My Boy Lollipop

You make my heart go giddy-up!

The Easter Bunny Has Been

When we awoke from our slumbers this morning we found that the Easter Bunny had been, leaving an Easter Bucket at the end of the bed filled with lots of chocolately comestibles for us to share.  Nigel was so eggcited, it was hard to contain him ……. but little does he know that as an eggstra surprise I have hidden lots of other Easter goodies in the garden for a most  magical Easter Egg Hunt for him and Darrell to partake in this afternoon  ……..   shhhhhhhhhhhh……. don’t say anything but …..

There’s a foil wrapped chocolate lamb under the forget-me-nots ………

……. Bunny money on the roller at the bottom of the garden ….

……Mini eggs amongst the pansies in the window box …..

……. an egg under the noise sensor frog by the pool, I’ll know when Nigel and Darrell find this one, as he will croak like crazy ……(the frog, not Nigel …… well come to think of it, Nigel will probably croak too!

…… I’ve hidden caramel bunnies in the empty hanging basket on the shed,  they’ll never find these ….. unless they get a ladder……(NB I must make a note of all health and safety issues that may relevant here.)

There are Easter Jellies in the peg tin….. another safe hiding spot I think, as both Nigel and Darrell are strangers to hanging out the washing ….

….. and a bubbly lamb on the no smoking sign in the vegetable patch ….

The gnome mum and dad got for their 25th wedding anniversary is hiding another egg ……

…… and finally there are jelly fried eggs under the branches of the Christmas tree. We will have the most splendid and jolly time before settling down to an Easter tea of  Simnel cake and salmon sandwiches, followed by The Antiques Roadshow! We are truly blessed in the most eggcellent of ways!

Dragon’s Den, Here We Come!

We thought it would be a nice idea to make a few badges for our special friends with our pictures on.  We also thought that finding pictures to fit our template would be easy too, but we had to fiddle quite a bit on the computer before we could get started, it's a good job Darrell is quite good on the computer.

We had to cut out our pictures to fit the template.

Then pop all the bits and pieces into the badge maker, keeping our fingers crossed that they would turn out ok.

It was very exciting to see how they turned out and our next job was to stick the backs on. When we are famous,  we will probably have a team of “backstage” people who will do this for us.

Our picture isn’t very good, we can assure you that we don’t really look like wanted criminals, it’s just the way the light fell on the badges as they sat on the table.

Buoyed up by our badge making success, we thought we would have a go at making a keyring with a blank our friend Hugh (who lives in Notting Hill with dreams of a celebrity life) sent us.

We think they look very professional. In fact this could be the start of Monkey Merchandise Inc. I wonder if The Dragons would be willing to offer us a deal?

We would like Theo to take us on if they did, we wouldn't waste his kids inheritance!

Nigel Has A Friend Round To Play

Nigel and his mate Marcel are almost identical, if ever they swop their clothes we are in BIG trouble! (Nigel’s the one in the purple sweater).

Marcel came to play for the first time yesterday, which was a special occasion for both him and Nigel.  They both wanted to play shops so it was most fortuitous that I had just bought a little play set from the 30p box in Ali’s papershop.

Marcel was the shopkeeper and Nigel was his helper.

They played happily for hours, Nigel was a little bit possessive with the shopping list, but Marcel is very mild natured, so let Nigel have his own way.

It was lovely to see them playing and chatter away, even if we didn’t have a clue what they were saying!! I think we will be seeing quite a lot of Marcel in the future.

A Salutary Lesson for Darrell ….

I never know who I’m going to bump into when I go on my little trips to town on the Banga bus …..

This gentleman gave me quite a start ….

…. and I wish Darrell had been with me …..

…… as I could have used it as a prime example to warn him of the dangers of using too many different “beauty” creams and potions on his face and body in pursuit of becoming a “Textmessagical man”  …..

…… and how a pedicure can go hideously wrong!

……. But Which Is Best?

I like my Marmite on a toasted English Muffin with Bertolli spread …….

