Mysterons, Ergatrons And Magnetrons

This is the voice of the Mysterons, we know you can hear us...
Do you remember Captain Scarlet? Another character from Gerry Anderson's "Supermarionation" - the Mysterons were from Mars and had ' a war of nerves' with the earthmen. It was a follow up to Thunderbirds, but not as good, imho.

This week I came across Ergotrons. Well, almost. I was looking round a hospital with a colleague, and we kept find weird triangular patterns of screw holes in the consulting rooms. "What are these?" she asked, and was told "Oh, that's where the Ergotrons were". The staff member was unable to give any further information. It transpires that they are wall mounted bits of kit involving monitors and keyboards etc. They had been removed, but nobody had got round to filling the holes or making good the walls [we were doing an inspection of the premises] We giggled as we walked back to our meeting room, about The Invasion Of The Ergotrons...

Then I had a a bit of a scary experience. I switched on the microwave [bought just 5 weeks ago] and it started smoking and making odd noises [smoke, crackle! pop!] I switched it off, promptly. Bob said "switch it on again, and take photos this time". So I did, somewhat nervously. Bob said "I think the Magnetron has gone"

Bob contacted John Lewis customer services, who communicate via WhatsApp. They put him through to the technical department. The guy did not seem to know much about microwaves.

Bob sent a picture of the microwave full of smoke. Then said "Would it help if I told you I have an MA in physics, and trained as an electrical engineer, and I believe the magnetron has gone?" The person on the other end accepted this diagnosis - and said if we packed it up, we could take it into JL Norwich and exchange it for a new one. We did that, hoping the mysteron,ergotron,magnetron lasts longer than 5 weeks this time. Or I shan't know what to do-ron -ron-ron

PS IF YOU ARE IN THE UK, DON'T FORGET TO PUT THE CLOCKS BACK TONIGHT!

Comin' Thro' The Rye...

 

A Scottish folk song, words written by Robert Burns in 1782. I was never quite sure about it, but it is something to do with a young couple meeting up in a damp field of grain for a private kiss. And Jennie's petticoat gets wet. It was written centuries before Salinger's Holden Caulfield story. I recently bought some rye flour, and decided I should use it in my breadmaker.
The breadmaker is 6 months old, and I have got into a good routine with it. It makes three sizes of load - M,L and XL. The M size is just right for slices for the toaster, and that size loaf lasts us 2 or 3 days. I usually make a half'n'half white and wholemeal flour loaf with an added scoop of my seed mix.

I noticed in the recipe book there were two recipes - one 100% rye flour, the other 50/50. This is the latter. A good even texture and a pleasant taste. And it toasts well.
I have just been reading Breadsong, a heartwarming story by a daughter and her father, Kitty and Al Tait.

‘If you had told me at 14 when I couldn’t even get out of bed with depression and anxiety that three years later I would have written a book I would never have believed you. But here it is – the story of the Orange Bakery. How I went from bed to bread and how my Dad went from being a teacher to a baker. You reading it means everything to me’ – Kitty Tait

If you want a heartwarming story about a loving family coping with the stress of a teenage daughter with serious mental health issues, this is it. It is also the most wonderful book about bread, and a caring community.
As well as the story of their life changing experience, these two generously share their tried and tested recipes in the centre section of the book. 
The book is written in two different fonts - so you can tell which is Kitty's writing and which is Al's. I reluctantly returned the library copy, [other people had reserved it] but I am putting this one on my Christmas list. 
Breadsong is the magical sound made by bread cracking and hissing as it cools...
*****

You Won't Feel The Benefit...

January 1978, my second term of teaching, living in Hemel Hempstead. HH was a 'New Town' and the New Town's Commission had set aside affordable rented accommodation for key workers. As a teacher, I qualified for a first floor, 1 bed flat with a little balcony. I was so happy there. But over New Year I had developed a really bad throat infection. I was off school, and got a GP appointment at 9am. I walked up to the surgery - part of a little run of shops at the end of the road, using a well maintained footpath which ran alongside the OAP complex. I saw the GP, collected the prescription, treated myself to a cake, and set off for home. It was very cold and there had been a hard frost.
As I turned onto the path, I found a little old lady, standing perfectly still and looking confused. "Are you alright?" I asked "I'm scared. It is so slippery, and I am afraid that if I try and walk I will fall over" I held her arm firmly, and together we walked back to her flat. This took quite a while! 
By the time I got to her door, I knew she was a 90 year old widow, Cora originally from the north of England. No family nearby, but very happy within her community. They had connected, independent flats, with 24/7 access to a warden, and a communal lounge where lots of activities happened. And she had good neighbours too. Cora had been out to buy some bread for herself and her neighbour.

