I had momentarily forgotten that joy of cat ownership - the bringing of Live Feathered Game into the house and releasing it to flap about desperately.
I've been out for most of the day - helped a friend with something this morning which I've been dreading for days and turned out to be not as bad as I was anticipating. So much so (and because she's a bit desperate) that I've agreed to helping next Tuesday morning as well. Then lunch with friends and meeting up with other friends; then home and straight on with cooking the tea. Mr Nen told me at breakfast that he would like to be out early this evening* so for the sake of speed I've had to change the menu to bangers'n'mash. Still feeling somewhat Under The Weather this is not what I fancy eating so I'm just doing jacket potatoes for me, with grated Cheese.
*This does mean, of course, that I will have Sole Control of the TV Remote this evening .
I have literally never heard my brother yell so loud as the day our cat brought a frog in the house.
My brother was visiting our sister once and left his boots in the kitchen overnight. I am told there was a loud yelp the next morning when he was jamming them on quickly to venture into the garden, and discovered a feline fiend had kindly deposited a frog in one boot 🐸 Frog was returned to garden pond forthwith. Felines stayed out of reach...
Oh yes, a favourite memory from childhood was when we were camping at Oban in incessant rain (daily trips to the glass factory to keep warm and dry). One evening we three bairns were in bed in the tent when my mother got ready to pull on her wellies to go to the toilet block. She began to slide her bare foot into the boot and the next moment had flung herself backwards and was lying on our recumbent forms shrieking “I touched it! I touched it!” It was a frog which had taken refuge in the wellieboot. Of course it hopped away, but she wouldn’t move until my father had found it and taken it to the other side of the field. Happy days.
I've probably recounted this before, but one evening when we were house- and cat-sitting I was in the kitchen and heard a commotion in the dining room. Tabby was chasing a luckless mouse around the perimeter of the room, and I managed to get them both corralled in the sitting room. When I came down to feed Tabby in the morning, there was a bisected mouse on the rug in front of the fireplace ...
Still cold but dry here; I was pleasantly surprised that the smart new boots I ordered at the weekend arrived this afternoon, and they fit beautifully.
Supper was the rest of the macaroni cheese, and while it heated up, I dismantled the Christmas tree.* Cheer is being preserved by the continued presence of the candle-bridges and Nativity characters.
* Is any ill luck accrued from not taking it down yesterday offset by its not having been lit today?.
I have poured myself a citrusy gin and tonic and dinner is in the oven - green tikka chicken breast, which I will add cottage cheese to shortly. I have prepared some courgette fritter batter to fry as an accompaniment.
There is an out of date brioche loaf on the side and if it is still okay there may be a toasted brioche and jam sandwich for pudding.
* Is any ill luck accrued from not taking it down yesterday offset by its not having been lit today?.
Since my great niece was born on 25th December, my sister, in her role as matriarch, has decreed that 25th of December is great niece's birthday, 26th December is Christmas Day, and 27th December is Boxing Day. On that schedule, you're fine!
A well-received Chinese dinner tonight - a pork and potato stew with chilli bean paste plus tofu and pepper stir fry.
I am building a Chinese Corner of ingredients - dark and light soy, rice vinegar, rice wine, chilli bean paste, hoisin sauce, dried chillies, chilli oil, dried shiitake mushrooms, fresh ginger, spring onions, garlic. Fortunately have a Chinese shop nearby.
It was a frog which had taken refuge in the wellieboot.
When we lived in West Africa we had a frog living in our shower area, which never quite drained properly. We were pleased to have it, as it ate any mosquitoes that got in; but we did have a sense of being watched whenever we took a shower .... (No running water BTW, simply jugs of well water scooped from an adjacent butt and poured over us).
Mr Heavenly (who works in pet technology - he’s currently heading to the annual Consumer Electronics Show in the US) has found a tech company that makes a cat flap that does not allow cats to enter if they are carrying what they refer to as ‘contraband’.
I’m too unsettled to work so I have given up and am about to eat a danish pastry.
A contraband proof flap sounds great, having just sorted out a live rodent brought in by Mr Tiddles...
One of our last pair of cats was a mouser, but never quite understood that her job was to catch mice indoors, dispatch them and dispose of the remains outdoors. She regularly brought in her prey, and either deposited the carcass at the bottom of the stairs, or took the still living creature upstairs for us to play hunt the rodent around the landing. They were usually easily found as she would sit and stare at whichever piece of furniture it was hiding behind.
