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Post by brightspark on Mar 13, 2023 10:10:04 GMT
Morning!
Travel safely Chris and A. Have a great birthday break! Lucky you on being able to get the sacks of logs, there must be a lot more demand in this area, I guess.
Yesterday evening I made this recipe, but scaled down for just two of us, (It serves 6, but I prepped just one third of it) and I decided that I wasn't hungry after our dinner, but OH had one of them and he said it was delicious. A bit like a lemon souffle, with sauce under. %80+Corned+Beef+%26+Cabbage%2C+Soda+Bread%2C+Asparagus+Soup+%2B+More%20-%2010269051#tabrecipe" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">www.onceuponachef.com/recipes/lemon-pudding-cakes.html?utm_source=convertkit&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=%F0%9F%%80+Corned+Beef+%26+Cabbage%2C+Soda+Bread%2C+Asparagus+Soup+%2B+More%20-%2010269051#tabrecipe
I wanted to hand over the two knitted-squares blankets, and I checked on what was required, apart from the inclusion of a butterfly somewhere on each blanket; and as it happens they asked for them to be washed beforehand. I was so lucky - I quickly put them both into the washing machine, but washed them in cold water, and managed to get them on the outdoor line, and there was a breeze. I could see that both of them were being blown in the wind, and before the rain came, they were actually dry and the outdoor smell on them was so much better. My neighbour, K, was really pleased, and said she will take them into the hospital today (she is a physiotherapist at the hospital).
Hope you and OH are okay, Iris, so have a good day all, x
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Post by irist on Mar 13, 2023 20:32:27 GMT
Evening folks from a wet and very windy SW.
I have had a couple of indoor days. I must be bored as today I have started to Spring clean the conservatory! It's a tedious job but has to be done. I've taken down the slats of the vertical blinds, put half of them to soak overnight and washed all the window frames and the channels that hold the blinds. Part two tomorrow will keep me busy while waiting for a call from the surgery. OH's Warfarin level was very low on Friday so the surgery Pharmacist phoned today to discuss changing him onto a one a day tablet which doesn't require testing. The GP is calling in the morning to discuss the results of his blood tests and X rays and confirm whether he can swap his medication.
We had some sad news yesterday. A friend I have known for almost 60 years has been diagnosed with incurable cancer. He had an op to remove a tumour from his oesophagus early last year and was told he was clear but obviously some rogue cells have spread into his spine. It just reminds us of our own mortality. We must make the most of each day.
Hope you have an enjoyable break away, Chris and that the weather is kind. Happy birthday too!
OH is itching to go to the garden centre to buy some compost so he can get seed sowing. I think he's being a bit premature given the fluctuating temperatures but it's supposed to be dry tomorrow afternoon so I know where we will be going
Take care all.
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Post by paperman on Mar 14, 2023 9:55:51 GMT
Good morning Ladies I hope this finds you well. Journey down yesterday was fine as was meal last night. Weather dry and grey. Thanks for your wishes. Take care xx
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Post by brightspark on Mar 15, 2023 12:05:44 GMT
Morning, just (at 11.55 am),
Good to hear everything went well on your birthday Chris, enjoy the rest of your break.
This evening, we will be going to see/hear the 50th anniversary 'Live in Concert' of Mike Oldfield's Tubular Bells. Our family bought the tickets for OH's birthday - and we are all going! So should be a good evening.
I've really been getting into the hand-sewing of daughter's wall-hanging, and I shall now attempt some hand-sewn lettering - wish me luck as I haven't done this before.
I think I shall cook a chocolate cake for our son - we will drive to his house as it is near the theatre, so we can leave our little dog at this house. Prior to that we can have supper with him - he has made some Dutch Erwtensoep (pronounced: Air-ten-soup) - or pea and ham soup! We had that a lot when we lived in The Netherlands. So, some fresh bread to go with it will be just right.
Hope everyone's okay - have a good day, x
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Post by brightspark on Mar 16, 2023 18:12:21 GMT
Afternoon / Evening all,
We had a dry start to the day today, but it is wet now, a drizzly rain.
Last night was a good evening at the concert, very accomplished musicians - one thing was missing though, they didn't introduce themselves and throughout no-one spoke - it would've been nice to talk about their history, their coming together, and their journey so far.
This afternoon I have made another tray bake: soyummyrecipes.co.uk/mary-berry-coffee-walnut-traybake/ although I won't be adding any nuts, instead I shall cut it into portions and then I shall place a chocolate coffee bean on each portion. Once it has cooled, I shall add the coffee buttercream, to take the coffee bean. I have noticed, in the past, that some folk actively remove the nut on top, so better that it isn't there in the first place!
