Teresa liked my previous satay so much she asked me to do it again! That’s nice. I’ll take that!
But I didn’t have quite the same ingredients to hand this time. We did, however, have chicken. So in that respect I was truer to the orig’ recipe. But in several others, I wasn’t.
We still had carrots, broccoli, pak choi and green beans. But we had no beansprouts or bamboo. Gluten-free soy, peanut butter and ginger, etc, made up the home-made satay. And the whole thing was finished with sesame seeds, ginger and chilli flakes.
I put in twice as much of the latter this time. As previously we couldn’t really taste it!
Chester likes to daydream in this planting box!
We ate dinner outside, in the muggy heat of a summer evening. Chester was chilling in the greenhouse, whilst we quaffed first Portuguese then Spanish red wines. Nice!
This satay recipe is a good ‘un; easy and very tasty. A one pan (wok) wonder, if desired. That is, one pan if using noodles. But two if, like us today, you go with rice.
Over the last day or three I found myself having to repair the door to one of our sheds. This door – a Freecycle freebie of many moons past – was old and knackered when we got it. And it’s subsequently fallen apart a couple of times.
About four or five days ago, whilst putting stuff in said shed, this same door totally fell apart on me… again! Wish I’d have gotten pics! It was really something.
So I removed it, with a view to repairing or replacing it. I prob’ oughta just replace it. But lack of funds means fixing is the more immediate viable option.
Fixing the door… again!
Last time I fixed it simply by gluing the old joints back together, using clamps and straps, in the hope it’d all bind up ok. And it did, for a year or more.
But lately it’s been falling apart for what is poss’ the third time. And this time the original joints are all snapped off. So when fixing it on this occasion, I’ve added wooden patches, glued ‘n’ screwed, for belt ‘n’ braces double-action protection!
Sadly the door has gone pretty severely askew, and sagged, such that even after re-assembly and patching up, it’s not the greatest fit for the doorway of this shed. I had to both raise the hinges a wee bit, and cut into the lower door frame.
Various patches hold it all together.
And there are still ruddy great gaps, one (triangular!), at the top, and the other, running all the way down the right side on the door frame, fairly parallel. I’ll be adding timber to address both!
But yesterday I simply re-hung the door. Ha… simply!? I had to cut, chisel and saw away some of the basal frame, to allow the door to swing in and out! And I had to move it all up about 15mm as well, and re-drill and re-mount the hinges.
Cutting off a little excess frame.
The door is so skewed it’s almost unreal! I had tried to address this when I first attempted to ‘fix’ this door, ages ago. But it seems that’s a losing battle, so I eventually just went with it as it ‘wanted’ to be.
Once re-hung, I moved the latch. I have plans to add wood to the top gap, and down the entire right side of the door frame, to finish this job. Oh, and prob a new cost of paint.
Replaced and working, albeit rather wonky!
The job that occupied me most after the shed door was putting up four shelving brackets. I got these quite some time back, off the Amazon Vine program. They are black, metal, simple L-shapes, with pairs of small curled hooks at the base.
The biggest arse-ache when mounting brackets to walls is always drilling the holes and achieving decent fixtures. It seems the only really simple material would be wood. But 99% of the time one has to contend with either plasterboard (aka dry-wall) or plaster, bricks, etc.
First shelf up, brackets for second at the ready.
On this occasion it was the latter. Plaster over bricks. Necessitating the use of my Hitachi hammer-drill with masonry drill bits. The biggest issue with this scenario is the drill bit wandering, and/or the holes winding up too large.
I’ve taken to remedying this by filling the drilled holes with Polyfilla, pushing wall-plugs in, and letting that go off for about 24 hours. I did the drilling and filling yesterday. So today I’ll be mounting the brackets and screwing them in. I do hope this works!?
Second set of brackets in place.
The lower of the two shelves is cut, notched, and sanded down now. And already sat in its allotted position. I used an old shelf I got via Freecycle years ago. I wish I’d have kept more of these shelves. I chopped a couple up for kindling/firewood!
I was attempting to shape some boards for the second shelf, yesterday. But the timber is so warped, cupped, twisted, etc, I’m not sure if it’s too much to remedy? Still, the work gave me a chance to use my planes, esp’ my Paul Seller’s style scrub plane. And it was a bit of a work-out. Prob’ good exercise!?
