Monday, November 13, 2006

WWW. (Wet, Windy and Warm) Rest Day

Well - you know my sky-addiction. Nearly as addictive as tram-shots ! Anyway - lovely sunrise this morning and it seemed right to share it. If enlargement reveals any strange blemishes it is because I set my tripod in the big room and worked through the glass, which isn't particularly clean. Outside wasn't very attractive due to the wind.

No urgency about much today. What seems now to be my statutory blood-test this morning and then several hours work on recent photographs. Y needed some prints for her journal and to send to people and I attempted a panorama of all the cards but not a great success. Camera too near to the subjects I think and, after endless messing-about, it ended up on the cutting-room floor.

I did a chicken-casserole for lunch, with celery, red pepper, onion (odds & ends really) and potatoes, brussels and carrot. That was OK - but we had Xmas pudding with custard for pudding and it was awful. Morrison's own and devoid of cooking instructions. I looked under the label etc. but nothing, so I microwaved them for 3 minutes and they were like cannon-balls. Y was supportive enough to say that the custard was nice.

Picture 2 is the ever-photogenic pavillion over the lake at Clumber. The reds of the lakeside trees were attractive even though the light was failing and it had gone dull by the time we reached them.

Y had made me a delicious cheese & lettuce sandwich for tea which I ate while we watched Strictly Come Dancing. Thank goodness Claudia has abandoned the 'tarty' lipstick. She interviewed Ray & Camilla who took their surprise ejection on Saturday very well. Although obviously shocked, they both seem nice people, and their dance was much better than Peter & Erin's who were shocked to be still IN. No doubt his football-fans ringing in did the trick.

At 9pm it's Spooks, which clashes with Monarchy, a further episode of the David Starkey series. We'll no doubt record Monarchy then we can zoom through the adverts.

We watched Helen's 'white-water' CD again. It really is good.

Bit short today. But it is a Rest Day...............................

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Quote of the Week
“With anemone like the Japanese, who needs friends?”
(Alan Marsh-Tit, November 2006)

Dramatic pic 1. Wind can be a problem first thing in the morning.

A relatively busy day for me today. Looking at Xmas lunch/dinner meetings to avoid clashes; renewing Ralph's health insurance (now over £200) and sundry other essential phone calls; cooking large crumble. And still I forgot to arrange MOT Test – but valid till early Dec.

For me Xmas pudding must have rum sauce. Only brandy sauce is an acceptable alternative. (And just sweet white sauce with ginger sponge pudding; and milk – not cream – with apple suet dumpling) We haven’t needed to buy any Xmas Puds this year. Or last year. We still have a catering size one and several individual ones (which are often enough for two, being so richly fruited). Sandra used to make her own and mature them for a decade or so but we now reckon the supermarket ones (even the ordinary ones, not the de-luxe) are generally so good that it really is rather a waste of effort. But yes, we have found it easy to over-microwave them into a petrified state. I still like bananas with surplus custard; it brings back memories of Infants School friend Arthur Fell’s 6th birthday party.

Pic 2 reminds me of Nuttall Temple. A fellow articled pupil of mine owned the estate and I recall a very pleasant post-cloudburst skinny dip in the lake being given a frisson by recollection of the 12 lb pike I had seen landed earlier.
It is a subjective judgment but I do find the colour a bit strong in some of your recent pics, esp the red tones (eg, the Pumping Station brickwork, several autumn leaves) . They remind me a little of the early days of colour television when most people had the knob turned fully clockwise whereas my parents and I were surprisingly agreed that we preferred a sort of tinted sepia effect.

Oh, the luxury of cheese and lettuce. I can hardly wait for news of the ‘beans on toast’ delight (with a two-chive garnish).
I am glad swinging Ray didn’t get voted off ‘The X Factor’ but cannot understand how that Scottish duo continue to avoid the sing off. They must buy a lot of drinks back home.

I have just finished watching ‘Spooks’ having missed the last two weeks’ episodes (no doubt to be repeated). I thought it was good but could not avoid nodding off a couple of times. Obviously the programme makers take Global Warming seriously.

Anonymous said...

I'm a great fan of bananas and custard, have been known to make custard especially for it. I am not a Xmas Pudding fan, but Ro likes it, so small M & S ones do us fine. And it has to be cream with apple dumplings, sorry!

And, of course, I like the colours - what's the point of glorious autumn leaves in sepia?

Anonymous said...

No, I can't have it Jill. Cream is ruinous to apple dumpling (which in this part of the country means something like a 4 person Steak & Kidney pud but filled with apples instead of meat); only good full cream milk complements. I also used to enjoy sharing with my paternal grandfather, who lived next=door-but-one, when he had a baked suet pudding (done on a 12 x 8 baking tray about 2" deep) with either Golden Syrup or butter & sugar.

I am still having to type in atleast 2 Word Verifications, since the new blog, before my comment is accepted. I don't expect you to do anything even if you can; it is just a bit annoying.