Very early this morning I went down stairs with a coffee for Pa and while he collected himself I undertook the job of organising the freezers as the meat order was due during the course of the morning. All went well, I rearranged things so the the new and the old would not become confused,when you shop for meat every three months or so stock control in vitally important. Again all went well and as soon as Pa was dressed we had a lovely lazy breakfast interrupted only by the arrival of two large boxes of meat.
I was pleased that it had arrived early as this meant that not only would the packing away be done after breakfast leaving me plenty of time for the garden but also in meant that Pa could have his favourite oxtail stew for dinner. With breakfast over I cleared the table but before I washed up I stored the meat away in the newly cleaned freezer and was just congratulating myself that the day was going according to plan for once when there was a knock at the door. Hoping that it was the post I was just a little dismayed to find a friend whom I have not seen since before Christmas standing on the door step.
Now don't get me wrong, she is a lovely lady, a perfect pet but if she has one small fault it is that she stays, and stays no matter what. Once she is across the threshold nothing can shift her until she decides to leave. With my heart in my boots and the kitchen full of dirty dishes I showed her in and she plonked down at the table, on any other day I should have been delighted to see her but you see I had a four pound bag of gooseberries defrosting on the table waiting to be made in to jam, an oxtail stew to prepare and I desperately needed to get in to the garden as I have some plants in urgent need of attention and the greenhouse to water. Resigned I put the kettle on and as we chatted she announced that her boyfriend would be along soon, he had a call to make first but would be along in an hour or so. I was desperate.
Yesterday the Café Avie had so many visitors that I ran out of biscuits and so last night I made a couple of banana and date cakes, these are wonderfully moist and are very nice buttered. One of these went next door as soon as it left the oven and so I gave my friend a thick slice of the remaining cake and as she ate it I peeled carrots, parsnips and onions to go in to the stew.
Feeling that I was being rather rude I explained that this particular stew needs at least five hours of very slow cooking if it is to be done correctly, thankfully she did not mind at all and as she poured another cup of tea and took another slice of cake I was grateful that she was so understanding. Then the boyfriend arrived.
Another pot of tea and more cake disappeared quickly and I prayed fervently that no more guests would appear. The kitchen was a bomb site and time was going by so Pa and I did something which we have not done for years. I told him that if he wanted to got to the village he had better go now as I needed the buggy myself for an urgent visit see a sick friend. Pa took the hint well and set off on an imaginary trip to the village, actually he did go there and picked up a few bits from the hardware store whilst killing time. After he had been gone for half an hour I expressed the hope that he would soon return as I needed to pick up some flowers on the way, mercifully they took the hint and left .
Years ago when we were first married Pa and I would use this rouse to encourage inconvenient visitors to leave, it never failed then and I am glad to say that it still works,
With the kitchen still in disarray I tackled the dishes cleaned the floor and sorted out the laundry, all things which I had hope would have been finishes hours before. Then I noticed that the cake was gone, that meant more baking......bum! On the plus side she had brought with he a raspberry pie which was a nice gesture I thought and I bar of lavender soap, this however did not alter the fact that I needed to bake ...soon.
I did eventually get out in to the garden but only for an hour instead of the four of five hours I had been planning to have ...bum again! Really though I should not complain, they are lovely people to be sure, the problem is that having very little to do themselves they assume that I too have lots of leisure time to spend chatting , how I wish that this was true. Nothing daunted Pa and I ate our lovely oxtail stew and decided that tomorrow we would do all the things which we did not do today, what will happen the the chores I intended to do tomorrow I cannot say, frankly I do not care.
My son is still enjoying his holiday in spite of the fact that the boat trip he was to take this morning was cancelled due to a thick sea mist,,he is loving the peace and quiet, there is nothing like having a whole forest or a lovely little cove all to yourself.
I have decided to have an early night so if any one was entertaining the idea of paying me a visit this evening......don't!
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