We went up to Ludlow yesterday, a very beautiful town with over 500 listed buildings!
Today has been wet and foggy - we only had 12 people in the service including the officiant, two musicians, and two alter servers. We are waiting to see if money will be released from diocese funds to get a new boiler, and so we are back to having services in the church hall.
Glad you enjoyed the party @Puzzler and hope you have a lovely break @Piglet .
Mr Nen and I have been away for a few days. I'm now catching up on things - third washing load on the go - and bracing myself for what promises to be something of a busy week .
Despite having been back from New Zealand for almost a week I am still suffering from the worst case of jet lag I have ever experienced.
I can't even think or speak straight. I've got to do a supermarket shop this morning, wish me luck!
Good luck @MrsBeaky. Jet lag can make you feel really poorly.
Yesterday's church service was really lovely. Not our usual chapel, Mr Boogs was stand-in pianist at a CofE church in another village. They were really welcoming and friendly and the sermon was good.
Our dog walk was in the pouring rain this morning but Ted and I enjoyed it all the same. Good to have a reason to get outside and my waterproofs were tested for the first time in months!
Hope you navigated the supermarket shop OK @MrsBeaky.
Husband and I headed off to the Leisure Centre in the rain this morning. Pilates for me and the gym for him. Our usual instructor is away and the person who is standing in isn't very popular. A few people left before the class started which was good as that meant more room than usual, but also not good as I really don't take to her much. At least she seems to have stopped making personal remarks about people's ability to do the moves. She is also taking the class next week so I'll not bother to go to it.
I have a meeting tonight. The town clerk phoned up to check I was able to go as two people can't and if one more drops out the meeting won't be quorate. I better go and re-read the agenda so I can actually contribute in a meaningful way.
I've never tried a Pilates class - all my sessions are one-to-one (50 minutes' worth, too) - and I doubt very much if I could concentrate properly. The thought of having others in the room doesn't bother me, but they'd be a distraction (as would I be a distraction to them - I huff, puff, and laugh too much).
A most Dire and Dreadful Day in Arkland the Drenched, where heavy Rain has been falling for hours...though They turned off the taps just as I went to Tess Coe, only to turn them on again with a vengeance a while later when I returned to the Ark. My Shirt and Trowsers are drying out in the friendly warmth of the Dragon, but my Coat is having to hang over the bath to drip itself into a condition where it, too, can be hung nearby. It's a nice warm fleecy thing, but NOT (I now find) waterproof...time to get my Barbour substitute out of the wardrobe.
Lunch is STEAK with ROAST POTATOES - comfort food!
I've started my week's break as I intended to, with a very long lie-in, followed by a shower and brunch of scrambled eggs and smoked salmon. I put a laundry load in, and have just realised that I've forgotten about it, so will head to the tumble-dryer forthwith.
The house insurance has been renewed (apparently I did this without realising it ...), and I've booked to get my ears unblocked on Wednesday afternoon, which will give me the incentive to make the flat look presentable by then.
After a rather wet morning, the sun put in an appearance, but has since buggered off again.
Supper will be the second instalment of the venison casserole.
Yes, the Sky has brightened up somewhat, and is now a lighter shade of Grey, prior to the Fall of Darksome Night, but at least They've turned off the taps.
The Annoying Drips that occur in the fore-cabin of the Ark in times of very heavy Rain have been Dripping Annoyingly, but nothing to be unduly concerned about. My Shirt is now dry, but my Trowsers are still damp, and another pair will have to be put on tomorrow.
Rain is hardly a phenomenon in south-east Ingerluuuund, but it does seem to be rather more intense when it does occur.
O well. There are Bagels, with Cream Cheese and Pastrami, for tea.
I've booked to get my ears unblocked on Wednesday afternoon.
Poor you, I have to get this done about every 6 months even though I use unblocking drops from time to time (which sometimes seem to make things worse!)
The sun tried to battle through this morning but it poured down this afternoon. A very grumpy cat in my office, who assumes it is my fault.
