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Post by brightspark on Feb 5, 2023 16:12:23 GMT
"Shame you're so far away Val" Better for your waistline, Chris !
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Post by irist on Feb 5, 2023 17:01:12 GMT
Afternoon folks - just a quick pop in to say I'm still about. It's almost time for me to get tea and then we will have our weekend Zoom call with our son.
As usual I've been busy since I last posted and this coming week will be especially busy with GP surgery visits x 2 for OH (on different days) and 1 for me (on yet another day), a hospital appointment for OH, taking OH back to the dentist to collect his denture (the dentist wasn't able to fit the denture because she tested positive for Covid on the morning of the appointment with her so it's fortunate it fitted OK) and also my penultimate Garden Club Cttee Meeting as Secretary. Today I've looked after g granddaughter 2 while granddaughter took Keira for her swimming lesson. This afternoon we've had an impromptu vintage tractor rally in our field. The young couple who keep 2 of their tractors, plough and cart on our land brought their other 2 tractors and were joined by her grandfather with one of his tractors! They were all lined up for a photoshoot, taking advantage of the first really sunny day here for ages. OH was in his element - he still misses his Old Grey Fergie - and for once it wasn't too cold and wet for him to spend some time outside.
Sorry your family problems persist, Val. Not easy for them or you. Your sausage rolls look yummy! I, too, made a slow cooked beef casserole yesterday. We ate the remainder for lunch today. I'm a great fan of the slow cooker; so much easier than spending hours prepping, stirring etc. Like you, Chris, simple fare is the order of the day here. I shall be making more effort in the kitchen as son and DiL are visiting for a few days from 1st March
Well must get on. Take care all.
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Post by brightspark on Feb 7, 2023 9:58:10 GMT
Morning all,
We have a busy morning this morning, then off out to lunch with four friends, so maybe back this afternoon/evening. Iris, you sound so busy, but don't forget to give yourself some rest times.
Have a good day, all, x
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Post by paperman on Feb 7, 2023 10:24:31 GMT
Good morning Ladies, I hope this finds you well, it is quite cold this morning at 1 degree with a frost overnight but it is sunny and bright.
Yesterday we went up to Lowestoft to do a shop at Aldi and Morrisons and last night, in spite of it being winter, we had chicken salad. ‘A’ makes a mean potato salad which we had with it.
Tonight we are having chicken stir-fry using the new wok I was given at Christmas; unbelievably I have never used a wok before never having owned one so this will be interesting especially as I will have Anne at my elbow advising…….she and I never share a kitchen as we work in totally different ways. Me measuring everything out and putting ingredients in little dishes beforehand, she just follows her nose (and taste buds) adding what she thinks as she goes along and she finds my geeky way of doing things somewhat frustrating to say the least.
This morning I am going over to Claris to measure up for the new blinds and then I’ll know what I need to order. Just a question then of plucking up some courage and getting on with it, I say courage because the blinds fit into the unique type of hidden cassette and will require a considerable amount of cutting and fiddling to fit. The guys in the Classic Hymer Group who have done theirs assure me that once I have done one the rest will be child’s play Hhhh!
Val I hope your SIL is improving, enjoy lunch.
Iris the tractor rally sounds to have been good, any chance of a pic or two?
Right, now to wrap up and get over to the farm and do some measuring, please take care xx
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Post by paperman on Feb 7, 2023 10:25:45 GMT
"Shame you're so far away Val" Better for your waistline, Chris ! OK, OK. You are beginning to sound like Anne!!!
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Post by paperman on Feb 8, 2023 8:23:50 GMT
Here are a couple of Iris's tractor rally shots, looking good. Many thanks Iris for sharing:
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Post by paperman on Feb 8, 2023 9:12:44 GMT
Good morning Ladies, I hope this finds you well on this minus 2 degree morning with everything bathed in frost and mist and the sun just beginning to break through.
Last night’s chicken stir-fry was good albeit that ‘A’ & I had to try not to tread on each other’s toes as she guided me through the process. Very simple, don’t know why I’ve been so hesitant in the past.
Tonight we are having lamb chop (cutlets?) tray bake and I’ve just taken the chops out of the freezer whilst I remember.
