I have had the Age UK handyman out today, and he has successfully unjammed the cutlery drawer. This is a great relief as I can now use all my decent cutlery, not just the random stuff I had lying around.
I hoped he might also sort my dripping taps, but apparently new taps are needed. That means a plumber and no doubt an outlay of ££££££s.
I met my friends this morning and as I wasn't there last Thursday there was a lot to catch up on. With errands afterwards I didn't get home until 2.45 . Raining here now so I got a tad wet on the way home but dry all morning so that was ok. Just a bit breezy here too - none of the promised gales, thank goodness.
I always like hearing what's going on in Arkland, although it does sound as though Intrusive Water is often involved.
The Intrusive Water isn't really a big deal - houseboats tend to have leaks as a matter of course! - and most of it is condensation finding its way from the underside of the steel deck, through tiny gaps in the wooden panelling of the ceiling. It really only occurs when the Rain is especially heavy and/or persistent, which appears to be more and more common in these Dark Days of Climate Change and Imminent Dissolution of the World. There are probably some very small holes in the steel deck - I've managed to seal some of them successfully, but others remain undetected.
Leaks from above are one thing - leaks from below are quite another, requiring not only philosophy, but also Pumps and a Welder...
Yes, water intruding from below must be in a different league altogether . The water generally also seems to affect the Parking of Cars and the Wetness or Dryness of Feet at certain times.
Really grey and wet here now. I would like to think I could cosy up this evening but always have something to go to on a Thursday, which I always do enjoy once I've made the effort.
Yes, the immediate proximity of a tidal river does require careful attention to the Parking of Cars, and to the Timing of Access...but it's all part of the Fun of being an Arklander.
After a hair appointment I hurried home whilst it wasn’t raining. I was expecting my son to come this afternoon but he is busy with ( free lance) work, so that is good news for him. A bit of tidying has been done - but not enough. I need help with moving shelves in a cupboard to facilitate storage of some tall items.
No choir tonight. I might just indulge in a fry up.
Domestic Goddess Piglet has been in action today: the freezer has been defrosted and feels somewhat bigger. Part of the extra space was the result of removing a chicken carcass, which is now simmering merrily for the production of stock (which will fill the space vacated by the bones ...🙃).
While I was waiting for the defrosting to happen, I filled an old and unneeded suitcase with shoes, handbags and clothes from the wardrobe (which now also has more space in it), and pootled across to the Cancer Research shop with it. Luckily the Wind and Rain that's been afflicting those of you further south hadn't got here; it was a very nice day for an amble.
If anyone knows what's happened to one of my black sandals (not being decluttered as quite new), would they please let me know? 🤔
We have a by-election today and I have done my duty and ventured out to our church hall to vote. There were only two parties on the form that I would consider voting for.
Well done for doing your duty; sadly at by-elections far too many don't.
With the loonies rather extreme parties seemingly on the rise, it's all the more important for sensible people to exercise our democratic right, while we still have it!
I've been a little AWOL as a cold has knocked me for six. It's been a case of working from home by day and going to bed straight after. Oh well, it will be over soon.
I need to finish off my meal plan for the week ahead and book a delivery slot tomorrow, but very much lacking the impetus.
Up betimes (how dark it is even at 7 am). Went into the garden to look for vine leaves for an art idea to find they were mostly already fallen. Decided to give the 'lawn' a last cut of the year.
Lunch was corned beef soup. Then, unsurprisingly, fell into a deep nap. Mr F has lost an entire tooth, and no appointment before 5/11, so back to Cuisine Squish.
As from Sunday, Our Place will put Evening Prayer at 5pm instead of 6pm, on the basis that more people will flock to the service in daylight. I don't really see how this works, as (a) it's dark when the service ends, and (b) in a week or so it'll be as dark at 5pm as it is now at 6pm, IYSWIM.
Given that the usual congregation consists of FatherInCharge and Madam Sacristan, they might do better to have Evening Prayer at 330pm or thereabouts, as some cathedrals do...
