
Wednesday, 30 September 2009
Happy Birthday To My DH!

HSMSHS on Facebook: Flora
Edited for Leann - HSMSHS stands for Her Space, My Space, His Space. It was a photographic prompt blog until recently and they now have a page on Facebook. You can view the blog by clicking on the link in my list of blogs I follow. Hope that helps.
Tuesday, 29 September 2009
The Winner Is ...

HSMSHS on Facebook: Duck
Monday, 28 September 2009
Recipe For Gnocchi With Pesto & Tomatoes

Serves 2 adults (or 1 adult and 3 little people servings).
500g pack of ready-made gnocchi
250g mozzarella cheese, cut into thin slices
cherry tomatoes, as many as you like
2 generous tablespoons of green pesto
juice of half a lemon (or tablespoon of Jif lemon)
1-2 tablespoons of olive oil
Heat oven to 180C.
Put gnocchi in a pan of boiling water and cook until they float to the surface. Scoop them out and transfer to a large bowl. Add the cheese, tomatoes and pesto to bowl and stir through. Add the lemon juice and olive oil. Season to taste. Transfer mixture to ovenproof dish and cook for 20 minutes. Serve immediately with green salad or crusty bread or on its own. Can be frozen, if desired.
The "Average" British Soldier




The average British soldier is 19 years old…..he is a short haired, well built lad who, under normal circumstances is considered by society as half man, half boy. Not yet dry behind the ears and just old enough to buy a round of drinks but old enough to die for his country – and for you.
He’s not particularly keen on hard work but he’d rather be grafting in Afghanistan than unemployed in the UK. He recently left comprehensive school where he was probably an average student, played some form of sport, drove a ten year old rust bucket, and knew a girl that either broke up with him when he left, or swore to be waiting when he returns home. He moves easily to rock and roll or hip-hop or to the rattle of a 7.62mm machine gun. He is about a stone lighter than when he left home because he is working or fighting from dawn to dusk and well beyond. He has trouble spelling, so letter writing is a pain for him, but he can strip a rifle in 25 seconds and reassemble it in the dark. He can recite every detail of a machine gun or grenade launcher and use either effectively if he has to. He digs trenches and latrines without the aid of machines and can apply first aid like a professional paramedic.
He can march until he is told to stop, or stay dead still until he is told to move. He obeys orders instantly and without hesitation but he is not without a rebellious spirit or a sense of personal dignity. He is confidently self-sufficient. He has two sets of uniform with him: he washes one and wears the other. He keeps his water bottle full and his feet dry. He sometimes forgets to brush his teeth, but never forgets to clean his rifle. He can cook his own meals, mend his own clothes and fix his own hurts. If you are thirsty, he'll share his water with you; if you are hungry, his food is your food. He'll even share his life-saving ammunition with you in the heat of a firefight if you run low. He has learned to use his hands like weapons and regards his weapon as an extension of his own hands. He can save your life or he can take it, because that is his job - it's what a soldier does. He often works twice as long and hard as a civilian, draw half the pay and have nowhere to spend it, and can still find black ironic humour in it all. There's an old saying in the British Army: 'If you can't take a joke, you shouldn't have joined!'
He has seen more suffering and death than he should have in his short lifetime. He has wept in public and in private, for friends who have fallen in combat and he is unashamed to show it or admit it. He feels every bugle note of the 'Last Post' or 'Sunset' vibrate through his body while standing rigidly to attention. He's not afraid to 'Bollock' anyone who shows disrespect when the Regimental Colours are on display or the National Anthem is played; yet in an odd twist, he would defend anyone's right to be an individual. Just as with generations of young people before him, he is paying the price for our freedom. Clean shaven and baby faced he may be, but be prepared to defend yourself if you treat him like a kid.
He is the latest in a long thin line of British Fighting Men that have kept this country free for hundreds of years. He asks for nothing from us except our respect, friendship and understanding. We may not like what he does, but sometimes he doesn't like it either - he just has it to do. Remember him always, for he has earned our respect and admiration with his blood. And now we even have brave young women putting themselves in harm's way, doing their part in this tradition of going to war when our nation's politicians call on us to do so.
Please stop for a moment and if you are so inclined, feel free to say a prayer for our troops in the trouble spots of the world. Remembrance Day is a mere 6 weeks away and, since the ending of The War To End All Wars on 11 November 1918 at 11am, governments and politicians seem to have learned nothing.
Please stop for a moment and if you are so inclined, feel free to say a prayer for our troops in the trouble spots of the world. Remembrance Day is a mere 6 weeks away and, since the ending of The War To End All Wars on 11 November 1918 at 11am, governments and politicians seem to have learned nothing.
(My thanks to Robbie for sending me this in email form.)
Sunday, 27 September 2009
Who Knew?



Pretty impressive, isn't it? Did you notice that the clock is only visible to the Vicar??
Saturday, 26 September 2009
Pink Saturday

I have another Give Away this week, you can see what's on offer here. To be in with a chance of winning, please leave a comment to show that you dropped by; become a follower of this ordinary, run-of-the-mill blog if you'd like a 2nd chance of winning. The random number selector thingy will choose the winner at 12 Noon (GMT) on Tuesday, 29 September.
Last week, for the 1st time, I visited Mimi at Our Family Attic, stop by and tell her I sent you!
Happy Pink Saturday!
Friday, 25 September 2009
HSMSHS on Facebook: Cake
Thursday, 24 September 2009
A Mini-Book For Autumn




Anyway, I like how it turned out and have decided that it will be this week's GiveAway on Pink Saturday.
Autumn Skies?

