All over the Shop then

I have not been firing on all systems today so a quieter more reflective mood and a mindful day has been had. 

No bathroom work today as G's back is decidedly dodgy so a day off. The work he did yesterday looks good.  It has still to be finished off but I am pleased with it.

No decision has been made about the flooring for the bathroom at the moment. We were gifted by a friend some new unused flooring and there is only so much of it. However if there is not quite enough for the bathroom the Pantry will be floored instead which needs doing in any event.  We will then revisit the main part of the bathroom at the end of next month, try and match it up and then probably do that then.  Will give us chance to work on decorating the main part of the Bathroom and get that sorted a bit in between.  I think I have mentioned before that I also have a small table that needs re-vamping to go into the bathroom.  So we shall see how things go on.  I have a lot of the stuff already for the bathroom in any event.  I also want to re-finish the internal doors which are pine.  Originally they were waxed but they need stripping, staining and then a varnish putting on them for durability.  Another project I hope to do bit by bit, room by room. There are two doors for the little room and the bathroom to start with.

In some instances things seem to be slipping together seamlessly and things are happening out of the blue like the offer of the flooring. It is the way we are having to work which is messy, but it is a means to an end and even though being done a little at a time it means that things are not stagnant.  Things seem to go in phases here, and each time we do something it builds things up another layer and is slowly getting us to where we need to be. We need new flooring throughout the house and so this is going to be a relatively big project room by room and because of the cost needs to be on this basis. There is also decorating throughout the house to be accomplished as well.  It is achievable a bit at a time.

I have pottered with one or two things today, just being in the moment and celebrating the seasons.  Sometimes it is good to be still, and to just be in the moment. Hard to believe that it is September on Sunday. In reality I have not done much, but I am happy that I have done a little.

Today I have picked another big bunch of Black Peppermint out of the "Herb" Garden which is more now of a Grapevine patch and have strung them on the Dresser. With a bit of luck I think I may get a couple of more cuttings which will hopefully then last me through the Winter months. Last year was the first time of providing my own dried Mint for primarily using in teas to soothe my digestion in the form of Mint tea primarily but also to be used in cooking.

I can feel the season slipping, as we move slowly into autumn, the pace changes, nature starts to slow and quieten down for the colder months of the year. Time to gather  your harvests where you can and whatever that may consist of.  Whether it comes from a garden or from the supermarket does not matter at the end of the day.  It is all a means to an end.

I have been looking at some seasonal decorations with a view to one day being able to implement some decorating here. I have partial items to hand for doing this in the future some of which I cannot get to at present. I am hoping to add to these in due course. I have not just Christmas ornament storage boxes (quite a lot of them) but also other seasonal boxes such as Easter, Spring and Autumn decorations and household items. The other day I cam across some Acorn and Oak leaf shaped Cookie cutters and also my little set of Acorn measuring spoons. .

With decorating eventually in mind, to this end I would also like to grow some flowers next year for decorating the house (I love flowers) and they are also perfect to gift to relatives and friends. I am thinking Dahlias, Chrysanthemums, Gladioli etc. I would also like to grow some Statice and Straw Flowers and and other flowers suitable for drying so that I can set too and use natural items for decorating my home seasonally. I love to make things and I am getting the urge to craft again at the moment.

No doubt the crafting will resume again shortly, however I need to find the foot pedal for my sewing machine. There will be no stopping me when I do.

The Internet and reading other people's blogs can lead to an impression that this or that person lives a perfect life which is not always the case. Life is often made up of good and bad times and it is how we learn. We are what we are but each of us has something to bring to the table. Please do not gauge yourself against others, they are not you, and their needs and requirements are very different. It is good to be "competitive" and aspire to things, but please do not to put yourself down as a result of comparing yourselves to others. You are raw potential in your own right, so please do not make yourself feel inadequate as a result. You count too. You need to concentrate on what your requirements are for you and your family and cater for them. Tastes and needs are very different family to family and there is no right or wrong way, only your way, such is real life. However ultimately at the end of the day real life experiences whether positive or negative create a depth of wisdom and knowledge that overall helps you to get through difficult situations.  Sometimes this involves turning the way you think and deal with things on their head and doing things a different way. Moving forward and getting through is all that matters at the end of the day. It will make you stronger and it will make you appreciate your own strengths and weaknesses and reinforce that you will be okay.

Food shopping for me also relates to paying it forward where base line items can be stored in the Pantry, cupboard, shed, Deep Freeze or that can be stored in the fridge for later eating. I am talking about such items as reduced mushrooms turned into Confit Mushrooms preserving them under Lard or Duck fat and I have been storing these in my fridge for quite sometime and they are tasty. I am very partial to wild mushrooms and to Oyster mushrooms. However I am not confident to identifying mushrooms from the wild which are edible and which are not. This for me is something I would like to tackle and get to grips with long term instead of having just to buy from the shop. However, everything has its place.

Today there is one solitary jar left of the Confit Mushrooms but that will be used up by the end of the month. I will then go shopping and replenish. I tend to bulk make these - making about 12 jars at a time, so I did pre-prepare and stock up on the Lard and then the Mushrooms when they were on offer. They have lasted a lot longer than anticipated. It has proved useful for adding to stews, quiches, G's fry ups and the fat can be used for frying as well. That for me is a "Win-Win" as there is no waste.

You can also turn reduced Mushrooms into Mushroom powder for adding to soups, casseroles and stews or to dried slices also for adding to Quiches and the aforementioned items. When I eat I am after flavour more than anything else.

