Come here for corona-free chat!

I have actually enjoyed people being out more! a few months ago on my walks I wouldn't see many people out. But now I see all kinds of people. Great to see more families out with their little'uns

I am wildly excited that next April we hope to greet grandchild number 8! I now have an excuse to get knitting again, if my arthritic thumbs will behave themselves!

I see the corona chat has crept in to this non-corona thread. Please keep it out. 'George 441' - yes we will die of something or other at the alloted time ?

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Nope, I don't feel anything yet. Totally safe from Covid-19 so far. But not sure what will happen next.

Not if we eat an apple a day! There are loads of apples on the tree belonging to my next door neighbour and he's not picking them. What a waste. But he lets me pick those that grow over my side of the fence.
It's a perfect day here around Dartmoor.

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Cooking in Challenging Times - today I'm eating....drum roll...
cat food!
Translation = I've found packet of tripe I'd bought to feed a neighbour's cat who is now in lockdown with his owner/slave.

I'm in isolation for EVER,or so it seems, so went to my Italian cookbooks to see if they have any tasty menus for tripe - and they HAVE!
So today it's Trippa alla Romana. Tripe-got. olive oil -got.White wine - got.Chicken - got a stock cube so I'll give that a tick too.Chillies - got.Tats-got.Peas - got.
Ladies, I'm going in

I've had an afternoon in the garden planting seeds into small pots to get them started - cabbage, peas, peppers and chillies. I found it very therapeutic. The warm sunshine helped, too.I've also got some potatoes to plant into tubs, but have decided to hold off planting them out until the risk of frost has passed - we've had a couple of really chilly nights this week. Then, when I came back indoors decided to make a casserole using up some of the cooked lamb and a medley of vegetables. It's a bit of a catch as catch can meal, but I'm sure it will be tasty.
The rest of the lamb I will mince tomorrow and make shepherds pie, I think.

We do indeed Elegran. I’m sitting in the garden ‘resting’ ,from digging, on my sunbed plugged into Classic FM. Elgar’s Praise to the Holiest from the Dream of Gerontius is belting out and briefly all is well in my world. I’d like to disconnect the ear plugs and let the neighbours enjoy it too but they’d probably think Id lost the plot ?

Bumping this so that it gets used, and so that more threads are started under the topic. We need to visit a coronafree zone at least once a day!

Congratulations Ladychaplin19 how lovely and what welcome news.

Congratulations, Ladychaplin. You must be thrilled. ??

Ladychaplin
Congratulations. New life how fabulous. My DIL due in 20 weeks. Feels such a long way away

Ladychaplin19 congrstulations, what lovely news

new grand daughter arrived safely today. Huge smiles all round, great delight ???

Made Redcurrant jelly with ones from freezer, several more tubs to do, very satisfying, such a lovely colour, will use it on our greek yogurt.
Hope it sets enough, but not too much!

I’ve been watching the birds on the feeders in the garden. Mostly tits with a few robins, spadgers & a woodpecker. They all go for the peanuts first followed by the fat balls, leaving the seeds until last. I am rapidly running out of supplies so they will just have to make do with the seeds! DD who lives in the same village a 10 minute walk away, tells me that ‘her’ birds prefer the seeds first, then the fat balls & peanuts. There really is no pleasing some birds ?

I had daffodil bulbs planted for St. David’s Day, 1st March , they have just bloomed , only 28 days late !

Here summer time was ushered in by snow showers. Very reminiscent of one of Giles' best cartoons!

I am trying to dry a mattress cover which was too big to go in the washing machine, so I washed in the time-honoured fashion yesterday in the bath and tramped on it. Hung it out and of course it was still wet this forenoon.

It just fits into the tumbler dryer, but refuses to dry!

It's cold here, +3 centigrade and a wind that makes the chill factor -3, so not surprised that the cat went to bed at 11 a.m.

I've been sorting through old photos - a task I have been avoiding for years. Caught that bug from SIL no 2 who writes that she is cleaning out cupboards and drawers!

Finally found the voice mail on my new android phone - no instructions in the user's manual and the ones on the internet decidedly unhelpful. My old phone didn't survive having a glass of fruit juice overturned on it, so I couldn't use the SIM card.

We have a cat call regularly in our garden, too. He's a lovely black and white one. Always has a collar with a bell on, but I think he must have devised a way of removing the collar as every time I see him he seems to have a new one on! He patrols our garden and cul de sac as if he owns the place and we have to watch him around the birds, as he has caught one a few times, plus the odd mouse.
Out yesterday for my daily constitutional, it was lovely listening to all the different birdsong and looking at the beautiful flowers in all the gardens. Not such a lovely day today, so if I do venture out, I will need to wrap up warmly. Not sure if I'll bother today.

https://www.gransnet.com/uploads/talk/202003/medium-821334-c06c83ef-e762-4daa-af3f-25485bdace8d.jpeg https://www.gransnet.com/uploads/talk/202003/medium-69225-12684783-2b6f-4169-af62-c97fd73e111e.jpeg

First bluebells from the end of our garden

Cherrycezzy we didn’t even know this cat was a regular until we had a heavy fall of snow and we could see his footprints going all round our house. He takes the same route every day. He’s a splendid cat, I have to say. Ours are house cats and wouldn’t thank you for any fresh air.

watermeadow Here's a link that I posted elsewhere - the Royal Opera House has a programme of ballet and opera that they are transmitting on various media, such as Youtube.

Also there's masses of stuff on I-Player for radio at the moment - lots of drama if you like that.

www.theguardian.com/stage/2020/mar/17/hottest-front-room-seats-the-best-theatre-and-dance-to-watch-online

Don't they all SueDonim! We don't even have a ? but there are a few who patrol our garden like they own it, some even saunter into our house as if they do . The latest Lion King is particularly fond of the birds feeding in the garden. He's been quite successful at stalking and catching his prey yet he's the youngest "leaseholder"!