Soop's kitchen refuge for the sharing of...

Very late to the kitchen tonight and it has taken ages to catch up!
I have made a very heavy wholemeal sourdough loaf today. A shame as the white ones are so successful. I also made soup and both cheese and fruit scones. As a result, no gardening was achieved.
Our neighbours had their grandchildren round for the day today. ?
We are hosting the near neighbours tomorrow evening - bring a chair and a drink and come and chat, at a distance, on our drive. I wonder how many will risk it?
maw awww!
TOYA

Having done zilch yesterday I slept like a log. I cooked a lovely beef casserole yesterday so that is tonight's supper sorted also. The wine is finished so no more until next week.

The sun is shining but showers are forecast. I will wash my hair and take advantage of the sunshine.
TOYA

Thought I would pop into the kitchaen before the day runs away from me again.

Soop,a lovely picture of little Mila?

I am so sorry so many are having wobbles.

Charley,glad you had a good nights sleep?

We have been spending our days gardening like so many of you.We have a resident pheasant in the back garden.We live on the edge of a small market town and are used to seeing them round and about but never in the garden before.He just wanders around and is not bothered if we are near him.

Cherry,I hope you have had a more restful night last night and are resting as much as you can.?

Thinking of you all.

Izabella How on earth do you expect me to be able to pronounce the name of that stunning plant? I would so love one in our garden.

Happy belated birthday, dear corner. I am so sorry that I missed your post. I hope that you had a most enjoyable day with all manner of well deserved treats.

Grandmafrench Your message was most appropriate and uplifting. Thank you.

grannysyb I am sorry to hear that your wrist is painful and making life difficult for you. The proper plaster will do a better job of supporting it as the fracture heals.

Last night's sunset...

Susan When we were living in a caravan on the site of our yet-to-be home, I had a peacock trail around with me as I created the rockery. I called him Boc. That was the sound he made. I may be able to finf a photo. He came out of the woods. Amazing!

You can just see Boc perched on top of the rockery rubble.

The latest photo of our great grandson, Teddy. A wee bit younger than Mila.

That handsome young man Teddy is growing so quickly- he was a babe in arms 5 minutes ago.

The weather here is glorious- I say no more.
TOYA

Teddy has lovely eyes, soop.
charleygirl, make the most of it! ☔️

Thank you Soop for the beautiful photo of the sunset, you live in such a beautiful part of the world! Oh and a lovely photo of yourself, but the star of the photos is Teddy, he is adorable. I could just give him a cuddle.

It’s fish fingers, chips and beans tonight as my head is running blank on things to make with the supplies that I have in.

Yesterday’s celebrations went well on the green with everyone staying a good distance away. I wasn’t looking forward to it one bit and I am glad that I went. It was good to see some of the lovely neighbours and thankfully the trouble makers stayed at home with their blinds firmly closed. We have seen a lot of police action in the last few weeks around here and it made a pleasant change for it go really well.

I feel flat today after yesterday though as it was a glimpse of how things could be in the future.

See you all later with the hot toddies and wine.

Have the best day possible. Lots of love. X

Lovely picture of Teddy,soop?and I love the picture of Boc.We have named our feathered friend Percy,not very imaginative!

Darling you lot...I am indoors and have worked all afternoon doing you know what. Hence I am hot, scruffy and grubby. I need to wash and change into something really comfortable. I shall return tomorrow. I am also thinking of you all, especially those of you who are in need of virtual hugs.

These are the corms I've extracted during this afternoon. So far, six buckets full over six days. Large clumps of Crocosmia remain. Much thinned out. Spades full of grit and rocks fill the gaps.

I knew exactrly what is missing in my life...........pictures to drool over! Then belatedly and with dragging feet I come into Soop`s Kitchen to find a plethora of them........Whilst obviously Teddy steals the show I am a real sucker for those glorious sunsets and sea sides.I feel nicely filled !

With many of you facing your own problems I will not go into great lengths about our own,suffice to add those wobbles and set backs are making life hard work especially when "shielded" and not much else going on.

However I am sure with so many visitors I will not be overly missed if I take a few days leave.
Please though do remember I shall be thinking of you,wishing you well and especially those having difficulties, may they soon be sorted.
Keep safe and every blessing to you all.

Evening all. soop yet another lovely picture. Teddy this time. I am stunned at how quickly time seems to pass. I remember clearly Teddy and Mila being born and it only seems like yesterday. Amazing.
nanatopsy wish we could join you for a drink tomorrow. Hope you have an enjoyable time with the neighbours - at a distance ?
charley I’m afraid when wine is finished in this house, we just open another bottle.?. Beef casserole sounds nice.
susan hope little Henry is ok. We don’t have pheasants we have some geese on our lawn though.
purplepixie glad you enjoyed your day yesterday. It sounds as though you all had good fun,
Hope everyone is ok. TOYA ?

Doodle,thank you.Henry is doing ok.Was sick most of yesterday but a better day today??
I think I would be wary of geese?

Thank you Doodle - we had a great time and finally met some of our neighbours.
While sitting in bed with coffee this morning, I heard a cuckoo! We hear he can be heard every year - he was on my wish list for our move!
We got to grips with the pressure washer today and discovered very brightly coloured slabs - who knew?? A before and after photo.