Measuring for the blinds yesterday went well albeit that it was jolly cold over there at the farm, I also started the engine and brought it up to temperature to make sure everything was working OK. Today I will order the blinds material so I can get that underway.
We’ll probably wrap up and go for a walk after lunch but apart from that nothing is planned although no doubt ‘A’ will be sorting out stuff to go down to Cornwall, going by train thus only being able to take a single case is going to be an object lesson in ‘bare necessities’------I love it, the car usually gets crammed out!!
That’s it for now, may not be back on here until Friday afternoon or Saturday morning so please take care xx
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Post by irist on Feb 8, 2023 16:20:39 GMT
Thanks for putting the photos up, Chris.
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Post by brightspark on Feb 9, 2023 10:59:49 GMT
"Shame you're so far away Val" Better for your waistline, Chris ! OK, OK. You are beginning to sound like Anne!!! Ha ha, I wonder why, Chris .. I hope all goes well with the travel arrangements and Anne has a lovely time with the family. Yesterday turned out to be quite busy. First thing I decided to make some bread, I have been wanting to use my special 'roundy' tin. A while back I mentioned buying it when I worked near The Angel, in Islington - the local baker's shop sold these more-ish loaves. So I made the wholemeal loaf to be just like those I bought in those days, but I also made a white crusty loaf, which turned out to be a jumbo loaf (!!). To help warm the kitchen to assist the proving of the loaves, I cooked a chicken, useful meals and sandwich filling. We then both set off to Royal Wootton Bassett to take our car to the mechanic/engineer to do some work on the car. Then on to do some shopping in Sainsbury's - we have some good money-off vouchers, and this was an opportunity to use them as we were already out and about. Hopefully the car will be ready today, so we will be back up to collect it. Last night we had the last of the beef casserole, and this evening will be chicken in some form or another ! Iris, the tractor rally looked like a good bit of fun, and also your OH must've been cheered seeing them. We normally have a Zoom on Sunday, Iris, like you, but last Sunday we were meant to have a get-together, so son had cancelled the Zoom, only for the dinner to be cancelled too !! However, we still all chat via WhatsApp so it isn't too bad. My niece is having an operation this morning to remove a varicose vein, it is behind her knee, and the surgeon said that it didn't serve any useful purpose (?). She managed to get a cancellation, and regards herself as very lucky to be having it in these times. Her sister is off for a long weekend break today, so my bro and his wife are on their own for the weekend! Already there are issues ( ) bro received a call from someone discussing the care in the home, and he can't remember who called. This is part of why the two daughters are struggling to help them, despite asking the authorities to phone one of the daughters, they still phone my bro. His wife, my SiL, is still in hospital. A very complicated situation, and one that won't be eased anytime soon. We went out to lunch with our friends on Tuesday, and one of them, Angie, told me in a discussion before Christmas, that she likes to knit. Fancy telling me that!! So, I asked her if she fancied knitting a couple of squares for the hospital blanket. After our lunch we went out to the car park and she lifted the boot to reveal two bags of squares - shocked, I asked her how many squares - she said "Well you told me that one blanket needs 80 squares, so I knitted 80 ! " I was gobsmacked! So I am now sewing together an Angie blanket, all bright and beautifully knitted 6" squares. I have now labelled all of my recently-made jars of marmalade, to go into store, so we're all set for a little while, but I'm still collecting and freezing the strips of citrus peel, all ready for the next batch! Have a good day everyone, x
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Post by brightspark on Feb 10, 2023 21:28:59 GMT
Hi everyone,
Last night I cooked a cake that I hadn't tried before: www.sweetestmenu.com/coconut-loaf-cake/ This morning, I made up the mixture for the icing, but something was definitely not right, as in the photo it resembled butter icing, and with 'holding up' texture, but this mixture was just runny, so I added more icing sugar, and again, until it seemed good enough, but I was concerned that it may have become too sweet. Anyway it remained in that state, so my cake box was sat in a carrier bag, as the cake was too tall for my box, but as I was only a passenger, I was able to keep it upright. When I arrived at our quilting group, I put out plates and dessert forks - I don't think they would have been too pleased to have icing all over their projects.
