Mirabelle____UK

A Perfect Day....well, so far!

Mirabelle____UK — Wed, 07 May 2008 11:01:36 GMT

today feels like a perfect day, but being a thorough pessimist I tell myself..so far, girl!Woke up early after a perfect sleep....to dawnchorus, which I love...light in the bedroom...Jeff makes tea...tells me that he hopes I know how he loves and appreciates me, yesterday his golf society had an away day, and he saw a good friend of ours who just lost his wife, to be honest, she was lovely and his saving grace I always thought, and now he keeps crying....I had the ugly thought that he should have treated her better when he had the chance! in Perfect harmony we drive through the dewy country side to the station, sun and green everywhere,sometimes I htink May is the perfect month, so much promise, and yet nothing has gone wrong in the gardens, and the pests are not about yet... for once I am not Godzillas;' grannie, which I often am at that hour in the morning, but I tell him he looks very handsome in his short sleeved summer shirt, ...then leave it that, do not want him to get too bigheaded!LOL Back home, and reflect how strange life can be, yesterday I was thoroughly fed-up..well, to the teeth actually..it was one of those...why is it always bloody ME in this house? days...and felt hard-done by, yet guilty when I look around me and see what awfulness goes on in the world, have I any room to ask why me? and sometimes counting your blessings works, and sometimes it does not..yesterday it did not, but I had to get over myself, as you do....

Back home, and our little American boys in proper English summer school uniforms, George has got very good at tying his tie, and so nice to see their little winterpale legs sticking out of the grey uniform shorts...our William not too sure about those shorts, but his Dad tells him the pockets are copies of army uniform pockets, and that pleases him...they love their new schools, but still have their little accents, and it sounds quite cute, strangely they still say recess instead of 'break'....George says he has not got a girlfriend yet, one asked him and he said yes, and she has not spoken to him since so he is leaving it for now...clever boy! They are very popular, the Amercian boys! I have my porridge and the usual mayhem ensues...Emmeline shows me her new summer outfit and sandals and does a twirl for me...our James walks them to school through the park again, but not before the grown-ups have words on the drive which I just ignore! But they settle it all with a kiss...and off they go...then comes the hard part, after my shower my DIL and I get ready to trick swiper the cat to get him into the box and to the vets...Swiper is huge and tiger striped with white feet and a huge head, he is also a perfect charmer,and has adopted our family...as his own.Not me, I am glad to say, I still remember the times he duffed up my cats, and the pounds it cost me at the vet,and now no more cats here, he is King, or so he thinks.,...DIL and the children love him and will take him to the new house, they feed him and pet him, and I must say he is good with the little ones,he even has won Jeff over, who lets him in secretly and chats to him and thinks I cannot hear them.I am holding out. I am having no more cats for the time being, it was all too painful and still miss my Tombellino too much. Swiper is a proud male, and a full male..so, we give him his breakfast in the kitchen with all the doors closed, and I use my catwiles, and next thing we have him in the box,amazingly he takes it well and does not murmur..next time i see him he will be sans crownjewels, so that will put a stop to his canter I should think! Off they go to the vets'...

I go off to the gardencenter, no surprise there Jeff would say!I have allowed myself one more cushion for my conservatory, to balance one of the chairs out...just the one, the rest I got last year and love them, they are oldfashioned cotton, I have one pink, one blue and 2 beige, with sort of handpainted roses on them,, so get another pink, and ignore the green!(One only I tell myself)and then to wander outside amongst the plants, they are watering, the sun is shimmering, and oh that smell....they are unpacking new lupins, so I succumb, to just the one, I am not lucky with lupin bushes,so tell mysefl I will have one more go and then never touch them again, yes right. There is soft piped classical soothing music in the background, and I look and lust, and of a sudden I think'this is a feeling even better than sex,they should bottle it' but then decide,not really better, but nearly better! the next and last thing I get is a new pitcher plant for the conservatory, it is huge and interesting looking, and lovely colours..these plants really are so good, and keep insects in there to a minimum, the natural way...then off to the supermarket, and home...

Home, and hanging out my washing, yes, May is here that means, washing on the line, to dry out there and have that heavenly smell when you get it back in...nothing better! Towels are so lovely when dried outside, and yes, you do get the odd birdpoop on things, but then I htink, so what?

Now I better get going, a friend of ours will arrive about lunchtime to stay the night, she is on the way to somewhere else...I feel like the old woman in a shoe, another one to stay the night...we shall shift about and have our George in our room tonight...have planned a nice chicken curry for dinner with all the trimmings (nan bread and pompodoms and fresh lemons..)for dessert I have bought 2 french tarts, apple and lemon, they are delicious from the bakers, and yes I could make them myself, but they are so much better from the shop..that is my story and I am sticking to it...

