In a previous life, this was actually a Violet plant that some lovely person gave me because she thought it would be nice for Violet. Well, it was a great thought, but because I haven't got a garden, the poor thing has just shrivelled up and passed on.
Next, panic set in this morning as I discovered that none of the shops round abouts actually sell
Anya potatoes
English Provender Caramelised Onions
or
Taleggio cheese.
So, panic stricken, I thought anxiously about what I could substitute these ingredients with. Thank the lord for M&S foodhall. They do a jar of Caramelised Onion Chutney. Phew!
I've ended up having to replace the Anya Potatoes with just New Potatoes and the Taleggio with some Goats Cheese.
Then I get home and read a comment from a lady who'd visited my blog. She'd left a message regarding my Vegetarian menu. A seed of doubt has now entered my mind. This lady pointed out that the cheeses I might be using may contain animal rennet and would therefore be unsuitable for my Vegetarian guests.
I've now turned into a complete an utter Worry Monster. Sometimes entertaining can be quite stressful can't it?
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A couple of other things I'd like to share with you today. Whilst Violet and I were out and about trying to locate our ingredients for tomorrow's luncheon, I thought I'd pop into one of the charity shops along the high street. Wow, they do have a hell of alot of crap to shift don't they? But, I did manage to find a few things.
49p - what a bargain. He (or she) is only about 3 inches high and is bright Yellow. It makes me smile and I've already had to put it out of Violet's reach. She just keeps pointing at it, saying "av it, av it".
A quid. Now nobody can complain at that price. Can they?
And, I don't know why I was drawn to this book, but it looked intriguing.
It's the life story of a man called Albert Facey, who was born in 1894 and grew up on the Kalgoorlie Goldfields and the Wheat-belt of Western Australia. His father died before he was 2 and he was deserted by his mother soon afterwards. He was then looked after by his gran until he was 8 years old, when he went to work. He survived Gallipoli, the loss of his farm in the Depression, the death of his son in WWII and the loss of his wife after 60 years together. Albert had had no formal education and had taught himself how to read and write.
Doesn't it sound like an amazing story? It makes me feel extremely fortunate that I have the life that I do.
It's gonna be a 3 day weekend again folks - Yippee!
