Could have been different

Why did nobody tell me, when I was in careers talks in school, that I could be a food historian?

I would have loved that. Although when I was in school I hated history so it probably wouldn't have made much difference. I wonder if they had food historians in those days. Openings would have been limited I suppose and I'd have to have been very good, and I was never very good at anything.

I was in the top set but nothing special. I sort of scraped through most things, as I continued to do through life. Reasonable but not brilliant. I would have liked to have been brilliant.

But I was the clever one while my cousin was the pretty one. I would rather have been pretty.

Nevertheless, my life has turned out excellently. I am very happy. (Odd depressed days excluded of course - although as someone said, "If you don't have the bad you can't appreciate the good.")

Speaking of good I saw this excellent poster the other day.

* * * * *

An email this morning from my MP after I emailed him to tell him I was going to leave the Labour Party. It looks like a personal email suggesting that yesterday evening he was sitting sobbing over my resignation, so obviously it was carefully drafted.

He does offer to meet me (for 45 minutes) if I'd like to properly talk. 

I won't take him up on that. The time to talk was when he should have been supporting Sir Keir Starmer. Also, he's a smooth-talking politician and I am useless in face to face conversations so would end up signing over my life savings, or buying him lunch.

Being mistaken for Kim Kardashian

I am turning into Husband. He says I'm not turning into him; I'm just getting old.

Husband is prone to falls these days. Yesterday I was tussling with a big slab when physics came into play and I flew backwards. Bruised my hip and my arm. Then I walked into an over-hanging rose branch and a thorn caught my eyelid.

Meanwhile Husband had come out and noticed that the car was running. It seems I'd not turned the engine off four hours earlier. I had locked it so you would think Minitoo would have enough sense to switch herself off.

Last year Husband left Minitoo with the engine running - and I believe unlocked - in the M&S car park. So you see why I say I am turning into him.

* * * * *

When I left the house this morning to go to walk with Daughter and Louie there was a van parked across the road. As I walked down the steps a man got out. He was dressed in black with the hood of his hoodie up and his head down. "They've mistaken me for Kim Kardashian," I thought, "and they're going to kidnap me."

I have no idea what KK looks like so chances are they don't either hence the mistake.

But they didn't kidnap me.

What is the collective noun for lots of jellyfish washed up on the beach?

The other morning there were three woodpeckers outside the front door.

Don't mention the figs

Husband: "Don't get grumpy with me because you're hot!"
"I'm not grumpy with you because I'm hot: it's because you keep telling me what to do while sitting around doing nothing!"

GrandSon3 spent three and a half hours working solidly over the weekend, sieving stones for me. He was a complete star.

Yesterday I began the final digging over and removal of any remaining roots. Husband passed on the way to his RSV jab. "You could get GrandSon2 to do that; he wants to earn money as well."
"No, it's too hard for a young lad." Much better a 73-year-old granny does it! I enjoy hard manual labour sometimes; it's satisfying. Although the time this front bit has taken me is making my enthusiasm wear a bit thin. 

Now you're probably bored with my photos of progress on the front bit but it's as much for my records as anything. Blogging is for me primarily. Although I do love comments and getting to know readers.

I have finished putting down nearly half of the first layer of stones. I needed to empty the buckets before I could do the other half. It is almost there. (I keep telling myself!)

Over the weekend I planted two hydrangeas. I'd bought them for where the bamboo used to be but decided to put them on the other bit instead. Disappointed that the one with the name Wim's Red turned out to be white, but that's fine for where I've put it now.

I wanted to dig up some day lilies and other plants that were taking over the place but I didn't want to throw them out. So . . . I transplanted to the tiny bit of earth outside our gate. And it worked!

And speaking of lilies . . .

Not to mention figs.

Larks ascending

I occasionally get a comment from Anonymous, usually a judgemental one suggesting the way I behave isn't Christian.

I'm not sure if it's a serious comment or not, and I suspect Stu. 

Anyway, just saying it's interesting that people prefer to remain anonymous when criticising.

Now here is Lark Ascending, a fairly new rose in my garden, from David Austin.

And here's a very cute little lamb.

It's cooler today but still warm and sunny. I am psyching myself up to go and dig a hole to plant a hydrangea. Or get back to sieving stones.

Oh, and here's my first dahlia! If you remember I ordered four plants but two never grew, and one has been eaten away completely. This is my triumph! Albeit slightly snail-eaten.

A long round-up

It was GrandDaughter1's prom last night so I went along with her mum and dad to see her arrive at the venue - she'd got dressed at a friend's house. Ooh, she looked gorgeous. I felt quite weepy to see her so grown-up.

Back from there and it was straight to Slice for our day late anniversary meal. The food was as delicious as ever but I didn't enjoy it as much as it was so hot. We had a fan right next to our table but it didn't make much of an impact on the evening of the hottest day ever in Wales.

Sleeping wasn't good after a late meal and no air. I got up in the middle of the night and stuck my feet in the bathroom sink and ran cold water over them. (One at a time.) That didn't help either.

But I know you all want to see what we ate. We went for the taster menu as usual and both opted for the dressed white crab, brown meat panna cotta, avocado and watermelon juice.

