Picture 1 was my bedroom barometer at 5.30am this morning. It has been 'going up' steadily, but overnight it zoomed. And it has been a lovely day.I said yesterday "Start of weekend off" but we have in fact been very busy.
After shopping and putting away we had lunch. Eclectic, I think was Helen and Julian's word. We finished off a bolognese sauce, by the side of a potato dish I cook in the frying pan which involves eggs, cream, and bacon bits; to accompany that we had steamed green beans, fresh from Lisa's garden.
For pudding we had pancakes stuffed with cherry jam and topped with ice-cream.
In the afternoon we transformed the Office because Y had read that a monitor shouldn't be positioned with a window behind it. One's eyes can't deal with the dramatic light difference. So, no wonder I had problems adjusting the monitor. I'm surprised the computer people didn't know this and advise me. I won't bore you with the details and by tea-time it was working with the desk on a different wall and I was knackered.
Then inevitably 'Strictly come Dancing'which we thoroughly enjoyed, as we always do. The programme title is a live link by the way, and what a cracking website it takes you to. Camilla and partner were v.good as was Austin Healey. But we decided they would both be 'in' anyway and we voted for John Sergeant who, whilst perhaps not as good technically, really appeared to enjoy it and produced a creditable performance. We thought he needed our votes more than the others...... Watch this space.....
Picture 2 is of one of our Great Tit family, feeding in one of the starling-proof feeders. Most of the smaller birds are now used to them. And, since my vibration-reduction long lens it is so easy to flit (visually) about the garden and grab pictures. I would prefer a shot of him perched on a branch but they remain rather elusive.And - one day - I shall snap a wren !
I also forgot to tell you that I have just received my annual AA subscription letter and the amount has inched up to £97. At Y's insistence I reluctantly contacted them and went through the tedious 'options' buttons procedure and eventually came to one which said "If you are thinking of leaving the AA for any reason, please press 3" - so I did and by sticking to my brief and agreeing to surrender 'Complimentary Home Start' (Willis the garage man is just up the road) they agreed to reduce my annual premium to £40, a net saving of £57. Well done Y because I wouldn't have bothered.
Comments
jill ..... Glad you liked the lock snap. And I suppose I am lucky in Charity Shops. Mind you I spend time at it. The Tennyson wasn't strictly speaking from a charity shop but a second-hand book shop. It is delightful though. I think I can be irritating (I once had a county-trial) but I don't gloat.
Lovely bit about your day. All sounding delightful and so wittily described. Thanks. While we are in 'knitting country' could you please explain the difference between ravel and un-ravel ? My mother used either term to describe the same action. I had to sit with my little hands about 18inches apart while she pulled the garment apart and wound it onto my hands. What a strange upbringing I had.
bungus ........ You and I both need the ear syringing treatment. My left ear more than the right. Also, I have been semi-successful with the wireless headphones. I can get a clear signal through them and can control the volume. Trouble is I can get every channel except the one we are watching. Even radio is present. Is there a knack ?
I couldn't find the salmon pasta this morning at Lidl. One of the young ladies who now knows us quite well said it had been part of an 'italian special' promotion and it soon went. She said though, that when they have it again she will save us some. And she will too. Super shop.
Fascinating brickwork and bone-ing stuff. Thanks.
reg ....... I can guess what you want the Blanchards sign on the side of a house for. I'm still scratching my head.
incy wincy ...... Not at all surprised about the work-force at the bakery. Did you see today about the traffic wardens at Lambeth. Half of the total of 83 either resigned or were sacked when asked to present their passports to their employers. Over 40 were illegal immigrants.
If your weather at Anderby has been the same as here, you will have had a super day.
For the benefit of 4 ticks ... who hasn't left a comment. Bungus has sent his 'spiced goosegog' recipe :-
SPICED GOOSEBERRIES
esp good with smoked mackerel
(recipe also works with rhubarb with 10% increase in fruit + generous amount of grated
root ginger).
I usually make a half quantity.
root ginger).
I usually make a half quantity.
2 quarts gooseberries
4½ cups brown sugar (2 pints 5oz)
1 cup cider (or white wine) vinegar (½ pint)
2" stick cinnamon
8 cloves
¼ tsp ground nutmeg
2 whole allspice
Place sugar, vinegar, and spices together in a large pot, add 1/2 cup
of water and boil for 5 minutes.
