooked, mix it all together and enjoy :-) My lot has grated cheese on theirs, and I mixed a little yeast flakes on mine :-) As today has been a very rainy dull day and a bit cold, despite it being August, to have a warming chilli meal was somewhat comforting :-)
Sunday, 31 January 2016
2016
So. It's 2016, and I notice I haven't blogged since October !!!!! There's a very good reason for this. November 10th welcomed into the world my fourth grandchild, who is my first grandson. My three lovely grandgirls, who I love very much, live in America, now I have a grandboy who lives just up the road from me :-). He is a poppet. I had the biggest honour of seeing him born, as I was birthing partner along with his dad :-)
Christmas came and went successfully. We all had a lovely time. A few months before December, I'd bought some raffle tickets for a pound, and won £50.00s worth of Co-Op saving stamps. They bought the bulk of our Christmas eats and drinks. Also I had been saving on my Iceland bonus card. Had managed to accumulate £18 and that was a great help as well :-) So a very cheap Christmas this time :-)
I made socks for all the girls, then made some for some of the boys as a little pressie each. All very gratefully received :-) I've also knitted loads for the baby.
We have been out walking, but mainly before the New year, and mainly to places we regularly go to, so won't be posting photos this time. Hopefully, we will get some nice Sunday walks in soon, if this damp weather subsides, and gets drier.
We ate far too much over Christmas. So thinking of embarking on a healthy diet regime, without actually going on a diet. I am fed up of diets, but if I can get into good eating habits, then that will do me more good than dieting. Also, diets end up becoming very expensive. My plan is to have more vegetable based menus. That won't be too difficult, as I'm a very hypocritical meat eater. If I had to kill it, I wouldn't eat it. So I'm aiming to do two meat meals a week. Two fish ones, the rest vegetable based ones. I think as well, it will be better on our budget, as meat is expensive. I do tend to believe that we eat too much meat, and that vegetable based dinners would be better for us. Anyway. Watch this space :-)
I was pleased we didn't throw away too much unused food stuff over the wither holiday time. Some stuff made it to the bin, but nowhere near as much in previous years. I am still doing reasonably well getting leftovers used up :-) Though I've had visitors this week, and some of the left overs didn't get 'recycled' and found the bin :-( Hubby and I did eat some left overs from yesterday, tonight though :-) a veg with Quorn pieces stir fry and brown rice. Very yummy :-) I have some rice left over, so that will become a rice salad. I'm challenging myself again to use up cupboard and freezer build up foods, I start off well doing this, then get pulled away, and it all starts building up again, but, I'm determined to get myself into gear and do this :-)
The next few months will be busy. My mum is moving in with us, so we have to get the house up to some decent standard which she will enjoy being in. Hubby and I are a bit lazy, and not the worlds best at home interiors. We are however looking forward to doing a spruce up. It's well over due.
Christmas came and went successfully. We all had a lovely time. A few months before December, I'd bought some raffle tickets for a pound, and won £50.00s worth of Co-Op saving stamps. They bought the bulk of our Christmas eats and drinks. Also I had been saving on my Iceland bonus card. Had managed to accumulate £18 and that was a great help as well :-) So a very cheap Christmas this time :-)
I made socks for all the girls, then made some for some of the boys as a little pressie each. All very gratefully received :-) I've also knitted loads for the baby.
We have been out walking, but mainly before the New year, and mainly to places we regularly go to, so won't be posting photos this time. Hopefully, we will get some nice Sunday walks in soon, if this damp weather subsides, and gets drier.
We ate far too much over Christmas. So thinking of embarking on a healthy diet regime, without actually going on a diet. I am fed up of diets, but if I can get into good eating habits, then that will do me more good than dieting. Also, diets end up becoming very expensive. My plan is to have more vegetable based menus. That won't be too difficult, as I'm a very hypocritical meat eater. If I had to kill it, I wouldn't eat it. So I'm aiming to do two meat meals a week. Two fish ones, the rest vegetable based ones. I think as well, it will be better on our budget, as meat is expensive. I do tend to believe that we eat too much meat, and that vegetable based dinners would be better for us. Anyway. Watch this space :-)
I was pleased we didn't throw away too much unused food stuff over the wither holiday time. Some stuff made it to the bin, but nowhere near as much in previous years. I am still doing reasonably well getting leftovers used up :-) Though I've had visitors this week, and some of the left overs didn't get 'recycled' and found the bin :-( Hubby and I did eat some left overs from yesterday, tonight though :-) a veg with Quorn pieces stir fry and brown rice. Very yummy :-) I have some rice left over, so that will become a rice salad. I'm challenging myself again to use up cupboard and freezer build up foods, I start off well doing this, then get pulled away, and it all starts building up again, but, I'm determined to get myself into gear and do this :-)
The next few months will be busy. My mum is moving in with us, so we have to get the house up to some decent standard which she will enjoy being in. Hubby and I are a bit lazy, and not the worlds best at home interiors. We are however looking forward to doing a spruce up. It's well over due.
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