We headed off to the Leisure Centre and played a few games of table tennis. I was not on very good form and didn't win any of them. We had more unscheduled rain on the way back, so at least I can ignore watering the garden for a day or two.
Not only did we pick up some soya milk on the way back, but a rather nice cake to celebrate our son's birthday and a drying rack I ordered from John Lewis after seeing it in store yesterday which arrived very promptly this morning.
I had a bit of a scunner of a day as it turned out; J was working from home but sending in voice files every so often, and L was in overdrive. She tends mostly to produce very short tapes - sometimes not even a minute of actual dictation - but brings down three or four at a time with their associated paperwork. At one point I had eight of the bloody things lined up on the floor!
It wasn't helped by the fact that I had to leave early for a routine optician's appointment, but no matter - tomorrow's another day.
Supper was a steak with salads (one of potato and one of tomato-and-avocado).
Having had a busy few days enjoying myself out walking after a few days of being somewhat unwell (all fine now) I'm having a gentler start to today admiring the slow, gentle moving of Kiruna Church . It's taking 2 days to move it 3 miles. I am on tenterhooks to know when it's landed safely on its new site.
Son has headed off home, but not before we had a chance to play a few rounds of one of our favourite board games.
While out and about this morning I bumped into someone from my philosophy group which reminded me I haven't really done much on getting to grips with David Hume, the topic for Friday's meeting. I am now trying to rectify that, but I can't say I particularly warm to him.
How long will it be before they start telling us not to rub it, like Greyfriars Bobby's nose? (I should point out that when I visited Bobby when Scottish Voices were singing in his church, I resisted the temptation to rub his nose, and just had my photograph taken with him).
It's been a cooler, but still quite nice, day here, and it's an absolutely glorious evening; I really ought to go for a little amble.
Work was less fraught today, and I actually Got Everything Done, and left an empty in-floor.
Supper was further salads, because it was quite warm, and I couldn't be bothered to cook.
As today’s weather suited me better, I decided to go out to visit Laxton, England’s last open field farming village ( protected by the Crown Estates) and also the home of the Holocaust Centre. My son happened to be free and drove. Very thought-provoking.
On the way home I spotted the Red Arrows, briefly fanned out in the sky ahead. Strangely, my daughter, who is in Norfolk, saw the whole display over Cromer and took some spectacular photos.
I am still off work, I logged in for a few minutes to clear the emails (still nothing happening) and then did some house admin. Master Heavenly the younger was dismissed from jury duty today. He is a bit disappointed to not get a case and might pop in to the public gallery next week.
My wife did jury service last month and was disappointed to be dismissed after just one case.
In other news, I went to The Hundred yesterday afternoon, a good match with a tight finish which went down to the last ball. Welsh Fire successfully prised defeat from the jaws of probable victory! Quite a long walk back to the bus stop, the city centre was buzzing with folk on their way to hear Tom Jones.
We awoke to 18° and rain and very happy we were too. The rain's stopped now so I can get the Wash Ing out. The temperature shouldn't get over 25° today, which is blessed relief.
Another interview done, fairly short notice (6 days) to prepare in, and I was definitely undercooked on a couple of things (this is a field I haven't done any meaningful work in since 2011).
But I'd dearly love the job, it's just what I want to do and to be learning. It's about the only thing that would make me want to be back in the shitshow that is academia.
So now I have to try not to care, because it could be nasty if I don't get it. I had a big disappointment on getting back from holiday in June, and couldn't face my laptop without crying for 3 days.
I did jury duty last year, for a trial which only lasted for a week. I really struggled with it, and I wasn't one of those who ended up crying in the jury room. On the last day I took the train in as I wasn't fit to drive, and one of the other jurors said that the day before, on her way home, she had felt she wasn't in a fit state to drive, and swithered about getting a taxi home, but couldn't leave her car where it was parked overnight.
I'd do jury duty again, as I think it's important, but, gosh, I was wrung out by the end of it.
Hope things pan out well for the job @Sandemaniac.
I spent the morning getting my head round a couple of things for the council meeting tonight and trying to get to grips with David Hume. He sounds like he might be fun to meet, but I'm not sure I'm grabbed by his philosophy.
Book shop shift this afternoon. Someone brought in a reading list for their granddaughter starting Year 7. I had great fun tracking down the books, though I'm amazed that there were very few I hadn't come across and I retired from school librarianship in 2016. I'd left before the person returned but I hope they are happy with the ones I did find. I threw in A Little White Horse as well, on the grounds if the girl hasn't read it she should
Today started well, but collapsed into near disaster in the late afternoon.
