Val's Cafe

barbara12 · 8. Sep 2020, 19:50

Evening all..better keep this short

Toni I am so very happy the girls will get the keys Friday...wow no wonder they are excited..yes we need to look after our eyes..nothing I can do for mine..xx

Carol what a lovely view you had..I am not content unless I can look out over the sea..we don't always get the rooms..but we try..the children are so sweet..bless them ...xx

Joan I am glad you have two radiators that you plug in I have one in my bedroom for winter.. love to all of you xx

Kath you always come up with some good poems and to see a pic of the writer is good...and I have heard of refried beans but never had them..thank you xx

The town next to ours Bolton us back in lockdown ..we are just over the border...fingers crossed..xx

Love to everyone

Xxxxx

Turbogran · 8. Sep 2020, 21:35

Evening everyone

Well a busy couple of days it has been for me what with the eye test yesterday. And today I had drs appointment for my ears being very itchy and have noticed hearing not so good dr though itchy ear is a good sigh of wax build up which is what I thought it may be. The result of that appointment Is that my left ear is clear but right ear has lots of wax in I know have a spray to spray in each ear to calm the itchyness down and earex drops to soften the wax. She is also referring me to audiology for a hearing test. Just to make sure it is only the wax causing the problem.

Also today our Graycie went back to her second year in nursery. And Rubie started her first year in Nursery . Of course I have the pictures for you.

first Graycie

Then Rubie. Both looking very cute and cheeky as usual

And just an extra one of all three beautiful girls

Barbara thanks the little peoples are sweet but then I would say that cos I am biased being great nanny. We always try to get rooms with a sea view. Fingers crossed you don’t get any further lockdowns

Toni that’s great the girls getting the keys to their new home. I bet they are happy

Today would have been my mums 99th birthday if she was still with us.

I must potter a little before bedtime had quite a bit of pain tonight.

love and sparkles to you all ❤️❤️❤️🌈🌈🌈

frogmorton · 9. Sep 2020, 06:40

Carol Just look at them! So sweet they really are as Kath says keep posting photos of them! Adorable and most definitely sisters!

99 that would have been a great age wouldn't it for your Mum. We never forget those dates do we? I never do either in fact today is 9 months exactly since Aidan's heart attack 😔

I hope the spray is enough for your ears to ease off and I am pleased you are being referred to audiology for an opinion always best.

I hope a good night's sleep eased your pain back ((()))

Barbara there wasn't anything you could have done for your eyes was there? It can't be prevented can it? I wish it wasn't your eyes, but I know it's the best of the two types of macular degeneration.

I read that we are going to be restricted all of us a bit more too no more than 6 inside. I wonder if that applies to groups like choir. Poor Bolton though.

Kath today's poem is very good indeed. I thought it related to that time of dusk when your eyesight struggles to adapt and driving isn't really safe, but wow another deeper meaning. How what we think we see isn't always what it is. Stereotyping and prejudging. Very good indeed.

I am pleased you enjoyed yesterday's breakfast for today i am doing omelettes - also suitable for lunch🙂

We have an oil filled rad for emergencies. it holds the heat for ages.

Thanks for the nacho recipe - even the actual tortilla chips. These would be great (if ever) we have people over for a drink and nibbles.

Hi Joan yes the girls are so exited about having the keys I really hope all goes well. We are going to meet up on Friday to discuss plans outside in the breeze house - summer house where it's open, but does have heating!! ((()))

Jamie Oliver's recipe.

dachshund · 9. Sep 2020, 07:57

Good morning everyone

Kath ((())) I have not seen your post yet I hope you are all alright ((())) love to Chris ((())) Anita ((())) Val ((())) and your Dad (((()))

Carol more lovely photo's thank you love to Mr T ((()))

Barbara ((())) I'm sorry about your eye's I hope they do not ache ((())) love to Mr B ((())) and your Son ((())) and your Brother ((())) and his girlfriend ((()))

Toni that's gone quick Aidan going our neighbour has a week to live she has Cancer. Love to Paul ((()))Charley ((())) and her girlfriend (((())))Tia ((())) Lucy ((())) and Kari ((())) and Pom ((()))

love to Bill Chris ((())) Mig ((()))

Kitty · 9. Sep 2020, 12:48

Daily Poem (Rather strange, I don't really understand this. Is it about birth? Come on Toni, explain please).