Oh I forgot, that came after the amuse bouche of duck hash and quail egg.

Then we had sea bass, scallop, cauliflower and caper sauce but I forgot to take a photo. Followed by pork loin, belly shoulder, carrots, broad beans, and apple and fennel puree.

That was followed by lamb chop, braised shoulder and potato terrine, with apricot and pistachio.

Then it was time for dessert number one. Strawberry salad, sorbet, shortbread, cream, and pavlova.

And finally chocolate mousse in a chocolate shell, chocolate and cherry brownie, cherry ice cream.

Before all this we shared two mini loaves, one white, one wheatmeal, with salty butter, and brown butter. Quite honestly I could enjoy a meal of that.

* * * * *

Today the weather was cooler so I started in the garden, banking some of the potatoes before getting distracted by branches that needed lopping. Then off to Flexercise where I struggled to find the right arm to use.

Back and more gardening. I raked most of the stones off my my front bit of terrace sorting them into two bags: one reasonably clean stone, and one stone and earth mixed together.

I then levelled it off to my satisfaction (above) and was about to put down the weed suppressant material when I thought I'd better check with Husband if there were anything else I needed to do first.

"You've got to sieve out all the stones otherwise they make it easier for weeds to grow."

I am still not convinced by his explanation but I set to.

After completing about half I had filled a bag with stones and had half a wheelbarrow of sieved earth.

No, it's not perfect: there are still lots of pebbles but it's as good as I'm going to get it! So there.

I've raked the rest into a pile (far end of picture) and hope to persuade grandsons to do the rest of the sieving with the promise of monetary recompense.

I now have three bags of pebbles: one reasonably clean; one sieved but a bit dirty; and one - the biggest one - in need of sieving (not in picture).

And now I've had a swim, showered, and am blogging.

Oh yes, I had an email from my MP telling me what a wonderful job Keir Starmer did.

"This significant progress, which will benefit thousands of people across Swansea, too rarely gets the attention it deserves. However, a lack of press attention does not make it any less important on the ground."

Bleurgh. If he really felt that why didn't he say so and take a clear stand supporting Sir Keir before he was forced to resign.  

I emailed him back and told him, that as soon as it was confirmed that there would not be a leadership contest, I would be resigning from the Labour Party. I want to hang on in case I have a chance to vote for the next leader, which seems unlikely. Bleurgh again.

Just melting

I am wearing a strappy t-shirt with no bra, and short shorts. They're too small for me and I can't do them up but they are wedged firmly on so it's okay.

Feeling I should do something I wandered around the garden, picked sweet peas and courgettes, and admired the teeny weeny 'water lilies' on our pond.

Now I'm ready for a swim and then will try to find a shady not too hot spot and read.

We're going to Slice, our favourite restaurant, for an anniversary meal this evening. They phoned to check we were still coming. Husband said we were but then I phoned back and said we were happy to postpone if the kitchen would be too much like a sauna.

Sadly Slice is closing. Apparently one of the two boys who run it (chefs) has heart problems. So he shouldn't be getting hot. Yes, I am hoping they will postpone. 

My incessant mistyping ht when I mean th is driving me mad. 

Here's my latest article in Gower Community Magazine. It's a bit political! My article is also in the new Mumbles Community magazine. My reach is widening. Soon I will take over the world.

More about dung

I've been thinking about Ezekiel. It sounds a bit like a Monty Python sketch to me.

Ezekiel and another prophet comparing their experiences.
Other prophet, "God told me to walk in my donkey's dung."
"That's nothing. God told me to cook my dinner on burned human dung."

Maybe one day they'll find another Dead Sea scroll and, in this one, Ezekiel will have to eat dung.

* * * * *

Oh, yes, it's our 48th wedding anniversary today!

Take a bit of human excrement

So that's another face to add to my, "Turn it off!" list. Which may sound tame but is actually me screaming at the television and desperately looking for the remote to change channels.

Smirking Smug Arrogant Andy joins Tr**p and Fa***e there.

It seems there won't even be a contest for the Labour leadership and SSAA will just walk into position. So much for democracy. Still so angry.

* * * * *

Lovely gathering on the sea front for Zac's last night.

The other half were behind me. We're a mixed bunch of odd bods. Monty, the one lying down, was leading. When he arrived he asked me, "Who's leading?"

"You are."

"Really?! This week. I thought it was next week."

Fortunately Monty is is the sort of man who can do an impromptu talk. We're doing a short series on favourite or interesting bible characters, so he talked about Ezekiel, who apparently had to lie on his side for 390 days and bake bread on a fire of human excrement. (Though when Ezekiel grumbled about defiled food God let him use cow dung instead.)

That led on to a discussion about what God had called any of us to do that intimidated us, that we didn't want to do.

* * * * *

Temperatures due to hit their highs in the next two days so schools have closed, and we'll be expecting grandchildren around to take advantage of the pool. I might suggest we head to the sea front for high tide for a swim there too.

Honestly, how does anyone do anything in this weather? 

Says she who's off to Rebound exercise class later. But you know, people who have to wear suits, or work outdoors.