Soop's welcoming kitchen for friendly folk

I love baklava. First time I tasted it was in santorini and it was a small guest house. It was the owners wife who made it and it was so sweet and tasty. I usually get some in aldi at xmas and although it is nice, it's not as good as the one she made. I haven't managed to find it anywhere else other than aldi's

dusty, you've just brought back a lovely memory for me. On a visit to Portugal we were driving from Lagos to Cape St Vincent and the whole of the countryside was dotted with little white 'cottages' and the ground covered everywhere with Freesias. I have to say they are one of my favourite flowers and the perfume is wonderful. I always had them in my office and each time a particular colleague came in (not one to worry about working in nice surroundings) she would say "hate Freesias, they remind me of funerals". No answer to that!

I've tried to grow them in France but not had any luck, either to cold or too dry I think.

I await a tree creepery photo that I can see, dear soop. I'm now convinced it's my poor eyesight and not photography! So glad you are watching tennis and ironing. All seems right in your world when you're doing that. Hugs to Fern and mrSoop.

Can't say I ever took to baklava (retires behind door to await shrieks of indignation) I think that it seemed too much sweetness, not enough substance for me. Mind you, the Greeks have the most amazing sweet teeth. When we lived there, a coffee at a friend's house would have my teeth squealing for hours afterwards.... However, keep on eating it, Galen, we need to take our small treats seriously in this current life. Hope you're comfortable and recovering.

Until tomorrow, lovely peeps. x

Just popping in to say hello. Welcome Polomint - I am relatively new to the kitchen too and I'm sure you will find it a calm place filled with lovely caring people. Still a few of the birthday cupcakes left for me to share

Hello kitcheners, I sat on the sofa this afternoon and next thing I knew it was 90 minutes later ???. I must have needed it I suppose.

Now I have to prepare dinner (chicken cordon blue) and unload the dishwasher.

Thinking of our dear Panaches

Hello and welcome to the newbies

Have a peaceful evening folks ?‍♀️

polomint I've been to Santorini (Island of the butterflies?) I'm therefore almost certain that I have tasted that gooey treat that we are all wishing for. You have recaptured a lovely memory.

Grandmafrench Freesias are my favourite flowers. On our first "date," Mr Soop presented me with a posy of Freesia. On the second date, he cooked a chicken and transported it on the back seat of his car, wrapped in foil, from his home in Cornwall to mine in Devon. He has never ceased to make me feel eternally grateful.

BladeAnnie You are most welcome to share whatever goodies are on offer in our kitchen.

Osaka beat Williams. A spirited match. I was exhausted after watching the highlights.

Jaxjacky Mr Soop and I are a good team. He cleans the bathrooms, waters the houseplants and cooks our meals. I do the laundry, polish the furniture and wash the dishes. We both spoil a certain black cat. She'll arrive within the next half an hour.

grandmajet Thank you for noticing the latest Treecreeper photo.

dustyangel I enjoyed the parties in Greece. Especially when the china is smashed (as opposed to needing to wash the dishes).

I am away until tomorrow. All good wishes to every one of you. Thank you for your company.

I had pink fressias in my wedding bouquet. They smelt divine but modern day ones don't smell half so much. Our wedding was 50 years ago and we have survived so I think they are very happy flowers.

Asked DJ what he fancied for dinner tonight and sent him out to the freezer to take his pick. We have curries, shepherd's pie, sausage casserole and a selection of pasta sauces. He came back with sausages and asked if we could have sausage, egg and chips with baked beans.

Good afternoon all. I love Greece. I wish I could visit. There is no blue as blue as the Mediterranean, unless it's the outer Hebrides. Baklava unfortunately,is off the table as I'm diabetic but it is gorgeously sticky and sweet. Soop, he's a keeper. Cooks and cleans. Grandmafrench freesias are a favourite of mine too. There's no scent quite like them. I had them in my wedding bouquet. Grannygravy I know exactly what you mean. I had an unexpected nap this afternoon too. I picked up my new specs this morning and I'm very happy with them. Nice and light on my face. The dog, kittens and tree creeper are just lovely. I'm a dog person but I can appreciate a cat and these kittens are sweet. I'm having a wee sherry before spaghetti Bolognese and garlic bread. I'm watching 'O Brother, Where Aren't Thou' by the Coen Brothers. I love this film and Fargo. Tomorrow will definitely be a pottering around day. I'm feeling a bit cheerier after a few days of being low. Have a good evening all.

Evening all,

And a welcome from me too Polo . Your screen name made me smile, our Grandaughter used to refer to polos as ‘polyolys’ . Pass the scones please - mine are always as heavy as doorsteps so I’m always up for a nice one.

Jax the weather is rubbish you don’t need to see out of your windows ! Leave them till summer comes. - then think how pleased you’ll be at the view out of your clean windows. ??

Sam is looking much better thank you all. He is back to the vet tomorrow where a decision will be made but I suspect it will be an op. We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it.

Sam IS a spoiled chap evidenced today when Grampy offered him a Lidl digestive in an almost identical packet to a McVities. Sam politely declined to take it with a look that said ‘ you can’t fob me off’. He didn’t even sniff the real mcvities , just took it off to his basket to enjoy!

Grampy’s vaccination went off with clinical efficiency . We were very impressed . I am back tomorrow for mine. It makes me feel just a little safer.

Glad you’re feeling a little better Corner .