Certificate of Live Birth

Jasmine Reid

You arrive on a Friday, with hail & vast

moving grey above small window

of white light, as a wound

which might be a passing through

of particulate ultra violet waiting

to arrive in sight, our adjectival

see. will it be violent, our photographic

ring around the light?

we inviolate what we can’t see,

revelate its arrival with our question:

boy or girl?

please, let the unseen speak in me.

there are stellar nurseries we cannot grimace.

i am a certificate of a bright somewhere.

you are a poem passing through

the membranes i have moved, mountainous you,

head up-of the interrogative blue.

You arrive on a Friday, with hail & vast

moving grey above small window

of white light, as a wound

which might be a passing through

of particulate ultra violet waiting

to arrive in sight, our adjectival

see. will it be violent, our photographic

ring around the light?

we inviolate what we can’t see,

revelate its arrival with our question:

boy or girl?

please, let the unseen speak in me.

there are stellar nurseries we cannot grimace.

i am a certificate of a bright somewhere.

you are a poem passing through

the membranes i have moved, mountainous you,

head up-of the interrogative blue.

Hello everyone, I hope you are all well. On Tuesday I saw Holly taking the girls to school. It was Eliane's first week back. She's in year 10. They both looked very smart. Vay starts nursery in April.

I've been on a spending spree, a new iPad and case (my old one is no good now). A 7 inch Lenovo tablet and ear plugs. I've also ordered 4 face masks from Macmillan Cancer. Toni, I'm all over that omelet. Ta mi duck. 😄

Beer Battered Tofish and Chips

Ingredients:

Tofu

400g tofu
200ml vegan dry white wine (or one of the minature bottles) (if you don't want to use wine just substitute for water). Check out the Viva! wine shop or ask supermarkets for their list of vegan friendly wines.
550ml water
3 tbsp lemon juice
½ vegetable stock cube
2 tsp salt
Toasted nori sheets (roughly 3 sheets)

Gluten Free Batter

120g rice flour (plus an extra bowl with 4tbsp for dusting/coating)
15g chickpea flour
60g potato flour
1 tbsp onion powder
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
220ml gluten free, vegan beer (most independent health food shops, with a licence, will sell this along with some independent off licences and supermarkets)

Method:

Tofu

Slice the tofu into thirds along the narrow edge then cut each piece into 2 large triangles.
In a saucepan, add the white wine, water, lemon juice and salt and bring to the boil.
Add the tofu and reduce to a simmer for 15-20 minutes.
Remove each piece of tofu carefully, with a slotted turner, and leave them to dry on sheets of kitchen roll.
Cut the nori sheets to fit the shape of each piece of tofu and use one on each side (tofu doesn't need to be completely covered).
Leave the tofu to sit while you get your batter ready.

Batter

Sieve all the flours into a large mixing bowl, add the salt, onion powder and pepper and stir.
Pour in the gluten free beer and whisk until the batter is smooth.
The consistency needs to be quite thick (not runny) but not too gloopy either. Leave the batter to stand for 15-20 minutes then whisk again before use.
You might need to use the first piece of tofish as a test and add more rice flour to make it thicker (if necessary) or more water to make it thinner.
Heat a medium saucepan half full of vegetable oil on med-high heat or use a deep fat fryer.
Dip one piece of tofu into the bowl of (dusting) rice flour then dip into the batter. Make sure it is completely covered in batter before lowering into the oil.
Cook for a few minutes or until golden brown and crispy. If it sticks to the bottom of the pan, make sure you detach it immediately or it will brown too quickly.
Remove each piece with a slotted turner and place on kitchen roll to soak up the excess oil until ready to serve.

