Fortunate Son

Heard last night that one of our neighbours has had a significant win on the Lottery, excellent news.

Obviously I'd rather it was me, but hey, it's nice to hear about somebody else having some great good luck too.

Of course it meant that Mr WithaY and I had the "What would we do if we won the Lottery" discussion again. I think we have it all decided now, though, so a couple of million quid would be lovely if someone could sort that out for me. Ta.

I went out and did some gardening this morning. My back is killing me now. Mr WithaY and I have a Brazilian Soya Farmer approach to gardening. We hack and slash and burn, and then look at the devastation with pride, mingled with dismay and alarm.

He scooted out early to go and do manly stuff with guns, so I put my wellies on and went out to commune with Nature. I dug over one of the flowerbeds out the front, then used a hoe* to scrape off all the moss and assorted flora that had established itself on the drive, where it had no business to be.

I filled a wheelbarrow with weeds, which was impressive from such a small area. Tomorrow I might explore WithaY compost bin Number 1 and see if it has fermented into something I can feed to my roses.

It was quite sociable, really. Various neighbours wandered by, so I chatted to them on and off, which was nice. One of the things I dislike about working full-time is that if you don't make a real effort, you can end up not seeing anyone other than your immediate family and work colleagues for weeks on end.

Other domestic activity this week: Made Apricot chutney on Tuesday night. Did I already mention that? Anyhoo, it needs to mature for a few more weeks but then I plan to eat it with cold ham and possibly with curry.

It was dead easy to make. I had never made chutney, or indeed any kind of pickle before, but this was a cinch. You soak a load of chopped, dried apricots overnight in water. The next day (or when you have finally managed to get to the shop to buy the rest of the ingredients that you thought you already had but didn't) you simmer them in the soaking water, then add garlic, ground ginger, sugar and vinegar, then cook slowly for about 2 hours.

Word of warning, though. It will make your house smell unholy for a couple of days. My lovely guitar teacher almost fled screaming to the hills when he arrived, and the air was thick with steaming chutney smells.**

Did a bit of baking too. I made honey and ginger cake, which was rather disappointing; and honey and nut cookies, which weren't. Mmm cookies.

TIme for a cup of tea, I think.


*The implement, not the woman of loose morals. In case you were wondering.

**I think that's an album title. "Steaming Chutney Smells." Or maybe an anthology of poetry.