General Chat

Good afternoon all

The sun is just trying to come out after a VERY wet day. (EDIT: It was earlier when I started this but I got distracted. It didn’t stay out very long.)

Have you enjoyed your trip to the new Dobbies AnnG? I bet you managed to find something to buy. I’m sure there is an unwritten law that says a woman can’t go in to a garden centre and come out empty handed, lol. I hope your dishwasher man can get your machine going again on Thursday.

If you get a slow cooker Mel I wouldn’t bother to find cupboard space for it. Just do as AnnG suggested and leave it out. I do have cupboard space for mine but now I’m using it a lot more I just leave it out as well. It’s in use again at the moment cooking a sort of “throw everything in” Bolognese mixture. I took some mince, packed as a generous 2 person helping, from the freezer. Then I found some frozen Quorn mince that would be about a large helping for 1. I mixed it together with some onion, some grated carrot, a beef stock cube, a tin of chopped tomatoes, some tomato puree and some garlic puree and some mixed herbs. The tomatoes were good as they were a more expensive tin and were all tomato with hardly any liquid. That meant I felt I could put in something else liquid and a good slurp of red wine seemed to fit the bill. Goodness knows what it will taste like. I can’t eat pasta so serve this sort of sauce with noodles, rice or jacket potato. Tonight it will be noodles as they only need a kettleful of boiling water so are cheap to cook.

It was useful to see the breakdown of cooking costs Ann. I hadn’t realized that gas was about half the cost of electricity for cooking. I have an electric oven with a gas hob and do feel a bit guilty when I use the oven but, as I have said before, I do fill it and bake lots of things at the same time. OH is a creature of habit and I haven’t yet managed to get him to change his mindset where the oven is concerned. When he cooked a couple of days ago I found he had heated the oven to a high temperature and then put in one very small tray of oven chips! I was not impressed.

I hope Mandy, Gwyn and Island are all well.

I went for a haircut this morning. Linda, my hairdresser is very good, and seems to produce a smart, curlyish (is there such a word?) hairdo with just a hairdryer and her hand. She doesn’t even use a brush. She has told me what to do but when I try I look as though I’ve been dragged through a hedge backwards while a tornado has been blowing. I suppose that’s why she’s a hairdresser and I’m not, lol.

I think it’s time to remind OH to take the recycling and the garden bin down the road. Last week we both forgot to put the bin out and it was the general rubbish week so that bin will go 4 weeks without being emptied. Luckily we never have much in that so there is plenty of room in the bin. Our Council doesn’t do food waste separately so that could be a problem if there was food stuff rotting away in the bin for 4 weeks but luckily we don’t have much waste.

I think it’s also time now for tea and bikkies. A girl’s got to keep her strength up.

Morning Anng and all,

About the same here this morning I think as its 10 degrees and cloudy and realy miserable. Where are all our nice crisp morning we used to get.

Thanks for the pm Ann I shall take a look.

Had my oil price come through and it was 89 ppl so I did'nt think that was too bad.

Got to get ready as asda man is on the way and the order is a little bigger this week.

good morning all, dark and drizzly here and 10 degrees. I am out later to a new large Dobbies garden centre near Tewkesbury. That makes two Dobbies about the same distance from here in opposite directions. This one will eventually be part of a large shopping centre.

I can't remember if I have said but dish washer man is coming to look at it on Thursday morning.

Oohh chocolate cake and sherry, very nice Mel!

I have sent you a PM with details of the slow cooker and it is a Morphy Richards.

Mine is Mel and I am sure Annx’s is as well. I don’t put the slow cooker in a cupboard I find it easier to leave it where I use it.

Mine is Mel and I am sure Annx’s is as well. I don’t put the slow cooker in a cupboard I find it easier to leave it where I use it.

Been round to Em's with Sam's birthday present and card and stayed and had a sherry and a piece of chocolate birthday cake. Very nice and came home with a big slice of it for later.

Had a fiddle with the big pond this afternoon too. Had the scimmer on but did'nt clean the filter today but let as bit of water out and put some back in from the well.

I think I may have to invest in one of these slow cookers as they sound good. He nearly bought me one the other year but I said its something to find a home for in the kitchen when its not in use. Now I wish I had had one. I shall have to clear the corner cupboard out and get some space in there.

Is yours a morphy richards Ann?

Good evening

It was really foggy and dank first thing but it cleared later and seemed to be dry so I did 3 loads of washing and hung it all out. Well, that was a waste of time :-(. It came in wetter than when it went out. I now have washing hanging everywhere. OH cut down all the clumps of helenium and cleared away more dead stuff but I haven’t done anything in the garden today as my back is still recovering from yesterday’s stint.

