The Garden Fence - help and support in tough times

Nargleblast

The elderberries in our village are ripening, but some are still just red. Once they are all glossy black I will be out there picking them! Elderberry syrup here we come......the recipe I use just involves putting elderberries in a muslin cloth (or clean cotton hankie) with a few cloves then tying it up into a bag. Immerse it in a saucepan of water, simmer about 15 minutes or so then squeeze the bag into the water. Discard bag and contents, simmer liquid until reduced a bit then stir in honey to taste. Quantities are very "ish" but as a rule put the bag of berries in a saucepan just a little bit larger than the bag and cover with water.

Softstuff

Mtstm , ultrasounds and mammograms aren't interchangeable (unfortunately). I had an ultrasound at the side of my chest going onto my shoulder ages ago and was warned by them at the time that it doesn't show up anywhere near as much as a mammogram. I'm sure someone will correct me if I'm wrong, but a mammogram is designed to see all the way through pretty dense tissue. An ultrasound only goes so far, and not that far through dense tissue, hence to get a good view of the innards, you end up with an internal.

After googling I get this:
https://www.verywell.com/why-not-annual-ultrasounds-instead-of-mammograms-430185

greenbee

The only good thing about an internal ultrasound, softstuff, is that you don't have to drink 10 gallons of water only to be told 'your bladder isn't very full' despite being so full you can barely stop yourself from peeing and water is pretty much coming out of your mouth

Hope you are now recovered and that the investigations come up with the information you need.

Softstuff

greenbee wrote: »

The only good thing about an internal ultrasound, softstuff, is that you don't have to drink 10 gallons of water only to be told 'your bladder isn't very full' despite being so full you can barely stop yourself from peeing and water is pretty much coming out of your mouth

Hope you are now recovered and that the investigations come up with the information you need.

Haha, I had the external first... with a full bladder. Thankfully, they let me go to the loo before the internal.

FairyPrincessk

Nargle that seems like a nice simple recipe. I'll be on the lookout for the next few days to see if I see any. There are hawthornes everywhere, but no elderberries!

Leftover stirfry for my lunch today and then a quick salad for tea as I'm thinking of going to the WI craft group. It depends how tired I am tonight. Today is a gym day and of course work as usual.

In case anyone is interested from 8-11 September are Heritage open days. You can look here to find out what is open near you. A lot of places have free admission and sometimes talks.
https://www.heritageopendays.org.uk/visiting

fuddle

I hope you source some elderberries fpk! If the rain holds off DD and I are going to go look at my last source after school. I hope that hasn't been cut back too.

The brambles at the bottom of my garden continue to offer fruit. I did want to do some light gardening today but it's dark and sogginess is ominous. Instead I am going to bake some blackberry muffins. It's been a long while since I baked.

DH brought me some netting off scaffolding last night. It's to put over my plot to ward off cats. No bare soil yet but once I have stitched up some big knicker sized holes it will be ready to go.

Lamb in the slow cooker for tea. I plan on cooking double the veg needed so we can have fry up for tomorrow's tea.

My hay box is ready to go. The polystyrene box came wedged in a card board box so will leave it be. I put bubble wrap in the cavity at the bottom. It's filled with hay and will in use on Saturday as we're off to Northumberland for a National Trust visit. I'm hoping that we'll have stew ready for when we get back in. Wish me luck!

Softstuff

I'm sure the stew will be lovely Fuddle.

Thanks to you all I'm planning on planting an elderberry now!

Been back to the docs, I have adhesions. Thanks to the tumour in the leg I can't take anything hormonal to alleviate it, thanks to the stomach issues painkillers are dubious. This leaves a shot of whisky and a strong dose of hardening the f up! Bit sick and tired of painful things that can't be treated. At least menopause should have an upside :rotfl:

greenbee

Can't they just whip it out Softstuff?

If not, gin tends to work better than whisky as far as I can tell, although extensive testing is advisable.

[Deleted User]

FUDDLE you might find you have to just reheat the stew on the hob, it will be cooked through but it might need to be brought back up to eating temperature if it's been in the hay box all day.

fuddle

I will do Lyn, thanks for the tip.

Softstuff I don't know what to say. So sorry there's pain and too much of a pickle to help you treat it. Is there a plan of what to do?

Mar how are you getting on with your new diagnosis?