Home Made.......

 
Using my favourite Vegan Rhubarb Cake recipe I made Apple Cake to use up the last of last year's apples from the freezer. It took a lot longer to cook because the apple is so much wetter than the rhubarb and because apple has a lot of its own sugar it burnt on the tops. Still very yummy though and all got eaten. 

Yes it's plum season! And my recipe plum chutney is definitely one of the best chutneys ever. The process is quite labour intensive and I can't stand for that long any more.

As Daughter is the main consumer she has been the main maker for the last few years. Hubby picked the plums (that bucket is about half what is still on the tree) and we bought the ingredients in readiness. 

Daughter came Thursday afternoon and together......

....... we ended up with all these full jars! 

I won't bore you with the whole process but when you do something just once a year things get forgotten, like Daughter having to go home again for the other big pan and then us both forgetting than my induction hob gets upset with an aluminium pan and needs the conductor plate underneath. We got there in the end. 

E's ex- also came on Thursday to sort the room full of stuff they stored here and take lots away with him. So lunch for us all then a very busy house. 

You could tell we were tired by the lower score Hubby, E and I got for our usual Thursday night Jay's Virtual Quiz hahaha. 

This year's Theatre in the Forest had its Press Night on Friday and Daughter was given two complimentary tickets and bought one for me (and they gave her discount on that too). O came with Daughter and me. 

Seven actors working so hard and an amazing puppet dog plus we very briefly saw R in the interval running around working as behind the scenes Stage Manager. A few bits came across a bit chaotic but mostly it was really good fun.

Daughter had driven us in my car as her car was packed ready for her Magic weekend at Kentwell so she'd left that on my drive and when we got back we saw Hubby had put the box of chutney jars in there already. I hope she remembered to take it out at home and hasn't taken it on her working weekend as a musical Dryad hahaha. 

Enjoy your weekend.

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A Dry County.......

 
Even with the prolonged lack of rain and now the hosepipe ban (for the first time in a decade here) some plants still grow enthusiastically and need cutting back. 

It's mostly been sunny and hot all this week though windier than it has been but to be honest (very silly saying as I'm always honest) that's about all the news there is to tell you and no doubt the weather is much the same where you are. 

Monday coffee morning was held in the dining room. As it was too hot to sit comfortably without the gazebo but too windy for the gazebo to survive open. 

I play a lot on the Face Book game of Words With Friends, much the same as Scrabble but different enough not to get prosecuted for copyright breach. My account has just given me my usage stats for June. 

Made me laugh so I had to share it with you. 

It was over three months ago when I went into Ipswich Hospital for a small surgical procedure. The outcome of that was thankfully not cancer and just to be extra sure this week they did a follow up check. Also pleased to report the internal camera showed that all is totally clear so Urology don't want to see me again for another year. The nurse in attendance was one of the nurses I used to see regularly so we had a little catchup chat. 

Another amusing story was that Hubby had registered his car for the hospital as transport for E as she has a blue badge so can park in a disabled bay for free. This week Hubby was taking me and I don't have that privilege so he emailed them asking how to pay. They replied saying that if I'm with him we can still use the blue badge, they took it that the badge is his when he'd told them it is his granddaughter's. Hubby replied trying to make the details clearer and again they misunderstood. Thankfully we have our own solution...... we use my car! 

Forecast for the few weeks to come is still very warm and very dry. Hope you are managing.

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Showing Off......

 
Having tried all the possible local stores for new sun lounger cushions without success, Hubby finally gave up and ordered them online. They fit better than our last ones did, and they are shower proof for those catch you out moments, and this heatwave wants to hang on long enough to justify the expense (I'm joking they were really cheap) and when I've got rid of those pokey out labels they'll be perfect. 

Red Rose Chain are in full on rehearsals and set building for their summer Shakespeare Theatre in the Forest event which this year is Twelfth Night. 

There is a lot of promotional stuff on social media all the time now.

This one surprised me when it popped up as they were all sliding around on office chairs, that's why this screenshot is blurred. They were having so much fun. Did you notice R's new job title? Proud Grandma!!!

Monday coffee morning, not as many as usual as C has broken her wrist and was back at the hospital, T&S were having a new boiler fitted and A came but only for half the time as her daughter came to pick her up. It was another very hot day and we were all grateful for the gazebo we bought last year although a welcome breeze did try to lift it once. 

When everyone had left it was a quick lunch then off to have my nails done.  They looked lovely when I left her's, although my fingers were a little sore in places where she is enthusiastic with her emery board shaping, unfortunately they didn't harden gggggggrrrrrr, she'd obviously used the quick dry top coat meant for gels which I don't have, I know that because she's done it to me before. I managed to get it all off and sent her a message. She was very apologetic and said no charge next time. 

