RECIPES

Wednesday 3 June 2020

A Typical Day


Yesterday was pretty much a typical day in my life.  It began with muesli and sliced kiwifruit, and ended with a botched dinner!


A late-season nasturtium

After breakfast it was the usual things, like cleaning the kitchen, doing the dishes, making the bed, checking that the house was tidy, and putting on some sheets to wash. 

The sheets were hung out (it was sunny and windy) to dry and then I left home to do some shopping.  I stumbled the other day and squashed my glasses, resulting in a bent arm hinge.  Good old SpecSavers fixed them for free!


A late 'Iceberg' rose after a shower of rain

A visit to one of my favourite clothing stores was next, but what a disappointment to find they no longer stock “big girl” sizes.  The assistant was really helpful and went out the back to see what she could find, and returned with two pairs of trousers. 

That was when I realised the changing rooms were closed as part of Level Two restrictions.  Now, I am rather stingy with my money and dislike spending on something that may not work, but in this case I desperately needed some new trousers. 

The price tag said $22 (reasonable) so I opted to buy one pair, and then at the checkout I discovered they were only $5 as they were no longer ‘stock.’  Great, I bought both pairs.  Bonus!  They fit perfectly J


Flax (Phormium tenax) with dried seed heads

Last stop was the supermarket, but on the way there I had to pull over to allow a siren-blaring light-flashing police car to pass.  One always hopes they are not heading for a family member.  In this case, I found out later that a pedestrian had been knocked over and was in a critical condition in hospital.


Bottlebrush (Callistemon spp.), much loved by nectar-feeding birds

My afternoon passed quietly, blogging, emailing, and working on my family history.  The evening was a little cool so son lit the fire as he was going to be working all night again. 

I prepared dinner (it was meant to be a mince and vegetable au gratin) and put the vegetables on to cook.  But, oh no, the bottled gas chose then to run out!  What does one do with half-cooked vegetables? 

On went the (electric) oven, everything was thrown into a large meat dish and covered with tin foil and then baked for an hour.  It wasn’t that nice, but it was food.


A bumblebee visiting some highly scented wallflowers

A spot of TV watching (New Zealand’s version of Eat Well For Less) and it was time to head for bed.  I read for a while (I’m working my way through Walden by Henry David Thoreau) before snuggling down under the blankets and starting my Snoring Session for the night. 

Pretty mundane and boring really.  You have done well if you have read this far!! 

Have a great day J 

Margaret.

The flowers have all been photographed over several years during June at different places around New Zealand.


LINKING UP WITH My Corner of the World


25 comments:

  1. I enjoyed hearing about your typical day. The good part ( great price on those slacks) and the not so perfect but quite edible meal. This restriction on fitting rooms is making all of us hesitate buying clothes especially since there can be no returns if something doesn't fit.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Love that photo with the flax (and the scene in general). Being overseas I think flax reminds me more of home than any other native plant. We used to play in a swamp full of the stuff at my grandmother's place as kids, and it's uses for 'making stuff' seem to be endless.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I really love how flax is used for weaving. It is a fascinating process and some amazing things get made.

      Delete
  3. Love hearing about your ordinary day. So different from mine. That two coloured nasturtium was very pleasing. I am particularly fond of nasturiums. They grow so well here in the winter.
    Great bonus on the trews!! They make it a particularly good day!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Typical days are good, we have all had that meal which did not finish as we thought. I love it when a bargain falls into my lap, and to get to the till and find the reduction is pure pleasure.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Great find with the trousers can't beat the price really!

    The vegetables would have been just a little bit crunchy ;) Just how I like them! Sorry your meal wasn't quite what expected. My Dad has had a few 'gas run out' episodes while cooking when I've been staying with him. One time we had only just had the gas bottle refilled, I suspect it wasn't actually properly full!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Did the sun shine yesterday? OMGosh, I can't even remember. Today was awful though, so foggy, they 5 minutes of sunshine then back to overcast and dreary. We all have dinners like that, luckily tonight's was awesome. How was your's?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. LOL yes it did shine! We had very heavy fog here right through until lunchtime, saw that 5 minutes of sun, and then watched it disappear again.
      Dinner was much better! I had a prawn stir-fry with rice and it was delicious. Oh, and son got the gas bottle refilled, so life is good again :)

      Delete
  7. It is such a buzz finding bargains. We also watch that same show, it astounds me usually especially last night's one where the family spent over $700 a week only on food shopping. Makes me wonder where people get the money from.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It amazes me how some can spend so much on food and then not even know how much they have spent.

