Measure Twice, Cut Once

I learned that phrase from my grandparents - Grandad's carpentry and Nan's dressmaking relied on accuracy when cutting materials. And if you cut something a bit short, then it is really hard to correct it, and you may end up having to buy another length of wood or fabric. 

Yesterday morning we took both cars to the garage [mine for MOT, his for service] and got the bus back home. Then I spread the dismantled curtains and the interlining out on the dining table. I was very conscious of the cost of the original curtains, and the cost of the interlining - and the need to take my time and do it properly. Ann in Scotland had wisely cautioned me against shortcuts, and the risk or errors - and of staring sat the curtains every night thinking 'I wish I'd...'

I worked really slowly, taking my time to measure, measure again, cut and pin. By 4.30pm, all the interlining pieces had their raw edges dealt with, and the two shorter curtains were pinned up ready for machining.
Then I walked to the garage and collected Bob's car. I was quite tired by this point, and decided it was not sensible to attempt any more sewing.
I pushed everything up to one end of the Dining Table so we could sit in comfort for our meal [beautifully prepared  by Bob]
The work will be completed today - it is not as if I can go anywhere - my car is still at the garage, waiting for the brakes to be fitted. And this afternoon I am having my cooker proferssionally cleaned. This is the first time ever I have paid someone else to clean it, but something spilled on the floor of the main oven, and I cannot shift it.

On the picture you can see my orange-handled Fiskars scissors, and beside them a black and grey object - my sharpener. This gadget is brilliant, and ensures you can start your project with razor sharp blades every time [details here] I love Fiskars products [I have their garden secateurs now as well!] and would award the sharpener a 5* recommendation. These are nearly 13 years old and as efficient now as they were on Day 1


 

Rhubarb?

Tuesday night's theatre trip was [mostly] brilliant. We enjoyed our meal at Côte Brasserie, opting [as usual] for the Prix Fixe and a bottle of mineral water. Then we decided to walk round to the Theatre and have pre-performance coffee there. 

This is the Norwich Playhouse, which has two sister venues - Theatre Royal and Stage Two. It is the middle sized site, seating 300 people, 
and a popular venue for fringe events and touring companies. Unfortunately, by 6.45pm they have, inexplicably turned off their coffee machine. Our tea[r]s are not yet brewed!
The seats are low and relatively small - I was glad I'd booked two end seats so Bob at least had space in the aisle for his legs. My legs felt cramped after a while, and that is unusual! Of course, the people in seats 3-10 didn't arrive till just before the starts, and all  wanted the bar in the interval. There was much standing up and sitting down again! “Stand not upon the order of your going, but go at once”

However, we could see the stage well from Row K. Rows A-F nearer the stage would have felt too close, I thinbk/ They were occupied by school parties - all extremely well behaved, I must say. 

The performance by the National Production Company  was very good, with a few caveats.

• Lady Macbeth was excellent, delivering her lines well
• The Weird Sisters were superb, and spoke in sequence and in unison equally well, chanting and dancing beautifully. Great costumes too
• Macbeth was good, but his voice wasn't quite 'big' enough for some of the speeches. 
• The sword fighting was incredibly well done, and the Kensington Gore which flowed freely when necessary.
• The Porter was wonderfully funny, spot on comedic timing, and interaction with Rows A-F, saying "'equivocate' thats a good word, remember to use it on your exam papers"
• Lighting fairly good, but one spot, stage right, was far too bright, and actors were blinking and clearly bothered by it. Bob is a lighting geek [in his youth he did a lot of stage lighting and is rather fussy about these things]
• Theatre staff get top marks for friendliness, efficiency and helpfulness.
• I think a **** review of the evening [better seating and coffee would have made it 5*]

But all in all we loved it. We'd declined coffee at CÔte explaining we were going to the Theatre. The conversation at the paydesk went like this...

Waitress - What are you going to?

Bob - Macbeth

Waiter - Is that a comedy?

Bob - well, I suppose you COULD play it like that...

[The staff there are mostly French, perhaps he only knows Moliére]

Did you know Shakespeare mentions rhubarb in the Scottish play? we had both completely forgotten that -  [Act V Scene3] What rhubarb, senna or what purgative drug would scour these English hence? 

Not actually grown in the UK till the 1620s, but its medicinal uses were already well known in the Bard's day.

Do you have a favourite Shakespeare play?