Add gooseberries and simmer for 30 to 40 minutes. When the berries are
tender and the syrup is thick, turn into hot sterile jars and seal.
Time required: 1 hour. Yield: about 3 pints
Sounds great to me. He has given me a jar for Y but she hasn't started them yet.
Instead of quotation time here is an improvement.A photograph of a page from my beautiful Tennyson with the illuminated quotation printed theron.
I used the facility in the new Picasa 3 to 'blog' the pictures directly from Picasa.
It worked, but unfortunately it didn't resize the images to the 1024 pixel standard (just a screen filler when clicked on). The pictures were enormous and you would have been scrolling side to side and up and down to see them. And I try not to annoy my readers !
So I deleted them and reverted to my usual resizing practice. The programme is still being tested and I'm sure these teething difficulties will be ironed out.
........................................
Sleep tight - catch you tomorrow
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Sleep tight - catch you tomorrow
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I think I am commenting before you have finished....the last bit at present is a picture of a great tit.....
ReplyDeleteMore details please of this dish you do in the frying pan involving potatoes, eggs, cream and bacon bits, sounds our cup of tea.....
Had a Grand Day Out, for once all the trains involved turned up on time.
More later when you have blogged more?
Left a comment on yesterdays but, as it didn't immediately click through, Himself suggested that I click again which I did. My comment appears twice in Fridays. Added the recipe to my recipe file and will try when I come across some Gooseberries. I like the idea of Cider, Merrydown is my favourite, makes me feel happy extremely quickly.
ReplyDeleteBungus, should I put the spices into a bit of muslin and remove them after cooking?
Is it possible for a slightly younger model to join WoW? The chip cobs sound fun.
ReplyDeleteI know a lady who had a W tatoo'd on each cheek of her bottom, when she bent down it spelt WOW. Is this a bit of topic? or rude? it is past the watershed and I've got back from the Dixie's, and on the bar is a picture of "the couple" as appeared on you blog. someone has been busy.
Thanks for the forcast, I'm trying some fuji B&W film done in C41 which is supposed to be superior to XP2. Results later.
Pleased to see the picture of your barometer, if only to say, yet again (will I ever tire of it?) that even if you did not have a barometer it would still have been a lovely day.
ReplyDeleteIt also gives me the opportunity to remind readers that in the cold rains of July/Aug I predicted an October heatwave.
Well, it is nearly October, sort of.
Pleased you now have your monitor properly positioned. That doesn’t count as ‘boggering about’ even if it has left YOU boggered.
There is a quote, probably Dr Johnson, which could perhaps be amended to suit John Sergeant dancing; something about “the remarkable thing about a dog walking on its hind legs is not that it does it well but that it should do it at all.”
I have no doubt whatsoever that I am being grossly unfair because some lsrge men are incredibly light on their feet. Fred Emney was a prime example; he danced beautifully.
Re your AA sub reduction: last week I had a phone call from Supanet asking if I was happy with my Broadband. I said “yes” but I was thinking of changing to TalkTalk because they are much cheaper. I was immediately offered a new deal - slightly cheaper than at present with landline free calls at any time nationally (instead of just weekends). I had been intending to phone them to see what they would offer so it saved me a phone call. Not wanting to mend the unbroken, I opted for it but now I have the paperwork it seems more complicated than that (I apparently need two more thingumijigs to plug in at the phone outlets).
When you had your county-trial, were you found guilty?
Surely ‘ravel’ is to confuse and ‘un-ravel’ is to unconfuse (or clarify). But only if you are knitting a bolero.
Not like ‘flammable’ and ‘inflammable’ which do both mean the same thing. A good idea too, as it helps to ravel foreigners.
My left ear too is the principle culprit. I used to have it syringed about six monthly when in my teens.
re the wireless headphones. Mine were all right until we went digital (which has altogether been more of a nuisance than a blessing). Tonight, as in your case I could get every channel except the one we were watching. But persistence paid off and by pressing the two little buttons at the left ear repeatedly, it eventually came good.
There appears to be no methodical answer.
Isn’t the salmon pasta at Lidl typical – not just of Lidl but also of Aldi and, most of all, Netto.
As soon as you find something you like, they run out.
What a very nice illustration from your bargain book.
