Year round Nigel Slater discussion thread - Part 3

[RainbowZebraWarrior]

Hello, all and welcome to this lovely space for our continued chats.

A bit of background for anyone not familiar with this topic:
The Nigel Slater Christmas Chronicles readalong usually takes place here between November and February each year (the Christmas Chronicles being a book written by Nigel Slater full of winter recipes and anecdotes) It's been running for a few years, and the contributors have collectively decided it would be nice to have it running all year round.

So here it is. It is a place to appreciate all things Nigel-esque. Think seasonal food and recipes, enjoyment of nature, gardening, appreciation of the weather, and sharing of news and small moments of joy. It's a calm, cosy space for gentle chat and merriment so pull up a chair to the fireplace, grab a drink and relax.

A very hearty welcome to friends new and old!

Crikey, you lot are flipping amazing!

@noodlezoodle I love that plant! It reminds me of something? Perhaps a cross between a hebe and something else?

@piscofrisco I hope you get to Marrakesh!

@SheherazadesSeasonalNonsense I have Raising Hare lined up next on my Audible. Its been sitting there since Christmas, but a few others needed finishing first. Thanks for the link to her insta.

Shattered but happy, here. I always run out of steam and time for the things I want to do at the weekend. We went to the market this morning as usual. Would you believe that one of the pokemon guys who we have spoken to every weekend for a year is actually my neighbour of 15 years! I only put two and two together when I saw him walking down the street the other day (grown up son who still lives at home across the back fence; not next door!)

Anyway, DD was given a beautiful rose for IWD by one of the lovely lady stallholders who we have become friends with recently. A gorgeous gesture that was much appreciated by feminist DD.

Got home and had to run about getting various bits out of cupboards as DD wanted to experiment with natural dyes and beeswax. We have made some wax melt leaves and pine cone candles using cinnamon and some black wax melt bats and a large skull candle using activated charcoal. Results to be revealed later after they have set.

I have been somewhat optimistic and have washed all my shorts ready for summer. I pulled out two bags worth of stuff from my drawers for the charity shop, so dragged the shorts out too. Only for the garden, though. I have the worst varicose veins and have done since my 20s due to my connective tissue disorder. Had them done when I was 30 but it's a pointless effort really.

Roast potatoes and pasties with bought in puff pastry on the menu this evening. I've half prepped a pan of Lentil soup so I need to go back and finish that and then I can relax a bit.

Happy International Women’s Day

been for a lunch and a catch up with a friend followed by a muddy walk.

@RainbowZebraWarriorespecially in my home town, the amount of people who are neighbours and I know through something else and it takes ages to realise it’s the same person.

@martha79love the goats

@piscofriscohave a lovely time in Morocco. Please report back about your time there. Would love love to go it looks amazing

Thank you @EphemeraleEudemonia I find your posts very moving and so beautifully, insightfully written. This one in particular.

@thebabessavedme I’m so sorry. Life comes hard, sometimes.

@piscofrisco fingers crossed! We are hoping to go some time - looking forward to pictures.

@SheherazadesSeasonalNonsense I would love to travel to Japan. I don’t know where to start - I’ve spotted the Japan planning thread, so will wade into that. I really can’t afford the all inclusive and guided Japan tours advertised.

We’ve had a lovely jaunt around one of the galleries and I’ve met for a long chat with a university pal. So lovely to catch up. I’m just relaxing and watching the end of the Maria Callas film that disappears from Netflix in a couple of days - marvellous! I have, thus far, eschewed deep fried mars bar, but may have partaken of a very good curry.

@RainbowZebraWarrior I've just looked it up and apparently Pride of Madeira is related to forget-me-nots, garden heliotrope, and borage, but I don't think it looks anything like any of those. Reminds me slightly of Red Hot Poker although very different colour palette!

Apparently they are considered an invasive species in California which I can well believe because they are absolutely everywhere around here - but they're so beautiful that I find it hard to object. Same as with the eucalyptus trees, which people are always muttering about removing, but they smell heavenly.

Been away at a conference and so have only just caught up. Sorry to hear your job news @thebabessavedme. Hope something comes up for you.

I spotted flowers on my magnolia this morning and will take a photo tomorrow. The bulbs are coming up nicely and I think a clematis that I thought was dead may have some life in it. Need to venture down the garden to work that one out.

We've written the last few invitations for our 30th wedding anniversary party in a couple of months. I need to think of some table decorations. The venue is a converted country church that is now a super events space. We're having afternoon tea and I was thinking of jam jars of spring flowers but I don't know if I should scour the charity shops for small vases instead. Any ideas?

@SheherazadesSeasonalNonsense My computer wouldn't open Instagram but someone's just shown me the tiny leveret feeding from a bottle - so beautiful.

Strange grey foggy and misty skies and odd light today. It doesn't feel like March, though the Spring blossom says different.

I think the jam jars are a lovely idea, and they will suit the vibe of the venue you've described. Maybe you could tie ribbon or raffia around them in different tones of the same colour to give cohesion.

