Weekend Coming Up
No sooner had I written my last blog when I discovered another batch of comments had arrived in my email while I was writing, so although I thanked only one (Ray was it?) for reminding me of sago, there were several more I discovered later. Please believe me, I do eventually read all comments, it's just that these last few months I've not replied to each as I always hoped to do.
It's not been a good week for me. I now think I've got gout! Something anyway that is causing me pain in both my big toe and the arch of my foot. Have had it before and it never last too long - on the way out now - but it confined me to bed (or bedroom for ease) for the last few days. If it isn't one thing it is another!!!
Am still finding it incredibly difficult to come to terms with what has happened over the last six months (beginning with the steroid arthritis jab that worked brilliantly). It is now 3 months and 2 days since my B passed away, and although sometimes it seems like yesterday, other times it seems a lot longer.
Yesterday the Occupational Therapist came, able to get me quite a few things to help my mobility etc, but I've been told to remove all rugs from the house to prevent me tripping/falling. Most of these rugs were placed to keep our pale cream carpets clean, and the majority are of great sentimental value. It will seem even less like home if they are not there. Am thinking about using this dining room (where I write on the comp) as a living room, just pushing the dining table over against a wall to leave plenty of floor space in the centre of the rooms (they are large rooms), and bringing a couple or so easy chairs in from the living room to sit and watch B's TV - this being larger than the one I normally watch in the other room.
Because I was busy, loads of people calling in, and my foot etc, I haven't been watching any TV for over a week. Missed even my favourite soaps, Benidorm, Birds of a Feather etc. In the end did ask for my radio to be brought in from the kitchen to the bedroom to keep me company. Think I could almost manage without TV, but would need the radio.
Have cancelled the daily newspapers from the end of this month (tomorrow) just having the Mail on Saturday that comes with an excellent TV supplement/mag. Getting rid of all the old newspapers has been a real problem (B used to take them to the tip), so the less waste paper the better it will be for me.
Did watch TV last night because there looked to be a good programme with Greg Wallace about reducing a families food bill, and have to say the prog was EXCELLENT. Well worth watching on iPlayer if you haven't yet seen it.
What was proved (more by taste testing foods where the manufacturers names had been removed) was that cheaper brands were often preferred, and what made me smile was that the man of the house didn't like the jam he was given (he thought it was a cheaper substitute) even though it was the normal brand he always bought for himself as he liked it best. Just shows how our mind plays tricks.
The aim was to save £40 a week from their normally excessive food bill, and at the end of the week £74 had been saved. Has to be said that they did have a lot of foods stored in their cupboards (made me feel guilty because I also store quite a lot but am now working through them), believe that added up to over £1,000s worth. Perhaps I should work out how much my stores come to.
A few days/weeks ago there was a short comment from Frugal Queen re foods she remembered, one being brawn, the other 'hamlet'. Think she meant to write 'haslet'. My mother was very fond of haslet, also faggots.
With 'hamlet' making me smile, this then led my brain to try and work out other Shakespeare plays that could be almost 'foodie' such as:
Romeo and Jellyette
Taming of the Stew
Midsummer Night's Cream
Merchant of Venison
...anyone think of any others?
Cheesepare's query re grey scrambled eggs. Don't know why they discolour unless it is that they are cooked in the microwave (we always cook ours in a pan on the hob). It could be pepper, and myself prefer to use white ground pepper instead of black to avoid the black speckles in the cooked eggs.
Once upon a time (at least in my youth) we seemed only to have ground white pepper and fine table salt to shake over our food. Then black peppercorns appeared, these to be freshly ground in a special mill over the food when ready to season.
Salt is now more likely to be large crystals (again to be ground) either sea salt or rock salt, and I have several different kinds, most of them slightly coloured from grey to pink to brown to white. So if the eggs change colour before any seasoning is added, then it could be the way they are cooked. Doubt it would be the eggs themselves.
Normally I just break the eggs in a bowl, pour them in a pan with a little milk (or cream) and then cook them very slowly over low heat. Omit butter (this can go on toast). Believe the professional way to make scrambled eggs (and the best way - I've tried it - but it does take time), is to pour the beaten eggs into a bowl, place this over a pan of hot water and cook/beat until the eggs are lightly scrambled and very creamy.
Not sure how the rest of the country has fared (esp CP in Millom who normally gets the snow). Yesterday noticed it had begun to snow mid-afternoon, visible-sized flakes so was hoping to sit an watch it settle, but of course it didn't. Lasted about half an hour, nothing worth seeing really, and today it is lovely and sunny, wall to wall blue skies. Expect it is cold outdoors, but then I'm not venturing past the back door except to throw the rubbish bags into the bins (these outside the door) and that can wait.
Not a lot of rubbish to throw out these days. I seemed to have completely lost my appetite, and when I do eat nothing seems to have any flavour. Even Marmite!!!! Maybe my pills are causing this. All I want to do is drink fluids, especially water. Even coffee has lost its taste. Luckily though I did eat something yesterday that I enjoyed (almond croissant that I heated in the m/w), so perhaps this has been a short term thing and I can soon get back to the pleasure of eating again.
Steve says he has found the photo I want put up on this blog, and he will do this a.s.a.p. Maybe he has already done it. If not it will be soon (will keep reminding him as his 'soon' is not the same as mine).
Now that I'm managing to get back on track (but for how long?) am hoping to write regularly, but as I'm finding out, one day I'm fine, other days I'm feeling really low, so just have to take each day as it comes. Writing does help to cheer me up - so must do more.
