Puss

After another cupboard sorted, another bag of tat for the tip and another bag of clothes for the charity shop cleared out I am having a tea break....with a friend!

SATURDAY VIDEO TIME

Rumour has it that the snow is on its way out!

Last night there were vehicles stuck on the Moor Road and indeed a lorry was stuck just outside our village.
The problem was and is often due to the snow drifting. When you have such a rolling expanse like the North York Moors one small gust of wind can deem the whole road invisible, which is what happened last night.
Whilst we can look out onto the garden and indeed up the village, the roads appear okay, venturing out on them can be a different matter, we'll just see.

I hope we get out - cabin fever here and Marks & Spencer's have one of their excellent meal deals on right now!

P.S. Saw this the other day - hilarious don't you think?

December–outside and inside!

Just a few minutes ago I caught our friend Phil the pheasant nibbling away at some corn which had been knocked out of the chicken’s breakfast dish. If you look closely you will be able to make out the visiting robin. This is the robin who prefers custard creams to bourbon biscuits.
Yesterday I opened the hatch to the henhouse around 2pm. The chickens made a quick dash for their food, returning to their house a matter of minutes later – wise I would say.
The snow stayed with us all of yesterday and whilst the roads are clearer the threat of ice forming is always hanging in the air.
I tend to get my jobs and shopping done early as possible and return to the comfort of our snug. We purchased a new unit a month ago and we are so pleased with it.

As my mum would say “In for the night now!”

A Scam!

 

 

 

 

 

Last year I bought a pair of UGG boots when we were visiting York Shopping Outlet. Jon had been asking me what I wanted for Christmas and I had said I would keep my eyes open. When I saw the boots I certainly liked them and when I tried them on - well they were just so so comfortable......so my Christmas present was sorted. Whilst they are not practical for walking in the dirty weather we have I wear them constantly on all other occasions. I wore them with a dress on Christmas Day last year - apparently they were designed as indoor slippers - so you can imagine how comfortable they are. They are sprayed regularly with a protective treatment and should any particularly difficult stains occur they go for a spell in the boot hospital - our local cobbler who is a dab hand with such matters.

Christmas 2012 approaching and once again I was asked what would I like for a pressie.
My MIL likes to give me money towards something she knows I really want....so when I came across this website
I decided another pair would be ideal - but this time I would go for a leather upper rather than suede.
Boots purchased online and I waited.

But when the postman came knocking, he wasn’t armed with sheepskin-lined Sundance II boots in black, just an ominous-looking letter.

‘Notice of Goods Detained,’ read the missive, bearing the UK Border Agency logo. ‘We have detained your parcel containing “UGG” boots because we believe they are counterfeit, pirated or patent-infringing goods. We have contacted the owner of the Trade Mark, Copyright or Right Holder and asked them to determine whether this is the case.’

A second letter was enclosed in the same envelope, from Deckers, the owners of the UGG brand. They’ve examined the boots, confirmed that they are fakes and now plan to destroy them.

‘As the goods are counterfeit and were not purchased from a genuine UGG site we are not in a position to offer a refund,’ it concludes.

 

I have contacted our bank and have filled in the necessary forms to get my money back. I have forwarded all e-mails to and from the company so now I am just waiting to see what happens!

 

 Watch this space.

G is for...Gizzard and Gravid.

G is for Gizzard. Following on with my ABC of life with the Nesbitt chickens we come to G!
Some technical information today!

A Gizzard is a compartment in the chicken's digestive system that grinds up food. It is lined with keratin and uses small stones (grit) to break the food down to smaller pieces.
Many other birds have this same organ.

The digestive process is as follows…
The beak moistens food with Saliva.
Food is not chewed. The oesophagus takes the food down to the crop to be stored.
After a chicken has eaten, the crop will feel full and bulge. Food from the crop slowly passes down to the proventriculus. The proventriculus mixes the food with acids and digestive enzymes. Food is then passed through to the gizzard where insoluble (flint) grit has accumulated.

 ( As our hens are free-range and allowed to forage wherever they please - they have sufficient grit in their natural diet. From time to time I add some grit but this is rare).

Food is ground down by strong muscular action in the gizzard. From the gizzard, food is passed through to the small intestine and is reduced further with enzymes from the pancreas. Bile produced by the liver and stored in the gall bladder helps to break down fat. The intestines digest the food, taking nutrients from it. Water and the remaining undigested food is absorbed in the large intestine.

