Category: Food

Icy! – 4 January 2025

Posted on by Zogman

The ice from yesterday had melted slightly during the night

However, early in the morning today it froze solid, leaving treacherous black ice on the pavements and on the roads. We weren’t intending going far, but we did need milk and something for tomorrow’s breakfast, so we would need to go out at some time today.

I spent a lot of time pruning down the catalog that almost worked yesterday in the hope that it would just work, but it didn’t, well not completely. I left where it was, not wanting to destroy about three year’s work and helped Scamp.

Today the tree and the decorations were coming down and being packed away. Technically it’s not twelfth night until tomorrow, but Scamp was ready to get started today. With two of us working on it, it didn’t take too long, about an hour all in including the time to record the number of cards we’d received. That was a bit of a cheat as neither of us had sent any cards this year. When it was done, the living room looked a wee bit bigger and a big bit emptier. It’s always the same every year.

Later in the afternoon we decided that there had been enough of a thaw and we’d walk down to the shops. As always, the estate paths and roads had not been salted and the paths were quite treacherous. But we made it there and back again without too much trouble and I even got a photo, a single photo of a wee weed growing from a gap in a low wall.

I fancied making Paella for dinner and coincidentally Scamp had the same idea. While I was waiting for the chicken to defrost I sat down at the disaster that is the iMac and completely removed all the photos I’d carefully placed yesterday and then started clean and it’s looking a lot better. Not perfect, but definitely much better.

We may get some white stuff tomorrow.

Dining out – 3 January 2025

Posted on by Zogman

But not until about 6pm. Until then we’d need to starve.

We were going out to dinner at John and Marion’s, but were a bit worried about the weather. No snow as yet, that was due for Saturday or Sunday, but there was ice on the paths and no guarantee that we wouldn’t get some snow.

I’m still struggling with the iMac. Ever since New Year I’ve had problems getting the catalog and the photos to work together. I’m beginning to think the old catalog I’ve been cleaning out and reusing for the last three years has become corrupted somewhere along the line.

I spent most of this afternoon finishing off the calendar photos. It took longer than usual because of the problems with the Mac. I think the basic calendar is more or less complete now and I might try a test print tomorrow. No time for one today because it’s getting near time to drive over to Hamilton.

Scamp was looking out the window just now and there was a fox in the front garden. She said it calmly walked across the grass without a care in the world. I didn’t get a chance to see it, but it was time to drive to Hamilton.

Had a great time with J&M and the food was excellent as always. John had even made a loaf of bread for the meal. I was really impressed. He admitted that it was Bread Maker bread, but that doesn’t matter, it’s the taste and the thought that counts. We came a bit earlier than usual with worries about the weather still in our heads.

Later in the evening, when we were home we hears strange noises coming from the bushes across the path from us us and I caught a quick view of a fox. Just a small, young one. We guessed that it was lost and that was reason for all the Yip, Yips coming from the bushes.

PoD was a photo of a Kissibel apple I’d halved and left in the back garden for the blackbirds. I think it might have been frozen solid and was too hard for the blackbirds.

Hoping for a thaw tomorrow.

 

Winter is coming – 2 January 2025

Posted on by Zogman

Well, that’s more or less what the weather fairies said.

It was frosty this morning when I was making the breakfast. The weather machine in the living room read -3.3ºc and it looked like that at the backdoor. Frosted grass and the blue tits taking turns to feed from the fat brick hanging from the rowan tree.

We decided it was time to lag the overflow pipe from the boiler. Scamp came up with the idea of using an old piece of expanded PVA foam to do the job and once I’d cut it to size and wrapped it round the pipe with cable ties holding it in place, it looked the part. I don’t expect it will get so far below zero, but it’s better to be ready, just in case.

My brain must have been working on the problem of getting last year’s catalog and photos out of the iMac and into my old external hard drive, because I came up with an inelegant solution that will do the job until I can figure out a better way or I am forced into buying a new computer. No point in explaining it here, but I’ve left myself a note explaining the procedure in case I have to do it all again next year DV. What amazed me was how much the hard drive slowed down the procedure. Old tech.

