Chitchat thread #24

[Snoop Puss]

Early evening all. Possibly late afternoon where you are. Anyway, hello all.

Rary, really hope you and your OH get some good news re pain relief soon. That's a terrible situation to be in, especially for her but for you too.

It's been tipping it down here today. Looks like it's going to continue through to the end of the year, some days worse than others. The farmers who haven't finished picking their olives are talking about not completing their harvest till February this year. The ground is already so soft and soggy they've no chance of getting their tractors on the land. Meanwhile, I'm laughing. Our two helpers finished off some drainage work on Sunday and it's all working a treat. In the spring, when there's no chance of frost, we'll have another tank built for harvesting rainwater. No excuse not to have a veg and a flower patch then.

Bren, I hate jelly too. And I'm not keen on marshmallows either. Don't mind proper Turkish delight, though.

MH, your egg situation sounds just like the kind of thing I'd do. I've got a big bag of lemons and a load of butter and eggs (I cleared all the butter in one of the shops today... ). But I was going to use the lemons for preserved lemons at long last. I might be picking your brains again in a day or so, GF, when I get round to it. I've looked at Claudia Roden and see she has a method where you have to leave them for at least a month before you use them, and I'm not that patient, to be honest, and another method where you only have to wait four days, which sounds a bit too good to be true.

Have a great rest of the day, everyone.

[Nicos]

We actually had to buy eggs the other day
Not had an egg laid for about a month now- and we’ve just finished the backlog
We are now down to three chooks- the nicest and most characterful one is old and has stopped laying anyway…We really should get some new ones but maybe not yet….

[greenishfing]

Good evening.

The palliative care nurse called round this afternoon and gave Mr GF his vitamin B12 injection and to see if he needed any other help at the moment.

I put the news on the TV at 6pm and found that I couldn't keep my eyes open. In the end I gave in and have had a two hour nap. I feel much better for it. It won't help me sleep tonight but sometimes you just have to go with the flow.

I just checked the Royal Mail app and my brother's Christmas puds are now in Australia.

Snoop Puss, I try and leave my preserved lemons for at least three weeks. There is no reason you can't use them earlier but the longer you leave them the better they are. The ones I'm using at the moment are about three months old. I add some of them, finely chopped to lots of things, mayonnaise, risotto, roast veg, fish dishes, etc, etc. Mr GF now has a new favourite snack, banana milkshake. Just a banana, milk and a splodge of runny honey zapped together.

I had a mini catastrophe with my oatmeal coloured bedroom carpet last night. Somehow half a glass of red wine spilt on it and I didn't realise ..... I'd forgotten that I poured it

Amazingly I'd bought a bottle of carpet cleaner a while ago. It actually does what it says Wow! No sign of a stain anymore.

It seems as if it's getting frosty now. The car is putting it's white coat on.

I hope everybody gets a decent night's sleep. Sweet dreams😴

[Nicos]

Sweet dreams for you too GF

And brill news re the carpet cleaner! Phew.

[mothhawk]

Morning all.

Looks a bit misty out, but no frost.

Good news about the carpet GF. Definitely a product to repeat buy!

Still waiting for one last Christmas gift to be delivered. I'm rather cross as the website never said it was out of stock, and I had no idea until another part of the order was delivered, when an enclosed note said they expected more stock by 19th December. Reputable company too. Hope it arrives in time as it's really too late to order something else. Meanwhile, I'll finish wrapping those I have.

[mothhawk]

I've just watched a utoob short about a guy lighting his woodburning stove, and he had 3 woodburner fans on the top. I didn't even know they were a thing, but what a brilliant idea.

[Snoop Puss]

Morning all. Morning MH.

We have a couple of those fans, MH, one on the range and the other on the woodburning stove in the bedroom. They do work well. The last one we bought came from Aldi, of all places. Hope the delivery arrives on time. Oh, and thanks for this morning's funnies. I shall especially enjoy telling this morning's to Mr Snoop (he's a bit of literary buff).

