Yawn Yawn Wakey Wakey 2024

@Badly_Maintained … at least from what we’ve seen there’s no sign of a wild party lifestyle … I’ll find a nice Welcome card to pop through the door later …

Well, the drizzle has stopped and the sky’s a bit brighter … but I won’t be hanging the washing out …

I was speaking to my sister in law (my late bro’s widow) last evening … farmers are really struggling with this weather … and they farm on light land and grow mainly vegetables … the grain and beet farmers on heavier land must be desperate/desolate. Goodness knows what this year’s weather will do to food prices longer term.

 

Ooh @Badly_Maintained, I do remain forever positive. @Dovefromabove, I feel so, so sorry for farmers. I know I whinge on about my garden being underwater every time it rains but I am not relying on my garden for my living. Inevitably costs are bound to rise for some of our major food crops but if that helps the incomes of farmers I will just have to bite the bullet and go with it.

 

It turned even brighter and a brisk breeze sprang up so I popped down and put the wash on … then OH said he’s not had his shower yet … he was going to have his porridge first for a change … by then the programme had gone past the pause option … the best laid plans of mice and men etc … speaking of which we caught two yesterday, one under the airing cupboard and one in the mini greenhouse … I’ve checked the cupboard this morning and nothing … I’ve not checked outside yet …

 

Morning all.

I really hope that summer will arrive by mid July as Son 1 and his family are coming to stay with us in Norfolk. We were so lucky when Son 2 came earlier this month. We should have some summer by next week in Dordogne as the forecast is for 29C, but it was already postponed from this week.

I worked in the vegetable garden yesterday, earthed up the potatoes, hoed and planted tomatoes. I'm hosting the garden club vegetable group next week. At last OH was able to mow yesterday.

I'm going to lunch in a local restaurant today with the walking group. I won't be able to do the 2 hour walk before lunch as my knee is still hurting. The walking group is a sociable group but is turning into a lunch club. Last time the walk was called off because of the tipping rain but 25 of us still went to a restaurant for lunch!

 

Glad to see you back @Songbird

 

Hello @Songbird - how lovely to see you on here. Sorry to hear you've been a bit under par, but I hope some time in the company of old friends will cheer things along for you.

This forum is nice and friendly. There are a few things to get used to but, once you've found the shortcuts to make it work for you, it's nice and easy. The only thing I really miss is being able to use my own iPad emoticons - a small price to pay for being able to have a daily chat. If you need a hand to work out the best shortcuts just give a shout.

Glad your friend had a good send off @Ladybird4

@Dovefromabove - wow - 2 more mice. Think those traps will need to stay in place a while longer! My slug pubs have been doing a grand job. A sieve full of small slugs in 3 yoghurt pot sized traps yesterday. Emptied and refilled yesterday and I've now generated 2 more traps to use.

I, too, worry about our local farmers. I really couldn't stand the stress of farming. At the mercy of so many uncontrollable factors.

Hope your new neighbours turn out to be nice folks.

@Badly_Maintained - spring is such a joyous time - love Welsh poppies.

Need to collect OH's meds and I might buy a cheeky sausage roll for lunch at the local bakery. Have a bit of a craving just now....

 

OH is at work, the house is reasonably clean and tidy, the washing has been out and come back in again almost dry enough to put away. It’s finishing on a rack on the landing. The window cleaner has been and gone. There’s a pot of lentil, tomato and ginger soup chuntering on the hob and I’ve picked our first lot of broad beans to have with cod, parsley sauce and new potatoes!!!

Roland Garros here I come …

 

Wednesday. right now 65 degrees. suppose to rain later today.
@Dovefromabove your soup sounds lovely. Are you using red lentil beans? Your ingredients are close to what I do, I add also a cubed up carrot.
Later for dinner I am making some Jambalaya, I always do when I have roast pork left overs, have some spicy sausage in freezer, left over pork roast broth that the fat was raised , a tomato that needs to be used up. And will add the typical green pepper, celery, worcestershire sauce, thyme, garlic, tomato sauce.

Speaking about Farmers, do any of you know if your government pays farmers "not" to farm certain amounts of land they own? Many years ago, 50 at least, a farmer friend of mine told me the government here pays him not to farm certain amount of acres he has.

Anyway, on to whatever task presents itself. Always something to do. Take care all.

 

Yes @redstar … red lentils I sometimes add carrot … in that case I often add ground roasted cumin as well.

There have long been environmental schemes to encourage UK farmers to farm with wildlife … the way the schemes work now is shown here https://www.itv.com/news/2022-01-06/farmers-and-landowners-to-be-paid-to-rewild-english-countryside

You may be interested in this farm just a couple of miles from here https://www.highashfarm.com/ Before my son had his accident and my OH injured his knee we used to go walking there. Hopefully we’ll soon be able to go again. The farmer has a weekly podcast talking about the wildlife on the farm Episode 2: Cyclops And Hedgerows - Chris Skinner's Countryside Podcast

 

@Dovefromabove , I also add cumin. And simply roasted carrots with cumin on them (some salt) is awesome. Other quick one for carrots, steamed sliced, some butter and a tad of orange marmalade on them, salt, awesome as well.


Back to the Chess subject. I swear the down fall to my first marriage was because I kept beating husband at the game. Now second husband does not play, but he "used" to like miniature gulf, kept beating him at that, we don't play anymore. Oh, well.

 

Only about half the walking club actually did the walk and most of them moaned that it was too long. It was nearly 7km. We are all getting older! It rained, which wasn't forecast.

I sat at a table with a couple who had lived very close to where I lived in Kent in the 1980s. We both used to meet our husbands at a lovely old pub in summer half way between the station and our houses. Both our OHs worked in London. Children weren't allowed in pubs in those days so we used to have chicken and chips in a basket in the garden. I wonder if I met her then.

On the way home I stopped at the small family run nursery to buy some French marigolds to plant between the tomatoes.

I wonder where @Songbird's post went.

 

Hi all

We are home, had a lovely meal at Northcote, but the weather for the last 2 days has been truly dreadful, so didn't manage the other things we planned.
Menu is enclosed for those interested, the onion was truly magnificent, slow cooked for 36 hours, regularly basted with Iberico fat. The Sea Buckthorn with the Lobster was also a delight, adding a beautifully acidic flavour.

 

That sounds delicious @Punkdoc - my sausage roll was very tasty - but not at quite that level

Love Lisa Goodwin-Allen - an excellent chef who seems eminently approachable and down to earth.

 

Yes, she is lovely, @Topbird, we were the last to leave the restaurant [ not unusual for us ] and she came and had a chat.

 

Real cooking royalty @Punkdoc
What a fabulous menu.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, a bit of a moment here. A tooth and crown has deconstructed. I knew it’s time was limited … the dentist had been toying with the idea of taking it out as the stump was slowly decomposing under the crown, but it wasn’t painful so the decision was taken to leave it as long as we could. The time has come … I’ll phone the dentist tomorrow … I have a hygienist appointment for Tuesday … I’ll probably have to cancel that … life is never simple is it … and we’re no longer NHS so heaven knows what that’s going to cost …