Whilst walking at the beach..

Having Moved

When we moved out of our old place we got to stay at this great hotel...much grander than we are used to!

We sat by the fire and ordered afternoon tea...

TH had to take a few calls so i got started on the cake

We had a quick look into the bar at supper time, but seeing as Daisy Dog was allowed in the drawing room we had supper there too.  I'd been looking forward to that steak for ages!

The next day I had a walk through the walled garden and found some chestnuts.

It was such a perfect way to start our new adventure.

Where we are

Ooops sorry I have been so absent from blogland lately. We’ve been a wee bit busy what with the move, planning the move, oh yeah and organising for the move. We’ve also been selling stuff, organising some really odd dinners with people (where we serve odd concoctions full of all the store cupboard items we can lay our hands on), and all the regular stuff as well. We’ve been super busy as we have lots of medical appointments as we are going to the fertility clinic. We have been hoping for a little one for quite a few years now and we were recently allowed to go speak to some of the best fertility doctors around. The NHS centre we have to go to also does private work and is world renowned so we are thanking our lucky stars we have been given this chance. We’ve had all of the tests and we are very close to starting treatments.

I’ve been really naughty though and not lost all of the weight I was tasked with so although we’ve got an appointment on Friday I don’t really think we’ll be getting help at the moment. That’s ok as they have dieticians and all sorts of people who can help if we need them too. More importantly is this amazing target we now have! We also know that when we move we’ll also be able to get any medical services we were receiving in the UK-which is a major boost! I’m still a bit cross with myself for being so silly. I guess whilst I was eating those slices of cake I didn’t really weigh up what it was worth, but least said better mended and all that!

We’ve been told that our Friday appointment will be our last one before treatment starts and it will be to discuss ‘What Having A Baby Means To Us’…hmmmmmmm a bit of an odd one really. I’m not sure what they really would want people to say. I know what I feel and I know what I would like to say, but it is all very ME or US centred. I want to care for/I want to give to/I want to share with…I keep second guessing myself thinking I should say something better.

Oh well, time will tell…just a wee update on what we’re up to! I hope everyone is enjoying this glorious Autumn!

What to watch, what to read

I love finding new recipes, so while TH has been away i've been snuggled up cosy on the rocking chair making lists.

Daisy on my lap and just staring at the pictures and occasionally reading how to actually make it.

I love that when it gets colder we all go back to nursery food and i love knowing that there is something in the oven or slow cooker

I know what i want to cook.

I know what i want to bake.

I know just need to know when i will find the time!

I love the shows on T.V. right now about Autumn, i remember watching the Valentine Warner one a few years back and getting his cookbook then.  Cyclical-just the way i love it!

Our New Home

We've now been allocated our house in Singapore and it looks a little like this.  This house is just up the street from us, but i cant get a good picture from google of our own one, so until they forward us some pictures, this will have to do! 
How exciting, Daisy gets a nice big garden!

Things I'm looking forward to this Autumn

Things I’m looking forward to in Autumn:

Making a bonfire

Wearing pretty scarves

Making neepie lanterns

Making hot chocolate

Baking pumpkin related foods!

Building cosy beds made up of all the softest eiderdowns and blankets in the house

More roast dinners

Watching lots of family films on the sofa

Using lots of cinnamon and nutmeg in the kitchen

Making s’mores

Snuggling up with Daisy

Making applesauce and cosy meals

Smelling wood smoke

Carving a pumpkin

Decorating for Halloween

Seeing the leaves turn and kicking them into the air when they fall

Making toffee apples

Making apple and bramble pies and crumbles

Man Drawer

With The Husband away at the moment I’ve taken the opportunity to pull everything out and start to get it organised. We have three bedrooms, a study, a dining room, living room and a kitchen as well as the two bathrooms in our house. When we moved from our sea side cottage it was deepest mid-winter and the heating was broken. We had very little time to pack up and make the new house habitable so we threw all of the things that weren’t immediately needed into one of the bedrooms and closed the door…fast forward ten or so months and we are now in a predicament.

Last night I started to pull boxes out of this room and can now see part of the floor in it. A lot of the things pulled out went into other rooms like shoes that I thought had been lost or the bag full of tubes of toothpaste (why did I do this?). I’ve filled a wheelie bin full of rubbish as well as boxes I’ve put into the garage for TH to take to the skip. I’ve also made up a box of electrical wires and switches that TH can sort out for himself, as he has several MAN DRAWERS full of rubbish!

Two different moving companies are coming on Friday to give quotes so we want them to be able to see everything and I also want to ensure that everything is in its right place before they start to put things in boxes. I have a fear that something’s going to be kept in storage in the UK when I really need it in Singapore, but all I can do is plan.

I’d love to say that I was sitting and reading or hanging out in the last rays of sunshine. I have been having long walks with Daisy Dog, but that’s only so I can attempt to get healthier before I head off into all that heat. I hope your September is more relaxed!

x

Keep Cosy

Brrr, this morning we woke up and it was soooo cold.  Im still not going to get a tank of gas before the weather turns so we are relying on our electric blankets and the wood burner.  Oh well, wood warms you through twice, once when you cut it and again when you use it!

