Away From The Madding Crowd

Katiehound

Glad to hear that you had fun in the sun.

Recent free treat- seeing one tiny snowdrop in the bloom in the garden. Not sure what has happened to the others bulbs: it seems to be a singleton!

Last week made mince in the slow cooker. Was stressed and struggling to simmer on the hotplate so thought 'stick it in the s.c' : great success, I will certainly do that again. I had already browned the veg & half the meat. With the tin of kidney beans it made 6 portions. A generous slurp of balsamic vinegar added a good flavour.

I enjoyed 'Where the crawdads sing' last year. it wasn't quite what I expected

last week my hound had a stroke so I have been a tad stressed! he is making a good recovery but has the odd wobble and any distance walking & stairs are out for the moment.

uralmaid

Hope your doggy will be ok @Katiehound.  I have had some snowdrops come up around our garden. I love to see them. All the Daffs are coming up well too.

Katiehound

Thanks for your wishes

I can't believe how far he has come in a week.
He is however still 'needy' & keeps looking for me. he also looks longingly at the stairs- they are a NoNo. Victorian terrace with very steep , narrow stairs.He's the size & build of a dalmatian so not a 'handbag' dog.

Humboldt

@Katiehound sorry to read about your 'hound', and so pleased that he is making progress.  Pets are family members and all that entails, so I can well understand why you have been feeling a tad stressed.  I hope that things continue to improve.

I often cook mince in the slow cooker.  If you add a tin of green lentils (edited to show the latest price 55p), not only does it double the recipe, but also provides additional health benefits.  Balsamic vinegar is a good tip for adding additional flavour, as is a splash of leftover red wine and/or a few fresh/dried Mediterranean herbs.

Nice to read that both you and @uralmaid have seen the first snowdrops of the year.

Today's simple pleasure - almost caught up with the holiday washing.

Nebulous2

Humboldt said:

@Katiehound sorry to read about your 'hound', and so pleased that he is making progress.  Pets are family members and all that entails, so I can well understand why you have been feeling a tad stressed.  I hope that things continue to improve.

I often cook mince in the slow cooker.  If you add a tin of green lentils (49p), not only does it double the recipe, but also provides additional health benefits.  Balsamic vinegar is a good tip for adding additional flavour, as is a splash of leftover red wine and/or a few fresh/dried Mediterranean herbs.

Nice to read that both you and @uralmaid have seen the first snowdrops of the year.

Today's simple pleasure - almost caught up with the holiday washing.

I'm surprised to hear about the snowdrops just starting. I think we would be several hundred miles North of most of you, and generally growth would be several weeks behind. Our local woods are generously carpeted with snowdrops and they are currently in full bloom. I may try to take some photos. 

We've been here 8 years and this year we saw some in a sheltered spot that had actually opened before Christmas. This is the first year in that time that we've seen them before January. 

uralmaid

Wow @Nebulous2 that's wonderful.  We are in Lincolnhire near the coast so it is usually a few degrees warmer yet ours have only come out in the last couple of weeks. @Humboldt - that's the worst bit about coming back from hols - all the washing.

bluenose1

Welcome back from your winter break @Humboldt. Hope the return to Blighty hasn’t been too much of a shock after the sun. Your  socks sound lovely and 2 dozen of the Christmas pairs  I bought were from White Stuff, 12 men and 12 ladies. I also got a box of seven Seasalt socks for me and half a dozen Seasalt fluffy socks, though they can all be worn anytime of year. Definitely not buying any more socks anytime soon
I really enjoyed your weekly update and that’s a good tip re the green lentils and balsamic vinegar, will give that a try. We had a really easy meal today, roasted chicken with roasted carrots, sweet potatoes and potatoes chucked together in baking tray with olive oil and salt and pepper. We all really enjoyed it, will make a curry tomorrow with the  leftover chicken.
Our mortgage fixed rate ends tomorrow so we went into the Bank who I have my mortgage and current account with today to pay it off.  I had transferred the £95k we owe to my current account, took ID, mortgage settlement figure in etc and assumed it would be a simple process. 

