Favourite quote...

Dad's Dictionary...

PHIZZOG

Honestly, I really don't know where my dear father got these words from. "Go wash yer phizzog, you got chocolate from ear to ear" (and I can't for the life of me figure out who he would've said this to...)

Your phizzog, or fizzog, or physog... is slang for your face! It's a word that has been around in Britain for at least 200 years, yet I have never heard anybody else use it.

"The source of all the slang forms is physiognomy. This came into English in the fourteenth century from Greek via French. The Greek derives from phusis, nature, and gnomon, a judge or interpreter. The first sense in English was that of judging a person’s character from his features. A little later, it added the idea of predicting a person’s future from his face; this seems a perilous method of divination, though not a surprising one, since prognosticators have tried everything from inspecting chicken entrails to studying the shape of clouds. However, the main sense of physiognomy has long been that of the facial features themselves.

The word has always been too long and scholarly-sounding to be welcome in the ears of English speakers. Even before they chopped it back to phiz they were slurring it. Shakespeare has the Clown in All’s Well That Ends Well assert that the Black Prince’s fisnomy was better known in France than England."

(Text taken from www.worldwidewords.org)

Munchy Monday 46: Coconut snowballs

These are delicious and ideal if you have a sweet tooth. It's also an interesting way to get non-carrot lovers to eat carrots, as they don't taste like carrot at all!

You will need:
Equal quantities of:
     Cold, boiled (no salt) mushed carrot
     Granulated or caster sugar
     Coconut
Extra coconut to roll balls in

Method:
Squeeze as much liquid from your carrot as you possibly can (very important.) Discard juice. Add carrot to sugar and coconut and mix well. Make small balls, about the size of an unshelled hazelnut and then roll them in the extra coconut. Keep snowballs in fridge and serve chilled.

 

NOTE: I used an American cup as a measure and made about 40 snowballs.

(Maybe I should have taken the photo using a banana for scale! It seems it's the fashion these days.)

Smile for the camera...

Happy quokka!

Just couldn't resist posting this! My son sent it to me just now in an e-mail.

Your science lesson today is to find out about these dear little creatures, where they are found, what they eat and how they live. I already have and it will only take you two minutes! With a name like quokka, doesn't it inspire you to find out more?

Ex Libris - Death of a Guru

Death of a Guru is written by Rabi R. Maharaj, "a descendant from a long line of Brahmin priests and gurus and trained as a Yogi. He meditated for many hours each day, but gradually disillusionment set in. He describes vividly and honestly Hindu life and customs, tracing his difficult search for meaning and his struggle to choose between Hinduism and Christ." (Comment form the back of the book)

I have read this book more than once, and would recommend you, blogger friends, to do the same. It's the kind you can't put down until you've reached the end, it's such an amazing true story.

From Harvest House publishers, Eugene, Oregon.

Dad's Dictionary...

  LACKADAISICAL

 
This is one of those words that, for some reason, reminds me of my teenager years. My Dad used it in the same sentence as "bend yer lazy old back". We seemed to hear it oh, so often...

This word is delightfully evocative, bringing to mind some languid person lolling on a couch while all around goes to ruin, so accurately evoking its modern idea of somebody who lacks enthusiasm and determination or is carelessly lazy.

It owes its origin, strangely enough, to an old saying of regret or dismay, lack-a-day!, a shortened form of alack-a-day!. Alack dates back to medieval times, and probably comes from a dialect word lack that is variously interpreted as failure, fault, reproach, disgrace, or shame. So alack-a-day! originally meant “Shame or reproach to the day!” (that it should have brought this upon me). But over time it became weakened until it became no more than a vapid and vacuous cry when some minor matter went awry.

Later it moved towards the idea of somebody who was affectedly languishing, and thence to someone merely lazy.

Text taken from www.worldwidewords.org  It's a fantastic etymology web, very interesting indeed to those who like words as much as I do.

From the archives...

 Oh, for snow...

Munchy Monday #45: Garlic and parsley fried rice

This is a yummy accompaniment to many meals. I serve it with red meat, chicken and fish but also on its own. It's just so simple to prepare...

You will need:
Any type of white rice, boiled in salted water and allowed to cool.
Fresh or dried parsley, chopped.*
Fresh or frozen garlic, chopped or crushed*
Salt
Oil to fry

Method:
Pour oil into a frying pan (enough to almost cover the bottom of the pan) and place on a medium heat. Add garlic and parsley and fry very carefully for a few seconds. Add rice and gently stir fry for 5 to 7 minutes, adding a sprinkling of salt a couple of times during this process. Leave rice in pan until needed and re-heat if necessary.

