Hello there ....
Well ... it was blowing a gale and lashing down with rain .. as we set out to work this at 4.30 am ... the sky was very dark and in the beam of our torch light the rain swirled and lashed against all in its path .
As we sat outside the big market shed ... waiting for the stewards to let us drive in ... the van rocked in the high wind ... I was thankful of a flask of hot coffee ...
We must be mad....
Anyway .. the rain didn't keep people away ... and we had a good day ...
as we packed up to come home ... the wind died down ...and the sun came out to play!
I find Sunday trading hard at this time of the year ....
standing around in a cold shed ... the cold creeps into your bones.
So I was glad to have a sit in the chair .. in front of a nice warm fire.
The view out of the window was lovely ... the sun was shining..
The trees in the field across..well hedge really .. were full of birds ... twittering away...
These pigeons/doves ?.. had lots to say ...
I think there was a lot of romantic 'goings on' ...
just look at these two snuggled up together ... they spent ages just sat bobbing about on that branch.
After a nice bowl of warming soup I had to sort out the meat I had bought from the butcher van ... portion it up .. bag and freeze ...
I got lots ... when its bad weather and he doesn't sell as much .. the deals are great.
I worked out I got about 66 meals worth of meat for £30 ... big chicken legs .. pork steaks and Cumberland sausage ... well stocked up for a while.
Whilst the butcher was pulling chicken legs out of a box (of just chicken legs) .. he pulled out a small chicken ...
'Oh ! ' .. says he ... 'a chicken .. want a chicken?'
'Throw it in the bag' says I ....
so we got a chicken in with the price ..
This went in the oven for tea tonight ... love a chicken ... all that stock ... and chicken soup ... yum!
Whilst the oven was on I chopped up some sunshiny veg ... the colour alone makes me smile.... carrots and butternut squash ... and an onion .. mixed in a bit of oil and easy chili ..
Quickly boiled up the veg peelings for the chickens mash ... too good to waste.
I still have a big jar of stuffing mix from Approved Food ... lovely stuff.
So I mixed a bit and put a few stuffing balls on top of the veg ... banged it in the oven.
Meanwhile .. the ever industrious Hubby P had gone to pick up some stock.
These lovely mirrors came from an area of our local city ... Bangor is a city .. (we have a cathedral) .. an area where the lovely big houses are listed properties ... some of them were having work done and had no further use of 'big' over mantel mirrors..
All good for us .. these are real beauties ...heavy original silver plate mirrors.
He arrived back .. and I had to have a quick look before it went dark.. this is a smaller one .. and a fireplace surround...
not that you can see too well ... but he said he wasn't lifting them out of the van ... just for a photo .... and then back in again!
You can see how big it is next to Hubby P .... huge .. need a big house for this one..
Wants a clean up of course .. but once Hubby P has worked his magic it will be stunning.
So back inside to the chicken..
lots of meat on it ... to say it was more or less a freebie ...
and of course the carcass for stock .. and soup ... did I mention the soup ... soup ... the best bit even!
So that's been our day ... hope you had a good one ....
xx
Indeed you have had a good day, nice to read about. And the food...mouth watering me dear.
ReplyDeleteJohn
lovely post!
ReplyDeletethe food looks delicious.
those mirrors are stunning!
Love to hear about your sales /purchases and cooking! Quick tip for keeping warm - multi layers including long johns are obvious and I'm sure you do that already, but if you don't have sheepskin boots, cheap 'fake uggs' as sold in supermarkets and teenage fashion shops are light as slippers but cosiest ever footwear for dry weather and chilly indoor venues. Lent a pair to a friend who was chilled to the marrow in a floristry warehouse, she went out and bought two pairs for herself.
ReplyDeleteA busy day, lots of bargains! I love filling the freezer for next to nothinbg, knowing that the next few weeks are taken care of ...
ReplyDeleteThose mirrors are amazing ... what a great find!
Have a Happy Monday
Love Claire xxx
Love the mirrors. Glad you had a good day's trading.
ReplyDeleteAfter a cold start it seemed your day just got better and better. Brilliant price for all the meat 66 meals that means your meat spend for each meal is just 50p WOW!!
ReplyDeleteI think it's great that you work together in this way, finding, doing up and selling on the things you get, and even if the weather is absolute crap at the moment the sunnier days are hopefully on their way.
You deserved that lovely meal after sitting in the cold. I am glad the day was worthwhile between the sales and all of that meat you bought!
ReplyDeleteSo glad your husband is able to get things like those mirrors to sell on...it is a crime to think that often they end up broken up, in a skip. I never understand why people want an old house that is very modern inside....
Hello , wow , you had a busy productive day like me yesterday, in a different way though , what a bargain with the meat , we are still living on the meat that i bought before christmas ,you got to get it when you see it and when you can aquire a bargain , it always sets you up for the weeks ahead , glad you had a good day trading , i wish there was somewhere around our area to sell on the weekends that wanted the sort of stuff i sell , the mirrors are a fantastic find, hope you are nice and warm and toasty now , i love reading your blog xxx
ReplyDeleteA lovely meal well deserved after a hard working day. Those mirrors are lovely. I bet they are heavy as well.
ReplyDeleteLove from Mum
xx
I'm with you about the standing around in cold buildings in winter. It's vastly over-rated, and the reason I didn't go with Keith for the post-Christmas Fleamarket. You got some real meat bargains and great to have a free chicken too (several meals and soup from that). I like the idea of the sunshine veg with chilli/oil. May try that (though Keith wouldn't touch it).
ReplyDeleteThose are LOVELY old mirrors and I hope you do well with those. We have had a couple over the years, but never got them back to the original gilding as that job is such a pain in the butt and needs a particular acid or something - very fumey if I remember rightly.
We also had chicken for our dinner tonight. DB was roasting chicken quarters before I came home from work, and made a savoury rice to go with them. So, no cooking to be done by me for a change. The chicken quarters were all reduced to £0.05 each in Morrison`s a week ago when stepson brought them home. They had been in the freezer till today. A cheap meal was had with them tonight.
ReplyDeleteThose mirrors your hubby had picked up are grand! Wonder who will have big enough houses nowadays to afford placing one of those above a fire place. They should fetch good money for you.
Lovely post, I always enjoy reading your blog. Those mirrors are gorgeous, Im avoiding looking at myself in mirrors just now :-( glad you got a meaty bargain and that trade was good, it makes everything worthwhile. We used to stand on thick sheets of cardboard box when we did the farmers markets outside, it stopped the cold striking up through our feet.
ReplyDeleteThat meal looks lovely. Just what you need after standing in the cold.
ReplyDeletehi Vicki,
ReplyDeleteI've had a lovely long weekend reading all of your blogs from the beginning. Would you reprint your recipe for blackberry cordial please. I know it's too early in the year but I would just like to have it to hand in case i forget to ask when it's needed.
you have a lovely blog, my sisters & I will come to the valley boot sale one day this summer just to say hello, we're in the north east corner of Wales.xxx
When I was a younger man I despised soups of any sort, funny how things change with age as I love soups now. This post has made me quite hungry for a good chicken soup. I shall be stopping at the market on my way home to pick up a whole chicken, thank you very much.
ReplyDelete