Interestingly, the author remarked that this cake actually contains coffee ! When we (UK) say coffee cake, that is exactly what we mean, but I now understand that in America, coffee cake is so-called because it is served with coffee - and is not necessarily coffee-flavoured. How very strange! After all, if we say chocolate cake, that's exactly what it is. As is often said 'nowt as queer as folk!'
Iris, hope you're okay. Chris and A, hope you're enjoying your break.
Sausages for dinner this evening. Not sure how I shall prepare/cook them yet. Have a good evening all, x
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Post by paperman on Mar 17, 2023 12:02:24 GMT
Good morning all, I hope this finds you well…… 10 degrees and raining here in Ruritania after a super few days down in Portsmouth where the weather was mixed and we were over indulging and generally enjoying the days away.
We had some super meals and also met up with some old friends on Wednesday. Old is probably the right word, he is 94 and she is much younger at 87 but they are both sharp, very healthy and not a day older than 50…..we spent quite a time walking round Gunwharf Quay with all its shops and then had a late lunch in Carluccios. They had come over on the Gosport Ferry but as it had started raining, and we wanted to extend our time in their company, we ran them back to their apartment, 10th Floor overlooking Portsmouth Harbour and enjoyed a cup of tea and piece of Mary’s excellent cake.
The journey back here yesterday was a rare event; the traffic flowed excellently with NO holdups, we did the whole journey back with a driving time of 3½ hours plus 30 minutes for a snooze and refreshments.
We have Tai Chi this afternoon and need to do some shopping which we will do afterwards also I have a couple of crocket mallets that our friends asked us to drop off with someone here in Saxmundham which we will do, probably at the same time.
So, now for some lunch, I have a super piece of stilton cheese and I have taken a crusty roll out of my freezer to enjoy with it.
Please take care xx
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Post by brightspark on Mar 17, 2023 23:20:30 GMT
Good to hear you had a great birthday break, Chris, and that you managed to get to see your long-term friends. Hope you're okay, Iris.
A bit late here, so chat more tomorrow. Sleep well, x
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Post by paperman on Mar 18, 2023 11:07:28 GMT
Good morning all, I hope this finds you well. 9 degrees and light rain here in Ruritania, apparently what we need is a lot of heavy rain to refill the aquafers, which is where we here, apparently, draw most of our water from and which are much lower than in previous years so maybe we will have water restrictions later in the year; although I can’t help thinking that if the water company did what it is supposed to do and sort out the many leaks in the system it would help. They could at the same time also of course cease dumping raw sewage into our rivers as well, not that the government seems to care about that beyond paying lip service and our MP Thérèse Coffey, laughingly minister for the environment, does nothing either……she is probably the most useless constituency MP in parliament.
We had our usual Friday supper of F & C (alv) last night and tonight I am making a fish pie so we are having a double dose of fish.
We have a little shopping to do as we want to have roast chicken tomorrow so are going up to the farm to get a fresh one, plus probably a few other bits and pieces. I have a fancy for ham & eggs for lunch, they do super ham as they have their own smoker so will see what they have.
I doubt very much if we will go out for a walk if this weather persists so have already started sorting out a load of clothes I don’t wear to go to the air ambulance charity which is who we here in the village support and when my cleaner comes on Tuesday I’ll get her to sort out my second bedroom which I treat as a walk-in wardrobe and is getting to be a bit of a mess. Usually she is banned from that room.
Can’t see anything much on the box tonight so we’ll probably stream something.
That’s it for now, please take care xx
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Post by irist on Mar 18, 2023 16:22:36 GMT
Afternoon folks. Hope you are all well. Sorry I've been absent but life has been getting away with me! Nothing exciting going on. OH has been transferred from Warfarin onto Edoxaban so he will only require a blood test every 6 months rather than every week or so lately. We also had a chat with the GP about his X rays. He has severe arthritic damage in his lower spine which is causing his chronic backache. The only remedy is to take painkillers 4 x a day. As his body becomes accustomed to the dosage and the pain breaks through, he will have to increase the strength of the tablets. We've had a lot of miserable weather since I last posted but yesterday, after a trip to the surgery, we visited the new(ish) deli/cafe at the other end of the village for a fish and chip lunch. Locally caught fish and chips fried to perfection - crisp on the outside, pillowy on the inside and not a trace of grease - yum Today we've had sun until about an hour ago - cheered us up no end. We've even managed some gardening. OH has planted some seeds and cut back the green manure in two of his raised beds. I cleared the other three beds of weeds ready for a delivery of 2 dumpy bags of soil/compost mix to top all of them up. I'll have muscles like Popeye by the time I've finished barrowing the soil I've also cleared the strawberry bed of weeds and debris. Very satisfying after such a wet spell. Now I need to go out and bring the washing in - can't remember the last time I have dried washing outside. We are having fish pie tonight with a mix of veg. Tomorrow we are invited to daughter's for a roast lunch. I was told I didn't need to provide anything but, depending on how much time I have in the morning, I'll make a pud to take along. Our granddaughter, her partner and the great grands will be there so it'll be a noisy meal Enjoy the remainder of your weekend. Bye for now.