 The caeca are a pair of tubes that allow fermentation of undigested food to take place. This is emptied every 24 hours or so and is a light brown (mustard colour) froth. This can often be confused as diarrhoea by the novice. The cloaca / vent passes a combination of faeces and urine, together with eggs from the oviduct. This is the only rear orifice chickens have. The name cloacae means "common sewer". Eggs travel through here to exit the body. Sperm enters here, and urine and faeces also exit the body through that pathway, hence the name.(Sorry were you eating?)

Gravid, A bird that is about to lay an egg is called "gravid," just like a woman who is about to give birth.
A female chick is hatched with one functioning ovary and all of the eggs (as in female gametes, not shelled eggs), that she will ever have.

Once she is sexually mature, she will lay one shelled egg about every 24 hours during each laying cycle.
A laying cycle lasts about 21 days.
The female gametes are called follicles. A number of them will develop at a time; the largest will get fertilized if sperm are present.

This large follicle is the egg yolk; it is intended to be nourishment for a developing embryo, and is referred to as a yolk sac. Whether fertilized or not this yolk sac passes through a series of organs to become a shelled egg.

 Its first stop is an organ called the infindibulum, wherein that sticky membrane surrounding the yolk sac (called the chalazae) is deposited. This takes about 15 minutes.
 The next stop is an organ called the magnum, where the albumin, or egg white, is formed; this takes about 3 hours.
Next it goes to an organ called the isthmus, where shell membranes are formed; this takes about one hour.
The last stop is the uterus, or "shell gland," and this is where the shell is deposited and becomes mineralized. This last step takes the most time, about 20 hours.

Then the egg is then ready to be laid.

Fascinating eh? Now you know.

For more amazing stuff follow the link to ABC Wednesday in my sidebar!

Today's tootling over the moors!

This afternoon we tootled over to visit our pals Jill and Phil.

The hens were having a good scrat about the field.

It was a lovely crisp autumnal afternoon.

We drove onto Whitby for fish and chips!

Back to the diet tomorrow!

Boo!

Normally we keep the hen food in the garage, but a few weeks ago we noticed the sacks were being nibbled away.  I now store the sacks of food in the kitchen cupboard. Today, Jon decided to check the motorbike over as it will need to have an MOT test asap so it will be ready to tax for March 1st. The battery was flat so Jon had to charge it up. When he removed the seat – look what he discovered! A door mouse had made its home there over the winter months. It had nibbled through the plastic bag containing the map book and also part of Jon’s waterproof trousers. I quickly got the camera and captured the moment! He didn’t seem bothered by Jon or myself and Jon checked over the various electrics and wiring to ensure it had not nibbled through anything important It would appear it hadn’t.

The Dormouse and the Doctor by A. A. Milne

There once was a Dormouse who lived in a bed

Of delphiniums (blue) and geraniums (red),

And all the day long he'd a wonderful view

Of geraniums (red) and delphiniums (blue).

A Doctor came hurrying round, and he said:

'Tut-tut, I am sorry to find you in bed.

Just say 'Ninety-nine' while I look at your chest....

Don't you find that chrysanthemums answer the best?'

The Dormouse looked round at the view and replied

(When he'd said 'Ninety-nine') that he'd tried and he'd tried,

And much the most answering things that he knew

Were geraniums (red) and delphiniums (blue).

The Doctor stood frowning and shaking his head,

And he took up his shiny silk hat as he said:

'What the patient requires is a change,' and he went

To see some chrysanthemum people in Kent.

The Dormouse lay there, and he gazed at the view

Of geraniums (red) and delphiniums (blue),

And he knew there was nothing he wanted instead

Of delphiniums (blue) and geraniums (red).

The Doctor came back and, to show what he meant,

He had brought some chrysanthemum cuttings from Kent.

'Now these,' he remarked, 'give a much better view

Than geraniums (red) and delphiniums (blue).'

They took out their spades and they dug up the bed

Of delphiniums (blue) and geraniums (red),

And they planted chrysanthemums (yellow and white).

'And now,' said the Doctor, 'we'll soon have you right.'

The Dormouse looked out, and he said with a sigh:

'I suppose all these people know better than I.

It was silly, perhaps, but I did like the view

Of geraniums (red) and delphiniums (blue).'