We are looking at bringing our monthly Evensong forward to maybe 3.30pm. Not only is it hoped that people will be able to get home before dark but it also suits our DM, who now has an additional, more substantial post and this arrangement would mean he could get to his other church to play for their weekly 6pm Evensong.
Had I been in the Constituency, I think I would have made the same choice, the party I usually support not being a viable contender. I certainly didn't want The Party That Shall Not Be Named to win!
I was thinking of you this morning @Priscilla and thinking you'd be pleased.
I'm off leafleting for our local council by-election this afternoon. There are an awful lot of candidates and I think it is anyone's guess who gets in. Before that I'm going to my philosophy class which I hope will be interesting. We're discussing Hannah Arendt and she seems so relevant to what is happening in the world today.
Had I been in the Constituency, I think I would have made the same choice, the party I usually support not being a viable contender. I certainly didn't want The Party That Shall Not Be Named to win!
I actually did once, when there was an election while I was at Bangor. I figured I'd never get the chance to do it again.
The only situation in which you'd catch me voting for TPTSNBN is deciding who to throw out of the balloon.
Agreed, though. Well done, Plaid.
The egregious owner of TPTSNBN was not seen at the count, I hear.
ION, a dry, windy day in Arkland the Relieved, with a touch of Sun-Shine now and then,
Another day of small tasks. No cooking tonight as I am invited to my daughter’s for a Chinese takeaway as part of the continuing celebrations of my grandson’s 18th birthday. Duck in plum sauce, for me, think.
Are Hedgehogs demanding, delightful little animals that they be?
On a very distantly-related note, I'm enjoying videos on YouTube about Octopuses. Intelligent, gentle, sensitive, thinking beings, as near as we're likely to get to encountering aliens.
All they seem to have in common with Humming Beans, in biological terms, is that they're carbon-based, and breathe oxygen. They have three hearts, and possibly nine brains - the main brain, and those amazing tentacles accounting for the other eight...
A light day of admin and communications, and I phoned a student and wrote 2 tutorials (public health, and a new lecture on bipolar disorder as part of staff training).
Tea will be Not My Mother’s Lancashire Hot Pot. She’d be surprised that I had obtained mutton but, as I have mentioned before, baffled by the inclusion of garlic, herbs and cream. Cooked on the stove as is correct, unlike these newfangled recipes where they think it is layered and baked in an oven. Poor people didn’t have ovens in the 19th century.
A light day of admin and communications, and I phoned a student and wrote 2 tutorials (public health, and a new lecture on bipolar disorder as part of staff training).
Tea will be Not My Mother’s Lancashire Hot Pot. She’d be surprised that I had obtained mutton but, as I have mentioned before, baffled by the inclusion of garlic, herbs and cream. Cooked on the stove as is correct, unlike these newfangled recipes where they think it is layered and baked in an oven. Poor people didn’t have ovens in the 19th century.
The Hot Pot sounds delicious. How is it cooked on the stove? My Dragon (a Rayburn) has an oven, of course, which I tend to use, unless I need to boil or pan-fry something on the hotplate.
Speaking of which, there are SOSSIDGES (already laced with garlic and cheese) to be eaten up soon, along with CHIPS - these will all simply be plonked in the oven...I may boil up some GRAVY to go with them, because comfort food.
It is a simple dish. I fry onion, then garlic and seasonings, and then brown the meat (traditionally mutton but lamb is good) before adding stock and then cook on the stove. In the meantime add chopped potatoes and carrots (traditional) or whatever veg you want and just leave to cook like any stew. I add some rather non-traditional cream just before serving.
Mr Heavenly has just requested suet dumplings in the hot pot which is definitely not traditional but we love dumplings 😋
Suet pudding is a traditional Lancashire dish; my grandmother use to make beef suet pudding for Sunday lunch (I went to my grandmother’s on Sunday for my weekly bath, with 8 children there wasn’t enough space at home so 3 of us went to Nan’s). She also made what she called lardy cakes but they are actually more correctly called Eccles cakes locally.
