Thursday 30 January 2020

Baking

We had a request for some homemade biscuits so that is what I have done:

Thanks for all your comments and various links regarding vegan eating, eating or not eating almonds etc. With regards to almonds, the ones I buy (and their milk) are all produced in the Mediterranean, so at least I feel I am not contributing to the water problems in California.

Monday 27 January 2020

Whilst I couldn't be vegan - update

I have been experimenting recently with a few vegan meals. We also eat primarily vegetarian, or plant based meals about 70% of the time.

So then, what vegan things have I tried? Breakfast for a start. Five days a week, I have a fruit smoothie, using two pieces of fruit, various seeds and normally cow's milk. This has now been changed to almond milk. Hardly any difference in taste so that's a bonus.

Last week we tried soya bolagnaise/chilli using soya mince. I left it to soak for too long after misreading the instructions but here it is after soaking:
After that stage, I cooked it as per a normal meat version but using everything vegetarian. We wanted spag bol but it really didn't have much flavour so added red kidney beans, chilli, cocoa and extra tomato puree:
This made it edible and quite nice but we are not sure we would repeat it. We often have a vetagrian version anyway and would probably stick to that.

So far, that is as far as my trials have gone. Watch this space!

Here is a link to carbon footprints of our food - here.

Thursday 23 January 2020

Plodding On

I have started to finish the item I am sewing for DGD. I am taking a chance as obviously, they are busy looking after her (and working) so their minds are on other things. Hopefully it will all work out in the end.

Their building work continues apace and everyone will be glad when it is finished. The noise, dust and cold have been hard for them all. Luckily DGD is still in hospital. She continues to be well thank goodness.

We hope to go up tail end of next week to see her and them, providing the work is finished which the builders reckon it will be.

Just been to the garden centre to buy two more bags of manure. One for the fruit cage, the other for all the fruit trees.

Tuesday 21 January 2020

Whilst

Snowdrops and aconites are popping up in other people’s gardens and the surrounding countryside, there are none in my garden as of yet. They seem to get later each year.

I have decided this year to keep a sleep record. It’s one thing telling a doctor you can’t sleep but another to be able to show them. It never seems to get taken seriously. They just spout words at you about sleep hygiene and coping mechanisms etc.

So far, for the month of January, I have had no more than 9 nights of relatively normal sleep. That is, getting to and staying asleep naturally (hopefully within 3 hours of going to bed), without the use of Nytol or Bailey’s! That is very good for me.

I don’t feel sleep deprived as in feeling overwhelmingly tired, but am more irritable than I used to be and the slightest thing, somedays, can have me in floods of tears. I wouldn’t mind going to one of those sleep centres to be wired up and see if anything is causing it. Mind you I either wouldn’t be able to sleep due to the wires or would fall asleep and nothing would register.

I know I am not alone and as it has been going on for many years, is now probably just how I am.

Life eh, always ready to throw you a curve ball!


Monday 20 January 2020

Unlike

Some parts of the country, yesterday we awoke to another sunny day, albeit with a good frost. We finished off our Chinese meal from yesterday as a snack.

Another batch of washing dried on the line and I used the final sachet of washing machine cleaner to help keep it clean and fresh smelling.

DS arrived back from America and I feel I can now relax a little. I hate him flying although he thinks nothing of it. No doubt DDiL and his dogs will all be pleased to see him and he will enjoy seeing and holding his daughter, rather than gazing at photographs.

I cooked chicken breasts for tea. After frying them for a change, I made a sauce with the juices, some almond milk and blobs of Boursin garlic and herb cheese. Served with mashed potatoes and vegetables, it was delicious.

Sunday 19 January 2020

A lovely day

Yesterday, for the most part, was sunny but still with a cold wind. The bed was changed and the washing was put on the line for a good blow. It was almost completely dry after a few hours.

Another task done was the spreading on the garden raised beds of two bags of manure. I need to buy two more for the fruit cage plants and to lay around the base of the fruit trees.

We treated ourselves to a Chinese takeaway. We haven’t had one for ages and it was a nice treat. Although we only choose one meal each, we make it last for two servings.

I also did a quarter recipe of dog biscuits for Ruby. This time I made the stock with 1 dessertspoon of salmon fish paste (freezing the rest for future use). Ruby never left the kitchen door area the whole time!

Wednesday 15 January 2020

Power back on

After 3 hours and 45 minutes of a planned 5 hour power cut, we are back on. Goodness me, time seems to have dragged. Its amazing in todays world how much you rely on it.

