Friday 31st January - we made it!

 We made it to the end of January! Or more specifically, to the end of this week. I overslept by two hours thus morning; didn't wake in the night, didn't hear the alarm, didn't notice BB getting dressed...

This afternoon was the last of the week's appointments;

Monday - zoom meeting with the lady who is to be the celebrant at the cremation 

Wednesday  - whole day in a bitterly cold London for lung function tests, and in the evening a zoom meeting with friends in Canada

Thursday  - piano lesson to teach in the morning (they're a bit of a treat so I didn't cancel), dentist for both of us in the afternoon, regular zoom meeting in the evening (which is very important to me and the small group of us who meet every Thursday)

Friday - start work on the address list for nigh on 75, maybe 100  people who need to be informed of the funeral arrangements by letter (we've already contacted around 200 by email), and in the afternoon actually, finally registered my father’s death (he died on 2nd January)

So that's why I didn't get round to a post yesterday.  It's a good job the diary is clear for tomorrow morning as I wouldn't be surprised if I overslept again! 

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I do love having candles around. There's something comforting about the gentle movement of the flame. These are all battery candles. The one on the left is the one I took into the hospital to give to my father on Christmas day. It seemed to give him a sense of peace and comfort when we switched it on; he relaxed and watched the slow steady flicker of the 'flame'. 

We gave the middle one to my godmother back in about 2017. She was living on her own, fiercely independent, but said once she liked to put it on to remind her of us, and her family hundreds of miles away back in Finland.

I've said it before, somewhere, that if you are looking for a gift for someone in hospital a better or rechargeable candle is a good idea.

On Wednesday we had lunch actually in a church! Afterwards I lit a load of candles  - like I said, I love candles. I was careful; naked flames and oxygen and all that. Prayers for all our family, and my brother's family as the funeral arrangements are quite a lot to be dealing with along with the regular demands of our lives. 

'I think you should stop now' said BB firmly.

'One more, for me,' was my reply. In fairness, the right-hand candle was already lit...

(There is a donation box for candles and we did give generously).

I like lighting candles in a church. I might not have many words to add to the action, but it's a prayerful action, and I'm sure I'm not the only one to include the intentions behind the other lighted candles in my prayers.

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So, the passage from Ecclesiastes 3 was complete yesterday. 

I'll leave you with this prayer of St Columba shared by a member of the Thursday evening zoom group. This will see me - and you? - through tonight and this weekend.

Be thou a bright flame before me, O God,
A guiding star above me,
Be thou a smooth path below me,
A kindly shepherd behind me,
Today, tonight and for ever

Wednesday 29th January - short post today

Today was routine lung function tests day. I'll say now that the results are more or less 'no change' from last time. I take this as good news, given that I have a progressive condition. (I'm not keen on suspense!)

It took about six hours or so, door to door; two hours driving to get there, two hours allowed for walking to and from the hospital, an early lunch, and doing the tests, and of course another two hours or so to get home. 

We've found a brilliant parking space through one of these companies that arrange for you to park in someone's drive. 

It's in a narrow little old street just off the Fulham road, which looks mostly unchanged from the 1800s. It still has what looks like the old gaslamps, presumably converted to electricity; you can see the bars at the top for the lamplighter to rest his ladder on when it was time to go up and light the gas;

Our space is at the left of the photograph. Ten minutes at my pace to the church, another fifteen minutes through the back streets to the hospital, and then ten minutes along the main road back to the car. What could be better!

Having a bath is always a bit tiring, and then following it up with the London trip has wiped me out for the rest of this evening. 

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The passage from Ecclesiastes 3 for tomorrow continues to be topical

Verse 8; a time to love and a time to hate, a time for war and a time for peace.

Tuesday 28th January - Following a tree

A title like that always makes me think of following a tree that's on the move, like Birnam Wood;

Dunsinane Hill (/dʌnˈsɪnən/ dun-SIN-ən) is a hill of the Sidlaws near the village of Collace in Perthshire, Scotland. 

It is mentioned in Shakespeare's play Macbeth, in which a vision informs Macbeth that he "shall never vanquished be, until Great Birnam wood to high Dunsinane hill Shall come against him."

I never knew that Birnam wood really exists.

Dryads are tree spirits who walk around in the Narnia books, but they leave their trees where they are growing. And of course there are the Ents in the Lord of the Rings books.

But I digress; you may have noticed a number of bloggers 'following a tree' through the year, taking a photograph every month. I've decided to join in. I'll try and remember to take my picture at the end of every month. Here's the apple tree at the bottom of the garden;

I stood on the back doorstep to take the picture as I wasn't wearing shoes and the ground is still so wet. I put up the first string of bunting a couple of years ago, and it has faded to a much duller shades. Last summer I added another, rather short string. It would have been sensible to take it down for the winters except I really love seeing the bright colours through the duller days. In the summer when the leaves are out we sit in the cool green shade under the canopy, and then the bunting helps save the unwary from hitting their head on the branches, as well as adding a carnival feel.

The snowdrops start flowering at Christmas every year, and will have just about finished flowering by the end of February. 

To the north of the apple tree, just a couple of yards away, is our wonderful oak;

Such a beauty. It is just outside the boundary fence. The paler trunk to the right of the oak is a valiant little horse chestnut. It tries it's best, but can't make headway against the oak!

It's a good thing that the oak is on our northwest corner.

The sun creeps up the garden through the day, reaching the house by late afternoon in the winter, and around noon in the summer.