It was the usual busy Monday, including a meeting, but a quiet evening is planned today as I will be teaching the next 2 evenings. Roll on next week, when the tutorial list calms down.
Tea is chicken and butternut squash curry and I am having a gin and tonic as it cooks.
Man it's tiring going on holiday. In preparation for departure tomorrow, I have done three loads of laundry, gone to the automated washerette to get them dry, cleaned my bathroom, voovered and packed.
The good news is that by this time tomorrow, I will be at the parental abode, and will be required to do not very much of anything.
I have just had a wasted journey to choir and back. It held held in a school about 25 mins drive away, in a school which is on half term. They outsource their external bookings to a company who failed to unlock the premises for us. Our accompanist drives about 28 miles straight after Evensong at the cathedral, and our MD drives for about two hours to reach us! It is just as well that it is a Really Good Auditioned Choir and we can afford to miss for once, unlike my local choral society which needs every minute of our final two rehearsals- and then some.
How annoying! I suspect that Naughty Words were thought of, even if not spoken.
That's an early half-term break - ours (and our grandson's in London) isn't till next week.
Last night my wife had a frustrating evening of not being able to get onto Teams for her Welsh lesson. I wonder if that had anything to do with the Amazon cloud outage earlier in the day? Seems unlikely but you never know.
I went swimming this morning and it was really hard going for some reason ... but I did complete my set number of lengths.
Teams shouldn’t have been a problem with the outage, I don’t think; we use it for work organisation and I had a meeting using it yesterday.
I had a lie in today as I didn’t sleep well and I am working this evening. I have some admin to do, then some study (submitting my first assignment which is a research proposal and presentation). This evening I am teaching an introductory tutorial on my new module on mental health in society.
Now I’m off for a walk.
After a couple of days of rather wet weather its nice and sunny today. I went off to city to the east to look for gloves. You wouldn't think finding a pair of bright red gloves would be that difficult. I might have to take up my son's suggestion and knit myself a pair instead. I did buy a pair of green ones which I also wanted and some bits and pieces from Lakeland though.
Sunny and Cloudy by turns in Arkland the Mild, too, but the even tenor of my Tuesday was upset by the unheralded cancellation of my customary Pilates session - the Torturer is in New York, because half-term - but the email seems to have fallen foul of yesterday's outage. The Nice Ladies in reception were most apologetic, and it's most unusual for any such error to occur.
With a large hole in the middle of the day, I've improved both Shining Hours by carrying out a number of Jobs, to wit, Shopping, Laundry, Filling the Water Tank, and drinking BEER. Lunch is in the Dragon - Liver, Bacon, and Mash, one of Tess Coe's prepared meals for old and feeble Singletons. I usually add Butter and Pepper to the Mash, and Worcester Sauce to the L & B...
Tomorrow is another day. The Car is booked in for its MOT, which hopefully will be OK, though I know one of the front fog-lights needs either replacing (it seems to be hanging loose) or renewing. Hey ho...
Showers on and off today. I’ve just been to church as the choir was requested to sing, just leading the hymns, at a memorial service for a regular member of the congregation.
I’m now trying to get to grips with the hardest two pieces for my local choral society concert, which is celebrating the 800th anniversary of my town’s parish church.
Here is the list for anyone interested:
Zadok the Priest- Handel
Cantique de Jean Racine- Fauré
Greater Love - Ireland
Jubilate Deo- Britten
Dances of Time - Chilcott
Te Deum- Stanford in B flat
A Fancy of Folk Songs- McDowell
Jazz Missa Brevis- Todd
Hallelujah Chorus- Handel.
That's quite a list, Puzzler, and most of it rather glorious (with the notable exception of the Cantique de Jean Racine, which I loathe with a passion); I confess to not knowing the McDowall, Chilcott or Todd.
Glad to hear you made it safely to Blighty, La Vie - have a nice, relaxing break! It's half-term here too, which is why I'm on holiday: two of the bosses have school-age kids, and are away, so it seemed logical for me to take time off when it would be quieter.
Some Tidy Ing has happened, and as I have a rather sparse fridge, it's probably going to be that nutty, lemony pasta thing for supper again, but that's no bad thing.