.

barbara12 · 9. Sep 2020, 14:43

Afternoon all nice and sunny here...:)

Carol the children's little faces..they make me smile..and don't they all look alike..wonder how there first days went..especially the little one at nursery..

Your mums 99th birthday..my mum was born in 1912..not sure what she would be now xx

Joan sorry I didn't answered about seeing the parrots next door.. they have not moved in yet but can't be long now...thank you.. my eyes are not painful.. love to all of you.xx

Toni..a lovely mushroom omelette fir breakfast.thank-you

our lovely Aiden...gosh it was such a shock..I remember you ringing and I didn't hear it..then you text...so awful..:(

I can feel the girls and your excitement over there new house..something else we never forget.. especially the first one xx

Kath that's a strange poem..or it is it my brain ..

I love the pic of the mum and baby..and remember it well..but looking back with i had been older or more mature..I was 22 with my first..

I keep meaning to try the tofu or tofish wonder how much it resembles fish.. thank-you for the recipe..

It nice to have a spending spree..hope they all arrive soon xc

Love yo everyone

Xxxxxxxx

frogmorton · 10. Sep 2020, 06:23

Morning😁

How do we all feel about the new restrictions?

I think it's a good thing. If other countries applied our rules to travelling there no-oe would come here because they'd need to quarantine when they get home!

Hi Joan - I am so very sorry about your poor neighbour I very much hope she is not in any pain. Are the nurses visiting r is she is a hospice? (((()))) for you both at such a tough time xxx

Kath you were all over the omelette I am all over the 'fish' and chips! Thank you very much indeed 🙂It's good how many of these recipes are also gluten free isn't it? Joan missed your post from yesterday - I think it was on the previous page.

My new lap top is a Lenovo my bro rates them very highly - I love mine I think you'll love yours too. Super-fast! like lightning!

The birth poem (I think it posted twice unless that was artistic licence?) was very symbolic I think of birth and it's trauma as well as it's wonder - unusual.

Holly will feel quite bereft when the little one goes to nursery won't she? Her sister in year 10. She is such a good woman Holly God bless her.

Barbara it was such a shock our Aidan😔 I sort of hope Bill is in his new home before 9th December so he doesn't see Aidan suddenly pass out in front of his eyes on the 12 month anniversary, At least I got hold of you however i managed it.

Your Mum would be 98! wow. That would have been amazing.

The girls are so exited I must check in with them today see how they are doing. they have their rented until the 4th so they will take their time actually moving. Rosie needs to be kept nice and calm.

I hope you will be able to see Niamh soon even if it's only at a distance now she's back at school.

Some breakfast - another Aidan favourite - mushroom breakfast casserole

dachshund · 10. Sep 2020, 07:56

Good morning everyone

Kath (((())) it's nice having new toys I like my tablet I can sit in the recliner and rest my legs and write away.

love to Chris ((())) Anita ((())) and Val ((())) and your Dad ((()))

Barbara ((())) I hope your new neighbours are friendly. Love to Mr B ((())) and your son ((())) and Brother (()) and his girlfriend ((()))

Toni ((()) our neighbour is still at home so her family can come and see her and her husband. love to Paul (((())) Charley ((())) and her girl friend ((())) Lucy ((()) Tia ((())) Kari ((())) and Pom ((())). I won't forget you saying when Aidan had died that must have been hard ((())) thank you.

love to Bill ((())) Chris ((())) Mig ((())) Carol (((()))

Kitty · 10. Sep 2020, 09:07

Daily Poem (I didn't get one by email today. I had to search for one, I chose this as it has a joy to it in spite of the hint of sadness. I hope you feel it).

My Mother, My Mother

Luther Hughes

When I was a child I would run

through the backyard while my father

yanked dandelions, daisies, thistles, crabgrass,

mowed, rearranged the stones around the porch—

the task of men, though I didn’t know.

Blushed with cartoons and chocolate milk

one Saturday, I found a bee working

a dandelion for its treasure the way

only God’s creatures can, giving

and giving until all that is left

is the act itself—and there’s faith, too,

my mother used to say in her magnolia lilt.