Aren't we just so lucky!

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Today's verse inspired me to do some throwing away; recycling old magazines, junking some things that were broken and un-mendable, putting a few things away that needed sorting and tidying.

Tomorrow, Wednesday, will be verse 7;

'a time to tear and a time to mend, a time to be silent and a time to speak.'

Monday 27th January - just stuff on the Internet

 This morning I had a mad moment, that lasted too long, in one way, and not long enough in another. In a desperate attempt to hold off from raiding the biscuit tin for another ten minutes,  I thought I would make a start on the kitchen floor;

I didn't get much of the floor dobe, as I foolishly opened the doors to the cupboards under the sink. Well, I'm certainly not going to show you a 'before' picture! I abandoned the floor and dealt with the cupboards; washing them out and sorting out the contents. There are certain cleaning products we won't be needing to buy again for quite some time.

For the rest of the day I opened the cupboard doors every time I went into the kitchen to bask in the improvement. No 'after' photograph either; let's just say it's massively improved. I consider any dirt or stains left behind will be 'clean' dirt at least...

Then this evening I found this;

Yes! This! Doing just the one thing that was annoying you every time you looked it. I should maybe qualify it; doing the one thing that it is possible to do... and I would add 'and then take time to glow in your achievement several times through the day?

That's certainly how I felt about the kitchen floor  and the cupboards under the sink.

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I also found another new word;

Oh, so tempting on some of the dreary mornings recently!

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Today's was verse 5. 

For Tuesday I've reached verse 6. Good advice;

A time to search, and a time to give up, a time to keep and a time to throw away.

Sunday 26th January - one thing leads to another

 This morning I braved the cold to sort out three potted plants; some parsley from the supermarket, a miniature rose, and a tiny ponsettia. I reckoned this would be a messy job and I was right.

The poor rose was bone dry; it appears to have been grown in a cube of some artificial medium which was then pushed into a flowerpot and packed with a small amount of soil. So when I checked the surface to see if it needed watering I couldn't tell that the water hadn't penetrator the growing medium. I potted two stems in each of two pots with plenty of room using fresh wet soil, and soaked them. Let's hope that will work.

The parsley was also divided between two pots, and the poinsettia is now in A larger pot.

Then I needed more saucers; could we find them? I have a number of odd saucers I used to use for feeding the cats and now for pot plants, but most of them have disappeared  - where? 

However, turning out the cupboards has resulted in a great stack of dishes for the charity shop;

The sort of cooking we do now doesn't need all those dishes any more, and I'm sure someone else will be pleased to have them. I reckon that will count as January and February's decluttering, fulfilling two month's of the New Year's Resolution to send 2 bags of stuff to the charity shop every month.

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I'm glad I didn't decide to do the RSPB Birdwatch today. (It's an annual national survey, where you sit somewhere like your garden for an hour and record all the birds that land on your patch. This year it was over 24th-26th January)

It rained for most of today, so I wouldn't have seen many. We can have quite a squabble of little birds round the bird feeder, or none at all. The birds I have seen, that I recognise, are magpie, pigeon, blackbird, wren, robin, thrush, sparrow and blue tit. Once there was a woodpecker. That was very exciting!

I've filled the feeders with nigella seeds (completely ignored), peanuts (definitely second choice, apart from the woodpecker) and sunflower seed hearts (most popular).

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Ecc 3; Sunday's verse was verse 4. On Monday I'll be thinking about verse 5. This is from the New International Version. 

Saturday 25th January - the book model is finished

 It looks brilliant! We made room for it;

And it is lovely when it is lit up;

There are two cats, and a little bird, and all kinds of little details. Worth zooming in. BB complained about how fiddly it was, with many pieces needing to be painted white on all the edges before being glued in place. I thought he'd say 'never again' when he had finished it, but no, I think we'll be looking out for another one!

At lunch time, 'now me' was very grateful that 'yesterday me' had made today's lunch already; an old favourite, 'sausage supper'. I started making this about 20 years ago, as an economical way of feeding 4 adults with a packet of 6 sausages. 

You just fill up a roasting dish with a large selection of vegetables and stir in a tin of chopped tomatoes plus a tin of stock. Then cut the sausages into quarters if you can't be bothered to skin them and make 4 meatballs from each sausage (I like them it either way) and spread them out on top. Cook for about 45 mins at 180 ish. 

I added in the potatoes too this time. Because there are only two of us, I reheated half today; the other half has gone in the freezer. It meant it was an easy-peasy all-in-one meal. 

Cook once, eat twice.

......

Yesterday's 'meditation' was very appropriate; we are travelling from birth - Christmas - to death - Good Friday. And also I've been choosing the music for my father’s cremation ceremony. 

The planting and harvesting idea has also been timely, thinking about the garden... because life goes on, it doesn't stop.

Granny Marigold commented yesterday she prefersxa more modern version.  So here it is in 'The Message' 

Today's meditation was verse 3; I was thinking of the Israeli-Gaza and Ukraine- Russia tragedies, and praying for resolution and peace. Tomorrow I shall focus on verse 4. Where will that lead me  I wonder?

Friday 24th January - you shall have a fishy

 In a little dishy, you shall have a fishy when the boat comes in...

Today I cooked sea bass for the first time...

I didn't want to fry it, as that fills the whole house with the smell of fried fish for the rest of the day and probably the next as well. So I spent a short while on the BBC Good Food website and found lots of recipes for baked sea bass...

