General Chat

I had bought a new sack of bird food a couple of weeks ago, not my ususal which is almost £20 but one on offer in Mole Valley Farmers for £14. Never again they leave all the linseed seeds and the rapeseed and the only ones who seem to eat this is the bantams.

Mel I find different Wild Bird seed the same.One one I bought ..lots left.I now buy the High Energy one which is a bit more expensive but nothing left at all :-D So no waste :-D
Still blooming snowing :-S.I went down the garden to feed for the 3rd time today and all the tracks were covered again.You wouldn't think it with this very fine snow but there must be so much of it.It's late but I can still see some Blue tits on the coconut.

I had to laugh earlier .Chis had a brochure for a new car sent .It said Dear Dr R,your brochure for the new (whatever car)has arrived are you ready to smile?.......Chris said ....."They are taking the Pi**" .... He can't smile because of the B Palsy lolol

Liz that is good that Millie's eyes are better.It must be far more comfortable for her now :-D

Right now it is time for me to get into the kitchen and have a try at another new meal....I feel like Delia these days......but I doubt it will last .

We now have a little covering of snow on the roofs and the tree's ,but the roads and paths are still clear .

Pat i have seen that clip of the dining dogs before ,it's clever how they did it ,if that had been Toby the food would have soon gone ,he wouldn't have sat there like
that . :-D

Hope Ros and her friend have enjoyed the Mouse Trap this afternoon and got home safely through the snow.

What's cooking tonight then Delia? :-D :-D

My goodness have you seen the news !! snow as high as a digger with some drifts 20ft high !!!

Delia is a bit tiddly :-S She has Chicken Breasts cut into medallions ,chopped onion and garlic,sliced mushrooms ,chopped Parsley,single cream and French Mustard....
all ready to go into the mix.New Potatoes and green beans.
We will be eating at mid-night the rate I'm going lol.......I wish we were having Fish and Chips
Still snowing!!
Mandy I can't imagine 20ft drifts.That is 3 times higher than me :-S :-S :-S,plus 2 inches.

Off to put my pinny on now ....watch this space :-| ;-) :-D

Delia AKA me :-D,dished up a blooming treat ..Michelin star due I think :-D :-D

William I just spotted Mrs Brown on at 9.30.I think you and ~I are the only fans here lol
I'm sure it will be a repeat ,but I don't care.I will laugh my socks off :-D :-D

Little House not on the Prairie.

The year was 1870 or thereabouts when my great-grandfather decided to build a house, in the parish of Aghamore, Co Mayo - one of the nicer areas in Ireland. It was to be built of local stone & mortar with a roof of thatch which was the thing at the time. He would have been about twenty years of age then.

Planning regulations, particularly in the countryside, were unheard of in those distant times. So, there was none of the complicated form filling that is expected now - a good job too because not everyone could read or write. The lack of basic education in 19th century Ireland is a separate story for another time perhaps.

The proposed home was to be of modest proportions - even when the average family size in the area was 4 children - a three bedroom cottage with a kitchen/living room. Indoor toilets were unheard of or the provision of running water. Council housing was yet to be invented.

Having chosen a suitable site on his own land, digging out the foundations by hand began the process. With some help from kindly neighbours, the building was completed in about ten weeks. The main source of heating & cooking was by way of an open fireplace where peat turf was burned supplemented by using logs & seasoned tree branches. The bedrooms had no heating - so, hot water bottles were handy.

Thatched roofing was common in those times because slates, which had to be imported, were expensive & affordable only by the landed-gentry or the local Parish Priest. Thatching is the process of building a roof using dry vegetation such as straw or water reeds. Both items were readily available locally & would be placed in layers so as to shed rain water away from the inner wooden ceiling. And, it kept the house fairly warm too.

The mortar walls, outside & inside, were painted with ‘whitewash’ - a cheap but effective covering. Doors & window frames were usually painted bright red.

Like all new dwellings, there was a housewarming party with music provided by local musicians, dancing & songs from anyone who wished show off their ability. It was an open house that night when everyone, young & not so young, were welcome.

The old people sat around the hearth, the red glow of the open turf fire lit up their faces & their feet kept time with the music. A set-dance was in full swing; the young dancers were knocking sparks out of the flag floor; the lamp light was casting shadows on the whitewashed walls. Down at the room door, the musicians were playing. It was said that those musicians never repeated a tune during the whole night.

