Category: Food

A busy day indeed – 26 February 2020

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Well, I predicted it would be a busy day and for once I was completely … right!

Scamp was out in the morning to see Isobel. No coffee shop for them today Isobel phoned to ask her to come to the house instead. Too cold and with her dodgy knee, Isobel that is, she decided she’d stay at home. Quite right, I say.

While she was out I mused over what to do to cover today’s prompt, “Pink”. I eventually settled on a Pink Piglet, and so today’s sketch was born. Of course, if I’d been on the ball I’d have painted him on a page of my Pink Pig sketch book, but instead he’s on a page of the Seawhite sketch book! To start with he began to look more and more like a prominent politician, but then he began to mature into his piglet form. He’s based in part on a little piglet I painted in art class on a cruise a couple of years ago. I tried to remember all the tips the artist gave us, but after a while I just painted and it worked.

When Scamp returned, we had a swift lunch of toasted cheese on my salt and pepper bread then we were off to Falkirk Town Hall to our first Tea Dance. After 20 minutes and an aborted Saunter Together sequence dance I was ready to throw in the towel and go home, but Scamp was determined and we did get to do one of our jive fallbacks, the Seven Spins next. After that my mood lightened. At the tea break halfway through the two hour dance, a couple of people spoke to us, before that they’d been sizing us up I think. By the end of the tea break they knew we were beginners and started to encourage us up on to the floor and we started learning some of the sequence dances. Music was provided by a bloke playing a Korg keyboard and singing along to it. Perfect for us because the tracks were short enough so if we made mistakes, there was another tune along in a minute or two and we could make a sharp exit. All in all it was a success and we’re looking forward to the next one in a month’s time.

Back home, I finished the painting, photographed it and posted it. That was the only photo I took today. It was a clear day for the most part, but just after I’d posted the photo the snow started falling. It didn’t last, but for a while it looked as if it was on for the night.  As it happened, it was on and off all night. Next on the busy list was Wednesday dance class were we reprised the Quickstep from Monday and now it’s more firmly in my head. Not perfect yet and difficult to practise in our living room, but all the figures are now there and in the correct order, it’s just the details of the figures, the steps that need a bit of correcting. It will come. We finished with a Rumba One which we had been learninAnnoying loud music from the pub we practise in. I get the feeling some of the locals aren’t too pleased at our incursion into their territory. Hopefully Kirsty will find somewhere with a rectangular room and less noisy neighbours soon.

Today was a great help. Dancing on a dance floor among enough people to make it challenging without it being a difficulty. That’s what we’re both needing to master.

Also, this is the first time I’ve put a sketch as PoD and SoD. There just wasn’t enough time today to get a decent photo taken, so needs must.

Tomorrow, no plans as yet.

Woke to Sunshine! – 23 February 2020

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How nice to see a bit of sunshine again after all the rain and wind.

It was cold but bright and I really enjoyed my morning coffee sitting on the sofa in the sun. You could actually feel the warmth of the sun. Of course it did rain to, but not enough to speak of, so I won’t speak of it.

After lunch and after watching Andrew Marr doing battle with Nicola Sturgeon who put up a valiant fight I have to admit, I went out for a walk. Fell on my backside taking lots of photos of cladonia variants, but I only took five of the little yellow crocus growing in the front garden. One of the many Scamp has planted there. It was the little yellow crocus that got PoD and I didn’t even fall on my backside taking it!

Even managed to plant some Chestnuts in pots in the wee greenhouse .  Hopefully they will be more successful than last year’s no-show, but there’s no guarantee of that with wild seeds!

Swordfish steak for Scamp’s dinner with potatoes and cabbage. For me, exchange Rump steak for Swordfish. Just a relaxing day after yesterday’s dance extravaganza. The sunshine lasted all day with the occasional rain shower to remind us that it’s still winter. Apparently we will be reminded even more strongly later tonight or early tomorrow morning when snow showers are forecast across the central belt. May have to change my plans as I’m hoping to meet the Auld Guys for coffee tomorrow. Let’s hope not.

Spoke to Jamie and heard about his forthcoming surprise trip to Boston. It’s a work trip, but it’s still a trip to the US. More power to his elbow, he certainly works for it.