It seems that the basic method is to lay it skin side up on a baking tray lined with baking paper, drizzle with a little olive oil, salt and pepper and bake it at 180°C fan for 7-8 mins.

That's just a starting point;

I sort of followed a recipe where you thinly slice potatoes and red peppers, toss in a little oil, and put in the aforesaid lined baking tray,  add half a lemon thinly sliced and Sprinkle on chopped rosemary, salt and pepper. I also added a handful of cherry tomatoes which were a bit flabby to enjoy in a salad. 

Bake for 25 mins, turning halfway through, then top with the sea bass fillets and continue baking for 7-8 mins.

Oh me oh my. I'll be doing that again!

The washing up was easy too. Win win.

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There's a violin sonata which I'm racking my brains to remember who composed it. French. Not Ravel or Debussy, but one from the same era. It's the one where the violin and piano imitate each other. I can hear it in my head... any suggestions? 

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I did a bit more January Cover Story Stitching. Goodness me, where has this month gone? Only a week left - how did that happen?

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Psalm 23 is finished, which I'm a bit sorry about. What next?

Now here's a nice coincidence; seven days left in January, and, starting at verse 2, seven lines in this poem.

At the risk of being irreverent, there is a wonderful bit in 'A Small Bomb at Dimperly', by Lissa Evans, in Chapter 5, when the person reciting this passage at a funeral forgets his words... I must look it out.

Thursday 23rd January - What did I do today?

 This is one of my favourite moments in all children's films; from the end of 'Hook', the Peter Pan film with Robin Williams;

We all know the well-worn phrase about 'losing one's marbles'; it such such a joyous moment when Uncle Tootles finds his marbles. He hadn't lost them after all!

Thinking back, trying to remember what I did today has been a bit like Uncle Tootles and his marbles... 

I think it is partly because last night was a 'non-sleeping' night. Every so often I have a night when I really don't sleep well. It doesn't bother me - unless the headphones or my tablet have gone flat and I can't listen to an audio book or BBCsounds! Last night I listened to an episode of 'Soul Music' on BBCsounds about a piece of music I don't recall hearing before; Benedictus by Karl Jenkins.

I must have heard it before on Classic FM, but I don't remember it at all.

So beautiful, and the stories people were sharing about how it affected their lives were wonderful.

A sleepless night can be a real blessing.

Here is the final part of Psalm 23; you can listen to the Benedictus (Blessed is he comes in the Name of the Lord) while you consider it;

   

 

 

Wednesday 22nd January - hot and cold

 I am cold this evening! I'm wearing three layers and a warm scarf and a poncho! It's that damp seeping cold, a speciality of English weather at this time of year. 

The mad thing is that we're watching 'Landscape Painter of the Year'. They are painting at Hampton Court on 'one of the hottest days of the year', struggling to control the paint in the heat, fanning themselves, flapping their clothes to try and cool themselves a little. 

It is a reminder that there will be warmer weather. Do not despair; one day I will be wearing just a t-shirt, without a jumper and a fleece on top!

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There's no way I'm going out and doing anything in the garden at the moment. Not until it's not so cold. But that's fine, according to my almanac

People who use the phases of the moon to inform their plans for seed sowing should be letting well alone until the end of this the month;

I don't think I've got anything that needs pruning, I've never checked my soil for pH levels, the weeds don't look to bad... both the garden and I can have a dormant period...

...

Psalm 23, first half of verse 6 in the Message paraphrase;

So, perhaps I should sit still for a bit so that God's beauty and love can catch up with me...

Tuesday 21st January - modern tech is wonderful/annoying

 Yesterday I wanted to query sonething with the GP surgery... just a quick question regarding a blood test request form that I wasn't expecting... I am more than happy to sit in a phone queue reading my book, or making a cup of tea, and after some time (usually not too long) have a short conversation with the receptionist...

All change!  They have moved over to a completely online system for appointments, queries, prescription requests (although I had been doing these online for years). 

My father’s surgery uses a similar online system so I wasn't totally in the dark, but utterly was all a bit unexpected. Even so, it took me about fifteen minutes to wend my way through the different pages and menus until I reached the point where could type in name/address/date of birth/telephone number/security information... and then the one line query...

Very reminiscent of shopping in IKEA - I remember the important thing is to remember where the short cut to the cafe is... 

Aaargh....that's what I find myself saying after a while in IKEA, and, yesterday, after ten minutes on the surgery website!

but I did get a clear answer to my query within a few hours.

I think I'll revisit the surgery website and do a few practice runs,  hopefully without actually sending the request, to get used to it. I wouldn't like to try using it if I was actually unwell..!

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But technology can be wonderful too;

The number of London hospital clinic appointments I have attended over zoom have saved me hours and hours of long journeys and associated expense.

Today my brother and I sorted out most of the arrangements for my father’s funeral on a zoom call with the local funeral directors, saving my brother a three hour drive each way. Easy! We'll do the same when we meet the celebrant in a few days. 

We've done most of the communication with family and friends via email; when my mother died 9 years ago I spent every night on the phone for a week, as well as sending out scores of letters. That was exhausting at the time.

Back to zoom; since everyone started using it in 2020, I've seen far more of far-flung family and friends in the past 5 years than before, especially geing able to reconnect with my cousins

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We've come a long way since 'the old days'. Notice I didn't say 'good old days', because, in spite of the frustrations with technology, I would say that the benefits of zoom, email, WhatsApp, text, online shopping, and, dare I say it, even this new online access to the surgery (once I've got to grips with it) are all a great benefit to us.

