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Today, I shall mostly be...
message 4451:
by
Isabella
(new)
Nov 11, 2024 05:56AM
And my trowel! Thanks, Collette, hope the y shirt turns up.
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Having my usual bottle of red in a bit and watching some X-Files.
Found some awesome mushrooms today, can check photo.
You're a braver man than I am Post! But then again, I'm sure you know your mushrooms. There was an item on our news yesterday about a 97 year old woman, who had foraged all her life, dying after eating death cap mushrooms.
Val wrote: "You're a braver man than I am Post! But then again, I'm sure you know your mushrooms. There was an item on our news yesterday about a 97 year old woman, who had foraged all her life, dying after ea..."Might be conscious decision to leave this world by her well known means?
We get quite a few different fungi in our garden but I have no intention of eating any of them!
... watching the snow coming down.
SussexWelsh wrote: "... watching the snow coming down."Always something magical and fantastical about snow falling ;o>
We woke up to a generous amount of snow in the Stockport/Cheshire border area yesterday but it disappeared quite quickly as the day went on and was completely gone by the evening.
Post Soviet wrote: "Found some awesome mushrooms today, can check photo."WoW! ... what did you do with them, Post? ... cook them or preserve them?
suzysunshine7 wrote: "Post Soviet wrote: "Found some awesome mushrooms today, can check photo."WoW! ... what did you do with them, Post? ... cook them or preserve them?"
Fifty-fifty. Part cooked with spuds, the rest got pickled in a jar. mmm... Supposed to be full of vitamine D.
My Ukrainian friend, Yana, went foraging for Mushrooms a few weeks ago and I couldn't believe how many she picked or how huge they were. Unfortunately it has become illegal, with the punishment of having to pay a massive fine, to forage in the woods but many would starve if they didn't collect and preserve free food to live on throughout the Winter.These are Yana's Mushrooms ...
... I feel I must add that Yana is quite an expert on Mushrooms and she told me that some of these Mushrooms are Fly Agaric which most people (quite correctly) are extremely scared of picking and eating. The second time she went out everyone else in the Village had already stripped the woods of all the other Mushrooms and these were all that were left still unpicked.
Apparently there is a special way of preparing them that makes them safe to eat(?!) and non-hallucinogenic(!!!) and Yana says a small amount of a tincture made from them is known to be very good for easing muscle pain.
suzysunshine7 wrote: "My Ukrainian friend, Yana, went foraging for Mushrooms a few weeks ago and I couldn't believe how many she picked or how huge they were. Unfortunately it has become illegal, with the punishment of ..."I admire anyone with the expertise to distinguish the good from the bad in mushrooms. Probably too late for me…
suzysunshine7 wrote: "My Ukrainian friend, Yana, went foraging for Mushrooms a few weeks ago and I couldn't believe how many she picked or how huge they were. Unfortunately it has become illegal, with the punishment of ..."Yana surely is an expert. It's weird to hear mushrooms foraging to be illegal. Very strange.
suzysunshine7 wrote: "SussexWelsh wrote: "... watching the snow coming down."Always something magical and fantastical about snow falling ;o>
We woke up to a generous amount of snow in the Stockport/Cheshire border ar..."
I don't want to talk about snow. I'll just say I'm fed up of winter already and November isn't even over yet. I have not left, and will not be leaving the house today :-(
Post Soviet wrote: "suzysunshine7 wrote: "My Ukrainian friend, Yana, went foraging for Mushrooms a few weeks ago and I couldn't believe how many she picked or how huge they were. Unfortunately it has become illegal, w..."It has just been made illegal for people in Ukraine to go out and collect firewood as well, Post ... and this has been devastating news for so many thousands of people with no other kind of access to any other means of heat and light and cooking power. People are sneaking out outside of curfew hours to gather logs and hide them out of sight in their yards. All living in the hope that none of their neighbours will report them because they are also doing the same thing.
Helen The Melon wrote: "I don't want to talk about snow. I'll just say I'm fed up of winter already and November isn't even over yet. I have not left, and will not be leaving the house today :-("Awww Helen, I can certainly relate to how you are feeling as I never get to go out anymore regardless of what the weather is doing. I absolutely love to look out the window at snow but I am far too scared to even dare to try to walk on it these days.
