Flying solo

Mara_uk7

Robin .. Do a Jack Duckworth .... Sticking plaster around the specs

please-let-me-be-lucky

And here was me excited because we had a frog in the garden today :rotfl:. As always Robin, your writing makes me feel right there with you.

Glad you are feeling a little better Xx

*Robin*

Hello Diary and MSE Friends, :hello:

Mara_uk7 wrote: »

Robin .. Do a Jack Duckworth .... Sticking plaster around the specs

Hello Mara, thanks for dropping in. Who is/was Jack Duckworth?
:think: Thinking of coating the metal frames with yacht varnish rather than tape. Glasses are a good three years old so could do with replacing anyway, but thanks for the suggestion - an effective stop-gap until I can find the tin of varnish.
<Wanders off to look at collection of rolls of tape..>

please-let-me-be-lucky wrote:

And here was me excited because we had a frog in the garden today . As always Robin, your writing makes me feel right there with you.

..But without the ":eek: - what's that noise?" factor, lol. :rotfl:
Give your frog a bowl of water [sink into ground to stop water over-heating, in a quiet shady place, with rocks in it so he can jump out] if you'd like him/her to stick around. ..Great project for your boys.
Doubt there are any frogs in the garden here, they're hiding in the muddy river-banks from whence they call raucously all night.

please-let-me-be-lucky wrote:

Glad you are feeling a little better

Thank you Lucky, yes - me too! Bit more positive anyway, having proved am not yet on the 'final straight' (when symptoms only get worse, whatever is tried).

..Just as well because Divo Three 'phoned yesterday afternoon, asking if he could bring up DS4 who returned from his yoga retreat a couple of days ago in not very good condition. He was getting so much worse that DS3 was afraid..

I'd not yet seen DS4 because it it's safer [for me] if any new arrival - who will be carrying different bugs - waits a few days before coming to the Nest, but needs must. We still haven't had a hug but am very glad his brother brought Divo Four here.
..Poor lad's glands were so swollen that he didn't have a neck! Feverish, couldn't talk or eat, and has lost far too much weight. :eek:

Ibuprofen and a salt water gargle have reduced the swelling and brought back DS4's voice today (still very husky). Last night he managed to swallow a bowl of gazpacho before collapsing into bed for a long siesta. We re-convened at midnight, when he reluctantly agreed to try a portion of the marinaded salmon. Then ate the lot; really enjoyed it.

Marinaded Salmon a la Robin:
This time, as it was 'medicinal' I prepared the marinade with roughly two cubic inches of fresh ginger; peeled, grated and chopped. Two tablespoons of balsamic vinegar and a good gloop [3-4 tblesp] of honey, plus a squeeze of lemon completes the mix. Warm in a saucepan to homogenise before pouring over fish. Marinade for about four hours, then wrap steaks individually in foil, adding marinade and putting half a sliced lemon on each steak before sealing packets. Bake for 35 minutes at 180'C (if fish is cooked from frozen with marinade just poured over, allow a bit longer).

Quantities are for two steaks, obviously. Last time, I used less ginger but actually prefer it as above; ginger gives a wonderful piquant note over the honey and balsamic. Some will say salmon cooks in less than 35 mins, but giving it a little longer means the steaks fall into perfect flakes and soak up even more marinade on the plate. :cool2:
Easy to swallow too - which was my aim - but just reduce the cooking time if a 'firmer' texture to the flesh is desired.
..Enjoy!


B!ack Horse have annoyed me again: Nearly three weeks ago I transferred some money to a foreign account. Not for the first time so already knew the details to be correct, but on this occasion payment was rejected somewhere in the system. It took 18 days for the funds to reappear in my a/c, minus £51 and their £10 fee. :mad:

*Robin*

Hello Diary, :hello:

Today is not going to plan:
Wanted to visit El Medico this morning: DS4 woke up at Dawn, brought me a cuppa.. Which was cold by the time I came round enough to drink it and get up. But DS4 had already fallen fast asleep again..
He's still asleep so have given up; everything shuts at two pm therefore not enough time left to get everything done today.**

Plan B: Set both alarm clocks for the same time tomorrow.

Such is the resilience of youth that DS4 has completely recovered from his bug; bounced back amazingly fast, and has been gardening with the young lady mentioned earlier. She's great; going to come three times a week until we've caught up with the backlog of work. Between them the whole area around the Nest has already been cleaned up, so this evening they are going to tackle the second steep slope where the aloes are planted.

Suppose I'd better 'phone B!ack Horse, <sigh> don't really feel like a fight today.. :cool:

** ETA: Time is 12.40 here.

Mara_uk7

Jack Duckworth .. Coronation Street .. In the olden days when it was worth watching. Sheesh Robin, your education is sadly lacking

debtfreewannabe321

I hope the synchronised alarms work tomorrow and you get to the drs Robin

*Robin*

Mara_uk7 wrote: »

Jack Duckworth .. Coronation Street .. In the olden days when it was worth watching. Sheesh Robin, your education is sadly lacking

Ah. Never watched it.
Thanks Mara, you're right, my general knowledge on anything concerning "celebrity" gossip or soaps is woefully inadequate (except for EE - watched that with SIL during her final illness. Couldn't name any actors though; was more amused by the generally heavy-handed insertion of current social problems into plot-lines, eg. Whitney and her !!!!!phile step-dad).
<Ooh look; p a e d o has become a swear-word interesting?>

debtfreewannabe321 wrote:

I hope the synchronised alarms work tomorrow and you get to the drs

Mmm, me too. Will have to fight the body's natural urge to become nocturnal - the temperature is perfect at night, and with a very close Full Moon shining her magical light it really is very hard to go to bed at a sensible hour.