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Psalm 23, from the Message; it's the other half of verse 5 today (the first two lines were yesterday's portion)

It's all sustaining stuff...

Monday 20th January

 I finished my book, 'Turning Point' by Freya North this morning. Well, it's been a while since a book made my eyes fill... but I'm glad I read it. I'll reread it sometime for sure. It's a romantic story, a fair bit of sx but I tend to skip past those bits to get on with the story.

....

All the same, reading was a good way to fill another cold dreary morning. I was resigned to more of the samey grey weather, but then, unexpectedly, the sun shone for an hour and it was like that moment in 'The Wizard of Oz'

Do you remember the first time you saw it? At my convent prep school, they used to show the whole school a film as a treat on Mother Superior's Feast Day. It was usually one of Bambi, Alice in Wonderland or The Wizard of Oz. I found all of them too scary and frightening and spent most of the time under my chair trying not to watch, so I have very patchy memories; the Cheshire Cat, none of Bambi, and the bit where they sing 'Follow the Yellow Brick Road. And, of course, the bit where Dorothy opens the door and the disappointingly black-and-white film becoming brilliant colour.

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Today's Psalm 23, in the Message paraphrase (for a change) verse 5 begins 

Six courses - I call that lavish...

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Sunday 19th January - a new expression

 I learned the expression 'marmalade-dropper' today;

I'd never heard it before.

I suppose there aren't so many people around who read the morning paper over breakfast these days...

Talking of marmalade, I've got a couple of jars open at the same time for reasons lost in the mists of time. A good dollop of marmalade added to a basic all-in-one sponge cake recipe is definitely a recipe for success!

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Psalm 23; the final part of 'the valley of the shadow of death' verse; 

For thou art with me, thy rod and staff comfort me.

The idea of God hitting me with a stick doesn't sound comforting at all. But the word 'rod' also has the idea of authority,  dominion, power, like a ceremonial mace or sceptre. A better reading of this verse is perhaps 'your power and authority comforts me, I trust in you to beat off my enemies with your stick'.

Saturday 18th January - a foodie, cooking, remembering, making day

It's been a real pleasure to make it possible for BB (my husband, Best Beloved, in case you were wondering) to have some proper down time after the past few years. Yes, years! 

He hascbeen taking on more of the load of running this house, as I became less able, and more of the load looking after my father as he became less able. One really wonderful consequence of going onto full time oxygen support for me is that I have become more able than before. Tasks that were beyond me are now back in my grasp.

These past few days have given me a chance to start cooking again. All through my working life it always felt as though I was cooking against the clock; getting a meal on the table before scouts brownies violin lessons committee meetings piano teaching - you name it, I always seemed to be peeling and chopping and stirring and dishing up and eating at break neck speed,  racing round the supermarket in between other commitments....

Slow Stitching has been a 'thing' for several years now; setting the stitches into the fabric with time and space to relax, rather than roaring along the seams with a sewing machine. In other words, the complete opposite of The Great British Sewing Bee!

I'm rediscovering the pleasures of Slow Cooking, not necessarily in a slow cooker.

Yesterday I roasted a chicken, peeling and chopped and cooked the vegetables in a slow and relaxed manner, while a beef stew simmered gently in the slow cooker.

Today we had some of the stew with the last of the baking potatoes. While I was in the kitchen I prepped all the green beans and all the remaining Christmas sprouts. In the case of the sprouts it was fun! It's not worth using the food processor unless you've got a decent amount. I was reminded of the day I bought the food processor, and promptly grated or shredded every vegetable and hunk of cheese in the house for the joy of watching the machine do its stuff!

After lunch I prepped the piece of lamb for tomorrow. It is going to be slow roasted with garlic, herbs, onions, carrots, red wine and chicken stock.

I keep remembering how my mother would sit at the kitchen table while pots of potatoes and vegetables simmered on the stove and sonething delicious roasted in the oven. She would sit near the window, reading a magazine or her book, enjoying the peace and quiet. How I wish our kitchen was big enough for a table! 

All the while BB carried on with the model he has been building without all the necesary but frustrating interruptions to get lunch ready. Here's where he has got to; a sweet little cafe scene.

It's one of those miniature scenes, complete with battery operated lighting, that fits inside a pretend book. This sort of thing;

(Although this is a different scene)

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Today's section of Psalm 23;

 yea, though I walk through the valley of death, I will fear no evil, for thou art with me 

through, take note. In one end, and out the other. It's not a dead-end canyon... plus I am not walking alone...

Friday 17th January - worth waiting for...

 

Bara brith, well buttered, with morning coffee! Somehow I managed to wait two whole days before cutting into it. This is a titchy piece; I don't think that ara brith or generous application of butter forms any part of a slimming diet. Rather than go without, I froze most of the loaf and am just having a very moderate quantity. 

I'm back on track after the Christmas indulgence, maybe. It doesn't do to be too definite about this. As long as I end the week a little, tiny bit, lighter than when I began it I'm content.

I'd like two be half a stone lighter. Seven pounds. One hundred and twelve ounces? I think so. 

I'm better if I visualise things;

One pint of milk weighs one pound and five ounces, or 21 ounces. So I'm trying to lose the equivalent of... a bit more than five pints of milk.