I was aware of the name ‘Blanchard’s Bakery’ and I come from Mansfield/Ollerton (although I worked in Nottingham - did they used to be down Dunkirk way? or is that another bakery?).
(I assume, Reg, that RG means that he ‘CAN’T guess what you want the Blanchards sign on the side of a house for’).
Incy Wincy:
Are you possibly ‘judging the book by its cover’? Many people who appear foreign could, in fact, be British citizens. But a lot, of course, are not.
The trouble with fighting an enemy that doesn’t wear uniform is that you don’t know who to try to kill.
But I’m sure you will enjoy the "photo shoot".
I thought I had been cut off from the world but if chip cobs sound fun… ?
Your mention of tattoos reminds me of ‘Ludo’ / ‘Llandudno’.
4 TICKS:
That sounded good! (the Morrisons’ sandwiches anyway).
It is not cider in the recipe but cider vinegar although I use the cheaper white wine vinegar.
I like the occasional glass of dry cider. [I once collected a hundredweight of apples from a tree that had gone wild in the woods. From them, I made a demijohn and a half of cider (12 pints?) – it is the easiest alcoholic drink to make as it produces its own yeast, so it is just (just!) a matter of extracting the juice and leaving it alone to mature.]
I don’t put the spices in muslin or remove them until on the plate. It adds a bit of a frisson if you get a whole clove.
I posted a comment late last night from the Sports Desk but it's obviously disappeared into the ether.
ReplyDeleteCongrats to the Panthers for their 'come-from-behind' victory over the Steelers last night. Panthers are now the only unbeaten team in the league and are away to champions Coventry tonight.
As I write this I'm listening to the big game at Stamford bridge on redio 5, or trying to as it keeps going off while it is buffering, wahtever that is. I don't understand how it can be 96% one moment then 55% then 7% then 96% again. I guess they have the same number cruncher as HBOS.
Incy wincy, hope the night at the Dixies went well. Sadly, for you, I don't think you could claim copyright on your photo ideas though if you spent tens of thousands in court fees you may be able to get people to stop using that picture. Elaine wants to know how you know 95% of the British Bakeries staff are foreigners, or did you mean they are doing a foreigner?
Radio 5 has gone off completely now so I must pay it some attention.
Rob
Part 2 - Lovely illustration from your newly-acquired book.
ReplyDeleteI think ravel is muddled and tangled, to unravel is to straighten it all out. Am thinking of Shakespeare's Macbeth - 'sleep knitting up the ravell'd sleeve of care' - that's out of my head, I don't have a handy book of quotes, am sure if we have any Shakespearean scholars they will put me right.
Grandad used to have a very large old gooseberry bush, under which I could crawl (looking for babies, I remember!). The gooseberries were large and golden, not the little green things, and Granny used to make jam with them, which was pink. I have bought gooseberry jam recently - Tiptrees no less - but is green.....
The road trip was great fun, six of us met up at Clapham Junction, and travelled together, meeting the other two there. Three sorts of homemade cake, and proper sausage rolls and Cava....I did come home with more knitting done than I took, but only just! Fish and chips on the way home....
I got home about in the middle of 'Strictly' - R was watching the 'X Factor'. But as soon as I put it on and saw Brucie it turned me off, and I didn't watch it.
Saw an interesting prog/ tonight, Channel 4, The Mona Lisa Curse, Robert Hughes about the modern art world and how it had changed. In the 60s and 70s R's younger brother was a director at the Marlborough Fine Art Gallery in Bond Street, and we used to get invites to all sorts of openings, etc. If we could get a baby-sitter and I could find something to wear that was clean and not covered in baby sick, and a pair of unholey tights, we went.....those were the days.....
I was thinking about our knitting group. 8 women, aged from 33 to me, all different social/educational backgrounds, some married, some single, some with children, some not - we met through knitting about seven years ago, but have become such a close group that now I don't think it matters about the knitting so much. Perhaps the same could be said of photographers? or any other group of obsessives?
RG knows why I took a picture of the Blanchards sign. Don't believe they had anything down Dunkirk way
ReplyDeleteA friend in Essex used to be MD of Dunkirk Panels Ltd But that had nothing to do with Nottingham
RG I can get at the Bubbles picture if you wish its about 4ft x 3ft.