What have you been doing today?

[judydawn]

How lovely to share your birthday with your Grandson Margaret, belated happy birthday to you both.

[achookwoman]

Happy Birthday Mab. How lovely to share it with your GGS.
It is -2 this morning in Wangaratta. We had a slow trip yesterday , stopping at several towns.   This mural of Shane Warne was painted on the side of a cafe. My friend De is in the photo.

[cookie1]

I love it Chookie. De looks like lots of fun.
This morning I went for my 6 monthly skin check. I had about 6 zaps with the nitrogen and one big one on my nose. The dermatologist said it would become a nasty so he zapped it hard to go deep. H e is pretty sure it will stop it developing as its very superficial at the moment.If you see anyone with a big red burned blob on their nose it will be me.

[mab19]

Thank you ladies for the birthday wishes.

Supermarket shopping this morning.  The cost of everything is rising so fast.

[cookie1]

I did my shopping this morning too Mab. You are so right about the prices. 😢😢

[achookwoman]

Today we drove from Wangaratta to Tilden. Tomorrow I go home.  Before I left for this small holiday, the Victorian transport body asked me to keep an account of my travel on one day. That was today. I also have had to carry a tracking device for 3 days.
The weather was fantastic for the two days we were sightseeing. It was cold but sunny.
I can’t wait to get home with the cumquats and grapefruit that we were given to me. I picked up lots of small jars from the op shop in Euroa.

[cookie1]

Are you being tracked Chookie?

I went and bought a heap of flour for breadmaking today. Lots of new varieties to try.

[Cuilidh]

Got back from our travels overseas yesterday – totally exhausted and walked straight into preparations for end of financial year, so will be desperate for a rest when it is all over – sometime in about two weeks following a full stocktake next weekend.

We managed to get to Scotland to see my family and friends on the Isle of Lewis for a couple of days, caught up with DH’s family in Inverness for another couple of days then went on to Madrid for a conference as well as a couple of tours visiting Toledo, Cordoba, Seville and Granada before returning to Madrid then straight flights back to Melbourne.

Loved Spain, it is a fascinating and beautiful country with an interesting history.  Saw lots of lovely old towns and buildings / churches – in fact, in Seville (I think, my mind is still trying to absorb everything) there is a huge mosque with a Christian church built inside part of it.  If only our current religions were so tolerant towards each other!  Huge olive groves everywhere – thousands and thousands of acres of olives.  My poor camera overheated from all the photos we took.

Flew out of a 37 degree day in Madrid to 12 in Melbourne.  Bit of a shock.

I haven't had time to catch up on everything on the forum, but hope all is well with everyone and you are getting lots of interesting cooking done.

[judydawn]

Welcome home from such a beautiful trip away Marina. I always felt like I needed a holiday after getting home from one but in your situation it’s always throwing yourselves straight back into your work. It’s the worst time of the year to finish a holiday, I always hated stocktaking with a passion.

[achookwoman]

Cookie, what a wonderful assortment of flour.  Have fun.
Marina, that all sounds fantastic. Catching up with family and sightseeing in Spain.
Today I’m trying to make a decision about my very small garden. 3/4 of my fence is lined with bay trees. I’m going to remove 2 sides but leave the front ones as a screen. One bed is raised and one not. I’m thinking of putting a raised bed in for herbs. I do use a lot in cooking. Issue, what is the best food safe raised garden bed to use. .?

[judydawn]

What about something like this Chookie, easier to tend to than something low.

[K Atie]

Gosh os trips ,car travels, flour collection etc lots of fun everyone. We have be out to our local Recrationsl grounds for a pizza night all helped clean up dishes and cleaned tables . Today DH and I had a great lunch out with friends and partners. Boys won on the catch up talking. We started at 12.30 left at 6pm not bad at all the place let as chat all afternoon very kind . Outside was freezing . DS stayed home and checked the gutters of a farm house chopped trees , mowed grass. So good he can drive around without us . I did tell him go his mates footy , but he was happy to see his DGM in the hostel who gave orders to us to wash her cardigan and needed coins for some game they play , eek !

[achookwoman]

K Atie you are always so busy.
Judy, that looks similar to what I think I might get for one area. DD gave me something similar but is self watering. I checked the food safe qualities of zinc coated tanks and might get 2 custom made.
A friend was given a bread making machine. No instruction book. I’ve been talking her through making a loaf. The recipe was buttermilk and honey. No buttermilk so used 1/2 yogurt and 1/2 milk. Very good result for a small loaf.

[mab19]

Yesterday DD and I went on a shopping trip and then out to lunch at our favourite Italian restaurant.  When I went to pay we were told that someone had already paid for our meal.  The staff would not tell us who it was and we had no idea who it could be so we asked the staff to pass on our thanks to this very generous person.

[judydawn]

There are quite a few postings on FB of ‘paying it forward’, it must be surprising when it happens to you Margaret. People often help others out at the checkout when they’re short of money or just offer to pay the lot, it’s a wonderful thing to do.

Today I’ve been out to my veggie shop and then the supermarket to buy all the ingredients for my next round of cooking for the kids so that I can get stuck into it tomorrow. Shortly I’m off to visit a friend for the rest of the afternoon.