I'll be glad to stop carrying all that around with me!

I'm still having chocolate o'clock; we've eaten all the Christmas chocolates and just one minstrel won't make much difference, surely? 

.....

Brussel sprouts, and roasted parsnips

For lunch, I shredded some of the remaining Christmas brussels as finely as one would for coleslaw and stir fried them in a very little oil. Then I added a little Marigold brand vegetable stock powder and a dash of boiling water to finish them. Oh me, oh my. I only prepped ten sprouts; we could have eaten half as much again. The oil I used was a mild chilli infused olive oil.

I also used up the last of the Christmas parsnips, peeling, chunking, parboiled (microwave) and roasting in the airfryer again in just a dribble of oil. Oh me, oh my again! I confess a fair number never made it onto the dinner plate, they were that good...

Both those side dishes will be happening again.

...

Today's portion of Psalm 23 was 'he leads me along the paths of righteousness for his name's sake'.

Thursday 16th January - more for the charity bag...

Another 'rescue' from my father’s flat was a selection of random note cards, with and without envelopes. I've sorted through them, recycling the ones that I disliked enough that I wouldn't want to use them. I've already used most of the rest, replying to condolence cards.

The remaining cards provided the impetus to sort through one of the many 'miscellaneous stuff' drawers which I knew had my own selection of random cards. In passing I took time out to revisit photographs which had been just stuffed in with everything else, and separate out a tiny silver charm, some candlesticks and a few other odds and ends to join the growing stash for the next charity shop drop. Win, win!

All the cards and envelopes are together in one box, and some more things sorted into keep, chuck, donate. Fairly effortlessly too.

....

On Tuesday I put out bird feeders for the first time in months and months. I didn't see any birds using them yesterday, but occasionally I'd notice the sunflower seed feeder gently swinging in the very still air - promising, I thought.

Today there was another clue; two fat pigeons waddling around under the feeders... and all of a sudden here came the birds! Flitting from the apple tree nearby and a thick evergreen shrub. I need to get my binoculars onto them to work out, with the help of a guide book what they are. I'm no birdspotter, but I think there were sparrows and blue tits. I know we also have a wren and a robin in the garden.

....

BB is very subdued this evening. The first stage of dealing with the projected dental programme involved an extraction, today. The dentist managed this pretty quickly and painlessly, once he had allowed for BB having hypermobility. 

This is when your joints are far more flexible than the normal, and can affect one mildly or more severely. One unexpected side-effect which he only discovered recently is that local anesthetics at the dentist don't work as normal; you need a bigger dose, and they take longer to work properly. He rather wishes he had known about this 60 years ago...

....

Psalm 23 so far; 

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. 

He maketh me to lie down in green pastures; he keadeth me beside the still waters.

Today's phrase; He restoreth my soul.

Wednesday 15th January - I wasn't surprised...

that after all that activity yesterday today turned into something far less busy.

I mean, I could have been doing all sorts of things... but I chose not to. I dealt with one job that had been rather hanging over me. I persuaded myself to see how much I could get done in an hour, and at the end of the time, well, it seemed a shame not to carry on when I had so nearly finished it. Done! And I feel all the better for it.

I've done a little more January stitching for the cover story collaboration with Ang. I know I'm hedging around the next stage, which isn't completely sorted in my mind  yet.

....

BT came and converted us to fibre this afternoon. BB has been preparing for it for a while; excavating the socket where the thing would have to plug in, checking the configuration of whatever the old thingy was and making sure he had sorted out the passwords. He did a fair bit of running around while the BT man was doing the actual work - it would have been handy to know the new thingy and it's associated thingy each need a power socket, for example. Then more running around checking everything still works. (It does). 

...

My contribution was to cook supper; egg-fried rice. Quick and easy, especially if you use a sachet of microwave rice. 

...

Now we are both relaxing for the rest of the evening. 

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Psalm 23 for today; 'he leadeth me beside the still waters'. No hurry, no rush, no noise and clamour...

Tuesday 14th January - Busy busy day...

The day started gently enough; second coffee and more January Cover Story collaboration stitching. That's going pretty well; I can start on embellishment soon.

Looking at the rest of the week it became very obvious that if we didn't go round to the flat this morning we would regret it later. We loaded up with some strong shopping bags and set off. 

BB settled into taking copies of all the data on my father’s computer. His machine is the wrong side of 10 years old and it's days are numbered; getting everything backed up was a high priority.  

I started on the kitchen. Dubious looking jars in the fridge, dodgy cans in the cupboards, questionable packets of ancient foodstuffs all to be sorted into keep, chuck, food bank. (Did you know that 10 year old bottles of soy sauce rattle when you pick them up? Or that after 15 years Jamie Oliver premium balsamic vinegar turns into a thick sludge?)

I was thankful that nothing exploded, or had corroded and stuck to the cupboard shelves!

I found some more 'treasures';

My copy of 'One is Fun'. My mother gave this to me, and I cooked out of it extensively. I can recommend the pork chops with garlic and crushed pepper and the creme caramel for one!

Also a nutmeg grater like the one we had and loved until it sold destructed, and my mother's little wood spoon. The top left hand edge is worn away ((she was right-handed). The spoon is looking dark as I was in the middle of using it to make our supper.

BB was pretty done in when we got home, from carting endless bags of rubbish and recycling down to the basement, and another hundred (so it seemed) bags to the car. So I saw to lunch, and at the same time finished making the bara brith.

