What sock? What slipper?

National Trust cheese scone recipe. Last of the Christmas cheese with the green bits cut off. Green bits not essential. 

Quite smug with my finger presses! 

Over halfway through January but it isn’t half a long way to payday on the 91st Jan! I laughed when I saw someone tweet that. Since I decided a few years ago to stop my hatred of January and the long dark dismal days, it goes a lot quicker! Bluebell continues to be hilarious in her daily puppying adventures.

Me and the HG are sat watching Vera talking in our Geordie accents saying, we’ve been there at every opportunity! I have baked this weekend- bread on Saturday which was all eaten on Saturday and a mince and onion plate pie for tea tonight and some jam tarts with the trimmings. I’m currently making a little gandsewn badger - when the timing is correct - this means when Bluebell is asleep and  therefore not helping me and when I’ve  my glasses 

with me.

I don’t k ow if any of you have seen the Versus arthritis tv campaign but it’s really good at portraying the pain it causes. There’s one of a young woman writhing in agony on the bed before getting up and going to work as a teacher. That could be me. Last night, for the first time in aaaages, I was in agony, writing is painful and staying still is painful. The burning pain of bone on bone and the pain down my arm is breathtaking and makes me cry out. I think it’s my own fault for neglecting my physio and eating more sugar of late in the form of biscuits. What I put in my mouth definitely affects my joints - sweeteners affect me, biscuits affect me. I’m going to apply a heat pad soon and more pain relief. Fortunately today I didn’t need to get dressed until way after lunch so didn’t have to struggle into clothes and a bra. 

Sadly, going braless in public is not an option!!! 

I have no idea what else I was going to put down for posterity here but it’s a short working week ahead as I’ve Friday off to go to scotland to stay up up up up in the North near Dalmally. We are going with friends to Portsochanan to celebrate Burns night. Posh frocks and haggis - perfect thing to look forward to! I love haggis! Fingers crossed the journey isn’t treacherous. Ideally I’d like it to be mild and dry until Thursday about 9, then snow like mad and be beautiful until Sunday morning, then mild and dry again for the journey home!! I have to work a day in my holidays for the time off - which to be honest, I do normally anyway!! 

I’m loving catching up with blogs again a bit more regularly. I’m going to attempt to add the bread photos now. 

It looked good! 

It tasted good I was told.

The ham was the one ignored from Christmas- done in my pressure cooker and finished off in the oven. With honey and mustard.  

Right, itsall jumpy and I do not know where I’m up to. 

Lots of love from

Rachel *knackered shoulders* Radiostar xx

32 Weeks Old

This one has led the HG a right merry dance this afternoon. Coming back on the whistle, but tantalisingly out of reach and then quickly bogged off again! I'm sure she is part greyhound, the speed she can run off at!!!

Little Miss Bluebell Flowers, looks like butter wouldn't melt! ( what does that even mean?? )

Lots of love from
Rachel *had to go help get the dog back and had to squeeze through some railings to do so* Radiostar xx

Christmas and New Year and the old year.

Just wanting to put this down for my own failing memory.
Went to SW on Christmas Eve, lost a pound to hit my third and final revised target bang on.
My first target was 9st 13 as I never ever dreamed I’d be sub ten stone ever. Well I was. And I kept losing. And losing. So reset and then hit my target at 9st 7 meaning  rather satisfyingly I’d lost the same amount of weight as I weighed. Then came the tricky bit. Increasing my eating plan to maintain this weight. So I was then up and down nicely in my buffer until I missed a few weeks and was hovering about in my original target buffer. So I sat down and had a long chat with my SW leader. I reset my target for 9st 10. This is still having me way overweight for my height BUT I’m quite happy here in my size 8-12 clothes range and I can see my collar bones. And I know I said in a previous post about numbers being personal etc - I’m clearly ok with these numbers now which is why I choose to share it. My choice. Anyway. So I hit it on Christmas Eve. I am going tomorrow night to my friend’s launch night of her new group as a newly qualified consultant but won’t be getting weighed until my official group next Tuesday night. I’m not going to lie - I’ve eaten ALL the things this year after saying ‘I’ll have one next year’ last Christmas about Mince pies and cheeeese and Christmas cake and stollen etc etc. I’ve eaten so many biscuits and chocolates and I can feel the few pounds I think I’ve gained. Restarted my healthier lifestyle today with cereal and fruit for breakfast, homemade soup for lunch and spag Bol with that well known accompanying dish, steamed Savoy cabbage! I have also had a few chocolates but they are within my allowance of 15 syns which amounts to about 300 calories really. I love SW, it’s all about moderation and not feeling deprived. We have a new book with slight changes to food allowances etc all designed to protect my weight loss! The hardened cynic in me knows it’s a gargantuan money making machine and truthfull it doesn’t come close in tax kling my self diagnosed eating disorder - compulsive over eating is now actually the fourth major eating disorder - but it is very boring to talk about weight loss etc over and over so I shall leave it at that for now. But it is safe to say that I have surpassed and then some the GWL 2013!

