I got up early as I wanted to attend the York in Transition Christmas Presents Swap at St Nicks, which started at 10am. On the way I found a bunch of bright yellow 'Winter Mushroom' or Enokitake, Flammulina velupites. I picked about a dozen, all quite small.
I was pleased to go as I met some good people and did two 'mini-tours' for people new to St Nicks, and I explained about the old landfill site, the beginnings of the nature reserve, the John Lally Wood, passive solar design, the two types of solar panel, green roof, rainwater harvesting, compost toilets and more. I really love showing people round!
I took a bottle of red wine with mulling spices, a Christmas present which we won't use as we don't drink red wine, and my usual bag of dried pea beans which I'm always happy to give out. I met my friend Linda, who really likes red wine, and gave her the bottle. She didn't want mulling spices, so those went on the swap table and were snapped up! I came away with a jigsaw, a wok stand for the stove and a pair of gloves. I gave two people some pea beans.
I came home at 12.30, Gill had gone to Scarborough on the train with our eldest and a friend, leaving the youngest at home in York. I had lunch and spent a bit of time on the computer but then suggested to our lad that he come off his Roblox thingy and do something active. Amazingly, he agreed and came outside and helped me move a lot of recently split logs from the front to a safe store at the rear of the house. He kept going whilst I did some chainsawing and splitting.
Later, he asked if he could have the stove lit in the front room... and I talked him through how to do it, provided the raw materials and he did an excellent job, got it laid and lit really well.
I cooked tea... a 100% freegan tea, apart from a tablespoon full of EV olive oil. I fried 2 onions (ones which had manky outside bits but the majority of the bulb was firm and lovely) and chopped up a small butternut squash which had a bit of damage at the stalk end, easy to chop out, a courgette which had one end going soft, a red pepper and most of 5 tomatoes. All this got fried up on the front room stove. I marinaded some out of date tofu (but hermetically sealed and absolutely fine) with garlic, balsamic vinegar and soy sauce, and then slow fried them in some free pumpkin oil which dates back to Out Of This World years ago, I think! I put the mushrooms in with the tofu right at the end, and they just about disappeared. Enokitake is a very small mushroom! Then Gill came in and there was a request for pasta, so I boiled that on the stove. Actually, this pasta was bought too, so not a 100% freegan meal... shame! But a nice tea, much enjoyed.
I also really enjoyed... to the point of tears, the lovely BBC2 tribute to my favourite and now deceased actor, Pete Postlethwaite. Click here to see this on iPlayer, for the next few days only!
More fruit wrangling this evening, putting pineapple and apple into jars. And washing up, as per bally usual!
Showing posts with label picking mushrooms. Show all posts
Showing posts with label picking mushrooms. Show all posts
I took my youngest nearly all the way to school... he walked the last bit alone and I cycled slowly back, stopping to pick up quite a few aluminium cans for the metal merchant, steel cans for the kerbside recycling, and several bits of wood for processing into stove fodder. I also found a large clump of edible mushrooms which I picked. I went straight on to the chemist on Tang Hall Lane to get assorted over the counter medications. I'm getting more headaches than normal, I think it's stress.
I spent an hour on the computer, and was happy to be of use to a friend up in Scotland who is in the middle of launching a bicycle-powered delivery service, and wanted help with a letter to go out to potential customers. I was able to partly re-write the letter to make it read a bit better. This help was appreciated.
Gill went into town on the bus, and I did quite a bit of sorting out in the front garden, chopping up treestumps and some sticks, stacking, cleaning out the stove ash pans, and washing up, the endless washing up.
But it was nice to be working outside in the sunshine, but the remainder of the day went all too quickly.
After 4pm I loaded my trailer up with 3 paper potato sacks of drinks cartons, all squashed and mostly packed inside each other, and an old toaster I found in a skip, and went to the Hazel Court Civic Amenity Site, where I never know if I'm going to be waved in with a smile, ignored, or confronted and told that cyclists aren't allowed in, and I have to explain that I'm choosing to ignore that stupid rule and I will kick up a HUGE fuss if I'm prevented from using the recycling services. This time, I was ignored on the way in and when a chap walked towards me whilst I was pushing cartons into the carton bank, he was just loading a dead neon tube into the neon tube recycling area, and he was friendly and didn't comment on my mode of transport. I put the toaster in the WEEE area and unloaded some batteries, and left, with no hassle whatsoever. Great!
