It was raining today when we woke up. What a surprise!
I took Scamp’s car out for a run to Tesco to top up its fuel and to buy some stuff. I had a voucher for groceries that I’d been meaning to spend, so I took it with me too. Scamp gave me a short list of her requirements and I got most of them. Bumped into Fred at the shops and we spent a good few minutes catching up on what each of us had been doing, which wasn’t much. We discussed the merits and demerits of the current participants on Landscape Artist of the Year. He asked after Scamp and I asked after Margo then we went our separate ways him to but more groceries and me to get one of those fancy scanner things everyone in Tesco seems to use these days.
With the scanner beeping away as I recorded all my purchases, I had a great time. Then I realised I didn’t know what to do next. I did what most sensible people do, but what most Auld Guys don’t, I read the instructions which said “bag as you go”. Had I done that? No. I’d just loaded everything into the trolley. However, I planned to use the Auld Guy card when I went to the checkout and plead stupidity. It comes naturally to me. Eventually the girl at the checkout sorted everything out and I apologised to the next couple in the queue, then made a hasty exit after paying my dues and using my voucher. A lot of my stuff was going in the Food Bank box which was now overflowing, but I managed to squeeze it all in. Feeling I’d actually made a difference to someone, I drove to the petrol station where the Wee Red Car got some much needed expensive petrol. After that I drove home. It really is a lovely little car. You can see for miles in it. Probably the best visibility I’ve ever had in a car.
After lunch and after marinading the short ribs I was having for dinner, I wrote an email to Alex explaining the difficulties of being a nurse for Scamp and sending him some of my latest photo offerings. With the email sent, I went for a walk in St Mo’s. I’d hoped to get some decent light, but, of course with my luck, I got the rain that had threatened most of the afternoon but hadn’t appeared. Just as it was beginning to clear, the sun shone brightly and I grabbed half a dozen decent shots looking straight into the light. When they were processed, there was no doubt they were going to be competing for PoD. The one I chose was the easiest to process. No fancy shading or sepia toning, this was virtually out of the camera.
I cooked the short ribs in the Le Creuset in the oven for two hours at gas 6, then for about half an hour at gas 4. My marinade was Salt, Honey, White Wine Vinegar and Olive Oil plus Mustard. (Salt, Sugar, Acid and Oil) You see Hazy. I do remember the important things. By the way, the mustard helps the olive oil and the vinegar to mix. The chemist will probably disagree. They were well cooked, but they had to be, they’d been chilling in the freezer since March last year! They tasted as fresh as if they’d been bought yesterday. Scamp had a simpler pieces of salmon cooked in tinfoil. No fancy marinade. No Le Creuset. Just simple good cooking. Both tasted great with potatoes and a little butter.
Spoke to Jamie later and heard how they survived the recent storms and more work needed in the house. He got an update on Scamp’s eye situation too.
Today’s prompt was Beautiful Day. Unfortunately it wasn’t a beautiful day where I was today. Rain, wind and occasional bright sun, but beautiful? Not really. I watched the video for the prompt but nothing really jumped out at me apart from this bloke who girned and groaned into the camera. He’s probably someone important, at least important to himself. To me he’s a bloke with black glasses who needs a shave. Before you say anything, yes, I do know who he is. He’s Bozo, no, he’s Bono. Bozo is another thing entirely, not quite human, but still bumbling along, pretending he’s Churchill.
Tomorrow looks like it might be a good day. If it is, we may go somewhere scenic.