From SS Quarantine #9

Jim and I still haven't killed each other, but it was a close run thing yesterday.

He went outside to tackle the last of the hoeing around the edges along the fence and the house.  He moved the herb box (with a bit of help) and got stuck into the mass of grass and weeds underneath it. Then he decided to do around the plastic cold frame (which I had been intending to do all of last week).  It had to be moved.  It was tangled in the long grass.  He gave it a yank - and there was an ominous cracking noise and the cold frame fell apart.

It is possible that his wife may have YELLED at him.  Applying brute force is not always helpful.

Fortunately it had merely disassembled itself and one of the poles was slightly bent.  He's put it all back together now.

And now it looks like this:

He even swept and tidied the tiny patio:

The backyard is now looking very good.  Perhaps I won't kill him after all :D

I now have no excuse for not getting on and planting the winter and spring veg seeds.

In another mad burst of experimentation I tried using the barbecue as an oven last night and put a roasting tray with a leg of lamb and some potatoes in it. It was only semi successful. The lamb wasn't roasted through - this wasn't entirely a disaster. It tasted lovely and we ate the cooked bits from the edges.  The potatoes were lovely.  Crispy and fluffy but just a bit over browned on the bottom.  Using the barbecue as an oven needs more work, but I can see how it would work really well with a bit of practice.  I shall carry on.  Sometimes having two "ovens" would be quite useful.

In the meantime I have stripped the rest of the meat off the bone and made a stock with the bone and other bits and pieces and added it to the "everything" stock I made yesterday.  I can feel a lamb tagine coming on.  Assuming I have all the stuff I need, but I think I probably do. Otherwise - improvisation is the Queen.

Apart from that a fairly normal day aboard the SS Quarantine. I did some work on the webpage and updated the RMG  Facebook page with my Thought for Today. I did a bit of tidying and a bit of cleaning.  We're pottering along.

Not dead yet 😜