Snowing

It’s snowing!

Yesterday we went into Lancaster & the computer shop. On Monday we’d bought the new mouse & keyboard but they just didn’t seem to be working. We went along to technical support. It seems a little piece had to be put in a USB port. The wireless mouse & keyboard communicate through that. All is well now & I’m writing on the new keyboard.

On the journey into Lancaster we were increasingly aware the torrential rain was turning sleety. By the time we’d got into Lancaster it was undeniably snowing, a positive blizzard. The ground was white. The carpet was thickening before your eyes. We weren’t there long. By then the car was white. We drove back to Morecambe. It turned back into sleet, then rain. After a while though snow did arrive.

Lancaster always gets more snow than we do. I think it’s because it is higher up, more into the Pennines. Morecambe is at sea level with plenty of naturally salty air. Needless to say the Lakeland fells were well covered with a thick white blanket.

Overnight it obviously snowed a bit more. I put some food out for the birds. They were clearly pleased to see it. The ground then was still predominantly green (lawn) or wet brown (the stone patio).

I went on to prepare today’s dinner, Chicken & Sweetcorn Pie. By the time I’d got the filling made & cooling & the potatoes peeled for the mash accompaniment, it was snowing once more. This time it was great flakes. I suspect it will stick a while longer.

We’re hoping to of the food shop later today. If the snow is too thick & icy, it may have to be abandoned. The only essential is some milk. The post office around the corner sells that so the Fox will just have to walk that short distance if necessary.

However, the forecast is for snow most of this week, so it would be useful to top up on essentials if we can. We seem to be running low on some basics e.g. tea, old potatoes, rice. Then we will be stored up for quite a while. There’s plenty in the freezer to keep us going for months if necessary.

Snow & ice don’t go well with wheelchairs. With brakes on, the wheelchair just becomes a sledge. I still shudder when I remember visiting my brother one snowy winter. We were going to walk into town. Unfortunately the drive to the road from his flat involved a steep slope. I slid down at considerable speed unable to stop or even slow down straight into the street. A car was coming along. Fortunately he was a sensible driver, going slowly, & managed to avoid hitting me. There was no way I could have avoided him. The momentum of my descent was so great the Fox had been unable to keep hold of the chair. It was a lucky escape for me!

Going veggie

These days, in this country, there seems to be a lot of pressure to go vegetarian for the sake of our health & the state of the world. We’ve always eaten a fair amount of veg. The idea of eating 5 fruit & veg a day hasn’t been a problem. We rarely eat less. But we have usually eaten a small amount of meat & fish too. The Fox still shudders at memories of going into the butcher’s to buy 2oz of minced beef for some pasties. We’re omnivores & feel it’s too late to change now.

That does not stop us having vegetarian meals some days. Today is one such. We’re having calzones, a sort of Italian style pasty. I’m using readymade tortillas rather than pastry. The filling is roasted vegetables – red onion, cherry tomatoes, courgette, red peppers - & cheese. There won’t be a vast amount of cheese as I have difficulty with cooked cheese. However, I will put the stated amount of mozzarella in as I find that mild enough cooked for me to eat. The mature cheddar I will be more sparing with as I tend only to taste salt when that is cooked. We will be having yet more veg to accompany the calzones, some chips & sprouts. Hopefully it will be tasty.

Tomorrow we will be back to chicken for dinner.

Coming things

Tooth’s all patched up. We went along to the golf club afterwards, to join some friends. It seems lots of parties, meals out, are on the horizon, as people meet their retirement, 65th or 80^th birthdays. April sounds as though it’s going to be a particularly busy time.

When we got home I was struck by a white patch in the garden. The snowdrops had opened out, with their delicate green fringe clearly showing. I was more bemused to see the pinkness of a bud on the pinks. It’s a bit early for that.

This weekend is the Big Garden Birdwatch. It’s over a period of three days this year. I shall be sat at the window of our back door looking out at some point over the weekend. I wonder who will visit this time.

The computer is settling down. It’s a wireless one. A keyboard & mouse came with the computer but I think we’re going have to buy some different ones. We’re both finding the mouse is positively painful on our hands & fingers. It’s just so small.  The keyboard seems small with a few differences in layout to our old one. I’m telling myself I may be able to adjust to that. Still it’s early days. It’s certainly a lot faster than the old computer so that’s one good thing about it.