Saturday 7 November 2020

1st Saturday of November - Week 34 of Strange Times

Sheep grazing ....................A very unusual sight for this part of Suffolk. Farming here is all arable, wheat, barley, oil seed rape and sugar-beet. Occasionally there might be field beans, maize or linseed but never sheep.....but here they are just up the road. Fenced in with electrified wire strands and grazing on a field of  I don't know what.
They look like the Suffolk breed and obviously less prone to escaping than some of the sheep we kept in the past.


 
I went back on my bike for a closer look at what was growing and still couldn't work it out. There is grass but something else has been sown , very annoying that I don't know what it is!

 
After two days of lock-down I've settled into it,  although more or less run out of library books already. To get the ones I'd read and those I didn't want to finish out of the way I shoved them through the return letter box at Eye library on my way back from swimming. So it will be back to reading from my shelves for 7 weeks until the mobile is round again.

Obviously the way to get through the next 3 and a half weeks is to write 'A List of Things To Do While Locked Down..........'

  • Cross stitch something Christmassy
  • Watch the two DVDs I picked up from a charity shop last month (didn't write about them at the time as I was going to do a review when I'd watched them to fill a blog post)
  • Write a letter to my penfriend who I should have written to about 3 months ago (Sorry W)
  • Knit some dishcloths until I've used all the dishcloth cotton
  • Ask for ideas for Christmas presents for two youngest grandchildren and oldest granddaughter (Oldest Grandson already sorted) and get things ordered.
  • Actually get round to sorting out the soil in the Camellia pot and the old strawberry plants
  • Sort out more craft stuff and put aside for charity shop reopening
  • Chop Kindling wood as and when I need some more
  • See what else there is to sort in the workshop.

 

 No spend November



(Direct Debits for Council Tax, Phones, Car Breakdown Insurance,Charity Donation Total £260)

1st.        No Spend
2nd        Food  £33 + Cat £6 +  Diesel £18 + Printer Paper £4.          = £61  
3rd         No Spend
4th        Swimming £2.25
5th         No Spend 
6th        No Spend

And finally GOOD NEWS. I went and had another go at the compressor which lives out in the workshop, switched on at the mains and it made it's usual charging up noise (which it didn't do on Wednesday)......just for a few seconds and then switched off. Oh! thought I......... must be something there after all. So I fiddled with the plug connection and by keeping my foot on the compressor plug where it's plugged into the extension lead - hooray - it charged itself up. So I haven't got to buy a bike pump/car pump after all.

As requested............... here is the recipe for the CHOCOLATE CAPPUCCINO SQUARES from yesterdays post.

Grease and line a square 8 inch cake tin. Preheat oven to Gas 4/180C/160C fan oven.

1 tablespoon coffee  concentrate (I use instant coffee dissolved in a teeny bit of boiling water)
2 tsp cocoa powder
5oz butter at room temperature  softened by beating a little
5oz caster sugar
2 eggs at room temperature
5oz SR Flour plus 1tsp baking powder.

  1. Beat everything together until well blended but don't over-beat.
  2. Spoon the mixture into the tin, smooth the top. 
  3. Bake for 35-40 minutes until firm to touch on top.
  4. Cool for 10 mins then turn out onto wire rack to cool completely

For the topping melt 2 oz chocolate in a bowl over pan of simmering water with 1oz butter and 1 tablespoon milk. Remove from heat . Sieve in 3oz icing sugar and spread over the cake. Cut into 8 bars or 16 squares.

This week I'm Grateful for

  • Getting through a bad patch
  • Strictly Come Dancing able to carry on
  • Books on my shelves
  • Some sunny days this week 

 

Have a good weekend. I'll be back Monday

Sue




41 comments:

  1. That recipe sounds so good. There are times when Slimming World can be a bit - oh, I don't know - a bit annoying, but it saves me from myself!
    That's a good List of Things To Do!
    xx

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    1. I've put on weight as soon as the weight management course stopped due to covid!

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  2. Sounds as if you've plenty to keep you out of mischief. We come out of our Fire Break on Monday, but where this will all end, God only knows.

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    1. Be interesting to see how things go in Wales after monday

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  3. I lot of good things going for you niece Sue especially that the compressor worked, like me I keep on trying to make things.
    The cake sounds mouth watering,
    SUE I make dishcloths and was wondering what kind of yarn do you use, the last time I was given some that did not have a label.
    My son is coming today for I have got to have a test for my D was positive at work and the test is coming today and he his concerned I will not be able to understand what to do with it. Enjoy your weekend. Hazel c uk 🌈🌈🌈

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    1. It's just called craft cotton i get it from a wool shop. It's not as good as a more expensive cotton thread but does the job

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  4. Sue, According to the latest information Suffolk libraries are set to reopen on the 9th of Nov with a limited safe service. Veronica

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    1. But mobiles are not coming round and that's where my books are sitting waiting. I might ring Broomhill because Andrew the mobile driver also works there sometimes - perhaps I can pick them up

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  5. Hi Sue

    Pleased to be able to read that you are feeling more settled now. I have had problems being able to access your blog but all of a sudden, it is no longer coming up as insecure and I can again see your posts! Hope the sun is shining in Suffolk - it is a glorious day further north on the east coast. Vicki in the East Riding

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    1. I'm glad you can see the blog again - the connection thing is all a mystery to me

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  6. I like your idea of no-spend November. I cannot really accomplish that this month. I am doing Christmas gifts, and that needs to get done, but a good New Year resolution would be to do a no-spend week every month.