I hope you can find lots of interesting and satisfying things to do while you are stuck indoors and feeling so fed up of the Autumn to Winter months ... x x x
Isabella wrote: "I admire anyone with the expertise to distinguish the good from the bad in mushrooms. Probably too late for me…"I am in complete awe of how many people excel in these kinds of survivalist skills, Isabella. I did do a lot of foraging for various things under the strict supervision of adults when I was a child ... with my most vivid memories being of the many back-breaking hours spent picking Sloe Berries so that one of my Grandmothers could make her special recipe Sloe Gin at Christmas time ... but I will continue to always buy my Mushrooms from the Supermarket and to hope that they will never make any mistakes in identifying them!
suzysunshine7 wrote: "Isabella wrote: "I admire anyone with the expertise to distinguish the good from the bad in mushrooms. Probably too late for me…"I am in complete awe of how many people excel in these kinds of su..."
The only 'foraging' I've done is fruit picking for jam and greens like nettles, dandelion, groundsel for pets. Even with fruit you have to be a bit careful, there are quite a few things that can at least make you feel pretty awful...
I had an Uncle who was unfortunately, by nature, someone who was always trying (far too hard) to be alternative and different seemingly so he could feel much more knowledgeable and superior to everyone else. This sadly meant that he was not particularly well liked by all the rest of the family and even the kids were instinctively wary of him and of all his antics.We often would go on an extended family day trip with several Aunts, Uncles and young Cousins to a Garden Centre to have a good look around and have a nice meal in the Restaurant and he would always wander around trying to convince us that he knew everything that was to be known about all the plants and about gardening even though he never had a garden in any of his homes over his lifetime or showed any interest whatsoever in the gardens of relatives on any of his visits.
I remember how he used to delight in randomly pulling the odd leaf or an interesting looking berry off plants as we walked around and then actively trying to encourage us kids to join him in tasting testing them by assuring us that they were all edible ... ! ... and I would have to get my baby brother to distract him while I discreetly ran off to tell my Mum that my Uncle was eating plants again because we were all genuinely terrified that he was going to poison himself!
Even at that young age of around 7 or 8 we kids all knew far better than to ever assume that everything that looks really pretty or tasty was going to be edible and completely safe to eat.
I can't remember if he ever made himself seriously ill doing this but I do remember him being a little unwell and having to go home early during several family occasions and I also remember my Mum really losing her temper and having a very public argument with him about trying to encourage us young kids to eat Holly Berries by telling us that they are the delicious fruits that are used to make Christmas Puddings!
Today I shall mostly be ... feeling very happy about the arrival of an order of a new Kitchen Bin! ;o>It was a bargain of a price in the Black Friday sales at John Lewis and all of the excellent reviews on Amazon and John Lewis convinced me it was definitely time to replace our now ancient and distinctly well used looking Bin with the knackered pedal that no longer works anymore.
Pixie immediately claimed the huge outer box as her very own and seems to have permanently moved in to it and made it her new 'home' ... ! ;o>
How times come to change us as we age ;o>If anyone had told me, only just a few years ago, that getting a delivery of a new Kitchen Bin one day would become such a delight and make my day?! ... I would surely have fallen about laughing! ;o> ... ;o> ... ;o>
It even came with a 'free' pack of expensive and fancy Bin liners too!... YES! I know! ... l'll get my Coat! ... "Taxi for one!" ... (*laughs*) ... ;o>
suzysunshine7 wrote: "It even came with a 'free' pack of expensive and fancy Bin liners too!... YES! I know! ... l'll get my Coat! ... "Taxi for one!" ... (*laughs*) ... ;o>"
I can make an even sadder confession, Suzy! The other day we were discussing the petty annoyance that the bottle of maple syrup has no plastic insert to regulate the flow, so we were accidentally pouring far too much out. (We don't want a lot and it's too expensive to flood the porridge). This morning I finished a bottle of lemon juice and noticed that the insert looked about the right size for the maple syrup bottle, so we prised it out and it fitted beautifully. Two delighted people, over a little bit of plastic... 🙄
Isabella wrote: "Two delighted people, over a little bit of plastic... 🙄"I am genuinely happy for you, Isabella. I love it when a plan comes together! It's often the most simplest and the littlest things in this Life that come to bring us the most pleasure, isn't it?!! ;o>
I've spent the last 5 hours getting ridiculously excited every time I have suddenly realised that I have got something to throw away!
I've never owned a soft-close Kitchen Bin before! ... Happy Days! ;o>
Isabella wrote: "I can make an even ..."It's the little things isn't it? I was proud of myself for reinserting the spring into a wooden clothes peg that must have been 30 years old or more.