Just one eluded us, and that she had managed to take into the spare bedroom, which we didn't discover until a tell-tale smell developed. Eventually the carcass was discovered under the pillow of the spare bed!
I was so glad the spare room was unoccupied during that period.
We had a second-hand cat, William, from our older daughter. He was terrified of mice, and once when one appeared he cowered under the dining table while I trapped the little beastie and saw it off the premises. Our last cat, Griffon, simply felt that dealing with mice was beneath him, and stood by with an annoyed look on his face while I did his job for him. You could say our cats trained me well.
Our cat when I was growing up never bothered with mice - too much effort - but would sit under trees in late spring and snaffle any baby birds thay fell down.
Having complained ever since she got him that he won't catch mice (his sister was a fine mouser but, sadly, no respecter of the Green Cross Code) my mum has now discovered that her cat has a thing about catching...
...weasels! Quite why it goes for something as slippery and likely to bite back I don't know, but the little beggar has had several - and is probably not helping with mouse control by doing so.
Our cat Plato used to catch birds as a gift for the North East Man. He somehow managed to stuff them, alive, head first into the NE Man's shoes. After being removed from his shoe they all seemed to be able to fly away unharmed.
The only time Plato killed anything was during a brief period in which the vet told us he needed a low-protein diet. The low-protein food was bought from the vet, and was horribly expensive, but low-protein was medically necessary for Plato, low-protein he would get.
Plato had other ideas and immediately started supplementing the expensive low-protein food with high-protein mice, birds and, once, a baby rabbit.
We abandoned the low-protein diet, and Plato stopped hunting.
I'm so glad I no longer have cats, there are plenty of things here that I'm sure they'd like to bring in if I did.
It is frosty and cold here this morning. I decided not to go out with the Ramblers as although I think I'm getting better I still don't feel quite right. Last year on a very chilly walk I nearly fainted when I stopped for a swig of coffee I think the cold and the sudden heat of the drink was too much for my addled brain and I didn't want that happening again. Husband went but couldn't find the starting point due to a bit of confusion over post codes so came home after a rather pointless drive.
My morning has been spent writing a 2 hour tutorial, the first half on policy and ethics in end of life care, the second half on essay writing skills and referencing.
I have just put a part baked sour dough roll in the oven for an egg sandwich. And then I need to do some essay writing of my own.
Mr Sainz Breeze Obliged this morning at 8am, cheerfully describing the weather conditions as "fresh". Mr Nen and I have been out for coffee and the walk home was Very Cold. I'm glad I don't have to go out for the rest of the day.
Hard to say whether I'm feeling any better, having been simply Under The Weather for the past few days, but the cough is a bit more... er... productive. TMI.
Salmon and roast vegetables for tea. It was going to be spaghetti bolognaise but I don't fancy that.
COD n'CHIPS here in Arkland the Frore - Sn*w is cheerfully forecast for later today...
A minor Calamity (someone broke the Coal Lorry) has meant a delay in the delivery of Coal until tomorrow. Fortunately, I have enough to last until then, and, if the delivery is further delayed, Neighbour S will bring some bags for me from his stash.
I foresee the consumption of much SOUP and/or Bovril this evening, as the temperature drops further, along with BACON SANWIDGES.
I have almost completed a massive sort out of sheet music and other choral scores.
First rehearsal at my local choral society for Brahms’ Ein Deutsches Requiem tonight, so I have just scraped the remaining frost off the car and covered the windscreen.
For lunch I turned the remains of yesterday’s fish pie into fishcakes. Tonight I am going to reheat a stew from the freezer, made by my son-in-law, which needs to be eaten.
Still no white stuff here except for a bit of frost, although it's jolly cold (currently -2°, but feeling more like -5° according to the Met Office). When I was in Canada, -5 in January would have been positively balmy, but now that I'm not, I've lost my immunity to cold!
Supper was pasta with prawns and veggies, and I may make a further dent in the CHEESE mountain later.
When my sister came over the other day, she brought a bottle of WINE, which most uncharacteristically had a cork (a plastic one, but the sort you need a corkscrew for). Turns out it's a Chardonnay, which is probably my least favourite sort of wine. I had a glass with my supper, but now I'm wondering what I could cook that would use up 2/3 of a bottle of vin extremely ordinaire ...
I'm wondering what I could cook that would use up 2/3 of a bottle of vin extremely ordinaire ...
You could throw a splash or three into your next Chick Frick.
