Travelling On

apple_muncher

Is candied Angelica green?

Alchemilla

Yes bottle green.

Karmacat

Cheery_Daff said:

Hope the binoculars arrive without incident. I love mine, although I confess they mostly get used for trying to see what the farmer is doing at the other side of the field than anything wildlifey 😂

They did, thanks.  Not tested them yet, but I tested the monocular on Sunday (which is why I bought the binocs!) by checking out a circus tent roof with seagulls on  

Alchemilla said:

I realise it's not morning, obv.

Good stuff  keep it up 😎🤣😃😛 I like it  

ETA - the angelica was an impulse buy last year it deserves a chance, like any other plant, but it didn't get it today I'll try tomorrow.

In other exciting news - I did my normal walk in mid-evening, and I saw the terrapin in the duck pond, swimming!  Very excited about this 

Karmacat

So, no gardening done - but what I *did* do, was go collect the on-offer moisturiser that I bought completely for Boots points I was about to lose - £15 gained   Then I went to my bank, ye gods and little fishes, and swapped old £20 notes for new ones, as they're going to be outdated come September.    When I got home, I got straight into the shower, and I've just done the clothes - I'm absolutely shattered, but good to do.  And my silicon spray for window hinges has arrived safely.  The last remnants of the Boots parcel haven't come, but I didn't expect them.  Shattered, after having woken at 5, so nothing else really done.

Got to pay attention to my portion sizes - I'd lost a bit of weight, which I wanted to do, and I can *feel* its back.  I'd like it gone again by the time of the holibob.

Alchemilla

Busy bee, KC!

apple_muncher

It must be so hard to keep to portion sizes when you are only cooking for yourself! I'd have no self-restraint...

Karmacat

That's true!  Plus my stomach still thinks I should be eating at deep winter-type levels  Polenta was extremely at fault (not me  ) so I'll follow portion guidelines on the packet.

Anyway, progress made on clearing the decks here.  |Huge progress on Happy Wheel - won a free spin thingy for £1, turned it into £1.30 withdrawable, so I've now made 120% of my original deposit.  So I'll withdraw £6, deposit plus profit, and keep on playing so I can start learning how to do Cheery levels of HW playing.

Bedding wash is on.  Clothes from late afternoon yesterday that are still really damp are hung out.  Nearly all the purchases are cleaned, though there's clothes that need to be put through the wash.

The plan today is to pull up weeds, or at least clip them back.  The raspberries have run rampant, seriously, and I could dry raspberry leaves, since I have to clip them back anyway.  But pulling weeds is the main aim, so that tomorrow, I can get some serious planting done.

When I need to sit still and rest - Icelandic research!  I watched the Big Rescue something with Nick Knowles, and he by-the-by mentioned that William Morris (yes, *our* William Morris) made two trips to Iceland!  I have to know more about that.

Alchemilla

How do you make polenta? Make it taste of something I mean?

Karmacat

That's a really good question  luckily for me, I have a *lot* of mixed herbs, and mustard/pepper/chili.  And when I let it cool, I sliced it up over the next few days, into cubes, and made them like roast tatties.  It doesn't taste of *nothing*, like tofu does, it has a .... dunno, not pleasant taste still, just very vaguely.  I'll up the quantities of herbs, we'll see.  

Everyone seems to fry it after making it.... It might do well with stuffing mix?  Or as part of a vegetarian burger, made of pea protein/fried egg/onion thing?  Jack Monroe has a couple of recipes, but they don't really appeal to me.  River Cottage only uses it for dusting.  There's much more choice at BBC Food, thats where I'll go next.  I've just used a Guardian article - in the comments section, by the way, is a microwave version: 

Microwave polenta recipe from Bon Appetit magazine:

1/2 C medium polenta or yellow cornmeal (not quick-cook)
2 1/2 C water
salt, pepper, herbs, garlic, etc

Nuke on high power for 4 mins. Whip. Repeat. Cook for 10-12 mins total. Add a small amount of additional water if necessary. Remove. Add the butter, EVOO, aioli, bacon bits, etc. Whip. Eat.

No faff, and indistinguishable from the polenta that la nonna stirred over wood coals for an hour and a half in the open air.

I'm going to try that next, because I nearly lost the will to live with stirring every few minutes for just over half an hour - that's not what I want!

Karmacat

Ug, tidying in the office has led me, finally, to tidying (mostly tidying *away*) papers for tax affairs, still some paperwork attached, though nearly all is repeated online.  I've been *so* reluctant to do this, because I've been putting it off for months, but truthfully, everything's a lot more useable, and I can do some "dusting" now with the vacuum cleaner   

Another job looming over me is more work in the garden - I don't like being out there when it's so overgrown, but unless I work at it, it *stays* overgrown, so it becomes a lose-lose-lose affair.  Grrr.  Plus it's very oppressive out there right now, with the thunderstorms brewing.

A bit of a win in relation to my year planner for jobs that I have on my phone: 155 jobs, 37 done completely, 8 done partly (long term stuff like weeding, mostly).  23.8% done completely, so it's fair to say I probably tip the scales at 30%