Disturbing news From Austria...

Mirabelle____UK — Sun, 04 May 2008 17:07:40 GMT

Sunday today, and with it come the Sunday newspapers...I have just been reading reams and reams on the dirsturbing story form Austria...I was not going to read any of it, but somehow I had to...(normally I am a moral coward and avoid anything that drastically describes abuse and bad treatment of children and animals...yes, it is cowardly, knowing that these things happen every day all over the world, and that to shut my eyes is just ridiculous, but as I get older I find it plays on my mind..and I would rather not read about it, as if I was a voyeur to the whole thing if I do..I will always donate when there is a call for it, thus trying to salve my conscience, I htink...)

So, it is Bankholiday Sunday, and we are stitting in the garden, on our new very comfortable sunchairs..purchased only this morning! Our youngest son and wife have left for home, after a lovely lunch with us...and Jeff is fussing aorund with the BBQ thingy..that man drives me off my head at times..he would not know a saucepan from his ellbow...but let summer come, and there he is, barbequeing away to his hearts' content...it is a bit better since he now has a top of the range (expensive!)gas monstrosity, when it was the old coal thinggy, there was not a meat or fish on this planet that he could not carbonise to a turn, his blackened sausages were a joy to behold...never mind the ribs.......he had to be sure according to him, especiallly with chicken, in case it might have any semblance of the original meat left in it, rather than charcoal, and poison us all as we sat there...apparently there were only 3 things his mum always warned him against...be careful about eating pink chicken, never read second-hand books in bed (due to the germs..probably they might crawl off the page and carry the bubonic plague up his nostrils..)and I htink the third thing was 'never pay full price for anything'..they were all business people, and paying full price would hurt them physically...many the day have I sat outside a Hotel, and waited for him to bargain us a suite with a view....too embarassed to stand beside him, while he was wheeling and dealing!

But I digress...so, I am reading that sad saga about that poor woman being kept prisoner by her Father, in the cellar, bearing him I think it was 6 children.....and this carrying on for years and years...and no one had any idea..neither his wife (the mother of that poor woman) nor any neighbours? a whole family living beneath her feet and she never heard or saw a thing? and him going into the cellar at odd hours day and night, and she was never allowed to set foot in the place? Most people are really gobsmacked about it all....and to think that this was his own daughter...and yet, there he is, apparently bringing food in by the wheel barrow...and n-one claims he was aware of anything..none of the neighbours nor the family..and only a very small town where they all lived? And now he is in custody, and I think so what? The man is 72 years old, so what punishment can they ever give him? Prison? At his age I would hardly think it would bother him....

Memories ..through rose-tinted spectacles....

Mirabelle____UK — Sat, 19 Apr 2008 15:01:52 GMT

today is a chilly, drizzly day, very early spring...and I am glad that I did cut the grass in the last few days, the first cut is always such a huge job, but I set to and put the mower to the lowts setting...I like a nice sharp cut, it sets the flower beds off nicely..so, off I trundled..and it is also not a huge garden, so whilst quite a job, not overwhelming...and my robin follows me, pecking...he seems to have no fear at all of me and that smelly electric mosnter, he just hops along! So, grass cut, compost bin full of cuttings..and for some reason, somehting reminded me of 'free food!'...or food for free?

It must have been some random smell that triggered my memory...I was reminded of when the boys were small, and with a friend and her children, we would set out in later spring, into the park, walking by the little stream, looking for sorrell...which this time of the year looks lovely, very sharp green, and by the looks of it probably related to spinach, it may even be a member of the spinach family...I am sure I knew all the facts once but have since forgotten them! We had to be sure to all wear our wellies, as the ground gets soggy...so, you try to pick sorrel leaves, but usually not the outer ones... we would pick armloads of sorrel (well, not quite armloads perhaps, but certainly baskets full)and when we got it home, carefully pick it over, wash it, and make a delicious soup of it...the base of it some chicken stock, and then the soury tasty sorrel leaves, which cook down just like spinach does,it seems to take a pound of leaves to leave some broth...apparently they are very good for you and full of vitamins.I would serve it as a starter, with some crusty bread and butter...but my friend made hers the main meal, served with hardboiled eggs...she had Polish ancestors, and I think that's how they cooked theirs,she said you had to have somehting fairly bland with the soup...these friends were lovely, hippies even then, and now they are truly aged hippies, and still good friends! That was when I was going through my 'Mother Earth' phase, and my sons little blonde toddlers, and I had this urge to get as near to Mother Nature as was possible...of course...I am well aware that most of my memories from those years are totally coloured by the rosey coloured specs that I am wearing, and I have simply quite forgotten all the fuss it must have been to get said little cherubs into their wellies, and one of them would have moaned about having to walk, and one would have been bored and start to boss the other about, while someone else would have been 'whispering' (Mum, he is whispering and you said whispering is rude...') and the third could always be relied upon to walk in the water and end up with a boot full of water.....and 'Mum, my sock is all wet...' and no doubt after a bit I would have said through gritted teeth 'boys, look how lovely the Park looks, we are picking sorrel, just think how lovely....and would you like a smack?'