      Delete
  8. I find getting trousers difficult, too, Margaret! Sadly trousers only look good on skinny people, I look like a carthorse in them now, sadly. My last effort was from a company called Patra Silk, who also have non-silk products and I sent for some cotton summer trousers, but when they arrived and I held them against me, they came to my armpits. I'm five foot two inches tall and I'd have had to have cut more than a foot off the bottom. I wasn't prepared to do this on new trousers as then they'd be too floppy around the ankles. I wrote on the return label that they would've been suitable for a giraffe. A woman would've had to have been well over six foot tall to have worn them.
    A pity you didn't enjoy your veggie gratin. Mind you, I've tried to make similar dishes and they have seldom been successful.
    Margaret P

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm sorry, I shouldn't laugh but the picture you have painted of those summer trousers is hilarious :)
      The worst clothing item I have had was a swimsuit which fitted me but was so short in the body that I was unable to stand up straight! It makes you wonder who designs some of these clothes.

      Delete
  9. Sorry you stumbled! Here I sit with my PC-glasses, fixed with hot glue by Hubby, as my Optometrist (aka Brother) lives 60km away and the carpet made me slip... Oh, boy, you´re luckier than me :-)
    Great luck with the trousers!! Yay!
    My FIL is a commissioner well, was. Huhhh. Be a good girl! I still have his t-shirt, Police Lower Saxony. LOL.
    Oh, I miss him. Darn "Corinna".He´s but 60 km away, also.

    LOL, "Snoring Session"!!! Not boring, you sent me down memory lane and made me laugh, thank you! Ixx

    ReplyDelete
  10. We have two woks and use them extensively. It is hard to go wrong and the meal is ready in no time. Last night we had Pad Thai and it was delicious. It always is!

    ReplyDelete
  11. Margaret!!! Love these blooms! Today, my Aunt drove in front of our house and surprised me with a big potted rose! I was super happy! The flowers are small and we call those roses "pitimini" as my Grandma calls it. They smell so good! Love that iceberg rose you shared and its the first time I see a Flax plant (love the background of it!!! I have to be honest I got chills when I saw that Bumble bee photo, though it was beautiful. I'm just really scared of flying insects. Like earlier when I saw a wasp after I added garden soil to the rose pot, I immediately said bye to my rose plant and rushed inside the house.

    Happy Thursday dear Margaret!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I love those roses with the little flowers (we call them Miniature Roses) - they look gorgeous in a pot. Lucky you to receive such a wonderful gift :)

      Delete
  12. I thought quite a nice day with bargain trousers!

    ReplyDelete
  13. Had to chuckle reading this, as I did tons of washing yesterday due to a proposed 1/2 day of sunshine. My lounge is now looking like a laundry (no dryer) as I didn't get home in time before the rain. I find it interesting how no matter what our dreams and schemes, life still always needs the daily chores and routines.

    ReplyDelete
  14. I always like reading what you are doing...I wish I wrote about my life half so interestingly. I love those wild flowers. The running out of of the bottled gas makes me think of all the times I have been grilling and have run out of propane. It always happens when I really, really want something grilled.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You do, Rose. I always enjoy your blogs.
      LOL hubby loved to BBQ (grill) and he used to keep a tiny backup gas bottle as he said the big one ALWAYS ran out just when you didn't want it to! :)

      Delete
  15. That rose photos is a great one Margaret. It’s a keeper.

    ReplyDelete
  16. I don't get out during the day, but I'm happy to know that I can be out in the garden or walk down the road or go out when Hubby gets home because I know there are many that don't have our freedoms. Lovely photos!

    Thanks for being a part of 'My Corner of the World' this week!

    ReplyDelete
  17. I enjoyed reading about your typical day! I'm glad you were able to purchase both pairs of trousers at a great price and they fit well. Too bad the dinner didn't turn out quite as well has hoped, but, at least you were able to use the oven to finish cooking it. :)

    ReplyDelete
  18. Interesting to know how a typical day is like for you. Love the photos.

    ReplyDelete

Thank-you for visiting my blog. I love it when you leave a comment so please feel free to have your say. Have a great day! Margaret xx