I am off to watch a little TV - Sam is hoping for his favourite detective show which he watches avidly as one of the characters is a very handsome German Shepherd!

Just settling down in the kitchen after a delicious chicken in white wine sauce, fresh vegetables and some chocolate cheesecake for dessert. All courtesy of Tesco as I’ve been out all day walking and I was really hungry when I got in. I can still manage a bit of baklava if there’s any left - thank you all ?
A very warm welcome polomint and thanks for the scones too. I’ve never been to Santorini but I’d love to go sometime as I’ve seen pictures and it looks idyllic - one day maybe fingers crossed ...
Hope you’re enjoying your sherry grandmabatty you definitely deserve it ?

Daughter’s dog feels the cold ...

Greece is in my heart ❤️ hence the name!

We have spent many years spending our summers sailing the islands on our old sailing boat.So many memories and a few adventures,we have made lifetime friends and go back when ever we can.I hope it won’t be so long before we return.

Yamas to you all.

‘Evening All’
?

I have felt rotten all day with side effects that I thought I’d swerved, as they started in 14 hours after my jab. A splitting headache has been the worst thing. Just had scrambled eggs in a bowl for my tea as couldn’t face making or eating anything else. It’s my go-to comfort food!

Just taken a couple of ibuprofen and plan to be in bed for 9pm hoping to sleep myself better.

That said, with your awful situation dear Panache my day does sound rather trivial in comparison.

My wedding bouquet was stuffed full of white, scented stephanotis - heavenly. I could drown in their scent.

Hope tonight is peaceful for us all. x

‘Goodnight All’.

Sorry to hear you’re feeling yuk urms hope an early night and a good sleep help ?
Love the picture nannytopsy - very stylish ?

Thank you Brook. x.

And you GrandmaFrench.

A day completely out of sorts. Like the worst hangover from hell without the fun bit first.

soop, I missed most of the tennis this pm, apart from the last two games. I had been out buying a car! I had heard the result anyway.
Grandmafrance, I may sound calm, but I am a good dissembler. Not one to bear my soul, though I think I may have one.*Nannytopsy*. That dog is surely pretending to be a zebra!
polomint, I was musing on what confectionery name I could have chosen. Maybe 'caramel wafer' or 'Crunchie' though the latter is now far too sweet for me.
dustyangel, how lovely to have a freesia out in your garden. They are my favourites though the florist shops variety disappointingly lacks fragrance. When my sister got married, my other sister and I (bridesmaids) had little posies of freesias in our hair.

bear my soul BARE my soul

Oh how I wish we had an editing facility on this site.!

We do anno - just press ‘preview message’ under the message box to check, then press ‘post message’.

soop we too split the chores, he rarely cooks, his repertoire is rather limited, sausage, beans and mash or an Ulster fry! Hoping for the day when I hear ‘what’s chores’ in the local.
Urmstongran that sounds lousy, hopefully some sound,magical sleep and you’ll be right as rain?
A lesser striped dog, rarer than a spotty dog Grannytopsy looking snug, what happens when an outside visit is required? is it like me in a onesie, not leaving it too late! Wishing all dogs continuing health Muse and all people a quiet evening with no surprises. Thoughts with Mr&Mrs Panache

Yes, Urmston, I usually do remember the "preview message", but sometimes, I enter the message without thinking. As you can see!

I do too anno! And then think ‘oh heck’.

About to sit down for our pasta dinner. Just waiting for Mr.M to have his few zzzz before we eat.

Just been leaving a length post in Pets Forum thanking everyone for their advice. Mya's new diet is wheat free dry food. 4th day now. All walks on lead with no running free outside.
Had two nights night with no poops and today they look almost positively perfected poops. I'll keep going with this routine for quite some time.

Freesias bring back memories of my Da. He grew them for my mother in his greenhouse. (Derbyshire). I'm sure he would have won prizes for them.

Thinking of Panache today.

Welcome Polomint. Glad you found the Kitchen.

Hope Friday is better for those who've had a yucky day.

But Urms, I always preview. Always. Then if I leave the message even for a short while, there are words there which are replaced because predictive script always knows better. A bit like you type Manchester - and Malaga is either suggested or shoved in there without so much as a by your leave. I wouldn't have been any more surprised had anno's baring of her soul comment been expressed as 'bairing". IT just does not care - and is so frustrating. I think we all know we can string a sentence together on here. And speaking of which, when ARE we going to get our personal messages working again, if ever?

That's a snappy little outfit on the dog Nannytopsy. The black and white is perfect, but I think not so much Zebra, maybe old fashioned burglar, or, how about Victorian bathing costume? Whatever, it's lovely. Little suits like that usually have completely separate back legs, Jax. Maybe this is what you should do with your onesies, to avoid last minute panics? . Then again, maybe it's not quite the weather yet for bare botties?

How is your dog, Muse? I'm afraid I missed the details when you joined the Kitchen but do hope that she's not giving you further worries. Lovely supper brook? What a great idea to be out walking and then get back to a delicious supper which, I assume, didn't involve cooking. Excellent plan at the end of, hopefully, a good day.

Glad so many of us like Freesias and have included them in life's special occasions. Maybe I'll have another go at growing some myself. Little things, small pleasures, that'll keep us going until our sentences are served ! Nighty night everyone and sweet dreams. ?

Panache - I have no words - my thoughts and prayers are with you both. Keep strong and positive.

Galen welcome home - enjoy the Baklava - or what (if any) is left of it.