We enjoyed our salmon and roast veg, with parsley sauce, and I'm hunkering down for the evening. Mr Nen is off to the pub to watch the football with a friend. I've offered to lose myself upstairs if they wanted to watch it here but the offer was declined - up to him if he wants to venture out in the cold .
I don't cope well with milk-based white sauce, so for a fish pie we use diluted white wine to make the sauce instead. It needs to be diluted, as otherwise the booze overpowes the fish!
I always imagined that the vin in coq au vin was red, but I could be wrong. I'm sure I'll think of something ...
I did make a coq au vin in my student days using vodka, as that was the only alcohol left in the kitchen... still tasted ok
Tonight's dinner was the salt beef from the Christmas order. Boiled with tatties, sprouts, and fried mushrooms. The remaining beef will turn into a stir-fry tomorrow, spices and other ingredients depending on what we fancy - although there will be mushrooms in it because they're going over!
My sister used to make Bloody Mary soup, which apparently on one occasion involved tipping the contents of three vodka bottles* into the pot (presumably along with tomatoes, onions etc). She said they were very merry after eating it ...😳
* she said that they were all nearly empty, and we believe her, don't we, children? 🙃
Had little, if any, sleep last night, dropping off for a couple of hours a bit after 06:30, consequently crawled out of bed at 9am, and my body clock has been out of sync all day. Now heading for bed at my usual time, hoping that will reset my sleep pattern into what passes as normal. Did very little all day.
Closed the curtains late afternoon on a scene of sleety precipitation just beginning to leave a thin layer of very wet looking white stuff on the lawn. Surprised an hour or so later to look out on the whole garden completely covered in snow. Was not expecting that! It still looked very wet, and when Mr RoS went out later he said he could hear water running down the downpipes.
Tomorrow it will all probably be gone, but here is no telling if it will thaw completely or freeze overnight.
This is the first significant snowfall we have seen since we moved here. Even The Beast from The East did not bring us this much , although it did outstay its welcome.
Our Mallorca holiday went far too quickly in a whirl of sun, sea and playing with our Enkelin. 16⁰ here at the airport. Minus three at home, brrrr!
Looking forward to seeing the dogs; a plus to all holiday endings.
Good news, our son has bought a much bigger flat in Heidelberg and we'll be able to stay there when we visit in future. All negotiated and sorted from here in Mallorca!
The light dusting has disappeared overnight.
I am informed by family members who were "out and about" yesterday late afternoon/evening that it was very localised to our housing estate in any case. We must be slightly more elevated that the surrounding areas!
The view from the west-facing bedroom windows was promisingg this morning, not a sign of snow. Unfortunately the east-facing kitchen window told a different story, a good layer of snow still covering the lawn, raised beds and the shed roof.
Yellow weather warning still in place for snow and ice, so maybe I won't be putting the washing out on the line after all.
I was wondering if your German family were still in their tiny flat. Glad they've found somewhere bigger @Boogie.
Nearly -4 here, and the garden has started to flood after the rain on Sunday night. The river is going down everywhere except round here, but hopefully it'll drop soon. We get groundwater flooding as there is a sluice gate stop the dyke at the end of our garden flowing into the river when it is high, which causes the dyke to rise and then water has nowhere else to go. Fingers crossed it isn't as bad as last year.
I'm starting to feel better. I might not have manged to go walking yesterday but I did get out for a 5.00pm hair appointment going via Waitrose for the ingredients of the meal I'm cooking tonight, home for tea and then straight out again for a council meeting. It was actually very nice to see them all after the break. Today I have my bookshop shift this afternoon. It tends to be cold in the shop so I'm wearing a long-sleeved thermal vest under my thickest woolly.
The light dusting has disappeared overnight.
I am informed by family members who were "out and about" yesterday late afternoon/evening that it was very localised to our housing estate in any case. We must be slightly more elevated that the surrounding areas!
I remember coming into work one morning in Oxford, and literally having the same discussion with everyone about where they met the snow- the outskirts of Oxford were snow-free, but the town centre had had several inches overnight, and there was about a square mile of the city under snow, and nowhere else!
I had a row with my late mother some years ago, when we drove from London to Norfolk on Boxing Day to visit her. We rain into heavy snow which, in the early evening darkness and on the country lanes, made for very cautious driving. Of course there was only the tiniest sprinling in her village and she wouldn't believe our tale of woe.
She did the next morning after there had been several inches during the night - the most glorious winter landscape I've ever seen.
No snow here, but much Frost, now being melted by Sun Shine. Happily, the Coal Man has been, and I now have enough to last until the next big order in a couple of weeks' time.
