Having a lazy day today as yet again I didn't manage to get up in time to go to a Pilates class. I did a session from YouTube instead so all was not lost. I now need to go out a deliver the last of the leaflets about flooding I promised to hand out for the Town Council. After that I need to get a shift on with some knitting.
A mild day in Arkland the Busy, where Neighbour F is breaking up yet another trailer load of huuuge and bigly pallets. The timber is not really suitable for construction work, so will be sawn up into firewood...
Madam Sacristan informs me that the Waitrose she patronises in Next Town (too large a store for me to cope with) has a fair range of Baxter's SOUP, so she is going to get me some Cullen Skink and Royal Game.
I was quite surprised when that was a Wordle answer @Boogie. I use it from time to time too.
I chose the wrong time to go and deliver leaflets as it started raining heavily. Of course as soon as I got back home the sun came out.
Glad you've got someone to go hunting down soup @Bishops Finger . Enjoy it when it arrives.
The Cullen Skink World Championships take place about 50 metres from my house every year. You can smell the smoked fish from at least that distance. But though I live in the place, it’s not my favourite. And making it means you take about a week to get the smell of it out of the house. (Some may like that, of course.)
That is how God will punish me in Hell if I've led a wicked life.
I had very little sleep last night so have not achieved much today. Tomorrow is my son’s birthday so I drove to deliver his card by hand, combining the trip with dropping off a boot-load of stuff at a charity shop which has parking right outside. Unfortunately they were not taking any donations today, so a wasted journey. I guess I should ring ahead next time.
Tonight I am forgoing my top choir rehearsal to attend a committee meeting of my local choral society on Teams. I wouldn’t normally do that, but tonight’s rehearsal is in an inconvenient location. I hope I can keep awake when the meeting drags on endlessly.
...Tess Coe also sell Baxter's Scotch Broth, which I have had before. It, too, is very tasty.
Scots broth. Scotch is a drink.
Not a bad day here; dry but getting a bit colder. It was noted among the office staff though, that the Nights Are Getting Lighter*; it was still just about light at 4 o'clock, and not quite fully dark when we were leaving at 5. Considering how much some people moan when the clocks go back, it really doesn't take very long after the shortest day for things to start brightening up again.
(Piglet, eternal optimist)
* One of my dad's favourite meteorological mottoes was "as the days lengthen, the cold strengthens" and I always think of him when we get a cold blast in January!
It seems to me that the interweb and foodie magazines are awash at the moment with recipes for "marry me" this, that and the other, so I did my take on it with prawns for supper and it was definitely a keeper - and dead easy to boot.
Made it through the day and survived my book group this evening as well. My Throw-It-In-The-Slow-Cooker-And-See-What-Happens Soup went down well.
I've been feeling under the weather all day and am about to crawl into bed with a hot water bottle. Hoping for a better night's sleep than last night and that I wake up feeling better too.
My Committee meeting was the usual “reinventing of the wheel” process for forthcoming events, not helped by the Chair who can’t keep track of anything. Our Treasurer has already given notice after a ten year stint, and tonight the Secretary gave notice after a sixteen year stint. The website is out of date, with details of last year’s committee, so my name hasn’t been added. Maybe that means I can disappear without trace too?
Yes, that's what the tins on Tess Coe's shelf look like...
The "Flying Scotsman" train service, only officially named in the 1920s, was in railway parlance the "Special Scotch Express".
In other news, I slept badly (for no obvious reason) but got up early enough to go swimming for the first time since I slipped and fell a fortnight ago. I swam further than I'd intended to but am now feeling just a little bit stiff!
What's that saying about committees? The membership should always be an odd number and three is too many.
I slept reasonably well (everything is relative - I can't remember the last time I slept through a whole night) and still can't decide whether I feel marginally better this morning or not. But certainly no worse, so that's a kind-of win.
I am meeting a friend for lunch and some other friends this afternoon. Dull and grey here. There were apparently some spectacular Northern Lights around these parts yesterday evening although we didn't see any. Mr Nen went dashing out in the car especially to find them.
