Cooks.

 We had Yorkshire pudding today - not easy gluten and dairy free. I expect everyone has a favourite recipe and sticks to it - if it ain't broke. But we use an adapted Delia Smith recipe to compensate for the lack of gluten and fat in non milks.

It's a bit the same with roast potatoes, do you boil them then shake them up a bit and put them in hot oil/fat? Or do you do the above then leave them to go cold before the hot oil/fat? Do you add flour? So many variations but I do think the one essential is to use either King Edward or Maris Piper potatoes and older/larger ones - we also leave the skins on as it adds to the texture and flavour.

Books

 Just over 150 years ago local county libraries were established. What a marvellous opportunity for anyone to learn and discover.

It is wonderful to see libraries thriving today and adapting to modern times. For youngsters there is Lego club, board games and coding club as well as the reading and rhyme time groups.

It allows us to try out new authors which gives the opportunity to reserve more or better still buy knowing they will be a worthwhile purchase.

Food, (not so) glorious food...

It is surprising what ingredients pop up in many different products.

For example barley malt extract. It crops up in cereals, 'Mars' bars, Horlicks, sauces.etc.

One has to be very careful when trying to avoid eating barley malt extract.

Webbed feet

 Another weather update but I think that it is worth noting.

During September we had three time the average rainfall. On just two days we did have the average September rainfall.

The only real surprise is that the water company hasn't introduced a hosepipe ban.

School petri dish

 Does it happen every year after children go back to school.

There is a swap of viruses and bouts of sickness amongst the children and kindly passed on to parents and anyone coming into contact with them.

It also happens at univeristies when students start or restart their terms and the dreadful and dangerous meningitis can be passed on.

Viruses are tiny and can cause so much trouble. I understand that they are a halfway life form, not quite alive but able to reproduce - destructively. Will there ever be a time when viruses do not exist?

Alidl

 Are you a Lidl or Aldi shopper or neither or both?

They are interesting shops and great value for the basics. The middle aisles are always interesting too.

Does anyone remember Tchibo in the UK? They were a great place to go to also. It was a shame that they didn't carry on in the UK.

For keeps or lent?

 Is it sacrelige to have pancakes outside of Shrove Tuesday?

Nope.

They are tasty any time of the year and can be savoury or sweet. They don't take long to make and cook but for such simple ingredients they taste so good. And even dairy free and gluten free are really great options.

Saw bay

 Has anyone tried cutting a well established bay tree? I find that bay tree wood is very hard to cut so this time I used a chain saw.

My goodness, how quickly it cut through the branches. But it needs treating with the utmost respect and safety equipment is essential. What did impress me though is how quickly it stopped when there was the slightest letting go of the controls. Despite its power it actually felt very safe to use.

Shreddies

 I am fortunate enough to have a garden shredder. It always surprises and amazes me how quickly the shredded material breaks down into the ground. Particularly compared to un-shredded branches. 

For the first time, instead of putting the twigs and prunings straight into the compost bin, I shredded them first. And goodness what a difference, it has already started to compost so rapidly. I will do this from now on.

When I looked in the compost bin it was so busy with woodlice - there always seems so many in the garden, worms, snails, slugs and occasionally a slow worm.

UFO spotted

 Looking up into the sky today we saw a mysterious object, It moved very slowly across the blue sky and was very bright.

It gave off a lot of radiation which we could sense on our skin.

It has disappeared now but we will look again tomorrow to see if it returns.

Hay up

 It's that time of year for hay fever sufferer's.

Whilst I now get problems earlier in the year - I have read that birch trees can cause these issues at that time of the year, it was around this time that I used to get real problems.

Particularly when sitting my exams. I can remember during one exam that my eyes were watering so much that I stopped writing for a while and had to sit with my head back before I could go on. Dreadful.

Painting

 Am I alone in enjoying painting room? I like painting the walls best but also ceilings. It is always satisfying because I can paint a large area quite quickly and it makes so much difference to a room.

My tools of choice are good quality brushes and I now use mini rollers rather than the standard larger rollers. I find that they make far less mess but still cover the areas quickly.

The modern water based gloss paints are so much easier too. And they don't seem to yellow like the old oil based paints always did - regardless of make and quality.

The ivy league

 It was a day to do some gardening - namely weeding.

This is the year of the bindweed. What an annoying plant it is. Unless you get out every piece of root it will simply re-grow. 

Brambles are a real nuisance too. One part of the garden had a monster bramble about eight metres long. It had grown rapidly and was a beggar to remove. Its thorns were vicious.