I decided that the Courgette & Rice Filo Pie that had been postponed because of the heat a couple of weeks ago was to be cooked today, plus an untried recipe for a Crustless Rhubarb Custard Pie (really a type of self-saucing sponge pudding). Physical and mental energy held out, and by 4:30 I had all the component parts prepared, and had only to assemble the dishes and bake them.
I switched on the oven to pre-heat it and - nothing! No sparking of the ignition, and no hiss of incoming gas. Eek!
I recognised the problem immediately. The cooker has a double oven, and the smaller oven had done the same thing about 5 years ago. It seems that a vital component had died (the word solenoid comes to mind). The cooker was, even then, obsolete, and the domestic appliance insurance/repair company were unable to source a secondhand bit, so now I think it is goodbye to the bigger oven.
At least I still have the eye level grill, four gas rings and a griddle still functioning, for the moment.
Anyway, at 5pm this afternoon I had all the ingredients mixed and ready, and no way of turning them into the planned dishes.
Throwing caution to the wind I tipped the various bowls of gloop into a skillet and a couple of gratin dishes and put them on the hob over a very low flame, planning to recognise 'doneness' by the smell of charring.
The results were unlike any dish I could recognise, but at least they were cooked, and not just a mess of raw ingredients waiting to go in the food waste caddy. We ate them, with a good dollop of chutney, so nothing was wasted, and I will be cooking on the hob for the next couple of weeks, while I decide what to do next.
The cooker is 25 years old, but I had hoped it would outlast me
Today is a beautiful sunny day. I slept quite late but still went shopping before breakfast, walking to the supermarket and aiming to take the bus home. However the bus ran early so I missed it. Decided to walk home ... just got to my usual alighting bus stop when the next bus passed, also running early! Ah well, I'm sure that the exercise did me good!
I was awake between 3.30 and 5.30am. Woke again at 8.10. My daughter arrived, fresh sweaty from an hour’s run, as I was cleaning my teeth after breakfast! Much needed catch up since her trip to France, her Dad’s birthday event, forthcoming walking holiday in Italy …and much more.
French group this afternoon, outing with a friend tomorrow with rather awkward bus times. I don’t know why I wasted much of yesterday, but I did very little really, having no defined agenda.
I meant to say to @Roseofsharon that I have only used my oven once this year, for baking. All other meals are cooked on a combination of hob, air fryer and microwave.
My daughter and some of my friends love their air fryers but I have yet to be convinced. In my limited experience they dry things out - eg, garlic bread, or fish (as cooked by the friend I stayed overnight with on Wednesday).
I too have a double oven, the smaller top one of which is also a grill and has never let me down. The main fan oven's element gives up every couple of years, which is the current situation, but I'm managing fine with a combination of the top one, hob and slow cooker.
I've been away for a couple of days, which included a meet up with some friends I haven't seen for quite a while, a catch up with the friend I stayed with (Much Talking and Wine Drinking were involved) and some lovely family time with Nenlet1, son in law and the GrandNenling.
Catching up on domestics this morning and out for coffee this afternoon on this warm sunny day.
Speaking of Ovens, I now use my Remoska for pretty much everything, unless I have some LAMB CHOPS or STEAK to pan-fry on the gas hob. The microwave is used occasionally, too, but in the Winter, when the Dragon is awake and alight, the Remoska and the hob have a rest.
Quite warm and pleasant in Arkland the Sun-Shiny today. Yesterday was so grey and dismal, though, and I felt really down and out, so most of the time was spent snoozing in my berth (apart from meal-breaks). An early trip to Tess Coe this morning to avoid the Ban Caulie Day traffic was successful, and some Paint Ing has been done as well.
Pain about the oven @Roseofsharon, I've never tried an air fryer, but I know some people really like them, and it would probably be cheaper than a new oven.
I headed into town for my philosophy group. It went well, and for once we stayed on topic. I intend to spend the afternoon knitting and listening to podcasts and then this evening I'm cooking gnocchi with sage, washed down with what looks like an interesting Italian read.
I find my airfryer much easier and quicker than the oven. It's a little one, for one person, and you have to pull the basket out and jiggle it around in the middle of cooking. I don't find things dry out, but I add fat to them, or I put a lamb chop, for instance, on top of the potatoes, and the fat from it goes onto the potatoes.