Back home, I had a late coffee with OH and a slice of the cake, then we set off to collect the car. Unfortunately the junction where we needed to turn off was closed for emergency work, so we had a detour around some very winding, narrow roads. Arrived back home when OH discovered that the interior dashboard lights are not working. So now we have to do the delivering and collecting all over again for the garage to correct the problem.
Lots of ladies turned up for the group today, about 20 - I do know that I brought home just two slices of cake!
I emptied the bottom shelf (tins, mostly) in my larder today, heavens, there were a few supplies out of date (!), but a bag of rice flour was missing a corner, and there was a fair amount of rice flour around the shelf, too. When we were in France, it seemed to be a regular thing to find 'things' in the flour, and once I knew that it was moth larvae, it turned me off totally, so all the bags of flour were put into polybags immediately when they were brought home, though that didn't help much, as the creatures were actually in the flour. This bag of rice flour went in the bin ... I seem to have bought a number of tins of pineapple slices .. they are going to the foodbank, as my friend who volunteers in the food bank said that it was tinned fruit that seemed to be in short supply. I don't need five tins (what was I thinking of?).
My SiL has come out of hospital today - my brother says he can cope, but from what the family have told me, she isn't fully recovered - I just hope that she hasn't been sent home to fill the need for a bed. Their daughter had an operation on her leg in the same hospital yesterday, and she is having to rest up, and her sister, their other daughter, is away for the weekend, so they won't be able to assist if needed.
I think it'll be chat tomorrow now, as it is getting late. Sleep well everyone, x
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Post by paperman on Feb 11, 2023 11:34:20 GMT
Good morning Ladies, I hope this finds you well on this grey 9 degree morning.
The drive over to Reading on Thursday went OK, but at 150 miles it is quite a trot. We stayed overnight on Thursday and ‘A’ got the train on Friday morning. It’s a long time since I went anywhere near an intercity train (the little coastal line from St Erth round to St Ives doesn’t qualify), just to say I am impressed. I got back here to Suffolk early afternoon.
I have got a chicken casserole started which I may have some of tonight with the balance going in the freezer, we’ll see.
I may do a small roast, pork perhaps, tomorrow after I get back from going down to Argos Ipswich to collect the blinds for Claris. I haven’t decided yet.
I have no plans for today, frankly I feel like just putting my feet up maybe even have a peaceful snooze in the chair this afternoon, what a luxury. That’s it for now, please take care xx
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Post by brightspark on Feb 11, 2023 13:35:37 GMT
Good morning - a bit later than that, actually ...!
Good to hear that you got home okay, Chris, and I presume that A has arrived safely too. I have to say there is nothing wrong with having a siesta when you're feeling the need. (I do it often, haha) We've been on that little line from St Erth to St Ives, too, and it was a beautifully sunshine-y day with clear blue sky - a lovely little interlude.
Our son will be coming tomorrow, after his lengthy walk, for a roast dinner - I haven't cooked a roast for a while, but it is going to be roast beef with Yorkshire puddings, and the roasted vegetables. I am also going to make another cake - I had a mango in my Oddbox a couple of weeks ago, and as it started to soften, I thought I'd better use it, but I think I should've waited as it isn't fully ripe. Last night I made a chicken curry using leftover cooked chicken, and I added some of the mango to that, it was really good, but still have some more, so I have found a recipe in my old cookery book for a cherry and coconut cake - I shall substitute the mango in place of the cherries. We'll see how that goes!
For now though, I shall sit and sew some more squares for the hospital blanket.
Have a good rest of the day, x
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Post by irist on Feb 11, 2023 15:33:17 GMT
Afternoon folks from a grey, chilly but almost still SW. Don't think my washing will dry much but at least it will have had an airing outside. Apparently we shall see more sun over the next couple of days which will lift the spirits.