At least 3 times DB has gone to turn things on, I forgot once I think.

Thank goodness for our portable camping stove:
I used the pressure cooker first thing, to make spicy vegetable soup. A pan to boil water for a lovely hot cup of tea. The wood burner was lit within an hour of the electricity going off as the house started to cool down.

DB has been busy on his computer doing things off line and I have played patience with cards. It was too dreary inside to attempt a jigsaw or anything else that required good light.

Thanks for all your good wishes about our granddaughter. She continues to do well, putting weight on nicely. Her parents have requested no more photos appear here, so sorry if you were waiting for some.

Saturday 11 January 2020

Honestly woman...

Slow down and take your time!

Sewed one edge , sewed it’s opposite edge, then had to unpick one edge as it had skewed to one side. Take two, sew down some panels to get it to sit correctly, then sew the other edge. Hopefully that will make it all sit flat and straight. Onwards and upwards!

Lovely blue sky today but a very strong wind. DB has gone to spend the book token I bought him for Christmas and to visit a flea market.

Friday 10 January 2020

Brain malfunction...

Again!

We decided to bring the last of Ruby’s raw food from the outside freezer into the inside one. This usually involves moving things around and some frozen items put on something.

Yep, you guessed it, 2 x 1kg bags of food left out. Unfortunately by the time we found them, they were smelling. Another waste of money as they equate to a week’s worth of food.

Had we found them sooner, they could have been used or even cooked. Hey ho!

Tuesday 7 January 2020

Yesterday afternoon

We took Ruby to the beach for us all to have some fresh sea air. It was very cold and windy. The tide was in so we didn’t have to walk far. Ruby chased through the shallows like a loon. We think she must have got water up her nose as she ran back to us barking like a seal. Eventually she did a rather noisy sneeze and blew mucus all over her face:)

Today we both had overdue chiropractic treatment, delayed from before Christmas. I think we both needed it. Lots of muscle lumps were squeezed out via my shoulders and my hips and spine needed alignment, as did DB’s.

Very cold in the fresh wind despite being 11C. Heating is off as we wait for our boiler service but the wood burner has been lit.


Monday 6 January 2020

A new normal...

DB has slowly worked his way through our to do list. Get better car insurance quote, tick! Buy said insurance, tick! Organise oil delivery, tick! Organise boiler service, tick!

Me, after a wasted hour of quilting mistakes, I am also getting my head around remembering how to do what I was doing before the Christmas break.

It is something for our granddaughter so won’t be shown here until they have seen it.

She continues to do well but has got jaundice as most premature babies seem to and is laying under a lamp with eye protection on. We are updated daily with photos and video, last night being of a bright blue baby with blue parents!

Sunday 5 January 2020

Thank you

To everyone for your congratulations and well wishes. DS reads my blog so he will see them as well.

So far so good. She did weigh 2lb 9oz, it was me who misread it. We can tell by her ear lobes that she has her dads ears. We are also convinced his hair colour as well which they will both be very happy with if it proves to be so!

Saturday 4 January 2020

Its been a tense couple of days....

We had a grand few days with DS and DDil. They were due to leave on Friday but left on Thursday. They are having an extension built and the builder needed to double check what he needed on Friday. As it happens, its a good job they left early!

The next day, we received a picture of DDiL hospital, who is 30 weeks pregnant, on a drip, receiving lots of medicine:(

The baby's heartbeat was messing around, she had stopped moving and wasn't growing as much as she should have been.

At 23:45 on Friday 3rd, our grand-daughter G. R. was born, 10 weeks early. One text said she weighed 2lb 3oz - but DS has just said he thinks she is 2lb 6oz or 2lb 9oz. Whatever it is, she is a reasonable size:

So far she is doing well, doesn't need oxygen. She has had a nasal tube inserted for feeding and a small tube in her leg for any medication.

Friday 3 January 2020

Dizzy....

For some reason or the other, I keep going dizzy. Have just sat down for 10 minutes then taken my blood pressure (proper cuff on the arm device). 115/61! The top reading is a bit low for me, the bottom one is a tad too low.

I shall now rest for a while and take it again this afternoon. If it’s still like it, I shall miss my low dose heart pill tonight. That usually sorts things out.

Visitors went yesterday afternoon and we have been taking down our decorations. We shall be watching what we eat for January as both of us feel a bit bloated.