Slow Living - Doing It Old Style!

Florafauna

Lovely swim and then ate my breakfast by the pool. Enjoyed drinking coffee from my flask in the sunshine. Cut out a dress for my daughter and went for a walk with my other half. We stopped off for a coffee and I had a delicious slice of blueberry sponge. Have arranged to have a swimming lesson tomorrow to learn how to do the front crawl. 

leftatthetrafficlights

@KajiKita - the white beans in sage and thyme are done in my instant pot (they could be done on a cooker top too, it would just take longer 😉) basically it's dried cannellini beans, butter beans and chickpeas cooked in marigold vegan boullion (fluid should be around 1-2inches above the beans) with dried sage and thyme. If you use an instant pot, there is no need to soak the cannellini and butter beans although I would recommend soaking the chickpeas overnight (or for 4 hours if you cover them with boiling water) before cooking as they are harder. Cook for around 35 minutes. If you're doing them on the hob, I would recommend around an hour of cooking and more fluid as you'll have evaporation. Yes, there should be a reasonable amount of stock remaining when they are cooked - it will be thicker than when it went in due to starch from the beans but not necessarily 'sauce' consistency, however its easy to thicken using cornflour or arrowroot and it tastes lush!! 😁 

@Florafauna - It sounds like you enjoyed your day off! 😁 I love your description of the colour of the cardi - very accurate! I'm really surprised about the swimming lesson- I think I just assumed that it's the stroke you always used as you are such an avid swimmer - I hope it goes really well for you! 😁 

@Valli - that cardi is beautiful! 😍 I adore that colour too - I can just imagine a gorgeous baby snuggled up in it 🥰 

@Wednesday2000 - good luck with the treadmill! They certainly make it easier to get some physical activity when the weather is dire (which pretty much sums up the last 7 months!! 😳) I hope you have a lovely night away 😁 


I'm on an enforced slow day today 🙄 when I was in the garden at the weekend I decided that I could tackle some willow branches with the loppers using my chest as leverage for said loppers when I didn't have the strength in my hands on a thick branch...suffice to say that I have massively bruised myself and am in enough pain to make moving (and breathing!! 😵‍💫) rather uncomfortable 🤦‍♀️ anyway, after powering through it on Sunday and yesterday, I've decided that I need to just rest today and stop being an idiot!! 😂 There are enough leftovers for me not to have to cook and the house is fine after my mega cleaning session on Monday so I'm just going to spend the day reading and making tea! 

Have a fab slow day! 😁

Valli

thanks for the comments re the cardi…it’s the first time i’ve done a baby cardi in anything other than pink or blue (for a known gender) or yellow or white (for a lucky dip).

Not a slow day for me…off to the paid stuff then up to the hospital for a blood test.

Florafauna

@leftatthetrafficlights the bruising sounds painful. I can understand the using chest as leverage thing, one of those things that get the job done and seems like a good idea at the time! Plenty of rest and painkillers.
I've always loved swimming but for some reason was never taught to do front crawl. My usual stroke is breaststroke but as I'll be mostly sea swimming after our move I want to learn the crawl. Bit nervous actually!
Off to local market town soon as I have to actually go into a building society branch so taking the opportunity to meet a pal for coffee.
Buying some matching thread for latest dress. 
Hope everyone had a good day 

KajiKita

@leftatthetrafficlights, thanks for the beans with sage and thyme guidance 😊 Might try the slow cooker with this … 🤔
Sorry to hear about the sore chest - hope it r3covers quickly! 

KK 

Cherryfudge

Wednesday2000 said:

Sorry CherryFudge I thought I had responded to your post about feeling sick in different vehicles. That is interesting. I'm not in cars very much at all as I walk or take trains or buses almost all the time  but we were going to Kent and I definitely felt very sick on the way back. I'm going there again in July and I think we might go by train next time rather than accepting a lift!

Two of my library books were ready and my husband got chocolate, wine and a bunch of pink roses from Aldi.🥰 

Getting a lift in an unknown car is always a risk when you have travel sickness! I was surprised to find I was okay with my youngest driving as he is the proverbial 'bat out of hell', but I've found newer cars don't affect me so much.

I hope you can pinpoint what it is that affects you, so you can avoid it - but apart from the cost I always prefer to go by train.

Cherryfudge

@leftatthetrafficlights, the bruising sounds painful. I hope it eases soon.

I didn't manage an intentional slow day yesterday but it was interesting as I went along for a fact finding morning with a project I might end up being involved in. Then I slept all afternoon and had a frantic scramble to be ready for work!

I've also acquired a couple of houseplants in need of TLC which will be fun to do, as I like to work out what's wrong and bring them round if possible.

My language-learning hobby has hit a bit of a speed bump. One of the apps updated and offered me a trial of the premium version, which has rolled over to the paid version as I couldn't work out how to cancel. I've emailed to ask for a refund. I'm also finding I can only do so much before my attention wanes, so I'm unlikely to have a significant boost to my (vestigial) Italian before we go to Rome in May. I do have random memories of odd words from last time I focussed on Italian. I just wish they were useful ones! Knowing the Italian for a shark is unlikely to help me much...

And I can't remember if I've mentioned it, but we've got a year pass for a local garden, so we can just pop in 'for free'. The rest of the family bought passes too, so we can use it as a place to meet grown up children or bring the grand children to play.

leftatthetrafficlights

@Valli - hope the paid stuff and blood tests went well 😁 

@Florafauna - I hope your swimming lesson went well! I imagine that you aced it - breaststroke is soooo much harder!! 😳 

@Cherryfudge - I wonder if the lower emissions on a newer car have a part to play in the likelihood of travel sickness 🤔 

I went out for my walk at 6.40am this morning - it was drizzling with rain but nothing major, it was lovely and peaceful other than the birds and I saw a number of pheasants and a hare!! 😍🙌 It was so wonderful to watch it bound across the ploughed field and see the pheasants give it a wide berth!! 😂 By the time I was nearing home the heavens opened and the rain was really quite heavy but it felt cleansing and regenerative. 

Since being home I've put the lighting on in my yoga room and lit my oil burner, I've put a load of laundry on, made a chamomile tea and put some meditation music on. I'm going to drink my tea, do some writing then do an asana practice. After that I'll prepare dinner, have a quick swish and swipe around the house, have a hot shower, do a meditation practice then settle down to some reading. 

I hope you all enjoy your slow day 😁

Valli

today my sister and i are taking the aged ps on a fisn’n’chip steam train ride, as they both have April birthdays.

I should also have my oncology phone appointment.   The one good thing to come out of covid; in the before times I would have had to travel to the big city…half a day for a ten minute appointment then a wait at the pharmacy.  DD works at the hospital (she’s a dietitian) so she will collect my meds, assuming test results indicate that i continue to take them.

Florafauna

@leftatthetrafficlights following my swimming lesson, I am aching in places I didn't know I could ache. Really enjoyed it and managed to stay in for the full hour.
Had a relaxing swim this morning and also took my breakfast. I enjoyed watching the ducks play on the pond as I ate my sandwich and drank my flask. Birdsong also, really lovely. 
Have done some baking, parkin and a savoury tart for a friend's visit tomorrow. We are planning a walk after lunch at a local stately home