Travelling On

rtandon27

Well done on the tada list KC!

Karmacat

Thank you both!  I felt a certain amount of glee at getting recycling of one sort or another off the property.  The bags, in particular, are bulky.  I was slightly teed off at Waitrose, their recycling bins for those bags used to be at either end of their atrium-sited escalator to the car park, but they've abolished one altogether, and the remaining one is sited at the far end of the row of checkouts.  Big row.  Big.  Still, I was home at 9.45, and showered and whatnot by 10.30, lots of time to relax before Phoning A Friend  no, not from a quiz show  actual RL.  

Today, not going to do much, slight amount of puttering about, but mostly it's about tweaking my nut loaf story: I've soaked 8oz of nuts (hazel, brazil and walnut), I've cleaned the granite mortar and pestle, and I'll have a go this afternoon.  There seems to be a lot of preciousness online about granite M and P - I mean, it's granite!  It's what most of Norway is made of!  And since it's mottled, why does it matter if its stained?  If the stain comes off, of course, that's a different matter, since it's food and so on.  As an outsider, it all sounds slightly mad.  But I *am* an outsider.  My friend in Margate has granite here and there, after the holiday I might check things out with her.

Today: R and R  

Karmacat

May!!!

Good heavens!  It's May!  How?  

A ta-da list first - the numbered to do list had a lot included in each point, so ta-da gives a better view of what I actually did:
- cleaned patio furniture (and I've been using it, yay).
- timber for raised beds - goal is altered slightly.  Think "retaining terrace six inches high".
- backed up computer
- new mobile contract
- new driving licence
- new bus pass
- new postal vote
- census
- quite a bit of cleaning
- humongous amount of tidying (equal amount still to do, mind you).
- some cooking achieved.
- swagbucks abandoned.
- Amazon firestick returned.  
- frozen veg bags returned.

Ignore list (not needed because of the season, decisions on resting hands, etc)
- mending lightpull
- research on eco cleaning

Carried over from previous month **again**
- see to underneath mahonia
- use up brilliant white paint
- repair mortar under DPC
- get compact radio going
- get sewing machine set up
- make face masks
- put down hard core underneath kitchen window (I have more ideas about this )
- sort out office
- sort out 2nd bedroom
- sort out tech: new kindle, digital library books, printer, portable CD player.

Newly added 
- more emails (this is good, its working!)
- investigate if my dentist will ever see me again, for a hygiene visit.
- other routine medical shenanigans
- finish off broadband and landline shenanigans
- email French accountant - how many years of VAT receipts have not been claimed for?
- work on core fitness - nothing spectacular, just leg raises etc
- do a few zoom meetings - I sign up, but don't turn up.  Should change this.
- cookery experiments - doing just a couple in one month has been pretty good.

Other things will happen, of course.  I should add deep cleaning to the "new" section - ahem, I'm including wiping down walls in this.  Vinegar is needed, apparently.  

That'll do.  My second injection is next week, might be nothing, might be something, either way I'll take care.  And now - Jamie Oliver's easy chocolate cake is calling me  

rtandon27

Karmacat said:

...lots of time to relax before Phoning A Friend  no, not from a quiz show  actual RL... 

...A good chat with a friend does always bring a certain amount of satisfaction, does it not?😁

OH's mortar and pestle usually gets washed & oiled after each use, so we have not had it stain or discolour.  The only thing I won't let him bash in it is fresh turmeric must to his amusement.  In our house I even hide the powdered stuff from him - it's lethal for staining!

Today, the first day of a well anticipated long weekend, was spent catching up on a few chores (ironing & washing & cleaning) while watching a good dose of cooking & gardening shows.  Just followed that up with a spot of exercise & now will be portioning up some own brand cooking bacon and bargainous cherry tomatoes which are waiting for attention in the kitchen.  On the wish list for today, is to pot up some summer bulbs and check on the easy-grow seedlings, something I've never attempted before!

Karmacat

RT, that sounds lovely!  And yes, the satisfaction of talking to someone by choice instead of someone who lives next to you, that's a wonderful thing **beams happily**.

Your OH **oils** your mortar and pestle?  Is it wooden?  For the granite, I've seen a lot of links to cleaning it by crushing dry white rice in it, and doing that until it's not discoloured.  There's also a huge amount of lecturing about not using soap.  I don't get it - it's granite, not gold or cuttlefish or something.  

Oops, nearly 4.30.   I confess, I've been ogling these online: Planet X Filter Face Mask | Planet X They're reduced to £1 - washable, reuseable, 3 layers, just like the ones I've been using, though I now think the pricing isn't quite as simple as it appears.  Still good to ogle them though, its a holiday  

rtandon27

Karmacat said:

...Your OH **oils** your mortar and pestle?  Is it wooden?...

LOL - the OH washes the mortar & pestle with soap and water...

Then I oil it and put it away...

It is definitely stone, I think it's granite, honestly I couldn't swear to it!

Technically it's his toy, but as my chore is putting away the clean things in the kitchen, I care for it - LOL

apple_muncher

I can see why you've been ogling those masks! I made myself a licorice all-sorts one very early on. It is very very pink, and I love it. It is my back up one for school, the main one being my Tintin one.

debtfreeoneday

Great news jab number 2 is on the horizon. 

Karmacat

rtandon27 said:

Karmacat said:

...Your OH **oils** your mortar and pestle?  Is it wooden?...

LOL - the OH washes the mortar & pestle with soap and water...

Then I oil it and put it away...

It is definitely stone, I think it's granite, honestly I couldn't swear to it!

Technically it's his toy, but as my chore is putting away the clean things in the kitchen, I care for it - LOL

I'll be using it today, so I'll let you know what happens!

apple_muncher said:

I can see why you've been ogling those masks! I made myself a licorice all-sorts one very early on. It is very very pink, and I love it. It is my back up one for school, the main one being my Tintin one.

Ooh, pink licorice and Tintin too!  Blissful!  I was thinking of buying, because when I *do* manage to get the sewing machine going, I'd like to do something simple like pillowslips 🤣 but I do have a simple pattern, actually.  They are nice material though, aren't they  

debtfreeoneday said:

Great news jab number 2 is on the horizon. 

Yep, I'm really pleased - with all the rumbling about stock levels and trade embargoes, I was getting concerned.  

Karmacat

Ta-da, I have a nutloaf - just!  I should have put it in 2 of my ovenproof glass dishes, not the 1 big one, but thats okay for now, I'll just have to clean the floor of the oven slightly.  

The bashing was **really** easy, I feel like I made such a fuss over it   I've just eaten a portion, and it could have done with being bashed a tiny bit more, but this is it:



My other big tip to myself is to use a wooden spoon of some description to scoop out the broken nuts, using an ordinary stainless steel dessertspoon made a genuinely unpleasant sound, and I didn't like to think of the effect it had 🙄  A bit more herbs and spices, and we're away