Sixteenth week of quarantine

The last week was about as hectic as all the previous ones. The main activity was harvesting the Morello cherries and making jam. Unfortunately, unlike in most previous years, we didn't quite prepare for this as well as we could have. The misfortune originated in our kind friends and neighbours stopping the supermarket shopping for us some weeks before it became obvious that we don't really have enough sugar and jamfix (pectin). Also, the jamfix was at least one year old, as we only had the amount that was left over the previous year.

He can carry a ladder now

As a result of this I was trying to minimise the quantities of sugar and pectin, not realising that the jamfix was 2:1 not 3:1. In the past we only boiled the fruit with the sugar and pectin for 3 minutes, and this preserved its colour, texture and all the vitamins in it. This year we had a disaster. None of our jam set. Not only it didn't set, but it was liquid, I have never seen anything like it. So, we had to reboil it, during which we ran out of pectin but eventually we ended up with 27 little bottles of jam, which we are still to taste.

Muggins on the ladder

Another loss in this was that the quantities went drastically down, as a big percentage of the jam evaporated. I think it would have been over 40 bottles and then at the end we managed to burn some of it. I, being thoroughly fed up, turned the gas up, hoping that it will boil faster and it started burning. Thankfully, only 3 bottles are like that and we will make sure we'll keep those for ourselves. Interestingly, all this boiling got the colour almost black and I suppose the taste and texture would have suffered as well with all this extra sugar. If it is too sweet or two dense, it will last for a long time. I suppose that's the only advantage, that a little will go a long way with all that sweetness.

Into the pot they go

The Wagner series have carried on last week, although one, The Mastersingers of Nuremburg, I ended up ditching as the reception was dreadful and I had a phonecall in the middle of it. The other two, The Flying Dutchman and Tannhauser were superb, a very lovely experience and I am now on the prowl for finding copies of all the other Wagner operas on YouTube or anywhere else where I don't have to pay.

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We are now well known to all the mobile shops, so when we don't hear it first, they hang around, play a bit more music and we usually end up rushing out. This last week, we spent a lot of time in the back garden, which is 150 metres long, so no wonder we did miss one or two, but we caught them up the next time. Now the system had settled down to Greengrocers (2) on Mondays and Fridays, Baker daily, mobile grocery store daily, butcher Thursdays and household goods Wednesdays. Good system and while I can cope without going to the supermarket 20 miles away, I will.

The first batch of jam jars

Unfortunately, the grass is growing like buggery, so very soon we will have to go and get some petrol for the tractor and the petrol mower.  Talking of which, Roy managed to mend it. He is an absolute wizard when it comes to tinkering with anything mechanical/electrical/or just made of metal. Unfortunately, while it pulls, it does not pull as hard as it used to. However, on the short, but very steep bits, Roy helped me, as he is so mobile now that he can even do a bit of mowing.

Roy movint the dustbins

Talking of Roy, he is a bit more tetchy now than before. He is impatient for getting really better. I think he has done extremely well. The accident was 7 weeks ago and he can now walk, climb stairs, mow the grass, cook, wash up etc. However, he is still in some discomfort in his abdomen, his right thigh is still tingling and he gets very tired quite quickly. Personally, I think this will all sort itself in a few months' time, because at his age such a big and nasty fall does take that long to recover from.

Port and palinka at the end of jam making

Needless to say, as soon as I can face the big city, I will take him for a thorough checkup at our favourite private clinic, but not yet. His ankles are swollen again, which worries me a bit, but he insists that it is OK. I don't want conflict, but once we can travel safely, I will convince him to go to the clinic with me.

Late, very ripe Morellos for eating

The really big good news is that it looks as if we are going to get our cruise deposit (£750) back. You may recall that the last bit of advice I had from Leigh was that after she put our deadline for paying the balance for the cruise off by 5 days, if nothing happens before she promised to ring. And then one day before the deadline I got the e-mail that Royal Caribbean had cancelled our cruise. I tried to apply for a repayment of the deposit, as we didn't want to rebook or put it off until next year, but the website did not cooperate. I had to ring Bolsover Cruise Club again, and finally they admitted that the RC website had a bug and they would do it for us. I hoped that they would say that, and in fact would have preferred that in the first place. It will take up to 60 days, so around the end of August hopefully, we'll have the money back. I am not celebrating yet, I'll believe it when I see it.

Two-tone rose on the shady side of the courtyard

We had two birthdays in quick succession: first Elian's on 24th June, and then Stephen's on 2nd July. In fact that hasn't happened yet, but I sent my present to him a few days ago and he confirmed that he has got it. I do hope that he finds a job soon, but in the meantime he sounds positive and really felt on a high after his 200 mile bikeride on the previous Saturday.

And finally, the builders have arrived, after several months of delay, to make us a brand new back gate. It'll cost about £550, but it will be very strong, made of solid iron and the posts will be concreted into the ground to almost 3ft depth. Gyula had turned up the other day and mended the broken waterpipe to the barn, so they can get their water there and Roy discovered that the electricity didn't work either, but he fixed that. After that Gyula dug the holes, but today, unfortunately, nobody turned up for starting the concreting, which is a shame as the weather forecast is for rain for the rest of the week. We'll see. Considering that this project has been on the books for more than 8 months, a day or two will not make much difference at all.

Fusilli, toms, feta, basil, oregano, olive oil and lemon juisce

On Sunday I found the organic healthfood shop's website and ordered lots of stuff again. Vitamins, my probiotic, nuts, dried fruits, radish seeds for growing seedlings etc. Unfortunately, they had something not in stock yet again. After my Vitamin D drops, which were out of stock last time, but thankfully, just before they will run out I could order  this time, they didn't have my favourite oat milk. Unfortunately that will make us go to Tesco or Lidl soon, because my stocks are definitely dwindling.

Cornflakes, oat milk, our own Morello cherries and cashewnuts

Apparently, the whole order is coming tomorrow, I just had the e-mail advising me.  Let us hope it arrives. Bloody shame that Tesco does not deliver this far, otherwise my life would be totally organised. Also my birthday is coming up in the middle of the month and Roy and I decided that provided the weather is suitable we will go out for a bit of a drive and to find a geocache somewhere, followed by a meal at a restaurant in the country. We'll see! (Said the blind man!)

The Mummy cactus