A Better View 🌄

Fortune_Smiles

Humdinger1 said:

Ooh, the plot thickens @Fortune_Smiles! Standing by for further particulars.   Sounds like toxic manager could be unravelling even faster than predicted love Humdinger xx 

savingholmes said:

Does sound like things could change fast 

It could all be smoke and mirrors of course but they are definitely behaving strangely.  We may never get to the bottom of it.

Fortune x

beanielou

I bet narcissistic manager is getting side stepped.

Cheery_Daff

Fortune!!!

Goodness me, I feel like such a twit. I hadn't realised you were back posting with a diary. I've seen you here and there on the forum of course, and just now wondered what you'd been up to. Not being observant, I didn't look at your signature 😂 but went rooting through your profile - only to discover not just this diary, but the last one that I'd missed too!! 😱

Well, I thought I'd missed the last one, until I opened it and realised I had written the second post 🙄😂😂😂😂 And then clearly forgot to subscribe 🙄 what a plonker. 

Anyway, hello! Hooray! A whole yearxs worth of posts to catch up on (well, who knows, I might have been posting all that time myself without remembering 🙄)

I've subscribed properly this time!

Cheery_Daff

Finished skimming through your old diary (and yes, I should really have been doing something else!) 😂 Gosh, you've had some ups and downs 😱 I gasped at poor Mr F's medical calamity, so glad all turned out well in the end. And the saga with the utility pole! I am SUCH a complete pushover about such things, as you know 😂 The previous owner of our house had already signed a permanent wayleave for the telegraph poles so nothing to be done about that, and we signed a 14 year one when we arrived - in our case it's not proved an issue, thankfully. But I did have a small run in with a tradesman doing some rendering work for us the other day - he's done a good job, but only had grey paint. It was white before, he fitted white fascia boards (which we already had), but 'couldn't' paint white because a new tub would cost £90 (which he'd have to charge us for 🙄).

I did think of you - but I confess after quibbling a bit, I caved and just told him to do the grey (for the texture) and I'd just paint the damn white myself. Annoyed with myself, but we never specifically agreed he'd paint it white, so...

Definitely agree that an advocacy service for working with tradespeople would be a great thing! 😁

Also standing by for further details about Mr F's career 😁

SandyShores

I can't advise on a bread maker.  I treated myself to a Kenw00d mixer with a dough hook and made my own for quite a while.  Once you get the hang of the timings it's great - except when a work call goes on too long and it virtually explodes when its over risen.  Unfortunately, the freshly baked bread kept get getting eaten before it was even cool because it smelt and tasted so yummy (especially with lots of butter ).  So now I'm watching the calories, I rarely eat bread, and we have gone back to the processed sliced stuff buying only one a week.  Sad times, but on the positive side I have been losing weight since.

Cheery_Daff

I too can confirm both the loveliness of homemade bread, and the inability of a loaf to ever get cool before it is eaten completely 😂 And it took me forever to get a perfect loaf, so I had to keep experimenting.... 😂

themadvix

I don’t use a bread maker, but use Dan Lepard’s virtually no-knead recipe. It works for me, but you do have to be around. Much better than all the random carp in shop bought bread though. I usually manage to limit random munching to just end just after it’s come out of the oven!

Fortune_Smiles

Cheery_Daff said:

Fortune!!!

Goodness me, I feel like such a twit. I hadn't realised you were back posting with a diary. I've seen you here and there on the forum of course, and just now wondered what you'd been up to. Not being observant, I didn't look at your signature 😂 but went rooting through your profile - only to discover not just this diary, but the last one that I'd missed too!! 😱

Well, I thought I'd missed the last one, until I opened it and realised I had written the second post 🙄😂😂😂😂 And then clearly forgot to subscribe 🙄 what a plonker. 

Anyway, hello! Hooray! A whole yearxs worth of posts to catch up on (well, who knows, I might have been posting all that time myself without remembering 🙄)

I've subscribed properly this time!

Cheery_Daff said:

Finished skimming through your old diary (and yes, I should really have been doing something else!) 😂 Gosh, you've had some ups and downs 😱 I gasped at poor Mr F's medical calamity, so glad all turned out well in the end. And the saga with the utility pole! I am SUCH a complete pushover about such things, as you know 😂 The previous owner of our house had already signed a permanent wayleave for the telegraph poles so nothing to be done about that, and we signed a 14 year one when we arrived - in our case it's not proved an issue, thankfully. But I did have a small run in with a tradesman doing some rendering work for us the other day - he's done a good job, but only had grey paint. It was white before, he fitted white fascia boards (which we already had), but 'couldn't' paint white because a new tub would cost £90 (which he'd have to charge us for 🙄).

I did think of you - but I confess after quibbling a bit, I caved and just told him to do the grey (for the texture) and I'd just paint the damn white myself. Annoyed with myself, but we never specifically agreed he'd paint it white, so...

Definitely agree that an advocacy service for working with tradespeople would be a great thing! 😁

Also standing by for further details about Mr F's career 😁

Cheery!!!

