The (latest round of) decluttering is ongoing. We've sold quite a few things, given some away, got a large pile of stuff to take to the charity shop, and binned stuff. We have passed on many, many boxes and packaging items.
My dining room table is covered in stuff which is waiting for buyers. Under the stairs has boxes for the charity shop stacked up. Many rooms are in a state of chaos, and I am trying, I really am, to get things under control.
I've been very under the weather (tested negative for Covid), and it's taking me forever to do anything. I've been taking tablets for a couple of weeks to suppress stomach acid. It's helped a bit with the pain, but not the other symptoms. I was too ill to go out for dinner for my birthday. I managed to fo out for DHs birthday 3 weeks later, but couldn't eat much.
My back pain has been quite bad, I'm sort of at the end of a flare up (which started at the end of September) and it just seems to be dragging on. At least its not awful all the time now, I get windows where it is mildly painful. I really do appreciate that in the scheme of things, I'm lucky; sometimes it just gets me a bit down though.
I always try and compare how I'm feeling with how I felt when some things were at their worst; or what I can do that I haven't been able to do and that usually helps me feel a but better.
I managed to make quite a lot of Quince stuff. We had a bumper crop. I made quite a bit of Quince Curd. I should have peeled the quinces, as it's a bit gritty, but it tastes OK. I used the Cream Soup programme on the CookExpert to cook the quinces, and then made curd.
I also made quince jelly, pressure cooking the quinces to get the juice. Catherine Phipps (and her Pressure Cooking books) you are a star. You have saved me a lot of tone and energy
Then, I made another batch of Cream Soup with peeled quince, and I froze it in ice cube trays. This can go into other dishes.
Finally, i did another load of juicing by pressure cooking, and froze the resulting juice. I'll use it to make more quince jelly, when I've eaten the stuff already made.
We've also had an amazing crop of Medlars. They are bletting in the summerhouse, and I'll need to deal with them soon. Probably more curd and more jelly, I don't have the energy for anything interesting.
In other news, the Girls are doing well.
I cleaned out the coops today: the first time in 4 weeks I think, which is awful. Most of the Girls have, more or less, completed their moult - apart from Olga, the oldest of the 3 newbies. She's only just started, and she's being picked on. I took her out separately and gave her some scrambled egg the other day, and I'll try and do that again tomorrow.
DH gave the Girls the vegetable beds as part of their free range area, and they've loved it. They've eaten everything, turned over the soil, and made a mess.
The new run is fab. We still haven't put the pole up, we will get it done eventually. Probably.
Nothing creative done, and it's going to be no cards for Christmas I think.