Committees: ours has seven. I am an “ Ordinary Member” ie no special remit and not a Trustee. The Librarian is super-efficient, the Publicity Officer is brilliant, if OTT in his communications, the Vice Chair does her best to hold things together in the face of the inadequacies of the Chair. If only we could get her to stand down. There is a lot to be said for a time limit on roles. The outgoing Treasurer and Secretary quietly and efficiently get on with their jobs. I can foresee the Chair trying to persuade me to become Secretary, but at 80, it is not something I wish to embark on.
I have a quiet week ahead, so I must not fritter my time away on here .
My husband is on a committee that sounds very similar to yours @Puzzler. It drives him nuts. Council meetings can be a bit combative, but at least we have strict guidelines that moves things along.
Northern Lights would have been amazing here, it was too cloudy to see anything.
It's a nice sunny day here so husband has gone to the farm where he volunteers and I've been doing housework and an on-line Pilates class. Although it was short, I can feel that it has worked quite a few muscle groups. I have nothing on till this evening when I'm off to our Week for Christian Unity service where I'm reading the psalm. I need to get there early so I know what I'm doing.
Today is my last more or less lazy day till Saturday. I have various things on the next three days, including evenings.
Another grey but mild day in Arkland the Quiet. Pilates today was less gruelling than last week, but I, too, now have aches where no aches should be - I sympathise with @Sarasa !
Madam Sacristan has found me some SOUP, so I waited on her after Torture Pilates, and collected a tin of Royal Game, a tin of French Onion, and a tin of Cullen Skink all courtesy of Waitrose. I now hanker after Haggis, and our friend Mr D recommends a local butcher, one of the few 'proper' butchers left in Our Town. I only want a few slices of the beast, as a whole Haggis is far too big for me...
Meanwhile, lunch is CHICKEN in MUSHROOM SAUCE, and this afternoon will be given over to restage and snoozage. There are some Hoisin Duck Spring Rolls as a snack for this evening, a new item (I think) from Tess Coe.
Re committees (the practical alternative to work, some might say), Our Place's FatherInCharge runs a very tight ship when it comes to PCC meetings and the like. He keeps to the agenda, doesn't stray off-piste, and will not allow the PCC to run over two hours - they mostly take about an hour-and-a-half.
But it was a church committee (discussing a report made by a church sub-committee) and this is a Christian website, so most descriptors wouldn't be suitable.
Keeping a meeting you are chairing to 90 mins maximum usually ensures members go home happy bunnies. The human brain (not to say backside) was not designed for longer. On the other hand...
...the art of achieving results in a committee lies not so much in what you say, but what you ensure gets written in the minutes.
Eleven pots of marmalade have been made. It needs to mature for a bit, but it looks like a success, properly set and generously approvisioned with golden chunks. You're supposed to leave it for a month, but I'm not sure I have that much willpower.
I spent the morning making bread and it came out nicely. We've made it four times now since Christmas (twice when Dafling minor did all the hard work of mixing and kneading and twice on my own). My bread didn't use to rise far, but this year it has risen every time. I've switched to Delia's instructions which may have made the difference.
Mea culpa re: broth; in the blessèd Delia's Cookery Course it's "Scots broth", and that's good enough for me.
I'm a bit late posting today; I was at a Vestry meeting and by the time I'd come home and unloaded the dishwasher it was quarter to ten.
As I didn't want to faff about with supper, I got a popty-ping chicken korma with rice and it was actually quite good.
But it was a church committee (discussing a report made by a church sub-committee) and this is a Christian website, so most descriptors wouldn't be suitable.
A wise person once wrote of kirk sessions that if the elders are unanimous in a decision, they didn't understand the question. I have thirty years of experience to back that up.
I think it was C. Northcote Parkinson (of Parkinson's Law) who postulated that the maximum number for an effective committee is 5, since, if one calls in sick and one has forgotten about the meeting, three can get the work done.
This morning's commute has seen some less-than-polite train etiquette. One chap had plugged an extension cable in, to power multiple devices. Same chap also had his feet up on the seats and briefly played music on his phone without any ear/headphones.