I then went on to Country Fresh and got assorted fruit and veg for a very reasonable price, and loaded two bags of compostables into the trailer for recycling.
The rest of the day was reasonably quiet... Tea was pizza, with a large pile of Velvet Shank mushrooms I picked this morning on a tree stump between school and home. After this, I was tired and went for a lie down after taking a large can of water up for our youngest to have a bath. I went to check the temperature of the solar heated water in the loft, as I ran the hot tap as well as the stove-heated water, and the tank thermometer was reading 59 Celcius, which is warm enough to bypass the boiler. Excellent! I must find the commissioning certificate and set up the system with Good Energy for our HOT ROCS credits. Life is hectic and I'm disorganised, and I don't know where the certificate has gone.
I dozed from 7.30 til 8.30 but was woken by shouting. Homework. I came down and hovered around, and things calmed down. I half-watched Horizon but didn't concentrate much on it as I was feeling depressed. Life is tough at the moment. We will work through this and hopefully things will be easier in the future. Parenting is very hard work.
I spent an hour on the computer, and was happy to be of use to a friend up in Scotland who is in the middle of launching a bicycle-powered delivery service, and wanted help with a letter to go out to potential customers. I was able to partly re-write the letter to make it read a bit better. This help was appreciated.
Gill went into town on the bus, and I did quite a bit of sorting out in the front garden, chopping up treestumps and some sticks, stacking, cleaning out the stove ash pans, and washing up, the endless washing up.
But it was nice to be working outside in the sunshine, but the remainder of the day went all too quickly.
After 4pm I loaded my trailer up with 3 paper potato sacks of drinks cartons, all squashed and mostly packed inside each other, and an old toaster I found in a skip, and went to the Hazel Court Civic Amenity Site, where I never know if I'm going to be waved in with a smile, ignored, or confronted and told that cyclists aren't allowed in, and I have to explain that I'm choosing to ignore that stupid rule and I will kick up a HUGE fuss if I'm prevented from using the recycling services. This time, I was ignored on the way in and when a chap walked towards me whilst I was pushing cartons into the carton bank, he was just loading a dead neon tube into the neon tube recycling area, and he was friendly and didn't comment on my mode of transport. I put the toaster in the WEEE area and unloaded some batteries, and left, with no hassle whatsoever. Great!
I then went on to Country Fresh and got assorted fruit and veg for a very reasonable price, and loaded two bags of compostables into the trailer for recycling.
The rest of the day was reasonably quiet... Tea was pizza, with a large pile of Velvet Shank mushrooms I picked this morning on a tree stump between school and home. After this, I was tired and went for a lie down after taking a large can of water up for our youngest to have a bath. I went to check the temperature of the solar heated water in the loft, as I ran the hot tap as well as the stove-heated water, and the tank thermometer was reading 59 Celcius, which is warm enough to bypass the boiler. Excellent! I must find the commissioning certificate and set up the system with Good Energy for our HOT ROCS credits. Life is hectic and I'm disorganised, and I don't know where the certificate has gone.
I dozed from 7.30 til 8.30 but was woken by shouting. Homework. I came down and hovered around, and things calmed down. I half-watched Horizon but didn't concentrate much on it as I was feeling depressed. Life is tough at the moment. We will work through this and hopefully things will be easier in the future. Parenting is very hard work.
Quite a good day... up earlier than I'd have liked, as I didn't sleep well. Got to bed as usual at 2ish and just lay there with thoughts racing round my head, so at 3.30 got up and came downstairs and played on the computer for half an hour, did some washing up, went to bed at 4.30 and fell asleep immediately! But up at 8 to take our youngest to school.....
And straight into town from school, cycling through the University, where I popped into the info place to find out whom I might talk to about getting the University involved in the Compost Doctors scheme, and along the Foss Islands Road and past the Minster to my dentist. Or more accurately, my hygienist, Cheryl, whom I see every other time, between the dentist who's called Pru (or perhaps Prue). Anyway, my teeth are reasonably OK but there are three areas which I need to work on a bit harder. I have to pay for the hygienist, and so this time paid for that plus some tiny inter-dental brushes and daily mouthwash... two of the reasons my teeth and gums are better than what they were.
Came straight home, via Gill waiting at the bus stop to go into town, so cycled over to her side of the road and gave her a big kiss, and home. Split a few logs and waited for the phone call from Elvina, who came to see York in Transition last week and today was having a 'John tour' round St. Nicks. She rang at 11 having got into York Station and was just getting on the bus. I cycled down to the bus stop we'd agreed, and waited for her, but not for long.
