An Odd Collection Of Stuff...

I was going to experiment this afternoon with laminating some pressed flowers on card...it dawned on me that if they're sent through the mail and then the recipient rips the envelope open, the flowers' will probably fall off in a crumpled heap 'cos you only need tiny dabs of glue to hold them on...but I couldn't find the laminating sheets...

So I fiddled about instead and made a few book marks 'cos it's sensible to laminate them...except I still couldn't find the laminating sheets...

Never mind...I'll take a photo of the picture I made of pressed flowers to show you...my cameras battery was flat. No point in using the new camera 'cos the photo will be a million mega-bytes until Reuben fixes it...hopefully.

I loathe ironing and do as little as it is humanly possible...until we have a power cut, then I think I'll pass the time by ironing a basket load of seriously dried and probably wrinkled beyond all hope pillowcases and such like...

Leave the washing festering away in the laundry basket day after day of glorious sunshine and stuff it all in the machine on the very morning heavy rain is forecast...

Promise Himself a syrup pudding and find the shelves of the kitchen cupboard groaning under the weight of flour and sugar...plenty of butter and eggs in the 'fridge and not a single tin of Golden syrup to be had. So I stand there and wail and think I'll do a jam pudding instead and Himself says that isn't the same really...not the same as syrup...you shouldn't put oodles on your porridge then, and forget to buy more, I say. He looks crestfallen and I feel mean and horrible and say I'll make one tomorrow but when tomorrow comes I can't breathe and forget the recipe and can't convert grams into ounces and just want to lie down for a bit...

Then I suddenly thought...while searching for the laminate sheets...I suddenly remembered that Mum used to feed her cats on lights...lungs in other words. I suppose the butcher thought lights sounded better...anyway...Mum used to come home with a plastic carrier bag full to bursting with these lights that were a pale pinkish colour...not like our lungs...she had a huge saucepan she cooked them in the back kitchen on an old cooker...they squeaked you know, when they were cooking and stank to high heaven.

The saucepan had a well fitting lid but it'd suddenly pop up and fall on the floor with a rattle when the water came to a boil...when the lights were cooked they were a disgusting greyish colour...like our lungs I expect...then Mum would cut them up into little pieces and put it all out in different dishes for the cats...open the back door and the main kitchen door and call them...cats would appear from every direction...leaping over the garden wall...racing down the stairs... thudding down the wooden back stairs...falling off radiators. The Old Man, who lived on the hall radiator, had his lights minced up because he didn't have many teeth left...he ate his dinner very sedately out of his little dish.

The people I'll always call Mum and Dad were my first husbands parents...just in case you find my Mother with her tins of Whiskas difficult to equate with the lovely people who lived in a ramshackle house with dozens of cats fed on lights...

Heaven knows why I suddenly remembered that...lack of oxygen perhaps.

[knitter]

My gosh....from laminating to lights all in one article Vashti....I'm trying to think of the pressed flowers rather than the pet food though.... I remember my friends mother cooking them only too well.

[Hidden in reply to knitter]

I'm certain I could smell them when I was writing about it...lol

[Hidden]

Yes, I remember them too and the cats going ballistic with the smell while they were cooking. I also remember my mother cooking up a pot of periwinkles and sharing them with Frisky, her favourite cat. The concept of 'whiskas' didn't exist then.

[Hidden in reply to Hidden]

Actually Mother used to feed the cat on tinned pilchards...there wasn't any canned cat food then or was there? Kit-e-Kat perhaps...

[Photogeek]

Hi Vashti sounds like you had a busy day . Oh I remember those lights and the

Horrible smell, the animals loved them. It's a bit like tripe , the smell and look

If it made me I'll. My mother used to buy beef hearts and stuff them, definitely

An acquired taste. Of course people were much more frugal and thrifty then,

None of your running in to M & S for a ready meal.

Vashti take it easy and don't be tiring yourself out, it's cold here in Dublin and

I was out today and got soaking.

Hannah x

[Hidden in reply to Photogeek]

Oh yuck...stuffed hearts...Father used to like them. Mind you he liked fried liver...lol

[hufferpuffer]

Hulo Vashti, I so hate that kind of smell...flowers smell nice I've some lavender to plant, I love the smell of Lavender! it's going next to the Thyme and Mint and Rosemary. The worse smell in the world to me though worse than offal cooking is my chronic ear infections I've had for twenty years, I've had 3 operations on my ear, the last time they had to remove all the middle bone and scrape the skull 😱🙊 That was 11 years ago and I have to get it deep cleaned every few months......only had to wait an hour for the apt. 😀

Freezing over here brrrrr! Come back Spring 😱😨😎

[Hidden in reply to hufferpuffer]

It's seriously cold here as well...and it keeps raining. Actually one of our dogs had an ear infection which stunk the house out...and she didn't like having them cleaned and the drops put in...had to put a Cavalier collar on in the end to stop her from scratching them...she bumbled about knocking into everything, poor old girl...

