A Cereal Mystery

I will be the first to admit that I never thought I would be writing a blog post about a humble bowl of cereal , well a bowl has to be humble doesn't it , they don't have grandiose ideas now do they ?. For years and years we have been buying our son the same type of cereal buying quite a few boxes at a time . We were very puzzled as to why he wouldn't try any other cereal we had asked him to but no no avail , I had visions of having to make emergency cereal runs when he goes to university later this year ~ oh my how would he cope ?


He's going to be away for 3 years of course we will let him home , oh my goodness did that mean filling the garage with his favourite cereal as well . But it appears I shouldn't have been panicking about any of this as he has simply for all these years just been eating the constant supply of the same cereal we were buying and the reason he hadn't been eating any other cereal was that the same cereal magically kept appearing . This is rather like the magic porridge pot but instead with cereal.


It is funny how things occur if only I had known years ago I could have avoided the various panic trips to the supermarket to make sure that the supplies of his ( what I thought was his favourite cereal )never ever did run out.


If tea runs out in this household then there will well and truly be a panic in this household as I love my tea and this in turn has been taken to the teen , of course I will be sending him to university with a box or 2 or tea bags . Every visit I will bring him tea bag and I think I can see where this is going to go there is going to be a teabag mountain some where in the UK.

Pasta Gammon Twice Baked

What do you do with a glut of pasta and Gammon well the answer is of course eat it ! But seriously it's how you go about it that's the first easy part.

Ingredients 

Leftover Gammon

Leftover Pasta 

Left over pasta sauce / or can of tomato that has some residue in it 

A few tablespoons of plain flour 

Anything else you want to add , I added salad beans ( Barlotti beans etc )


Method

In a oven proof dish place the salad beans etc.

Next add the chopped up Gammon.

Then add the pasta.

Then add some water to the left over sauce jar ( use a resealable container if you aren't using a jar )

Give the jar a good shake.

Then add a tablespoons of flour to the jar , give another good shake.

Pour the mixture over the pasta.


Place in the oven on 180c for about 20 minutes.

Take out sprinkle some cheese on it and leave in for a couple minutes more to allow the cheese to melt.

This is a perfect supper dish or a money saving dish for anyone !

 

 

Balancing The Scales Of Mental Health

Tipping the balance of mental health , tipping the balance of mental health can occur if the odds you feel are stacked against you . And you'd think that being told that my teaching assistant job being restructured that this would happen , I was only told yesterday and currently I am galloping through the various emotions of disbelief , tears , upset and anger . There is nothing to be done it is part of the modern way of things and budgets and restructuring are sadly a way and fact of life.

But though I am losing my job as teaching assistant and it's a job I have truly loved I have to get knuckle down and look for something else to make up the shortfall. I did walk to school today alright not 100 % but ok hoping it together that was until I reached near my school and then I got upset . I know I will continue to get upset but it will lessen and  at the moment I feel as I have no energy .


I don't feel the same as I did when I had my breakdown , yes it is a bit of a struggle to get motivated but I was only told the news yesterday about losing my job. I feel that documenting my feelings help me through it and will enable me to cope , I am stronger that I ever was even tough depression and anxiety will always be apart of me it is going to get control of me at this moment at time . I am keeping one step ahead and the difference is this time I have more a support network in place and I am very much sharing everything with colleagues even the cat , cats are very good listeners except when they turn their back on you and escape through the catflap.

I feel a bit lost which is rather like trying to tidy up after a toddler you never quite get it sorted , but eventually you do as they learn to tidy up for themselves .

But I will come through it , I will find my way again ...

Jack And His Cat Manifesto

I sit here before you to talk about my cat manifesto , I do believe it was leaked on line but there isn't anything in the cat manifesto that we can't achieve. You'll see form my photo that I am connecting with nature * ps not a mouse tail . Of course with the sad death of Rollie our party leader I have had to step into the political affray.

Did you know Abraham Lincoln loved cats and he kept 4 of them at the White House , perhaps there is a power crazy cat sitting on Donalds Trumps head ?


1. EU will someone left the door open so of course we will go out then come back in then go out again and so it goes on .


2. Nationalising cats after all there is power in those paws .

3. The right to knock random stuff off any surface.

4. What is yours is mine whether I need it or not ~ I own everything.

5. There is no word "NO "

6. Free tuition at the University of Cunning.

7.  I pledge more cardboard boxes .

8. I am not a pacifist I will launch weapons , claws , tails * sitting in front of the television.

9.  Smoked salmon in the bowl of every cat ~ no longer will you go hungry and have to put up with an empty bowl.

10 Naps 23 hours a day on a chair of your choice.



Of course I may backtrack on a policy promise here or there , you brought a whole case of the cat food I like ~

"I don't like it anymore "

You want a plant and a cat impossible "you cannot own both , the plant is going down unless you kill it first "

Popping to the loo ? then I need to come to and paw the door wide open * oh is there workmen in the house oh dear I am so sorry.

Creating Your Familiar Footsteps

Where my feet travel carries the memory of me where ever you go what ever we go ~ familiar  footsteps  , I'm loving walking and where ever I go I believe I leave an imprint a little piece of me that I'll keep returning to. And I know when my son goes to university it's really a copy of my own feet going further a field . We've all been to York as a family and I took myself up to Bettys tea rooms last year and a jolly meander round.

And I know when the teen goes to I feel that he is safe as he will be walking in familiar footsteps where we have all walked as a family ~ familiar footsteps.

And as we have been up and looked round York University to look at the archaeology course he will be be studying as well as the accommodation , I will safe in the knowledge that he will be treading familiar footsteps. Though when it is Freshers week ( looks at sky ) the familiar footsteps could have a little bit of a sway maybe.

It matters not the weather nor the season where you go , I go we go familiar footsteps is what carries me through where once a imprint in the mud stood I have the memory of you in our familiar footsteps.

The crunch of leaves makes me smile for knowing that familiar footsteps have been here to , no matter if you are near or far away I have memories of you .

Often I am in the wake of familiar footsteps as I am talking pictures or just pondering , I always capture my families familiar footsteps as we walk our memories.

You have to let them fly when they go to university you have set them up in their familar footsteps and to see them smile in their own confidence is something very special indeed.

You can create familiar footsteps all round the world like we did here in Washington DC it doesn't matter that I am not in the pictures as we we were all together in our family footsteps.

Amsterdam where I was made to walk blooming miles though I did protest a little at the time as Mr T does like to walk everywhere do gets to see everything it was creating our familiar footsteps.

So don't be sat reading this go get out there and create your own familiar footsteps especially as it is #nationalwalking month.