Yawn Yawn Wakey Wakey 2025

Thanks so much @Obelix-Vendée. My mouth was watering just reading the ingredients.

 

I am signing out for today and I will catch up with any more of your news tomorrow. I really wish we could hear something about @Goldenlily26.

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Goodnight @Ladybird4. I agree, it would be good to have Goldenily34 posting again or some indication as to what has happened.

I've had an interesting, although quite exhausting day today. I spent 4 hours driving to Newbury and back on the old A4 - my favourite but nowadays rather slow road. So many roadworks everywhere. I did the 2 minute silence sitting in a traffic jam trying to get out of Marlborough whilst a civic procession was making its way towards me. They were getting very wet in all their finery unfortunately. On the way back, there was a cloudburst over Marlborough so a very wet journey home - and no lunch.

The object of the trip was to take an oil painting I got from my Dad up to an auction house for sale. The kids don't want it as it's not to their taste so I thought I'd sell it and give them the money instead whilst I'm still alive. The hoops I had to jump through for provenance and ID were unbelievable but at least it proved the auction house were doing their job properly - unlike the BBC jobsworths. The only other thing I've sold at auction was a small Clarice Cliffe vase, 75p in a jumble sale and sold for £50. Hopefully the painting will go for a bit more but I'm not holding my breath as apparently the antiques market is suffering.

Meanwhile OH was hurtling down the M6/M5 from Blackpool after an overnighter to visit old Austin friends - he might just be buying another one!!!

It's good to be safely home.

 

@Ladybird4, Cedric bought 4 ties for £5 in the Oxfam charity shop. One will be suitable for Saturday.

@Obelix-Vendée when we moved to France in 1985 my late OH was horrified that the French men in the bank were very casually dressed. At that time in England bankers wore suits and ties.

My dark green velvet party dress arrived this afternoon. I like it but it is slightly too big. I read the reviews and some said it's sized too small so best to order a size bigger. I shouldn't have taken their advice. It's passable though.

 

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A very good morning to you all. Today I will retrace my steps to the village to pick up the forgotten prescription items and then I shall carry on crafting. I might just call into Aldi whilst I'm in the village and have a quick mooch. Pleased to read that you and Cedric are now ready for your posh do on Saturday @Busy-Lizzie!

 

Good morning to you all from a dismal South of France.

Windy and overcast and overall autumnal weather for the next few days. 16°C though.

Bankers here still think they are on holiday - and a couple of years ago, I had to remark on one employee who was wearing bermuda shorts and jandals (thongs?) Apparently, I wasn't the only one. Definitely, no ties.
No one seems to dress up for theatre or jazz concerts here - and it's not recent.
I used to get the train with my grandmother to go to her brother's farm - it was Sunday best for travelling!
Working in London for lawyers in the early 70s, trouser suits were forbidden, as were bare legs in the summer - tights all year round!
I dressed smartly here when working in primary education - yes lipstick and all! I noticed the other teachers smartened up eventually - but some still wore jeans and a thermal top or tee shirt.
I would say - if you come to work dressed for serious work - then the class works seriously. I don't think I could say the same for secondary education.

Thank you very much @Obelix-Vendée for your suggestion for pork belly. It's very fatty, but I love it - especially if you can find it with the skin on for crackling. I always use "Vergoise Brun" as muscovado - love it on my porridge, too!! Which, I must say, has been in scarce supply over the last year....the sugar.
I have the end of the jambon de montagne so will be slow cooking a pot of cabbage soup today and tomorrow for tomorrow evening when my friend comes from Montpellier.

I hope Rufus' tum is better - nothing worse than a chundering dog (or cat)!!

Wishing you all a pleasant day and all aches and twinging joints are manageable with this autumn weather!!

 

Morning all. I have a free day today as Dad’s appointment has been cancelled. I might do a trip to Diddly-Dee too, but it’s going to be a rainy day so apple crumble making later. Most of my apples were windfall so they need to be used up - I’ll stew and freeze any left.

My niece and I are doing jigsaw-swapping this month and I have a delightful “forest squirrel” one to do - it’s wooden with some pieces that are cut into animal and plant shapes! I’ll post a pic when I start it.

Have a good day everyone, and take care.

 

My only appointment today is with the emergency dentist.
I have a brisket nestling in the slow cooker, basking on a bed of veg!!
Rufus seems to be back to his old self, thank goodness.

 

Hello. Sunny here now but with a fine layer of cloude high up covering a lot of the sky. I stayed up very late last night to try and see meteor showers but no sign.

@Tui34 I do look thru every pack to make sure I get one without great fatty clumps and I slow roast it on a bed of sliced onions, apple and herbs and a bottle of dry cider. I turn the oven up high at the end to crisp the crackling and finish the parsnips/potatoes/Yorkshire puds accordingly.

Love a good cabbage soup, especially with ham or garlic sausage. Garbure?

@Busy-Lizzie OH wore a suit and tie to work all thru his London career and carried on when we moved to Belgium in 1991 tho their own standards accepted non matching jackets and trousers with a tie for formal meetings with clients. OH still wore a tie every day and I'd buy him proper ones and others with interesting or amusing motifs but never crass, jokey ones. His colleagues called him monsieur cravate. Glad you like your dress and better a bit loose than a bit tight.