I went for a walk in the early afternoon, partly to get some photos and partly to clear my head of computer nonsense. I walked down past St Mo’s pond and got today’s PoD which was a bunch of grass leaves poking out of a frozen pond. As I said on Flickr *”Crouched down on the edge of a frozen pond in sub zero temperature, photographing grass. Is it any wonder Photogs get a bad name!”

From there I walked down behind St Mo’s school and on to the shops where I got some fruit for Scamp and a lovely soft Mothers Pride loaf which, with a couple of bananas fed us for lunch.

I think we’re all going soft. I have lost count of the number of weather warnings I’ve had on my phone for SNOW. It doesn’t seem that long ago, snow was expected every January and February. Now the news broadcasts make it sound as if it’s something unusual and something to be frightened of. It all seems a bit sensational. We live in Scotland we expect snow.

No definite plans for tomorrow, but I might have a look at getting a hot air blower to heat up my cold room, allso we will soon need a box of photo paper to make calendars. All that, if we don’t get trapped in a snow drift! 😉

The first day of a new year – 1 January 2025

Posted on by Zogman

It’s always a pain in the backside for a variety of reasons.

You have to parcel up the previous years photos and catalogs and save them off somewhere safe before you build a new catalog and populate it with new photos. This year it was made even more difficult by Apple changing the rules again for third party apps. Which meant I wasn’t able to use my NTFS based storage drive to save the last month’s catalog and photos. I’ve got another way of doing it, but it takes up computer time and my patience. It’s half done, but that will have to be good enough for now.

The actual day was a wild mixture of torrential rain driven by strong winds in the morning, sleet in the afternoon and now everything is calm for a while now, but the temperature is below zero and that means ice to contend with tomorrow. However, I did get some photos over at St Mo’s and PoD was what are sometimes called Cleavers (Sticky Willies in Scotland) and are really irritating little balls covered in tiny hooks that attach to your clothes, especially woollen clothes.

Dinner tonight was vegetarian “Mince and Tatties” for Scamp and Steak and Kidney stew for me followed by Sponge with a Salted Caramel Sauce and Brandy Cream. I’m beginning to regret it now and may have to break out the Gaviscon before I go to bed.

I’m hoping for a walk on a clear day tomorrow, with no ice nor snow nor rain, but the chances of getting away with it are very unlikely.

Goodbye 2024 – 31 December 2024

Posted on by Zogman

A bit wet and windy for the last day in 2024.

The morning was devoted to cleaning up the dining room table and it did look better for a while before I messed it up again, but I did get two of my three targets on my To Do list ticks off and another one partially ticked off. It’s an on going list of shortcuts to use in Lightroom.

It wasn’t a day for going out anywhere, even if it was the last day of 2024, but of course I managed an hour out in the park, because that’s what I do. Managed to get two half decent photos, one of which with a bit of jiggery pokery became PoD. It’s a view down that path I’m addicted to. This time it’s sepia toned with a couple of spots of colour to catch the eye.

I bumped into an old friend from school in the park and we walked around St Mo’s discussing the world and our various aches and pains. It’s been ages since I’ve seen her and I thought she was looking a lot older – she probably thought the same of me. We said our goodbyes as the light was failing, she headed back to the park to walk her dog and I plodded off home. Hope you get better soon Susan.

Dinner tonight was a pizza from M&S that was getting near its use by date, but a tin of anchovies on it cheered it up nicely.

I think that is as much as I’m going to do tonight. I might read another chapter of the book Hazy gave me. Really enjoying it H. You always pick such good books. Strange, but interesting too.

We might treat ourselves to a glass of something to see in the bells. I pity the poor folk in Edinburgh who have had their fireworks display cancelled at the last minute because of the high winds and torrential rain that’s predicted for tonight. Or the Australian couple we met on that ill fated train on Friday who were going to Edinburgh hoping to travel to Inverness for “The Bells”. Hope you managed to get there in all the snow, rain, thunder and gusty winds.

That’s about it for now. Hope all our lot and anyone else who reads my ramblings are well and have a Happy and Healthy New Year.

 

Sweeties – 30 December 2024

Posted on by Zogman

A day of blog writing and posting as well as Flickr posting, but almost up to date now … I hope!

