SATURDAY MORNING AT THE BIRD FEEDER - A FACE AT THE WINDOW

 

We had a visitor last week.

Camera Lady has a story. Many years ago in another house far, far away, she was thrilled to have her family visit her from the UK.  These were her parents and an aunt and uncle. They had a wonderful time! But, unknown to her, there were things being wondered about.

It may be different now in the UK, but I didn't grow up with screens. Maybe our British friends can tell us if this is still the case. They are used in the USA and screens are on all the windows and doors. It gets hot and humid in the summer months, and it keeps those pesky buzzing things out of the house, among other things, so that we can keep our doors open to let in the fresh air. I became grateful for them as mosquitoes made a beeline for me. Nothing worse than having a mosquito buzzing in your ear, and I would get a couple of dozen bites and itch like crazy. I still get bitten but not quite as much as I have learned how to deal with them for the most part. 

You can read all about screens at this link. I believe they are in Canada and Australia too, and a few other tropical places no doubt. But it took a long time for them to say anything, and only when there was an ah-ha moment when I took one off to clean. "Ohhhh!" said Mum. "We thought your windows were just awfully dirty." I was flabbergasted they didn't say anything until just before their holiday was almost over. I remember the wire-mesh 'tents' Mum put over the food to keep pests off when I lived at home. It's the same thing but on a smaller scale. Ah well! 

Another time on a visit, we used this butter spread instead of real butter, one I won't mention by name, but Dad finally said a week before they left, after watching an advertisement on television, and this quite seriously, shaking his head as he spoke, "I can believe it's not butter, it tastes bloody awful!" Well, proper butter was put on the shopping list and immediately bought, so that at least they could have real butter for the week they had left on their visit, and everyone was more than grateful. These memories come up now and again, and we often have a chuckle. My parents were such dears, never wanting to overstep or hurt feelings. 

One British friend I knew had bought silk plants for her house as she had what she called a toxic thumb, definitely not a green one. After one visit from her parents, she found that her Dad had been watering her silk plants their whole visit and only found this out when she went to dust them after they had left. I told her that was a lovely compliment to her because they must have looked very real. She said not really, her dad had very poor eyesight.

Getting back to our birdfeeder post, we had another visitor last week. He had a lovely bushy tail and the prettiest black front paws.

Oh stroppy one, the need to eat in you is strong!

It was 7.00 a.m. when he arrived, not long after we had put the bird seed out. Outfoxed again! We tapped firmly on the glass and he scurried down the steps, not to be seen again. The cat had also left earlier.

Yes, I am sure they are gone. We told them to beat a hasty retreat.

Yes, they're gone!

I am absolutely delighted!

Hey, begone little cat, my birdies are back! I already told them you had left. Yes, said the Cardinal lady, and repeated...

And that's how it's going on a Saturday Morning at the Bird feeder. 

Thanks for stopping by everyone and have a great weekend!

HAPPY SUNDAY EVERYONE - HERE IS THE STORY OF MY PET RAT

I had a 24-hour pet rat when I was about eight years’ old, a vivid memory to this day, given to me by a little boy I knew in the neighborhood. When he showed me I immediately fell in love with that sweet little thing. I toddled off home carrying it in a small cage, very excited to tell mother about my new pet, that it was a gift and then proudly, I didn't have to spend any of my pocket money (all three-pence of it). Mum took a good long look, smiled and said something like, how nice dear.

The next day, on my return home from school, my new pet was nowhere to be seen. Mum, looking serious as she sat me down, explained with great sympathy, that it missed its mummy badly, and its mummy missed her child. They were very sad and she felt they should be reunited immediately. Then she said to me, I would miss you and you would miss me, right? Sadly, I agreed and I went out in the back garden to seek comfort from my pet rabbits. 

Mum was used to me bringing things home. Worms were really interesting, and frogs. I drew a line with spiders after playing in a long, narrow gully on open land a month before. At great speed, I ran through thousands of tiny hatchlings on thousands of tiny webs floating on the air at face level. My friends ran off screaming in all directions. Mum heard me screaming from the next street over and spent a long time clearing them off my face and out of my hair. Why mother's go gray, I think I've heard that somewhere before. Mum was a good egg. She didn’t grow up with animals but when she married Dad, they came with the territory. We already had a dog, Skipper, a cat, Binky, a budgerigar, Kim, and lots of rabbits named after Dad’s western shows. There was Cheyenne, Sugarfoot, Maverick, Rowdy and Miss Kitty to name a few. 