Enjoy your unexpected free day @AuntyRach.

I am making lentil soup for lunch and then have a date with some bulbs. Not such a rush now as they've taken away the Friday drenching and wet weekend but I still have sewing homework to do before Monday.

The weeks seem to be flying by with indecent haste.

 

Hello folks,

Hope the dentist appointment goes ok @Penny_Forthem.

I echo Obelix's thoughts on dresses, I'd far rather wear something loose than too tight although I did notice that the navy blue jersey trousers I wore yesterday were too much on the baggy side now I've lost weight. I don't wear them very often so hadn't realised. Better check on all the others too.

OH also wore suits and ties during his working career. He frequently had meetings with Admirals and other Navy grandees so had to look smart. He looks good in them but doesn't get the chance to wear them much these days. He's still got a good selection of ties, about 20-30 odd, some dating back 40 odd years! Woe betide me if I suggest we throw some out!

We were just getting ready to fetch the paper when one of OH's nephews arrived, bearing a belated birthday card for him and carrot cake in a box which I'd thought was a box of chocolates so I didn't offer the carrot cake round to have with our coffee. Oops, still, more for us I suppose!

Think I'd better catch up on the h/w, it doesn't look like a gardening day out there, still drizzling.

 

Afternoon all!

Wet here too. It's getting boring... though I did manage an hour in the garden yesterday, in the gap when the heavy rain had stopped but it wasn't yet dark. Lawn was squelchy but I got rid of some sodden achillea foliage, and found some enormous sow thistles which were hiding in the hedge, and felt better for being out in the fresh air.

Apple crumble sounds appealing, @AuntyRach ... we still have quite a lot of early cooking apples in the fridge, so I might make a crumble for tomorrow's pud.

 

Needless to say I didn't get any bulbs done. Sore throat still mithering and I didn't fancy the stretching and bending over double needed to plant things till the day comes when I can kneel again. Instead, I took myself off to the polytunnel and re_ptted the hydrange and salvia I was given yesterday then potted up my dill babies in a large pot which will live in the polytunnel so added a metal obelisk to keep chooks off. That's the theory anyway.

Planted out 5 Swiss chard and potted up the 5 measly parsley plants from a 24 cell tray then tidied up the seep hose and hoed both beds. The citrus plants and fuchsias will go on one bed for the winter and the other will remain bare for chooks to dust bathe.

OH has been busy cutting the hedge and removing brambles and finished all that off by cutting the grass at the front and side. I took him a cuppa and told him I'd had a brainwave - huge sighs - but it's a better solution for our planned extra terrace and seating behind the house and will reduce the need to level the ground. Getting him started is a whole other matter.

Endless rain can get depressing @Liriodendron so I'm pleased you managed to get outside for a while. Fresh air certainly improves the spirit. We like apple crumble too and I've been making it with our first crop of Bramleys but Possum likes it chunkier so I now add Grannies as well. Only on Sundays tho.

Hope everyone's had a good day.

 

Raining here. I had to go up into the loft to identify where the phone people might run their cable. Didn’t enjoy that very much! We will need to get part of the roof refelted. At least I didn’t meet any spiders, although when I opened the loft hatch, rather a lot of dead woodlice felt down. Yuck!
We popped out for a brief shop this morning. I got the two towels I wanted to buy (clutching a paint chart I’d brought with me to make sure I got the right colour!) Managed not to buy any of the other tempting items, mainly because nearly everything was made in China. The towels weren’t, and the pretty birthday cards I got were made in the UK.
The splint I ordered for my dodgy wrist arrived in the post, looks and feels ok, and should help to stop me doing the movements that hurt.
Do you have time to order the smaller size dress, @Busy-Lizzie, and keep whichever one fits better? I wouldn’t recommend that if it’s from M and S though, the smaller size might turn out to be even bigger!
Apple crumble sounds good! I do like making them, as they are easier than pie, but that is OH’s favourite.
On the rare occasions when I visit my bank, the people working there are wearing smart uniforms. I only go in because there are cash dispensers inside, it is warm and dry, and there are no dodgy types looking over my shoulder!

 

I went to Specsavers this morning then had a mooch around the shops. My eyes are OK, don't need new glasses yet though the right eye is slightly worse that 2 years ago. He said they are good for someone my age. I bought a navy fleece, cheap in sales, for gardening when I need a bit of extra warmth.

There isn't time to order the smaller size @Ergates. Cedric says it looks fine. My problem is my apple shaped tummy! I take a size smaller in jumpers than jeans.

This afternoon I went outside and raked up the leaves on the drive at last. I filled the garden bin and 10 compost sacks. I'll keep the compost sacks for mulching next year.

 

My emergency filling is fine, but she has recommended a crown. She quoted me £695 for it, but the NHS website says it shouldn't be that much in Wales.
In fact, I'm amazed at the discrepancy of costs across the home nations for NHS dental treatments.
I shall make enquiries.
I don't think there's any chance of an Aurora sighting tonight. It's pouring.
Son has been in Ireland the last few days. Says it's wet!
We thoroughly enjoyed the Mr Burton film.