SoD prompt was ‘Gate’ and I struggled with this one. It’s a gate we passed on the banks of Loch Leven in Fife. Such skill splitting the bar and then producing the curves. I’m not sure I’ve done it justice, but it’s as good as I can make it.

As I’ve said, I should be meeting the Auld Guys tomorrow for coffee and adult conversation. Maybe even a bit of book swapping. It all depends on the weather.

Dancin’, really Dancin’ – 22 February 2020

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Just another day of rain and wind and occasional snow, but with the chance of some brightness in the evening.

A parcel arrived for Scamp at midday. It was the long awaited pair of Adesso slippers. The first pair were the wrong size, my mistake. This pair, like Cinderella’s fitted perfectly. Anniversary present ticked off!

Today’s prompt was ‘Rain’. Now that should have been easy given that we’ve had nothing else pouring out of the sky for weeks now. Like the tiger, this drawing was scribbled down this morning on my ‘doodle sheet’ and despite trying to redraw it various times, I liked the feel of this original.

PoD was a picture I took in the downstairs toilet with one of those occasional spells of sun shining brightly behind the plants.

We went to Frankie & Benny’s at The Fort for lunch. Unfortunately, it seemed as if almost all of the east end of Glasgow were there too. The place was jumping and half of them were noisy weans. To compete with the noise of the conversations, the staff had turned up the volume of the music system, it seemed. Even despite all that, the food was good Cheeseburger (No mayo) and Fish ’n’ Chips. Guess who had what!

Then while Scamp went window shopping for clothes, I browsed Waterstones. Bought myself a book on painting with acrylics, something I’ve not dabbled in recently. It’d make a change from watercolours and ink.

When we got back to the car, we had to sit for a while to allow the blizzard conditions to decrease. No snow was lying, but it was certainly coming along, almost horizontally, quite fast. After that, the sun came out and there was blue sky above. Scotland, at least three seasons in one day.

All of this was the precursor for the main event of the day, Dancing. We were off to darkest Paisley to a community hall for a night of waltz, foxtrot, possibly quickstep and probably jive. Dancing with Stewart and Jane’s class. As like the Christmas dance, we were welcomed into the bosom of the company and found that three of those at the table had been on our last cruise with us! Great fun, although my waltz wasn’t quite as swish as it could have been and my salsa was a bit rusty, but We Danced, and in company too!

Arrive home just before midnight, so obviously this is a catch-up

Curry and Dancin’ – 19 February 2020

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Today we finally went for a curry in Hamiton after I’d been to the doc’s.

Yesterday I got a message  asking me to contact the doctor’s surgery re: the results of my blood test.  I phoned and was told that the doctor had looked at the results and my Haemoglobin level was too high and the nurse wanted to check it.  I made an appointment for this morning and the nurse went over all the results, but never mentioned haemoglobin.  When I queried it, it turned out the receptionist had got mixed up between haemoglobin and haemoglobin – sugar level. Yes, the sugar level was a bit high, but lower than it had been at my last test.  Panic over.  Nothing to worry about.

With that out of the way and another awful day of wind and rain in almost equal quantities we drove to Hamilton for a curry in the Bombay Cottage. Food was as plentiful as always. Starters were obviously freshly cooked but my main tasted a bit like it was a re-heat.  Scamp’s was fine but a bit spicy.  Still, that is just nit picking because this is one of the best Indian restaurants we’ve been to.

Hamilton, as I’ve said before is a bit of a ghost town now, compared to what it used to be like. For that reason and because of the weather we didn’t linger long. Visited Currys on the way home to see how much it would cost for another desktop hard drive for photos. Easy answer, they didn’t have any. Also it seemed to be Union Meeting day with all the sales staff in a huddle round a table, presumably discussing something so important they couldn’t (be bothered to) help customers. And then they complain that on-line shopping is killing the High Street. Hamilton High Street is already dead and buried and the same is about to happen to the retail park.

Back home, a grab shot of some daffs on the doorstep produced an acceptable PoD. SoD topic was ‘Phone’. Since most mobile phones are simply featureless black slabs of glass and plastic, I thought I’d go back a decade and sketch our old house phone. Nice curves and rectangles. Somehow more soul than and Android/Apple glass slab.

