5 OS pleasures in your day today - part 3

topsyturphy

Pleasures for today

1. Finished work early
2. Having a chat with work colleagues 
3. doggie cuddles 
4. Cottage pie or was meant to be but ended up more like a stew - warm & tasty
5. cushions straightened on my sofas by my neighbour who comes in to walk/see to my dog when I’m working.

LaineyT

For yesterday,

Strange day as all other plans scuppered by morning phone call from yard manager to say pony subdued and off her food.

At the yard and after basic checks decided to call vet out, while we were waiting took her for a little walk around the block. Vet arrived and nothing too serious thank goodness but medication given to help her tummy.

Thank goodness for a warm tea room, not someone I’m used to but oh so welcome when waiting on vets etc.

Home, very late lunch and warming up.

Risotto for tea, not had one for ages and something soothing about all the stirring etc. 

Admiral_Barbarossa

Lunch with the Admiral - A Feast?

I nose, bin all at see! Missed the weakened update to your version of the Life of the Admiral!

So the Admiral is a busy bee at the moment down at the Tower, butt thinks pension is increasing at a solid rate! Is good as he is on the Choo Choo one day a weak and WfH the rest of the time!

Seen a few flix on the free stream, ends in December though! Three Fugitives, Hope Springs & Date Night. Recommended by the Admiral for your viewing. Wobbleades and cheese was taken.

Bin watching the cup thing, important match the Mariners in the third round! Other one should get interesting soon! Cannot see Scunthorpe escaping now. Was kicked off a bored a couple of years or more back for saying the same!

Lots of food stuffs eaten as well, including usual snorkers and best back. YestDay was toad inn the whole, with tates and swede carrte mash, topped with collieflower cheese.

Just bin to the local Quack Centre because the Admiral failed his blood test a couple of weaks ago! Quick inn and his bum tested again. Too polyps obliterated, nothing else. Those that fort they would cash the insurance and pension are again disappointed. The Albatross is recovering! Feast is bee inn taken with a couple of proper chocolate coated digestives! Tee is taken.

Putt the advent windows up inn or enclave as usual, we has a differing one each day until santa comes along. As we is dubble fronted, we do to windas.

Nothing else to report to the parish.

Keep Safe

Jenny was disturbed at the quack centre!

Jen sends her

Highdays

Hello.

Must try to keep my pleasures brief, start typing and my whole life seems to pour out!

1) Lovely lunch meet up with my sister, sister-in-law and my mum and dad's favourite carer. We said we would keep in touch and we have done. Mum and dad would be so pleased, she is a very special person and made their last few months so much better than they could have been and played a big part in them both being able to stay at home as they wanted. Really nice that she wants to keep in touch, she is almost one of the family now and we all think a lot of her. She loved looking at photos of mum and dad when they were young, she only knew them as elderly and frail not the vibrant young people they once were. 

2) We have also made arrangements to meet up again in March as our birthdays are only ten days apart so we will have a joint celebration. They will come down here for the day (we are about an hour away) as, due to lockdown, none of them have been here yet eventhough they have seen lots of photos of the conversion. Our bit is pretty much finished now but the garden is still full of RSJs and stuff for the 'big house' which is very much a work in progress. Still, they need to come while my bit is still new and looking smart-ish. 

3) My very unsentimental brother gave us a lovely Christmas card - to a very special sister and brother-in-law. Aww!! Means a lot as I really don't want us all to drift apart now mum and dad aren't here. Seems he feels the same as outward displays of affection from him are few and far between. Sister-in-law also brought a Christmas wreath for mum and dad's plot in the churchyard as she knows how fond they were of them. So thoughtful and one of so many things I want to tell my mum...

4) Boys put up their Christmas trees and lights in their bedrooms when we got back yesterday evening. Look great and we all enjoyed doing them. Littlest made a lovely arrangement round his of fluffy Santa and snowman and his snow globes and then  posed next to it for a photo with a very proud smile on his little face. Older boys not too keen to do the same!

5) Nice to have a day at home doing gentle pottering. Need to make the boys some oat biscuits. Judging by the way the biscuit tin empties they enjoy them and they are so much better for them - and cheaper - than chocolate-covered biscuits. Will make more mince pies this afternoon, we ate the last batch putting up the Christmas trees. Have to say that the recipe I use makes the nicest mince pies I have ever had - not bragging here, it wasn't my recipe in the first place - and I have given the recipe to so many people which is very, very amusing as the not terribly nice person I got the recipe from went to great lengths to keep it from me but I remembered the quantities from when I helped her to make some. Why are people so precious? Anyway, I always have a little smile to myself at how many people are now sharing 'her' recipe. Shall I put it on here - that would be a real pleasure!!!

Haha, keeping it brief didn't work, did it? I can imagine everyone skipping over my posts in despair!

Anyway, hope you all have a good afternoon.

