Come and tell me your dull and unexciting news 18: 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.

Here is the link to the prior thread:

Come and tell me your dull and unexciting news 17: Calmly through the day

My apologies for letting the prior thread fill up before opening this one.

@Prokupatuscrakedatus

The plumpers office just phoned to arrange dates for fixxing all the stuff on the list: Monday, yay! DS wants to learn how to cook rice - being who he is he needs a detailed written instruction and sb to stand next to him for the first few times.

Oh,oh, oh! I have a method learned from my mum and amended with the aid of the internet for cooking rice that works. You may have your own failsafe method but I’d like to share my own.

1. Put rice in sieve. Mum used to say that we should allow one fistful per person but that was for normal appetites and when rice and daal was just part of the meal not most or all of the meal. We tend to allow between 2 and 2.5 fistfuls per person.
2. Wash rice by running water through the rice and sieve until the water runs clear.
3. Place rice in a pan. This is where it gets a bit unscientific because you want to have a reasonable size pan for the rice - not too, too big or too small. And bear in mind that cooked rice will take up more space than the uncooked rice plus the water that you are going to add at the next stage - I don’t know why but it does.
4. Add cold tap water to the pan. The amount of water should be so that the water from the top of the rice to the top of the water reaches the first joint on your index finger.
5. Let the rice soak for a few hours if you have time, if not, don’t worry, the method still works.
6. Put lid on pan and bring it up to boil. Gradually reduce heat until it is on lowest setting but bubbles are still rising to the top (I.e. water is still boiling).
7. Leave the lid on the pan and switch off the heat. Go away and DO NOT be tempted to open the lid to ‘check on progress’
8. If the rice has been soaking for a few hours, it will be done in ten minutes. If there has not been any soaking before cooking, it will be done in 20 minutes.

NOTES: this works best for basmati rice as it is the best rice anyway (yes, I am biased). Adding a knob of ghee at and stirring it before serving will give amazing rice). Proper ghee is made with anchor butter at home according to my aunties.

DD is being offered a covid vaccine but only one so no use for travel, its the Pfizer one.

Nydj - I have copied that out as expert rice cooking advise for DH and we actually have ghee in the cupboard, but it is more than DS could cope with. We agree on most points, I just have to slim it down for DS.

Silkie That does puzzle me a bit, because the over twelves here get both doses.

At least you appear to have a functiojning government Prok, unlike us.

@Comingup try a green primer under your foundation, sorts out the red. Something cheap to try it out as not big to lose, I use w7 primer magic anti redness, currently £4 on Amazon it works for me when needed

@MissConductUS thanks for the new thread.

@Silkiescatz hope you start to feel better soon.

My news is that in the past 3 days both my washing machine and tumble dryer have died, both have had various repairs and spending more repairing than replacing. In July my fridge freezer died, it seems to be an expensive year on appliances.

Starting to cross my fingers for the living room tv and the dishwasher, cooker was new last year so they are the next oldest items but hoping that wont have to replace in the near future.

I have never used make up on my face apart from sth for my lashes and I am utterly bewildered by the amount of stuff that is available. I'd probably need a course on what to do if I ever want to start.

Cat news: another neighbour's cat has decided that the doormats on our floor are the right place to take a nap (and accidentally trip people over), so we have put out a bowl of water. We know where she belongs.

The single vaccine thing will be because myocarditis as a side effect in children seems to be more common after the 2nd dose. You get a relatively small amount of extra protection with dose 2, which probably isn’t worth the risk as children are so rarely badly affected by covid. That’s the current opinion in this country. It’ll probably change at some point and it’s probably not ‘right’ and it’s probably not ‘wrong’. Science is frustrating.

@NotanotherboxofFrogs ooh thank you! I'll have a look at green primer. Hate having a boiled red face!

There was black around the plug hole - seemed to appear overnight.

So I cleaned it.

lemon
The guys who decided to have the bathroom where it is in our flat tiled the floor white. 1,5 seconds after it is cleanded it looks dirty.
I do not clean it until it is its turn again.

Thanks Frogs

And we are officially a plague house, argh. Well DDs test is positive at least and DH, mine and her symptoms are very similar. I have just been self-isolating as DHs test was negative - mine can only have come from DH, DD or DS but DS has been fine until last night and never goes near anyone. DH is by far the most likely but DD came in bed with me to cuddle Silkiecat. DH says his symptoms have never changed, and thinks his result was wrong but could be either as DD did a week of parties on return and DH got ill last day of holiday.

I’m sorry that you are all suffering at chez silkie. Hope the symptoms improve and you are all recovered soon.

Sorry to hear Silkie.
Went to local seafood festival today with some cookery demos - so now I know how to cook a monkfish stir fry end make a cassoulet with monkfish and white beans.

It was a supply of dried milk... For some reason it had not been in my only available supermarket and I only get a delivery once in two weeks so even freezing two litres I need dried,

Anyways it came this week and she added a bag of Folgers Singles so café au lait here.

