My post site will be quiet for a few days as I shall be away for however long it takes -

The offer of a phone call when I am staying nearby to my husband who will be in hospital next week, 120 miles away from home, gave me a warm feeling which was soon dispelled when the reason for the call was to give me details of where to find a particular cheese.

There are a number of kindly people who are offering me diverting activity if I wish it, offering company with a coffee, a visit to their homes so I do not sit alone and so on. Visiting the hospital will take up large chunks of time, which will be my main purpose for being in the area, and apart from that, I too have all sorts of things I can keep myself occupied with during the times I will not be at the hospital. Hunting out and purchasing cheese will not be high on my agenda.

The reason for the distance involved is that our regional hospital with a number of major specialist departments (not all by any means) is based in the nearest city which is a 240 miles round trip from home. The journey is along quite difficult roads, some being quite alpine in parts, with the requisite hairpin bends. The road carries heavy traffic and it is not suited to modern requirements. Our small county hospital based 20 miles away, has only one true specialist service, gynaecology and maternity, which will definitely not meet my husband’s needs!

When you live in a remote area you do help out with all sorts of requests in the ordinary course of events: that’s part of community life. I have even found myself in a Laura Ashley store in the city, at the time a neighbour of an in-law was on the phone requesting a design sample of wallpaper, which the store would not normally have posted. I trotted out with my purchase and the design sample in the same bag.

There is a time and a place…

What shall I write - not sure.

My daughter actually sounded sensible and reflective when we last spoke - will it last?

A dozen eggs have been saved from being scrambled -

The invalid feels better today and his fancy for Cumberland sausage remains frustrated - none to be found here...

The wind is growling away outside, about to be wild, possibly even preparing to go ballistic.

It is, and it will continue to be an interesting night.

With Halloween around the corner and an interest in the pumpkin soup I made the other night, abounding -well, anyway, creating some interest - I thought I would write up the recipe and method for your delectation.

PUMPKIN STILTON AND APRICOT SOUP

2 Tablespoons olive oil
900g (2lbs) Diced pumpkin
1 Onion, chopped
225g (8oz) potatoes
225g (8oz) Sliced carrot
1Tsp ground coriander
1Tsp Cumin Seeds
1.1ltr (2pts) Vegetable stock
225g (8oz) White stilton with apricots

METHOD:

1. Fry the vegetables and spices for 5 minutes
2. Add the vegetable stock,
3. Simmer in a covered pan for about 30 minutes or till all vegetables are tender
4. Blend the soup
5. Return the pan to the heat break up cheese and let it melt into the soup.
6. Serve...

I did not quite stick to the quantities, I reckoned that the recipe wasn't going to argue with me for an extra 100gr of pumpkin which I had, and extra 25g of potato (which probably balanced off the quantities). The cheese was about 80gr less but that seemed okay too. White Stilton not being a very oily cheese (otherwise I might not have used cheese at all) was very acceptable to my palate and the apricots just gave the added touch of magic .

The fruit in the cheese seemed quite moist. A nice Caerphilly and some semi dried apricots might be an alternative if you can't get the Stilton with Apricots.

ENJOY!

Last night I dreamt I went back to ... well, no actually I did not -what I did do was to make pumpkin soup for the first time ever. It was finished off with melted stilton and apricots, giving nice tastes and textures in the eating. I could sense such a soup base working with mild/medium Indian spices. As it was, this one had coriander seeds and was meant to have ground cumin in it, though I couldn't find any in my store cupboard to grind up, so I put something else in instead, but I can't tell you what, as it was written in ?Turkish. My daughter probably used up all my cumin seeds during one of her cumin and coriander flavouring phases;In the circumstances I'm surprised I had any coriander seeds left to use, but hey, I did.

The butternut squash has similar flesh to a pumpkin but that is where the resemblance between the two, ends. The butternut squash, by comparison to a pumpkin, is delightfully curvaceous, smooth to stroke, and sweet to taste. If caught just as it is ripening, it has the seductive flavour of a perfumed cashew.

There has been barely time to do all the things I wanted to do today, which includes writing my post earlier than I have. It is bed time and I do not feel very creative.

However, my day's accomplishments, though they seem insignificant to me, have, I am told, been important to others and that makes it worthwhile. There's another day tomorrow and I can continue to plod through the list of things remaining to do, then.

Sweet dreams...

