Still hurts

Today is not any anniversary.
It was school's Christmas festivities, which are nice and funny, there is always an elf play and played nativity scene.
I was already leaving, when I walke past one villager, now a proud mom of eight. She had six children and now her little elves are (born premature) home, just in time for Christmas.

I never had Christmas with my two.

My soul is broken and my heart hurts just as much as it did so long ago.

226 g

That's the weight of brothers's and F's socks. I managed to knit F'S socks from the yarn that was saved from 'Suma's teeths, few more ends than I would have liked.
I was taking care of all the loose ends while cooking red wine. I boiled it from 6dl (almost whole bottle) to maybe a cup? Whole house reeks of red wine and I feel queasy -  I can't drink red wine without getting greally really sick (and that's from few sips). Some time ago I realized I can't drink glögg (alcohol free version) if it's made from juice of red grapes. Even the smell gets me - but it really smells delicious.
I got a bottle of nice red wine from old man's sister, it is intended as tannin primer for my experiments (I have made wood stain from acetic acid soaked rebar bars, pine and spruce needs tannin priming, oak should colour without it). I have still few dls left and I'll try that soon.
But I was actually reducing wine because I was making red wine salt for Christmas hampers! I have been thinking making hampers ready, but thinking doesn't do things.
So far I have: spruce salt, red wine salt, socks, mulled wine, strawberry liquor, choclate, jaffa cakes and stearine soaked pine cones for kindling. I still need the actual hamper (box or something) and a card.

Sorry for rambling - I actually boiled red wine to syrup and it may have had some effect on me.

Tell me why I don't like Mondays...

I'm just like Garfield - I don't like Mondays. There's always something off, especially in the mornings.
Yep.
'Suma had to go for a pee at 3.30 am. Raining. Pitch dark. Puddles and no wellies. Back to bed, sleep avoids me. Finally fell asleep only to be rudely woken by alarm at 6 o'clock. Well, 'Suma had no need to go outside, at least there's that.
Yongest ones didin't wake up first time I tried to rouse them from their slumber. Then they didn't have that sweet peaceful morning they usually have. Not funny.
They had forgot to get their clothes ready, so by the time I was supposed to have my cuppa I was searching for a clean hoodie...
Off we went to the taxi, and I forgot to take my phone with me, I only had my work phone which has a very poor signal.Wouldn't be a problem unless I was trying to test sys's new phone. Turns out in the mobile phone shop, while installing new sim to sys's phone, they had actually used ys's info and now sys has a phone with ys's number and ys's phone doesn't work at all. I didn't realize that during the weekend, because we don't have mobile signal at home (not at all) so I was half a mile away from home when I was able to try to call any of the phones... And it was raining and it was still pitch dark. And puddles.

Got to office ant tried to sort things out - only to realize I had left my wallet home so I can't make my grocery shopping on my way home.
At least I had my lunch with me so I can eat.

So, I have to rush back home to pick my wallet and collect kids and their phones and rush back to town to the shop and hope they have right sims for both boys' phones (but I have promised a 21€ compensation). And then drag both boys to buy some food (or milk and cocoa powder we ran out during the weekend).

And it's not even 11 am yet.

On the go

Finished sys's socks and got sidetracked with my brother's socks, so ys's socks has to wait. So short attention span... Then 'Suma got jealous and ate the yarn intended for F's socks. Some uncivilized language ensued. She could've eaten yarn with reflective thread - that would've be funny when piles of dog poop would have shone brightly in torch light or car headlights...

We got snow and then we got rain. Normal things. Luckily I was visiting lumber sites when it was only freezing with wind, I still do prefer that to horizontal rain. Only few sites to visit before Christmas! Only to start again in January. And then I have our own forest and old man's disaster zone.

Kittens had their vet visit this week, and for the first time took Pretty Boy with me too. He needed rabies vaccination - I had no idea how he behaves in a car and even less idea how he copes in vets. Sister came to rescue - two crates and three cats exceeds my limits. And then on the next day we took her cat to vets, she didn't want to use their normal vet because she doesn't speak Polish.

