The Theatre, The Instant Pot & The Mushrooms

Hi there everyone 😃

I didn’t really know what to call this post as it really is just a mish mash of a few bits and pieces … namely the theatre, the instant pot and the mushrooms. On reflection it sounds like a good potential title for a crime thriller … do you think it would sell?

Swimming today was cancelled and I have to admit to being just a little bit gutted. I’d really been looking forward to it but apparently the boiler at the pool has packed up so the water temperature was just too cold to swim in.

I have everything crossed that it’s fixed soon and we can perhaps go later in the week.

In other news … we’ve been to the theatre. It’s the first time we’ve been anywhere like that since pre-Covid and it did feel a little strange being squashed into such a small space with so many other people.

We took mum and the little chap to see his mum in the local amateur dramatics performance of Priscilla. There may or may not have been a small incident relating to an arm of one of the theatre chairs but I don't think it was us that broke it …

I’ve never seen Priscilla the film and didn’t really know what to expect but it was fabulous. It was funny, it was engaging, the costumes were amazing and Alison was brilliant and I did take a sneaky photo of the finale …

After the show we headed back to mums for an evening of escape room playing and Bobby wrote his own personal review of the show …

In other news we’ve had another go with the instant pot/air fryer. This time we tried the sauté and pressure cook function for a Thai Penang chicken curry which was delicious. We did make the paste ourselves but it sounds like you could just use Thai red curry paste with a mashed up stick of lemongrass for the same effect …

We sautéed the paste and coconut milk for about five minutes then added the chicken and pressure cooked for another five. We did a quick release of the pressure then added the remaining ingredients and sautéed again for another five minutes.

I guess in total, with heating up times it took about half an hour to cook … but no dirty splashed hob to clean or expensive non stick sauté pan to wash by hand so I’m counting it as a win.

Today we harvested the mushrooms …

We fried them in butter and had them in toasted sourdough with poached eggs. They were very tasty and hopefully we will get enough for another harvest …

I did feel a bit odd though … looking at the strands on the bottom of the stalks … if you watched Jess get the ‘kiss of death’ in The Last of us you will know where I am coming from …

Tonight we are trying a sausage pasta bake in the pot and I’m not sure how the pasta will go but it will be an experiment … but not till after 6pm as we are taking part in the National Grid’s demand flexibility service … so until then we will sit here in the near dark with no TV on and as many appliances switched off as possible … I draw the line at turning off the heating though 😜

**********************************************

New for 2023 ...

Hi there everyone 😀

There seems to be quite a lot of ‘new’ stuff happening over here at the moment … which actually feels just a little bit invigorating. I’m not talking mass scale change or exciting huge goals … I’m just talking tiny increments really … but each has given reason to smile or feel just a little bit of an achievement.

I guess the most unexpected is that Martin and I have actually been swimming once a week since the New Year … something that neither of us would have ever imagined us doing.

Our first swim was whilst we were at the lodge in North Wales … not in the outdoor pool I hasten to add. We actually tried out the pool at the leisure centre in Pwllheli and, whilst Martin did need more than a little encouragement, we were both surprised to find that we did actually quite enjoy it.

The pool was lovely and quiet and I found swimming up and down strangely relaxing. We couldn’t coax mum into the pool though she did say she regretted not coming in afterwards …

Once back home I did some research to try and find somewhere nicer than our most local leisure centre, which held nothing but bad memories of grotty changing rooms for me ... and we decided to try out an over 50s swimming session at the pool in Atherstone.

It did actually end up being quite busy with everyone getting back into it after the Christmas break but other than that it was great. This week we have been back to Atherstone to a general swim session early afternoon and it was just the job. We’ve booked again already for next week ...

At home I seem have revived my enthusiasm for houseplants and have decided to say good bye to a few sad looking specimens that have been struggling for years. These have been replaced with some new varieties which we are currently trying to get settled in … which has not been easy in our cold and draughty abode.

It’s very early days for the calathea which is looking good so far. It’s fascinating to watch its leaves all heading upwards at the end of the day, into its 'prayer plant' position, and to see them all spread outwards again during the day …

This is a syngonium arrow and seems to be quite happy in the first spot we placed it …

The same can’t be said of this delicate looking fern … I’m not sure of the variety … I have now moved it three times and am hoping it will finally settle. The ends of the leaves keep going all dry and brittle. I am not sure why but think it’s either a lack of humidity or it’s been in a spot that has been too cold. It is now on the kitchen windowsill and I am hoping for the best …

Also at home we have had a new addition to the kitchen. I’ve literally inherited an Instant Pot and we are currently building up to having a good play with it.

We’ve managed to find a home for it and so far we’ve used the air fryer function for crisping up jacket Potatoes and cooking oven chips. We are very much looking forward to seeing how we get on with the pressure cooking function as this should really save us in energy usage, as well as not totally trashing the kitchen when cooking in the hob …

Tonight it's a 'new' thing for us for dinner ... we are having gnocchi for the first time. Something we’ve been meaning to try for ages. I’m afraid we didn’t make our own… though the process doesn’t actually sound that difficult. We will see how it goes …

We are using this recipe for a creamy ham and mushroom gnocchi bake, with home cooked ham from the freezer.

