Never Quite Enough Time

……has clearly been doing overtime.    The door of the larder unit has not been true for a while so S sorted that after I had emptied it.    Given the amount that came out we may have identified the source of the shift on the door.    Let’s just say the door is now looking good and there is less inside than there was.    In part this is down to a review of the best before dates.    A bag of gram flour, a bag of Einkorn flour, a box of medjoul dates, a block of marzipan, a block of Halva and a block of muscovado sugar (no that last one does not usually come in a block but this was pretty solid), have all gone to landfill.    My mean streak is busy berating my lazier self but neither have yet identified what I thought I was going to be making with that little selection, not least, as I am not exactly big on baking.   There was an interesting collection of tins also.    The fruit cocktail is a trifle staple for ...

  The big advantage of a Boxing Day birthday is that you are never likely to be in the office, the disadvantages, arguably, include log splitting or skip filling (we’ve done that in previous years) starting to sound almost celebratory in a way others seem to greet a bottomless brunch.     Another might be considered to being caught very much on the hop when you do get back to the office.     Last Tuesday saw me put my phone on DND so I could prepare in peace ahead of an important video call.     One of my colleagues came to my room because Reception couldn’t get through and (ostensibly) someone was in reception needing to talk to me.     She’s very good at a straight face, even when my language was perhaps less than it ought to be in the office.     Suffice to say I walked straight into a presentation with a very personalised birthday card (I know exactly who collaborated with the photos for that!), several short poems inside the ca...

  One of S’s new ski boots was causing some very specific discomfort on the slopes back at the beginning of last year.     As is the way with these things he has waited until the annual ski trip is imminent to get the offending boot refitted.     We headed out to Cambridge yesterday morning on roads which were treacherous locally but better than expected after a few miles.     The boot has remained at Ellis Brigham for later collection so they can stretch it or whatever it is they are going to do.     The next issue is whether we can get our skis serviced in time though, with my untrained eye, I think they are fine so I am not going to worry about that.     I’m probably not going to worry about hopalong much either.     Worst case scenario he has to hire and that may persuade him to address kit issues more timely in future.     Given I am queen of the last minute that might be a little unfair but we only get a we...

  With hindsight the first indication came from the sound of a couple of cars passing the house rather cautiously; the second that the house was absolutely freezing even by the standards of the last few days.     Our central heating is from a back boiler of an open fire so unless combustible material is being added to the fire the house is not staying toasty for long.     Proper coal not now being available combustible material is a a mix of logs, that have occupied so much of my time recently, and what S’s grandfather, a coal miner, used to call ‘cut and blown’.     It was not, however, until I reached my study and looked out of the window that I saw the white stuff and very pretty it looked too.     Pretty did not make it any warmer so the fire was lit, hours earlier than it would usually be and the appropriate apps actioned for the smart radiators.    Even we are not so primitive as to do without some modern heating but I can’t s...

  It is flipping freezing outside for the 4th day running but something has to be done with the excess cream in the fridge and throwing it out offends my mean streak so ice cream it is.     My go to recipe in these circumstances is quick, easy and non churn.     It also uses up the fruit from the garden that is generally abundant and packing the freezer out.       It lacks the sophistication of a churned ice cream but that doesn’t seem to stop it from being eaten in this household though it does need some thawing between freezer and eating. 300ml (a standard carton) of double cream 397g (standard can) of condensed milk   400g-500g fruit cooked, puréed/sieved if necessary (see notes below re sugar, quantity and options)  Steps: (A) whisk cream to soft peaks ie as you would for a trifle topping (B) whisk in condensed milk (C)  add cooked fruit.     This can be either be whisked or stirred in, your choice (see notes belo...

  I have a new (to me) phone, same series but with more memory.     The old phone has been returned to factory settings and is destined to replace the MiL’s phone which has ceased to be supported.     This will mean that all three of our parents will have the same phone as me which makes life easier when they can’t do something or something goes awry.       I am a very long way off being the tech support they seem to believe me to be.     My old iPad is also destined for a new owner, my Mum.    We have only got her on a smart phone in the last 3 years and since she has now got the hang of her current one, she gets to try an iPad also.    Dad has had an iPad for over a decade and is more confident on his iPad than he is with his phone but Mum has steered clear of them.    No longer!     Time will tell how she gets on with it but I am seeing a time coming when it will be easier to get Tesco to d...

  Back to the office today.     Friday is an odd day to be going back especially when I could have worked from home but the diary is very full next week and getting everything in order can be rather easier in the office.     S did not need to be in the office and worked from home.     The alarm went off at 5am.    I am not a morning girl.    It was cold.    Dilys (mint green Fiat 500) told me it was 1C and it stayed that all the way to the Essex/Greater London.      Still, the roads were not overly busy.    There were couple of cars in a hurry, not entirely sure where they thought overtaking me was going to get them when there were four lorries in close formation just ahead of me, on a standard A road, but it clearly mattered to them.    Dilys is a very friendly car to drive and copes with most conditions but she does not have pick up speed to get out of trouble so it is best not to get i...