I had a few hours dog sitting on my own as it coincided with E having a hospital appointment and of course Hubby was with her as chauffeur. We had the dog as Daughter and M were at Norwich College with O for his end of year event and they shared the news that O had received an award. Proud Grandma!!!

Yes I'm still fighting with software and mostly my Excel files this time. The system "M365 Copilot" system I've always used and which had stored all my files on "Microsoft One Drive" has now become a subscription service so I've had to move everything over to "Sheets" stored on "Google Drive". I'm sure you guessed that it was actually Hubby who worked out the how and did it. I love that man's knowledge and patience. He's also fixed our toilet cistern and jobs for two neighbours, one needing software for their house outside cameras and another for their backdoor sticky lock. 

I haven't been totally idle in this heat and amongst the usual domestic stuff I baked two vegan rhubarb cakes. As often happens we'd already eaten one and a half cakes before I thought to take a photo. Yummy. 

Good news is I've one of my regular hospital tests next week so I have to have a two week break from the evil pills I take daily, hopefully the side effects will ease up or even disappear. 

So with a forecast for the extreme heat to lessen and feel more comfortable I'll wish you all a comfortable weekend.

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Productive......

 
We have all had quite a busy week, well busy by my usual standard. 

I have been moving my stuff around, filling charity bags and clearing a bit more space for E's stuff. E has managed a bit more unpacking and sorting her clothes, but as the week got hotter and hotter she decided to order some new clothes as she didn't have enough to cope (only one pair of shorts) and it lifted her mood. The ones that have arrived I was treated to a little fashion show and she has divided piles for keep or return which she will do when the others have arrived. 

Supermarket Vegan food can work out quite expensive so I'm learning what E likes, taking her suggestions and making my version of what I can. Our pasta meal had carbonara sauce and meat in, however for E I mixed the last of her hummus into the last of the pesto so we didn't waste either added to her pasta and added pine nuts too and she topped it with nutritional yeast and we all ate it with the garlic bread I'd made and keep ready in the freezer. 

Hubby has been busy with more neighbour's needing his help. One whose garden backs onto ours and she's having problems with her outside cameras which Hubby is trying to sort. Also neighbourJM asked for help as her shower thermostat has died and the company she rang for help asked for a photo of the circuit board but she didn't know what that was so Hubby went down the road to do it for her (not an easy job due to rusted screws)  and another neighbour came up to us with paperwork asking Hubby to witness his signature on a POA form (always an honour when people trust you for personal special tasks). 

But so much of his time was taken up helping me! 

He said he was buying me a new phone for my birthday (not for another five weeks), but saw an offer and bought it early. I am so grateful but it's so stressful for us both. Hubby has to do all the transferring and problem solving and put up with my  "agitations". I can be an efficient user but I can never be a technician.  Old and new looking the same but that's sooo deceiving. 

I've only just got the new tablet to a user friendly working level and he now needs me to do it all again! At one time I had to leave Hubby to it and forcefully pull some weeds in the front garden! 

So a much better tablet and phone that will do what I want them to do although I haven't looked at all the extras yet. Hubby knows how grateful I am. 

I'd better not even write about getting a cheap clear plastic case for it, involving three online orders, argos, PayPal, refund and ending up with two, as I'd rather not be reminded. 

As Hubby had been in great demand I've done a lot more of the cooking, laundry and general housework. Phew!

Cooling down with ice-creams and melon and I'd made us apple and cinnamon fools but forgot to take a photo. 

Sadly my body doesn't like the heat and I've little balloons on the end of my legs most of the time. 

Thursday E had to be up early for a doctor's appointment, this time at the main surgery in town not the local branch and of course Hubby drove. She came back disappointed that this GP didn't want to refer for more tests other than bloods which have never been helpful in the past, although on Friday E got an appointment through for a CT Scan next week, so maybe the GP had a rethink or discussed it with someone else. 

Thursday afternoon Daughter, O and I had our regular dental checkup. They seem to do less and less now and make you book further appointments even for minor things. O has to come back for a filling, but she said it was a tiny cavity and not so long ago a dentist would have said "hang on I'll pop a little something in there" and for the small build up of plaque on the back of just my bottom front teeth she wanted me to book their hygienist which I never will, and I know my previous dentist and owner of this practise would have just flicked away "...as we're here". Unfortunately daughter does need more treatment. 

And to round of Thursday our usual quiz (on YouTube as a virtual pub quiz) and now as a team of three we have improved the score even though E and I feel we contribute very little. This week was 45 out of the 50 total.  

Having delivered his movie, (written, casted, directed, filmed, edited and produced by him) to college O then made it public on YouTube under his performance persona of Charlie Blackwood.

 Watch it here

I've just reread this to check for spelling and typos and it doesn't sound as much effort as it felt hahaha but surely I still deserve another ice-cream don't I? 

Happy weekend.

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