D and ys needed new winter coats (surprise! Kids DO grow during the summer!) so I packed 3/4 of my home brood and off we went to nearest shopping hell. Two coats, an elf (for sys who didn't get new coat) one pair of trousers and two huge Toblerone bars. And then we ate sushi! I took the brood to sushi buffet, and oh my how happy ys was! He was literally beaming! I'm not intending to make this as a habit, but to honest it was worth every cent to see him so joyful.

Yes. My children have such a pathetic childhood that even a visit to a sushi restaurant makes them happy.
But that visit also gave me some ideas for ys's gifts, so it was not wasted time at all.

Snowy ground has helped with Suma's walks. She doesn't have to be washed after a walk and we don't need torch to see where the road is. I even manage field walks now without torch - it so much easier if I have only Suma's leach to hold.

I have noticed the tornado has had an effect to our surroundings. We have a military practising/shooting area right next to us (so close we are blurred in Google Maps!) and noise is much noticeable now. There was a pause on their training and shooting while wrecked forests were cleared out and now they have only few weeks left to spend all their money/ammunion for this year... I know after a while we won't be noticing anything anymore, we will get used to it.

Next year I will be working two days a week at home instead of one.  It means more 'Suma walks in the mornings, and maybe more home made meals instead of frozen ships and fish fingers...

But now - it's 3:30 pm and nearly dark outside. I have to go get some firewood, I ahve been feeding my small woodburner while I have been working. Now my work (for today) is done and I should start my house works, laundry, dinner... No cleaning today, because we had visitors yesterday and house got cleaned for them.

Holidays are coming

Less than a month to Christmas. No panic, no what so ever.

Ys has no idea what he wants for Christmas. Maybe I'll buy him longjohns and socks. Or a gift card for sushi buffet? He loves veggie sushi. I might buy him a sushi box so we can make sushi together? Still working on this.

Sys has asked for a new phone, but as he has his birthday before xmas, he'll have it as a birthday present. He also asked for Harry Potter legos, and that is already sorted. And he has asked also for model to build -and that is also sorted (asked my sister to buy one, Revell has reasonably priced models sys likes to build).

D will get a backbag she wanted, I managed to find and order it from Amazon.uk - don't have to pay expensive postal fees and no import taxes! My sister will get a dressing gown she asked for (already bought when I got discount for it) and hb will get two packs of tennis socks (only ones he wears besides socks made by me) - I found them on sale over a month ago, they were way less than half price!

Os doesn't want anything, I'll get him warm trousers he can wear while working with old man in the forest, maybe longjohns and a hoodie.

Two god sons will have money, they might get some gadget if they have been asking for something, but so far they have no idea what they wish for.

Mostly people will get knitted socks. I made first pairs in June and August (for old man and my mom), and hb's and os's socks are also knitted. I made really long socks for sister (she asked for them) and while I was in the mood I made another pair for d - both knitted while watching Doctor Who (by the way, kids love this new season with new Doctor - finally some action! Only thing missing is daleks). My brother and F might get socks too, and my nephew will have a chainsaw (our kids' old one) and Dublos (our children's old ones). Might buy a pair of warm mittens (was planning to sew them but don't have time).
I'll make some kind of hampers, too. I have made salt with spring growth of spruce trees, I have strawberry liqueur ready but that as far I have made it. A box of chocolate, mulled sparkling wine or ordinary mulled wine and small wrapped gifts, a candle perhaps and kindlings made from melted candles and pine cones. Maybe not so frugal but funny. And if I only make four(?) it's not going to ruin my bank account.

Sys asked for red and brown knitted socks (he had specific pattern how colours were to be), I have already cast on them. They will be finished during the weekend, and then I might cast on socks for ys (in camouflage colours) . For him I bought new winter boots yesterday, the ones he had last winter are far too small now. He went clumping around the house all night weraing them, they were great he says.

When I was searching yarns for sys's socks, I managed to sort out my yarn stash and got one plastic box empty! Os wasn't very impressed about it, but I was happy. Getting container box empty is as enjoyable as finishing the last scrap of certain fabric or using up the very last tube of soup from the freezer or using the last meter of sewing thread and getting out the new one. Or sowing the very last seeds of lettuce from seed pack that has been used for several years. It feels like something is done and finished.