And to think that DH asks on a regular basis if I'll ever go back to work! My hat off to those of you who go out to paid employment and run the family home.
HSMSHS on Facebook: Surprise
Wednesday, 23 September 2009
More De-Cluttering

Realistically, this household is never going to be like Dave Bruno's with his 100 Thing Challenge, but that really isn't the aim. Our aim is quite simple - less clutter and use the things we have!
HSMSHS on Facebook: Tower
Tuesday, 22 September 2009
HSMSHS on Facebook: Fungus
And The Winner Is ...
Monday, 21 September 2009
A Quiet Kind Of Day


Sunday, 20 September 2009
HSMSHS on Facebook: Wisdom For The Weekend
Over on the HSMSHS Facebook page, the Wisdom For The Weekend challenge is to be inspired by the last line(s) of He Wishes For The Cloths Of Heaven by William Butler Yeats.
Had I the heavens' embroidered cloths,
Enwrought with golden and silver light,
The blue and the dim and the dark cloths
Of night and light and the half-light,
I would spread the cloths under your feet:
But I, being poor, have only my dreams;
I have spread my dreams under your feet;
Tread softly because you tread on my dreams.
This photo of DS was taken by me in February of this year when we had blizzards for a few days and everything in London came to a standstill. (Pah! London kept running throughout the long, dark months of the Blitz but these days we have to stop for snow?) I love the dreamlike quality of it. In reality, DS didn't like being out in the snow at all!
Arty-Farty Shots Of Fruit



Saturday, 19 September 2009
SLYMI: Week 38
Pink Saturday: Another GiveAway

Thanks, as always, to our wonderful Pink Saturday host, Beverley, for all her organisation. Do stop by her blog, How Sweet The Sound, for more links to lashings of pinkness. Last week, for the 1st time, I visited Martha at A Sense Of Humor Is Essential; stop by and say hello!
Friday, 18 September 2009
A Better Day

DS had a lovely 1.5 hour nap after his lunch, with no exploding nappy or destruction - hooray! The weather had perked up considerably this afternoon so I took him out onto the Common around 3.30pm. DS really does love it there, he spends ages looking at all the buses and aircraft spotting!
And tonight? Steak, chips & Bearnaise sauce for supper followed by Strictly Come Dancing ... ah, yes, the saga of the steak ... basically, M&S said tough. That their policy is not to do anything about shopping left behind if it isn't noted in their diary. Fat chance of that when there's never a member of staff available! The Foodhall manager was a spotty-faced youth, to add insult to injury. I'm contemplating writing to the store manager and to Head Office re their policy but part of me thinks that I should just take it on the chin. The excellent customer service for which M&S used to be known for is obviously a thing of the past. Most disappointing. We will be eating steak this evening from the Tesco Finest range!
Strictly Is Back!

Note to the BBC's program schedulers - do not put Strictly on at the same time as The Tudors on BBC2! Oh, yeah, you did.
HSMSHS on Facebook: Busy
Thursday, 17 September 2009
A Up And Down Kind Of Day



After lunch, once DS was home and down for his nap, I decided to make hay with the bulbs and get them planted. I had a lovely 45 minutes or so pottering around at the front of the house and the whole time I could hear DS chatting to himself. Just as I was coming in, there was an almighty crash and a beep-beep on my mobile (mum, asking how went the day). I shot up the stairs to find that DS had surpassed himself this time in the poo and destruction stakes. A poo-filled nappy greeted me on the landing carpet and a peep into DS's room found that he was covered in poo (again!), every available surface, bedding and wall was covered in poo and he had managed to pull the shelf from the wall. I'm afraid that it was all too much for me and poor mum had to listen to me wailing down the telephone!
And, oh, remember the fillet steaks? They are not in the fridge or my shopping bag so I can only deduce that I left them behind in the M&S Foodhall ... can you hear me screaming??
But to end on a positive note, DS did eat his tea, I found an unopened bar of Green & Black's white organic chocolate in the fridge and Snow Patrol's "Chasing Cars" was played on the radio...
Scrapbooking Kit Swap

- 3 x cardstock
- 8 x patterned papers
- 8 lengths ribbon/rik rak
- selection of flowers, various sizes and colours
- selection of buttons, various shapes and sizes
- selection of brads
- hinged cardstock frame with tab
- 1 pack coaster tags
- 1 pack mini alphas
- 4 large paperclips
- bulldog clip
- 4 date spots
- 1 flower stamp
- 1 minibook kit
I'm hoping to receive a decent amount back ...
HSMSHS on Facebook: Soft
Wednesday, 16 September 2009
Julie & Julia
HSMSHS on Facebook: Curve
Tuesday, 15 September 2009
And The Winner Is ...

There'll be more scrapping related giveaways over the next few weeks; all part of my plan to declutter ... I get to use to stash to make something lovely and then get to give it to someone who also hopefully thinks it's lovely! Got a lovely one lined up for this coming Saturday!
Patrick Swayze

HSMSHS on Facebook: Craft
Monday, 14 September 2009
HSMSHS on Facebook: Storage
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