Another chap changed his shoes and, after munching through some breakfast that looked as though it primarily consisted of coleslaw, proceeded to lick the lid of his tupperware container.
At least someone did give up their seat for someone in greater need. Meanwhile, I have a great insight on the financials of one particular company, as one of their staff was reading through a confidential presentation next to me.
Other people on trains is one of the reasons I'm glad I am no longer a London commuter @Sipech. I hope the journey home is better. It was women putting on their make-up that was my pet hate.
The Week for Christian Unity service last night was really nice. Only downside was most of the hymns really weren't to my taste at all. However our assistant priest's homily that I wasn't looking forward to was excellent. I don't know if he was more focused than usual or it was because I could hear him better as we were in the community centre next to the church rather than the church itself.
Today I'm shortly off to an ENT appointment. My hearing in my left ear has declined a lot over the last couple of years. I think they'll want me to have a MRI scan, but as I'm claustrophobic I don't think I could cope with that.
This afternoon I'm meeting the guy that published my book last year to discuss sales and a publicity event in March. Then this evening we have a workshop at the Town Hall to discuss next year's budget. My husband already has passed on that somewhere he volunteers for wanted people to write to their Town Councillor on a funding issue. He just told me instead
There was a time - many lustra ago - when all you could hear on a 'commuter' train was the rustle of newspapers...and the occasional stilted conversation...until Satan introduced the mobile phone...
Another dismal day in Arkland the Aqueous, where there appears to be as much water in the Air as in the River. There is at least a stiff breeze which may (if the Great God Hadad has mercy) blow the rain away.
I ventured out to Tess Coe and stocked up on Essentials, as BEER and SOSSIDGES, but jibbed at buying a whole Haggis. I was intending to check out the local butcher which Mr D recommended, but jibbed at getting out of the car into the wind and rain yet again. I like Haggis, but just a couple of slices would do.
The Dragon is working well, so the Ark is nice and warm, and lunch is cooking (Sweet n'Sour Chicken with Egg Fried Rice). Our Creek seems to be getting a bit low on Coal, so a fresh order will be placed soon. Meanwhile, Neighbour S (who has a sort of reserve stock) will make certain I don't run out completely, though I notice that we're using up bags left over from 2024. The plastic degrades over time, and the bags being used at the moment have tendency to split, which is how we can tell their age!
Blustery rain here, appropriate for my mood.
I’ve had a long and busy week so far, with marking and an evening tutorial to contend with. I’ve just returned one load of completed marking (on practitioners working with young people) and need to start another pile (on the impact of living and working conditions on healthy lifestyles) tomorrow.
I think this evenings meat is muntjac saddle, which I might pan fry with garlic and thyme butter. Need to decide on the accompanying veg though.
On Saturday we had some people round for a galette party. As I mentioned in Heaven, one person brought a giant jar of juice with fruit in. The juice has now mostly been drunk, but there was loads of fruit left (apricots and cherries), so with Captain P's assistance, this morning they were turned into upside down cake. We also have leftover cider of indifferent quality, so I have made this for dinner and hope it will be tasty.
I quite fancy what's on the menu chez rouge. Here we are having curry, but not Lazy Curry for a change: cooked to a recipe with stem ginger and fresh spinach. It calls for onion, which is a no-no for Mr Nen so we'll be doing without. Having said that, I sneaked an onion into the aforementioned Hearty Soup that I cooked for my book group on Monday; Mr Nen partook thereof, and finished it up for lunch today, and has not yet reported any particular disturbance to his Constitution. But I mustn't push my luck .
Today has been grey and wet and miserable and I have not been out at all. I've been pegging away (without much enthusiasm) at the Sorting that is happening here and have to keep reminding myself that anything I do is a bonus and trying not to be shocked at what's coming out of the cupboards and drawers.
A bit grey in West Lothian too, and by the time I left the office it was trying to rain (albeit without much enthusiasm).
Supper was Tessie's smoked haddock fishcakes and green things, and very nice indeed.