Must remember to pick pine cones this weekend before snow covers them.

Homemade lasagne

Instead of sunday roast I made lasagne (not that I usually make roast, it's too time consuming because even I like to have "a day off" sometimes).
Well, os doesn't eat lasagne, but it's his loss. He then eats something else (like pancakes, or Yorkshire puddings, or tinned tuna and cottage cheese).

I calculated the cost of making my lasagne: 7,76€. Sounds a bit expensive, but it comes down to 1,55€ per person. or 0,78€/portion - 5 people ate it yesterday, and I got three more portions to freezer for my lunches and two more portions to the fridge for hb's or children's lunches.

Euros:

edam			0,99
cream cheese			0,5535
mince			3,15
pasta sheets			0,725
full milk			0,763
flour			0,018
butter			0,49
tomato passata			0,63
salt			0,01
smoked paprika			0,01
pepper			0,01
nutmeg			0,01
garlic			0,1
herbs			0,1
leftover ketchup			0,2

Free: carrots and courgette (about 300g each)

I could have used less cheese, but I really do like cheesy lasagne. Mince was the cheapest without YS. I could have used regular milk (70cents) or used just water (or half water), but that's really all I could have done to make it cheaper.
Cheapest lasagne from shop is about 1€/portion, but because I can't eat it (onions) it's something we don't buy.

So once again it is not "homemade is cheaper" but "homemade is only option". I have never been able to eat lasagne at restaurant. Once I have eaten almost authentic Italian lasagne - almost authentic because there were no onions or garlic - it was specially made for me and my brother! And yes, when I make my lasagne, it is as good as that was.

But now I'm starving!

It's freezing (but luckily not for long)

It was -11 degrees the other day. I don't like cold, and I was to spend whole day outside on the forests works sites at customer meetings. Car's electric heater doesn't work so I had to turn the engine on and leave it running - not so good for the motor and even worse for nature.

It was beautifully sunny day, and it got a bit warmer - never above zero, but at least I had enough clothes with my hi-vis jacket and helmet. But I do need some long johns to wear, thights will not keep me warm. I need to check if hb has some old thermals small enough - he used to be really skinny.

The first snow 27th Oct.

Fallen trees have been cleaned, garage is usable as well as the driveway to front yard. Old man has been (finally) his usual self and they have made a huge effort to clean all aspens and birches that had fallen over root cellar (it would have been a disaster if the cellar itself had crushed - there is all potatoes, carrots, cordials, home wines, jams, pickles etc for the whole year, not only for my parents but to us as well, as well my sister's family). Insurance company will even pay gravel/soil which is needed to fill holes left from fallen tree roots. One villager with forestry harvester has been working on the site with all the big trees.

There is a garage somewhere, before the clear up

We spent one evening (from 5pm to 9pm) to clear out the attic of garage, builders are about to come to fix the roof (including rafters). We had our own bonfire night, my mother wanted to burn all paper and cardboard and clothes (like old cotton tights that had lost their elasticity a long ago). Some of my old toys went to bonfire as well - not many, because I really didn't have many toys. I was more of a reader, I salvaged some old books from recycling. I surely have read my Enid Blytons - at some point I had all of  The Famous Five -books (and The Adventure series). My godmother had a job in a printing house. But my sister - boy she had had toys and stuff! We left about a dozen huge carboard boxes for her to sort out. My brother had about half of that, but he had really big stuff,  like motorcycle parts.

Sys carved a pumpkin - a friendly face, isn't it?

 One of our own pumpkins!

They are really pushing it now, because they will be abroad for some time in November - holiday was booked before tornado. It will be a healthy pause for them.

This sauna is in old man's other property which was also hit by the tornado. Chimney is gone.

We have changed snow tyres to both cars (the royal we - hb and my uncle; I "just" made them coffee and sandwiches, heated the house, took dog for a walk and made laundry, filled the dishwasher, got some more firewood inside), It had been a lot warmer, but roads were so slippery there was no chance I could have driven anywhere without proper tyres.

I might have time to prepare for the Christmas, no building will be done unfortunately.