Wednesday 26 March 2014

Ssssshhhhh, tell absolutely no one !

Look what I've been busy buying today....


Isn't he wonderful? He's for school. For now he's called Barry. The children know nothing of him yet. I cannot wait to introduce them! I'm thinking Barrycam - a bird's eye view of the children! Barry's blog. What else can we do with Barry? He'll be good for bereavement - who can forget Lynford? << my most tear jerking post to date....A very very poignant post. Read it.  I may need to dig out the resources in readiness.
Anyhoo, what is new with you lot? X

Rachel Ornithologist Radiostar xx

Almost forgot, I knit this darling little hat to match the little cardigan I made.
I used the cable method to cast on. A new one to me, and man is it fiddly to do, but it lies beautifully flat and neat! I may use it for other things!

Wednesday 19 March 2014

I'd have sold my soul to the boiler devil

For anything tepid out of my taps!

Wednesday night, after the positively tropical Monday and Tuesday we'd had, was shrouded in mist.
Freezing foggy type mist. The HG was cold. I went to crank up the old girl in the kitchen. Nothing. Dead as a dodo.
Fortunately we have the insurance. So first thing Thursday morning, I rang up.

I carefully gave my work number five or six times to the nice lady on the phone and said that they'd have to ring me there betwixt the hours of  eight and one on the Friday morning. She updated her system .... or so she said.

She'd actually blatantly lied to me. I left for work as late as I dared and once there I was up n down to the office like the proverbial night attire of a newly married woman. No calls. Nothing.

I sprinted home like Hussain Bolt* at lunchtime and there behind the door was a
SORRY I MISSED YOU CARD.

I WAS BOILING ( unlike the water coming out of my taps ) mad . I was, frankly, furious. The card informed me the engineer had been at 9:18am. The phone is definitely manned by two people at work  an hour before that time. No way had I missed the call.
I hadn't missed the call at work........

I went to the house phone to check for a call. There was a strange mobile number at 8:56am.

Like Sherlock, my angry mind began piecing together the missing blanks. Actually the blanks are for all the swear words I was saying. I was cross that I'd left for work at 8:55am. Had I waited sixty short seconds longer, there would be no problem.  I rang the strange mobile and left a half snarky/half polite message explaining had he rung work he'd be a 'Sorry I missed you' card up in his collection.

I then turned my vexation onto the Organisation. I pressed the numbers REALLY HARD into the phone ( I'm curious - does anyone else do that anger typing where you use the pointy finger on your best hand in a very jabby aggressive manner?
The higher the level of miffed ness, the harder the  force required to punch  Each. Number. Punctuated. With. A. Swear. Word. ( Indeed, had I been dialling a number on our old home phone I would have been calm because it would have taken five minutes alone to start with 0800 ! ) old fashioned counting to ten!

Now after I had been through fifteen different options with the automated lady I then settled in with a brew to wait for the company to finish chatting with it's other customers. I felt reassured my call was important to them too; they hypnotised me with it as I heard it twenty plus times.

Finally, a 'nice' lady answered. I explained all of the above. She listened. I was actually polite as I knew it wasn't her fault. I discovered she wasn't that 'nice' as she, rather snottily I thought, informed me that the calls twenty minutes before are just courtesy and not compulsory. Red rag to a bull time folks. I was SEEEEEEETHING. I. Told. Her.


The calls ARE always made or so I was led to believe. I had given my number on which I was to be contacted. I'd been told this was fine.
There was a long silence.
She offered me an appointment that afternoon as a priority.



Of course I was going to take it. She went through the same questions.
Was I elderly? ( a matter of opinion!)
 Did I have alternative heating etc? Yes, coal and a kettle.
Did I have children under six months old? Yes, once, and now I want to cry because they are all grown up, you heartless phonewitch - my day is bad enough  as it is without you rubbing that fact in. Was there any problems with parking? No, because clearly, the engineer had parked there this morning as he filled my SORRY I MISSED YOU CARD in.
She then checked with me my home phone number. The 'hilarity' of this will become clear in about two paragraph's time.

All I could do was sit and wait. I was irked as I'd planned to go see my friend's brand new baby. And now I was trapped against my will in a freezing cold house with no instant hot water. What a drama Llama!!!

But my wonderful HG saved the day. He finished early for the day so I was free. Also, it was probably safer for the Boiler Repair Man ( when he turned up ) .

I went to see my friend. It was wonderful. Her baby is adorable and the birth story was enthralling! With my arms still warm and smelling of fresh baby I went to Night Owls.
The HG texted to say boiler man there. Then one later to say 'boiler not working'. I was trapped in the nest till 5:29pm.

I dreaded going home. Mainly because it was FREEZING and also the cost of replacing the boiler
would be crippling. However, things weren't as bleak as I feared. The nice boiler man had diagnosed
lots of things he could try to get it working and would be back in the morning with the parts! He was a particularly nice boiler man who laughed off my irate phonemessage! He showed the HG his computer screen of contact phone numbers to call. They had six for us. The usual categories. Home, Mobile, Work, Other, Other and Other.

Every single one was our home phone number!! Unbelievable! The first operator must have just been laughing her head off as she was NOT adding my work number to the list!! But I was no longer furious. I was ecstatic for the morning!

Saturday morning. The boiler man was at the helm for a good couple of hours. He fixed several faults . He'd already explained that many parts were now obsolete as our boiler had stopped being made in 2001!! We've had it for about  sixteen/seventeen years. He worked his magic! The boiler worked!! He warned us that this was probably the last time! ( To be fair, so did the last three engineers who've been out to fix it in the past.) I admit we are living on borrowed time.  So a surveyor will call to measure us up for a new one and I will save this information ( and also start saving a lot of pennies )for the day my boiler warms it's last radiator!

