Sunday Music

Posted on April 19, 2015 by nicdempsey

This just makes me happy…

The Wombats – Give Me a Try

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Friday Links

Posted on April 17, 2015 by nicdempsey

Happy Friday! I am not at work today, I took a day off so I could go to the Dr’s and talk about my poor feet, meet Ryan for coffee and bake a cake with the Baxters for Adam’s birthday! I’m calling it a mental health day…

Some things about this week, I’m at the point where I know the General Election is happening because I keep talking back to the radio, mainly shouting, “Just answer the question”. I know I’m in a hotly contested seat because I have received three, yes three letters ‘from’ David Cameron, mostly telling me that Labour is going to ruin the economy for ‘hardworking families’, I really hate that phrase! However, I am also very, very grateful not to live in the US where Hilary has announced that she’s running for an election that doesn’t happen for another 19 months, I know it’s a bigger country, but I would be a nervous wreck!

1) How to survive Henry VIII. Mmm, I see some flaws in this, a nunnery, not the safest place to be during the reign of the man who got rid of them (it wasn’t just the monks!).

2) Gin for the Summer. I think gin is good for all seasons but I do need to buy some more and these are good recommendations.

3) Milliband as Thatcher not Foot. Interesting.

4) The Tory Party also launched its manifesto this week. The plan to extend right to buy to housing association tenants is really stupid. Here’s Owen Jones on why.

5) Even the Telegraph thinks it’s a bad idea.

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Cornbread

Posted on April 16, 2015 by nicdempsey

Cornbread and chilli is not a comfort food for me. It’s good but culturally, if you want to comfort me with food, boiled chicken and rice or the sausage casserole thing (affectionately called noely poley in our family) is where it’s at. Also for maxium comfort they need to be cooked by my mother (which very rarely happens!)

You may have noticed though that I’ve been spending quite a bit of time with the Baxters, and chilli with cornbread is one of Kathy’s comfort foods (also soup, K is big on soup!)

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Anyway, this is the recipe she uses and they are really good with soup and easier to make than bread.   

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Spring time lunches…

Posted on April 14, 2015 by nicdempsey

One of the things I’m really good at is always bringing my lunch to work. This is partly budget, partly health and all greed.

What I have for lunch really varies depending on the season, during winter I tend to take dinner left overs in, with some additional crunchy veg to make sure that I get my five a day. (I have a bit of a carrot problem – I really can’t give them up any time!). As it gets warmer, I tend to make a series of lunches for the week and re-purpose left overs for other dinners.

As Spring finally seems to be here, I wanted to jazz up my lunch a bit.IMG_2988The basis of most of my summer lunches is chopped vegetables, I like to chop them quite small because then you get a bit of everything in every bite (this week is was celery, carrots, a pepper, some mushrooms, and cucumber which I mostly always have in the fridge),  there were some black beans and chickpeas (about 3/4 of a can of each) that needed to be used up, I had originally intended to use them over the weekend but didn’t so they went in too. IMG_2986That went into one container,  and my plan was to boil some eggs and scoop some of the salad into a lunchbox with an egg and been done. However, I had sprouted some lentils over the weekend (clearly I had salad on my mind!) so I added some of those in too.IMG_2987I have these very handy pots for putting dressing in. So a basic olive oil and balsamic dressing with plenty of salt and pepper went into one of those.IMG_2989This type of lunch is endlessly variable and I do vary it. You can add feta, bacon, chicken, falefel, roasted veg, fish or whatever you fancy really to the basic chopped veg. You can used cooked instead of sprouted lentils or another type of grain, quinoa is good. The world is basically your lobster with this type of lunch.IMG_2990

Other lunch ideas;

Tuna and Bean Salad

Sprouted Lentil and Mackrel Salad

Cous Cous Salad

 

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Life Happened – Spring springing

Posted on April 13, 2015 by nicdempsey

I feel like I’ve been really busy this week, my sleep has got all erratic again, it’s the busiest week of my work month and I was packing it into 4 days, so it was pretty busy. Also Spring was mostly springing this week, so I felt a compulsion to wash all the things. I’ll get over it. Highlights of the week (or more to the point, stuff that I took photos of..

Lunch in the park with the girls from work.IMG_2951 Friday Night Pizza.IMG_2955I spent some time on Saturday with the Baxter babies and how cool is the print on this dress?IMG_2974Ma and I watched our favourite films (points if you know what it is!)IMG_2979I made a perfect poached egg for breakfast on SundayIMG_2981Took a long walk through the parks to get to and from the libraryIMG_2984

 

Not pictured, Oxford won the Boat Race, Chelsea beat QPR (we did get lucky but Ben probably won’t speak to me for a week!), I made this, I picked up my reserved books at the library, caught up with Ryan, cleaned the fridge and am on a clear all the surfaces kick at home (it’s Spring!).

How was your week?

 

 

 

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Sunday Music

Posted on April 12, 2015 by nicdempsey

The godchildren have been going through their dad’s things and music.

This was knocking around and it’s been going through my head since, although I want it on record that I was 10 or 11 and that is probably why I thought it was daze not days..Also this on the slightly horrifying lyrics is fun…

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Housework: Making the bed

Posted on April 11, 2015 by nicdempsey

People fall into lots of categories, tea or coffee, beer or wine, people who take their makeup off before bed and those that don’t bother. We could divide and sub divide ourselves in to endless little groups.

