Not quite a week of lockdown….
At the start of the week I got my first Christmas card – but then the Sunday in the middle of the week was Advent Sunday. I think Tom, being a minister, was getting ahead of himself before all the Christmas services and other activities start. Got 3 more Christmas cards before the week ended and managed to get up my Christmas tree, too!
The first walk this week was over Broken Bridges, through a part of Harnham, along the town path and then back along Churchfields Road. It was lovely and sunny, if chilly, so some more good reflections in the rivers and streams and my friend did spot and point out another kingfisher. It disappeared at a time we were both looking away and searching for cameras! The second walk will be after the lockdown finishes….
Have done a couple of new recipes this week. First I made a lemon drizzle cake, which is something I like but have never made – until now. It isn’t the best I have tasted, but was OK. Will probably make it again but will get a zester – it was hard to zest the lemon using my grater – and need a larger bowl as I didn’t have room to beat the mixture as much as I would have liked without getting it everywhere. A non-waxed lemon would make things easier, too – removing (most of) the wax was hard work. I would also use a fork not a skewer to make the holes in the top as that would make more holes and so maybe get lemon into all parts of the cake.
I also made another dish from my “Pasta! Pasta!” book – Tagliatelle con Tonno. This has tuna in oil, butter, parsley, double cream and the tagliatelle and is very rich and also a bit oily. I might make it again when I have some double cream as it was very quick and easy to make but I think I would either leave out the butter or use tuna without oil. Not very healthy so I served it with salad.
My friend made Chana masala – a vegan meal with chickpeas, spinach and spices… She described it as “really yummy, very healthy and it had a bit of a bite to it”. Have I mentioned that she is a better cook than me and probably eats much more healthily? She has really got into vegan and vegetarian recipes and seems to be enjoying the challenge of a new dish each week. I think she enjoys looking at her recipes and finding something new as much as cooking and eating them.
I have been doing a jigsaw, on and off – mostly off – for a month or two now but I wanted the space to put up my Christmas tree so have been really working at it. It was only 500 pieces, but was mostly browns and creams so not that easy to do. It was finished this week!
In Ancient Rome I have been into the theatre of Marcellus – stood on the stage, ran round the place for the chorus, looked at the barrel vaulting under the seating and tried the seats for both the nobs and the plebs – hard stone, and the sun was too hot and too bright! I think one would have to be in the highest class and choose one’s seat carefully if one wanted some shade. I have still got the Baths of Caracalla and the Colosseum to explore, maybe later in the week or next week and I would like to go back to the Capitol Hill and try to find my way round that again – if I have time.
I have finished one more book and am half way through another. That leaves one and a half library books unfinished at the end of this lockdown so I don’t have to hurry to the library.
And so… we move on – to tier two. Hair appointment booked, gym booked, seat at church booked and café opens on Thursday so should be volunteering there next Wednesday…