There's a vast Dobbie's outside Edinburgh with Food Hall, Soft Play Area, Restaurant, Clothes shops, vendors of greenhouses, aquaria, bicycles, hot tubs and I dare say scented candles. They don't seem though to have the Butterfly World any longer. Why do you never get Earwig World?
There's a vast Dobbie's outside Edinburgh with Food Hall, Soft Play Area, Restaurant, Clothes shops, vendors of greenhouses, aquaria, bicycles, hot tubs and I dare say scented candles. They don't seem though to have the Butterfly World any longer. Why do you never get Earwig World?
There's a vast Dobbie's outside Edinburgh with Food Hall, Soft Play Area, Restaurant, Clothes shops, vendors of greenhouses, aquaria, bicycles, hot tubs and I dare say scented candles. They don't seem though to have the Butterfly World any longer. Why do you never get Earwig World?
I live a few miles away and have family there. My soon-to-be ex-brother-in-law is a police officer there, but given his current status vis-a-vis our family, I honestly don't care if he was one of the ones hurt.
Marking meeting over and I am now watching the inaugural lectures of two colleagues who are new professors, speaking on sexuality and ageing, and death and grief.
Wet and Windy Wednesday in Arkland the Dishevelled, though the Sun-Shiny intervals They promised for this evening have materialised.
Feeling somewhat tired and achy after yesterday's torture Pilates session, I've spent much of the day in Snoozage and Restage, in order to be able to get to Tess Coe tomorrow.
I had hoped to be able to do a little bit of Paint Ing on the Ark, but the threat of Rain at various times over the next few days has put me off making the effort...
Another zoom meeting shortly and then I'm done. It's been a dull day - not the weather, as I've been glad to see the rain, but I haven't left the house beyond sorting out the bins and that's never great for a sense of wellbeing. I'm also trying to read the book for my real life book group and finding it disappointing and am reading it on Mr Nen's Kindle as it's the only way I could get hold of a copy. I dislike Kindles.
I could, and should, have got into the garden in between the showers as being out there always lifts my mood and there's always something to do, but I didn't and that's my own fault.
Hey ho - tomorrow's another day and I've got an old friend from where I used to live coming to see me which I'm looking forward to.
I've just voted in the banknote thing: hedgehog, fox, puffin, owl, bumblebee and fritillary. Why didn't they have a robin?
Mixed weather today: dry when I left for work, trying to rain at lunchtime and absolutely pishing when I was coming home. I got Very Wet.
Because I had a piece of blue cheese left over from one of those cheese selection packs, and I really only like it when it's disguised, I made a pot of broccoli and blue cheese SOUP and had some for supper with sourdough bread.
Back in the day (20+ yrs ago) - when I was an activities organiser for an Elderly Care Home the garden centre trips were very popular with the residents - particularly in November, when there wasn't much opportunity for getting out and about. By then the Garden Centre was gaily decorated and stocked with Christmas goodies, so full of gift-shopping opportunities, but too early to be crowded with small children wanting to see Santa.
My nearest garden centre, about a mile away, is Blue Diamond which is very comprehensive. There are about ten others within 15 miles. Each has its own particular attractions, but all are good for somewhere to go especially when you don’t need anything but just want to get out for a while and maybe meet up with a friend in the café.
More gardening was achieved by daughter and me yesterday between the showers. A busy day with small tasks from my To Do list. Choir in the evening. My out-of-tune friend was away and a new member asked to sit next to me which was lovely.
Today I am getting ready for a weekend away in North Yorkshire, including the NY railway of course.
Many years ago we rented a holiday cottage in Guernsey, on the Le Friquet Butterfly Centre. The centre is now Blue Diamond's HQ.
Our local centre, once Blooms, became Wyevale about 10 years ago, then Blue Diamond. The plant selection and quality have been much improved since BD has been running it. Mind you, the cafe is now huge - I think that's where they make most of their money.
I suppose the same question could be asked of the larger supermarkets.
There is, alas, no cafe in Our Town's smaller Tess Coe, to which I went this morning, dodging the heavy showers and blustery gales of a typical Old Weather-style June day. All went well until I got back to Arkland the Tempest-tossed, but I managed to get the Shopp Ing into the Ark before the heavens opened. Parking the car properly in its usual spot (some 100 yards away) will have to wait until later.
SALMON FILLETS with CHIPS (and Painkillers) for lunch.
I suppose the same question could be asked of the larger supermarkets.