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    1. I reckon Christmas shopping is 'allowed' - otherwise I'd be panicking in December!

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  7. Hi Sue. Essex library has online book through Borrow box. I don’t know what I would have done without them, but the actual library’s are all closed.

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    1. The libraries in Suffolk are re-opening on Monday so people can pick up reservations and a collection picked by staff.

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  8. Growing up in east Texas, that plant looks like what we called fetch. It was planted as a ground cover.

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    1. I think you are right, my first thought was some sort of pea plant and vetch is in the same family

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  9. Replies
    1. If they are vetch, I think it is also called tares in parts of England.

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  10. Having been home this past week I certainly haven't had a no spend November up till now at least. I've been tempted by a beast of a fruit press! Very useful though of course!! x

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    1. We had one for a while at the smallholding but you need a heck of a lot of apples and the juice we made was always brown and too sharp!

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  11. Week 34 - it doesn't seem real! Lovely sheep pics!

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    1. Week 34 is getting awfully close to 52.

      Just so unusual to see sheep around here that I 'leapt' out of the car to take a photo!

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  12. Sue, can I ask about your potted Camellia, please? I've been sent a present of a Camellia tig / stem / stick thing with 7 leaves, potted in a tiny pot. No paperwork, no instructions. I Googled to find type of soil, etc., but still at a loss. Do I repot it in a bigger pot, then keep it indoors, or in a cold greenhouse, or straight outside in a large pot? (It's supposedly a patio Camellia.)

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    1. I'm not very well up on camellias as mine is the first I've had. It's quite big 5 foot tall in a pot on the patio and needs Ericacious compost. Mine is in a sheltered corner and has been outside for 2 winters but not sure how hardy a young plant would be.

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    2. It will need covering from frosts and north winds, or east winds if you are on the east coast, wrapped up completely.

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    3. Thank you for the advice; mine should be ok in a sheltered corner as I live in Cornwall where we do get strong winds but generally it's milder here. I think I shall repot it in ericaceous compost and start it off in the unheated greenhouse until the Spring.

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  13. Lots more sheep in the fields round king's Lynn norfolk. But it's mostly Sandringham land and Charlie (of the Prince variety) did say he was putting the estate back to traditional mixed farming with more grazing to improve fertility of soil rather than having lots of cereal boosted by artificial fertilizers.

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    1. It was a surprise to see the sheep - they've obviously been brought there from somewhere else as there are no farms that actually keep them

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  14. Made your cappuccino squares this afternoon for my daughters to have for pudding tonight. They have just had them and all gave them the thumbs up so recipe is now wrote in my book of recipes that I have collected over many years. My youngest is a big strictly fan so thats our evenings entertainment sorted. Enjoy the rest of your weekend. Emma

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    1. Oh thank goodness the cakes turned out OK, I always worry about sharing recipes in case I've written something wrong!

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  15. I'm happy to hear that you have repaired your compressor! Isn't that a good feeling when we can get something like that working again?! I hope the remainder of your weekend is enjoyable and you find something good to read or watch.

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    1. I was glad I've not got to buy a bicycle pump or a new compressor

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  16. I bought a Kobo during lockdown, having resisted ebooks for years. Whilst I prefer reading real books, it was a godsend while the library was closed for months. There are a lot of free books online that can be downloaded and some quite cheap too.

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    1. I've got kindle loaded onto this laptop but just can't get on with reading online. Luckily I have plenty of my own books to read

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  17. Thanks for the recipe. They looked so good.

    The only thing keeping me sane is my to do lists and we aren't even in lockdown here in my province in Canada.

    God bless.

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    1. My lists keep me sane too -otherwise I'd spend all day worrying and thinking too much

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  18. Brilliant news on the compressor, yes I agree that your mystery sheep grazing food is probably vetch. It was amongst the green manures that I planted a few years back, the sheep loved to be given handfuls of it.

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  19. Thank you for the recipe!

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  20. Sad to read your in a lock down again. Our governor in Oregon is doing the same thing for restaurants starting this Wed thru 25th. That's the day prior to thanksgiving. Less people allowed in restaurants and we are taking my brother out for lunch since he lives in a different town than us and not sure how good his apartment is. He seems to dislike what I make cuz it bugs him...oh well, it will be good not matter what. He needs to be with someone. hour away from us. I have been finding some nice items at a thrift store here in town. I have been buying items I like/need on sale. Ask for a code to $ off order for tea tshirt from one company in virtual tea festival. And return address labels that were free and half price from Shutterfly. Good items. 50% Christmas cards at a store. Pizza for 2 of us where it's made then we back it was much cheaper than eating out like we usually do. I always find ways to save money. Have a good week!

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  21. Lots of good stuff in this post. Week 34 - ugh!! It looks like you have a plan for how to get through the renewed lockdown, so that is good. I swore when all this started in March that I was going to tackle a whole nightstand full of paperbacks and I haven't touched a one. Haven't even managed to finish either of the library e-books I downloaded before they were due. Unfortunately, we are headed for a lockdown here in the States so it's not too late. How is that for a mixed blessing.

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