With the weekend coming up, in this country at least we need to make sure we keep warm, don't venture out unless you have to, and remember - all those larder stores we've been building up these last months are there for the eating, not 'decoration' as Greg Wallace put it. Makes sense. TTFN.
It's not been a good week for me. I now think I've got gout! Something anyway that is causing me pain in both my big toe and the arch of my foot. Have had it before and it never last too long - on the way out now - but it confined me to bed (or bedroom for ease) for the last few days. If it isn't one thing it is another!!!
Am still finding it incredibly difficult to come to terms with what has happened over the last six months (beginning with the steroid arthritis jab that worked brilliantly). It is now 3 months and 2 days since my B passed away, and although sometimes it seems like yesterday, other times it seems a lot longer.
Yesterday the Occupational Therapist came, able to get me quite a few things to help my mobility etc, but I've been told to remove all rugs from the house to prevent me tripping/falling. Most of these rugs were placed to keep our pale cream carpets clean, and the majority are of great sentimental value. It will seem even less like home if they are not there. Am thinking about using this dining room (where I write on the comp) as a living room, just pushing the dining table over against a wall to leave plenty of floor space in the centre of the rooms (they are large rooms), and bringing a couple or so easy chairs in from the living room to sit and watch B's TV - this being larger than the one I normally watch in the other room.
Because I was busy, loads of people calling in, and my foot etc, I haven't been watching any TV for over a week. Missed even my favourite soaps, Benidorm, Birds of a Feather etc. In the end did ask for my radio to be brought in from the kitchen to the bedroom to keep me company. Think I could almost manage without TV, but would need the radio.
Have cancelled the daily newspapers from the end of this month (tomorrow) just having the Mail on Saturday that comes with an excellent TV supplement/mag. Getting rid of all the old newspapers has been a real problem (B used to take them to the tip), so the less waste paper the better it will be for me.
Did watch TV last night because there looked to be a good programme with Greg Wallace about reducing a families food bill, and have to say the prog was EXCELLENT. Well worth watching on iPlayer if you haven't yet seen it.
What was proved (more by taste testing foods where the manufacturers names had been removed) was that cheaper brands were often preferred, and what made me smile was that the man of the house didn't like the jam he was given (he thought it was a cheaper substitute) even though it was the normal brand he always bought for himself as he liked it best. Just shows how our mind plays tricks.
The aim was to save £40 a week from their normally excessive food bill, and at the end of the week £74 had been saved. Has to be said that they did have a lot of foods stored in their cupboards (made me feel guilty because I also store quite a lot but am now working through them), believe that added up to over £1,000s worth. Perhaps I should work out how much my stores come to.
A few days/weeks ago there was a short comment from Frugal Queen re foods she remembered, one being brawn, the other 'hamlet'. Think she meant to write 'haslet'. My mother was very fond of haslet, also faggots.
With 'hamlet' making me smile, this then led my brain to try and work out other Shakespeare plays that could be almost 'foodie' such as:
Romeo and Jellyette
Taming of the Stew
Midsummer Night's Cream
Merchant of Venison
...anyone think of any others?
Cheesepare's query re grey scrambled eggs. Don't know why they discolour unless it is that they are cooked in the microwave (we always cook ours in a pan on the hob). It could be pepper, and myself prefer to use white ground pepper instead of black to avoid the black speckles in the cooked eggs.
Once upon a time (at least in my youth) we seemed only to have ground white pepper and fine table salt to shake over our food. Then black peppercorns appeared, these to be freshly ground in a special mill over the food when ready to season.
Salt is now more likely to be large crystals (again to be ground) either sea salt or rock salt, and I have several different kinds, most of them slightly coloured from grey to pink to brown to white. So if the eggs change colour before any seasoning is added, then it could be the way they are cooked. Doubt it would be the eggs themselves.
Normally I just break the eggs in a bowl, pour them in a pan with a little milk (or cream) and then cook them very slowly over low heat. Omit butter (this can go on toast). Believe the professional way to make scrambled eggs (and the best way - I've tried it - but it does take time), is to pour the beaten eggs into a bowl, place this over a pan of hot water and cook/beat until the eggs are lightly scrambled and very creamy.
Not sure how the rest of the country has fared (esp CP in Millom who normally gets the snow). Yesterday noticed it had begun to snow mid-afternoon, visible-sized flakes so was hoping to sit an watch it settle, but of course it didn't. Lasted about half an hour, nothing worth seeing really, and today it is lovely and sunny, wall to wall blue skies. Expect it is cold outdoors, but then I'm not venturing past the back door except to throw the rubbish bags into the bins (these outside the door) and that can wait.
Not a lot of rubbish to throw out these days. I seemed to have completely lost my appetite, and when I do eat nothing seems to have any flavour. Even Marmite!!!! Maybe my pills are causing this. All I want to do is drink fluids, especially water. Even coffee has lost its taste. Luckily though I did eat something yesterday that I enjoyed (almond croissant that I heated in the m/w), so perhaps this has been a short term thing and I can soon get back to the pleasure of eating again.
Steve says he has found the photo I want put up on this blog, and he will do this a.s.a.p. Maybe he has already done it. If not it will be soon (will keep reminding him as his 'soon' is not the same as mine).
Now that I'm managing to get back on track (but for how long?) am hoping to write regularly, but as I'm finding out, one day I'm fine, other days I'm feeling really low, so just have to take each day as it comes. Writing does help to cheer me up - so must do more.
With the weekend coming up, in this country at least we need to make sure we keep warm, don't venture out unless you have to, and remember - all those larder stores we've been building up these last months are there for the eating, not 'decoration' as Greg Wallace put it. Makes sense. TTFN.
posted by Shirley at 9:50 am
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