I’m still doing the FODMAP diet thing. Which means I’m cooking a lot more than previously. Trying to make sure I get a good diet, and yet avoid FODMAP triggers is quite demanding! Recent food shops have required more thought than usual.
I cooked this turkey and veg’ (chicken in the orig’ recipe; but I had turkey on hand!) satay stir-fry on wednesday. The picture above is my leftovers lunch, the following day. That following day, the 21st, we had a Chinese take-away – quite poss’ not entirely FODMAP? – as a treat, celebrating the sixth anniversary of moving in to our March home!
Chicken & Veg Satay:
Ingredients * 1 tbsp olive oil * 2 carrots, peeled and cut into batons * ½ head broccoli, chopped pw 400g/14oz chicken breast (turkey for us!), cut into strips * 2 pak choi, shredded * 225g tin bamboo shoots * 150g/5½oz beansprouts * 1 tsp grated fresh root ginger * 300g/10½oz rice noodles * 1 lime, wedges, to serve * 4 tsp sesame seeds, to serve Sauce * 4 tbsp gluten-free light soy sauce * 1 tbsp tamarind (didn’t use this!) * 2 tbsp peanut butter * pinch chilli flakes * 2 tsp sesame oil
Method 1. Heat the oil in a wok or large wide pan over a medium–high heat. Add the carrots, broccoli and green beans and stir-fry for 2–3 minutes. 2. Add the chicken and stir-fry for 3–4 minutes. Add the pak choi, bamboo shoots, beansprouts and ginger and continue to stir-fry for another 2–3 minutes. 3. Meanwhile, bring a saucepan of water to the boil. Add the noodles and cook for 3 minutes, then drain. Add the noodles to the wok and stir through. 4. Whisk all of the sauce ingredients together in a bowl, along with 4 tablespoons water. Add to the wok and stir to mix. 5. Serve immediately, with a wedge of lime and a sprinkling of sesame seeds.
Just recently I’ve begun trying a FODMAP diet. To see if I can lose weight and get my bloated stomach down a bit. I think it’s been a little over a week now since I started.
But whilst my lunches and dinners and snacking have all changed, up until today my breakfasts hadn’t. Or rather they hadn’t in some respects. Yes, I’ve switched from dairy milk to oat milk and/or lactose free milk. But I was still eating cereals every morning, albeit avoiding wheat based types.
I’ve actually felt, for quite some time now, that I ought to change my breakfasting habits. But I’m sooo not a mornings person! And I’ve relied on Teresa, who gets up very early for her work commute, to supply our breakfast needs.
Anyway, I got up at 6am today. And was downstairs in the kitchen, whilst Teresa readied herself for her working day, frying two turkey breast escalopes and two eggs, as a his n hers breakfast of turkey and egg.
Fried in olive oil and seasoned with salt and pepper. What a difference from the usual cereal start! I’m wondering if a change in breakfast habits might also help me train myself out of my usual morning lethargy and into a more dynamic early riser lifestyle!? That’s part of the plan, or hopes!
I used plasticine to profile the inside of my ‘nipple’.
A few days back I posted about how annoying this particular little job was becoming: first I get two new parts, but the one that prompted the work – the ‘nipple’ for the really poorly fitting/closing latch – breaks almost immediately. Back to square one!
Another view; hopefully the different shapes are slightly clearer here?
So I order a new part. But it’s different, and doesn’t actually fit. It’s a more ‘pointy’ shape. At least this clarifies for me the type of latch and nipples (oo-er!) I had installed before, i.e. the more rounded type.
These differences in shape mean that the screw hole in the nipple doesn’t align with the threaded hole in the latch, necessitating either a different part, or making changes to one of the parts, so they do align.
The holes don’t align!
According to some sources it’s only the pointy type that are easily and widely available now. I don’t know if there’s any truth in that or not, as I definitely can get the other sort elsewhere. And, indeed, I already have done (on my first attempt).
The ‘male’ latch part filed down a bit.
Anyway, as I’m broke, rather than buy a third one (or pair), I decided instead to file the metal on the latch to conform to the ‘nipple’, instead. That took a bit of work, but I think it achieved the desired goal.
Viewed from t’other side.After some filing, the two holes align nicely.
This job turned out to be a right pain in the rump. Firstly, with parts breaking or not fitting. Then, when I’d filed the latch to fit the nipple, I discovered that the entire soft-top frame seems somewhat out of alignment. I had to wrestle with it a fair bit to make everything align better.
