So close, we can smell mortgage freedom!

greenbee

I buy from Hodmedods too @Greying_Pilgrim and have had both Black Badger and Red Fox Carlin Peas, so I think they are different varieties. I love them ALthough my salad today has boring old chickpeas in it as I try to vary my pulses and have a different bean/pea/lentil at each meal. 

themadvix

I knew they had different names across the country Greying, but I think Carlin peas is the most likely horticultural name (never any need to apologise for contributing - it definitely wasn't a hijack 😊). I didn't know there were different varieties though Greenbee - very interesting! You are very dedicated, having a different legume with every meal - we eat a lot, but nowhere near that many!

themadvix

Afternoon all,

Another day of Cambridge catching up today, which has been quite productive (my boss/friend's inbox is looking decidedly less overwhelming now, IMO!).

Weather has been wet, which was not as forecast, so the washing is wet on the line. Tomorrow looks dry, so hopefully I'll get it finished then.

Popped to the allotment yesterday evening and harvested my onions as some were sending scapes up. The red onions haven't fattened at all, which is disappointing. Some good sized normal onions though. They are now 'drying' in the garden (apart from the rain). Pulled a couple of garlic as they are suffering from rust, but not sure that one has split properly yet, so have left the rest - it's a bit early really.

Am gradually getting through my to-do list for the week. Might go and scrub the hall floor now - oh the glamour. Dinner tonight will be spinach risotto as the spinach from the veg box needs using. Will bake a loaf tomorrow as we finished the deli bread we made at the weekend is finished. That should do my lunch tomorrow and packed lunch for the journey on Friday, with a loaf and a half for the freezer.

Also made yoghurt on Saturday evening.... which I completely forgot about until yesterday evening... turns out, 48 hours in the airing cupboard makes perfect, thick, set, delicious yoghurt! I will be doing that again (intentionally!).

MS things:
* Clicks and HW
* Some competitions entered
* Removed some slugs from my allotment

Gratitudes:
* The first strawberry got eaten by humans, not a slug - it was delicious
* Mr MV has finished early for a change - he worked really late yesterday and was very stressed, so I'm glad he's got what he needed to done today and has stopped
* A nice chat with a neighbour (we may have been complaining about other neighbours, but it's nice to have a chat!)

Have a lovely evening all!

themadvix

Evening all,

Well floor did get scrubbed but not until the following morning. I did get through my list before going away, which was good. Have had a lovely weekend in Harrogate- Harlow Carr was nice but not as good as Wisley or Hyde Hall (I don’t think this is just local bias). Mr MV’s foot has been playing up though, so we’ve spent more time than we perhaps have sampling the delights of the many taprooms and craft ale-mongers in Harrogate.

We won the seatfrog upgrade and have just had dinner on the train. We’re now delayed indefinitely though as there’s someone lying on the tracks… better we’re stopped than the alternative though… and I’m not complaining about the extension of our first class experience.

MS things:
* Have done a couple of surveys 😊
* Lunch and breakfast yesterday were pretty reasonable, on the go meals.
* I’m on my second glass of wine in first class?!
* Have finished library book, so may do some more surveys now.

Gratitudes:
* lovely time away
* cats have been spoilt by BIL and (mainly) SIL
* we are moving again (less good for us, but hopefully a positive sign for person involved

 Have a lovely evening all - hope you have sunshine as we do.

Cheery_Daff

Hope you made it home eventually xx

I've not heard of seatfrog! Will investigate

themadvix

We did thanks Cheery, only 20 minutes late in the end. Seatfrog offer a bidding opportunity to get a first class upgrade… I’ve never personally used it as Mr MV has bought the tickets we’ve been upgrading on both occasions, but it’s definitely cheaper than but a straight first class ticket and on a long journey (especially ones where you know they are serving a decent meal - which can also be looked up online) it can work out at good value. As we discovered yesterday though, it depends on the staff - was rather peeved that we didn’t even get offered dessert yesterday! Did get two glasses of wine, two teas, crisps, brownie, biscuits and hot homity pie with bean salad (was yum!), plus comfy, quiet seating though. When we went to Edinburgh in 2022 we upgraded on the way back and the staff were much more generous (more time too) - lots of drinks and biscuits available.

themadvix

Today has mostly been a grumpy day. I think tiredness (caused by b&w cat keeping me awake) compounded by the fact that more of my beans and my last bns seedling have been eaten, while the weeds continue to grow rampantly put paid to any positivity! I have bought bean seedlings and some broccoli and pak Choi (broccoli keeps getting eaten when I sow it, and the pak choi were part of a twofer deal) but no squash as they only had carving pumpkins.

I did also get some alpines/houseleeks for around the pond and got them planted. And we had a nice dinner of bean chilli. Just need an uninterrupted night’s sleep now I think. And some warmer weather and fewer slugs!

Cheery_Daff

Ooh, thank you,  I'll investigate,  although I rarely have a long train trip that isn't for work (no idea if you can upgrade a ticket you haven't bought yourself!)

Slugs seem to be a right menace this year.  I'm not growing any veg but I had to chuck one off some of flowerpots yesterday and other flowers are just sticks now. Slimy b@stards!

themadvix

Yes, you can upgrade tickets you’ve not bought yourself - Mr MV has done this for work travel a few times (he’s had to pay, of course, but it’s sometimes worth it, especially if he’s not feeling great from travel).

The slugs have been awful this year, even with minimal habitat for them to hide under. It’s so frustrating!

rtandon27

Thanks for the train tip Vix! 

We don't do much long distance travel by train, but have bookmarked the app to use on the rare occasions that we do! 

The train I commute on doesn't have assigned seat, despite being a long distance semi-express train!  On the odd occasion that the train is super crowded, the conductor usually decommissions first class so that the rest of us can sit down and tells the scant first class travelers to apply for a refund for their journey!  It's nice when common sense prevails.