Come and tell me your dull and unexciting news 7: Calmly through the day

[MissConductUS]

I've started a new one. Please join us and share the boring and mundane things happening in your world. It will be calming for all.

Speaking of halloumi, I was doing a fridge clear out in preparation for Thanksgiving and came across a wodge of it, unopened, way at the back, with an expiration date two years ago. Has anyone any experience of well out of date halloumi or should I accept it's a lost cause and buy some more?

I've been awake since 4am now. Just about to get up and ready for a day of teaching 13 year olds, god help me.

God Speed @MacDuffsMuff !

Good luck MacDuffs especially if one of the 13 year olds includes my DS.

Good luck @MacDuffsMuff!

@dottiedaisee welcome!

@Champagneforeveryone That is extremely annoying. You have every right to be peeved. How much of it will he lock himself away in his room for?

@mathanxiety I did a quick Google and the first result (from the co-op) reckoned a year if unopened. But I thought that this article was worth sharing www.gourmetcheesedetective.com/can-cheese-be-used-past-the-expiration-date.html

eggy he'll be secreted in his room for most of it, but is planning on using the time for guitar and drum practice

He's a very good guitarist and truthfully, after all these years I just don't hear it anymore (we have a very small cottage with mercifully thick stone walls!) The drums are not quite a week old and I've yet to learn how to drown them out. There's also a lot of mistakes that necessitates the piece being played repeatedly until it's correct.

When I hear parents complaining that their children never do their music practice I remember when that was me. Then I grimace slightly and remember that one should be careful what they wish for

Early walk into town to secure a Croquembouche kit from Iceland. £5 there, £15 in Tesco.

Ooh, maple syrup. That brings me back a few decades when we went to a friend's wedding to an American woman in Rhode Island. We made it into a long holiday and drove right up to the top of Vermont and back again. We drove right through a season, very early autumn in Rhode Island and winter by the time we got to the northernmost point of our trip, and then back to earlyish autumn in Boston. The further north we got, the more maple syrup featured on restaurant menus, it must be very popular with tourists. It was a glaze on meat, a salad dressing ingredient, the sweetener in desserts and baked goods etc. It was quite tricky to chose something that didn't have it in. I don't think I fancied the flavour for a couple of years after coming back from that holiday. It was fascinating to see a maple farm though.

I’m expecting a bread knife today. I make my own bread so it’s a crucial bit of kit. I’m unreasonably chuffed with getting round to purchasing one.

[quote EggyPegg]Good luck @MacDuffsMuff!

@dottiedaisee welcome!

@Champagneforeveryone That is extremely annoying. You have every right to be peeved. How much of it will he lock himself away in his room for?

@mathanxiety I did a quick Google and the first result (from the co-op) reckoned a year if unopened. But I thought that this article was worth sharing www.gourmetcheesedetective.com/can-cheese-be-used-past-the-expiration-date.html[/quote]
Damn! I binned some perfectly good vacuum packed paneer with a June eat by date last week. If we were post-apocalyptic (or post 1st January in the UK, about to experience import disruption), I would retrieve it from our wheely bin and crack it open

I am just drinking some water, as often I forget to drink enough while I’m at work. There are some men huffing and puffing in the corridor about how to replace some doors. I don’t know why; they look perfectly functional to me.

I hope your daughter’s Covid test comes back quickly, @MissConductUS.

(I mean the doors look functional. I don’t know about the men. I haven’t seen them.)

Tell a lie. They’ve just walked past the office. One of them is wearing high viz. They both appear to be functioning.

High vis is highly functioning I would say.

DH has fixed the hot water tank. There was much sucking of the teeth and sighing, totally wasted on me as I'm not a paying customer

Raining again, despite the forecast saying it wouldn't.

They’re back. And now they have a stepladder.

Good morning all.

@Frownette - You're one-quarter American. Hello cousin!

DH told me one story about his time in London that was really touching and timely. He was working there over the Thanksgiving holiday and had a bit of a moan with his colleagues about how he was missing the four day weekend and the traditional Thanksgiving feast. They took pity on him and located an American restaurant that was serving a traditional Thanksgiving meal with all of the trimmings and surprised him by taking him to lunch there. The partner took his whole team, about 10 people, out for a long boozy lunch there and paid the bill. He's still really moved by how they did that to make him feel at home. Other colleagues invited him to visit their homes or go out on the weekends. He was really treated so well by everyone. He's a very kind and thoughtful man so I'm not surprised they liked him.

@Squirrel26 Thanks for your concern. DD had a good dinner last night and a good night's sleep and seems fit as a fiddle this morning, so I'm not greatly concerned. She might still have an asymptomatic case but so could I or DH. I hope you're over your fatigue.

@BlackAmericanoNoSugar - They are a bit crazy for it in northern New England. They even sell maple syrup candy in the tourist shops. I buy it in pint jugs at the warehouse club and we only use it for pancakes.

I have just bought the washing in from the balcony.

I have decided to perhaps stretch myself and am debating wether to sign up for a race in Dorset in May next year. I will give myself until the christmas holidays to decide.

Must get the lentil casserole on for tea later, but am still working.

I am soothed by the recent posts on here.

The men have hard hats on now. They’re not doing anything. They just keep coming up and then going away again.

We are relatively heavy consumers of maple syrup in this family, dating back to a relative of mine bringing it to the UK from Canada regularly in the 70s when you couldn’t get it here easily. I grew up on it and my kids have too. Most of the maple syrup sold in the UK is grade A Amber. When stayed on a dairy/maple syrup farm in Vermont about 15 years ago and they offered all the different strengths. The light ‘fancy’ grade syrup tasted like sugary water to me. It takes some reducing down to get at the maple flavour, but the lower grade dark syrup loses it. I don’t think people in the UK understand how much maple sap you need to make the syrup ( I read 75 litres of sap > 1 litre of syrup) so it seems madly expensive. We get maple flavoured sugar syrups in supermarkets but the worst offender is that Clarkes brand one which is maple syrup mixed with carob syrup. Why ruin perfectly good maple syrup? Madness.

In sitting in the armchair trying to coax myself to get up and get dressed in my "leaving the house clothes" as I have hospital tests this eve.

My washer and dryer are making a comforting rhythm from the kitchen, my kittens are playing out (they have only started getting out this week)and I got a new package of washable face masks in todays post.

Lovely that these threads are running, its comforting that we can talk about all the small bits of life

DH went down to our other house an hour away as we were supposed to be having buyers survey, EPC and electrical survey today. Only the EPC man came. Electrical cancelled until tomorrow. Buyers cancelled until 30th.

The dehumidifier is humming in the next room drying last night’s wash and Sodding is quietly snoring in his hammock next to me.

Sodding looks positively busy with all that snoring!

Sodding is such a cutie.

We're actually having a cat issue at the moment. Our older one (she's 11) has had some loss of appetite in the last few days. She normally loves to eat but now she'll have about half or less of her usual serving and won't even bother us for treats. It's probably nothing serious but DH is taking her to the vet at 3:00 this afternoon.

Came home from work and caught up with all your calm and quiet adventures and a new lovely cat picture.

Miss I hope it is nothing serious, 11 is oldish for a cat.

I got the form stating health insurance pays for my OP. I've got the date for my pre-op exam incl. c-test. Now I need to book physio and lymphdrainage for afterwards, i.e. find sb. near with free slots.