General Chat

Because I keep a few jars outside the back door to put jam and stuff in, OH usually has a jar full of washing up water on the window sill soaking. I usually just wash them out and put them out there, and the ones he has soaking!

We thinned out the little grapes on the vine and I had a go at cooking them. They made a small amount of jelly which tasted a bit like apple so we decided it would make a good marinade (?) spread on pork chops before they were cooked. We looked forward to seeing what they would turn out like and he bought pork chops for his tea tonight.

The grape jelly was in a marinade bottle and clearly labelled as grape jelly with the date very prominent and I left it on the work top near the sink. A couple of times, when I was washing up, I have moved it back off the window sill, on to the work top, assuming it had been in his way when he did his sandwiches.

As I washed up this morning, I noticed the bottle, with its prominent label, inverted on the window sill with its top beside it.

He thought it was dishwater!!!!!!!

Oh dear :-)

Throwing the baby grapes out with the dishwater :-0

Oooops! Maybe you will have to start doing as I have to, write large notes to explain what things are and action needed, or not, as the case may be.

Mind you I hadn't anticipated yesterday's disaster. Mr Gammy leg had a bath after working on the garden. He always uses copious amounts of bubble bath as well as lots of shower gel on a sponge. He won't use the safety bath mat and with all the gel etc the bath gets slippery. Yesterday there was an almighty crash, he had slipped over and caused a tsunami, as he doesn't pull the plug before he gets out. What does he do but get out and grabs a load of clean towels from the airing cupboard! I still had to go up and finish drying the floorboards (still bare because he never finished decorating after starting to fit a shower over the bath in 2007) and had more than one machine full of sopping wet towels to rewash!

Hope the chops tasted ok without the grape jelly, Sharron.

Lizxx

Don't care if they didn't Liz. I don't eat pork chops!

Actually, I have bare floorboards and no door on the bathroom. That is because Fred objected to my sanding the bathroom floor so I topped and have not felt able to continue yet.

Oh Liz!!! I would have crowned him
Hide the shower gels etc and just leave one type out on display. Hope though in seriousness he didn't hurt himself as it sounded awful what happened.

Sharron...maybe put some dishwater in a jar and stick it on the table at dinner time.Tell him its mint sauce to have with lamb or whatever..adapt to suit!

Florence in the hebrides ;-)

Sharron, I did wonder because I thought you weren't a meat eater.

No good hiding the products, he has a stock of them for when his dad needs more at the care home. He was stroppy because I didn't ask if he was ok, but I was so angry about the towels especially as I had only just put them away clean and dried. He is very unstable on his legs because of his dodgy knee, and has to wear a brace which he does at times. There is nothing to be done surgically so things will only get worse but he doesn't act responsibly unfortunately. He falls over outside and in, and if he gets any heavier I won't be able to help him up, as he can't roll over to kneel to get up.

Lizx

The grape vine sounds great. What a pity you won't get a chance to sample it's produce.
Do you use the vine leaves?
I can imagine that you'd be able to concoct any number of wonderful meals using them.

I have never used the leaves but, what I cook is generally more of a great dollop of than a neat little package of so I have just never though to.

I saw the vine in Aldi once and Fred's mate had taken on the garden so I asked him to have a go with it. It is still very much a learning process but we did find out to plant it outside the greenhouse and train it through, now it is the pruning and thinning we need to bone up on.

All we have had to date is some tiny but tasty grapes but I think we didn't leave them long enough to ripen.

It cost me less than a fiver so it is fine to learn on!

Mmmn maybe red or white next year Sharron... a Merlot maybe.
How did the raspeberry jam turn out?

Florence in the hebrides

I won't ever be making wine. I don't like it and it would never be drunk although I do use cheap wine for cooking.

I did make some jam from the last of last years raspberries from the freezer but it is blackberries at the moment and there are some passion fruits preparing themselves for my experimentations.

Oh sorry didn't realise you didn't drink not that it matters. Blackberry jam my nanna used to make that and was delicious on fresh bread.mmmn.

My blackcurrant jam was really tasty but destalking a whole carrier bag of blackcurrants nearly drove me crazy...took so long!

Florence in the Hebrides.

I don't drink now because I became so out of practice that a can of cider would send me to sleep but, even when I was sinking it in larger quantities,I never did like wine.

When it comes to blackcurrant jam, who eats most jam eats most stalk. Thre's a stalk in your jam, well deal with it!

I never used to bother over-much with stalks on blackcurrants ....... it's always possible to skim most of them off after the jam has boiled

or as Sharron said ............... who g ets a stalk in their jam, takes it out or swallows it :-D

:-D :-D :-D :-D :-D