Soops Kitchen, a place of refuge, reflection and revelry.

jaxjacky some of the seedlings I hoed were nigella , the leaves are quite distinctive aren’t they. I think some of them will survive, but if not I’ll buy more seed and plant them in the spring. The rest were definitely weeds. I had sausages for dinner this evening.

Enjoy the evening everyone. Not sure about Strictly yet but will probably watch it every week!

Cornergran I am appalled at the wait for your G’s cardiac appointment, you may know that I was referred in February after an ECG was not clear.
I have had all tests done and seen in clinic by a lovely Consultant and declared fit and well.
Conclusion was an ectopic heartbeat after a virus illness in December.
Keep on complaining and nagging.
My GD came today and took me out for coffee which was lovely, we called in M&S and I bought myself a Moussaka which was delicious, I made a mixed salad to go with it.
I also bought a bottle of their Coronation sauce, when I got it home it is two months out of date!!
I rang to tell them, not because I shall take it back, it is 25 minutes away but so that they can check the shelves.
I got a recorded message to say they were closed, I don’t think so, I shall ring again tomorrow.
I hope you all have a good evening, I have started watching Line of Duty from the start before a new series starts, they all look so young.

‘Evening All’

I’ve had a delightful one. Wine (Sancerre) in a buzzy wine bar where we bumped into friends of my son in law. Nice to say our hellos and you’re you doing etc.

Then my friend and I enjoyed our Lebanese food. We ordered less tonight thinking we were a bit greedy last time. We polished it all off, unsurprisingly. 😁

Then it was 7pm.

We went home (round the corner) and disappeared into our own apartments to put on our pjs. Then I knocked on with a bowl of seedless grapes and chocolates, my friend opened a second bottle of ‘chicken wine’ (our first was in the restaurant BYO - bring your own) and we watched Strictly together.

She definitely enjoyed the grapes with her wine. I had a few of them but then snarfed several ‘snack size’ chocolate bars - a Crunchie, a Twirl, mini fudge bar and some buttons….. I think it’s called ‘having the munchies”. ?? 🫪

Companionship of the highest order, it was wonderful to be honest. We both enjoyed our relaxed and impromptu get together. I loved just crossing the decking in my slippers - first time we’d done this! No one saw us (not that it mattered) it’s very quiet on our landing area.

We hugged as I left and she said “see you Monday evening for a brew”.

P.s. Glad to hear Ripley is home and yes, thank you, my stepfather is grand. I spoke to him twice today to check he was okay.

fgt what a lovely impromptu evening for you and your friend! Pleased your stepfather is doing well.

Night night all.

When we got home to change into our pjs I took this pic of a beautiful moon (7pm) but it shows my friend arriving home and gives you the sense of our proximity.

I am so pleased that Ripley is home, totally unconcerned she had been out for too long. Her tum would have reminded her.

corner I remember Mr C had heart surgery but had forgotten the year. That waiting time is disgraceful.

It is definitely autumnal here.

I achieved a lot today. Somebody is coming on Monday to repair my dishwasher, Another fellow is coming on Tuesday to look at my printer and computer and I discovered my AA home insurance, due mid October, papers were sent on the 18th so they should arrive before Christmas. The price has shot up and I can save at least £75 a year, so I must put that in motion.

I watched Strictly for 30 minutes, couldn't stand the screaming, hated Jo jo's apparel and 3 presenters are too much.

Always read Soops but very rarely post but reading your post FGT I visualized you both on gogglebox with your drink and nibbles.

Quiet today! I did a few hours in the garden and now I’m ironing. Been watching DH’s rugby team narrowly beat mine. Shame!
I shall go and make a beef casserole now for dinner.
Hope you all had a good day and enjoy your evening

Evening kitchen folk. NannyTopsy it sounds like a productive day for you.
I have not been quite as productive. I have made a slow cooker pot of mince which will mostly go in the freezer. It has rained for most of the day too, so no outside work attempted. I have pottered about indoors. Dinner tonight will be salmon in a mustard sauce with potatoes and broccoli. Dd visited with dgs2 and brought two portions of soup which will do for lunches. So I'm all sorted for food. Enjoy your evening kitchen folk.

Hi all, we’ve had rain for a few hours, keep it coming please.
A quiet day, quick trip to M&S foodhall, returning jeans, collecting bra’s, everything else resisted.
Parsnips prepared and frozen, in case, for Christmas.
I’ve been following events on the news in England and NI, not the most cheering thing to do.
I shall now watch something moving!
Enjoy your evenings.

Chucked it down here at 5pm for a good while. Then the sun came out.

I was invited over for dinner as I passed L’il Miss into her mum’s car but I declined. Said thank you, very kind, but I’d like to watch a film and do a small roast dinner with lots of veggies.

Plenty over for tomorrow now & I really enjoyed it by 6pm.

I paid £3.99 to rent ‘A Zone of Intent’ on Apple.TV. I’ve wanted to watch it for ages it got such good reviews a couple of years ago. Cheaper (and less energetic) than going to the cinema!
#lazygran

Not intent (sorry).
Interest.

interest The Zone of Interest is a 2023 historical drama film written and directed by Jonathan Glazer, starring Christian Friedel and Sandra Hüller.Overview and PlotPremise: The film follows Auschwitz commandant Rudolf Höss and his wife Hedwig as they build a seemingly idyllic domestic life in a house and garden directly adjacent to the concentration camp.Theme: It dispassionately examines the mundanity of evil, contrasting the family's ordinary daily routines with the unseen horrors and mass murder occurring just beyond their garden wall.