Thanks for the advice on preserved lemons, GF. Looks like a longer term project than I had thought. I might make a jar of the four-day ones just to tide me over while the other ones mature. Glad your carpet survived unscathed.

Lake District weather outdoors here. Heavy drizzle and mist. The cats are less bothered by the wet than Jack, surprisingly. Missie regularly comes in now, sopping wet through, asking to be dried off. Must try and do her paws next time, as she has left muddy paw tracks all over the quilt cover...

On the cards for today, as much work as I can get through. Lunch up the valley again. Both Mr Snoop and I feel the need for a detox. after all the rich food and wine these last couple of weeks or so. M is leaving tomorrow, so we'll have time for a few days of austerity before the festive onslaught.

Have a great day, everyone.

[greenishfing]

Good morning.

I can't believe it. A "proper" night's sleep, on top of the two hours I had yesterday evening . I fell asleep around midnight and have just woke up. I never moved all night .... WE never moved. A book and a box of tissues are still on the bed, where they were when I fell asleep. I've just turned the thermostat up, had a quick chat with Mr GF, and snuggled back into bed. I've no idea if it is frosty as I didn't stop to peek out.

Royal Mail should be calling this morning to collect a parcel (Christmas puddings)🤞The parcel is sitting, all neatly wrapped and labelled, by the front door.

The lure of the coffee pot is getting stronger by the minute. I'll grab my big hoodie and head for the kitchen shortly

Coffee made Hello yourselves.

I think I'm going to treat myself to half an hour with my book while I drink it

[greenishfing]

Snoop Puss, can you find somewhere between the door and your bed to put a "muddle" rug. They just soak in all the wet and mud from paws and feet as animals, and humans cross them. They can go in the washer and dry very quickly. I use mine as bedside rugs .... but then put a glass of wine directly onto the carpet

[Bren In Pots]

Morning

A wet and misty day here, of to have my hair cut soon then a bit of a shop after.

MH we have the Aldi fan for our stove bought it around 8 years ago, they usually have them in stock around this time.

Good news about your last nights sleep GF.

[Snoop Puss]

GF, we have tiled and wooden floors. A rug is likely to slip and slide or be a trip hazard. But it is a nice idea. I shall think on.

Glad you got a good night's sleep, by the way.

[bramble]

Good morning all, it's mild and sunny here and it's 11 degs.
Good to hear you had a good nights sleep GF.
Enjjoy your lunch out Snoop, still plenty of time to get back on track.

As its such a nice morning I am going to plant out my garlic which I started off in modules
Have a good day all.

[Nicos]

Mornin n’alln’all
Absolutely rubbish sleep …thought it’d be better if you had it all for a change GF….talk about me being generous!

I’m did spot the frost outside before I finally got to sleep at 5am ( helped by a hotwater bottle) All gone now of course…but it does look like we are in for about 2 weeks of frosts.

I’m feeling rather chuffed this morning…I managed to pin OH down to sorting out the week’s menu…all main ingredients needed…and two grory hop lists for Friday and next Monday . Phew. Not easy sorting foods out for 4 people with very different needs

I intend to sort out a crafting box for us to use to make decorations whilst our granddaughter is here…. I’ve so many small boxes that I thought it easier to just get out some of the basics depending on which project.

Might just start making the first wreath too.

Re those absorbent cotton rugs…we have some rubber backed ones from Dunelm by our back door and they are on a tiled floor and don’t budge at all. Have a look at this… you may be able to look out for something online which is very similar? We have two…one in the wash and one being used …https://www.dunelm.com/product/marve...l+Stripe+Candy

Wouldn't be without them tbh

Right…the sun is shining and I need to go but some bay and rosemary twigs…

Have a lovely day peeps…there’s always something to be grateful for.

[Florence Fennel]

Good Morning All I tried posting earlier, but some problems my end. Just started raining here. . Your hair looks nice Bren Have a good day

[greenishfing]

Here's a link to the muddle mat. It is also rubber backed but not cotton which is probably why it dries so quickly.

https://www.matalan.co.uk/deep-pile-...IaAkenEALw_wcB