There is, alas, no cafe in Our Town's smaller Tess Coe, to which I went this morning, dodging the heavy showers and blustery gales of a typical Old Weather-style June day. All went well until I got back to Arkland the Tempest-tossed, but I managed to get the Shopp Ing into the Ark before the heavens opened. Parking the car properly in its usual spot (some 100 yards away) will have to wait until later.
SALMON FILLETS with CHIPS (and Painkillers) for lunch.
"When upon life's billows ...". Presumably the salmon, chips and painkillers are three countable blessings.
I walked to Grantchester this morning to meet with an ex-colleague in the Orchard tea rooms. Being in distance learning, I seldom speak to a colleague face to face but she lives in a nearby village so we usually meet every few months to catch up. She is about to move away nearer her children so this might have been our last coffee together but we will continue to chat online.
It is my day off so this afternoon has just been putting the shopping away and doing odd jobs so far.
I suppose the same question could be asked of the larger supermarkets.
There is, alas, no cafe in Our Town's smaller Tess Coe, to which I went this morning, dodging the heavy showers and blustery gales of a typical Old Weather-style June day. All went well until I got back to Arkland the Tempest-tossed, but I managed to get the Shopp Ing into the Ark before the heavens opened. Parking the car properly in its usual spot (some 100 yards away) will have to wait until later.
SALMON FILLETS with CHIPS (and Painkillers) for lunch.
"When upon life's billows ...". Presumably the salmon, chips and painkillers are three countable blessings.
Indeed. There are, as the hymn says, millions more...
Belated sympathy to @la vie en rouge and family from fellow survivors of the hot week in Paris. It was hot, although not extremely hot, even by Australian standards, especially as it is still spring. We were in Amiens for the last three days of that week. We greatly enjoyed our visit to Notre Dame d’Amiens, which was cool, quiet, architecturally impressive and (as the locals inform visitors regularly) twice as big as Notre Dame de Paris. Bonus entertainment was provided by an infant’s class which had come to see the labyrinth which is part of the black and white marble floor. Mostly they were concentrating very hard at following the pattern very carefully, although there were a couple of kids of the charge ahead regardless variety, and one surreptitiously attempting some hopscotch.
I suppose the same question could be asked of the larger supermarkets.
There is, alas, no cafe in Our Town's smaller Tess Coe, to which I went this morning, dodging the heavy showers and blustery gales of a typical Old Weather-style June day. All went well until I got back to Arkland the Tempest-tossed, but I managed to get the Shopp Ing into the Ark before the heavens opened. Parking the car properly in its usual spot (some 100 yards away) will have to wait until later.
SALMON FILLETS with CHIPS (and Painkillers) for lunch.
"When upon life's billows ...". Presumably the salmon, chips and painkillers are three countable blessings.
Indeed. There are, as the hymn says, millions more...
But they can only be counted singly. Which takes time.
Why do garden centres have cafes? How did it start?
On the first point it’s a simple matter of demographics: the people who have gardens, and the time and money for them also have the time and money for tea, coffee etc.
As for how and when it started, I think it was with the first mass generation of outright home owners, who no longer had to pay rent and therefore had more spare cash. To a large degree it’s a consequence of Thatcherism, which excludes many from this.
I had a good catch up with my friend today and did my "chuck it all in the slow cooker and hope for the best" soup with crusty bread, which went down well. It's lovely to see old friends but it always leaves me a bit discombobulated so I went for a walk in the blustery sunshine this afternoon after she'd gone and am feeling more upbeat than I was this time yesterday.
I had a mostly very unbusy day today, and left a clear desk for K, who'll be doing the typing tomorrow while I'm in Dunblane singing in the choir at Jim Wallace's memorial service.
Supper was the rest of the SOUP.
The event at the RAF base was really interesting as they explained about the work they do, and we also got a fly-past from the Red Arrows. Today was busy with lip reading in the morning and an event for local business leaders to meet in the afternoon, followed by a Teams meeting this evening. Being out late afternoons at places with refreshments has really mucked up my eating. I've had a lot of nibbles but no proper meal the last two days. At least I'm home tomorrow night, though it won't be the traditional pasta and pesto as I got some wraps out of the freezer thinking we'd be home for tea it'll be vegan 'duck' wraps instead.
Very blustery day, but not as much rain as I had expected. Made a couple of forays into the garden, one to check on the veg planted last week and the other to pick chard from last year's planting, now bolting.
