Thursday 25 October 2018

What started out as a lovely sunny day has rather spoilt itself by coming in cloudy so not a lot of heat from the sun today in the bungalow.

I have had to wait in for the plumber as there are several jobs for him to do in the bathroom.   He has just been and - as last time - there are complications.   It looks as though I shall have to have a new toilet system.   This will mean that there may be tiles short on the wall and also the flooring will need to be replaced as the base will be a different shape.   Then of course the question will arise on whether or not to replace the wash basin as it will not match the toilet.   Every small problem I come across since I moved in here multiplies itself into a big problem.    A nuisance but in the giant scheme of things not very important.

At last , after three days, my tomato soup is finished.  A friend from further down the road brought me a bag of tomatoes when they were cleaning out their greenhouse.   I already had a bowl of  tomatoes   so I chopped up a couple of onions and a red pepper, cut the tomatoes into little bits, put the lot in a saucepan, added a dash of Worcester sauce and a squirt of tomato puree, cooked them gently in rape seed oil for 5 minutes, added vegetable stock and simmered until all was cooked.   Then I liquidised it all and - it was one of the best tomato soups I have ever tasted.   It has lasted me for three lunches.   Can't be bad

If you have a minute to spare go to Kitchy and Co on my side bar.   A, who is such a clever artist and takes such brilliant photographs, has put on a lovely post about pumpkins.   She makes cards up to a professional standard - her patience is endless in setting them up.  Do have a read.

19 comments:

Jules said...

I always dread any work needing to be completed on my house, as it often requires much more hassle than initially anticipated. The previous owners completed a few botched jobs.
The pumpkin pictures are wonderful. X

busybusybeejay said...

At least you have got a plumber!We have been trying to get one to replace a shower cubicle.They say they will come but don’t or don’t reply to messages.Very frustrating!

justjill said...

Love the pumpkins and the pigs! The soup -yum.

Derek Faulkner said...

I know the feeling Pat. A thin crack appeared overnight, running through the floor tiles in one corner of my conservatory. It looks like that corner has subsided - that end of the conservatory sits higher than the ground alongside it. A problem I shall think about one day when I'm in the mood for thinking about it.
For the fourth day running we have had a beautiful cloudless and sunny day, fairly warm in the sun this afternoon. Tomorrow it is forecast to all change and become ten degrees colder.

angryparsnip said...

The soup sounds so wonderful.
We have had two days of rain and now 4 or 5 days of sun and very warm weather. Fall is the best season in Tucson.

cheers, parsnip and badger

Rachel Phillips said...

You can't beat knowing a good self-employed man who can fix and repair.

Librarian said...

Over here, it seems this endless summer is well and truly over. Finally, for the first time in many weeks, we have had some rain - but nowhere near enough to replenish the lacking ground water. It needs to rain wall to wall one week straight to achieve that, I guess.
Your tomato soup sounds tasty!
The problem with your toilet system reminds me that my entire bathroom (actually, I don't have a bath tub, only a shower) needs doing. I shall tackle that next year.

Bonnie said...

We just had the plumber out here for a stopped up kitchen sink. That work gets expensive but when you need it there is no choice. I'm sorry you will have to have more work done. Your soup sure sounds good. We are going into soup weather here soon!

Anonymous said...

It always snowballs where stuff like that is concerned. It is why I haven't put in wood floors. I figure they'll ruin the molding then have to paint molding and walls and who knows what else. And, they'll drag it out. I just can't do it. You on the other hand have to do something. Donna@gather

Gwil W said...

Worry not.
You can always use a
chamber pot
and when you've finished
with it
fill it with your
favourite
indoor flowers,

Heather said...


The weather here has been the same as yours today, but at least I got to watch the moon rise three nights in a row - Monday to Wednesday. Your tomato soup sounds delicious. I made a big batch of vegetable soup the other day and still have several portions in the freezer.
Good luck with your bathroom repairs. It is annoying when just one thing has a knock-on effect on others.

Jacqui said...

When I moved into my house, there was this eerie wailing noise in the kitchen that nearly drove me mad. It was there all the time and wouldn't stop. It took a couple of plumbers before one found the answer - a leak in the pipe to the dishwasher the previous owners had left behind was letting air into the pipes. Once sealed off, it stopped. What a relief! Plumbing issues can be a pain, so I hope you get yours sorted. Your soup sounds delicious - I love tomato. I enjoyed looking at the pumpkins and pig pics - they're lovely.

The Weaver of Grass said...

I am going to consult another plumber as well before i do anything about it I think - because nothing is really broken as yet.

Maureen Reynolds said...

Wise thoughts to get a 2nd opinion. Those things do tend to be headaches and pricey ones at that!


Thanks for the rec for pigs and pumpkins. I'm sharing it on with a blogpost on the 26th. Yay to Yorkshire!

Gail, northern California said...

It's at such times I miss my husband the most. No need to get a second opinion, no need to get a first---I swear the man could build or fix anything. I relied on him to take care of all home/car/computer maintenance. Now that he's gone, it all falls to me and I'm ill-equipped. Plus, I don't want the job, never did.

Cro Magnon said...

If you have alternative 'facilities', it might be better (and quicker) to have a whole new bathroom. A good firm can have it all done in 2 days.

thelma said...

Enjoyed Kitchy & Co and the pumpkins. There are always niggling house jobs in every house, we have something called 'Home Serve', they come almost immediately.

Alphie Soup said...

One thing often leads to another when it comes to repairs and before you can blink the repairs are looking more like a minor (if you're lucky) renovation.
Alphie

Alphie Soup said...
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