I will wash up in a minute now my dinner has settled (no dishwasher here, Himself used to wash up, I made the dinner it was good teamwork).

Then I think I’ll read my novel for a couple of hours and listen to Classic FM. Take my mind off tomorrow morning’s blood test.

DD and boys have gone home, dishwasher is doing its thing (sorry FGT2 )

We have had a couple of showers late afternoon.

I am now collapsed on the sofa with a glass of chicken wine

Nannatopsy my ironing pile is enormous, hopefully I will do it tomorrow.

Fgt I think it's the juxtaposition of evil with ordinary life which makes the horror deeper. We ask how can those people going about an ordinary existence commit such evil acts? It makes you think about the nature of evil.
Instead of salmon, I had mince and mashed potatoes and it was lovely. I am lying down for a little while then I will rise for a cuppa before proper bedtime.

fgt I hope tomorrow’s blood tests go well and that the results come through quickly and don’t show any problems.

We were forecast showers this afternoon, but only had a few spots which didn’t even wet the ground. Hoping for more later this week. In the meantime I’ll keep watering the plants that need it.

Both DDs and families called in this morning, they stayed about an hour as usual. DD2 put a cover on the 7.0 tog duvet, ready for any cooler nights. At the moment I’m still warm enough with the 4.5 duvet, the house is still at 23.5 degrees so quite comfortable. It will be quite a shock when it chills down!

I’m feeling quite virtuous as I finished the pile of ironing this afternoon. As I can only stand for 15-20 minutes at a time, it takes a while to iron a large heap!

Have a pleasant evening all.

Well done Redcar. There’s more ironing here, just up the road in Suffolk, if you are interested!
We were forecast rain today but got about 2 minutes of spots. Not much use! 🤞for this week.

Do you know Redcar I have no idea what tog our quilts are! But the winter one is on, it does get pushed down a little overnight though.

Hello kitchen people,

We had a good day. We met two old friends (they are both 87 so are old and old!) at our nearby NT property. It is the last weekend before closing until next Easter. OH worked with D in places like Lebanon and Palestine and have known one another for over 20 years. We ended the day with a delicious cream tea.

Sleep 💤 tight.

Good luck with the blood test fgt. Soon over.

It was a strange weather day here. Although it rained regularly for a few minutes it didn’t seem enough for the garden. A domestic day for me, ironing, more laundry, produced a plum tart for pudding, updated some admin. All quite enjoyable as there was no time pressure.

It seems to me the closing of some NT properties truly marks Autumn ladylfl. Thankfully our nearest one continues to open albeit on reduced days.

I’m in the midst of one of my non sleeping times. Nothing to be done other than wait for it to pass and keep a lid on night time negativity. I sometimes think my thoughts darken with the sky.

Time to get into a book I think. Hope you’re all sleeping comfortably.

My duvet is 13.5 and even with a hwb I still feel cold.
An engineer is coming later to fix my dishwasher. I can't wait for that.

I have been watching The Blame on ITV and I have found it to be well worth watching. They all speak so quickly unless it is my brain slowing down.

I can't remember the last time I ironed but it is around 7 years ago.

Showers are forecast for today, we haven't had rain in London for months.

Hi kitchen pals,
I’ve a lot of kitchen news to catch up on but hope everyone is doing ok
It’s quite a nice day up here in Inverness, sunny with just a few clouds. I’ve done a bit of food shopping and also pottered in the garden for a while. DH has mowed the grass so I’m wondering it that’ll be it for this year and he can clean the mower and put it away at the back of the shed over winter. He thinks it’ll probably need one more cut but will see!
So pleased to read that Ripley is safe and well llfl and such good news about your stepfather fgt
Hoping your DH gets an appointment soon cornergran, definitely too long to wait
I’m off out line dancing this evening, it’s not been on for a couple of weeks as the instructor has been away so I’m looking forward to seeing everyone again and hoping I can remember some of the steps too 🤷‍♀️

Pleased normal services are resumed brook.
Cooler here today, the voluntary phone was very busy, I’m tired, awake at 3:15 in the worrying window, but my dentist rang today. He was reassuring about my imminent appointment, ‘we will look after you’.
So, not a lot else was done today and I’ll be early to bed, enjoy your evening all.

Hi everyone, I hope all is well with everyone.

brook enjoy your line dancing, I’m sure you’ll remember the steps once you start! We used to have a class in the village hall some years ago, it was great fun and very good exercise.

I met up with a friend at our local RHS garden this morning, it was good to see her but she was quite sad as her youngest son is in hospital and not improving at all. On the way home I stopped at the farm shop and got some supplies, I hadn’t been for ages and they’ve got new fridges and loads of different cheeses, yogurts etc. so I may visit more frequently.

This afternoon I saw my dementia friend, who was rather distressed at times. She doesn’t speak now and so was unable to tell us why she was upset. I usually see her on Tuesdays but I’m on dog and granddaughter duty tomorrow so went today instead. Both her DH and I will now be totally confused as to which day of the week is which!

charleygirl I hope your dishwasher is now working properly.

fgt I hope your blood tests went well today. Fingers crossed for speedy and good results.

Enjoy the rest of the evening everyone.