Yawn Yawn Wakey Wakey 2024

Glad the exercises seem to be helping @Ladybird4. I hope you come home with a happy rose @Busy-Lizzie.

I felt the same @Penny_Forthem when our hens went "dry" for a week in early spring and I had to buy eggs! Like you, our tomatoes and lone cucumber plant are doing nothing and the first one to start making fruits has died under the strain - an ananas noire I was really looking forward to tasting.

This far inland, in the countryside, we only get seagulls following tractors ploughing or harrowing. At the coast they are becoming increasingly noisy and aggressive and it's against bye-laws to feed them. Magpies are the problem in my garden this year - three successful nests and the parents and offspring are noisy bullies who wreak havoc at our feeders. In previous years there have been no successful nests built, let alone occupied.

It is cool today with a strong breeze and cloudy spells. i've spent the morning in bed tryingto doze away my cold but now must get on with another coat of paint.

Hope everyone's enjoying their day.

 

Your menu sounds delicious @Penny_Forthem , especially the buttermilk spiced chicken. I think a recipe might be called for .

Thanks for the drawing of the pose @Badly_Maintained, it’s similar to some of the Pilates postures, and yes, they do help. I just decided to hold off Pilates this week to help my back recover, but I think I might risk trying that or the ball against a wall that was suggested yesterday.

I hope your migraine has gone.

 

Afternoon all, we've had heavy rain so far with a few short glimmers of sunshine.
Had a surprise call from daughter - who's on her way up to stay. Thankfully the guest bedroom already has fresh linen and towels ready so I only had to do a quick main bathroom clean and put a small rose posy in the bedroom.
Decided to try an extra fasting day so we'll see how long we can last out!
Do hope your migraines go away @Badly_Maintained .
We have loads of magpies as well @Obelix-Vendée , I counted ten in the garden last week and they are getting to be quite a nuisance. It will be interesting to see what happens when the red kites arrive who have been seen nearer and nearer to us so only a matter of time. Trouble is they may also predate on our tiny songbirds so mixed feelings really. Hope your cold clears up soon.
Your day out sounds good @Busy-Lizzie, are you hoping to go home with a Chandos Beauty rose by any chance?

 

Afternoon everyone.

Just back from clothes shopping with sis and niece. I wanted some more linen trousers but nothing was quite right. Bought a linen dress though. My niece (10) is a good shopping companion. I saw some pink flowery linen trousers which were briefly considered until my niece pointed out, in a well-meaning way, “they are very bold”.

Ok it’s tennis time now but I’m just having a cuppa outside first, whilst the sun is out.

Have good weekends all.

 

@Blue arbour it's not really a 'recipe', more a 'make it up as you go along' dish. I either mix curry powder/ chillies etc with buttermilk or a general mix of spices. Today, it's dried chillies, fennel seeds and a citrus spice mix. Middle eastern spices go well, too. Marinade the chicken for a few hours, drain and bake till cooked.

How lovely to have a surprise visit from your daughter @lizzie27

 

They’re the best, @Penny_Forthem. I often cook like that, perhaps take the bare bones of a recipe and then add, tweak, adapt. Much more fun, I think .

 

Good afternoon eveyone. Like @AuntyRach, I have been watching the tennis.I was a bit sad to hear that Emma Raducanu had withdrawn from the mixed doubles with Andy Murray due to her wrist being somewhat stiff. However, I can understand that, as she needs to think about her next singles match. It seems fitting that Andy had that wonderful - and emotional - tribute paid to him yesterday after the doubles match with his brother, which has turned out to be his last appearance at Wimbledon.
Magpies here are a nuisance too. When I hear them 'chacking' in my garden, I go out to shoo them away as they go after the little fledglings.
@lizzie27, I hope you have a lovely catch up with your daughter. Is she staying for the weekend or a little longer?
@Penny_Forthem, I love experimenting with flavours as you described but you have definitely made my mouth water! It will be so nice seeing your family after the disappointment of the other planned visit.