This is a tasty way to serve leftover white rice from a previous meal.

*For every 500 g of rice I use 1 clove of garlic (or equivalent if using frozen garlic) and a heaped teaspoon of parsley. Bear in mind that fresh parsley has a stronger taste and therefore you might need a little less. I always use dried parsley.

I give up...

This morning, folks, I just couldn't find my glasses anywhere. Without my glasses I can't see much anyway!

Think, Think.

I'd had a shower. No, they were not in the bathroom.

I'd got dressed. No, they weren't on my bedside table, the bed or the dresser.

I'd put a wash on in the downstairs bathroom and no, they weren't on the cistern or on the toilet seat.

I had tidied the kitchen. Couldn't see them there either.

They'd vanished.

Wait a minute... As a last resort (which should have been the first thing to do, I guess) I asked the only other person who was conscious at the time: "Martí, have you seen my glasses anywhere?"

"Well," he answered, slowly, "as a matter of fact, I think someone has stolen them."

Bear in mind, of course, that all this happened over a period of twenty minutes or so. (Grrrrrr. Frustration. Honestly, this house is a madhouse, so typical of me, etc, etc,.)

So, you want to know the rest of the story? They say a picture speaks a thousand words...

They WERE in the kitchen. I must admit they suit him. Funky ball of wool!!!


I've just had one of those unwelcome thoughts that you would prefer to push to the back of your mind and leave it there till it's so dusty you can't think it any longer...

If this house is a madhouse, I'm the second in command!

Have a nice weekend, everybody.

Munchy Monday #44: Haricot beans with xistorra (pressure cooker method)

As you might have already realized we are fans of pulses. I love beans. In fact, a friend of my family in England who knew me very well, once said that when he came to our house he almost expected to see three taps in the kitchen: one for the hot water, one for the cold and one for the baked beans!

This is a very economic dish made a little more special (and tasty) by the addition of the xistorra sausage. Mmmm, my mouth is watering already...

You will need:
100 g dried haricot beans per person
1 piece of xistorra sausage of about 10 cm, per person
1 medium sized potato between two people, peeled and chopped big (see photo)
Oil for frying
Salt
Pressure cooker

Method:
Rinse dried beans under the tap and leave them to soak in a bowl of water over night (at least 12 hours)
Gently fry xistorra sausage in your pressure cooker till slightly browned on all sides. Add potato and fry a little more. Drain beans and rinse. Add beans to potato and xistorra, cover with fresh water, stir and seal your cooker. Bring up to pressure and cook gently for 5 - 6 minutes. Turn off heat and leave beans in pan till pressure is completely reduced. Open cooker and salt. Leave until needed. Warm gently, if necessary.

Yummo!

Some people prefer not to eat the pulses because of the rather uncomfortable side effects which can occur. I was reading about this in internet not so long ago and I found a couple of very interesting facts. The first, that you should never cook pulses in salted water because it hardens the skins, therefore making them more indigestable.  Add the salt after cooking. Secondly, pulses cooked in a pressure cooker are far less likely to give problems as the skin fibre has been broken up by the high pressure as they cook.

What is a xistorra sausage? What does it look like? See here for more details.

This morning...

...my kitchen looked like this:

Want a peek at the other end?

Is that really a teddy bear wanting to play Play Dough there? LOL

 

 In exactly one hour I had it looking like this:

Dishwasher washing, pots and pans washed up, work tops clean and tidy...

 And the other end?

All shopping away, laundry folded, floor swept..

How did I do it? Well, it's simple. I just metaphorically removed the computer from the kitchen. (This is the main reason why I'm not blogging so much. I have a fixed time for computering and this way I find I have much more time around the house for other activities such as decorating, sewing, deep cleaning, baking, cycling...)

Now to fix lunch. Yoo hoo I have some space to work in ; )

Poem

Where we live, at least, real autumn has not yet arrived. Yes, the leaves on the trees are slowly changing colour but the trees are still full of them and the temperatures are unusually warm for this time of the year, sometimes reaching 25º C at midday - no strong north-east winds, no rain...SIGH... It is hard to believe that we are treading on November's doorstep.

Yesterday I hauled 1 1/2 tonnes of firewood up to the woodshed with a hope that one day it might be cold enough to use it!

