Chitchat thread #24

[greenishfing]

Good morning.

The sun is shining. It's quite cold and only forecast to hit the dizzying heights of 11°C this afternoon. It is however so nice to actually see the sun.

I used to like looking through all the smutty postcards at the seaside too. Do they still sell them or are they too non- PC now?

Snoop, where do geckos go in Winter? Do they hibernate? We have lots of birds and here, but I haven't seen a starling for a few years. We are inundated with grey squirrels. In Summer I see the odd hedgehog snuffling around after dark and a few years ago if I looked out around midnight there was usually a fox around. It might still be around but we tend to go to bed a bit earlier now.

Mr GF has woken up with backache this morning as have I a few times recently. I think it's time to have a look at new mattresses. I really can't stand the modern ones with foam though. I remember once sleeping in a feather bed which was wonderful when I went to bed and was like sleeping on concrete by the morning.

Sadly while I have been typing this the clouds have started gathering.

[Containergardener]

Morning
Sun here too and an early frost. Walk already done and washing on the line. Had sourdough open sandwich for breakfast.
Right, need a cuppa.

[Nicos]

Mornin n’alln’all
A cloudy start here and it’s definitely cooler again.
Today OH will be glued to the tele- it’s the last three rugby matches of the Six Nations ….all on one day. I am happy to join him for some of it but not all
I guess today I’ll be pottering

There are still loads of postcards on sale over here.
One company produces really clever ( twisting words) for each region, as well as friendly mocking of idiosyncrasies for each areaThis is the one for Normandy…
https://www.heula.fr/index.php?l=1&mcat=5&r=1
They’ve really taken off selling loads of other things with their signature humour

[Nicos]

Mornin n’alln’all,D
Woken by the rain bouncing off the window….I’m hoping it’ll ease off and I can have a bit more of a snooze!
I am however contemplating a brew- anyone fancying one too?

I’ve realised it’s St Patrick’s Day. I best get some Irish Soda bread out of the freezer to celebrate!

No plans so far for today - unless of course it stops raining! Maybe I should check out the ‘ Must have been done by yesterday’ list for some ideas!

GF-you’ve reminded me of when I slept at my grandmother’s house. Her spare bed had a homemade feather mattress. I was only a tot when I stayed there but I remember sinking deeper into it as the night progressed!

Hadto chuckle atSnoops comment to those of you on your holiblobs to have an icecream for her!
Can you still buy rock at UK holiday resorts? I’ve not had any for years- too sickly - but I used to love crunching my way through a stick and wondering how they managed to get the letters all the way through.

Whatever you get up today, enjoy yourselves!

[Containergardener]

Morning Nicos,
I would love a cuppa . Oh yes the rock. I'm sure you can still get it, was never keen though but my dad loved rock infact anything sweet.
Yes happy St Patrick's day. Well yesterday's frost and brightness is back to grey gloom

[Bren In Pots]

Morning

We have rain here for the day, its not stopped little robin popping in and out not many other birds around though,

Aniseed rock was my favourite especially once it had gone soft I hated those sharp crunchy pieces the stick broke into once you'd smashed it.

Hope the weather doesn't spoil it for for those who celebrate St Patrick's day.

[Snoop Puss]

Morning all.

Loved those postcards, Nicos. Very imaginative. Good to see the Norman D-Day one too.

I never really liked seaside rock. A novelty and, yes, the letters going through were intriguing. But way too hard and not interesting enough in flavour. I'd have been up for a lemon one, though.

YH has gone out with the dogs, Mr Snoop is about to organise materials for the morning's work and I'm about to put two loaves in the oven after it has cooled down a bit after pizza for breakfast. There was leftover dough that needed using up, honest. The smiles hung around, enjoying the smell, so they might be a bit late on their rounds this morning.

Better get on with things, as I've got the usual loads to do, including making hot crossless buns with YH so he can take some home with him along with a loaf of bread. He's leaving tomorrow morning and we will both be very sorry to see him go.

Have a great day, everyone.

[Florence Fennel]

Good Morning All Raining here too. Just getting ready to demolish a bacon sandwich. Have a lovely Sunday

[greenishfing]

Good morning all.

I'm not long out of bed. It's a miserable morning. If things improve I'll be meeting one of my sister's later.

Not letting the grass grow under my feet I ordered a new mattress yesterday which will arrive in 2 to 3 weeks. It's a good job Mr GF stayed in the car as he'd have had nightmares about the price 😱. I really cannot stand these modern memory foam ones. They are just too warm. They remind me of the foam ones you used to get on boats. The compensation on boats was the water lapping against the hull rocking you to sleep, as long as it wasn't stormy.

I was never a rock fan either but used to be bemused by the lettering in the middle. I saw a TV programme once showing how they did it.

[bramble]

Good morning all and happy St Patrick's day.
Beautiful sunny morning here.
Lots of parades in Ireland today and thrn a bank holiday tomorrow.

Rock, yes I loved it.
Years ago when on holiday in Blackpool we went and saw it being made.
A lot of work went into it.

Have a good day all.

[mothhawk]

Happy St Patrick's Day Bramble and all.

The rain has gone, and it's warm (!) and sunny. I can see the buds on the wild damson/bullace (not sure which) across the road are already showing white, and blackthorn has been in flower a while now. Spring does seem earlier this year again.

After all the morning's chores and Sunday lunch, I made some wholemeal cobs for the freezer with some yeast that I wasn't sure was still active. Anyway, they fluffed up beautifully so I'll leave a couple out for tea. I made them using a tangzhong as I find it makes wholemeal bread a lot lighter and less dry.

I'm trying some new "stuff" to keep the neighbourhood cats from fouling my front lawn, since as fast as I clear up the three regular piles, more is deposited This repellent is fine granules with a strong smell of eucalyptus that you scatter around. It has to be re-applied after rain of course, but the idea is that if I can keep them off for long enough, I'll break the cycle of them using my grass as their personal litter boxes. Fingers crossed!

I'm so tempted to scoop up the offending matter and sling it in front of all the owners front doors to see how they like it, but so far I'm resisting.

[Bren In Pots]

Afternoon

MH I’ve not heard of tangzhong off to do a search.

[Nicos]

Afternoon

MH I’ve not heard of tangzhong off to do a search.

Same here!…OH is fascinated. He sometimes scalds some of his flour but fancies trying ^^^ as a comparison.

Thanks for that MH!…something new every day eh?

[bramble]

Mothhawk, I dont know how big you're lawn is, but I had a problem with cats fouling in my garden as well.
I used upturned hanging baskets and hedge clippings criss crossed for a week or so until the cats went elsewhere.

[Snoop Puss]

Morning all.

I made hot cross buns yesterday with YH. I converted the recipe to the tangzhong method for baking last year and wish I'd stuck to that yesterday. I thought I'd go with the standard method with YH, but the tangzhong made them much softer. Anyway, he thinks they're good and is taking a load home with him. Better than no hot cross buns, that's for sure.

No frost again today. Looks like no frosts till the weekend in fact. We were due rain later this week, but that's been cancelled. I've got a busy work week ahead but must find time to spread all the hay YH and Mr Snoop have brought me. I was waiting for the rain first, but not looking very likely for the next few weeks at least, so will just get on and do it.

Have a great day, everyone.