"Please come in for a cup of tea" she said. I went into her tidy little home "Take off your coat , or you won't feel the benefit" She became a good friend, and I visited her regularly, getting to know her neighbours, and the warden. The warden said many residents wanted to have a Sunday Worship service as they could not get out to church - so with others from my chapel, I set up a monthly afternoon event. I helped with Christmas Socials and Summer Tea Parties in their central garden area. And winter or summer, Cora would tell us "Take off your coat , or you won't feel the benefit" Five months after meeting Cora, I met Bob. We left HH in the summer on 81 as Bob began ministerial training 
In those 4 years I had learned quite a lot about how elderly people adjust to the problems of age, health issues, managing on a pension, and coping in widowhood. In July 82, I became the Warden in an OAP Sheltered Housing Scheme near the college where Bob was training.
I was reminded of Cora yesterday when I went into Dereham Library. A young woman, Emma, runs an IT help session every Wednesday for people who get confused by technology. And this week she was promoting a new WhatsApp scheme set up by Norfolk Council - called "Ask Cora". It's designed to give unpaid carers easy access to advice and support. She asked me to pin up a flyer in our chapel - and I left her helping a gentleman who was struggling to use the Smartphone his family had given him.

I wonder who decided on the name Cora? We still say "take off your coat, or you wont feel the benefit" occasionally, and remember our friend from almost 50 years ago. 

I Shouldn't Be Allowed Out!

The last couple of weeks have been slightly surreal, I don't think I have been thinking very clearly about things. 

One day I returned to my car - parked in the field outside the Museum, and I just could not remember where I had parked it. I had to walk up and down the rows clicking my key fob till I heard the doors unlock.

Three days later I returned to another car park, and this time went straight to the car, opened the passenger door and slung my bag into the footwell. Then absent-mindedly I climbed in and was about to put on my seatbelt when I realised the steering wheel was on the other side! I had to scuttle round before anyone noticed.

I have a sewing project in mind, and needed supplies. I complained to Bob "I went through all the craft baskets in the Charity Shop, and I could only see two invisible zips" He couldn't stop laughing.

For six weeks I have been looking for my bottle of M&S perfume. "I haven't seen it since we were last in Manchester" I said. When I fetched my cabin bag down from the loft on Friday morning, I found not only my perfume but clean teeshirts and underwear, and my missing baseball hat.  Fortunately the bag of dirty laundry had been dealt with on our return, but clearly I didn't empty the case before I put it away!

I thought our flu jabs were this week. But last Thursday, enjoying a lazy breakfast in our pjs, Bob looked at his phone, and announced we needed to be at the surgery in 10 minutes time!! We dressed Very Very fast, and walked round to get our shots.

Despite all those crazy errors, I did manage to get from Cornerstones to Steph's house and back without any crises en route! 

Happy Birthday Steph

We can't be with you today, but I loved the opportunity to spend the weekend in Manchester with the family, and look after the boys on Sunday so you and Gaz could go to London [not that I will ever understand why you both enjoy American Football so much] I really enjoyed watching you make salt dough decorations with George and Jacob on Saturday - remembering 35 years ago doing the same with you and Liz.  But then you told the boys that Grandma would help with the painting on Sunday!

I was grateful for the easyclean Totter+Tumble mat, but the boys were very careful and kept the floor, and their fingers, paint free

Having painted them, we then created some birthday bunting, and made a birthday card.

George told me that the other week they went somewhere and had cookies decorated with Smarties. "Mine had 5, and Jacob's had 3, so Mummy said her birthday cake should have 41 Smarties. Please can we make one for her?"

How could I refuse? So we went for a walk and got a cake and mini Smarties in Tesco. We counted out 41, and pushed them into the icing [using lengths of drinking straw because it was more hygienic than using our fingers!

And we enjoyed refreshments in the Chorlton TeaHive, where the staff are always friendly, and they have a stack of children's books to read.

I am sure that Gaz, George and Jacob will make your birthday really special. You're a great Mum, and a good friend.. Looking forward to seeing you at Christmas.  

