Thread 11 - TalkLair: “The candle flame gutters. Its little pool of light trembles.”

[Kucinghitam]

Whoops, missed the filling up of the previous thread! (thread 10).

Although the nights are gradually drawing in, the new lair of JTT escapees is all cosy and homey inside. The hearth is glowing, the walls covered in dubious artwork, books by non-approved authors line the shelves, rugs are down on the floors (and assorted pets curled up on them).

We just won’t mention the gnawed bones of our prey over there in the corner of the cave…

He is a real stunner. He is my Netflix and chill. I know that's supposed to be a sex thing but to me, it really is just what it says on the tin. Netflix while chilling out.

I'm nocturnal too, artant, so I'd be the same as you.

I thought I just posted, but it seems I didn't. Gorgeous cat. I've been following the Everyone Scarper, the Rozzers are Coming thread. So funny, and so true. The very best of MN, right there.

Todd is gorgeous.

Can you link to that thread duc? I love the sound of the title.

There's a related one in AIBU, too.

So far I have done the washing up, put some washing on and folded up the wash I did last night so there’s room to put the next lot on the clothes horse. I am now lounging on the sofa and planning to watch the Sewing Bee special from earlier this evening.

https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/womens_rights/4967923-everyone-scarper-the-rozzers-are-coming?page=13&reply=131622684

Sourdough crisis! The sourdoughs I've been making every since the start of lockdown are starting to fail me. 🙁Normally they vary between good and terrific 😀, but the last two have been complete failures, to the extent of literally throwing them away. My technique is well-honed by now after hundreds of loaves; I can't put my finger on it. The dough feels exactly the same as always during the process, but have turned out awfully 'cakey' the last twice. I'm going to try once more today (although I'm not optimistic), and if that fails, I will have to consider making a new starter. But this one has lasted all this time, I though it would go on forever. I may be forced to go back to simple, yeasted bread!

Todd is utterly gorgeous!

We got back very late last night from a few days in ThatLondon: Storm Pia screwed up our return train, leaving us and 10000000 other people stranded at Kings Cross staring desperately at a departure board with nothing but CANCELLED/DELAYED notices. After a couple of hours, a train finally got announced and everybody stampeded for it. Standing room only, people and suitcases in every aisle and vestibule. The train manager actually announced it as "This train is for every waif and stray who needs to get back up North, all seat reservations are voided, just find anywhere you can fit; anyone who isn't happy with the seating is invited to go back and wait on the platform for a better offer." Bloody legend, that man.

(St Pancras was also in chaos, because of unplanned strikes at the Channel Tunnel all Eurostars were cancelled: 100000 angry French people milling around the concourse).

That sounds like a bit of a nightmare, @Kucinghitam but the train manager does sound like a legend.

I went into Brighton today in search of a red dress. One of the most annoying things about online shopping these days is that the shops have the tiniest amount of what they have online. I saw a few dresses I liked online and were they in the shops? Were they buggery! Anyway, I gave up on it and came back with nice wrapping paper, a good pair of comfy socks for a friend, and a covid testing pack. Oh and a jumper. I've decided that I'll wear a Vivienne Westwood black dress for Christmas. I bought it on eBay a few years back and it's always been a tad too small. It's no longer too small due to cancer weight loss!

Anyway, I do have good news, even though it's also scary. I bought the covid testing kit because I have chemo next Thursday. I could order a pack for free but with it being Christmas it's not likely to arrive in time and I have to test myself before I go in for the test. I'm also having a something line put into my arm because after the hospital infusion, that will be feeding me chemo for the next seven days. Or maybe the weeks until the next hospital infusion. I can't remember. But! The good news is it's starting. At last! I can actually relax over the Christmas break because I won't be worried about when the chemo will start.

That's great to have a start date, and be beginning 2024 with things underway.

Great, if a bit scary, news about the start date, Mouse. And, taking positives where we find them, good to actually get to wear your Vivienne Westwood dress!

Great news that you have got a chemo start date so quickly @MouseMinge, a scary but hopeful Christmas present from the NHS!