Here is a lovely poem to end October with. Let's get our imaginations working and pretend...

October

O hushed October morning mild,

Thy leaves have ripened to the fall;

Tomorrow’s wind, if it be wild,

Should waste them all.

The crows above the forest call;

Tomorrow they may form and go.

O hushed October morning mild,

Begin the hours of this day slow.

Make the day seem to us less brief.

Hearts not averse to being beguiled,

Beguile us in the way you know.

Release one leaf at break of day;

At noon release another leaf;

One from our trees, one far away.

Retard the sun with gentle mist;

Enchant the land with amethyst.

Slow, slow!

For the grapes’ sake, if they were all,

Whose leaves already are burnt with frost,

Whose clustered fruit must else be lost—

For the grapes’ sake along the wall.

By Robert Frost

Things I like.

I think when you read a list of things that someone likes you can tell a lot about that person. Some months ago I saw a post like this on a blog and I liked the idea so much that I thought I would do the same thing on my blog.

So, here is a list of things that I like (not in any particular order):

Hot blackcurrant tea

A cozy, 'pokeable' log fire

Driving

Mountain hiking

Honesty

Reading

Baby giggles

A hard days work

Birds - esp. birds of prey

Purple and pink and anything in between

Home growing fruit and veg.

Seafood

Thunderstorms over the sea

Making meals for many

Skirts

Surprise outings

Flower gardens

Smiles

Singing

Teddy bears

Painting and decorating

Sewing and handcrafting

Othello (the board game)

Second hand shops, fairs, bazaars, etc.

Outside

Straight edges and right angles

Rain

Turtles

Kebabs

Cross country car rallies

Writing and receiving letters

Spring, summer, autumn and winter

Early mornings

Words

Jammy doughnuts

Perfume

Mammatus clouds

Ironing

Land Rover Defender

Cycling

Raspberry ripple icecream

A freshly ploughed field...

I guess you could say that I'm easy to please!

Where God is

Know therefore this day, and consider it in thine heart that the LORD he is God in heaven above, and upon the earth beneath: there is none else.

                                                                                 Deuteronomy 4:39

Where is God? Unbelievers sometimes ask it contemptuously, while believers ask it when overwhelmed by tragedy, trial and sorrow. Where is God? Let the Bible tell you.

God is above His people:  "He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust. Surely he shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler, and from the noisome pestilence. He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust: his truth shall be thy shield and buckler."

Psalm 91:1-4

Beneath His people: "The eternal God is thy refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms: and he shall thrust out the enemy from before thee; and shall say, Destroy them."

Deuteronomy 33:27

Before His people: "And the Lord went before them by day in a pillar of a cloud, to lead them the way; and by night in a pillar of fire, to give them light; to go by day and night."

Exodus 13:21

Behind His people: "And thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, This is the way, walk ye in it, when ye turn to the right hand, and when ye turn to the left"

 Isaiah 30:21

Around His people: "The angel of the Lord encampeth round about them that fear him, and delivereth them."

Psalm 34:7

With His people: "Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness."

Isaiah 41:10

"(...) and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen."

Matthew 28:20

And within His people: "Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him."

John 14:23

Be assured that whatever your circumstance God is above, beneath, before, behind, around, with, and within you.

-W. Ross Rainey

Through days of toil when heart doth fail,

God will take care of you. -Civilla D. Martin

For a very long time this November 25th's Daily Reading (I have no idea from what year... 2008-2009 or so, I think) has been kept in my Bible as a reminder of the Lord's care for us and His presence in a believer's life. As an added thought, I penned down back then Acts 17:28, the first part of which says, "For in him we live, and move, and have our being." I read this small piece of paper about a week ago again, and was so very encouraged by it that I told myself I should share it.

I hope it may also be of use and encouragement to any reader that happens to be visiting!

 

(First posted on my daughter's blog in November 2013)

Dad's Dictionary...

BALDERDASH

Lovely word, this one. Unfortunately, it's not very clear where or when it originated. Most webs I looked at pointed to it being a late 16th century word used to describe a 'frothy liquid' and then, later 'an unappetizing mixture of drinks'.

My father used to use it to mean 'absolute or complete nonsense', and he was usually frustrated or angry when he used it, too. This, it seems, is the correct, modern usage of the word.

Balderdash is a board game, first published in 1984. Seems like a fun game to play, although you have to have a little imagination. Just up my street...

