Yawn Yawn Wakey Wakey 2024

Good Morning Ladies & Gentlemen,

Best wishes for your health and wellbeing @Goldenlily26 . I very much hope that you will be able to live your life to the full, and that you will have many happy days to come.

Hopefully your recovery from your cataract surgery is continuing apace, and now you are able to enjoy your new much-improved vision @floralies .

I hope your knee has improved @Busy-Lizzie .

My best wishes to your OH for a speedy recovery from his hip surgery @lizzie27 .

Good to see you on this thread @Liriodendron . I very much hope to see you here frequently.

How I spent last week was to go up to Belfast, collect the 3 Daughters of a relative and bring them here to stay with me for the week. I took them into the local mountain range, to some of the local lakes and forests and to a few of the local castles. Then I took them to make sandcastles and collect shells on local beaches, then to see the local lighthouses. After that I took them on both of the local ferries, and I arranged a boat trip for them from the local harbour. Every day I also took them to a different place for ice-cream (I can't understand why we have so many different ice-cream places around here, but we do). Left them home again at the weekend, and I was very, very sad on the way home. My only regret in this life is not becoming a Father.

As always - best wishes to all.

 

I LOVE that picture @Liriodendron. Thank you so much for sharing it with us. A joyous glimpse of some of our wildlife. I am looking forward to The Hundred which starts tomorrow.
@Penny_Forthem I will be trying that recipe out soon. All that 'talk' of food earlier made my mouth water!

 

I haven't had a pork pie for decades @Ladybird4 but I did find some fabulous pickled red onions on hols in Tuscany - a bit sweet and not too sour. They were part of an antipasti buffet and then I found some in an SM. Never have found a recipe.

I've just realised I forgot to put the cook time in that apricot and almond cake recipe so I've added it to that post. 30 to 35 mins till springy.

Kitchen bookcase has its final coat of paint and will then have to cure for a few days before I load it up. Mega frittata made for this week's lunches on "fat " days. I'm on the 5:2 diet too. As well as wanting to be a healthier weight before winter, I don't suit the fashion for baggy/pleated/wide leg trousers and need some new fitted ones for autumn and winter and don't want to make fat ones.

@Liriodendron your hedgehog looks fat and healthy. Never seen one here except in our first year when we found a dead one. However, there's plenty of shelter here so maybe they're just shy.

 

A very good morning @Badly_Maintained. I was wondering where you were and what you were up to. My goodness but you have been a busy person. Those three girls will remember and treasure the memories of their week spent with you - and all of the ice creams that they managed to consume. They will be counting the days until they can come and stay with you again.

 

Thank you @Obelix-Vendée, I roughly guestimated it would be round about that amount of time. Were the pickled red onions little whole ones or slices? Just curious.

 

Good morning all!

All quiet on the southern front!! Everything cleaned up and out - my fridge is full of hams, cheeses and drinks. They depart Marseille today for Paris then Eurostar for UK after that!! They had a good "french" lesson yesterday afternoon as we had to declare the theft of one of their mobile phones at the Gendarmerie!! We had some good laughs as in the middle of it all, the gendarme who was dealing with us looked like the chief and got a call to say that there was a semi naked couple performing "sexual acts" in full view of everyone on the beach!! Out went the patrol and the couple were brought in one after the other to have a little "session" downstairs.
There are "naturist" and even "swinger" beaches for that sort of thing down here - not on family beaches. But, we all know they will be let off and out once they sober up.

So the washing has begun - getting things back to "norm". It'll take me a few days to recover from the late evening sessions outside with the wine. So much to talk about and catch up on. My niece who lives in Cortina will be back down here early September to settle their son into the new Uni year.

My Nana (who was born in 1895) made bread and butter cucumbers every year. I have her handwritten recipe.

Saw 2 swallowtail butterflies yesterday @Ladybird4 but they were having trouble flitting in this wind!

Very windy but sunny and hot. Good drying weather. Have a lovely Monday everyone.

 

Small and whole @Ladybird4

 

The boot of my car now has bags of Marmite, peanut butter, baked beans, elderflower cordial, Tikka paste, golden syrup, tea bags, hot cross buns, sliced bread etc in it to take back to France.

I like pork pies but I don't like pickled onions. I eat pork pie with cherry tomatoes. I would like to take pork pies, Lincoln sausages, back bacon and Cheddar cheese but they are forbidden.

 

@Busy-Lizzie I can get Marmite and peanut butter at the local Carrefour Market (there be Brits in the neighbourhood) and peanut butter, baked beans and tikka paste at Leclerc. Cheaper if bought in the UK of course. IKEA do elderflower syrup but the nearest shop is an hour away. I now have a bird sown shrub growing in a pot. I shall plant it out somewhere this autumn and hope to get enough flowers for a small bottle of syrup next spring.

Sometimes I can get ginger biscuits and digestives but I have to make my own hot cross buns and only do it at Easter. Must have a go at crumpets one of these days. I find Gouda Vieux is a fine substitute for Cheddar but there's nothing like Lancashire, Cheshire, Caerphilly or Wensleydale in the entire French cheese world. I am eking out my supplies of golden syrup.

 

Hello all, i always seem to be way behind and catching up with you all! We have had a very stormy weekend, Saturday night was bad, we had no electricity but all ok now. OH is very disgruntled as the strimmer has broken yet again, it was only mended not long ago. The garden badly needs my attention but I'm still not meant to be doing much bending.
The Swallowtails are doing much flitting and floating here also @Tui34, such a joy to see after all the bad weather.

 

I can get some of those too in France, lots of British in Dordogne, @Obelix-Vendée, but twice the price and the peanut butter is Dutch and not nice.

 

I am told mine is starting, and all old folks get them. putting it off as long as I can. I can still tread a needle without glasses.

 

have one bottle of that in my fridge, gave it a good college try, its been in the back of the fridge for maybe 15 yeas, maybe when I run out of salt I will use it. Probably all dried up.

 

And again, Monday. At 9am visitor here for the show car, he is measuring out graphic something, to make something for the car's display when we indoor show it in November. That's the best I can tell you all. All done on computer etc. Yes, indoor cars need displays around them. This year Sasha will be up on lifts so her belly can be judged. FUN. I am going to not breath well when the process begins of the lifting of the car when we are there in November. But I am told, a piece of cake. LOL.

Finally able yesterday to clean out one of the beds from weeds and those grass things. Found a lovely yellow jacket hive, will have to gas it . Cut the back lawn also.

Well off to whatever. Take care all.

 

We get USA peanut butter here @Busy-Lizzie , crunchy and smooth. I only use it for cooking.