There was never any shortage of the black stuff or stronger & the ladies might partake of hot Irish whiskeys & the like. Food was an essential element of these knees-ups. So, sandwiches, cakes, baked potatoes were all the rage. Most of these parties ended at sunrise - they knew how to party in the old days. Just goes to show - all night raves that our youngsters crave these days are nothing new really.

In this same house, my paternal grandfather was born in 1876, some 30 years after the great potato famine, got married, reared his family of six children, one of whom was my dad born in 1910.

May God be good to them all for they made us what we are.

Dermot.That was a wonderful description of the 'Old Family Home 'and lives lived.
I felt as though I was there :-D More please!........is the black stuff Guinnes*?

I love the black stuff and Jam*son's whiskey is my tipple occasionally.

We had spag bol tonight and I had it in the freezer so no cooking for me only the fresh pasta and that only takes 4 mins.

It is still blimmin cold here tonight and the winds still blowing.

My friend down the local shop who does beautiful quilting and needlework bought a lovely book the other day and showed it to me yesterday. It had some lovely felt things in it and I am going to have a go. I don't want to make the whole things as a lot of them are small pouches that I would'nt use but some are decorated with felt berries and leaves which are embrodered and beaded and they would look smashing on hats and bags etc. Even on cardies or jumpers. If you put a pin on the back they can be taken off for washing. I am going to have a go as it is a long while since I made anything. I did make a silly robin at Chrsitmas time.

Going to say night night now as I am tired now.

See you all in the morning.

ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ

Evening All,

That was very enjoyable Dermot. One thing I am curious about is how it was decided who would inherit the house?

Well, I didn't like school either, mostly because we were forced to have religious education and were forced to take it as a GCE 'O' level as well. I was more interested in Darwin and genetics then! :-| I did pass it though, along with 8 other GCE 'O' levels all at the first sitting. Dad still thought I should be working and paying board, so there was no chance of staying on for 'A' levels or university.

You did well Liz, I paid £2 10s board out of my £5 a week pay, but, like yours it didn't go up! Instead,once I could drive I paid dad an additional 4s 10d a week for the petrol I used to drive his little van to work and I was expected to buy all my own shampoo etc. I also got half a crown a week if I washed dad's car and the van. I did my own ironing once I was a teenager and even after I was married I was expected to do the family supermarket shopping every friday for mum, and to drive the 5 miles home each morning to pick my sister up and take her to school before I went on to work.

That bag is really pretty Mandy and I like your choice of colours! I find with beading it's the deciding what to do and the colours to use that stops me getting started. I've begun a pretty little necklace that is like a daisy chain today......will send a pic when it's done!

Can someone send me Pat's clip please? :-S

Off to bed now......sleep tight everyone........I hope David's recovering well.

Morning/Evening All
More snow through the night and still those small flakes.so another day of not going far.I can see all the birds at the bottom of the garden looking for their food.But Im afraid they will have to wait a while,because Im not ready to get up yet. :-D

Morning everyone,Evening Kim,

We had a little covering of snow last night but some has gone this morning and i can now see the tarmac on the road .
You must have a good few inches laying now then Jane.
Whats Delia cooking today then LOL

We've got a nice piece of Beef for today but will have to see if i cook it as
hubby was sick this morning ,he has Migraine trouble now and again :-S says he is feeling better now hes been sick :-S

We won't be turning out far today , i think it's a day for keeping in the warm .

Morning All and Evening Kim,

Another grey day and a bit murky too. It would be nice if it brightened up a bit.

Oh going ringing this morning......................

Poor Colin Mandy. I hope he feels better soon.

I was never sick with a migraine and did'nt have the headache just the fuzzy spot which got more and more till I could only se the thing I was looking straight at in a pin prick. It was like looking down a black hole. Peoples voices also sounded far away.

O joy of joys it's now very fine rain :-| :-| :-| :-| :-| :-| :-| :-| :-| :-| :-| :-| :-|

I have never had a migraine(thank goodness)it must be awful.Hopefully now he has been sick he will feel well enough for that Beef Mandy.

No great feast here today , just Pasta, sauce, and garlic bread
I've done enough cooking this week lol.

Mel I thought you were supposed to have a dry day where you are.Hopefully that fine rain will fizzle out.

It was this time last year that we had our roast dinner out on the patio !!!

