The George Foreman

You know when your man is home when.. he leaves the sink sponge balancing on top of the grill - i mean "please!!!"

in all your life, my beloved man, how many times have u cleaned that grill?

i goddam hope never, knowing if you use THAT sponge on my goerge foreman grill it will probably need replacing - one requires a clean clean bleach and detergent free cloth - just a water powered dish cloth - clean the grill with that AND ELBOW GREASE - heat it a bit if you need to get the grease off and you can't quite manage - though i usually can. And thats the start really - as it would possibly mean something if the kitchen was a space that you spent some time and inspiration within !? or EVER used other than to make TOAST.

So for one night I have left the grill - and now two as I am writing this - though I really don't think it will be two - Im gonna gettup and clean it - never knew it was such a big issue.. and personally - for the record I loved my toasted cheese sandwich tonight - with a bit of a meaty flavour due to any residue on the grill - it was extra flavour very much enjoyed - but so so - got to go and get my sponge.
lol

What do we do about the recession?

For English minded people like myself, yourself perhaps? How does it feel - when 1e used to be 75p and now 1e is about a pound - and the French still have the audacity to put the prices up.

Im finding it hard - everything that used to be cheaper, or in Marseille at least relatively similar prices to UK, now its much more expensive. The budget I set for the following year, as I always do, has never been so over budget in such an early month in the year before in my life!

Does anyone else have any fantastic solutions at this time???

Yummy English Apple Crumble

Ingredients:
4 large apples (any kind)
75g butter (soft helps)
2 cups of flour
1 cup of granulated sugar
a sprinkle of brown sugar
a sprinkle of granualted sugar

1. peel and slice some apples, then throw them in a dish with granualted sugar (big sprinkles of it - half a handful!)

2. to mix the crumble rub the butter, flour and cup of granulated sugar together with your fingertips until it looks like breadcrumbs

3. sprinkle the crumble over the top of the apples to cover them and then lightlys prinkle brown sugar on top

4. Put it in the oven for 40 mins at 180deg (medium heat)

(make sure it doesnt bubble over the sides as its a helluver job to clean the apple syrup off the bottom of the oven!)

Standard Visit Parents England Trip

Well, that was what I thought it would be, but it actually resulted in me destressing, playing and chatting with my kids AND my parents. No disputes, no stress, no rushing, had a really chilled visit.

I think it was mainly due to me not planning to see lots and lots of friends, I stuck to seeing the mother in law, and my sis-in-law and our mutual friend with kids the same age.

Did all the usual stuff, stocked up on Worcester Sauce, Brown sauce, Jelly and that dried cheese we like to sprinkle on our bolognaise. Couple of pairs of trainers, watches and jeans combined with a MacDo breakfast (something the French don't do) - we were set!

Great to see Mum and Dad, had a good time with Dad asking loads of questions on the PC, and for once Im able to help him - that course I bought for his birthday did him the world of good. And Mum, always my biggest supporter in life, within about a day she has made me feel so much better about some of my biggest worries.

Had a bit of a rememberance to why we left UK when a man in Superdrug cleared off with a whole shelf of deoderants before my very eyes. But overall, the vibe was very chilled, I visited Battersea park for the first time, Hylands, Maldon and the local village park - all superb places to visit in G.B.

Back in France now, was great to be hit by that HEAT!!!
yes it was great, but now hubby back from work early and Brother's family due tomorrow - kind of sorted.. kind of ready.. havent hosted for a bit though!!!

Have a car to see locally and some courses in mind for the coming year - along with WORK ideas ! yes really!

Xmas in UK

The Xmas holidays went like a flash, doesn’t it always though?

We flew into UK and stayed with my Parents for the two weeks. Went to the village church on Christmas Eve for carols round the crib. Had a great Christmas Day with my family, 9 of us got together, presents, turkey, wine, Christmas pudding, all as good as expected and better.

We were still over for my Mum’s 65^th birthday and had a proper kid’s party for her, as she never had that when she was small. Pass the parcel, musical statues, balloon games, cakes and jelly. I think we all enjoyed it as much as Christmas day!

Visited a friend of mine at her lovely new house, her hubby and children and spent some time hanging out together. Finished up spending New Years Eve with my partners family in London – that was a great opportunity to catch up and see the London fireworks without going out!

Glad to get back in January, though it’s cold and windy in Marseille

Still more Baggage...

Ryan Air having such helpful guidelines as mentioned in an earlier article. People can take 10K in hand luggage and 15k in your checked luggage.

So on our return from UK, I knew we would be overweight, so I decided to pack another suitcase and pay ten pounds for the extra case.

I tried to change the booking online, it wouldn’t let me, I tried calling but didn’t get through - so arrived at 7am at Stansted with my extra suitcase...

No, no, no, said the lady at the desk, its still only 15k per person, which you have used, so we will now charge you ten pounds for the bag and another seventy seven pounds for the weight inside it!!!

87 pounds lighter, and they even lost that bag and another within the next two hours, but that’s a whole new histoire!

Apology Letter from the Government

Did everyone get their apology...,.

I especially like the bit that says that they might still have the disks on their property.. but they dont know?????


hehe

HOLIDAYS

Its been quite a good year for holidays, so many i might accidentally miss some out...

Visited UK early in the year to work for three months returning to France every weekend and then i had my holiday fund...

May - Portugal (with a friend and her children and one of mine - very windy and not much sun, she always has bad luck with weather on holidays, in fact she was in a hurricane last time, nobody else would dare to travel with her!) July - UK, Euro Disney August - Pyrenees, Monaco September - England again, Amsterdam... yeah i do like to travel - UK for xmas.
And of course in between my many trips i have had many visitors friends and family over, so then home isnt like home as you are in holiday mood for them... great to see everyone though (two more arriving this month, mother in law just departed)

Already taking and making bookings for next year - its a good life really.... South of France with holiday options all checked.