Last night of our walking holiday. A couple of excellent days in the Shropshire Hills. Off to the wilds of West Sussex tomorrow, where they don’t seem to have discovered the internet. Therefore you might not see me again until Monday.
Last night of our walking holiday. A couple of excellent days in the Shropshire Hills. Off to the wilds of West Sussex tomorrow, where they don’t seem to have discovered the internet. Therefore you might not see me again until Monday.
@Nenya #1 son, his wife and the little chaps live next door. He bought the adjoining house after it was pretty much wrecked by neglect and so he and his (then) girlfriend were able to design it pretty much how they wanted. The gardens are undivided, although we have a wall with arches that could be filled-in (IYSWIM) easily, and there is a connecting door in the cellar. So I live in one side with my lodger (the Godson of my late other half) and my son, DiL, twins and their au pair live next door, which is quite a bit bigger than my "half".
I take the small boys out for a walk in their chariot most mornings, partly so they can escape the noise of the vacuum cleaner which they really don't like and also to keep them out of harm's way now they are mobile, and then my DiL and the au pair take over after that. One night a week the twins sleep in my place so that their parents can have a free evening. Weekends I leave the young family to sort themselves out, and we've got an informal thing where we take it in turns to cook lunch on a Sunday. My lodger has become part of the family, although he is looking for somewhere to buy.
Your domestic arrangements sound very satisfactory for everyone @TheOrganist . I remember you saying about your son and his family buying the house next door to you; I hadn't quite taken on board how blended that would make your two households, with each of you also maintaining a degree of independence. Ideal!
I hope you have a lovely time in West Sussex, @Sarasa . My Dear Old Mum grew up there and always hankered to go back and live there again, but never did.
I'm off on a shopping trip with a friend this morning, for my outfit for Nenlet2's wedding in July. I find clothes shopping immensely stressful for a number of reasons and have to be careful who I go with; but only this week I pretty much decided I'm going to wear the dress I wore for Nenlet1's wedding and simply accessorise it differently, so that's taken the pressure off a bit.
@Nenya Yes, a multi-generational set-up but with boundaries. #1 son is local, #2 is in the forces so this is his base. None of my siblings have had children and my cousins are some distance away so as a small family it seems sensible to have a base that will, hopefully, see the children established and me live out my days without them having long car journeys.
I hope the shopping trip went well. My other half hated buying clothes - as she said, not being a stock size was only the start of the angst. I rarely buy clothes, just look after what I've got and replace as necessary.
ION I'm teaching the au pair two useful skills: how to knit socks and the mysteries of cribbage.
This weekend I've an old friend and his wife coming to stay, bringing with them a grandchild, and the lodger's sister is coming with her fiance so we'll have a houseful.
I trust you'll post details of the fancy supper later.
After a mostly rather bonny day, it's clouded over a wee bit, but still nice, so after coming home from work (nicely unbusy day - L was surprisingly inactive!), I sat down and had a bit of "down-time", then had an amble along my usual bit of the loch, and then home via the chippy to get supper. They were on the most excellent form, and I had a very generous portion of perfectly delicious FISH & CHIPS.
Another day of emails and admin, writing a lecture for next week on public health, and then marking 7 essays (on grief at an individual and societal level). I’m nearly finished this batch of marking. One more big batch is arriving next week, and just over a month to go before the end of term. I’ve already requested a reduction of my working hours in the next academic year because this year my workload has been far too heavy.
Tea was a salad of jersey royals, asparagus and cannellini beans in a mint and lemon dressing, accompanied by pan fried chicken livers and topped with chopped hazelnuts. Accompanied by a bottle of organic cider.
A wonderful guy in the computer shop in the next village has worked miracles on my iphone and ipad, so they are now fully functioning again, to my relief.
Daughter came and did some tidying in my garden, back and front, then we went to the woodland grounds where Mr P was buried almost two years ago. Very pretty as many trees were in blossom.
My meal was HM fish pie from the freezer, very tasty.
Congratulations to @la vie en rouge and Monsieur Rouge. A new sparkly bracelet to mark the occasions sounds most acceptable, together with a special meal out.
Your domestic arrangements sound like a complete win-win for everyone, @TheOrganist . Wonderful!
My sympathies on the marking @Heavenlyannie . My son works in academia and marking seems to take up an inordinate amount of time and energy.
