Another day

Good morning all what a lovely day it was yesterday with wall to wall sunshine once the cloud had burnt off.  We have a similar start today with cloud so I am hopeful that it too will burn off and we may have another gorgeous day.  I am feeling marginally better in myself and a bit less dizzy so maybe I am on the mend.  No doubt I will be fine by the time I get to see the doctor but I will go anyway as this silliness keeps happening so I think there must be an underlying problem unless it is just the COPD getting worse. The gardeners came yesterday and planted up the three good tomato plants into large pots and I have them on the patio so I can keep an eye on them.  I think if they were in the greenhouse they would get forgotten.  Keith the gardener took the pathetic plants from T&M and is going to try and revive them - I wish him good luck with that.  I sent the photo and a curt letter to T&M asking for a refund we will see how prompt they are...

Good morning all another dull sort of a day at the moment and sadly we didn't get any if the forecast rain yesterday.  Tubby covered himself in glory the other night when James came down to make a cup of tea.  We knew we had a rat trapped in the dining room but had no idea where it was hiding.  Well, it made a bid for freedom but Tubby was having none of it he duly caught it, killed it, and dumped it at James' feet.  He was lavished with praise and extra treats for a job well done.  I sincerely hope we are now a rat-free zone.  There are so many benefits to having a dog you are 4 times less likely to have a heart attack and 3 times more likely to survive if you do.  I watched a very interesting program about dogs and apparently they are the only animals who check faces in the same way we do not even our near cousins the chimps can do this.  Owners often say that the dog knows how they are feeling and it is true they do as they can read expressi...

Good morning all now I hope you are sitting down as I have some amazing news I have a doctors appointment.  I tried yesterday both online and by phone and failed with both but this morning there was an appointment to be had online so I snapped it up instantly.  It is not until 12 June which is exactly 14 days away but anything is better than nothing and best of all it is with my old GP who seems to have rejoined the practice.  It makes a great difference to trust the doctor you are seeing so I am doubly pleased. Shiona rang yesterday to check if I was still alive and we discovered that for some inexplicable reason the emails I had sent her had not got through and the emails purporting to be from her were not sent by her.  I thought she was ignoring me so I didn't push but when I looked at her email address it was wrong and an extra letter had been added.  Now I know I didn't change anything so I am at a loss to understand how that happened.  Anyway, I ...

Good morning all it is nice and bright and sunny but I think we had a bit of rain overnight nowhere near enough but better than nothing.  So much for the torrential rain, no sign of that.  James decided that he fancied Gazpacho for lunch so he set too and made some.  It was a bit rustic but the flavour was lovely so I willingly ate a large bowl of it. For supper, he did a fry up which one of his specialities but you should see the kitchen it looks as if there has been an explosion in there.  He hasn't quite got to grips with tiding as you go but I guess that takes experience.  I won't say a word as I don't want to crush his fledgeling cooking experience.  Dan was very disappointed with the lunch why would anyone eat a pile mashed up vegetables, that's just crazy isn't it called compost? My dining room smells like a flower shop as the lovely bunch of lilies that Elain brought me have opened and are filling the room with their scent. It is almost...

Good morning all, at the moment it’s bright and sunny but it is not supposed to last.  It’s funny but dawn is often gorgeous then the day goes downhill thereafter.  I expect there’s some good reason why but for me it is one of life’s mysteries.  I’m sorry to say I am still feeling pretty awful and have every intention of making an appointment with the doctors on Tuesday.  I guess it will just be a case of hanging on the phone for hours but I will persevere as I really think I need some help. The boys are being brilliant and taking good care of me, and you will be pleased to know that Dan’s “willy” problem is resolved.  The magic cream has done its trick and it has completely healed.  I looked at the ingredients and it is antibiotic and steroid cream so should cure anything. Sorry I have little to tell you but being confined to bed is very dull.  Fortunately I have a door open to outside so I am enjoying the good weather as best I can.  Let’s h...