I've booked to get my ears unblocked on Wednesday afternoon.
Poor you, I have to get this done about every 6 months even though I use unblocking drops from time to time (which sometimes seem to make things worse!)
I don't really mind, and it usually has the desired effect. I mourn for the fifty quid I have to fork out for it, but hey-ho.
I hope you have a lovely break with the Parents en rouge @la vie en rouge . I expect they really love having you there and being able to look after you. I know that's how I feel when the Nenlets come here.
I've seen my usual Tuesday friends today (it being Tuesday and all) and it's been a mostly grey day with the odd glimpse of sunshine. It's turned Chilly and in a change from our usual programme we've been allowed to have the heating on before November. I think Mr Nen is feeling the cold more as he gets older.
We had chicken curry for tea and I'm currently on an "I'm eating too many carbs and will probably end up with type 2 diabetes" worry train, so I made it from scratch (rather than opening a jar) with ginger and spinach and a few other things accompanied by cauliflower rice rather than the usual sort. It was nicer than the jar, but rather more of a faff.
I hope you're having a lovely time with your parents @la vie en rouge and Captain Pyjamas is enjoying his half-term.
We had ready made curry tonight and it was very nice. We do make it from scratch as well, but even though neither of us is actually working (or at least in paid work) proper cooking seems like too much of a faff on a weekday.
The weather for tomorrow look promising which is just as well as we're off on a Ramble.
I am the opposite; I cook to wind down after working, and I find it therapeutic after having to concentrate all day.
Have a lovely time, lver.
I have just finished a nice relaxed tutorial about mental health models, with a lovely new co-tutor who I am going to enjoy working with. The module is entirely new to me which means I am learning the content as I teach it and I am really liking the course.
I also handed my own Masters assignment in today, a research proposal and presentation. My topic is the professionalisation of Mad-doctors in eighteenth century England.
I also handed my own Masters assignment in today, a research proposal and presentation. My topic is the professionalisation of Mad-doctors in eighteenth century England.
I think I see what you mean, but years in a lab coat have me strugg;ing to read that as anything but a medical analogue of mad scientists MWAHAHAHAHA!
Another messed up evening. We were meant to have a committee meeting for the local choral society on Teams but our host had no internet access. After 15 mins of waiting to be “ let in” , the consensus ( by email) was to give up and reschedule and a couple of days were suggested. The strange thing was that there was - and still is- no word from the Chair.
I adore signing the Cantique, and have heard but not sung the Todd. I don't know the McDowell or the Chilcott at all. Generally, though, yes, that's a pretty formidable list. Is is all for the same occasion?
I cook to wind down after working, and I find it therapeutic after having to concentrate all day.
I wish I felt the same. Actually I used to love cooking but one of the Nenlets was very fussy as a child so menus became limited. Mr Nen now has a delicate digestion, so we are still limited, and as I'm the Sole Cook and Bottle Washer we are down to the two criteria of Easy (to prepare, on Mr Nen's stomach, and to clear up after) and Enjoyable. I cook pretty much the same things every week.
It's the same with gardening. I love a pretty garden and wish I enjoyed being out there doing it. For years I've tried without success to catch the gardening bug as I think it's a wonderful pastime, but for both Mr Nen and me it is simply a chore. We are however thinking of moving and the house that we're interested in has a very nice garden. If we end up there I'm hoping the good start they've given will inspire me to carry on.
Bright and chilly this morning and a busy day ahead. Yesterday I ran out of time for all the errands I had on my list so I'm heading out again this morning to try and get them done.
I'm with you re gardening, Nenya. I enjoy pottering about my garden, but by the time I've done all the basic maintenance tasks, such as mowing the lawn, or waging war on the dandelions, I run out of time, or it starts raining, and I never seem to quite get to the "hobby" stage.
I headed for town, wrote and posted a card that had to be sent today, had a coffee date with Mr Nen and managed to do all my errands. I ended up with a very heavy shopping bag to lug home so my back and shoulders are complaining a bit now.