[scorpiolass]

Hi Vashti, awful smell, my late lovely friend used to feed her Alsation on lights And Black tripe . The smell permeates everything & the dog's breath wasn't good. Sorry you are not so well, look after yourself and try & rest up. Love Margaret x

[Hidden in reply to scorpiolass]

Thanks Margaret...breathing is slightly better today

[Lyd12]

I remember in our early married days, we were going on holiday and the neighbour kindly agreed to feed our cat. I left a casserole dish on the cooker with some diced up horsemeat ready for the cats dinners. No fridge in those days. Well, the neighbour did not see it, cant remember if I explained about it or not, think I must have. anyway, it was all still there festering when we got back from our holiday, not smelling very good by that time. iris x

[Hidden in reply to Lyd12]

It must have stunk!

[emmo]

Just an ordinary day then?

[Hidden in reply to emmo]

More or less emmo...lol

[Nikkers]

But I, for one, am pleased that you did remember that Vashti, it really did bring back memories. My Mother used to cook them for the dog, chop them up very small then combine them with stale bread that had been soaking in water and strained. The cats had "Pussy pieces" which she got from the fishmonger, which consisted of all the "waste" from the gutted and skinned fish. I'm not sure which was the worst smell - the lights or the fish bits? Yuk!

[Hidden in reply to Nikkers]

Bet the cats loved the fishy stuff though...lol

[sassy59]

You make me smile vashti and that is no bad thing now is it? It is odd how we plan to do things and then either forget where we put something or find we have run out of something but never mind, always another thing to occupy us even if it is reading a good book or feet up in front of the telly.

I remember lights but would never have anything to do with them. The cats seemed happy enough though bless them. Nice that you think of your first hubbies parents as Mum and Dad. Good to get along with people and fond memories I should think.

I actually cheated on Sunday by using a Betty Crocker carrot cake mix with the creamy icing in a tub. Our grandson (nearly 3) was round and he loved helping. The cake cooked nicely and smelt good. Jack decorated it with my help and then we had some later, after dinner (much to Jack's annoyance) and it was truly horrible! So false tasting so I made a promise never to buy a packet mix again and will make everything from scratch from now on. Now where did I put that flour?

You take care and wishing you well. xxxxxx

[Azure_Sky in reply to sassy59]

When I did a lot of baking, before diabetes 2 got me, I found unsalted butter made wonderful cakes. If you get own brand unsalted butter from the supermarket, or Lidl and Aldi it is about 99p for 250 grams. Much better and healthier than margarine, which contains horrid stuff.

My husband does labels for a couple of bakers. The new EU regulations insist every single ingredient must be listed. I think it would put you right off bought cakes and pastries.

[Hidden in reply to Azure_Sky]

Haven't used margarine for years...

[sassy59 in reply to Azure_Sky]

We always have unsalted butter as we love the taste. Yummy. xxx

[Hidden in reply to sassy59]

Mum and Dad were such lovely people...I was very lucky to have known them.

I tried a packet of lemon meringue pie mix once...that wasn't too bad. Never used a cake mix though...

[Azure_Sky in reply to Hidden]

I think the lemon meringue mix was very good, can't remember the make, Mind you, i did it wrong once and curdled it.

[Azure_Sky]

Laminating is a great idea. I would recommend doing cold laminating to avoid harming the flowers.

My husband says you can use the same pouches and your machine should do cold and hot. We have a Fellowes laminator.

You could make your own golden syrup by melting sugar in a saucepan, you need to keep a close eye on it to stop it burning, and stir continuously. It won't take long.

Yesterday, my husband pointed out some tripe in the shop. My reply was "You want It, you cook it" My mother loved tripe and onions, wild horses couldn't make me eat it.

She used to make junket too. horrible lumps of white stuff sliding around the dish. My husband said he had chitlings when he was a boy, he loves faggots too.

My Mum would prepare rabbits and hares for the pot. I couldn't eat them then and never have since. This was before Myxamatosis was introduced.

My Grandad used to hang game in the bathroom until it was rank. He used to go shooting on my uncle's farm, where he held shoots in season.

Our cats were fed on Kt-E-Kat and Top Cat, later on, Whiskas. I don't know what the cats were fed on during the war and during rationing.

[Hidden in reply to Azure_Sky]

Mine does cold...it came from Lidl's! My Grandpa used to hang hare and pheasants up in the pantry...said they made for better eating when they'd hung for a while...lol

I'd be the same as you if Himself wanted tripe...he'd have to handle it cook it and eat it...while I was out of the house...☺

[Azure_Sky]

A butcher told me he had to clean hares after they had been hung. They weren't considered to be ready until they were crawling with maggots. He had to hose them down, before doing the rest of the preparation. Apparently, it was the posh people who wanted the maggoty ones.

He also shared the secret of how to cook ham. Let me know if you want to know.

Love AS xxx