What We've Been Getting Up To

So what have we been up to while we are still in lock down?

I've been going to work, like normal, whereas Mick has stopped working  again, which is good, considering he is supposed to be retired.  

Mick is always happy pottering away in his shed and has been having a great time playing with his new toy.......which I still haven't shared here......I will.....soon.  He also enjoys playing in the garden and has it looking lovely.

Me, well I'm always happy playing in my sewing room.

Other than that, when it rained last weekend I went and pulled out this little box.

It is only about four inches square and holds a little 100 piece puzzle.  Mum bought it at the church white elephant stall a few years ago.  However, it just sat in her room for a couple of years and I know she would not be able to manage it now, so I brought it home.  Mum loves jigsaws.  When she was a dressmaking teacher in the 1950s and boarding in a lady's home she would do jigsaws.  She had some lovely ones of paintings of English castles. They are here now.  I may get them out and revisit them.  For someone who was not at all sporty, during the hot summer you would always find Mum sitting at the dining table, watching the cricket on the tele and working on a large jigsaw.  

Mick and I sat down to this little one and had it completed in an hour.  There was no picture to guide us, just the shapes of the pieces.  It was a nice little interlude.  I think another puzzle will come out soon.  Our only problem is that we only have one big table in the house, so it is a bit tricky to have one set up for any length of time.  We'll see how we go.

I've been reading.  My goal was to read at least one book this month.  Well, so far I've read five and the month isn't over yet.

Robert Goddard is an author we came across either at an op shop or book exchange and have found a few in our travels.  They are all mysteries, but not your normal formula.  I have a couple more sitting next to my chair to read soon.  We'll keep an eye out for more of his books.

Neither of us have ever read an ebook, always having plenty of "real" books to keep us amused.  However, Mick is in a bit of a dilemma, as he is running out of reading material.  He is a prolific reader and the op shops and library are all closed to the public at the moment.

I decided it was time to have a play around with the ebooks at the library.  I had read on a blog about "The Thursday Murder Club", so thought it would be a good one to start with, but it was only available on hold.  In the meantime, I grabbed whatever came up quickly, so read this old Pryne Fisher book.

I was pleased when my requested book became available much sooner than anticipated.  I thoroughly enjoyed it.  As the review said, it was funny and clever.  The sequel "The Man Who Died Twice" has been released, but it is on reserve until March 2022.  I'll get to it at some stage.

Mick has even read one ebook.  However, he finds the font too small on his phone or the ipad, so is just using his laptop.

We've been baking again.  Also, as one of my goals this month I had said it would be good to revisit some old favourite recipes that I haven't made in years.

Firstly, one afternoon I wanted something quick and tasty, so made some pikelets.  This is also something that I haven't made in years.  There were too many for just us, so a plateful was also sent to our lovely next door neighbours.

I had some carrots in the fridge that needed using, so carrot cake was the perfect way to use them up. Carrot cake is also something I haven't made in years.  This recipe is one I pulled from a Family Circle back in 1983, shortly after I left school.  It is as yummy as I remember.

There was far too much of the cream cheese icing, so we then made some muffins.  The same recipe as we used for the raspberry and pear ones, but this time we used apple and walnut.  Yummo.  We reckon we may try apple and ginger next time.

I have also revisited two other old recipes.  Meatballs in Beer Sauce and Spanish Chicken. It's been fun dusting off the old recipes.

So, all in all, we have not had any trouble filling in our time at home and are really enjoying it.  Having said that, we do realise that we are in a very fortunate place in our lives to be able to enjoy this time at home.