my friend also taught me how to go mushroom picking...that was so much fun, on a bracing autumn day, off into the woods nearby...to this day, after a bit of rain in September I think, there will be some lovely mushrooms growing tonight! In the woods we went to, you always had to look for birch trees, underneath the birch grew the most beautifdul mushrooms..and oh that smell...even now when we go for a walk, a whiff of that leafmouldy damp smell, and I am back, looking for mushrooms:the strange thing is always that the poisonous ones are so very attractive, and the good ones are quite ordinary looking in comparison,you owuld have thought it were the other way around!....apparently, the Polish people are excellent mushroomers, and take you out on trips....so, we would pick and find to our hearts' content, and then take our baskets home for coffee,proud of our free food!...and then, that evening, the same hting would happen, Jeff would get home from work, and suggest, that we visit Carole for a drink...of course, I knew and he knew that this was only because he wanted her to check my mushrooms, in case I had picked any poisonous ones...he did that every time, and admits it!Once he was convinced that I had not planned to 'see him off with supper!', he would be content....and I would cook supper, butter, a bit of onion, sweat the onions, in with the mushrooms, gently stirring, and then the best bit..thick cream into the frying pan...oh I can just savour the memory and the taste of that delicous treat, served with crusty brown bread...a feast fit for a King!Of course, the boys,having enjoyed the day out picking, would never want to eat the mushrooms...

and then there was always blackberrying...best bit of summer!Off into the park or by some roadside....arm yourself with a walking stick and gloves....and pick those luscious fruit...pick and eat!Now this the children did enjoy, and we made up parties of blackberrying mums and children!(and dogs came!)you could pick pounds of it, then get it home, and make some compote, freeze some perhaps, and I also once made jam.....and of course, blackberry and pple pies...oh I can taset them now, for some reason, then later we had some in our garden, and they never tasted as nice as the wild ones...of course, you have to pick the best ones when they have had one bit of frost on them for taste, the devil had to touch them first! We would have scratched legs, blue lips...and happey memories, or in some cases not so happy memories...the day that my youngest, whilst a toddler, seemed so very quiet whilst we picked....till I saw the reason why...he was sitting in the middle of a dogpoo, and was rubbing his hands with glee and dog-muck...Happy Memories!

Perfect Cuppa.....

Mirabelle____UK — Sat, 19 Apr 2008 08:57:34 GMT

frazzled

headache

click

boil

steam

pour

favourite teamug

gluglug

dash of milk

teaspoon..clink

settle down

hands round hot mug

sip

Bliss!

Poetry.......

Mirabelle____UK — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 13:45:45 GMT

I have always liked poetry, and do enjoy all different poems and poets.....and often I read somehting and think 'oh, I do like this.' and then it is gone in a flash, because I never remember the author..which is a shame...so, the last few years I have tried to save things that mean somehting to me, and that made me smile or grin...I have also gone through phases when I have thoroughly enjoyed doing a bit of rhyming!(In the most ordinary, spur of the moment way...)we used to have a great thread going on the Backyard, sometimes someone brings it up again, for fear of it disappearing forever into cyber space...no idea if it would,disdappear that is!...we would all join in, everyone would add a poem or two, or just a few lines, as the mood took us..I remember we had such fun doing that...it was a bit like an invisible ball, someone would throw out a line or two, to be caught up by someone else....harmless fun, and always better than doing the housework say I!! (I think it may have been called 'do you fancy playing a new game? it might still be out there!)

so, here are some of my favourites.....just a small collection....

the first one is such a lovely poem, the first time I really heard it and it meant somehting to me was at the funeral of the only Daughter of our very good friends, a lovely young woman cut down in her prime...I kept it by me since, and then last autumn we heard it read out at the funeral of the wife of one of Jeff's good friends.....she was such a lovely woman, and when I heard the frist few lines it all came back to me...I think it is such a good poem, and says it all..