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Post by brightspark on Mar 18, 2023 16:27:11 GMT
Afternoon all,
Mixed bag of weather today - we walked to the Post Office this morning and the sunshine was lovely and warm, but at the moment, a weak sunshine is about to be washed away I think, as the dark grey clouds look ominous!
Yesterday I took a coffee-flavoured tray bake (Mary Berry) to our quilting group - this time it arrived in one piece (!), and instead of chopped walnuts, I topped each square with a chocolate coffee bean. One lady commented how nice the beans were!!
Yet more knitted squares appeared, so although I thought I would eventually run out of them and I could get on with my own things, but no, it seems that is not the case - I shall be doing these for some while I reckon.
Currently I am cooking a chicken, as our son has said he will be calling round tomorrow after his local walk. I thought to have less time cooking while he's here, I will cook a batch of chips, and have the cold chicken with them.
OH sent me flowers in the post. We lived in The Netherlands for a few years and tulips are one of my faves, as it always brings back the memory of our wonderful time there, so my flowers were purple tulips. Gorgeous. I feel very blessed receiving the Mother's Day cards and good wishes from the family, and I guess all Mums in this position feel the same.
I treated myself to a little gift. I found an Etsy site that was selling off some old French fabrics, and also old bobbins. So one bobbin and a few fabrics arrived today - ooh it's like Christmas, such gorgeous stuff. I have already started the long fabric strip for the smaller bobbin, backing it with hessian to help hold its shape.
Chris, the mention of your MP, Ms Coffey, and the issue of our rivers, reminded me of the program with Paul Whitehouse and a visit from Fergal Sharkey on that program was quite an eye-opener. A worrying eye-opener at that. I don't understand why Ms Coffey is an MP at all, as when she was 'answering' questions to the committee, she actually had very little, if any of the information in reply to the questions, referring each time to another source.
Hope all's well with you, Iris.
Anyway, have a good afternoon everyone.
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Post by brightspark on Mar 18, 2023 16:30:12 GMT
Iris, looks like we were of the same thought - to post now! Good to hear from you and to know that all is well. x
Oh, and I forgot to mention that I have a couple of tins of pease pudding that need to be used, and thought I would have a little Google search. I bought these tins to go with a boiled bacon joint.
I happened on this recipe, and I think I may even have a go with it - certainly looks good, but I would never have thought of this - using it as a pastry replacement: www.northeastfood.co.uk/pease-pudding-corned-beef-pie/
This recipe gives some pictures of the stages of cooking the pies (hers are steak and mushroom), but they certainly look good. musculardystrophyandweightlossgain.com/2019/10/01/pease-pudding-pastry-this-is-worth-it/
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Post by paperman on Mar 21, 2023 10:27:33 GMT
Good morning on this 10 degree wet morning, I hope this finds you well.
Just to catch-up; the fish pie on Saturday was good, I have a small amount left over and am going to either have it for lunch today or maybe chuck it (which I’ll feel guilty about), Sunday's roast chicken was good too and last night we had chicken curry that ‘A’ made with the rest and there is some of that left too which will do for lunch tomorrow perhaps.
Tonight we are having egg, bacon, chips and beans, yes we’re slumming it especially as I may be tempted towards a chip butty. Yesterday we went down to Martlesham to do some shopping in both Aldi and the big Tesco there, spent a fortune!
This afternoon we have Tai Chi in the next village otherwise all is quiet on the eastern front.
Take care xx
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Post by brightspark on Mar 21, 2023 20:37:42 GMT
Ha ha Chris, it's great to 'slum it' now'n'again.
Saturday evening we had the chicken wings, so that I could cook up the bones for the soup. I also roasted a chicken to share with our son on Sunday after his long walk (10.5 miles around Barbary Castle). Sunday was Mum's Day of course, and when he arrived he was loaded with flowers for me. Our dining room with the round bay window is looking more like a florist shop now.
