Sympathy, @Busy-Lizzie - I'm with @Desi_in_London on lists, during the night and during the day. There's so much to do when you move, but you've already achieved a huge amount and I'm sure it will be ok in the end. From the point of view of someone who moved not long ago, I can assure you that all that stress is worth it once you're settled in your new home. Â
Sourdough bread seems to vary so much, @Dovefromabove, that I rarely buy it because sometimes it's too "sour" for our taste. I suppose it might be different if I made it...
Drat. My reason for lying awake last night was the sound of mice tap-dancing under, above and inside our fitted wardrobe. The pipes from the heat pump go through the outside wall into the wardrobe, then up into the loft. I guess the mice must have squeezed in round the pipes... or perhaps got into the loft another way, then explored other avenues in order to find a comfy home. There's a floor and a ceiling to the wardrobe, which is fairly ancient... I can see us having to dismantle it in order to get rid of the mice. Â
Since 2019 I've lived in east Clare, in the west of Ireland.
@Liriodendron re sourdough ... I find that if I make it  with a long overnight prove in the fridge the flavour is quite developed, but I usually start the bread in the morning and prove it a bit faster at warm room temperature and then it’s not as pronounced.Â
Also it’s worth bearing in mind that all Starter cultures vary ... the ones that seem to be used more generally by commercial bakers are derived from the Californian-style sourdough cultures which have quite a pronounced flavour. I bought mine from a bakery in the Lake District which uses a milder more North European style which suits us better. Early on I made my own starter which was quite successful but I didn’t have the knowledge to keep it going ... I may well try again next summer.Â
It’s also worth bearing in mind that some supermarket sourdough isn’t really authentic sourdough at all ... it has just had a culture added for flavouring, and uses conventional yeast and baking methods .... yes, really !?!!! 😠Â
That's interesting, @Dovefromabove. My brother-in-law learnt to make sourdough bread when they lived in Germany, and I quite like the flavour of his version - so I think you've got something there, in the origin of the starter. When I'm feeling brave I'll give it another go, if I can find or make a starter. Unfortunately there's no Waitrose hereabouts to try the Which recommendations, though of course there are some superb soda breads available here which I can eat instead... and plenty of recipes to try. Â
Since 2019 I've lived in east Clare, in the west of Ireland.
Snow here overnight - at least a couple of inches. It looks great but I'd sooner it had held off until I'd done the big SM click and collect this evening. I've got a feeling I'm going to end up parked up on the main road (gritted) and having to do a couple of trips up our street (ungritted!) with the bags
Thank you @Desi_in_London and @Liriodendron. I did get up at 5am eventually and had a hot chocolate. I have a long list of things which are mostly ticked off now, so I wrote a new list of what is left, then played a couple of jigsaws on the Laptop. Went back to bed at 6am and slept until 8am.
Dordogne and Norfolk. Clay in Dordogne, sandy in Norfolk.
Afternoon all, @Busy-Lizzie I find the pen and paper by the bed work too. Used it a lot when I worked often used to send myself voicemail messages if I needed to remember something.
It's been snowing on and off all morning here. I've just been out to top up the bird feeders and it's freezing so don't know if it will thaw today. Seed and plant catalogues have started dropping through the letterbox this morning so I'll have something to read this afternoon. Two of Hubby's favourite guitarists have died in the last few days Leslie West and Tony Rice so he's quite sad I think he'll be in mourning for a year if anything happens to Eric Clapton.
Hello folks, it's not to bad here fortunately, we had sunshine this morning when out on our usual walk, although it has now clouded over. Not sure if we will have snow later. I'm sorry you had a sleepless night @Busy-Lizzie but not long to go now if you can just keep going. You have done so much all by yourself these last few months, you should be really proud of yourself for coping so well. Lists do help of course so hand on in there. We are still waiting to hear that my daughters new tenancy is going ahead or not so I'm on tenterhooks and trying hard to keep my mouth shut. I'm not good at waiting and I can't seem to get her motivated at the moment to do anything. Hopefully we'll know soon.
It is, finally, almost still here today but grey and dull too. Blue sky to the east now but too late for sunshine.  There is no roof left on OH's barn.  All tumbly tumbly now.
