It was a good show this week. They did the Idol Gives Back. Raised a lot of money.

Okay, you guys. I've had to go and google Soreen malt cake and Kendal Mint Cakes.... you Brits do have some lovely sounding confections! I'm actually reading a book set in the Lake District, which I see is where the Kendal Mint Cakes are from. And I found a funny bit on the BBC website (in an article about Cumbria) New York customs barred Kendal Mint Cake on the grounds that products labelled 'cake' should have flour in them, and a ship load of the product was dumped in the Atlantic in the 1950’s.

Sarah - I love your stories about the old gents bringing you veg and eggs, etc. That's certainly a lot of cauliflower, however! It is a good thing your dogs like it. Does it give them gas like it does some people?

Kendal Mint Cake is basically mint flavoured sugar. Nice though I might get myself some for this walk I'm doing tomorrow, now I've thought about it.

Today I'm not running, and I'm going to force myself to do some gardening. I would love to have a nice garden if it was all set up and just took a bit of gentle attention occasionally, but I seem to only get round to attacking it so infrequently that it's always a major undertaking just to get it passable, let alone actually start doing anything with it. Even today the only way I'm persuading myself to do it is by making it my exercise for the day, which my head treats as non-negotiable, rather than thinking of it as gardening which I can come up with all sorts of excuses for!

What are you doing up at this ungodly hour Helen?

I am up with a migraine If there's one thing worse than a migraine, it's a migraine on a Saturday

I actually have to post some ebay stuff otherwise I'd be trying to sleep it off, but I thought since I was awake I'd struggle through and parcel some stuff off.

Trying to persuade myself to start gardening

I really struggle to sleep in even at weekends, so I'm having a surf around on t'internet before dragging myself to Homebase for supplies.

And I got in late last night to find the new RW behind the door, so I might just read some of that before starting. I suspect the whole thing would work better if I could persuade myself to save it for a treat when I've finished!

Good morning to you all

Well I got up argued with my hubby flounced out of the door banging it behind me and said I do not give a flying you know what!! Nice start to the day. Anyway I headed off to the gym had a great old run on the treadmill then gets onto the cross trainer i'm about four minutes into it when I and I am sorry to tell you this but I got the worst attack of wind. Oh dear god I was mortified. I just got my key checked out and came home. I still feel very embarressed I even told my big fella who thinks it is hysterically funny and will probably tell all his mates about his mother's wind problem.

I was a bit piggy last night but i've been more restrained at work which is the biggest problem.

Hubby is out and will be very annoyed with me for slamming the door really loud and swearing in the garden at him. He cannot stand scenes of any kind.
I will buy him a bar of Toblerone later that will surely thaw him.

Right I must go and make some brekkie and get in the bath.

Have a lovely day my friends

Michele

Anyone on here from Folkestone or Dover? Or know anyone from Folkestone or Dover?? Apparently there has been an earth tremor there today - bad enough to cause some structural damage. Very strange... never heard of that before.

Helen.... I'm no good at lie-ins either, I think the latest I've laid in bed recently has been 7am, which is about an hour and a half lie-in for me. I hope you enjoy your gardening - I love it - find it really relaxing. I've been a good girl and spent three hours in the back garden this morning, after I got back from my walk. The birds have been at my tubs and hanging basket pecking at the tender growing tips of the Surfinas (sort of hanging petunia) so they are all looking a bit the worse for wear. I've made little plastic mesh cloches to go over the top - so they all look like they're wearing pointy hats.

Michele.... about the wind - big about the argument - I hope the Toblerone works and everything is okay for you now.

Frus.... about the migraine - rotten, miserable things.... could it be an allergic reaction type migraine - I only get them if I eat anything with a synthetic orange flavouring.

Kendal mint cake.... I like the uncoated one but I don't like the one covered in chocolate.... Pat - I never knew about Kendal Mint Cake being a banned substance in the US!!!