If I don't fit into that dress now there's no hope for humankind. I bought it because it was size 38 and I was a size 10 at the time. It must have been a 38 from the 80s when sizes came up smaller. I'm now 50kg and the smallest I've been in a very long time so it had better bastard fit. It's always been close to fitting but has hated the space under my boobage. I'm going to try it on later to see if my torso finally meets its unreasonable requirements. It's not a little black dress, it's a little black dickhead.

Here in Maine nobody dresses up for anything - how nice to have an occasion to wear a glamorous frock! I’m sure you’ll look fantastic, Mouse.

Having battled around the supermarket, we're going with a slow-cooker beef brisket in a rich red wine sauce for Christmas lunch. Plan is to do it tomorrow, then simply reheat on the day. Figured this would save oven space, seeing as we only have a tiny air-fryer oven now.

Trimmings will be standard, though - roasties, sprouts with pancetta and chestnuts, red cabbage, carrots and parsnips, pigs in blankets. Will do the roasties tomorrow as well, will probably need to do in several small batches, then reheat.

That sounds delicious and has sent my appetite into a huge tantrum.

We're taking it easy with duck confit and the usual trimmings. Looking forward to that.

I love duck confit! Damn, I wish we'd thought of that now, although to be fair FiL might find it a bit too challenging.

We too will do a brisket in the slow cooker. Good shout to do it tmrw. With all fixings done on the day.

Mmm brisket in red wine sauce sounds delish. We are having standard turkey and ham with roasties, parsnips, sprouts, chestnuts and my home-made and very delicious stuffing. I made rum and raisin ice cream today - easiest possible recipe* - to go with the pecan pie, and started making a black forest trifle so I have the sponge cake and cherries and cherry jelly setting for the bottom layer. Chocolate custard on it tomorrow, and whipped cream on it on Christmas morning.

• Soak half a cup of raisins in half a cup of spiced rum. Whip a can of sweetened condensed milk with two cups of whipping cream and a good slosh of vanilla essence until it's thick and peaking - this takes me about 3-4 minutes with the hand-held electric mixer. Stir in the soaked raisins and any rum not yet absorbed by them. Turn into a loaf tin, cover and freeze overnight. Totally yummy.

There will be a turkey breast joint here for the meat eaters and a nut roast of some sort for me (I think it’ll involve hazelnuts and mushrooms plus whatever else takes my fancy when I make up the mixture). The turkey is nicer than it sounds, I think. I’ve never tasted it, obvs, but it looks nice and moist when it’s done and it and the pigs in blankets are all organic. There will also be plenty of roasties, stuffing, probably mashed swede and carrots and a green veg (sprout tops, I think). Christmas pudding and mince pies are shop bought but I’ve made a Christmas cake and will make the Ottolenghi and Tamimi clementine cake tomorrow.

All of this food sounds bloody lovely. I was sent a link to Wiltshire Farm Foods today. I've seen their adverts on TV and found out last night through the friend who sent me the link that they do pureed food too but try to make it look like the real thing. To be fair it looks like someone has asked AI to make images of the food and not quite got it right but I'll take that. I ordered some dishes today. I was really hoping to get beans on toast, but alas that's out of stock. I do have some good dishes coming my way and I'm really quite excited about it.

I'm so glad I can find things that give me pleasure through all this shit. It makes all the difference.

Oh! I was a bit drunk earlier. I was out with Snoop looking around shops and we stopped at my local - and very wonderful pub - for a drink. I was intending to get a soft drink but saw they had mulled cider so thought I'd go for that. I drank about a third of it and realised I was feeling quite squiffy. Then I remembered that I'd had some morphine before I went out. Very stupid mistake on my part. Anyway, I stopped drinking and quite enjoyed being ever so slightly off my tits for a few hours. I hardly drink at all but there will definitely be no more alcohol until I'm on the other side of all this stuff!

I’ve just been looking at the Wiltshire Farm Foods site. The puréed meals look strange but kind of genius. I hope they taste good. They could be just the thing.

Comfortably numb?

We rarely have turkey, I got a crown last year and was heartily sick of it, even the dog turned her nose up on day 4!

Those puréed meals are quite something! It's a great idea. I'd be tempted to get one just to see what eating it would feel like.