Seal day

Just a short blog, I have had a really nice day. Daughter, her husband, no1 and no2 Grandaughter all came round and took me to see the seals at Horsey Gap. We went last year and it was freezing so we all wrapped up warm and we were all far too hot! The sun was out and it was a lovely walk. There were loads of people there and we had to wait for over 20 minutes to get on the car park. It was worth the wait, there are loads of seal pups and a lot of adults along the shore line and in the sea.we had our wellingtons on and splashed in all the puddles along the way, the ice was really thick and laid all broken around the edges of the puddles. I got my Grandaughter to forward a photo that she took of a seal with her flash new lense she got for camera for Christmas,I just used my phone and they just look like blobs!!! Guess which photo is mine!! 

Soup for lunch

This morning I am a bit less stif and sore from my fall but my arm is still so painful! H wanted me to go for a ride with him on the track and was a bit annoyed when I said no because it will jar my arm. My boss said if he needs me on Wed. He will ring before 6 pm today and H has already told me if I am not well enough to bike I am not well enough to work!!! I have already planned to go to visit the seals tomorrow so I hope he doesn't call. I decided we would have soup for lunch so I pealed a couple of leeks, a carrot, a potato and a slice of pumpkin, popped them into the soup maker with a couple of veggie' oxo cubes,filled to the water line with cold water and 20 mins later piping hot smooth soup. Yummy. The soup maker is one of the best buys we have made. We have tried all sorts of vegetable combinations and haven't had a flavour that we don't like yet. It's an extra bonus for me because I can get all fresh veg in season. Our other favourite machine is,of course our bread maker. No 1 son and his wife bought us our first one for Christmas around 10 years ago and I have not bought a loaf of bread since, ( just the occasional French stick)  our first one gave up the ghost 2 years ago and we were out the next day to buy a new one. H makes a lovely fruit and malt loaf which I love toasted. I think we are so used to it all now it just tastes like bread but whenever we have someone round for a meal they always remark on how nice the bread is. Another bonus is the fact that you know exactly what's in it when you make it yourself. I have done all my ironing up to date this morning but as I have another line of washing out I will soon have some more to do. Hopefully I will have photos of seals on my blog tomorrow ( not leeks) !! 

Monday after Christmas

I was supposed to go back to work today but my boss rang yesterday morning to say he had not got many orders so he doesn't want me. He said I could go on Wednesday but I am going with my Daughter,husband and family to see the seals so now I don't have to go to work till next Monday. As it happens I would not have been able to go anyway because I am too sore and stiff. There is no way I would be able to trim leeks I could hardly cut a slice off my lump of cheese. I hope to be fully recovered  by next Monday and then my workmates will never know I fell off ( they think I am mad riding at my age as it is.my bruises are slowly coming out and I am looking pretty black and blue. On a brighter note, I was supposed to go to the City this morning to bank a cheque etc. on the bus but as I am uncomfortable and H is not cycling he took me and carried the Bags etc. bonus. I have added a photo of another of our Christmas presents,it is from no1 Grandaughter and her boyfriend.

Knee

Nightmare ride

I thought I had finished my blog for the day but that was before I fell off my bike!!! We went from our house to Felthorpe and then down to the Ratcatchers where we turned right and went down to the Cromer road via Marsham. As we went past the Plough Inn my bike skidded in some mud and I went down with a bang!! A police car was passing at the time and stopped to see if I was ok and needed any help. The kind young policeman offered to put my bike in his car and run me home, how kind was that. I don't suppose he will ever see this but if he ever did I would like to thank him for his kindness. I bit my tongue so had a mouth full of blood, cut my thumb, grazed my elbow( and that's through 3 layers of clothing ) grazed my thigh and my knee which at the moment has swollen so has a huge egg on it!! However my most painful thing at the moment is my shoulder and that really hurts but there is not a mark on it so hopefully it will soon improve. We were going to ride 32 miles but as I was struggling to hold my handlebars with my right hand we cut it a bit short and ended up riding 25. I was glad to be home I can tell you!! I have had a nice soak in the bath and washed my hair and I will not be doing much else today.

