A Better View 🌄

Fortune_Smiles

Calm

Yesterday's WI coffee morning was a great success.  I took the Banana & Pecan Cake which was devoured within minutes 😲 Although I did manage to steal away a slice for Mr F (I'd promised it after he complained that he never got to benefit from my baking 😂).  Also took damsons and plums to sell.  We raised over £130 and I left with two loaves of delicious home-baked bread (made in my friend's breadmaker), a Calla Lily (won in the raffle) and two enormous boxes of poop bags (from a friend who recently lost her pup).  Any damsons and plums left over were taken to the food bank along with marrows and apples so two charities saw the benefit.

We had leftover risotto for lunch and beans and cheese on toast for supper using some of the acquired bread as it seemed a shame not to use some.  The rest has been sliced and frozen for future use.

I spent the afternoon carefully removing fabric from the exhibition boards we used for the Show.  Some is a good quality linen viscose which I'm hoping to turn into a pair of trousers and the other is a very bright green polyester satin which I'll use for... well I think of something I'm sure 😂  My dining room table is now clear and all Show items have been returned to their rightful owners so I can think about getting my sewing machine out again.

Mr F had a conversation with narcissistic boss and we were right - they do want to try and leverage Mr F's reputation and contacts in the industry.  Mr F has asked them to come back to him with a proposition but he's not sure he wants to work for them in that capacity.  He's not closing any doors yet though.  We've had a quote for professional indemnity insurance so are ready to put that into play when needed.

All seems calm in the Fortunate household for the moment.  It's giving me a chance to get on top of chores and plan some social events.  I'm sure some drama or other will rear its head in a minute as that seems to be the pattern for 2023 but, for now, I'm enjoying a little break from it 😊

Take care all

Fortune x

PS No news on the phantom pooper yet 😂

rtandon27

themadvix said:

...Bread is really bad for being ultraprocessed - and I'm blaming the consumption of it since I discovered Olio for the weight I've gained. Hoping that not eating it will slowly reverse the issue!..

Vix - I'm also blaming 0lio for the weight gain, but for me it's the (UPF) pastries which are hard to resist

We've now restricted ourselves to fruit/veg/meat for our requests & are getting handmade sourdough bread via 2g2g at a local bakery.

badmemory

I think you are wise to look at your intake of UPF.  I cut down a lot since I retired on "stuff" & mostly made from scratch.  Just recently I have been home post-op & have been buying some ready made to suppliment the previous batch cooking.  I have noticed a feeling of, I can't call it illness, but not totally wellness not caused by the op.  I am sure it is down to the additives in the food.  I must confess that in the past I felt I was being a bit precious but now I can't wait to get back on form & to make sure that if this happens again that DS who lives with me can actually do a lot more basic cooking.  (He's been an absolute star by teh way.)

themadvix

I, too, am a UPF bore @Fortune_Smiles!! 😂

 and @rtandon27, did I say it was bread? It was also definitely pastries! I’ve gone even more hardcore and it pretty much has to be organic too now from Olio. The odd pastry might slip in (especially for Mr MV) on my collection night, but I doubt that will happen tonight as I’ve got homemade pud and banana cake, should the munchies arrive!

beanielou

Sorry, I fogot @Fortune_Smiles
I apprecaite how lucky I am.
I used 'ask my GP' one week & had an appointment the next week.

Fortune_Smiles

rtandon27 said:

themadvix said:

...Bread is really bad for being ultraprocessed - and I'm blaming the consumption of it since I discovered Olio for the weight I've gained. Hoping that not eating it will slowly reverse the issue!..

Vix - I'm also blaming 0lio for the weight gain, but for me it's the (UPF) pastries which are hard to resist

We've now restricted ourselves to fruit/veg/meat for our requests & are getting handmade sourdough bread via 2g2g at a local bakery.

badmemory said:

I think you are wise to look at your intake of UPF.  I cut down a lot since I retired on "stuff" & mostly made from scratch.  Just recently I have been home post-op & have been buying some ready made to suppliment the previous batch cooking.  I have noticed a feeling of, I can't call it illness, but not totally wellness not caused by the op.  I am sure it is down to the additives in the food.  I must confess that in the past I felt I was being a bit precious but now I can't wait to get back on form & to make sure that if this happens again that DS who lives with me can actually do a lot more basic cooking.  (He's been an absolute star by teh way.)

themadvix said:

I, too, am a UPF bore @Fortune_Smiles!! 😂

 and @rtandon27, did I say it was bread? It was also definitely pastries! I’ve gone even more hardcore and it pretty much has to be organic too now from Olio. The odd pastry might slip in (especially for Mr MV) on my collection night, but I doubt that will happen tonight as I’ve got homemade pud and banana cake, should the munchies arrive!