Sausages with garlic and cheese sound lovely, some of my favourite things.
It is a simple dish. I fry onion, then garlic and seasonings, and then brown the meat (traditionally mutton but lamb is good) before adding stock and then cook on the stove. In the meantime add chopped potatoes and carrots (traditional) or whatever veg you want and just leave to cook like any stew. I add some rather non-traditional cream just before serving.
Mr Heavenly has just requested suet dumplings in the hot pot which is definitely not traditional but we love dumplings 😋
Suet pudding is a traditional Lancashire dish; my grandmother use to make beef suet pudding for Sunday lunch (I went to my grandmother’s on Sunday for my weekly bath, with 8 children there wasn’t enough space at home so 3 of us went to Nan’s). She also made what she called lardy cakes but they are actually more correctly called Eccles cakes locally.
Sausages with garlic and cheese sound lovely, some of my favourite things.
Thanks @Heavenlyannie - without wishing to hijack the recipe thread upstairs, are all the lovely ingredients you mention cooked in the Pan? Being Old, and Feak, and Weeble, I can only manage one utensil at a time IYSWIM.
A happy childhood memory is of the house full of steam on a Sunday, as My Old Mum cooked the Meat Pudding in a cloth! We (in Kent) had no connections with Lancashire, but MoM was good at suet puddings of various sorts
BTW, the Sausages have been deferred until tomorrow, as some Salmon Fillets need eating first...
First we wrap them in a fleece and gently lift them into a holding box.
Then we check they've eaten their food and weed and pood overnight. Next we weigh them. They need to be 650g to be released. Some are only 100 when they are brought in. We keep a record and take poo samples for the vet if needed.
Then, while they are curled up in the holding box, we clean out the crate and put new bedding and water in for them. Teenagers from the local school come to feed them in the evening.
I got totally confused and thought @boogie was talking about how to cook sausages or hot pot.
My philosophy group was excellent. We all listened to each other and the discussion felt like it got somewhere. Mind you we are all on the liberal end of the spectrum. The member who once suggested that Hitler had some good ideas probably wouldn't have liked what we were saying.
Tea tonight was pasta with spicy red pesto and roasted aubergine, accompanied by red wine. We haven't had a French wine for a long time, and I must say it was rather nice.
I've had a nice, if slightly tiring day. I'd arranged to meet my sister for lunch in the Marks & Sparks cafe at the Gyle shopping centre; I decided to try and get there early, as there were a couple of things I wanted to get, and I didn't want to keep her waiting.
As it turned out, her bus was very late, and I ended up getting my bits & pieces, and waiting for quite a while for her to get there.
We ordered our lunch around 2:00, and when it still hadn't arrived at getting on for 2:30 (although the lady at the till had warned of a 15-minute wait) we flagged down a passing waitress, who confirmed, very apologetically, that the order had gone AWOL.
We eventually got our food (and free extra coffee to make up for the wait), and had a good chin-wag.
I bought some rather nice CHEESE (Doux de Montagne, which I've never seen anywhere else), and was horrified to discover that it cost £5.75 a pack. I still bought two, because I like it, but seriously???
Cost of living crisis, anyone?
Luckily the train was practically waiting for me on the way home (and it had obligingly decided not to rain in Linlithgow between station and chateau), and after a decent interval, fish & chips was had for supper.
Must try and get to bed by a decent time*, as I'm heading off to Glasgow to do some singing tomorrow.
* it's awfully easy to not go to bed until stupid o'clock when you don't have to be up in the morning!
Thanks @Heavenlyannie - without wishing to hijack the recipe thread upstairs, are all the lovely ingredients you mention cooked in the Pan? Being Old, and Feak, and Weeble, I can only manage one utensil at a time IYSWIM.
A happy childhood memory is of the house full of steam on a Sunday, as My Old Mum cooked the Meat Pudding in a cloth! We (in Kent) had no connections with Lancashire, but MoM was good at suet puddings of various sorts
BTW, the Sausages have been deferred until tomorrow, as some Salmon Fillets need eating first...