As for my newly departed pet, I found out several years later from my sister, that Mum marched up to my friend's home, and gave the little rat-child back to its mother, my friend’s mother that is. She apparently was not happy to get it back.

I wrote this story for our son, and I am very sorry I didn’t buy you a pet rat. We did, however, have Bridgette who was our sweet dog-fur-baby, and Big Al, (I don’t know where son got that name from). Big Al was a turtle rechristened Big Alice by son when she laid an egg. I called her Popsy on the quiet. 

And coincidentally a mouse fell into a bucket in the garage found by son. With great pride he announced he had a pet. A few hours later on his return from school, I told him that his mummy missed it too. (I released it into the hills behind our house and asked it nicely not to come back.) Son was around the same age as I was when I had my 24-hour pet rat. He also was not very happy mouse-ling went home, but he understood. That's when we went to the pet store and bought Big Al/Big Alice/Popsy. Bridgette arrived a couple of years later. They were with us for many years and will never be forgotten. They brought us a lot of joy, many smiles, and even more tales I'll tell one day.

 And that's the end of the story of my 24-hour pet rat. 

 

THE STORY OF THE SPRAINED KNEE

All my step pictures are with thanks to Pixabay, to try to add a little humor to the story. Probably doesn't work but I am always trying to lighten things up.

On my birthday I gave myself a lovely gift. That gift was on July 8th and it was a sprained knee. It is definitely an eye-roller up to the ceiling moment, and a sort of funny story that goes along with. I couldn't smile at first, but I am inwardly smiling now all these weeks later, sort of.

Today's post is to answer those who have been asking how did I do it? It was all to do with renewing my military spouse ID. An appointment was made and the only time available was on my birthday. I didn’t want to delay it any longer. There are a couple of bases we can go to get it done. We decided on the nearest Marine Corps one.  

Security at the gate told us where we needed to go. We ended up parking on a multi-story parking lot next to the building. It was only a small parking area compared to other places we have been to. The first two floors were reserved spaces for active military, third floor was for visitors. It only had three levels but there was no elevator. No problem I told Gregg, I can handle going down those steps. Gregg always looks a bit concerned, stairs and I have had many issues in the past. I repeated, with emphasis, “No problem, honestly!” I got down those steps okay and was feeling proud of myself that nothing untoward happened.

We were at the side of the building and popped our heads through a door, but there was no one around to ask. Gregg said to me, you wait here, and I’ll come back for you when I find the place. Okay I said, but after ten minutes the heat was getting to me even in the shady spot and no bench in sight. (We were having a heatwave and were being warned constantly on the news.) I was starting to feel a bit worse for wear. More time went by when a young marine walked past me and before he disappeared, I got the hook out, figuratively speaking. I asked him if he could tell me where the office was to renew ID’s.  He responded with a smile and said, “Yes ma’am, I am going there myself and I can show you.”  I happily said that would be lovely, thank you so much and off he went, with me following briskly behind, more briskly than I have been in a long time.

The building was on quite a steep hill, and at the side of it there were a hundred plus steps to climb - oh boy - which young marine took two steps at a time. ‘Oh boy’ became my mantra as I tried to keep up. At least it’s great exercise I thought. (Both father and son rolled their eyes to the ceiling when I told them this later. I got sort of a lecture from son about me trying to keep up with a marine. We all know how fit these guys are, me not so much, fit I mean.)

Young marine was waiting for me at the top and he said that we had to go through ‘this door’, which - oh boy - led to three more long flights of stairs inside the building, no exaggeration. He slowed down for me and finally, after me slowing the poor young man down while the old lady caught up, he deposited me at the door where I was to get my ID done. I thanked him and off he went through another door to get his own ID presumably.

So, there I was, sitting in the waiting room and chuckling at the thought of Gregg walking up the stairs to find that I was already there. I had sent him a text earlier which unfortunately he didn’t see. Yes, he was very surprised, and I beamed and giggled like a school girl getting there first, not that we are competitive or anything. (So, she who laughs first and all that right?) In my defense, not that I needed to defend but I felt a bit guilty, I didn't mean to disappear on him and I told him I had sent him a text, and just had to get inside out of the heat, and had no time to tell him about the young marine, bless his dear heart, and all those blessed steps, before we were called into the office.