As explained above, I'm trying to adjust my diet to a low-carb one and found a book I have here on the subject. It has some nice food pictures of suggestions for a week's meals. I quite liked the look of it all and then realised that what I thought was one meal was actually food for the whole day .
I have also sorted my underwear drawer. Not sure that information will particularly interest anyone.
My theory of gardening is stuff the borders so full of stuff you don't notice the weeds. I'm not quite there with ours, but we're getting there.
We're just back from our walk with the local Ramblers group. They are such a nice bunch of people even if we disagree with some of them on politics. The walk actually involved a hill a rare occurrence in this part of the world.
I intend to have a lazy day for the rest of the day, as for once I don't have a meeting this evening.
When Our Place's Auntie P and I revamped the little raised garden nigh unto the main door of the church, we made use of every square inch, not only with planting low stuff, but also planting tall stuff to grow up through it. We chose plants that needed little maintenance, but were attractive to Bees and other insects.
We acted on advice from a friend of mine who happens to be an Artist, and a Professional Gardener, and who has worked on the gardens at Great Dixter in Kent. She (my friend) is a great follower of the work of Gertrude Jekyll, so Our Place's modest front plot was inspired by one of the gardening greats...
Though I say it as shouldn't, it looked a treat, but the Philistines have hold of it, now that Auntie P and I are too old and feeble...
ION, a fine, mild day in Arkland the Autumnal, as we await with anxious anticipation the alarming arrival of Storm Benjamin overnight and tomorrow. My Car had its MoT this lunchtime, and PASSED , albeit with a couple of advisories - things that need attention, but which are not a danger. I thought the displaced fog-light might cause it to fail the test, but no. The hour spent waiting at the garage seemed to last rather longer than 60 minutes, but at least it's done for another year (if I live).
A basic MoT must be one of the few things in life that hasn't recently increased exponentially in price - just £35, which I suppose is the standard fee set by the Gummint.
Lunch (rather late, because MoT followed by a trip to Tess Coe) is COD MORNAY with Mash n'Peas again. One of my favourites...
Although my dad was a keen gardener - he grew fruit and veggies outdoors, and tomatoes and herbs in a greenhouse - I didn't inherit that particular gene, and have never managed anything more elaborate than a few herbs in pots. (memo to self: get some basil in a pot next time I see any).
The flat has been tidied and dusted, and, as it says in Handel's Messiah, "the ears of the deaf unstoppèd". I decided to have an amble down the street to donate an old but still functional food-processor to the one charity shop in the town that takes electrical goods (right at the other end of the street, beside Tessie's), and the bloody place was closed, despite the sign outside saying it would be open until 5:00. I was a rather cross piglet.
I did, however, run into my best friend, and we had coffee and a nice catch-up.
Then on to Tessie's and got a few Bits and Pieces to make the fridge feel less neglected, and hauled it all back along the street again. @Nenya - if you're finding shopping bags too heavy, get a trolley - although I resisted at first (am I really old enough to be Shopping Trolley Lady?) - they do make carting things about an awful lot easier.
I've taken some smoked haddock out of the freezer, and will eventually turn it into kedgeree.
A busy morning with admin and a meeting but I decided to have a lazy afternoon as I am feeling tired. But shortly I need to go back into the office as I have another tutorial this evening, this time on designing a poster/poverty and young people.
Parisians of all ages have wheely shopping trolleys because we all do our Shopp Ing on foot.
So, when I did All The Laundry, I didn't put my delicate lingerie in the dryer so I wouldn't destroy it. I put it on the clothes horse, thinking "I must put that in the suitcase tomorrow". Guess what I forgot to put in the suitcase? Marks and Sparks was patronised this morning
During the shopping trip, my mother bought Captain Pyjamas a new pair of wellies (ones with flashing lights in, no less) which were worn this afternoon for a very pleasant tromp through the woods. Mole in the hole for dinner. Everyone else calls this dish toad, but in our house it is always mole in honour of my grandmother, who was the finest maker of Yorkshire pudding I have ever known. (I think she got the name from the song.)