Do you get to much live theatre? 

We enjoyed the Christmas Carol, but before that our last trip was Open Air in the rain in 2022, we usually go for low budget/small company/AmDram stuff.

Plotting!

I woke yesterday and realised I'd made a mistake. My physio is  this afternoon. So I reorganised my plans. I spent Tuesday morning preparing  my sermon for Sunday, then began thinking about the garden, planning how I will organise my plot this year.

Everything was put on the coffee table.

In the centre, my general notebook. Above it, Huw's book.[it is a useful guide, but 3 years in I no longer feel I need to follow it quite so assiduously] and my Journal which is written up after e event, as a record of wins and losses. 

On the right my growing collection of seeds [oops, bad pun] which needs sorting out. 

There are a lot of seeds...

You are wondering about the chicken brick, aren't you? No I'm not planning on getting hens. I just feel that I've had this 45 years, and I no longer use it much [twice in 4 years]

It has has developed quite a patina of Ancient Chicken Fat. This is normal, and the instructions tell you not to clean it off with chemicals which will then leach out into your food. I do not feel I can put it into a CS looking like this then I realised it makes two lovely terracotta bowls and I can plant herbs here. So this is going to be repurposed I the garden this spring. A good result I think.

I picked up two bags of seed potatoes in a sale last week [Casablanca, and Maris Piper, grown successfully in previous years] These are "chitting" on the bedroom windowsill.

My 2024 notes say that the 'Nantes' carrots tasted good. But we didn't enjoy the beetroot! The lettuce plants from Swaffham Market were a great investment, and my spinach was unstoppable [there are still a few portions in the freezer] I'm going to try 'forcing' the rhubarb this year under a bucket [as Monty suggests in my latest Gardeners' World magazine. Previously I have let it grow 'naturally'.

And following the example of local hero 'Turnip Townshend' I shall rotate my crops in the Raised Bed on order to improve the soil. My second compost bin, installed with the help of Bob and Julian last year, is filling up nicely.

It is 3½ years since Bob built the raised bed I am amazed how much I have learned, and grown. Really grateful for all the advice, help, seeds, plants and tools which so many generous folk have given.. here's hoping for more good arvests in 2025

Do share any garden plans you've got for this year...

Time And The Hour...

I've taken down the curtains, removed the hooks, and loosened the gathers. The label says "dry clean only". So I washed them on a quick and cold wash. What's done cannot be undone

They definitely look fresher and the rufflette tape is sparkling white. Out, damned spots! They will be dry by Thursday morning and I will be able to inter-line them. 

Today will be very busy. I have a physio appointment[back and hip issues, nothing too serious] and Bob has Pilates The labour we delight in physics pain

Then this evening, a somewhat belated birthday treat for Bob - a pre theatre meal, followed by an evening at Norwich Theatre watching Macbeth. A poor player struts and frets his hour on the stage. One of Bob's favourite Shakespeare plays.

Then home to bed... 

Sleep that knits up the ravelled sleeve of care

I couldn't cope with nothing at all at the windows, so we've hung my blanket over the doors [the side window has a vertical blind] I embroidered the blanket 10 years ago [story here] For the time being, it is better than nothing! As Macbeth did not say Is this a blanket I see before me? 

Feeling Shelfish

Not selfish, or shellfish, but shelf-ish. Cornerstones only has one 'built in' shelf- which is the the space in the atrium* which was the bathroom windowsill [before the previous oiweners built the extension] and is now on an internal wall. 

It is particularly useful at Christmas for displaying my Willow Tree Nativity Set. We have 5 'Billy' shelving units holding books and DVDs, and some 'Gorm' shelving [also Ikea] in the study holding sewing stuff, and office equipment [the laminator etc]

Bob has put up small shelves for specific purposes - by his record deck there's a long narrow shelf, so he can display the sleeve of any LP he is playing.

Years ago he put up a little shelf in the atrium to hold the WiFi router. But that isn't needed any more. Over Christmas I used the shelf for decorations. 

Now it has been repurposed again. At one end Bob put a motion sensor. I thought this was unnecessary - but it has proved invaluable as it means that if you pass through the atrium when it's dark, a small lamp comes on. 

So helpful if we [or guests in the back bedroom] need the loo at night. Or if grandchildren on sleepover wake up and need us. We can have a gentle light on instantly [without flailing around trying to find the switch in the dark] - but we do not need to leave the light on all night.