Singapore Home

We have found out we will be living in the Dover area of Singapore.

So we've been looking at different blogs and posts about it here and here.

I can't wait to get some pictures for you!

Tea Perhaps?

I've had some very good luck recently.  While working through our laundry pile I found some old unused, long forgotten vouchers for our favourite hotel in Aberdeen.

We went there for Valentines weekend last year and had so much fun.

We hung out in the drawing room reading papers and drinking tea.  We walked around the grounds, came back again and sat down to drink yet more tea.

We sat in the lounge and spoke to the First Minister (only for a short while mind).

We spent so much time just chatting to each other.

We ate nice meals and rested...away from any stress...

and when we came home we felt better and planned for our next trip, we told everyone how much fun we had and that Christmas we got some vouchers to go back....that is until they got lost in the move...

UNTIL NOW....!

Some tea and cake perhaps?

Weekends that Revive

Hello out there in Blog land. I hope you all had a wonderful weekend and are taking full advantage of all this great weather. It’s so cosy and warm-albeit a wee bit blustery, but who am I to complain?

It really cheers me right up to have days like this as they are so unexpected after last year, I really keep saying to myself as well as all that will listen, “we are so lucky it was this year we didn’t go on holiday and not next year.” If we had been staying in the UK then I’d be outside getting my bulbs in the ground, however that isn’t the plan this year. Because TH’s company is now saying they will organise everything we are presuming someone will knock on the door with a couple of boxes one day and somehow everything that needs done will get done. However, for now, I am enjoying this weather.

I met up with one of my dearest friends who lives far away and we laughed and chatted and made a great deal of noise late into the night. It was one of those evenings that lifts your soul right up and manages to fill you with lightness for no particular reason.

On Saturday we did the usual chores like tidying up and getting groceries as well as sorting out clothes that we’re putting into charity shops. By accident I managed to set my alarm for bright and early so ended up having a late afternoon nap right before The X Factor. I, by the way, can’t wait until Strictly starts again…you really know that the countdown to colder seasons has begun!  (Did you notice I didn't say any particular event in this cold season?  Much more of that to come anyway!)

 On Sunday we had the family round for Sunday dinner. It was so blustery and cold that we got a fire going as soon as we got down to the living room. We had about four massive packets of chicken browning at one point to make 2 dishes for fussy eaters. At least we could all appreciate and agree on pudding which was a giant strawberry/raspberry/banana Eaton mess.

TH had been a bit poorly all weekend and so we went to bed exceptionally early...although that didn’t stop Daisy Dog jumping up into bed at 3 in the morning only to stretch out and start barking at my feet…now if I could only have a nap on the grass..

September

Oh my goodness, can you believe it’s September already? What is happening this year? We’ve had an amazing Summery Summer (which, quite frankly, we could have had last year!) and now without me even noticing we’ve pounced right into September and Autumn. If I had a garden to be taking care of I may have been more aware of these things. Perhaps if I were looking at all of the clothes and décor catalogues I may have had a heads up. But alas twas not to be and I’m left playing catch up.

Despite all of this September is still one of my favourite months. When it gets a bit colder outside and the sky gets bluer I am happy. The air is crisp and if you are up early enough you can catch some frost. This is my favourite time of year. There is a paragraph from The Magic Apple Tree by Susan Hill where she describes her lifelong love of autumn and I agree whole heartedly. I implore you to read this book, it really is one of my all-time favourites.

September is fabulous because it is the start of the time when all of the meals prepared at home start to change. For breakfast I love to change to porridge instead of yogurt. As we’re having a pretty great Indian Summer this year I may move slowly into this and make some compote or have muesli with my breakfast. When lunch rolls round I normally just have soup and some homemade rolls if it’s the weekend. Tea time is the best though. It is normally something that has spent the whole day in the slow cooker making it like a true nursery meal and exceptionally comforting, or something that reminds you of childhood. I love toad in the whole or bangers and mash with proper butchers sausages. Toad in the hole reminds me of Danny Champion of the World and so really does help you feel cosy from the inside out.

Normally in autumn there are beef and ale pies or lots of mince. Chicken is normally for Sunday dinners and pulled pork sandwiches are what Saturday nights were made for. The most humble of all dinners is sometimes the best and that is a baked potato. I love them with a hint of bacon and sour cream with lots of cheese, though TH loving lots of protein as he does normally wants an egg in his. Not the healthiest of dinners but a real treat. If we have this it will be on a Monday as I wouldn’t ever put the oven on for just one thing. No, these need to be organised around the time the oven goes on for the roast at Sunday lunch time!

I’m already keeping my eye on some brambles in the area so as soon as they turn I will be ready for them. Everything in Autumn tastes strangely of brambles, apples, cinnamon and nutmeg when you come to my house. I never really eat much game although The Husband loves it and I know it’s autumn when I see new advertisements at the butchers stating that the more seasonal meats can be ordered in.

I feel that when I look back at last year’s posts they were about moving and now we’re in the same position again this year. Oh well, we’re always up for a new adventure!!