Reassembled and back in place.
Is this the price I’m paying for loading my little MX5 with all kinds of stupid burdens over the years? I’ve had all sorts, from fence-panels, timber, doors, to trees, chests of drawers, fridges, and lord knows what else, on the back of Maisie. Often sitting atop the folded away roof. Have I bent it all out of whack?
After struggling with this latter issue for a while, and fiddling with the latch adjustments, so that both are quite tight, but neither are fully tightened, I’ve finally managed not just to close the top, but to eradicate the very large (and formerly plainly visible) gap, on the driver’s side.
Sooo much better! Green algae points to next job.*
I can’t find any before pics (although I’m certain I took some!?), alas. But above and below are some after shots. Trust me, it looks waaay better!
I’m hoping it’s improved the ride as well, as before the sound of wind coming through said gap was really, really, REALLY, REALLY annoying! It was sooo loud – it literally roared – that music or conversation were pretty much out at over 55/60mph.
Passenger side, looking as it did both before and after.
I’ll be taking her out for a spin later to see how all this nipple play has affected things!
… A bit later the same day… Well, I took her out, with Teresa, for a brief spin. And, my oh my, what a difference! No roaring airflow, nor can I even feel any draught. And – although we’re currently in a heatwave – this’ll mean no more ingress of rain. Wahoo!
* Next? Either adding some of the silicone pipes I got from BOFIracing a whiles back , or using the Auto Glym products I have to clean and re-waterproof the soft-top. Hmmm!??
I got this DVD box quite some time ago. Been meaning to start watching it for ages! It was enjoying Swayze in Dirty Dancing that prompted the purchase! His undeniable charisma coupled with my abiding interest in the ACW meant this was a ‘shoe-in’, whatever that is!
Last night Teresa and I watched the first two episodes. Each of which is a 90 minute self contained movie. We really enjoyed it. Sure, it’s cornball, and very sentimental. But it’s durn good fun watching.
Our handsome heroes at West Point.
Swayze’s Orry, and his buddy Hazard (James Read) make for very likeable pals. And the basic premise, of the clashing of cultures and a friendship tested by the travails of love and war, is a familiar but potent vehicle for good solid drama.
I’m not going to go into any great detail here, this is just a brief note to record that I’m watching and enjoying this old but epic series. I might have more to say about it as I watch more of it.
Ding Dong! A real Southern Belle!
One thing I will note is that Lesley Anne Down is, as we said back in the 1980s, lush! And I rather warmed, bizarrely perhaps, to the villainous Bent (Philip Casnoff), esp’ when we learn that he’s the bastard ‘mistake’ of a powerful senator.
Looking forward to watching some more later today!
I discovered Theo via Vulfpeck, as I’m sure most folk do. His singing, drumming, guitar playing, and other sundry stuff, in that context, are all great. No, make that, superb.
But then I discovered his solo stuff. I’m trying to recall what it was I first heard in that line? Pop Song, perhaps? And from there I just kept digging. And, holy shit… it’s all solid gold!
A fabulous cover, and a truly great album.
I bought Modern Johnny Sings a few months ago, whilst riding a euphoric wave of Katzmania. And it’s stupidly good. But live? Theo and his seriously talented crew take it all to a whole other set of levels. It’s truly astonishing.
For an ageing somewhat jaded ornery duffer like me, having my faith in humanity restored by the righteous soul of these cats is a real tonic.
And to top it all off, the aesthetics are aligned perfectly to my, er… (adopts Alan Partridge voice) I want to say chakras!? … but I don’t go for that nonsense! What I mean to say is Theo is looking super-fly, and the whole package – from fonts to colour schemes (never mind the sounds!) – everything is just TOTALLY AWESOME!!!
Being heartily sick of feeling sick – bloated, lethargic, windy, etc. (and that’s in addition to other stuff!) – after about a week of hemming and hawing, I’ve decided to actually try the FODMAP diet.
I’ve done other exclusion diets in the past, to little or no noticeable effect. And that’s partly why I’ve so long resisted trying this one. Plus FODMAP looks harder than any of the others I’ve tried, and prohibits (at least initially*) lots of stuff I love!
But I need to do something! And FODMAP has been recommended to me before. Plus it’s alleged to be beneficial for people with my congregation of symptoms.
I had been tasked with cooking an old faithful favourite, spaghetti carbonara, tonight. But that’s full of prohibited stuff: pasta, onions, cream… (at least the way we make it!). Bummer!
