A Good Hair Day

Today, after a good night's sleep (to make up for the bad night the night before) I headed off to the big city. The low sun was shining, and reflecting off the wet roads making it very difficult to see at times. I went to the usual shopping mall, starting with M&S where I returned a pair of trousers which I had bought over the Internet but were not what I wanted. I went to look for a replacement pair and while doing so found a nice round necked top with cream edging and a cardigan to match. I picked both but when I discovered that the trousers were in the wrong size, I just put the tops back.

That made a big saving!

I then went on to The Body Shop and bought something that TBSITW wanted, and passed Thorntons on the way. I resisted the chocolates but bought some toffee. I then went and had a sandwich and an apple juice before going on to the hairdresser.

After I got back to my home town I thought that it was time to give the car a similar (and much overdue) treat and took it to the car jet wash.

Then it was back home to find that our wonderful house manager had put a parcel in for me and that the post today was only Private Eye with no junk mail to join it for a change.

Now to cook some chicken thighs to make stock.

Mostly Younger Son

Off I went to the hairdresser yesterday morning. It was a lovely sunny day, and seeing I had wakened reasonably early, I thought I might just as well get going. The hairdresser I go to is on the outskirts of big city and I have being going here for years; even when I lived in the South of England and couldn't find someone there who could cope with my baby fine hair, I used to ask my sister to make an appointment for me for every time I came to visit her. One occasion after I had moved away from the big city I tried a local hairdresser, but it was no good so I returned to the one I liked.

As I was so early I did my shopping first, going initially to the only accessible supermarket who stocks the stuff to lay in a bottle or two of Noilly Prat, then went round to the other end of the shopping mall and bought one or two things in Marks and Spencer (no clothes, honest!) before having a good look through most of the mall. Mall is perhaps exaggerating a bit as it is not actually huge and I can manage it in small doses on foot.

Back again to Marks by which time I was too late to have a sit down with a cup of tea and something to eat and so I picked up a BLT sandwich and a bottle of water and headed off to the car park at the hairdresser where I ate my sandwich (and could not open the bottle!!!) At least I always get a cup of Earl Gray tea while the colour is being "set".

When Iain (the hairdresser) came over to greet me and to have a look at how the last cut had gone, he suggested that perhaps we could leave it longer next time. My hair is short now and the growth has slowed down a bit so my next appointment is now 8 weeks away.

When I arrived home the sun was still shining and I caught up with my blogs only to find one from my daughter in law to say that younger son was in a great deal of pain and she was so worried about him. I immediately phoned him and he was putting a brave face on things. He had gout in one big toe and then in both and now a knee is affected. He cannot walk and has to bottom shuffle the poor dear. He has been prescribed morphine tablets which help but take a long time to kick in after the morning dose. I wonder if this is anything to do with the fact that he has a kidney transplant, but if things are no better by the end of the week he is going to phone his renal consultant. Other doctors are reluctant to prescribe anything due to the cocktail of medications he is already on, and he trusts the renal consultant whom he has obviously come to know quite well.

Back Home

So, here I am back from my short holibags. I had a great time with younger son and daughter-in-law, catching up with all the news and seeing how all the work has been progressing in their house and garden.

On Saturday we went to a very large shopping mall; they had booked an electric wheelchair for me, so I was able to keep up with them and enjoy the shopping. We had lunch there too and I even had a glass of wine (an absolute no-no when I am driving a car, but there seem to be no such restrictions for “driving” a wheelchair.)

Daughter in law made toad in the hole which I haven't had in years - delicious. ps if she reads this, I would love the recipe.....

Son made a delicious chicken dish:

Lemon Chicken

Take zest and rind of 1 orange and 1 lemon, then juice them both.
Spread juice over chicken then press zests and some thyme over it too.
Push the remainder of the orange and lemon into the cavity of the chicken.
Slow roast the chicken until cooked (time depends on weight of chicken).

This gives a lovely moist meat, delicately flavoured with the orange, lemon and thyme.

We went to the cinema to see Ratatouille – it was great fun, and we also made another trip round Waitrose; at least this time we got the whole way round without son’s mobile summoning him back to the hospital :-)

The chicken did very well with salad for two further meals.

Son also made kedgeree in the usual way, but instead of mixing the hard boiled eggs into it, he sliced them and laid them fanned out to the side of the kedgeree, so that it looked more attractive.

I should mention that daughter-in-law is vegetarian, so that two different meals were being cooked each time.

I almost forgot the sticky toffee pudding (not home made) which was nonetheless delicious.

You might very well think that I only go there for the food, but I could not possibly comment.

So, a magic visit.