God bless you today and always, Steph 💝

Who Is In The White House Today, Ang?

It's my own fault. A few weeks ago, I said I was fed-up with a certain orange guy, and I wanted to watch The West Wing again, and think about people in power who actually cared about their nation. And there it was, in Sheringham Sally Army CS. The complete set...a stack of DVDs a foot high. Around 120 hours of viewing. So I treated myself. Its not Bob's thing, but if he's busy elsewhere, I can iron, or sew and indulge myself. I have been enjoying the thought provoking, well written, award winning scripts from 25 years ago. 

But like London buses, two series set in 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue have arrived at once in my lounge. Because there is a new series of The Diplomat just started on Netflix. But here's the thing - the same actors appear in both

Allison Janney [White House Press Secretary] and Bradley Whitford [WH Deputy Chief Of Staff] are back in Washington again.

But this time she is President, and he is her husband.

She has gone blonde, he has luxurious white hair and beard. Bob managed half an episode, then went off to do something useful,  muttering "Is this where actors from The West Wing go to die?"

Well I'm enjoying it, even if he prefers The Simpsons. Plus there are some excellent British actors on board - 

Rufus Sewell, Rory Kinnear, Celia Imrie, Nancy Carroll, Aidan Turner and more.

Is it weird to enjoy shows about the machinations of US politics? I enjoyed House Of Cards too , but preferred the original UK series to the later American version.

What is weird is that three times I tried to type Celia Imrie into my PC, and autocorrect kept changing it to  Reliability. You can trust CI to give a good performance every time!

I think I am the only person whose watch list does not include Strictly, Traitors or Masterchef. My new sleep regime "no screens after 10" means I don't go to bed with news stories about DT, or the Grand Old D of Y bothering my brain as I try to sleep. Reducing screen time generally is proving very beneficial. 

Peace Beyond All Understanding

I'm in Manchester today, and Bob is in Norfolk, taking the service at a local church**. Following their preaching plan,  he's speaking on Paul's letter to the Philippians. I discovered online* a prayer for October 19th,  based on this epistle, which seems good for today...

O Lord grant us your Spirit 

that we may comprehend your peace. 

As we pray,

help us to recognize 

what must come from you alone, 

for you are mighty and holy 

and your will is peace on earth. 

Your will is peace beyond all understanding, 

your peace in heaven 

and on earth and under the earth, 

your peace that opposes all sin and death 

and takes away every evil that can be named. 

We await you, O Lord our God, 

and you will hear us. 

No matter how long the battle lasts, 

we hold out in patience, for we are your children. 

We shall never lose the faith 

that your name shall be honoured 

and that all things shall come into harmony 

with your will of peace on earth, your peace. 

Amen

*from the Bruderhof Community

**thank you Bob, for standing in for me

Keeping Up Appearances

That fabulous TV show ran from 1990-1995. How we loved watching bossy Mrs Bucket [pronounced Bouquet] She reminded me of a WI woman I met in Warwickshire in the 70s, surname Sidebottom, who insisted on being called Mrs Sidday-Bot-Tome. Was that programme really thirty years ago? In 1994, we were on holiday in Sussex, and we took the girls [aged 12 and 10] to the Festival Theatre, to see Patricia Routledge in the farce "The Schoolmistress" by Pinero. She was clever, and witty, a consummate professional. She enjoyed a long and glittering career, on stage, radio and screen. A longtime resident of Chichester, she was a patron of the theatre, and a faithful member of the Cathedral. She gave generously of her time and resources to support both. She will be greatly missed 

Since we bought Cornerstones in 2009, the original neighbours around us have all moved on. [I don't think its our fault, many were very elderly]

I remember driving over from Leicester by myself one day in early summer. I needed to do a few odd jobs and tidy the garden.

As I pushed the mower up and down, I thought about the other residents of the Close.

One lady liked everything just right [Hyacinth] another seemed less confident [Elizabeth] a temporary resident was actually described to me as "No better than she ought to be" [Rose] and one old chap loved to just sit in his armchair, beer in hand, watching sport on TV [Onslow] As I cut the grass I thought  They could do a remake of Keeping Up Appearances and  my neighbours could be the cast. But of course, they'd need an overworked member of the clergy and his slightly crazy wife..." Then I realised that would be Bob and me!

