Lots of food

It was definitely a weekend filled with food!  We had a jolly evening in Zeugmas with the work team on Friday.  They do cheerful and hearty plates of food for not a whole lot of money.  I have learned not to have a starter!!  I really enjoyed my lamb shish kebab.  The Builder very definitely enjoyed his mixed grill.  I am not usually a big fan of long grained rice - but Zeugmas rice is delicious!

Then on Saturday we decamped around to Tabitha and Gareth's place in the evening, armed with what was essentially a vegetarian moussaka (minus the yucky egg plant!) and a couple of bottles of wine.  Ginger Rich joined us (armed with what I thought initially was a jerry can of petrol, but it turned out to be a jerry can of beer from a shop which allows you to buy various different types of beer and have them decanted into receptacles of your choice).  Freyja did not - she was off to a birthday party and therefore not available. It was a good evening.  But next time I might make pasta and have lasagne instead.  Or I might do something entirely different!

Sunday we had our regular Sunday roast (slow roasted shoulder of lamb) with baby Jersey Royal potatoes, asparagus from the garden and sprouting broccoli not, alas, from the garden.  We followed that with a rhubarb flan made with home made pastry, home made custard stuff and allotment grown rhubarb.  It was even moderately healthy.  I made the custard with low fat milk and creme fraiche, to offset the butter in the pastry :-P

All of this partying (Easter, Royal Wedding, Workers' Day, this weekend just gone) has been a lot of fun and very delicious.  But it hasn't half played havoc with my waistline.  I fear another diet may be upon us, unless we want to buy new party clothes for the wedding in August!!

About a week ago, The Builder woke up one morning to find himself profoundly deaf.  Since then he has hardly heard anything..  He could hardly hear the telly unless it was turned up so the whole of Tupton could hear it. Fortunately most programs have subtitles.  He couldn't hear the radio.  He couldn't hear me, even if I was asking if he fancied another glass of wine.  He went to meetings and heard not a word.  It was all deeply frustrating for him.  Not to mention for the rest of us as well!! He's been pouring olive oil into his ears (he wouldn't let me add vinegar, garlic and basil!!!).  And yesterday it was finally time for him to go into Clay Cross and visit the practice nurse.  And lo - he can hear again!!  He is very profoundly relieved.  He definitely did not enjoy life in a world of slightly hissing silence!

For a variety of reasons, I am not working on Mondays during May, so I went into Clay Cross with him.  Tesco is not my supermarket of choice, but there is a brand new and very large one in Clay Cross which I thought it might be interesting to drop in and have a look at.  I have to say that I was very impressed with the fish counter and fairly impressed with the wine choices.  I have added it to my list of emergency, 24 hour supermarkets.  Not that I often have overnight supermarket emergencies, but if I did, this one is probably the closest of the 24 hour ones.  And the next time I am planning something fishy or seafoody for dinner, I might be persuaded to go and fossick among their fishy offerings.

I was remarkably unimpressed to be woken by the phone at 04:00 this morning.  Not because I object to talking to people in the middle of the night. If you have something interesting to tell me, then please feel free to do so.  But I would really prefer it if you did not ring in the middle of the night and then giggle and hang up when I answer.  I can, however, tell you that it is pretty nearly light at 04:00 at the moment.  And that it had been raining but wasn't at that moment.  And that the birds think it is a mighty fine time to be singing and making merry