General Chat

Tut Florence, dancing encouraging the consumption of alcohol. I thought that we were all strict teetotallers on here ;-) ;-) ;-)

AnnG, hope you have a large jug of Pimms to make the meeting go with a swing lol :-D :-D

hi all, Yes thanks Florence I am ok, just a bit busy, was out all over the weekend so been trying to catch up with the garden since as I have a meeting here this afternoon of our U3a gardening interest group. there will be nine of us today, better than the 12 it could be as it is going to be too warm for too many bodies. Just blitzed the kitchen and now going to sort out the conservatory

Linda, I do make lots of soup during autumn/winter but not today as its already very warm. I have all the windows open and having just stripped my bed, I am now roasting!

Gonna put some cans of juice in the fridge for later and a bottle of flavoured water.

Kitchen looks like a bombsite lol so that's my next task for the morning.

Hope everyone ok and well today who looks in

Florence in the hebrides

The recipe is a Slimming World one, it is so easy because it is just open the. And tip them in. I just use a stick blender to blitz it smooth
I love homemade soup, I make lots of different types. I had spicy lentil and carrot today

Great recipe, Linda!
Thanks for posting that.

It sounds similar to Jack Monroe's tomato and bean soup:

https://cookingonabootstrap.com/2018/03/03/tomato-and-haricot-soup-15p/

Ty Linda. Gosh baked beans? Never put them in a soup before but good to try something different for a change. I know the little onions, we used to have them at xmas or a buffett. I shall put them on my shopping list next time.

Gosh its more exhausting putting everything back then taking out lol.

Lady on her way just now to take old carpet away ...yipee :-D :-D

Tomato soup makes four portions

Ingredients –
Two tins of chopped tomatoes
One tin of baked beans
One tin of carrots with the water ( 300g size)
Four tiny silver skin pickled onions ( not the normal large type)
One vegetable stock cube in 1/2 a pint of boiled water

Cut the onions into small bits, put everything in a pan, cook for 15 mins, then blend
Or you can blend it when cold and then cook it

The secret ingredient is the silver skin pickled onions. The first time I made it, I didn’t read it properly and used large pickled onions, needless to say, it didn’t taste good.

Good morning all.

Well the carpet has been relayed in daughter's room and now the work begins to transfer all her furniture etc back into her room. The new carpet is really black and makes my old carpet look dark grey although its not!

They were here less than an hour and tidied up the scraps into a bin bag. They also carried the heavy chest of drawers into the room from the lounge which was so kind of them as we struggled yesterday moving it out.

Cloudy but sunny day and quite warm again and set to get hotter as the week goes on and noo sign of rain at all.

Last night, I decided to cook 2 salmon fillets with new potatoes, home made slaw and green salad, was a nice change and we enjoyed it.

Now as to what we are having tonight is another matter???

Linda, can you tell me your tomato soup recipe please, sounds delicious.

Well I had better see if the washing is ready now to hang out and then have some toast.

Have a good day all

Florence in the hebrides

You are lucky with your weather Florence, it is cloudy and cool here.
I washed all the unit doors in the kitchen this morning

We have to deliver library books to the elderly this afternoon,but that won’t take long, so I am going to make lots of soup for the freezer. I will make some tomato, incredibly easy and tastes very like Heinz,plus some leek and potato and some carrot and butter bean. I have lots of the microwaveable soup mugs to put it in

Afternoon everyone from a gloriously sunny village.
Yep its brilliant sunshine and quite warm with a little breeze.

I am feeling sooo hot because I have just ironed a basket including a super kingsize duvet cover, the valence sheet can wait another day as I was feeling a bit lightheaded.

So I'm sitting with a coffee and having a break.

Daughter back this afternoon and then the fun begins moving her bed and mattress to the lounge. I so hope I do not get any unannounced visitors before Friday as it will take that long to get the rooms back to normal lol

Joan, your baby hare sounds delightful and obviously well behaved lol as he's not eating your plants thankfully.

Dad saw a fox sunning himself on his decking on Monday afternoon but the animal digging holes in his new veg patch is none other than a grey squirrel caught red handed!! He has put out garlic cloves and vinegar to deter animals from coming too close.

The local fire brigade went zooming past again an hour ago and have not yet returned. Hope its nothing serious as the moor is tinder dry and the slightest spark will set it alight really quickly.

Well a bit of paperwork to see to and then decide what's for tea but in this warm weather a salad with a jacket potato will do me, anything else is too much.

Florence in the hebrides

Afternoon all

Its brightening up here and sun is trying its best to shine through the clouds.

My pal arrived at 10.15 and stayed until 12 as she had to collect her hubby from work on her way home. We had nice posh biscuits that i found in the cupboard and demolished 1 or 2 lol. Good chat and banter and now up to date with each other's lives.

Got the washing out and its swaying nicely in the breeze so wont be long before I take it in,
Daughter took off on a whim to go and elsewhere for the night but will be back tom afternoon, so a peaceful evening and the tv all to myself. I can watch the soaps in peace lol.

Dwarf geraniums have bloomed and the yellow rose is out. Plants are doing well and will soon be a lovely wash of different colours.

Hope everyone else well today and having another sunny day.

Florence in the hebrides

LOL Linda. another memory surfaces re p park.

When our eldest was about 3 we went to Scarborough & eneded up at th epark not knowing the Naval battle was going to be happening soon after entering.