Glad your technology is fully functioning again @Puzzler . The blossom on the trees round here is lovely at present.
I had a pretty successful shopping trip with my friend, who turned out to be patient and encouraging in that situation. I came away with a jacket I'm pleased with, which accentuates a different colour in the dress to the jacket I had for Nenlet1's wedding and will I think give a nice summery look to the ensemble.
Had coffee with friends this afternoon and managed to snaffle a secondhand copy of The Moonstone at the local shop; I've been after a copy for a while. It's one of the things we had in the home I grew up in which had gone missing by the time we cleared it.
Grey here this morning. We are about to have some bacon and eggs then it is off to Cambridge where we are attending a wedding of a Catholic friend (from my yoga group) in a college chapel, followed by champagne and canapés.
Dull and grey in West Lothian today; I'd thought about having an amble after choir practice, but it seemed to be trying to rain, so I didn't bother.
Laundry is laundering, and I really ought to stop messing around on here and take up the trousers that have been awaiting my attention for weeks. I'd sort of put them on the back burner (as it were) because they're white, and it's not quite white-trouser season yet, but we're allegedly getting some nice weather next week, so it would be nice if they were wearable.
Why can't trouser manufacturers make a petite length? Do they think that because you're a "plus" size you have to be the height of a giraffe???
Why can't trouser manufacturers make a petite length? Do they think that because you're a "plus" size you have to be the height of a giraffe???
For many years, I have loved and pretty much permanently lived in New Look jeans, because they have lines which offer a range of leg lengths (28 inch / 30 inch / 32 inch / 34 inch) even in sizes 14/16/18. I am very short, but on the heavier side, and have a slight fear of how much extra faff would be involved in getting trousers to vaguely fit me if New Look were ever to stop these lines! (I'm not capable of taking up trousers myself, so it would probably require sourcing and visiting a tailor / seamstress service.)
I used to be rather giraffe-like, until my equatorial regions began to expand (let the Reader understand), but had no real difficulty in finding trousers or jeans with 33-inch inside leg measurements.
Nowadays, being Feak and Weeble, and of a peculiar shape, I tend to wear tracksuit trousers...a real sign of Old Age, maybe, but they're comfy, and easy to wash!
ION, a somewhat warmer day in Arkland the Calm, with Sun Shine, a few wispy Clouds, and a gentle east-south-easterly Zephyr. Very pleasant, and set to be even better over the next few days. Some work has been done on the Dragon's soot box (where the flue meets the Dragon himself), and extending the Chimney is next on the list of Tasks.
Some patch Paint Ing may well occur next week, if the weather is as fine as forecast. I suppose I should really do some laundry as well...
Meanwhile, PORK PIE n'CHIPS for a (very) late Lunch.
I did an annual Bluebell Walk today, in the grounds of a country estate in our parish, raising funds for the church and village hall. The weather was perfect.
Now I am packing for a short break away on Monday but with warmer weather forecast, even north of the border, which coat to wear is the difficult decision.
Tomorrow is our priest’s last Sunday, so in addition to usual morning HC, there is an Easter service of lessons and hymns/ anthems, with a rehearsal beforehand and tea and cake afterwards, with some speeches. She will be a huge loss to the parish, but I admire her for taking the decision to retire early before she is worn out. She has grandchildren and an elderly mother who will be pleased.
Why can't trouser manufacturers make a petite length? Do they think that because you're a "plus" size you have to be the height of a giraffe???
The Maternal Knotweed even has to take up petite length trousers most of the time, as they are often still too long for her! This was a real pain some years back when she needed a 16 or 18, less so now she's about a 14. She was 5ft 1, but may have shrunk a bit with age.
I'm slightly taller than her at 160cm, so despite inheriting the lack of leg length I usually find petite is short enough (on the very rare occasions I wear ladies trousers!).
Yes, I am far too short at 4 foot 11 for most petite length trousers. Almost all my jeans are bought as capri or cropped length and any gap is filled by wearing long slouch socks in the winter.
A lovely wedding today in Sidney Sussex college chapel, with fantastic singers (we were tested to some Tallis, Rutter and Jesu joy). Lots of champagne and good company afterwards.
Dinner will be ready shortly, Mr Heavenly has braised some lamb scrag with vegetables.
To our mutual startlement, it looks as though we have a swift in our nest box already. This has probably pissed the sparrows right off (I looked at the cam to see whether there was a spuggie in there!), but if they are going to take their time nesting....
