General Chat

Pond man left here about 2.15pm and I am all sorted with a new pump and he got the pump on the scimmer working so I don't have to buy a new pump for that as I don't have it on much only now and then and never over night.

He had just started when my BIL arrived to mow the grass. He did it without the grass box on as it was a bit long first with the old mower that cuts longer grass but that stopped working so he did it with the newer mower without the box on. He left about 3.20pm after I had fed him as he had forgotten to bring his eye drops with him.

So here I am now in the peace and quiet.

Glad the quiches turned out ok and I would'nt mind having a go at those.

Its sunny and warm here now as it brightened up not long after the pond man came. He has a lovely little springer called Freya and she lies in her cage in his van and dos'nt make a sound. He ws going to give a run in the forest when he left. I gave her two rich tea biscuits while she was waiting for Nick.

The little quiches weren't bad at all so the rest of this morning's batch is now in the freezer and I'll make another batch to go with them for Sunday.

No need to feel bad Mandy. I found a recipe that said the little quiches would freeze well so I've had an experiment this morning. I used non-stick muffin tins, coated them with a smear of oil and then let the quiches cool right down in the tins and they turned out beautifully. I made a dozen with chopped up ham, cheese and some mixed herbs. We'll try a couple with our lunch and if they are OK I'll put the rest in the freezer and make some more another day. My only problem was the recipe came from NZ and the cheese and ham were measured in cups. I had no idea if they were the same as UK cups, US cups or something different so the quantities were guesswork. I wish all recipes could be done in grams.

I hope you didn't have to greet the pond man in your undies Mel ;-)

With luck the fog has cleared for you AnnG and you can enjoy your canal trip.

When I got up at 7.30 it was quite chilly and it felt like autumn had arrived but it warmed up after a while and now it's sunny and a comfortable 19 degrees. I did my 20 minutes in the garden but OH's back is iffy this morning so he won't be doing anything today.

I need to go into town to pick up my meds but I don't feel like it much this afternoon and am wondering if I can find time to fit it in tomorrow. I've still got quite a lot of stuff to go to one of the charity shops as well. I put stuff in the spare bedroom so it's not in our way and then it's out of sight, out of mind, but I do need to get it cleared before I start sorting out more cupboards. Somehow there's always another job to do isn't there? I guess the job for now is to go and sort some lunch and have a taste of our quiches. I'll let you know what they're like.

Pond mans here. I'm not dressed!!!

Morning all,

Just up and read your posts. Its 16 degrees and pc says mostly sunny but temp to drop tomorrow. Its saying some funny things lately but there again the weathers been strange for this time of the year.

Must get a drink I am gasping. Yes it was a lovely surprise to hear from our Frank.

Anng enjoiy youyr trip up the canal today hope the weather holds for you.

Morning
Lovely and sunny here :-D
Ann, a patch of fog on the cut is atmospheric :-D Enjoy

Morning all,
Nice sunny morning and it should be dry and a bit warmer today .

Lovely to see you popping in Frank ,nice to hear your all doing OK pop in again soon we miss your posts .

Anng enjoy your trip out on the canal today hope it stays dry and the fog clears ,you had a soggy walk out yesterday .

Vera I haven't made the bun tins quiches but I did make a bigger one in a pyrex dish and when it was cold it cut up lovely and was tasty, I just softened some onion,peppers and mushrooms first then added cheese to the egg mixture ,you could make a big one and slice ,I'll feel bad now if they don't turn out of the bun tin ok after suggesting it

Mel I bet they were very happy with your plums ,have you many wasps with having the plums they usually love the plums ,we have only seen one wasp this year I suppose it's because of the weather .

Better get sorted I'm off shopping this morning .

Good morning all. foggy out there and 13 degrees. I hope it is going to brighten up as we are going for a trip up the canal later this morning and it would be no good if foggy still.

Vera that is very wet rain. and mostly that is what we were walking in yesterday with some of the heavier stuff as well.

Lovely to see you Frank. Yes, we have all aged a bit and acquired a few more aches and pains but we're still here. Pop in from time to time if you can; it's always good to hear from you.

I got into the garden with my hoe this afternoon and thought the air felt a bit damp. After about 10 minutes I realised that my jumper was really wet and I was starting to feel chilly. It was that very fine mizzle that you can't really see but it soaks you. So I came in again. Within a few minutes it started pouring and rained for quite a long while. I've just been looking at an amazing sunset; the sky looked as though it was on fire. I'm hoping that's a sign of a good day tomorrow.

I'm off for a read of my book now. I hope everyone has a good night tonight.

Good to see you Frank and to hear you are both ok. Yes we are all getting older. But we are still here :-D

O how lovely to hear from our Frank again. Do pop in when you feel like it Frank. we love to hear from you. Nice to know Harvey and lewis are well and Julia. Do you still hear from Simon?

I have had BIL here and SIL, hubby and Stephanie all morning .

BIL rang me this morning to say they were down here so I had to rush round and clean the two loos and hoover the kitchen diner and put all my craft stuff away off the kitchen table. My kitchen has'nt been as tidy as this for over a year.