As it's fine outside, I shall shortly essay a little Expotition to the village Co-Op, to give myself (and the car) a little exercise.
The light dusting has disappeared overnight.
I am informed by family members who were "out and about" yesterday late afternoon/evening that it was very localised to our housing estate in any case. We must be slightly more elevated that the surrounding areas!
I remember coming into work one morning in Oxford, and literally having the same discussion with everyone about where they met the snow- the outskirts of Oxford were snow-free, but the town centre had had several inches overnight, and there was about a square mile of the city under snow, and nowhere else!
This used to happen when I lived in W Yorks - the valleys would get rain but you'd see who'd come down off the tops because they'd have 6 inches of snow on their car roof.
Arkland the Blessed is to have several days of dry, Sun-Shiny weather - cold at night, of course, but much more like the sort of thing we used to get in January.
The dry coolth doesn't affect my pore Legs like damp coolth (dry warmth is better, but that can't be had until Spring), and the Sun-Shine cheers my Art summink cheerfully.
Lunch is actually Brunch - BACON, MUSHROOMS n'FRIED BREAD a-cooking in the Pan.
After Brunch, a quiet sit in the Wheelhouse (which catches the Sun-Shine nicely in the afternoons) is planned. There may be WHISKEY in attendance...
No snow in the balmy Lowlands, but the needle stuck on 0 and falling. I am sitting in fleece trousers, thermal vest, two layers of woollie and 3 feet from a supplementary heater, andI just about warm.
I finally woke at 9.20 and my day is messed up. I have just had a light lunch but should have had a hot main meal, as choir practice means leaving home at 6, not getting home till about 8.45.
Frosty overnight but it was already clearing when I left for yoga this morning and the skies are blue and sunny. I’ve done a little work since I got back and now should do either some study or re-arranging in the conservatory, possibly both. But there’s a warm cat currently sitting on my lap delaying me.
Much to my surprise I did manage to dry a couple of Mr RoS's shirts out on the line this morning. Everything else, mostly Tee shirts, needed to be tumbled.
Planning shakshuka for dinner.
On my way to the bookshop I called in the check on some neighbours who had horrible problems last year when we had floods. Like last year there are problems with their drains and those of several other neighbours. It was supposed to have been sorted by the water company after last year but doesn't seem to have been. I've emailed the relevant local councillor to see if he can do a bit of back-side kicking to get things sorted.
As predicted the bookshop was freezing. My feet have just about thawed out.
Well done to you @Sarasa for checking on your neighbours. Such actions are, I'm sure, credited to your account in The Lamb's Book Of Life...
Seriously, though, I couldn't continue to live my rather ramshackle and Bohemian life on a rusty old Dutch barge in Arkland, if it weren't for the fact that I have kind Neighbours who look out for me.
They're not intrusive - it's not Arkland practice to be intrusive - but they're there...and, I know, can be called upon in need.
When I woke up just before 7 (after a somewhat broken sleep; I woke at 2 and again at about 5:30, but managed to fall back to sleep), Accu Weather was saying it was -7°, which in technical terms is Bloody Cold, and it was a rather frigid amble to work an hour and a half later. (Have I mentioned how nice it is not to have to wait in the freezing cold for a bus that might not arrive?).
By lunchtime it was quite nice, if still a tad chilly, so I had a quick sortie round Tessie's and got some of their "finest" fish cakes, this time going under the name of "Katsu cod". I had no idea what this meant* but decided to be bold, and they were rather nice. Slightly spicy, but not uncomfortably so.
Katsu is Japanese meat in breadcrumbs, usually served with a curry sauce. In restaurants it is usually chicken breast.
I did the tidying of the conservatory, which is hopefully now accessible for an electrician to run my office electricity through. Tea will be a repeat of Tuesday’s green chicken tikka with cottage cheese.
The forecast says cold overnight, reaching -5 here at 8am, which is jolly unusual for round here.
Comments
I've been out for most of the day - helped a friend with something this morning which I've been dreading for days and turned out to be not as bad as I was anticipating. So much so (and because she's a bit desperate) that I've agreed to helping next Tuesday morning as well. Then lunch with friends and meeting up with other friends; then home and straight on with cooking the tea. Mr Nen told me at breakfast that he would like to be out early this evening* so for the sake of speed I've had to change the menu to bangers'n'mash. Still feeling somewhat Under The Weather this is not what I fancy eating so I'm just doing jacket potatoes for me, with grated Cheese.