We went dancing tonight in The Weavers in Condorrat. Not the biggest dance floor in the world and probably the strangest shape for one, being a distorted rhombus, Awkward to dance round. Especially so, if like me you are awkward to start with. Made a hash of the Foxtrot which we later put down to the teacher having cut a portion of it out to make it danceable in the space we had. Back home we went over the ‘figures’ again and sorted some of it out.

Tomorrow we’re intending going for the messages.

Driving the ladies to town – 16 February 2020

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Today Scamp was off on her travels again. This time with her big sister to meet their wee sister.

The bus to Inverness was at 9.10am on Sunday, so we were up early. Out about 8.30 to pick up June then the drive through the wind and rain to Glasgow. Dropped them off at the Concert Hall and watched to make sure they were across the road safely and then drove back home for a restful day.

Didn’t actually do much with Storm Dennis thundering around the houses. I did manage to drive up to Tesco and buy myself a steak for dinner, then decided instead to make Chicken, Chorizo, Beans and Tomatoes. No recipe and no chicken, so I went for a walk to St Mo’s to see how high the water was and then do a detour to the local shops to get some chicken thighs. The water level in St Mo’s pond was fairly elevated, but not as high as I’d expected. The weather was actually quite decent, apart from the wind, but by the look of the clouds it wasn’t going to stay that way for long. Cut short the walk after I’d got my planned PoD which was an apple sitting on a rock. When I go out for a walk in the woods I usually take an apple. I eat about half of it and leave the rest somewhere conspicuous and it’s usually gone the next day. Deer, rabbits, squirrels and mice are all welcome to join in. Today that apple became PoD.

Walked back via the shops. No chicken thighs in the first shop, but that’s the benefit of having three grocery shops in a row. If you don’t find what you want in the first one, one of the others is sure to have it, and that’s what it was today. By the time I’d finished my last bit of shopping, the rain joined me for the walk back home.

Made what I think of as a chicken and chorizo stew and put it in the slow cooker to, well, cook slowly. Then finally produced yesterday’s sketch of Rooftops. Sort of from my imagination and also partly from photos I’d found of Robin Hood’s Bay. So that’s yesterday’s SoD done, but no time to attempt today’s topic of ‘Basket’. I really must get better organised.

Scamp seems to be enjoying the luxury of a night in an Inverness hotel with here sisters, while I eat chicken and chorizo stew. Actually it tasted quite good.

Tomorrow I’m intending going dancing by myself!

Parrots, Pizza and Reverse – 12 February 2020

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A strange mixture, but all in the correct order.

Last full day down south and my how the time has flown. All the things we were going to do and all the places we were going to see. Well we did do some of them and we did see some of them too. Today we were going to take Hazy to the garden centre, the same one Canute and Delia had taken us to, so I knew the route. We had some time to waste first, so I left Scamp to guard the house while I went for a walk in Horton Park.

Like I’ve said earlier, is a well kept park. Lots of little pathways going everywhere. Cycle tracks with obstacles to jump or ride over. Confusing signage which seems to point out five different ways to get to the same place, all in different directions and with different distances, and parrots! Well, actually they are parakeets, green ones that screech their way across the treetops, never coming close to the ground. Found lots of interesting little nicknacks all over the place. Rusted fenceposts that must have been pre-WW1. Little clearings in the woods and more parrots. I’d only been given an hour at most to investigate the woods, less than that once I’d navigated my way round a roundabout. Soon my phone was warning me that I’d used up half my time and it was now time to return to the house.

Managed to drive out the driveway and on to the road without hitting anything. For some reason the traffic was kind to me and allowed me a space to exit on to what is usually a very busy road. Followed the road Canute had taken and quickly found the garden centre without having to cross the standing water that had dogged his journey. Pizza in the garden centre is usually a must, but today it must have been the apprentice chef who was in charge, because when my buzzer announced its arrival from the oven, what I took charge of was a bit thin and scorched. I ate most of it. Scamp’s baked potato looked no better. Bought a few things then wheeled Hazy to the car and found out how to fold the wheelchair neatly into the boot. That’s when the trouble started.