Yes, I am very into one pot cooking myself.
My Nan made her meat pudding in a cloth. I’ve made jam roly poly in a cloth too but it was a while ago as Mr Heavenly cooks the suet puddings around here (he’s a better baker than me so often does the desserts).
I have brought home enough leftovers from this evening’s Chinese take-away for tomorrow’s meal, together with a huge chunk of birthday cake. We watched a film after the meal. I had a lovely evening, but it made me realise that I lead such a very different life from my family.
Comments
I hoped he might also sort my dripping taps, but apparently new taps are needed. That means a plumber and no doubt an outlay of ££££££s.
It's dull here, but not raining.
I always like hearing what's going on in Arkland, although it does sound as though Intrusive Water is often involved.
Leaks from above are one thing - leaks from below are quite another, requiring not only philosophy, but also Pumps and a Welder...
Really grey and wet here now. I would like to think I could cosy up this evening but always have something to go to on a Thursday, which I always do enjoy once I've made the effort.
No choir tonight. I might just indulge in a fry up.
While I was waiting for the defrosting to happen, I filled an old and unneeded suitcase with shoes, handbags and clothes from the wardrobe (which now also has more space in it), and pootled across to the Cancer Research shop with it. Luckily the Wind and Rain that's been afflicting those of you further south hadn't got here; it was a very nice day for an amble.
If anyone knows what's happened to one of my black sandals (not being decluttered as quite new), would they please let me know? 🤔
With the loonies rather extreme parties seemingly on the rise, it's all the more important for sensible people to exercise our democratic right, while we still have it!
I've been a little AWOL as a cold has knocked me for six. It's been a case of working from home by day and going to bed straight after. Oh well, it will be over soon.
I need to finish off my meal plan for the week ahead and book a delivery slot tomorrow, but very much lacking the impetus.
Lunch was corned beef soup. Then, unsurprisingly, fell into a deep nap. Mr F has lost an entire tooth, and no appointment before 5/11, so back to Cuisine Squish.
I was just thinking how dark it was at about 6:30 pm, and then realised it'll be more so next week ...
Oh well, we'll make up for it in the summer.
optimistic piglet
Given that the usual congregation consists of FatherInCharge and Madam Sacristan, they might do better to have Evening Prayer at 330pm or thereabouts, as some cathedrals do...
I'm off leafleting for our local council by-election this afternoon. There are an awful lot of candidates and I think it is anyone's guess who gets in. Before that I'm going to my philosophy class which I hope will be interesting. We're discussing Hannah Arendt and she seems so relevant to what is happening in the world today.
I think I would have too.
The only situation in which you'd catch me voting for TPTSNBN is deciding who to throw out of the balloon.
Agreed, though. Well done, Plaid.
The egregious owner of TPTSNBN was not seen at the count, I hear.
ION, a dry, windy day in Arkland the Relieved, with a touch of Sun-Shine now and then,
PRAWNS n'CHIPS for lunch, because Friday.
I enjoy a bit of Duck now and then, though our local Mallards probably wouldn't taste very nice - a bit muddy, I expect.
I'm exhausted! 🦔🦔
Bangers and mash for tea.
On a very distantly-related note, I'm enjoying videos on YouTube about Octopuses. Intelligent, gentle, sensitive, thinking beings, as near as we're likely to get to encountering aliens.
All they seem to have in common with Humming Beans, in biological terms, is that they're carbon-based, and breathe oxygen. They have three hearts, and possibly nine brains - the main brain, and those amazing tentacles accounting for the other eight...
Ah - understood. Ten hutches apiece...
Never mind - it's a lovely and positive thing in which to be involved.
A light day of admin and communications, and I phoned a student and wrote 2 tutorials (public health, and a new lecture on bipolar disorder as part of staff training).