We were both impressed at the efficiency and friendliness of the staff and were finished in less than 20 minutes. Loved their air-conditioning and the cool air was very welcome. I was told that because of my age (another young man - he needed training on how to talk to women as old as his grandma, but in all seriousness, he was very sweet), he continued that I would not need any more renewals, this was the last one for life.  At that point I could have said “Yippee!”, at the ID and "Yippee!" at the first ever decent ID photo I have ever had, because I have to stare at the thing to the bitter end and yes, I am smiling. It’s the lighting, it was really bright in that room, and I was very happy with the final ID photo. The others across the years have been pretty abysmal.

By this time I was feeling somewhat uncomfortable. 

We walked out the door and looked to our left and there was the blessed elevator!!! Yes, that sentence deserves three exclamation points. “Are you kidding me!” I said.  Gregg said “I wonder where that goes?” I told him again with emphasis that I didn’t care as long as it goes down, and my inner tortoise and hare mentality kicked in. The hare was through the elevator door first, by this time not hopping but limping a little.

When the elevator reached ground level, we only had to walk down a short corridor and surprise, surprise, exited out the door we had tried when we first arrived. There were rude words in my head, but I was proud of myself for not speaking them out loud.

It was still sweltering. Gregg found a bench for me around the corner and in a shady spot, deposited me there while he fetched the car, and I promised him I wouldn't move an inch. Thankfully by this time there was a slight breeze. 

On the way home Gregg asked me how was I feeling? I told him, “Well, my knee is a bit sore.” By the next morning it was pitching a fit. 

The doctor’s appointment was made after almost a week of supporting myself by walking around the house leaning on every piece of furniture, and it wasn’t getting any better as I had hoped. It was x-rayed and I have been told there is arthritis also. I have to go back in three months, sooner if it gets worse, and no climbing steps, no kidding! I was given a prescription for a topical ointment which has the same effect as my go-to pain medication, but without the problematic side effects. And no walking around our favorite spots for a while, and as I say yet again, most definitely no steps. 

So, there you go, I hope that answers a few questions. 

Thanks for sticking with the story through to the end. It is a bit of a long one.

Have a great day everyone, and for any Marine Corps friends out there, Semper Fi!

RANDOM PHOTO AND A QUOTE AND A RAMBLE

 

“Swim your own path”

 ~Author Unknown ~

One from my archives, the stone fish was part of a fountain taken in a village when we were on vacation in 2015. We were in the UK not too far from the village where I lived when I met Gregg. 

And here goes a 'bit' of a ramble, some of which I may be repeating so apologies in advance. 

For ten years I was a total village girl, driving my old rusty bucket of a grey mini along the country lanes, which were barely wide enough to get one car down, and yes, it was two-way traffic. If you came across an oncoming car, you invariably had to back up several feet, sometimes several yards, to the nearest farmer's gate, edge in somehow as tightly as you could, and allow the car to pass. Sometimes and this is no exaggeration, there was perhaps only two inches between you and the other car, if that. A friendly wave and a ‘thank you love’ would follow. 

An added note since I started this post, is that you had to be very careful of those 'hedgerows', as there were very often old stone walls underneath them totally obscured. Many a car driven by people who don't know the countryside, have had some nasty scrapes and scratches on their vehicles because of them. 

Anyhow, I found myself backing up maybe a couple of times on each journey, so I got quite good at it. I never waited for the other car, just did it automatically, as my Dad had showed me to do. He was always the reverser and when he was teaching me how to drive, figured it was good practice for me. 

I loved village life, it fit me like an old glove. There was a village pub where my sister and I would occasionally go with our parents. Children usually sat in the garden weather permitting, where there were tables and chairs and play areas. If it was rainy then you didn't go. As I got older I would join my friends and we would have a good old natter and enjoy a shandy or a pop. 

My memories of this pub, built right next to the village church. (The first brick on the old church was placed in Circa1400 when the west tower was built, the remainder in Circa 1450, its chapel Circa 1520. The Chancel was restored in 1874.) As for the pub, there was an old fireplace with a roaring fire crackling in the wintertime, the farmer drinking his pint and his two sheep dogs lying in front of the fireplace, sometimes a tail getting too close and farmer’s foot gently moving tail and occasionally putting out embers on singed fur with said foot. They were a regular sight, as were all the other locals and my Dad knew many of them. It was his regular pub.