She may have played snooty, snobbish characters [Lady Bracknell] or salt-of the-earth Northerners [Hetty Wainthrop] but at heart she was a good woman who loved acting and loved bringing joy into peoples' lives. She died two weeks ago, aged 96.

Thank you Dame Patricia for all that you gave us. RIP

Waiting For The [T]rain

 Busy weekend ahead.  Here's a clue in a poem...

[Hint, start top left and read downwards and you will know where I'm going]

Clean Sleep

I heard a bloke on th3 radio talking about "sleep hygiene" which sounded like an instruction to wash your hands before bedtime. But it actually means developing good habits, arranging your bedroom, for an optimal night's sleep. I got a book from the library but it involved buying the author's products. Huh! I returned the book promptly. Then I saw a hand lettered graphic online [cannot find it again, sorry] it SAID

HEAL THY SLEEP HABITS

At first I thought it was an Old Testament command, then realised the spacing was bad!

HEALTHY SLEEP HABITS 

makes much more sense.

I read various articles, and I've made just three significant changes

1. No screens after 10pm. I don't watch the 10pm news, I don't check Facebook or emails or WhatsApp [or blogs and blog-comments]
2. Last drink of the day is water, or milk not tea 
3. I wear a blackout sleep mask

And after just two weeks, I really am sleeping better. The My Halos mask cost £10, but it's so comfortable. It comes with a neat storage case. The padded foam inside lifts it away from my eyes, so no pressure on eyelids or tickling lashes. And the memory foam fits round my nose, so it is total blackout. 

In fact the first night I put it on, and snuggled down to sleep, oblivious to the fact that I'd forgotten to switch off my bedside light!

We sleep on the ground floor [it's a bungalow] at the front of the property. Although we have efficient curtains, sometimes a vehicle with headlights, turning round at the end of the Close, can shine a flash of light into the room. With the mask on I'm not disturbed. 

I'm making fewer 3am trips to the loo too. And if I do wake up, I fall back to sleep faster.

Poor sleep affects weight-regulation hormones [hence many new mums struggle to lose "baby weight"] i am hoping better sleep will help with that. 

What are your most successful sleep tips?

🛌💤💤💤

Unexpected Treasures

Watching Bargain Hunt this week, I nearly choked on my lunchtime sandwich. The teams had been challenged to find something "with an animal connection" and they found a little brass bell for £5. "Look! It's a Gospel Bell like mine!" 

I was a little frustrated that neither the expert, nor the auctioneer recognised it as a Gospel Bell, often called an Evangelist Bell or a Sanctuary Bell.

I found mine on Fakenham Market in 2014 for £2. Explanation of the bell here The team paid £5 and it sold for £15. Sold under their correct description, they usually go for more than that. No, I'm not selling mine!

There's a CS close to my hairdressers in Norwich, and I picked this book up for 50p. I could see in the shop that some of the pop-ups needed a repair here and there, but it looked interesting. Something to read with the grandchildren.

Further research when I got home revealed that
Tomie de Paola was an award winning children's illustrator in the USA. The book came out in 1984 and is recognised as a classic, and families read it together each Chr8stas Eve. There are six amazing pictures telling the Nativity Story, with accompanying text, and pop-ups and sliders.

1. The Annunciation - a house in Nazareth [dove flies, bell swings, and Gabriel nods and waves a hand to Mary
2. The Census  - in Bethlehem a line of people walk past a Roman soldier, with Joseph, Mary and the wee donkey bringing up the rear. 
3. An innkeeper points the couple "not this way, that way!" directing them to the stable
4. An angel proclaims the baby's birth to astonished shepherd's, and even more singing angels fly out from behind the clouds 
5. Three wise men stand outside Bethlehem pointing to the star - and suddenly it shines even more brightly over the stable
6. Everyone turns up to worship at the manger. No moving parts here, but the reader should shine a small torch through the little hole in the stable roof to illuminate the ChristChild.

If you have 8 minutes to spare,  here is a woman [plus two glove puppets] reading the story

I am delighted with this ten-bob-treasure [my bargains are often measured in £sd]

One more thing...

A couple of months back, Jill in Dorset won the Noahs Ark panel. Sorry Jill, I think your email may have got lost in the ether. Please send me your address as a comment [I won't publish it] And I will post the piece off to you ASAP. Apologies for the delay Update, thank you Jill. Address received. Problem solved

Speaking of unexpected treasures, have you been following Sue-in-Suffolk, and the wonderful package of old photographs she bought recently? Fabulous photos of villages along the old A12 in the Edwardian era...

