Today I shall be Mainly...

[Stanley]

It's annoying isn't it Sue. Hard Luck.
I declined the shed this morning. I had another broken night as regards sleep and went back to bed instead. I have just got up after three hours sleep and I think I am OK now. Something to do with age....

[Sue]

I cannot work with frozen supermarket Bread (or Milk). Peas are ok.
Whatever I planned to do today , I didnt , still have an evening out planned though.

Never seen frozen bread or milk in a supermarket. I like the bread that is made in the bakery at Lidl and Morrisons. I always use to buy bread made by our boulangère friend on Bacup and later Burnley markets but he has given up as he could not make a living . But we actually eat very little bread. A bit of toast with Sunday breakfast perhaps a sandwich one or two lunchtimes or with soup.

[Big Kev]

I've enjoyed the low GI cob loaf from Lidl, it's bad for me but I can't resist

[Whyperion]

I cannot work with frozen supermarket Bread (or Milk). Peas are ok.
Whatever I planned to do today , I didnt , still have an evening out planned though.

Never seen frozen bread or milk in a supermarket. I like the bread that is made in the bakery at Lidl and Morrisons. I always use to buy bread made by our boulangère friend on Bacup and later Burnley markets but he has given up as he could not make a living . But we actually eat very little bread. A bit of toast with Sunday breakfast perhaps a sandwich one or two lunchtimes or with soup.

I meant getting the stuff , then freezing it cos a "half loaf" costs more than an end of sell by date full size one. Actually not really bought bread for some years but from community lunches etc I tend to take the ends of the left over "loves". Ditto Milk - though one freezes milk for the next week , its tolerable in coffee. We dont get the frozen milk of the past that was in the bottles the blue tits pecked in winter the tops of (indeed Blue Tits seem to have disappeared - I think they had a virus that has knocked a lot out.

[Stanley]

I shall get my chicken in the oven before going in the shed to play with castings. Marvellous how fast chicken time comes round!

[Stanley]

I set the bed up and milled the bottom face and then took the vise off the mill and started to set up the bed fastened directly to the bed so that I can mill the target end and the other flat surfaces. They will all be square and perpendicular.

[Sue]

Morning

We had a beautiful day yesterday once the morning drizzle disappeared . Temperatures were up to 19 degrees and perfect for a bit of garden maintenance. Hopefully I will get that finished this afternoon as next week is forecast to be wetter. However round here the forecast is even more variable than at home.

Today is a public holiday…All Saints Day. It has fallen on a Saturday this year so few will get a days holiday. In France the public holiday day is always on the day the date falls and if it is on a weekend it is not substituted for another day . There are however activities going on in various places. There is a big antiques fair at our local town which we will go to. Its a bit out of our price league but always interesting to browse.

Today is forecast 14 degrees and after morning rain , a sunny breezy afternoon. Have a good day all

[Stanley]

You're doing better than we are with the weather Sue.... we have another lousy, wet windy day here. It isn't properly light yet.
I am back up after second sleep and ready to deal with my chicken when it has had a bit longer, you know I like my birds well-done! I was thinking of going veggie shopping today but have ditched the idea because it looks as though tomorrow will be a more pleasant day.....

[PanBiker]

Bosom Friends Coffee Morning for me this morning. Crumpets and fruit teacakes on offer or a biscuit and maybe cake.

Sourdough loaf in the planning stages, starter is arguing with itself for a few hours.

[Sue]

You're doing better than we are with the weather Sue.... we have another lousy, wet windy day here. It isn't properly light yet.
I am back up after second sleep and ready to deal with my chicken when it has had a bit longer, you know I like my birds well-done! I was thinking of going veggie shopping today but have ditched the idea because it looks as though tomorrow will be a more pleasant day.....

The forecast is rain every day but it seems to be doing that heavily every night, leaving the skies clear and blue during the day. Its very pleasant indeed but rather soggy underfoot . We emptied the water butt when we came as it was a bit yukky. It refilled overnight

[Stanley]

I shall be in the shed working on castings. Later I suspect I will be veggie shopping at the Co-op. It looks like another cold wet day....

[Sue]

Morning

The rain arrived earlier than expected yesterday afternoon. I had just finished my gardening, indeed that is all my gardening till I cover the pots for the winter. Bob however got a bit wet as he was half way through taking down a very dead sweet chestnut tree. We were worried it was going to fall down on to the adjacent farmers field. We went to the antiques fair in the morning but it wasn’t inspiring. There are only so many Breton religious statues you can look at plus glasses and fine porcelain tea sets.

Today I shall do a little baking, scones and sausage rolls. Laetitia and family are coming around 3.30 pm for gouté( afternoon tea) . Laetitia is bringing cake. I hesitated to meet up until I had got over my cold. The catarrh is lingering on but I won’t be infectious now. We are having a big breakfast so cutting out lunch. I have made a fish pie for our main meal later but I doubt we will need it, depending on how much we eat at gouté. It will save until tomorrow.

