Soop's welcoming kitchen for the sharing of...

soop, I know the plant -aka crocosmia. It can be incredibly invasive incredibly quickly. It's a pretty plant in small doses. We do have some in our garden, in a patch where not a lot else likes to grow but that's where it's going to stay, unless we find something else that will grow happily there.
I've no doubt that you have lots of great memories of building not only one but three houses. Doing that is a labour of love with a rightly gratifying result at the end. My WP would have been more than happy if we had gone down that route. We rented an upside down house for a year in the early days of our relationship, thinking of it brings back some lovely memories ?.

Well done by your DD Lins, you've raised a good un.

That's a pretty good idea for a thread that you've outlined Grandmafrench, you should start it!

Off to sort a cuppa out now and settle nicely on the sofa in readiness to watch Killing Eve, the only thing on tv, imho, worth watching today.

TOYA ❤️?

Thank you soop,GrandmaFrench and CherryCezzy.
Hope we all have some restful sleep tonight. I seem to drift off about midnight then wake every couple of hours.
TOYA ??

Morning all !

Sorry I have been missing , I have no excuse except sheer damn laziness. This lockdown has sent me into slow motion with nothing much seeming of urgency :-)

We've been keeping in touch on Zoom too NannyT , like you we've had a quiz and on Saturday night we had a virtual party complete with disco ball and party hats lol. Funnily enough I made rhubarb crumble yesterday too after a kind neighbour left us some on the doorstep.

I see some wonderful photos from lots of people - I do love a good photo. I'll add one of Grampy which surfaced yesterday from 1977 lol I was always a soft touch for a man in uniform !!

I'm not liking the sound of changed dinners Dreamcatcher , definitely worth a phone call!

I seem to be doing a lot more cooking of late ( not sure how that happened ) , but we had home made steak and kidney pie yesterday which was pretty good even though I say so myself. Today it looks like a lemon drizzle cake will be going in the oven.

Hope all are keeping well in these troubled times , thinking of you all.x

Sounds like you are doing some good catering over there N&G. We’ll all be round when this is over. I think its home made burgers here tonight - I may be able to get the sous chef on those!
Off to dig another veg bed this morning. The frame is made, the weeds and grass cleared and now it needs digging over before I start filling it with soil. A very satisfying job , once it’s done!
Enjoy the weather everyone!

Won’t it be fabulous when all this is a distant memory to have a virtual kitchen party ! A little joy, a lot of food and bubbly ! ??

No bubbly for me, just good food and either a decent red or a glass or three of a dry white.

I have not decided yet what I am dining on in Tara's hotel. She has run out of the door to enjoy the sunshine leaving me to wash the clothes.
TOYA

Good morning all in this lovely warm kitchen! It is a dream to behold!

I’ve just prepared spaghetti bolognese for dinner tonight and made my youngest son (he lives with us) a cheese and onion pie. He also wanted some plain pastry scones, strange lad likes to eat them with brown sauce!!!!!

Take care and stay safe everyone and I’ll pop back as usual tonight with the hot toddies and a port and lemon for anyone who fancies it! Love to you all x

Morning lovely people! Kitchen is the best place to be today, I think. I do have a warm kitchen here - since I am just about to put in a very large loaf to bake and DH lit a fabulous log fire to greet me after my shower. Here in S. of France on Day 2 of 4 promised days of heavy rain! Bit of a change for us. Shame is that because the ground is mostly very hard and baked dry from loads of wind and sun and not much water...when the rains arrive, the surface water is a nightmare. Add that to not having any gutters so that the torrents create such a noise off the roof, you will see that warm kitchens are needed to cheer today! Great photo N&Grampy
Everyone sounds in fine fettle - well better spirits at least. Some of us are going wild in their gardens. (Think Soop has gone native!!!) So good for our moods, as long as no one is punished too much with the post garden aches! .Wonder who will falter first, the gardeners or the weather? Others of us are "baking for victory". It's lovely to be productive when we need to work off that energetic and creative spurt each day, or to just give in and slump and pass the day reading or garden sitting. I try to be pleased to still have the choice. Being kind to ourselves is really important now if we are going to survive this situation in tact, I think. Thrilled to hear that the UK has lots of sunshine. I shall wait patiently before getting out the plans for Ark building.....we never have to wait long for good weather, so best not be too eager to find yet something else to do. Have a great day eating all your delicious food, catch up later perhaps? STAY SAFE ALL x

Happy, smiley, sunny good afternoon greetings to you lovely lot. The sun continues to shine. Not a whisper of cloud in the sky.

