It must be Spring!

The nice weather didn't materialise until about 10 minutes ago, so we didn't go anywhere today, but I've spent the day roasting a goose breast and legs for tonight's pilaff and baking a gluten free white loaf and a Gluten free jam sponge, both for Charles. He hasn't tried the bread yet but he says he can't tell the difference between the sponge and a regular home-made sponge. I did use plenty of vanilla and Lidl's very best raspberry conserve as a filling.

I've stripped and cubed the meat from the goose bones and made a lovely stock with the bones and pan scrapings, which I shall use for a goose pilaff tonight. I've melted down all the goose fat I have and amalgamated it into one container, which has made more room in the fridge and given me back my basins.  I was beginning to find it a nuisance not having sufficient basins available when I wanted one.

I've also spent several hours going through my baking and ingredients drawers, emptying them and cleaning them, throwing old stuff out, combining stuff where I have more than one carton/jar on the go and moving things from one drawer to another where they've been put in the wrong drawers and led to my buying more of the stuff, till I've had two or three separate lots of various things.

I finally threw out all the cracked every-day crockery, which I also keep in one of the drawers.

These drawers are in my free-standing Varde drawer unit, which IKEA don't seem to sell any more and are the equivalent of other people's kitchen wall-cupboards. After many years and several different houses, I decided that I don't like wall cupboards, so designed my latest kitchen without any, replacing them with drawers and larder cupboards which I find hold much more stuff at a more convenient height. Well, I do have one glass-fronted wall cabinet for glass and china which hangs over another set of free-standing glass-fronted drawers;  together they make up a sort of modern kitchen dresser. The beauty of it is that if we ever move, we can take the drawers and cupboards with us.

It's amazing how much satisfaction I get out of little jobs like this. I plan to tackle the dresser drawers next. I'm going to Halifax again on Tuesday, so might not feel like it till later in the week. I did think I would have to do the larder cupboard, but Charles got fed up with it recently and has re-arranged and cleaned that himself. He's promised to clean the oven, too, bless him.

I was very impressed by the appearance of the sponge cake I made. Charles has suggested that maybe we should make all our cake with this flour, but I shall have to see how much it costs. I didn't notice the cost when I bought it, and I've thrown the receipt away, but I can look at Tesco online. I bought Dove Farm general purpose flour, which I used for the cake with baking powder, and their white bread flour, but I've just looked at their website and see that they make brown bread flour and self-raising flour too. They also make some very nice looking cakes and biscuits. Sadly you can't buy their products directly on line but have to get them from their customers. such as Tesco.

They have lots of recipes online as well, including things like Christmas cake, so that looks like a good resource for us.

Yesterday I found a website called Diet & Fitness Resources; they gave me a free trial period of 24 hours, which I think is a bit stingy, but it has lots of interesting advice and articles, so I might join as a member. It's a lot cheaper than Weight Watchers, although it doesn't offer a diet plan as such, but what it does do is review new research and new diets as they come out and offers lots of good general advice. I've ordered a low GI diet book, which may help

I should really be making myself a menu plan for next week, but it's like working, isn't it? I'll do anything to put it off, even cleaning the kitchen drawers!

I did muck out the fridge as well this morning, chucking stuff out, putting vegetables in the vegetable-drawer which Charles never seems to want to use for some reason, and tomorrow I shall give it a good wash out prior to going out to buy lots of fruit and vegetables. I have a whole drawer full of fish in the freezer, so provided I remember to get stuff out of the freezer in time, I should be able to stick to a reasonable diet without feeling deprived. I plan to ask Charles to cook for John and himself, and I will just cook virtuous things for myself, unless, of course, they're prepared to eat what I'm eating.   Yeah! That'll work!

We didn't go out for our lovely curry last night after all. Boo!

John rather overdid the food (and probably rough red wine) at his TA dinner on Friday night and ended up having reflux which he hasn't had for a long time. He went to bed when he arrived home to make up for lost sleep.   I 'd already showered and dressed ready to go out, when I found him still asleep in bed looking drawn and tired and when I asked if he really wanted to go, he said he would go but wouldn't eat anything.

Well, I knew that meant he would sit there all evening looking martyred and wanting to leave as soon as possible so I rang Alison and asked for a rain-check. Thank goodness we were only having takeaway!  I don't know when we'll be able to reschedule as she's expecting Holly to produce her grandchild any day now.  Still, I've been thinking that now that I feel so much better, I could invite them for a meal here without having to worry whether I would be  up to it by the time the day came around.

Charles had a specially bought M&S curry for his dinner, but I hadn't planned on anything for myself. and John didn't want anything.  Fortunately there was a box of Charles' mock-paella in the freezer,  to which I added a handful of prawns, since it had hardly any chicken or sea-food left in it, and very nice it was, too.

I've come to the conclusion that I'm feeling a lot better.  I'm going to ring the quack tomorrow and ask if I can increase the use of the Beconase spray, since it doesn't seem to last quite long enough, and if she gives me the go-ahead, I think we may  have it under control!