Lazy day

Yesterday I did nothing much,I have a backache so sat about as much as I could. It was bacon sandwiches for lunch which H cooked and sorted for us. Dinner was Turkey curry with hot mince pies and cream so not much to prepare there. The job that took me longest was sorting out the Turkey carcass. I now have a freezer full of bags with various portions. Some with leg meat etc and some with breast. There is also enough in the fridge for sandwiches for H and I for lunch and for me in the field tomorrow.( a change from cucumber). No 2 son left last evening and arrived back at his place with no mishaps, he says the roads were pretty quiet. Now we are back on our own we have begun the great clear up!!! Me mostly by eating anything that's edible and lying around, eg nuts, chocs, dates, crisps etc. and H dumping everything in the bin! He says will go out on our bikes a bit later on this morning,it's rather cold at the moment. Yesterday he did a session on his turbo trainer. He rode for an hour and, believe me, that's dedication. One year when we were having a really wet rainy patch he persuaded me to use it. So he set up the turbo trainer in the kitchen for me and his rollers for himself so we could train together.( I don't know how he can use rollers,I keep falling off!!! ) With a turbo trainer your bike wheel is locked in. Well, it's one of the worst, most boring things I have ever done in my life! Never again, I would rather stick pins in my eyes!!!

One of our presents

This is one of our gifts our Grandaughter no 1 made it for us and is made up of things that are close to us and our wedding day etc. I think she is really clever.

Boxing Day

We had a lovely day yesterday and got some really nice presents which had a great deal of thought put into them. H collected  daughter and her family( he had to make 2 trips).no1 son and wife came round soon after and no 2 son was already here. We have to do it this way because parking space is at a premium along our road and we have only 3 parking spaces at our house. No 1 son wanted his car here so they could go home to feed and walk their dog.this means however that I can't drink because I do the taxi home again (2 trips). Dinner was good and dished up at the time I had told everyone (1/2 an hour late last year).i also rememberd everything for a change. Late afternoon 8 of us went for a walk, daughter in law went to feed dog and H stayed behind to empty and restack the dishwasher. While we were out we were lucky enough to see the space station that is orbiting the Earth at the moment. The conditions were perfect, a clear sky and a new moon. We got a really good look at it and I was surprised at how close it looked...... H and I are just back from a bike ride. It was cold!! We only rode just over 19 miles but it was plenty as it was so cold.we have had a load of leftovers for lunch but we have fillet steak,chips, peas and bread and butter for dinner tonight.( leftover Christmas pud for afters.)

Merry Christmas

The finished article,s

The kiwi fruit is all in one corner because some of the family do not like it.

Stuffing

I have also made my stuffing for our Turkey ( a picture of ingredients below) ....crumble bread into large bowl add sausage meat, chopped onion and chopped Turkey liver if available,sprinkle with sage, salt and pepper to taste,add egg and then get your hands in there and really squish it all up. You may also wish to add a little milk if it's not moist enough. I will stuff the neck of the turkey with mine and what's left I will cook in the tin round the turkey.

Fresh fruit salad

Today I am making a fruit salad for tomorrow for those who do not want Christmas pudding. I do use a small can of fruit salad in juice which stops the apple turning brown. There is a picture of the fruit I sliced and added. I also made a syrup .... 4oz sugar 1/4 pint water....boil water pour onto sugar,stir till dissolved and cool before adding. Peel and slice fruit and simply put in a bowl with a squirt of lemon juice I used all the pineapple taking out the core put only half the Mellon which I shaped with my Mellon baller. When I took the photo I had forgotten the grapes but have added them to the salad. When no2 Son comes home from the City ( where he is, just doing all his Christmas shopping) I will add around 1/2 a can of lemonade (I don't have any) which he is getting me.it makes is more juicy and helps the fruit to keep its colour. My old recipe says add a cupfull of Cointreau but as it is 40 vol and my youngest Grandaughter is11 I thought I had better leave it out.also I always add the banana just before serving because it goes too soft if put in now.