The place had those old, low-beamed ceilings I like, and white-washed walls with horizontal black beams crossing the vertical ones, holding them all together. I was always told that the pub was built before the village church, as it was customary to have an establishment where the workers could come and have refreshment and food after a hard day's work, not always the case I suppose. Here you can see the history of their beginnings, and also a few old pubs at this link.

I worked in the nearby town of Torquay at the local government's solicitors (lawyers) offices, and then moved up the road for a higher paycheck working for a child psychiatrist for a few years, and then for yet another higher paycheck having heard from a friend that I should apply for her job as she was leaving, and I worked in the local hospital administration offices. 

When I was 15 my Dad had retired from the police and that's how we ended up in Devon. We had been vacationing there since I was 8 years old, twice a year.  Moving to Devon was like going back home.  We loved being not too far from the seaside and didn't mind the extra dampness in the air.

About six months after we had moved, Dad was contacted by an old friend who lived in the town we had just moved from. This solicitor (lawyer) friend of my Dad, was on his way to Torquay and knew Dad wasn’t too far away. There were a lot of 'retirees' but very few fully retired. The friend was going to set up his own practice and asked Dad to join him. His career in law enforcement had given him connections even in this area, and further afield. In their beginnings they needed extra help as there was only one young girl who did their typing, and the practice became very busy.  

One evening when I was almost 18, Dad asked me if I would like to earn some extra pocket money.  This would involve typing up notes which were hand-written on sheets of lined paper clipped together. They were done by people who were getting divorced, and ladies were their main clientele. 

Dad and I had a long talk and he warned me beforehand that what I would be typing could on occasion be horrendous, did I still want to take the job on? There were often hospital reports regarding spousal abuse. I could try it for a while and quit if I felt it was too much. I said yes because I again was looking for that extra pocket money. My friends and I were saving up for a skiing holiday in Austria for the following wintertime, definitely an incentive and at first, little thought of what I was typing. My brain was able to compartmentalize, and my fingers flew.

However, many of these stories were very, very sad and quite horrid and they did begin to affect me. I empathized continuously, and I grew up! I typed steadily for almost five years, working in the day and then coming home and working in the evenings for two or three hours, often on the weekends. I would give myself some time off to have an evening out with my friends. I never spoke of the work as it was obviously confidential.  After this had gone on for over two years, I remember saying to Mum that I was never, ever, ever going to get married. I became very, very wary and overly cautious but I knew a lot about life, thanks to my Dad's offer of extra work. Gregg said years later maybe your Dad was trying to prepare you for life. He did, that's for sure, except that I was already overly cautious and skeptical, and now extra suspicious. I kept telling those who asked, as most of my friends were either engaged or married by that time, that I was quite happy being a spinster for the rest of my life, and that was the truth. Yes, we still used the word spinster in those days, even as young as I was. And that's when I met Gregg and off to America I went! I surprised some to say the least.

Moving to Washington DC was a bit of a shock, my head was spinning for a long time. I will never forget that first trip from the airport at night, on a busy multi-laned freeway, the flashing lights from a never ending line of headlights, from cars that seemed to me to be as big as tanks. And here I am all these years later, having moved when Gregg was in the navy, many times, but now back within a stone's throw of Washington DC again. Forks in the road right?

I didn't expect this post to turn into such a ramble, but my brain is rambling more and more these days. (Maybe it's this darned cough and cold. Gregg and I have been stuck in the house for a while. Between hacking coughs and sniffles, throwing bed clothes off because we are too hot, then bringing a blanket out of winter storage because of waking up too darned cold, we are now starting to feel a tad better. We have also started talking about the old days.) 

I started this blog originally for our son, and it is still for him, but I am glad to share it with my blogging friends now, so thank you if you have stuck with me this far. 

 I came from a family who were ‘all-about-life’ story tellers. It was their entertainment, the old stories. Not only them but get-togethers where family and friends who came over for a pot of tea and nibbles, and the conversation invariably rolled around where almost to the person, they told their own life stories. And then there were the sing-songs when Dad would get on the piano. This was long before all this amazing technology that we have now, and was very much part of my growing up years. 

I still remember many of the tales from Mum and Dad when they were young, and even their friends, not all were rosy. There was, however, one dear lady, Mrs. Bissell, who was my honorary ‘aunty’. She loved us and we loved her. She had just returned from visiting her brother. She hadn’t seen him in ten years. He had emigrated to Australia and lived in the outback. I was enthralled with tales of kangaroos and cockatoos, and other brightly colored birds and flowers, and all the many splendid sights she saw.  

