Our Christmas food treats

With all the dire warnings for stormy weather I decided to head out early for the milk, fruit and cheese I needed to finish the Christmas shopping. So had everyone else in this part of Suffolk!
I got to Tesco car park just after 8.30 and it was filling fast. By the time I came home an hour later there were queues waiting to get into both Waitrose and Tesco car parks, and we are only a little town.
Him Outside went off early too, luckily he was working out in the countryside so didn't have to venture in to any towns, although he had been listening to local radio and said that Ipswich was jammed solid.
Now we are both home for a few days, no need to go anywhere until Friday - brilliant!

The joy of simple eating for 51 weeks  means that at Christmas it doesn't take a fortune to buy a few tasty treats that we don't have at other times of the year.

A few different cheeses including Red Leicester for the cheese scones I shall make tomorrow, some clotted cream for the fruit scones also on the job list, Pringles, now priced as a luxury food when a few years back they were much cheaper, tomatoes - something we never buy normally as we manage without them when we haven't got our own, chocolate biscuits are not usually on the shopping list and neither are lemons and tonic water which is my Christmas drink as I don't drink alcohol and am not keen on fruit juices or squashes either.
A good sized ham from a proper butcher will be cooked with some festive poultry. Celery, carrots and cream are in the fridge. Bacon and sausages are in the freezer. We've been given a bottle of wine already.  Everything else - potatoes,parsnips, sprouts,swedes,red cabbage, butternut squash, the bread sauce, the stuffing, the Christmas pudding, the chocolate Meringue Gateaux, the Christmas cake, mince pies and the scones and jam are all home made or home grown.
AND I STILL HAVE £50 OF DECEMBERS HOUSEKEEPING IN MY PURSE! yippee!

Back Tomorrow - Keep Frugalling!

What a grey day but brightened by unexpected visitors

After a brief glimpse of sunshine this morning the day turned grey, windy and miserable.

Him Outside has been making a start on building a new stall to put out by the front gate for selling eggs etc. He's had the plywood for nearly a year so just needed the time. Our old stall has a serious list to the right back corner and is pretty rotten at the base too. The new one will be a bit taller with room for an extra shelf.

 Now that all the Christmas cards and presents are done, I've tidied my desk in the craft room and also had a sort out of the dining room cupboard. Other than that I've been looking at our 2014 budget. I will do a post on it ASAP. The way some things have gone up in 2013 it seems that we need to either find an extra £150 a month or drastically cut some of our current expenditure. I did a rough total of Christmas spending and was horrified to find that although I thought I'd spent less, I had actually spent about £20 more on gifts etc., and that's not counting home made gifts like chutneys! Although I have spent a lot less on food which is why I still have £100 left in my purse on the 15th December! * sounds of cheering*!

Him Outside had just gone through to the kitchen to wash up after lunch when he called back to say that he was putting the kettle on as my sister and brother in law had just pulled into the driveway. We had been planning to pop up the A140 to visit them next Saturday but they beat us to it.
We had a good natter but as she reads this blog she knows what we are up to anyway!
We did a pressie exchange and as always her presents are beautifully wrapped works of art while mine look as if they been chucked together by a blind man!

Beautifully wrapped Christmas work of art

Thank you L and J. Happy Christmas!

Which Christmas Tree?

We have a 10 Christmas trees around the smallholding, so which to dig up for Christmas?

1. Half eaten by deer

2. The one we had indoors last year,still struggling to recover and survive

3. The one we had inside in 2011.Two years on and looking a bit sad

4. Twenty years old - Rather Large!

5. 6. 7. Three more that were got at by Muntjac deer

8. 9. 10. The one at the front was also half eaten, the centre one is much too big  and the one on the right has got really tall but with very few branches except at the base where they are very wide.

Centre and right were possibles but maybe now too big to replant. So I would rather leave them growing here. If we do have one with roots, we have to put it in the conservatory which means we don't get to enjoy it as the  curtains between living room and conservatory are closed after dark. Buying a cut tree means needles everywhere and we don't want to spend a small fortune on something that is just for 2 weeks. A Christmas tree is my favourite decoration and I wouldn't want to be without one.

So................... while we were at B&Q earlier this week we splurged £20 on their cheapest artificial. I think it will probably see us out!

Finishing the Christmas cakes and another picture for Christmas

Hello and welcome to a new follower - Sally, and many thanks to everyone for comments recently.


