The Humble Thermos Flask

Monday, 27th February 2023

Last Autumn, I bought two Thermos flasks from the Thermos website. It cost me just under £55 pounds and it has been a good investment.

When we lived in Scotland, we were often subjected to power cuts due to bad weather and so listening to the weather forecast became a daily chore. If the forecast was bad, the first thing I would do is to fill our Thermos flasks with hot water.

Now that we live in England, we are not prone to as many power cuts so I hadn’t replaced the Thermos Flasks that got lost in transit from Scotland to England.

The rise in energy bills got me thinking of the time when my maternal grandmother used to fill her Thermos flasks with hot water to save having to boil the kettle mulitple times. That practice died after the discovery of electric kettles!

Here in the vicarage, we don’t have an electric kettle; just a Le Creuset hob kettle. Since the purchase of the Thermos flasks, I have been doing what my grandmother did and have discovered that they save so much of time. I am not sure if we save on energy but I am going to continue with this practice.

Burnt Porridge

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As the Mhinisteir came out of the shower, he asked if I had cooked some bacon. I had not. I was lying in bed waiting for the porridge to cook and for the kettle to boil. I was in bed because I haven’t been feeling terribly well since the start of the weekend. Just then the kettle started whistling and so I went down to the kitchen only to be engulfed in smoke! I had burnt my porridge!!!! Unlike Goldilocks’s perfect porridge, mine looked all black! The smell of burnt porridge was terrible; this was what the Mhinisteir had been smelling!

I always cook my porridge in my Le Creuset pan and needless to say the bottom was now charcoal black. I spent the rest of the day trying to get rid of the burnt smell and to scrub the burnt bits from my cast iron pan; something which I have only been half successful so far!

Spoke too soon!

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I am still feeling a bit out of sorts since the sad news at the weekend. It was my last surviving grandparent. I just can’t seem to focus on anything. Thankfully things are slowly beginning to get better.

Just when I thought I was done with social events for 2021, about a month ago the Mhinisteir dropped a bombshell. We have been invited to a formal dinner with a senior cleric in the CoE! Oh dear!

I find these dinners a little stressful because even though the Mhinisteir and I will be sitting at the same table, we will be sitting with other people. I find it difficult to make small talk!

Of course there is the question of what to wear? Mercifully it wasn’t difficult to decide at all!

I promise to write about it when the event is over!

Dracula’s Grave

Do you want to know where Dracula is buried?

The seaside town of Whitby, England has long been associated with Dracula and local shops are filled with Dracula memorabilia.

This is causing a big headache to the clergy and staff of the local parish church as each summer, tourists in their droves descend at the church yard looking for Dracula’s grave. Sadly, they are never able to find it!!!!

No wonder. Dracula is a fictional character!!!!!! Ha ha!!!

Mundane News

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Our weather compared to this time last year is very different. It is humid and wet. I for one am not complaining as I quite like this weather compared to the extreme heat where you can’t sleep at night!

One of the big tasks this week was to tackle the mountain of washing that needed ironing. I am the sort who irons everything that goes into the washing machine so I inevitably accumulate more things to iron. I also have been doing something naughty. I have been leaving some of my dresses in the ironing basket for another day but whenever that day comes along, I have new washing that needs ironing so the dresses never got a second look!

My new found hobby has also been taking me away from the mundane but very necessary task of ironing! I am not even sure I like ironing??!! Some days I think I love ironing but other days it feels laboured.

At the end of last week, I gave myself a bit of a scare while gardening. I began to feel quite unwell and had to get back inside the house. Since then, I have decided to stay away from the garden for a wee while. It is a blessing in disguise as it means I have more time to focus on ironing. I am pleased to report that I have ironed every item that found its way into the ironing basket!!!!

Finally, another good thing to happen this week is that the gardener is back! He has come back with great gusto and has transformed the garden. Well done to him!

The morning after the night before….

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I quite like football but am not a fanatic. I always support the underdog. The moment the final score came through last night, I told the Mhinisteir that we will not be seeing our cleaner the next day. True enough, there was a text message on my phone first thing this morning to say that she is poorly and will not be coming in today!

Oh by the way, in case you haven’t heard, England have qualified to the final in the Euros 2020 football tournament. It is very significant because the last time England reached a major men’s final was 55 years ago, in 1966 when they won the World Cup.

The Meaningful Chocolate

The Meaning Chocolate is the company behind the Real Easter Egg that you might have seen in major supermarkets. We got a brochure on Saturday saying that this year the major supermarkets have decided not to stock up the Real Easter eggs due to the pandemic. I think the supermarkets have found the perfect excuse not to stock up on “religious” products. The Real Easter eggs contain the reason why Christians worldwide celebrate Easter. I don’t think you need to be religious to buy these eggs. It is a great way to educate a child on World Religions. Furthermore these chocolates are fairtrade.

Anyway, if you don’t see them in the supermarkets, this is why. However you will be able to buy them from their website.

NB: I am not paid to promote The Meaningful Chocolate Company.

Ice cream float (Dairy Free)

For Sunday lunch, we had the wild red deer haunch medallions that I had bought from my butcher in Scotland. I pan fried them and served them with some chips and organic cabbage and carrots.

As I didn’t prepare any pudding, I decided to make an ice cream float instead. The ice cream float served both as a drink and a dessert.

I created my float by adding a scoop of vanilla ice cream(dairy free) into a tall glass and slowly poured a small can of Schweppes lemonade over it. The ice cream ball will start floating to the top! Stir and enjoy!

The Wonders of Biological Soap Powder!

I think biological soap powders are wonderful but not on clothes if you have sensitive skin like mine.

I use them in the kitchen for burnt bakeware especially glass or ceramic ovenware. They work wonders!!!

I always have some supermarket brand biological powder in the cupboard. All I do is put a quarter of a mug full of biological powder into the baked ovenware, fill with hot water and leave it overnight.

In the morning, pour away the water; give it a very gentle scrub; rinse thoroughly in hot water and it should have returned to its former glory.

You can also use the same method for tea stains in mugs etc. Just bear in mind that you will need a smaller amount since the mugs are smaller.

However, a word of caution….. if you have expensive ovenware, I would go easy on the biological powder. For example, I wouldn’t use biological powder on my Le Creuset saucepans and bakeware. I simply dare not!

I have also used biological powder which I made into a thick paste with water to rub over communion wine stains on the Mhinisteir’s Cassock Alb!

My New Set of Pans

I have got a new set of Le Creuset Pans.  Actually they are not quite new.   They are second hand ones that I bought online.  This is the first time in my life that I have actually bought for myself a set of pans.  Most of my life has been spent in furnished houses with crockery and utensils included or I have used hand me downs which has suited my motto in life which is to travel light so I don’t own much.

I am absolutely delighted with my new set of pans.   They are cast iron so they are very heavy.  Hopefully I will never ever have to buy another pan again since Le Creuset has a lifetime warranty.  I am now eyeing a Le Creuset Pan Stand to show off display my pans!