So, I put these things down to give our son an idea of what his parents have done in their lives. Even the most mundane things from my own parents, are treasured memories now, and I know Gregg feels the same way about his. I'm thinking son will feel the same about these one day.

If you would like to share snippets of yours, I would love to read them. Obviously no pressure and I certainly don’t expect it unless you want to.

Ramble over with!

Thanks for visiting and I hope 

your day is a great one.

MONDAY MORNING RECIPE - STRAWBERRY, SPINACH SALAD WITH POPPY SEED HONEY-LEMON DRESSING - SERVES 4

It is a great time for salads with all the hot weather we have been having. I am also adding our 10-day forecast, occasionally, not all the time. Just a reminder for us to look back on. Here's ours starting tomorrow (I am writing this on 7-13-24). Happily we have some rain ahead. Good news for our farmers and good news for our gardens.

This recipe comes from Julia's recipes, hosted by Julia, who lives in Colorado, USA. Thank you Julia for this wonderful recipe. Great photos, great recipes if you would like to take a look, and the original recipe is at this link. She also has a lot of suggestions for other recipes to be served with it.

Strawberry Spinach Salad with Poppyseed Honey-Lemon Dressing 

Serves: 4

Calories per serving: approximately 370

Salad dressing:

¼ cup extra virgin olive oil

2 tablespoons Dijon mustard

3 tablespoon honey

3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

2 tablespoons poppy seeds divided

Spinach Strawberry Salad

6 oz baby spinach

12 ounces strawberries cleaned, hulled, and sliced (about 3 cups)

½ cup feta cheese crumbled

½ cup pecans toasted

Make salad dressing:

Combine olive oil, Dijon mustard, lemon juice, honey, and 1 tablespoon of poppy seeds in a mason jar. Whisk well with a fork for 1 to 2 minutes until well blended. Add more (or less) honey or mustard to taste. (Denise’s note: I would also say go sparingly until you have added enough dressing to your salad for your own taste.)

Putting together:

Combine spinach, sliced strawberries, and toasted pecans (some whole some chopped) in a large serving bowl (or in 4 individual salad bowls).

Add salad dressing and toss to combine.

Top with crumbled feta cheese and sprinkle with extra poppy seeds.

Julia's Notes:

Toast the pecans on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet in a preheated oven at 350°F for 7 to 10 minutes, until they turn slightly darker (be careful not to over-toast them). Toasted pecans are crunchier and have a fresher taste.

Other nuts that complement a strawberry spinach salad are walnuts, toasted pine nuts, or salted shelled pistachios. Candied nuts are also great additions.

For a nut-free version, simply substitute sunflower seeds.

Alternative leafy greens include a spinach/arugula mix or butter lettuce.

Nutritional information can be read at the original recipe.

I am adding the full address if you prefer to copy and paste instead of clicking on any links.

https://juliasalbum.com/strawberry-spinach-salad-poppy-seeds/

Make ahead tips (Denise’s note: it was a lot of prep work and I would do all this for next time):

Toast pecans up to 2 days in advance. 

Toast them in the preheated oven at 350 F for about 7 or 10 minutes (Denise’s note: I have had trouble burning nuts, so I was cautious and took them out at a little past the 4 minute mark). Once they are cool, keep them in a ziploc bag at room temperature or in the fridge.

Make the salad dressing in advance:

You can make it up to 5 days in advance and keep it refrigerated in a mason jar. Bring it to room temperature before serving.

Assemble quartered strawberries, spinach, and crumbled feta cheese up to 5 hours in advance before serving.  

Add the nuts and the poppy seed dressing only when ready to serve. This will prevent spinach from wilting and will keep the nuts crunchy! (Denise’s note: I had added the dressing already for our meal. When we ate the two remaining meals the next day, it resembled a wilted lettuce salad, though we still enjoyed it. However, I wouldn’t make quite as much next time, and only enough for just two people to eat on the day of making.)

Storage Tips:

It's best to serve strawberry spinach salad right away, so it is recommended making just enough so that you have no leftovers. (See my note above.)

If you do have leftovers, the salad can be refrigerated for 2 days. It's best to refrigerate the salad and the dressing separately. 

