What a beautiful day ......

today has been.  Really warm for this time of year and I felt good for a change. The sun was out, I did not ache like I normally do.  Life felt good.

I met a couple of good friends today for lunch and had a good time. We don't get a lot of time of a lunch hour but we surely make the most of it.  I am blessed in my friends.

OH had to go today for a check up with the Diabetic Nurse and so subsequently took a day off work.  All seems to have gone well. He has lost a couple of more pounds in weight and more importantly to me his blood pressure was normal.  For the past four or five years this particular element has been very difficult to control.  Despite me putting into effect all sorts of measures on the food front.  We have cut back on our bread and pasta consumption. Yes we have it once in a while but not as regularly as we used to.  Basically we have to watch the carbs.  I don't cook with salt - and we have plenty of veggies and fruit  - we have meat but not like we used to.  These days we have far more veg on the plate and to tell you the truth although I do not think I will ever be vegetarian we do not eat as much meat as we used to.  Fish I prefer fresh but we do not have that every week either.

I came back via Waitrose but I did not look around like I normally do.  I may nip in there tomorrow or on Thursday when I have more time.  There are a few bits I am after. However that may well be after I have spent the day with  my friend. I may concentrate on smaller more innocuous items like dried herbs, grapefruit segments in syrup, blueberries in syrup, home made pesto frozen in ice cube trays; that sort of thing - all of which play their part in the greater scheme of things.  Finding reduced tomatoes and making home made pasta sauce or bottled tomatoes; finding reduced spring onions and freezing them for adding into stir fries, beef dishes, frittata etc. Finding reduced cream and making home made butter, and flavoured butters. There is always something that can be done.

However I did have a nosy at what plants they have.  Nothing much to my taste at the moment although I was eyeing up a couple of their pottery planters.

On the way back I also had a nip round the Charity shop.  Nothing took my fancy there and I had a quick look at the veg shop.  Yet again will nip in later in the week and hopefully take advantage of some offers.  They did not have much out when I went by today.

I also nipped into the Co-Op and found a reduction on five packs of chillies at 30p a pack.  So they have come home with me and I am going to research a few more recipes for the pantry shelf in order to use these up.  We use a lot of sweet and sour chilli sauce so some more of that could be on the agenda as well as some chilli oil.  More on that another time.

Since coming home I have been internet hopping.  Doing some more research finding new blogs to follow that sort of thing.  I should really be settling down to creating something I want to but have the fidgets. It happens every so often. It will pass I usually settle eventually.

Trouble is with this lovely weather I am itching to get out into the garden.  I am hoping to do a bit on Saturday and Sunday weather permitting.  Unfortunately even if it is nice because of previous arrangements I will not be able to get into the garden before then.

I also have a fancy for lighter food to eat.  Quite fancy Frittata tomorrow night served with lightly fried/sautéed veggies and maybe a home made fruit salad or indeed blueberry pancakes with a little cream.  Yum.

After a lovely day it has now gone really chilly.  I suspect we will wake to another frost like we did this morning.  However I am grateful for the lovely sunny day we have had - very welcome to these old bones.

Catch up with you all again soon.

Pattypan

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