Pat - One of the old boys sort of by-passed the Post Office today and just left some veg by my front door - saved me having to carry it home, I suppose! Lucky for me George seems to have adjusted to his vegetable diet now and is relatively gas free (at least when it comes to vegetables) but he has got a weird non doggy smell about him nowadays - strangely he smells of asparagus, which is one of the few vegetables he never gets to eat. How's your vegetable patch getting on? Have you started sewing/planting yet?

CG - I think you're right - I needed those carbs - because it didn't seem to trigger off a binge which I was worried about (its what happens to me when I have too many carbs at the wrong time of day). Maybe next time I should eat the carbs BEFORE I do all the exercise, rather than afterwards (although its unlikely that I could ever be that organised!) Happy birthday to your 19 year old - enjoy your lunch - is the birthday girl the one you were worried about last time you saw her?

RSG - Your day off sounds wonderful... I margaritas and Mexican food. I think we all sometimes need a rest day like that.

Ooohhhhhh, d'you remember the new surgically enhanced Barbie girl who had moved in next door???? (The one dressed in a miniscule pair of pink shorts washing a pink car with pink accessories?) Well, she's gone now - and yet another one's moved in. This one seems quite nice - she looks 'normal', has a normal type name, doesn't look to be physically adjusted in any way AND seems to actually be capable of cooking, gardening and hanging out washing (unlike her predecessors)!!!!!! I wonder how long this one will last - more to the point, I wonder how he manages to persuade them to move in on such short notice.

I had another piece of Kendal mint cake after a drink or three last night I quite like it then!

I didn't do a huge amount in the garden by the standards of those who like gardening, but I did manage to fix the lawnmower, mow the lawn, fill the garden waste wheelie bin with bits I tidied up, and sit in the garden most of the afternoon reading... It was a start, although I'm sure that by the next time I'm in the house for long enough to do anything with it all that will need doing again.

I had to laugh at myself. Because I was going to be gardening I put on old workout stuff and trainers before I went to Homebase. I wanted to go down there on the bus to get a ticket for tomorrow (a Leeds weekly ticket is valid everywhere in West Yorkshire, but you can only buy it in Leeds - tomorrow I want to use it in Huddersfield so had to buy it today - does that make sense?), but I just about missed the bus and there wasn't one for 20 minutes so I decided to just jog down there and get the bus back. It's not so much the fact that I jogged down there, it's the fact I didn't log it as a workout because I didn't feel like 2 miles or so was enough of a run to merit logging!

I'm now preparing all my stuff for tomorrow. It just dawned on me that it's effectively a full marathon distance, with a break in the middle (5 - 6 miles, then a bus, then 21), so I've decided to take PLENTY of high energy food with me just in case there's nothing particularly good available en route. It looks like it will be a nice day for it at least.

Sarah I can't belive Barbie is already gone!!!!

I can never sleep in either, last night I got home at midnight and still up at 7, I can't stand it, I did just take a nap though, after a long walk outside.

I had the nicest run yesterday, it was kind of rainy all day, and stopped for a bit right when school got out. I took a run over by the river and it was so nice. There were very few people out there, and all the flowers were blooming. Everything seemed so clean since it had been raining, it was cool with no wind. Absolutely perfect. I had planned only about 3 since I was a bit hungover but lasted for about 5. I love runs like that.

10k tomorrow should be nice out. Tonight I'm home watching the Red Sox and cleaning this house, haven't really addresed the need to clean this place since before I went to Montreal.

Trying to decide what to make for dinner, not much food in the house and not much motivation to go out and get some. Have to see what I can put together to call dinner, I think I have some fresh spinach which I love, we'll see what I can find to go with it.

Hello had a busy day.

Went to see middle daughter play in a softball tournament then had to leave early to have lunch with oldest daughter as it was her birthday yesterday. She then informed that she has to be out of her dorm by 3pm on wednesday. Makes it very difficult for me as my OH is leaving tomorrow for a week. So now I have to make at least 2 trips up there to get all her stuff.