Chard used, along with a variety of herbs, to make kuku sabzi for dinner
I've just looked up kuru sabzi @Roseofsharon. I'm wondering if I can make a vegan version of it with tofu as we have lots of herbs in our garden and like very herby salads.
This morning I'm leading the U3A philosophy group on the topic 'Is religion force for good?' Wish me luck as I have a feeling I'll be the only person arguing for. This afternoon I have a meeting of our Repair Cafe group. There was a bit of a falling out recently so I hope we can put our differences behind us and get on with the matter in hand. Wine is definitely going to be drunk this evening!
Yesterday I finally got round to doing something I've been intending to do for the past 5 years. My ears used to be pierced but the holes had closed up. Yesterday I got them re-pierced. I have to keep these studs in for 6 to 8 weeks and then I can start wearing my old earrings again. Almost all of my earrings pre-date having children, so they are almost all at least 30 years old.
I've just looked up kuru sabzi @Roseofsharon. I'm wondering if I can make a vegan version of it with tofu as we have lots of herbs in our garden and like very herby salads.
I understand that a slurry made of chickpea flower & baking powder can be used to bind the vegetables together for a vegan kuku sabzi It wouldn't take much, as even the egg version (Yotam Ottolenghi's recipe, anyway) uses only enough egg to bind, so it is less eggy than a frittata.
Thanks @Roseofsharon I'll look up Ottolenghi's recipe and have a go at adapting it.
I survived the philosophy group though the only other Christian in the group is someone who has previously said he thought Hitler had some good ideas so not quite politically aligned with me. On the way home I walked through the market place where the Quakers were having their monthly peace vigil so I joined that which is probably what I needed.
It'll be good to wear your old earrings again @North East Quine . I'm very good at losing earrings so I have very few pairs that are more that a few years old.
Not a good week - Darllenwr actually took a week sick leave as he had a parachynesia (I think that’s how it’s spelled) and had to have it lanced and drained on Tuesday, so he hasn’t been able to bend his finger without pain. He has a large dressing on his finger and has been living on paracetamol.
I was trying to sort out a new debit card on Thursday when my carers came. On Friday, I had a call from the bank to query two payments - my card had been taken my table. Thankfully, the bank had stopped the transactions, but we’ve had to sort out a new card and report it to the care agency, as one of my carers was someone I have had for a long time, but the other was new.
Oh that is horrible @Priscilla. Glad the payments were stopped, and I assume that’s one carer who has just lost her job. Hope Darllenwr‘s finger gets better pronto.
That's a load of stuff you don't need, Priscilla - hope Darllenwr is mended very soon!
The memorial service went very well: the cathedral was well filled, the eulogies were by turns emotional and very witty, and I think the choir acquitted ourselves well. There were a few people from the St Magnus choir and some from Glasgow Piskie cathedral (where the Dunblane organist used to be the assistant) who joined us as well, which was nice.
I was quite zonked when I got home, so had some snoozage before heading over to get the obligatory f&c for supper.
The first day of my long weekend away was very successful. Good journey, a dry day with lots of sunshine. Leaving the main road we stopped at a little orchard cafe in a village for a light lunch then went on to visit a minor stately home famed for its walled gardens.
On arrival at our destination town a wrong turn meant I had to reverse out of an unlabelled No Through Road which was a bit scary, but all was well. Our cottage is lovely and well suited for two friends to share. We had a delicious meal out ( sea bream, new potatoes, ratatouille and spring greens). Every member of staff at every venue was friendly, polite, helpful beyond the call of duty- outstandingly so.
Here’s hoping today’s steam train trip goes to plan.
It appears that summer's lease hath indeed had too short a date in Arkland the Disappointed, with yet another day of cloud, intermittent rain, and gusty gales...highest temperature today is just 59F. I'm wearing a pullover, even though I'm snugly ensconced below decks.
So much for flaming June...
O well. Back to bed, I think, for some snoozage and restage - there is Cold CHICKEN for later, and some nice CHEESE (Brie).
Just the occasional shower here so far, though the weather is much cooler.
Mr Heavenly is building the frame for my office decking and has made two out of three sections this afternoon; he appears to plan his outdoor diy around extremes of weather, having dug the base and post holes during the heatwave. He is currently taking an angle grinder to a concrete post that is in the way of the final part of the frame (this should probably have been done earlier in the planning). Hopefully the rain will keep off long enough for him to at least finish that.
