Me on Monday - limping again

It's been a good grief where did the week go kind of a weekend. A hugging unexpected visitors, avoiding cooking, going grocery shopping and taking painkillers for that darned twanged muscle kind of a weekend. It has also been a strawberries from my own plants eating kind of a weekend and a counting the tomatoes forming on the vines too. Also it was a finding out that my cuz was already in hospital and had her new knee while I was thinking she would be going in this week kind of a shocking weekend

Coming home from our weekend on a Monday threw everything out of kilter and it was Wednesday for three days. We settled in on Saturday morning to a I'll-just-get-this-washing-out-and-then-we'll-go-out kind of a day when I got a message on FB from someone we dearly love. Would we, he asked, be available for some visitors?
I conveyed the query to Mr M who gave me a delighted smile and said yes. I sent the message and we waited. I did other things like eat some strawberries off my four plants and check the tomato plants for sideshoots and the bean plants for signs of flowers. Then suddenly they were here and we were hugged and even though Pax Draconis really doesn't hug he had to submit. His partner, Doberman A, does hug so that was great. We did the teabag experiment* and tried to cram as much talking about stuff into as short a time as possible.
The twanged muscle keeps re-twanging itself, this is such a darned inconvenience and I prepared to have a real good moan and be a bit of a martyr about it. Then I discovered that my cousin had her operation for a new knee last week and is now recovering and that put my pain into perspective, so I rubbed the offending area with Voltarol Gel and I will be elevating my legs just as soon as I finish here

*Teabag experiment: Where there are unidentified teabags in the same tin as the airtight bag of green tea and you know you only bought one pack of green tea so they have to be brewed and tasted. They were mint tea

MeOnMonday was invented by Sian over at FromHighInTheSky why not pop over there and read hers now that you've read mine

Me on MOnday - The Ninja Cat of Ilminster

It's been an Anniversary celebrating, five days on our own, Wolf Hall costumes, Ninja Cat experiencing, laughing till I fell out of bed,  Donkey sanctuary visiting, Gift wrapping a Castle kind of a weekend.

Wolf Hall Costumes

Barrington Hall was the second property on our list of places we wanted to visit. the first was Lytes Cary Manor (say it fast and see what we call it). Barrington Hall is wonderful and weird and was the setting for several scenes in the Wolf Hall series and there is a display of the costumes from the series. The stitching is just amazing. All the visible stitching is hand done and I believe that the costumes were made according to the way they would really have been done in Tudor times.

Anniversary Dinner at a Hungry Horse The Stone Gallows at Taunton. The food was fabulous and my medium steak was done to perfection

but they don't tell you how much they charge

OK so now let me tell you about the NInja Cat of Ilminster. We were staying at the Travelodge at Ilminster, on the ground floor. The windows only open a little way so that unwelcome intruders can't get in and unsacoury people can't throw the furniture out of the windows and make off with it. We had been out all day visiting places and eating and came back to the hotel about 8pm - dirty stop-outs that we are. We read our books and kindles and talked. We listened to the cast of Riverdance practising upstairs and eventually we settled down and went to sleep. We were woken at around 2am by loud Miaowing outside it was only for about half a minute and it stopped. We dozed off again and around 2.30am the miaowing began again. Mr M decided to have a look and shoo the cat away. He got out of bed and went to the window. Now the curtains in the travelodge hotels are pretty effective at blocking the light so he reached for the curtain to pull it open and pushed the cat back out of the window! Somehow it had managed to wiggle itself through the little gap into our room.
Mr M was so shocked he stepped swiftly back before grabbing the curtain and then shutting the windows. I started to laugh and sit up and fell off the bed. Fortunately I landed on my feet or it would have taken a crane to lift me up again.