Sarah yes I do worry about her.

A lovely warm day here and the week will be even warmer.

Morning!

I've got a big cut on the finger (the one which types w s and x) - my own fault entirely, I did something exceptionally stupid involving a very sharp knife and a plastic bottle - and its amazing that I've got the tip of my finger left at all.

CG - How are you going to manage? Is she coming back to live at home?? Does she seem to be eating any better???

RSG - Spinach lasagne? Steamed spinach with a cheese sauce and a poached egg on top?? Spinach with onion and mozzarella grated in to it? Spinach with Indian spices (my favourite). I spinach (but not quite as much as I asparagus at the moment).

Helen - I've just been reading your food blog - how did the broad beans work out in that pasta dish? They are one of my DH's favourites and I never think to put them in a recipe, except blanched and skinned and mixed in with a warm salad or plain steamed with a roast dinner - but that pasta dish looks very yummy.

Woo HOOO - I had a girls night last night... but STILL no booze for me - which meant that when we came back past the kebab shop on our way home I was the ONLY ONE who didn't get the munchies. It was very strange being in a group of people who were all slowly getting very merry while I was on diet tonic - not sure I'd want to do it in a permanent basis. Must mention... went to one girls house for dinner before the pub crawl* - she's the only one of us who says she can't cook - but she prepared us an amazing sort of shepherds pie bean dish - mixed beans in a mild chilli sauce at the bottom but the top was REALLY lovely, cauliflower and celeriac mashed with Philadelphia Lite, the one with garlic and herbs. We had it with purple sprouting broccoli and it was Pud was a sort of very dark chocolate fondue thing with strawberries and chunks of banana to dip in - I had one strawberry dipped in the chocolate then just had plain strawberries.

* Pub crawl.... it was a very short pub crawl - there are only two pubs in this village!

When I got home DH told me that he'd had a 'good idea'. He wants us to put our names down for another allotment .... he wants his own little orchard - one tree each of apples, pears, cherries, peaches/nectarines, plums and hazlenuts .... with (!!!!!!!) chickens running around underneath! I'm hoping that he'll have forgotten about it by the time he gets home from work this evening. I don't mind the idea of the orchard but I don't think I much like the idea of mucking out chickens. His theory is that the chickens will produce manure (as well as eggs) and the manure will feed the trees and could be used on the veg .... Hmmmmmmmm chicken poo..... lovely!

Mum and Dad had chickens for a while - they tend to be quite clean in their own little roosting area, but poo everywhere else

I managed a lie-in today and then 1 slice of toast for breakfast. I am SO full from yesterday's pic-nic and I didn't even eat that much! Half a ham sandwich, a small slice of quiche, a piece of carrot cake and about 5 ferrero rocher. Then later on, half a cookie and another piece of carrot cake... That's a total record for me, not eating TOO much when we're out with friends. I was still completely stuffed, but with a smaller amount of food! I wasn't really very hungry since we'd been snacking on carrot cake to "test" it before we took it to the picnic But yeah, still full!

Today we're going window-shopping at estate agents. But at least it will get us out of the house. I'll probably have a nice nap at some point too.

Frus - why did your Mum and Dad stop having the chickens??

The more I think about it the more I quite like the idea of the orchard - nice to have all that fruit - especially as DH has a bee in his bonnet about shop bought fruit (and veg) at the moment. Well... he's always had it but its gotten a lot worse just recently. I suppose my worry is that we'll just get the orchard allotment established and we'll want to move house. The other thing that keeps running through my mind is what on earth would we do with the blummin chickens when we want to go on holiday?

Morning girls.

I will be off soon to pick up a load from daughter's dorm room.

Sarah she is coming home for the summer break.I thought she'd be home friday but she has arranged to be out wednesday. Just forgot to check with us about the logistics of the thing. She's eating OK.

It's like summer here very warm. I saw some tiny lettuces sprouting yesterday.