Trousers have been (badly) taken up, a slight burst in the seam of a top repaired, and Iron Ing accomplished.
As it was a rather "meh" sort of day, I didn't fancy an Expotition to Tessie's, but thought the corner shop (nowadays a tiny Morrisons) would have had frozen peas.
Not so: their freezer was apparently only used for the storage of ice-cream - not a bad thing in itself, but un fat lot de bon when you want to make a sausage and pea risotto.
So to Plan B: pasta with a lemon, cream cheese and herb sauce (the basil plant I bought a couple of weeks ago is surviving surprisingly well), topped with some Parmesan and toasted pine nuts, which hit the spot rather nicely, and will be done again.
A pleasant trip to Blaenavon with a trip on the steam railway and a fairly brief visit to the National Coal Museum (Big Pit). We got lost on some very attractive minor roads in the Sirhowy Valley on the way home.
To our mutual startlement, it looks as though we have a swift in our nest box already. This has probably pissed the sparrows right off (I looked at the cam to see whether there was a spuggie in there!), but if they are going to take their time nesting....
Yes, we've had a really clear view in the nest box camera, it's a swift alright!🥳
The restaurant was a very posh establishment indeed. We got a five course tasting menu: sea bass tartare, something fancy involving aubergine, crab risotto, veal with asparagus, and a double dessert of apple tart and a legendary chocolate soufflé. Also appropriate wine. We are now off to remortgage the house.
Quite a bit warmer here today (currently 15°); I decided I really needed to do some grocery shopping, so had an amble down to Tessie's after church. As it seemed to be trying to rain (although not really trying very hard), I put on a lightweight raincoat, but by the time I was hauling the Trusty Trolley back along the road, I rather wished I hadn't. The said trolley was very full though, so I couldn't be bothered to take the coat off.
I'm glad to say that Tessie's did have frozen peas, so I'll try that sausage risotto later.
Update: risotto recipe definitely a keeper. I adapted it a bit; it called for adding spinach at the end, but I'm not keen on it unless it's raw, so I left it out. I also cheated with the sausages: rather than running the risk of burning them, I used a pack of ready-to-eat cocktail sausages and just added them a bit later.
Lovely and warm weekend (in all senses for the word) with long standing friends in West Sussex. We drove there from our walking holiday in Shropshire and have just got back. The kitchen is stuffed full of boxes of new kitchen cupboards and equipment and there is skip in the front drive. It is going to be at least week of chaos until we have a useable kitchen again.
A few weeks ago we were in our garden when some Japanese people arrived to look round. They are making a documentary about the lesser known parts of Paris and were walking around the neighbourhood looking for interesting places.
The upshot is that today a few of us spent the afternoon in the garden being filmed by a Japanese camera crew and at some future date Captain Pyjamas and I will be appearing on the box in Japan. I believe Captain P in particular is going to make excellent television
To our mutual startlement, it looks as though we have a swift in our nest box already. This has probably pissed the sparrows right off (I looked at the cam to see whether there was a spuggie in there!), but if they are going to take their time nesting....
Yes, we've had a really clear view in the nest box camera, it's a swift alright!🥳
First swifts on the wing have now been seen followed a few seconds later by that well known suburban species the raven!
A most beautiful warm - almost hot - spring day in Arkland the Barmy Balmy, and a high tide this afternoon means interesting boat movements. The Yard Lads have, alas, failed to manage to get a leaking narrowboat out of the water (not sure why - it may be a tad too heavy for the hoist) but they have succeeded in launching an almost-completed Pod.
This Pod is basically a square wooden structure, about 14 feet square, floating on pontoons, which is kitted out as a bed-sitting room with galley facilities, and a separate shower/loo. One side is glazed - think patio doors with blinds - and there are a couple of windows as well. Access is via a small deck area outside the windows/door (room for a chair or sunbed, and some plant pots!).
These seem to be all the rage these days - the mooring fee is fairly modest (being based on length), and the cost - about £45000 - compares favourably with the cost of a house or flat (!). Utility bills and maintenance costs are likely to be fairly low as well, but I doubt if any such Pod has a lifespan beyond twenty years or so...
I saw a few pods when we holidayed by Brighton marina a few years ago, presumably as holiday homes/lets.
