What was your fasting blood glucose? (full on chat)

[dunelm]

Good morning everyone on a bright and beautiful start here in France. Bit drizzly yesterday but we walked along the river and then up to the Gallo-Roman baths. They need a bit of maintenance, typical penny pinching council. Out with family friends today for Sunday lunch down the river a bit. We can sit on a balcony overlooking the river if the weather holds. There could be oysters involved or better still, fruits de mer, a tiered platter of creepy crawlies and spikey things. Art bit - trees seen in the park. Have a smasher of a day. It’s koffy time now.

 

[gennepher]

Good morning everyone on a bright and beautiful start here in France. Bit drizzly yesterday but we walked along the river and then up to the Gallo-Roman baths. They need a bit of maintenance, typical penny pinching council. Out with family friends today for Sunday lunch down the river a bit. We can sit on a balcony overlooking the river if the weather holds. There could be oysters involved or better still, fruits de mer, a tiered platter of creepy crawlies and spikey things. Art bit - trees seen in the park. Have a smasher of a day. It’s koffy time now.

Wow, love this trees in the park @dunelm

 

[Omar51]

5.8 this morning.

We are going to a funeral today. We have known Kath since 1976. She was our next door neighbour for many years until she moved in with her daughter down the road.

She was nearly 90 and had told her son she had had enough and was ready to go. She had multiple health issues for years and years but her husband who had no health issues died suddenly and unexpectedly at a much younger age.

Such is life!

 

[gennepher]

Fbg 6.7

Nighttime wildlife video
Badger searching for cat Jade
54secs

Creative...a woman walking...one continuous line squiggle.

Have your best kind of day...

A nap and a cuppa needed...

 

[ianpspurs]

Morning all on a wet start here in L.A. @dunelm and @gennepher thank you both for sharing your art. @dunelm enjoy lunch. We are off here today as the boys gave us this for a Christmas present. We had to reschedule when the house sale was rushed through and this is the last weekend #3 son and partner are Nan London sitting. Enjoy Sunday.

 

[SlimLizzy]

Not quite the same. I use a food processor these days (hands don't work too well) and as soon as the mix looks like breadcrumbs I turn it onto a board and squeeze it together. Into the fridge, wrapped in cling film, for 20 minutes then roll out and cut into shapes. Onto a baking sheet covered in baking parchment. Back into the fridge for another 20 minutes while the oven is heating and then bake on a fairly low heat until they are slightly tinged with golden edges. The firm up once cooled and are hard to resist. I always make them to order so that I won't be tempted.

16oz	chilled unsalted butter, plus extra for greasing
16oz	plain flour, plus extra for the board - or mixture of plain white and wholemeal.
8oz	caster sugar, plus extra for dusting
pinch	salt
1 tsp	vanilla paste

Delia Smith gives two recipes for shortbread. One the same as the Mary Berry recipe I used and another titled Scottish Shortbread with quantities very similar to yours. She still uses creaming method though and so does Prue Leith.
Strange because I was sure it should be rubbed in as you describe.

 

[JohnEGreen]

Hi all fbg of 4.9 this morning another miserable morning here 5 degrees and raining.
My mother’s sister Margaret emigrated to New Zealand when I was about 7years old on the £10 pound scheme she had come back to the UK for a visit a few times when Melody and Adrian were Yong but over the years we lost touch apart for the odd phone call I have for some time been trying to find out if she was ok no one in the family had heard from her for a long while yesterday I was searching on line in New Zealand newspapers and sadly found her obituary she had passed about five years ago in her 80s so that’s all of my mother’s generation gone now and that makes me at 74 the oldest person in my family at least I now Know what happened too her.

 

[dunelm]

Wow, love this trees in the park @dunelm

Thank you @gennepher

 

[dunelm]

Fbg 6.7

Nighttime wildlife video
Badger searching for cat Jade
54secs

Creative...a woman walking...one continuous line squiggle.

Have your best kind of day...

A nap and a cuppa needed...

View attachment 67380

Smashing squiggle, is she wearing a back pack?

 

[dunelm]

Morning all on a wet start here in L.A. @dunelm and @gennepher thank you both for sharing your art. @dunelm enjoy lunch. We are off here today as the boys gave us this for a Christmas present. We had to reschedule when the house sale was rushed through and this is the last weekend #3 son and partner are Nan London sitting. Enjoy Sunday.

Thank you @ianpspurs and enjoy your meal of chaos - hope you get Manuel.

 

[Krystyna23040]

Fbg 6.9

Nighttime wildlife camera
Cat Midnight objects to someone, then Cat Jade is on Badger alert
52secs

Creative...using the Honesty photo of yesterday, I made 2 kaleidoscopes, and then I superimposed them.

