Friday morning

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 am going to ask the man to put some poison in that pot as the rat seems to like it.  What started out as an irritation is turning into a major problem.

I am in the process of making some stock to have with a ramen dish and following a traditional recipe which require that the bones get boiled for 12 hours well I am taking a couple of short cuts I have done 30 minutes high pressure and 4 hours slow cook in the instapot and today I will have a look and see how it is getting on it may well need another 4 hour slow cook.  I have a couple of pigs totters and a couple of chicken carcasses in the pot along with garlic and ginger.  In the end, it is supposed to look almost like milk rather than stock so I will see how far along we are today.  Of course, once it is done I can freeze it ready to use whenever I fancy.

For lunch today I am going to do something I haven't done in years and that is make liver and bacon.  I think some mash would be nice with that and maybe a side salad.  It is funny how recipes vanish from your menu for years until you suddenly remember them.  I often spend the evening trawling the net for recipes instead of watching the adverts then I get engrossed in the recipe and miss the program.  Thank goodness for rewind!!!!

I am also re-reading Rudyard Kipling "Captains Courageous" what a lovely book I am a great fan of Kipling's work.  The other author I could read again and again is John Steinbeck I remember getting to the last page of "The Grapes of Wrath" and being horrified that there was no more; I needed to know what happened next and I cried buckets over "Of Mice and Men". Oh dear, full circle I am back to rodents!!!!

I wish you all a lovely rodent free day.......