Removing normal carpet stains must be done fast – using a mild no rinse carpet detergent. Always a good idea to keep a bottle under the sink . . . you might get it a little damper than recommended if the mess was liqid anyway. Panic not, just clean off loose mess first and then start with the solution – froth it up as much as you can and only use the foam on your scrubbing brush. Starting from the…
I’ve just come back from a super busy week of family based Christmas and New Year activities. Except due to poor health, I had to cut short my stay. However I did have the delight of staying at the hostesses lovely country house for a couple of weeks prior to Christmas – they were away on vacation and I was happily installed on dog walking and house sitting duty. Now that’s the kind of job I really love. I…
Just at this time of year, when we’ve had the Halloween fun – with the kids rushing in and out with pumpkins to be turned, miraculously and messily, into funny ad frightening lanterns. Then we run into our dear old Bonfire Night. I still like the idea of running around with our old narrow that Dad made, on it we plonked our fantastic Guy – also rather more input from Dad than us . . . this used to bring…
With so many things happening throughout the summer season, it can get to the point where the summer holidays are running into the autumn break and then up shoots Christmas and the new year. We all like to have folk around over these festive days – nothing better than a crowd round for lunch, followed by games and fun with the children romping around on the floor. It’s not such fun though when the little romper and his clothese are…
One of my daughters has been nvited to several weddings this year. It’s really nice to be wanted and liked enough for these very happy occasions, but the cost on the wallet is rather steep. Six weddings in one season does rather notch it up to another level. One of the things that must be taken into account when accepting all these invites is how much will each hotel room be and what will you get for your money. Two…
I was out with a social group on an afternoon jolly out recently. Instead of the old bingo and card games in the hall, the lat July meeting is always a visit out. We attended a very specialist charity site in a tiny wee village near here. The purpose of the village is to provide shelter, work and retraining for life for several homeless and vulnerable men. The work they have to do is mixed from essential tasks in the…
Out in the country – the real country with hardly any houses between the villages and you have to drive from one field to another, there are some grand houses that really have stood the test of time well. Apart from the occasional batch of visitors at the height of summer, there are generally very few folk to take much notice of what’s been hapenning in these parts of late! Well a great surprise hit us all recently when one…
There is quite an extended family attached to the house behind mine. As everyone is so jolly polite to each other, I’m assuming some are half siblings and step families. There was a massive party there least month. Masses of food and drink seemed to be piled high on trestle tables under the gazebos and I was amazed how many folk had managed to squeeze into the back garden. I heard the aftermath too – much cussing and swearing emitted…
There are lots of ways to go about cleaning your home, and one of the best is through writing up a detailed plan of action. This allows you to work across the whole house without missing anything, and at the same time, allowing you to spread the load across a week or more. Writing your schedule, you should include tasks which need to be done daily (such as washing dishes, laundry, vacumming some rooms) and tasks which need to be…
Cooking in the microwave can cause little food splashes, smells and decrease the efficiency of the machine. There are different ways to clean your microwave, but our favourite uses simple ingredients you’ll probably already have in your cupboards! You need a bowl, some water and a bottle of vinegar. Fill your microwave safe bowl with water and add a tablespoon of vinegar (preferably white vinegar, but any vinegar should do the trick!). Put the bowl inside the microwave and close…