I love toad (or mole) in the hole, with vegetarian sausages of course. In fact I like any sort of Yorkshire pudding dish.
Lazy afternoon has been accomplished, though I did manage to do some writing and look at a couple of videos ahead of my philosophy group's meeting on Friday.
I used to have a shopping trolley but I found it made walking any distance at any sort of decent pace very difficult. It is not often that I have that much to carry, Mr Sainz Breeze being so Obliging.
Captain P's new wellies sound splendid @la vie en rouge and I hope you enjoyed your Mole in the Hole.
Mr Nen and I enjoyed our salmon with roasted veg (with cabbage and broccoli) while watching Traitors this evening (one of the few programmes we both enjoy). I'll be heading for bed and book soon. My usual aerobics class tomorrow morning has been cancelled as the teacher is ill, so I will have a leisurely mooch up to town to meet friends for coffee at 10.
What do you do with your shopping trollies in the shop? When I go across the road to Aldi I only buy what I can carry in two bags, but I have a trolley lurking in the garage.
I attach my shopping trolley to the hook on the back of the small shop trolley in Waitrose (it is a modern upright design), or just trundle it behind me while carrying a basket.
Wet and windy here, though not as wet or windy as was forecast, well at least not yet.
No lip reading class as its half-term. Our tutor is following the schools round here and going for a two week break so no class next week either. I do have my bookshop shift, but if the weather is like this I doubt we'll be very busy.
This morning I intend to go and clean the loos and then do some of my jigsaw puzzle.
I bought a big square shopping trolley to wheel my elderly dog around - I built it up with cushions and she perched on the top, just at the right height for people to make a fuss of her!
The dog is long gone, but I occasionally use the trolley to do book buying trips - I have a shelf in a larger shop. I take the train to Malvern, and start at the charity shops at the top of the hill (and the rather good bookshop near the Priory), and work my way down to the railway station at the bottom of the hill, with a stop at a cafe half way down. By the time I get to the bottom, the trolley is usually full.
After another nice lie-in, I've had brunch of poached eggs, smoked salmon, avocado and TOAST, and I'm currently waiting for the bowl of hot water I've put into the freezer to do its defrosting magic. Then I really must start the clear-out of clothes to go to the Cancer Research shop and see how much space it leaves me!
A windy, cloudy, sometimes Sun-Shiny day in Arkland the Saturated, after much Heavy Rain during the night. One of the customary Annoying Drips shifted, and (at about 3am) was Dripping Annoyingly onto my equatorial regions, as I lay in my berth. Being of a philosophical frame of mind, I realised there was nothing much I could do about the Drip, so I merely placed a Towel in the strategic position, and went back to sleep (eventually).
There may be a bit more Rain for an hour or so later, but meanwhile the fresh north-westerly wind is pushing the water of this afternoon's tide a little higher than predicted. Neighbour S mistimed his return, and had to climb over my pile of Coal Bags in order to reach his access walkway, but he managed it, with only one wet foot...
CHICKEN PIE for Lunch - another of Tess Coe's specials, but not IMHO as tasty as their STEAK & ALE version.
The threatened tempest didn't materialise here - in fact it was quite dry when I got up although it was cold, wet and quite windy by lunchtime - better now. I swam first thing and did some washing, then spent the rest of the morning hearing admissions appeals for our local CinW high school. After a quick trip to Waitrose (not as quick as usual as the store is being refurbished and everything keeps getting moved around) I then picked up my wife from her Elders' keep-fit and came home for some Nice Hearty Soup. I suspect - to use a @Piglet term - that some brief and light snoozage occurred while I was watching the Welsh BBC news! Tonight is our local Baptist Association's AGM which might (or might not) be interesting!
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Today has been wet and foggy - we only had 12 people in the service including the officiant, two musicians, and two alter servers. We are waiting to see if money will be released from diocese funds to get a new boiler, and so we are back to having services in the church hall.
Mr Nen and I have been away for a few days. I'm now catching up on things - third washing load on the go - and bracing myself for what promises to be something of a busy week
I can't even think or speak straight. I've got to do a supermarket shop this morning, wish me luck!