You can shed tears...

you can shed tears that she has gone

or you can smile because she has lived.

You can close your eyes and pray she will come back

or you can open your eyes and see all that she has left.

Your heart can be empty because you can't see her

or it can be full of the love you have shared.

You can turn your back on tomorrow and live yesterday

or you can be happy for tomorrow because of yesterday.

you can remember her and only that she's gone

or you can cherish her memory and let it live on.

you can cry and close your mind be empty and turn your back

or you can do what she'd want,smile,open your eyes and love and go on.

Friends....E. Dickinson

They might not need me;but they might.

I'll let my head be just in sight.

A smile as small as mine might be

Precisely their necessity!

(so very true)

the next poem I absolutely love, and have written into the card of a young girl at her wedding, I htink it says it all!

The Bargain.

My true love hath my heart,and I have his

by just exchange one for another given.

I hold his dear and mine he cannot miss,

there never was a better bargain driven:

my true love has my heart, and I have his!

His heart in me keeps him and me in one,

my heart in him his thoughts and senses guides;

he loves my heart, for once it was his own,

I cherish his because in me it bides;

my true love hath my heart,and I have his!

Sir Philip Sisney.

Common Sense !

'theres' been an accident' they said,

'Your servant's cut in half., he's dead!

'Indeed' said Mr. Jones, 'and please

send me the half that's got my keys!' (always loved that, short and to the point..)

Here lies the man Richard

here lies the man Richard

and Mary,his wife,

their name was Pritchard,

they lived without strife.

and the reason was plain:

they abounded in riches

they had no care or pain

and the wife wore the breeches!

epitaph, Chelmsford Cathedral, Essex

being an incurable romantic, I love the next poem...and it has been read out at weddings...I htink it describes weddings and marriage or partnership to a tee...

Now you will feel no rain.

Now you will feel no rain,for each of you will be a shelter for the other.

Now you will feel no cold, for each of you will be warmth to the other.

Now there is no loneliness for you;now there is no more loneliness.

Now you are two bodies, but there is only one life before you.

Go now to your dwellling place, to enter into your days together.

And may your days be good, and long on the earth.

Reindeer Report..

Chimneys: colder.

Flightpaths: busier.

Driver:Christmas (F).

Still baffled by postcodes.

Children:more.

and stay up later.

Presents:heavier.

Pay: frozen.

Mission in spite

of all this

accomplished.. U.A. Fanthorpe

A Quiet Week In My Life.....

Mirabelle____UK — Sat, 29 Mar 2008 11:06:18 GMT

Bank Holiday Monday....after a lovely Family Easter with all our children at home, we take our Adrian and Lissie to Heathrow in the afternoon for their flight back to Gibraltar, in a blizzard which does not settle.Get home, do not fancy the family meal at night, so Jeff and I settle in front of the TV with greasy bacon sandwiches on white bread...bliss! I am in bed by 9.30, shattered, but happy..this week will be easy, just one or two things planned,just a nice ordinary and peaceful week... (is that a pig flying over the house?)

Tuesday.....Emmeline and her yellow potty off for the wek to her other grandparents, DIL and I feel we shall have all the time in the world with the boys at school all day.I leave for my class at the gym, which I love.Hard work but fun,home for shower,and then the hairdresser's, about time too. My stylist is only young but excellent with my hair,her stories of her on/off boyfriend are very entertaining...feeling like the bee's knees I go shopping, get home,sort out dinner for just the four of us, Jeff at a function, James in London,we have planned a nice quiet night..until after dinner,when we hear a strange noise,two fire-engines coming up our lane, fire in next doors' house, black smoke billowing out of the front and garage,they are standing in the garden, cold and dark.We take the granny and the toddler into our the lounge, poor gran in shock, her clothes reek of fire, toddler happily playing with the boys.I nip to the station to collect James, come back to pandemonium in lounge and seemingly all toys out, but children happy.Feed James, make cuppas all round,troddlers' mum comes in, with fireman, who is very nice and efficient, gran and toddler off into ambulance.We offer them beds for the night, but they are going to a cousin, as they also have 2 dogs and parrot.Jeff comes home, more pandemonium, Red Cross arrives to help next door, which we are pleased and surprised to see....we tidy up a bit, and go to bed, shattered....