The finished article

Christmas eves eve🎅

Another windy day so after I had done a bit of housework and washing etc. H and I changed into cycle gear and went out on our bikes.i hung the washing out before we left. We decided to ride along Marriotts way as the wind is so strong. It was a good ride but hard work and has worn me out. Some of it was on the road which wasn't as nice because we were exposed to the wind. Along the track we saw a stoat a Herron a kestrel and several grey squirrels . I burnt 1,134 calories, so I am pleased with that.we are having " spaghetti boll" for dinner tonight because H is hoping to ride 60 plus miles tomorrow so would like some pasta. I use 1/2 lb mince 1 large onion a couple of large mushrooms a tin of chopped tomatoes and a few frozen peas. 1 oxo cube and several good dashes of Worcestershire sauce....... Chop and fry onion add mince and mushroom( sliced) pour in tomatoes crumble and add oxo , sauce and peas, bring to boil and simmer for 25 mins.( today I also added 1/2 a cup of wine)  while that is cooking measure out spaghetti and cook in your favourite method. I boil mine because I like to keep it long, if I micro wave it I have to break it up.

Holiday

Hooray!! No more work for me till next Monday. I went in today at 8 and only had to do 10 dozen bunches of carrots and 3 boxes of leeks and there was nothing else for me to do. The carrots took longer because the wind had dried the soil out so I had to dig them all up. I finished at 11,30. My boss.gave me a bottle of prosecco,a large tin of nuts, a box of chocolates and a bonus in my Christmas card. How lucky am I . When I got home I ate my packed lunch with a nice cup of coffee and then I watched'White Christmas' it's the first time I have ever seen it!! It was corny but I quite enjoyed it. I forgot to say that yesterday when we were out on our bikes we saw 2 Marsh harriers. The first one was sitting on the branch of a tree and as we rode past it took off so we were really close and had a really good view of it. They are huge, it was a beautiful bird.we carried on for another ten miles or so, went round a sharp bend and another swooped down the road in front of us. We consider ourselves lucky if we see one in a year but to see two in one day and up so close was a real bonus.

Windy Sunday

We both got up at the same time this morning so had our breakfast together. I did a load of washing and when it was light I hung it out. At 9 30 we changed and went out on our bikes. H rode his mountain bike and I was on my road bike, this makes it a harder workout for him and I can manage to keep up. We rode nearly 35 miles and I burned off 1,154 calories,so well worth it. We watched a cycle race this afternoon, the commentary was in Spanish which pleased H because he is learning Spanish and it helps him practice. I wrapped my last few presents up this afternoon so now Christmas can come when it likes. Work for me again tomorrow.

Lazy Saturday

Nun

We got up early and I did our weekly shop,hopefully I have also bought all the things I will need for Christmas apart from my meat. I have an order with my butcher which I am picking up on Christmas Eve. I have brought my holly in from outside where it was soaking in a bucket and it all looks lovely. I also put all our cards up so its all Christmassy here now and I love it. Tomorrow we are going for a bike ride weather permitting. I made a fish pie for dinner this evening which was nice.   2 haddock fillets, 2 tomatoes, 2 potatoes an ounce of butter, stable spoon of sr flour 1/2 pint of milk approx.salt and pepper and a little grated cheese. Peal and cook potatoes,while they are cooking microwave the fish for 3 mins in a little of the milk, remove the fish skin and drain off the milk to use in the white sauce. Make a rue with the butter and flour( melt butter in a saucepan,stir in flour and cook for 2 mins remove from heat and whisk in milk,salt and pepper,bring to boil and add to fish in casserole.dish. Slice a tomato and add ot dish, mash potatoes add to dish slice second tomato arrange on top and sprinkle with grated cheese. Pop in oven temp.190 for around 35 mins or until top is golden brown. I served ours with butterd cabbage and it was very nice.

Friday,

A short day for me at work,I leave off at 2 pm on Fridays.When I left off I went to my brothers in Thorpe to deliver cards and presents and then to a shop for some polystyrene beans to plump up my bean bag which is a handy extra seat at Christmas. When I got home H had vacuumed right through the house for me and made another loaf of bread. He didn't bother to go out on his bike today because he rode 61 miles all on his own yesterday. I do not know how he does it!!! I had a lovely hot shower and washed my hair and after dinner I am looking forward to watching my soaps.