Donkey sanctuary

We visited the Donkey Sanctuary and confirmed in my mind that when I win the lottery I will have a place where we can foster some of the donkeys

 We visited Killerton Court and gardens and on Sunday went to Castle Drogo and Finch Foundry

Castle Drogo is 2 years into a 5 year programme of conservation and repair which is seeing the roof removed and a special membrane put in and then the roof put back. To do this they have to remove part of the walls too and the stones are numbered and mapped and then stored. it was so interesting even though we couldn't see the rooms as they usually are just learning about the work and how it is done was fascinating.

We liked it so much we had it gift wrapped

 To finish our break we came home via Tiverton where we visited Knightshayes - designed and built by William Burgess who also did Castall Coch and Cardiff Castle. amazing, although a long walk from the car park to the house when Mr M has poorly knees and my twanged muscle was making my tendon click. All together a fantastic weekend and just what we needed.

Me on Monday is the brainchild of Sian at FromHighinTheSky why not pop over there and take a look at hers now that you've read mine.

Me on Monday - The Bluefunnels

 It was a day out with the Bluefunnels and the Black Country Living Museum, buy a harmonica for Miss Boo, play the legs game on the way home, stay in because of the Velathon on Sunday sort of a weekend.

Mr M once said that there are very few people that we could spend 10 or more hours in the company of and still be speaking and planning the next excursion. The Lord Admiral and his Lady are two of that exclusive band. We travelled on the Trolley Bus at the Black Country Living Museum in Dudley. It was great and the "clippie" was brilliant.


Mr M sitting at the trolley/tram/bus stop. His knees hurt - as do the knees of Lord and Lady B. I am the oldest and the only one that is pain free!

We did enjoy the shops and the houses, the pub with sawdust on the floor. Expensive but well worth a visit. As it was quite a journey from our home town we stopped at Jo's Place for breakfast and that set us up and kept us going so that we could travel the pretty way and play the legs game. Lord and Lady B were in a dead heat with 12 points when we arrived home. I came last.

We stopped in our favourite eaterie for a burger, well burgers for me and her Ladyship while the two Cs had the "All the Way" Hotdog. free refills for coffee for me and afterwards we slumped in the car and had to work hard to keep alert.

A brief stop at a garden centre for me to buy a new watering can as my old one had developed a squirt - no way it could be called a leak as the water was squirting across the garden as I was trying to fill it.

I grudgingly bought a plastic one this time. Now I am convinced that I will fill it with water and then drop it and break it. I had only had the old metal one for 40 years

Thought you might like to see my view when we are travelling in the Bluefunnels car. In our car I sit behind the driver - what? why? well, because that's the way we have always done it so that the longest legs are in the front. OH and their car has a glass roof which makes things really light but does strange things to your brain when watching the rain drops on it at 60 mph

So that's Me on Monday. This was invented by Sian at FromHighInTheSky why not pop over there and read hers now that you've read mine. This weeke she has fishlips kissing ... go on you know you want to

Me on MOnday - Strawberries, visits, and new slippers dance

It was a garden centre, Gang Show visitor, down off the high, connect four and hangman and saying goodbye, then new slippers from Grandma sort of a weekend

We "popped out" to a garden centre to get a couple of strawberry plants. I have a trough that held a Rosemary bush until I killed it and as this is the year of the garden for meI want all pots and troughs to be planted. I came home with food for the tomato plants and lovely smelly slug pellets for the slugs that are eating my clamatis and a little blue flowered thing I have forgotten the name of to go in another pot. OH and a sage plant for my herb sink.
We paused to visit my lovely Father-in-Law, who puts up with my constant chatter and even manages to get a word in edgeways occasionally. He is going to save me some seeds from his yellow poppy plants and give me a bit of his Dicentra as the chickens ate mine.
When we got home Wicked Uncle Cliff had arrived to go and watch Miss Boo perform in the Gang Show presented by Newport Scouts and Guides. For those that understand these things the Assessors have awarded them the Red Necker for another five years so loud hurrahs were heard. It was late to bed but not too late because WUC was feeling decidedly unwell. We discovered that he had taken Ibuprofen earlier on Saturday and it had an adverse effect.
Sunday was a slow start and a sit around and talk and talk. we haven't seen WUC since New Year and it is always good.
Early to bed on Sunday and then on Monday I filled the trough with compost from my own bin and planted the strawberries. I cut up the cardboard box that has been in the cellar since 2009 when we bought the chicken house and I moved the compost bin from one side of the garden to the other - then had to call Biker Boy to come and shovel the compost onto the garden and the not quite ready stuff back into the bin. Then I planted the sage, put out a load of washing on the line chatted to the lovely Debbie who lives next door and is  just about the best neighbour you could ever hope to have.
Then I came in and elevated my legs and that's when Miss Boo came home from school and tried on the dragon scale slippers - they fit and she is thrilled.

