Weekly Flylady Thread 9th September 2024

pigpen

I had this one ...

and I did not check it on the fridge you cheeky moose.. I cannot copy and paste links easily on that plus I am not doing dinner OH is, he listening to his audio book on my fancy dancy fridge!! haha

I haven't stripped the beds so I shall slurp my cuppa and crack on with that.. I have fancy new bedding for mine since the duvet covers have torn and I am down to 2.. 1 was £10 and the other is a gorgeous Laura Ashley one which I have had for many years and is very faded and worn. The new one is a Joe Browns one OH will hate but I love it.. I am going to use the old ones as citrus and lavender bags to deter cats from using my house as a huge litter tray and deter beasties from my drawers once I can get my sewing machine set up n the middle room when C&C have shimmied back to Bangor.. I might grow myself a eucalyptus tree since the cherry has died and make my own oil once more! I miss doing that.. everyone thought I was bonkers but I had fun making my own essential oils... which I added to the laundry detergent and soap I also made.. which makes me wonder how I became the potato I am today!

I have ordered Dots birthday things.. she is 13 on Monday.... 13!!!!!! I don't think I have had a full night sleep since! I've ordered pencils since she has eaten hers.. in a week!!

Doing a Temu order for jeans for Squeak and underwear for Pixie and Dot..

OH did this weeks food shop..

I have bill day on Thursday so need to shuffle my budget..

pigpen

Oh my giddy aunt.. have you seen the spiffy oil presses you can get now??? I might pee... and the automatic milk maker machines?? I am off to sell a lump of liver so I can buy one!!

Cloth_of_Gold

Honey_Bear said:

Cloth_of_Gold said:

@Honey_Bear "Probably the first time I've ever cleaned it properly since it was decorated about 23 years ago." I saw myself  that sentence I'm afraid.   

Have you tried Felicity Cloake's coffee and walnut cake? It's not bad. Do you have a bread slicer or is it a meat slicer that you used (I don't know if that's even possible). I prefer 'proper' bread but that is usually unsliced and I'm terrible at slicing bread. I always get one end thicker than the other and frequently end up with doorsteps when I want thinly, or fairly thinly, sliced bread. I have seen some devices on Amazon  such as this https://www.amazon.co.uk/Cutting-Adjustable-Foldable-Suitable-Homemade/dp/B07CZ1L3RW/ref=sr_1_7?dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.JfGgYilqLGYz0HFbf8nvq8GjCJ-qRT9XmjS-MlH3emMCBObiKsi7uDq2HI_XjUJYrPfnaMW5fuRGY3tjHbv3BtL-3DLyIWhYuMKgsGOeGPcp_QN6MH6aNN1-Dv3JlCj8Flw8dlchGzbwdpJIjHLfAzaCJDVvImqzLnlej_69upFANC5yiU7PtafaDJB5x7w7mmQT4pHHxyaBoIZNOPTz2JpgEHPMPeRJ1Wu8MoNQVCPM9jHrTbneY0LiuIhzF1TXATUHnSPEk-FFuZowrkL8AlQtjD_PsQzBIgKgSzowQsM.Oj1ZHlUZs036BnkYaBqHJtwlJbFhdKT0Kjzh2GHxI54&dib_tag=se&keywords=bread+slicer&qid=1726219159&sr=8-7 (pigpen goes and checks the link on her freezer  ) but the reviews of such devices seem a bit mixed.

I had an email from the Institut Français about that film as they are showing in their cinema. I wouldn't mind seeing it and A is very interested in the Vueve so I wonder if it can be viewed online - I shall check.

No, I haven't come across Felicity Cloake's coffee and walnut cake so if I do I'll buy it and try it.

The best one was carpentry and the tutor took a video of me sawing wood, which showed me exactly why I'd never been able to saw a straight line which is exactly the same thing as slicing bread. (I also did a plastering course which is exactly like icing a cake but bigger and on the vertical.  If you can ice a cake you can plaster a wall.)  I move or shift my weight very slightly when I'm halfway down, usually my whole body to the right, which means the blade (breadknife or saw) moves ever so slightly to the left hence the wedge shape.  When I remember I can now saw wood and slice bread straight, which was the only thing I really needed to get from that course.  (I can also make a mortise and tennon joint but there's not much need for that here.)  Try filming yourself with your phone from where the knife point goes out the other side of the loaf and you'll probably see what I mean, if you're doing the same thing as me.  I was slightly tempted by those bamboo slicer things but I was worried it was just another bit of kitchen gibble and we don't have a lot of space.  I don't keep the slicer in the kitchen because of that, so I really only use it for ham when I bake one, or when I've got a lot of bread to slice for sandwiches. 

