Weekly update – lovin’ the heat!

In this weekly update, I certainly have been lovin’ the heat!  In fact it has neatly illustrated how Rachel and I run on different thermostats.  Also, we have seen Hannah settle in Gosport for the summer and have been busy making the kitchen rather sticky.

First of all the heat.  It is never too hot for me, in fact the hotter the better.  I even go running in the heat of the day.  I have only recently turned off the heated seat in my car in favour of the air conditioning.  During the winter I like to keep the house at about 25C but this leads to some interesting exchanges which often involves flinging windows open.

It isn’t just the heat which Rachel dislikes, as she instinctively heads for the shade.  Mind you, I did wonder what was happening the other day.  We were sitting on the patio having a cup of tea.  It was warm but not hot and I was wearing a yellow tee shirt.  It was then Rachel said, completely out of the blue

“Now don’t go getting any ideas but lift up your arms”

Dutifully I complied as she grabbed my tee shirt and pulled it off me.  Naturally I was wanting to get some ideas but “I just knew” she wasn’t fooling around.

I pretended to look all innocent and puzzled as Rachel explained I was “too bright” and how I was “hurting my eyes with that yellow tee shirt”.  So I sat there, wearing only a pair of shorts as we continued our cup of tea.

Getting Hannah settled in Gosport

Hannah has landed a really nice job on the south coast, as previously mentioned.  We took her there a couple of days ago, complete with her wetsuits, bike and all the usual stuff.  She has the old Honda Jazz too.

This was also the first time we wore our home made face masks, as required on all forms of public transport (we used the ferry to have a wander around Portsmouth during the afternoon).

Already I miss her.  We will pay her a visit before too long, although we are hoping to strike the right balance between simply letting her get on with things and yet remaining supportive parents as she finds her way in the world.

Sticky moments

As part of our general decluttering, we have put the collection of jam jars to good use – more marmalade and jam making!  Both of us have found this to be an enjoyable and satisfying thing to do as it again illuminates our different preferences.

I tend to follow a recipe to the letter, more-or-less.  Rachel on the other hand, glances at the recipe and just goes ahead in estimating how much of this or that to throw into the mix.  As for timings, well the same applies with  Rachel taking a look and declaring “that looks about right” compared to my careful use of kitchen timers.

The main difference, I am rather embarrassed to say, is how good I am at making the entire kitchen somewhat sticky.  No matter how much I clear up afterwards, there is always a residual stickiness.  This stickiness comes to light when you lightly touch a cupboard door handle, or the fridge, or the kettle and as for walking across the floor – squelch, squelch….

So this morning we had a kind of taste testing of the different marmalades.  We have some ‘3 fruit’ which is my favourite (mostly oranges, with lemon and lime) and a nice consistency.  We also have Citrus which is sharper and stiffer and then straight Lemon (which is only lemon and guaranteed to make your tongue curl).  Actually we compared this to a shop-bought marmalade (Mrs Darlington brand) which lacks flavour and very grotty in comparison.

I lamented our Parkruns when a group of us had coffee, toast and marmalade afterwards around our dining room table.  The Parkrunner group would have liked the marmalade taste testing, so hopefully it won’t be too long before the Lockdown allows for outdoor sporty activities.

Finally, a little dreaming….

We have, more-or-less, decided to buy a camper van.  As things stand, we don’t have a clue about what to buy, so some research lies ahead!  Any suggestions?  Must be economical and not too big.