All OH's medical appointments went well save that his Warfarin doses still aren't doing the trick. The nurse has asked the pharmacist at the surgery to call to discuss changing to a one a day tablet that doesn't require any testing. I've read about this in the past but am a little wary since there is no antidote - ie if OH should have a bleed it cannot easily be stopped whereas a dose of Vitamin K can reverse the blood thinning properties of Warfarin. Just have to wait and see what the pharmacist says. We are still waiting for an appointment for OH to have an X ray on his spine and lungs. These will determine whether his chronic backache is caused by problems with his bones or is purely muscular and the other whether he still has an infection in his lower right lung as a result of the virus he had over Christmas (apparently he still has crackles in this area). Such a social life we lead (not!!) that our calendar is full of medical appointments.
I'm wondering if your cake icing was too runny because you used low fat cream cheese, Val? I had the same problem in the past when I assumed I could swap full fat for low fat cream cheese in the frosting for carrot cake. You mentioned a roast for lunch tomorrow - I'm toying with the same idea. I rarely cook a full roast on Sunday now but it's so useful to have the remainder of a joint with which to make other meals, sandwiches etc during the rest of the week. Think I've just convinced myself to take a pork joint from the freezer now.
Speaking of freezers, unfortunately I opened the top drop-down flap in mine a couple of days ago and it came away in my hand. I only bought the freezer back in July 2022 so was none too pleased that a small lug on which the flap rotates to open it had snapped off rendering it useless. I spent rather a long time on the phone (after the usual "you are 9th in the queue ...) getting through to the right department, etc but all ended well as a new part should be with me in 7-10 days.
Even the simplest things seem to be a challenge these days. I took a form from our local Council to the surgery for the GP to sign for OH. The Receptionist had no experience of this form so had to go and talk to a colleague in the office. Then the Practice Manager appeared and told me I'd have to pay £36 for a GP to sign the form. I stood my ground as the letter accompanying the form from the Council specifically said that I should not be charged by a GP for a signature. The Practice Manager disappeared and came back to say the fee would be waived. Why is life so difficult nowadays?
Enjoy your few quiet days, Chris. Snooze away while you have the chance. Hope your blinds do the trick to brighten Claris up!
Well I've just made our afternoon cuppa and have a slow cooker full of chilli bubbling away for our meal tonight so I'm going to continue with my knitting. I've done all the housework today so have awarded myself a rest with my feet up.
Take care. Bye for now.
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Post by brightspark on Feb 11, 2023 16:22:04 GMT
Hi again,
Iris, you said: "I'm wondering if your cake icing was too runny because you used low fat cream cheese, Val? I had the same problem in the past when I assumed I could swap full fat for low fat cream cheese in the frosting for carrot cake." Ha - if only I could use that reason, no it was full fat. I felt that the amount of icing sugar was way too little - 2 tablespoons - with 2 teaspoons of juice, the icing sugar immediately disappeared into the juice, but considering I used so much cream cheese, I didn't anticipate how runny it turned out. I have beaten it again trying to stiffen it, even with the extra icing sugar, but still isn't enough to hold its own. The cake I shall make tomorrow morning though - leftover mango and coconut, I feel I can use it on top of that, too. Tasted nice, but didn't look like it appeared in the picture.
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Post by brightspark on Feb 12, 2023 19:45:41 GMT
Evening all,
We had a lovely afternoon with our son - he had been on a long walk, about 8 miles, I think, and came here for a roast beef dinner. The roast beef was wonderfully tender, and melt-in-the-mouth. But I hang my head - I forgot to add the Yorkshire puddings, son's favourite.
Bless him, he brought a huge bunch of flowers, and a sticky toffee cake. However, this morning I made the 'pound cake' with added coconut and fresh mango, and planned to use up the leftover icing. I used some of it, but there is still more to use. So not only did we have two cakes, but I had made an apple crumble for dessert. All the sausage rolls I made the other day, were in the freezer, so OH brought in the bag, and son took them home for his freezer. He is now well supplied, and won't go hungry !
We have had a kettle, which works perfectly, but the 'hinges' on the lid had broken, and when we had our delayed Christmas dinner, son had noticed that, and today, as a gift to us both, brought a brand new kettle (with a Brita filter) and he has taken the old one, and he said he is going to repair it. Not too sure that he can, but he seemed confident enough. We'll see.
I hope everyone's well. have a good evening, x
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