Mrs_Salad_Dodger

Long time lurker 😅 Would love the mince pie recipe 🙏 

Thanks
MrsSD

Admiral_Barbarossa

Mrs_Salad_Dodger said:

Long time lurker 😅 Would love the mince pie recipe 🙏 

Thanks
MrsSD

The Discount Surplus Store. They have the best. Ours don’t make Xmas! 

Highdays

Haha, Admiral, ours neither. Have to say they are best eaten fresh and just warm and the ones eaten before Christmas taste the best!

So, here is the secret recipe, to make 12:
225g butter, room temperature
350g plain flour
100g caster sugar, golden if you can get it
280g mincemeat
1 egg, to glaze
Icing sugar to dust

Rub the  butter into the flour, add the sugar. Knead to a ball. Weigh out 12 x 30g for the bases and 12 x 20g for the lids. These amounts do a deep bun tray. Roll the bases into balls, put in the tin and press up the sides, it's too short to roll with a rolling pin. Fill almost to the top with mincemeat. For the lids I roll the pastry into a ball and press it down on the worktop into a size that will fit the top of the pies, loosen with a knife, moisten the underneath edge with a drop of water to stick it to the base and then  make steam holes in the top with a fork, glaze with beaten egg and bake for 20 minutes at Fan 180 degrees. They will be very crumbly so leave in the tin until nearly cold, run a knife round to loosen and lift out. Dust with icing sugar to serve. Then eat or freeze as desired.

And then let m know if you enjoy them!

mhagster

Hello. Bedtime. I’m having a quandary with my heating ! On because it’s cold. Off because it’s a blooming fortune! Today has been mainly on, off for a bit, back on, then off again and I’ve just switched it over to timer switch so it’s currently on for the next half an hour or so. Paid a lump sum into gas/electricity account this morning. Mostly from my 3 x £66 payments that they have refunded in to my bank account. I’ve upped my direct debit to what I can reasonably afford each month ( they will probably want more) but it’s what I can afford from my monthly budget and if I have to pay extra then I will. I put a set amount each week in to a savings account ( initially set up  for me going  to Australia but decided to continue but from that amount I’m also taking a bit and putting aside for fuel bill ) oooft! 

Anyway it was a beautiful day that was a top of 3o. So very slippery when out. May have cracked some ice with my heel of my boot just because 😆.

Nice morning at home. Hoovered. Washed floors. Hung up washing here there and everywhere. If the heating was on it’s damn well doing a job! Sorted out recycling, cleaned fire out. All normal Tuesday morning jobs. With a doggy constantly near me. 

I then went delivering Christmas cards. All wrapped up as it was blooming freezing. Saw a heron in the nearby  field . I’d watched it last week and crossed over to see if it was there and it was. Stood for a few minutes and watched it fly off with its big flappy wings and land further up the field. 

Popped into mums NDN. Are you coming in…oh just for five minutes…and another fifty five! Nice chatter. 

Then continued on down to our old next door neighbours with their card. They are the loveliest couple and I think our nicest neighbours ever…wait I’ve just got your card  too! Give one. Receive one. Then walked from there up to work and handed in their cards. Quick chatter and then walked home. Hello doggy , I really didn’t mean to be as long! I was just chatting! 

Meat in to the slow cooker and the starting of a steak pie made. With roasted potatoes and parsnips. Cabbage, carrots, peas and cauliflower. Friends came over and made mince pies and gingerbread ladies! And snowflakes. They went in oven as we ate our main course then they iced them. I’d a mince pie and then boxed the rest up for friend to take home. A lovely evening chatting and laughing. They left with mince pies, a pack of ziplock bags ( found a stash in the garage the other week…like about 7 packs. Son used them for going camping etc and had left them in one of his piles of stuff! I wash them and reuse them anyway so these were like a lifetime supply! And a Christmas blanket I’d got in Disney store in NY a few years ago. For her grandson. 

A good day.  

DundeeDoll

Many thanks for the link ampers I love Evelyn Waugh
1) worked at home today so got washing out on line - ok so not much drier when i brought it back in but love the smell of laundry that's been out
2) hm chicken stew for lunch
3) manage a short dog walk after lunch with DD2 who has a TOIL day
4) managed to catch whole of ET and penalties in Spain Morocco game at home with DD2 and first half of Portugal game in the pub with Mr G - i had tonic water cos then...
5) off to friend's for Christmas drinks and nibbles - was lovely, had long chat with fellow Ambridge addict and now home in bed with the Archers and tea (tempting though it was to go back to Mennies for the music I am chairing an event tomorrow 9 - 1)

Purple_kitten

Lainey, fingers crossed your Pony keeps well. x

1 Picked up a bay win from the next county over, it’s a UPS backup for the security system.

2 I phoned for an animal repeat prescription, and they emailed it same day, its now all ordered up online and Nestle has his heart meds for another year.

3 Tonight’s food is fish and veg, as I am trying to make up for the vast pick and mix that DH bought in, and we ate the lot over 3 days!!!! Ops.

4 Christmas cards all written and ready to go, but I could do with my stamps arriving back from the post office.

5 Watching the Greg Wallace Christmas programmes have been surprisingly good at getting into the festive spirit.