The Doctor came round and examined his chest,

And ordered him Nourishment, Tonics, and Rest.

'How very effective,' he said, as he shook

The thermometer, 'all these chrysanthemums look!'

The Dormouse turned over to shut out the sight

Of the endless chrysanthemums (yellow and white).

'How lovely,' he thought, 'to be back in a bed

Of delphiniums (blue) and geraniums (red.)'

The Doctor said, 'Tut! It's another attack!'

And ordered him Milk and Massage-of-the-back,

And Freedom-from-worry and Drives-in-a-car,

And murmured, 'How sweet your chrysanthemums are!'

The Dormouse lay there with his paws to his eyes,

And imagined himself such a pleasant surprise:

'I'll pretend the chrysanthemums turn to a bed

Of delphiniums (blue) and geraniums (red)!'

The Doctor next morning was rubbing his hands,

And saying, 'There's nobody quite understands

These cases as I do! The cure has begun!

How fresh the chrysanthemums look in the sun!'

The Dormouse lay happy, his eyes were so tight

He could see no chrysanthemums, yellow or white.

And all that he felt at the back of his head

Were delphiniums (blue) and geraniums (red).

And that is the reason (Aunt Emily said)

If a Dormouse gets in a chrysanthemum bed,

You will find (so Aunt Emily says) that he lies

Fast asleep on his front with his paws to his eyes.

Domestic Stuff!

We are snowed in again so I am making the most of it and cracking on with preparations for the Christmas Dinner. My MIL phoned this morning - worried that she wont be able to get here if the snow continues as it is - but we reassured her she will definately get here as Jon will collect her in the pick up. There should be 8 for dinner - My SIL, her partner, the 3 nephews, MIL, Jon and myself. I must admit I love preparing in advance as on the day itself, once the meal is served the family clear up and there is a constant supply of nephews to help out. I will designate jobs - important ones like making sure everybody has drinks nd the likes!

This is the menu

* denotes this dish is prepared and in the freezer!

Tropical Fruit Salad in something alcoholic



Turkey

Roast leg of lamb

Roast beef

(all of the above will have cooked through the night in the aga)



Home Roast Parsnips & Potatoes*

Mashed champ potatoes (with cream & spring onion)

Vegetable Bake*

Green veg (brussels  *, cabbage & brocolli)

Peas *

Yorkshire Puddings

Gravy

Chipolata Sausages/bacon rolls

Stuffing Balls*



Desert..

Vanilla Scones, *Fruit, Clotted Cream with Cointreau

Raspberry Trifle

The vegetable bake is my own recipe heavily influenced by M&S. Here is how I make it:-

Half a white cabbage - chopped and lightly steamed.
1 large onion  -  chopped and lightly steamed.
4 large potatoes partly cooked
2 Big hand fulls of green beans chopped
4 carrots cooked and chopped
3 tomatoes finely chopped
1 cooked cauliflower finely chopped

Stir all together and add 3 beaten eggs, half a pint of milk and grated cheese and season to tastle.
Place in a casserole dish and cook - you will thank me for this recipe it is awesome.

The picture is of the stuffing balls now in the freezer. I like to keep things simple and used a packet of paxo sage and onion stuffing to which I added some seasoning I was given at the Great Yorkshire Pie Show in October. Not sure what it is but it was to add to sausagemeat to add flavour - so I have now added it to the stuffing mix together with plenty of cooked onions. I tasted a sample and it certainly had a kick to it!
For desert I am trying something different - the vanilla scones, made with yoghurt are absolutely delicious. I know I have gone on before about them here but the taste is just out of this world. I will serve them on a large platter with lots of clotted cream and a variety of fruit. The cream with contreau again is awesome. I did make some up with this cream and orange curd - awesome!

I only need to get the odd thing in which I will do locally. I didn't dare order any shopping on-line as the deliveries have been cancelled due to the bad weather!

Softly Softly!

Snow has been mentioned on the weather forecast – by the weekend it would seem. This is not such good news after days of constant raining. We haven’t been far at all – choosing to enjoy the warmth and comfort of home. The nights are dark so much earlier and the hens are often in for the night by 4pm. We have to ensure we have sufficient oil to keep the central heating going and we are stocked up with coal for the AGA.

