Easter :: Friday Catch Up

Hello there, I hope you had a lovely time at Easter. This week has flown by with lots happening in a short week. We had a lovely time over Easter... a 4 day break. Followed by Doctor's appointments for thyroid blood check (waiting results). Hospital for dietitian, very interesting but hard to understand (foreign accent), feeling hopeful but it's all going to take time. Doctor's today for an inflamed lump... antibiotics and a letter sent to the breast clinic. Always check and go see your doctor... it may be nothing.
My Nan passed away today, at 97 years old, she lived a good life. She had 10 children and numerous grandchildren. It's safe to say that she will be missed. Mum phoned and said that my uncle passed away 12 days ago as well. 
I feel all behind lately, so a quick Friday Catch Up blog today. Thank you for visiting and leaving a comment, I'll try to catch up with visiting this week. 

Easter flowers and an enjoyable read. Set in wartime Britain, not children evacuees but pregnant woman. The WI are involved and plenty of cups of tea.  

Easter Cactus from Morrison's. I thought the flowers would open like the Christmas Cactus. These flowers open in the sun and close in the evenings. 

The mystery KAL (knit-a-long) for Lent, finished - all he ends have been sewn in now. It's 50% wool and acrylic, so nice and warm as a small lap blanket. The Kildalton Cross, Isle of Islay. 

Book read for the Bookclub. A very good read, not a psychological thriller (thankfully) but with twists and surprises, you'll definitely be entertained.  

A before and after of a 'clean & treat' garden bench 'Nancy Birtwhistle' style. Using home ingredients  to remove the algae and bird droppings and to preserve the wood. 

At the village coffee morning, a little girl handed out crochet flowers. Her Grandma made them. It was so sweet to be given a flower and have your cup of tea and scone order taken, by a little person :)
I think she was 7 years old. 

 Not a lot of birthday cake left over. Morris is his name. 

Happy Birthday to my son, first born, number 1 son... Nathanael / Nat... 25 years old! 

That's all my news for now, take care.
Cx

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Five Minute Gardening

Hello there, it's Angus here.

I've heard Mistress reminiscing about 'that cat QT', she told me that he used to write a few of her blogs. I thought I'd flex my muscles, blow on my paws and tap the key board... I mean, how hard can it be? I hear mixed stories about QT, Mistress says he was lovely, sweet natured and good company. Master says he was grumpy and swore a lot. To be honest I found him a bit stand-offish, the first time we met he took a swipe at me with a loud hiss. Not very friendly!

My personality is 'total devotion' to my people, I adore my all family, they are my world. Cats can be funny creatures, though Mistress says she loves all cats, she's thankfully found some love for me.
I've been with my family for nearly 5 years now. I knew QT for less than a year before he developed dementia, he was 21 years old when he left us. At the end he tolerated me and forgot to hiss at me.  

Whilst Mistress is catching up on the house work, follow me outside to see the garden. Ps I'm booked in to see the lovely groomer this month for a spa day, so don't mind the fluff.  

I always have a quick sniff around, then I like to sit or lay down on the grass. 

It's important to be comfortable. 

I find things look better upside down... you should try it :) 

Superman! I have a good stretch before finally getting up and going for a wander round the garden. 

Now where were we? Let's go, this way.

I remember QT used to keep an eye on the birds outside, my people won't put out bird food here, they say I'm an animal eating 'everything'... they accuse me of eating bird poo! Me? I'm a Golden Retriever! Golden by nature, Retriever by tidying up. Say no more, they don't listen to me anyway.

Oops! You've caught me eating something I shouldn't.

And again! I'm not trusted to be outside for long on my own... I eat 'all sorts' including twigs and branches. My people always panic when I go near the fruit trees, it seems many things upset my tummy, plums are definitely one of them.

This pink blossom belongs to the lady next door, later the blossom will be all over the garden. Mistress will get fed up with it being trodden inside on my paws, but I can't wipe my own feet. 

 

Lots of birds sit in this tree and bomb the swing seat, the Master built a permanent canopy over the seat. The fabric one didn't stand up to the wind.

The leaky water fountain, I've seen a few frogs hopping around here. QT would've loved those. 

The garden needs lots of weeding and tidying, at 5 - 15mins a day. I'm pleased about this, as it means I can go for lots of wanderings around the garden. I like to 'help' outside. 

Last week I was taken to the Vet lady for a check up and a weigh in, my food is weighed and biscuits are restricted here. That's the only downside, my previous house kept me settled (in my puppy days) with copious amounts of treats and food. To be fair I feel healthier now and can jump in the car for trips out. It's just hard when all I think about is my next tasty bite to eat. 

Bye for now, I'm being called in for Lunch. Another favourite meal of mine. A chunk of cucumber and  carrot, sometimes I have half an apple. 
Angus x


 
Hello there, I gather Angus has been keeping you entertained. If you want to see QT's blogs, they're in the cloud on the right. Tap on QT to see which ones he wrote and which were about him.
Take care and please send inspiration for the garden weeding & tidying. 
Cx

Library books.