It’s a matter of taste and the sort of food you like but I think a slow cooker is worth having Mel. I’m using my slow cooker more again now and I also use my microwave quite a lot and they are both economical to use. I do still use my oven a fair bit but I plan more carefully now so I fill it and never use it for just one thing. Yesterday our complete dinner was done in the oven, meat, potatoes, lots of veg and a plum crumble. If some things need a low temperature and some a higher one, I just pick a setting in the middle and juggle things about a bit.

Tonight we are just having a filling, chunky veg soup with rolls. Mostly I prefer smooth soups but I had lots of bits of veg to use up so I think a chunky one will work best. I’ve prepared it so I just need to switch the soup maker on. Seeing the time I had better do that now.

I hope everyone’s aches and pains are not being too troublesome. Have a good evening and a restful night. See you tomorrow.

Afternoon All,

Foggy here first thing but just dull and 12 degrees now.

Mel the dearest thing to run is an electric oven, followed by an electric hob. Less than half that running cost is a gas oven followed by a gas hob. Just below a gas hob cost is a slow cooker and just below that is an air fryer with a microwave the least cost to run. The wattage varies with different ones and affects the running cost and the figures AnnG has given look about the same as what I saw when I was looking to get one. The air fryer is quicker and you can roast and fry in it and more healthily, (as well as cook other things) but I like the idea with the slow cooker of being able to set it up and leave it for a few hours and without having to be around to check how things are cooking, plus the batch cooking as AnnG has said. I may still get an air fryer too as that covers most cooking needs cheaply then and if one appliance stops working, you can fall back on the others! The one I've ordered doesn't have a timer, which I really need as we eat our main meal at lunchtime, but I know we have one of those timers you can plug in a socket, so could set it with that if needs be. Mine is a 3.5 litre middle sized one.

We went to Aldi this morning but didn't see any air fryers so maybe they sold out yesterday. I was shocked at how little craft stuff they had and no fat quarters and I was hoping they had the Christmassy designs in now. Equally shocked how small the bill was for all we bought!! We got a few things to stash away for Christmas too.

It's good you got sorted with the dishwasher man AnnG.

Better get cracking with my paintbrushes and start this new picture now.

Good morning Mel and all. I thought I had posted earlier but it seems not. I have managed to contact the dishwasher man and he is coming Thursday.

It was sunny earlier but has clouded over now it is 15 degrees. I spent about half an hour in the garden taking down the bamboo frame used for the outdoor tomatoes. goodness knows why we have so many bamboos, I could set up a shop. T just seemed to be always buying them, goodness knows why when there were already so many in the shed and down the side of the house. I also cut back a bit more of a holly tree and a few other bits as it is brown bin day tomorrow. I did a load of washing and my next job is to sort out my wardrobe to bring warmer clothes to the front.

Mel a slow cooker is good. You can cook two or three meals at once and freeze them. Or sometimes I will cook stewing steak and have it as stew the first day then as curry or chilli the next keeping it in the fridge, or mince. I found this on line:

Slow cookers have low wattage, so even cooking something for 8 hours will use less energy than an oven or hob. On average, slow cookers usually use about 1.2kW over the course of 8 hours, which means it will only use around 162.5w per hour, which works out at just 5 pence per hour.

It is worth reading up the info about them but I love mine. I wouldn't get a really small one though I can cook single meals in mine which is the oval shape.

Last night I cooked my chicken thighs in the air fryer. I know my daughter does everything in hers but mine is a basic one, hers is a large Ninja. The filleted thighs (3 of them) cooked at 180 for 20 minutes and were perfect. I think I will use it more now. The saving is really in the fact that it is instant heat, you don't need to leave it to warm up like you do the oven.

Morning all,

Dull and dreary here this morning and I think its been raining in the night its 13 degrees at the moment and pc says cloudy.

I don't keep my door key on my car keys either.

Sounds a good buy you slow cooker Ann. Just how much do these slow cooker coast to run? Do they use less than a hob would? Do you think I should get a small one?

My morphs Richards is metal and oval. I think I said before it was red but I was confused. My previous one was red. The current one is cream.

Yes not wise having car and house keys on the same key ring.

Yes it is all 'what ifs' as you say AnnG. It's hard to know what is best to do. I have thought about both keys getting stolen but if I'm wearing a coat, I put 1 in a zipped pocket with my car key and one in my bag or camera case. I've even stuck the spare down a sock before now! :-D I noticed OH is keeping his doorkey on the same keyring as his car key which isn't really wise either. If someone snatched his car keys they would have our front door key as well.

Well I finally decided on and have ordered a slow cooker. It is still a Morphy Richards with the lightweight metal bowl, but has an oval bowl which will take less room up and can be pushed further back on the worktop. I thought it might be a better shape to fit a joint or small chicken in as well. I only found it because our Curry's had sold out of all the original one I wanted. The maker was doing a promotion and I got a 10% discount code as well, so it was just over £40 instead of £59.99 so I was pleased with that and free postage as well.