We had to reverse out of the parking space, but every time I though I’d selected reverse, the car moved forward. I checked the gearstick to see if I had to lift the stick to select reverse, or push down on it, but neither of those was available, it was simply a case of push left, then forward … except that didn’t seem to work. Hazy even phoned Neil in Goa to find out if there was a magic word you had to use first, but he just confused me even more by saying that you moved the stick left, but kind of left and back, and then forward. If it had just been Scamp and I in the car I’d have started swearing then. If I had I’d have missed the sight of a beautiful bird, a Red Kite flying up out of a field across the road. I was half watching it the the stick slipped neatly into reverse and we were off again on our way. I was careful not to do anything stupid that necessitated reverse gear again until we arrived home and the passengers were safely in the house. Then I did the unforgivable. I read the manual. It said to use a dynamic movement to select reverse. More a curve left and forward, rather than two discrete movements. It worked like a treat. Now I saw what Neil had been describing. However, after I’d managed to get the car into the position it was in before we left, I got out, locked the door and walked away. I don’t think we’ll bother looking for a Mini as our next car.

PoD is one of the old pre-WW1 fenceposts.
SoD is a rose, using what I remembered from the technique I learned from an old man on a cruise a couple of years ago.

Spent the evening packing everything into two roll along cases one bag and a rucksack. Tomorrow we’re off home.

Windy Willy – 9 February 2020

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Windy Willy was doing his best to make life difficult today.

Actually, Willy had nothing to do with it today. The trouble was all caused by Storm Ciara as it swept in from the Atlantic. Even in Hazy’s fairly sheltered bungalow, the wind was fairly thumping the roof as it bounced around the houses.

The storm didn’t stop Canute and Delia arriving and taking us to lunch. Just the two of us because Hazy chose to stay and rest after the excitement of JIC and Sim’s visit and the revelations after dinner. We drove to Chessington Garden Centre. I didn’t think it would be open with all the storm warnings and Canute said there were a few trees blown down near them. However, we needn’t have worried. There were hungry people out there with money to spend, so the garden centre was open and doing a brisk trade in meals.

After lunch we browsed what was available in the garden part of the garden centre. Scamp wanted to pot up a London Pride which my mum always called Nancy Pretty so we got a bag of compost an a pot. Canute and Delia also bought something, but it’s redacted until ND comes home.

Canute drove us back thorough more stormy weather, flooded roads, road works fences spread across the road, tree branches blown down, the usual aftermath of a storm, except the storm was still there as the news broadcasts were happily telling us.

PoD turned out to be a fig still clinging on to the tree in H&N’s front garden.  SoD was a padlock because the prompt was “Lock”.  For some reason ink drawings get fewer ‘likes’ than watercolours in EDiF and 28 DL.  Must try a pencil sketch soon to see how that fares.

Tomorrow we may go to Epsom if the storm has subsided a bit.

The 365/6 must continue – 8 February 2020

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JIC and Sim were visiting us today for lunch.

We’d bought a chicken yesterday and today it was due to be roasted. However, before that I was tasked with making some scones. I’ve only ever made them at home in our oven which I have a love/hate relationship with. Sometimes it works perfectly, but as it’s a fan-assisted gas oven, setting temperature is a bit of a hit and miss affair. Scamp is very good at getting it to the right setting for most things, but I’m always unsure exactly how it should be set. Hazy and ND have an electric eye level fan oven and it’s really easy to set and easy to use. I’d like one of those. It would go well with the four ring gas hob I’d also like. Yes, H&N have one of them too. The upshot of all this is that the scones, although made from a sticky wet dough, turned out perfectly. The best Lemonade Scones I’ve made, ever. All evenly baked and browned.

After my scones came out, the chicken went in. J&S arrived bang on time and dinner was great. Just one big family gathering. It’s such a pity ND wasn’t able to be there, but I suppose it’s a fair distance to travel from Goa just for a chicken dinner and some well baked scones. Maybe next time. It was at the end of the meal that The Next Time was revealed.

There has been some planning going on for my birthday, it seems. JIC, Hazy and ND are coming up north to celebrate with me. Unfortunately, Sim will have to dog-sit for Vixen as they can’t get her in to kennels because the visit will be during the Easter holidays. That revelation took me quite by surprise. I hadn’t expected it at all and nearly had me in tears.

The other thing that transpired was how much my readership enjoy the 365 or 366 as it is this year. So, despite my protestations that it takes a lot of time and effort, not to mention software to keep it going, it will continue. I was really sorry when JIC and Sim had to leave, but it won’t be long until Easter.