I tried sourdough bread many years ago in 80s @Dovefromabove and found it sour, strangely enough so haven't tried it since tho I have been thinking about trying again. None on sale round here tho and we don't eat enough bread to keep my own starter going. I do love soda bread tho and make it with wholemeal and/or spelt flour and for Boxing Day I made that dark, heavy loaf from Nigella's Xmas feast programme.  Gorgeous toasted to have with soup the next day. @Liriodendron try the recipes for soda bread on BBC Good Food. Some goodies there.
I understand your stress and sleepless nights @Busy-Lizzie . You just have to keep plugging away a bit at a time.  And then you've got it all to unpack so loads of fun still to come but at least you can take time off from that part and go and explore and meet the neighbours.
Now to go and see the chooks and then find more egg recipes......... Will take some to the neighbours too.
Hope everyone has as good a Christmas as was possible. We had a very quiet one, wish I could say the same about our NDN's. My mum was staying with my little sis., so we fixed up a Zoom chat, first time I had seen her for over a year. It was lovely to see her, but very sad as she struggled to recognise me. We have snow here and it is bitterly cold, not really been outside or last 3 days.
How can you lie there and think of England When you don't even know who's in the team
Posts
Sympathy, @Busy-Lizzie - I'm with @Desi_in_London on lists, during the night and during the day. There's so much to do when you move, but you've already achieved a huge amount and I'm sure it will be ok in the end. From the point of view of someone who moved not long ago, I can assure you that all that stress is worth it once you're settled in your new home. Â
Hi @Pat E! Olive bread and avocado... yum!
Sourdough bread seems to vary so much, @Dovefromabove, that I rarely buy it because sometimes it's too "sour" for our taste. I suppose it might be different if I made it...
Drat. My reason for lying awake last night was the sound of mice tap-dancing under, above and inside our fitted wardrobe. The pipes from the heat pump go through the outside wall into the wardrobe, then up into the loft. I guess the mice must have squeezed in round the pipes... or perhaps got into the loft another way, then explored other avenues in order to find a comfy home. There's a floor and a ceiling to the wardrobe, which is fairly ancient... I can see us having to dismantle it in order to get rid of the mice. Â
https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/food-and-drink/bread-buy-sourdough-best-where-real-extra-other-ingredients-recipe-a8563661.html
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
Snow here overnight - at least a couple of inches. It looks great but I'd sooner it had held off until I'd done the big SM click and collect this evening. I've got a feeling I'm going to end up parked up on the main road (gritted) and having to do a couple of trips up our street (ungritted!) with the bags
it time for bed. Night all.Â
I'm sorry you had a sleepless night @Busy-Lizzie but not long to go now if you can just keep going. You have done so much all by yourself these last few months, you should be really proud of yourself for coping so well. Lists do help of course so hand on in there.
We are still waiting to hear that my daughters new tenancy is going ahead or not so I'm on tenterhooks and trying hard to keep my mouth shut. I'm not good at waiting and I can't seem to get her motivated at the moment to do anything. Hopefully we'll know soon.
I tried sourdough bread many years ago in 80s @Dovefromabove and found it sour, strangely enough so haven't tried it since tho I have been thinking about trying again. None on sale round here tho and we don't eat enough bread to keep my own starter going. I do love soda bread tho and make it with wholemeal and/or spelt flour and for Boxing Day I made that dark, heavy loaf from Nigella's Xmas feast programme.  Gorgeous toasted to have with soup the next day. @Liriodendron try the recipes for soda bread on BBC Good Food. Some goodies there.
I understand your stress and sleepless nights @Busy-Lizzie . You just have to keep plugging away a bit at a time.  And then you've got it all to unpack so loads of fun still to come but at least you can take time off from that part and go and explore and meet the neighbours.
Now to go and see the chooks and then find more egg recipes......... Will take some to the neighbours too.
Take care everyone and be kind to yourselves.
Hope everyone has as good a Christmas as was possible.
We had a very quiet one, wish I could say the same about our NDN's.
My mum was staying with my little sis., so we fixed up a Zoom chat, first time I had seen her for over a year. It was lovely to see her, but very sad as she struggled to recognise me.
We have snow here and it is bitterly cold, not really been outside or last 3 days.
When you don't even know who's in the team
S.Yorkshire/Derbyshire border