It was 40 minutes of stress, for some strange reason their systems don’t allow them to access their own customers mortgage information. Anyway eventually got it sorted, I hope 
Like your book recommendations, just finished Marion Keyes - My Favourite Mistake. First book of hers I haven’t enjoyed as just too twee and  predictable.

Humboldt

@Nebulous2, @uralmaid and @Katiehound I saw my first snowdrops of the year today.  Just a small clump that had happily found an agreeable corner in someone's garden, nothing on the scale that you described @Nebulous2.

I'm so pleased to have caught up with the holiday washing/ironing @uralmaid.

Hi @bluenose, I think that we have now adjusted to the temperature difference.  To be fair, yesterday we actually had blue skies and sunshine here, however, it was also -2 degrees and frosty.  

Congratulations on becoming mortgage free! (hope I understood that correctly).  Sorry to read that it was a stressful end. I despair at customer service and general administration these days, and provide feedback accordingly. Anyway, I hope that you celebrated such a momentous milestone. 

Today's simple pleasure - I bought a bunch of British daffodils.  A vase of joy for 99p.

BrilliantButScary

Nebulous2 said:

Humboldt said:

@Katiehound sorry to read about your 'hound', and so pleased that he is making progress.  Pets are family members and all that entails, so I can well understand why you have been feeling a tad stressed.  I hope that things continue to improve.

I often cook mince in the slow cooker.  If you add a tin of green lentils (49p), not only does it double the recipe, but also provides additional health benefits.  Balsamic vinegar is a good tip for adding additional flavour, as is a splash of leftover red wine and/or a few fresh/dried Mediterranean herbs.

Nice to read that both you and @uralmaid have seen the first snowdrops of the year.

Today's simple pleasure - almost caught up with the holiday washing.

I'm surprised to hear about the snowdrops just starting. I think we would be several hundred miles North of most of you, and generally growth would be several weeks behind. Our local woods are generously carpeted with snowdrops and they are currently in full bloom. I may try to take some photos. 

We've been here 8 years and this year we saw some in a sheltered spot that had actually opened before Christmas. This is the first year in that time that we've seen them before January. 

Do you benefit from the Atlantic Gulf Stream?
I once got sunburnt at New England Bay Caravan and Motorhome Club site. Happy memories of the beach at Arisaig too.

Nebulous2

BrilliantButScary said:

Nebulous2 said:

Humboldt said:

@Katiehound sorry to read about your 'hound', and so pleased that he is making progress.  Pets are family members and all that entails, so I can well understand why you have been feeling a tad stressed.  I hope that things continue to improve.

I often cook mince in the slow cooker.  If you add a tin of green lentils (49p), not only does it double the recipe, but also provides additional health benefits.  Balsamic vinegar is a good tip for adding additional flavour, as is a splash of leftover red wine and/or a few fresh/dried Mediterranean herbs.

Nice to read that both you and @uralmaid have seen the first snowdrops of the year.

Today's simple pleasure - almost caught up with the holiday washing.

I'm surprised to hear about the snowdrops just starting. I think we would be several hundred miles North of most of you, and generally growth would be several weeks behind. Our local woods are generously carpeted with snowdrops and they are currently in full bloom. I may try to take some photos. 

We've been here 8 years and this year we saw some in a sheltered spot that had actually opened before Christmas. This is the first year in that time that we've seen them before January. 

Do you benefit from the Atlantic Gulf Stream?
I once got sunburnt at New England Bay Caravan and Motorhome Club site. Happy memories of the beach at Arisaig too.

Unfortunately not - we're on the East Coast, and for almost everything that grows we are several weeks behind England. I see photos of crocuses and bluebells on photography sites, long before ours appear. Which makes the snowdrops all the more precious. 

Anyway - todays simple pleasure, I walked dogs alone and took my camera. Ground frost, lots of birds, including a woodpecker and a pheasant we frightened into flying away and shouting at us. 

Then those snowdrops, most of them not opened, possibly because of the frost, challenging to photograph, with the low bright, winter sun, but this is as good as I could manage.