Munchy Monday #43: Clear green veggie soup

This is a very delicious starter for any meal. I haven't indicated any quantities so that you can adapt it to your own needs, whether you are four to eat, or fourteen.

You will need:

Clear chicken stock, ideally, with the grease removed
Frozen green beans, cut into small pieces once slightly thawed
Fresh leek, finely sliced
Pieces of frozen broccoli, cut small
Potato, cut into small cubes
Rice or very fine noodles, a handful for every 3 or 4 people
Salt to taste

Method:

Bring stock to boil in a pan, add all other ingredients and simmer for 8 - 10 minutes.

An article especially written for today's mother

Are you a mother? Are you enjoying motherhood? Maybe you are feeling inadequate, useless, that it's all too much and that you you can't take any more?

Whatever your circumstances are, please take a few moments to read this very encouraging article, written by a homeschooling mother of fifteen, who just so happens to be a very dear bloggy friend of mine from the States.

http://largefamilymothering.com/2014/09/22/five-things-that-steal-motherly-joy-and-how-to-avoid-them/

Dad's Dictionary...

 JOLLOP

I remember my father using this word to refer to anything from a new batch of Mum's homemade jam to the grease he used to lubricate his lathe!

Let's take a look...

The meaning of the word, according to The Collins English Dictionary, is "unguent" or "cream".

Some dictionaries say the word jollop was used to refer either to a liquid medication or a strong liquor (often one and the same!)

Others indicate that it's real roots are Mexican and that the word is derived from the Spanish JALAPA. Jalapa was a city in Mexico (now Xalapa-Enrìquez). It was here that a notorious laxative was created.

Another source writes that the word originates from the word 'julep', of Persian origin and arrived to our shores via French and Latin. The word 'julep' means 'rose water'.

The word JOLLOP first appeared in England in 1675.

"Pass me some o' that there JOLLOP, will 'e?" Sigh... Some fun memories!

A word FOR Wednesdays

It has called upon my attention lately, how many blogs from around the globe leave Wednesday without any words.

I have decided to make amends by posting, precisely on Wednesdays, a "weird, uncommon and not so used or heard of" word and its meaning, etymology, etc,.

Many of these words will be ones which my father used to use in his normal, daily speech. To some, my father might have seemed a man of few words, but I can tell you the ones he did use I don't think I have ever heard them used by anyone else. I am still so very curious as to where he might have originally picked them all up.

Tomorrow, I will post about one of his most used words. Stay tuned.

I'll leave you with a famous quote about words from the late Margaret Thatcher:

“Watch your thoughts for they become words.
Watch your words for they become actions.
Watch your actions for they become habits.
Watch your habits for they become your character.
And watch your character for it becomes your destiny.
What we think, we become.
My father always said that... and I think I am fine.”

A very useful link

Yesterday I was looking for vocab. to include in my English lessons, and I stumbled across this web. Maybe some of you have visited here before but it helped me out so I thought I would share with you all.

The part I looked at was all about grammar. You know, adverbs, prepositions, etc., but there are other interesting pages, too. Take a look when you have a mo.

Munchy Monday #42: Choc chip cookies

This is a recipe which was passed on to me by my half Canadian niece. It has been tried and tested many, many times and is very quick and simple to mix up. Done in a jiffy, you might say.

You will need:
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup soft brown sugar
1 cup unsalted butter, softened (I use margarine)
2 1/2 cups plain flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 large egg, beaten
Few drops vanilla essence
1 tblsp creamy peanut butter
Chocolate chips

Method:
Mix all ingredients together to form a stiff dough. Make ping-pong ball sized balls and flatten them down on a greased oven tray. Bake in a medium oven (175º C) for 10 - 12 minutes. If you like them slightly crispier, leave them a couple minutes more. Leave for 2 minutes on the baking tray then remove to a clean tea towel or cooling rack.

Romans 12:12

Friday Fun Fact #9: About the song 'Yankee Doodle'

We were having a pasta lunch the other day and my son mentioned that in the 19th century the word 'macaroni' was used to mean 'cool', 'trendy' or 'fashionable'. I decided to look into it and found some really interesting information.

We have all heard the song about Yankee Doodle, haven't we? Well, if you haven't, here are the lyrics of the most well known part:

Yankee Doodle went to town

A-riding on a pony,

Stuck a feather in his cap

And called it macaroni'.