Have you ever wondered about this marvel of our technological age, the sock/s that always go missing during the wash cycle in the washing machine?

The holes in the drum are too small for socks to be sucked or spun through, aren't they. Assuming the rubber diaphragm is intact, they cannot slip through that route either. When dry, socks don't bounce and when wet they are defintely weighted down. It is logical therefore to surmise that socks are not going to leap or do a backward somersault into the outside world through the dispenser. In any case, just supposing socks did do that, surely we would find them on the floor by or near to the machine; but then how would you explain how they got there, dry or sopping wet? If that were to occur, at least you might have found a sock, though you have to check if the twin was still in the drum.

It has been a brilliant day here. It is the sort of brilliance that gives added definition to the view, even to the cliffs 21 miles across the water; it is the sort of day that carries with it a definite nip in the air that presages the season to come.

Throwing snow at a windscreen because the wipers are icily stuck and the washer system with pure alcohol de-icer in the water has frozen solid, is an amazing experience. -19c lasted about a week with every day crystal clear (much as today) and treacherously beautiful. It was in this week we stayed at an hotel without heating of any kind in the guest rooms. We were given two hot water bottles between three individuals, (we gave them to the youngest amonst us) and we all dressed to go to bed. Our bodies had to heat the mattresses, the mattresses were literally, painfully cold. Dressing the next day was a rushed affair. Between carrying the plates from the kitchen to our table, our desperately needed hot breakfasts and drinks became cold too.

This morning I awoke thinking blog - so I didn't. This is one of those days when I have had much to think about but not a lot I want to write about.

It is pat on the back day for me though. My patience was tried almost to extinction by my mobile phone company. One more customer service dead pan "I apologise" would have ignited the fuse. The fifth operator I linked into couldn't believe that I was asking her to go off the customer chat menu to save both our souls. She did, it did sos, and eventually resolution was reached with all goodwill intact. I think that my mobile company, O2, should be renamed Oh.2!

I do love a good Bolognese sauce and it is usually mine...

The number of times I have been asked if I have the good old fashioned fax system set me thinking today. It is not something I would use from day to day or even week to week, yet there is obviously still a niche for this technology. The ubiquitous email has not yet ousted the fax and I wonder if it will.

Our broadband connection decided to go AWOL from lunch time and only got restored about eight o'clock tonight. That was after four expensive 0870 phone calls to tech help during which some rubbish was spouted and in one case I felt a need to check I was speaking with the technical help section. It seems that my trusty self-updating firewall might have been the problem. I wonder if it is conflict with the one on the router. That will need observing.

My communication hobby horse is the abusive use of expensive non-geographical numbers by commerce. I hear British Telecom has reported this to the powers that be; I am sure it is not a wholly altruistic move on their part but what they say is that other call suppliers are charging more than they do per minute for these calls and then blame BT when customers complain - I await the outcome of this interesting complaint.

Meantime folks there is a very useful website that is reliant on information received, but all information is checked before it is uploaded and in nine cases out of ten the site has worked well for me. It is www.saynoto0870.com User information also helps to update the site.

This is the day after the day off. Once in a while I have to garner my thoughts and focus on what else there is zooming around me.

Just to confound me, the post arrived at 10.30am yesterday. It put me all of a flutter as I wasn't psyched up to receive missives that early in the day! I wonder what's going on?

I have just heard the most amazing, genuine row between Joan Rivers and some guy called Darcus Howe, on the BBC Radio 4 Midweek programme that is chaired by Libby Purves. It was spontaneous combustion and boy, did it combust. I felt rather like a voyeur, but I hadn't tuned in to the programme to be one, not like the audiences of the reality TV shows; in legal jargon, "there was no aforethought". I bet there'll be total exploitation of the row in the media's repeats and weekly reviews of programmes. As they say, watch this space...

Pride and Prejudice, the film arrived here and I have now seen it. I am in the position of having read the book and of seeing each episode of the seminal BBC TV production some years ago. I am still thinking about the film. The immediate points that strike me are that there was some interesting, but fleeting imagery and I did not like some of the camera techniques. For me, they detracted at times from the work rather than complementing it.