When they went I rang the docs to see if my pills were in and they were so I went to Black Torrington to collect them as I had'nt had any for two days and I kept getting flutters in my chest. After that I called in to Hazel's when I got back and gave her two lots of plums. BIL had some too so that that picking out of the way and now there is only the Victoria plum up the top to worry about. Some I took Hazel were off that tree and I only kept 4 back for myself.

I have made myself a horrid cuppa its very raw. Funny how you can get the bags from the same box and they can taste different. I had a smashing one the day before yesterday which is why I thought I would have one this afternoon with my hot cross bun.

Like most t of you, we are getting older. Ros will be 78 in Sept and I will be 85 in December. ,

Harvey and Lewis were up on Sunday and took us out to lunch. Julia is in France at the Caravan.The boys are going out next week and will stay for 2/3 weeks, then they will all come home in the car that Julia took out there a couple of weeks ago.

The weather here is RAIN and overcast. Not good for families with young children on holiday.
I trust you are all well, Please take care of yourselves, whatever you are up to.

tI will try to pop in now and then, to see that you are all well.

Take care folks.

Love Frank xxxx

No gardening here today as it has drizzled off and on since before I woke up. good job I cut the wayward rose branches down yesterday. Garden bin was emptied today.

I have lambs liver and onions tonight so have just had to split the package to put some in the freezer. I hate that job it is so slippery.

My legs are aching now so it may not have been a long walk but it must have been quite strenuous for me.

hi to all who remember me ????

I thought I would pop in to let you know I am still ALIVE & KICKING. I just noticed that it has been over 6 years since I posted.
We are both KEEPING WELL.

It sounds s though you enjoyed your amble this morning AnnG even if it was a bit damp.

I didn't have a good night again so it took me a little while to get myself in gear this morning. I don't seem to have achieved much today. Showered and washed my hair first thing and then popped out to Sainsbury's for some milk and fresh veg. By the time we were back it was nearly lunchtime and since then I've been tied up with phone calls. I've just got to ring my daughter and then I am going to do just a few minutes in the garden. There's one area I can weed with a hoe so I thought I'd do that today.

I found a recipe online for individual crustless quiches so I've decided I am going to make those on Saturday evening to take to the garden party on Sunday. If they don't turn out well we will have time to go via Sainsbury or Tesco and buy a quiche or two.

It's a nothing sort of day; not cold, not hot, not raining but not sunny, just grey and boring. It does look as though it might rain so I think I'll go out with my hoe now and ring my daughter later.

Well. it rained....... And we walked through it. six of us. Luckily it was not cold but my jeans were very wet by the time we got to the little cafe in the village, having meandered through lanes and alleyways I didn't know existed.. We sat with coffees for a good 40 minutes chatting and then walked back a quicker route.

I think it may have been just about two miles. Luckily the rain had stopped by the time we came out after coffee. Still it was a bit of exercise, a bit of company and I can now feel virtuous for the rest of the day.

Good morning all, drizzle this morning and 13 degrees so far. supposed to be meeting at 10am for an 'amble' around the village so hoping the drizzle at least stops for an hour or so. It is not supposed to rain solidly all day but who knows? We shall see.

Morning all,

Windy wet dull and raining and pc says cloudy and 14 degrees. Shopping comes today and I have to go up the post van again and hope he's there and a neighbour is coming at sometime today to take all these plums off my hands. I just wish I was near to you lot.

Thanks for your ideas ladies. They've made me put my thinking cap on. We've been involved with this club for around 35 years and I try to take something different each time but it gets harder to think of things. From time to time I do a fresh fruit salad or a plate of strawberries and grapes as they are the puds that I like best but most people seem to go for gateaux and creamy things. Last year I did a lemon cheesecake and that went down very well, it disappeared in no time.

I've had a look through some recipes from years ago and found 3 possible desserts that are easy to make. One is a strawberry mousse so that might be nice to do while we can still get decent strawberries. None of us ever bring shortbread as one of our members is the Queen of the Shortbread Bakers. She always brings a load of both savoury and sweet shortbread and they are better than any I've ever bought anywhere.

For my other item I had wondered about a quiche but was thinking in terms of a big one. I like your idea of individual ones better Mandy. I've never done a crustless one. Are they easy to do? I'd be frightened they'd fall to bits when I turn them out of the tins.

I really enjoyed my cold lamb, salad and jacket potato tonight. I gave myself a much smaller helping than OH but I finished it all so I really feel I'm over that migraine at last.

I didn't sleep very well last night but I am so tired that I am optimistic that I'll sleep OK tonight. I hope you all have a peaceful night as well.

Evening all,

It's been sunny here at times and then it clouds over and feels quite chilly .
Got a few odd jobs done today ,a bit more washing which I got dry and I pulled up a few bits of poppy ,then as if was nice I sat and read a little of my book .

Vera I was going to say shortbread too, what about little savouy biscuits with cream cheese and cucumber or a French stick cut into rings with something savoury on ,salmon , tuna ,humous, egg ,or a little roast beef and mustard.
Little savoury crustless quiches made in bun tins or go old school with a cheese and pineapple hedgehog lol
Get a large water melon and cut into slices ,chocolate dipped fruit or just a fruit platter everyone likes a bit of fruit .