Pottering the day away slowly as not doing well healthwise. But I am well housed, safe, and have all I need so all is well...Oh this old computer is playing up so if I stop posting... All very ordinary and soothing in that way.

DS has a cold, this is a markedly different experience to when DH has a cold and the house is required to go into a period of near state mourning. DS has taken two negative LFT's and buggered off to drum for two hours at a friends 18th.

We are all somewhat alarmed to discover we will be moving in six weeks on Monday

Welcome, @SoloISland, and thanks for sharing your shopping news. I'm a big coffee and milk fan myself.

Happy Caturday, lovely people of the thread, old and new.

You're most welcome, @NotanotherboxofFrogs. We had our built in microwave and big fridge/freezer in the kitchen pack it in last summer, during the height of the pandemic. Both were in short supply, but we did manage to get them replaced. The new fridge is an LG, and I absolutely love it.

I'm still a bit shattered from work last week. I did manage to get all of my budget data in, but I expect it will require much discussion. We put the old stationary bike out Thursday evening for bulk pickup on Friday and it was gone in half an hour, despite it clearly being broken. DH thinks someone took it just for the scrap metal value. So we put more things out Friday morning - an old lamp, some bean bag chairs, a dodgy home theater receiver we replaced two years go and a few other bits. The town took it all, which is good as the electronics were marginally eligible.

Silkie, have you had a positive test result? I'm thinking about getting a booster jab in the next few weeks. I'm sorry to hear that so many people are poorly or have poorly family members. Don't forget your flu jab this fall. I've already had mine.

I found you, I found you! What a relief… I felt vaguely discombobulated for a period. I’ve had a long day travelling up North and then back South to help clear the flat of an elderly relative. Not exciting but I feel quite virtuous.

Well done on the budget @MissConductUS , when we write our school budget it’s a 3 month process and requires input and approval at 3 different levels.

I made my own recipe on the slow cooker. It's a winner.

Four chicken breasts.
Big tablespoon of paprika
Less of a big tablespoon of cinnamon
Salt
Pepper
Two tins of butter beans
Two tins of passata
One chorizo sausage
One yellow pepper
One orange pepper
Two big tablespoon spoons of honey
Lots of garlic

Slow cooker on low for eight hours.

Everyone liked it

An half a bottle of red wine. Forgot as I drank the other half

Nanna The ingredients sound lovely (no idea what a slow cooker is).

DH is in the kitchen again this time making garlic-chili-sauce.

MissC I have just isolated and not tested myself. I started isolating when DH was ill / after holiday as I thought his was covid. I'm fairly certain I do have covid as I have a cough which brings up lots of mucous, heavy cold, breathing difficulties, no smell, no taste, stomach pain, upset stomach, sore / burning throat, quite out of it at times. My symptoms started on Monday same day as DDs.

We know it can only have been DD or DH who originally caught it but not sure which it was. DH became ill on 2 September, did PCR on 10th and negative result on 11th but still unwell. He has had vomiting, cold, loss of taste but very briefly, cough with lots of mucous and sleeping 20 hours a day - on about 3rd week of that. DD and I not ill until 13th. DS not ill. DD did lie on the bed with me on around 9th for 30 mins or so with Silkiecat but odd we both came down same day. DD has been socialising a lot so she could have caught it there or given it there to others, she had consistently negative lateral flow to now. DD shared a drink with 4 others on evening of Sun 12th and 3 of them are now positive, 4th ill, 5th drank first. About 20 hours after that drink DD was vomiting, another child was same time, 2 others were later.

DH wants to take another PCR but its getting on for 3 weeks now so think its too late. It does seem to be easing a bit now and I can breathe through nose, still feel rubbish. Think DS may be coming down with it but its difficult as officially now he is supposed to be in school unless one of 3 symptoms. But DD did not have one of three symptoms until a few days into it. It is spreading like crazy here. But school e-mail says if you keep child off you when not officially isolating for 1 of 3 symptoms you could be fined. Guess its cheaper than vaccines. Feel for the teachers and anyone vulnerable. I have told both schools. DS does distance a lot so he may be OK, he took the 2 meter rule incredibly seriously.

The singing puffin and the singing kingfisher have arrived as has my oximeter which I ordered other day when struggling to breathe but now its much better, I have my nose back.

Had to cancel today's afternoon tea with friends. Felt bad for doing it last night then when it came back positive thought good job I did then.

Having dinner. I am having a salad as I may as well eat healthy food when I can't taste any of it. DH was impressed by my thinking. Though I could taste the mango yoghurt at lunch, the salmon and rocket sandwich just tasted of butter and rocket.

Puffin - Papageientaucher, there is a small painting of one on my wall.

DH just ran out of the kitchen to the balcony to get some fresh air.

That's an impressive word for puffin. DS was much more impressed by the puffin and its loud noise than the kingfisher and its musical sweet song.

shopping.rspb.org.uk/gifts-home/toys-games-crafting/soft-toys-puppets/singing-soft-toys/rspb-soft-toy-singing-puffin.html