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"What have you eaten" Parallel Chat

@Breathe, hope everything goes well for you. @shelley262, I'm not even sure that potatoes had arrived in England in medieval times and certainly not eclairs!! I do post a bit more now but I've always felt I was intruding. But when I see something that rings a bell, I have to tell you about it! Probably the child in me? Like when I went to Graceland, I was amazed that such a big star lived in such a modest (to me) home. But the chandeliers were magnificent lol.
 
Anyway, that whole process ran wonderfully, with every promise honoured. I was first seen on the 17th June (4 or 5 days after referral), and had unltra-sound scan, cystoscopy, CT with contrast, more ultra-sound, from a different angle and a repeat cystoscopy, up to yesterday.

Yesterday, I was discharged (probably "just" a very nasty infection - no stones or sinister signs), but now need a referral to Gynae for an 8cm cyst they found along the way.
So glad it was "just" an infection. Just as well they did the scan and found the cyst. Not the best news with all the extra medical probing that will come with it, but better to find it and treat it asap.
 
@Breathe, hope everything goes well for you. @shelley262, I'm not even sure that potatoes had arrived in England in medieval times and certainly not eclairs!! I do post a bit more now but I've always felt I was intruding. But when I see something that rings a bell, I have to tell you about it! Probably the child in me? Like when I went to Graceland, I was amazed that such a big star lived in such a modest (to me) home. But the chandeliers were magnificent lol.
it's sad than you felt you were intruding - I believe we all think all these threads work best with a range of contributions, with everyone welcome. In addition you are missed when you don't post.
 
@Breathe, hope everything goes well for you. @shelley262, I'm not even sure that potatoes had arrived in England in medieval times and certainly not eclairs!! I do post a bit more now but I've always felt I was intruding. But when I see something that rings a bell, I have to tell you about it! Probably the child in me? Like when I went to Graceland, I was amazed that such a big star lived in such a modest (to me) home. But the chandeliers were magnificent lol.
I had written a reply but it just disappeared off of my screen - gone into the ether. I was just saying that there is no way you have been or are, intruding. I, and I'm sure everyone else, loves to read of your food choices and what is happening in your life, especially the good times you have with your grandchldren. Please keep posting - for me!

Potatoes came to Europe in the 1500's, from the New World but were regarded with deep suspicion for a long time. How we became addicted to them in the end though - just like tobacco. Eclairs are much more recent and were developed from an older dessert in France in the 1850's by Careme (the original, I believe, was called pain a la duchesse and was an almond pastry/cake). I'm definitely showing my foodie background here. Sorry, but I thought you might be interested.
 
1st day of our holiday and it's blowing a sodden gale out there.
Tucked up under a blanket with red wine and a box of tissues as I also have an almighty cold
Did manage a rather splendid roast in a pub last night as we broke our journey with a relative, then mackerel salad at lunch today and 2 crackers, one with egg, one with cheese for tea.
 
Thank you @shelley262 and Ann. I suppose I've always felt like the new kid on the block and you all seem so close. Ann, I found that interesting so don't apologise. I did have to google Callaloo because I'd never heard of it. Not sure I'd like it as I don't like spinach. I am always curious about things and how they work and once I know how to do something, I move on. Not so much now of course, I'm a bit too old. Although as the saying goes, you are never too old to learn something new. Just hope I haven't bored you!
 
Thank you @shelley262 and Ann. I suppose I've always felt like the new kid on the block and you all seem so close. Ann, I found that interesting so don't apologise. I did have to google Callaloo because I'd never heard of it. Not sure I'd like it as I don't like spinach. I am always curious about things and how they work and once I know how to do something, I move on. Not so much now of course, I'm a bit too old. Although as the saying goes, you are never too old to learn something new. Just hope I haven't bored you!
You don't bore any of us Rosemary. Your posts are interesting and informative and I look forward to reading them. The callaloo was an experiment - I saw it in the supermarket quite a while ago and, because I like spinach, I thought I'd give it a try. It was in a tin and I finally got around to opening it. A little goes a long way - even for me, but it was fine mixed with mushrooms and pork. I shan't bother again though - spinach is nicer and doesn't involve importing from the West Indies.

