Meal Plan

Wednesday 21^st November

St James Beef, spring onion mash, veg

Thursday 22^nd November

Beans on toast

Friday 23^rd November

Chicken stir fry

Saturday 24^th November

Spaghetti bolognaise

Sunday 25^th November

Bacon wrapped chicken/chicken kiev, roast potatoes etc

Monday 26^th November

Fish finger sandwiches

Tuesday 27^th November

Tortellini, garlic bread

Wednesday 28^th November

Sausage, bacon, eggs/egg and soldiers

Thursday 29^th November

Beans on toast

Friday 30^th November

Tuna and parsley fishcakes, chips, peas

This is all basically planned to use up what's in my freezer!

xx

Feeling rather smug :-)

I've done the majority of my Christmas shopping and it's not even December yet :-)

I have to be well organised for Christmas as both my birthday and Lucy's are also in December.  My family give me the money for all our Christmas and birthday presents because they say they simply don't know what to get.  I end up with a spreadsheet detailing who's paid what for whom and when.  Great fun!

So I've now bought all the presents for the four of us (Lucy is using my bday and xmas money to buy my presents so that I actually get some surprises!) I've nearly finished wrapping them and putting in the loft until Christmas Eve.

The only other presents we've doing this year are for my Mum and Dad, sister, aunty, father in law, my hubby's step sister and my best friend.  For each of them we're doing a tailored hamper.

Mum and Dad will get wine (bought at work - 3 for £12 instead of £8.99 each, plus 25% off when you buy 6 plus my colleague discount of 15% - bargain), Hotel Chocolate tasting box, toiletries, cheese, crackers, other chocs, Simpsons socks for my Dad.

My sister's hamper will basically be wine!  A few added bits thrown in too though.

Hubby's step sisters will be chocs and some home made chocolate teaspoons and coffee beans.

The other hampers will be pamper things, chocs, home made chutneys, jams and marmalades that we made earlier this year.  In the couple of days before Christmas we're having a baking/cooking marathon, including -

• Glittered double chocolate brownies
• Strawberry and white chocolate muffins
• Apricot and white chocolate cakes
• Chocolate crumch
• Baileys truffles
• Baileys fudge

All of these will be divided between the hampers and given out on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.

Well, I'd rather spend those two days in my lovely kitchen, making things that I know people will love rather than racing around town buying presents for the sake of it :-)

xx

Do you?

At my mum's last week I mentioned that hubby was due home from work - and because he wasn't feeling very well, I'd washed him a big cream fleece to wrap up in.  They were gobsmacked at anybody sitting wrapped up in a blanket in this day and age! Various jokes followed about not using electricity, living in the dark ages and we were told to for god's sake put the heating on !

Is it just us?  Or do other people do it? We've always liked snuggling in a blanket.  It's not just the warmth but a matter of comfort for us.  A warm blanket, a cup of coffee or cocoa and a good book.

Heaven !!

xx

When we nearly met the Italian Navy......

We had a partly fantastic holiday last month.  The first week in a beautiful hotel, almost right on the beach in Santa Ponsa.  Heaven.

The second week was on a med cruise, great - for the first few nights.  On the Saturday the shop lost power.  Totally.  We were two hours out of Civitevecchia (for Rome) ten o clock at night, pitch black, gales, storms.......and the Italian Navy had five ships around us ready to evacuate us!!  We apparently also had a helicopter above us waiting to remove injured people.

In the space of that one night, there was a fire in the theatre, a ceiling collapsed in the lounge, the casino window was smashed through by the strength of the waves, various decks had their corridors flooded and carpet was pulled up all over to protect it.The ship was listing badly to one side - OUR side.

The following two nights weren't as bad, but it was like being on a rollercoaster ride, being thrown up and down in your bunk.

As this was probably the last big holiday we'll have for some time, I'm gutted that it ended like this.  However, I'm very, very glad to be alive to write about it !!

Clare xxx