On the floor in pots are three very large clivia plants, and all in flower currently with their enormous head of blooms in brightest orange colour. Around the windowsill, above the clivias, starting with carnations from a neighbour; mauve tulips from OH; a pot plant from daughter - a calla lily in mauve; then from son --yellow/orange tulips; a bright arrangement with chrysanthemums, a sunflower, and gerberas; a vase of white dahlias and white roses; and finally beautiful mauve roses with mauve gypsophyla. Just an amazing display.
For our lunch that day we had soup, followed by chicken sandwiches in bread that I'd made the same morning, and a piece of coffee-flavoured cake to go with a cup of tea. (In the end I didn't cook the chips I had planned)
Yesterday, I had an appointment at the dentist for my new crown - the temporary crown was a couple of weeks ago. The dentist surgery where we go has taken on more dentists, and are advertising for new patients - this is very rare as they are NHS practice ! As this is five minutes from our son's house, we called round to see him (he is working from home for two days a week), and bless him, he had cooked a complete dinner for us. It was a curried chicken pie which had a puff pastry on top of an incredibly delicious chicken pieces in sauce. So good.
Today we had a shopping delivery, including some lean beef in cubes and I shall cook them as a goulash, and put them into the soup bags (from Lakeland) to freeze, then take them with us to Cornwall for our week away. I shall do the same with the ingredients for a fish pie, so for our first two night's meals we will be sorted! I made this cake : www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/raspberry-bakewell-cake - only I didn't have raspberries, so I added sultanas and glace cherries, but it was still delicious. This evening I cooked this - a sort of 'if it's' meal, but it went down well !! That's me up-to-date. Have a good evening, what's left of it, and chat soon, x
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Post by paperman on Mar 22, 2023 14:37:47 GMT
Good afternoon, brightly grey and 13 degrees so it isn’t cold and when the sun was shining earlier it was positively lovely.
We went up to the farm shop this morning to get a couple of bits, large potatoes, bacon and eggs but apart from that nothing to report.
I have over the years I have been here used my second bedroom as a walk-in wardrobe but slowly that degenerated into a messy pile of clothes etc. dumped on the beds (there are two of them) and over the weekend I decided to start sorting it out, so far 2 large black dustbin liners of clothes for the charity bin in the village (supporting air-ambulance) and I am only a quarter of the way through and already I have a lifetimes supply of coat-hangers so will also be divesting myself of a lot of them too.
Tonight I am doing a stir-fry in my new wok and this afternoon I will need to make some passata sauce for it.
I have started reading a difficult to put down book ‘I was Vermeer’ which recounts the life of a gifted Dutch artist turned forger who sold forged Vermeers etc. to the Nazis. If you appreciate art it makes a good read or to be accurate it is making a good read for me.
This afternoon I am also going over to Claris to check on her and to check that the keys I had cut now fit OK.
Apart from that all’s quiet still. Please take care xx
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Post by irist on Mar 22, 2023 16:24:42 GMT
Afternoon folks from a grey, windy SW. We did have some mild, Spring-like weather earlier but it's now quite chilly. On Monday evening I started to feel slightly under the weather but by yesterday evening I had developed a tickly cough and a vaguely sore throat. Unfortunately yesterday afternoon we went with the Carers' Club for a cream tea at Porthpean Golf Club so I hope I haven't shared the lurgy. Tonight we are due to attend Garden Club but we will forego that outing. Tomorrow the soil/compost mix will be delivered but it will have to await my attention until I'm firing on all cylinders again!
Thanks for the links to the recipes you have been trying, Val. I have to say I like the idea of the alternative pastry using pease pudding but not the look of it! Did you try making it? The raspberry bakewell cake looks good but I am still trying to get OH to reduce his consumption of sweet treats (not very successfully!!). Hope the weather is kind and you have a good time with the family during your break in this neck of the woods. Amazing that your dentist is looking for new NHS patients. The NHS opened a dental school in Truro a number of years ago to try to attract and keep young dentists in the SW as the NHS dental situation here is dire. It's not worked as once the youngsters have qualified, they can earn mega bucks in private practices up country. Our neighbours (who moved in about 5 years ago) return to their previous practice in the Midlands and combine it with visits to their family up there because they cannot get registered with the NHS here.
Well done, Chris, on your clothes sort out. I keep putting off doing a similar job here. Did the keys finally fit Claris' lock?
We are going to slum it too this evening. It's going to be bangers, egg, chips and beans because I'm not feeling like making much effort
Take care all.
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