So instead I’ve grilled some salmon, boiled some ‘taters, and steamed a bit of kale and spinach. No butter or mayo for me, sadly. Just salt, pepper and a squeeze of lemon juice.
Luckily this proves to be both healthy and tasty, albeit that the potatoes really could’ve done with butter or mayo! Mind, I could’ve ‘drizzled’ some olive oil over them? Next time!
* I believe you cut all the ‘bad stuff’ out, carry on for a bit to see if it’s working, and then selectively reintroduce stuff to see what causes adverse reactions. So potentially some of the verboten stuff will turn out to be ok.
I was saying on here, very recently, that in some fundamental way this blog is a kind of modern ‘cyber-journal’. A record of some of things I’ve done or am doing. And very much a way to remind myself that I exist at all!
One of the main ways of doing this we have in our contemporary society is ‘I spend, therefore I am.’ And now, with social media such a large and powerful force, I ‘tweet’ (or whatever), therefore I am. It’s a continual performance. Surely this is a form of unbridled narcissism?
Anyway, leaving such worrying thoughts aside momentarily… it’s Thursday. Thursday is a non-school/non-teaching day. Such days are usually spent on a variety of things: from pure rest (for reasons I go into elsewhere on this blog I’m often utterly exhausted), to working on home/DIY stuff, or my teaching prep and admin, etc.
Earlier today I revisited a drum score – Led Zep’s ‘Good Times Bad Times’ – because whilst teaching from it yesterday I was reminded that it has a number of errors of interpretation in it. I corrected as many of them as I felt able to without spending all day on it, and then emailed the revised score to the pupil who I’m working on it with.
That’s all to the good. And it enabled me to tick off two items on todays ‘to do list’. But that list is pretty massive. I feel little crushed by the oppressive weight of obligations. This feeling isn’t helped by physical issues: I have various headaches, my eyes are streaming, and I have post-nasal drip! Such stuff very rapidly begins to feel like it a form of chronic attritional torture!
It’s hard to be dynamic, energised, pro-active, and all that, when you feel crushed by mountains of stuff to do, and beset by physical issues that drain you of energy and vitality.
As many will know from bitter personal experience, years of anti-NHS Toryism (some of it implemented by the Labour govt’s of Blair/Brown, to their everlasting shame), are slowly but inexorably grinding the NHS to dust. Trying to see one’s GP, where I am, has become an Orwellian dystopian nightmare. And people are literally dying as a result.
I mention this because the anger that this generates is one source of harness-able energy that could motivate me to more action. But before I go down a ranting rabbit hole, back – in proper ‘age of me’ blogging style – to more personal matters!
Numerous visits to the local GP surgery – at 90% of which I see a nurse or ‘clinical practitioner’ (what is that?) – have failed to clearly unpick my numerous ongoing issues. One line of inquiry is to treat me for hay-fever. I’m taking the meds. No signs of improvement yet.
So, having got up pretty late, about 10am, after a very good nights sleep (first time in three or four nights), I did the work on the drum score in Sibelius. Then I took a break for lunch. Made myself a three egg omelette, with onion, mushrooms and cheese, with a weak coffee to wash it all down.
I’m still cogitating over whether I ought to try this FODMAP diet experiment. I think I ought to. But I’m not sure I have the discipline (or even the funds to buy the required alternative groceries!?). But my constant bloatedness and wind argues that I really really should make the effort. I’m 50, fer chrissakes, and still don’t know my body/health like I ought to!
Some other symptoms of less than ideal health are my profuse sweating, IBS style bowel movements, and – especially noticeable overnight – continually dry mouth. Reading about this stuff online, along with stuff I’ve gleaned from the treatment of my psoriasis and arthritis, suggests high blood pressure.
So once again improving diet and increasing exercise are indicated. The only real exercise I get at present is the home/DIY stuff I do. Such, for example, as the earth moving I’ve been doing recently in preparing a base for the shed Ken gave us.
I’ll take a break from this post now, to go back to some of that work!
Haven’t watched this yet. Might be dreadful!? But just before turning in for the night I discovered this, whilst randomly browsing stuff, stumbling upon it I know not how.
Sounded interesting, with a long and troubled production. Never actually really officially finished. Indeed, this video is the work of a fan, who’s attempted to ‘finish the job’ in the style intended by its creator.