Good morning all it is very miserable looking this morning and we did have a little splash of rain yesterday.  Elaine came to visit me for a coffee but only just made it as here car was playing up so we rang the AA and they were here in minutes and fixed the problem for some unknown reason it had lost lots of water and was overheating.  As if that were not enough for one day she had lost her phone while out riding so there was a golden opportunity for me to get rid of my old phone which only needed a sim card.  So by last night she was up and running again with a car that works and a phone.   I am still feeling very rough but of course, this is a bank holiday weekend so no chance of getting an appointment until Tuesday by which time I will probably be fine.  At the moment the only time I feel ok is when I am lying flat which is a bit of a pain, to say the least. I had got out some nice sausages for lunch but James decided that he fancied toad in th...

Good morning all I must say I feel a bit more human this morning having slept for most of yesterday and only surfacing at meal times.  I decided to make an appointment to see the doctor and after hanging on the phone for ages I decide to try their online booking system which the recorded message kept telling me to do and this is what I got:- What a wonderful service!!!!  Now when it comes to the vet we phone yesterday morning and had an appointment for 5.45 that evening for Dan who has a small abscess on his "willy" for want of a better word. He is completely oblivious to the problem but has been paying special attention to his ablutions.  Anyway a shot of long acting broad spectrum antibiotics and some cream to rub on twice a day for 5 days and that was that.  I am thinking of making an appointment for myself with the vet!!!!  A day of lying down seems to have sorted out the dizziness and as Marjorie thought and I too think it is my ears as I have had ...

Good morning all it is another lovely sunny day.  Today I was destined to go to Canterbury with Denzil and have lunch in the Goods Shed.  However, I have woken feeling terrible and have started my day with 2 ibuprofen and a stematil as I am feeling as sick as a parrot. The dizzy spells come and go and make me so nauseated then they disappear as quickly as they arrive.  I am at a loss to know what is going on.  If this continues I will have to make an appointment to see the quack, that is assuming I can get through to the receptionist in the first place. Yesterday we had the pasta I had made and though it had dried out a bit it was still really good.  We had it in the simplest way possible and that is with butter and cheese which we all love.  For supper, I frightened the steak with the griddle pan and then finely sliced it -  I had mine in a sandwich with some English mustard and the boys had theirs with salad.  It is a very good way to make ...

Good morning all I had a bit of a bad night so I am up very late this morning.  It is my own fault as I had an enormous bowl of French onion soup for supper and all that liquid had me up every 2 hours through the night.  Are onions diuretic? in my case, they seem to be.  Yesterday evening the sun was shining and it hit the acacia which is just bursting into leaf it is always much later than the other trees but it looked spectacular with its lovely butter coloured leaves.  I thought I would try a photo with my new phone and am well pleased with the results. Robinia pseudoacacia Frisia The lovely weather is a real treat and I was just musing that if we had not had the misery of winter would we be so happy to see the sun again.  The seasons do make life interesting there is nothing like the first load of washing which has dried outside and the joy of opening windows and doors to let the cool spring air in.  It is as though the world goes from black a...

Good morning all yesterday was the first real hint that summer is coming it was a beautiful day.  Dennie did her stuff so the house is nice and clean and tidy then the rat man came and has laid poison all over the place which I hope will deter the invaders.  I have half expected to find corpses around the place but nothing.  Anyway, there is loads of poison in the loft as the dogs can't get there so it can be sprinkled liberally around. Last night for supper we had a lovely dressed crab each, they were the small sweet Cromer crabs and I did a large watercress and orange salad to go with them.  Then I don't know why but I decided to make some homemade pasta.  Which is drying on a tray as we speak and will probably be for supper tonight.  Lunch is some skate wings which I intend to cook with brown butter and capers and serve with some of the first Jersey royals which came in my box and a few sticks of asparagus.  I also now have a glut of courgettes...

