Fox with a purpose?

Even though I live practically in the centre of the city I have seen more foxes than I ever did when I lived in the country. Urban foxes are totally different to their country cousins, probably because their diet contains a lot of junk food from the endless fast food shops and I don't think that the high fat and salt content would be part of a normal diet for a fox!
Since a cycle path has been created on the old railway line near to where I live, the foxes have moved into the area and I have occasionally seen them going past my front room window, usually late at night as I am going to bed.
For the last couple of weeks though, I have seen one trotting along very early in the evening paying absolutely no attention to the occasional person on their way home from work, or to me as I am putting rubbish in the bin as happened the other evening. This fox took no notice of me as he trotted past just like someone's dog would do so he must have been on a mission.
I think his route brings him down the cycle path and along the road past my house, then he nips around the corner, across the road and through the back gardens of the houses opposite. From there he probably crosses over into the little park by the side of the railway line.
This fox is a rather splendid looking one, with no sign of mange or disease and I wouldn't be at all surprised if there is a mate somewhere near too. Maybe I might see some little foxes one day, but I doubt it.

Save our forests

Another ridiculous idea from the government! They want to sell off our forests either into private ownership or to charities. This may mean that we could lose access to the woodlands and forests that we all own and many of us enjoy.

Currently a lot are managed by the Forestry Commission but the sale could well mean that there could be insufficient funding to manage and protect them for the future as well as redundancies for current employees.

Please sign the petition here www.woodlandtrust.org.uk

Fishy feet

Now you probably won't believe this little gem but I can assure you that it's absolutely true. In the shopping centre here there is one unit that has a cash desk just inside the door and there is someone there who books appointments in a book too.
The main part of the floor is occupied by a rather large bath, about eighteen inches or so high and about four feet square. There is also a row of chairs along one side and some of these are occupied by customers who have their feet in the large bath. So what is going on I hear you say.
Well, the answer, believe it or not , is that the people who have their feet in the large bath are having the hard skin on their feet nibbled off by little fish!
Not only do I find the fact that people are sticking their feet into this bath thingy with total strangers, but why on earth anyone would want to pay money so that they can feed someone else's fish by letting them nibble their feet is beyond me. It isn't cheap either.
I just wonder what would happen if someone swapped the little fish for pirhanas!

Cleaning up behind the workmen

Since before Christmas we have had a couple of workmen replacing some of the kerb edges around the area and the mess they've made beggars belief. The work has meant that they have had to use a pneumatic drill and also circular saw to cut the kerb stones so the noise and dust have been prolonged and excessive.
Instead of starting in one place and working in a methodical fashion, they appear to have approached the job willy nilly, first doing a bit here and then doing some there so that when I've cleared up one lot of mess outside the front of my house, they return again to work on another piece of kerb. The dust has not only covered the car but has been trodden inside of the house too and I'm not the only one who has been complaining either.
The other day I was out cleaning my car in the hope that they've finished along here and one of my neighbours was doing the same. He too complained about the mess being trodden inside and said he would clean along the pavement outside of his house with his pressure washer. I told him that I had given my bit a good brush but it's the houses in between that need to get out now and sweep the mess away so that it doesn't get trodden back again, but we might as well wait for hell to freeze over first.
These two workmen have made a real meal out of this job which could have been done in half the time if they had been properly organised and supervised. When they put the home zone down about five years ago they didn't make anywhere near the mess these two have.

The very best medicine

The weather is still dark, cold and gloomy and that's just how I felt yesterday too so I decided to take the very best medicine to make me feel better.
The grandchildren bought me two 'Shaun the Sheep' dvd's for Christmas so I sat and watched both of them yesterday afternoon. They certainly cheered me up, I laughed so much my sides ached.
The 'Shaun the Sheep' films are intended for children but I think they are so hilarious that children would probably miss some of the real humour and they wouldn't really appreciate the attention to detail either.
When Eden stayed with me just before Christmas we watched a couple of 'Shaun' films on children's television, but she found the fact that I was rolling around with laughter much funnier than the film itself.
So, if ever you're feeling really glum and in need of a good laugh, just treat yourself to a dvd of Shaun and have a really good laugh because it will lift your mood and make you feel much better.