It's funny you should say that @badmemory, that's exactly how I felt a lot of the time - not ill exactly but not totally well.  However, since actively avoiding UPF I have more energy and more motivation to get things done.  Scary really as our diet is largely UPF free so the small amounts we do eat seem to be having a disproportionate effect on me.  Thinking about UPF as a synthetic food substitute has put me off entirely.  And also made me feel less guilty about eating (and better able to moderate my intake of) home made treats.  Is this the magic bullet that will help me stay at a healthy weight?  Wouldn't that be lovely 😁

I am so pleased to find some fellow UPF bores on the site.  Although are we UPF bores if we don't find each other boring? 🤔😂

Fortune x

Fortune_Smiles

Two in the Hand

I'm gradually getting on top of the housework and feel much better for it - I hate it when the dust and dirt is sitting there mocking me 😆

Yesterday's lunch was Fennel & Pancetta Minestrone made with fennel from the veg patch.  Supper was Chorizo & Pepper Gnocchi.  We have a surfeit of green beans and courgettes which I'll need to do something with this week.

The money from my second small pension arrived in the account so I've sent that over to the mortgage.  We have now paid off 86% 🥳  In 6 years 😲  There are lots and lots of squares coloured in on my little house mortgage chart now.  I can remember gazing at it dejectedly when only one or two squares were coloured in and a lot of blank, white space was stretching ahead of us.  That time has gone so quickly.

Mr F has been approached by a Director from his company (completely unconnected with Narcissistic Boss and Old Boss).  He wants Mr F to provide some assessment services which is much more what Mr F had in mind.  Mr F has said yes and they want him to start in December.  We'll need to be a limited company so we're just going to go ahead and set that up now.  So that's two confirmed clients already 🥳

I managed to cut out the pieces for a pair of trousers from the linen viscose I rescued yesterday.  Not all on the same grain line though (although none on the bias) so I'll have to see if that affects the end result.  I realised I don't have the right colour cotton or the elastic the pattern requires so have ordered them from the big river company and am hoping they'll arrive in time for the weekend.

I'm also feeling inspired to paint.  I have a photograph of Mr F herding cattle out of our garden on our second day in the house.  I've wanted to turn it into a painting for a long time so might make a start on that.  I'd like to spend the autumn and winter evenings doing something productive instead of veging out in the front of the TV watching rubbish.  I've usually run out of energy by the end of the day but am feeling a bit more lively lately so want to take advantage of that whilst it lasts.  There are also productive things I could do whilst veging out in front of the TV of course like finish the crochet blanket I started a year or so ago (ok maybe more than 8 years ago 😲) or finish the coil basket I learned to make at a recent WI meeting.  Maybe if I post my efforts here it will encourage me to make good use of the time.

Anyhoo, bathroom cleaning is on the agenda for today so I'd better get on with it.

Happy Friday everyone.

Fortune x

beanielou

That’s fantastic news for Mr FS. 

Cheery_Daff

Ooh, great news for Mr F! Looking forward to seeing how the trousers turn out too 😊

scandimore

Very happy with my Panasonic sd-2511 breadmaker, use it most days. It has a separate compartment which you can put seeds or nuts into and it fires into the dough at the proper time. The only two slightly annoying things about homemade bread in a maker is (as well as it getting gobbled so quickly) it's a bit harder to slice straight and the dough hook / mixer thing makes a hole in the underside of the loaf. I guess I could wait until the dough was mixed but not baked and fish it out but I'm usually doing something else. Overall very good and only takes a minute to stick the ingredients in. Much better than the upf stuff from supermarkets. That's my tuppence in