Have a lovely time when it gets here x

@Bimblesalong Japan is very manageable independently, you don’t need an expensive tour (although inevitably it’s not a budget destination). Happy to advise if you get to the planning stage x

@petitpasta I like the jars too, possibly string or burlap round them if they're all different sizes and you want to unify them...

www.pinterest.com/pin/351912467141212/

Such wise words @EphemeraleEudemonia . I always find your posts so thoughtful.

Sorry to hear your job news @thebabessavedme . I really hope life starts improving for you soon

@petitpastaJam jars or small glass vintagey looking vases. If you have no objections to Temu (I know a lot of people do) they have a set of 10 at the moment for something like £9. 30 years is a huge achievement!

good morning good morning to everyone else. Murky here though it promises to be 15 degrees later, and I’ve had not much sleep as the daschund was up and down in the night for no apparent reason. He does this every so often. It’s very much like having a toddler.
I’ve got work then book club and I haven’t yet finished the book so that’s what I will do at lunchtime. Eesh.
A Happy Monday to all :)

Oh I love Pinterest for this! I forget about it these days, so must get back on there. I was obsessed with it when it first came out. Whiled away many many hours when DD was cluster feeding as a baby.

Dull and chilly here. I am willing our darned daffodils to open, but they remaim tight shut.

A fixy day here today I think. I am accumulating too many things that need mending, so I reckon they all need rounding up and sorting out!

Oh and DD was thrilled with how her candles and melts turned out. The coconut activated charcoal was surprisingly effective and we didn't need to use much. We have decided she is going to have her own stall at the Easter fair. (Fingers crossed for folk looking for Gothic candles rather than fluffy bunnies!)

Oh I really like that idea! Thank you

Morning all. Your venue sounds great @petitpasta as do the jam jar ideas from everyone.

That's a lot of daffodils @RainbowZebraWarrior! I love the goth candles and bat melts, they're brilliant. As are the rest.

Work today - we are in full-on conference prep mode (the event I'm now not going to in a couple of weeks) so lots of admin bits and double-checking lists. It's always a lot of coordination as we're a remote team, but me not going is an added complication - not least that I need to make sure I've sent everything as I can't stick something in my bag at the last minute.

OH WOW! dds candles are amazing @RainbowZebraWarrior I hope she does well at the fair.

Thank you all for the good wishes re my job loss, we will be alright, I'm quite a practical sort of person and something will come up. It's just such a shock to the system at my stage of life, reading some of the threads on here though we are not alone, the world and its work have changed incredibly quickly.

Very grey and foggy here but I have a few chores lined up and am collecting dgs from school, always a 'pick me up' to listen to his chatter, a lovely innocent little boy with such a zest for life, always curious, always kind. (can you tell how much I love him?😄)

Have good everyone x

DAY everyone (duh)

Or wrap them in fabric to tone with the flowers.

Wow those candles are amazing @RainbowZebraWarrior ! I hope she does very well with sales. It’s so wonderful how things have turned around for her.

@SheherazadesSeasonalNonsense thankyou, I’ll definitely bear the offer in mind.

Stunning candles @RainbowZebraWarrior

Like many others here we are suffering a grey, damp, and misty day, though Pollyanna husband insists the sun will break through later.

I’m at the dental hygienist this afternoon, menopause has played havoc with my gums. My teeth are already aching just thinking about it...

Grey mist and fog here too, but @DameProfessorIDareSay your Pollyanna husband might just be right, it feels quite possible the hidden sun will be able to burn it off here. Good luck at the hygienist.

Thank you to those for kind words about some of my posts. If my responses seem awkward it is just that, awkwardness in knowing how to respond. Like many I don't see myself as much, but it is appreciated.

@RainbowZebraWarrior Well done DD, those candles look good fun.

Food for misty days and foggy nights with most of the ingredients from autumn's preserving, getting us through.

Great candles, @RainbowZebraWarrior!
That bread and butter pud looks fabulous @EphemeraleEudemonia. One of my favourites but I have an inexplicably dried-fruit-hating daughter so always end up making it with chocolate chips instead and it is just not as nice (see also: banana bread)
Grey here today too. I was waiting for DH to decide he was ready to go to the garden centre (mainly for Mother’s Day cards) and Costco (boo) but now I am stuck under the cat. Hey ho.

Gosh those dishes look delicious!!

We've had a misty, chilly start but with quite a lot of sunshine poking through. After another couple pf hours down the beach, my cheeks are burning somewhat in a salty, wind-burned kind of way. I have so much more colour just from being outside a lot in the past couple of weeks already. (Olive skinned) which is a welcome change to my usual sallow winter complexion.

Ooh, my cosmos have germinated, too. Exciting times. Right, I must go and see what Dad had left me by the back gate. I had a message from him earlier about a load of wood for the srove from the stonemason and 'more where that came from' so I don't know quite what to expect!

I found some stunning glass today. I might have this piece made into a pendant.