The hunt for pasta...

While Keith went shopping this morning, I made a start on glossing the skirting board and door of our new cupboard in the hallway. Keith had painted the walls a dark blue yesterday, using the paint we'd originally bought for the kitchen doors (matt emulsion), and it was looking lovely. The glossy white skirting board and doors contrasted beautifully with the dark paint. We just need to find a shoe rack/storage unit now and put up a row of hooks to make it complete.

I worked away all morning and touched up the paint on the banisters as well. I was very pleased when I'd finished. The door (the old one that used to lead into the kitchen) was in dire need of a fresh coat of paint and it looked lovely.

After a quick shower, we headed into town to pick up my material from The Mill Shop, and to hunt for bow-tie pasta that I needed for Saturday night's Jerk Chicken Pasta. Keith had been unable to buy any at all in Tesco this morning, so we called into Lidl where there wasn't any either! I did buy some different beers though, including two cans of Stout, and a bottle of Leffe Brun which I love.

Homesense didn't have what we wanted, but they did have a range of brightly coloured pasta that I don't think would have gone down well with my family! We decided to pop into Beckworth to see if they had any, and just as I was about to go in, I spotted Sara, Sheila and Nicola with Julia. They'd been enjoying Julia's retirement lunch, and when I told them about the pasta, Nicola offered to get me some when she was in Sainsbury's. Luckily, she didn't need to as when I went into Beckworth, Keith was triumphantly holding a packet aloft! Job done! They still didn't have any turkeys, though!

Before going home we had to pop to Mum's care home to pick up a bank statement as the new care home has asked for proof of income... the hoops we've had to jump through!

Back home it was all hands on deck as I'd said I would make minestrone soup for dinner. Keith and I chopped vegetables and simmered them with chicken stock and pasta on a low heat. Although the soup was tasty, the vegetables were still a little too al dente for my liking... another recipe we'll have to work on!