Worse than children and animals

It's been about eight months since we had a change of government now but I wish someone would tell me why all politicians behave worse than children. I get thoroughly sick of those that were thrown out at the election last year when they are interviewed on the radio about the cuts to public spending that the current government are having to impose.
They keep whining on about the economy and that the current cuts are both too severe and unnecessary, yet they forget to mention that if they had done things properly during the thirteen years they were in charge, we wouldn't be in this mess in the first place. It's high time they took responsibility for their actions and hold their hands up then admit they got it wrong.
When things started to get iffy in the banks, instead of regulating them, they let the banks carry on so that in the end the public purse had to fork out to bale some of them out so that they didn't go under.
Now we have a coalition government who need to get their fingers out of their backsides and stop the bankers from getting great big fat bonuses because they are in effect, employees of the great British public who are having to pull in their belts at the moment. It seems that politicians do not really understand that the bankers should be made to suffer along with the rest of us and not get five or six figure bonuses when the majority of workers get zilch, regardless of their effort and productivity.
Perhaps the real problem with a lot of our politicians, from every party, is that although many have been to university and got various degrees, many have never had a 'proper job' for any length of time and so have no idea about how to run a country. You only have to listen to 'Today in Parliament' on Radio 4 at 11:30pm to understand what I mean. These are supposed to be educated, civilised adults but you would be forgiven if you thought they sounded like a farmyard full of animals, and badly behaved ones at that!

Lost skills, lost standards, lost generations

Occasionally when I have time I look through other people's blogs and I must say I am rather envious of a lot of them especially some of the ones done by ladies in the USA.
While over here a lot of the younger generation don't bother to cook anymore, preferring to buy 'ready meals' in the supermarkets to save time at the end of a working day, a lot of ladies over the pond bake, preserve and can produce that they grow. I was fortunate enough to come from a fairly large family and we grew our own vegetables. My mother baked from scratch and preserved fruits and vegetables in season because there were no freezers in those days. Canning, unfortunately, is something that has never caught on over here. Children don't learn cookery skills at home anymore either, in fact, despite the popularity of cookery books, a lot of people still rarely cook a meal from scratch.
In the States a lot of ladies create the most beautiful sewn craftwork such as quilts, pictures and cushion covers but alas in the UK needlework is a dying art. When I was younger I used to make jewellery, embroidered cushion covers and when the children were small I had my own dressmaking business. I was so busy but I wasn't able to find anyone who could produce sewing to my standards so I ran the business down and then went into nursing. At the same time I also did machine and hand knitting, designing and making all the clothes for the girls and myself. I even used to make soft toys too so my fingers were always busy. Sadly arthritis has caught up with me so I don't do very much sewing now but at least I can still cook.
I feel rather sad that in Britain we have lost not only a lot of our customs, but the art of family and passing on knowledge, skills and standards to the younger generations. Yes, there are still people here who do all these things, but they are few and far between.
So well done to the lady bloggers in the United States, just keep on blogging because I enjoy having a look at your blogs when I have a few minutes to spare.

My 'Star Wars' hero

I wonder how many people there are who, like me have never seen Star Wars. I rarely go to the cinema, mainly because it's a luxury I cannot afford now that I am retired and when I was working, I was always too busy doing other things when I got home anyway.
For the last two Staurdays one of the television channels has shown Star Wars movies both of which were 'prequels' to the original Star Wars of which I had only seen trailers years ago. I thoroughly enjoyed the films although I must admit it was the special effects that got my attention to start with, rather like the special effects that were used in 'Avatar' which I found more interesting than the story!
Anyway, I was trying to get my head around the plot and the characters and wasn't quite sure where some of them fitted in. That is, until I spoke to Harley, my grandson. For his birthday and Christmas over the last couple of years I have bought him Star Wars lego and also a game to go on his PSP (I think that's what he calls it)! He knows all the characters and the stories inside out and backwards because he has seen them all both in cartoon form and film on several occasions.
I'm just beginning to get the hang of it and there's another film this weekend so Harley has already told me that I will get to see 'Darth Vader' for the first time and I will understand how he got to be on 'the dark side'. All I have to do is phone him on Friday to remind him it's on (because he wants to see them again) and then if there's anything I don't understand I will be able to ask him on Saturday evening when they phone me.
He's my real Star Wars hero at the moment, I just hope he thinks Grandma is 'cool'!