I was expecting to switch the heating on today but it is sunny and warm. I give up and I will forget about the voices of doom and gloom re the temperature from the news.

Doodle I live on my own and it takes me 3 days to finish a bottle of wine so here it would be two bottles and starting a third which is way beyond what I should be drinking. Even one bottle a week is too much.

I have a freezer full of sirloin steak etc but what I really fancy is fish and chips and I believe that shop will be opening next week- yummy.

I do hope our revered PM does not go too gung ho with the lify=ting of lockdown- I would be happy if he forgot about it until the end of this month.

Susan I hope that young Henry is feeling better today.
TOYA

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Before I start the day and read through your messages, I HAD to show you last night's sunset on fire. It was so vivid it took my breath away.

Also a pic of me (taken in Cornwall) with Mila's mummy and Ted's mummy when they were both wee girls.

Dreamkeepr We are here whenever you wish to share time with us. Please continue to come into the kitchen. Your chair looks lost without you.

Doodle

Susan Little Henry must have a celebratory party just as soon as his health issues are resolved. He is our very own wee star.

Nannytopsy Wow! What fun I would have with your pressure washer. Aren't the tiles an attractive mixture of colours. Have fun.

Charleyg I agree with your comment regarding what the PM may suggest as "the road map ahead..." It's far too soon "to take the foot off the pedal". Please let him be firm and lead the way. There are far too many people who think that they are experts. Their opinions are highly dangerous.

Hello Kitcheners

Well, Soop not hard to see why Mila and Teddy are such cuties, is it?

Those sunsets. Too beautiful. Think you need to stop..... it's almost like showing off now.

We have high winds and blowing rain now. Such fun - NOT.
At this precise moment, I have been presented with a large G&T - as a break from mask-making - and a small plate of Vadia (deep fried, tiny ground lentil 'doughnuts' with chilli etc.,) to eat with chutney as a pre-meal Aperitif. Delicious. DH has been beavering away on those for the last hour. (Largely because he forgot to soak the lentils last night!) I shall send a hot plateful to the Kitchen for everyone. A Sri-Lankan speciality - the land where DH spent his childhood.

Nannytopsy what a makeover. You should see our pool - it's gone from unpleasant to immaculate. Those hours spent in the sun the other day were worthwhile. Once it is filled, I shall post a photo. We'll be doing our courtyard soon - amazing how everything gets so dirty. I love jet washers - here Kärchers are pronounced Kar Share. My friend who lives in Switzerland, pronounces them properly as Kurtsher. Ours we bought years ago and they transform everything outside from its winter gloom back to almost new each year.

Doodle, Purplepixie hope yesterday was fun. Have a safe Sunday. Glad you have sunshine Charleygirl yes, fingers crossed for Mr Normally Gung Ho this evening - he needs to give the whole of the UK facts and calm reassurance now and not a free rein to go backwards, otherwise everything you have put up with, all the sad losses, all the confinement, all the breathtaking and horrendous costs will count for nothing.

Take the very best care of yourself and your DH Panache. x

Nice to hear that little Henry is slightly improved and things are calmer, Susan, please continue to feel positive.

Even if it gets a bit colder for a while, wishing you all and those who post later, all the sunbeams they need for the coming week. x

Grandmafrench May I please join you for a G&T and a large plate full of Vadia? In my dreams. I am enjoying a delicious bowl full of porridge with blueberries, a crispy apple and a pot of coffee. I have porridge for lunch most days. I believe that it not only tastes good, it does me good. Need to keep my strength topped up for further garden capers. I've heard from a couple of people in the village who would like to collect some of the excavated corms.

The sun has shone throughout the day. Another near bucket full of corms excavated. It is hard work but I'm driven to continue, in order to give the rockery some well deserved breathing space.

About to have a thorough clean/brush up.

I do hope that you lot are managing to keep your spirits up. I sent callgirl1 an email but she must have changed her address because it was returned. I think that we've only ever used GN but it was worth a try.

callgirl1 We miss you. Please let us know how you are keeping. We will continue to worry until we hear from you.

Thinking of you all. Until tomorrow, please continue to take the best possible care of yourselves.

Presume you’re booking a nice Caribbean holiday after weeks of manual work Soop. Maybe such holidays won’t be possible in the future. Who knows.

Are the village people (not those Village People ?‍♀️?!) bringing a truck to carry off the corms? Poor souls, wonder if they know how determined those plants are ??? You certainly work for your porridge. We have raw oats every day for brekkie. Great slow release food and so good for you as well. Today, oats soaked half an hour in apple juice, then added sliced banana, then Greek yoghurt, then Linwoods ground nuts, linseed, Q10, and all sorts sprinkled on top. Cooked porridge occasionally if it ever gets cold enough!

Been pouring and blowing all day - so we’re having a break from outside work. I’ve made masks this afternoon and DH is roasting lamb with all the trimmings........ which has put all the animals’ noses on full twitch alert. They wish!

Have a peaceful evening and do let us know if the MacS hand injury is now o.k.

Hot toddies and wine has just arrived. Night night all and stay safe. Lots of love and catch up soon. X