Authorlouisa

Food metres, great taste, dog identification

1. We’re supposed to have leftover risotto for lunch but what should have been a side dish for that becomes our main dish instead: John’s Grandma’s marrow flower fritters, made with flowers, courgettes and eggs from our garden. The risotto can wait for another day.

2. The holy basil cuts through the spice. It’s ages since I’ve had any Thai food and this is just wonderful.

3. The pub is full of dogs when we arrive and we sit near the terrier and the other one we can’t identify – she looks like a labrador in the distance – perfect shape and proportion but tiny. She looks so soft, smooth and uniformly black that we’re transfixed by her. Later on, we discover what it is: her owners don’t realise when she escapes and wanders around the pub introducing herself to everyone. After she’s nearly completed her round and heads over to the dog-loving shift manager for a hug, her owner spots her and says “oh look, there’s another Patterdale like Jessie.” Then he realises and laughs, and with a smile, warns us off the dark Erdinger.

Mmm cheese, likes it there, cat love

1. The risotto is cheesier than normal. On the fine line between sickly and perfect comfort food, I wouldn’t like it every time but for a one-off, it’s delicious.

2. Deposited there for the duration of our supermarket visit, Lily sits on the living room rug, tail wagging, and watches me say goodbye to Katherine. By the time we reach the store, just a mile or so away, Katherine sends me a photo of Lily on her back on the sofa, receiving a belly rub. She loves her auntie Katherine.

3. It’s cooler today so the cats are catching up on love. Carla attaches herself to me all evening until I go to bed, when Boron takes her place. He even snuggles under the duvet next to me – his winter spot – and we cuddle as I fall asleep.

A scene I reference way too much, treat time for them, treat time for me

1. The rain pools on the freshly painted metal work, like the melted liquid metal in Terminator 2.

2. They like it when we visit with treats. They love the borage leaves almost as much as the corn. When they’ve finished, the black-flecked chicken always checks very carefully that I’m not hiding more about my person – my jean studs get investigated, my fingers pecked and I’ve learned to be more careful when bending over without a belt. Today, she stands at my feet – at the very ends of my shoes – and stares directly upwards, eyes pleading. I swear I hear the word “corn” in her bwaarrwarkwarks.

3. Both my cups of tea have been perfect today but the second one is made even better because we picked up a pack of dark chocolate digestives at lunchtime. I sit in the armchair, eating them and enjoying the moment: I don’t have to be at work, I don’t have to be in Bingley, I don’t have to be thinking about going to Bingley, I can just sit.

Breakfast, animals x 3, showcase x3

1. The sweetness of the crisp bacon, the sourness of the muffin, the silkiness of the scrambled egg and the substantial chewiness of the sausage. A great breakfast.

2. Animals:

a) The chickens cluck around me, interested in what I’m doing to their drinker, to their grit hopper and to their coop. When I’m working on their nest boxes – in the strip of no-man’s-land outside their enclosed run, they gather around the run door watching and waiting for my return into their world – or plotting their escape, it’s hard to tell which. After I’m done, I take them borage leaves and before I can bend down to give them out, one cheeky girl flies up and snatches one out of my hand. Definitely getting braver.

b) She looks like a puppy when her back legs bounce up at the same time. I think she knows it too, knows to do that so we can’t help but fall in love with her more.

c) Boron is asleep in Lily’s bed – her big dog bed that’s actually a bit too big for her. Boron looks tiny in the cushioned oval, his extended paw clawing on/off at the blanket as I talk to him.

3. The last night of the showcase:

a) The scrap of paper – torn to just the minimum then folded many times to much delight – finally makes it back to me just in time for the start of the show.

b) I’m more nervous tonight than I have been because John’s in the audience and I want them to do a good job so he’ll enjoy it. Afterwards, he says he did.

c) From where I’m sat, I can’t see the action, just a slither of stage at the very back. Their shadows – from many different light sources – are overlaid so many times that they’re abstract strips of light and dark.

Last week’s Tweets (up to 2010-07-11)