Butternut, Butter Bean, But A Lot More Besides*

 

A warming autumnal casserole, to bung in the slocooker and forget about till teatime...

Quantities for 2, but easy to double up
INGREDIENTS

• 4 tbsp oil
• small onion, peeled chopped
• clove of garlic, peeled, finely chopped
• sprig of rosemary, finely chopped
• 250ml stock
• 4 pork sausages, each cut in half
• 300gm butternut squash, peeled, cut in 3cm chunks
• can of butter beans
• 150g chard - well washed*
• salt&pepper
• 2 heaped tbsp breadcrumbs
• grated parmesan/vegan parmesan [optional]
  

METHOD

• Heat 2tbsp oil in a frying, stir in the onion, cook gently 10 mins, and rosemary and garlic cook for 2 minutes.
• Transfer to slocooker. 
• Put 1tbsp oil in pan, and turn up the heat - brown off the sauages for 5 mins
• Transfer to slocooker.
• Pour half the stock into frying pan to deglaze then tip that, plus remaining stock into slocooker
• Rinse the butter beans under the tap, and add to slocooker, along with the squash cubes.
• Cut out the chard stalks, slice into 2cm lengths, cut leaves into bite size pieces, add to cooker.
• Put slocooker on high, and leave for at least 3½ hours. Season to taste with s&p
• Just before serving, toast the breadcrumbs in 1tbsp oil till crisp and golden, season with salt
• Serve in warmed bowls, stir in parmesan/VeganP if desired. 
• Sprinkle with breadcrumbs
• Enjoy!

It doesn't look as vibrant once cooked, but it tasted good.

* This recipe was loosely based on one I read somewhere, but modified to use up stuff I had in the fridge/cupboard/raised bed. Do make sure to wash the chard really thoroughly. I found a tiny snail clinging to the back of one leaf.  I may name this dish

  "Sausage Casserole Sans Escargot"

 

Dancing The Foxtrot?

 SLOE,       SLOE,      QUICK,       QUICK,       SLOE !

On Friday, Bob was delivering two Shed Aprons to a lady in the Retirement Community up the road, and she told him there were lots of sloes in the hedge by the footpath on the other side of the fence. Julian and I went on Saturday, armed with lok'n'lok boxes. But there is no longer access through the fence - just a padlock and barbed wire. We drove round the complex,  hoping to walk up the footpath that way. But that appears to be closed off at the minute [we suspect part of the Norfolk Offshore Wind Zone Project aka NOWZ]

Disappointed  we went back into the village and down a lane where I found sloes a few years back. The bush was still there - but someone had picked it completely clean apart from THREE fruit. Never mind...

You have to be quick to get a sloe round here!

Margaret And Grace

Do you ever find yourself doing something ordinary, and out of the blue, a memory comes flooding back from years ago An incident long forgotten flashes into your mind as fresh as if it were yesterday..

.Storm Amy brought down fruit from our two trees. I collected the windfall, and then picked all the remaining fruit. I had two large bowls full of apples and pears, some a little bruised, and many of the apples with insect holes. And my peeling machine was still in use at my friends house...

Without my gadget it would take forever, especially with all the cutting away the damaged portions. Was it really worth it? So many imperfect fruits -why not just tip the lot in the compost bin?

And I remembered a day in 1982. Bob was a student, Liz was 6 months old - and in the flat upstairs lived another student family. They had just had a second child, and were on the point of moving to a larger flat. I went upstairs to offer help. The weary young Mum said "Can you deal with these apples? An old lady at church sent them to us a couple of days ago. I don't want them, I haven't got enough time to look after the children, get ready to move and peel a load of rotten apples!" She handed me a heavy plastic carrier full of fruit. I carried them back to my kitchen. I was grateful - we were living on the breadline, and free food was wonderful.

I put Liz down for a sleep, then went back to the bag. I tipped it into the washing up bowl. 80% of those apples were bruised, or worm eaten...I wept with frustration. Why would somebody think that was a suitable gift for anyone ? Especially  for a busy mother moving house. It was insulting, and thoughtless...I was about to bag them up again and put them in the bin when somebody knocked at the door. It was Margaret, the wife of one of Bob's college tutors. "I've just been upstairs visiting the new baby, and thought I'd call and see how you were. Are things going OK?" 