Yesterday's church service was really lovely. Not our usual chapel, Mr Boogs was stand-in pianist at a CofE church in another village. They were really welcoming and friendly and the sermon was good.
Our dog walk was in the pouring rain this morning but Ted and I enjoyed it all the same. Good to have a reason to get outside and my waterproofs were tested for the first time in months!
Husband and I headed off to the Leisure Centre in the rain this morning. Pilates for me and the gym for him. Our usual instructor is away and the person who is standing in isn't very popular. A few people left before the class started which was good as that meant more room than usual, but also not good as I really don't take to her much. At least she seems to have stopped making personal remarks about people's ability to do the moves. She is also taking the class next week so I'll not bother to go to it.
I have a meeting tonight. The town clerk phoned up to check I was able to go as two people can't and if one more drops out the meeting won't be quorate. I better go and re-read the agenda so I can actually contribute in a meaningful way.
A most Dire and Dreadful Day in Arkland the Drenched, where heavy Rain has been falling for hours...though They turned off the taps just as I went to Tess Coe, only to turn them on again with a vengeance a while later when I returned to the Ark. My Shirt and Trowsers are drying out in the friendly warmth of the Dragon, but my Coat is having to hang over the bath to drip itself into a condition where it, too, can be hung nearby. It's a nice warm fleecy thing, but NOT (I now find) waterproof...time to get my Barbour substitute out of the wardrobe.
Lunch is STEAK with ROAST POTATOES - comfort food!
The house insurance has been renewed (apparently I did this without realising it ...), and I've booked to get my ears unblocked on Wednesday afternoon, which will give me the incentive to make the flat look presentable by then.
After a rather wet morning, the sun put in an appearance, but has since buggered off again.
Supper will be the second instalment of the venison casserole.
I can see clearly now, the Rain has gone...
Yes, the Sky has brightened up somewhat, and is now a lighter shade of Grey, prior to the Fall of Darksome Night, but at least They've turned off the taps.
The Annoying Drips that occur in the fore-cabin of the Ark in times of very heavy Rain have been Dripping Annoyingly, but nothing to be unduly concerned about. My Shirt is now dry, but my Trowsers are still damp, and another pair will have to be put on tomorrow.
Rain is hardly a phenomenon in south-east Ingerluuuund, but it does seem to be rather more intense when it does occur.
O well. There are Bagels, with Cream Cheese and Pastrami, for tea.
It was the usual busy Monday, including a meeting, but a quiet evening is planned today as I will be teaching the next 2 evenings. Roll on next week, when the tutorial list calms down.
Tea is chicken and butternut squash curry and I am having a gin and tonic as it cooks.
The good news is that by this time tomorrow, I will be at the parental abode, and will be required to do not very much of anything.
I have just had a wasted journey to choir and back. It held held in a school about 25 mins drive away, in a school which is on half term. They outsource their external bookings to a company who failed to unlock the premises for us. Our accompanist drives about 28 miles straight after Evensong at the cathedral, and our MD drives for about two hours to reach us! It is just as well that it is a Really Good Auditioned Choir and we can afford to miss for once, unlike my local choral society which needs every minute of our final two rehearsals- and then some.
That's an early half-term break - ours (and our grandson's in London) isn't till next week.
Last night my wife had a frustrating evening of not being able to get onto Teams for her Welsh lesson. I wonder if that had anything to do with the Amazon cloud outage earlier in the day? Seems unlikely but you never know.
I went swimming this morning and it was really hard going for some reason ... but I did complete my set number of lengths.
I had a lie in today as I didn’t sleep well and I am working this evening. I have some admin to do, then some study (submitting my first assignment which is a research proposal and presentation). This evening I am teaching an introductory tutorial on my new module on mental health in society.
Now I’m off for a walk.
With a large hole in the middle of the day, I've improved both Shining Hours by carrying out a number of Jobs, to wit, Shopping, Laundry, Filling the Water Tank, and drinking BEER. Lunch is in the Dragon - Liver, Bacon, and Mash, one of Tess Coe's prepared meals for old and feeble Singletons. I usually add Butter and Pepper to the Mash, and Worcester Sauce to the L & B...
