Busy time..

 Hello again..

Its been busy here..we had a birthday.

Quite a milestone birthday for Iris..it was a lovely day filled with balloons, cakes and gifts.

We have taken up all the Summer Bedding and took out the Cucumber and Tomato plants as we are sure they have finished for the year.

The last harvest was just before we did it..we picked all the fruit from our trees. We were pleasantly surprised by the amount of Pears we got.I was determined to not waste any of them so i searched the internet and found several recipes for Pear Pie filling..see the pics below for how it turned out.

The very last Cucumber and Tomatoes.

Here are the Pears in Pie Filling form

On the right are the pears..i used a Caramalised Pear recipe and Wow they taste amazing and on the left are harvested Apples also Caramalised for Pies..I let it all cool down and froze them in bags ..i got 3 Pear fillings and 2 Apple fillings. Not bad for an afternoons work.

We also made Applesauce Muffins..

This recipe makes a lot of Muffins and we ran out of cases so i made a loaf tin cake out of the rest of the mix.

It was a new recipe for me but everyone loved it so i will be making it again.

We have been busy making sure the house is Winter ready. My door curtains have been fished out the airing cupboard and put up..they make such a difference in keeping the hallway and porch area warmer.

I have swapped over the duvets for the thicker winter ones..still not had the heating on and i won't until the end of October.

I bought 2 new Hot Water Bottles..as the last ones were ancient and on the verge of leaking.

I have all the throws and thick bed spreads at the ready .

We have defrosted the freezers so they run properly and not cost a fortune.

A  few new rules have been imposed...if your not using it switch it off. No leaving it on stand by and unplug stuff if your not using it. 

I am only washing when i have full loads and using my drier only when i have too, i got my clothes horses out of storage and they are set up ready to go.

It seems at the moment that every single penny has to be watched and try to get the most out of it.

We tried on the Winter Coats and boots..the girls still fit thankfully..i did have to buy me and hubby a new Winter Coat each. I haven't had a new Winter Coat for years so i wanted a good one that will last ages. I ended up buying a Regatta  Thermo, wind, water  and storm proof coat..it did cost £30 but it will keep me toasty for years. Hubby ,i bought him the same obviously a different colour and larger size but his was £40..so they will have to last us for a long time now.

Hopefully we are ready to get through whatever is thrown our way in the next few months.

How are you all doing getting ready for Winter.

take care 

ftm