Yesterday morning we went to Ipswich. I'm pleased to say that  it wasn't too busy and we got around the charity shops and the other places that we needed to visit and then we headed out of town to B&Q.

Over the weekend while our son was here our shower packed up.We've only had it 2 years  but it's been a bit temperamental for a few months. The problem was the inbuilt thermostat which wasn't always letting enough  hot water through and then stopped completely. The REAL problem is our blinkin' hard water. We really ought to have a water softener. We've managed without one for 20 years and never had this problem before but now that showers have to have a thermostat built in ( 'elf and safety!) we may have frequent trouble. So no point in spending much money on a new one. I'm just so glad that I married a man who could fix almost all the things that go wrong in the house! New shower is fitted and working, it's nowhere near as nice as the old one, but it was "only" £80 instead of the £200 we forked out when we had the extension built and moved the bathroom. If only we had known then what we know now - and how many times have we said that!

Him outside was out early to work for the County Council this morning then this afternoon he was using the borrowed muck spreader and the borrowed rotervator to put some well rotted horse muck onto the big area on the field where we grow pumpkin, potatoes and squash.( It's a good thing that we can borrow all these bits of useful machinery as it would cost an arm and a leg to buy them all ourselves.)Then he came in to do all the computer stuff linked to this mornings inspection work.

In case you don't know what a muck spreader looks like!

I've had a busy day too. Started with the ironing. Then making a wreath for the door ( I found the foam base with decorations already  attached for 99p in a charity shop in Ipswich, so today I just wired on some conifer and holly bits to fill in the gaps) Followed by cooking up a vegetable curry for dinner and putting the marzipan and icing on the 3 Christmas cakes. 1 for us and 2 for gifts.

Several Christmas cards in the post this morning including a mystery one . We didn't recognise the Christian names on the card and can only assume it's from someone who comes to the campsite, mostly I only know people by their surnames as that's what gets written in the bookings diary.
So thank you to Andrew and Irene- whoever you are!

Back Tomorrow.

Christmas on the telly

Our once a year purchase of the Radio Times happened today.
AND I got reduced price Christmas cards from ARC charity shop ready for 2014.

Thoughts of Christmas Past.

Christmas Day in just over two weeks time and I really should be doing something useful like putting the marzipan on the cakes. At least the cards are all in the post and the majority of presents wrapped. I'm vaguely organised this year.

At some time I expect most people will have bought a magazine with one of those count down to Christmas charts in, you know what I mean:- 28 days to go = stock up on toilet rolls, 24 days to go = put the sprouts on! |That sort of thing.
I wonder if anyone actually follows them?
I can remember 2 years when I should have been more organised.
The first was 1981. I had a H. a toddler of 19 months and M. a 2 month old baby and hadn't done much planning at all for Christmas and then we had snow in mid December, quite a lot of snow in fact, so that instead of Him Outside being home at 4.30 each afternoon to look after things while I went shopping he was out working on the gritting lorry early and late. I think we managed on what we could get from the village shop that year.
 The second was maybe about 18 years ago. For some reason I had got rather behind and not many preparations had been done with only a couple of weeks left. Then me and the children all went down with an awful flu type colds and I spent a fortnight in a muddle headed fug trying to look after them and sort everything out including making the Christmas crackers.   Since then I've always tried to have things done by early December, just in case!

Christmas was great fun when we had 3 little ones looking forward to the arrival of Father Christmas. When they were a bit older I did after school and holiday child minding so often had 7 under 12s in the house on the days after term ended. Happy Days! Then there was the Cub Scout Christmas Games evening to plan and enjoy and the day itself meant Mum-in-Law, Dad-in-Law and Him Outsides brother round at our house for the day.

Now our children are grown and have plans of their own, which is how it should be, Mum-in-Law passed away on a November day more than 10 years ago and Christmases are quiet. I can no longer cope with a big crowd of people or  several days of family staying ( poor old woman!) so it's just a small celebration,  6 on the day and the other two children plus partners for a weekend get together  in January.