Tomorrow is another day. The Car is booked in for its MOT, which hopefully will be OK, though I know one of the front fog-lights needs either replacing (it seems to be hanging loose) or renewing. Hey ho...
I’m now trying to get to grips with the hardest two pieces for my local choral society concert, which is celebrating the 800th anniversary of my town’s parish church.
Here is the list for anyone interested:
Zadok the Priest- Handel
Cantique de Jean Racine- Fauré
Greater Love - Ireland
Jubilate Deo- Britten
Dances of Time - Chilcott
Te Deum- Stanford in B flat
A Fancy of Folk Songs- McDowell
Jazz Missa Brevis- Todd
Hallelujah Chorus- Handel.
(the Younger has also featured recently, I think)
Glad to hear you made it safely to Blighty, La Vie - have a nice, relaxing break! It's half-term here too, which is why I'm on holiday: two of the bosses have school-age kids, and are away, so it seemed logical for me to take time off when it would be quieter.
Some Tidy Ing has happened, and as I have a rather sparse fridge, it's probably going to be that nutty, lemony pasta thing for supper again, but that's no bad thing.
I don't really mind, and it usually has the desired effect. I mourn for the fifty quid I have to fork out for it, but hey-ho.
I've seen my usual Tuesday friends today (it being Tuesday and all) and it's been a mostly grey day with the odd glimpse of sunshine. It's turned Chilly and in a change from our usual programme we've been allowed to have the heating on before November. I think Mr Nen is feeling the cold more as he gets older.
We had chicken curry for tea and I'm currently on an "I'm eating too many carbs and will probably end up with type 2 diabetes" worry train, so I made it from scratch (rather than opening a jar) with ginger and spinach and a few other things accompanied by cauliflower rice rather than the usual sort. It was nicer than the jar, but rather more of a faff.
We had ready made curry tonight and it was very nice. We do make it from scratch as well, but even though neither of us is actually working (or at least in paid work) proper cooking seems like too much of a faff on a weekday.
The weather for tomorrow look promising which is just as well as we're off on a Ramble.
Have a lovely time, lver.
I have just finished a nice relaxed tutorial about mental health models, with a lovely new co-tutor who I am going to enjoy working with. The module is entirely new to me which means I am learning the content as I teach it and I am really liking the course.
I also handed my own Masters assignment in today, a research proposal and presentation. My topic is the professionalisation of Mad-doctors in eighteenth century England.
I think I see what you mean, but years in a lab coat have me strugg;ing to read that as anything but a medical analogue of mad scientists MWAHAHAHAHA!
For me, the Folk Songs and the Jazz Missa Brevis. It’s the rhythms. I don’t really like the Chilcott either.
Tomorrow is a busy day: physio at 10, u3a Scrabble at 3, choral society at 7.
It's the same with gardening. I love a pretty garden and wish I enjoyed being out there doing it. For years I've tried without success to catch the gardening bug as I think it's a wonderful pastime, but for both Mr Nen and me it is simply a chore. We are however thinking of moving and the house that we're interested in has a very nice garden. If we end up there I'm hoping the good start they've given will inspire me to carry on.
Bright and chilly this morning and a busy day ahead. Yesterday I ran out of time for all the errands I had on my list so I'm heading out again this morning to try and get them done.
As explained above, I'm trying to adjust my diet to a low-carb one and found a book I have here on the subject. It has some nice food pictures of suggestions for a week's meals. I quite liked the look of it all and then realised that what I thought was one meal was actually food for the whole day
I have also sorted my underwear drawer. Not sure that information will particularly interest anyone.
We're just back from our walk with the local Ramblers group. They are such a nice bunch of people even if we disagree with some of them on politics. The walk actually involved a hill a rare occurrence in this part of the world.
I intend to have a lazy day for the rest of the day, as for once I don't have a meeting this evening.
