Soop's friendly and supportive kitchen for kindly folk.

I’ve woken in the middle of the night, so just catching up while the air conditioning does its stuff. We are in an ancient house in the middle of Le Mans for B&B, then push on into the Loire tomorrow. There may be a visit to a vineyard or three!
Glad to hear your gardens are producing well. We have had great crops of potatoes, courgettes and lettuce so far. I love pickled beetroot in a bacon sandwich Jax.
This year we are growing smaller cucumbers which are delicious.
I hope you are all fast asleep. TOYA

Evening everyone.

Tha’s a sight for sore eyes - that’s an expression I’ve not heard for a long time Urms

Our day started off quietly off up to the coffee shop for a full English or eggs royale in my case. We then messaged Ds who’s not been feeling too good asking if he’d like us to fetch the gc for the day. So that’s been our day. I’m pooped now but we’ve given them a good day and they’ve gone home happy,tired and not really wanting to leave us. Job done! Gs who is 7 is into Pokémon and nearly everything that comes out of his mouth is to do with it. It’s like he’s talking a foreign language sometimes!

It’s very peaceful on the park here now with a few rabbits on the patch of grass outside and the occasional squawk of ducks in flight. The gc were delighted to spot a heron too today.

With the childcare I didn’t get to see much of the tennis but sad it wasn’t the result I wanted.

I’m away to read the papers online now and won’t be long to my bed tonight.

‘Evening All’.

We’ve been out for a delicious pub lunch in a delightful pub in Dobcross built 1765. Lovely quirky place, floors slope at least I was aware before I started on the wine! Our Yorkshire Lass and her husband had us laughing with tales of their camping in Buxton with her younger sister and family. They bbq’d both nights, rented a fire pit, played games. A quiz was made more fun for the Boy Wonder and L’il Miss who were scorers as the names of the adults were Bing, Bong, Pop and Fizz! My stepfather enjoyed his dinner and it was good to see him smiling at the camping stories.

When we left Dobcross the 3 of us headed over to Oldham and called in (no prior warning) to see my 84 year old uncle. “By ‘eck!’ he said grinning as he opened his front door. “Tha’s a sight for sore eyes”. He and Himself get on so well and haven’t seen one another for 15 months.

All in all, a joyous day. We make the most of them now.

soop, I’m so sorry, I forgot to say thankyou for the info on your cycling machine. I’ve told DH who seems to be making an effort to walk more , maybe to save money.
I have the name Sunny firmly embedded in my mind for future reference though.

It’s very hot here which means I’ve spent the afternoon doing very little apart from catching up on GN and doing a word puzzle. Having been out for lunch I have very little to have to do this evening either.

That’s very kind NannyG4 🥰
I can understand that cornergran totally, I grow a few peppers for MrJ, even though I despise them!
I’ve just pulled beetroot from the garden, it’s simmering away, I do eat it though, gammon in the slow cooker, submerged in cola and our bedding more or less dry in the garden.
The lid on the simmering pan was jangling, war of attrition, MrJ gave in first 🙂 how very childish Jax!!

Warm-ish here today. Ironing done we’re about to investigate a potato barrel. Major failure last year for the first time ever. This farm workers daughter was mortified. So far so good this year. The first one was a decent crop. We’re hoping the same with the second so we can share with neighbours. Mr C thinks the whole process is hilarious as I don’t eat potatoes, making the odd exception for a chip - usually from his plate. I may not eat them but I do like to grow them .

Enjoy what you can of Sunday everyone. Hope the sun is shining for you.

Good afternoon kitchen pals, it’s warm with clouds and a bit breezy here today, a good day for drying the washing 👍
NannyG4 hope you’re doing ok, one day at a time ❤️
I’ve not done much this morning except have a lovely catch up call with DS, he’s back to work at school tomorrow in Switzerland, his summer holidays are over now for this year.
This afternoon I’ll be out pottering in the garden and probably weeding, DH is still working on the hedge, he a bit obsessed with it tbh 🤣
Enjoy the tennis soop, I’ll listen out for you x

Ali23 Quite right!

This afternoon will find me umpiring the final of the Djovitch singles match. I shall be rooting for Alcaraz (? spelling). You may well hear my cheers and groans wherever you may be.

My very best wishes to you all for a peaceful Sunday. It is our coffee time. Made with oat milk. Delish!

Good Morning Lovely Ladies.....
I hope you can all enjoy the best day you can under your circumstances and wish those suffering to find some peace.... Bless you all.
Smell the roses 🌹🌹....
Fondest love.

I am hopeless at cleaning windows! I have tried out so many different tips… the best one is to let Mr A do it 🤣

brook they left the tv all set up for me, but the remotes both gave up so had to change the batteries. No doubt it’s quite simple to set it up, but I’m not good with technology! DD2 may try to sort it tomorrow when she comes to walk the dog!🤞otherwise I’ll stick to the iPlayer on my iPad.

Good news soop - about the water and Scrabble. .

Successful minor shopping trip today. Found some much needed summer trousers that actually fit - place your bets, how long before it’s freezing again? .

Nothing practical done here for far too long. Memo to self, must do better you lot are putting me to shame

Have a good evening everyone.

Hi kitchen pals, a busy but good day up here in Inverness
Lots of washing done, bathrooms cleaned and bits of gardening done too. Just finished a dish of pasta bolognese so feeling very full, wont need anything for a while!
Nothing worse Redcar than someone else’s TV remote control set up, I’ve the same problem when at DD1s, can never work her TV 🤣
Pleased you’ve water again now soop, well done with the scrabble. Our new favouritej game is Ingenious, introduced to it by our board game geek DGS!

