Chitchat thread #24

[Nicos]

Mornin n


SNER !!!!!! We have sner!!!!!
Finally

Not a lot but enough to at least say we have some. Tis the patchy wet sloshy stuff which will melt easily but no good for snowballs nor snowmen.
We were thinking of heading off in the camper for the day but think we’ll postpone that now.

No other plans - maybe some baking. Someone who shall remain unnamed has scoffed all the mince pies etc!
I think my OH and Mr gf would get along fine…

I’m just fancying dippy eggs and soldiers this morning. Anyone care to join me?

[Bren In Pots]

Morning

Enjoy your snow Nicos it does look pretty and festive this time of the year, pity its so cold with it.
Not had a dippy egg for ages might have one for lunch, breakfast for my usual pinhead oats with rhubarb today.
I spotted a recipe the other day that used a jar of mincemeat to make a Christmas cake has anyone tried this ?

wrap up warm and enjoy your day.

[Nicos]

Mornin Bren
I’ve stirred mincemeat into a raw Victoria sponge mix and baked it as a slab cake. That was lovely.
Also mixed some into ice cream whilst churning it.
Never heard of it being used in an Xmas cake but that sounds interesting.

[greenishfing]

Good morning all.

Brrrrrrrr🥶❄🥶❄. It's so cold with a lot of frost....but the sun is out which makes everything seem better The temperature is forecast to sneak above 0°C at about 1pm for a short while.

Bren, that sounds as if it should be a very moist Christmas cake with a jar of mincemeat in it. I have managed not to make any mince pies yet as Mr GF loves them and can't stop at one, or even two, and too much pastry really upsets him.

We'll be finishing off the last bit of the first Christmas cake today. Mr GF has already got his beady eyes on number 3 which I made yesterday. The changes I've tried this time are.....a bit less dried fruit, extra glace cherries and a "bit" more booze.

I could just fancy a dippy egg now somebody has put that idea into my head....maybe tomorrow. I'll make a fresh loaf of bread to dip in them.

I must call at the chemist later and pick up some extra prescriptions I've ordered for Mr GF. I'm happy to say I don't need to go anywhere else.

[Bren In Pots]

Afternoon

We now have Holly plenty around the lanes so we didn’t feel mean depriving the birds, Didn’t see any mistletoe though.
Back home for tea and biscuits

[lottie dolly]

evening all,brrr it is cold,and icy under foot,enjoyed my Thursday groups christmas party,am now waiting for the home to get a bit warmer,not had the heating on since last night double brr,i can remember the outdoor loo,2 homes shared 1,up the steps and across the yard,with news paper on string,the single glass pain was realy thin,some nice patterns were on the icy windows,we had a clean brick in our beds,warmed up by the little oven in the old black range,toaste done on the fire,and the grate/range was blacked with boot polish,i have been tolled,that when best butter was on ration,i put it all over it,i can only think i was helping out as i must seen mam doing,i cannot remember any such incident,round it was also washing drying or airing,and bath time was the old tin in front of the fire,the milk often had the pot pushed up as it froze and the birds having a peck or two,but thinking back,we were not left traumatized,as was the norm,the most modern item was,take out the light bulb and plug the iron in to the light soccet,youngsters these days are soft,have a good evening all,tommorrow am getting my tooth sorted out,so will no dobt come home a fraction lighter,1 less tooth and some ££££,

[Nicos]

I remember the milk bottles on the doorstep with a chimney of frozen milk sticking out of the top with the metal cap sitting on top of that. They did often had holes in where the birds had pecked through the top. For those of you still having doorstop deliveries, does that still happen in this cold weather?

Hope the dentist goes well tomorrow lottie. It’ll be good to have it sorted before Xmas.

We’ve had a tad more snow but it’s only patchy.

Glad you got your holly sorted Bren. The house suddenly feels much more festive with all the greenery doesn’t it?

[bramble]

Good night all.
It was a really best day here today.
Visit to the eye specialist ialist this morning and then a trip to a couple of shopping centres before we found what we were looking for.
Picked up our grandson from nursery school and spent the evening entertaining him.
The weather was lively here today, cool but dry and sunny although the breeze was cool,

Lottie, bringing ba k lots of memories there.
I remember the clothes on the line like boards when they froze.
My granny usex to wrap a warm brick and put it in her bed as well.
She also cooked on a valor oil stove.
Such great memories.
It never hurt any of us.
Have a good night all.

[greenishfing]

Evening all.

Not everything went as planned. The chemist's didn't have the prescriptions for Mr GF. I called in at the surgery, round the corner. Evidently someone there has made a cock up. Not important as they are not urgent....Hopefully they'll have it sorted by tomorrow.

I got tempted by a T & M offer this morning and have had a bowl of Christmas hyacinths sent to one of the elderly in-laws. Not sure when it will arrive but I'm sure they'll be appreciated if they are half decent.