This year I am determined to be 'sickenly' organised and to that end, I have made out a list of things purchased during mad moments, that get attached to particular people's names for Christmas gifts. Sounds good doesn't it. However, just as you think you've completed one family group, go check the list, guess what, there are things to be found and the job isn't complete after all. I can say though, that I have wrapped some family Christmas presents today. It's a bit like playing skittles, I guess I have knocked down two and one is wobbling. I still have to look out the pressies for posting, so I'm only partially a 'goody two shoes'. I hear you all growl, go walk the dog or play with the cat - tough!

I noticed that the post van did not deliver the stack of mail to the pick up box in our road till 11am today. Maybe the post office staff all had a lie-in. It is Monday.

14.20 - Oh well,I think we've got our usual postie back. The post arrived, heralded by a thump on the doormat. (I did so enjoy getting post by midday.)

This is a first - I rang mother-in-law to offer her a cooked meal this evening; she accepted before I had even finished the sentence and for the first time, did not ask what we were going to have to eat before giving her answer. Hubby reckons its because she likes my cooking; the question is, does he mean she likes my culinary skills or does she just like me doing the cooking

Unusually,late morning found me on the computer 'chatting'with an Argentian friend who lives near Paris. She'd got one or two fun things up her MSN sleeve, so-to-speak; animated words and animated,expressive baby faces all of which which I learnt to capture and use. It was great fun, a playtime interlude. It is my friend's birthday today and I believe we had just had a delightfully silly party (albeit brief) all to ourselves. As she was not able to receive voice clips my friend luckily missed a bad rendering by me of the happy birthday song. It probably did us both a favour!

My next play time will be tonight when I go to our little local cinema to see Wallace & Grommit; hmm I'm not sure if it a single or a double consonant there. It has had rave reviews and as I
so adore these characters, they are going to wow me without a doubt.

This afternoon I booked our first family holiday in two
years - I thought somebody had better take the initiative - no-one has asked when and where we are going. Maybe I'll say nothing till I am asked, someone is bound to get curious. I always promised myself an exotic trip when my studies were completed, however world events and nature stepped in first. I must say though, I don't think that this is the trip. I think I can dream on...

Have I just done an Adrian Mole with this posting? If I have, I must confess that I am definitely not thirteen and a half. Then again, it is certainly not in the genre of Mrs Dale. I guess I shall have to accept that it is just me.

If you have experienced one of those smug moments when you've started to achieve something ever so much in time that it feels really sooo good, then I've had one of those moments today.:D

Why, you might ask: well, I've written two Xmas cards for surface mail post (first time I've managed that in years) and wrapped up a couple of parcels, though one is on behalf of mother-in-law. She's promised to write a message on a label when I get it to her. That means her daughter will get one nice surprise from her this year. She, poor soul not only does her own post and parcels but ends up dealing with all of her mother's gifts and post as well. Mum won't let anyone else help - I've tried - while daughter has made it quite clear she would love some assistance. There's a whole load of mother and daughter stuff wrapped up in this.

Gifts, get lost, usually between two rooms, or don't get sorted, or can't be dealt with when daughter can manage it: the whole kit and caboodle gets too stressful and last Xmas, daughter stood back and the majority of wrapping etc was done in time for new year instead. I think a gentle point was made. I wait to see this year if I will be allowed to assist.

I quite liked having a new year surprise; Xmas gets too ritualised and I must say, I feel we all get dragged along with it for sake of family and traditions. Apart from helping out beforehand if I am allowed, I'm hoping to get away from the network over the festive period this year.

Though my blogs are about whatever train of thought comes to mind, I am very aware of world events, even if it may not seem so. There are so many people who can make apposite comments and offer original thoughts, that I prefer to read, observe and listen in order to reflect on what is happening and, where appropriate contribute in some form. In the international forum our main active contribution I believe, is our national vote. Not that those we vote for may necessarily be as effective as we would like nor do as we would wish. But then, we can't plan for the vagaries of human nature and neither can they.

From another viewpoint, it is obvious in democracies that when the time for elections is nigh, the political mind becomes domestically focused in order to accrue votes and it is then, for a short time, we have a voice that the politicians are desirous of hearing but also for swaying to their particular cause. However, in the global scheme of things, our voices again fade away and we are left with the people who have achieved our national vote, to act in our best interests - but the question is do they?