It's not a cake to buy HB, it's a recipe. https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/wordofmouth/2014/apr/16/how-to-make-perfect-coffee-and-walnut-cake

Maybe that's my problem. Next time I have an unsliced loaf I'll see if I can do that. I, too, learned one thing in woodwork classes (but at school) that I apply to slicing bread. I remember the teacher saying not to press down when you are sawing but let the saw do the work, i.e. the backwards and forwards motion is sufficient. I try to remember that when I'm slicing bread.

I have the same concern about buying one of the bamboo slicer things. I fear it my just end up being a dust-gatherer (and I have enough of those) or quickly end up going to the charity shop or the recycling centre so I think that I'll give it a miss.

The only flying today has been food prep and washing up, quick s&s in the kitchen and putting a few things away after a trip to the shops. The laundry is coming back shortly so I'll be putting that away, it that counts as a bit of flying.

That's very generous of you to do a champagne tea for so many. Is it to celebrate something?

@YORKSHIRELASS when are you serving the crumble? I'll be over.

Honey_Bear

Thanks for the link CoG.  I'll make a copy of the recipe and try it out.  Belovéd doesn't like nuts in anything so I'd have to make him a fruit cake if I made myself that one.  He's had a small slice of the Nigella one but it is very sweet and I think probably a bit too nutty for him.

Yes, we are celebrating.  We've been together for 31 years this year, which both of us still find a bit weird.  

I was listening to Woman's Hour back in April getting crosser and crosser because the segment on how expensive weddings are was driving me absolutely bonkers.  Belovéd happened to be in the kitchen at the time I was reduced to shouting at the radio about how affordable it could be if you ditched the meringue dress, coach and horses ('Horses and carriages equal very short marriages'), wedding favours (just why?) and all the rest of the nonsense the seems to be obligatory these days.  He said, 'Would you like to?' and I said 'I think it would be a good idea' and that was that.  We've explained what we're doing to everyone involved in the process, Registrar, F'book Marketplace tea set sellers (people ditching mum's china), CS tea set sellers and we've had an amazing response from absolutely everyone.  All of it's going to the hospice CS after we're done with it.  I have collected 11 cake stands from Ebay etc, and the mix and match porcelain sets look gorgeous together.  White tablecloth, very secondhand indeed, is currently waiting to be ironed because the Ebay seller proudly says she doesn't wash vintage stuff as she knows buyers prefer to do it themselves.  Hmm.  It was very musty but it's come up beautifully - and unlike you I do iron!  Sometimes, anyway.  Mainly because I sew a bit and I don't mind pressing when it's necessary, and that morphed into not minding ironing once the board is set up.

We've got friends coming down from Glasgow who used to be neighbours here, and someone who happens to live there at the moment who introduced us all those years ago, friends coming from Chard, and they'll all stay either with us or a neighbour, and two neighbours who are witnesses.  After the civil partnership ceremonly (literally 5 minutes, the cheapest available in Plymouth) we're going somewhere lovely for lunch which will be the biggest expense of the whole weekend but its such a special place that we know everyone will love, and two of us will be doing the driving who don't mind not drinking.  The other driver has also volunteered to cook brunch for us on Sunday which will be a huge help.  We do have some really lovely friends.

The champagne cream tea is for our local friends and the other neighbours, none of whom have been told why we're doing it.  We used to do very boozy dinners but as I gave up drinking (other than champagne which I've only started drinking recently) about 10 years ago we've kind of knocked all of that on the head.  I think everyone probably thinks it's just another boozy event and par for the course for us.

Two loaves out of the oven, looking rather fab I'm pleased to say.  I'll slice them and freeze them ready to make into sandwiches next Sunday.  I couldn't find any commerically available bread that was sliced thinly enough for what I want to do hence experimenting over the past couple of weeks.  I think I've cracked it. 

