Purely on the reading/writing front, I am now receiving Irene’s (www.myspace.com/ireneblack) comments on Tainted Tree and should be dealing with them. However, at the same time, I am reading and adding my comments to Anne’s (www.myspace.com/annebrooke) book, Thorn in the Flesh. Having read four chapters, I can tell you it is full of suspense and impending danger. I’m also reading, for the book circle this coming Thursday, Salmon Fishing in the Yemen which is a very novel first novel. I’m enjoying both of these books and creating time for them by having fewer games of Freecell and Solitaire.
I managed to remember my camera and took a photo of the trees on our local road. Another few days and they will have lost their leaves. I also took a shot of what was our shed, prior to its removal for Bonfire Night - Saturday, in our case.
I thought Thursday was going to be a very productive day. I made up the bed in the Pink Room – the room that was once my daughter’s, but is now used for whichever granddaughters come to stay. I had to change the sheets, as GD2 was in them last, and GD3 will be in the bed next. GD1, being big and grown-up at nearly 9, sleeps on a blow-up mattress on the floor. I was going to go to Sainsbury’s to get my shopping for us and for the family visit, and also particularly to get more chocolate buttons for a second batch of chocolate brownies for Bonfire Night, when I remembered I had some cooking chocolate, and decided to delay the shopping till Friday. Then I walked to the post-box to get rid of some urgent letters and dealt with the end of month statements, to go in the post on Friday.
My neighbour had sent an urgent message on Tuesday night, when I was at Guildford Writers. No nuts. Apparently some of the female teenagers coming to the party think they might be allergic. We are viewing this with a certain amount of scepticism – either you are, or you aren’t. And any way, how can you make brownies without nuts. Nevertheless, on Wednesday, I tried making a batch of double chocolate brownies instead. Alas, the chocolate buttons, which I put in at the last stage, melted into the mixture, so they didn’t turn out quite as I wanted. But they seemed to taste OK. With batch 2, on Thursday, I had the bright idea of adding raisons instead of extra chocolate. When I’d finished them, I was about to throw away the chocolate wrappers, when I spotted the words, may contain traces of hazelnuts, almonds, milk, wheat and egg. My 35 nutless brownies were, after all, not nut free. I have to say I was very irritated, and had to contemplate making a further batch for the party. So I hadn’t made such good progress after all. To add insult to injury, a customer telephoned during our meal, wanting a report done, so I had to take dictation after the meal, and produce four copies to go off tomorrow. Not much time for reading anything that evening.
On Friday, I braved the utility room (stick head in, observe wasps in flight, fetch spray; call back an hour later) and got some washing in the machine and numerous stuff hanging up in there out for ironing. And I did a huge Sainsbury’s shop, too, bearing in mind that the Son&Heir and his women were coming on Saturday.
Saturday was another beautiful day and the girls were delighted to help collecting timber for the fire. Our neighbour’s sons put our old shed on our trailer and transported the stuff to the site; they were all involved in building a magnificent bonfire with Guy on top. I, in the meantime, made my third batch of brownies – a total of 105 in four days. In the evening, we went to our immediate neighbour for drinks before fire lighting. The bonfire was amazing; I didn’t take my camera, but the flames were probably leaping 20 feet in the air, singeing branches of the trees around. Our other neighbour was circling with a hosepipe, constantly trying to damp it down, but the old shed was probably very dry and there were also some builders’ pallets which formed the base. It was all OK; it didn’t get out of hand, and the men took turns to keep an eye on it while the rest of us watched the fireworks’ display. Then back to the other neighbour for the food. Our girls were tired by then, and we soon took them off home.
Still to come was our trip to the Chinese restaurant for my birthday treat, where I had to open the home made cards designed by the girls (and be very surprised about it.) I also received two books from the family A Spot of Bother by Mark Haddon and Grumpy Old Woman by Judith Holder. Well that sums me up then.
When they’d gone, I collapsed onto the settee (or is it sofa – wouldn’t want to show up my humble beginnings) incapable of anything other than making a quick supper and watching Andrew Davies’ version of A Room with a View. M was quite disappointed to find that he wasn’t watching Rear Window. He also complained bitterly about the time shifts – unnecessary in my view, though I enjoyed most of it. In the commercials, I read a few pages of Salmon Fishing as time is rushing on. And yet more activity tonight, when we are going to restaurant in Staines, where M has done some work in the past. They want him to come and talk about electrics, and the lady wife is invited too.
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