Muddy Thursday

Work again, same jobs, same lunch. I love my job but sometimes I wonder how many 76 year old women are still doing things like this. A photo of me eating my lunch in the middle of a field in the middle of December how lucky am I, I could have been sitting indoors watching daytime tv and slowly dieing of boredom, instead I am fit and healthy and also better off!!!

Wednesday

It was a horrible day at work, I had to do 8 dozen bunches of carrots first and then pick sprouts for the rest of the day. Our fields got flooded earlier in the year and the sprouts stood in water for weeks which has affected them. I was wet up to my armpits by 11.15 am and had to work like that for the rest of the day, thank goodness it was not cold. I was glad when 4 o'clock came and I could go home. As I walked in the front door the wonderful smell of baking bread hit me and made my mouth water. After a bath and a hair wash we had our evening meal and I went upstairs to watch my soaps but I don't think I will manage to stay awake for them!!

Tuesday

Work again. Water and cucumber sarnies again. I had to bunch carrots again to start with but when the men picked them up I had to move onto leeks where I spent the rest of the day. I sat on a box in the sun for my break at 10 am but by lunch at 12 30 the sun had gone in so I had to sit in an old shed that has seen better days. However the men brought me an old arm chair to sit in which helps. This morning I took 2 chicken breasts out of the freezer for dinner tonight which I was going to cook in the oven in gravy and serve with a nice cabbage from work, carrots and mashed potatoes,but when I got home H had chopped the chicken up and made a curry!!! 

Monday

Work today,so a slice of toast  and a cup of tea for breakfast, 2 cucumber sandwiches and 2 tangerines for lunch with a bottle of water to wash it down and off I went. I put my phone on charge this morning when I got up and forgot it I was so annoyed !!! I had to do 10 dozen bunches of carrots and 10 boxes of loose ones. I was told that if no more orders came for me I should bunch more carrots and ended up bunching another 15 dozen bunches. We then washed and packed them and a load of swedes the men had trimmed. 4 o'clock soon came and I went home. A cup of tea and a nice hot bath were waiting for me,so I sliced a couple of potatoes into wedges and popped them into the oven to go with the quiche we are having for dinner with sweetcorn. Work again tomorrow.

Cake icing day

This morning H and I went out on our bikes. He rode his mountain and I was on my road bike. It was freezing cold and all the puddles along the roadside were coverd in ice. We did 27 miles but it was slow and I did not get out of breath once. The wind was bitter and we were glad to get back. After a lunch of salmon sandwiches I iced my Christmas cake. For the last 3 years I have used shop bought smooth icing but although you can make it look good it doesn't taste as good as my home made icing. I used the White of 1 egg and some lemon juice. I didn't have a fresh lemon so I just used a few squirts of 'jiff'. Separate the egg and put the yolk to one side add the lemon and sift in icing sugar using enough to make your icing the consistency you want. Job done!  I know this years cake doesn't look as good as my earlier ones but at least we will eat the icing,not like last year when we all peeled it off. Do not waste the yolk, use it to make a batch of melting moments, I topped mine with walnuts and glasse cherries.

Photos of my recipe

Saturday

Last evenings meal was very nice and would have been equally as good without the liver for vegetarians. Today I have decorated our tree. The tree is around 28 years old now and has seen better days but I can't bear to part with it. We bought it in an after Christmas sale at B & Q for £9.99 .It also slots into a small space and as we have 12 people here for Christmas space is important.H rode 58 miles ( punctured) and said it was cold. For our evening meal I have made meatballs,beef mince from my butcher, I fry an onion add the meatballs and fry till sealed all round.then add a tin of chopped tomatoes,a clove of garlic,crushed and 2 handfuls of frozen peas.pop into the oven( temp180) and cook for about an hour. When there is 20 mins. to go I cook enough pasta for 2 in the microwave. I like it with spaghetti but today we are having pasta shells for a change.