Just had my breakfast of vegetables, h/b egg and lc rice.

Late last night I received an e-mail asking me to go to the house of a young family in Stornoway at lunch time today. The husband's mother is my close friend and said she would come and pick me up at 12.30 but didn't give me any details. Often when we do this, we take some food with us to make it a kind of pot-luck lunch, but I don't know if that's what this is, so last night at midnight I decided I'd better make something to take with me just in case. It started out as a kind of cassoulet but it was too wet so this morning I added some more vegetables, but it didn't taste right, so I started adding things, tasting and adding more things. It's nothing like a cassoulet any more and it actually doesn't taste very good, so I'm setting it aside to see if I can do something with it later.

Needed a plan B so I got a 600ml pot of double cream, some meringue nests, a tin of peaches and a handful of dried apricots, some lemon curd and made Eton Mess. A not very traditional one because Neil didn't feel well enough to go shopping this week, so I don't have any berries and it was a bit pale and wan looking, so I sprinkled chocolate chips over it. It's allright and, if it is needed, it is at least something. The children will like it anyway.
 
Thank you @shelley262 and Ann. I suppose I've always felt like the new kid on the block and you all seem so close. Ann, I found that interesting so don't apologise. I did have to google Callaloo because I'd never heard of it. Not sure I'd like it as I don't like spinach. I am always curious about things and how they work and once I know how to do something, I move on. Not so much now of course, I'm a bit too old. Although as the saying goes, you are never too old to learn something new. Just hope I haven't bored you!
You don't bore any of us Rosemary. Your posts are interesting and informative and I look forward to reading them.
@RosemaryJackson , listen to the wise words of @Annb here, keep posting as much as you like, we like it!
 
Thank you @shelley262 and Ann. I suppose I've always felt like the new kid on the block and you all seem so close. Ann, I found that interesting so don't apologise. I did have to google Callaloo because I'd never heard of it. Not sure I'd like it as I don't like spinach. I am always curious about things and how they work and once I know how to do something, I move on. Not so much now of course, I'm a bit too old. Although as the saying goes, you are never too old to learn something new. Just hope I haven't bored you!
I too had to Google Callaloo. Your posts definitely don’t bore me, I especially like the enjoyment you show for spending time with your family even when they don’t live close by.
 
You don't bore any of us Rosemary. Your posts are interesting and informative and I look forward to reading them. The callaloo was an experiment - I saw it in the supermarket quite a while ago and, because I like spinach, I thought I'd give it a try. It was in a tin and I finally got around to opening it. A little goes a long way - even for me, but it was fine mixed with mushrooms and pork. I shan't bother again though - spinach is nicer and doesn't involve importing from the West Indies.

Just had my breakfast of vegetables, h/b egg and lc rice.

Late last night I received an e-mail asking me to go to the house of a young family in Stornoway at lunch time today. The husband's mother is my close friend and said she would come and pick me up at 12.30 but didn't give me any details. Often when we do this, we take some food with us to make it a kind of pot-luck lunch, but I don't know if that's what this is, so last night at midnight I decided I'd better make something to take with me just in case. It started out as a kind of cassoulet but it was too wet so this morning I added some more vegetables, but it didn't taste right, so I started adding things, tasting and adding more things. It's nothing like a cassoulet any more and it actually doesn't taste very good, so I'm setting it aside to see if I can do something with it later.

