Moving on

Cherryfudge

I'm not sure how much remains to do. I got the food shopping and another sieve while I was at it. I've missed having a third sieve since the last one broke and this one is wire so it may behave differently with the fruit mush (so long as the results don't taste of metal, so if a test doesn't go easily, it's the blender for the mix.

I spotted the foundation I prefer and which has been hard to find recently, so I snapped some up while I could. There was only one left in my shade, and it's not in some other shops so I wonder if it's being discontinued.

The plants along the path to the door are tied back (some weren't very willing) and the step edges are marked with tape. The paint around the doorframe is still tacky but perhaps overnight it will get touch dry. The tin says at least 14 hours, which takes us to around 5am.

Still got the cooking to do... and some tidying but I'm not going to run the hoover at this hour of the night in case it disturbs the neighbours. Residual tidying will just have to be done if I get round to it, and cleaning the bathroom will happen once I've had a bath. It wasn't done earlier as I like the fresh air in, and with the fresh air were coming drifts of birch seeds, so it's as much a sweep up as a clean!

Expenditure:
Housekeeping/entertaining £20.40
Household £1.89
Toiletries £8.99
Medical £1.29

Honeysucklelou2

Wow, you have been super busy. Thank you for the reminder to ok for blackberries…love this time of year!

Cherryfudge

I think I wore myself out. I knew late last night that bath and bed was the only feasible option. The trouble with jumping off the treadmill of the hours I used to work is that I've lost the capacity to push myself when I'm dog tired. I didn't even work all that many hours back in the day! 25, with the option of more, and some sleep ins.

Anyway, this morning the bathroom and guest rooms are tidy, paths through the garden are as clear as they're going to be, the lounge just needs a hoover, everywhere else needs a hoover too, the dining room table still has two laptops and some oddments to clear away and the kitchen... is still 75% the mess it was yesterday. It's that jam that's proving too big a job to tackle while I still have everything else to do, so I will finish getting myself guest-ready, pop the paint tins back in the shed and hoover. Then I think I'd better get a lemon drizzle cake into the oven and be discovered as the curtain goes up, making blackberry jam as if I lived a hundred years ago and it was the cook's half day...

Cherryfudge

The jam is jammed, cake is made (and partly eaten) and DH arrived with Auntie about 12.30. They are currently sitting out in the sun while I relax here at the screen. (I'm not much good at sitting in the sun and I want some me time).

I remembered a microwave recipe for coffee cake so I made that instead of lemon drizzle: quick and easy and doesn't involve the oven. I put a coffee butter cream and some walnuts on top. We had lunch out in the garden and Auntie was very pleased to have proper Hawes Wensleydale cheese (thanks Tesco). Afterwards Auntie and DH went for a walk while I had another battle with the jam: when people write about straining the pips out, it sounds as if you just pour it through a sieve and the resulting jelly is then transferred to pots. They don't mention that it cools as it drips and it sets as it cools so within minutes there's something the consistency of a good thick plaster in the sieve, 45% of which seems to be pips but which is delicious and cost hours of toil. Meanwhile in the jar there is about two two or three inches of beautiful jam. I made Auntie a tiny jar off the first pouring so she can take it when she goes back, and three proper jars of fairly clear jelly - and two jars and a pyrex jug of delicious bitty sludge, still incredibly thick despite thinning down with boiled water. I hope DH likes the pips.

Another half hour and we will head out to see A, H and the girls. Little N is a lot better and I don't know if they ever got the swab done. It was supposed to come by post, but I never heard that it did, and now she's near enough better.

Floss

@Cherryfudge have you contacted your broadband provider about your dodgy router?

Cherryfudge

Floss said:

@Cherryfudge have you contacted your broadband provider about your dodgy router?

I tried, Floss, but they are shut till Monday morning. So guess what I'll be doing on Monday?  

Cherryfudge

We had a nice couple of hours with A, H and family, then back here for dinner (roast chicken, ice cream, meringue and strawberries). Loads of chicken for other meals too. In the evening we watched the end of the Paris Olympics, and the Internet held out for most of it.

I've spent nothing today but DH says he spent £10 cash on fish and chips yesterday and supplemented Auntie's train fare by 30p. 

Cherryfudge

I have the house to myself and am watching a small flock of sparrows who have suddenly decided to investigate the bird feeders outside the window. The dishwasher is on and I've just come off the phone to the broadband people who talked me though a factory reset of the modem. The signal dropped a couple of times while we did it, but she assures me it's fixed now. (Potential saving of around £90 for a replacement modem but this one is so old that I think that's probably just deferred).

Early rain has turned into beautiful sunshine and I'm torn between doing some cooking and doing some gardening. I suppose the cooking needs to win as I will want lunch soon.

Incidentally, Duolingo has chucked me out of the diamond league but I have to remind myself that's just gamification and my Italian is still in progress. I just had too much to do last week to put a lot of effort in.

redofromstart

With the jam thing I only make jelly for that exact reason. You just cover your fruit with water, simmer it for a bit to get the maximum juice out. Let it cool then sieve out the pips etc. then it's equal quantities of juice by ml to sugar in g, (500ml = 500g) then boil to your preferred set. I add cooking apples at the first stage if it's something that needs extra pectin. 

The original recipe was from hg2g bramble jelly but I've simplified it and use it for whatever fruit I have ever since.

found it: https://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/mb6music/A720992

Cherryfudge

Ooh, that's very different from the recipe I used, @redofromstart. Thanks for sharing. Mine has equal weights of blackberries, apples and sugar, and no added liquid (which is possibly why it was resistant to straining, though it seemed to generate plenty of juice). Do you use the lemon juice with other fruit than blackberries?

So today I've not spent anything. In fact, I stayed at home till work time. Dh was at work and Auntie went to visit her friends then on to have tea with J, who lives near them.

I made myself make the soup, though I had some of the ingredients prepped before I realised I'd started the wrong recipe! I made it anyway, as I wanted some lunch and was loth to waste what I had ready. Later I looked out the right recipe and made a batch of that, too. It's portioned up for a few lunches, starting tomorrow.

The day has been warm and very overcast and dark. It rained a bit this morning, but by teatime it cleared and was beautiful. I've re-potted my three tomato plants, which possibly should have been done a few weeks ago. I've added stakes to all of them, and plenty of string, then moved them out of their sheltered corner so they get more light.

I think that's about it.