Hodge Podge Wrong again

Yes, I was wrong again, I wasn’t ready to get back in the saddle as per my last column, I went down with what felt like pneumonia, dreadful stuff. I guess it must be the change in the seasons as my mum used to say, either way it didn’t kill me and I’m still plodding on.

Our house is slowly getting better and our new toilet has been put in our bathroom and I’ve made good on some of the drywall and it’s almost ready to decorate.

It’s mostly small jobs left to do now with the exception of the flooring and a little wall papering. After that it’s put down the rugs and enjoy our hard work.

It’s been a real journey, I’ve watched programmes on television where they buy a house and do a complete reno on it, usually with builders and lots of tradespeople, but then you find out that they run their own company and they don’t have to co-ordinate and synchronise different trades like you do when it’s just yourself and your family. We’ve been lucky though and had some good trades people to work on the house, people we trust.

Looking back at the first pictures I still think we were mad to take on such a huge project especially as we’re not in our 20s anymore. This poor house had been stripped back to the brickwork and has had everything renewed starting with the wiring and going on through. If you can imagine a semi derelict house that has been empty for at least 5 years and so cold and damp that not even mice would live in it, that would be just a small fraction of what it was like in the beginning.

Next week I’m hoping to paper the lounge and finish the kitchen work top the other end of the kitchen to match the first one we installed. I can’t tell you how happy I am to be this close to finishing, we all are, we’ve lived for what feels like a lifetime of ladders, tools and materials, so to come home and there be just a normal, room without all that in your face and having to step over all the time will be such a blessing.

I haven’t had much time for crafts lately and that’s a shame, I’ve missed doing them.

But with tendinitis it would have been impossible anyway and only this morning did I try knitting a little.

I cast on and knitted a couple of rows and it hurt afterwards, so I guess I’m still on the wagon as far as that goes for a while, but I will get there. I will eventually get back to where I was and be able to carry on with my unfinished projects, you know the ones I mean, the ones some of us ladies have tucked away waiting.

I shall have to stick to cooking for now. Today I will be making some muffins for the children, nice and easy no fail and easy on my fingers.

Although I’ve posted this recipe before it is so flexible, you can adapt it to your style easily by adding whatever flavour you want.

Muffins

2 cups of all purpose flour

1 tablespoon of baking soda

2 bananas or 1 cup of milk

2 eggs

1 cup of brown sugar

½ cup of canola oil Vanilla to taste

You can flavour these muffins anyway you like, you could use cocoa powder or coconut, raisins, or sultanas, chopped apricots, chocolate chips, nuts, cinnamon, grated apple, the choice is yours. I would use about 1- 2 tablespoons of whatever you feel like using.

I bake mine @ 350 degrees until they look cooked, you could test them with a cocktail stick if you want to be sure.