Good morning all it is a lovely sunny day today but I believe it is not to last so I must make the most of it while it lasts.  Dennie is here already so I am finding it difficult to write and carry on a conversation at the same time, talk about multitasking, so if I write garbage you will understand.   The rat man didn't come yesterday but he is coming today so that will be a weight off my mind.  James is just popping up to the shops so he is going to get us some pasties for lunch which will save me cooking so all I will need to do is make an accompanying salad.  Then I will need to make something sensible for supper, though I can't for the life of me think what.  I don't think I can face chicken again so perhaps some fish from the fishmonger.  I think I need to put in an order for some meat to fill the freezer again as we seem to have gone through the last lot. Well sorry, I am going to keep this short as it is so difficult to write and talk ...

Good morning all another dull one but dry and not too cold.  Yesterday went according to plan and the roast chicken was lovely.  I have just put the instapot on with the multiple carcasses and odds and ends so lunch today will be chicken soup - probably with noodles and then some kind of a salad for supper as I have lots of salad ingredients to use up.  Perhaps some tuna fish cakes would be nice with the salad. I am hoping for a visit from the rat man this morning so he can put loads of poison in the loft and get that sorted out I really don't want to have my shower pump cables chewed through again.  There has been no activity where they were getting in from the shed since the hole was blocked and the bait in the garage has all been eaten so I hope that might have sorted that problem.   Yesterday I noticed that the starlings who were nesting next door were out with their youngsters eating the buds in my nice tree.  It is usually the pigeon's do...

Good morning all another dull day today but my washing did dry yesterday so that is one less job to do.  I got stuck into sorting out my stock and making food for the dogs with all the bits and pieces once that was done I started on dismantling the chickens so yet more carcasses and the carcass from today's roast chicken will join them to make yet more stock for the freezer.  This seems to be a never-ending process but homemade stock is so much nicer than anything you buy and as I have the ingredients it would be stupid to waste them.  I recently had a batch of leeks from my vegetable box and kept the dark green tough ends frozen in a bag ready to add to the stock making kit.  I have kept one chicken whole and will roast that for dinner tonight along with broccoli carrots and peas and some mash.  I have discovered that spring onions freeze really well and make a handy addition to salads and mash or to sprinkle on soups.  I spotted this idea on one of the...

Good morning all it is another dull one this morning but at the moment it is dry.  I manage to contact the rat guy first thing and he is coming back on Monday to put more poison down and hopefully sort out the loft issues.  I only hope they don't attack the new shower cabling before we can deal with them it is a bit of a worry. Today James has decided to make us a Mexican lunch with tortillas and guacamole etc.  I still have to sort out my stock which I put on for another 4 hours yesterday and I also have some butchery to do as I bought some chickens which I will dismantle.  I find it much more economical to buy a whole chicken and then divide it up into the pieces I require.  It also gives me the carcass for stock and the odds and ends for dog food.  So all in all a better deal.  I was wondering whether to make some chicken kieves but I think what might be a better idea is to make the garlic butter and freeze that so it is ready to pop into a chi...

Good morning all the sun has disappeared this morning and it is dull and overcast but it might brighten up later on.  Well, I have a new shower but I am pretty unhappy about it all as the reason it was broken is that rats had chewed through the cable so they must be in the loft as well.  So today I will be contacting the rat man and get him to come back and lay poison bait in the loft.  He was of the opinion that the major rebuild next door might have disturbed a nest and they have moved over to us and since my sheds and garage are no longer full of rubbish they have moved into the house.  It is very disconcerting having unwanted guests but having poison everywhere is very difficult with dogs.  The loft will not be a problem as the dogs can't get there and we are all trying to remember to keep the doors shut on the shed and garaged and the downstairs toilet.  I blocked up one air vent in the dining room but the flower pot was dug up again last night so I a...

Good morning all another bright sunny morning but I believe it is not to last so I am enjoying while I can. First in answer to your question Marjorie pierogi are Polish dumplings and they look like this before boiling.  I suppose they are the Polish equivalent of ravioli with a stuffing of mashed potato fried onions and cheese.  As you can see the recipe made rather a lot of them so half is in the freezer but I was not impressed with them as they were rather stodgy they may well end up as dog food. Nice new shiny microwave which does what it is supposed to and nothing else which is exactly what I wanted and it fits exactly in the space of the old one.  I don't use a microwave for cooking many things but it is great for reheating, heating plates and odd little jobs like that. I spent some time with the computer and I think that too is sorted out I tend to forget how I did things in the past and have to relearn when I hit a problem. Pest control came ...