Val wrote: "Isabella wrote: "I can make an even ..."It's the little things isn't it? I was proud of myself for reinserting the spring into a wooden clothes peg that must have been 30 years old or more."
Oh, yes! And the other thing about it is, if you try that with a plastic peg, it usually breaks as the plastic has gone brittle.
Posting on here and also on the Snails thread too as no-one else, except for me, seems to use the Chat threads anymore ... and I really would value some recommendations for a Lemonade that is made only with sugar and no sweetener please?Sadly I don't think we will be celebrating Christmas here this year, due to the way that things are with my Dad, but I suddenly decided late last night to take advantage of a bargain of a price on Warninks Advocaat on Amazon.
I rarely ever buy anything for myself but I simply couldn't resist buying a bottle as a very special treat and now I need to find a delicious zingy and zesty full flavoured Lemonade (with no nasty sweetener aftertaste) to use as a mixer so I can enjoy a few lovely large Snowballs over Christmas time ;o>
I've already done a Google and so far I've come up with two I have never tried out before ... Belvoir ... and Franklin & Sons 1886 Lemonade ... has anyone on here tried either of these?
suzysunshine7 wrote: "Posting on here and also on the Snails thread too as no-one else, except for me, seems to use the Chat threads anymore ... and I really would value some recommendations for a Lemonade that is made ..."I haven’t tried the lemonade, Suzy, but Belvoir elderflower is good as are some of their other offerings so I hope the lemonade would be up to par.
I post on daily chat but we seem to be down to four …
This might be too much of a faff but how about this plus soda water to make your own 'lemonade'? We've used Monin syrups in the past and found them to be quite good.https://www.amazon.co.uk/Cocktails-Mo...
Isabella wrote: "I haven’t tried the lemonade, Suzy, but Belvoir elderflower is good as are some of their other offerings so I hope the lemonade would be up to par."Thanks Isabella. I was originally hoping to find a cheaper but decent enough Supermarket brand but I already went through that futile search a few years ago. I found only a couple made without any sweetener and they were, sadly, so lacking in that absolutely essential Lemony zing that really completes a yummy Snowball.
I think using Soda Water and Syrups could turn out to be a bit too much of a faff for an occasional treat over Christmas time and I was hoping for a single bottle recommendation that wouldn't take up too much room in our rather small Fridge as my Dad's special meals always have to take up priority space ... and I think Mum and me may still decide to have a couple of special festive meals so I will also need to allow some space for ingredients and leftovers.
I've tried a couple of different flavours of the Belvoir Cordials over the years and they were very nice indeed. I will shop around to see if I can get a good deal on a few bottles of them and just keep one in the Fridge for whenever I feel like a treat ;o>
Today I shall mostly be ... wondering what Collette is drinking and watching tonight? ... x
I had my usual bottle of red and watched Once Upon A Time At Christmas and an episode of X-Files. 😘
Hiyah Poppet ... x ... I had a very nice afternoon just relaxing with Pixie as I FINALLY watched what I guess most people have already watched and re-watched so many times over the years and yet, somehow, I still never have done until now ... We're Going on a Bear Hunt
Terry Pratchett's The Abominable Snow Baby
The Tiger Who Came to Tea
Mog's Christmas
Collette wrote: "I had my usual bottle of red and watched Once Upon A Time At Christmas and an episode of X-Files. 😘"I was going to add ... "Once Upon A Time At Christmas" ... to my long list of must sees but then I remembered what your favourite films are and took a look on Google ... ! ;oO
Horror films always scare the bejesus out of me so I think I'll pass on this one ... LOL!!! ;o>
Yesterday evening - Terrifier 3, very xmasy and bloody. With lemon balm tea.