Hello there, thank you for visiting my blog. I felt like I won the lottery this week! I'd phoned the surgery for an appointment but the queue was full... and I couldn't join the end of it either. After the line cut off several times, I thought I'd have to drive up to the surgery first thing in the morning. Thankfully some time later, a lady answered the phone and booked me an appointment for later in the afternoon. I was grateful but shocked as it's usually unheard of, if you aren't in the queue, forget it. 

I'm now booked in for a blood test later in the month for adjusting under active thyroid meds. Meanwhile, I'm tired, no energy and cold/very cold on a sunny day. Mark is in shorts! 

This beautiful Gloxinia is from Johnny for Mother's Day (from Morrison's supermarket). It still has lots of buds ready to bloom. I've never seen a plant like it before, huge flowers.  

My library books are all colour coordinated this month :) The Katie Fforde book, From London with Love, I returned early. I usually like all of her books but I found this one boring.

From the top: Playing Games by Huma Qureshi was a good read. It follows two sisters bound by deep upset, one wants a 'perfect life,' the other is a mess but wants to be a writer. Like all good stories, things get worse before getting better. 
I don't have a sister but still enjoyed it.

Keep the Home Fires Burning by Simon Block, I've read this series before but having watched the 'Home Fires' TV series again recently, I fancied reading the series again. The complete book series (written by S Block) follows straight after the TV series. I've ordered the next one from the library, so will pick that up later this month. 

I'm going to have a quick flick through Nancy's cook book 'Nancy's Green and Easy Kitchen' but doubt I'll be buying a copy. With so many foods that I sadly can't eat, it seems little point. I just find it more upsetting. 
I'm booked into seeing a dietitian later this month, so hopefully I may get some answers about eating a low fibre diet. I know it's not ideal but it seems to help. 

Not shown here, is the book I'm currently reading for the book club. It's 'Whatever it Takes' by Joy Wood. I'm not a fan of psychological thrillers, so hoping it will be ok.  

What are you reading?
Do you keep all your books or pass them on? 
Do you re-read your books? 

Take care 
Cx

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Cookery Book Challenge :: Friday Catch Up

Hello there, I hope you are all well. The first Friday of the month means another Cookery Book Challenge. I'm challenging myself to 'use' my cookery books and not just leave them sitting on the bookshelf. Do join me if you want to. Just chose two recipes or maybe one meal and something sweet  to show on your blog 

Fisherman's Pie

First up is Fisherman's Pie. I've cooked several versions of fish pies over the years, using different recipes. I've used frozen fish, fish cheeks and cooked them with or without prawns. Many years ago, I purchased a cookery book from the Co-op. I remember it being on offer if you had a store loyalty card, I didn't, so a lady kindly lent me her card. Lovely lady. 

This recipe is a rich mix of white fish, smoked fish, salmon and prawns. I cook the fish for 15 minutes in wine with herbs, pepper and mushrooms. Meanwhile cook the potatoes, mash and set to one side. Drain the cooked fish, check for bones, make the sauce with butter, flour and add liquor. Assemble in buttered dish, arrange prawns (I use king prawns) over the top and top with creamy mashed potato. 

The recipe says to grill golden brown, I usually place it in the oven for around 30 minutes to brown. It's delicious with vegetables. If you eat peas, you could add them to the fish mix, before topping with the mashed potato. 
 

Pumpkin & Carrot Risotto

The second recipe here, is designed for the Low Fodmap Diet by Alana Scott - A Little Bit Yummy. Her website, Facebook and Instagram account are very helpful. Onions have been replaced with leek green tops only and mushrooms are replaced with carrot and butternut squash. The peas have been replaced with spinach. I served this for our dinner, everybody enjoyed it.
I decided to buy Alana's book as she has delicious recipes without lots of ingredients that I can't eat. If low fodmap cooking is a need for you, I'd recommend following A Little Bit Yummy and signing up for Alana's emails. She'll send you a small booklet on email with recipes, a few that aren't in the book. On her website, I found a Christmas booklet to download. Sadly for me, a lot of the recipes contain high fibre ingredients. Though, not a fodmap issue, they still cause issues for me.   

This recipe is in two parts - softening the carrot and squash in the oven with oil and seasoning, whilst frying the other ingredients in a large Sautee pan. When the stock is nearly absorbed, add the spinach, grated lemon rind, lemon juice and cheese.

The dish is colourful and full of flavour, we served ours with leftover gammon from the Sunday roast.   

Dinner tonight

Cheese and potato pie, though not from a cookbook. The butcher sells packs of bacon mishaps. I cooked the bacon, cut off the fat and placed them in a greased dish, topped with cheesy mashed potato and tops of spring onions. Then browned under the grill. 

A few gifts from the boys for Mother's Day.

The daffodils were from the Mother's Day service.

These chocolates were a gift from Morrison's supermarket. I took my son with me shopping after church. The checkout operator asked me, if he was my child. Thanks Nat, you helped me gain a box of chocolates. 

That's all for now, take care. Do add your link to join the Friday Catch Up and or Cookery Book Challenge.
Cx

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