Shattered!

Today ( Saturday) Heidi is 8 years old and so are her scattered brothers and sisters and Lab Minnie. Happy Birthday all of you.

Back to Friday…

Had a good night’s sleep which started the evening before, a bit earlier than I would have liked, and which finished around 04.40. And then it kept trying to let me have a few more minutes around 08.30 which was not at all convenient.

There will now be 11 of us here on Sunday all of whom will require feeding. It’s a pity some of them can’t read and have disregarded the email I sent, inviting them from 12.30 onwards and then saying they would come at 12.00. Not great timing. They don’t have to drag a not very well person out of bed. Nor prepare food for 11 others.

Thinking about it… I am looking forward to Sunday, but I have decided it will be the last I will host. Greeting people, taking coats, offering drinks, keeping an eye on the catering, laying up tables …. Well I need staff to be able to do all that. And this time, thankfully, others are contributing desert and cheese…
T would like to help but is incapable. It costs a lot of money too.

So – my suggestion will be that we will meet in a pub or other venu chosen by the ‘host’ but everyone will pay their way. Farooq and Rahila ( sadly deceased), Neal and Anne, and T and I have shared the hosting over the years and it is time to initiate an easier and fairer system. That way the three single people will have to organise something.

So today I have been busy sorting the menu – that’s not easy either- Farooq doesn’t eat pork, John prefers not to have red meat, Fleur is vegetarian… so we are having cod. Cod cooked well is delicious but overcook it’s and it becomes dry. Mine will be cooked in a marinade of olive oil and lemon, with prawns and parsley and will ‘nestle’ on a bed of lemon couscous and olives, studded with pomegranate jewels. (????) It will be accompanied by tomato and basil salsa for which I have bought decent vine tomatoes: and be accompanied by a pear and beetroot salad sprinkled with feta. The vegetarian will be offered lemon baked halloumi.

I’m not very good with couscous, I hope Ali will solve that difficulty! George and Dave are up in Leeds, but hey, I fed them curry last Monday. Evie is visiting Frankie at university.

So today I did the shopping for that lot. Waitrose sells fish -20% on a Friday. The number of bags I trailed in was 6 heavy ones. I emptied the fridge of anything that had sat around awhile too long, and managed to fit everything in.

There’s a hole in the bank account! My arms hurt, my feet hurt. Once I had bought everything, I took H for a walk before coming home.
I may have forgotten to mention how the rain was bucketing down first thing, but was yielding to the power of the sun as we walked the Rec.
In amongst all this preparation, I sent a message to the surgery regarding T’s lurking cyst. I think the antibiotics have killed off the infection but it is an ugly blot on T’s beautiful neck.
I received a speedy reply offering us an appointment on Tuesday.
So, OT on Monday, GP on Tuesday, my life is excitingly full of appointments for T. I’d rather Give Peace a Chance.

Tomorrow is an important day. Όχι day in Greece and Heidi’s birthday as well as Minnie x2 and Oskar and Charlie and Millie and sundry others! 8 years old !

The wreckage of Friday lies scattered around. Today’s task is bringing order to chaos.

Thought for the Day