Indeed, "macaroni" became a term for a dandy in the 18th century after young British men returned from their adventures on the European continent sporting exaggerated high-fashion clothes and mannerisms (along with a taste for an exotic Italian dish called "macaroni").

O.K., but another thing I didn't know was the fact that the word 'dude' originates from the same song!

In 1883, the term 'dood', later to be spelt 'dude', was used to describe 'a man who cares too much about how he looks or dresses', even to the extent of being effeminate.

The song itself was thought to have been sung by British military officers to mock the Yankees with whom they served in the French and Indian War, the tune used being that of the nursery rhyme Lucy Locket. It is said that the British invented the song in the first place because they thought the colonists were unsophisticated (just by placing a feather in their hats they thought they were at the height of fashion), womanish and not very masculine.

Today the song is the state anthem of Connecticut.

Munchy Monday #41: Meat or fish croquettes

This is a very efficient and tasty way to finish up any leftover meat. You can use ham, turkey, codfish, tuna, salmon... I remember once making rabbit and lentil croquettes. They were delicious. I normally serve them as an accompaniment to a salad for a first course, as a second course after vegetables or lentils or at suppertime with say, a mushroom omelette, salad and tomato bread. This is a basic recipe which you can adapt according to your menu.

You will need:
All purpose flour
Sunflower oil 
Crumbled fish or finely minced meat
Water
Salt
Breadcrumbs
Oil to deep fry

Method:
In a frying pan, gently heat enough oil to cover the base of the pan. Add enough flour to make a stiff paste and toast for half a minute or so. Add your meat or fish, stir and season with a good shake of salt. Fry gently for a minute, stirring all the time. Add just enough water, little by little, to make a thick dough. Turn out onto a plate to cool. When manageable, take tablespoon sized quantities and mould into a mini frankfurter shape. Roll each croquette in breadcrumbs and deep fry small quantities in hot oil.

They should look something like this!

Note: If you are making codfish croquettes, add a little garlic and some finely chopped parsley to the mixture. If the croquettes are made with plain chicken or turkey breast, coat them with a mixture of plain bread crumbs and garlic and parsley breadcrumbs.

A 'Not Quite' Field Trip: Aiguaviva i el Castell de Marmellar

Why a 'not quite field trip'? Well, after 20 minutes of walking my husband noticed that the rubber on the heels of his new trekking boots was breaking off in chunks. So, back to the car we had to go and by that time it had got too late to do any walking. We took the scenic route home, however, and I managed to take a couple of photos:

Grape vines

Purple bougainvillea

Field trip: El Coll de Castellot

Last Sunday afternoon we put on our trekking boots and went walking once again in the mountains.

Our destination

Nearly there

The view from the top

View from the other side

Field trip - Montmell from the other side.

When our children were small we had a seven seater, all terrain type vehicle which took us everywhere. And when I say everywhere, I mean EVERYWHERE. One of those places was round the back of the mountains we can see from our house. Basically, it means taking a dirt track into the middle of nowhere.

Last Sunday afternoon we tried to get as close as possible to one of our favourite old haunts, la masia de Torrossolla. As we had to leave our little car quite a way off, we decided we didn't have enough time to reach the 'masia' on foot so we opted to walk instead to Can Magí Vidal.

Here are some photos:

Our idea was to go around this mountain to visit the other side

Going up Sugar Mountain

Typical fern from the north face of the mountain

Fonoll (I don't know its English name)

The Masia de Torrossolla - from a long way up!

Can Magí Vidal through the undergrowth

Large, unidentified mushroom

Large, unidentified beetle

Jay

Prunus Spinosa - otherwise known as Sloes

Well, as you can see, this was quite the nature walk. It was lovely, once again, to get out and enjoy the area we live in. Although the afternoon was scorching hot, much of our walk was in the shade of woodland and big, bushy plants.

Note: the photos of the fern, the flower, the sloes and the jay were taken from internet. I often forget to take photos as I am too busy enjoying the real thing :)

Quick post

Honestly speaking, from my experience, mothers with teenage boys do most definitely not have any need for a television in the home.

All you have to do is give each boy a list of household chores which they are obliged to fulfil, make yourself a cup of something, put your feet up on the sofa and watch it happen. Ahhh, this is entertainment in its richest form!

Having said all that, my boys do the work extremely well and quickly. It's just funny how they work out the logistics of it all...

Abundance...