We acted on advice from a friend of mine who happens to be an Artist, and a Professional Gardener, and who has worked on the gardens at Great Dixter in Kent. She (my friend) is a great follower of the work of Gertrude Jekyll, so Our Place's modest front plot was inspired by one of the gardening greats...
Though I say it as shouldn't, it looked a treat, but the Philistines have hold of it, now that Auntie P and I are too old and feeble...
ION, a fine, mild day in Arkland the Autumnal, as we await with anxious anticipation the alarming arrival of Storm Benjamin overnight and tomorrow. My Car had its MoT this lunchtime, and PASSED
A basic MoT must be one of the few things in life that hasn't recently increased exponentially in price - just £35, which I suppose is the standard fee set by the Gummint.
Lunch (rather late, because MoT followed by a trip to Tess Coe) is COD MORNAY with Mash n'Peas again. One of my favourites...
The flat has been tidied and dusted, and, as it says in Handel's Messiah, "the ears of the deaf unstoppèd". I decided to have an amble down the street to donate an old but still functional food-processor to the one charity shop in the town that takes electrical goods (right at the other end of the street, beside Tessie's), and the bloody place was closed, despite the sign outside saying it would be open until 5:00. I was a rather cross piglet.
I did, however, run into my best friend, and we had coffee and a nice catch-up.
Then on to Tessie's and got a few Bits and Pieces to make the fridge feel less neglected, and hauled it all back along the street again. @Nenya - if you're finding shopping bags too heavy, get a trolley - although I resisted at first (am I really old enough to be Shopping Trolley Lady?) - they do make carting things about an awful lot easier.
I've taken some smoked haddock out of the freezer, and will eventually turn it into kedgeree.
A busy morning with admin and a meeting but I decided to have a lazy afternoon as I am feeling tired. But shortly I need to go back into the office as I have another tutorial this evening, this time on designing a poster/poverty and young people.
So, when I did All The Laundry, I didn't put my delicate lingerie in the dryer so I wouldn't destroy it. I put it on the clothes horse, thinking "I must put that in the suitcase tomorrow". Guess what I forgot to put in the suitcase? Marks and Sparks was patronised this morning
During the shopping trip, my mother bought Captain Pyjamas a new pair of wellies (ones with flashing lights in, no less) which were worn this afternoon for a very pleasant tromp through the woods. Mole in the hole for dinner. Everyone else calls this dish toad, but in our house it is always mole in honour of my grandmother, who was the finest maker of Yorkshire pudding I have ever known. (I think she got the name from the song.)
Lazy afternoon has been accomplished, though I did manage to do some writing and look at a couple of videos ahead of my philosophy group's meeting on Friday.
Captain P's new wellies sound splendid @la vie en rouge and I hope you enjoyed your Mole in the Hole.
Mr Nen and I enjoyed our salmon with roasted veg (with cabbage and broccoli) while watching Traitors this evening (one of the few programmes we both enjoy). I'll be heading for bed and book soon. My usual aerobics class tomorrow morning has been cancelled as the teacher is ill, so I will have a leisurely mooch up to town to meet friends for coffee at 10.
No lip reading class as its half-term. Our tutor is following the schools round here and going for a two week break so no class next week either. I do have my bookshop shift, but if the weather is like this I doubt we'll be very busy.
This morning I intend to go and clean the loos and then do some of my jigsaw puzzle.
The dog is long gone, but I occasionally use the trolley to do book buying trips - I have a shelf in a larger shop. I take the train to Malvern, and start at the charity shops at the top of the hill (and the rather good bookshop near the Priory), and work my way down to the railway station at the bottom of the hill, with a stop at a cafe half way down. By the time I get to the bottom, the trolley is usually full.
There may be a bit more Rain for an hour or so later, but meanwhile the fresh north-westerly wind is pushing the water of this afternoon's tide a little higher than predicted. Neighbour S mistimed his return, and had to climb over my pile of Coal Bags in order to reach his access walkway, but he managed it, with only one wet foot...
CHICKEN PIE for Lunch - another of Tess Coe's specials, but not IMHO as tasty as their STEAK & ALE version.