Today I shall be Mainly...

[Stanley]

I am back up and the chicken is browning in the oven.... I am having a hot drink and then will be off on my veggie cooking trip.... All is well......

[Gloria]

That's very good news Sue and I am so glad for you both.
Warmer here than yesterday and I had a successful trip to the Town Square for my veggies. They have gone up again. How can one man eat £28 worth of veggies in just over a week with nothing wasted?
I've stopped honest endeavour for the day and am going to watch snooker....

Stanley, do you have an Aldi handy for you, their veg are good and not expensive?

[Tripps]

Stanley, do you have an Aldi handy for you, their veg are good and not expensive?

Yes he does Gloria, and Ian has offered to take him, but he likes his routine - and why not if that's what suits.

From the "tea" thread
David I am always struck by how cheap my butcher is and I think you could describe Stuart as 'craft'. A chicken, 2lbs of chicken wings and half a dozen eggs comes to about £16 a week.

How can one man eat £28 worth of veggies in just over a week with nothing wasted?

I could nearly halve his butcher and greengrocer expenses, but that involves me having a car which costs me about £30 per week so it's a matter of "swings and roundabouts". Trying to suggest any change in routine is a lost cause, (see energy ) and really none of my business.
Carry on. . . .

PS Big Kev has written in the What for Tea thread, and gives precise costs which confirms what I said above.
Ther'll be no change though. Fair enough - cost isn't the only thing that matters.

[Stanley]

It's so nice to have so many people taking an interest in me.... Thanks to all of you.
Yes, I know my actions may seem perverse at times but I like patronising the local shops and don't mind paying more for the convenience of being able to walk to them. In the case of the butcher that doesn't apply as he delivers my meat every Friday at no extra cost. There is also the fact that all his meat is locally sourced.....
Today I have no cooking or shopping to do, I did it all yesterday. I shall be in the shed at 06:00 as usual working on my steam valve. And yes, I think it's time to be ordering another batch of castings.....
It's also time to get out in the cold in the back yard to put the fancy moulding round my nice oak plinths but I'll take a view on that later. Tomorrow is supposed to be much warmer for one day so that might be favourite.

[Stanley]

More work refining the steam valve. First to cut the slot for the driver key and fit that. Next I machined the recess in the bottom of the valve which is the steam passage. Then to make sure the valve is central in the valve chest and drill the 5/32" hole for the valve rod through the valve. Tomorrow I shall transfer that bore to the driver and drill and tap that for the 4BA thread on the valve rod.

[Sue]

Morning

Just noticed the Aldi thread and cost of food elsewhere. I think I have said before that the prices in France are so high we have long since abandoned a proper butcher and the big Super U supermarket and now buy all out meat and veg at Lidl where it is all a fraction of the price and I am sure on a par with Aldi. Here we use Bacup market for meat shopping at the local farmers butcher outlet, also saving a fortune. Fruit and veg there is also cheap but we tend to buy the 3 for two packs in Tesco , which we get delivered, which also works out cheap. We are still working through a large bag of French homegrown potatoes. We eat few potatoes so they seem to be lasting us for ever.

Yesterdays trip to Christie was long but successful . Bob starts 5 weeks of radiotherapy in about two weeks time. It will be like going back to work joining the motorway rush every day, except weekends. All appointments are in the afternoon thank goodness.

This morning I have sewing with Maxine then lunch out with Wendy and Keith. Its also the morning of our annual burglar alarm check.

Have a good day all

[PanBiker]

At last you have a treatment plan in place. Best of luck to Bob with that.

[Stanley]

Later.... Even more honest endeavour. I have cooked my sweet potato chip treats. The kitchen and workshop are now closed....

[Stanley]

The oak plinths slowly absorb raw linseed oil at the end of the shed and will not get in the way of me doing further work on the valve train at 06:00 this morning. I have one bit of cooking to do for pleasure later this morning after second sleep. I got a pound of ordinary mince yesterday and with the help of onions, garlic and spices I will convert it into savoury mince.....
After that, who knows?

[Stanley]

Today I finished fitting the steam valve in the steam chest. This entailed drilling the driver block and tapping 4BA to accept the valve rod. Then I put witness marks on the block and the valve to ensure proper orientation. Then I opened the drilling of the steam valve enough to allow the valve to float, even when driven, and to be able to sit down flat on the valve face. That took the whole of the hour.... Now for breakfast!

[Sue]

Morning

Bacup and Burnley markets this morning, then this afternoon a visit from our neighbours who have just returned from two family weddings in Pakistan. Otherwise a day sorting out packing for our annual trip to the Lakes, leaving tomorrow. This evening is u3a zoom wine group meeting.