Right - that's my thoughts for the day, I'm now going to make a start on my annual letter while that nice smug feeling remains, and I think short will be better this year. I have tried not writing one and was roundly castigated by people for not sending it. Funny that

Another day feeling tired but then with hubby not well and fledgling creating stormy: whirlpools it is hardly surprising. It is at times like these I empathise with the weak and get angry with the immaturity and stupidity of our offspring. And that I can see is a paradox, but then life is full of them.:

Ooh I've found the smilies and other emoticons and boy, am I going to get the most out of them!

G'night

It's wearisome feeling weary all day - my own fault, went to bed too late because of sorting out blogs and zip drive research.

If I was following in the footsteps of the radio blogger - the last episode was broadcast today - (see earlier posts) I would be soaring out of blogs into the unknown. As I am not treading in those steps, I won't be disappearing from view, so-to-speak.

"I'll be alright at home on my own", the confident words of a 16 year old who has chosen to leave her parents to their own devices. I saw her enjoying retail therapy today; her rushed acceptance of the invitation to call by, following a quick impromptu light lunch suggested a certain social need from the silent, solo existence of the house. The afternoon's entertainment was well used. Other possibilities that were put to her, with provisos, were also snapped up. Her 'independence' has just begun, at least another six days to go...

Guilt is an odd emotion, especially when there really is nothing to feel guilty for. 'I should have been there' or 'why wasn't I there'or 'why didn't I do such and such' in those cases, its as if you are willing yourself to have the gift of the seer, thought transference, even osmosis. Even if you are on hand, in the majority of instances it wouldn't change anything from occurring though it might ease the passage of events. Then again, it might not. It's a blinkin awful conundrum.

I have yet to see Pride and Prejudice, the film, I have read the book, watched it on TV but the big screen version has so far eluded me. It looks like Wallace & Grommit might be going the same way. So far, every arrangement made has had to be aborted. I'll keep working on it. If it wasn't for the guilt trip, I would pop off to the cinema and get on with the fun.

Not only did I listen in to the 'doings' of Margaret, the radio 4 Woman's Hour blogger but I got a trip out as well. Although my motivation to blog came from the mini-drama I am pleased to say that will be as far as the inspiration goes. Poor Margaret, (or maybe she isn't)has not only found a voice but she has faced up to the reality of her relationship and life with hubby in double doses and he maybe about to. I await with interest for tomorrow's episode.

Apropos our activites today Where we live you need to create a reason for visiting the county town twenty miles away, (unless you live there). We had a reason, so we went. In its fishing heyday it must have been a bustling place. There was a very attractive little centre with a genuinely hundreds of years old cobbled street. Some years ago it was legally 'vandalised' by the planners to make a pedestrian precinct, except there is still a through road for delivery vehicles, disability and business access, all of which tends to have a stretched definition. The town has a set of traffic light surplus to requirements as well.

It is generally held that there is an inter-town rivalry; what our town to the west has, the county town has to have too. We have a shopping precinct of individual character, not a Next or Accessorize in sight. It was built around some original features and planned to have out of sight commercial delivery arrangements. This appears to have been the rather weak rationale for the uprooting of a lovely old street in the county town, that any other town or city would preserve and make a feature of. Our town installed some sets of traffic lights, the county town followed suit in haphazard fashion which probably accounts for the spare set that exists. They do have two mini roundabouts, our town does not possess even one. There does not seem to be any concern about that and no-one seems interested in creating one here.

It has to be said that the county town has five desirable factors. The first one is a jewellery shop that sells quality items, they have interesting designs and their gift wrap service is superior. There are two restuarants of note; one that boasts a French owner who does his own cooking and provides within a limited time span each day, the only decent coffee in town, in my opinion. The other eatery is a Nepalese one with home style cooking. Because they found that over fifty percent of their customers come from our town, the owners are opening up a sister Nepalese Restaurant here. The fourth desirable factor and the most interesting is the Heritage Centre, run entirely by volunteers, which has won major accolades but which the local authority did not support with signeage because it is not a paid up member of the local tourist office! The fifth and greatest desirable factor is, the town has really warm and friendly people.

The small County Town has taken an economic hammering in recent times and it has made various worthies sit up and think about their ruined treasures, some of which they are thinking of re-creating. The materials that came from demolition (which they were advised against) have long gone, some into the harbour and its walls. I am not sure that they really know how to develop this renaissance as they have cast off and lost so many people who would know. I genuinely wish them well.

As I was busy with other things this morning, at this moment of writing,I do not know what Woman's Hour's blogger got up to. Perhaps I'll tune into radio 4 tonight and catch up with it then. If not, I'll continue to blog while I listen on the internet - now that is apposite.