It comes as it comes—there’s a road to follow.

When I swat the bee, I plea in triumph.

My father, knee-drenched in manhood,

grins and his gold tooth glistens a likely tale.

And when the bee stings my ear,

I run to him screaming as my mother

runs outside hearing her only child’s voice

peel back the wallpaper. She charms my ear

with kisses. This afternoon, I notice a bee

trapped inside the window as my mother

on the phone tries to still her voice

to say her mother has died. I wonder if he can

taste the sadness, the man on TV tells the other.

The bee is so calm. The room enlists

a fresh haunting, and the doorframe bothers.

To believe her when she says—

as the bouquet of yellow roses on the dresser

bows its head and the angles of my clay bloom

with fire—it’ll be okay, is my duty as son.

My mother sits in the hospital in San Antonio,

motherless—my mother is now a mother

without the longest love she’s ever known.

My mother who used to wake up

before the slap of sunrise with my father

to build new rooftops. My mother who wrote

“I pray you have a great day”

on stupid notes tucked in my lunchbox.

My mother who told the white woman

in Ross to apologize for bumping into me

as I knocked over a rack of pantyhose.

My mother who cried in Sea-Tac airport

as I walked through customs, yes-ing

the woman who asks, Is it his first time

moving from home? My mother who looks

at me with glinted simper when the pastor spouts

“disobedient children.” My mother who was told

at a young age she’d never give birth,

barren as she were. My mother, my mother.

What rises inside me, I imagine inside her, although

I’ve never had a mother leave this earth.

I’ve never been without love.

About This Poem

“I was reading a lot of poetry about mothers and motherhood, specifically poems by Sharon Olds, Ada Limón, and Camille T. Dungy when this poem came to me. I have a complicated relationship with my mother, who is still alive, and I am grateful for that. My mother was close to her mother, who died several years ago. And though my mother and I don’t always see eye to eye and although she can annoy me to death, I truly do love her. I can’t imagine my life without her.”

—Luther Hughes

Toni, I don't know why tat poem appeared twice. My laptop is a Lenovo, so is Chris's. Mines a bit cranky and won't get the Windows updates. But I'm really looking forward to my new tablet. Thanks for the breakfast mushroom omelet. The reason my recipes are all vegan is because I get them from a vegan website. 😏

Barbara, poetry is a funny thing. No two people will 'GET' a poem in the same way. I believe there are some people who don't actually like poetry! Can you believe that?

Joan, your neighbour might live longer than predicted, many do. It's good her family can visit.

Balsamic roasted new potatoes with asparagus

Ingredients

2 tbsp garlic-infused olive oil

4 tbsp balsamic vinegar

1kg new potatoes (such as Jersey Royal or another small waxy variety), cut into quarters

250g asparagus tips, cut in half

A generous pinch of salt and pepper

Method

Preheat oven to 200C.
In a large roasting tin, add the olive oil, balsamic vinegar and salt. Add the potatoes and toss to coat fully before roasting for 30 minutes.
After 30 minutes, add the asparagus with a little extra olive oil, if needed. Toss to coat and cook for a further 10 minutes.
Season with extra balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper.
Serve and enjoy!

Balsamic roasted new potatoes with aspargus

barbara12 · 10. Sep 2020, 20:27

Evening all..not a good day..we unrolled our flooring well our son and hubby did.. put it down in the kitchen ready to cut and notice it was torn...then when we looked closer there were indentation from someone's shoes..not ours we hadn't walked on it..so rang them and they are picking it up Monday.. and giving us a refund.. never in my life have I seen vinyl tear like that...

Joan I am sorry to hear about your neighbour.. but glad she has people looking after her...yes I really hope our new neighbours are friendly..and maybe have a family very soon xx

Toni its Carol's mum that is 98 ..mine would 104...unbelievable

.. 65 when she died

I really hope Bill has moved by then..I really do ..it must have been so awful for him..