I made fish pie for our meal tonight. I obviously put too much parsley sauce in the base with the fish as puddles of it overflowed onto the new oven bottom. However I am so happy that I had put liners down on the bottom of the ovens as soon as I got the cooker. Instead of having to get on my knees and scrub the oven bottom I just whipped out the liner, gave it a quick wash in the sink and put it back.

It is freezing hard here again, -3 at the moment. The car has yet again turned into an ice cube🥶🥶.

We have now cut into the latest Christmas cake and even with a couple of recipe tweaks I can't really tell any difference. According to Mr GF it is simply perfect and he is getting possessive yet again.

[rary]

When reading some of the previous posts it shows how different some of you older grapes lived, don't know if some of us younger ones could live like that now🙄😏
Another cold day today, when I started off this morning it was showing - 10c had to go and check the boilers at the church, as the toddlers were having their Christmas party and I was a bit concerned that it wouldn't be warm enough for them fortunately everything was fine, though I did get a phone call from a friend who told me his boiler wasn't working, so went to his house to see if I could help him, there was a problem with his condensate outlet which was frozen managed to unblock that with hot water, but unfortunately we couldn't get the boiler to run so he is now in a cueue for a repair, we gave my BiL a visit to see how he was getting on, he had bought a new build flat 4 or 5 years ago and has had nothing but bother with water ingress, the insurance has now paid over half a million to get the building sorted he had to move out during the repair work, but has now moved back in, it definitely feels and smells better, just hope everything is OK for him. Another cold night followed by a colder day is forecasted for tomorrow, but as long as I am able to sit up when I wake up tomorrow and I am able to stretch out my arms without hitting wood, I will will know I'm fine. Keep safe and warm and remember to pass on smiles when ever you can. Goodnight

[Bren In Pots]

Evening

Our milk gets dropped into a box Nicos so we’ve not had problems, I don think the neighbours either side have either. Wonder if it’s something the birds don’t do anymore. Odd isn’t it.

[greenishfing]

I remember our milk was regularly pecked when I was a child. At school it was half frozen in Winter and slightly sour in Summer. Mr GF says he had to have a spoonful of cod liver oil with his school milk but he was a sneaky little so and so and used to get the staff to put the cod liver oil into the milk as he'd worked out it would float and he'd just put his straw down to the bottom and drink the milk leaving the oil in the bottle.

I also remember my mother getting bottles of rosehip syrup from the doctors and I found that disgusting. Years later I made rosehip wine and that was revolting too.

[mothhawk]

Morning all.

I remember school milk being either frozen or slightly sour too, GF. We used to race to see who could empty their bottle fastest, as the sooner we finished the milk, the sooner we could go out into the playground. In secondary school it was more leisurely, as we could buy a sticky bun for tuppence to have with the milk.

Blue tits pecking through the foil to get at the creamy top of the milk on the doorstep...and we still used the milk. I expect nowadays people would throw up their hands in horror and discard the whole pint.

IMy mother gave us rosehip syrup too, GF, and cod liver oil with malt. I loved them both.

[greenishfing]

Good morning.

I rang the doctor's surgery at 8am and got a telephone appointment for Mr GF. He has been itching for the last few days and last night it kept him awake. Hardly anything to see but I did take a photo. The doctor has just rung back, I sent him the photo and he's prescribed the same cream he gave him last year. Hopefully this will cure it quickly. I'll collect it from the chemist later and hopefully the prescription they messed up yesterday.

It's still -3 here and the car is masquerading as an ice cube yet again but at least the sun is shining.

Mothawk, I think everyone drank the pecked milk with no ill effects and all the kids in my school drank their milk and ate stodgy school dinners (no choices back then) with not an allergy in sight. We just all seemed to be permanently hungry and in a hurry to get back to the playground.

[Nicos]

Mornin n’alln’all
No more snow as yet but the patches which remain looks like someone’s been having a pillow fight !

Ah…Cod liver oil. Yuk.
Thing is, my beloved granny used to sneakily give it to me mixed in with puréed apricots and homemade custard. I had no idea.
I thought it was a weekly treat walking to granny’s over the train bridge watching the steam trains puffing away below, followed by buttered iced bun ,apricot and custard and a pot of tea.What deceit !

I was the one of a few who would happily drink anyones milk at school, sneakily swapping an empty bottle for their full one. Didn’t seem right forcing kids who were gagging at the sight of it to sit there and drink it. Funny little bottles!…were they 1/3 pt?

The pop man used to gave bottles the same size as that filled with fresh orange juice. I used to look out forhim as eagerly as the ice
cream van. Dandelion and burdock was my favourite!

Quick grory hop for me then the day is my own. I finished my book yesterday so I might have a break and hunt down my festive jigsaw
Its got to be somewhere under a pile of boxes

Keep warm and safe peeps