How can one fledgling create so many waves? We had just been lulled into a comfortable place after the last lot of disruption to our quiet-ish lives when a panic-stricken call came through with the voice several notches higher than usual and speech the speed of light. I arranged to call back later when said fledgling is in a position to have a chat hopefully,with a reasonable speed of vocal expression,so I can understand what's happening

I think I am distracted, in fact I know I am, no point in being in denial about it. A brief appointment I had mentally noted for this afternoon is actually for next week. Fortunately, it was not a major event. It was nice to get parked even if the car park was empty for a good reason - everyone is on holiday! Ho hum.

Replies to posts of different sorts have taken up a bit of time today so my post has been singularly lacking in attention

A daily blog can become an unrelenting chore; I was thinking that I do not want to create a monster. What I want to do is to be able to muse in those precious quiet moments that sometimes come our way and blog as the notion takes me.

The chores in the kitchen were never undertaken with such willingness as this morning. Woman's Hour was on BBC Radio 4 and woe betide anyone who interrupted my listening. My 'play' motivator for blogging (see blog number 1) was performing in the mini play and she certainly gave me food for thought today. For anyone who decides to listen in to this episode, I have to emphasize that it was just 'thought'The depicted life and mine have nothing in common apart from an interest in communication; it was fascinating to hear how that was developing though, to be honest, I was interested in the twist in tail. For anyone who may read my blog, you will just have to listen to the mini play to find out what I am talking about.

11am and I find there is post - I assume it has come through the normal delivery channels though it is pre-printed UK Business Post- I can only think we have a new and earlier-working postman or there's been a local reorganisation. Long may it last. At least I can deal with the post in the working day if needs be, which is not something I have been able to do for eons.

Talking of postal services, which I am, I wonder how the competition being introduced into the system will affect deliveries and other services to remote areas which are not at the top end of the cherry-picking list. Areas like mine have already seen huge reductions in services due to rural post office closures. Mobile services which were trialled in Cumbria and I believe, the west country in England, are likely to be introduced here. It is going to be much like the mobile library though it may not wait as long as the library van does. And if a not so ambulant person cannot reach the van in time, in whatever weather conditions prevail,(here, weather can be really foul) they will have real problems. As it is, these mobile services do not appear to provide all services offered by the main post offices, such as passport applications and driving requirements.

First Blog
Monday, October 10, 2005
I am just starting to blog; this my very first one. Listening to the Woman's Hour mini play on BBC Radio 4 on Monday morning 10th October 2005 set me off on this path. I must now listen in to Tuesday's episode and see what happens next! We (the play blogger and I) may follow in simultaeneous footsteps. The radio blogger had a "thing" presumably, a counter to see how many readers she had and was off to html classes. I don't think I can emulate that.

There is a tertiary college in the remote area I live in but it does not provide all educational luxuries that you hear about. A class I signed on for last year with a maximum of twelve evening students was postponed, for very good reasons I have to say, however, the course was then cancelled. Being number four on the list of applicants for the class meant, I was told, that I would be given priority when the class re-started. I have not been contacted so I presume the class has been de-listed for the foreseeable future.

That reminds me of the one and only time I got the number one boarding card for EasyJet. It felt like winning a raffle. That was short-lived. The airport was Luton which at the best of times I find a stressful place to negotiate. The plane arrived on time for its passengers, the air crew were in place but can you believe it, there was a dearth of ground crew. All the passengers were queued through a long corridor (you had to get there first) and then there was a wait on several flights of stairs no matter whether you were ambulant or not, mothers with babes etc. There was a major health and safety issue there but one which no airport staff member took heed of. This was the method of controlling the movement of passengers via the one member of ground staff who could be found to handle boarding requirements.

I have just answered the phone and lost my train of thought. I did notice some shadowy outlines through the glass door near where the phone is fixed. To my surprise I found that the post had been delivered,before 12.10pm early (for us). We are used to getting mail here after 2pm and on occasion at tea time. The main area mail is delivered by someone using post office vans and placed in a grey pick-up box opposite the house, usually between 0930-10am. the mail is then taken from the box by the area postman for house deliveries. Today I got post -mostly bills, at a relatively reasonable time - amazing!!

As this is my first blog, I am not sure if there is a protocol for signing off.