Burnt mince pies! plus another picture of Christmas

While I was doing a couple of loaves of bread this morning I thought I would make a few mince pies to check that my homemade mincemeat was keeping OK. I was also making some lemon drizzle cakes in case we get visitors for our smallholders coffee morning tomorrow ( last month no one came!). I had the timer set to start with, then I was wiping up, and realised the dish drainer was looking a bit yucky so took it through to the utility room to soak it in my deep sink. Timer goes off, check mince pies- they need a few more minutes, back to utility room, scrubbing dish drainer, cleaning sink, back in the kitchen suddenly remember mince pies- TOO LATE! a dozen very overdone mince pies. Grrrrr what an idiot I am!

Though all is not lost-  the sweet rich pastry I use for mince pies was very short and crumbly so although overdone they are not rock hard, Him Outside will eat almost anything! the mincemeat is delicious and I still have a large jar of it left.

Yesterday evening I made a start on writing Christmas cards. I did 2!
 Really must get on with this job.
 The Christmas cards I'm using are all ones I've bought in the January Sales at Charity shops or from car boot sales or homemade. My aim every year is to make all my cards but in reality I know I'll never get round to it so I always look out for them going cheap.I'm a traditionalist, I like cards with old fashioned pictures- snow scenes and robins!
Here's what I sending this year.

That's two days with Christmassy pictures - can I find a picture to take every day?  I might give it a go! and No I'm not taking a photo of the burnt mince pies.

Whoops, nearly forgot to thank everyone for comments yesterday.  Thank you for the info that there is a choice of stamps at the post office and everyone loves the advent calender as much as I do.
I like the sound of the one that was made for Pam in Norway by her son - very sweet.

The second of December

I'm so pleased I bought the advent calender when I saw it in the charity shop in Stowmarket several weeks ago. I felt like a 10 year old opening the first door on Sunday. Door number 1 was the right hand top attic and there were a few baubles behind it. The calender now has pride of place on the living room sideboard.

We had a busy start to December yesterday as we cleaned out all 3 chicken sheds. A big trailer full of rich chicken poo compost for feeding the garden next Autumn. This is when we are really glad of the tractor as the muck can be forked straight into the loading bucket and then up onto the trailer. When it's 120 chickens to clean out anything that makes things easier is a bonus.

Today I went to Saxmundham for my main December shop. Several bits of Christmas food ( including a box of chocolate biscuits of course!) plus some food gifts have been bought. Then I popped into the post office for the Christmas stamps. There was a choice between these and some designed by children. Is there a choice every year? as I hadn't been asked before.

 I love sending and receiving cards, I know a lot of people frown on the waste of paper but a note on a computer e card is not as nice as hand writing a message to people I haven't seen for a while. It takes me ages to do cards as I usually write individual notes with an update on whats happening with us and the children.
Meanwhile at home Him Outside has been doing more repairs to the front fence and managed to get the large bits fixed up again. Then he had a rummage in the might-come-in-handy wood rack and found enough bits of weather board to replace the ones that were broken when the gale blew it over. So apart from filling some gaps under the gravel boards along the bottom the job is done and we are back to being hidden from all the cars stopping at the junction opposite.

Thank you to everyone for lovely comments yesterday after my review of the month blog. Taking time to pause and look back at all the things achieved during the month seems a nice thing to do before rushing headlong into the next month.

30 Ways to Save £1 -- Day 18 + Christmas Cake Recipe

I've been forgetting to welcome two new followers who've appeared over there on the right in the last few days. Apologies and Welcome. Thank you also to Janice,Pam, Compostwoman and Kev for comments yesterday.

The weather today is just as nasty as yesterday. Him Outside was around at our neighbours most of the day, this time shifting the muck from the bottom of the heap using her mower and tip up trailer, down to her garden.

I was in the kitchen finishing the Christmas cakes. I had put the fruit to soak on Friday and had been stirring every day. The recipe I use is a Mary Berry one but from way, way back, long before she started doing the Bake Off thing. She was freezer expert for a magazine called Family Circle and one year did loads of traditional Christmas recipes. I cut out the pages and have kept them ever since.

This is the recipe

Victorian Christmas Cake

1lb mixed dried fruit including peel, soaked in quarter pint of cold tea, sherry or brandy for 3 days, stir daily.
Add 4oz chopped raisins, 4oz glace cherries, rinsed of gloop, dried and halved, 6oz butter ( softened by beating well), 6oz muscovado sugar, grated rind of one lemon and one orange, 4oz plain flour, 2oz self raising flour, 2oz blanched chopped almonds,1tsp mixed spice.
Stir everything together.
In a jug beat 3 eggs and 1 tbsp black treacle.
Add this to the mix and stir everything until well mixed.