BF, I don't know about your Tessie's, but the haggis I got at ours was by a company called Macintosh's, and came with neeps and tatties ready to put in the popty-ping.
Not sure where our Tess Coe Haggis comes from, but it was in a bag, with no additional neeps or tatties. The destructions mentioned the possibility of pan-frying slices, but a QR code had to be scanned in order to find out how...
I'm shortly off to bed after my busy day.
The ENT appointment was a bit of a waste of time as I declined an MRI or CT scan. I know they are doing some research around here as to whether cochlear implants are good for someone with my level of hearing loss, but as that is something I don't want to entertain at the moment and I have no symptoms of anything nasty I couldn't see the point of wasting money scanning me. I did get to have a nice chat with my favourite audiologist though.
The meeting with my friend about book event went well though and my council meeting was excellent. I now have a handle on the budget proposals, and all the briefing notes to look through at my leisure.
I did get very fed up with going into and out of town three times today, specially as it was raining loads on several of my trips.
Occasional light rain in Arkland the Drizzly, but still very mild - so much so that I have a porthole open to let in a bit of fresh air!
Otherwise, a pottering, doing-nothing-much day (albeit with the occasional short bout of S & Q in the wheelhouse), though I have done a fair bit of Dust Ing and Tidy Ing. Fatigue has ensued, so now I'm waiting for the Dragon to cook me some nice CHICKEN n'CHIPS.
I think there's another episode of A Touch Of Frost on YouTube this evening. I must have seen them all on TV first time round, though IMHO they're well worth re-watching.
Grey earlier but the sun is making a last minute attempt to break through. But it being 4pm and still light is good news.
Yoga this morning followed by coffee with the ladies. My osteoarthritis is playing up but I managed to persevere.
I had planned on doing some marking this afternoon but I have decided that 5 afternoons of marking a week is too heavy going and I just did admin and emails instead. It does mean increased marking to do tomorrow afternoon though.
Church group this evening. I think tea is some form of white fish, possibly cod. I might make fish soup (not quite Cullen Skink as it is not smoked).
So horridly wet here that my hairdresser, after my appointment, insisted I put my hood up snugly for my walk to my car so as not to spoil her handywork.
I shelled out for a can of Cullen skink yesterday so I look forward to trying it.
Another wet miserable day here. I went out for my lip reading class and then on to my bookshop shift. I'm supposed to be at my writers group tonight, but after a crap nights sleep I'm having an evening in. I was out Tuesday evening and yesterday evening and I'm out tomorrow night too so reckon a lazy evening is a good idea.
Comments
Tess Coe also sell Baxter's Scotch Broth, which I have had before. It, too, is very tasty.
We have an M&S Food Store in Our Town, which might be worth a try as regards Cullen Skink.
Now I need some!
A mild day in Arkland the Busy, where Neighbour F is breaking up yet another trailer load of huuuge and bigly pallets. The timber is not really suitable for construction work, so will be sawn up into firewood...
Madam Sacristan informs me that the Waitrose she patronises in Next Town (too large a store for me to cope with) has a fair range of Baxter's SOUP, so she is going to get me some Cullen Skink and Royal Game.
Meanwhile, Prawns n'Chips for lunch.
I chose the wrong time to go and deliver leaflets as it started raining heavily. Of course as soon as I got back home the sun came out.
Glad you've got someone to go hunting down soup @Bishops Finger . Enjoy it when it arrives.
That is how God will punish me in Hell if I've led a wicked life.
Tonight I am forgoing my top choir rehearsal to attend a committee meeting of my local choral society on Teams. I wouldn’t normally do that, but tonight’s rehearsal is in an inconvenient location. I hope I can keep awake when the meeting drags on endlessly.
Scots broth. Scotch is a drink.
Not a bad day here; dry but getting a bit colder. It was noted among the office staff though, that the Nights Are Getting Lighter*; it was still just about light at 4 o'clock, and not quite fully dark when we were leaving at 5. Considering how much some people moan when the clocks go back, it really doesn't take very long after the shortest day for things to start brightening up again.
