I have just finished reading this:
I started it late this morning and finished it this evening. Highly recommend it to any other Elly Griffiths fans.
Today was strangely warm and windy, getting more windy as the day progressed.
Other “ news”- I made a roast chicken for supper and it was lovely with mashed sweet potatoes, broccoli, and a pseudo Greek salad.
We helped friends of ours to set up a booth at The Royal Winter Fair in Toronto for three days and I felt like a decrepit old woman afterwards, feeling every joint and muscle!
One of my three chickens has apparently decided she is now going to start laying eggs again.
We had a grand total of twelve trick or treaters come to our door for Hallowe’en. Our daughter had about 140!
I laughed at the pseudo Greek salad. It used to annoy me when people called it a Greek salad if they added an olive and used oil as a dressing. But so many of my recipes now are pseudo, indian, Chinese or any exotic cuisine.
ReplyDeleteWe are having a first winter storm but it's still not cold here.
Yes, pseudo because it had feta, cucumbers, tomatoes, peppers and olives in it, but it also had artichokes and spring mix greens.
DeleteI've got this book & the one to be released in November on request at the library. I really like the Dr. Ruth Galloway books. Thanks for the recommendation. Interesting that one of the chickens felt she needed to gift you - could be the wonderfully warm weather we have had of late? I set a bowl of treats out at the front door, so not sure how many little darlings there were on Monday, but neighbour says 75 kids. I haven't been to The Royal in years - did you get to see & enjoy any of it, or was it just work work work? :) ... Mary-Lou =^[..]^=
ReplyDeleteWe were only there for the setting up days, but did walk around a little bit to take breaks and saw some horses and other vendors.
DeleteDinner sounds lovely, and thanks for the reading recommendation. Fond memories of the Royal from years ago. It is 'strangely' warm this morning...16C here. Wonder if that is why you are getting egg(s)?
ReplyDeleteThe hens had been molting and now I think they are all done. I was getting perhaps one egg, every other day, but yesterday I got two eggs in one day. I'll take whatever they decide to give me!
DeleteWe're still waiting for normal November weather to arrive, but by the forecast we may have it by the end of the coming week. Our trees are bare but the grassy areas are as green as full summertime. So strange. Would you have your chicken talk to ours? They've been molting for ever-so-long and seem to have forgotten what their job around here is. Sounds as though you're feeling good. Please keep it up!
ReplyDeleteYes, I just checked the weather and in a week or a bit more we are supposed to get some snow. Mine have been molting as well (except for one barred rock). I guess the molt is finally over (but they are not young hens, so I know it will be sporadic).
ReplyDeleteIt's snowing here, windy and blowing, and temperatures are supposed to be well without freezing for the rest of the week. The way the wind is blowing I won't be surprised if it heads your way in the next few days...maybe without the snow.
ReplyDeleteI've seen pictures and videos from Saskatchewan. You have my sympathies!
DeleteYes, I've heard that you people in Ontario are enjoying beautiful weather while we in the West are frozen in snow and ice (*shakes fist*). But I'm not bitter. We got 62 trick or treaters this year, up from our usual 45-ish. But Halloween was our last decent weather.
ReplyDeleteOh, and I bet the fact that you had roast chicken was not lost on the old hen who is now laying eggs again.
ReplyDeleteOh ha ha!! Yes, I should have walked out to the coop with the roasting pan in my hands!
DeleteI enjoyed all of the Ruth Galloway series and hope there will be more!
ReplyDeleteI had a lot of trick or treaters as we had a beautiful day for it. I had to count my candy after awhile so I would be sure to have enough!
Isn’t it a great series!
DeleteHelping to set-up at the Winter Fair sounds like lots of work, lifting and sorting. After 3 days of work, a day or two to recover would be good. We are also warmer by 20-30 degrees F and it is unusual for November. The wind is now blowing quite hard and the leaves are dropping quickly. Your chicken dinner sounds excellent. For Halloween, I had 5 children. I know each child as they all live on my street. Trick-or-treating was over by 8 pm.
ReplyDeleteYes it was a ton of work. Their booth is 2800 square feet in size and fully stocked but we’ve heard from them and they are having record sales! They are amazing business people!
DeleteOut of nine hens I have two still laying. I thought moulting was done with when another late wave started with some girls moulting in two halves. I too am grateful for any eggs we get.
ReplyDeleteWhen I just had brown layer hens, they never really went through a moult but when I started to get dual purpose hens, I realized how long a moult can take. Mind you, this is basically a retirement home for chickens so these girls aren’t in their prime.
DeleteI'm glad you have warm weather. The Royal Winter Fair sounds fun. I'm afraid we didn't have one trick-or-treator. My parents always get a bunch. I do miss seeing the costumes, even though most of the time they were under winter coats.
ReplyDeleteYes, costumes under coats- kind of defeats the purpose!🙂
DeleteWhat is pseudo-greek salad?
ReplyDeleteI used spring mix ( little greens ) and some marinated artichokes which aren’t really part of a traditional Greek salad. There was also cucumbers, feta, tomatoes and peppers.
DeleteOur chickens are just finishing up moulting (we think) and we've been getting an average of 2 a day from 10 chickens. Now they'll go into their winter slump with the shorter days and the cold. They aren't quite in a retirement home yet - maybe more of an assisted living community! Enjoy your last days of warmer weather.
ReplyDeleteYes, lack of daylight through the winter doesn’t help. Sometimes it feels silly to buy chicken feed for birds who don’t lay but I’m hoping to get a few new hens in the spring.
DeleteWe used to set up at a couple fairs, and I can sympathize with your aches and pains. Its hard work! Still way too warm here, almost 80 today. There are still so many insects about!
ReplyDeleteI am a fan of Elly's, so I will put that one on my list.
ReplyDeleteOur son and DIL's chickens have seemed to slowed laying drastically in the past few weeks. Silly me, I always assumed they were constant and consistent.
That book sounds really good. I haven't read any of hers before. Do you recommend starting at the beginning of the series before reading this one?
ReplyDeleteYes it would be best to start with the first and go from there.
DeleteI'll have to look up that book. I'm always interested in something new to read. I've always got my nose in a book! I don't think I've ever read anything from this author. I'll check out what else she's written. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteWe only had 12 goblins on Halloween, too. So odd -- last year with crummy weather there were many more. Meanwhile, I ADORE Elly Griffiths books. They're solid, well-written mysteries with such engaging characters. I have yet to read this one... well, Christmas is coming!
ReplyDelete