But it's too small to cook a whole chicken, and I like buying whole chickens now and then. So they need to go in my regular oven.
How about buying some chicken joints, or - if you have a decent butcher nearby - getting them to split your chicken in half, then you could cook half and freeze the other? Or buy those really tiny ones - poussins?
I'm still on the fence about air-fryers; my sister swears by hers, as does our dear Shippie @Foaming Draught, but counter-space chez Piglet is at something of a premium, and the faff factor if it lived in a cupboard might put me off.
Another decent, although this time cloudy, day here; I did a bit of grocery shopping at lunchtime, and Old Mother Hubbard might no longer recognise my fridge ...
My air fryer sits on the counter top in a corner which I can’t really use for anything else. I pull it forward to use it. I use my slow cooker a bit more in winter, cooking chicken or sausages in a casserole, eat one portion, freeze two or three.
A very sociable day, with daughter calling in at 9 am, her two children ( 17 and 20) at 6 pm, and French group in between.
Tomorrow afternoon I am going on the bus with a friend to explore a nearby town which has a church and gardens worth a visit.
I meant to say to @Roseofsharon that I have only used my oven once this year, for baking. All other meals are cooked on a combination of hob, air fryer and microwave.
I used to use my oven a lot, but for the last few years I also have mostly used the hob, plus microwave and slow cooker. (my air fryer is minute, and is pretty useless for two people).
I resent the cost of heating the empty space of the larger oven for something small so, if I have to light it I like to fit in as much as possible - which is how come I had so much prepared for cooking when the oven died.
Sadly, I had recently seen a couple of cake recipes that were tempting me to start baking again.
That reminds me of my mum, who only used the oven once a week for a roast, ( meat, potatoes, Yorkshires) and always made a rice pudding to use the heat. I think it finished cooking after it was turned off.
How about buying some chicken joints, or - if you have a decent butcher nearby - getting them to split your chicken in half, then you could cook half and freeze the other? Or buy those really tiny ones - poussins?
Oh, I do that too - I like buying chicken legs and poussins, but I mostly buy stuff when it's reduced in the supermarket because it's about to go out of date, so it's whatever I find (I enjoy the serendipity of it, as well as the low prices!), and I do like a whole chicken now and then, and a whole duck too. I quite enjoy the process although I find the oven annoying. I like pouring all the juices and fat into a mug and using them in other meals - it has way more fat and juices than the separate parts. I like sticking things like garlic and ginger inside the skin before I cook it, and peeling all the crispy skin off when I've cooked it and eating it. I like having the cooked chicken in my fridge and using it for meals for several days. I suppose it's a particular cooking ritual I've got used to.
But I probably only use my oven a couple of times a month at most. Its other usage is for pizza - I can't resist buying a big fancy pizza when they are reduced. But equally I can make my own tiny ones from scratch in my air fryer, and they are nicer. If my oven broke, I don't know if I would replace it, so long as the hob and grill were still working. A lot of the time, I eat stuff that doesn't need cooking anyway - salads, bread and cheese, fruit and nuts and yogurt, crisps. Cooking can be too much work when I'm tired.
I do see your point about a whole chicken; when we lived in Canada we would buy a ready-cooked one from Costco (about $8) and it would last us nearly a week. Warm when we got it home, maybe with boiled potatoes; cold the next day with salads; then we'd either make a fairly big casserole, divide it and freeze some or maybe a curry, paella or whatever, and of course, intermittent nibblage. And once the meat was finished, I'd make stock with the carcass for soup and casseroles.
Mind you, that was when we had a fridge with a decent-sized freezer section, and there were two of us.
A dull but still mild day here; choir practice has happened, as has brunch. I might amble later.
Had an unaccustomed fit of baking this morning (all those apples...) and made a batch of breakfast muffins.
I don't think I can work apples into tonight's steak teriyaki, but should be able to introduce them to tomorrow's roast chicken. Second level chicken dishes tend to be risotto or pie with mushrooms or, this week I fancy, Thai-style curry.
We went to Woodhall Spa today, a place lots of friends have recommended but we'd never been to. We enjoyed a walk through the woods and around the golf course, the local museum and a mooch round the shops. We'd taken a picnic, but next time we'll visit one of the many cafes.