*This does mean, of course, that I will have Sole Control of the TV Remote this evening
My brother was visiting our sister once and left his boots in the kitchen overnight. I am told there was a loud yelp the next morning when he was jamming them on quickly to venture into the garden, and discovered a feline fiend had kindly deposited a frog in one boot 🐸 Frog was returned to garden pond forthwith. Felines stayed out of reach...
Still cold but dry here; I was pleasantly surprised that the smart new boots I ordered at the weekend arrived this afternoon, and they fit beautifully.
Supper was the rest of the macaroni cheese, and while it heated up, I dismantled the Christmas tree.* Cheer is being preserved by the continued presence of the candle-bridges and Nativity characters.
* Is any ill luck accrued from not taking it down yesterday offset by its not having been lit today?.
There is an out of date brioche loaf on the side and if it is still okay there may be a toasted brioche and jam sandwich for pudding.
Since my great niece was born on 25th December, my sister, in her role as matriarch, has decreed that 25th of December is great niece's birthday, 26th December is Christmas Day, and 27th December is Boxing Day. On that schedule, you're fine!
I am building a Chinese Corner of ingredients - dark and light soy, rice vinegar, rice wine, chilli bean paste, hoisin sauce, dried chillies, chilli oil, dried shiitake mushrooms, fresh ginger, spring onions, garlic. Fortunately have a Chinese shop nearby.
A contraband proof flap sounds great, having just sorted out a live rodent brought in by Mr Tiddles...
Just one eluded us, and that she had managed to take into the spare bedroom, which we didn't discover until a tell-tale smell developed. Eventually the carcass was discovered under the pillow of the spare bed!
I was so glad the spare room was unoccupied during that period.
...weasels! Quite why it goes for something as slippery and likely to bite back I don't know, but the little beggar has had several - and is probably not helping with mouse control by doing so.
The only time Plato killed anything was during a brief period in which the vet told us he needed a low-protein diet. The low-protein food was bought from the vet, and was horribly expensive, but low-protein was medically necessary for Plato, low-protein he would get.
Plato had other ideas and immediately started supplementing the expensive low-protein food with high-protein mice, birds and, once, a baby rabbit.
We abandoned the low-protein diet, and Plato stopped hunting.
It is frosty and cold here this morning. I decided not to go out with the Ramblers as although I think I'm getting better I still don't feel quite right. Last year on a very chilly walk I nearly fainted when I stopped for a swig of coffee I think the cold and the sudden heat of the drink was too much for my addled brain and I didn't want that happening again. Husband went but couldn't find the starting point due to a bit of confusion over post codes so came home after a rather pointless drive.
My morning has been spent writing a 2 hour tutorial, the first half on policy and ethics in end of life care, the second half on essay writing skills and referencing.
I have just put a part baked sour dough roll in the oven for an egg sandwich. And then I need to do some essay writing of my own.
Hard to say whether I'm feeling any better, having been simply Under The Weather for the past few days, but the cough is a bit more... er... productive. TMI.
Salmon and roast vegetables for tea. It was going to be spaghetti bolognaise but I don't fancy that.
A minor Calamity (someone broke the Coal Lorry) has meant a delay in the delivery of Coal until tomorrow. Fortunately, I have enough to last until then, and, if the delivery is further delayed, Neighbour S will bring some bags for me from his stash.
I foresee the consumption of much SOUP and/or Bovril this evening, as the temperature drops further, along with BACON SANWIDGES.
First rehearsal at my local choral society for Brahms’ Ein Deutsches Requiem tonight, so I have just scraped the remaining frost off the car and covered the windscreen.
For lunch I turned the remains of yesterday’s fish pie into fishcakes. Tonight I am going to reheat a stew from the freezer, made by my son-in-law, which needs to be eaten.
Supper was pasta with prawns and veggies, and I may make a further dent in the CHEESE mountain later.
When my sister came over the other day, she brought a bottle of WINE, which most uncharacteristically had a cork (a plastic one, but the sort you need a corkscrew for). Turns out it's a Chardonnay, which is probably my least favourite sort of wine. I had a glass with my supper, but now I'm wondering what I could cook that would use up 2/3 of a bottle of vin extremely ordinaire ...
We enjoyed our salmon and roast veg, with parsley sauce, and I'm hunkering down for the evening. Mr Nen is off to the pub to watch the football with a friend. I've offered to lose myself upstairs if they wanted to watch it here but the offer was declined - up to him if he wants to venture out in the cold
Keep warm, everyone.