Wow Ann! I am deeply impressed with your O'levels, and at one sitting too! you certainly were a very clever girl. but what a shame you couldn't continue - still, I'm sure they stood you in good stead. We too HAD to take R.E. (no surprise there!) but I didn't mind it too much, Darwin was a bit beyond me and God was a simpler option!!! I'm afraid I had re-take two, English Language and French, I passed E.L but still failed French, so gave that up as a bad job and concentrated on Eng Lit and HistoryA'level. I passsed Eng Lit that summer but History was a two year course, and it simply wasn't worth staying on another year for one subject, so that got abandoned for Sec College! Like you, once I was working I had to buy my own toiletries, clothes, and season ticket for the bus, also Xmas and b.day pressies, and my train holiday, so there wasn't much left of that £5!!! I didn't borrow my M's car very much, the thought of something happening to it was too hideous to contemplate!! but when I did, I used to have to leave it (petrol wise) as I found it! or make a suitable contribution. That of course, was down to trust, and I have to say, I always did, I don't think it would have occured to me not to!

Here is a piece written many years ago and retrieved fairly recently by a relative recalling the warm texture of family life around a cherished grandmother. Read it and wallow in the nostalgia:

The warm smell of freshly baked buns filled the house and my grandmother was busy slicing off the lightly crisped tops and cutting them in two. She spread her rich lemon curd onto the cut buns and then taking the halved pieces, she placed them, back-to-back on top; little wings for her special butterfly buns. She also baked an apple tart, shaping leaves and rosebuds out of the little bits of leftover pastry and placing them carefully on top of the tart. When it was cooked, she sifted icing sugar over it, like a little dusting of snow falling lightly on to her perfect pastry petals.

I loved to watch my grandmother bake, the sieving, sifting, folding, rubbing, rolling all done with authority in her hands, an expertise born of long experience. This was her craft and she was the master. She would always let me help.

Placing the sieve in my small hands, I would clumsily tap the sides finding it difficult to catch the rhythm and then she would gently cup my hands in hers steadying the beat. ‘It’s all in the wrist,’ she would explain as she showed me how to beat an egg or whip cream. She could make a feast of a boiled egg, presenting it with a painted on face and served with her freshly made soda bread.

There was always a selection of her home-made jams, gooseberry, blackcurrant, marmalade and apple jelly. I remember the making of the apple jelly – she would place one chair upside down on another and then tie a square of muslim on the four upturned legs and let the fluid from the pulp of stewed apples seep through into the container beneath. She kept a little cottage industry going all by herself and she shared her produce proudly and with love. These were her gifts to us.

Three places were set, good-rimmed white china cups nestled on saucers alongside matching side plates, in between lay the bone-handled knives with their broad rounded blades and companion forks. Rolled curls of butter were stacked like a pyramid on a small silver dish. A little china jug of milk, a bowl of sugar and cute jam-filled containers with little lids and tiny spoons waited to be spun round on the lazy suzy.

From the radio (then known as a ’Wireless’) in the front room, the Angelus bell tolled out its call to prayer and we recited the Angelus. The kitchen clock tick-tocked out the long minutes and the 'Sacred Heart' picture hanging on the wall looked out from his frame watching over us with his kind eyes and outstretched hands. Those eyes seemed to follow me everywhere.

Mother poured the tea ‘It’s strong enough to trot a mouse on,’ she laughed and we started to eat, delighted with each other's company as much as with the feast.

Just a glimpse of a lost Irish paradise.

Afternoon everyone,

Not much happening here. We have had very hot weather in the 30's last few days. It has been so humid. I managed to water the back garden and do some light weeding today.

You must fed up with all the snow. I can only imagine those big snow drifts.

Hope all the pets are feeling better today.

Mandy I used to get migraines that made me so ill when I was younger, so I know how Colin feels. My daughter gets them too, must be genetics for us.

Frank I'm hoping Miranda will stick with this job, but she still hasn't studied the paperwork she was given last Monday, grrrrrrrrr. She did inform me that she was going to get very drunk last Friday night. That upset me, but I just told her to make a good job of it.

We have Joy back home after a long stint in hospital, but she blacked out in the front yard on the grass and is not looking well at all. I think the time is just about here when she will need to go to a nursing home. Must be something neurological happening. Keith has been down to see her and said she looks deathly. :-( :-(

Well time to put myself on the couch and watch a movie. Have a good day all. 10.56 pm ADST

Oh Kim you are little over 30deg hotter than here lol.Too much for me I'm afraid.I think I prefer this :-D
It does sound like your Joy needs care now doesn't it.It is such a worry for her family I'm sure with all her falls and blackouts etc.

Dermot....I am there in the kitchen with all those lovely aromas .It is making my mouth water just imagining it :-D.What wonderful memories.Those kind of days are long gone now expect for just a small number of folk I imagine.