That's me on Monday - knackered. Why not take a look at Sians blog over at FromHighInTheSky

Look what I found!

I was having a sort out of pictures on my phone and found this. Taken in 2014. This just shows what a wonderful relationship she has with her beloved Grandpa.
It also shows just how well a hat suits her - any hat

Me on Monday - CROCHET

 It was a crochet, crochet, plant bean plants, check tomato plants, refuse to cook on Saturday, crochet crochet, go shopping, cook roast beef on Sunday sort of a weekend.

We didn't see Miss Boo because this was the weekend of The Big Splash in Newport and she spent Saturday doing that while I planted and crocheted.
Sunday she was at Gang Show rehearsal and dress rehearsal and when she got home late on Sunday evening she fell into bed exhausted.

I bought a pattern for slippers here and spent a happy weekend trying different sizes. The pinky ones are small child size the next ones are large child size and the third picture shows adult size.

I love what the pattern designers call crocodile scales. Being a fantasy roleplayer of more than 30 years I call them dragon scales and I am already working out how to do wrist warmers using the stitch.
What I am wondering is how much to charge for the slippers because I want to give them to a local charity shop - one I make cards for and have supported for ten years or more - and I want an idea of what to suggest as a fair price. The yarn is not cheap and while I am happy to donate I want them to get the most money that they can get

You might notice that they are resting on a crochet knee blanket. I discovered some chunky wool in a bag in the Fornow Room and decided that it would make a really good blanket. I did a fan edging just to finish it off and now it is kind of looking for a home.

I flat out refused to cook on Saturday simply because when I asked what Mr |M fancied he said "I don't know". I then asked if he wanted that boiled, fried or roasted and guess what, yes that's right he didn't know! So I sat in my chair (elevating my legs) and crocheted while muttering that I would eat a tin of tomato soup and "They can all get their own!" A little while later the take out man arrived with fish and chips for me, pie and chips for Youngest Son and chicken and chips for Mr M. Everyone happy and fully stuffed.
Sunday we went to Costco where they always have stuff I desperately need. They have A4 size project paper and I could immediately see the potential including making pretty paper bags for the teacher gifts at the end of term. They also had, as always, beef joints so we bought a two pack and when we got home I threw one in the oven (I preheated and did all the usual stuff before throwing it in) so we had the most delicious roast beef dinner with loads of green veggies and yorkshire puds.
Then I used the new hand mixer - yes from Costco - to whisk up the instant whip for pudding. I bought a cheap hand mixer some time ago but the noise of it was so great and the pitch of noise so shrill it hurt my ears and I would use a balloon hand whisk rather than the machine so it didn't screech at me.
Costco have the Kenwood hand mixer and I love Kenwood stuff so I used the last of my Christmas money and bought it. It is so quiet and has dough hooks as well as beaters and variable speed. OH and a pulse thingy so I am in heaven. I have the Kenwood Chef for making big stuff but for beating marshmallow over boiling water I have the little one - heaven indeed.

So this is Me on Monday, invented by Sian over at FromHighInTheSky why not go over and read about her days now that you've read mine?