Turn into a greased and double lined 8 inch cake tin. Level top.
Bake in centre of oven at Gas 1, 275F or 120C Fan oven for about 3 and a quarter hours.
Store up to 3 months in a cake tin. ( The cake can be "fed" while in store by making small holes in it and dripping some teaspoons full of brandy into them). Cover the tops of the large cakes with a bit of foil if the start to look a bit too brown

This year because I'm doing some hampers for family I made triple the recipe and it made this lot.

1 Large, 1 medium and 3 mini cakes. This is before they went into the oven.

Some frugal tips for making lots of cakes.
The cheapest fruit is value sultanas so I used more of these and just a few raisins. Always sort through value sultanas for bits of stalk. I soaked the fruit in cold tea, the juice of the oranges and with just 1 tablespoon of brandy. I used less flaked almonds and an extra couple of ounces of flour instead. I bought the cherries and peel very cheaply off AF a couple of months ago.

To make things easier I use parchment strips and circles when lining the tins available from Lakeland as are the mini tins which I bought many years ago when I used to bake for the Country Markets.
The medium cake took 2 and a half hours and the small ones started on the bottom shelf of the oven and took just over an hour and a quarter. ( It would have been less on the middle shelf).
The small cakes will just fit in the two little tins that I found at a car boot sale earlier this year.

The medium one will fit into a tin I picked up at a charity shop - also Christmas themed. I hope the family members who get these for Christmas will enjoy them! In fact I'm loathe to give the tins away as they are so nice!

It seems never a day goes by without doing something with apples. Today I sorted through a whole lot of windfall cooking apples that had been in buckets and a trug out in the shed. With the temperature forecast to drop tomorrow, I've brought them indoors, some will be taken to a friend when we go to visit next week and the others will be given to another friend on Wednesday when she comes around for eggs. There is a limit to how many windfall cooking apples two people can eat before they go rotten!

Day 18 of the 30 Ways to save £1 was
18. Borrow recipe books from the library before buying them and see how many recipes you will actually use. This is a timely hint at this time of year when cookery books are one of the big sellers. How many will be sold on at a car boot sale next year? In my opinion Celebrity Cookery books must be one of the easiest ways to waste £25! .

30 Ways to save £1 -- DAY 12 + getting your knickers in a twist over Christmas

Every year some people seem to  get themselves into a tizzy about the approach of Christmas. They are worrying about the commercialism, the never ending ads on TV. The over eating. The debt. But I can't see the point of getting all "het up" about it ( as we say in Suffolk).

You can preach all you like but there will always be some people who go completely OTT. This is the time that shops take the most money, so of course they are going to advertise. You don't HAVE to buy what they are trying to persuade you to spend on. However much money you give some people they would still spend it on things others consider unnecessary. However little money other people have they will still spend it all and borrow more.
You can be annoyed at the shops playing Christmas songs in November, but there's no point in raising your blood pressure over it. Just do your shopping and leave.
 You can be an all-the-year-round Christian or at only-at -Christmas-church visitor but you will be made welcome whoever you are. And if you are not - then find another church next year because if a church doesn't make a stranger feel welcome then they are not doing what they should be doing.
You can be Pagan or Atheist as long as no one is hurt by your beliefs of non beliefs.
You can stay at home, read a good book, watch TV  or go to huge family parties, in the whole great scheme of things as long as you are not hurting anyone then it doesn't matter.
You can spend a fortune on presents, make them or buy them secondhand. If the recipient doesn't like it then it's their problem not yours.
CHILL
It's just Christmas, it happens every year. Enjoy it or not.
BUT DON'T GO ON AND ON ABOUT IT!



Now to Number 12 of the 30 ways to save £1

12. Don't waste money on bottled water, just fill a plastic bottle with tap water and stand it in the fridge overnight then take it with you next day.
We are lucky here as we have delicious tap water. We try and remember to take a bottle of water whenever we go out. It's always handy.
It drives me mad in summer that so many of our campsite visitors buy bottled water.

Welcome to another follower, Catherine, that makes 94!

A beautiful blue sky and Christmas puddings!

What a lovely day we have had here today. Wall to wall sunshine and blue skies. At 7.30 there was a grass frost in places but that soon disappeared. The washing dried easily and I got some weeding done.