That's looking pretty good, but we won't know for a couple of days; Nigella says to wrap it well and keep it for two days before eating. 

She says you can freeze it, double wrapped in cling film and then in foil, for three months. So I cut the 2lb loaf into 4; froze three pieces and saved one to start on Thursday. 

The afternoon was taken up with dealing with the papers and food stuffs we had bought back, while BB scanned the discs for viruses and dodgy bit (he found several). Top tip; always scan EVERYTHING  before you let it loose on your own machine.

This is what I was using my mother's spoon to create; 

We had a small packet of sliced beef about to go out date. I made a soup-ish sauce-ish sort of thing with chopped veg and the simple tomato sauce from the other day. I had been thinking of making soup, and chopped the beef into little pieces and adding it. I reckoned that BB could do with something more substantial,  so I left it as sauce and cooked some pasta. BB had at least twice as much as me; he deserved it!

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I even played the piano for a short while after supper!

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Psalm 23

'He leads me through green pastures'. 

Green is meant to be a very calming, restful colour. Especially grass green. After today, in spite of everything I've done today, I do feel calm and restful. 

 

Tuesday 14th January - Piano Playalong 3

 It was  back on 8th January when I last posted a Piano Playalong, all full of enthusiasm to make this a year, a month, maybe a week? of piano playing... where did the the time go?

Still, I sat down for 20 minutes at the end of an extremely busy day and found 20 minutes peace and relaxation

I started by looking at three really simple pieces. I'm teaching one of my three adult students on Thursday. We were debating whether to put it off until next week as she was unwell and tired before Christmas, away over Christmas, and hasn't touched the piano this year. I suggested looking at a couple of 'quick wins' together; quirky pieces which, to be honest she could sight-read if she believed in herself more. She normally plays pieces at around grade 5-6, but, as I know all too well, one needs to ease oneself back in after a long break!

They are all copyright so I can't put full images up; but I can tell you how to find them on the Internet. I think it's copying and sharing which becomes dodgy.

So;

This I an old favourite of mine, from an ABRSM anthology called Spectrum 2. All the pieces are composed this century and range from grade 1 to grade rather a lot. You can see the whole piece by searching on Spectrum 2, choosing images and scrolling through.  I find it quirky, expressive and oddly compelling.

Another favourite; great fun and incredibly easy to teach and learn. I taught it to a seven year old who suddenly flatly refused to play one of his prep test (pre-grade1) exam pieces three weeks before the exam. He loved it and had it done and dusted in two weeks! Search on the title and composer, again pick images. You might be able to get hold of it from musescore.

Grade 2 sight-reading is much easier, and more attractive than when I went through that mill back in the 1960s! I thoroughly approve; sight-reading should be fun, not something to dread! Search on composer and title and look at images as before. 

Anyway, having gone through these three little pieces a couple of times I felt more inspired to continue (as I hope my student will too; she works with children so the titles are a good start).

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I was really chuffed to find I remembered what I had done last time in the Grieg Arietta, and I've learned a few more bars. I've marked up repeated bars (second line) so that I know I only need to learn half the line, and just play it twice - brain energy conservation mode engaged! 

I've also stickered two bars that only appear once. They will need extra attention; all the rest of it gets revised just by playing through. 

I like using removable transparent highlighter stickers; I used them all the time when teaching, and also when learning pieces myself. After all, practicing is really a piano lesson given by me to myself! 

Monday 13th January - Stay at Home Moon

 Full moon tonight; but it's looking cloudy outside... it's also known as Cold Moon... which seems entirely appropriate. 

I would have stayed at home too, but had to go out on an errand. Glad I did, though; I bumped into a friend from Book Club, and another friend from church who I haven't seen in years. 

He is a bit of a stickler for doing thing properly, and used to gently wind me up when I was a regular organist at the early service over things like which was the 'right' tune for a hymn. 

He had a wicked sense of humour; once he suggested I should play 'I've got a lovely bunch of coconuts', as the final voluntary as everyone was leaving, and was rather taken aback when I obliged...

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Otherwise it was definitely a 'Stay at Home' day.

The cake I made yesterday turned out well (mmm I could eat another piece right now). I'm eyeing up two Nigella recipes; one for  Bara Brith, which I might get started on tonight to bake tomorrow, and one for spaghetti with sardines which sounds pretty good as a future supper dish.

In accordance with my drive to do more cooking I knocked up a really simple tomato sauce for the tortellini we were planning for tonight's supper. It serves two, so half is saved for another time. We usually have a bought pesto sauce, or just olive oil, lemon and parmesan but I fancied a change.

Here it is;

One small onion diced, one or two cloves of garlic crushed, sweated in a couple of tablespoons of olive oil and a knob of butter until looking promising. I would have also used up a red pepper chopped small that was lurking in the fridge, but it had gone too squishy. 

To that I added a tin of chopped tomatoes and about a third of a tin of water, a couple of sundried tomatoes chopped small, salt, pepper and plenty of dried herbs.

I left all of that gently simmering for about 20 mins, then it occurred to me that a couple of tablespoons of sherry would help it along. 

I let it carry on simmering while sorting out the tortellini. It worked really well and I enjoyed the simple uncomplicated flavour. 

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Psalm 23; 'I shall not want'. Well I do want all sorts of things all the time, but a better translation might be 'I lack nothing'. True, enough for me. I have all I need. Praying for people in desperate circumstances who lack so much of what I take for granted.

