Any cheerful news today? (Nothing negative please! 🙂)

[David_Spardo]

Fedex now say they are delivering my new computer today. Now starts the worrying wait to see if the driver is worth his salt.

[David_Spardo]

I was going to tell you how I went on today, then I remembered the title just in time.

Maybe tomorrow ?

[andyw]

Whoopee

Combined Xmas and birthday prezzie arrived.

I now am the proud owner of a smoker ( I don’t mean an old bloke smoking a pipe )

Will have to tap up @AngelaR for some ideas

Andy

[strudball]

Maybe start a thread (to avoid drift on this one) about home smoking…(not of tobacco !) I would be interested to read about members experience

[JaneJones]

@strudball

nterested

There is one John!

[Stella]

Good News that another smoker ( @andyw ) is joining in the fun… here’s the thread

Smoking Food

A long time ago, @james suggested I started a thread on smoking food after I somewhat subverted a thread of his on barbecues. It takes me ages to get round to things but we realised recently that we really missed smoked haddock - not every day, you realise, but although it is available round here, it is always dyed. Also, we’d prefer not to use haddock, given the over-fishing situation so wanted to try other things. Being unsure about what to get to do this, and needing a barbecue anyway, we bought something a bit like this to try out cold smoking - and for cold smoking, put one of these sorts of things, with a tea light, in the bottom Following Hugh Fearnley Whittingstall’s guidance in his fish book, we ended up with very acceptable smoked haddock in the first instance, although it was quite warm outside and it was probably more cooked that was ideal. Second time around we wanted to try pollack but the fish stall had run out, so tried coley instead and it was remarkably good. I…

[Stella]

My own cheerful news is that someone has given me a lovely orchid… which I will try to keep alive over the winter… I’m not very good with houseplants, but I’ll do my best.

[SuePJ]

@Stella

has given me a lovely orchid

Ideal plant for someone who is “not very good with plants”. Just neglect it and leave it to do its own thing. Orchids thrive on neglect. Water it very rarely and very sparingly.

[KarenLot]

An ad for Fauchon just came up and I’ve started pining for Ladurée’s much better macarons. I completely adore the liquorice ones. Hmmm must plan a trip to Paris in the spring after we’ve all got through this Covid winter.

[AngelaR]

I managed to kill the last one I was given! Perhaps I ought to have another go…

[Lily]

The daughter of our french neighbour gave us a lovely orchid, as a thank you. My track record with indoor plants is After the blooms died there was no more for a couple of years then when we returned from a fourteen week absence we saw new bud’s had appeared, we had/still have a plant full of bloom’s every year
Moral of this story, don’t over water.

[JaneJones]

@KarenLot

pining for Ladurée’s much better macarons. I

There’s a shop in Geneva if that is closer? Or you can get them sent to you……leave a few hints lying about for father christmas perhaps?

[David_Spardo]

Computer arrived to day, the man did ring but although I thought he was near couldn’t be sure so went out into the lane to look. There was the bread lady so I asked her to ring him back and she homed him in perfectly.

Not exactly full marks to Fedex, some numpty texted me yesterday at 8.30 to say it would be delivered then. I waited in all day for nothing. Do dog walks, no swimming.

[Ancient_Mariner]

I hope it works well for you - glad it arrived in the end.

[David_Spardo]

Thanks, I’ll be over to the recon laptop thread to ask some advice soon.

[Jane_Williamson]

You also seem to have a pottery pot covering the light plastic one.
Orchids need to have light on their roots which is why they are sold in these translucent pots.
It is to do with some fungus which lives on their roots and which is symbiotic with the plant, so covering the roots is not good news.

[SuePJ]

Never knew that Jane. I always put mine into a ceramic pot. Useful to know. And of course the roots are so often up in the air and light. I remember from my time in Brazil the staggeringly beautiful orchids growing wild, high in the trees. So in a way I did know it, but never put two and two together.

[IzzyM]

Oh dear, I guess I may have over-watered mine. I now have only sticks!
Izzy x

[Lily]

My sister always put her orchids in the bathroom, enough humidity with the odd teaspoon of water, Don’t give up on your ‘sticks’ yet Izzy

[SuePJ]

Cheerful news only please Izzy.