The delicious aromas wafting around our kitchen are almost too much of a good thing. I do not know why it is that my appetite has increased enormously. Could be the meds. Could be the gardening activity. Right now, I could manage a three cours meal. However, I'm settling for and enjoying porridge with blueberries and a crunchy apple.

CharleyG Your Our Tara sets such a good example. Bless!

N&G Please tell Grampy that his photo is dishy and I'm not surprised that you were smitten.

I've a mini mountain of shingle, a spade and a rake. Today's job is to distribute the shingle in crevices and on barren patches all around the garden. Having spent so much time digging, weeding and removing detritus, I want to deter unwanted stuff coming back.

I intend reurning later this afternoon. Enjoy your day in whatever way gives you some well deserved pleasure. I shall load the washing machine and then don my work gear.

Hello to all kind kitcheners,
A little cool here today but spoken to a few friends by phone this morning which was very nice.
We had a laugh about my need to find a virtual kitchen sofa for comfort. ?

Panache I was sad to read that the food you are being served is poor. Not good enough. Sending love and thinking of you and DH.

Grandmafrench the department I am in is Cotes D'Armor, a kilometre from the Morbihan department. One would probably describe it as Breton France rather than French France but it is very beautiful and we love it.

Purplepixie, tonight's food sounds inviting. I might make moussaka tonight, not sure yet.

Lins xxxx

Stay safe kind kitchen friends. Xxxx

N&G what a handsome man grampy is. He looks very good in uniform.
purplepixie I love spag bog. You’ve given me an idea for tomorrow night’s dinner if I have enough spaghetti.
Take care not to overdo it in the garden soop. Lovely day here too. grandmafrench it sounds cold where you are if you need the fire lit. Sounds cosy though ?
Oh crumbs carillion I like mousakka too now I’m tossing up between that and the spaghetti ?
Well done to your DD lins ?
TOYA

Sorry Lins I meant DS not DD. A goodly sum for the NHS.?

Not blowing my own trumpet soop but I’m magic with gravel and a rake. Created such a nice new terrace once, DH bought some lovely old bricks and built a 3 brick height wall in front of the house and we put down weed baffle material, I spread gravel...instant order where there had been endless weeding and a huge flowerbed....replanted roses in big pots and re-sited a table and chairs and a big umbrella. Such an enjoyable project. Wish I was there to help you.

Doodle it is cosy, thanks. But not cold outside - maybe 15 degrees? It’s just acres of flagstones and tiles don’t make you feel right when it’s so damp. Normally with doors and windows open and daily sunshine, that’s fine. Today, just not!

Carillion Brittany - how lovely. A few years ago you would be more than welcome to use my kitchen sofa for an impromptu coffee - 3 hours or so to the Pays d’Auge/Calvados.....BUT maybe 8hrs 45m to Hérault? Coffee would be ruined. We’ll have to stick to our virtual kitchen for now, I think?

Cats are in all day and probably for another 3 days?. Two of the three were just sitting on the back of a couch, one leaning very hard on the back of my neck, one chewing my hair! There are limits, so before I morph into the hunchback of Notre Dame, I push one complaining one which results in plenty of irritable grumbling. Still trying to concentrate on this post, I announce “ Now look, you may think this is lovely but.......well......it’s not”. My DH, from the other end of the sitting room says “Mmmmm, I think Henry Kissinger’s job is safe”. I’m defeated and off to make a cuppa. TOYA ???

