Wednesday, March 11, 2015

Midweek Must Do's....

Already Wednesday and my 'must do's' are piling up.  At least am doing quite well sorting out all the 'not now needs' from the larder, and able to pass them on rather than let them go to waste.

As I had to place a small order to be delivered from Tesco (ingredients needed for the Sailing Club desserts), decided to treat myself and bought several items I (previously) used to love to eat.  When I started to eat some of them found they tasted awful - due entirely to my taste-buds not now working, all I got was a bitter tastes of what seemed like additives.

Even some of the fresh fruit didn't have the flavours I remember.  Braeburn apples had no flavour at all, the ripen-at-home peaches (one nearly ripe) also no flavour.  Thankfully the 'easy-peel' clementines I could taste but even then only just.

Perhaps a blessing in disguise (as I shouldn't be eating them at all) is that the crunchy prawn crackers (I used to LOVE these) also tasted awful, even the popcorn!   I'd even bought some scones (to see how they compared to home-made) and these too were not nice.  Not nice to me, to everyone else would probably be OK.  So don't take your enjoyment of eating a flavoursome meal for granted, one day you too may lose your sense of taste, and believe me I'd (almost) be happy to have continual gout if I could taste food again.
At least that meant there was another load of goodies for my daughter to take home for her own enjoyment, and also pass on to others.

One good thing, I needed black cherries for the Black Forest Gateaux I'll be making, so ordered some canned cherries, but also noticed that Tesco sold the frozen pitted cherries, so ordered several packs of these, and some I will soak in a little kirsch, the rest will be eaten by me, over time, keeping some especially for my next gout attack.

It was an absolutely beautiful day yesterday and my daughter wanted to take me out for a drive and stop for a cup of tea and a cake etc.  I agreed, but we first sorted the (above) foods, and I was feeling so very tired I just couldn't be bothered to go out - too much effort to put on my jacket, shoes and walk those few yards to the car (even with the help of my 'walker frame').  Felt almost as though I was about to have a panic attack.
Perhaps, as I've not left the house (except for a couple of surgery appts and once to the pharmacy - taken by car) since my Beloved passed away (4 1/2 months now), perhaps I'm getting a fear of leaving the house (is that called 'agrophobia'?). I've not even been into the garden, always using the cold weather as an excuse I suppose. 

Perhaps, once I've cleared away a lot of the clutter that is in the house, I will feel different, and if I can force myself to move around a lot more, even if only walking round and round the dining table (like the Bronte sisters used to do for exercise in bad weather), doing one more round each day, then perhaps my legs will start working again properly.    However comfortable it is just sitting in my easy chair, it is becoming too much of a temptation, so it's up to me to do something sensible and get moving again.

Thanks Christopher for sending that write-up about 'The (Shirley) Goode Kitchen that was in that listing of Radio Times programmes.  It made it sound worth watching.

Not sure how long that letter was that I wrote to you in the 80's Pam, but you could refer to it and copy it out to send as a comment, then we can all read it.  Unless of course it was private.  I can't remember writing to you, but then I wrote to many interested viewers at that time.
Hope your weather soon improves,  here today we are supposed to be getting some severe gales and rain over on the western side of the UK, not necessarily as far down as we are, mainly in Scotland. At the moment the sun is shining although there is quite a strong breeze.  A hazy sky with bits of blue showing.

;How lovely Joitsie to be able to buy your fresh fruit and veg from an Amish community.  Is this in Pennsylvania? The Amish have a lovely and natural way of life (I love watching the film 'The Witness'), and especially their use of pony and traps.  We have had a few programmes (documentaries, fly on the wall sort of thing), about Amish families and I love the way the little children are taught to help as soon as they can toddle.  It's very much a culture shock when a few of their teenagers come to live in the UK for a few months, and vice versa.
Believe now that many Amish are entering the 21st century in their use of some electrics such as washing machines, even the use of telephones and cars.  Let us hope they don't start using computers. 

Today's 'work' is to check I have the ingredients for the desserts, and make a list of those I need to order later (the 'do' is on the 21st of this month).  Also STILL have to sort out the freezer/s.  Yes, I know I was going to do this weeks ago but for some reason never got around to it (OK so I'm lazy). But I now will need the room to freeze some pre-baked chocolate sponge cakes ready to fill with cherries and cream in a couple of weeks. The more I can do now, the easier it will be closer to the time.

Have a visitor tomorrow morning, also on Friday, so I probably won't be blogging again until the weekend.  All depends on what free time I have.   If I'm fitting in 'having a walk' round the dining table, might feel the need for a sit at half-time, so might even choose the computer chair and while sitting, write a bit of blog - or at least reply to comments.  Just have to wait and see.  TTFN.