Sunday 12th January - and today I have

Finished the Christmas jigsaw

I spent a little while having a proper look at the pictures; five big dogs and lots of little ones, two mice, two squirrels,  a fox (a little too close to one of the three rabbits and the mice, I hope he knows it's the season of goodwill), an owl, two doves, another animal that I don't recognise near the fox, is it a chipmunk? a snowman and lots and lots of people. I hope thet all saw Father Christmas and his reindeer... look up! Don't stare at the ground all the time or you'll miss things!

It was a very pleasant way to spend the morning. 

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I've also made a cake, twice the size I had intended. It is a basic 2-egg Victoria sponge, but using half molasses sugar and half white. Then a very good shake of ground ginger, a shake of mixed spice, some chopped crystallised ginger and the dregs of a jar of home-made mincemeat. It's cooling now... I'll investigate it tomorrow. 

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It was lovely to go back to the zoom church I joined earlier last year. I've not attended for a couple of weeks while we've been inside out and upside down with everything.

We're completely in limbo at the moment, waiting in a queue to have everything processed by the hospital before we can join the queue to see the registrar and then join the queue for the crematorium. I don't mind; it feels like a heaven-sent breathing space. When my godmother died everything seemed to be such a rush, partly to get things done before Christmas. This time around we're just taking each step at a more measured pace. 

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Today's portion of Psalm 23; The Lord is my shepherd. 

(Every shepherd knows you have to takes things calmly when moving sheep around!) 

Saturday 11th January - Fresh Air

 Very fresh indeed... we waited to go out until the afternoon when the day had warmed up to... about 4°C.... from below freezing and everywhere white with frost all morning. 

We only went as far as a nearby tearoom where we sat in the sun and looked at the view. All the other people sitting indoors didn't know what they were missing

Coming home BB dropped me off at the top of our road and I ambled happily along the gentle downhill slope in the last of the sun.

I constructed today's 'to-do't  list on the basis of of what would make me happiest to have achieved by bedtime. Accordingly I have changed the water in two vases of flowers, watered the upstairs house plants - actually garden plants that I am attempting to overwinter - and plan to change the pillowcases as we go to bed. Or more likely tomorrow morning. 

I've also completely emptied and filed the third bag of papers from my father’s flat. Piano fell by the wayside but we did go out and I went for a little toddle...

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I have a new toy

Ridiculous, I know, but I've wanted a date stamp ever since I started visiting the library as a child...

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Phrase from the Bible for today has been 'the Lord'. Psalm 23, of course. 

Sunday's phrase will be 'is my shepherd'.

Saturday 11th January - My Oxygenated Life

 When you find yourself sobbing into the sardines while making sardines on toast for supper...

Just check your oxygen levels...

There. All better now!

Supper was;

Can of sardines drained, bones removed (unless you like them... ugh, shudder).

Mash, with sriracha and chopped sun-dried tomatoes to taste. Or not. Spread on hot buttered toast. Excellent!

According to one study, eating a couple of cans of sardines per week can protect against diabetes 2... 

Friday 10th January - more this and that

 The slow cooker chilli from yesterday yielded 6 portions in the end. I went hunting for kidney beans to add to the containers after I had divvied it all into three meals... 

I reached out all the cans in the cupboard and found two cans of coconut milk, two of tomatoes, one of lentils, two of borlotti beans and two cans of cock-a-leekie soup. Where did those cans of soup come from? I would never have bought them fuss. Most mysterious.

And, to my amazement, ten cans of Heinz mixed baked beans in tomato sauce. TEN!

I opened two, rinsed the sauce off the beans and added them to the chilli. We had baked beans and sausage rolls, with grapes to follow, for supper. Seven cans in the cupboard is still over-supply, but at least we've started to work our way through the stockpile. 

The chilli has all been labeled and put in the freezer.

Next? Oh no! The house plants are all droopy!

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Next?

My father’s paperwork. 

Today's task was to go through a four-inch tall stack of assorted bank statements and sort them, first into the different banks, then into the different accounts, mostly going back to 2019. No 'treasures' hidden among the papers this time.

(If you love your executors, keep on top of your filing!)

Just about everything was there, and now it is all in separate folders, colour-coded and labelled. One more bag of paperwork to go this week before I start again!

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I've come to the last day of my daily phrases from The Lord's Prayer;

'For ever and ever, Amen'

This has been very settling and sustaining. Now, what next...?

Thursday 9th January - another pile of papers bites the dust!

 Bag number 2 of my father’s papers has been gone through. My bonus discovery was another packet of unused Christmas cards! Guess what I won't be buying in the sales!

It's quite fun having little surprises among the bank statements and other random papers. All though it all looks complicated, there's very little that needs urgent action. 

Just one more bag to go to complete this week's  - what shall I call it. I'm not doing goals or challenges or targets or anything like that this year. All I'll say is that I'm hoping to get through all three bags by the end of this week. (I know there's plenty more in his flat!)

I've filled our little slow cooker with what will eventually become chilli con carne. The pot is so full of minced beef, onions, garlic, sweet corn, chopped peppers, tinned tomatoes and stock that there was no room for the tin of kidney beans. They'll have to be added at the reheating stage. The first of many more 'cook once, eat twice' meals to come. At least that's the plan.

And I've started a Christmas jigsaw, picking out the big Christmas tree and Father Christmas to begin with.