Whereas Darrell likes his Marmite on toast with real butter,

But which is best?

Cheese Pie - Our Unexpected Visitor Supper Dish of Choice …..

We know we are not the best cooks in the world and that convenience  foods are not really the way to go …..

….. but we thought we would share a recipe that we devised ourselves for a very quick supper dish,  ideal for when friends turn up unexpectedly in a highly peckish state.

You will need a packet of Smash, some cheese and a knob of butter. First make up the Smash, then add the butter.

Next, grate the cheese, being very careful not to grate your knuckles or fingers in your hurry to share your hospitality.

Mix in the cheese, but leave a bit to put on the top. Pop into a hot oven, for about 15 – 20 mins. then serve with baked beans.  Your success and reputation as a consummate host to unexpected visitors  will be assured by the nomming that your guests will make as they tuck in.

Bon appétit!

Beyond Knitting – Above And Below The Sea.

Can you believe this beautiful mermaid is knitted? She’s lovely.

Her name is Syrene and she was part of a huge installation at the Creative Stitches at the NEC helping to raise funds for the RNLI. It took 2,000 people to knit and you could even walk inside it.  How brilliant is that?

It took my breathe away, it was so wonderful, there were knitted crabs, lobsters, Punch and Judy, fish, seagulls, pirates, everything.

But the mermaid was my very favourite

I wonder how long it would take me to knit a mermaid?

And where would I get a pattern from?

Perhaps, I should start with something a bit easier, like a piece of seaweed, especially as it looks like Nigel wants to help me!

If you want to know more about “Above and Below the Sea” click on the link below
http://www.thisiswesternmorningnews.co.uk/news/Seaside-yarns-tell-tale-life-waves/article-2174427-detail/article.html

Holiday Top Tip – How to Save Time When Writing Postcards

 
Now that Darrell and Nigel have returned from Nigel’s first momentous £9.50 Sun Holiday, and with several more £9.50 Sun holidays already in our proverbial pipeline I thought I would offer you one of my holiday top tips.  With the holiday season approaching  no doubt you may be preparing for a short break/holiday of your own ….

Both Darrell and I (and now Nigel) have been very fortunate to  have enjoyed several wonderful holiday experiences during the past year, I dare say that Judith Chalmers, in her hey day would have been a tadge jealous of our travels.

So my top tip is ……before departing on your adventures, write (or word process) all your address labels ready to just stick onto your postcards, this will save you packing your address book and a little weight/room in your suitcase, enough perhaps to bring back a few more souviners and presents for your loved ones.

 

There used to be such lovely holiday programmes on the TV a few years ago, I suppose the BBC lost heart when Judith told them she was retiring and called it quits for making them, quelle dommage!

Homeward Bound And Surrounded By The Whiff of Lavender ….

It’s been a brilliant short break and Nigel has absolutely loved his first holiday by the sea. Our only regret was that the sea was too cold for him to have a paddle/swim and we were never at the site when the pool was open, but no doubt as the weather gets a little warmer an opportunity of a Duncan Goodhew type nature will arise.

We had a slow journey home, calling at Torquay. where  we found ourselves enticed into the Pavilion by the most wonderful old fashioned whiff……

We found a humungous display unit full of “Lavender Ladies “, there were millions of them, all niffing of lavender

How brilliant and romantic is that ? The poster explaining what it was all about made us laugh …. I am very much an admirer of Antony Gormley, especially as Monkey was on the Plinth in Trafalgar Square with Aunty Jan, and this was a wonderful homage to him!

But thank goodness it was a sealed “exhibit” because if Nigel had got in amongst it, I would never have found him as his jumper was exactly the same colour as the little ladies!

After the Pavillion we went to take one last lingering look at the sea ….
 

Nigel wanted me to take a photo of a seagull for him but the nearest I got in the short time we had left was a pigeon that we had feed a bit of pasty to.

Nigel said it was ok because to be honest most birds looked the same to him anyway!

What is he like?

It was time to carry on back to Wolverhampton…… arrive derci seaside, bonjourno Monkey!