Good morning all I know I am late but I have been up for some time however the machine wanted an update and then it froze and had to be rebooted and then took forever to download.  Now it has cleared the desktop of all the short cut icons Oh ain't life wonderful!!!  The rat problem seems to be back with a vengeance as the little tomato plants I was bringing on have all vanished and I just have soil scattered far and wide.  I feel sometimes that I just lurch from one disaster to the next anyway at least the shower is getting fixed tomorrow.  Today I will ring a reputable pest control company and get the rat problem sorted even though I know it is going to cost a packet I am not messing around with half measures anymore. Yesterday James made a lovely steak and kidney pie with a little guidance and a sous chef and I made the filling and pastry for some pierogi which we were going to have for supper but nobody was that hungry so they will be on the menu for lunch to...

Good morning all another really beautiful day with glorious sunshine.  I feel quite happy this morning I did some research yesterday on the locking wheel nut problem and it is easily solved apparently Halfords sell a socket spanner which will take the wretched thing off.  So that is that problem solved I managed to get my phone up and running properly.  The only problem with smartphones is they need smart people to use them and therein lies the problem.  The shower problems are going to be finally sorted on Thursday which I hope will see an end to the ongoing nonsense.  A five-year warranty gives me some peace of mind.  The only outstanding thing is the rat problem which I fear is not yet solved so a bit more work on that. James made nice macaroni cheese for lunch yesterday and today he has asked me to show him how to make steak and kidney pie so a cookery lesson is on the cards for me.  The microwave is due to arrive today so I hope I can persuad...

Good morning all well it is looking like a lovely day why could it not have been like this last week?  Oh well, at least we hadn't gone on holiday to get a tan so I suppose it didn't really matter.  Yesterday I had planned to have a toast and marmalade breakfast but it got shelved as the new phone had arrived and although it is supposed to do everything itself that is not quite true it needed passwords that I had long forgotten so it was a case of resetting passwords which is a real pain.  What should have been a 5-minute job took me all morning but I think I am finally sorted out so that all the tech is now communicating. While we were away we took the opportunity to visit the campsite that I have used for 30 years and have a chat with the owner as I know her quite well.  We were surprised at the number of parking restrictions leading to the site which is deep in the Rendlesham forest.  This was then explained to me, there had been lots of problems created...

Good morning all well I am back to earth with a bump.  It looks like the car will need a new tyre and they are not cheap for a Landrover but as yet we still haven't found the locking wheel nut thing but James is dealing with that.  While on holiday my phone died and refused to hold its charge so I purchased a newer one from the secondhand phone shop online and it is now sitting charging and has my sim card from my old phone so there should be no problems.  I have gone up a couple of models to an iPhone7 from an iPhone5 but I believe the new one is a 10 so I am still some way behind but as I use it just as a phone I don't need all the facilities of the newer model.  If that wasn't enough I am expecting a parcel with a new microwave Amazon had the very one I wanted on special offer it is just the right size and is just a microwave it doesn't have pizza settings and other extraneous things which is perfect for me.  I console myself with the fact that we had a very...

Good morning all well I am back from my soggy freezing Suffolk break.  I don't think we could have chosen a worse few days if we had tried.  Good job we didn't go for the weather!  Fortunately, our accommodation was super and warm and cosy.  Here are a few photos so you can get the idea of where we were.  The veranda of the lodge was all but lost in the massive clematis growing up the front.  I popped out in one brief burst of sunshine and took a few photos This was the view that greeted us from the veranda where, being smokers, we spent quite a lot of time watching the geese making their way from the field to the pond on their daily circuit. There used to be lots of geese but they are down to only ten now and in the background, you can see the barn where the caravans are stored. The inside of the lodge is very comfortable with a sitting room, dining room and kitchen and then two bedrooms one with an en-suite and a double bed and one with t...