I knew I hadn't seen you here for a while but just thought you were cutting down on screen time (which I know you do from time to time).  It is lovely to have you back 😁

Yes, it has been a bit of a roller coaster this year for us and some big paradigm shifting stuff involved too.  Very grateful to have survived and hoping next year will be less eventful (I've been saying this for the last 3 years now 😆).

Of course I'm still making a nuisance of myself with pole-gate (remember 'gate-gate' 😂).  I'm wanting to come round and have a word with your tradesman now 😡.  If it was white before, why would you think it should be grey?  Sometimes the battle's just not worth it though so if the cost's too high (money, time effort, stress, well-being, etc) it's best to let it go.  I only write about the battles I fight in this diary and not the ones I choose to concede so I probably come across as more of a Boudica than I actually am 😆

See you soon

Fortune x

Fortune_Smiles

SandyShores said:

I can't advise on a bread maker.  I treated myself to a Kenw00d mixer with a dough hook and made my own for quite a while.  Once you get the hang of the timings it's great - except when a work call goes on too long and it virtually explodes when its over risen.  Unfortunately, the freshly baked bread kept get getting eaten before it was even cool because it smelt and tasted so yummy (especially with lots of butter ).  So now I'm watching the calories, I rarely eat bread, and we have gone back to the processed sliced stuff buying only one a week.  Sad times, but on the positive side I have been losing weight since.

Cheery_Daff said:

I too can confirm both the loveliness of homemade bread, and the inability of a loaf to ever get cool before it is eaten completely 😂 And it took me forever to get a perfect loaf, so I had to keep experimenting.... 😂

themadvix said:

I don’t use a bread maker, but use Dan Lepard’s virtually no-knead recipe. It works for me, but you do have to be around. Much better than all the random carp in shop bought bread though. I usually manage to limit random munching to just end just after it’s come out of the oven!

I suspect the same phenomenon will occur in the Fortunate household 😂 Especially if Mr F is in the house 😂

I made the mistake of reading the ingredients on a packet of wholewheat tortillas today @themadvix 😲😲😲  Why have I been ignoring this for so long 🤔  I read the ingredients of everything I buy but some things sound so benign - ascorbic acid is just vitamin C after all... but it can be produced synthetically from the fermentation and oxidation of glucose 😲.  You really have to do your research to get to the truth of this stuff.  Fortunately, our lovely veg box company does additive free bread which I shall buy for the time-being (although it is very expensive). Once pay day arrives a bread maker will be on the cards.  Any kneading is out of the question at the moment as my dodgy shoulder is, well.. still being dodgy 🤕

Can't stop thinking about fresh baked bread with lots of butter now 😆

Fortune x

Fortune_Smiles

Spontaneity

As the weather was so nice yesterday we made a spontaneous decision to go for a walk - 7 miles along the canal tow path 😇  We did have Sunday lunch at the pub half-way as our goal though 👿  It's a traditional pub and the lunches are cheap so we didn't break the bank.  And it was so lovely: hardly anyone around, the sun shining, swallows skipping across the water, meadowsweet and honeysuckle scenting the air.  I was looking out for Himalayan Balsalm.  It's an invasive plant introduced to the UK in 1839 and it likes canal banks.  I found Orange Balsalm (also introduced but rare and not invasive) but not Himalayan.  Which is a shame because I'm desperate to make some gin with it.  It's a pale amber colour in the bottle but magically changes to pink in the glass when you add tonic.  I might see if I can persuade Mr F to take a walk along another canal where I spotted some last year.  I think it would make fab Christmas presents (too soon? 😂).

Came home and spent the rest of the day lazing around and reading.  Perfect 😁  My halo was restored a little as we had a very healthy Summer Greens Soup for supper.  I used bulgur wheat instead of pearl barley though as I didn't have any.  We had the leftovers for lunch today and Risotto with Peas & Broad Beans for supper.

Mr F says he isn't getting the Sunday blues anymore 🥳

Today I've done the week's meal plan and grocery shop.  I'm still staying under or within budget at the moment because of all the veg patch produce.  We picked a huge box of damsons today as friends have requested them for jam making.  Also plums, green beans, fennel and bunching onions.

I've spent most of the afternoon baking - a Banana & Pecan Loaf for a WI coffee morning tomorrow (if you're thinking of giving it a go, bear in mind it takes much longer to cook than the recipe says - 15 to 30 minutes longer).  And a Yogurt Plum Cake which came out exactly as in the pictures 🥳  I found the texture a bit bready so think it would be best served warm with custard.  Mr F liked it though so I've put half of it in the freezer to stop him from scoffing the lot 😆

We're going out with our torches in a minute.  Something has been roosting in the annexe porch and recklessly pooping all over the front door 🕵️‍♀️.  We thought it might be the patridges as we have a covey who come down the drive every evening but I believe they roost on the ground.  Tune in next time to find out - who is the Phantom Pooper of the Shire? 🤣

Fortune x