It rained hard overnight , but is due to be dry with sun and cloud today, about 14 degrees. So thats our day. Have a good one all

[Stanley]

Morning Sue! That's very much the weather view that we have, there is enough blue sky to make a sailor a pair of trousers already.....
"There are only so many Breton religious statues you can look at"
I like that Sue....
This morning is indeed a veggie shopping morning as soon as the Cathedral of Choice opens at 10:00.
I haven't done my shed run yet. I realised that what I wanted to do was seek and find a piece of holding down tackle that is missing and that will do later after I have got my veggies.

[Stanley]

I'm back from the Co-op with a good score of fresh veggies but reduced in price. I reckon a fiver cheaper than Gulam's....
The cauliflower leaves are very fresh and I have four head's worth in the pressure cooker as I write. Very good morning I am a happy bunny!

[PanBiker]

Made a start on my remembrance cross distribution at Ghyll this morning while the sun was shining. Managed a bout 2/3rds but already with few lost this year. A bit to finish off in there next visit then on to the churchyard. I came away as I had to call as ALDI on my way home and do some baking. It was chucking it down by the time I got to ALDI.

On the baking front, I have made a soft sourdough sandwich loaf and a small round loaf with a bit of over eager dough. I have also made another six sourdough discard Naans which will go in the freezer when they have cooled. Time for a sit down now with a brew and a bit of telly, Antiques Road Show then probably the next episode of Taboo which is on Netflix. Tom Hardy leads as the main protagonist in Georgian England. Recommended..

[Stanley]

You may have noticed I never got in the shed in my search for the missing work holding fixture. I shall do better this morning I promise!
After second sleep my path is clear, veggie cooking is upon us again and I scored the raw materials at the Co-op yesterday. So it can rain as much as it likes....

[Cathy]

I’ve finished my jigsaw, it was a tricky one (aren’t they all), I really enjoyed doing it.
Onto the next.
.

IMG_5494.jpeg

[Sue]

I’ve finished my jigsaw, it was a tricky one (aren’t they all), I really enjoyed doing it.
Onto the next.
.
IMG_5494.jpeg

Morning

Cathy I love jigsaws.i bet all that blue background was difficult. Luckily when we are in France we have an old small table that we can leave by a window. It just takes a jig saw board big enough for a 1000 piece plus jigsaw. We permanently have ongoing jigsaws on it and are well known for it by our neighbours and friends here. At home it is a little more inconvenient as we have to use the dining room table putting it out of action. We usually only do them in the winter at home, where we have 4 queuing up at the moment.

Our afternoon tea went well yesterday, though my scones did not rise very well. I prefer English flour for scones as french flour is plain flour so extra baking powder has to be added to get them to rise. I don’t think I added enough but laetitia and the lads still tucked in. Cream is also an issue as there is no equivalent to clotted cream, or indeed fresh cream for whisking. I did find some in Lidl that thickened reasonable well after whisking but was not like clotted cream, the strawberry jam was home made in the summer when strawberries were very cheap.

Today is forecast dry and 17 degrees. Bob wants to take down the rest of the dead tree, we need to weed kill the gravel drive or it will be impossible to deal with in March, and I want to treat the lawn with lime to try to get rid of some rampant fungus. I shall wash the big towels as they may dry outside. Have a good day all

[Stanley]

Morning Sue....



This morning was a perfect example of how time can be wasted if something is mislaid. I wanted another hold down like the one on the left. I knew I had one but couldn't find it. I wasted almost half an hour searching and then threw a substitute together like to one on the right. It will do the job OK but it would have been better if I'd found the right one. Ah well.....

[Stanley]

I've reassessed and realised I don't need to cook veggies today, it would be better tomorrow... So an easier day than I thought. Sounds like a trigger for a dadnap to me!

[Stanley]

I shall spend an hour on my castings first thing and then, after second sleep, I will cook my veggies. I think that will fill my day!

[Stanley]

This morning was some careful milling of the bed using a blunt cutter. This led to some problems with the cutter coming loose but I managed the cut across the target end, the surface of the crosshead slide and the aperture between the horns of the casting without any major mistakes. The beauty of this setting is that the cuts are all guaranteed to be perpendicular. Now I am after my breakfast!

[Sue]

Morning

It was a busy morning treating the lawn but a quiet afternoon. It took Bob most of the day to saw up the old tree into logs but that is one job done that has been worrying us.

Today we are expecting the estate agent to call, she messaged us and explained that the intended viewers decided not to proceed as they really wanted a detached house. Our neighbour turned up with furniture for his house. He has been unable to sell and is renting it out. Joanne and Paul have decided to move to their newly built bungalow and just leave their existing house empty and on the market. The market appears to be dead as a dodo. We will probably lower our price.

Today we are also expecting Yves to call for a coffee as he is working in the area. Then this afternoon we need to shop for milk and a few essentials. This evening I have zoom pilates. I did zoom yoga last night. It promises to be a nice day. Have a good day all

[Stanley]

Like you Sue, I needed milk today so I resolved to wait until it stopped raining.... After half an hour I realised I could be sat here all day so I put my Schoffel waterproof on and went and did the deed. Still raining but I am dry and warm and have milk.
I'm glad Bob got his tree processed.

[Stanley]

Right, that's that job done.... All my veggies cooked. I am waiting for the hob to cool now so that I can clean it. Always a nice point in my week!