Yay! I'm well delighted with today's labours. Tough going but the rewards are extremely pleasing. The sun continues to shine. I need to shower and tidy myself. I'm so thankful that you can't see the state of me right this minute.

Thank you all for your company and for your interesting and amusing messages. You really are the tops.

I continue to think of you ALL...especially those of you who are feeling sad and stressed.

I shall join you all again tomorrow. Continue to take care and remember that you are all very important peoples.

Fine figure of a man Mr NanaandG is, no wonder you decided he was a keeper.
I don't know what it is with me but I love a typo or autocorrect hiccup. Love your in tact Grandmafrench, being kind to ourselves often needs us to be tactful with ourselves too, not be self critical and judgemental of ourselves by comparing ourself with others. Like I say I love it ?
soop* the typo in yours gave me an inadvertent chuckle, I intend burning later this afternoon. It conjured an image (for me) of you with the space and a rake attempting to unearth an urn in your garden. Sorry, I can have a warped mind ?.
I've had some excitement today. I have been invited to provide my own story of my experience of living with epilepsy for inclusion in an anthology to help clinicians understand the individual behind their condition. I've used as a part of someone's PhD in the past but that was purely from the scientific aspects of my epilepsy. This is much more exciting. The project is starting imminently whilst we are in lockdown so it will give me something extra to be involved in.

Ha ha ha ha - autocorrect changed unurning to burning and now I've got another silly image going on in my head. Oh soop whatever you do please don't do that!!

been used ?

Good evening ladies. Goodness what a busy and cheerful place the kitchen is.

I've spent some time catching up with all of your news since I was here on Saturday and enjoyed everyone of your posts.

Have a good evening everyone TOYA

We have created the second raised bed, for a damson tree and some fruit bushes. I have learned my lesson and won’t plant raspberries. They are such thugs! We have a heating oil delivery tomorrow - be prepared from 6.30 am!! They cannot be serious!
TOYA.

Just had a Sainsbury’s delivery. I have never spent so long washing my shopping. It’s not something I ever thought I would do. Guess what...I have bananas. My first for 4 weeks and.......a bottle of dettol .........and some spaghetti. The excitement ?

I've located what you refer to, Cherry. I do try so hard to check what I've typed before posting it, but I despair of autocorrect and, even though I will amend things, sometimes it's actually a race to post before it changes again.

Some time ago when smart phones were new, I was so tired of grappling with the determination to change what I wrote, I got into the habit of leaving what "the phone" would type, as long as I was writing to friends. We would sometimes re-read stuff - it was often really funny and far more entertaining than anything we could think towrite. It was possible to pick up the thread of what someone was trying to say....but not always. I don't find it funny now, though. A random name or phrase just appearing in the middle of a paragraph is infuriating, I think.

Great news about your involvement in helping others have a greater understanding of living with epilepsy. No idea whether yours has been a lifetime thing or something you developed later in life, but you are very stoic and accepting, especially regarding your tumbling about!

Doodle did we ever imagine that one day we would be able to talk about "washing our shopping?" Crazy, isn't it. I know what you mean about the excitement of things actually arriving when we want them. We have bananas - I was very excited .......until I had to wash them. I've decided they are a ridiculous shape and very awkward to bath - they also had to be put out in the sun to finish drying.

Maybe I should stick to ordering easy-wash fruit?

Grandmafrench I hope I didn't upset you picking up on the autocorrect. I just saw it as a fortuitous computer "correction"; for instance I can look in the mirror and be critical of the "panda" eyes staring back at me or I can be tactful toward myself and think that the dark circles will wash out in the shower. I choose the latter as then I am being kind to myself.
To answer your "implicit" question, I developed epilepsy as an adult and I think that made it easier to cope with for me personally but the trials and tribulations I went through with the medical profession is quite another story.
Glad you got your spaghetti Doodle.

Upset me? Certainly not ! Nighty night x

Goodnight Grandmafrench, sleep well.