Wednesday,... and the day belongs to us!We are off to go shopping for our Williams' birthday present from us,I get him an outdoor game.....we get cards, banners,balloons, etc....then onto Costco, without a screaming toddler in the back of the car!I am quite controlled in what I buy, all the time reminding myself that I am really saving Jeff lots of money by doing so...have a bit of lunch, home,for a quiet afternoon's reading.With that, gran and toddler from next door come over, still upset, make tea....sort out dinner, nip to station to collect Jeff,and for some reason, what with one thing and another, we have blazing row all the way home, (well,more I start a row) get into house, act normal, both of us upstairs to continue row in hissing voices, he is totally unreasonable (well, he would be)and I get the urge to thump him, but resist...I slightly sulk rest of evening ( do not want to carry it all on in front of son and DIL), we semi make-it-up, and so to bed, shattered....

Thursday, ...day of Williams' party! excited boys off to school,they have both been coughing since 5am, all adults in the house tired before they start....Jeff and I in the house alone, and we just carry on our argument from last night, one word leads to another, Jeff says something 'unwise' to me, and I just sit down on my bed and cry and cry....not normally a crying whinger, but for some reason, cannot stop crying...he is quite surprised, I am not normally so sensitive, so we talk it out, I sniff and he now feels bad, he has meetings most of the day and has to go...drives off, and returns again, to make sure I am ok, which quite pleases me!Pull myself together, and feel better for having had a good cry....do some housework and ironing, I love ironing, do lots of shirts....go into town with best friend, for lunch and errands, best friend Irish and very discreet, so have a good good moan about men in general and husbands in particular,and we end up having a good laugh! Get home, and at last, a quiet cup of tea and read of the paper...then find out James will not be at party as having to work late, so, there will have to be me and Jeff to help, Jeff will get back early from golf. DIL and boys get back, we set out to the party, which is at a nice pizza place, nine boys and three girls in party mood!and raring to go, we blow up ballons and hang banners, arrange games, the guests arrive, and chef and a helper get them dressed into aprons and hats, they knead dough, they slap it, they put it into pans, and then they place their own choice of topping on it,they are having a lovely time, I take about 1000 pictures!while pizzas are cooking, there are games etc.they scoff pizzas, cake and icecream, they play games and they have a lovely time...we get home, all of us worn out but happy, Jeff has pasta for dinner, I am past dinner and have a sandwich....and fall asleep on settee, till I wake up to go to bed!

Friday...excting day ahead! A friend from the Backyard who I met ages ago form Canada, is coming to spend the day here with me, last week I went up to london to spend the day.(her husband often comes to lodnon, and we have a nice time) The rain is lashing down, when I get to the station it is obvious she has missed her train, so wait for the next one, and there she is! she got lost on the underground, weary but happy to be here at last...we go off to my favoruite garden centre for lunch and coffee and a huge slice of cake with cream, we need it!Then into town, by now the sun is shining brightly, and we go round all the charity shops for a look, she collects books and is always on the hunt...then we go home, and have a tea....boys get home with DIL, and are very polite! Neighbours pop in with lovely flowers for us, a thank you! we have a chat and then Jeff gets home, and we move into the conservatory, for a picture and nice glass of wine...and next thing it is evening, and I take her back to the station...we have had a lovely day.....and I get back to fish and chips!which is very nice, I just have the fish, and thoroughly enjoy it, and so to bed quite late....

So To today, Saturday, and Williams' sixth' birthday! Exciting!!! he loves our card which is huge...I went slightly mad there, but he loves it....It seems 5 minutes ago that he was a tiny baby,and I cuddle him to bits, which he loves.Jeff off to golf, DIL makes pancakes, I have porridge, do not like pancakes, this afternoon there will be a family party, all the 4 grandparents and the uncles and aunts that live close......one of my DIL's is making the cake, she is very good at it. I suggested we ask the birthday boy what he fancies for dinner, and he chooses Mexican, which is lucky, as then I shall not have to cook it!!! just eat it and enjoy it!so, once more the house will be packed to the gunnels.....and we shall have to get extra chairs down!

and Sunday tomorrow..and Jeff has decided we need to have a walk by the sea, so the two of us are off to the coast.....and a nice lunch in a pub, and a long chat..

so, this was my quiet week, just as well, would hate to think what it would be like if it had been hectic....

Hailstorms, Slush, Snow...Why...it can only be Easter!

Mirabelle____UK — Sat, 22 Mar 2008 16:34:44 GMT

As I sit here and write this...it has gone dark outside the window, and there is a massive, blinding snow/hailstorm....all the lights are on, and tomorrow is Easter Sunday......who'd have thought it? Well, we would have all thought it, seeing that this year Easter is so early in the year, its' only March....and winter is not giving up the good fight yet, oh no....tomorrow we are promised heavy white snow..so, that will be a challenge for the Easter bunny in this house, and three little Royals over excited at the thought of finding all sorts of things in the garden....and with their little baskets at the ready... apparently, this will be the earliest Easter till I forget when they said, might be 60 years or so?As I said to my friend, we shall have to not let it worry us then!LOL (We laughed at that, seeing that we are both rather silly at times, and the least little thing can set us off...and does!) Then again, if you cannot be silly at our age, when can you be? Say I..and stick to it...

