Stormy Weather

[marthe]

Hope to see you soon marthe. You are the cement that holds this thread together.

Very chilly in this part of SELondon/Kent this morning and heating is on, costing a king's ransom.

Must get down to my crumbles soon, cooking apples everywhere and peeling them very hard work too.

Have a good day.

Saly, I brough back a pile of windfall apples from Vermont. I saw many abandoned trees on road sides , at the edge of woods or fields that I always came back from a walk with my pockets full of apples. Some of them are a bit small and spotty but will make very good crumble! Your post has inspired me to get busy tomorrow and bake up a storm! Our heating has come on too! We have gas rather than oil heat. Either way it costs a king's ransom here too! I hope that peeling the apples wasn't too hard. I'm sure the results will be worth the effort. Do you serve your crumble with cream or custard?

@Anna, roast pork with apples and pears goes down quite well at our house too!

[salymap]

Good morning marthe and welcome back.

I hope you enjoyed the weekend and yes, apples everywhere here too. Answering your question, I have plain yoghurt or [blush] tinned cold rice pudding with mine. Can't take cream these days.

I'm trying to cut down on my typing as have apple peeler's wrist now.

Everyone misses the Proms, although in my case I didn't hear many because of dratted tinnitus. Wish I'd visited the US relatives when I was younger, have lost touch with many now. Vermont sounds lovely. love Saly

[aka Calum Da Jazbo]

the rothermere rag is trumpeting snow in October and forecasts of a very chill early winter ..... brrrrrrrrrrr ... a bit muggy here today ...

[marthe]

Good morning marthe and welcome back.

I hope you enjoyed the weekend and yes, apples everywhere here too. Answering your question, I have plain yoghurt or [blush] tinned cold rice pudding with mine. Can't take cream these days.

I'm trying to cut down on my typing as have apple peeler's wrist now.

Everyone misses the Proms, although in my case I didn't hear many because of dratted tinnitus. Wish I'd visited the US relatives when I was younger, have lost touch with many now. Vermont sounds lovely. love Saly

It's good to be back. I hope that your wrist is recovering from all that apple peeling! I'm also a fan of plain yoghurt and even tinned rice pudding (we were served it at Mucking, Essex, an A-S excavation where I ws working back in the 70s). I have to sign off now and get ready to go to the dentist for my twice-yearly cleaning. My hygenist and the dentist are going to tell me that I need to see an oral surgeon for gum surgery (yikes and $$$$$). I've had things done to my gums in the past, none pleasant or inexpensive. I'm not looking forward to this. Take care. M.

[salymap]

Good luck with your gums marthe If one bit of us isn't costing £ or $, then another bit is. Another go at [expensive] reading specs that actually enable me to read, is my next 'excitement'.saly

[marthe]

Dentist has given me a reprieve for another 6 months! I came away laden with samples of dental floss, fancy toothpastes, and a new toothbrush! Good luck with the reading glasses, saly. My mother's specs are giving her trouble and I expect this will be an expensive fix. She can't make do with the cheap ones that come from Wal Mart or CVS (a Boots-type chain store).

[greenilex]

Since my mother acquired her Kindle reading has become a pleasure again, as she can adjust the size to suit her.

I became accustomed to mine this summer on the container-ship crossing, and love having all the Pulitzer-prize winning novels for years back...

But once home I started wasting cash in Waterstones and October Books just as I've always done. Something about the action of turning pages.

[salymap]

And I've just realised that if I give up my paperback whodunits that I definitely can't see, I have six John le Carre Book Club editions with quite large print, so shall try to get 'into' those.

[marthe]

My mother is now doing books on tape because she can't (or won't) manage Kindle (kindly provided by a tech-savvy brother-in-law), nor will she read real books, even large print, because they are too heavy to hold, and she can't turn pages easily. Mom does not like being read to (other than books-on-tape). It's hard to know how to please her, but I'm sure I would be just as unhappy if I were in her situation. Now, back on topic, the weather is not stormy but delightfully sunny and warm for the last days of summer. I'm off to lead a walking tour now. I'll catch up later.

[Mahlerei]

marthe, sal

I have had a Kindle for some time now and wouldn't be without it. I know it doesn't have the special allure of a proper book but the ability to vary type size and font makes it a no-brainer for those with dodgy eyesight (like me). The range of titles is growing all the time and using the wi-fi connection I can search for and download a book in a few seconds.

At the mo I'm reading Tim Gautreaux' The Missing, set on a 1920s excursion boat on the Mississippi. A good yarn.

One of the papers says we're in for a very cold winter, with the first snow expected as early as October. :(

[salymap]

Morning Mahlerei [and marthe, etc if on line] Ihave thought about a Kindle but I am a computer muppet and don't do things like buying on line. Also, I have some books of my own that I want to reread and am sure they wouldn't be on Kindle.

Thanks for the tip about the hard winter [brr]. I haven't heard about the flying rabbits or huskies recently. Help may be needed from them by the sound of it. bestio

[greenilex]

Not much sign of any big chill down here today. Not a huge amount of sun as yet either, but it was clear earlier on, with Orion in the south east very prominent and less of the equinoctial breeze.

Hunting weather for poachers, I expect.

[BBMmk2]

Rather a nip in the air today.

I hope we don't get a bad winter but the tale tale signs are cominmg up methinks.

[marthe]

No nip in the air here at the moment. We're in for a few days of on-again-off-again rain. I haven't seen Orion in the sky yet, and probably won't until this low pressure system clears out and clear skies return. Meanwhile, it's hard to know what to wear because the weather is so betwixt and between. It's almost time to clear out the summer clothes and bring the autumn/winter stuff out of hiding.

Mahlerei and saly, I'm on the fence about Kindle. I like marking up books, making notations etc. but a co-worker, who has Kindle, has very nearly convinced me that it's a good thing to have. The crossword, on the otherhand, has to be done in pen on paper!

Mahlerei, how is your husky, Sky, coming along? Has she grown her winter coat? Up in Vermont, one of the winter sports on offer (besides skiing) is dog-sledding in which huskies pull the sleds!

[Mahlerei]

marthe

Sky is recovering from a bruised leg, hurt when she collided with a half-open door. She's a bit of a sissy and shrieked something terrible. She does seem to be getting a winter coat; also the distinctive 'ruff' around her neck andf a very bushy tail. Apparently they cover their noses with their tails in extremely cold weather. Will post a new pic soon.