Tales from The Shire

Fortune_Smiles

Disaster Averted... just!

My plans for the week went out of the window - literally 😮  The week started well but on Thursday I went into the Annex to prepare it for our next guests and, when cleaning the windows, found that the living room window had come lose and was in danger of falling out 😮😮😮  We did some super quick research on how to repair it and Mr F shot off to get the necessary materials.  It's taken us two days to get everything back together and safe.  And our guests arrived today!  The joys of living in an old house 🙄

I did manage to get some things done before the emergency:

• made blackcurrant vinegar (which I love in salad dressing)
• made redcurrant vinegar (which I'm sure I'll also love in salad dressing)
• froze lots of blackcurrant and redcurrants
• dug up the garlic bulbs and spread them out to dry in the barn
• weeded the veg patch and tidied up the hanging baskets and plants around the Annex.  I've been trying to spend an hour a day in the garden to keep on top of things
• painted the last of the stones I collected on our beach trip to put in the Annex.  Our guests seem to be enjoying taking them on their adventures and hiding them.

Meals have been:

• Kale & Goat's Cheese Frittata (with kale from the veg patch)
• Linguine with Crushed Peas, Broad Beans & Ricotta (with broad beans from the veg patch)
• Cauliflower, Paneer & Pea Curry (with cauliflower from the veg patch)
• Spanish Fish Stew with Fennel, Red Peppers & Saffron (to use up a fennel bulb and red pepper I found sulking in the friged).

Our guests have arrived and seem happy.  I left them a couple of courgettes and a baby marrow in the fridge.  People will be frightened to come near me soon in case I thrust a courgette or two at them 😆

Hope everyone's enjoying their weekend.

Fortune x

beanielou

If only I lived nearer............

South_coast

I was thinking the same! Love courgette 😋

Cheery_Daff

Me too! My courgette plants are still babies so I think I'll be buying mine for a good while yet...

Excellent disaster aversion there Fortune! 😮😮

Fortune_Smiles

beanielou said:

If only I lived nearer............

South_coast said:

I was thinking the same! Love courgette 😋

Cheery_Daff said:

Me too! My courgette plants are still babies so I think I'll be buying mine for a good while yet...

Excellent disaster aversion there Fortune! 😮😮

I wish you did too!  I would stuff you all full of courgettes 😆

Fortune x

Fortune_Smiles

Disaster Averted... just! - the Sequel

Mr F mowed the top field yesterday and caught the manhole covering the septic tank! 😮 There was a dreadful noise and the mower stopped dead 😮  The cover was stuck in the mower blades and it took him half an hour to free it (trolley jacks were involved).  Thankfully the mower was unscathed and just needed the blades sharpened.  The manhole cover was buckled and had a slice out of the corner.  Mr F did some panel beating and managed to put it back into a functional (if not pretty) state.  So another disaster averted... just!

Despite the mishap we did still manage to get some gardening done.  Other than that we had a more relaxed day and spent the evening on a video call with the DSs and DiL.  Lunch was Feta, Sweetcorn & Chard Tacos made with chard from the veg patch and supper was leftover curry.

I'd planned a deep clean of the kitchen today but a old colleague of Mr F's came to visit on the spur of the moment.  He's been shielding so I sanitised the cloakroom in case it was needed and cooked a nice lunch for us.  We had Classic Minestrone Soup with cheese topped rolls followed by a quick fruit tart.  I brushed some beaten egg around the edges of a ready-rolled puff pastry sheet and sprinkled with demerara sugar, then baked for twenty minutes.  Then I spread some cream cheese softened with a little maple syrup over the cooled pastry and topped with raspberries, blackberries, blackcurrants and redcurrants from the garden (the blackberries were some of the last years from the freezer).  It looked lovely served with a little cream and sprinkled with icing sugar.  Tasted fab too.  I'm still full so think I'll be skipping supper tonight 🙄

There wasn't much of the day left after friend left so I did a little writing.  I haven't been in the mood for writing recently so was really pleased to get about 700 words done of a new story.  It's my writing group meeting tomorrow so I'll now have something to share with them 😁

I've the deep clean of the kitchen to look forward to tomorrow 🥱 and I'm hoping the weather will stay dry enough to get a little washing on the line.  At least I won't need to cook any lunch - there's enough soup left to feed us for the rest of the week!