  • @sarahjarvis habit. I was taught to type that way and have to consciously make an effort not to do it. Hurrah for Find&Replace. in reply to sarahjarvis #
  • Taking the day off work to strip the balcony ahead of painting. Really-really hope the rain stays off. #
  • And I thought preparing woodwork/walls for painting was a ballache – grinding metal is ten times worse. I have dust everywhere. EVERYWHERE. #
  • You know you're hungry when you're looking at mechanically recovered meat items in the freezer section of the shop and think 'yum'. #
  • New 3BT post: Dirt boobs, quick glances, looking up http://3bt.louisaparry.co.uk/2010/07/dirt-boobs-quick-glances-looking-up/ #
  • It turns out those gloves I was just wearing *don't* protect your hands from nettle stings. Ow-ee. #
  • New 3BT post: Spotted, nearly kisses, hen friends, up there with laughter http://bit.ly/d0eWTS #
  • Tried and failed to make a rat handpuppet ahead of tonight's dress rehearsal. Bah. #
  • New 3BT post: She's a funny one, damn good kids, strangely romantic moment, sleep hug http://bit.ly/coW5Xd #
  • Just got to use a phrase I never thought I'd say: "would you please stop pecking at my bum crack?" #overfriendlychickens #
  • Anyone know what this is? Found in woods. Wild plant book suggests creeping bellflower but doesn't seem bell-y… http://twitpic.com/23h839 #
  • @EnglishFolkfan thanks for the wildflower help! The leaves here look different to that, I'll look at the whole plant again later though :) in reply to EnglishFolkfan #
  • New 3BT post: Living art, relocation, no question http://3bt.louisaparry.co.uk/2010/07/living-art-relocation-no-question/ #
  • Spent the last 2 hours making a rat mask & ears-on-a-headband. If I can get them to Bingley in one piece, it'll be some sort of miracle. #
  • New 3BT post: Mystery marinade, good show, cooling down http://3bt.louisaparry.co.uk/2010/07/mystery-marinade-good-show-cooling-down/ #
  • Hurrah, my rat mask/ears looked great on stage! Yay me and my craft skillz! Oh, and all the kids did a good job too. ;) #
  • Um, where did the last hour go? I thought it was 4:30ish, not 5:15! #
  • The bus is almost empty but i'm still stuck between 2 old guys narrating every inch of the journey & a woman shouting into her phone. Joy. #
  • Take two bottles into the shower? No, swarfega and a scrubbing brush. Balcony near painted, my skin nearly stripped raw. #
  • @strowger78 mmm firewood. we need to get some chopped too really – might wait until it's a little cooler than today though. in reply to strowger78 #
  • Glad this week is over – lots of long, hot nights saying "ssh!" a lot. Kids did good. #

Last week’s Tweets (up to 2010-07-11)

  • @sarahjarvis habit. I was taught to type that way and have to consciously make an effort not to do it. Hurrah for Find&Replace. in reply to sarahjarvis #
  • Taking the day off work to strip the balcony ahead of painting. Really-really hope the rain stays off. #
  • And I thought preparing woodwork/walls for painting was a ballache – grinding metal is ten times worse. I have dust everywhere. EVERYWHERE. #
  • You know you're hungry when you're looking at mechanically recovered meat items in the freezer section of the shop and think 'yum'. #
  • New 3BT post: Dirt boobs, quick glances, looking up http://3bt.louisaparry.co.uk/2010/07/dirt-boobs-quick-glances-looking-up/ #
  • It turns out those gloves I was just wearing *don't* protect your hands from nettle stings. Ow-ee. #
  • New 3BT post: Spotted, nearly kisses, hen friends, up there with laughter http://bit.ly/d0eWTS #
  • Tried and failed to make a rat handpuppet ahead of tonight's dress rehearsal. Bah. #
  • New 3BT post: She's a funny one, damn good kids, strangely romantic moment, sleep hug http://bit.ly/coW5Xd #
  • Just got to use a phrase I never thought I'd say: "would you please stop pecking at my bum crack?" #overfriendlychickens #
  • Anyone know what this is? Found in woods. Wild plant book suggests creeping bellflower but doesn't seem bell-y… http://twitpic.com/23h839 #
  • @EnglishFolkfan thanks for the wildflower help! The leaves here look different to that, I'll look at the whole plant again later though :) in reply to EnglishFolkfan #
  • New 3BT post: Living art, relocation, no question http://3bt.louisaparry.co.uk/2010/07/living-art-relocation-no-question/ #
  • Spent the last 2 hours making a rat mask & ears-on-a-headband. If I can get them to Bingley in one piece, it'll be some sort of miracle. #
  • New 3BT post: Mystery marinade, good show, cooling down http://3bt.louisaparry.co.uk/2010/07/mystery-marinade-good-show-cooling-down/ #
  • Hurrah, my rat mask/ears looked great on stage! Yay me and my craft skillz! Oh, and all the kids did a good job too. ;) #
  • Um, where did the last hour go? I thought it was 4:30ish, not 5:15! #
  • The bus is almost empty but i'm still stuck between 2 old guys narrating every inch of the journey & a woman shouting into her phone. Joy. #
  • Take two bottles into the shower? No, swarfega and a scrubbing brush. Balcony near painted, my skin nearly stripped raw. #
  • @strowger78 mmm firewood. we need to get some chopped too really – might wait until it's a little cooler than today though. in reply to strowger78 #
  • Glad this week is over – lots of long, hot nights saying "ssh!" a lot. Kids did good. #