An afternoon spent entirely either rushing around the supermarket or wondering how my Mother managed to keep a house clean, do a part time job AND feed a family of eight on a daily basis.
I am probably the slowest cook I know. Ok I have more than the odd disaster but by and large the fodder is passable at worst. Had I simply stuck to spaghetti (actually in the end it was pasta) it would have been a breeze. But no, I had to do a dessert, originally to be apple but seeing as I had been given a bag full of pears last week, to save wasting them I wondered if I could make a pear pie. Never heard of one before but it’s a fruit so why not?
I am hardly the world’s greatest pastry maker, I think this was only my fourth time at making a pie. Previously I have made enough pastry to cover a football pitch and thrown tons away but this time I never made enough and had to roll it really thin with my patented rolling pin - an empty wine bottle.
Aesthetically it was a horror story, with patches of dough stuck over empty spaces! I couldn’t start again, no time, so it was a case of press on regardless.
The two hour version of Bolognese sauce ensured a rich and thick result and in particular Annie (far left in the two photos) packed away a hefty serving. Pat and Alice also did well. As usual, after all that cooking, my plate (along with my appetite) was much smaller.
The pie and ice cream? Hideous it may have looked to an accomplished cook but taste is what counts unless you are competing in Masterchef. Surprisingly good (and I had my reservations before I even started making it) so take away the artistic ability element and I have no cause to be embarrassed. At some point I will certainly attempt a beef and vegetable pie - except I will ensure I make heaps of pastry.
It was both good and bad that by eight the girls left. Annie had arranged to Skype with her family for the first time since she came (although she did bring her laundry to wash when she arrived) and the girls had night class and rehearsals for a Chinese debate next week. It was good because I need an early night before a schoolday but bad because sometimes it is nice to have company I can actually talk to.
As for Peili campus classes and the course books, it seems each class received different information - Chinese whispers at work there I suspect. I think Pat’s class have it already, one of the others has ordered it but for the wrong teacher and the third were about to order the wrong book. I was feeling guilty at forcing the students to pay 40y for yet another book on top of the official school ones. That was the price on the website I found it. The girls had found a Chinese seller flogging it for just 8y!!!! I no longer feel guilty. £1 for a text book???
I am now becoming increasingly fearful of the fact my laptop seems to be in terminal decline and needs end of life care.
More frequently lately it has been losing internet connection and worse, the wifi button shows orange instead of blue and subsequently sees no networks available. Sometimes a simple restart will sort it, others I need to carry out a system restore. Occasionally even that fails to work and I end up in an on and off cycle hoping the blue will appear.
One day I will be cast into the wilderness and no blog. I had hoped to nurse the old girl until next summer, at which point I would order a new model from Amazon UK using my vouchers from surveys ready for me to collect in person but I fear my hand will be forced sooner. I would do that now and have it sent here but I worry I may fall foul of customs duty and all the rigmarole involved. I can carry it straight in myself as it is for personal use, in the post I have to present myself and prove it.
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