Here’s another. I’m a bed maker. It’s one of the few housework things that I didn’t have to train myself to do and one that I do every day. It’s not a chore, it’s just what I do.IMG_2726I get out of bed, I make it. Even as a messy teenager, I made my bed. I don’t ever remember being told to make my bed as a kid but I do remember the process of straightening it out and then arranging the many cuddly toys in the right order.

Why? Because messy beds are not places you want to sleep and an unmade bed makes the whole room look messy. Also I move about a lot in my sleep, it’s not unusual for me to wake up having turned my duvet upside down or for pillows to have found their way to the bottom of the bed or the floor, so fixing that is required.20121007-194801.jpgI read somewhere that you should make your bed each morning because it’s the first task of the day and sets you up for success. Then, if the day turns into a nightmare and you don’t accomplish anything else, you at least made your bed AND you have a welcoming bed to get into at the end of the day. I didn’t need the encouragement to make my bed, but I completely agree with the point.

The first thing I did when I moved into the flat was (literally) make my bed. When Ma moved last year, her bed was the first thing I put back together and made*. That day I took apart and put back together; the bed, the bookshelves and the kitchen unit thingie** but I made the bed first because there is nothing worse than spending the day moving and unpacking, to realise at midnight, you have to sort out where you’re sleeping.IMG_2441We live in a age of duvet covers and fitted sheets, so making the bed is simple. Organise the pillows and shake the duvet out. It takes less that 5 minutes and it really does make a difference to how feel about the state of my house.

I may hardly ever hoover but my bed is made!

So what about you guys? Do you make your bed? ? Is it something you have to do or something you don’t bother with?

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*yes I did notice at the time that Ma I have have very similar taste in duvet covers

**I am the queen of disassembling Ikea furniture

 

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Friday Links

Posted on April 10, 2015 by nicdempsey

Happy Friday!  It’s been a busy four day week for me and today all I have to do is some post meeting tasks and minutes (I hate writing minutes and now I have to do it every month – I’m being punished for something!) but it is Friday and after 5pm today I can relax!

This weeks links…

1) TBR Time. This came via Kate’s website. Horrifying and wonderful all at the same time. A year and 5 months, that’s not too bad!

2) Condoms and why they aren’t designed differently. Or 100 things you didn’t know about condoms (lambskin condoms, yep they exist!)

3) Children and inequality

4) Even Simon Jenkins thinks that non-dom status should be abolished

The consequent attraction of London for the very rich is much cited by non-dom apologists as “good for Britain”. This is wholly unproved. It has certainly led to price inflation for London houses, schools, hospitals and football clubs, but how much trickles down into the economy is moot. New York, with a far more severe tax regime, is not noticeably short of super-rich.

5) Mediocre Failures.  This is worth reading

Failure is an adult who, through ignorance, stupidity, laziness or a simple callous lack of empathy, happily labels the most vulnerable, disadvantaged children in the country as “mediocre failures” simply because you haven’t the wit or humanity to care about the impact on them of a policy which will make their educational experience narrower, less useful, more soul-destroying. And for what ? A cheap headline in a propaganda rag.

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High Society at the Old Vic

Posted on April 8, 2015 by nicdempsey

I haven’t been to a lot of theatre this year. It’s expensive and I don’t have a lot of money. 20130520-095505.jpgBut we are going to see High Society in August. I was umming and ahhing about it. High Society is a musical version of my favourite film ever, The Philadelphia Story, so did I really want to go and see it?

We’ll going. Why. Three actors. Jamie Parker as Mike Connor, Jeff Rawle as Uncle Willie and Barbara Flynn as Margaret Lord. Our reasons are often strange and it’s not until August (happy birthday to me!)  but I’m happy that I’ll get at least one trip to the theatre this year!

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Life Happened – Bank Holidays, Birthdays and Easter

Posted on April 6, 2015 by nicdempsey

Time for the weekly review and normally I’d be writing this on Sunday night but not today because today  is a Bank Holiday and I’m not at work. Or doing anything at all. Last weekend, I was complaining to Ma that there is too much activity in my weekends, I think the solution would be a 4 day work week, one day to be completely bloody unsociable and then the weekend. However, I do not live in a world where this is possible so I’m just having going to have to suck it up….

Last week, the bliss of a four day work week. I made Lemon CurdIMG_2897Went to see Sarah to celebrate her ‘pre-birthday’

IMG_2899On Wednesday, I got to work to find a present from the company and cake made by a colleague.IMG_2904 IMG_2906

On Thursday, after a really good day at work. An aviation..IMG_2912We didn’t get to the Wellington exhibit on Friday, instead I was a hermit for the day.

On Saturday made sourdoughIMG_2919Caught up with Jo and Ms TIMG_2923And on Saturday night Ma and I did Easter dinner early. This is my go to roast lamb recipe from Simon Hopkinson, from Roast Chicken and Other Stories. Once you’ve eaten like this, you are ruined for any other way of eating it. There were martinis…IMG_2927Sunday was all about Lu and family lunch for birthday celebrations. There was a roaming Easter chick too…IMG_2939

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How was your week?

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