Taking down Christmas

I still have a few holiday decorations hanging around. Most especially the chandelier. I really dislike this chandelier and I have every intention of changing it fairly soon. But at this one time of the year, with gold ornaments on it and greenery, it looks so pretty.

We took the tree down after New Years, but we re-erected it in the yard by the bird feeders. I found some recipes online for bird food - variations of suet, peanut butter, and bird seed mixed together. Also some orange and apple slices dried in the oven and a few Apricot Balls that were past their prime. We bedecked the tree with those. Son of didn't think the birds would eat any of it, but we did it anyway. I think he was mostly right, but the birds love it anyway as a place to wait for their turn on the feeders.

And I still have some 'snowflakes' hanging at the window. They need to come down, but they are so pretty.

Hi, Again

It has been months since I last posted. There have been lots of times I thought - ooooo I must blog that, but didn't. So what I propose to do is blog very frequently, maybe every day for a while. I'll probably put up some things from last fall that never got blogged, and maybe some new things, too.

We've just had a long visit of our whole family - son, daughter, son-in-law and two grandchildren. It was just fantastic to have them here for such a long visit and the house seems quite empty without them. So here are some pictures:

1) Miss A. having an early lesson in Aperture from Grandpa
2) The family out for a walk at Castle Hill on New Year's Day
3) Miss T. is a cowgirl, riding a Lallow horse (Lallow being her favorite color)
4) Miss A. at Crane's Beach exploring sand.
5) Miss T. flying, with help from her Dad. This was taken a couple of months ago, but I love it so I included it.

Easiest Pasta Sauce Ever (Delicious, too)

I"ve been making Roasted Tomato Sauce with all the tomatoes we are getting this year. It's simple and it's supposed to freeze very well, though I haven't yet used any of the stuff I've frozen. This recipe solves the problem I've had in the past of watery tomato sauce. The sauce is thick and richly flavored and it's incredibly simple to make. One of those recipes that you don't really need a recipe for. It's not fast, because it takes long slow cooking to bring out the flavors, but it could hardly be easier.

Cut a lot of plum tomatoes in half lengthwise, leaving the skin on. Put them on a cookie sheet (the kind with 1 inch edges, not the flat kind) cut side up. Strew over the tomatoes 1) a thinly sliced onion, 2) some sliced garlic, if you like, 3) a cut up carrot and a sliced stick of celery, if you like, 4) whatever herbs you like/happen to have (I've used rosemary, thyme, basil, and parsley at different times. Drizzle the whole thing with a little olive oil - you don't have to use much because the tomatoes release a syrupy juice - and salt and pepper. Put the whole thing in the oven at around 350 for 1 1/2 or 2 hours. until the edges of the onion and the tomatoes are beginning to turn black. Finally, dump it into a food processor and whiz it for 20 or 30 seconds, just long enough to make it into a thick, slightly lumpy sauce. Eat on pasta or freeze.

Wahooo!

I just downloaded my first loaned Kindle book from the local library. The service just started this morning and, I'm told, the library director has been swamped with requests about the service.

In my excitement, I got a book I'm not particularly excited to read, so I'll probably end up returning it 'virtually' in a little while. Otherwise someone who does want to read it will have to wail 14 days until it disappears from my system. There are lots of little annoyances with the system, nearly all caused by publishers who haven't yet embraced the idea that publishing is going to change A LOT very soon.

Still, it was very exciting to be able to do it. And it's interesting to think about amazon, a retail store, involved in this book loan scheme and what it means for their business model.

Check out the details by clicking here, on amazon.

Puzzling British Road Signs (continued)

What???


Humped Pelicans?

Why are they crossing here?

Why can't I stop for them?

Attention: Readers of Historical Fiction

Reality and fiction are uncomfortable companions, one often finds.

Part of our walk from Alfriston to Charleston was on the old coaching road from Seaford to Lewes. Both of these pictures are of the road. It was perhaps 8 feet wide most of the way, with huge ruts and thorny bushes on either side. It really takes the romance out of imagining riding in a coach. Even the most luxurious and well-sprung coach would have been incredibly uncomfortable on this terrain. Easy to see how a highwayman could have stopped one. Also easy to see how difficult it would have been to overtake or even pass by in the opposite direction.

BTW - What looks like a snowy field, is actually a recently tilled field filled with chalk.

English Signs (Continuing series)

Nothing confusing about this sign, but it is a remarkable example of The Language of Politeness in Public Places. It says (if you can't read it) 'Should you have any comments relating to the repair/cleanliness of these toilets, please contact: ..."