DS4 is still asleep [on PC's bed now] - maybe he's got the right idea? ..Sleep until Gardener arrives, then work until the Moon is high. Eat, socialise - there are late music-sessions in the village most nights which will continue until the end of August. Stay up and get to town for eight am when the Clinic opens, do all our 'messages' then come home and sleep through the heat.
Sounds like Plan C. Do appreciate how lucky we are not to have to keep office hours..

Daft Dogs are lying beneath the spinning ceiling fan in the living room, made dark by closed shutters - but the temperature is a bearable 27'C compared to 41'C outside in the sun. Have ordered them each a special cooling jacket to try and make 'em more comfortable in their fur coats (can't clip them).

Divo Three has just turned up; dived for the fridge and is now basking in it's 5'C coolth (ignoring the frantic bleeping of it's 'door open' warning :rotfl:).

HeadAboveWater

Recipe Marinaded Salmon a la Robin has just been filed for the very near future - thank you!

So am I saying 'good night' now or should I leave it 12 hours...??

*Robin*

Hello Diary and Dear MSE Friends, :hello:

HeadAboveWater wrote: »

So am I saying 'good night' now or should I leave it 12 hours...??

..Sometimes a really ridiculous idea appears to make sense when I'm just too tired to think straight!

That one was never going to happen - stay up all night indeed :rotfl: - am thirty years beyond having enough stamina for that sort of game and in fact slept fairly well after a tiring gardening session.

Me and Kate both, no doubt; what wonderful news that our grandchildren's future monarch has arrived safely! :j :T :j
Didn't win the local sweepstake; got the right sex but guessed His weight too low (would have been very close had Youngest Prince decided to make His appearance on time).

DS4 and I arrived in town at a reasonable hour yesterday morning; El Medico greeted me with a hug of commiseration - last time we met was just before PC and I set off for homehome last year..
Once we'd got over that, I was given a very thorough examination which took nearly an hour. Bp and sodium are both worrying low and he is concerned about the ascites, so El Medico wants pictures of my innards; he's booked me in for a couple of scans today, and I'm to take him the results tomorrow.
To minimise the tiring effects of having to go out three days on the trot, EM was kind enough to arrange both appointments for the early evening - and instructed that I should try to sleep during siesta beforehand, or ask Divo Three to do the driving.

Poor DS3. He's being pulled in too many different directions simultaneously: Supposed to be completing preparations for his year teaching in Asia, but no less than three folk he's very close to [including me] have significant health issues - can see in his eyes that he's really worried about going so far away, in case one or more of us isn't here when he comes back..

At least we should know my situation by tomorrow night - for which am heartily grateful. Trying very hard not to over-think the possibilities, but have just given in to stress and lit the first ciggie of the day - bad, mad Robin. Made a little deal with m'self that when it goes out I'll leave it..

Still haven't 'phoned B!ack Horse - bet they blame the recipient's Irish bank and refuse to refund the £61 missing from my a/c. :cool:

Just been looking at yesterday's receipts. Much better than m'last trip to town; spent £100 including El Medico's fee but now have a [much needed] sturdy pair of sandals and a well-stocked larder / fridge again, plus ingredients for a big family dinner on DS3's last night (if he decides to get on the 'plane, of course ).
Decided to offer the omnivores duck-breast, with salmon for the pescetarians. Fortunately both vegetarians do eat eggs, so will dredge up long unused skills to try and produce decent individual souffles for them - lucky I've got two ovens so can reserve the small one for that.

..Are you thinking "that doesn't sound very MSE!"?
Well, please compare it to the cost of going out for a restaurant meal - several, actually; DS3's leaving do, DS4 ditto, and two impending birthdays which otherwise both lads would miss..
:think: Reckon the potential bills for that lot would be ten times what I've actually spent.

HeadAboveWater wrote: »

Recipe Marinaded Salmon a la Robin has just been filed for the very near future

Hope you enjoy it, HAW!

Cannot end this post without mentioning the Moon. Still looked full last night - so close! - an amazing fiery orange globe as she rose over the brow of the mountain, the colour gradually segueing into perfect shining yellow; casting a truly beautiful illumination across the hillsides..
CD and I sat outside, enjoying a cool breeze as we watched and listened to the night unfold around us. A timeless moment of contentment; a Gift. :smileyhea

HeadAboveWater

*Robin* wrote: »

A timeless moment of contentment; a Gift. :smileyhea

Hope all goes ok today. Will be thinking about you as always. Look after yourself please!

PS. When I get my bum in gear and get the salmon cooked, I will let you know how it turns out