Weekly Chat (Non-Osprey), 12 April 2020

Totally agree LINDY, no knighthood' but an invite to take tea with HM would be lovely. Very Pleased to hear he received a lovely letter from William (who has made a donation) and Kate, and also a one to one phone call from Boris.

Glorious day here and more to come. It is a bit chilly, but lots of sun.

Meant to say to HEATHER. I think Cullen Skink and chowder are similar.

Remember my saying that they were cleaning next doors driveway, this morning? Well, they're still at it!! They had a break for lunch but are still rumbling away. Awful when its non stop.

I fell asleep this afternoon in spite of the noise, and now am cross because it's been a pretty unproductive day. Grr.

Dibnlib it looks as if Captain Moore is going to be a guest of honour at the opening of one of the new hospitals which is a nice gesture.

Gosh, whilst I wrote the above, the noise has finally stopped & they're throwing stuff into their van.

Don't ask me why the UK and the US are having such a hard time with virus testing when other countries seem to have it in hand.  Meanwhile, the Great Orange Instigator is stirring up his supporters (who can these people be and doesn't that man realize that he's getting more orange by the day? Of course, that's because he spends all his time in his sunbed; what else is there do do when you're the alleged - ahem - leader of the free world.)

OG: Cullen Skink or Cullen Stink.  Doesn't sound good either way, but Lindybird's comment about it's similarity to chowder doesn't ring any memories of bad smells, perhaps because we make it here with clams.

Lynette:  Ivy was very popular around here in at some point judging from some neighbor's gardens; it's the very devil to get rid of. 

Lindybird:  Our neighbors had their house power washed last week with all the associated rumbling.  

Diane:  The Laundromat got pretty mixed reviews - it's a bizarre dark comedy (just a heads up!) but with an interesting surprise ending.   :-)

Off to sort out the world; well at least my small part of it.   Take care everyone.

I love Cullen Skink. Also clam chowder, which I first had in Boston

I am just getting supper, but was reminded of that lovely chowder. Must attend to the oven!

Hi! Another afternoon in the garden! We/he removed Fuchsias from greenhouse, checked on Tomatoes, but they were not ready to move yet. Took Cucumbers out of propagator and sowed Courgette seeds. Dead-headed Daffs in front garden, which was lovely because people taking their exercise and dog-walking kept calling “Hello”. The wee woodland has overflowed under the fence into that patch – between the Daffs is overrun with Celandines and Violets – we even have Violets all over the lawn – very pretty, but rather unorthodox! They remind me of the old lady who first gave me them where we lived previously, so good memories of about twenty years back!

LINDA – in all this dry weather, a pity your OH and Bonnie got rained on! Wow, that drive cleaning lasted a long time, and I agree it is a very noisy operation, I am surprised you managed to fall asleep.

ANNETTE – that was just me giving my opinion on Cullen Skink – it is one of the favourite traditional dishes of Scotland! I really don’t like fish, but we are a country with a long coastline so fishing has always been important for our economy – in fact we are being encouraged to eat more fish to support the fishermen who have lost their export market during the pandemic.

A baby Blackbird flew against J’s window earlier – landed on the outer sill, looked a bit stunned and was trying to get inside, but seemed to fly away soon after, so we assume its mother was calling it. Mr Blackbird is now on the roof above the study window, doing his evening sing – very loud!

We decided that the drive cleaning man must have been using a machine which wasn't big enough for the job - it had taken him all day, even though it's only a small front garden, which has been paved over. Less than 16 square metres, my OH says. (Whatever that is!)

I think I fell asleep in the day because I'd had a broken night last night - it was too hot! The rain managed to wet the garden this afternoon which will have done some good, and the local farmer must be pleased as his wheat crop was ready for a drink. But don't think he'd be too thrilled if he saw that there are a lot of people taking their constitutional by walking right through his carefully planted crops! There are footpaths along the side of the fields, but some folks ignore them. Makes me want to get out a megaphone and shout at them.

OG, One of my favourite bird songs, the lilting blackbird.

Hi, all. 

I don't think I would like Cullen Skink, because like OG I'm not fond of fish. I do love beans on toast, however, so I hope that validates my Scottish genes. I will eat salmon, and I buy those prepared envelopes of lemon-pepper tuna because eating fish is good for a person. I adore breaded clams. In Indiana, everyone loves freshwater fish, like catfish, which I find stinky and thoroughly disgusting. I grew up on the Wabash River, so you'd think I'd like it, but NO. 

OG: My lawn is now chock full of wild violets. The rural folk who practice the old ways make homemade jelly out of these violets. It has a lovely subtle flavor and is beautiful to look at in the old-style jars. 

Be back in a little while to start the new thread.