PoD was a desiccated plant in Hazy’s bathroom. I just liked it.
SoD was a wee man in a boat fishing to take the prize for “Fish”.

Tomorrow Scamp, Hazy and I have been invited out to lunch by Canute and Delia. More people. More chat, and entertaining chat too as it always is with Canute.

Kingston – 6 February 2020

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Off on our travels again.

Today we’d earmarked Kingston upon Thames as the place to go. We’d been there before a few times, but that doesn’t mean we can’t go again and probably find new wonders to explore. Now that we know how to use Oyster cards and even simpler credit cards to pay on buses and trains, travel without a ticket is the way to go. Single price journeys are so much easier to work with too.

So it was a walk along to the bus stop, then the No 71 to Kingston as the lady’s voice from the speaker reminded us at every stop. Then a visit to M&S for a new bunnet followed by a coffee in Nero. After that, a walk round the market and then down by the Thames in the sunshine under a bright blue sky where we saw some cormorants drying their wings.

Lunch was Japanese street food in Itsu. Mine was a Chicken Noodle soup with lots of ginger and Scamp had a Chicken and Coconut soup. We both shared a portion of Chicken Gyoza. To finish off we had a beer in the Druid’s Head. Managed to find most of the stuff we needed for dinner in Waitrose and got the bus back to Chessington.

PoD was the Thames walkway at Kingston. SoD was a snail which was the answer to the “Crawl” topic.

 

 

Dreadful Dancing – 3 February 2020

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But before we come to that, it was a windy, wet day, but I posted a letter, solved a problem (perhaps), got rid of some stuff and I got one decent shot.

So, with Gems coming today and no Margie because she’d called off, I grabbed the letter and a bag of old laptop batteries and went out to solve a problem. The problem was the poor mpg on the Juke. I took JIC at his word and checked the tyre pressures. Front 31psi should be 36. Rear 29psi should be 31. The rear ones weren’t a problem, but the front ones certainly were. Crouched in a heavy rain shower and got them all up to the recommended pressures with the automatic pump at the petrol station, because I don’t trust my old pump that plugs into the lighter socket. It seems to be working JIC. Mpg seems to have improved after a very rough and ready check. Will keep you posted.

Next on the list was the letter. I’d recently signed myself fit in mind and body to drive a motor vehicle and was given a new plastic driving licence free of charge on the understanding that I’d cut through the old licence and return it to the DVLA. I cut it up over a week ago and today I posted it away.

The stuff I was getting rid of was a collection of old laptop batteries. Two HP and two Apple batteries. Easy peasy, there is a metal container at the recycling centre where you can drop them off. There’s a load more stuff that needs recycled from the back bedroom, but that can wait until next week.

With that all done, I drove up to Fannyside Moor looking for some inspiration. It came in the form of a bank of cloud lying over the loch. I’ve photographed that tree for many years with many cloudscapes behind it and with varying degrees of success. Today wasn’t one of the best, but it recorded the day.

With that I drove home and started to make dinner. Tonight it was red pasta day. Just a basic sugo with some finely chopped shallots and mushrooms mixed in. Seemed to work well.

Now the dancing. We started with the Saunter Together which I thought we’d mastered, but I was wrong. After a couple of dummy runs we did a passable version of the first part, but the second part still eludes me. Next was Foxtrot and I was confident we’d have that off pat. Again I was wrong. We just kept making mistakes. I got lost. Scamp was determined to turn the opposite way from the one I was trying to turn her in (for once, I was right too!). We just made a pig’s ear of it. Finally the Waltz, and finally we found we could dance that. Not perfectly, but definitely much the best of all tonight’s dances. Only stayed for an hour because our brains were befuddled.

Came home and I sketched tonight’s Burger. I don’t like salad on my burger and I detest mayo on it too, so my burger is a hamburger with a nice piece of melted cheese. If I’m going to have to draw and paint it, I might as well make it the burger I’d actually eat.

So, some successes and some work in progress. Wind seems to have died down a lot after a very stormy night last night. That said, it was sleet that was falling when we were on the way to the dance class tonight.

Tomorrow no real plans. Maybe move the settee round and clear the floor for some Foxtrot practise.