Chitchat thread #24

[greenishfing]

Good morning.

The weather is atrocious here, absolutely siling it down....to use a Yorkshire expression. And it's forecast to carry on all day today and tomorrow. ☔

I've got to pop out soon to get a newspaper and drop a pineapple upside down cake off for my brother in law. After that I think I might find something to occupy myself in the kitchen.

[Florence Fennel]

Good Morning All Siling it down here too! Have a good day

[Nicos]

Mornin n’alln’all
Very wet and drizzly after heavy rain most of the night. The guy coming to re-fix our chimney leak cancelled because of the rain.
Yup - it’s still leaking, but not as badly. Finding the origin of the leak is going to be fun now that everywhere obvious has been sealed

Hibou is more likely to be the cat jumping up at the one from the ceiling!. Funnily enough she’s never been particularly interested in the tree decorations. A previous cat used to gently play with bells hung at the bottom especially for her - we still put them at the bottom in memory of her!
snoop - I think it was a pair of very expensive suede gloves which she could smell. Totally ruined

Our great news - for us at least- is that we’ve found someone to help with the final fix and writing off qof our lighting electricity in the cellars and new outdoor lights.
OH was happy to do everything apart from connecting it to the fuse box/ trip switch. This guy is retired but OH was chatting to him and asked if he’d like a quick job…..yippee!

I bought in a stock of olive oil a while back Snoop when you warned us. (Thanks for that!)

Maybe no harm in just buying in a small amount at their new new price Snoop - the growers still need support to make a living?

Right - off to do domestics- certainly no more baking for me- out of 16, there are only 4 flapjacks left
Enjoy your day/ weekend peeps!

[Nicos]

Love the phrase Siling it down gf!

Te he- I thought it was a mistype and would become a brill Vine word like ‘ grory hop’
But now edited to say I’ve just looked up it’s origin- seems like it comes from the Vikings.
(A sil being a sieve in modern day Swedish)

[bramble]

Good morni g all.
No rain here very breezy and quite bright after all the dull days,
I need to go shopping today so that will take a while.
After that it will be indoor doing bits and Bob's.

Nicos, very strange cat behaviour, we never had any trouble with our cats and our Christmas tree.
Like yours, they would play with the baubles on the bottom branches.

Rary, I no longer drive in the dark to either.
I just dont feel comfortable with it

GF , I pay a few euros to have my newspaper delivered on line.
Saves me going to the shop if the weather is bad,

Have a good day all and stay warm and dry.

[Nicos]

I try not to drive in the dark either bramble- most roads here aren’t lit, no cats eyes, no lines at the edge of the roads to warn you ( we have very deep ditches at the side of the roads) ,very twisty lanes ,very dim central line if any, and in the rain with the reflection of oncoming cars, it’s a nightmare.
Even our much younger friends are wary of night driving here, everyone knows or has helped someone who has needed help pulling their car out of a ditch.
Throw in a bit of black ice….and I seldom drive outside the hours of midday and dusk if I can help it.

[greenishfing]

GF , I pay a few euros to have my newspaper delivered on line.
Saves me going to the shop if the weather is bad,

I don't read the newspaper, just do the crossword or sudoku occasionally. Mr GF is the newspaper reader and he likes a proper one. Every couple of weeks I take all the old ones down to a friends who uses them for bedding for his weird menagerie. I was just thinking of all the different uses I've come across for old newspapers over the years.

As a small child, before firelighters, we used to roll sheets tightly into paper sticks to help light the fire. The sheets also got cut into squares and put on a string behind the door of the (outside) loo. Better than Izal. Obviously our local chippy was more than happy to take them in too.

[greenishfing]

I'm another who hates driving on country roads in the dark and rain, and on the M62 due to all the spray. I seem to remember that some of the smaller roads in France were horrific. One memory I have of the first time I drove in the countryside there was the numerous times cars flashed their headlights if there was a speed trap coming up. I can't believe the police ever caught anybody.

[Snoop Puss]

I bought in a stock of olive oil a while back Snoop when you warned us. (Thanks for that!)

Maybe no harm in just buying in a small amount at their new new price Snoop - the growers still need support to make a living?

Quite right. Except all the ones I know are rubbing their hands in glee at how much money they're going to make this year. Up till now, they've seen their market as local (it's a very small geographically protected area for olive oil and only olives grown on a particular variety of tree qualify for that protection). But with the olive oil shortage everywhere else in the world except here, it would seem, the local price has gone up to reflect the global shortage despite the local surplus. They'll have no problems selling it to Italian olive oil distributors. I don't begrudge them their financial windfall, but meanwhile their local market they were previously so reliant on will start looking for other options.

[Nicos]

Hadn’t realised that Snoop.
I hardly ever use it- but OH does.
I’m a real ‘butter fiend’ kind of lass

Speaking of which, butter - the price of that and it’s products, has skyrocketed too in the last 18 months. Don’t mind paying more if the farmer gets more per litre but I guess a lot of that increase is down to increased transport costs.

I looked at a cauli the other day in a supermarket - it was almost 6€ for an average sized one And we live close to a cauli growing region. Couldn’t help thinking of your glut last year!

[rary]

A fair bit of the driving last night was on narrow country roads, and to be honest I wouldn't mind if there were ditches at the side of the road, also as I am nearly the same age as bramble and Nicos I can remember when there was a roadman going around the country roads clearing ditches and patching holes in the road, you recognised him by the steaming leather bag on the back pannier on his bike, nowadays the ditches are filled in and overgrown and the holes just get deeper and bigger
I too thank you for the information about the olive oil Snoop I bought some extra when you mentioned the expected poor harvest, it's great the things you learn about on a garden forum
still raining and decided against going to the greenhouse, as what I intended doing involved some outside work, so finished putting up some Christmas decorations, once the rain goes off I might get some lights outside, going to sit and read for a wee while, so have a good day and pass on the smiles

[Bren In Pots]

Afternoon

Wind and rain here all day, I’ve only been as far as my GH rest of time in my craft room card making. We only have a newspaper on Saturday for the puzzles and enclosed TV guide, it’s mostly full of news we’ve read on line.

[Florence Fennel]

I've only just realised the Gardeners Rest is not open any more! What did I miss?
Foul weather here too, so have spent my time and lots of money on line buying presents. My youngest GG is an avid collector of books and loves MinaLima so that will be a nice surprise for her.

[Snoop Puss]

Morning all.

Had a lovely time yesterday at the fair. Didn't buy olive oil but I did buy some of my favourite olives. Our local table olives are regarded as some of the best in Spain and this particular supplier makes amazing ones. He was doing a roaring trade. Mr Snoop will be going back again for the music school concert, but I'll stay at home with the dogs and keep them company. Lots of hunters out this morning with their dogs barking all over the place, which gets our dogs a bit worked up, unsurprisingly. Plenty to keep me occupied, as I didn't do any of the baking I'd planned yesterday for assorted reasons. Buns later if anyone fancies one with an afternoon cuppa.

Hope you all have a great day.

[Florence Fennel]

Good Morning Snoop and All It's very dark here, but the wind has dropped, it was a wild one. Have a lovely Sunday