Lunch was a fried egg roll whilst sitting on the patio admiring the workmanship. Tea is a potato and asparagus salad, possibly with chicken thighs.
That's really grim @Priscilla ; I hope things are improving for you and Darllenwr.
Yesterday we had a trip to the town we used to live, Mr Nen to collect some car parts from his lockup garage (for onward transmission to someone else, fortunately) and I had a catch up with a number of friends. Today Mr Nen has been out for the morning (to offload said car parts) and I've undertaken the horrible job of cleaning all the sink and shower drainage plugs in the house. I've known it's needed doing since we moved here and I've been putting it off. Once I started I decided to do them all as knowing what a horrible state they were in they'd be preying on my mind until they were done.
As a reward I gave myself ten minutes in the garden, despite the rain, and we have wine in the fridge to have later with our tea. Stir fry because Saturday.
Cooler in West Lothian too: high of 14° with the odd spot of drizzle. I had an amble round the Artisans' Market after choir practice: the fish stall had a special on of a pack of smoked salmon, a pot of smoked salmon pâté and a packet of oatcakes for £10, which I thought seemed a good deal. I also got some apples and three heads of garlic (that was the least they would sell).
I'm now wondering if you can freeze whole garlic bulbs: I use quite a lot of it, but there are limits to how much a solitary piglet can get through!
Supper will be STEAK with (very) garlicky mushrooms and veggies.
It has been a day of being ambushed by cake. I went to a VE Day memorial service in a local care home that is built on the site of a WWII airfield this morning. There was very nice cake and chat after the short service. This afternoon I was at my friends for the last fitting of my frock for the Regency ball next week, it looks pretty good, but again there was coffee and cake. In between I went to the opening of a new wine shop which was fun, and included a taste of one of the wines. It was very nice so I bought a bottle.
The weather was very wet and cold this morning so I wore winter clothes for the care home visit. Warmer and drier this afternoon.
Very, very blustery today. I have never seen the horse-chestnut tree just beyond our back fence with its branches whipping about as violently as today. Fortunately the wind is blowing them parallel to the fence. I would be anxious if it turned more easterly.
As it is, it is getting in through all the cracks & gaps in the construction of our bungalow, making me feel the need for several more layers of clothing, all topped with a shawl.
We had a sweet potato & chard dhal for dinner, but it could have done with a bit more chilli. Enough left for tomorrow's lunch, so will spice it up a bit more for that.
@Piglet I put butter and garlic cloves in the food processor, whizz them together to make garlic butter, scoop out the garlic butter with a butter baller and freeze the wee balls of garlic butter.
Comments
Seen one earwig, seen them all, maybe?
Hedgehogs love them 🦔
Feeling somewhat tired and achy after yesterday's torture Pilates session, I've spent much of the day in Snoozage and Restage, in order to be able to get to Tess Coe tomorrow.
I had hoped to be able to do a little bit of Paint Ing on the Ark, but the threat of Rain at various times over the next few days has put me off making the effort...
I could, and should, have got into the garden in between the showers as being out there always lifts my mood and there's always something to do, but I didn't and that's my own fault.
Hey ho - tomorrow's another day and I've got an old friend from where I used to live coming to see me which I'm looking forward to.
Mixed weather today: dry when I left for work, trying to rain at lunchtime and absolutely pishing when I was coming home. I got Very Wet.
Because I had a piece of blue cheese left over from one of those cheese selection packs, and I really only like it when it's disguised, I made a pot of broccoli and blue cheese SOUP and had some for supper with sourdough bread.
More gardening was achieved by daughter and me yesterday between the showers. A busy day with small tasks from my To Do list. Choir in the evening. My out-of-tune friend was away and a new member asked to sit next to me which was lovely.
Today I am getting ready for a weekend away in North Yorkshire, including the NY railway of course.
Our local centre, once Blooms, became Wyevale about 10 years ago, then Blue Diamond. The plant selection and quality have been much improved since BD has been running it. Mind you, the cafe is now huge - I think that's where they make most of their money.
There is, alas, no cafe in Our Town's smaller Tess Coe, to which I went this morning, dodging the heavy showers and blustery gales of a typical Old Weather-style June day. All went well until I got back to Arkland the Tempest-tossed, but I managed to get the Shopp Ing into the Ark before the heavens opened. Parking the car properly in its usual spot (some 100 yards away) will have to wait until later.
SALMON FILLETS with CHIPS (and Painkillers) for lunch.
