Your day (apart from gardening) what took place ? 2024

Got a really lovely Easter gift from hubby today, it's a book about gardening, but with a slant.

The book's title is 'Drawn to the Garden' by the actress Caroline Quintin. There's no way you can say she's deva as is the want of most actresses, she's down to earth and practical, the book's sheer joy to read. Not only has she's written the book, she's also illustrated it, practically every page is illustrated.



I've not read it through yet, though you could say it's more of a gardening reference book. She goes into detail on which varieties of veg and plants she grows, explains about insects and those considered a pest. It's a book to treasure!

 

Ouch @Jenny_Aster, that's a bit harsh about 'most' actresses being divas - it's very often how they're portrayed by vulture media for sensational rag selling.

 

You could be right of course @Mrs. B. Just speaking as I find so to say. Though Caroline in her book says that acting gets in her way of gardening, she calls acting her love of showing off. (Words to that effect). Love her honesty. But then again couldn't gardeners be accused of being little show offs? The book's enchanting.

 

Thank you for that recommendation, @Jenny_Aster. I have just joined the library queue for a copy. Only a couple of people in front of me, so shouldn't be long.

 

@Mrs. B. That GP can go whistle!

 

Chocolate is good for you!! It's just the cheaper brands with high nasty fat and sugar content you need to avoid. We really enjoy the little Milka eggs and Possum has a proper Belgian choc Easter egg waiting for her when she gets back on Monday.

Going back a bit - loved the Whistle Stop Café film and the pace of the story telling between the two main characters.

Yesterday we went to pick up Possum's new car and today we have to take it for a run as it's been sitiing on a forecourt for a while and needs a good run at decent speed. It's a manual which is going to be interesting. We've had automatics for the last 20 years or so since using a clutch became difficult when I had 3 lumbar slipped discs and a trapped sciatic nerve. Fine now but have lost the habit of using my left foot to drive a car.

 

I met a friend for dinner (lunch if you're posh) and while in the cafe she met someone she knew.
Then she met someone else she knew.
Then someone else again.
Eventually there were about 7 or 8 women all around our table jabbering and yapping.
I didn't know any of them and I didn't know what to say to them, and I felt awkward and wanted to tell them to shut up and go away.
I got so tense that I couldn't eat my food, so I left it and I went to the toilet to get away from them.

Being with a lot of people (male or female) always makes me feel stressed, and if they're extroverted like these women were I end up feeling drained.
I was glad to come home ! and now that I've had a peaceful cup of coffee in the garden with Bella I don't feel quite so bad.

Next time my friend asks if I want to meet her for dinner (lunch if you're posh) I'll say yes but not in that cafe !

 

@Obelix-Vendée I know high cocoa content chocolate is supposed to be good for you and I do prefer it but only to a point. I think 70% is about my limit, I tried 80% once and it was just too bitter for me. I don't have a specific favourite chocolate, it all depends on what I fancy at that moment. As far as Easter eggs are concerned, this year I have a Cadbury's mini egg one and a Malteasers one but I'm wishing I bought a third now. Will have to see what the Co-op have going cheap on Monday!

 

I completely get where you are coming from, @Michael Hewett. A plan to go out with one person which ends up becoming an impromptu party can be very unsettling. Too much stimulus ... coming from all directions. So exhausting!

 

@Michael Hewett I find being around people exhausting. I'm so glad I'm an early morning cleaner. I work virtually on my own and people don't start coming into the building until shortly before I leave. It's great

 

I'm sorry you were so incomfortable @Michael Hewett and hope you feel beter now.

@Februarysgirl I don't eat 70 or 80% chocolate neat but do use it in recipes for ganache and so on. 54% in cakes.

I was referring more to the use of other fats instead of cocoa butter which is cheaper but also makes the taste and feel wrong. We spent 25 years living in Belgium and learned to discriminate.

Another problem is companies like Mars and Lindt using cocoa from plantations which use child labour as young as 5. No excuse for that in the west.

 

@Obelix-Vendée Yeah, you definitely need high cocoa content for cooking.

Not going to lie, I really don't check the ingredients on chocolate bars. I might check the number of calories but then most of the time I disregard that I have heard that there's a chemical put in chocolate in the US that tastes like vomit. I think it's some sort of preservative but I definitely won't be trying American chocolate. It sounds vile.

Child labour shouldn't be happening anywhere but I assume, as always, it's a money thing.

 

Went to Prison today but just for a coffee!!!
Stopped at the Jail House Cafe on our way to Portland Bill, it is actually IN the HMP Verne prison grounds and some inmates help there. The view of Portland Harbour from the area outside is what a lot of folk come for.

 

@Michael Hewett, so sorry your lunch outing didn’t go well for you. I wonder if your friend realised that you weren’t enjoying yourself? Next time you speak to her, you could tell her how you felt, reassuring her that it wasn’t her fault or done deliberately, but that you’d be happy to try a quieter experience soon. I think my husband would have run for the hills too.

Didn’t read the comment from the doctor on not eating all your Easter egg at once. However, from a dental health point of view, it’s better to eat all the sugary goodies at one time! It takes about an hour for the saliva to neutralise the acid from the sugar. So even if you make a pig of yourself, your mouth will settle down fairly quickly. If however, you spread the sweeties out through the day, each intake will leave your teeth at risk for an hour. So a little bit of chocolate five times in a day could do five times as much damage as one big Easter egg gobbled down in one go! So go for it!

 

@Ergates A colleague said something about it being better for your teeth to eat sweets all at once. I think my dentist would disagree about me eating them at all though!