What did we think? It was delicious and we enjoyed not only the ingredients but the salad dressing. You can play around with it if you think it is too sweet. We thought it was excellent, except I thought maybe to go easier on the poppy seeds as they seemed to be overboard on those. My advice for us next time is to use them sparingly until we have enough for them not to look too much. The following is a photo of what we thought was too much. That being said, it did not detract from the deliciousness.

Thanks for stopping by and as always, 

I hope your day is a great one. 

Bon Appétit!

GREEN SPRING GARDENS CONTINUED, PLUS A BIT OF THIS AND THAT

I start off with another tree, as you can see. I'm not sure what kind but what I was more interested in was the vine growing up the trunk. I have never noticed it before, probably because it wasn't blooming. No doubt the reason I love coming in all seasons because you just never know what you'll notice that you haven't noticed before.

It is the Trumpet Flower, also known as Crossvine (botanical name Bignonia capreolata) and native to the southeastern United States. A cross section of its stem reveals a marking of the Greek cross, hence its name of Crossvine. I also read at this website the vine is usually a dark, glossy green but in the colder areas of its growing range, the leaves take on a reddish-purple color. 

I will be sharing Green Springs in bits and dabs for a while. I am behind on everything. I thought I would add a bit of a ramble and hopefully it won’t bore you too much, but it is where my head is at. 

Right now I am enjoying having the windows open and listening to the birds. Yesterday (the 27th) we had a tornado warning that lasted several hours. Rare for this area!  We saw a heavy yellow sky in the late afternoon, it was a bit windy but seemed to move away quite quickly. Then it rained hard and there was a thunderstorm. These things are horrendous, so I hope you didn't have any nasty weather in your area. 

It's been cooler today and there has been a lovely breeze blowing into the house. It rained again and it became even cooler. Hearing the birds twittering out there has been a joy and of course watching the antics of these little rascals. 

The Mourning Doves seem to have made this their permanent home. They appear early in the morning and late in the evening. 

I watched one stand its ground with a squirrel which surprised me. The Dove claimed its prize of a recently filled basket of birdseed, and the squirrel departed! Those doves have been very feisty lately.

I have seen Doves, a male and female Cardinal, a Black-capped Chickadee, several Blue Jays, and a Crow.  The Cardinals and the Black-capped Chickadee were hard to take photos of. Added note on 6/1/24: I am very grateful to David who hosts Travel With Birds, who let me know that what I am seeing is a Carolina Chickadee and not a Black-capped Chickadee as I have always believed. You can read what he said in the comment section.  David is very knowledgeable about birds and I always appreciate his expertise.  I am also very grateful to anyone who thinks I may have misidentified anything in my blog. I truly do want to get it right, and I love learning even at this time of my life. Thank you David! If you are curious how you can tell the difference, this website has a very good explanation.

The other bit of drama was watching the Crow being dive-bombed by the Blue Jays. It happened today and yesterday, but the Crow also stood its ground, leaving when it was good and ready. He was a big one!  Not the one above, I couldn't get a photo of Grandpa Crow. A couple of minutes after he left, each time, the Blue Jays flew in for a feed.

 We even had a chipmunk in the flat tray for a while.

And then several children started playing in the neighbor's yard at the back, and all critters disappeared. It was time for me to get back to my chores.

It has been a quiet afternoon with me going back and forth doing other chores. Very entertaining outside though! I have a ring-side seat of all the activity, which was what I had in mind when putting this feeding area together after saying goodbye to the old deck. 

I haven't done a lot of cooking this week, so nothing too exciting in the way of meals. Throw-together ones more than anything. Today for dinner I roasted four large Portobella mushrooms, spraying avocado oil on a parchment lined sheet pan and sprinkled with salt and pepper, in the oven on 400 deg. F. for 20 minutes. I had leftover (uncooked) cauliflower florets in the fridge, from a cauliflower cheese made the day before, along with (uncooked) strips of sweet bell pepper. I put two roasted portobellas on my plate, three of the cauliflower florets and a few sweet pepper strips, with a spoonful of hummus. I will have the other portobellas tomorrow with a poached egg for breakfast. I know we've got a bit of green in the refrigerator! There are times my dear other half and I fix our own meals. It's called "I don't like yours and you don't like mine, but I fancy this for a change' night! It doesn't happen too often but if we don't have anything planned, we go that route. We are both trying to eat extra healthy these days.

Waffling over with. See you next time!