I told her I was annoyed about the rubbish apples - and she gently suggested I made a cup of tea, whilst she had a look at them. Maybe the old lady didn't realise how bad they were, she said, and wanted to give a gift to young people training for ministry. If they had been in the bag since Sunday they would have deteriorated, some were imperfect, but not all. Perhaps we could salvage enough for a pie or a crumble. 

While I made tea, then pacified the baby and changed her nappy, Margaret worked cheerfully. She. peeled and trimmed, and soon my biggest saucepan was full of chunks of good apples. She swept the cores and peelings into the bag, and tied it up to go in the bin.

I felt very humbled. I'd seen a bag of imperfect apples, and felt annoyed and ungrateful. She had seen someone's thought and generosity, and found the good and useful fruit.

She had taught me a lesson in grace, that I have never forgotten. 

Good Hare Day

Two weeks ago we realised we needed to cancel our holiday. On the Sunday afternoon I decided to do a jigsaw to cheer myself up. A few months back, my lovely BIL Kevin had given me some puzzles which had belonged to his late Mum,  Ruth. I chose this Angela Harding 500 piece square one.

It was fun, but challenging. 

It took a few evenings, and I was glad I'd used my felt mat so I could roll it up and put it somewhere safe when the family arrived. 

Once it was finished Bob said how much he loved the picture, and I did too. It shows two beautiful Irish Hares on Rathlin Island [Details here] We decided to frame it. A couple of coats of Ravensburger Puzzle Conserver, and a spare picture frame and here it is on the wall. Thank you Kevin, I love it!

Knock, Knock, Gnocchi!

I bought a bag of gnocchi on a whim in the Co-op. Liz had said she cooked some in the oven, so I asked for the recipe. So easy, and so tasty, so we ate it all up before I'd remembered to take a picture. 

In a large bowl, toss the gnocchi with a punnet of cherry tomatoes,** peppers cut intolerant chunks, onion wedges, a few garlic clives7, a chopped courgette and/or aubergine.  And a generous glug of olive oil, plus salt. Mix together, to coat everything in the oil. Pour onto a large rimmed baking sheet or roasting dish.

Cook at 200° for about 30 minutes till the gnocchi is crispy.  Serve sprinkled with parmesan and basil.[picture from the internet]

I have eaten gnocchi in the past which has been cooked in water like regular pasta. But this way of cooking fresh gnocchi adds a crispy shell. Bob said it reminded him of cooked chestnuts. 

A quick recipe needing minimal intervention. And one which lends itself to being adapted for whatever veg are in the fridge.

**I typed my shopping list on my phone in a hurry. I was amused to see an error. I quite like the idea of a punnet of CHEERY tomatoes.

Have you tried any new recipes lately?

Thank you Liz for this one.

Fit To Bust!

A popular idiom meaning 'with energy and enthusiasm'. Yep, that's my approach, most of the time. Admittedly there has been diminished energy round Cornerstones of late [once the girls left on Sunday] , but still enthusiasm. It being Thursday, I thought I would share 3 more tips relating to my recent koromogae activities. Apologies to any blokes, this is a rather girl-oriented post!

first I mentioned briefly on Tuesday about turning hangers, but did not explain it very clearly

At the end of the season, any hangers not turned round will show the garment has not been worn. When I replace garments, I turn the hangers and put them to the right of the rail. Unworn clothes end up all on the left.

second prolonging the life of my slippers. I love my Moshulu slipper boots, but the inside linings have worn badly at the heel. Cheap foam insoles cost around £2.50 or more. I had a brainwave...

I bought table protector for the dining table, years ago. And trimmed it to fit. The trimmings went into the Great Stash in the loft.  It is the perfect stuff to cut into shape to line my slippers! And if it only lasts one season, I have plenty more of it for future winters!

third I have had an issue with bras. I am very fond of the 'tee-shirt' style. I like that layer of padding which gives a good, smooth line under finer garments**. 
But maintenance of these is difficult, and I realised some no longer 'fit to bust' properly. 

The problem is that if you fold them in half and tuck one cup inside the other [as recommended by those Folding Women who have perfect underwear drawers] for storage, or to put them in those nifty little lingerie washing bags, you end up distorting the padding. After a while, the top edge starts to curl outwards, and ruin the smooth line.