I love a happy ending!

Work in progress - tiny cardigan now finished! I hope my friend likes it.






To those lovely people asking about the lovely Frugalmummy, if you add a comment with an email address, I won't publish it, but I will be in touch :-)

So I must be off to get ready for work! I do this in blissful luxury of warmth from Central heating! All you frugal bloggers out there will be aghast at my blatant spending!!!

Love from Rachel *warm as toast* Radiostar xx




**if Hussain Bolt was a five foot nowt, forty two year old fat woman with grey roots and eyebrows like hedgerows who at best could manage a jog for three minutes with the right supportive underwear strapped on.

Saturday 8 March 2014

A busy Saturday

Up with the larks as is typical on a weekend when I've nowt to get up for! I had some chicken to marinate but 😱 I had no natural yogurt in. So off I popped to the co and bought some natural yogurt which cost £6.17. Yogurt is very expensive these days! Ok, I got some loo rolls on offer, some sour sweeties for the HG and some reduced potato cakes!

Once home I started to bake. I have been very at one with my kitchen. I made spelt bread. I made cake pops. I made fairy buns. I made baguettes. I made chicken tikka bites. I made onion Bahjis. I made a mess! My kitchen looked like a bomb went off. I was supposed to make flapjacks, but I couldn't be bothered once I'd cleaned up for the nth time! Might get the boy to make some tomorrow.

Look away Vivian xxx






They look like a couple of house bricks - I'll let you know if they tasted alright - the recipe says to eat the next day! I've had to lock them away in the safe! I altered the recipe a bit, because spelt flour is omg expensive, so I substituted some whole meal. It's jolly good for you! 
Saw this on the internet and it made me laugh! 



What've you laughed at lately? 

Rachel Done Baking Radiostar xx 

Friday 7 March 2014

I survived WBD!

Well, WBD was actually quite fun, despite it being a wet play kinda day. The home made costumes were outstanding. The Cat in the hat and the mad hatter won in my class and they were well created and were real book characters. We had lots of children in bought Disney costumes and I bet the closest they'd been to their character, was on a tv screen. WBD brought me a first. I have never read The Gruffalo. I'm not sure if it was written after my two grew too old for it, or our groaning bookshelves just couldn't take any more!
I fell in love with the Gruffalo and that tricksy little mouse yesterday. Head. Over. Heels. We read the story, made puppets and then watched a DVD which followed the illustrations and story faithfully! A good day :-)

So now it's Friday. Hooray! This year is tramping by at an alarming rate. I think I must officially be old, because my little sisters turned 40 and 38 this week. And my beloved Nanna told me that the years fly by when you are old! Indeed, the blooming hairs I'm growing on my chinny chin chin are even grey. Why do I have them? How do they grow overnight? A few more years and I'll be the proud owner of a five o clock shadow. Albeit a grey one!
My plans for the weekend are basically revolving around the rugby. I've housewifery stuff to do. Sorting out and the stuff I didn't do last weekend to catch up with!
Come on Wales!! I hope we beat the men in white!

Best get my wriggle into gear and get ready for work. I only work in class til 12 on aFriday! Then I have a few hours to do as I wish until it's time for Owls. Today I have an appointment with an insurance bloke and I hope he's on time so I can go and cuddle my friends new born baby for a while. I plan on sitting and knitting watching quality TV until the Insurance man arrives! A lovely day ahead :-)

What are you doing?

Rachel *COME ON WALES* Radiostar xxx

Thursday 6 March 2014

Sodding World Book Day

Now then folks, you know me, not one to shy away from ever dressing up. However, WBD pisses me off. I've dressed up in the past but not today. I'm going to *be there* for the children who have a combination of lazy can't be arsed parents plus they don't actually read any books so they don't know who the characters are. At our place I can guarantee there will be a handful of really creative true characters  and absolutely shitloads of footballers and Disney princesses. I'm a bit bah humbug about today.

Not much has been happening lately. Lamb hotpot in the slow cooker yesterday was amazing. I'll b back to report the days events later. What gave you dressed your little ones as? The first year it happened at my school, I sat up for hours and hours sewing and making and the Uni one went as Hedwig from Harry Potter. Feathers, beak, claws, the lot!

Rachel *not dressing up today * Radiostar xx

Sunday 2 March 2014

Sunday 2nd March

My friend had her little baby girl on Thursday, so I delved into my brand new stash and am on with a little cardigan. Hopefully if I carry on knitting like a demon it'll be done by the time she gets out of hospital.

Cardi so far! 

Today has included a trip to The yellow supermarket because washing powder was less than half price. A ham is roasting and a rice pudding just went in made with Jersey milk. Such luxury! I'm now comfy on the sofa for an hour with a brew, my knitting and the TV. 

I live very close to where I work. Consequently so do a lot of the patrons! A gaggle of so called patrons have been floating by my window smiling and waving. I don't mind a smile and a wave, but they seem to be daring themselves to take it in turn to run past screaming and attracting my attention. This is now. Starting. To. Piss. Me. Off.


I am not paid to put up with them at a weekend. Monday to Friday is bad enough! I've ignored them for twenty minutes now, hoping they will go away. I am watching the Game of Thrones. If they see nudity and violence then it is their own fault! Also the HG is dangerously close to slamming open the door and telling them to eff the eff off!!! It annoys me, because my two were never allowed to roam the streets making a nuisance out of themselves. Some of these kids are running feral from day break to sunset. I truly believe these parents don't give a toss where they are or what they are doing as long as they are out of their hair.



Rant over!!

Enjoy the rest of your day, I intend to! I'm off to have a quick nosy at a few blogs now x

Rachel *IT IS MY DAY OFF* Radiostar xx