Another windy day with bins blown over and rain lashing the windows. Definitely not a for going out anywhere. That’s probably why I sacrificed it to the great god Catch-Up. Four photos posted on Flickr and about the same number of blogs written and posted.

Because of the weather, it was a still life photo for today. A tub of Jelly Beans produced the subject and a small sherry glass was the support. Lighting was courtesy of a small COB (Chip On Board) light. An old piece of velvet covered the parts I didn’t want anyone to see and eight photos and just over half an hour later I had today’s PoD. I actually like it.

Scamp and I had Chicken and Pea Traybake for dinner. A very easy dinner that works well, because everything is cooked in the oven with minimal fuss.

In the late afternoon the wind died away and so did the rain, although more rain is predicted for tomorrow, but thankfully the snow warning has been removed for our area.

We watched a woeful special Christmas episode of Death in Paradise. I could just hear Simonne cringing at the accents.

Maybe we’ll get out for a walk tomorrow, just because it’s the last day of 2024.

Blustery day – 29 December 2024

Posted on by Zogman

A windy day with quite fierce gusts.

Scamp was feeling better today. I don’t know what it was that caused all the bother, but it did seem to take the feet from her. Hopefully she’s on the mend now.

We walked down to M&S in the afternoon. Scamp got some Kimchi and a tub of Kefir yoghurt, both of which seem to be good for gut health. On the way back I carried the bag halfway home and Scamp took it the rest while I went for a walk in the gusty wind over St Mo’s and got a photo of a little mushroom. That made PoD.

We watched a complicated and almost totally unbelievable first of two episodes of The Split, a series we’d watched for the last two years. This one however felt just a little bit fake. We may watch episode 2 tomorrow.

Spoke to Jamie in the evening and did our best to explain the chaos that was Friday. Hopefully we never have another day like that again. He agrees that we need to write a letter of complaint to LNER.

Another recovery day today, but snow forecast for Wednesday.

Not your normal journey home – 27 December 2024

Posted on by Zogman

Last night the bags were packed and we were ready to leave.

This a long story, so get comfortable and listen.

Today after breakfast we did a quick once over to make sure we hadn’t left anything behind and said our goodbyes to Simonne and got in Jamie’s car and were driven to Stowmarket for the first stage of our journey home. Said our goodbyes to Jamie and thanked him for the last week and walked over to the platform to wait for the train.

The platform was a lot busier than we’d expected, given that Christmas two days past. We were crammed into the vestibule of the train after using sharp elbows to make sure we would get in, even if we didn’t get a seat. We were the lucky ones. Others were left on the platform.

We both finally got a seat on the train, but it was an uncomfortable journey to Peterborough. I was beginning to worry that we wouldn’t make the connection, but when we got to Peterborough we found out that the Edinburgh train was running six minutes late. The six minutes eventually turned to 28 minutes, but we did get into the shelter as people who were heading for other destinations left its warmth for their trains.

Finally the train arrived and we were in the first class carriage, only to find that two folk were in our seats. Luckily an assistant was on our coach and the two chancers were ejected and we had seats and on our way. All the seats were taken on our coach and some folk were standing in the vestibule. We did manage to get a cup of coffee, a glass of red wine and Scamp had two buttered crumpets and I had a soggy microwaved veg sausage roll cold on the outside and hot as hell inside. My, First Class standards were falling. But worse was to come.

At the next stop the carriage became a lot busier with folk standing in the aisles and by the time we reached Doncaster there was no room to move in the carriage.

At the staff changeover at Newcastle, the crowding was a bit less and Scamp asked one of the attendants if she could please have a bottle of water and got the reply of “NO! I’m far too busy!” Standards certainly are slipping!

A family of four were taking up some empty seats as the crowding reduced. One of them went looking for water, but got the same reply from the harridan. Eventually after others were asking too, she relented and gave out water, but point blank refused to hand out beer or wine. I think a letter of complaint will be heading to LNER.

We were running 2 hours late by the time we eventually reached Edinburgh and just missed our connection to Croy. Then there was an automatic alarm telling everyone to evacuate the station immediately. Not knowing how long we’d have to get back in and what state the trains would be in, I suggested we walk down to the bus station and get the bus to Glasgow and a taxi home from there. Scamp agreed and we picked up another woman who had the same idea but didn’t know how to get to the bus station, so we three found the entrance went our separate ways to our buses.