The phone base has been fixed to the other end of the shelf - and in between is a good space to display greetings cards. Now Christmas is over, I am sticking to my fortnight rule for cards on display. After that they are repurposed or recycled. Many become placemarkers in my cookbooks - tio the frustration of the rest of the family, who pick up a book to flick through the recipes and end up being showered with confetti [birthday greetings, thank you notes etc]

And finally I tidied all the shelves inside the bathroom medicine cabinet. A long overdue task, discarding random medications, much old suncream**, and ancient sticking plasters which no longer stick!If things are going to be on display, on an open shelf, they must justify their position. I love Sue-in-Suffolk's seasonal display on the top of her bookshelf, which she changes regularly. All my shelves are now tidy and dustfree and proving useful.

* we call it the atrium after the manner of the Romans who gave that name to the space in the centre of their villas. It's not a room as such - but the other rooms open on to it, and there is an arch through to the hallway. Since retirement it has been our dining area.

**please don't comment on the many uses for suncream, I have regular body lotion, and brass polish, and I don't need shaving cream [there was more than enough to depilate an army of wookies] 

I Can

Today is National Tin Can Day in the USA, they make quite a big thing of it. TV cookery shows have 'make today's meals with cans from your cupboard' and enterprising groups organise "Can Challenges" to collect stocks for their charity foodbanks [that's a good way to celebrate]
They chose this day because on Jan 19th 1825 - 200 years ago, Thomas Kensett and Ezra Daggett filed the first patent in the USA to make tin cans for food preservation. In the UK, Peter Durand had filed a patent some fifteen years before, and in 1812, the brilliant inventor Bryan Donkin set up a canning factory in Bermondsey - but somehow we do not celebrate them here in the UK. Perhaps we should.

Today I am thinking of can as a noun, rather as a verb. To be able to do something-  from the Old English cunnan ‘to know’ (in Middle English ‘know how to’) Bob and Rosie both have famous namesakes who use can as their catchphrase - the Builder and the Riveter.
It is so easy to feel daunted, or defeated, when there is a difficult task ahead of us. 

When I am struggling to deal with something I which feel is beyond my abilities, I don't turn to these two fictional characters but rather to the Bible. In Philippians the apostle Paul says "I can do all this through Jesus, who gives me strength" and the book of Joshua where we read "Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.” 
It's good to remember that we do not have to do it all on our own.

International Cuisine

I must start by saying thank you -  So many helpful comments about the curtains, I feel much more able to tackle the task. But that's next week... 

For Christmas, Steph gave me an aebleskiver pan. Aebleskiver means "apple slices" and the pan makes 7 of these  Danish snacks at a time.

The batter is light and fluffy, similar to a Yorkshire pudding batter - but you separate the eggs, folding the beaten whites into the mix so it is full of air. You cook one side then flip them - and the result is a plateful of golden globes. A recipe was printed on the packaging - it made 3 batches, I put apple slices in the first 2, and squares of dark chocolate in the rest. [the batter keeps in the fridge, we didn't eat them all at one sitting]

I looked up the history of this snack. They date back over 300 years, some people maintain that they were first made by the Vikings, cooking them on their dented shields. I think that's a little far fetched. But here's an old Danish wife with her pan

In Belgium and the Netherlands, they serve a similar sweet treat called poffertjes. In Norway, they are munker [monks' balls] and in Germany nonnenfürzle [nun's farts] I prefer the Danish name. The batter took a while to prepare, but I got into a good rhythm cooking them. I'd seasoned the cast iron pan and the little balls slipped out easily. 

I look forward to cooking them again,I think the children will enjoy them. Here's Bob tucking into some chocolate ones. Recipe HERE

My other foray into international cuisine this week was to make Jannson's Temptation. This is a Swedish dish involving layers of slim potato batons, sliced onions, tinned/jarred sprats, and lots of cream.

I've wanted to try this out for ages, and I picked up a jar of fish in IKEA.  There's a recipe HERE

My bake looked just like the picture. But Bob did not enjoy the dish at all! He said it was the wrong sort of fish, he would prefer cod, or salmon or prawns... And were he Jannson, he'd be tempted to throw it out of the window! [it is really unusual for Bob to react so strongly against a meal too] 

Never mind, you win some, you lose some...