02-03-25

Good morning everyone!  I have no idea of the weather yet but it feels cold and I have a warm dressing gown on.  Hopefully, it will be like yesterday which was rather nice.  I've just drawn the curtains and, yes, there's a good old frost going on and the skies are clear.

I headed out yesterday morning, in the frosty mist, first stop Hobbycraft.  No luck there, sadly.  Of the yarn I wanted with the three for two offer, there was just one colour, a bright red, and I certainly didn't want that.  A darker maroon or a dusty pink, for sure, but not a Christmas red.  

So I continued on to B&Q where I got my sandpaper and some varnish stripper because there's a few little fiddly bits that it might be very hard to deal with.  I made a mistake though; more about that later.

I finished off at Sainsbury's which, by that time, was quite busy so it was all rather slow.  I wasn't terribly impressed with the clothes.  There were a few nice lighter dresses but when I get anything like that, it will be with the two 2026 holidays in mind and I haven't thought that through yet.   I did, however, get one T shirt, a nice ditzy patterned one (I think that's the term) because most of my T shirts are a bit too big now.  At just £4, it won't break the bank - which is just as well because the rest of the shop was rather eye watering.  Being the first of the month and not having done much of a shop at the beginning of February, there were some less frequent things I needed to buy - things like dishwasher powder, tinned goods, some frozen fruit and some steak mince - that sort of stuff.

It was nice to get the car topped up and it came to less that what I had allowed for so that's good.

I remembered to read the gas meter and send that off although I did take my torch with me as I nearly forgot and it was getting dark!

I started in on sanding the coffee table top and realised that I had made a mistake with the sandpaper.  I thought it was a pack with several different levels of coarseness but it wasn't, it was just very rough stuff  for getting the original varnish off - fine, I need some, but I need other as well.  Oh, well, with all the tops I may want to deal with, it won't go to waste, will it?

I finished off the ironing - yay.

And this . . .

No, it's not a sourdough loaf, I am weeks away from that, but I wanted to practise the shaping, cutting, baking techniques that I will use when (or if) I do get round to making a proper loaf.

This is my usual recipe, made mostly in Thermione with added seeds, part wholemeal, part spelt and part strong white.  No rye because Sainsbury's didn't have the wholemeal kind so I sent off for some and it will be arriving on Monday (good old Amazon).

This is what I got and I'm pleased with it.  Beth is taking it as I have plenty in the freezer already, so I've not been tempted!

As for Bubbles, she (she's a 'she' in my mind, I can't keep saying 'it') had another quiet day.  She smells OK and there's no sign of mould so I think the earlier activity must have been the 'false rise' and now it is the quiet days - or so I hope.  And my kitchen is just too cold so she's in the living room for now.

I haven't made it easy for myself, making a rye starter, I suppose.  Nor is it great timing as I am away next weekend, but not to worry.  We will get there and if not, I try again with  Bubbles II.

Today feels busy although it isn't really.  Beth and Alex are here for lunch and I'm picking them up so I can leave a bit earlier, stop off at B&Q and get the right sandpapers - they say we learn more from out mistakes, don't they?  I've already prepped the vegetables and the meat (a turkey breast thingy in a foil tray) is currently roasting in Nellie for reheating later - a time saver strategy!  Must remember to get some dried stuffing out of the shed and get a few piggies out of the freezer.  I didn't do the proper Christmas dinner that Alex so loves at the right time so why not today?  

Before then, at ten, Chris is over for half an hour of Groove online.  As Lindsey said:
Live stream FREE half hour groove aerobics for Let’s Dance campaign

. . . and here' the site:

https://lets-dance.org.uk/

. . . so I need to do a bit of a tidy up before she arrives and make sure everything is on and working.  It looks like we will be a big group and Lindsey is excited.

Right, well, better go and do something useful like tidying the kitchen!  Have a lovely Sunday, everyone, and stay warm and content.  See you tomorrow.  xx