Hello everyone. A cooler afternoon after a light rain shower this morning, it feels a little less humid too.
A quiet day today, I retrieved my car from the garage, but it still seems to have a problem, so I think that the problem is actually me!
I changed the batteries in both the remote controls that operate DD1s television set and now can’t get it to change from virgin media to an actual tv program. I’m watching the Olympics on the iPlayer on my iPad! So frustrating.
Soop what a relief that you have water again. Grandmabatty I’ve never been able to clean windows without leaving smears everywhere (have the same problem cleaning my glasses!)
Have a good evening everyone.

Hello all.

It’s a beautiful sunny evening here after a cooler day. We had a lazy morning and I had a phone catch up with a friend. We went to Aldi before going out for a late lunch. I had a very tasty Greek salad and we shared a dessert - cherry meringue pie. It was delicious I could have scoffed it all!

I watched some of the Olympics when we got back. I switched on in case there was any tennis on but it was the cycling road race
around the centre of Paris and with the stunning pictures I was glued to it. We were going to book a short break there for an upcoming anniversary but thought the prices whilst we were there might prove a tad more than we’d like to pay. It did look tempting though.

As I have sat here with the doors open typing this a pesky squirrel appeared outside about to have a ferret in one of my pots on the decking. It soon scarpered as I raised my voice. Is it pepper that keeps them away?

I’m envious of you all with allotment produce there’s nothing tastier.

Enjoy the rest of your evening.

Hi all, safe journey Nannytopsy hope the shuttle isn’t too busy.
Newspaper day, more weeding done, it’s actually pleasant outside, the humidity vastly reduced, I’ve made chicken and sweet potato curry for later. Just in from the local, it’s a friends 60th, very busy, at least 100 people, good job it’s dry. I must pull beetroot tomorrow llfl, it’ll just be pickled, I’m not a baker and we wouldn’t eat cakes, neither of us are fussed.

Hello Kitcheners. I've had a lazy day because of a bad night's sleep but managed to change the sheets and duvet cover, wash them and dry them. I cleaned the windows too but they are very streaky. I've never been able to clean windows properly. I've spent the last hour standing blethering to my neighbour. She has given me potatoes and beetroot from her allotment. The potatoes made lovely chips done in the air fryer and I made a cheese omelette to go with them. Strawberries and cream soon. I'll have a quiet night and hope for a better sleep. I wish you all peace

Hello Soop and other kitchen people.

While OH has been watching archery (it’s never-ending) I have made a batch of spiced chocolate muffins and a batch of rum and ginger muffins.

OH will make spag Bol and garlic bread for dinner.

Have a good evening.

Good late afternoon greetings to our special band of Kitcheners.

Yay! The holding tank for our spring water supply has been repaired by our wonderful builder/neighbour/friend. How reassuring it is to be able to take a shower, load the washing machine and use fresh water for washing the dishes.

The sun is shining. I have pedalled for half an hour. We have finished our game of Scrabble. I won with an amazing score of 274 - thanks to having a start using all seven tiles. The word was 'FIGURES'. Such modesty!

I watched the ladies trampolining yesterday. My word, the contestants left me breathless with admiration.

Not too long before we'll need to move to our next gathering place. Do not fear, I shall have everything arranged in good time for the opening of our new kitchen.

Wishing you all a pleasant and peaceful evening.

It’s quiet today! We have packed stuff into the car, put the dog in the boot and we’re on our way! She is going to her usual dog sitter and we shall head off to the tunnel early tomorrow.
I’m glad you enjoyed your curry Urms. We shall have to go for one when we get back. I hope MrSoop’s head is more comfortable.

‘Evening All’.

We are back home from enjoying a curry over the road. Last night’s celebratory meal was a disappointment. We were happy to try again tonight. 😁

Hello everyone. A decent day today with not a sign of a storm. Phew. Mr C was a star, offered to drive us to Avebury which he knows I love. So sad to learn the Manor is closed after serious flooding earlier in the year. A long way to go until it can be re-opened. It didn’t spoil the visit, the standing stones never change, the Manor gardens are in excellent shape and the National Trust tea room scones never fail to please. I feel a whole heap more cheerful.

Thank you all for your kind comments. I’ve got my head around it now, a wry smile here. Not wishing to sound dramatic I’ve lived with chronic pain for over 30 years and although it’s increasing I know I’ll be able to manage it when I get used to doing some things differently. I’ll adapt and then get on with life with a smile .

A real positive with the gym course, the physios are now happy for me to adapt the sessions to suit my needs. I (almost !) look forward to going now. While it is in my view a bit of a waste of time it does tick an NHS box.

Enough about me. You must cherish some amazing memories ann, I hope it’s OK to offer you a warm hug.

Hope that tank is sorted soon soop, you’ve reminded me how foolish it is to take unlimited access to water for granted.

That thumb sounds both awkward to manage and what our not so Littlest calls a nasty ouchie. Please take care of it and the rest of you grandmab.

That’s a long wait for knee surgery nannyt. Bone on bone pain is far from funny. September will soo be here, wishing you luck with both the appointment and recovery.

It seems to be food time so off I’ll wander. Have a good evening everyone.

Good, it is something many with joint replacements do not know!

Charleygirl thank you but no joint replacement here. The thumb is mending.

Hello again kitchen people.

I’m slumped on the sofa while OH rings an old friend for their weekly chat.

When I say slumped, I mean in a slight alcoholic haze! We went out for lunch and for once OH drove. The food was delicious but I also had three (3) glasses of Prosecco. Fortunately I never suffer from a hangover. Never have.

Elder son and his family are coming to stay next week for possibly a week. They are having their bathroom done. Son’s partner will go back to London some of the time but son can work at home. He can use his old bedroom as a study.

I hope everyone is having a good day. I’m glad it’s not so humid.