A long day for me. I did my weekly and daily admin this morning, sorted out various student issues and then spent the afternoon marking. I’m now having a sit down before I have to host a 2 hour tutorial (‘is it a good time to be young?’) in about an hour’s time. Mr Heavenly will do the cooking later.
It's beginning to get Quite Warm in West Lothian; it got up to 17° today, and as it was comfortably in double figures when I left for work, I didn't wear even a lightweight coat. It's allegedly going up to 20° tomorrow ...
Having left a clear desk, I came in to a great queue of voice files to be attended to, and they seemed to be added to faster than I could shift them, even without L and A in the office. I got most of them done, but not all, and I've no doubt there'll be more added to the heap by the morning. Oh well, I can only do what I can do; nobody seems to think I'm not getting through them fast enough - nobody except me anyway!
Supper was the other half of the sausage risotto, and very nice too.
A very warm day today. I went out to post a birthday card and to get in something that didn't need cooking for tea as we don't have a kitchen. The fitter made a lot of progress today and we can see what it will look like. Fortunately we still like the design and the colours we chose!
I've just been out watering the garden, something my husband doesn't think is necessary, but a lot of our plants were beginning to wilt.
Very warm here today. I was going to walk into town to get some bits of shopping and ran out of time so ended up taking the car. I don't like doing this as it's only a short journey and I like to walk it, but I had Things To Do this afternoon and the shopping couldn't wait. As it turned out, I was glad I did as it was actually Uncomfortably Hot and I ended up with more shopping than I'd intended.
One of the things I did this afternoon was go to a Pilates class - Mr Nen's been going for a couple of weeks and I thought I'd give it a try as well. We did a series of Pilates classes some years ago and I didn't get on with it at all, so I approached this with some trepidation. I am less fit than I used to be and I know my balance is not as good as it was. However, I kept up fine and enjoyed it far more than I thought I would. I suspect tomorrow I'll have muscle aches in places I didn't know I had muscles.
Tea was baked salmon with roasted vegetables and very nice too.
Last night’s Story of Easter service was a huge success, and afterwards there was well-deserved applause for our new young Director of Music ( whose day job is international canoeist). A sad farewell was said to our lovely priest.
Now I am on the Isle of Bute, where it promises to be mild, warm and dry, though thankfully not the high temperatures of further south.
Another hot day in Arkland the Desiccated - with a high of perhaps 26C forecast for Thursday! Nice while it lasts, but (as usual) WSPFIYMMW.
Despite the heat, it's been a busy day of Errands and Expotitions, to wit:
1. A visit to the Far Mercy, to collect my two-months' worth of Drugs;
2. The regular Tuesday Torture Pilates session (quite a good one today, with my recalcitrant hip flexors behaving nicely);
3. A visit to the village Co-Op for today's a supply of BEER and CHEESE;
4. A visit to the Arkland Office to collect yet another new bit for the Dragon's chimney, the extension of which is a Work In Progress.
All this Excitement has left me rather tired, so I'm enjoying watching the Arkland Staff manoeuvring boats whilst I wait for my HUNTER'S CHICKEN to cook...
ETA: the Yard Lads have finally managed to get the leaking narrowboat safely onto the hard-standing! Possibly helped by the fact that the Owner of Arkland himself, smartly attired in crisp white shirt, navy blue shorts, and life jacket, took charge of the Operation, skippering the Arkland Tug (Little Tow )...
Perfect weather on the Isle of Bute. I’ve found a very compatible lady to sit with at meals and we spent the day discovering Rothesay, its visitor centre, castle, museum and shops. I even bought a painting! An original acrylic of Ettrick Bay by a local artist, which will brighten the walls of my recently decorated garden room extension.
We finally have a new boiler up and running . The old back boiler wouldn't stay lit after its annual service on 28th March, and was confirmed dead on 1st April. The wait to get a new one was partly busy engineers, partly us being on holiday. Replacement commenced yesterday.
Of course, now we have heating throughout the house, the weather's gone hot at us...
We finally have a new boiler up and running . The old back boiler wouldn't stay lit after its annual service on 28th March, and was confirmed dead on 1st April. The wait to get a new one was partly busy engineers, partly us being on holiday. Replacement commenced yesterday.
Of course, now we have heating throughout the house, the weather's gone hot at us...
...but I do have some DIY to do sorting out the rest of the airing cupboard and the making good, which will do me the world of good.