Post Soviet wrote: "Yesterday evening - Terrifier 3, very xmasy and bloody. With lemon balm tea."It would take so much more than just a mug of Lemon Balm tea to get me to come out from behind the sofa if I watched that, Post ! ! ! ;oO
Today I shall mostly be ... portioning large packs of Minced Beef, Smoked Bacon Rashers, Sausages, slices of Ginger Cake, and Cheddar Cheese into smaller packs so that they are all now ready to go into the Freezer and be easier to get out and use over Christmas time.We think Pixie is somewhere around one year old now and so it is probably not her first Christmas. However she seems to find everything I do to be utterly fascinating and always tries her best to help out as much as she possibly can ... which is the reason why I've just spent almost half an hour chasing her from room to room all around the house before I finally managed to retrieve one of my plastic bag sealing clips from where it was eventually shoved underneath my Bed in a last ditch attempt to outsmart me ;o>
Pixie Nil, Suzy 1. A win for humankind, no small achievement where a cat is concerned! They have us so well trained that any little success should be celebrated …
Isabella wrote: "Pixie Nil, Suzy 1. A win for humankind, no small achievement where a cat is concerned! They have us so well trained that any little success should be celebrated …"It really was such a very small win in the huge scheme of things here, Isabella ;o>
Some of Pixie's most favourite toys are an old feather Wand (called Stubby because it has virtually no feather left now but she still adores it SO much that I can't bear to throw it away) and an increasingly large collection of many different colours of Ella's Kitchen baby food pouch caps.
The all-time favourite game pretty much all day long is to march purposely into my room meowing really loudly while carrying one of these and then ... before you can even say "Ohhh no!" or "Pixie! Don't!" ... she drops it on the carpet and immediately side swipes it underneath the bed.
As you try to get up as fast as you possibly can she is already lying flat on her belly pushing it even further under the bed as far as her little legs can stretch.
Then she cries and will frantically try to shred the fabric on the side of the Bed and the carpet too until it is retrieved by me ... by sliding and then sweeping the long thin Attic Door Pole Opener underneath my Bed to drag it out.
I have to give back to her by taking it out on the Landing. and shouting "Ready?!!" while throwing it down the stairs into the Hallway ... followed by a racing fur blur of an ecstatically happy zooming Cat! ... and, according to Pixie, we HAVE to do this several times a day whether I want to play this particular game or not! ;o> ... ;o> ... ;o>
Getting ready for the yearly family Christmas party at the Orange Halls in Maryhill tonight. Didn't make it last year as both D and I were unwell so quite looking forward to it.
Oooh, I hope you both will have a wonderful time, Collette ... x
Faffing with some Christmas lights to cheer things up after a wild and dreary day. Not proper decorations, yet. Hope the party is full of fun, Collette. 🎉
Today I shall mostly be ... starting the day off early by feeding the regular motley crew of daily visitors to our garden. We currently have the same two Crows, two Parakeets, three Pigeons, three Squirrels, three Robins, and five Mice that appear from seemingly nowhere within mere seconds of me opening the Back Door ;o>And then, last thing tonight, I will be putting out some food and water for a couple of young Foxes that live in next door's garden as they tend to come to us for Supper and for one very large and extremely grumpy old Hedgehog.
Pixie is always completely fascinated by all of these beautiful creatures coming and going and even daring to come right up to the French Windows to peek in to ask her, almost face to face, for extra rations ... we now call our Back Garden "Pixie's Parlour" ... ;o>
Still no sign of Collette on here? ... it must have been an absolutely fantastic night out!We had better stock up on emergency hangover treatments in the Forum Kitchen ;o>
suzysunshine7 wrote: "Today I shall mostly be ... starting the day off early by feeding the regular motley crew of daily visitors to our garden. We currently have the same two Crows, two Parakeets, three Pigeons, three ..."That sounds brilliant, Suzy. We do get birds but only the robins venture on to the feeder as yet. Maybe later in the winter?
I feel very honoured that the same beautiful creatures still keep on waiting around and coming to feed as soon as I open the Back Door. They all feel like good friends who keep popping round for daily Coffee Mornings and Supper club nights ;o>It's been over 6 months now of the same creatures ... seeing them every single day.
suzysunshine7 wrote: "Still no sign of Collette on here? ... it must have been an absolutely fantastic night out!We had better stock up on emergency hangover treatments in the Forum Kitchen ;o>"
Hey Suzy. Party was ok. I had 5 or 6 pints of lager shandy and a JD & Coke. Rock And Roll eh!! Can't be doing with that getting drunk thing now. I'm getting too old for it, ha ha.
No-one is ever too old to still enjoy having a good time ... x x x
You're a stronger woman than me Collette - a couple of shandys (shandies??) and I'd be falling asleep!
suzysunshine7 wrote: "No-one is ever too old to still enjoy having a good time ... x x x"It's the hangover the next day, Suzy. Nothing worse. x
Amazon exiles
Books mentioned in this topic
Time of the Child (other topics)This Is Happiness (other topics)
Time of the Child (other topics)
Mog's Christmas (other topics)
We're Going on a Bear Hunt (other topics)
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