But we do not care about the weather, we are all snug inside our warm house...albeit this house is overflowing with Hoggs of every age and shape... and most of them over 6 foot and built like brick outhouses!What with us two old gits (do not let Jeff hear me say htis, he would be most offended)..lets' say us Senior ones, then the oldest son and his wife and littlies who have been living with us for a bit...Thursday night our middle one and wife arrived late from Spain, and then today the youngest came over with his wife to spend the day...so, the house is now well full with humanity, and we are going through the milk at a rate of knots, what with coffee, cappucino from my machine, teas.....endless teas in large mugs, in cups...in pretty mugs and what have you..milky teas please, or strong builder mugs.....bacon butties all round every morning...and bread going out of fashion! Last night I cooked 2 different chicken curries...one lot quite mild for one DIl and youngsters, and one very hot for the rest of the grown-ups...and a ton of rice, plus DIL had got the poppodums, and the nan bread (we had the garlic nan this time, quite smelly but lovely, I warmed it in the oven)...a nice drop of red wine with it, and we were all well happy and satisfied.... actually, most of us went to bed quite early...but someone who shall remain unnamed finished up the curry at midnight...

and most of us were up quite early this morning too!!!One escaped to the golf course.....with quite rude haste did Jeff get out to play his game....and then endless plans had to be sorted...2 uncles took the 2 boys out bowling.....eldest son was left with little girl..and the four Mrs. Hoggs' escaped into town, round the shops...out and about..and then a lovely lunch, just the four of us..at my favourite restaurant, and we had such a laugh! I feel so lucky to have such lovely girls in the family...all different, yet all such excellent matches for their husbands...and no-one will cook tonight, we are havign a chinese banquet which we always do when we all get together, I cannot face cooking all that food....it goes like that....they all go out, order the food, pop into the pub next door, have a quick beer, then collect the order! I usually stay behind...And tomorrow night one son and wife have decided they will cook, good luck to them,but they do enjoy it and always cook together....which makes Jeff smile, he is the most un-domesticated man on this earth, but then again, I did not marry him to have help in the kitchen, just as well really!)

Meanwhile our Emmeline is being potty trained, and has been without nappies for a week now!Hurrah...say all of us...as she offers her yellow potty to her various uncles and aunties..she did ask me yesterday if her Uncle Adrian might want to use her potty to do a peepee....and then he would get a sweetie...for being good? 'No, Emmeline!'

so..Happy Easter to all of you, enjoy your Easter Eggs, if you find them...

A Nice Roast Dinner.....

Mirabelle____UK — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 14:59:29 GMT

yesterday was one of those days, gales and high winds, and whilst not too cold, the high winds made it seem chilly....seemed to chill you to the bone, plus I felt slightly achey after lunch due to my class at the gym (polishing my halo here!)so...I checked with DIL what we were going to have for dinner in the evening, she had been out shopping and returned amongst other things whith several packs of fresh gniochie...have I spelt this correctly>?? I shall never know now.....but somehow, I fancied something far more comforting, and warming, and decided I would make a nice chicken Dinner....with all the trimmings....in my view, you cannot beat a nice roast dinner on a winters' day, so comforting and satisfying...