Mushroom casserole don't think I have ever had that...it was delicious.. thank you

I hope P is managing pain wise..I take it her daughter is still there.for her..xx

Kath such a deep poem...and nice to read what inspired him...

Wow those balsamic roasted potatoes look so good with the asparagus..I might just have a go at them..thank you xx

Right I will have to choose more flooring ..it worse than choosing wallpaper...hahaha

Love to everyone

Xxxxxx

frogmorton · 11. Sep 2020, 06:01

Hi Joan I am so glad your neighbour is at home then I am certain she is getting the best care ((())) I won't ever forget having to write that post about Aidan I cried all the way through typing it. I did it in one go without needing to think. He was a wonderful man. Poor us, Poor Bill😔 ((())) xxx

Kath I loved that poem. It felt a tiny bit like my own childhood - the defined men's and women's roles...not so clear these days. Lucky Luther being loved so much. Nothing like a Mum is there or a Dad of course. I think you're right about poetry it's very personal how you interpret and all the more lovely for it. Sometimes you want to know what the poet intended sometimes not!

Love the spuds they look really yum thanks. I rather think Paul will like it if I try these, especially if I throw in some parsnips too!

Glad you liked the breakfast casserole. Aidan used to do them for us they are also like and omelette or a frittata even aren't they?

Enjoy your new tablet I hope it makes life easier and more fun 🙂🤗

Morning Barbara 104!!!!!!!!! What?! That is some age your Mum would have been. Don't we miss them 65 was far too young my Dad 66 Mum 70. God bless them all.

Gosh we must cheer up life is to be enjoyed now isn't it?

I am shocked about your vinyl! These days vinyls are of the best ever quality so that is bad. I rather think it was a return already damaged especially with those footprints...🤔

I'm sure you will find something far better this time.👍️

P is still doing well - getting a little tired of course, but doing well. Her daughter is still here yes I think for the duration bless her.

Must get my act together Charley and Annie coming for take away tonight in the summer house...I need to wash my hair! Tesco order this afternoon! Help!

Breakie

dachshund · 11. Sep 2020, 08:22

Good morning everyone

Kath (((()))) I hope you have a good weekend all of you love to Chris ((())) Anita ((())) Val ((())) and your Dad ((()))

Barbara ((())) sorry about your vinyl I hope you get the one you want ((())) we did have vinyl but it was to cold in the winter we have carpet everywhere now it's warmer. Love to Mr B ((())) and your son ((())) and brother ((())) and his girlfriend ((()))

Toni ((())) Good luck to Charley ((())) and her girlfriend ((())) I hope they

Kitty · 11. Sep 2020, 12:22

Daily Poem (this arrived via email. Haven't had time to read it properly, so see what you think).

September 11, 2020

A Proclamation

Ashaki M. Jackson

Our bodies give

into the ocean rolling

us beneath its tongues How do we sing

our loss

with water brimming our throats? Oh

Sea, You

are greedy and transform us—

our faces soft and opening

You do not wash

but strike and shove You

rinse babies from our arms leave

husbands waiting

We spin in your disregard You

upend this body We

praise your ruin

Our monuments

rooting bones in all shores

Hello you lovely lot. Have I had a funny 24 hours. My new Lenovo Tab E4 arrived yesterday and I've been busy setting it up. It is gorgeous. I've called it Len. I can thoroughly recommend it for those with Arthritic hands, or quite young children (take note Barbara and Carol).

Barbara, that is a horror story - I'm glad you will get your money back. I wonder if they will try and farm it onto someone else?

Toni, I'm glad P is doing well. We don't want you crying over your keyboard again We did love our Aidan so. My eyes are playing me up today and I can't quite make out what breakie is, but thank you anyway.

Joan, I can't help wondering if dad has gone to his club today. They might have closed it in light of the uncertainty of Covid AGAIN! You and Sue stay safe.

Rainbow Caesar Salad

Caesar salad but not as you know it! Traditional dressing (dairy-free of course!) with Cos or Romaine lettuce, crispy croutons and a variety of rainbow veg, salad and seeds... delicious!