The first signs

For the last two weeks the weather has been unseasonably warm even though immediately before that it was the complete opposite. With this warm weather we have had a lot of very heavy rain, in fact, I think we've had enough to last us for another month or so.
All of this has obviously been enough to kick start a lot of things into growth because they think that spring is here. This morning, despite the rain, I noticed fresh green buds popping their heads out on some hellebores, ready to burst into flower at the first opportunity, but they have been beaten into flowering by the mahonia bushes on the home store car park.
In the garden the crocuses and hyacinth bulbs are through the surface of the ground and the muscari is actually flowering already. There are a few polyanthus out but these have been struggling to flower even when the snow was covering them and the pansies in the pots are just recovering from being frozen too.
The squirrels are pairing up and the birds are beginning to tune up in the mornings, especially the robins who are starting to practice their songs for the mating season and declaring their territory.
The garden centre has just got in spring flowering bulbs in pots ready to be planted into containers and gardens, so even though we are still in January there are promising signs of lighter, brighter days to come.

Join Hugh's Fishfight...TODAY

Last year on January 16th I wrote an article on my blog complaining about the ridiculous legislation by the EU regarding the discarding of good fish that was being thrown back into the sea dead, because our fishermen had reached their quotas for specific varieties.

Hooray for Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall who has had some very good programmes on Channel 4 this week which portray exactly just how stupid the current practice is. He has also started a petition which everyone should consider signing and you can access it on www.fishfight.net.

If you are reading this blog today (even if you are vegetarian!) please go onto the website and sign the petition.

Thanks

Drip, drip, drip....

No, it's not the tap, although the plumber still hasn't contacted me, but the water dripping from my clothes and shopping trolley!

When I went to the farmers' market this morning it was very heavy fine rain, the sort that goes right through everything, and it did. I had only got to Castle park and I thought my thighs were feeling a bit wet and cold so I looked down to see that the rain had soaked through all down the front of my trousers but the backs were dry. At least that would be sorted out on the way home because the rain would be coming from behind which also meant I would be able to see where I was going. I had my rain hat on and the hood on my jacket was pulled over the top but the rain was dripping off the top and down onto the end of my nose.

Luckily I had decided not to struggle with the umbrella and the shopping trolley because the umbrella wouldn't have kept me that dry as the water always drips off that onto my feet or down my back and besides, trying to juggle an umbrella, a purse, shopping and trolley was not an attractive proposition.

By the time I had got most of the shopping, I pulled the list out of my pocket to see what else was on it only to find that it was soaked and disintegrating. My gloves were soaking in my pocket too so that would mean I also had some very wet tissues in there somewhere so best to keep my hands out until I got home.

Luckily it wasn't very busy because of the rain so I was soon done and I walked home. By now, I knew the rain had gone right through to my skin so when I got inside the front door I removed my dripping wet clothes and went upstairs to put some warm, dry ones on then I came down and put all the wet ones over the chairs in the dining room to dry near the storage heaters.

It's teatime now and the rain is still coming down. There hasn't been any let up all day and as my clothes haven't dried out I have just put them in the tumble dryer because I want to go out tomorrow and can't bear the thought of having to put on a damp coat. Perhaps I should start saving for some proper waterproof over trousers and jacket!

From bad to worse!

I have had a really rotten day today! When I woke up this morning I would have stayed in bed if I had known what sort of day it was going to be. Instead, I came downstairs and made a cup of tea at a quarter to seven and took it back up to bed. I was feeling a bit rough but I thought if I dozed and listened to the news I might feel a bit better in a while and besides, I hate feeling ill and still have to get up and do things that need to be done.
I drank the tea and dozed off after the news and was in that half awake state when there was a deafening blood curdling scream that made me sit bolt upright. So the teenage daughter of the neighbours from hell didn't want to go to school again! The yelling, screaming and foul language continued for about five minutes so I decided to get up anyway and have a shower thinking that I would feel better after that.
How wrong can you be! After I had some breakfast I decided to do the washing as I usually do on a Tuesday and I could do some paperwork while the machine was on. It was a bright morning and I would have much preferred to go out for a walk first but my tum was playing up and I was expecting a plumber to call and fix the tap on the basin in the bathroom. No sooner had I brought the washing downstairs the peace was suddenly and rudely shattered by the sound of a pneumatic drill which sounded as if it was in the front room!
I filled the machine and went to look out of the front room window where I saw a couple of workmen who are replacing the cornerstones on the raised pavements and planters along the front of the houses. Great! So I'll be having this noise all day then and will probably end up with a migraine too! Then to add to the commotion, some workmen came to dismantle the scaffolding that has been up the wall on the side of the house for a couple of months. They weren't really quiet about that and at one time I thought they were going to demolish the side of the house too as they dropped each piece down to the ground.
Well, it's all peaceful now they've all gone, the plumber never came but my tum has settled and I'm feeling a little better although tired. Tomorrow I will be off to the farmers' market and if the plumber comes then, too bad! He'll have to come back when I'm here!