Have a good day all

[Stanley]

Looks as though you might be experiencing a winter wonderland in the Lake District. The forecasts for next week point to far colder but brighter and a high chance of snow as the winds come down from the North. Good luck with it.

[Stanley]

I've had a good sleep. Now for a bit of light entertainment, cooking savoury mince.....

[Cathy]

Stanley… what’s with the can of Pilchards in your Savoury Mince?

[PanBiker]

I was going to ask the same. Replace with kidney beans and fresh Chilli to taste.

[Big Kev]

Pilchards and minced beef is not something I've tried, I would imagine it's an acquired taste but wouldn't knock it until I'd tried it.

[Stanley]

If you've never had small oily fish in your beef stew you've missed out on a very acceptable increase in depth of taste. The acme is anchovies but I happened to have this small can of Pilchards about my person.....
The resulting savoury beef mince was very acceptable and is now enhancing the veggies.....
I shall be in the shed working on my valve train this morning and have resolved to bite the bullet and order the next set of castings, the crankshaft is already chopped out of the solid and is sat on the kitchen table waiting for it's supporting cast!
The main event of the day is going to be the Masters final. Forget the controversy whirling around Ronnie and enjoy the show. Will he be on form? That's one of the beauties of watching Ronnie, you never know what you are going to get but at his peak he is sublime.....

[Stanley]

Today I have to make sense of the governor stand which is also a support and guide for the valve rod. I started by milling the two faces that it's essential are at right angles to each other and then I settled in to slow patient handwork to get it looking as though someone cares! All this took 50 minutes and I finished up ready to drill for the valve rod and the two bolts that will hold the stand on to the base. It looks a bit more presentable now....

[Sue]

Morning

Not sure about the pilchards and mince Stanley but perhaps worth a try since beans and most veg are now off Bobs diet. We are about to become Jack Spratt and his wife for a few weeks as everything i am supposed to avoid or eat is everything Bob should eat or avoid.

Its a beautiful dawn and very cold out there. We shall have our cooked breakfast, minus the beans and the mushrooms, and tootle off up to the Lakes. We are going via Preston as Claire wants us to call in on the way, we usually do the scenic route via Barrowford , and up to Kirby Lonsdale etc. We shall still pick up our Tesco order for the week at Haslingden Barbara, Bill, Wendy and Keith are joining us this year until Wednesday / Thursday which will be very nice indeed and quite lively. Bob and I have to come back fleetingly tomorrow for Bob to have the stitches taken out , after his minor op last Wednesday.

So thats it, have a good day. Its going to be cold, -2 at the moment.

[Stanley]

I'm surprised to hear everyone being surprised by the juxtaposition of oily fish with beef. Try it Sue, I guarantee you'll like the enhancement!
The weather may play a part in your experience in the Lakes. Don't underestimate the onset of the northern weather that will become more intrusive from Tuesday onwards... I wish you luck!
Now I'm off to bed.... a good way of seeing the daylight in....

[Sue]

We are well prepared Stanley. This is the same weather we get every year, and we go more or less the same dates every year because it is a time share. We have been snowed in many a year, and very icy under foot too. This year snow is forecast on Tuesday and Wednesday, but otherwise dry and very cold. We do walk but only on safe low routes

[Stanley]

Good, I should have known better than try to teach my grandmother to suck eggs!
I was thinking about Bob and his 5 days a week appointments and I remembered hearing a lady on Woman's Hour who had survived a very serious cancer. She was asked what was the worst part of the experience and she said it was the appointments. I remember how much I agreed with her and I suspect Bob will feel the same after 5 wseeks. Tell him he has my sympathy!
I have been very brave and have been out for a short walk and a shop at the Co-op for garlic. Susan and Mick bought me a mohair scarf for my birthday and it is wonderfully warm......

[Big Kev]

I have a couple of friends who both underwent the daily radiotherapy sessions, both said the worst part was the journey to and from the hospital. They do both live down south and had to travel into London and, despite both losing their sense of taste (they had neck cancers), still said the journey was the worst bit. I can say both are in remission and regained their sense of taste

[PanBiker]

A shared experience with Sally's essions at Cookridge. I swear the car knew it's own way! Not sure if they still do it now but Sally still has her three tattoos for for targeting the machine. Best of luck to Bob.

[Gloria]

My husband had radiotherapy at Preston, every day for 3 months barring bank holidays and weekends, it did the trick.