I thought you would like to see a little a bit of what I've been busy with (and thankful for) lately.

Press play and listen to one of my favourite songs while you look at the photos:

 

Cherries - a gift from our neighbour

First courgette harvest

Apricots from our tree

A bucket of beans

Second courgette harvest + plum and salad tomatoes and aubergines

The last of the potato crop (we have the equivalent of 12 crates like these!) and more courgettes

Planting and keeping a garden is a lot of work, much of which I do on my own. After I have harvested, then all the produce has to be preserved in one way or another.* This keeps me busy, too. I planted much more this year because I had more land available and, thankfully, it has been rainy for a longer period of time and I therefore haven't needed to water as much as other years. It's a very productive  year in this respect, too.

*Post to follow shortly explaining how I preserve what the garden produces.

How are my bloggie friends doing? What are you filling your summer days with?

Childhood memories...

Bed in Summer

 

 In winter I get up at night 

And dress by yellow candle - light.

In summer, quite the other way,

I have to go to bed by day. 

I have to go to bed and see 

The birds still hopping on the tree,

Or the grown-up people's feet

Still going past me in the street.

And does it not seem hard to you,

 When all the sky is clear and blue, 

And I should like so much to play, 

To have to go to bed by day?

Robert Louis Stephenson

Oh, this brings back memories of when I small and not so small and had to go to bed at 7:30. I used to lay awake listening to the blackbird singing in our garden, the neighbours busy in theirs and my friends playing ball on the green out the back. I have never understood why I had to go so early when I lay and fidgeted until my sister would come up at 10:00 pm. I always thought it was such an enormous waste of hours. Many was the day I had a book hidden under the bed...

Favourite quote

Dehydration

The British are right. A nice cup of tea can solve many problems. One of them being dehydration.

If it's mid-morning and you feel tired and 'head-achy' for no particular reason (I mean you haven't been up half the night with a sick toddler or folding laundry into the small hours) it is quite a possibility that you are suffering from a mild dehydration.

Mild dehydration can cause thirst, headache, irritability, weakness, dizziness and fatigue and can generally make people feel tired and lethargic.

When I was small I was discouraged to drink at mealtimes and often didn't remember in between, either, and I'm afraid that, even though now I live in a hotter, drier climate, I find it very difficult to get to the bottom of a glass of water.

Water is essential for your body to function properly. Your brain is 90% water and your body is 70% water, the majority of your blood and every cell in your body is composed of water.

Here are some good reasons why we should be drinking 6 - 8 glasses of water a day:

# Increases energy and relieves fatigue
# Promotes weight loss
# Flushes out toxins
# Eases digestive problems
# Improves skin complexion
# It is a natural cure for headaches
# Eases joint and back pains, prevents cramps and sprains
# Lowers the risk of colon cancer, bladder cancer and breast cancer
# Puts you in a good mood because your body is working well

A winter 'loikatea' by the fire

I must admit that I am not the world's best water drinker and it is something I have to work on. When the children were small every time one of them asked me for a drink of water, I would prepare it and also one for myself, thus ensuring at least five glasses a day. As they grew up and began making their own drinks they would offer to share a tea time moment with me. This was called a 'loikatea'. Now my tea-drinkers have married and left home and I am back at square one again! Even worse is the fact that I rarely actually feel thirsty.

Of course, this is even more serious a problem if you are pregnant or nursing, taking certain medications, doing strenuous outdoor work or inside in offices or shops with air conditioning or simply living through the summer months with high temperatures.

It is very important to keep drinking water based liquids. The experts recommend at least 2 litres daily. Gulp. (Pardon the pun). Also, I read recently that coffee and real tea don't count because their caffeine content counter reacts, as a diuretic. This, however, is still being investigated. 

Here is a recipe for a drink I used to prepare when my family was younger:

Just mix and keep refrigerated:

1/3 water
1/3 fruit juice (nicest with apple, orange, peach or pineapple)
1/3 7UP (or similar, like Sprite. The British call it lemonade! I always used a very economical store brand which was even cheaper than bottled water.)

Does anyone else have a similar problem? How do you solve it? I would love some new ideas...

Another family quote and a Batty Books joke

It was my birthday last Saturday and I made a crazy chocolate cake for myself. Unfortunately, I had a series of interruptions whilst I was preparing the batter and the vinegar started working too soon with the raising agent. When I finally took the cake from the oven, the surface was very bumpy, not smooth like it should be.
"Don't worry" said my dear husband. "I'm sure it tastes as good as ever. Just issue us all with 4x4 forks to eat it with!"

