A Day Out

We’re fast back to normal, with grey skies & rain. However, yesterday was quite different, bright blue skies with a touch of spring warmth in the day.

We set off to Kendal, to look at another double glazing showroom. We’re steadily getting clearer as to what exactly we’re looking for.

Afterwards we went on to Ambleside & Hayes garden centre. This is a huge place. It tends to be expensive. We wanted ideas more than anything else. For that it’s a great place. We were particularly wanting to look at garden furniture, again trying to clarify our ideas as to what we want. We got distracted by solar lighting. We decided against putting mains lighting in the garden, partially because of the expense & partially because we didn’t think we would use it much. However, the idea of a little lighting to extend a warm summer evening on the patio area does appeal, especially when the power wouldn’t cost us anything. As I say Hayes is a place for ideas. We looked at pots, too, but didn’t quite see what we were looking for.

By the time we left it was getting onto 6ish, so we decided to eat out for a change. We decided to try the Gateway Hotel just outside Kendal. We’d stopped there after seeing the double glazing – we’d felt the need for refreshment & a chance to discuss what we’d seen before going on. It must be 20 years since we last visited the hotel. It’s changed a lot, becoming far brighter & more accessible.

As for the food, we both had the mushroom starter – a hot ramekin full of mushrooms & bacon in a cream & wine sauce, with a couple of little buns of bread to mop it up. Then the Fox had the Cumberland sausage, good & spicy. My dish was more of a mystery – sea bass with shrimp risotto. I was surprised not to immediately see any rice on the plate. What it turned out to be was more of a deep-fried battered savoury rice pudding with a creamy shrimp sauce. The sea bass was grilled so the skin was crispy, not a bone in sight. Much as it wasn’t quite what I expected, it was delicious. We’ve marked it down as a place to go again. As for the roaring log fire that was a welcome sight as the evening got steadily colder.

All in all it was a good day out. Though I will admit I am somewhat bemused today not to have anything to do foodwise this morning. The Moroccan Meatballs I made yesterday we will warm up today.

On the phone

It’s a morning for making phone calls.

My first call was to arrange a company to come & give us a quote on new double glazing & uPVC doors. We visited their showroom last week & were more impressed by this visit than the one down near Blackpool.

They gave us a lot of brochures to look at. One item that caught my eye was that we could have lower, wheelchair suitable, draught excluders with this company. One thing that had worried us at the previous place was the height of the draught excluders. I tend to walk into our home rather than use my wheelchair. However, I am rather prone to trip over anything that sticks up too high. I have tripped over draught excluders before & landed flat on my face on the floor, so I’m particularly pleased to see this feature.

The company also seems to have a far greater range of features & designs so we should be able to find just the styles that we want. The idea of tilt windows appeal in the kitchen as you need to stretch over the sink/dining table to open the windows, which would make top-opening windows difficult.

The second phone call was to arrange a barber’s appointment for the Fox. It’s time his hair had a trim. Mine’s due too, but I’d sooner wait until just before we’re off to France.

The third call was to Social Services to find out what had happened about my new perching stool for the bathroom, & where my vouchers, or rather prepayment card under the new scheme, is for the oncoming year. I’ve heard nothing about either of them for over a month. I’m told the perching stool is now on the “urgent” list. By that I assume we’re waiting for the arrival & the new budget at the beginning of April. I should hear promptly then. As for the respite, they reckon they will be issued on the 

April 1^st & not before. I just hope the agency is happy to wait for payment if the new prepayment card hasn’t arrived in time.

Meanwhile I’ve been par-boiling some potatoes for sautéing this evening. I’m also waiting for some puff pastry to thaw out ready to make some Chicken & Pesto Pasties for this evening too. With some broccoli that should make a tasty meal for us tonight.

The solar eclipse

All yesterday & early this morning I heard reference to the wondrous sight to be seen this morning – an eclipse of the sun. I confess I wasn’t too excited. I remember a similar great event in the 60s. My form at school was taken out into the grounds to see this wonderful sight. For me it was a non-event. It didn’t do anything for me & could be quickly forgotten, only to be dug out of the pigeon holes of my mind when a further such event happened, as today. It certainly had none of the wonder of pictures I’d seen of that golden orb being covered with a black disc, which I’d thought I’d see. Nor was there any of the awesome darkness described in the Bible among other places. Certainly nothing to suggest the world was about to come to the end.  I wouldn’t have even noticed the event if I hadn’t been instructed to look at that particular time.

So we come to this morning. As I’d been reminded I thought I ought to at least look out at the appropriate time. Needless to say, today is a day of thick cloud. I looked round to see if I could at least find a brighter patch which was covering the sun. Just at that moment, the cloud parted & there was the sun, partially covered with a black disc, the moon. I didn’t look long – I hadn’t got the appropriate eye shields or a pin camera etc. to protect them from the intensity of the sun’s glare. 

Did the morning get darker, enough to fill me with awe? No. It was a dull day & didn’t seem much darker for the eclipse. I still feel it is a non-event. Maybe you need to live in a more sun-drenched part of the world, where the contrast when the sun is blocked out is greater. To me it was just one of those things that happens from time to time. I’m far more filled with awe as I examine the greenish hellebores, now in flower in our garden.