I put a nice large organic chicken into the oven to roast (I try to only buy organic meat now, I feel our food is loaded with enough hormones and additives as it is, and half the time we have no idea what we are eating;plus I like to think that whatever we have had a nice life before the end, and yes, I know this is slightly hippocritical being that I am a carnivor), and instead of normal roast potatoes, I had bought some nice small new potatoes, as the little Royals love them! They are slightly larger than marbles, take less time to cook, and are also very tasty....so, slightly par-boiled them for just a bit, and then placed them into the dish, circling the chicken....oh the savoury smell of a nice roast, they should bottle it! I always use the water from the veggies to start my gravy off, and put it straight into a saucepan, and set aside...I always make my stuffing separately, as it slows down the roasting process,so, in a separte dish some nice sage and stuffing mixture (out of the packet, sadly, but very nice),and as veggies I made courgettes (you call them zucchinis),and a big mixture of winter vegetables....and then onto the yorkshire puds....now here I confess that I always buy mine, I used to make my own but never very nice, and flat,my mil used ot think it was because my oven was never hot enough at the top....but nowadays the ready-made ones are so good, you can get away with it, and people actually believe you made them yourself...so, they had run out of my usual puds, so....had to get the other, posher sort...each little tiny yorkshire pudding batter sitting in its' own silver shape, just pop into the oven for 20 minutes, and Bobs' your uncle, or pud! The little ones absolutelty love those yorskhires, and will eat two each, would you believe with lots of strawberry jam in the middle.....I am not a pudding lover, so have none at all! Actually, these puddings were beautiful, they rose like anything (and yes, it took 20 mins at the top of the hot oven)and the good hting is, they look totally homemade, not perfectly formed, and lovely and brown. Though I always say to Jeff 'your mum would turn in her grave to think that her dil is making yorkshires ready-bought!' he does not care, as long as they are on his plate! I usually make a nice thickish gravy, with the veggie water, and some gravy cube, and then I add the meat juices...and yummm!

The little Royals asked, when is dinner? When they first came back to us end of October, the first Sunday dinner we had, they sat there and looked at their plates and said'what is it?' and we said., 'a roast dinner'....while they looked at it in an old-fashioned way...now they love it! For pudding there was icecream for the littlies...and we grown-ups had slices of fresh pineapple..I love pineapple...

so all in all, a delicious dinner to brighten a stormy winter night....

A Day in France.....

Mirabelle____UK — Sat, 08 Mar 2008 12:20:20 GMT

well, here I am again, talk about old dogs and new tricks.....and quite enjoying writing here, next thing I know, I shall be posting a picture in this blog...but there again, probably getting ahead of myself...I can post p[ictures in the ordinary KC section, but posting something here seems to be a bit complicated..it may only take me about another year to work out how to do it..did I mention, that when computer skills were handed out, I must have been in the next street with my friend, having tea....

so, let me tell you about our day in France yesterday, you have heard about the slight love/hate realtionship we have with our cousins across the channel in France, as in they think we are quite barbaric at times,and our women have big thighs and are not very 'chic', but they like to come over for holidays and buying things, and we think they do not take enough showers and smell of garlic (perish the thought!) and that their women have big bums...and yes, we love going there for holidays...and then we also love popping over for a day (they call them booze cruises usually) and stock up on wine, beers, champagne, all sorts of goodies that are so nice and cheap, and then we love having one of their slap-up dinners, and then we hop back onto the ferries, and go back home...our cars loaded down with treasures, and our wallets the lighter, but of course...we have saved sooo much!LOL..most of the towns near the channel would be lost without our visitors, and are totally geared for the invasion, with massive hypermarkets and warehouses, something for everyone! So, it being Jeff's birthday yesterday, and me having taken him over for the day as a surprise last year, he decided he wanted to go again...he found one of the many offers for a cheap crossing, plus a box of quite good wine thrown in, so that made it 6 good bottles of red, and the offer crossing, worked out at about £2 in actual money, so who could have refused to go? So, early morning saw us on our way to Dover...I have such a feeling of love for Dover, we used to live there for about 4 years when two of my boys were tiny....and I used to love it there, our bungalow was high in the hills, with a splendid view of the castle and a very old cemetary....Dover is only small, so you had to make your own entertainment with your friends...the winds in the winter used to be perishing and cut through you, but the lovely pebbly beaches...lots of our friends worked on the ferries or the hovercrafts,and used to bring me cheese and other goodies,and lots of freebie rides over in the ferries! This time it was all a bit different, the best laid plans of men and mice..well, there had been a strike by Seafrance of about 8 days now, meaning a part of the motorway was used to stack the lorries and various things, so we had to go out of our way a bit,but never mind.The French will strike at the drop of a hat, and blow the consequences, we used to be even worse in the eighties, but not so bad now.We took country roads, which was even nicer, and when we got to Dover, all the timetables had gone haywire, so we had coffee and waited our turn...the crossing itself was lovely, the brightest skies(for once I agreed to go above on one of the top decks),and we had a voucher for a free cooked breakfast if we wanted it, but could not be bothered, cappucino and shortbread it had to be.(this is where I shall try to insert a pic, if not, just ignore my attempt and talk amongst yourself)oh, he also bought me a new watch, I am not a watch person, and have quite a few already that I do not wear, but there was a new swatch with such a flat face, and a pinkish modern band, and very light, I weakened...

