General Chat

I can't believe I have lived here for almost 31 years and never been to that park near Stroud. Stratford park. It is huge  with an arboretum, walks in the park and lake a walled garden and a very good museum.  I thought we were just going to see snowdrops but they were really only viewed as an  afterthought. they were pretty but nowhere near as many as we saw last week.  The museum was a real surprise as it is very comprehensive with lots to see I think the gardens will be pretty in the summer, as will the lake. One thing I didn't realise was that there are a lot of fossils to be found around Stroud. Which is nowhere near the sea of course.

Our one mistake was to choose to go at half term, although in the museum the children were very well behaved as they did their treasure hunt for pictures and things. But when we went to the pub (Brewers Fayre) it was heaving, no problem getting a table but behind us there was a table with a couple of adult females and about 6 children (they didn't sit still long enough to be counted. I guess al under about 8/9. They were noisy, jumping and running around, climbing on the table and the women just ignored them. At times we had trouble hearing ourselves talk.

  Fish and chips (two main meals for £9.95 was good value, nicely cooked and too many chips as usual.

Anyway I was picked up at 0930 and got home at 3pm so it was a really good day out.

I spent the morning doing lots of little jobs, things like descaling the kettle, checking over the cuttings and plants in the conservatory and generally sorting out a few bits and pieces. I’ve been a bit shivery all morning so I’ve just had a nice hot shower and put on a thicker jumper and I feel much warmer now.

I hope AnnG had some dry weather for her snowdrop trip out today. It’s been wet and dreary here all day so neither of us have done anything in the garden. We have one flower bed planted with lots of daffs and they tend to all open up about the same time. They look glorious at the moment. They are not very tall and quite a deep yellow and really cheer up a grey day. I can't help but smile when I look at them. Whoever named this variety February Gold picked the perfect name for them.

Thinking of you this week Gwyn as you attend your friend’s funeral while remembering your dear OH <3

Morning all,

Grey and drizzly here too and it doesn't feel very warm ,I've just stopped for coffee as I've been giving the shower a good clean ,we always wipe it down after a shower but it still needs a good going over to get rid of the scale ,it seems to really build up on the glass screens .

Hope it stays dry for your trip to see the snowdrops Anng.

Right better get on and get the bathroom finished.

Morning girls,

Had a lie in this morning and answered a survey on ebay first thing. Its 7 degrees here and pc says mostly clody and there is some sun but we have also had rain as the windows are wet.

Still waiting for this man to come and pick up the mower and I am not dressed yet so I better do that quickly incase he turns up.

Hope Vera slept better last night.

Morning AnnG and all

I hope it stays dry for your trip out. It’s drizzling and grey here. IPad says it’s 6 degrees but feels like 4. I haven’t got any plans for today. I did hope to do a bit in the garden but I’m not going to be outside in the drizzle. I’m a fair weather gardener :-)

Good morning all. I think it rained a bit overnight but it is only 6 degrees at the moment. I am hoping it stays dry as I am going with friends to see more snowdrops today. Up early as being picked up at 0930. However, I did sleep well for six and a half hours. didn't dream quite as much last night too.

Mel mine didn’t smell so maybe it was the oil. I use the light olive oil not the virgin olive oil. I did chips tonight they were not crisp on the outside, were soft in the centre and were not insipid looking. So I will have to have another go.

I’ve tried thinking of black velvet Mel and all sorts of ways of relaxing my body. The thing that usually helps me most is slow breathing in through the nose and out through the mouth. Reading is usually good for me too. It seems to relax me and as soon as I feel my eyes beginning to droop I put the book down and let myself drift off.

.i’ve got about 15 cards so far and I’m saving them up to open on Friday so I don’t know if yours has arrived or not. I’ll let you know as soon as I open them. Post does seem to be arriving here pretty quickly now.

O I meant to say about Mandy's lovely animals. Her knitting and crochet is so good and her choice of colours. I hope we will get a pic of all of them together before the girls choose which ones they want.

I have got mince mash and green tonight all out of the freezer so nice and easy to pop in the microwave.

Been up the post van and [osted a parcel. Shopping arrived not long after I got back but I had left the box outside incase there was a que at the van.

Did a little casting and a little bit of picking up fallen sticks in the garden from under the big ash tree. Brought another small window box of daffs up to the patio and cut down the clematis thats in a pot on the patio. It has rooted into the cement so I can't move it but it does well there and its only a small flowered one. I wound it round the post last year and it worked well as it can get into the washing line and if I don't see it it gets broken off if I try to get it off.

Hope you get a better sleep tonight Vera, try just thinking black. Are you collecting up your cards. I'd like to know if you have mine yet?

Anng I watched The Hairy Bykers on youtube useing an air fryer and he used olive oil so I did but I am going to try sunflower oil next time and see if thats any better and I will use the big pan not the small one so they are not so crouded. It ponked a bit on the first use so I hope that soon goes away as I did'nt like the smell.

Just had a cuppa so I think its about time to start the dinner now.

Afternoon everyone

Not quite such a good day as yesterday. It’s been cloudy with a bit of sun now and then and it’s been a bit cooler as well, but at least it has stayed dry. I had a dreadful night. My mind seemed to be whirring around double time thinking of all sorts of things - family history, books I’ve read, even what to have for dinner today. I ended up reading from 3 am till 4.30 am, eventually falling asleep some time after 5. I was still up by 8 o’clock but my head’s aching now.