I don’t really mind the bad weather – as long as I do not have to venture very far! If it does snow I will be out and about with my camera. We are surrounded by farmers and we see them preparing their land and animals for the cold spell. Animals seem to have their own inbuilt weather forecast system! We know that if Ella comes inside after a quick “necessity” visit round the garden – that the weather is going to be cold and she will be inside until nature calls again!

I love reading and catching up with news whilst keeping warm and I came across one of my favourite poems – guaranteed to warm the cockles of your heart!

Nod, by Walter de la Mare, 1873-1956

Softly along the road of evening,
In a twilight dim with rose,
Wrinkled with age, and drenched with dew,
Old Nod the shepherd goes.
His drowsy flock streams on before him,
Their fleeces charged with gold,
To where the sun's last beam leans low
On Nod the the shepherds fold.
The hedge is quick and green with brier,
From their sand the conies creep;
And all the birds that fly in heaven
Flock singing home to sleep.
His lambs outnumber a noon's roses,
Yet, when night shadows fall,
His blind old sheep-dog, Slumber-soon,
Misses not one of all.
His are the quiet steps of dreamland,
The waters of no more pain,
His ram's bell rings 'neath an arch of stars,
"Rest, Rest, and rest again."

Action!

Today's Inspirational Quote:
"When you were born, you cried and the world rejoiced. Live
your life so that when you die, the world cries and you
rejoice."

Kabir

We have had a good weekend really. As ever the gloomy, misty, foggy weather was coastal, so on Sunday we headed over to Richmond, North Yorkshire. As we approached the town a motorbike overtook us and when we stopped at the traffic lights said to follow him for a place to have a cup of tea. We found ourselves next to the river and had a lovely rest. I did have a strange sandwich – no butter just dry slices of bread, a slice of meat and an onion! Oh well – good job I am on a diet! lol! Total lost so fay 6lb!

A busy week so best I get going and kick the day into action!

If idle hands are the devils tools we are OK then here in the Nesbitt household!

 

 

Earth and sky, woods and fields, lakes and rivers, the mountain and the sea, are excellent schoolmasters, and teach some of us more than we can ever learn from books.

John Lubbock

Walking up the lane last Thursday I noticed the duck pond was quite quiet as for some reason the ducks had chosen the second pond as their favourite of the day. It was during my walk with Freida I noticed the amount of elderberries, brambles and rosehips which were ready for picking. Our own plums are now picked and freezing ready to be made up into Christmas drinks. This week is going to be a week of picking & pottering in the kitchen as well as continuing with preparations for my exhibition……busy busy I think!

Monday Morning!

How do you like your eggs? I am a boiled egg fan – I even have my favourite Peter Rabbit egg cup and matching plate. I boil the eggs for 5 minutes as they are quite large and have toast with butter. I usually have breakfast around 9.30 after I have done the early morning jobs….infact looking at the picture is making me hungry!

Our eggs were popular this weekend! We went to Pickering Steam Engine Rally and I made some scotch eggs! They were delicious even if I say so myself!

We have had an action packed weekend so I need to do some general housework and get the ball rolling in the every day life here in the Nesbitt household!

Watch this space!

For more close up activity visit here

Typical Bank Holiday!

The weather forecast has been accurate so far! Saturday was cold and it rained. Today, Sunday we awoke to the sound of rain hammering against the window = although this seems to have died down we are not anticipating nice weather for the rest of the day, Monday apparently is going to be a nice day!

It seems ages since I wrote anything here, due to just being busy I guess, I do try to keep up with my cookery challenge and am pleased to think I am experimenting with new recipes on a weekly basis! However life goes on and I thought it was time I touched base!

I am pleased to report all is well in the Nesbitt household, Freida has really settled in well and loves her visits to the beach. The calming influence she has is quite opposite to the stress poor Wilma suffered, but Freida enjoys the simple pleasure of sharing a room with any obliging soul! Indeed as I ramble on here she is sleeping on the settee opposite, occasionally checking me out with one big searching eye! Elsie too seems calmer, although she has her moments of sheer thuggery all in all the household is a calmer place.

The hens have truly settled into a routine of delivering lovely fresh eggs on a daily basis and as you can see from the picture even ventured into the house a few weeks ago. This is not to be encouraged as we know what hens do - but they were scratting about by the kitchen patio door hinting they wanted feeding when Elsie trotted in from the garden and poor Eva ran into the house!