Hope your week has got off to a good start.

Fortune x

rtandon27

Your tart sounds lush Fortune!

ruby_eskimo

rtandon27 said:

Your tart sounds lush Fortune!

All your food sounds lush to me!

Fortune_Smiles

rtandon27 said:

Your tart sounds lush Fortune!

ruby_eskimo said:

rtandon27 said:

Your tart sounds lush Fortune!

All your food sounds lush to me!

Thank you kindly 😊  I do love to cook - I find it meditative.  Plus I hate food waste so, if anything in the fridge looks a bit sulky, I have to find a recipe for it pronto 😆  I also hope that eating well is making up for my lack of exercise at the moment 🙄

Fortune x

Fortune_Smiles

A Busy Old Week

I'm not sure what I did with my time before Covid but I seem to have less of it now 😆  Still, being busy doing the things I can do is taking my mind off all the things I still can't do.

I hosted my girlie group on Thursday evening for a socially distanced night out - at least for them 😆  I grouped all our garden tables together so we could socially distance comfortably and decorated the underside of the parasol with bunting and string lights.  I covered the tables with vintage table cloths and set out some candles and posies of flowers from the garden.  Everyone bought their own food and drink but I did provide some marshmallows for toasting on the new fire pit which had it's maiden lighting.  Party favours were courgettes and marrows from the veg patch 😆  I'd bought the string lights specially along with some solar lanterns to replace the old ones we had in the garden which had stopped working.  Everything looked really pretty, especially when the sun went down and all the little twinkly lights came on.  The weather was kind to us and it was low cost too - just the string lights, marshmallows and a bottle of prosecco for me to drink 🙄.  I'm not counting the solar lanterns as they needed replacing anyway.  One of the ladies bought me some cucumbers and tomatoes from their greenhouse 😎 This was our first meet up since before lockdown in March.  Another member of the group has offered to host our next meeting in September. Hopefully it won't be too cold then but I'm not sure we'll be able to continue through the winter.

I spent Friday getting the Annex ready for our honeymooners.  They are getting married today and coming to us tomorrow.  I still have the kitchen to clean and the vacuuming to do.  Plus I want to tidy up the planting around the entrance.  So that's today's plan.

Meals have been:

Carbonara with Bacon, Beans & Courgette
Linguine with Hot Smoked Salmon & Green Beans (I highly recommend this one - it was simple but so delicious)
Veg & Cheesy Rice Bake (an old favourite and quick because I use a couple of packets of microwave rice for the topping)
Cauliflower and Courgette Fatteh
Courgette & Cheese Frittata
Radish, Fennel, Orange & Halloumi Salad
Smoked Haddock Gratin

I've used up green beans, courgettes (of course), spinach, cauliflower, radish, lettuce and spring onions from the veg patch and frozen more black and redcurrants.  Some of the plums are ready but about two thirds have succumbed to the dreaded moth again 🙁  I think I left too long between putting out the first and second traps this year.  Still we have enough for a breakfast this week and there may be more that haven't been affected.  It won't be long before there are blackberries in the hedgerow too.

Apart from the string lights and solar lanterns, we've had one other expense - the kitchen tap has finally given up.  It's been on its way out for a while, getting harder and harder to turn off.  Now you turn it on and the valve sticks so water doesn't come out unless you turn it on fully and then it comes out in a sudden gush and drenches everything and everyone in sight 😮  Mr F has had a look at it but it's too worn to revive.  We haven't gone for the most expensive tap but not the cheapest either.  I'd rather have a design I like and that will last than make do with something I don't love and will need replacing again in a year or so.  I've used the tittervating fund to meet the cost and Mr F is hoping he'll be able to do the fitting.

Mr F has got his motorbike back on the road and went out for a little jaunt on it yesterday with a new group of friends.  It was nice to have the house to myself for a while.  I did a couple of hours gardening and painted two new chalk boards.  The neighbour who previously let me have some of his old roof slates offered some more in return for a chalkboard for his kitchen.  His house used to be a duck farm and they had Indian Runners so that seemed a good subject.  Photos to follow.

Right, things to do...

Have a great week all

Fortune x