Tree day

Today after we had done our weekly shop we intended to go out on our bikes but it was so dull and windy we decided not to go. H went into the garage to check his bike out for a long ride with our son in law tomorrow and noticed my back tyre was flat so he repaired it for me( he found a huge thorn right through the tyre and into the tube) put it back, pumped it up only to find it flat again an hour later! He did it all again, finding yet another thorn. There was a lot of hedge cutting going on along Marriotts way so I expect I picked them up there. While he was outside I wrapped all my Christmas presents that I have so far and put up our Christmas tree ready to decorate this evening. I absolutely love Christmas and H always makes out that he hates it, but when I asked for our tree out of the loft he was up the ladder in a flash. I have made a strange concotion for dinner tonight!! I softened 2 leeks in a pan, fried 4 large mushrooms and 4 slices of liver and layerd them all in a casserole dish. Then i sprinkled in some sweetcorn,a little stock and coverd in shredded raw potato topped with grated cheese. It's now in the oven where I will leave it till I think it's cooked. I have no idea what it will taste like but it smells lovely.

Thursday at work

It was quite cold in the field today, and I had to do all the same old things,4 dozen bunched carrots, 1 sack of sprouts and then leeks. At 2 30 I was collected to wash and pack what I had done which I finished at 3 40 and my boss gave me my wage packet and said I could go home.!! No more work for me till Monday but next week I have to go every day. I came home to a nice cup of tea and a soak in a nice hot bath. I hope I will be able to stay awake for my soaps, the wind has worn me out! 

Same ride, better day

H and I thought we would try the track again today and it was much better. The sun was lovely but the wind was much stronger. I burnt almost 900 calories so it was a fried egg sandwich and a mince pie for lunch. ( steak pie ,chips and peas for dinner tonight ) I did more ironing and also popped to the chicken farm for lovely large fresh eggs. Attached is a photo H took on Marriotts Way with the sun filtering through the trees. He fixed my rear mec. this morning replacing it with a new one and my gears worked well.

Rough ride

This morning after I had hung out the washing and caught up with my ironing ect. H and I decided to use our mountain bikes and go for a ride off road along Marriotts Way. It was minus 1 degree when we left home so quite cold.we had ridden just over10 miles when disaster struck!! I got a stick stuck in my wheel and gears and when I pulled it out my rear mec. Fell to pieces!! H who is a bike genius managed to bodge it up so I could carry on but I then only had one gear for the rest of the ride which made it very hard work for me. However instead of turning round and returning home we carried on with our ride and ended up doing 32miles. It took so long to repair my bike my hands and feet were numb and it took an hour at home to finally get them warm again. We had a chicken and Mayo, sandwich for our lunch and then I had to have a hot mince pie with squirty cream and a glass of wine to get over the traumer!!! We have got chicken stew for dinner tonight with dumplings. I put Sunday's left over chicken into my slow cooker with some vegetables,a squirt of tomato purée,an oxo cube and a few mixed herbs, before we left home and came home to a warm kitchen and an appetising smell. I will add the dumplings 20 mins. Before dishing up,,,,,, Dumplings 4oz sr flour 4 oz suet salt pepper and enough cold water to make a stiff dough. Form into balls( this makes 4) and carefully put on top of stew. Job done.

Mon

Work today and it was quite cold, if it gets much colder I will have to take a flask instead of my bottle of water. I had to do 7 dozen bunches of carrots, which took a bit longer because I had to fork them all up. I also had to pick 2 boxes of loose carrots, finish weeding the rhubarb bed and then trim leeks till home time. I haven't got to go again till Thursday.

Yesterday afternoon no2 Son and I went for a walk round Blickling hall. It was really busy there and the car park was crowded. We walked round the lake and then round the hall.it was beginning to get dark when we left and the Christmas trees lining the drive looked very pretty. I hope to put my decorations up next weekend but I have to get H to get the tree out of the loft.

All buns

Use self rising flour and cook for 14 mins.!!!

Cocoanut buns

Last evening I had a nice evening with my family,it's lovely to have them altogether , the next time will be Christmas Day. I made cocoanut and choc chip buns this morning. I always use my basic recipe for all my buns,   5oz of butter, sugar and flour,2 eggs and a little milk.( oven temp.230)  to this you can add whatever you wish. Today I added 2oz desiccated cocoanut and a packet of plain choc drops. H likes them with sultanas or 2table spoons of cocoa powder and the choc chips,I like glasse cherries. This afternoon I have to make flapjack for no.2 son to take back with him. I am making date flapjack but he has also brought some seeds home he would like me to add.