Having taught til 9pm last night, I was back at work at 9.30 this morning, delivered a one and a half hour online lecture on public health this afternoon, and then did some more marking. My eyes are sore!
We are eating at our fellowship group this evening and then we are coming back early (everyone else is heading to church for our prayer week) to play online games with the 2 Masters Heavenly.
We took the car to be MOT'ed first thing, then had cafe breakfast at an outside table - very pleasant apart from being on the corner of two busy roads. We then wandered down the road, acquiring interesting groceries - coffee beans, artisanal bread, different fish (silver hake, swordfish, rock bass), fetching up at friends where we sat out in their tiny but lovely front garden.
About lunchtime I headed home while Mr F returned to the garage. Car not ready, since it had (expensive) things wrong with it.
Spent several hot hours microweeding the gravel corner, and battling back invasive green alkanet.
Now need to scrape together the energy to make chicken scallopine with mushrooms and Marsala.
Very warm (21°) here too, although I wasted my lunch hour ordering a new bed, as mine has finally Shuffled Off This Mortal Coil. The little supporting leg underneath came away from its moorings a while ago, and I've been sort of in denial about how broken the whole thing is, but this morning a couple of the slats came away from their moorings, and I really don't think it'll take my weight any more.
Trouble is, the new one won't be delivered until 8th May, which may only be next week, but that's a long time to go without a bed. One of my colleagues has very kindly offered to help me dismantle it tomorrow, so that I can at least sleep on the mattress, but it's going to be a megafaff.
On the upside, the new one has drawers, and their capacity for Holding Things will be much appreciated.
I headed off early for an audiology appointment and then spent three and a half hours delivering get out the vote leaflets for one of our candidates for Thursday's local elections.
An afternoon of not doing much, but after tea we went out and did an hour of gardening before an evening of slobbing.
Very warm here and rain seems to be cancelled for the foreseeable future.
Comments
Welcome to our lovely county!
I take the small boys out for a walk in their chariot most mornings, partly so they can escape the noise of the vacuum cleaner which they really don't like and also to keep them out of harm's way now they are mobile, and then my DiL and the au pair take over after that. One night a week the twins sleep in my place so that their parents can have a free evening. Weekends I leave the young family to sort themselves out, and we've got an informal thing where we take it in turns to cook lunch on a Sunday. My lodger has become part of the family, although he is looking for somewhere to buy.
I hope you have a lovely time in West Sussex, @Sarasa . My Dear Old Mum grew up there and always hankered to go back and live there again, but never did.
I'm off on a shopping trip with a friend this morning, for my outfit for Nenlet2's wedding in July. I find clothes shopping immensely stressful for a number of reasons and have to be careful who I go with; but only this week I pretty much decided I'm going to wear the dress I wore for Nenlet1's wedding and simply accessorise it differently, so that's taken the pressure off a bit.
Overcast and grey here.
I hope the shopping trip went well. My other half hated buying clothes - as she said, not being a stock size was only the start of the angst. I rarely buy clothes, just look after what I've got and replace as necessary.
ION I'm teaching the au pair two useful skills: how to knit socks and the mysteries of cribbage.
This weekend I've an old friend and his wife coming to stay, bringing with them a grandchild, and the lodger's sister is coming with her fiance so we'll have a houseful.
I am the owner of a sparkly new bracelet and we are going out to a fancy restaurant later.
Congratulations and have a lovely time!
What a lovely sounding arrangement @TheOrganist
I trust you'll post details of the fancy supper later.
After a mostly rather bonny day, it's clouded over a wee bit, but still nice, so after coming home from work (nicely unbusy day - L was surprisingly inactive!), I sat down and had a bit of "down-time", then had an amble along my usual bit of the loch, and then home via the chippy to get supper. They were on the most excellent form, and I had a very generous portion of perfectly delicious FISH & CHIPS.
Tea was a salad of jersey royals, asparagus and cannellini beans in a mint and lemon dressing, accompanied by pan fried chicken livers and topped with chopped hazelnuts. Accompanied by a bottle of organic cider.
Daughter came and did some tidying in my garden, back and front, then we went to the woodland grounds where Mr P was buried almost two years ago. Very pretty as many trees were in blossom.
My meal was HM fish pie from the freezer, very tasty.
Your domestic arrangements sound like a complete win-win for everyone, @TheOrganist . Wonderful!