I also made some small Christmas puddings to give as gifts as I realised I still had two large puds in the cupboard from last year. I used half the recipe today which filled 2 x 1pt basins and one smaller one.
In case you don't have a pudding recipe of your own, this is the one I've been using for several years.
Sorry it's not metric but my brain is still imperial  and this recipe is very old, passed to me from the mother of my sister in laws husband! It is nicer than the recipe that I had before which my mum was given by an old lady on a bus. Isn't it funny where recipes come from.

Christmas Pudding
12oz white breadcrumbs
12oz suet
30z plain flour
9oz dark brown sugar
Mix well then add
1ib chopped raisons
12oz sultanas
8oz currants
6oz mixed peel
3 eating apples peeled and grated
4tbsp black treacle
3 large eggs
Juice and grated rind of a lemon
Cold tea to mix ( add a little at a time)

Mix everything together really well
Spoon into pudding basins, level surface, don't fill right to the top.
Cover each with greaseproof paper, then foil and tie around with string, making a lifting handle.
Steam for 3 to 6 hours depending on size
Check and add boiling water as required
Re heat by steaming for 1 to 2 hours depending on size.

3 small puddings made using half the recipe, pudding 3 is hiding at the back!

 I realise that this is a rather vague recipe and relies on things looking right which if you've not made a Christmas pudding before might be a bit daunting.
The full recipe makes 1 large pudding and one small one, but even that sounds a bit vague too!
Because I have the Rayburn alight I can steam these at no extra cost and as I don't own a pressure cooker I can't give you details about using one.

Him Outside went off with the trailer to pick up a load of wood- new wood this time- ready for building two sheds. One will be another toilet for the campsite, so we can keep gents and ladies separate.  I've found that men are much muckier in the loo than women! They don't wipe their feet, they never clean the loo when they've left it in a mess, they can't put a new loo roll on the loo roll holder, and they tend to be smellier! this is my experience after cleaning campsite loos for 17 years!
The other shed will be a new garden/potting shed as the one he built 19 years ago is all rotten at the bottom and has never been big enough and since we had the extension done, it is in completely the wrong place. The wood from the old shed will not be wasted as it will become kindling wood and firewood.
That's Wednesdays news, back tomorrow with My Review of the Month for October- I think over- spending will be the theme!

A trip out, a chance meeting and a surprise visitor

We needed chicken feed so decided to do a charity shop trip around a different town while we were out.We are still looking for jeans for Him Outside and still without any luck. If we don't find some soon he will be forced to buy new. That will come as a shock!

While we were buying a new DVD player. Who should appear in the shop but Him Outsides brother. He was in the town for a opticians appointment and had spotted us going into Argos. It's always a nice surprise to see someone we don't get to see often. I thought we would have to save up for a new DVD player because I had no idea they were available for £17!! So we didn't need to save and now on a cold winter afternoon I'll be able to watch my favourite Good Life DVDs and the Green Valley one I mentioned the other day. Plus Him Outside is pleased as he will finally get to watch the Phil Tufnell On Tour DVD that he found at a boot sale during the summer.

This was my spend today, in the Heart Foundation charity shop I found this lovely Advent calender. I've always been very anti advent calenders with chocolates in - much to the disgust of the children when they were little, and when I saw this I decided that even though there have been no children here for 7 years, it reminded me of one that I had a long time ago ( before anyone even thought of putting chocs in advent calenders) and at £1.50 it didn't break my frugal bank. I shall open the windows and enjoy it all through December.

Just as we were about to start for home we had a phone call from our son who was in the area to go for an interview and thought he would surprise us on his way home. He is an archaeologist and currently lives and works in the Milton Keynes area. The job he is interested in involves working on a community project connected with WWII airfields in East Anglia. As this was the subject of his university dissertation it would suit him well and bring him closer to home where he still has lots of friends. His partner has a business degree and she  has worked in various marketing jobs so I'm sure she would soon find a job in the area. We will keep our fingers crossed for them.