It’s been a bit of a frustrating morning as well. OH had to pick up his new glasses so I went with him to do a bit of shopping and collect my meds. At the pharmacy the assistant looked for my stuff and couldn’t find it so checked the computer and told me I had collected my meds on 8 Feb. which I knew was wrong. She then said I had come in a week early and would have to come back next week. I queried this so she checked again and told me she was wrong, I was 2 weeks early! I stood my ground so she looked in her drawer again and there were my meds. The date on them said 8th February which means they sent the prescription to the doctor for signing off too early and they were the ones who got their timing wrong, not me.

I need some new underwear so next I popped into Roy’s and they had the Sloggi pants I like. They usually come 3 in a box for about £30 but, as a bonus, these boxes had an extra pair so I got a box. On the way home I realised I stupidly hadn’t checked the size. When I did I found they were 3 sizes too large so back we went to Roys. They happily changed them for me and we came back home. When I went to put them away I found that everything was held together inside the box with a security tag so I have got to go back yet again to get it removed. Grrr.

Mandy, isn’t it annoying when your washing ends up on the ground? I hate it when it’s hanging around on airers. We seem to have had washing draped round the house for weeks so I was really pleased to get 3 loads dried outside yesterday. Yes, we do have a lovely group of ladies here. We all help each other when necessary and still have lots of laughs together but we are all getting older now and getting more limited in what we do and where we go.

Our club meeting was OK last night but the 2 lady speakers could have done a better job of talking about India. They had lots of slides to show but they could have been put in some sort of order so that one led naturally on to the next one, or perhaps they could have had some sort of theme running through the presentation. Instead it was more a case of them saying each time This is a picture of such and such, giving you a minute to look at it and moving on to the next, totally unrelated, slide. Maybe I am too critical.

OH and I are apparently down to do the teas next month and I now have a programme at last.

I’d better get our dinner organised. I took some sausages out of the freezer this morning and am not sure whether to have them with chips and beans or mash, veg and onion gravy. I think I might go for the mash and veg tonight.

Mel, I just checked the booklet and I wonder if you picked up frozen fries on the left hand page which says 200 for 25 minutes. But Home made chips on the right hand page says 180 for 25-30 minutes. Have you checked the questions on page 21 as well. Maybe the chips were a bit too thick. But you could always do it for a few more minutes. The important thing is to shake them. so don't forget that next time. As you say it is trial and error.

I have been trying to perfect a small container of frozen cauliflower cheese and, although it has always been ok it is not quite right. I have one portion left in the freezer so will try that tonight.

Morning all,

Very grey here today and not so mild ,yesterday was a lovely sunny day and I decided I would hang dome washing out ,pulled the line out as I have one of those lines that retracts back so it's out if the way ,anyway got about three quarters of the washing pegged out when down went the line the hook snapped that holds the line so the washing ended up all laying on the ground :-( gave up on that and hung them on the clothes airer.

Anng weren't those snowdrops with the green stripe on the outside of the petals pretty ,I wonder if people try and pull a few up on the sly .
When I went to get eggs from the farm there was a picture of a woman who had taken all the money from the egg tin ,they had a picture of her car number plate and it said the police had been informed good job they have the camera in the hut .

Mel do you use the spray oil ,I've seen people use it for things in the airfryer .

Vera it sounds as if you have a nice group of ladies there and how kind of your friend to pay for most of your meal , I bet you were worried you'd be left with puds that you'd be eating for the rest of the week but it sounds as if they all couldn't resist and tucked in lol

Anyone doing pancakes today , we love them but by the time we've had our meal we're to full to enjoy them.

good morning Mel and all. overslept this morning but wished I had not gone back to sleep at 5am as I had a horrible dream (well I think I did as I can't remember much of it) Good job I am not going anywhere today or I would have a late start,

Mel I will have a look and see if I can sort it. I assume you were going ny the auto symbols and did it on fry?? I usually set my own temperature and timing. But chips must be spread out and must be checked and shaken halfway At that temperature and timing though I can't think why they were not crispy. I am only learning with this frier but it does say there must not be too much oil as it could be a fire risk. I wonder if island has any ideas?

M<orning all,

Nice dull and cloudy and cold day again here this morning so no change there then!

I don't know what day this man is coming to take the mower away and the shopping comes today.

Pc is saying 7 degrees and cloudy but I can see that.

They were fresh chips and I washed them and dried them on a t towel before putitng the oil on. It came up for 25 mins on 200 degrees. I left it a bit late to give them a shake and I shoudl have done them in the bigger drawer I think. On utube the hairy bykers said to soak them in salt water but I did'nt do that. I don't like frozen chips only mcanes french fries.

Logging out now as I have an early start tomorrow to get a parcel done up and up the post van.

What temp and for how long were they cooked. You don’t say if fresh or frozen.

Thats what I did but they cooked ok but soon went soft. I htink next time I will put a little more oil in and soak the chips in salt water first. Its all trail and error at the mo but I ate them all with two small eggs.

Frozen chips don’t need any oil.
Home made, rinse and Pat dry then toss in a very small amount of oil., not too much. I think it might tell you in the booklet.

Are they chips you have made or frozen chips?