My sympathies on the marking @Heavenlyannie . My son works in academia and marking seems to take up an inordinate amount of time and energy.
Glad your technology is fully functioning again @Puzzler . The blossom on the trees round here is lovely at present.
I had a pretty successful shopping trip with my friend, who turned out to be patient and encouraging in that situation. I came away with a jacket I'm pleased with, which accentuates a different colour in the dress to the jacket I had for Nenlet1's wedding and will I think give a nice summery look to the ensemble.
Had coffee with friends this afternoon and managed to snaffle a secondhand copy of The Moonstone at the local shop; I've been after a copy for a while. It's one of the things we had in the home I grew up in which had gone missing by the time we cleared it.
Laundry is laundering, and I really ought to stop messing around on here and take up the trousers that have been awaiting my attention for weeks. I'd sort of put them on the back burner (as it were) because they're white, and it's not quite white-trouser season yet, but we're allegedly getting some nice weather next week, so it would be nice if they were wearable.
Why can't trouser manufacturers make a petite length? Do they think that because you're a "plus" size you have to be the height of a giraffe???
For many years, I have loved and pretty much permanently lived in New Look jeans, because they have lines which offer a range of leg lengths (28 inch / 30 inch / 32 inch / 34 inch) even in sizes 14/16/18. I am very short, but on the heavier side, and have a slight fear of how much extra faff would be involved in getting trousers to vaguely fit me if New Look were ever to stop these lines! (I'm not capable of taking up trousers myself, so it would probably require sourcing and visiting a tailor / seamstress service.)
Nowadays, being Feak and Weeble, and of a peculiar shape, I tend to wear tracksuit trousers...a real sign of Old Age, maybe, but they're comfy, and easy to wash!
ION, a somewhat warmer day in Arkland the Calm, with Sun Shine, a few wispy Clouds, and a gentle east-south-easterly Zephyr. Very pleasant, and set to be even better over the next few days. Some work has been done on the Dragon's soot box (where the flue meets the Dragon himself), and extending the Chimney is next on the list of Tasks.
Some patch Paint Ing may well occur next week, if the weather is as fine as forecast. I suppose I should really do some laundry as well...
Meanwhile, PORK PIE n'CHIPS for a (very) late Lunch.
Now I am packing for a short break away on Monday but with warmer weather forecast, even north of the border, which coat to wear is the difficult decision.
Tomorrow is our priest’s last Sunday, so in addition to usual morning HC, there is an Easter service of lessons and hymns/ anthems, with a rehearsal beforehand and tea and cake afterwards, with some speeches. She will be a huge loss to the parish, but I admire her for taking the decision to retire early before she is worn out. She has grandchildren and an elderly mother who will be pleased.
The Maternal Knotweed even has to take up petite length trousers most of the time, as they are often still too long for her! This was a real pain some years back when she needed a 16 or 18, less so now she's about a 14. She was 5ft 1, but may have shrunk a bit with age.
I'm slightly taller than her at 160cm, so despite inheriting the lack of leg length I usually find petite is short enough (on the very rare occasions I wear ladies trousers!).
A lovely wedding today in Sidney Sussex college chapel, with fantastic singers (we were tested to some Tallis, Rutter and Jesu joy). Lots of champagne and good company afterwards.
Dinner will be ready shortly, Mr Heavenly has braised some lamb scrag with vegetables.
As it was a rather "meh" sort of day, I didn't fancy an Expotition to Tessie's, but thought the corner shop (nowadays a tiny Morrisons) would have had frozen peas.
Not so: their freezer was apparently only used for the storage of ice-cream - not a bad thing in itself, but un fat lot de bon when you want to make a sausage and pea risotto.
So to Plan B: pasta with a lemon, cream cheese and herb sauce (the basil plant I bought a couple of weeks ago is surviving surprisingly well), topped with some Parmesan and toasted pine nuts, which hit the spot rather nicely, and will be done again.
Now for a cup of tea and an HCB or two.
We've spent a lovely afternoon with my cousin and her family.
A pleasant trip to Blaenavon with a trip on the steam railway and a fairly brief visit to the National Coal Museum (Big Pit). We got lost on some very attractive minor roads in the Sirhowy Valley on the way home.
Yes, we've had a really clear view in the nest box camera, it's a swift alright!🥳
I'm glad to say that Tessie's did have frozen peas, so I'll try that sausage risotto later.
