Next storm inbound!

 Field flooding, river and stream level’s haven’t recovered from the last storm. I hope you are as ready as can be? 

We have done our weekly shop, brought logs in, topped up paper and kindling. All washing was done in the last few days of durable weather. We can heat food and water on our emergency camping stove or the log burner and have battery operated lights just in case.

None of us can anticipate flooding but we will keep our fingers crossed. Every heavy shower we get is falling on sodden ground and causing small patches of flooding. We will close the window and door on the greenhouse and hope for the best. 

Predictions are being made about the drop in pressure being as bad as a 1954 storm. Wasn’t around for that but here is a link here.

World climate is at the beginning of an El Niño phase , here in the uk for winter, we may have colder than usual weather and/or experience high winds with lots and lots of rain:(

I've often wondered

 If before the start of WWII, and if people had realised what was coming, would they have tried to squirrel away food or other necessary things?

I have always put extra food away for emergencies. That could be for a sudden snow storm that causes difficulty with food deliveries resulting in panic buying in the shops. The first few days we lived here, we were cut off for a week, with a one day old baby! Luckily we had just been to the shop and stocked up as we were also in a new home. Don't want to go through that again. 

It could be sudden long term ill health or losing a job, delayed government payments, needing to help out family members etc. 

Remember Covid, all those queues, people literally barging you out the way to get toilet rolls, flour, yeast or pasta. Got caught out slightly with those few items but on the whole, we were okay.

We are gradually being shut off from being able to use cash in case you haven't noticed. ATM's closing, banks closing, some shops not allowing cash etc. It is all part of a digital and cashless society that is heading towards us like a bull in a china shop. No conspiracy theory, just fact.

The problem with a cashless society is power to charge it all. A short or long term power loss would result in not being able to use the tills or cash machines. What do you do with your food shopping? You would have to leave it. Without power to the computers in said shops, they wouldn't know what, if anything, is leaving the shop to order replacements. 

Our son smiles at us as we still use cheques but we live in the back of beyond. Most local and even trades further away, still use cheques. My hairdresser, chiropodist, massage lady, all use cheques or cash. Have anything repaired?, cheques. It is different in big towns and cities where tradespeople can offer you a little digital machine to swipe your card through.

Do you have small denomination bank notes and loose change put away just in case?

Anything else anyone can think off? Let me know.

Double standards...

 On the one hand, the government has visited Israel and pledged to support them (by what means, who knows). On the other they pledge humanitarian help to Gaza. Nowt wrong with that as such, but shouldn't they support one side or the other?

 Their next double standard ploy is to rid 'us' by that they mean them, of the £8 million PER DAY bill spent on the so called 'migrants' and make our councils, host and pay for them. That will affect all of us as our bills will go up even more than already, to do so!

Maybe they should stop insisting that the RNLI 'rescue' them immediately they leave French territorial waters. They bring them here by their thousands into paid for accommodation, 3 square meals a day (which they moan about), ooudles of spending money and mobile phones, which they probably use to encourage those still waiting to 'come to the land of plenty'.

I mean, come on. People are so cheesed off with the RNLI that they are losing financial support, which is not fair on them.

It feels like we can do nothing about it, we just have to accept it. Don't get me started on the 'do gooders' who wave welcome banners at them. If they want to welcome them so badly, have them in their own homes and see how that goes.

Just who are we letting in? How do we know there aren't terrorist cells amongst them? Why are they primarily men - oh yeah, of course, once the men are given the right to live here, they can bring their families over can't they?

So then, what will the government do with that £8 million savings per day? Use it towards our NHS and school buildings that are crumbling and unsafe. Nah, they'll waste it on some hair brained scheme or put it into the dark recesses of the coffers!

Of course, silly me, we are entering the last phase of the current government before the next general election, that's why they are 'being so helpful'.....

 

Our rainfall totalled ...

The storm delivered us enough rain to fill this candle jar:

It measures 5" tall by 3" inside and was 1/2" from the top. The two smaller storms we had a few days beforehand, delivered the same amount. That is a lot of rain. The back garden was flooded to half its length and one of our village roads was flooded to about 12"

All in all, we were very lucky.
 

Apple Bakes

 There are numerous versions of these online under the names of cookies, biscuits and scones so I am calling them bakes. I can't credit anyone as I don't know who the original author is:(

Beat 2 eggs with 1/4 to 1/2 cup sugar and 100g of soft butter or margarine

In a bowl, mix 320g Plain Flour with 14g baking powder and 1/2 to 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon if desired. 

Add half the flour mixture to the eggs and mix well. Then add the other half. This will be quite hard to do as it has to be a stiff mixture. Do not be tempted to add more liquid, the apples provide the rest!

Mix in 2 medium peeled, sliced then roughly chopped eating apples. I needed to do this with my hands.

Line a flat sheet tray with parchment paper and dollop on 9 blobs of the mixture. 9 blobs will make quite large bakes. Flatten slightly. 

Bake at 180C for about 18 - 20 minutes or until golden brown. Carefully remove off the tray and place on a cooling rack. If desired sprinkle on some icing sugar through a sieve.

In my air fryer, I baked a few at a time on 180C and managed to get 13. They also only took 12 minutes or so.

They are lovely. Crisp on the outside, texture of a fresh scone inside. I am sure they will be less crisp tomorrow, but that doesn't matter to us.

I saved a life the other day!

 Granted it was 'only' a bee, but a life nonetheless.

Weeding one of the raised vegetable beds, I heard what sounded like screaming, no other way to put it. Our dog Ruby was staring up at the top corner of the patio door. A spider was busy spinning a web around said bee. I almost ignored itshe Ruby looked at it, looked at me, time and time again.

Eventually, I dashed inside the garage and came out with a cane and hauled the bee from the web. I sat down at the table and tried in vain to remove it from its entanglement. It was still screaming but in essence was probably the frantic beating of its rather sticky wings.

Ruby continued to stare at me as though to say 'come on, help it".

I went back into the garage and came out with gardening gloves and a soft clean small paintbrush. After what seemed an age, I managed to untangle it with it legs and wings intact. After a bit of a wobble, it flew off. 

Ruby lay down to snooze!