By the last week of the month if it has been cold the electric and the Gas gets a beating and I sometimes have to consider what I will and will not do. We are on card meter out of necessity and to get through. I keep a close eye on funds and what I have. Comes down to priorities so if the electric is low I do not put on the bread machine preferring to keep the fridge, the washing machine and the lighting going. When the pennies are sparse it is always the fresher stuff that tends to go out of the window unless I spot some reductions. 

In an effort to make this period less stressful I am starting to think ahead, make some adjustments and make sure that there are certain things available for eating during this period.  I am therefore starting to make some items that will sit on the Pantry shelf and you have a meal to get you through. My criteria is that we must have one hot meal a day no matter what (better if more but that is the baseline). One has to be practical, keep fed, keep warm especially in the Winter months but you have to be realistic.

The last lot of Mint was rubbed and transferred into bags for the time being the other day. I now have nearly two carrier bags full of "home preserved" bits and bobs.  A lot of it is bread that would otherwise not have got used, not strictly preserves but more under the category of drying. I have the Mint, and the Mint stalks chopped into pieces which are going to be used in some homemade fire starters along with lots of other bits and bobs including old spices and herbs out of the cupboard.

I carry on assessing, on a daily basis on each trip to the bread bin as to what the status quo is or when there is any excess of bread which there sometimes is. Depending on what I find depends on whether I will add either more crumb, slices, Croutons etc. to my little stash. 

In the colder winter months I tend to cook more roast dinners and when we have Chicken and Pork in particular I make Sage and Onion Stuffing or Lemon and Thyme stuffing for the chicken.  I am therefore ensuring that there is going to e a steady supply of breadcrumbs for the stuffing mixes ready to go in the Pantry.  When making up stuffing I often pop in sausage meat into the mix as well to add flavour and to give extras for eating from cold. Ideal for snacking from the fridge if you make a bigger tray full. However if you have a freezer you could also freeze this to bring out with some home cooked Pork chops to use mid-week if you are working full time (or even if you are not) to ensure that you get the full flavour of the food you are eating and the accompaniments to hand. It is all about thinking ahead and making those tasty additions that truly do make a meal.

I also make Bread Sauce to go with the chicken as well. I am trying to bag the dried ingredients up now, saving pennies and preventing waste in the interim. If I end up with too much I will add in (when there is an excess) making a Bread Pudding (which can be eaten in chunks like a cake for snacking on) or a Bread and Butter Pudding cooked in a Water Bath in the oven. (You can also use up stale buns and Croissants to make this as well as vary the flavours up with some fruit and/or a splash of Liqueur i.e. Grand Marnier and use tinned oranges). Pudding is a good way of keeping the stomach full during the winter months.

I intend to do a load of herbage in the future. Next year I am planning on having a proper herb border back in the garden. I have missed being able to harvest things because of not sowing a garden this year. I cannot do this again. I take great pleasure in harvesting little bits from my small garden. Time to get another set of priorities straight and to get into the garden that bit earlier in the year to come.

As a result of my quiet contemplations and "potterings", I have managed to acquire two paper bags full of additions to my Pantry shelf. I would ideally store all of this in glass jars, but unfortunately do not have the shelf space, despite the desire and need to do this. That will be a project for another time and place.

The position at the moment though is that my jars and bottles are being reserved for proper food such as bottled fruits, vegetables, soups, stews, Ratatouille, Tomato based sauces that sort of thing. A baseline to develop a proper meal from.at any given time. This year has been very much a reduced year on the preserving front, but next year is going to be different. This year for me on many fronts has been about stop what you are doing, focus and concentrate on what you actually have year. However, this is necessary a chance to re-group on so many fronts and work out what I actually do want and get the house sorted out in the process. It is messy, it is not straight forward and not for the faint hearted, but I believe it is the only way to drive forward on so many fronts.

One of the weakest parts of the month for us is for providing for the last week of the month when money is sparse after paying bills first. However, you still need to eat and/or feed your family, keep the electric going and the heat going. This is where a Pantry really comes into its own. I have kept a Pantry for well over 40 years and it has sustained us and got us out of a mess several times.  I have been with G some 37 years and for 12 of those years I have had him out of work, with me still working full time during that period.  My Pantry has to all intents and purposes has kept us going from one day to the next.  Different situations, different experiences  but with the net result it has  kept us fed. 

I have for the best part kept things well stocked on basic items i.e. flour for bread, sugar, rice, noodles, Lard and Butter, Bacon, root veggies, other veggies, milk, cheese and you can make quite a few nice things with a restricted budget. This is not what I keep just a few of the items I have found useful to keep us fed and pad things out a bit.

Tonight's tea for G was some Chicken wings - quite a few which are pre-flavoured and then cooked in the oven.

I on the other hand had some Smoked Haddock and a poached egg. If I had some Melon as well I would be in my element. Smoked Kippers with butter or Smoked Haddock with a poached egg and a sliver of butter followed by fresh Honeydew Melon. This was very much a favourite tea that I used to have when I used to go and stay with a much loved and favourite Aunty as a child. I am looking to preserve some Melon for use in the Winter months as well, so that I can have my favourite fix deep in the middle of Winter. Comfort food of a different type that brings back many happy memories.

Down time from doing physical jobs is needed for everyone.  It helps get things into perspective and to plan what is to be done next.  We all need breathing space physically and mentally.

Have a lovely evening everyone.

Let us see what tomorrow brings.

Catch you soon.

Pattypan

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