Tuesday 25 October 2016

Hard work.

Three days away and it is hard to get back into the routine of putting a post on every day.  Does everyone find this?   Normally I have thought of something to blog about by around ten o'clock in the morning, but today my thoughts have been occupied by first of all having my usual Tuesday morning coffee with three friends and then managing to concoct a reasonable lunch from various things left in the fridge.

I hate to waste food.   I always think of all the people (some of them in this country, let alone all in other places) who find it hard to manage to feed their families - either through lack of money (here) or through wars, or through lack of food generally.  And when I put out food for the farmer to take down for the chickens (who will eat absolutely anything rather than the expensive food which is put into their troughs every day) I feel a stab of defeat that I haven't managed to use it up before its sell-by date (a bit of a load of rubbish anyway.   As we were saying over coffee this morning - forget the date on the packet, smell it, inspect it carefully and unless there is something seriously amiss - eat it.)

So, it was tail end of a joint of ham, fried up left-over 'new' potatoes, various salads and - joy of joys to the farmer - a proper rice pudding made because I had excess milk and also some single cream left.   Cooked slowly all morning in the Aga - it was a delight.

Now tomorrow it is back to normal food-wise.   And as all the washing and ironing has been done, the same is true of getting the house straight too.   Tomorrow is our monthly Poetry meeting, so this afternoon has been spent looking for what I am going to read tomorrow.   So far I have chosen parts of A E Housman's 'A Shropshire Lad' - the part which quotes 'those blue remembered hills.'
Searching for the poems is almost as enjoyable as reading them out to the group.

I will be back again tomorrow to let you know how the meeting goes.

24 comments:

Anonymous said...

For a " no inspiration blog" that's an excellent one.
Every day I write a diary and often find that, looking back, the days I felt I had little to say were some of the best.
I agree with you over food waste and sell by dates!
Your method, look, smell and taste is also mine and I've not poisoned anyone yet!
Please continue even if you haven't had inspiration before 10 O'clock; you inspire plenty of us!

Sue

Simon Douglas Thompson said...

Excellent work, I hate waste as well, trouble is when one lives on ones own and shops in supermarkets it is sometimes hard to buy small quantities of things so they won't spoil by the time you've used them all.

Yorkshire Pudding said...

"those blue remembered hills" is such an evocative phrase.

And these lines from "A Shropshire Lad" remind us all about the creeping impact of procrastination and indolence on our journey to the end...

To-day I shall be strong,
No more shall yield to wrong,
Shall squander life no more;
Days lost, I know not how,
I shall retrieve them now;
Now I shall keep the vow
I never kept before.

angryparsnip said...

I so enjoy reading your blog. Especially the nothing new or exciting ones. They are perfect diamonds for me.
And as always I love hearing about your naughty chickens !

cheers, parsnip

Joanne Noragon said...

You came back just in time to be interrupted for another commitment. Thanks for bringing us up to date, and hurrah for rice pudding.

Sue said...

I'm getting a craving for rice pudding now. John Gray was talking about rice pudding a couple of days ago. Haven't had one for years.

Derek Faulkner said...

I'm always fascinated by the fact that you feel that you should be producing a new posting each day - why?

coffeeontheporchwithme said...

I was going to mention John Gray's post as well, about rice pudding. I now have a serious hankering for it! -Jenn

JoAnn ( Scene Through My Eyes) said...

I'm sporadic, at best, in my blogging. I could never do a post a day, though I really enjoy those who can pull it off. Sometimes I go for weeks at a time with nothing - and then post like a whirlwind. I like your put together lunch - I like to do that too - and since we have no chickens we have to make sure we eat up our food properly.

Librarian said...

Blogging should not feel like a burden or duty, but like fun. I won't make a committment such as "post something every day" because I know it would be impossible to do.

I agree 100 % with you on the food - to me, wasting food feels like a sin (less in the religious, more in the ethic sense), and I rather buy less so that I can use it all up. Sometimes the "clean out the fridge" meals are the best!

Alphie Soup said...

The rice pudding sounds lovely. I think far too much is thrown out because it is not 'fresh' from the shops. People are far too fussy and not nearly hungry enough.

Alphie

The Weaver of Grass said...

Why do I feel the need to write a post every day you ask? Well, because I need to keep my brain active and it is good for me to keep thinking up new ideas and getting the down 'on paper'.

Thanks for the quote YP. I think I read somewhere that Housman never actually went to Shropshire. Do you agree?

Heather said...

I hate to waste food too, and have often found that a meal concocted from odds and ends in the fridge can be surprisingly tasty. The only trouble is that one can never quite manage it again because the odds and ends next time will be different! As for those 'use by' dates, I also have a sniff and a taste and then use them if I'm assured.
Your posts are always interesting, but never feel you have a duty to produce one daily. It should be a pleasure for you as well as us.
Enjoy your poetry afternoon.

Derek Faulkner said...

Housman is quoted as saying "I was born in Worcestershire, not Shropshire, where I never spent much time".

Anonymous said...

I don't like wasting food either. Luckily, my husband has a cast-iron stomach and can eat anything, much as your chooks! Good luck with the poetry.

Wilma said...

I look forward to your daily posts, Pat, and I admire your discipline. I do hope that it is as pleasurable for you as it is for your readers!

Terry and Linda said...

I always look forward to your posts! You open up a new and exciting thought process and broaden my world!

Linda

Gail, northern California said...

I happen to like your everyday-life musings. That's why I visit. Thank you.

Eleanor said...

Another reason some people struggle to feed their families is that they have no idea how to cook! I look in some trollies at the supermarket some weeks and despair, they're full of expensive junk food. Schools should do more to educate about proper food and nutrition, because obviously they are not learning this at home. Perhaps because most mothers, like my own daughter, work full time and have little time to cook, let alone teach their offspring.

Derek Faulkner said...

Always amuses me when you see young mothers buying frozen bubble and squeak in supermarkets, they probably threw the ingredients away the day before.

baili said...

Precious thoughts dear .and I am glad that people still think this way .
I think let your heart speak within and inspire us

The Weaver of Grass said...

Thanks everyone for your comments.

Lucy Corrander Now in Halifax! said...

It all sounds wonderful - hard work but wonderful!

Yorkshire Pudding said...

Housman could see the hills of Shropshire from his childhood home in Worcestershire. Perhaps that was enough to stir his imagination.