Wednesday...oh yes it really is!

I am going to be very busy today with little blogging time as I have Ellie all day. To make sure I got in a Wednesday blog, I’m posting it now...it is Wednesday, look at the time....00.54am!!!!  I’m using a meme that was sent to me.

A - Z of Homemaking

A is for Aprons - yes/no? If yes, what’s your favourite?

I haven’t got any aprons.  May be I should have as I do occasionally get messy.  Mind you, I don’t get messy when I’m cooking, only when I’m eating.  Simon always says I need a babies bib!

B is for Baking - favourite thing to bake?

I love baking and my favourite thing is little fairy cakes as everyone loves them and they disappear fast.  Sometimes while they are still warm and not iced.

C is for Clothesline - do you have one?

Yes, it’s a double line, which runs the length of the garden. I only really use it in the summer when I know that stuff will be dry in just a few hours.  I don’t see the point in hanging stuff out when the weather is damp and dreary or cold.  The washing just hangs there doing nothing.

D is for Donuts - have you ever made them?

We did give this a go many years ago, but it wasn’t entirely successful so has not been repeated! I’m not a great donut fan anyway.

E is for Every Day - one homemaking task you do every day.

Hoovering!  With 3 large dogs in the house daily hoovering is essential.  I also clean the kitchen and bathroom every day.

F is for Freezer - do you have a separate deep freeze?

Yes. It is a very large chest freezer which is kept in an annexe room accessed from outside.  I also have a combined fridge and freezer in my kitchen.  I keep the stuff in there that I know I am going to be using soon.  Stuff I have purchased in bulk goes in the outside one.

G is for Garbage Disposal Unit - do you have one?

I have 3.... Rosie, Loulou and Alfie my Dalmatians!! Sometimes they are too efficient and dispose of things that aren’t actually waste!

H is for Handbook - what’s your favourite homemaking resource?

The internet I suppose.

I is for Ironing - love or hate it?

I don’t really mind ironing at all.  I do it more or less every day as I hate to see it mounting up and as I do washing every day it would mount up quickly.  I iron absolutely everything, including, bed linen, towels and underwear!  No I’m not crazy, you wouldn’t want to wear your knickers all screwed up would you?  Sometimes if I have got to the tumble drier in time I am able to rescue a few items that are ok to just be folded.  I find that ironing gives me plenty of thinking time.

J is for Junk Draw - yes/no? If yes, where is it?

Absolutely not, I’m way too organised for that!  Everything has its place and I hate it if people don’t put things where they belong.  I had 5 children, I had to be organised.

K is for Kitchen - colour and decorating scheme?
The walls are all painted in terracotta colour and the blinds are cream.  The floor has cushion flooring which is barely recognisable as it is so old.  It is wearing thin now.  The fitted units are all in pine.  It is old and desperately needs replacing. It is not something which we are likely to do though as we hope to move from here in 3 or 4 years time.  We had hoped to move before that but hadn’t bargained on our last 2 children starting University this year.  I have a lot of ideas of how I would like my future kitchen to be when we finally do move house.  I know what works for me and what doesn’t.

L is for Love - what’s your favourite part of homemaking?

I love being a stay at home house wife and I enjoy most of the house work.  I only get annoyed when everyone else is at home and they still think that I am the only one that should be doing things. I don’t like cleaning windows or the mirror doors on my wardrobes and I also think that dusting is unnecessary!  As long as you don’t move anything it all looks ok and nobody sees the dust!  I must tell my little granddaughter Ellie to stop moving things!

M is for Mop - do you have one?

I have an electric steam mop which is great.  You just fill the small tank with water and you’re ready to go straight away.  It gets up everything!  You can use it to steam clean carpets too.

N is for Nylons - machine or hand wash?

Does “nylons” refer to tights and stockings? They go in the machine along with everything else. I don’t believe in hand washing! Why have a machine and then do stuff by hand?  I don’t generally buy anything that is hand wash only.  I get annoyed when my children occasionally give me something to wash by hand.  I know I should tell them to do it their self but I usually end up doing it.

O is for Oven - do you use a window or open the oven door to check?

I look through the window to begin with and only open the door when I am fairly certain that whatever I am cooking is done. Of course if it is meat then I open the door to baste it. It really bugs me when I see people leave the door open while they are doing that, don’t they know it lowers the temperature?

P is for Pizza - what do you put on yours?

I’m not a huge pizza fan.  The only ones I really like are Simons home made ones.  He uses a scone base which is really good. I’m not too fussy about toppings but I do like anchovies to be in there somewhere.

Q is for quiet - what do you do during the day when you get a quiet moment?

I make sure that I get “quiet” moments by using my half hour system. I do all kinds of stuff that is just for me. I blog, read, enter completions, sew, cross-stitch, family history research, ponder life… whatever I feel like really.

R is for Recipe Card Box - yes/no? If yes, what does it look like?

I don’t have box, I have a book.  The original book I started when I was first married and it is falling apart and in some places illegible.  I have recently started transcribing all the recipes into a new book.  I even have some recipes that are old ones form school.  My girls were really disappointed when I got the new book as the old one was well used by all of them for favourite recipes when they were cooking as children.

S is Style of House - what style is your house?

It is a terraced 3 storey town house built about 35 years ago. Inside... well I don’t think it has any kind of particular style. There is no theme.  I like plain walls as I think they are better for displaying pictures, photos etc.  I like things old fashioned and a bit country looking.  I think it looks lived in!

T is for Tablecloths - do you use them?

I have a couple of old ones that were given to me and I am not that keen on them.  I prefer to see an uncovered table although mine usually has a cloth on it because of the dogs....don’t ask, it’s a long story!  I keep meaning to buy an oil cloth one as it would be really good for times such as when you want to make a paper maiche snowman!

U is for Under the Kitchen Sink - organised or toxic wasteland?

Definitely organised as all my cupboards are.  Everything stands in rows and I have washing stuff on one side and cleaning stuff on the other.

V is for Vacuum - how many times a week?

This was obviously compiled by a “Merkan”!  I “hoover” every single day. If I didn’t we would rapidly disappear beneath piles of dog hair.

W is for Wash - how many loads of washing do you do each week?

I still do washing every single day.  Usually 2 or 3 loads.  When my children were little I would do 5 or 6 loads a day.  I do have 5 children!

X’s - Do you keep a daily list of things to do that you cross off?

Not really, I know what needs to be done.  I do usually have a long term list of things that only need do ing occasionally though.

Y is for Yard - who does what?

This should be G is for Garden, surely?  Before we had the astro turf Simon would mow the lawn.  He clears up after the dogs but everything else is done between us. I only have a small garden so it doesn’t take much work.  I am the one that waters the plants in the summer.

Zzzz’s - what’s the last homemaking task you do before bed in the evening?

I don’t really have a last task. Simon switches the dish washer on and locks the doors and turns off the lights.  The last task I probably do is loading the dishwasher after dinner, which is a long time before I go to bed.