Away From The Madding Crowd

Katiehound

bats are fine- they are eating the insects! Not so fine if they decide to nest in your property!

Years ago I got one in my bedroom- utter nightmare. the dog went mad. I think in the end I managed to get a towel over it & then threw it out into the air and shut the window firmly! haven't seen any bats near the house these days.(of course switching the lights off, opening the windows didn't work with a bat!)

Humboldt

Morning all.

@bluenose welcome home, pleased to read that you had a lovely holiday.  I know what you mean about decor inspiration from holiday accommodation, there are some fabulous places to stay. 

@Katiehound your wildlife encounter with the bat would have been a little too close for me!

Today's simple pleasure - I am planning to make marmalade today. I will cheat and use a tin of pre-prepared M@rmade, adding a cinnamon stick, a clove and a star anise whilst cooking.  These spices add a lovely background flavour and are removed prior to decanting into jars. 

Humboldt

Hello and welcome.

Motivational quote of the week

Always believe something wonderful is about to happen – Coco Chanel.

Money saving

Our monthly grocery budget for me and my DH is £250.  Week 2 spend for June was £86.11.  Total to date for June is £115.44.

My homegrown tomato plants have now been transplanted into the veg boxes, along with some donated leek seedlings. My courgette and beetroot plants are surviving the slugs/snails, but are slow to develop.  Salad onions and another row of mixed salad leaves have been sown. Lots of our homegrown strawberries are ripening, but the birds are up before us and may get there first.  I find it amazing how much we can grow in just a couple of veg boxes.  Not only does it us save money, it also gives us a sense of satisfaction to eat what we have grown.  

This week’s main menu

Monday – Roasted Mediterranean vegetables and spiced chickpeas, with couscous.  I will top with feta, toasted almonds, and fresh basil. Extra peppers will be roasted for tomorrow’s soup.   

Tuesday – Tomato and red pepper soup with a hunk of sourdough bread.

Wednesday – Beef lasagne with salad.  Beef mince was reduced in price and frozen until required. I will add diced carrots, and use reduced fat cheddar when making the sauce.

Thursday – Ping meal – as above (cook once, eat twice – saves time and energy costs)

Friday – Creamy mushroom and tuna whole-wheat spaghetti (recipe originally from a free magazine and stuck in one of my many recipe scrap books). The most similar recipe that I can find online is @ Sk!nny Spatula, but I would swap the butter for olive oil, the double cream for half-fat crème fraiche, and the pasta for spaghetti.  I would not add tomato puree or parmesan, but would add a cup of frozen peas and the zest of the lemon.

Saturday – Homemade roasted Mediterranean vegetable pizza, with black olives, reduced fat mozzarella, and a sprinkle of parmesan and fresh basil.  The tomato pizza sauce is homemade and frozen in 2 pizza size portions until required.

Sunday – Salmon with tarragon cream sauce (a M@ry Cad0gan recipe from my recipe scrap book), jersey royal potatoes, carrots, and broccoli.  I will swap the cream for the remaining crème fraiche (adding a bit of leftover half fat cream cheese in the hope that it will not curdle). Salmon was reduced in price and frozen until required.

Breakfasts continue to be oat based; this morning was carrot cake overnight oats (Tesc0 recipe).  Lunches include salads and homemade soup from the freezer.

Healthier lifestyle

Completed 0 free workouts last week.

Step count last week was 72,737.

Completed 4 free meditations last week.

Simple pleasures

Book 9/24 – The Sealwoman’s Gift by Sally Magnusson (a free book from the community book swap). The author is a broadcaster and journalist who has written 10 books, including the bestseller ‘Where Memories Go’ about her mother’s dementia. The Sealwoman’s Gift is her first novel. In 1627 pirates raided the coast of Iceland and abducted 400 people into slavery in Algiers.  Among them a pastor, his wife, and their children.  The author of the book imagines what history does not record: the experience of the pastor’s wife, as she faces her losses with the one thing left to her – the stories of home – and forges an ambiguous bond with the man who bought her.  Until I read this book, I was unaware of this historical tragedy.  It gave me an insight into the harsh reality of living on the Icelandic coast, the Icelandic talent of storytelling, and in total contrast, the heat and palaces of Algiers.  This proved to be a really good read that I would recommend to anyone who enjoys historical novels.

This week a family of starlings have been visiting our garden. It has been so lovely to see the fledglings lined up along our fence waiting for the parent birds to feed them.  Thank goodness the resident sparrow hawk has not yet spotted them.

A walk, followed by lunch at a lovely café with DH.

Thanks for dropping by and taking the time to read my diary.

Nebulous2

I worked in care almost all my life, and I had some involvement with a charity called playlist for life, which was founded by Sally Magnussen. It does some really good work. Basically you can help people with dementia access memories through familiar music. It depends on friends and family helping to identify the music that was important to the person and compiling a personal playlist for them. Worth a look at their website if it is a subject of interest. 

Simple pleasure today - we went to a country park we rarely visit, took some photos of a neolithic stone circle, heard and recorded some birds including skylarks, meadow pipits and chiffchaffs. We were entertained while having coffee outside by a pair of swans wandering around with 3 cygnets in tow. They were not at all afraid, though a lot of the visitors were quite wary of them. 

Humboldt

Morning all.

@Nebulous2 While what is happening in the world can sometimes make us feel powerless, small acts of kindness, such as your comment, remind us where we can make a positive difference.  Thank you for taking the time to share your informative post, which I am sure others will find of use. I personally, will never forget how a close relative with dementia suddenly began to sing along to a 60’s CD with great gusto at a family gathering.  