so, we got there a bit later than planned plus the hour of french time to add...we had intended to go to Boulogne or Dunkirk and eat there, but now not too much time left, so we stayed in Calais...Calais is quite interesting, in a rough and ready way, a most gorgeous Opera House, and the town hall is beautiful, the gardens are always lovingly tended,and there are huge hypermarket all over the town and outside....we ended up in the cite de Europe, which is a huge mall type of thing, but had everything we wanted....lunch, Jeff had a huge dish of moules (mussels)cooked in white wine sauce(they come in a metal huge pan, and you work your way through them, I cannot be bothered with it), we shared a starter which was so-so, I had spaghetti carbonara, lovely bread and some red...nice espresso with a tiny choccie....in about 4 weeks we are off again to France with friends, and will go to Dunkirk I think, one of my favorites is steak tartare, Jeff will not touch it, it is finest leanest steak minced,and raw, and it comes with a fresh eggyolk raw, and onion, capers,bread and all sorts of herbs you then mix it all up and have it with fresh bread and salad, delicious, Jeff hates to see me eat it, but it is very tasty....really it is!(perhaps I used to be a vampire in another life?)

then onto the shops...Jeff stocked up on beer for us and friends and sons, and some wine, and some pink champagne (my favourite),some spices, some sauce mixes ....honey and mustard, a huge bag of french bread (some for now, some to freeze)a huge carton of croissants already eaten by all...cheese, and some fish in sauce...not much this time, could not see any shoes I fancied, did fancy some things for the garden, but my favourite was a huge barrel (I mean huge)made from smooth wood....but so expensive and too big for the back of the car,and a stone lion too heavy, Jeff put his foot down.so...nothing for the garden, or rien pour mon jardin!!!!a quick walk in the usn, and back to the docks, in time for a ferry, which was packed. A save journey home, I fell asleep for a bit, and then the hour or so drive home....a nice birthday outing...

Well, here I am again...

Mirabelle____UK — Sat, 01 Mar 2008 13:49:54 GMT

and have decided to have another go at this blog business...what do they say, try, try and try again, and if at first you don;t succeed, leave it for some other mug to do? I think I know where I went wrong with posting - or rather not posting -the pictures, but at some time I shall have another go at it,when I feel stronger and more daring computerially speaking!....so, here I am, on a lovely fresh and sunny day (when I could be out in the garden, plodding along in the mud with frozen hands,cutting dead things back in my wellies,).....blogging!

I might of course have been outside trying to solve the mystery of the sudden appearance of the newts.....or rather common newts, as our dil tells me they are..they are rather small, like tiny black/dark lizards, yet their underside is a bright orange....and they are endangered. Last week obviously one of them had not heard the rumour of being endangered, and decided to take his life in his hands, and appear on a dark and wet afternoon on the concrete path between the back door and the garage. Our tumble dryer is in the garage, and as our dil gets through industrial loads of washing most days (thanks to three messy little Royals)she was rushing out there, and thought first of all a leaf had blown about, and then she noticed the 'leaf'had tiny legs....and pretended to be dead....so the boys gently scooped the visitor up into a safe box, and looked him up on the internet (where would we all be without google, and what did we do before we ever had it? Actually, I had encyclopedias which I loved,big tomes, with pictures and drawings and explanations...and my favourite bits were always the embarassing illnesses bits,boils and rashes in darkest red,and biological sketches of the reproductive organs,which I hoped might not apply to me!) George having decided he knew where newts like to live, they put their coats on next morning and marched into the Park ..this park is quite wild and huge, and the entrance is at the end of our lane.....so, they slithered down the hill in the mud, down to the stream, and found the newt a lovely spot to live henceforth...I just hope that newt did not come round from the shock of it all a few hours later and looked around the area, and thought to himself 'Blimey, how did I get to this muddy dump? And where is everyone?' the children are convinced he will live happily ever after in The Park, which is as it should be. But this morning, the mystery deepens....dil took me outside, and there by the back door....another little newt, dead as a door nail this one, but still quite beautiful...its' little body curved with its' tail, and there on the underside beautiful burnt orange...what a shame! It looked quite unharmed, obviously not chewed or attacked from what we could see.... and we felt sad when we moved it into a flower bed....and then I began to wonder, was it that poor original newt who had decided it absolutely would not live by the stream? Or surely not his poor deserted mate, who died from a broken heart, all lonely and alone by the kitchen door? Or, a colony of newts in my front garden? Or rather, round the side,by the bins? Dustbins that is, perhaps they are a rough lot! Will we ever know the answer to that? Whatever it is...I shall have to be on newt watch, with my dil.....

My blog......or watch me muck it up....

Mirabelle____UK — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 11:20:21 GMT