Chilly morning

This morning our daughter and son in law came round at 8.30 to go for a bike ride. The men went off together to ride 60 miles but we only did 30 ( they also had to bike to ours and home again) so that's an extra 8 miles for them.it was 0 degrees when we left home and when we came back 2 hours later it had only gone up I degree so it was pretty cold all the way round. All the grass at the sides of the road was white with frost and there was ice on some of the puddles. I used over 900 calories which is handy because we are all going out for a meal this evening to celebrate my birthday. I will report on this tomorrow.

Melting moments

Today after shopping H and I changed into our cycle gear and biked to Aylsham bank. When we got back home we had done 28 miles and I had burnt over 700 calories! We had lunch and then I made some " melting moments" they are a flat cookie, and my old Aunts recipe.

4oz butter 3oz sugar 5oz sr flour 1 egg yolk and a few drops of vanilla essence, porridge oats.

Cream the butter and sugar,beat in the egg and vanilla essence and stir in the flour (oven temp. 190) roll into small balls with your hands and then roll in the oats. Flatten slightly and place on greased baking tray, bake for 15 to20 mins,till golden brown . This makes 15 to 20 biscuits. All my kids used to love these when they came home from school hungry.

Thurs

Work again today so I packed 2 tomato sandwiches, 3 plums and a bottle of water and off I went. It was 5 degrees when I left home and 4 degrees when I came home so quite chilly in the middle of a field. I had to pick 2 sacks of sprouts, 4 dozen bunches of carrots, 3 boxes of loose carrots,5 boxes of leeks,1box of turnips,1 box of beetroot and then back on leeks till the men came along on the tractor and trailer to pick up all my veg. And we went to wash and pack it all. No more work for me till Monday  so weekly shop tomorrow and, weather permitting,a bike ride with my H.  I found a couple of conjoined carrots, 2 tops and one bottom.

Birthday

I am having a great day with lots of cards and presents. My Grandaughter, who is a fan of " lush" bought me some items from there and I had to laugh, the first item I pulled out of the packaging was a bath bomb called Granny takes a dip!!!(I will later) . Another funny thing was, no2 son who is away at the moment thought he would like to see me on my birthday so rang me on " face time". The only problem was I was on the bus on the way home from the city. H and I have always taken the mickey out of  people on the phone on the bus and now I am one of them. I bought some nice treats from M & S for dinner tonight so will only have to pop them in the oven and not stand and cook and no1 son is coming round on his way to work this evening, he works shifts. On Saturday we are all going out for a meal except our grandson who is away at uni'. There will be 10 of us altogether.

Off road bike ride

H and I decided to brave the weather and go for a ride on our mountain bikes, it was great fun but I got a tad muddy!!! We rode over 19 miles(av speed 10.8)  I burnt over 600 calories so I can now have a slice of my cake😊

Cocoa

I forgot to put in my sponge recipe I also had a couple of table spoons of cocoa powder!! Hence the colour.this is what happens when you are nearly 76 you forget things 

Tues

Yesterday I had to work but as it was the same as last week it wasn't worth blogging about but you can see where the mundane comes in. However, tomorrow is my birthday ( I will officially be 76 then) and no.1 son and daughter are both coming round bearing gifts so last evening after dinner,shower, Hollyoaks etc.etc. I thought I had better make myself a birthday cake. I made a chocolate sponge which has turned out quite well.   Recipe,,, 4 eggs their weight in marg, sugar and sr.flour. Cream marg and sugar and beat in eggs one at a time ( remember to weigh flour before adding eggs) fold in flour and put mixture into 2 sponge tins(greased) . Put in pre heated oven 180 degrees for around 20 mins. When they are cooked turn onto wire rack to cool. I put mine away last night and made the cream this morning. ......a dollop of Marg ( about 2oz) a couple of table spoons of cocoa powder and enough icing sugar to make it the right consistency. No 2 son is away till the weekend but I am looking forward to seeing him then. The plan was to cycle today but it's raining at the moment so I might have to go tomorrow. When H was 76earlier in the year he rode 76miles on his birthday but I am not doing that!!