A blog for heart matters and natters.
Many years ago Delia Smith gave a recipe for potato based pizza, which apart from potato contained flour (gluten free in my case), margarine or oil and a bit of baking powder.
Over the years we have gradually changed the recipe proportions to adapt to various uses and it is a successful and tasty way to use leftover mash or freshly cooked and cooled potatoes.
Public transport is great if it is conveniently located and reliable.
It is here and coupled with very friendly drivers means it is a first choice for getting into the city. No parking worries and the actual journey time is very similar - often even quicker if you factor in the time taken to park.
Using a motorway is a fantastic way to travel quickly. But not so good when there has been an accident.
Whilst obviously much worse for those directly involved it can affect many people, for hours.
The M5 does seem particularly prone to incidents especially at this time of the year when people unused to motorway driving or those towing are using a motorway.
But what complete bonehead decided that removing the hard shoulder from the M4 and giving it over to a lane - with laybys only intermittent, was a good idea? They should be in prison every time someone gets killed after breaking down.
There is something very rewarding about tidying up. It is also an opportunity to get rid of those items that take up space but are not used/played with or will ever be missed.
The same goes for the garden, hedge trimming, pruning and generally cutting back. It is a never ending task of keeping everythng in check.
What a wet day, again. June is a real hit or miss month and never seems to live up to its reputation.
Still it is a good opportunity to do jobs around the house.
One of the satisfying things in cooking is to make something with simple ingredients, then cook them and eat them all quite quickly.
Welsh cakes are very good to make - and eat. It is nice to vary the recipe too. Using different dried fruit and/or spices means that they are always a treat.
I enjoy washing clothes and particularly like the challenge of removing stains of any sort. I have tried various liquids/powders temperatures and types of programmes.
Most stains will come out especially if they are still wet.
But the worst stain of all is mould. Because it is a living stain it is very hard to get rid of but it can be done as long as the material is not too delicate.
One of the dispiriting things that I think that councils always do wrong is spending on the future. And for me that is children. Our local parks are barely adequate and really do need much more investment. It would be wonderful to see great play equipment and plenty for children to do rather than the money wasted on yet another idiotic scheme for cyclists.
I previously painted some stones and put the names of the trees/bushes/plants on. I used exterior primer/undercoat then gloss paint but unless they were very sheltered, they have not weathered very well at all.
So now I am trying with acrylic paint and covering with PVA. there is some PVA on the sandstones and it has not come off since it was spilt there quite a few years ago, so let's see.
One of the annoying things about living on the coast is the winds, often very strong. They do seem to be almost continual. Too strong to be of any use for drying washing but always irritating. Anything above 5mph is a nuisance.
Having a restricted diet means that eating out can be very difficult. But fortunately many restaurants/cafes/pubs are well aware and cater extremely successfully for us.
But it is also great to see that they are fully able to alter their menus with minimum fuss.
Topped off with generous proportions means that eating out locally is a pleasure not a chore.
I do think that there is something rather satisfying about volunteering. It makes one feel part of a community and puts something back as well.
Some volunteering is done because the local council is simply spending too much money on diversity officers and training as well as gold plated pensions.
Often the volunteering relates to an interest and may help support a local club by drastically reducing any cost.
However someone volunteers, I genuinely believe that not only does it help mental wellbeing but also physically.
We have always fed the birds during winter when their food is scarce.
Loose seeds/suet etc. is not so good as it attracted wood pigeons, grey squirrels and probably other unwelcome vermin.
We tried a block of suet/seeds and grains in a special metal holder. That was okay but we think we have found the best and most popular idea - it is a half coconut packed with suet/fat/seeds/ etc.
Cheap to buy and it attracts the local blue tits, great tits and robins and because of its location on a bendy branch there is no chance for the larger birds to gobble it all, nor any possible rodents. I don't think that the grey squirrel has bothered either. So all in all a great success.
A month of wet, damp weather doesn't help get rid of viruses/colds etc but encourages them surely.
I read about the amount of viruses there are in the oceans. So it is no surprise that the evaporation. clouds and precipitation may contribute to the continual bombardment of viruses.
Viruses like computer viruses are destructive and simply replicate. Again I have read that viruses are not alive but are a halfway between inorganic and organic and that they can never make that transition to a life form.
Suffice to say that we have the lurgy, it is not Covid but a bad, very bad cold type virus.
What do people go on holidays for? Relaxation, cultural, discovery family etc?
Obviously different holidays satisfy different people but I have always thought that when abroad it is a big opportunity to go off the beaten track and see and sample the real way the local people live.
A great experience to be sitting in a remote small rural restaurant alongside local farmers on a dinnertime and eat superb simple locally cooked food. A choice of tow mains - meat, chipped potatoes and salad and bowls of olives or fish, chipped potatoes and salad and cowls of olives. Wonderful.
Question - What is better than a Christmas dinner?
Answer - A Christmas dinner cooked for you. So a great opportunity to play games/toys etc and simply sit down and enjoy a wonderful meal with all the extras.
It was a lovely service at church which started the whole day.
What is the special part for you? Surely family is the main focus.
One of the biggest joys of the whole Christmastime is to watch a school nativity play.
It is such a busy full term for those that had started school for the first time and after a breather of a half term holiday, the focus is on Christmas.
The excitement of the young children coupled with the seriousness they took their roles was a sheer joy.
Such unique unrepeatable times.