Today's simple pleasure - a sunny start to the day.

Savvy_Sue

Humboldt said:

Simple pleasures

Book 9/24 – The Sealwoman’s Gift by Sally Magnusson (a free book from the community book swap). The author is a broadcaster and journalist who has written 10 books, including the bestseller ‘Where Memories Go’ about her mother’s dementia. The Sealwoman’s Gift is her first novel. In 1627 pirates raided the coast of Iceland and abducted 400 people into slavery in Algiers.  Among them a pastor, his wife, and their children.  The author of the book imagines what history does not record: the experience of the pastor’s wife, as she faces her losses with the one thing left to her – the stories of home – and forges an ambiguous bond with the man who bought her.  Until I read this book, I was unaware of this historical tragedy.  It gave me an insight into the harsh reality of living on the Icelandic coast, the Icelandic talent of storytelling, and in total contrast, the heat and palaces of Algiers.  This proved to be a really good read that I would recommend to anyone who enjoys historical novels.

Well, I was completely unaware of this bit of history too, but on your recommendation I went to see if it could be obtained through the library - no joy so it's now on my Kindle, and my phone, and nearly half-way through ... Brilliant stuff. 

bluenose1

Enjoyed your weekly update @ Humboldt. 

What a sad story the Sealwoman’s gift sounds, too sad for me as I have a tendency for feeling maudlin, even with fiction. I once read a book called A Fine Balance set in India, it was the saddest story I have ever read and would not have dreamt of reading it normally. However it was brilliant and once started I couldn’t put it down. 

Re dementia it must be so difficult when someone suffers from it. My auntie who recently died had dementia late in life and kept asking the same questions constantly. However she still knew the words to all the old songs. We were a large Catholic family and many the night there would be a sing song of all the well known tunes after a visit to the local Social Club where my gran and her sister worked behind the bar well into their 70s    I used to hate the singsongs as a teenager but would do anything to listen to them all sing again, sadly now all dead….
I hadn’t realised your chance of dementia reduces by 30%  and as much as 45% for Alzheimer’s with regular exercise, yet another reason to try and stay fit and healthy. 

Savvy_Sue

There is also a link between deafness and dementia: getting your hearing tested and using your hearing aids if needed is a jolly good idea ... 

Humboldt

Morning all.

@Savvy_Sue pleased that you are enjoying reading The Sealwoman's Gift.  Thank you also for taking the time to leave the link re deafness and dementia.  We should never underestimate the positive impact sharing such information may have on others.

@bluenose1 thanks for the book recommendation. Apparently, studies have shown that within just 6 minutes of reading for pleasure, muscle tension reduces and the heart rate slows.  It was interesting to read just how much regular exercise can reduce your chances of dementia and Alzheimer's. Amazing stats, thanks for sharing.

Today's simple pleasure - this mornings overnight oats included the first of our homegrown strawberries.

Humboldt

Hello and welcome.

Motivational quote of the week

In a world full of adversity, we must still dare to dream – Rob Burrow.

Money saving

Our monthly grocery budget for me and my DH is £250. Week 3 spend for June was £59.07.  Total to date for June is £174.51.

Used a 25% off code at H0lland and B@rrett.

Enjoying homegrown strawberries, parsley, mint, chives, and rosemary.

Due to less usage, our utilities provider has recommended a reduction in our direct debit. Rather than allowing them to make use of the credit that is building up in our account, we have opted to pay less.  This is a personal choice, and I accept that some may prefer to accrue credit for use in the colder months.

This week’s main menu

Monday – Baked vegetable frittata, salad, and focaccia. There are various frittata recipes on the Go0d Fo0d website, but I will use leftover new potatoes and feta, courgette, tomatoes, and homegrown chives.  The focaccia is also a Go0d F0od recipe, to which I will add homegrown rosemary and leftover black olives.  Both will cook in the oven at the same time, and half of the focaccia will be frozen.

Tuesday – Chunky vegetable chilli (Br!tish He@rt F0undation recipe) and a small portion of brown rice. I will use whatever vegetables I have in the fridge.

Wednesday – Roast chicken dinner, stuffing, spiced red cabbage, kale, carrots, and gravy.  Spiced red cabbage is from the freezer.

Thursday – Ping meal – cook once, eat twice – saves on time and energy costs.

Friday – Fish & chips (takeaway)

Saturday – Tuscan bean soup (slow cooker recipe) with homemade focaccia from the freezer.  I will add some leftover kale to this soup.  We are out most of the day so it will be nice to have a meal ready when we get home.  Soup made with seasonal ingredients remains a staple meal for us throughout the year.

Sunday – Salmon in chilli ginger sauce (H@iry D!eters recipe), stir-fry veg and noodles. 2 x infused salmon are currently on offer for £2.99 in Ald!.

Breakfasts continue to be oat based, but with more fresh berries now that they are less expensive.  Lunches this week will include homemade mackerel pate, leftover roast chicken, salads and homemade soup from the freezer.

Healthier lifestyle

Completed 2 free workouts via Fabul0us50’s on Y0utube last week.

Step count last week was 66,546.

Completed 4 free meditations last week.

Simple pleasures

Repositioned and replanted the last of my large herb boxes.

A lovely walk with DH at the weekend, with a bacon roll and coffee at the halfway point.

We enjoyed sitting in the garden with a glass (or two) of wine, late into Saturday evening. A glorious sunset coloured pink, orange, and red.

Thank you for dropping by and taking the time to read my diary.