Tonight we're out for the Hustle, an event organised by the council as part of the Bank Holiday activities. Most of the pubs and bars have live acts on, and the idea is to wander between them. We're combining it with a visit to a local Chinese restaurant.
The NE freezer is full of chilli con carne. I tried out the British Heart Foundation recipe for it, and as the recipe said it was suitable for freezing, I thought I'd make triple and freeze two thirds. However I hadn't noticed the recipe was for four. So we had one sixth for dinner and I have five in the freezer. Fortunately it was very tasty; we'd have been dismayed if we didn't like it!
We're just back from a very enjoyable evening out in our ton centre. The Chinese restaurant didn't have that much we fancied so we went to a Vietnamese restaurant we hadn't been to in a while. One of the best meals of this year, a bowl of noodles, tofu and delicious veg.
We then went to a couple of places to listen to the music, or in my case trying to. My hearing aids are so out of whack at the moment that all I hear is distortion. We did bump into a ridiculous number of people we know though which was fun.
@Clarence banned me from acquiring an air-fryer, "We don't have space on the counter!" I borrowed one from a parishioner, made fabulous pork crackling the first time I tried it out, so she relented. But we had to keep it in the laundry. Oh, "And it's black!" So we swapped the black Philips XL for a white Philips XXL, but it still had to stay in the laundry. Clarence panicked every time she saw me lugging it to and from the kitchen, my balance is shot in old age, so the toaster was put in a cupboard and the air-fryer took its place on the kitchen counter 😊
As my kettle and toaster are both black, that would probably be my colour of choice anyway! I suppose there's no reason why it couldn't live in the laundry cupboard (that's where the bread-machine lives, and it has to be hoicked out whenever it's needed). The other option, I suppose, would be to get one of those combination microwave/conventional ovens, and use that whenever I want something roasted. I may have to do a bit of research.
It's a very mild day here, forecast to go up to 22°, and 24° tomorrow (on a Bank Holiday??? Unheard of!).
Laundry will commence forthwith, followed by brunch and snoozage, and possibly an amble.
I missed church to go to the Cricket Club at the end of our road for the official opening of their new changing rooms. A very nice way to spend the morning.
When I've got some energy I'm going out in the garden to do some weeding.
I believe today is the birthday of our very own @Bishops Finger - may there be great celebrations, including BEER.
I've been to church, had coffee afterwards and am now home doing domestics and catching up on the Ship. The chicken is in the slow cooker for our roast dinner later. It'll be the last for a couple of weeks as Mr Nen goes away on Tuesday for about 10 days during which time Cooking will be Minimal, with many Beans on Toast meals and eating out with friends.
Yes, today is indeed the anniversary of my nativity, back in 19mumblemumble...I share the date with the eruption of Vesuvius (AD79), the St Bartholomew's Day Massacre (1572), and the birthday of Yasser Arafat (1929) and William Wilberforce (1759).
There is BEER, and also GAMMON STEAKS n'ROAST POTATOES.
Arkland the Warm is pleasantly Sun-Shiny, with a few clouds from time to time, and part of the foredeck of the Ark has had the benefit of a coat of Paint. I realised that I hadn't poured quite enough into the Kettle, but just then an Angel Of The Lord in the form of Neighbour T's son B happened to pass by. I pressganged him into taking the Kettle, and topping it up with about a pint of Paint. but didn't think that a 16-year old might not actually know what a pint looked like...
Anyway, he brought me the Kettle with a good quart of Paint in it, which, of course, was easy to pour back into the Tin when I'd used what I needed.
Surely your Bank Holiday was at the beginning of the month, and schools have gone back?
Can't answer for the Lothians, but here in the West, we have no Bank Holiday in August. Neither do we (in the NHS) have Fair Monday (the first Monday after the schools finish). We have May Day, and then (for me) the next Public Holiday is September weekend (Monday at end Sept). And yes, the schools are back. Glasgow schools returned Thurs 14th, Renfrewshire on Monday 18th....
Re: the Bank Holiday - you're all quite right - it isn't a Scottish one, but for reasons best known to themselves, the PTB at my work give us every public holiday they can, including the English ones. We've got another one part way through September, the reason for which I know not!
I'm not complaining; I'll take any chance of a lie-in!
I'm having a frustrating afternoon: I took my washing along to the laundry to put it in the dryer; and someone had got there first and the timer said it had 70 minutes to go*. Sod it, thought I, and went back to the flat and set a timer for a bit more than that (the minutes on the dryer seem to run rather slowly).
