Just Gilly

  Well I hope you've come back after insulting you all last week. I got a few messages admitting you do the petrol pump thing! Lol  And so this is Christmas. Today we'll be putting the decorations up. Yes it's a little early but because of work and a wee trip away it's the only chance we have! We've given up on the twig we planted last summer to replace our giant Christmas tree that we chopped down. We've got a potted one that's about 5' and is sitting on the stump of the old one. After Christmas we'll plant it where the twig is, and move the twig somewhere else! But at least we'll have suitable adorned fairy lights in the garden. I absolutely love Christmas. I love all the decorations especially the lights, I love giving gifts and I love receiving gifts. I love all the food and drink, I love being with friends and family and it's my daughter's birthday (28 - I don't look old enough I know). I try very hard to give nice presents and I...

  So my blog this week was going to be about all the stupid things that people do. For example, I like to watch Four in a Bed (in case you live on the moon - it's a show about 4 b&b owners staying in each others properties in competition with each other) and they frequently say stupid things such as 'There was no marmalade at breakfast' to which I shout at the TV (in unison with hubby) 'You should have bloody asked for some!'. Or sometimes 'the room was too hot', to which we shout 'Turn the bloody radiator down'. You see? Stupid! But this is where I will stop as I've realised that the rest of the things on my list might offend you (completely unintentionally obviously). Ok, I shall give you one example so you know what I mean. (Please don't be upset if you do this stupid thing). Queue at the fuel pumps waiting for a pump on the right hand side when there are pumps free on the left! The pump is miraculously designed so that the hose will r...

  This week I made brookies (see the picture) which are brownies wrapped in cookies. And mine had added mars bar too. I saw them whilst watching Ainsley Harriot on TV, and I thought I can make these. So I did. And quite successfully too. Though I'm not always successful when I see things I can copy. My daughter's Christening cake I copied from a magazine. It was made to look like a cradle - mine not so much! But it's not just food things I copy. I was once in an art gallery and saw pictures that were made with 3D clay people climbing over the canvas. They were selling for hundreds of pounds! I thought, I can do that. So I did. And then I made another, then another and quite a few in the end. But, like everyone else I've seen paintings that look like a toddler has painted them - you know the ones? Just colour thrown everywhere. However, believe it or not, my attempt was terrible! It was not as easy as I thought lol. Well there you go, who knew.  I also rope other people ...

I finally met my new great niece when I popped to Newcastle. And she is just a darling. I honestly could have just eaten her! When I arrived my niece and her partner went for a sleep as they had left in the middle of the night when he had finished night shift. Baby Ó was so happy, until she wasn't. She started to cry so I did the usual - put her over my shoulder, rocked her, shuggeled her up and down, tried to remove her batteries. I thought 'I'm a mother of two, I've got this'. I looked for a care label or a list of instructions but found nothing. Then me and my mum (mother of 3, grandmother of 8 and great grandmother to 2) decided that she might be hungry. We found a bottle of water. Baby Ó was keen, until she realised it was just water! Then I found a pre-measured container with formula and another water bottle. Bingo! Milk was made. And this went down a lot better. Even cold, which surprised Great grandma. Baby happy again. Success! I had not lost my touch. I wa...