TARRAGON & THYME

 It is late Tuesday evening and I am shattered.  The preparation for freezing took longer than anticipated and then had to bag all the meat up and then as I have said I had to play freezer Jenga.  It was 9:30pm before I got sat down.   Since then, I have managed to watch a couple of You Tube videos to chill out a bit.  And then I have started plotting and planning.   Wednesday A lovely Sunny warmer day.  Has been lovely to see the Sun again.  Makes such a difference.  Some washing has been done and lots of pottering has gone on indoors,  nothing substantial but every little bit forms part of a larger picture.  Just tried to enjoy the weather after not seeing the Sun for so long. Thursday I was a bit off colour and therefore decided to rest although quite a bit of washing did take place.  I also pottered moving some items from the dining room into storage in the back bedroom.  Not much, but every step needs to be ...

 for a verdict on whether the car can be repaired or whether it is a right off, life goes on and things still need to be done.  G has been particularly depressed over the weekend with what has happened to the car; however I have kept at him and "bullied" him back into a better mood armed with lots of mushrooms (for his brekkie) and which also apparently are very good with people with long term depressive conditions - supposedly helps with their moods dipping very suddenly.  I therefore as a rule usually make sure that Mushrooms feature somewhere in day to day eating for him and in a roundabout way keeping him on an even keel benefits me in a roundabout kind of way. Monday Monday night we had some lovely Lamb steaks (which were minted) and mashed potato, mixed beans, peas and carrots, PSB, Cavolo Nero Kale and lots of gravy.  It was delicious and went down very nicely indeed.  Tuesday   I had to get the Gas and Electricity put on the cards for the month (thi...

Warning, this is a bit of a long post! I am so sorry that I have not been around for a little while.  A combination of things, being over-whelmed, fighting fatigue and arthritis and a little dog causing sleepless nights.  I was not unwell initially, just deeply tired and drained.  I managed to get everything done for the subsequent Gas inspection and the kitchen was finished.  Since then I have been pottering around doing stuff, but not anything that was on my list, but smaller jobs that could be ticked off the list and which needed doing but which were not the bigger jobs. With the weather also being very cold and wet, I have also had Raynaud's attacks where I have lost the circulation in my hands and feet.  We need the water yes, but the combination of the cold and the damp has also seized me up a bit.  Mornings are especially difficult and it takes me a couple of hours to "warm up" and being able to move around without being stiff and sore.  Once I ...

I am okay now.  There has been lots going on here after the Gas inspection including me taking a few days to chill and get back to normal.  I now seem to have recovered my equilibrium although we have had a few difficult nights with Missy.  For the best part she is comfortable but we seem to be turning into Owls as she tends to kick off in the early hours and then we end up catching  up with our sleep. The times I have started posts and not been able to complete them.  Sometimes breaks happen for a reason and I was shattered preparing for the Gas inspection; so perhaps not a bad thing overall. Hopefully will be back on schedule by Sunday this week. Hope everyone out there is keeping, well, warm and safe. Catch you soon. Pattypan x

After yesterday's beautiful sunny weather and a lot more comfortable than damp days,  today has been a showery one, although have had the windows open to let some fresh air in. I have been in the kitchen.  I decided in my infinite wisdom that today would be cooker cleaning day.  Ughh! Do you ever start something and then wished you had not.  Well that has been the story of my day.  In any event deep clean on my Gas cooker has commenced and I have had the glass out of the doors, on the small oven, the burners to pieces on the hob and the glass top all squeaky clean. Overnight the two ovens will be left with cleaner on them to deep clean the ovens.  The glass on the larger oven was taken out and cleaned.  The shelves for the small oven are outside on some newspaper covered in cleaner.  They have since been turned and the second load of cleaner added.  I have the shelves for the main oven to do this way as well. Only half way through at the time...

Unfortunately these days I cannot afford to fill the freezer in one fair swoop like I used to.  I am not alone in this, many households have been affected over the last few years. It is a sad state of affairs as I believe that every family should be able to eat properly. I usually take the view that as long as all the bills are financed, and we have a roof over our heads and that there is some kind of food on the table then we are indeed rich. Some of those meals might not be the fancy meals that we would like, but they make good eating, fill bellies and make the pennies go that much further.  I will say however, that when it comes to meat I will not sacrifice quality.  I like good quality meat however I will not pay through the nose for it especially when pennies are tight.  What I save can often go towards something more for the Freezer or for something for the Pantry shelf. There are some items that we really like and that we pay out for - cherry picking.  Th...

All is well although we have had a few disturbed nights/early mornings which have thrown us all out of routine.  Hopefully will be back into my usual routine of posting shortly. Not much has been done as I have also not been 100%.  Being good listening to my body and just starting to get things done.  Today is the first day for a while where I have felt a bit brighter.  No pain thank goodness, my back and my hips have been suffering for the past ten days. Today have tackled the study/craft room/computer room and got that a bit more presentable and washed out as well. Also am currently digging the tumble dryer out of the dining room so that I can use it.  As a result of something else that is going on in house a few things extra were put in  the dining room that definitely do not belong there.  Some of G's fishing equipment and some other items have also been placed there short term.  G has not been going fishing because of the cold weather.  ...