Elvina enjoyed her little wander round St Nicks, and I pointed out all the features which make it 'green'. We visited the stone circle and she took photos of the recycling collection vehicle, woodstove, Rotters info, energy meters, wind turbine and the building itself. Around the back, on and around the kids play area, there were perhaps 50 aluminium beer cans which had been thrown around by partygoers the previous night (presumably) so we collected them up, stamped them flat, and I filled a found polybag with them, to take home and add to my sackfuls to eventually take to the metal merchant.
On the way out of the nature reserve, I spotted a tree trunk with several big bunches of Oyster Mushroom. I removed some of the most edible-looking ones and carefully put them on a cloth bag in my trailer. Felt very pleased I'd found where Simon had found his clusters a few weeks ago... but I'll share these with him as he generously shared his finds with me.
So walked home with Elvina, took a quick tour of the garden and came in to warm up and have lunch. She then interviewed me on tape to get some quotes and commentary for her project. She'll use my info and ideas, and paraphrase it. Might end up on YouTube! Gill arrived home and had lunch; Elvina and I finished and she went to get the bus back to the station and train to Leeds.
I had half an hour before picking up our little one. So I split another few rounds...
When I cam back home Gill asked me to tidy the front garden as it was looking untidy, so I did, and took a load of stuff down the garden for composting, including a potato sack of garlic cloves in perhaps 100 little plastic net bags. I had to curteach of these bags with my big composting knife in order to put these past-it garlics on the new heap. So spent at least an hour outside doing that and other tidying jobs. Place still looks messy, though.
Tea was lovely, mushrooms and veg in white sauce with a mashed potato topping. Nice one Gilly.
A relatively quiet evening. Lots of email traffic.
And straight into town from school, cycling through the University, where I popped into the info place to find out whom I might talk to about getting the University involved in the Compost Doctors scheme, and along the Foss Islands Road and past the Minster to my dentist. Or more accurately, my hygienist, Cheryl, whom I see every other time, between the dentist who's called Pru (or perhaps Prue). Anyway, my teeth are reasonably OK but there are three areas which I need to work on a bit harder. I have to pay for the hygienist, and so this time paid for that plus some tiny inter-dental brushes and daily mouthwash... two of the reasons my teeth and gums are better than what they were.
Came straight home, via Gill waiting at the bus stop to go into town, so cycled over to her side of the road and gave her a big kiss, and home. Split a few logs and waited for the phone call from Elvina, who came to see York in Transition last week and today was having a 'John tour' round St. Nicks. She rang at 11 having got into York Station and was just getting on the bus. I cycled down to the bus stop we'd agreed, and waited for her, but not for long.
Elvina enjoyed her little wander round St Nicks, and I pointed out all the features which make it 'green'. We visited the stone circle and she took photos of the recycling collection vehicle, woodstove, Rotters info, energy meters, wind turbine and the building itself. Around the back, on and around the kids play area, there were perhaps 50 aluminium beer cans which had been thrown around by partygoers the previous night (presumably) so we collected them up, stamped them flat, and I filled a found polybag with them, to take home and add to my sackfuls to eventually take to the metal merchant.
On the way out of the nature reserve, I spotted a tree trunk with several big bunches of Oyster Mushroom. I removed some of the most edible-looking ones and carefully put them on a cloth bag in my trailer. Felt very pleased I'd found where Simon had found his clusters a few weeks ago... but I'll share these with him as he generously shared his finds with me.
So walked home with Elvina, took a quick tour of the garden and came in to warm up and have lunch. She then interviewed me on tape to get some quotes and commentary for her project. She'll use my info and ideas, and paraphrase it. Might end up on YouTube! Gill arrived home and had lunch; Elvina and I finished and she went to get the bus back to the station and train to Leeds.
I had half an hour before picking up our little one. So I split another few rounds...
When I cam back home Gill asked me to tidy the front garden as it was looking untidy, so I did, and took a load of stuff down the garden for composting, including a potato sack of garlic cloves in perhaps 100 little plastic net bags. I had to curteach of these bags with my big composting knife in order to put these past-it garlics on the new heap. So spent at least an hour outside doing that and other tidying jobs. Place still looks messy, though.
Tea was lovely, mushrooms and veg in white sauce with a mashed potato topping. Nice one Gilly.
A relatively quiet evening. Lots of email traffic.