Needed a plan B so I got a 600ml pot of double cream, some meringue nests, a tin of peaches and a handful of dried apricots, some lemon curd and made Eton Mess. A not very traditional one because Neil didn't feel well enough to go shopping this week, so I don't have any berries and it was a bit pale and wan looking, so I sprinkled chocolate chips over it. It's allright and, if it is needed, it is at least something. The children will like it anyway.
Any form of “ mess” with meringue, cream and berries sounds like a delicious treat to me.
 
when will I learn?
You won't while you're ill, don't beat yourself up for stupid decisions when not feeling well. I hope the chocolate tasted good before it made you feel sick!

Too much emotional stuff today after too little sleep. My own fault, a friend and I did a 'quick' zoom meeting before bed, feeling safe because those meetings time out after 40 minutes. Except when you both have a zoom account you can alternate hosts and before you know you're two hours in and have had too much to drink.
Still, it was a very nice meeting, catching up and discussing all kinds of random stuff. :joyful:

Today was swimming pool first, going to bed too late is no excuse to skip.
Lots of grocery shopping.
Working on a fun but rather complicated thing, of which I'd promised I'd finish it today. I did.
I visited the neighbour who lost her partner in that horrible hiking accident in the mountains. The cremation will be tomorrow and I wanted to say a last goodbye now he's finally home from Andorra. Falling from a mountain and it having taken a week for him to be brought home of course means a closed coffin, but I spent some time alone with him in their atelier (both of them are artists for a living) before having tea and a talk with his partner. Very glad I went, I'll miss him, and this private goodbye before tomorrows busy cremation helped.
A phonecall from a very depressed and panicking friend. She'll have her birthday early next month, she feels she should have her party in her house, her house is currently an exploded mess (of the kind you see in cheap reality shows), and her depression makes her thoughts keep going in circles.
I contacted neighbours Tale and Astrid (yes, those are the ones with the complicated stuff) to ask if they would be willing to help out. We did the same thing last year, it will take the 3 of us about 4 to 5 hours to get her house in order again. Which won't help with the depression but at least it will solve a practical problem and relieve an extra reason for panic and self loathing.
Then some very intense whatsapp contact with Astrid, who is going though a ridiculously hard time with her idiot husband. Did some understanding and thoughtful replying before deciding that enough was enough, I'll be there again tomorrow, and proposed we'll go for a swim after the other neighbour's cremation.

Chopped onions and garlic, cleaned the pot I was going to use, and decided proper cooking can wait until tomorrow, I'm tired.
So I had a pan fried toastie with cheese, chorizo and a mayonnaise based dip instead. Very tasty too!

1720559486071.png

And on a more positive note, I'll be visiting the UK again in October, two years after my last visit. :happy:
A keto lunch will be had on 13 Oct in Frinton with @MrsA2 before I return to the Netherlands, and we're hoping some other members will be interested in joining in!

I'll start a thread on it later and link to it in this thread, watch this space!
 
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You won't while you're ill, don't beat yourself up for stupid decisions when not feeling well. I hope the chocolate tasted good before it made you feel sick!

Too much emotional stuff today after too little sleep. My own fault, a friend and I did a 'quick' zoom meeting before bed, feeling safe because those meetings time out after 40 minutes. Except when you both have a zoom account you can alternate hosts and before you know you're two hours in and have had too much to drink.
Still, it was a very nice meeting, catching up and discussing all kinds of random stuff. :joyful:

Today was swimming pool first, going to bed too late is no excuse to skip.
Lots of grocery shopping.
Working on a fun but rather complicated thing, of which I'd promised I'd finish it today. I did.
I visited the neighbour who lost her partner in that horrible hiking accident in the mountains. The cremation will be tomorrow and I wanted to say a last goodbye now he's finally home from Andorra. Falling from a mountain and it having taken a week for him to be brought home of course means a closed coffin, but I spent some time alone with him in their atelier (both of them are artists for a living) before having tea and a talk with his partner. Very glad I went, I'll miss him, and this private goodbye before tomorrows busy cremation helped.
A phonecall from a very depressed and panicking friend. She'll have her birthday early next month, she feels she should have her party in her house, her house is currently an exploded mess (of the kind you see in cheap reality shows), and her depression makes her thoughts keep going in circles.
I contacted neighbours Tale and Astrid (yes, those are the ones with the complicated stuff) to ask if they would be willing to help out. We did the same thing last year, it will take the 3 of us about 4 to 5 hours to get her house in order again. Which won't help with the depression but at least it will solve a practical problem and relieve an extra reason for panic and self loathing.
Then some very intense whatsapp contact with Astrid, who is going though a ridiculously hard time with her idiot husband. Did some understanding and thoughtful replying before deciding that enough was enough, I'll be there again tomorrow, and proposed we'll go for a swim after the other neighbour's cremation.