We reached Buchanan Street without further problems just as the X3 arrived. So instead of getting a taxi, we chose the X3 to make sure we did actually get home after such an eventful and avoidable day.

PoD was a lovely sunset as we crossed the River Tyne at Newcastle.

Things I’ll remember for a long time:

  • Crammed in a train that was 100% full.
  • The arrogance of the Harridan.
  • The lack of inspectors or staff on the train.
  • A long, long way home.

Tomorrow will hopefully be a day of relaxation.

 

More visitors – 26 December 2024

Posted on by Zogman

Today we got a message about 10am to say that Hazy and Neil were on their way to meet us and should arrive in about two hours.

That message gave Jamie and Simonne all the information they needed to plan today’s dinner which was based on a Three Bird Roast (Duck, Pheasant and Wood pigeon) with the warning that there might just be some shot in the mix as some of the birds were shot in the wild. Everything was organised and running to schedule which left us all some time to spare before the work needed to begin.

Scamp chose to sit and read in the comfort of a warm room heated by a log burner Jamie and Simonne were reading and I wanted to go out to get some photos of the old church and churchyard in the village. I’d come prepared with my trusty leather boots and a pair of jeans. Since everyone was settled for an hour or so, I went out to take in the countryside.

I walked through the churchyard, past the church itself and down the path that would take me to a bridge across a stream. From there I could travel in one of three directions. I chose left, which was the muddiest of the lot although I didn’t know that until I was part way along it. It gave me an opportunity to try out my new Shokz headphones.

The further I went, the muddier it became until I was slithering along with just a patchy hedge to stop me sliding into the stream. Eventually I came to a path that would lead me up to the village, but I knew the path got steeper later in the walk and didn’t fancy coming a cropper on our second last day in this countryside and having to bundle my muddy boots and jeans into a Tesco carrier bag and carry them all the way home. No, safer was best, I turned round a walked back the way I’d come with a few photos in the bag, but nothing spectacular. PoD turned out to be two of Vixen’s Kong toys stuck in the gate of the house to be rinsed by the rain while she played with a new one.

Not long after that, Hazy and Neil arrived and our family was complete again. Stories were told and prezzies were exchanged. Vixen inevitable got another new Kong, an octopus this time. Then it was dinner time! The Three Bird Roast was lovely. Scamp, not being a meat eater had chosen fish again for her meal and it looked very nice. I think all the family had Salted Caramel Cheesecake for dessert and it too was really good. I think the diet will have to start as soon as we get home.

All too soon it was time for Hazy and Neil to head back down the road again but we’re hoping to see them next year, all being well. It’s strange how empty a house feels after two members of the group leave, but that’s how it felt to me today. We will be the next to leave tomorrow.

Watched TV in the evening but had to make the break and start packing later in the evening.

Things I’ll remember:

  • That complete family feeling when we’re all together
  • The slippery clay path beside the stream
  • The antics of a dog with a new kong
  • Food!!!

Tomorrow it’s our turn to head for home again.

Suddenly it’s Christmas – 25 December 2024

Posted on by Zogman

Indeed, Loudon Wainwright’s lyrics nailed it perfectly.

All of a sudden, Christmas was here with all the memories it brings. Simonne went to church and Vixen knew that something was up. When she returned and the parcels were handed round, Vixen realised what was happening and when she heard that Kong squeak the tearing of the packaging began and for a good quarter of an hour, chaos ensued. It wasn’t a day for going out and besides, Scamp was still not feeling well, so we just stayed in and watched TV for a while while the Kong squeaked.

Just to get some fresh air, we went for a walk in the garden and took a few shots, but the PoD was inevitably Vixen standing guard over the Kong.

Scamp had smoked haddock with carrots and sprouts for Christmas Dinner. The rest of us had Wild Boar with carrots and sprouts. Both were really, really good. I’m going to start looking for somewhere that has wild boar near us.

Things I’ll remember:
– Vixen the paper ripper.
– Watching TV in the morning – something we never do
– Watching Jamie and Simonne working in harmony in the kitchen.
– The Prezzies.

A great day was had by all and we get to do it again when, hopefully, Hazel and Neil come a visiting!