Our son got such a scare when the guns started he watched the whole of the battle with his hands covering his ears.
Lovely memories of it all.

Hubby & I would sooo love to be able to spend just one more day at Scarborough etc.

Joan.

I have never watched it, but from googleFilming of the interior scenes of "St. Aidan's" used both The Leeds Studios and St Luke's Hospital, Bradford. Most of the exterior scenes were shot during the summer months at the Red Court building on Holbeck Road, South Cliff, Scarborough, as well as the nearby park area and Holbeck Clock Tower.

Peashooter Par k is still good, I went with OH last year. We always took the children to the naval battle on the lake and to walk in the fair y lights on the island when it was dark.

Florence, that park with the big lake is called, Peaseholm Park, a very lovely place, been there many times when a child & when courting & again when married with the 2 eldest children.

Scarbrough is a grand place.

Shepherds Pie was delicious & hubby ate a good portion which made me very happy.

Joan.

Many of my dad's family holidays were spent in Scarborough. I have a picture of dad in a boat on a big lake aged about 11. He loved boats all his life.

Well Joan, what a busy bee you have been and yes probably best that hubby can't see what's going on lol.You have made great progress though clearing out, good on you.

Hope you enjoy your shepherd's pie, think im having just a jacket potato with grated cheese as not feeling very hungry today.

Is Whitby where The Royal series was filmed? I really enjoyed that series.

Well in need of a caffeine fix me thinks.

Florence in the hebrides

When we were in Whitby yesterday, the kipper smoking shop on Henrietta Street was open. I was tempted to buy some, but didn’t. I always love the smell of the smoking shed when you walk past.

OH had family in Ruswarp and they often visited when he was a child. In 1970 we had our honeymoon in Scarborough

hello.
A night fine day so far today, the sun is just breaking through so hoping to get outside once I get the Shepherds / cottage pie into the oven,

Our eldest son were here yesterday & he got a lot MORE of a lot of the accumilated rubbish out of the old steading, some we burbt , some he took away with him to take to the dumping place.
Still a lot of stuff to get rid of but it's looking better with every visit he makes !!

It's good job hubby can't see what's being thrown out, lol.

The site where the childrens old playhouse stood is yet to be sorted, the playhouse is down & the wood from it went on the fire yesterday so the next step is to clean up where it stood & prepare it all & lay flag stones so as to be able to erect a new "posh" looking shed, it will house things like the Mower, Chain Saw & other garden tools, which at present are taking up valuable space in my Potting shed.
Not sure when we wil actually get round to doing that.

The baby Hare was back in the garden yesterday, he seems to have taken up residence in the Wwildlife" area.
I don't really mind so long as he leaves my flowers alone, so far they haven't been touched & he's been around for a few days now.

Oh Linda, you take me back to my long ago wonderful days when hubby & I were courting, & being from & living in York, we would often go to all the coastal towns, Scarborough, Whitby, Brid, etc etc.
Our first date was spent in Scarborough in 1963, it absolutely CHUCKED it down that day, it was sooo bad we couldn't get out of the car !!

My late father in Law was born Whitby ( Ruswarp) a lovely place to visit.

Must go & prepare the Shepherds Pie, enjoy the rest of the day, hope the sun is shining.for you all.

Joan.

Morning all
Well after all the fresh air and hard work yesterday, I should have slept well but I didnt! I went to bed at midnight and slept until 2am, up for the bathroom. After that I couldn't get off at all. Eventually got up at 6am and went into the kitchen. I did a couple of sudoku to pass the time lol

Anyway I'm up properly now and ironing to do etc

Well Linda, I have never been to Whitby so I googled the town and went on a virtual tour. What a quaint fishing town. Lots of narrow streets, shops and so many houses right on the street! Looks really lovely and ever if I got the chance I certainly would give it a day out. I saw the beginning of those steps...not sure I would be able to get up there though.

Well it's overcast and grey and chilly again but not so cold we need heating on ,noo def not just not warm & sunny. The water level across the road has really dropped now and getting worried that we shall be on a hosepipe ban very soon. We have been watering every 2-3 days just now to conserve but the plants are growing fast and need water.

Glad you had a nice time and fish & chips too...yummy :-D

Roses are almost in bloom, a yellow one, pink one and a deep red bush. Fuschias doing great this year in the new tubs. I can see a few green shoots in the carrot & beetroot tubs so better late than never!

Better get dressed now as things to do.

A pal I havent seen in months messaged to say she coming in the morning at 10am for a quick visit eeek I have no home baking in at all so it will choccy biscuits instead.

Hope Joan & AnnG are all ok, JG too.

Florence in the hebrides

You can’t have the sun Florence, it is mine :-D :-D

You certainly were busy yesterday and as you say it is good to do something for the community

As we were on our own and it was a good day, OH decided that we would have a trip out. We went to Whitby and had a walk on the beach, then walked to the end of the pier. We then crossed over to the other side of the harbour and treated ourselves to Fish and chips. Then we walked through the old part, but didn’t go up the 199 steps, I have done that lots of times in the past

By that time we were well and truly walked out and still had to walk all the way back to the top of the west cliff where we had parked. I was glad to get back to the car. As it was still only mid afternoon, we drove down the coast to Filey where OH’s sister lives and spent a couple of hours with her before we came home