Went back, and some b***** had got there before me again, this time for 49 minutes.
Bad Words were muttered. 😡
Thank God I live on the ground floor, just a few minutes' walk from the laundry.
* Who the hell needs to dry their clothes for 70 minutes???
I managed to do some weeding, and then my husband mowed the lawn. We were sitting on the bench by our back door drinking some beer contemplating our runner beans which reminded us we hadn't invited our neighbours who gave them to us round. As well as the beans they let us park our car on their drive while we were having our kitchen done and we said we'd show them the end result. Therefore we headed round to invite them over tomorrow to find they had just opened some prosecco. An hour or so later we headed home for tea. The same thing happened last time we went round, so we must make sure we have some in tomorrow when they call.
Ah, the Scottish Public holidays! I lived in SE Scotland for 13 years and never quite got the hang of them, although I very quickly learned that they are never called Bank Holidays, always Public ones.
In NHS Lothian we used to have a nice policy where, if we were required to work on a holiday, we got extra pay and time off in lieu, but if you just decided to work then you got the day back as annual leave. I more than once took advantage of this by accidentally turning up to work on a holiday! The September one I think the junior doctors got, but not the rest of us.
When I first started, we also got the old-fashioned public sector 'stat days', which were 2 organisation-specific holidays, usually the Tuesday after a holiday Monday. NHS Lothian accidentally scheduled my interview for one of those, and the interview panel were not happy about it. I had no idea until I was shown around a very sparse department!
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Not only did we pick up some soya milk on the way back, but a rather nice cake to celebrate our son's birthday and a drying rack I ordered from John Lewis after seeing it in store yesterday which arrived very promptly this morning.
I had a bit of a scunner of a day as it turned out; J was working from home but sending in voice files every so often, and L was in overdrive. She tends mostly to produce very short tapes - sometimes not even a minute of actual dictation - but brings down three or four at a time with their associated paperwork. At one point I had eight of the bloody things lined up on the floor!
It wasn't helped by the fact that I had to leave early for a routine optician's appointment, but no matter - tomorrow's another day.
Supper was a steak with salads (one of potato and one of tomato-and-avocado).
While out and about this morning I bumped into someone from my philosophy group which reminded me I haven't really done much on getting to grips with David Hume, the topic for Friday's meeting. I am now trying to rectify that, but I can't say I particularly warm to him.
It's been a cooler, but still quite nice, day here, and it's an absolutely glorious evening; I really ought to go for a little amble.
Work was less fraught today, and I actually Got Everything Done, and left an empty in-floor.
Supper was further salads, because it was quite warm, and I couldn't be bothered to cook.
On the way home I spotted the Red Arrows, briefly fanned out in the sky ahead. Strangely, my daughter, who is in Norfolk, saw the whole display over Cromer and took some spectacular photos.
In other news, I went to The Hundred yesterday afternoon, a good match with a tight finish which went down to the last ball. Welsh Fire successfully prised defeat from the jaws of probable victory! Quite a long walk back to the bus stop, the city centre was buzzing with folk on their way to hear Tom Jones.
Another interview done, fairly short notice (6 days) to prepare in, and I was definitely undercooked on a couple of things (this is a field I haven't done any meaningful work in since 2011).
But I'd dearly love the job, it's just what I want to do and to be learning. It's about the only thing that would make me want to be back in the shitshow that is academia.
So now I have to try not to care, because it could be nasty if I don't get it. I had a big disappointment on getting back from holiday in June, and couldn't face my laptop without crying for 3 days.
I'd do jury duty again, as I think it's important, but, gosh, I was wrung out by the end of it.
I spent the morning getting my head round a couple of things for the council meeting tonight and trying to get to grips with David Hume. He sounds like he might be fun to meet, but I'm not sure I'm grabbed by his philosophy.
Book shop shift this afternoon. Someone brought in a reading list for their granddaughter starting Year 7. I had great fun tracking down the books, though I'm amazed that there were very few I hadn't come across and I retired from school librarianship in 2016. I'd left before the person returned but I hope they are happy with the ones I did find. I threw in A Little White Horse as well, on the grounds if the girl hasn't read it she should
I decided that the Courgette & Rice Filo Pie that had been postponed because of the heat a couple of weeks ago was to be cooked today, plus an untried recipe for a Crustless Rhubarb Custard Pie (really a type of self-saucing sponge pudding). Physical and mental energy held out, and by 4:30 I had all the component parts prepared, and had only to assemble the dishes and bake them.