These next new bits were really due to be done in December but got postponed. It does make me feel quite good though to have ticked something off the job list this early in the year … even though really they have been done late …

We had our annual gas fire and boiler service completed and, after years of saying that the coals on the fire were really shabby and not burning brilliantly, Martin had ordered a new set for about £30 and it now looks like new …

Whilst the plumber was here we also had a new tap fitted in the kitchen, which was long overdue as the old one was all corroded and leaking from all joints …

This next one wasn’t really new this year as I had my new coat for my birthday in November … though it didn’t have its first outing until January. Whilst it’s not quite as warm as my old one I do love it and it certainly stands out in photos …

Martin had a grow your own mushroom kit for Christmas and we currently have a good crop nearly ready for harvesting, which we are really looking forward to … though having watched the first of the new Sky series ... The Last of us ... I’m not too sure how I feel about anything fungi at the moment. I can't quite believe how quickly they grow though …

Saturday

Sunday

Monday

Tuesday

Wednesday

And last but not least … today was the first wear for my new socks I had for Christmas … I just love new socks and these are soooooo pretty 🌼🌼🌼

I think that's all for now. It feels like we've actually achieved quite a lot so far this year, even though they are only small things, considering it's not yet the end of January. Perhaps this is going to be the year we get all those 'things' that have been waiting for ages done ... we shall see 😀

*********************************************************************************

Happy New Year

I know it’s a bit late but ... Hi there everyone and a very Happy New Year 😀

It feels like ages since I’ve been here and to be honest there hasn’t been an awful lot going on, though we did manage to spend time with the majority of our friends and family over the Christmas and New Year period.

Christmas Eve was spent with Jo, Steve, Hannah and Megan. We met up in Lichfield and had a very nice meal in Ask ...

On Christmas Day the whole family was at mum’s for lunch. The first time we’ve spent it all together since before Covid and, although there was a very big ‘dad shaped’ hole at the table, we did all have a lovely day ...

We had a lovely lunch, watched Bobby and Nancy opening presents and spent the afternoon playing games. Time really ran away with us and it was gone 11pm before we headed home ...

I was on cheesecake duty as has become my traditional contribution. This year it was another from Janes Patisserie … ginger and white chocolate ...

As ever the recipe was totally spot on and it turned out a treat.

We had a quiet day at home in Boxing Day, catching up with the Christmas Day TV and a chicken stew from the freezer for our dinner ...

On the 27th we picked up mum and had a quick visit with dad …

… before having a bit of a games afternoon at David, Alison and Bobby’s before heading out in the pouring rain to watch the local Christmas tractor run.

It was great fun, about 100 tractors … all lit up and making lots of noise ...

We didn’t get too wet as we managed to find a great vantage point in a bus shelter ...

That was it then really for us until New Year’s Eve, when we had a bit of an impromptu evening at Jackie and Phil’s. We had a lovely meal, which we really took our time over and it was about 11.30pm by the time we’d eaten dessert.

We’d all thought we’d struggle to stay awake till midnight but we surprised ourselves. It was about 2.30am before Martin and I got our layers on and headed out for the short walk home.

On 3rd we headed off to North Wales with mum … it was time to lock up the lodge until the park opens again in March … but I will tell you about that another time.

**********************************************************************************

Lodge Life :: December

Hi there everyone 🎅

We hadn’t planned on a lodge visit during December but, as it was our first winter as owners, the sub zero temperatures mid month had us worried as to how our frost protection measures were holding up.

We were planning a visit early January with mum and, having heard tales of burst pipes from other owners, thought it would be a good idea to just squeeze in a couple of days to check all was ok.

With so much else going on, especially with my poorly neighbour now being in hospital receiving palliative care, it was tricky trying to find a few free days but we ended up opting to drive over on the Sunday, with a view to coming back on the Tuesday … in time for my last food bank shift before Christmas.

It was a very different drive through the mountains this time ... but we can now say we have seen them in all seasons.

It was very grey as we climbed upwards …

… with plenty of clouds swirling around as we got up higher …

It got a bit hairy at the highest point as we really were right up in the clouds and there were still icy patches alongside the road …

It was too cold to get out and close up for photos of the ice on all the grasses and it was not really safe to stop … but it did look eerily beautiful ... 

This is our usual picture as we enter the national park. No blue sky or sunshine today …

There was still a scattering of snow on the top of the hills and it was good to see the reservoir starting to look a bit fuller …

It was late afternoon when we arrived and we really did have everything crossed that all would be ok as really we would be a bit stuck if we had no water or heating.

It was pretty chilly once inside but everything looked ok and the boiler fired up first time with no problem.

It was then time to switch on the water, which again seemed to be working fine so it looked like everything had worked as it should have. We were pretty relieved to say the least.

All that was left to do was crank up the heating ... hang the expense ... unpack and get the olive oil back to its natural state before getting a homemade bourguignon warming up …

No mash as I forgot to bring the taters but there were a few chips in the freezer so we made do …

It was just the ticket and we were just in time to get comfy for the first episode of the last series of his dark materials …

On Monday our plan was to do not very much at all … other than head back to the gallery at Llanbedrog for a lunchtime treat …

It was wet and windy and it was so nice and cosy inside and this time we both opted for the soup and sandwich option, which hit the spot perfectly …

On our way back I got the call that I'd been dreading … but kind of expecting … to let me know that our poorly neighbour had passed away ... so the afternoon was spent making lots of phone calls to let people know and just generally reflecting on her life.

We had a relaxing evening in front of the TV snacking on sourdough toast and pate for supper.

We came home on Tuesday … feeling a lot better about leaving the lodge in the knowledge that all the frost protection seemed to be doing it’s job and, as we’d only been there two nights, packing up to come home was really quick and easy.

We left with a detour along the front at Criccieth to catch the first bit of sunshine we'd seen on this visit ...

... as well as spotting that the post box topper, which had been a Welsh bucket hat in honour of the World cup on our last visit, had been replaced with something new ...

I think that's all for me for now and quite possibly for this year. Have a lovely peaceful Christmas everyone and I will see you all in 2023 💜💜💜

**********************************************************************************