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I was getting a bit ratty and short-fused this morning, so I stood looking out of the window in the sun, repeating today's phrase from The Lord's Prayer. Actually this phrase has been spread over three days;

'For thine is the kingdom, the power and the glory'

It fits easily with calm slow breathing, and helped me re-centre and calm down.

Wednesday 8th January - Productive morning, restful afternoon

I had titled this post 'Productive morning, lazy afternoon'. But I changed it. Lazy is not the same as restful. I was active in the morning, and I'm no longer a 'wage-slave'! I can set my own hours for work, rest and play these days. So this afternoon was restful, and not lazy, 

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I brought back three carrier bags of papers and random stuff from my father’s flat at the weekend. They were mostly just lifted from surfaces... table, side table, bedside table, desk, heavily overloaded stack of filing trays... I'm aiming to sort through, if not process, one bag a day this week. Today I picked the easiest bag. 

I have acquired one paperback book which I thought BB would enjoy (yes, he said), three unused notebooks, a half-used pritt stick, half a box of lamy ink cartridges, a stack of unused Christmas and greetings cards mostly free from charity mailings (waste not, want not) and most importantly, his Address Book. 

I've sorted it all and found places for everything and chucked/recycled the rubbish so I'm feeling pretty pleased with myself. 

But I know what's coming when I start on bag number 2! (I'll make a pot of tea and maybe put a biscuit or two on the tray before I start.)

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Last year I bought a copy of

It was really fascinating book to dip in and out of. I've passed my copy on; I might yet buy another for myself sometime. This year I bought a cheap diary in which to write down things I 'notice'. 

Like seeing how the three amaryllis bulbs on the windowsill change from day to day;

It's fun to find things to write on the page.

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No sewing today. I'm still mulling over what to do for the January stitching. But I did manage another bit of sock knitting. I'm tending to knit on until I find out what the best colour will be.

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I'm nearly at the end of The Lord's Prayer; 'For thine is the kingdom, the power and the glory'. 

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Wednesday 8th January - Piano Playalong (2) Grieg and ?Handel

 Yesterday I did 20 minutes in total on group 1 of my current 'Dozen a Day' book and the Grieg Arietta, focusing on the last line. I felt so much better for those 20 minutes!

I often start learning pieces in weird places, dealing with the 'trip hazards' first once I've scoped out the whole thing.

Jabblog suggested Bach or Handel. That's a good idea! I have a Roland electronic harpsichord and I have a copy of the Handel Sarabande and Gigue in D minor and I've found this rather jolly performance...

and there is half an hour until lunch...

My 'harpsichord' has a good sound but not the proper touch; there is  the characteristic clicky resistance but it is a bit light. It is also single manual (keyboard). But it's the pragmatic answer to wanting a harpsichord in a modern, tight-for-space centrally heaterd house.

Tuesday 7th January - this, that and the other

 Today ended with soup for supper. BB had an emergency dental appointment on 2nd January, and while waiting for the follow-up appointment later this month another crown came out yesterday.  So guess where he spent this afternoon? 

He came home tired and achy after keeping his mouth wide open for a whole hour. Soft easy supper was the order of the day. 

I sweated a random selection of diced vegetables and elderly spring onions in butter, added water, a chicken stock cube, soy sauce and sriracha sauce and simmered until the carrots were soft. 

To make it more hearty I then added one and a half portions of chinese noodles and served it all up when they were done. It made a substantial bowlful each.

But how did we begin the day?

We shifted the three amaryllis plants, a poinsettia and a yellow miniature rose that I was given onto the windowsill. The amaryllis which is just coming into flower has straightened itself up through thar day.

Morning coffee and cake; his and hers portions... BB had espresso without milk in the purple espresso cup, and a leaning tower of pieces of fruit cake. I had espresso with a little hot milk and two smaller pieces of cake accompanied by the last of the Christmas Cornish Yarg cheese. And the nuts from the top of BB's cake; I swapped them for the glacé fruits part of the decoration. On account of the tooth situation...

We have a bit of a 'Jack Spratt' situation going... it's most unfair but BB who is tall and thin loses weight under stress and can eat anything. I'm short and - well let's say 'chunky'. I'll never be slim. You only have to look at pictures of my father and aunt and grandmother to see why. My solution is to try and eat half as much as BB on every occasion. Most of the time. I have more of an incentive to pay attention since weighing myself yesterday morning l

I finished the scene of the mice in the sitting toom, taking down the decorations. 

There's still loads to do! Maybe I'll have it finished for... Easter? I don't mind how long it takes. It makes a good 'slow stitching' project. 

Little Missie Mousey looks as though she is getting into a bit of a tangle with her tinsel; I seem to havecgiven her a bit of a worried expression. I expect Mr Mouse will put down the box of baubles and help her before she loses her balance and falls into the tree!

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I spent about 20 minutes playing the piano after posting about a Piano Playalong. I did some 'Dozen a Day' exercises, and then worked on the last bit of the Arietta. It felt So Good! I'll only put piano playing stuff on Piano Playalong posts in future so you can dodge them if you are not interested. 

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Last of all;

Changing to this sock yarn was such a good idea. Memo to self; choose self-striping or self -patterning yarns in future. This skein, ball, whatever, is a centre-pull one, wh8ch means that I have no idea what the next colour will be, adding to the interest. The top is complete so it is easy peas round and roundy for a while now.

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The Lord's Prayer, today's section; 'for thine is the kingdom, the power ....' (kingdom was yesterday really).