Finally English ivy. What a nuisance this is. Its ability to cling and root itself in cracks is what makes it so difficult to get at. It makes everything so dull and is so smothering.

A day out

 We went to Bristol today.

Cabot circus seems to be thriving but Broadmead and the Galleries are a shadow of their former selves. No BHS, no Debenhams, no M&S and others. It does look sad. 

Still, for a day out there were plenty of shops to go in and buy from.

Apart from the internet shopping, it surely cannot help shops when there is an idiotic Clean Air Zone charge, parking charges and exorbitant rents. Well done the dimwits for killing town and city centres.

Springing along

 Time to redecorate.

One of the jobs that I enjoy doing myself is decorating. I like painting the walls - not so much the ceiling as it is extra hard work. But it is really satisfying to repaint a room. It really does make it look so much fresher and brighter.

Compo

 I am always intrigued to see how old banana skins, egg shells, apple cores, pumpkin skins, discarded ends of courgettes, shredded paper etc. are turned into friable compost. 

It was time to empty the compost bin today and the worms along with the ubiquitous woodlice had done their job once again. We even had a slow worm sat on top of the compost this time.

Slow

Have you tried using the slow cooker to make bread?

We have two slow cookers, one large, one small. I decided to make gluten free sourdough in the small one. It is a ceramic pot which I greased first and put some greaseproof paper in the bottom. I put the mixture in and heated it up a bit, then left it to rise. Once risen I put the slow cooker on again on high and it was pretty good - more cooked at the bottom than the top as you would expect but all okay. 

It is worth a go and doesn't take long.

Boxing match

 A sad day as we had to cut back our old box tree after the devastation that it got last year from box tree caterpillars. They had not only eaten every leaf but also stripped the new bark. Looking around the town the box tree moth has been quite widespread. It is unlikely we will try and grow any in the future.

Around the garden there were quite a few rogue holly and bay plants growing. These needed digging out and removing. 

Rain, rain go away

 There is a local weather station in Clevedon and it recorded double the average rainfall for the whole of February, which will come as no surprise to anyone living here.

The rain has continued into March, but a dry day today so a gardening opportunity. Weeding.

There was one main culprit to clear - Lords and Ladies, the wet conditions must be its ideal conditions.

But from seemingly nowhere there were two very long brambles, which had rooted at both ends. Fortunately with the ground being so wet it was a bit easier to dig them out roots and all. The thorns were vicious though.

An ivy growing on a wall was another unwelcome plant which took some removing.

Finally for today were three Himalayan honeysuckles already well established in between a gap in the wall and path. They look a bit gloomy to me, a bit funereal. As the stems were hollow, I left about six inches of stems on each plant and poured a bit of weedkiller into the stem.

Medical man

 Today's job for Lent was to go through all the medicines and check which are out of date. 

Goodness it is surprising what different medicines that we have tucked away that are no longer valid. Ointments and creams too.

We took them all to the pharmacy.

Whilst I wouldn't take out of date medicines I am not sure if they become dangerous or simply ineffective. 

Shrove Thursday?

 This post is before next Tuesday which is Shrove Tuesday.

So time to think what to do for Lent. We like to give up something but also do something for the forty days.

Simple, no chocolate. I hope that there will be a loss of weight as a bonus.

This year it is an opportunity again to do all the little jobs that get put off during the year.

I like to do Lent on all days apart from each Sunday, thereby resulting in forty days.

But on Shrove Tuesday it has to be pancakes with sugar and lemon.

High point of the day.

An early start because of an appointment in Bristol.

We went to Cossham Hospital. It is an impressive Victorian building with some new additions.

We had never been there before and didn't know that it is the highest part of Bristol. It wasn't a totally clear day but the view was still very impressive.

The area is well worth a visit even if you don't have a hospital appointment. We found that the local people there to be very friendly too.

New Years' Resolutions

 What resolutions, if any have you made this year? Did you keep all those that you made last year?

For me I try not to over estimate what resolutions to make, that way I am less inclined to fail or give up altogether.

10,000 steps a day? Nope. Instead rather than walking the shortest distance, I walk a different route which includes an incline. It doesn't take much longer but it does make the heart work harder. 

Going to the gym? Nope. But kettlebell exercises are easy to keep doing especially if they are in a place in the home where you constantly walk past.

Gardening is great exercise and am I a rarity in that I enjoy cleaning - though I am not obsessive about it.

Give up chocolate? Nope. Why on earth would anyone give up chocolate?