Thrifty mince!

Yesterday I decided to see just how many meals I could get from a pound of lean minced steak. I chopped up a large onion very finely and softened it in the wok in a tablespoon of olive oil together with two fat cloves of garlic which I crushed. Then I discovered a large lonely carrot lurking in the fridge so I chopped that into fine dice and added to the onion and garlic. After five minutes I added the mince and once that was browned I put in a tablespoon of dried Italian herbs and a tin of chopped tomatoes with a tablespoon of tomato puree. Then I covered the wok and cooked the mixture on a low heat for about an hour.
Once the mixture was cooked I seasoned it then left it to cool while I made a sauce using a pint of skimmed milk and two tablespoons of cornflour, some white pepper and a little grated fresh nutmeg. When the sauce had thickened I added two tablespoons grated parmesan and two tablespoons of strong Cheddar cheese which I mixed in until smooth then left this to cool.
In the freezer I found four sheets of egg pasta which I cut in half and decided that I could probably get four single lasagne portions and still have some ragout left over so I put a layer of the mince into each of four foil trays then covered that with a thin layer of sauce and topped it with a sheet of lasagne. This was repeated and on the second sheet of pasta I divided the rest of the sauce and then sprinkled some Cheddar cheese over the top.
When these were completely cold I put the lids on and put them in the freezer and I found that I still had two portions of the ragout which I could freeze and use later with pasta.
So, I made six really good meals all from a pound of mince and a few other odds and bits that I had in the kitchen and those six meals probably cost me a fraction of the price of buying the same thing ready made from the supermarket, with no unnecessary additives either!

Being needed

I'm beginning to think that our genes have a lot more influence on us than we realise. I'm often getting told off by Eden especially when I call her Emma. The reason for this is not only because she looks very similar to Emma but she also comes out with the same sort of things that Emma used to say, the voice and tone are just the same. Even Sarah thinks she looks like Emma, but Eden disagrees.
One thing all my grand-children have in common is if they ring me, I can always tell when they want me to do something for them and this is a technique they've inherited from Sarah! It doesn't matter whether it's help with homework, medical advice or sounding me out about something they want for a birthday or Christmas. The last one applies to Harley in particular!
Last night it was Amber's turn because she phoned me early in the evening and the call usually starts with a compliment. When I answered the phone she said "Grandmaaaa, you know how you're good at writing letters and you always know what to write......." and this is when I knew she was going to ask for my help. I really don't mind at all because she needed advice about writing for her work experience placement and she also wants to find a weekend job but wasn't quite sure about how to put the letter together. Of course, I'm always happy to help and feel quite flattered that all of them think that Grandma has all the answers!
It's the tone of voice that they all use, just the same as Sarah's when she's asking a favour or a medical diagnosis over the phone. I hate to think what they would do if I wasn't here!

The search is on

When I go into the supermarket looking for cheese I find it really difficult to find something that has a strong enough flavour to use in cooking. They all tend to grade their cheeses by taste strengths but they are rarely consistent. An 'extra mature' Cheddar may be alright one week but the next time I buy the same brand and strength it is often completely different and quite mild.
Today at the farmers' market I bought some cheese that was made very close to Cheddar and that seems to be quite strong, so when I've had my cheese omelette I will know if it will be good enough to use in other dishes too. Hopefuly their cheese will be more consistent because that's all they do, they make cheese.
Of course, the celebrity chefs on the television will all grab a huge chunk of Parmesan or other cheese when they're cooking but they forget that mere mortals like me, who are on a restricted budget, just can't afford to buy such enormous pieces.
I shall just continue my search to find some tasty, affordable cheeses for my sauces, quiches, pizzas and omelettes.