BUTTERIES with CHEESE for brunch.
It was really nice, and will be done again. 🙂
The upshot is that today a few of us spent the afternoon in the garden being filmed by a Japanese camera crew and at some future date Captain Pyjamas and I will be appearing on the box in Japan. I believe Captain P in particular is going to make excellent television
First swifts on the wing have now been seen followed a few seconds later by that well known suburban species the raven!
This Pod is basically a square wooden structure, about 14 feet square, floating on pontoons, which is kitted out as a bed-sitting room with galley facilities, and a separate shower/loo. One side is glazed - think patio doors with blinds - and there are a couple of windows as well. Access is via a small deck area outside the windows/door (room for a chair or sunbed, and some plant pots!).
These seem to be all the rage these days - the mooring fee is fairly modest (being based on length), and the cost - about £45000 - compares favourably with the cost of a house or flat (!). Utility bills and maintenance costs are likely to be fairly low as well, but I doubt if any such Pod has a lifespan beyond twenty years or so...
Time for Lunch - LAMB CHOPS today.
A long day for me. I did my weekly and daily admin this morning, sorted out various student issues and then spent the afternoon marking. I’m now having a sit down before I have to host a 2 hour tutorial (‘is it a good time to be young?’) in about an hour’s time. Mr Heavenly will do the cooking later.
Having left a clear desk, I came in to a great queue of voice files to be attended to, and they seemed to be added to faster than I could shift them, even without L and A in the office. I got most of them done, but not all, and I've no doubt there'll be more added to the heap by the morning. Oh well, I can only do what I can do; nobody seems to think I'm not getting through them fast enough - nobody except me anyway!
Supper was the other half of the sausage risotto, and very nice too.
I've just been out watering the garden, something my husband doesn't think is necessary, but a lot of our plants were beginning to wilt.
One of the things I did this afternoon was go to a Pilates class - Mr Nen's been going for a couple of weeks and I thought I'd give it a try as well. We did a series of Pilates classes some years ago and I didn't get on with it at all, so I approached this with some trepidation. I am less fit than I used to be and I know my balance is not as good as it was. However, I kept up fine and enjoyed it far more than I thought I would. I suspect tomorrow I'll have muscle aches in places I didn't know I had muscles.
Tea was baked salmon with roasted vegetables and very nice too.
Now I am on the Isle of Bute, where it promises to be mild, warm and dry, though thankfully not the high temperatures of further south.
Despite the heat, it's been a busy day of Errands and Expotitions, to wit:
1. A visit to the Far Mercy, to collect my two-months' worth of Drugs;
2. The regular Tuesday Torture Pilates session (quite a good one today, with my recalcitrant hip flexors behaving nicely);
3. A visit to the village Co-Op for today's a supply of BEER and CHEESE;
4. A visit to the Arkland Office to collect yet another new bit for the Dragon's chimney, the extension of which is a Work In Progress.
All this Excitement has left me rather tired, so I'm enjoying watching the Arkland Staff manoeuvring boats whilst I wait for my HUNTER'S CHICKEN to cook...
Of course, now we have heating throughout the house, the weather's gone hot at us...
...but I do have some DIY to do sorting out the rest of the airing cupboard and the making good, which will do me the world of good.
Having taught til 9pm last night, I was back at work at 9.30 this morning, delivered a one and a half hour online lecture on public health this afternoon, and then did some more marking. My eyes are sore!
We are eating at our fellowship group this evening and then we are coming back early (everyone else is heading to church for our prayer week) to play online games with the 2 Masters Heavenly.
About lunchtime I headed home while Mr F returned to the garage. Car not ready, since it had (expensive) things wrong with it.
Spent several hot hours microweeding the gravel corner, and battling back invasive green alkanet.
Now need to scrape together the energy to make chicken scallopine with mushrooms and Marsala.
Trouble is, the new one won't be delivered until 8th May, which may only be next week, but that's a long time to go without a bed. One of my colleagues has very kindly offered to help me dismantle it tomorrow, so that I can at least sleep on the mattress, but it's going to be a megafaff.
On the upside, the new one has drawers, and their capacity for Holding Things will be much appreciated.
Supper was cold meat and salads, because heat.
An afternoon of not doing much, but after tea we went out and did an hour of gardening before an evening of slobbing.
Very warm here and rain seems to be cancelled for the foreseeable future.