The dog barking alarms work to deter the magpie. I do realise the magpie needs food for his babies, and so I put some cat food on a bird table for him, and some in another location, but the magpie didn't want the food in those two locations, but wanted what was in Jade's food dish under the swing. I am now giving Jade her food in a tight spot under the bushes and removing it the moment she finishes. I too would like to be out there without a magpie hovering somewhere above my head waiting to swoop. The sparrows and blackbirds are all feeding their young at the moment, and they are not happy with a magpie lurking...the magpie has some easily accessible food I have put in another location in my garden where there are no other baby birds in that vicinity...


My strategy last year for preventing the Sparrowhawk from swoop diving and taking the small birds at the bird feeders worked. I had cut a buddleia down, and had put the cut down budlieia between the trees in my garden, thus preventing the Sparrowhawk doing his swoop through. The Sparrowhawk came in from only one direction. I suppose it was the only vantage point for him for my bird feeders. Finally I didn't have to watch my poor little sparrows being picked off any more...

Time for a cuppa.

Have your best day...

View attachment 67359

Love the kaleidoscope @gennepher. Brilliant strategy against the sparrowhawk.

 

[Krystyna23040]

Morning all from a sullen skied, wet L.A. @dunelm thank you for sharing the art. Hug for the tiredness from yesterday's walking. @gennepher thank you for sharing the wonderful kaleidoscope. If anyone can devise a plan to thwart that Magpie you can. @Krystyna23040 good plan for #treatgate. @JohnEGreen nice fbg shame about the weather. Enjoy Saturday and have a chilled out song. and lyrics.

Thank you @ianpspurs. I am so pleased that I posted my thoughts here as I think that I would have problems without a good plan of action.

Last night Mr K had an ice cream. The thought went through my head - you deserve a naughty treat as it was a really hard day of teaching today. Luckily the plan of action leapt to the rescue and I had some peanuts instead.

 

[Krystyna23040]

A brilliant plan @Krystyna23040

Thank you @gennepher . The plan is really working. I was so tired yesterday that without the plan I wouldn't have resisted the ice cream.

 

[JohnEGreen]

It seems Adrian's shopping trip in Ireland went well he bought a small herd of Dexter cows for the Ards friary they are an Irish bread and though are found in various countries they are, in Ireland ; on the at risk/critical list.

 

[Krystyna23040]

Such is life!

She did have a good and long life.

Her son revealed that he had found a notebook after his father died. In the notebook his father had written an eulogy to Kath for her funeral, who of course everyone thought would die first. It was full of really awful dad type jokes. He did read one of them out to us. It was awful - but quite funny.

He went on to say that he did read them out to Kath and she said 'well I got the last laugh didn't I'. She was a lovely lady.

 

[Krystyna23040]

Morning all on a wet start here in L.A. @dunelm and @gennepher thank you both for sharing your art. @dunelm enjoy lunch. We are off here today as the boys gave us this for a Christmas present. We had to reschedule when the house sale was rushed through and this is the last weekend #3 son and partner are Nan London sitting. Enjoy Sunday.

That looks brilliant @ianpspurs

 

[Krystyna23040]

Delia Smith gives two recipes for shortbread. One the same as the Mary Berry recipe I used and another titled Scottish Shortbread with quantities very similar to yours. She still uses creaming method though and so does Prue Leith.
Strange because I was sure it should be rubbed in as you describe.

We love our Delia Smith and Mary Berry cookbooks @SlimLizzy

 

[Krystyna23040]

5.7 this morning. It is going to be a relaxing day today. To wet to do any 5 mile treks so will pop out to our little market town later.

I want to go to the Grape Tree, Holland and Barrett and Superdrug. My list is all written out and am just waiting for the rain to stop. Time for another coffee perhaps.

My daughter once said to me 'thank goodness you don't like alcohol because if you drank alcohol like you drink coffee you would be in real trouble'.

 

[Annb]

It seems Adrian's shopping trip in Ireland went well he bought a small herd of Dexter cows for the Ards friary they are an Irish bread and though are found in various countries they are, in Ireland ; on the at risk/critical list.

We wanted to get some Dexter cows, some years ago now but obtaining them wasn't easy and, in the end, we opted for goats.

 

[gennepher]

Morning all on a wet start here in L.A. @dunelm and @gennepher thank you both for sharing your art. @dunelm enjoy lunch. We are off here today as the boys gave us this for a Christmas present. We had to reschedule when the house sale was rushed through and this is the last weekend #3 son and partner are Nan London sitting. Enjoy Sunday.

Thanks Ian