I've given up on my painting, which doesn't happen often, but I just can't get it to look right at all, especially the eyes. I'll start one of the others omorrow, but I will have to speed up if I want to send it in.

Have you got somewhere sort of hidden where a key pad could be attached?I do sometimes carry a spare key. Then I realise both keys are in my bag. What if my bag is snatched. It is all what ifs.

I only mentioned it as I had never thought about the insurance aspect AnnG. You are right about the noise it would make to smash one off the wall though. I doubt a burglar would risk it as you say and would look for an easier entry elsewhere. I would like somewhere safe to leave a spare key though, as OH can be 100 miles away at some matches he goes to and I could be locked out for hours. I tend to carry a spare when I go out.

Someone using his first metal detector for the first time in the next village has found a roman coin in the grounds of his grandmother's house. It dates from 200 and something AD and is worth over £1000. He had only been looking for an hour as well. We were trying to think where a house with grounds is in the village,but think it must be well off the road. Quite a few artefacts have been found in the area over the years including a roman villa remains. I suppose it's with the old roman road, Fosse way, being close by. I bet he's out with the detector every spare minute now!

That cramp is horrid Mel! It hurts whatever you do and stays sore for ages. Sometimes in bed I find my toes feel as if it's going to happen and one will suddenly feel stretched and be hard to bend for a few seconds.

I did clean the big girls out this morning but never got around to the bantam but there's always tomorrow.

I have been fishing leaves out oft he pond again today even though its not too windy. I was going to do so much today and hav'nt managed it but I was tired from yesterday so I am putting it down to that.

Come over very tired again tonight so think I may have an early night tonight after I have seen The Larkins.

Daughter thinks that is probably true about the insurance. But she also says the type of key pad we have has a solid box, she thinks it would be too much trouble to try and get into it and easier to try somewhere else. So I shall leave mine where it is.

flowers do cheer you up when they are out of season. And the bees have been loving those clematis flowers. I also saw a butterfly. I think it was a red admiral but it just flew past the window.

I think these days nothing deters a determined burglar, they wouldn't stop to get the key box off the wall then find something to smash it open, they would just smash through a door or window. But I will check out the insurance angle.

I managed an hour out in the garden this morning but it was very damp despite the sun. It must have been a heavy dew. I managed to weed all the pots, especially the ones at the end of the garden that tend to be out of sight out of mind. I also cut down a lot of ivy My fuchsias are not flowering now as they have had their 'hair cut trim so that they don't rock in the bad weather. They will get cut right down in the spring next year. I suspect the grass could take another cut but it was too wet. I checked the hedge hog house and I am pretty certain there is a small one in there. Cynth and I saw a small one the other day in her harden.

Indoors I emptied the airing cupboard, wrote a couple of emails re U3a and wrapped up one Grandson's Christmas presents.
Trouble is my legs and particularly my ankles are very tired after all the walking round the theatre and up and down all the stairs too.

Afternoon All,

Sun's gone in and it's cloudy here now and 12 degrees.

Your flowers look lovely AnnG and seasons seem to have shifted these days. I was amazed to see blooms on our bottle brush the other day and the fuschias are all still looking good as are some violas. I loved Will and Nancy's Waltz too.

I just looked into the keysafes as they seem like a good idea and there are ones on the lodges where we go on holiday. Police suggest when buying a key safe you should make sure it has the 'Secured by Design' approval and logo and all sorts of advice about where it is placed. The one thing that hadn't crossed my mind was that you need to check with your insurance company, as a burglar using a key from one by the code or smashing it off the wall may not constitute a forced entry and so may invalidate your home insurance.

I had half a mind to go to Aldi this morning as they have had some more of their recommended air fryers in, but someone testing these things the other day on tv pointed out that although they cost half to cook a meal, if you can't cook enough at once and need to then cook the rest it is no cheaper, so now I wonder what is the best size to get. Lidl have a bigger one with 2 drawers which might be better, but may take up too much room on the worktops. :-S

Better get my paints out now. There is a painting exhibition not far away that I used to go to, but it is in 2 tiny rooms at an old village school and may be very crowded and be impossible to have any space from people so I'm giving it a miss this time.

If i remember correctly from what she said (and no doubt it is not absolutely right with relying on my memory!! There were only two or three theatres designed by Frank Matcham another of which is Bristol hippodrome which is definitely in the same style as I have seen that one and I have a feeling she said Drury Lane. I wish I had had more time to take photos and had taken my camera with me but I didn't think photos were allowed. The only things we were not allowed to photograph were the items on the stage ready for the production on later. All round the interior in the actual seating areas is very ornate with a huge arch around the stage that looks like marble but is some sort of material from Italy and that has actually been in place since the 18th century.

Yes the flowers are surprising I have osteospernum coming into flower again. I am sure they will sort themselves out.