(Piglet, eternal optimist)
* One of my dad's favourite meteorological mottoes was "as the days lengthen, the cold strengthens" and I always think of him when we get a cold blast in January!
It seems to me that the interweb and foodie magazines are awash at the moment with recipes for "marry me" this, that and the other, so I did my take on it with prawns for supper and it was definitely a keeper - and dead easy to boot.
Scotch broth recipe - BBC Food https://share.google/TbWkwuqtLrROtiyZX
Yes, that's what the tins on Tess Coe's shelf look like...
For a moment, I thought my memory (or eyesight) might be at fault.
I've been feeling under the weather all day and am about to crawl into bed with a hot water bottle. Hoping for a better night's sleep than last night and that I wake up feeling better too.
I'd certainly be inclined to take the opportunity offered...
In other news, I slept badly (for no obvious reason) but got up early enough to go swimming for the first time since I slipped and fell a fortnight ago. I swam further than I'd intended to but am now feeling just a little bit stiff!
I slept reasonably well (everything is relative - I can't remember the last time I slept through a whole night) and still can't decide whether I feel marginally better this morning or not. But certainly no worse, so that's a kind-of win.
I am meeting a friend for lunch and some other friends this afternoon. Dull and grey here. There were apparently some spectacular Northern Lights around these parts yesterday evening although we didn't see any. Mr Nen went dashing out in the car especially to find them.
I have a quiet week ahead, so I must not fritter my time away on here .
Northern Lights would have been amazing here, it was too cloudy to see anything.
It's a nice sunny day here so husband has gone to the farm where he volunteers and I've been doing housework and an on-line Pilates class. Although it was short, I can feel that it has worked quite a few muscle groups. I have nothing on till this evening when I'm off to our Week for Christian Unity service where I'm reading the psalm. I need to get there early so I know what I'm doing.
Today is my last more or less lazy day till Saturday. I have various things on the next three days, including evenings.
Madam Sacristan has found me some SOUP, so I waited on her after Torture Pilates, and collected a tin of Royal Game, a tin of French Onion, and a tin of Cullen Skink
Meanwhile, lunch is CHICKEN in MUSHROOM SAUCE, and this afternoon will be given over to restage and snoozage. There are some Hoisin Duck Spring Rolls as a snack for this evening, a new item (I think) from Tess Coe.
Re committees (the practical alternative to work, some might say), Our Place's FatherInCharge runs a very tight ship when it comes to PCC meetings and the like. He keeps to the agenda, doesn't stray off-piste, and will not allow the PCC to run over two hours - they mostly take about an hour-and-a-half.
All too true, often enough.
Other descriptors are available.
But it was a church committee (discussing a report made by a church sub-committee) and this is a Christian website, so most descriptors wouldn't be suitable.
...the art of achieving results in a committee lies not so much in what you say, but what you ensure gets written in the minutes.
Shouldn't have let Paddington into your larder ...
I'm a bit late posting today; I was at a Vestry meeting and by the time I'd come home and unloaded the dishwasher it was quarter to ten.
As I didn't want to faff about with supper, I got a popty-ping chicken korma with rice and it was actually quite good.
A wise person once wrote of kirk sessions that if the elders are unanimous in a decision, they didn't understand the question. I have thirty years of experience to back that up.
I think it was C. Northcote Parkinson (of Parkinson's Law) who postulated that the maximum number for an effective committee is 5, since, if one calls in sick and one has forgotten about the meeting, three can get the work done.
Another chap changed his shoes and, after munching through some breakfast that looked as though it primarily consisted of coleslaw, proceeded to lick the lid of his tupperware container.
At least someone did give up their seat for someone in greater need. Meanwhile, I have a great insight on the financials of one particular company, as one of their staff was reading through a confidential presentation next to me.
The Week for Christian Unity service last night was really nice. Only downside was most of the hymns really weren't to my taste at all. However our assistant priest's homily that I wasn't looking forward to was excellent. I don't know if he was more focused than usual or it was because I could hear him better as we were in the community centre next to the church rather than the church itself.