Tea will be Not My Mother’s Lancashire Hot Pot. She’d be surprised that I had obtained mutton but, as I have mentioned before, baffled by the inclusion of garlic, herbs and cream. Cooked on the stove as is correct, unlike these newfangled recipes where they think it is layered and baked in an oven. Poor people didn’t have ovens in the 19th century.
The Hot Pot sounds delicious. How is it cooked on the stove? My Dragon (a Rayburn) has an oven, of course, which I tend to use, unless I need to boil or pan-fry something on the hotplate.
Speaking of which, there are SOSSIDGES (already laced with garlic and cheese) to be eaten up soon, along with CHIPS - these will all simply be plonked in the oven...I may boil up some GRAVY to go with them, because comfort food.
Mr Heavenly has just requested suet dumplings in the hot pot which is definitely not traditional but we love dumplings 😋
Suet pudding is a traditional Lancashire dish; my grandmother use to make beef suet pudding for Sunday lunch (I went to my grandmother’s on Sunday for my weekly bath, with 8 children there wasn’t enough space at home so 3 of us went to Nan’s). She also made what she called lardy cakes but they are actually more correctly called Eccles cakes locally.
Sausages with garlic and cheese sound lovely, some of my favourite things.
Thanks @Heavenlyannie - without wishing to hijack the recipe thread upstairs, are all the lovely ingredients you mention cooked in the Pan? Being Old, and Feak, and Weeble, I can only manage one utensil at a time IYSWIM.
A happy childhood memory is of the house full of steam on a Sunday, as My Old Mum cooked the Meat Pudding in a cloth! We (in Kent) had no connections with Lancashire, but MoM was good at suet puddings of various sorts
BTW, the Sausages have been deferred until tomorrow, as some Salmon Fillets need eating first...
First we wrap them in a fleece and gently lift them into a holding box.
Then we check they've eaten their food and weed and pood overnight. Next we weigh them. They need to be 650g to be released. Some are only 100 when they are brought in. We keep a record and take poo samples for the vet if needed.
Then, while they are curled up in the holding box, we clean out the crate and put new bedding and water in for them. Teenagers from the local school come to feed them in the evening.
Here are some from today -
https://photos.app.goo.gl/WfX9P8sevyuzNvueA
My philosophy group was excellent. We all listened to each other and the discussion felt like it got somewhere. Mind you we are all on the liberal end of the spectrum. The member who once suggested that Hitler had some good ideas probably wouldn't have liked what we were saying.
Tea tonight was pasta with spicy red pesto and roasted aubergine, accompanied by red wine. We haven't had a French wine for a long time, and I must say it was rather nice.
Aaah!
I've had a nice, if slightly tiring day. I'd arranged to meet my sister for lunch in the Marks & Sparks cafe at the Gyle shopping centre; I decided to try and get there early, as there were a couple of things I wanted to get, and I didn't want to keep her waiting.
As it turned out, her bus was very late, and I ended up getting my bits & pieces, and waiting for quite a while for her to get there.
We ordered our lunch around 2:00, and when it still hadn't arrived at getting on for 2:30 (although the lady at the till had warned of a 15-minute wait) we flagged down a passing waitress, who confirmed, very apologetically, that the order had gone AWOL.
We eventually got our food (and free extra coffee to make up for the wait), and had a good chin-wag.
I bought some rather nice CHEESE (Doux de Montagne, which I've never seen anywhere else), and was horrified to discover that it cost £5.75 a pack. I still bought two, because I like it, but seriously???
Cost of living crisis, anyone?
Luckily the train was practically waiting for me on the way home (and it had obligingly decided not to rain in Linlithgow between station and chateau), and after a decent interval, fish & chips was had for supper.
Must try and get to bed by a decent time*, as I'm heading off to Glasgow to do some singing tomorrow.
* it's awfully easy to not go to bed until stupid o'clock when you don't have to be up in the morning!
Yes, I am very into one pot cooking myself.
My Nan made her meat pudding in a cloth. I’ve made jam roly poly in a cloth too but it was a while ago as Mr Heavenly cooks the suet puddings around here (he’s a better baker than me so often does the desserts).