Bird with a fiery temper

I have been intrigued by the behaviour of some of the birds that have been coming into the garden since the cold weather started. There have been several new visitors and I have tried to cater for all diets with a variety of different foods. Some of them are seed eaters, some prefer insects while others like berries.
They all seem to enjoy the suet treats because they have insects, grains and berries mixed in and I also put other foods such as grated cheese on the bird table because the robin, Mr blackbird and the magppies enjoy this.
Now the house sparrows come over in a gang and use the hanging feeders, also clearing anything that falls to the ground and don't usually fight or cause problems with other species.The little dunnocks potter around searching out any tasty morsel, keeping themselves to themselves while the blue tits and great tits announce their arrival with very loud whistles then tuck in to the peanuts and fat filled coconut shell. There has been a thrush recently too and I haven't seen one of those around here for a long time, but this one keeps coming back and is quite secretive, arriving without a fanfare and leaving once he's eaten his fill of mealworm crumble and seed from the bird table.
The most surprising behaviour has been that of Mrs blackbird. I wondered what was chasing a lot of the little birds off the food that I had spread on the ground for the ground feeders and thinking it was the squirrels, I opened the back door to find a very determined Mrs blackbird guarding the food, seeing off any bird that came near and kept her beady eye on me and stood her ground. When a second female blackbird arrived in the garden she was seen off rather aggresively by the first one and this behaviour has been repeated over the last couple of days.
Perhaps this is what they mean when they talk about 'survival of the fittest'.

Dog sitting duties completed!

For the last couple of days I have had to look after Tinkerbelle while Sarah and Eden went off to visit Sarah's boyfriend's family in Yorkshire. She likes coming to stay with me, probably because she gets some peace and quiet while she's here but I'm left quite tired and in need of a good night's sleep once she goes home.
Although she really isn't any trouble, at home she normally sleeps at the bottom of Eden's bed but although I have tried to get her to sleep in her own bed on the floor when she's here I haven't had any success. Even when she stayed before and Eden was here, Tinkerbelle much preferred to sleep on my bed so this time, as before, I put a rug on the opposite side of the bed to where I sleep and she settled down.
However, during the night, she gets closer and closer to me until she's right up against me and I get very hot too. I don't usually get the pleasure of sleeping all through the night because of the discomfort from the arthritis and sciatica but with a very small dog trying to take over the whole bed and steam roller over me, I really don't stand a chance.
Well, she's been well walked, fed and had her very own playmate for a couple of days and when Eden rang to say they were only half an hour away I told her then got all her stuff ready for them. She must have known her holiday was at an end because she got on my lap and snuggled down really tight until they arrived and tried to hide her head when Eden looked through the window!
The picture is the one that I sent to Emma and she did a beautiful pastel for Sarah for Christmas. She also showed it in progress on her facebook too.

Another year, another resolution or two

This year I have decided it's going to be my year. Despite all the rotten stuff like the huge bill I have to pay to HMRC (which isn't my fault but they say I still have to pay), to the neighbours from hell, the astronomical increase in petrol for the car as well as all the other increases we are about to get due to the rise in VAT, I shall overcome them all even with my very modest and pathetic pension.
As I have to shed quite a lot of weight, I will be able to save some money by reducing my portion sizes which are larger than they should be because I hate waste and tend to use up everything instead of making an extra meal and freezing it.
I will also save by not buying any clothes because I will have to lose weight to get into the ones that I have but not worn for a very long time.
Because of the arthritis and sciatica I will make sure that I go out for a good walk every day to keep me supple and stop me vegetating.
Nothing and no one is going to get the better of me this year because I will make sure that I am a force to be reckoned with and not somebody to be crushed or pushed around just because I have had a few more birthdays than everyone else (with another one on Monday!).
Finally, I will make my own Christmas puddings and Christmas cake next Christmas because the small ones I bought this year are quite disgusting even though they come from one of the 'best' retailers :)
A very happy New Year to you all and may your wishes all come true in 2011.