Woken up fairly early and decided that as the weather was reasonable I'd try to finish the job I started the other day, helping Joan in Tang Hall deal with her fallen apple tree. I cycled my quiet electric shredder round in my trailer and spent about an hour feeding all the huge pile of twiggy bits through plus some of the smaller apples. This resulted in four sacks of shreddings, perfect for my composting. Also a pile of sticks for kindling (in a year or two!) and some bigger logs.
Gill took the boys into town on the bus, to take back a computer game that our youngest bought (create a monster) which the person in the shop said didn't need internet access to use... but it does so it's getting taken back. Their computer doesn't have internet and Gill's laptop (second hand) doesn't have Windows XP, the programme needed for the game. I suppose they could run it on my laptop but I'd prefer them not to! They walked back from town, getting in as I was having lunch.
Gill wanted to go to town to have a hair cut so I persuaded the boys to cycle to the park with a football and a frisbee and we spent over an hour there, playing together on the seesaw and swings, and I found some of my favourite mushrooms, the 'fairy ring champignon' (Marasmius oreades) which is very tasty and quite meaty although small. I picked a hatful.
Came home with these plus three long branches sticking out of my trailer, and when we got back the boys played on the trampoline, making a hell of a noise whilst I picked a load of blackberries and cut a hedge. I had rescued some pears from the veg shop a day or two ago and cut out the bad bits (mostly less than 20% of the available fruit) and stewed these pear slices on top of the woodstove with the blackberries... totally yummy.
During the evening, our youngest child felt unwell, with a tummy ache and loose bowels, and at bedtime whilst doing his teeth, 'passed wind' and also some bloody mucus so I rang the out of hours doctor and asked what we should do. The doc rang back, and after the usual set of questions advised me to bring him to the hospital to the out of hours doctor service, next to the A+E department. We got him dressed and I got a cushion for my bike back-rack, and he sat on this, holding onto me and we cycled down the cycle track all the way to the hospital's A+E department. This seems to have been refurbished... not to quite palatial standard but it is very nice, as was the doctor who saw us. She took his temperature and palpated his tum... and suggested that as he was quite cheerful, he didn't have a bacterial infection but probably a viral inflammation. The advice was to take him home, encourage him to have plenty of liquids and he'd get better soon. If he got worse, contact them again...
We got home just in time for me to see the last installment of 'The Man Who Cycled The World' which was really inspiring. Late night watching programme on how humans abuse the seas especially sharks, whilst typing away...
Gill took the boys into town on the bus, to take back a computer game that our youngest bought (create a monster) which the person in the shop said didn't need internet access to use... but it does so it's getting taken back. Their computer doesn't have internet and Gill's laptop (second hand) doesn't have Windows XP, the programme needed for the game. I suppose they could run it on my laptop but I'd prefer them not to! They walked back from town, getting in as I was having lunch.
Gill wanted to go to town to have a hair cut so I persuaded the boys to cycle to the park with a football and a frisbee and we spent over an hour there, playing together on the seesaw and swings, and I found some of my favourite mushrooms, the 'fairy ring champignon' (Marasmius oreades) which is very tasty and quite meaty although small. I picked a hatful.
Came home with these plus three long branches sticking out of my trailer, and when we got back the boys played on the trampoline, making a hell of a noise whilst I picked a load of blackberries and cut a hedge. I had rescued some pears from the veg shop a day or two ago and cut out the bad bits (mostly less than 20% of the available fruit) and stewed these pear slices on top of the woodstove with the blackberries... totally yummy.
During the evening, our youngest child felt unwell, with a tummy ache and loose bowels, and at bedtime whilst doing his teeth, 'passed wind' and also some bloody mucus so I rang the out of hours doctor and asked what we should do. The doc rang back, and after the usual set of questions advised me to bring him to the hospital to the out of hours doctor service, next to the A+E department. We got him dressed and I got a cushion for my bike back-rack, and he sat on this, holding onto me and we cycled down the cycle track all the way to the hospital's A+E department. This seems to have been refurbished... not to quite palatial standard but it is very nice, as was the doctor who saw us. She took his temperature and palpated his tum... and suggested that as he was quite cheerful, he didn't have a bacterial infection but probably a viral inflammation. The advice was to take him home, encourage him to have plenty of liquids and he'd get better soon. If he got worse, contact them again...
We got home just in time for me to see the last installment of 'The Man Who Cycled The World' which was really inspiring. Late night watching programme on how humans abuse the seas especially sharks, whilst typing away...