Also made some napkin rings out of loo roll inners, a scrap of wrapping paper and some scrabble letters to designate whose is whose.  I'm not buying anything we don't actually need to buy for this, but we have at least seven people for quite a few meals between Thursday and Monday and paper napkins seem such a waste for that many meals while we've got scads of linen between us so it'll be a real mix and match long weekend.

Piles of washing up done, and pizza prepped.  Off to cook it and flop in front of the TV.

pigpen

HB ... That sounds like a fabulous plan.. congratulations!! My first wedding (1994) with the dress and the everything was £400 and the second was £500 (2018) I didn't need all the pomp and circumstance either. My first was about celebrating and the family coming together and the second about the legalities of having the children and next of kin should one of us cark it

YORKSHIRELASS

CofG I made an Eves Pudding in the end and put in some blackberries (also from our garden) that were in the freezer.  There is plenty left, just pop up to York and keep going, we are on the right before you get to the sea ☺️. 

All this talk of cutting bread made me laugh.  I was at a charity evening last night and someone had sent the most beautiful cake to share, but no one wanted to cut it!  I certainly wasn't doing it.

HB that sounds perfect, congratulations xx

ionafan

Congratulations to GI and family, and welcome to the world little Posy xxx

I should imagine your fridge is full to bursting with all that bread and cake, HB - and I suspect your friends are going to be feeling the same.  It all sounds absolutely delicious.  I hope you and your Beloved have a wonderful weekend xx.  If it were up to me, I would leave the one awkward guest to fend for herself - I wouldn't have thought she deserves any special attention - but I know that you will still go out of your way to provide for her, so I hope she at least has the grace to say "Thank you" for all your trouble.

We've had a good day: minimum flying (just the dailies) and no cooking!  We took Rosie to the forest at lunchtime, and this evening we've been playing Bingo and eating fish and chips for our church Harvest Supper.  I got one full house and won the princely sum of £7.08, but it all went back in the kitty as we were raising money for Christian Aid.

Oh, I nearly forgot - I did manage to empty one more box off the family history shelves!

xxx

Narc0lepsy

Sounds like lots of congratulations due HB and GI.
Bread cutting: I got a very expensive bow saw type, lovely wood, for a present to give to a family member once; turns out he never even tried it as said he already had an expensive knife set....hum bet not as expensive as this one. It looked fantastic in the demo, you didn't need any pressure on it.
Seated Pilates: Mum used to do it pre-stroke; she'd been doing Pilates for years but it got progressively harder to get up and down from the floor so she liked the seated. It wasn't actually all seated, often they would just use the chair as something to hold onto for balance.

Quite a busy day today.  Mr N zipped up to the Duxford air show on the motorbike.
- lake swim and had the fantastic experience of encountering a kingfisher sitting on a reed not 3m away from me. I just floated for several minutes watching it.
- went to Mr L
- sat in the sun outside the church ready to book in anyone doing the bike 'n' hike tour of Herts/Beds historic churches....nobody came while I was on duty (we're on the edge of the area so some had been earlier and hopefully some came later).
- I got an email following my investigation into voluntary work at the nearby Christian College....an invitation to meet the principal to discuss it. Rather overkill as I said I'd do anything from loading the dishwasher to stacking shelves in the library....but I included my CV so I suspect the words qualified, learning support, EAL, literacy tutor jumped out at someone.  I'm sure the principal doesn't generally interview shelf-stackers! 
- whizzed round kitchen tidying, washing up, swept floor.  Put flower arrangement in spare room as DB stays overnight tomorrow.
- gathered more apples
- went back to lake for their end of season summer party, met up with swim buddy (currently with her wrist in plaster after a fall), had barbecue.
- mopped kitchen floor
- dusted/cleaned guest bathroom.

weenancyinAmerica

I've always said the more expensive the wedding, the shorter it lasts. 

Honey_Bear

Oh Ionafan, I would so love to leave her to fend for herself, but that wouldn't do.  I'm going the opposite way and providing a gluten-free version of pretty much everything everyone else is having thanks to Waitflower and the Co=op in the no doubt vain hope that she will not spend the entire afternoon yapping about it being so hard being gluten-free! 

Thank you everyone for your kind wishes.