I did make a coq au vin in my student days using vodka, as that was the only alcohol left in the kitchen... still tasted ok
Tonight's dinner was the salt beef from the Christmas order. Boiled with tatties, sprouts, and fried mushrooms. The remaining beef will turn into a stir-fry tomorrow, spices and other ingredients depending on what we fancy - although there will be mushrooms in it because they're going over!
* she said that they were all nearly empty, and we believe her, don't we, children? 🙃
Closed the curtains late afternoon on a scene of sleety precipitation just beginning to leave a thin layer of very wet looking white stuff on the lawn. Surprised an hour or so later to look out on the whole garden completely covered in snow. Was not expecting that! It still looked very wet, and when Mr RoS went out later he said he could hear water running down the downpipes.
Tomorrow it will all probably be gone, but here is no telling if it will thaw completely or freeze overnight.
This is the first significant snowfall we have seen since we moved here. Even The Beast from The East did not bring us this much , although it did outstay its welcome.
Yes, white would make chasseur.
We've only got red at chez twang
I drive le van rouge (well, I do now it has a new starter motor and actually starts!), but I don't think that's quite what you are looking for.
Looking forward to seeing the dogs; a plus to all holiday endings.
Good news, our son has bought a much bigger flat in Heidelberg and we'll be able to stay there when we visit in future. All negotiated and sorted from here in Mallorca!
I am informed by family members who were "out and about" yesterday late afternoon/evening that it was very localised to our housing estate in any case. We must be slightly more elevated that the surrounding areas!
Yellow weather warning still in place for snow and ice, so maybe I won't be putting the washing out on the line after all.
Nearly -4 here, and the garden has started to flood after the rain on Sunday night. The river is going down everywhere except round here, but hopefully it'll drop soon. We get groundwater flooding as there is a sluice gate stop the dyke at the end of our garden flowing into the river when it is high, which causes the dyke to rise and then water has nowhere else to go. Fingers crossed it isn't as bad as last year.
I'm starting to feel better. I might not have manged to go walking yesterday but I did get out for a 5.00pm hair appointment going via Waitrose for the ingredients of the meal I'm cooking tonight, home for tea and then straight out again for a council meeting. It was actually very nice to see them all after the break. Today I have my bookshop shift this afternoon. It tends to be cold in the shop so I'm wearing a long-sleeved thermal vest under my thickest woolly.
I remember coming into work one morning in Oxford, and literally having the same discussion with everyone about where they met the snow- the outskirts of Oxford were snow-free, but the town centre had had several inches overnight, and there was about a square mile of the city under snow, and nowhere else!
She did the next morning after there had been several inches during the night - the most glorious winter landscape I've ever seen.
As it's fine outside, I shall shortly essay a little Expotition to the village Co-Op, to give myself (and the car) a little exercise.
This used to happen when I lived in W Yorks - the valleys would get rain but you'd see who'd come down off the tops because they'd have 6 inches of snow on their car roof.
The dry coolth doesn't affect my pore Legs like damp coolth (dry warmth is better, but that can't be had until Spring), and the Sun-Shine cheers my Art summink cheerfully.
Lunch is actually Brunch - BACON, MUSHROOMS n'FRIED BREAD a-cooking in the Pan.
After Brunch, a quiet sit in the Wheelhouse (which catches the Sun-Shine nicely in the afternoons) is planned. There may be WHISKEY in attendance...
Chilli con carne tonight.
Planning shakshuka for dinner.
As predicted the bookshop was freezing. My feet have just about thawed out.
Seriously, though, I couldn't continue to live my rather ramshackle and Bohemian life on a rusty old Dutch barge in Arkland, if it weren't for the fact that I have kind Neighbours who look out for me.
They're not intrusive - it's not Arkland practice to be intrusive - but they're there...and, I know, can be called upon in need.
More precious than rubies...
By lunchtime it was quite nice, if still a tad chilly, so I had a quick sortie round Tessie's and got some of their "finest" fish cakes, this time going under the name of "Katsu cod". I had no idea what this meant* but decided to be bold, and they were rather nice. Slightly spicy, but not uncomfortably so.
* apparently nothing to do with cats ...
I did the tidying of the conservatory, which is hopefully now accessible for an electrician to run my office electricity through. Tea will be a repeat of Tuesday’s green chicken tikka with cottage cheese.
The forecast says cold overnight, reaching -5 here at 8am, which is jolly unusual for round here.