Chopped onions and garlic, cleaned the pot I was going to use, and decided proper cooking can wait until tomorrow, I'm tired.
So I had a pan fried toastie with cheese, chorizo and a mayonnaise based dip instead. Very tasty too!

View attachment 68680

And on a more positive note, I'll be visiting the UK again in October, two years after my last visit. :happy:
A keto lunch will be had on 13 Oct in Frinton with @MrsA2 before I return to the Netherlands, and we're hoping some other members will be interested in joining in!

I'll start a thread on it later and link to it in this thread, watch this space!
Yes, if experience is any guide, a sudden, fatal accident is the worst way to lose somebody and will take time for your neighbour's family and friends to come to terms with, if indeed you ever really get over it. @Antje77.

To sign off on a positive note, it would be lovely to meet you at Frinton. Look forward to that thread.

Night night all.
 
Morning all. Sent you all a hug to say thank you. I was with the granddaughter who has come to live in UK from the States yesterday and we went out for lunch. I'm making up for the years I haven't spent with her. She is a very talented, what I call 'computer artist'. She very often has a commission and sells quite a lot. She favours Transformers and they are very complicated with the shading and mechanical parts. It's lovely to be able to watch as the picture slowly appears.
 
I've even done one rippled with black coffee then frozen, like an iced cake. Yummy
Ohh, that sounds good, coffee and icecream, what’s not to like! Hope you can throw your cold off soon to enjoy your holiday.
You won't while you're ill, don't beat yourself up for stupid decisions when not feeling well. I hope the chocolate tasted good before it made you feel sick!

Too much emotional stuff today after too little sleep. My own fault, a friend and I did a 'quick' zoom meeting before bed, feeling safe because those meetings time out after 40 minutes. Except when you both have a zoom account you can alternate hosts and before you know you're two hours in and have had too much to drink.
Still, it was a very nice meeting, catching up and discussing all kinds of random stuff. :joyful:

Today was swimming pool first, going to bed too late is no excuse to skip.
Lots of grocery shopping.
Working on a fun but rather complicated thing, of which I'd promised I'd finish it today. I did.
I visited the neighbour who lost her partner in that horrible hiking accident in the mountains. The cremation will be tomorrow and I wanted to say a last goodbye now he's finally home from Andorra. Falling from a mountain and it having taken a week for him to be brought home of course means a closed coffin, but I spent some time alone with him in their atelier (both of them are artists for a living) before having tea and a talk with his partner. Very glad I went, I'll miss him, and this private goodbye before tomorrows busy cremation helped.
A phonecall from a very depressed and panicking friend. She'll have her birthday early next month, she feels she should have her party in her house, her house is currently an exploded mess (of the kind you see in cheap reality shows), and her depression makes her thoughts keep going in circles.
I contacted neighbours Tale and Astrid (yes, those are the ones with the complicated stuff) to ask if they would be willing to help out. We did the same thing last year, it will take the 3 of us about 4 to 5 hours to get her house in order again. Which won't help with the depression but at least it will solve a practical problem and relieve an extra reason for panic and self loathing.
Then some very intense whatsapp contact with Astrid, who is going though a ridiculously hard time with her idiot husband. Did some understanding and thoughtful replying before deciding that enough was enough, I'll be there again tomorrow, and proposed we'll go for a swim after the other neighbour's cremation.