Christmas decs
I changed it up this year. Purple and silver in the front
Red, gold, silver and naturals in the back. White light in the front. Warm in the back. Sparkly and magical in the front. Robinny and charming in the back. Bluebell never really bothered once she’d ‘helped’ me put every bauble on the tree and tried to play with a few of the purple shiny tennis balls!! I also entered the realms of the cluster LED light. Wow. Twinkly loveliness.
My Dad popped in on his way to my sisters. I’d seen my mum the day before. It was our turn for his Mum. Plus I invited his Dad and partner who is a vegetarian- but suddenly illness meant the nut roast that I spent £5 went in the freezer. Indeed when in Sainsrobbers a few days ago I spotted the afore mentioned nut roast marked down to 84p I bought two more!! Ate one to try it. Delicious!! Not worth a fiver but definitely worth 84p! The bronze turkey had a leg and a wing jacked off and the wing and the giblets were poached for Bluebell and Freddie’s dinners and the juice mademmy gravy lush! The roasts were perfect and the yorkshires rose magnificently. Miss 24 asked me about the starters - oh holy prawn cocktail - I’d TOTALLY FORGOTTEN to sort the starter. No one minded. Miss 24 made a giant chocolate eclair and a sticky toffee pudding - we had Xmas pudding and other stuff to choose from. We opted for eclair. Bless her hard work. It looked amazing and the cream and the chocolate was just right - sadly it was undercooked but we all had a good laugh about it and she wasn’t upset. Tea was very much if you can drag yourself to the fridge you can have it. I bloody loved the queen AND her piano. Then we watched The Greatest Showman. I bloody loved that too. The songs were amazing and it captivated me til the end. Presents were plentiful again and were very much appreciated by us all. New coats for me, Mr 21 and Miss 24. New wellies and walking boots. A few sillies. I got a box of Brussels sprouts teabags. I wrapped up a packet of pitta breads for Miss 24’s beau who had quipped he much prefers a kebab to Xmas dinner! And lots of tea towels for them too because I was shocked and disappointed and slightly disgusted that she only had two! The HG got a fancy pants pencil thingy for his new fancy pants iPad thingy. All of us thoroughly spoilt rotten.
Boxing Day was turkey, real chips, tinned peas and gravy as per our tradition. My dad came to join us and took his portion of jam roly poly and custard home because he was about to pop! Then since we have had those endless Sunday days, pleasing ourselves and enjoying every single second of not being at work. New Year’s Eve was spend with lovely old dear friends and I was ticked up in bed by 1.30am. I was actually appalled by the London Fireowrks. The first five mins, yes wow etc but 15 minutes - I could hear myself turning into my dad- they might as well set fire to my £10 notes !!
New Years Day was clear, bright, cold and sunny. A two and a half mile walk down the canal meant that I saw my very first kingfisher ever on there. There was quite the father of twitchers too. Truly beautiful it was. We walked the canal to
My friend’s house who was holding a first birthday party for her puppy Peggy. Bluebell ( who has been a little off kilter ) rallied and romped about and had fun.  She slept all night when we got back. I’m not sure if it’s post Christmas fatigue or her starting to stir into her first season. She’s 7 months old now.
Right a few photos and publish. I do want to share my hilarious nephew William’s plight with you too. Here are some screen shots of my sister and I’s WhatsApp thread.
Enjoy!

This still makes me laugh today! 

Some photos now to illustrate Christmas- there’s some of LMBF looking less than impressed with her Christmas jumper and some of her looking cute with the ever gorgeous Freddie. As always, photos do not do decorations justice. The Christmas present was the one I did for my friend and I was just so impressed with myself! And the tag that was bought years after the paper from a different shop matched perfectly!   

The book was one that I won in a giveaway! I never win anything!! The snowman chalkboard was a darling find in a sale. 

That’s it for now. 

I’m off to watch Tom Kerridge.  

Lots of love from 

Rachel *might stick my before and after photo on the blog soon * Radiostar xxx