If you were around in Britain at the beginning of the 80's you must be familiar with a set of jokes called Batty Books. These 'books' had a title and an author and while some were unrepeatable, many others were hugely ingenious and often very funny.

Here are a few that I can remember:

@ Babysitting   by Justin Casey Howls
@ Never give up   by Percy Vere
@ The fall of the watermelon   by S. Platt
@ The long walk   by Miss D. Bus
@ A post script   by Adeline Extra    ...and so on.


Well, as you know it's summer here and many days end tomorrow and, as I scrunched up the stairs to bed late last Wednesday night, I made up another Batty Books joke which went like this:

Successful beach parties  by Sandy House

Get the DRIFT? There's just a GRAIN of truth there. O.K. I'll stop, please don't DESERT me!

How I do it: The laundry

Laundry routine:

- Monday - clothes + boy's bed linen (2 beds)
- Tuesday - shower towels, kitchen cloths and napkins, soft toys, cushion covers, extra blankets, kitchen chair cushions, school bags, jackets, etc.
- Wednesday - clothes + girl's bed linen
- Thursday - clothes + our bed linen
- Friday - clothes + boy's bed linen (other 2 beds)
- Saturday - university boy's clothes, towels, etc.

I hang all my laundry to dry outside. I use clothes driers in the winter. This way, if it rains (seldom) or if it is very windy (often), I just leave them in the sun porch. If necessary, I bring them in by the wood stove to dry over night. I have a tumble drier but I only use it for emergencies as it is very expensive to run. Sunshine and fresh air is free!

First, I sort the items into piles - dark, bright, white, towels and bed linen. Then I choose the biggest pile to wash first. If the pile is too big for a correct machine load I split it and put some in with, say, a bed linen wash or whatever I see is going to make up a load, without mixing colours. If I don't have enough to make a load I wait till another day.

I use a good quality liquid soap - Ariel - and vinegar as a softener (more about that in another post). Since I have been using this combination I haven't had to use any other type of stain remover.

My washing machine is in the downstairs bathroom, it has the tumble drier sitting on top of it.

Since I started this post months back, the situation at home has changed somewhat.  My university boy moved to a different apartment and now does his own laundry washes and my second daughter has married and left home. This meant a change in the quantities and now I mix loads a little more. In September there will be another university boy which means I'll have to adapt once again.

At least this gives you some idea of our laundry routine, if you are interested in that kind of info. I must admit the whole thing of actually organizing laundry was an idea I got from a M.O.M.* in the States a good while back and I thank her for sharing her experiences with others. It helped me a great deal, for sure.

*M.O.M. means Mother Of Many

Munchy Monday #40: Macaroni with tuna and bacon

This is so simple to prepare and so delicious to eat... The quantities given are enough for 4 - 6 adult servings. I vary the pasta and often use lumaconi, penne, rotini, macaroni, etc.

You will need:
400 g pasta
100 g smokey bacon rashers, cut into fine strips
A small amount of onion, grated
Juice and flesh of beefsteak tomato or similar
A fair squirt of your usual tomato puree or sauce
150 g tuna in vegetable oil, drained
Oil for frying
Salt
Water for cooking pasta

Method:
Bring water to boil, add salt and throw in pasta, following cooking instructions on the packet. Meanwhile, in another saucepan, pour a little oil and add bacon pieces. Fry gently until slightly crispy then add onion. Stir and fry for a couple more minutes, add tuna, both of the tomato sauces and a little salt. Stir and cook for some minutes. Drain up and rinse the pasta, add to the tuna and bacon sauce. Stir and gently simmer for a few minutes. Serve hot with grated cheese sprinkled over the top.*

 

*To make this dish extra special and professional, transfer the pasta to an oven dish, sprinkle pasta cheese over the top and grill until crisp and toasted.

Final silkworm update

Yes, out of twenty silkworms, ten made it to the cocoon stage and six hatched from their cocoon. If I'm not wrong, we have five females and one male. We have a few grey/black eggs (which means they are fertile) and the rest were laid by females that were just hatched (and are most likely not fertile). These are the piles of pale yellow eggs that you see in the photograph.

So, now we have to wait till about the middle of April next year to see the eggs hatch and therefore complete the whole metamorphosis of the silkworm.

The first cocoon

A female moth

Eggs