Chopped onions and garlic, cleaned the pot I was going to use, and decided proper cooking can wait until tomorrow, I'm tired.
So I had a pan fried toastie with cheese, chorizo and a mayonnaise based dip instead. Very tasty too!

View attachment 68680

And on a more positive note, I'll be visiting the UK again in October, two years after my last visit. :happy:
A keto lunch will be had on 13 Oct in Frinton with @MrsA2 before I return to the Netherlands, and we're hoping some other members will be interested in joining in!

I'll start a thread on it later and link to it in this thread, watch this space!
That sounds like lots of emotional stuff all at once @Antje77 hope you keep looking after yourself. Frinton is quite a way from me but it would be fun to meet you all, I’m a maybe
 
You won't while you're ill, don't beat yourself up for stupid decisions when not feeling well. I hope the chocolate tasted good before it made you feel sick!

Too much emotional stuff today after too little sleep. My own fault, a friend and I did a 'quick' zoom meeting before bed, feeling safe because those meetings time out after 40 minutes. Except when you both have a zoom account you can alternate hosts and before you know you're two hours in and have had too much to drink.
Still, it was a very nice meeting, catching up and discussing all kinds of random stuff. :joyful:

Today was swimming pool first, going to bed too late is no excuse to skip.
Lots of grocery shopping.
Working on a fun but rather complicated thing, of which I'd promised I'd finish it today. I did.
I visited the neighbour who lost her partner in that horrible hiking accident in the mountains. The cremation will be tomorrow and I wanted to say a last goodbye now he's finally home from Andorra. Falling from a mountain and it having taken a week for him to be brought home of course means a closed coffin, but I spent some time alone with him in their atelier (both of them are artists for a living) before having tea and a talk with his partner. Very glad I went, I'll miss him, and this private goodbye before tomorrows busy cremation helped.
A phonecall from a very depressed and panicking friend. She'll have her birthday early next month, she feels she should have her party in her house, her house is currently an exploded mess (of the kind you see in cheap reality shows), and her depression makes her thoughts keep going in circles.
I contacted neighbours Tale and Astrid (yes, those are the ones with the complicated stuff) to ask if they would be willing to help out. We did the same thing last year, it will take the 3 of us about 4 to 5 hours to get her house in order again. Which won't help with the depression but at least it will solve a practical problem and relieve an extra reason for panic and self loathing.
Then some very intense whatsapp contact with Astrid, who is going though a ridiculously hard time with her idiot husband. Did some understanding and thoughtful replying before deciding that enough was enough, I'll be there again tomorrow, and proposed we'll go for a swim after the other neighbour's cremation.

Chopped onions and garlic, cleaned the pot I was going to use, and decided proper cooking can wait until tomorrow, I'm tired.
So I had a pan fried toastie with cheese, chorizo and a mayonnaise based dip instead. Very tasty too!

View attachment 68680

And on a more positive note, I'll be visiting the UK again in October, two years after my last visit. :happy:
A keto lunch will be had on 13 Oct in Frinton with @MrsA2 before I return to the Netherlands, and we're hoping some other members will be interested in joining in!

I'll start a thread on it later and link to it in this thread, watch this space!
Don't ignore yourself and your own needs while supporting your friends and neighbours Antje. You all seem to be going through a hard time at the moment and it must be wearing on both body and soul. Take care. Hugs for all and hopes for better times for everyone.

Your toastie looks fantastic - making my mouth water just looking at it. Liking the plate as well. It seems to me to be a very Antje kind of plate.

Couldn't we just move Frinton a bit further north - somewhere near Inverness? Then I could get over to meet up as well. Guess I'll have to make do with reading all your adventures instead. When we moved here, in 1974, we were young and fit and it never occurred to us that living on an island would restrict us once we got old and less fit. Too late for regrets now though so, take the best out of it that we can - living vicariously through this thread, for example.
 
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