 

Signing out for today. Enjoy everything you are doing tonight. See you in the morning.

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@Obelix-Vendée and @lizzie27 I didn't buy a rose from Peter Beales. It was tipping with rain. I wanted to see how their rambling roses on arches were doing. The Chevy Chase that I bought there last year is sending out long side shoots and I wanted to know what they do with them. Nothing yet. I wanted to look at Chandos Beauty, saw one in the garden but it was looking sad in the pouring rain. The other things I went for were rose fertiliser and compost.

@Badly_Maintained I'm sending you a message.

 

I’ve lost sight of our hills. Don’t know if it’s sleet of snow coming down, but whatever it is, it’s darned cold.

 

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Hello there @PatE and all arriving soon. I bet that your wood burner is working overtime @PatE. I wouldn't say it was cold here but it is certainly not like a usual summer. True to form, Wimbledon is being interrupted by rain. Its a good job that they have some covered courts.

 

Good Sunday morning. Beautiful day, cool breeze. The rain did a world of good to the garden. Weeding this week I imagine!! My nice friend from Montpellier is here and we took Fizz out together this morning. No sign of the awful rude man. Bother!! (Probably just as well as my friend would probably have knocked the stuffing out of him!!).

I have made chicken provencal (first green peppers) with rice and fried aubergines (from the garden too). Tomatoes yet to ripen.

I wrote this post yesterday late afternoon and thought it had got flipped off! Oh well - here we are:

No rudies this morning @Ladybird4 @Blue arbour @Badly_Maintained although I was talking to a couple who have a 10yr old staffie about the aggression. They were appalled that that sort of thing happens around here. They agreed that the couple must have issues!!

Anyway! It has been raining intermittently all day. I have been very lazy this afternoon watching TV and reading. I must say the afternoon has flown by.

I find this position relieves my hip and knee pain @Badly_Maintained when I am in bed, as stretching out my leg is very painful and the pain continues right down to the tendons on my shins. Roll on surgery but I fear it won't be for a while yet as things tend to shut up shop down here and reopen in autumn! Hope your migraines can be relieved somehow.

I have tried to get buttermilk here but I just get odd looks. On our farm in NZ I would sometimes make butter in the spring with the lovely rich milk. Then use the buttermilk for baking. By golly! It really makes scones and cakes puff up!!

 

Morning all,
Shame about the rain @Busy-Lizzie, my daughter and I are sitting looking at a dirty big dark raincloud coming our way - we are hoping to go to Malmesbury for a look round and probably lunch as there are no NGS gardens open near us today. OH wants to stay here to watch the British GP so that fits in fine. The archaeologists have just found skeletons in an early 10thC burial pit just outside Malmesbury Abbey which they are very excited about. It's in the garden of the pub next door.

Can you make buttermilk @Tui34 or do you buy it? Do hope your pain is manageable and that the voting tonight is not too extreme - strange times indeed.

Oh dear, now it's raining hard so trip out postponed for a bit.
Have a good Sunday everybody.

 

Good morning and G’day all.

Rain last night was a double-blessing as next door had a party and they moved that inside about 11pm. I don’t mind hearing a bit of music from other people’s homes but it was absolutely awful (20 year olds).

Have a great day everyone - whether you are out and about, keeping warm, watching sport, weeding, feeding or anything else.

 

Morning. It's poured, but is dry now - but for how long?
Darned cool, here, as well @PatE
Very pleasant evening and everything turned out well. I'd bought half a side of salmon, which OH has never, ever wanted to try as it's 'fish' (regardless of the fact he'll eat it smoked). Blow me down with a feather, he says, 'that looks nice!' And promptly eats a quarter of it. So, hopefully, I can now add oily fish to his diet once in a while. Oh, and add to that, beetroot salad, which he didn't know he liked!
They left at 10 to put their chickens away and we caught up with news and turned in by 11.