Then I had this brainwave, and all those years studying topology found a practical purpose.

Twist the bra in the middle, through 90º, then tuck the right side into the left side, with minimal distortion of the padding.

Voila! Push the back panels into the cups, and you can store or put in a washbag without damaging the garment's structure.

You read it here first - how mathematicians make their bras last longer!
Three ways to better manage your wardrobe at minimal expense.

**Before I had children, I was size 32AA. I remember being on holiday with a female friend, lounging by the pool, and a guy asked "Where do you come from, Ang?" Quick as a flash, my mate responded "She's from Norfolk, where everything is very flat"

Making Space

It has been very satisfying to declutter a few more things recently. I have seriously reduced the assorted children's toys - and this unit was almost empty. I decanted those few things, and this went to a CS Monday [having first checked the boys in Manchester do not need it] 

Then yesterday my bag of surplus clothing went to a different CS.  Julian is coming on Friday, so I need to tidy the back bedroom. I suspect there will be some more stuff to go from there. It is very satisfying. Personally, I find my home grown veg bring great joy, so they are staying.

Jacob seems to like his pumpkin, and Jess is just relentlessly cheerful as she comes out of school! So many people in my family have names beginning with J [for Joy!]

Next task is to get the remaining summer clothes vacuum packed and put away in the loft.  I must sort out some baby wool - a nibling is expecting, and this great-aunt needs to get knitting...

Why does Great-aunt sound so much older than Grandmother? 

There's Actually A Word For It!

We are grateful for all the kind words and good advice. We decided that as it was a sunny day we would go out somewhere. We drove to Fakenham, and parked by the library - where I found 3 interesting craft books. Then we crossed the road to Taylors. This place has changed hands since our last visit. Bob had a breakfast brioche and I had scrambled eggs with smoked salmon. Good service, a generous portion of fish - but the eggs were not as good as NEPO [North Elmham Post Office/Tearooms]
We drove on to Wells Next The Sea. This place has gone very upmarket. I do not know how the locals manage. We looked at a few menus at the eateries...Sausage and Mash in a Yorkshire Pudding was £18.50. Not eating in a place like that!!

We decided to drive on to Sheringham and check out the new Priscilla Bacon Hospice Shop. This meant driving through wonderful Wiveton. Bob found some CDs at the junkyard, and I discovered some very quirky package labels [which the lady let me have for nothing - I could see she thought nobody else would buy them] We went across the road to the Hall and had a cuppa [Bob had cheese scone, I had tea cake] 

In Sheringham there wasn't anything in the PBHS that interested me. In the Sally Army Shop I bought some West Wing DVDs[because I recently decided I wanted to watch them again. Martin Sheen made a good President] This little pepper pot was £1. But who is he? I left him on the shelf, then another lady bought him. Who is he? I asked- but none of us knew! And where is his salty other half?

It was a truly lovely day out together, driving up through the country roads to the seaside, and along the coast road, then home again.*** We were home soon after 3, and Bob settled down to sort out his  CDs, whilst I decided to do my summer/winter clothes swap. I had discovered earlier in the day that the Japanese actually have a word for this biannual ritual [that's twice a year, not biennial which is every two years. I checked it up]
 衣替え koromogae 
Literally meaning changing of attire [or furnishings] this custom has been around for 1000 years, and traditionally the Japanese people pack away their summer clothes on October 1st, and get them out again on June 1st. If school children have summer and winter uniforms, these are the changeover dates.

When I hung up the summer clothes, they start with hangers 'the wrong way round' and if I wear something I turn the hanger. At the end of the season I can see what has not been worn for 6 months. That stuff goes in the CS bag, along with other items I really do not like any more, or that do not fit me. 

I have been practising koromogae for years without realising it had a name [since before I got married]
Do you do a regular clothes swap? 

** Very grateful for towns which have good Blue Badge Parking, and seats where pedestrians can stop for a rest. I was saddened by a conversation I had in one shop. I remarked to the assistant that Wells prices had gone up, and he said that Holt is even worse - the town is now split in two he said. The obviously wealthy people [many are wealthy second-home owners, or visitors from London]  and the much poorer people [who have lived there all their lives and cannot move] . His friend helps run the Foodbank, and says they really are not very well supported, yet so many people are dependent on their foodparcels. Lord, help us to be more generous.