Winter preperations and getting Christmas sorted

This morning we spread some compost on some empty veg. beds and covered them with plastic. The worms will take much of the compost down into the ground by spring and the plastic is a bit of protection against too much wet weather and weeds.
I have now finished putting apples and pears into the freezer for winter, another job done.We also have a box of cooking apples in the shed. The very late eating apples will be picked,wrapped and stored as soon as a frost is forecast. Onions are in nets in the shed, potatoes ( the few we have) in sacks. Beetroot is in sand in a box. Parsnips, Brussels sprouts, cabbage and leeks are in the garden. Mincemeat, jam and chutney made and stored in the cupboard. Wood in the shed, some cut and plenty still to do for the woodburner and Rayburn. Coal in case it's extra cold. Hats, gloves  and coats are all OK.  We have a spare cylinder of gas for the hob. We have a wind-up radio and a wind-up torch and plenty of candles and matches and some batteries. Before the end of the year we will also store some extra chicken feed and some petrol for the generator.

We like to be prepared because  twice in our married life we have been without electric for a whole week, although it hasn't happened lately.  I'm sure it was easier  to manage without electric years ago as our old gas oven could still be used by lighting with a match. Now we have an electric oven but even most gas ones need electric connected to be able to light them.We still have our old telephone in a drawer just-in-case as the new one with answerphone also needs electric to work.
And then we have this

We found this at a car boot a few years ago and we knew what it was. But do you??
Answers at the bottom of the page! 


  I had a catalogue in the post today for the Inverawe Smokehouse in Scotland. They do the most delicious looking, expensive hampers for Christmas. We visited the smokehouse and museum, which was fascinating,  when we were on holiday in Scotland about 5 years ago and I must have filled in a form or something as I get these catalogues every year. Our neighbour, who has been a great help to us over the years we have been here - especially when we had goats - said the only presents she needs now are ones to eat or drink, so maybe one of their smoked salmon boxes would be a good idea for her.
 Phone calls yesterday sorted out who is going where and when over the Christmas holidays and our two eldest and their partners will both be in other parts of the country, so we will be having a New Year get together in early January. The 25th will be quiet with just Him Outsides Dad and brother coming for the day, unless our youngest and her partner decide to pop up as well. Presents for lots of people are in the cupboard but I still need ideas for 3 grown up children, their 3 partners, one elderly Dad and one 54 year old bachelor brother.




Answer to mystery object- Its a thing for doing toast over the flame of a gas hob or camping stove.

Colder weather brings on thoughts of the C word

What a wild, wet windy day we have had over here on the edge of Suffolk. I thought the lovely mild weather we had been having was too good to last. We've really moved into Autumn and it feels like winter is on the way.

I spent the morning peeling and putting all the pears into the freezer, but my hand seized up before I could do more apples so that will have to wait. After the gales there are now plenty more windfalls to pick up.

 I apologise to everyone who doesn't like the mention of the C word before December the 1st, but I can't see the point of pretending there is nothing happening on December 25th. Any sensible frugal person will have got quite a lot planned already.

To start with you need to know how much you are going to be able to afford to spend. Life will be much simpler if you can save a little every week/month and then if you see just the thing in the January sales or in a June car boot sale then you will already have some cash in the kitty to buy it. If the people you are buying for wouldn't like a present from a car boot sale don't tell them! and if you make some of the presents that you give, then leaving everything until December would be silly.

I have a note book that I started way back in 1979 that has the families names down the left hand side and the  presents that we gave.It's moved with me 6 times, been hidden so the children couldn't find it and repaired with sellotape when it fell apart. It also has pages with lists of who we send cards to. I say we, but actually if Christmas was left to Him Outside to organise then not a lot would happen.
This year, I'm happy to say, lots of the spaces besides names are filled in already. His Brother and his Dad are my problems! I shall have to ask for suggestions.

The children moan at us for being difficult to buy for. I didn't think I was but its just because I hate people wasting their money on unwanted gifts. Take books for instance. Because we like books people think we like ALL books. But we have so many on the subjects we enjoy that we've been bought duplicates a couple of times which is sad.
"Smellies" are often given as gifts but apart from an unscented soap, shampoo and a moisturizing shower gel I don't use anything else so that's no good.
There was a time when we needed things for the smallholding but after 20 years here we have acquired everything we need.
I used to like cross stitch magazines and kits but the magazines are just full of ads and I have enough kits and bits to last me a lifetime.

Oh dear- the children ARE right, I am difficult!

The problem is that I like thinking of ideas for giving to other people but I'm not so good at receiving
What a miserable old woman I am!
( PS Lindt Lindor chocs are my favourites and we need a new microwave!)