"When upon life's billows ...". Presumably the salmon, chips and painkillers are three countable blessings.
It is my day off so this afternoon has just been putting the shopping away and doing odd jobs so far.
Indeed. There are, as the hymn says, millions more...
But they can only be counted singly. Which takes time.
On the first point it’s a simple matter of demographics: the people who have gardens, and the time and money for them also have the time and money for tea, coffee etc.
As for how and when it started, I think it was with the first mass generation of outright home owners, who no longer had to pay rent and therefore had more spare cash. To a large degree it’s a consequence of Thatcherism, which excludes many from this.
Easy pasta for tea.
Supper was the rest of the SOUP.
Chard used, along with a variety of herbs, to make kuku sabzi for dinner
This morning I'm leading the U3A philosophy group on the topic 'Is religion force for good?' Wish me luck as I have a feeling I'll be the only person arguing for. This afternoon I have a meeting of our Repair Cafe group. There was a bit of a falling out recently so I hope we can put our differences behind us and get on with the matter in hand. Wine is definitely going to be drunk this evening!
I survived the philosophy group though the only other Christian in the group is someone who has previously said he thought Hitler had some good ideas so not quite politically aligned with me. On the way home I walked through the market place where the Quakers were having their monthly peace vigil so I joined that which is probably what I needed.
It'll be good to wear your old earrings again @North East Quine . I'm very good at losing earrings so I have very few pairs that are more that a few years old.
I was trying to sort out a new debit card on Thursday when my carers came. On Friday, I had a call from the bank to query two payments - my card had been taken my table. Thankfully, the bank had stopped the transactions, but we’ve had to sort out a new card and report it to the care agency, as one of my carers was someone I have had for a long time, but the other was new.
The memorial service went very well: the cathedral was well filled, the eulogies were by turns emotional and very witty, and I think the choir acquitted ourselves well. There were a few people from the St Magnus choir and some from Glasgow Piskie cathedral (where the Dunblane organist used to be the assistant) who joined us as well, which was nice.
I was quite zonked when I got home, so had some snoozage before heading over to get the obligatory f&c for supper.
On arrival at our destination town a wrong turn meant I had to reverse out of an unlabelled No Through Road which was a bit scary, but all was well. Our cottage is lovely and well suited for two friends to share. We had a delicious meal out ( sea bream, new potatoes, ratatouille and spring greens). Every member of staff at every venue was friendly, polite, helpful beyond the call of duty- outstandingly so.
Here’s hoping today’s steam train trip goes to plan.
So much for flaming June...
O well. Back to bed, I think, for some snoozage and restage - there is Cold CHICKEN for later, and some nice CHEESE (Brie).
Mr Heavenly is building the frame for my office decking and has made two out of three sections this afternoon; he appears to plan his outdoor diy around extremes of weather, having dug the base and post holes during the heatwave. He is currently taking an angle grinder to a concrete post that is in the way of the final part of the frame (this should probably have been done earlier in the planning). Hopefully the rain will keep off long enough for him to at least finish that.
Lunch was a fried egg roll whilst sitting on the patio admiring the workmanship. Tea is a potato and asparagus salad, possibly with chicken thighs.
Yesterday we had a trip to the town we used to live, Mr Nen to collect some car parts from his lockup garage (for onward transmission to someone else, fortunately) and I had a catch up with a number of friends. Today Mr Nen has been out for the morning (to offload said car parts) and I've undertaken the horrible job of cleaning all the sink and shower drainage plugs in the house. I've known it's needed doing since we moved here and I've been putting it off. Once I started I decided to do them all as knowing what a horrible state they were in they'd be preying on my mind until they were done.
As a reward I gave myself ten minutes in the garden, despite the rain, and we have wine in the fridge to have later with our tea. Stir fry because Saturday.
I'm now wondering if you can freeze whole garlic bulbs: I use quite a lot of it, but there are limits to how much a solitary piglet can get through!
Supper will be STEAK with (very) garlicky mushrooms and veggies.
The weather was very wet and cold this morning so I wore winter clothes for the care home visit. Warmer and drier this afternoon.
As it is, it is getting in through all the cracks & gaps in the construction of our bungalow, making me feel the need for several more layers of clothing, all topped with a shawl.
We had a sweet potato & chard dhal for dinner, but it could have done with a bit more chilli. Enough left for tomorrow's lunch, so will spice it up a bit more for that.