I switched on the oven to pre-heat it and - nothing! No sparking of the ignition, and no hiss of incoming gas. Eek!
I recognised the problem immediately. The cooker has a double oven, and the smaller oven had done the same thing about 5 years ago. It seems that a vital component had died (the word solenoid comes to mind). The cooker was, even then, obsolete, and the domestic appliance insurance/repair company were unable to source a secondhand bit, so now I think it is goodbye to the bigger oven.
At least I still have the eye level grill, four gas rings and a griddle still functioning, for the moment.
Anyway, at 5pm this afternoon I had all the ingredients mixed and ready, and no way of turning them into the planned dishes.
Throwing caution to the wind I tipped the various bowls of gloop into a skillet and a couple of gratin dishes and put them on the hob over a very low flame, planning to recognise 'doneness' by the smell of charring.
The results were unlike any dish I could recognise, but at least they were cooked, and not just a mess of raw ingredients waiting to go in the food waste caddy. We ate them, with a good dollop of chutney, so nothing was wasted, and I will be cooking on the hob for the next couple of weeks, while I decide what to do next.
The cooker is 25 years old, but I had hoped it would outlast me
French group this afternoon, outing with a friend tomorrow with rather awkward bus times. I don’t know why I wasted much of yesterday, but I did very little really, having no defined agenda.
I too have a double oven, the smaller top one of which is also a grill and has never let me down. The main fan oven's element gives up every couple of years, which is the current situation, but I'm managing fine with a combination of the top one, hob and slow cooker.
I've been away for a couple of days, which included a meet up with some friends I haven't seen for quite a while, a catch up with the friend I stayed with (Much Talking and Wine Drinking were involved) and some lovely family time with Nenlet1, son in law and the GrandNenling.
Catching up on domestics this morning and out for coffee this afternoon on this warm sunny day.
Quite warm and pleasant in Arkland the Sun-Shiny today. Yesterday was so grey and dismal, though, and I felt really down and out, so most of the time was spent snoozing in my berth (apart from meal-breaks). An early trip to Tess Coe this morning to avoid the Ban Caulie Day traffic was successful, and some Paint Ing has been done as well.
Time for Lunch!
I headed into town for my philosophy group. It went well, and for once we stayed on topic. I intend to spend the afternoon knitting and listening to podcasts and then this evening I'm cooking gnocchi with sage, washed down with what looks like an interesting Italian read.
But it's too small to cook a whole chicken, and I like buying whole chickens now and then. So they need to go in my regular oven.
I'm still on the fence about air-fryers; my sister swears by hers, as does our dear Shippie @Foaming Draught, but counter-space chez Piglet is at something of a premium, and the faff factor if it lived in a cupboard might put me off.
Another decent, although this time cloudy, day here; I did a bit of grocery shopping at lunchtime, and Old Mother Hubbard might no longer recognise my fridge ...
A very sociable day, with daughter calling in at 9 am, her two children ( 17 and 20) at 6 pm, and French group in between.
Tomorrow afternoon I am going on the bus with a friend to explore a nearby town which has a church and gardens worth a visit.
I used to use my oven a lot, but for the last few years I also have mostly used the hob, plus microwave and slow cooker. (my air fryer is minute, and is pretty useless for two people).
I resent the cost of heating the empty space of the larger oven for something small so, if I have to light it I like to fit in as much as possible - which is how come I had so much prepared for cooking when the oven died.
Sadly, I had recently seen a couple of cake recipes that were tempting me to start baking again.
Oh, I do that too - I like buying chicken legs and poussins, but I mostly buy stuff when it's reduced in the supermarket because it's about to go out of date, so it's whatever I find (I enjoy the serendipity of it, as well as the low prices!), and I do like a whole chicken now and then, and a whole duck too. I quite enjoy the process although I find the oven annoying. I like pouring all the juices and fat into a mug and using them in other meals - it has way more fat and juices than the separate parts. I like sticking things like garlic and ginger inside the skin before I cook it, and peeling all the crispy skin off when I've cooked it and eating it. I like having the cooked chicken in my fridge and using it for meals for several days. I suppose it's a particular cooking ritual I've got used to.
