Cheap Thrills

OK I'll admit it...Mr GBT and I are technological dinosaurs but, just occasionally,  and after deliberation, we spend some of our hard earned groats on a modern thing which will make our lives a little easier.

For years we navigated in the car using a good old atlas [we always keep one spare as a backup], but with the purchase of two cheap smart phones we decided to trial a freebie navigation app which you could stand on your dashboard and use much like a sat nav. For several months this worked a treat and Bossy Bertha and we shared a good rapport. She sounded rather like Penelope Keith and had a tendency to get rather huffy if we went wrong...we were crisply put back in our boxes with a sharp and slightly accusingly "recalculating the route". Over time though she has frankly become a bit of a Slack Alice [I suspect she's acquired a rather alarming Bombay Sapphire habit] and on a few occasions she has sulkily refused to co-operate. We finally decided to sack her when she brought us onto a private road and confidently directed us down a public footpath...bit tricky when you're in a car I find!

[image from Pixabay]

Negotiations and deals tracked down, we are now the proud owners of a Tom Tom. This time it's an Aussie chap who sounds wonderfully like the comedian Adam Hills. Confidently he assures us which lane to be in, where to turn off and oops, if we exceed the speed limit, he triumphantly bashes out a little tune on his xylophone so that everyone in the car knows of your misdemeanour. When we arrives he announces "You have reached your final destination. Windows up, grab your sunnies and don't let the seagulls steal your chips!" At the present moment in time I am slightly in love with him, but in the depths of January this cheeriness may wear thin I appreciate. He promises me that he can plan many types of different routes for me including a Thrill Route....I have high hopes for this one, although he has not as yet clarified what type of thrills one might expect. My overactive imagination is working at fever pitch. If I take the plunge then I'll report back ;-)

Arilx

Potty Woman

Newsflash! The potty woman has bought a potty woman pot. Well I did have some birthday money burning a hole in my pocket. She is by a local ceramicist called Jean Holder who I featured in an earlier blog post here http://gnatbottomedtowers.blogspot.co.uk/2013/06/oopsadaisy.html

She is now cheering up my kitchen window sill.

Arilx

Views from the weekend.

Sam over at her blog Newframereference http://newframereference.blogspot.co.uk/2016/10/stretching-to-november.html#comment-form asked what readers had got up to this weekend. Beyond the usual grunt work, I didn't think I had anything particularly thrilling lined up. On the back of this I decided to take my press and point and just take a few random snaps of anything that caught my eye. This is the result.

I finally finished the net bags out of my Mum's old curtains a couple of weeks ago. Despite my initial shyness at the possible reaction of the cashier in the supermarket, I plucked up the courage to use them last week. Needless to say nobody took any notice! The idea is to try and reduce my use of plastic a little bit further, whilst incorporating a bit of upcycling. In the background you can see the yellowstickered chicken I bought and froze during the week [this became the basis of our slow cooker supper tonight] and a bowl of apples I cooked up. They were from a box of free windfalls left on somebody's wall which I saw on my way to work on Friday. Mr GBT made some custard and we mixed them in to make apple fool for our pud.

Lunch and a walk with my very good friend J out from her home and up on to the hills behind Alton on Saturday. I liked the flowers that the farmer had planted along the field verge.

J chortled at me taking photos of these two additions to the roofs we passed by in the village on our way back. As my ex college room mate she is well used to my batty ways. Winton on the road sign is the abbreviated form of Winchester.

Today I've been to a local art show. There were some fantastic exhibitors and I have invested my birthday money in a piece which I shall show once I get my rump in gear.

This has been recently written on the door of a shop which has been empty for several years now. I found it rather poignant.

To wind up my meanderings...the weather has been stunning. so I decided on a whim to walk back through the park. The Autumn paintbox didn't disappoint.

So all things considered it's been another good 'un!

Arilx

People Power

Mr GBT snapped this in London for me last week because he "thought you might like it". He knows me too well.

A people powered bus upon which you can enjoy a pint because you're not  the one "driving". Looks great fun.

Arilx

Monday Pie

Our son took the decision last year that he wanted to take a year out of education to give him the chance to spend some time in the real world working and hopefully volunteering abroad for a given period. With our full backing, he is currently working his little socks off and saving as much as possible [with a beer allowance built in your understand...after all he is 18]. With the extra time he's got we're making sure he knows how to cook [he's already up to speed on other domestic stuff.....I made sure he can do the same things that I would have expected any daughter of mine to do. His ironing is streets ahead of mine]

So far so good...he's produced some inexpensive and tasty meals. It's been a good experience for me too as I've been trying out some new recipes along side him. This week I've made the Monday Pie recipe out of one of his student cook books. It's along similar lines to this one http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/10310/monday-pie  except mine was rather more simple. An onion and mince browned together first then a stock cube added together with a can of baked beans and lashings of Worcester sauce and pepper [I added in some leftover sweetcorn too]. Topped off with thinly sliced potato [standing up like rows of gravestones rather than flat] I baked it for an hour at 200C [check it after 45 mins] the others declared it "moreish". I think a good sprinkling of smoked paprika would work well too for another variation

My kind of cooking.

Arilx

The Perfect Eye Test For The Beer Goggles Wearer.

Or basically anyone who has over imbibed on their poison of their choice!

As I am sure you are aware, the media are having a field day at the moment with their doom mongering. This is in response to their "if it bleeds it leads" approach to the news. In order to regularly deliver a spot of light relief, I do solemnly swear to keep the flag of silliness hoisted from the turrets of Gnat Bottomed Towers!

Arilx

The Magic of Mushrooms

Bracket fungus [possibly Turkey Tail] which is growing on a tree stump in the garden of a place we pass by on one of our regular stroll routes. It will be past its best within a few days, so I am grateful that we have been able to capture its fleeting beauty.

Arilx