NST February Forgiveness

grandmanerd

f0xh0les, the large front bedroom at grandma's has burnt orange walls and ceiling and all the woodwork and the doors of wardrobes and the built in alcove cupboard are very dark red (nearly brown). When I bought this  house it had been boarded up for 11 years. All the paintwork was early 1970's colours (probably with a nod to  late 60's psychedelia - black, turquoise, purple and shocking pink. I used tons of nitromors (removes up  to eight layers in one go). Well no I dabbed, scraped and scrubbed one layer at a time off (up to 5 layers in some places) with a base layer of dark green.

I got up in the middle of the night and my left ankle was extremely painful to walk on. It's improved and the swelling has gone down but I'm not planning any marathons. It's raining so don't plan on leaving the house but my shopping list is growing - I'm out of paracetamol and antihistamines, need rubble sacks, a handle for the front door to help with opening and closing, need a key for the window locks. My ex s-i-l said to phone if I needed anything and I'm going to try to enlist her help - it will take her mind off her problems and if she only stops me from crying it will help. 

Another early night, I was asleep  by 7 pm but woke just before midnight and then twice more. I'm showered and dressed but think I'll  just stay here, reading my book for a while.  Gratitudes - my slimpod tapes, lots of sleep and lots of water, considerate taxi drivers.

f0xh0les

Any chance of enlisiting family for a clearing morning - preferably those with cars and strong backs?   If not, I have a friend who found Emmaus in Bolton really good for a partial house clearance, and they knew the old furniture and electricals were going to be recycled and sold in their stores to fund the homelessness work.  You probably know this already,

Flying_By

Hoping not to have to leave the house today, the weather is vile here and I don't want to be tempted to spend any money on food, as I'm sure I can rustle up something for the fussy eaters here for a couple of days. My plan is to crack on with clearing the linen-basket and to don my Mareeeegolds and start on the kitchen cupboard fronts and the sink and drainer.  I feel a bit like Mole from Wind in the Willows but no real signs of Spring to tempt me outside!
Although driving back from visiting step-mum in hospital my brother and I noticed a real change in the quality of light and a sense of hope for Spring being not too far away. Doctor has finally agreed that s-m has a chest infection and has put her on antibiotics, as well as nasal antibiotics for MRSA.  She really looked as though she had given up the ghost yesterday, she was so weak and tired but she did recognise us, thank goodness.  Because of her infections she's not yet allowed to visit the 'lounge' area so has very little social engagement and is stuck in her room.  Yet more information coming forth from the original hospital - apparently they told latest hospital she is waiting for a placement in a residential home, which is definitely not the case as far as we are concerned!  Communication between the hospitals has been totally ineffectual and seems to be a case of laziness, ineptitude and Chinese Whispers! Sending love to all the Turtle Clan! xx

Shrewbie

f0xh0les said:

Gratitudes -  hm red lentil, coconut, and chilli soup being lush, smashing through my to-do list with a ta-dah!, and for having the motivation to continue with more of the same tomorrow.

Hello everyone!! I'm de-lurking to ask f0xh0les if you can please share the lentil soup recipe  hope everyone is well xx

laura_lau

Shrewbie said:

f0xh0les said:

Gratitudes -  hm red lentil, coconut, and chilli soup being lush, smashing through my to-do list with a ta-dah!, and for having the motivation to continue with more of the same tomorrow.

Hello everyone!! I'm de-lurking to ask f0xh0les if you can please share the lentil soup recipe  hope everyone is well xx

Thank you! I LOVE lentils soup, I am here with pen and paper ready to take notes so I can add it to my still-to-be-done meal plan for next week! 

DawnW

NSD #4 today. Horrible weather, wet, cold and dark. And a boring day at work with few customers. Don't blame them for not wanting to go out and get soaking wet!  Still, my brother says he feels fine, and an unwanted chair went to a new home today, so mustn't complain!

Came home and made macaroni cheese for dinner.

Admired my newly spacious sitting room   I need to move the large rug in front of the fire, as it seems to have 'walked' a bit, but all good. And it will be so much easier to clean

f0xh0les

Shrewbie said:

f0xh0les said:

Gratitudes -  hm red lentil, coconut, and chilli soup being lush, smashing through my to-do list with a ta-dah!, and for having the motivation to continue with more of the same tomorrow.

Hello everyone!! I'm de-lurking to ask f0xh0les if you can please share the lentil soup recipe  hope everyone is well xx

Shrewbie, Shrewbie, Shrewbie, Shrewbie!  Hola!

About a jam jar of red lentils, one can coconut milk, a stock cube, one empty coconut milk cans of water, and a stick of lemongrass (bashed about a bit) + 3 mild red chilli peppers (I found in the back of the fridge) - I throw them in whole, and then it mildly spices it for DH and I make sure I get one served  in my bowl cos I like it spicy. Nothing else is needed, no onion, no celery, nothing. Cook for 15 minutes, give it a really good stir so the lentils break up. Add another bit of liquid - either milk or water - if it is too thick, and cook for another 5 minutes.  It is perfect. I love it. It is my favourite soup of the season so far.  If you have a lime, then a squeeze of lime juice is good but only when serving.  It behaves perfectly in the fridge for 4 days, and it can be used as a dahl with roti or rice because everytime you cool and fridge it, it thickens up again. 

 - At the end of the day, it is soup, make it the way you like your soup to be. Have fun with it!

BBC g00d F00d have a red lentil coconut soup recipe, but it has a lot more ingredients than mine, but gives some alternative spice ideas.

apple_muncher

Today I am grateful for getting petrol 13p cheaper per litre than nearby petrol stations, for having a play with the (very much) assisted pull up machine at the gym, for pip enjoying his evening, for family, for 85% chocolate.

ditty1234

Hi all almost Friday. I am grateful for sister coming to visit in a week, had last doctors appointment for foreseeable future, have booked a vision test tomorrow to get new glasses instead of broken ones, so am almost back to ground zero in terms of maintenance and health, time to get on with other things, which is great. 
Have a good rest of week and weekend all. 

Starlight_at_Sea

soup sounds lovely F0xh0les! 
I hope all turtles are safely under shelter during the rain/snow/sludge, and yes, Friday is less than 2 hours away now. 

A very, very weary day for me, it's been a long week with quite a bit of travel and associated odd sleeping, odd eating etc. NSD as did not leave the flat and barely made it through the meetings before having a snooze. 

Back at dads now and caught up on his admin-support 😂 and spent some time with him tonight. Everything else can wait. Only working for an hour or so tomorrow, determined to stick to that.