Guy Fawkes?

Sorry about that!!! It seems a long time since Wednesday and I feel like I haven't got a lot done, but actually I have - I just can't show and tell just yet!!! Suffice to say that by Friday bedtime I'd completely finished piecing, layering and tacking the quilt and it's beginning to look lovely. Friday was a pretty full on day anyway with morning coffee in the usual place and a delicious, relaxing lunch at a friend's home (a Phil Vickery pumpkin stew recipe and I could have eaten bowlfuls of it!!!!) complete with wine and dessert - bought I'm afraid - I kinda ran out of time, but it was still nice!

We can't really do Guy Fawkes at the moment. Leo really HATES fireworks so unless the other kids get an invitation to a friend's party we tend not to go to the organised events. We can watch them from the front door, but it's a bit difficult with a tiny terror clinging to your leg and refusing to let you open the door!! The irony of it is we live in a town famous for it's involvement in wrecking the Gunpowder Plot. Lord Mounteagle, who lived a little way down the hill, warned King James (who lived further down the hill) not to go into parliament that fateful day. The rest is, as they say, history!!!

Yesterday we were down the allotment - finally!!!! A dry day and an opportunity to "put it to bed" for the winter. There are still a few odd jobs to be done, but essentially all the empty beds have been raked over and the dead stems piled on the compost heap. The onions are in and the broccoli looks fine, though we'll need to buy proper cloches for the nets. Jerry also laid a few more pavers across the largest of the beds to help with managing it over time. By the time we left it looked quite neat and tidy. We'd had the last of the pumpkin and squash soup for lunch and I made brownies for the weekend. Homemade pizzas for tea - one meat feast and one seafood. There's still rocket on the allotment so we had some of that in the salad too - yummy!!!

Unfortunately, last night was a disaster as poor Leo was up four times being very sick - even to the point that he threw up cooled, boiled water too!! I think we managed about five hours sleep and a lot of washing! Hopefully he'll be a lot better tomorrow, but I'll still keep him at home until he's on full rations again - just to make sure! We'd offered to take David to work this morning as the trains had been cancelled and luckily I didn't feel too tired at 8:15am, but by 11:00am when Viv and Ray were due for coffee and a pre-Christmas chat (with notebook!!) I was feeling more than a little sleepy. Somehow Jer and I have kept going and we've managed to get Leo to keep down a small packet of Mini Cheddars and an ounce of pasta i pesto! Somehow I've managed to cobble together a lasagne so we won't starve tonight and there's the end of a bottle of Cab Sauvignon with my name on it!!! Jerry has a bottle (or four) of Piddle - yes, really!!! Viv and Ray bought them for his birthday: Jimmy Riddle; Piddle in a Bottle; The Silent Slasher and Yogi Beer - all made with water from the River Piddle. You just couldn't make it up!!!!