But I probably only use my oven a couple of times a month at most. Its other usage is for pizza - I can't resist buying a big fancy pizza when they are reduced. But equally I can make my own tiny ones from scratch in my air fryer, and they are nicer. If my oven broke, I don't know if I would replace it, so long as the hob and grill were still working. A lot of the time, I eat stuff that doesn't need cooking anyway - salads, bread and cheese, fruit and nuts and yogurt, crisps. Cooking can be too much work when I'm tired.
Mind you, that was when we had a fridge with a decent-sized freezer section, and there were two of us.
A dull but still mild day here; choir practice has happened, as has brunch. I might amble later.
I don't think I can work apples into tonight's steak teriyaki, but should be able to introduce them to tomorrow's roast chicken. Second level chicken dishes tend to be risotto or pie with mushrooms or, this week I fancy, Thai-style curry.
Tonight we're out for the Hustle, an event organised by the council as part of the Bank Holiday activities. Most of the pubs and bars have live acts on, and the idea is to wander between them. We're combining it with a visit to a local Chinese restaurant.
We then went to a couple of places to listen to the music, or in my case trying to. My hearing aids are so out of whack at the moment that all I hear is distortion. We did bump into a ridiculous number of people we know though which was fun.
It's a very mild day here, forecast to go up to 22°, and 24° tomorrow (on a Bank Holiday??? Unheard of!).
Laundry will commence forthwith, followed by brunch and snoozage, and possibly an amble.
When I've got some energy I'm going out in the garden to do some weeding.
I've been to church, had coffee afterwards and am now home doing domestics and catching up on the Ship. The chicken is in the slow cooker for our roast dinner later. It'll be the last for a couple of weeks as Mr Nen goes away on Tuesday for about 10 days during which time Cooking will be Minimal, with many Beans on Toast meals and eating out with friends.
Yes, today is indeed the anniversary of my nativity, back in 19mumblemumble...I share the date with the eruption of Vesuvius (AD79), the St Bartholomew's Day Massacre (1572), and the birthday of Yasser Arafat (1929) and William Wilberforce (1759).
There is BEER, and also GAMMON STEAKS n'ROAST POTATOES.
Arkland the Warm is pleasantly Sun-Shiny, with a few clouds from time to time, and part of the foredeck of the Ark has had the benefit of a coat of Paint. I realised that I hadn't poured quite enough into the Kettle, but just then an Angel Of The Lord in the form of Neighbour T's son B happened to pass by. I pressganged him into taking the Kettle, and topping it up with about a pint of Paint. but didn't think that a 16-year old might not actually know what a pint looked like...
Anyway, he brought me the Kettle with a good quart of Paint in it, which, of course, was easy to pour back into the Tin when I'd used what I needed.
Can't answer for the Lothians, but here in the West, we have no Bank Holiday in August. Neither do we (in the NHS) have Fair Monday (the first Monday after the schools finish). We have May Day, and then (for me) the next Public Holiday is September weekend (Monday at end Sept). And yes, the schools are back. Glasgow schools returned Thurs 14th, Renfrewshire on Monday 18th....
🎂 🍰
Re: the Bank Holiday - you're all quite right - it isn't a Scottish one, but for reasons best known to themselves, the PTB at my work give us every public holiday they can, including the English ones. We've got another one part way through September, the reason for which I know not!
I'm not complaining; I'll take any chance of a lie-in!
I'm having a frustrating afternoon: I took my washing along to the laundry to put it in the dryer; and someone had got there first and the timer said it had 70 minutes to go*. Sod it, thought I, and went back to the flat and set a timer for a bit more than that (the minutes on the dryer seem to run rather slowly).
Went back, and some b***** had got there before me again, this time for 49 minutes.
Bad Words were muttered. 😡
Thank God I live on the ground floor, just a few minutes' walk from the laundry.
* Who the hell needs to dry their clothes for 70 minutes???
Supper was pasta with prawns, mushrooms and tomatoes.
In NHS Lothian we used to have a nice policy where, if we were required to work on a holiday, we got extra pay and time off in lieu, but if you just decided to work then you got the day back as annual leave. I more than once took advantage of this by accidentally turning up to work on a holiday! The September one I think the junior doctors got, but not the rest of us.
When I first started, we also got the old-fashioned public sector 'stat days', which were 2 organisation-specific holidays, usually the Tuesday after a holiday Monday. NHS Lothian accidentally scheduled my interview for one of those, and the interview panel were not happy about it. I had no idea until I was shown around a very sparse department!