No Snow (yet?)

 To do the end of year filing
 Make sure I've got the information for end-of-year accounts
 And anything else financial that ends in December
 Send some forgotten emails :-o.
 Buy towels in the sales
 Order stationery
 Finish up all the Christmas goodies so we can get back to healthy eating
 Sort clothes, books etc. for charity shop - and take them round*
 Get the car serviced


Well, eight out of nine isn't bad going and I did do a lot of other things as well - including my usual mad stock of fridge and cupboard with M's comestibles in case it snows! The plumbing problems also seem to have been fixed - the boiler problem took three attempts but the leaking radiator mysteriously fixed itself.

The sprinkling of snow we had last night has gone and it's bright sunshine outside - though cold.  I've got a lamb stew cooking in the oven and the smell drifting up from the kitchen is wonderful.  Resisted the urge to make a pudding or a cake whilst the oven is on and roasted some veggies for soup instead and a whole load of beetroot.  I've got a piece of gammon soaking which can go in the oven later.  I must replace the slow cooker which died just before Christmas, but my stick blender fell apart last week so that's the most important purchase. We use one to puree fruit to hide in M's breakfast porridge.  I shall buy a sturdier one this time with one of those chopping attachments.

The clearing up continues - I have sorted some clothes and books and squashed a whole load of boxes to take to the dump but I was out more than I intended last week.  If we get snow this week I shall be quite pleased to be forced to stay in as I've got several sewing and knitting projects on the go.

I'm toying with the idea of buying a tablet (with my Christmas money).  There's an unused ipad here belonging to M but I'm not sure what I would buy.  I changed back to a desk top computer last year because I was doing some things that wanted a large screen, so I tend to use my very small smart phone to read blogs and send emails when I'm downstairs.  It's OK but a bit fiddly - hence the mis-spelled comments lacking sense which sometimes appear on other people's blogs!  It's not that I'm too idle to come up the two flights of stairs to my computer but I miss being able to do things whilst talking to H or daughter in the sittingroom, and I find I'm printing more things like recipes or patterns.

Hope you're all warm, safe and not snowed up, I'm off back downstairs to pick up my knitting!



Stop press * Charity shop drop accomplished.  Snow now falling heavily!