Today I'm shortly off to an ENT appointment. My hearing in my left ear has declined a lot over the last couple of years. I think they'll want me to have a MRI scan, but as I'm claustrophobic I don't think I could cope with that.
This afternoon I'm meeting the guy that published my book last year to discuss sales and a publicity event in March. Then this evening we have a workshop at the Town Hall to discuss next year's budget. My husband already has passed on that somewhere he volunteers for wanted people to write to their Town Councillor on a funding issue. He just told me instead
Another dismal day in Arkland the Aqueous, where there appears to be as much water in the Air as in the River. There is at least a stiff breeze which may (if the Great God Hadad has mercy) blow the rain away.
I ventured out to Tess Coe and stocked up on Essentials, as BEER and SOSSIDGES, but jibbed at buying a whole Haggis. I was intending to check out the local butcher which Mr D recommended, but jibbed at getting out of the car into the wind and rain yet again. I like Haggis, but just a couple of slices would do.
The Dragon is working well, so the Ark is nice and warm, and lunch is cooking (Sweet n'Sour Chicken with Egg Fried Rice). Our Creek seems to be getting a bit low on Coal, so a fresh order will be placed soon. Meanwhile, Neighbour S (who has a sort of reserve stock) will make certain I don't run out completely, though I notice that we're using up bags left over from 2024. The plastic degrades over time, and the bags being used at the moment have tendency to split, which is how we can tell their age!
I’ve had a long and busy week so far, with marking and an evening tutorial to contend with. I’ve just returned one load of completed marking (on practitioners working with young people) and need to start another pile (on the impact of living and working conditions on healthy lifestyles) tomorrow.
I think this evenings meat is muntjac saddle, which I might pan fry with garlic and thyme butter. Need to decide on the accompanying veg though.
Today has been grey and wet and miserable and I have not been out at all. I've been pegging away (without much enthusiasm) at the Sorting that is happening here and have to keep reminding myself that anything I do is a bonus and trying not to be shocked at what's coming out of the cupboards and drawers.
Supper was Tessie's smoked haddock fishcakes and green things, and very nice indeed.
BF, I don't know about your Tessie's, but the haggis I got at ours was by a company called Macintosh's, and came with neeps and tatties ready to put in the popty-ping.
The ENT appointment was a bit of a waste of time as I declined an MRI or CT scan. I know they are doing some research around here as to whether cochlear implants are good for someone with my level of hearing loss, but as that is something I don't want to entertain at the moment and I have no symptoms of anything nasty I couldn't see the point of wasting money scanning me. I did get to have a nice chat with my favourite audiologist though.
The meeting with my friend about book event went well though and my council meeting was excellent. I now have a handle on the budget proposals, and all the briefing notes to look through at my leisure.
I did get very fed up with going into and out of town three times today, specially as it was raining loads on several of my trips.
Dinner will be a bit of a fridge clear - chicken, prawn, chorizo, red pepper, rice whatever-you-will paella.
Otherwise, a pottering, doing-nothing-much day (albeit with the occasional short bout of S & Q in the wheelhouse), though I have done a fair bit of Dust Ing and Tidy Ing. Fatigue has ensued, so now I'm waiting for the Dragon to cook me some nice CHICKEN n'CHIPS.
I think there's another episode of A Touch Of Frost on YouTube this evening. I must have seen them all on TV first time round, though IMHO they're well worth re-watching.
Yoga this morning followed by coffee with the ladies. My osteoarthritis is playing up but I managed to persevere.
I had planned on doing some marking this afternoon but I have decided that 5 afternoons of marking a week is too heavy going and I just did admin and emails instead. It does mean increased marking to do tomorrow afternoon though.
Church group this evening. I think tea is some form of white fish, possibly cod. I might make fish soup (not quite Cullen Skink as it is not smoked).
Ah... Edinburgh as I remember it.
My meeting tonight has been cancelled due to illness (not mine).
I shelled out for a can of Cullen skink yesterday so I look forward to trying it.