It is approaching our annual pigrimage to the Isle of Man for the TT Races. We are staying in Port Erin again, but sadly the hotel was booked up for 2011 would you believe, so we are trying Douglas next year to see the events from a different perspective! Anyway that is a whole year away, we have yet to enjoy this years events! We leave on Friday 4th and stay until June 12th. I have a wedding commission to finish and once this is safely put to bed I can begin preparing for our holiday. All animals are booked in at various kennels/catteries/neighbours and the hens and Jo will be looked after by John and Trish from over the road. It is a good arrangement we have with them, as in 5 weeks when they go to Turkey I will be looking after their hens and cats, so it is a case of returning the favour!

Thos eof you who listen to Radio 2 may have heard me on popmaster a couple of weeks ago! It was so much fun! The questions were unbelievably difficult and I came away with 6 points! But I was proud! A couple of days later I received a postcard from a couple of listeners I have never met - they said how much they had enjoyed listening to me and that there should be more people like me on the programme! I tell you, fan mail eh? lol! Yesterday I was on BBC ! when I phoned in to ask a question - you can see it here, I am on about 1 hour 10 minutes into the programme! lol!

Enjoy the Bank Holiday!

R is for....

Red Pepper and Broadbean Quiche

My cookery challenge continues and this week I am sharing a new vegetarian recipe. There is a true link to reality with this quiche as on Saturday we are having friends round for supper and one is a vegetarian so this was the reason for my choice!


Serves 6
Takes 20 minutes to make, 40-45 minutes in the oven, plus chilling, freezing and cooling

Ingredients
• 200g self-raising flour, plus extra for dusting
• 100g Lurpak Lighter Spread
• 3 medium eggs
• 200ml reduced-fat crème fraîche
• 40g vegetarian Parmesan, finely grated
• Handful fresh chivess, plus extra sprigs to garnish
• 250g freshly podded broad beans ( I will be using frozen ones)
• 280g jar roasted red peppers in oil, drained and roughly chopped



1. Place the flour in a bowl and add the Lurpak spread. Rub in with your fingertips until the mixture looks like fine breadcrumbs. Add 2 tablespoons cold water and work the mixture into a ball. Wrap in cling film and chill for 30 minutes.
2. On a lightly floured surface, roll out the pastry and use to line a 23cm round x 3cm deep loose-bottomed, fluted tart tin – press into the tin if you find this easier. Prick the base several times with a fork and pop in the freezer for 10 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 200°C/fan180°C/gas 6. Line the pastry with baking paper and baking beans and blind-bake for 10 minutes. Remove the paper and beans and bake for a further 5 minutes or until the pastry is dry and pale golden.
4. In a large bowl, beat together the eggs, crème fraîche and Parmesan. Stir in the thyme, broad beans and red peppers and season with plenty of black pepper. Pour into the pastry case and bake for 25-30 minutes or until the filling is just set and pale golden. Cool in the tin for 10 minutes, then put on a serving plate.
5. Garnish with chives, slice and serve with a salad, if you like.


Once again I find I have only managed one blog entry this week, this is because life is busy and we are going to the Isle of Man on June 4th for our annual TT visit so lots to do and I have 2 wedding commissions on too!

No rest for the wicked! lol!

Funtime!

I saw this task a couple of days ago, I had fun completing it...what do you think?
Why not have a go, if you do let me know.
I based my answers on one of my all time favourites, as a teenager I collected all of his albums!


Using only song names from ONE ARTIST, cleverly answer these questions.
Try not to repeat a song title. It's a lot harder than you think!

Pick your Artist:
Elton John

Are you a male or female:
Honky Cat!

Describe yourself:
High Flying Bird!

Your fear:
Funeral for a Friend!

Describe where you currently live:
Country Comfort

If you could go anywhere, where would you go:
Candle by the Pond

Your favourite form of transportation:
Benny & The Jets

How I would like to die:
Street Boogie

What's the weather like:
Written in the Stars

Your best friend is:
Wouldn’t have you any other way!

You and your best friends are:
White lady White powder

Favourite time of day:
Empty Sky

If your life was a TV show, what would it be called:
Captain Fantastic and the Browndirt Cowboy!

What is life to you:
Written in the Stars!

How do you feel:
Simple Life.

Your relationship:
All across the Heavens

What is the best advice you have to give:
Earn whole you learn!

Thought for the Day:
Believe

My soul's present condition:
Blessed

My life motto:
“Teacher I need you!”