You know you're getting old when....

....you set up a little tea brewing station on your bedside table so that you can both have your first cuppa before you get out of bed......

...and you think its the best idea you have had in ages!

Edited to say: Some of you are concerned about "fresh milk" issues. If you look behind the mug on the left, you can see I hot footed it to Makro and bought a box of catering UHT milk cartons (the miniature ones for individual cups).

Vintage note: I love Apostle Spoons (can you see them in the mugs?) - I have a dozen of them from my grandparents. My mum used her set daily - like I do mine. My sister would only eat with these spoons. She used to call them "stick" spoons, as we discovered that they were the only ones that would stick to a magnet!

Bargain Beauty

I don't spend much on skincare. I'm fortunate enough to have fairly decent skin and a pot of Nivea or Astral (the very cheap stuff) usually sees me right and stops me wrinkling up like a prune. However, a while back, I applied for a "Freebie" on the Moneysavingexpert website, and was chosen to take part in a blind testing of face creams. I was sent a very large pot of some very strange smelling face cream that I had to test and give my opinion on. To my surprise, the cream did seem to make a big difference to the texture and brightness of my skin, and several people commented too. I was most disappointed when it was revealed that I had been sent one of the more expensive creams and it was way out of my price range.

However, on a recent trip to TK Maxx in Sheffield,(not wanting or needing anything, but having to have a look around any way!) I discovered a pot of the cream that I had tested - at a way reduced price!

And whilst £16.99 is much more than I would like to pay, I decided to treat myself as it should have been £60.00. This pot incidentally is about a third of the size of the one that they sent me to test, so that was a fantastic freebie!

Today I realised..............

...........that when the Optician had tried to talk about bi-focals, he hadn't got my records mixed up with some geriatric old codger..

Oh dear!

Whilst many of you had a fleeting glimpse of snow last week, and some had none, in South Yorkshire it fell and it stayed. On Sunday we were even treated to blue skies too which made it even prettier. With hubby working, I took myself off for a stroll around Wentworth.



The duck pond is frozen and the ducks seem to have gone off in search of food.

This is "The Mechanics Institute" - a sort of village hall. Wentworth WI are having a Christmas Party this week and my WI have been invited (I told you that the WI are all about food!). Our own Christmas Party had to be postponed last week because of the bad weather. Notice "postponed" and not "cancelled".

One of the many lovely little tea rooms has abandoned its pretty garden.......

..in favour of a real log fire.

This is "Paradise Square". A much photographed cluster of houses in the village.

And a bit of a favourite with my overseas relatives when they visit! Yes, you know who you are!
I think I may book a table for hubby and I for our Wedding Anniversary which falls between Christmas and New Year.

Now that the roads are a bit clearer (some of the side roads are still very dicey) I don't mind if it hangs around until Christmas. Its still very cold so its not going that mushy dirty colour yet.

Ive made this into a Christmas card for my Mum as it is one of her favourite walks. Talking of Christmas cards - remember I wrote them at the end of November? I thought it would be a good opportunity to deliver the ones on my street and close by - I can't find them!!! I have the ones that need posting, but the rest are nowhere to be seen!!!! So much for my skillful planning and efficient organisation! Thwarted by yet another "senior moment".

And music today was provided by these splendid chaps and their male voice choir - Ding Dong Merrily on high!

When I was a girl

After the disastrous haircut, I did grow it long again, but then in my early twenties, inspired by the Sheena Easton look, I found a better hairdresser than Betty & Frank and went short again. Looking back, this is definitely when I looked my best.
Miss Lovely Legs (but they ought to have been another six inches longer!) And lounging around the pool in heels!.


These were taken in 1983 when I was 23 years old. I would kill for those slender upper arms these days (instead of my "nanan" arms!!) and no "ample" bosom then either!!

And perhaps one of my favourites. Around the same time as I bought this camel coat, the blonde one from Human League wore one in the video for "Don't you want me baby". I think we may have both bought them from the same stall in Sheffield Market!

I loved this coat (and the burgundy boots bought from the famous shoe stall on Barnsley market!). They always say that if you wore something first time around, you shouldn't wear it when it comes back into fashion - and Camel Coats are "back in" for the season. So what should I do? Lets face it, I'm not going to recreate that wonderful slim look this time around, and Camel is almost "Beige" !!

I can't believe I even considered heels for such an icy road either - these days, I'd have my wellies on!

When a targeted marketing campaign fails!

Dear Asda,
Many thanks for your recent mail and my special birthday offer. However, on this occasion I think I will give it a miss.
You see, as lovely as "Doris" is (and lets face it, she's the one with the modelling career - not me!), I am struggling to identify with her and her desire for a lovely funeral plan. In my head, I am still believing that I could "pull" Enrique Iglesias. I still feel like a teenage girl, and you are wanting me to grow up far too quickly.

Yours,

Mrs Heartshaped

PS Could you also tell those lovely people who keep sending me brochures for cruises that my idea of a great holiday is living in the same pair of denim shorts for 2 weeks in a field.