Good morning all it is a bright and sunny morning but still very cold.  We are intending to leave home at around 10am so I have time for a coffee before I throw a few things in a case.  I think this is the first time I have gone away when the bulk of the packing is medication, not clothes. Well, the last thing I want is to feel unwell while I am away so I am probably taking too much but better safe than sorry.  I am very concerned that I am going to be a millstone for Denzil but he seems to be unconcerned.  I think we are both just hoping for a break from the mundane routine of home life.  I should have wracked off my Kombucha yesterday but forgot so I will leave it without any heating pad and it should be fine until we get back.  I wrack mine off at 10 days but lots of people leave their's much longer so it shouldn't be a problem. It feels quite strange not be thinking of lunch and dinner which is my usual morning thought.  The kitchen is clean a...

Good morning all we had a couple of heavy hail showers yesterday and it was cold but this morning it feels sub-zero however the thermometer says it is 6ºC, I don't believe it, I am cuddling my coffee mug for warmth.  I sleep with the door to the roof open and I woke this morning feeling the cold air flooding my room and quickly wrapped myself in a fleece dressing gown and headed for the coffee machine. Elaine came to visit yesterday and brought me a lovely slice of coffee cake which I had for supper together with some rather odd lemon flavoured yoghurt.  I like real lemon but this tasted synthetic and the product of a laboratory, not a kitchen.  Elaine had come to pick up my piano keyboard which I have given to her son and late last night she messaged me to say he had not stopped playing it since they picked it up at lunchtime.  I'm delighted that it has found a good home so much better than mouldering in the loft.  It got put in the loft when Denzil came h...

Good morning all.  It is bright and sunny but very cold here a mere 6ºC so the heating is on.  I must say it is nice to see the sun even if it is cold.  With all the rain that was forecast, we only got a couple of showers not really enough but I really don't want to have to start watering in May. Marjorie, you seem to have done a very good job of slicing yourself up and as you say all for an empty tin of tuna.  The instinct to catch falling things is so strong in the case of falling children it is useful but tins!!!!  I'm sure there was no thought process involved it is an automatic reaction.  I guess you will just have to take a management position and poor Remi will have to do the running around.  What a glorious opportunity to catch up on some reading with a clear conscience.  Many years ago I successfully cut the nerve in my left thumb which put me out of action for quite a while but I do remember washing up with my hand encased in a poly...

Good morning all well we did have some rain overnight which was on the cards as the window cleaner has just been!  My bird feeding has been a bit of a problem as now my windows very definitely need cleaning, big birds equal big mess. But at least I don't have the problem my friend in Hastings has she has seagulls nesting on her roof and they dive bomb her when she goes in her garden so she now has to put on a hard hat and/or carry an umbrella.  A couple of days ago I was thinking of making the Japanese condiment which required 10 limes well yesterday Tesco had limes in bags of 5 on special offer so what could I do, so this morning will be a major zesting session. I was wondering what to do with all the juice which is not needed for the recipe and then decided that I could use it in my kombucha which is due to be wracked off on Sunday. I took out a piece of pork shoulder last night and now I am not quite sure how to cook it I think I might give it a swift blast in the pres...

Good morning all. Typing this morning is a pleasure as I have the new keyboard and all the keys work fine. I have put the old one in a drawer for emergency use which means, of course, I will never need it.  This morning I am off to the pharmacy to collect my nebuliser drug which I have finally managed to get.  However, I have decided that in future I will not try to save time and money for the NHS and just make an appointment with the doctor that is if I can ever get through to the receptionist.  It is no wonder people end up in casualty with trivia this little episode took 5 phone calls and a total of an hour and a half on hold. For lunch yesterday I cooked some skirt as a steak which means it basically just got frightened with the griddle pan and with it I did some broccoli and rather than make a cheese sauce I just cut some very fine slices of cheddar and let them melt over the florets.  I think this would be a brilliant cut to use for a stirfry as it rea...