Tuesday 12 May 2020

Still chilly

My sturdy antirrhinums are staying outside tonight in a sheltered position - the weatherman says there will not be a frost - so I shall trust him.   My garden man has just been and mown my lawns and I must say they are looking better for the feed he gave them a couple of weeks ago.   All they need now is a good rain.   But as all gardeners know only too well - the weather is never right;  either we need rain or there is too much rain.   One thing is for sure - however dry the soil gets I really can no longer water it.   The task is beyond me.

I have just had my tea - two lovely brown eggs lightly boiled and eaten with brown bread and butter.   They were delicious.   I don't have them very often and whenever I do I always think I must have them every week.

Nothing much is happening to write about at the moment as we are all still social distancing.   It is now seven weeks since I went out other than just into town to give my little car a run.   And really it has become a habit to stay in and  I think it will be rather difficult to get into the habit of going out to lunch again once it becomes possible.   And because there is so little to do (or so little that one can be bothered to do morelike) I think that on the whole I have eaten better than when I was going out for meals.   I have certainly eaten more vegetables and salads and what is more I have varied them so that every week I have had a variety of colours in them - the red of tomatoes the orange of carrots, the white of onions and celery, the red, orange and green of peppers, the green of courgettes, the white of cauliflower, and all the varied greens of lettuce, broccoli, sprouts, green beans and peas

Today I intended to make a ratatouille but ran out of time because of a couple of long telephone calls so instead I cubed a courgette, a red pepper, a couple of sticks of celery, a red onion, two tomatoes and six  rather sad tips of asparagus and made a quick version in a saucepan with a dash of sesame oil and a knob of butter to start them off.   Three rashers of streaky bacon quickly fried, broken up and scattered through at the end, plenty of seasoning - and it was delicious.   And enough left for tomorrow with a jacket potato.

All the time I have been typing this 'my' blackbird has been singing his beak off.   What joy he has given me in this trying Spring.

13 comments:

coffeeontheporchwithme said...

Still very cold here, too. You are eating very well! You are accustomed to staying home now, but I imagine you will enjoy going out with your regular friends, whenever that time comes. -Jenn

Bonnie said...

I love your happy little black bird! You do so well at preparing delicious meals for yourself. That is wonderful, as not all people that live alone do that. It is important to care for yourself as you would another person. Have a wonderful day Pat! I appreciate you!

Sue said...

Paul has just been outside to cover his potatoes. Possibly no frost tomorrow morning but it's supposed to be getting colder towards the end of the week before a warmer weekend. Beware of the ice saints!

justjill said...

You are coping well. Good food. Lovely Blackbird. Ours are nesting so most of the calls are alarm calls.

Heather said...

Thank goodness the birds are not also in lockdown, enabling us to enjoy watching and listening to them.
You quick-fix ratatouille sounds delicious. It's amazing what can be conjured up from a quick forage in the fridge plus a few seasonings.

JayCee said...

It is quite chilly here too but we are hoping it is going to warm up by Thursday.
Finding different ways to conjure up tasty meals can be very enjoyable. I just wish that I could remember how I did it afterwards as I often forget!

Gail, northern California said...

You amaze me. for someone who has little to do or say, your writings are wonderful. If pressed, I couldn't tell you why but they give one a sense of calm and I look forward to reading your daily posts.

The Furry Gnome said...

You sound like you eat really well.

angryparsnip said...

Sounds like your have the best Lunches. Very creative.
parsnip

Joanne Noragon said...

My lunches last two or three days. I like it that way.

Derek Faulkner said...

Several people that I have spoken too have mentioned the same feelings as you since Corvid-19 struck, they are not confident that they will be able to resume normal visits away from the house - becoming almost agoraphobic. Personally, I couldn't imagine just staying in the house every day and have never done so, I go out every day, otherwise I'd go nuts.
Now that we can drive anywhere in the country, does not a drive out into the countryside to catch up on how it's all looking, appeal to you.

Librarian said...

Your vegetable pan sounds delicious! I still can't be bothered to cook properly for just myself and rely on the weekends for hot meals, when I am either at O.K.'s or he is at my place.
I believe that most of us will tread rather cautiously at first, when visits to restaurants etc. are possible again, but then many will soon pick up their former habits and it will be great seeing our friends and other people again for real instead of on a small screen.
Like Derek, I'd go nuts if I were not able to leave the house every day; I have gone on at length about my daily after-work walks on my blog and wouldn't want to give them up.

The Weaver of Grass said...

Derek - I may well go out for a drive this afternoon - for my car's sake rather than mine.

Thanks everyone for your cheery comments.