Suitability for large fowl - cochins/brahmas?

[The Dogmother]

I love the pic in the last picture - would you mind if I used it for something?

Many thanks

[Cat tails]

1 hour ago, The Dogmother said:

I love the pic in the last picture - would you mind if I used it for something?

Many thanks

Sure! No problemo!

[The Dogmother]

Thanks

[patsylabrador]

My husband is home on Easter Sunday! I truly can't remember when he was last at home on a Sunday let alone Easter Sunday. Maybe thirty years ago. He's always worked them. We're being all traditional, he's cleaning the van on the drive while I do a roast then we're going to chill in the garden with newspapers and beer. We usually have our weekend on week days. It's strange that this actually feels different. 

[soapdragon]

And the perfect weather for it! How special for you both! Hope you both have a really lovely day chilling out  and being 'traditional'!

We have FIL and Step MIL arriving shortly but have gone for an easy option on the food. Lamb (of course!) with dauphiniose potato (which was done early this morning ready to pop in the oven) and blackberry and apple crumble using up the last of the fruit from last year and so helping to empty the freezer (did the crumble topping yesterday) Simnel cake thereafter, if anyone has any room, made with the Forum classic fruit cake jazzed up with marzipan! 

What is everyone else up to? Cat Tails....are there any specifically Dutch Easter traditions? And those of you in France...what happens there on Easter Sunday? I love traditions......... 

[Patricia W]

We’re having a BBQ with butterflied lamb, veggies, salad etc.  DiL has made a Pavlova but has messaged that she’s concerned it’s sunk!  But we have lots of frui and cream to cover it.  Only 2 of my children and families with us this year as one lot in Australia and the other in Lanzerote.  Only one sister’s family instead of three for various reasons. One of my sister’s is  sailing off Croatia on Oceans of Hope, a very large sailing ship! She, and many of the crew have MS but they all love a challenge.  So quite a small gathering by our standards. 

We shall of course have an Egg Hunt, but at the moment, I’m just having 5 mins before the hordes descend! 

Happy Easter! 

 

[Cat tails]

Traditional Dutch Easter? Well... big breakfast/brunch with lots of eggs and apparently asparagus... for dinner often it’s gourmetten, which is cooking your own tiny pieces of meat on a table grill and eating uncooked pancakes because they cook so slowly.

as for activities? Visit the Keukenhof together with the rest of Europe. There was a complete gridlock yesterday on the roads to the keukenhof. Never been myself though. Oh and Easter Monday, which is called Second Easter Day we all go shopping for furniture. Why? Nobody know, but we do it anyway.

I do non of this though. Just had a very sunny walk and now back with my feet up in the garden.😂

[ajm200]

Happy Easter everyone!  Pancakes sound amazing.  We are having clear soups and sandwiches today but now I want pancakes!

We are postponing Easter celebrations until tomorrow as as we’ve been up all night with poorly kids as they picked up a tummy bug when we had to take our youngest to A&E.  It is obvious they aren’t right as they showed no interest in the Easter egg hunt this am.

[redhotchick]

Kleftiko here for Easter just because I love it! Made with and accompanied by Retsina, and a yoghurt sauce. Followed by chocolate of course! x

[Ursula123]

French focus on family and friends during Easter. There has been lots of lamb for sale this last week and smoked salmon, I am cooking a leg of lamb with a garlic, rosemary and lemon zest crust, OH loves lamb but not my favourite meat.

 

There was a large flower/plant market alongside a vide grenier/ brocante in the local town this morning. These will be on in various villages and towns over the next few weeks and are a great source of plants as the garden centres here can be very expensive, we bought 2 copper beech trees this morning roughly 5ft and they were 15 euros each now to decide where to plant them.

[The Dogmother]

I spent some of this morning lying on my tummy in a friend's paddock, watching her newly hatched Cuckoo Marans chicks... so gorgeous.

Then we went on a very long walk with my dogs - must remember to print off an OS map for the area next time we do that as the walk description didn't really help.

[Lewis]

We had a long walk in the park followed by a BBQ with loads of uni friends. No Easter eggs here, they only really have big Kinder eggs in the shops not 'proper' Easter eggs like in the UK.

In Slovakia the Easter Monday tradition is boys go around the village in traditional costume, visiting single girls who are soaked with water and spanked with willow branches, not really sure why  

[Patricia W]

I love their costumes! 

[ajm200]

I was very lucky and got a special Easter gift.   The lights failed on my planted tank just over a week Ago after I’d spent all my spare cash on summer uniform for my kids.    I was watching all my plants slowly die and melt away until I got my Easter present.  Led tank lights.  They are really as they have a 24hr cycle including night, sunrise and sunset.  The plants are looking a bit sp***** and poorly but should start to recover soon  

[mullethunter]

My job is normally more or less ‘normal’ weekday hours, but Fri, Sat and Sun I was working from 5pm to 6am - so wiped out my whole weekend! I don’t mind in as much as we don’t ever do anything special at Easter (other than eat chocolate eggs!), but I am a bit miffed to have had to sleep through so much lovely weather.

[ajm200]

I used to work shift and I really feel for you.  Nights are hard when you are used to working staggered shift but if you normally work days you must be exhausted.  By my third night shift I would be running on fumes and very silly.  Everything made me giggle 

[Lewis]

Glad to hear the lights hit the spot  I'd love a big planted aquarium. I have a small tank next to my desk at uni with a couple of plants and moss balls.

I used to do night lambing in my three years in Aberystwyth and know exactly what you mean about the giggles. One day at uni I was hysterically laughing for no real reason!
We've done a few night shifts in the Small Animal Hospital here and I'll do a few in my new job but quite looking forward to it.

[ajm200]

 I started with a small planted tank that the family overstocked so they bought a biorb that I did’t like as the filtration and water surface weren’t great.  Gradually multi-tank syndrome took over until I bought the 500l with a tax rebate.  It is under stocked and has filters for 1500l. Usually it is full of plants.  

 

I hope your new job goes well and you settle in to your new team quickly 🤞. When do you start? 

Edited April 22, 2019 by ajm200

[Geoid]

Got a letter from Cadent today (who maintain the gas pipelines). Next month, they are replacing the entire gas infrastructure on my street, including the gas main, the supply pipes to the houses and removing the gas meter, replacing it with one that goes in a box outside.  

Only problem is, they said this work will take 8 weeks, but my central heating, oven and hob are gas powered and that they will have to dig up my front garden to lay the new pipework too! Looks like I will be living off microwave meals for a bit...

[The Dogmother]

Blimey - I hope that you are all being compensated Geoid

[Valkyrie]

Well inconvenient for sure.  Wish I had gas though - we have LPG for heating but electric for the cooker (hate it with a capital H!) - but hopefully they will have overestimated it all and I think you should be entitled to a refund in the very least!

[patsylabrador]

Geoid, do you live anywhere near NW London because I have a small toaster oven which sits on the counter and you can cook anything in, from casseroles to toast and a portable camping gas hob which is very good too. In japan they put them on the table or counter and cook all sorts of amazing meals on them. If you want to borrow them that's cool. 

[Daphne]

I have just seen the beginning (or end) of the rainbow.....no sign of pot of gold however!

[Geoid]

I checked Cadent's website and found out that, thankfully, I will be without gas for only two days. But someone has to be home all day for those two days, as they require continued access to my house. That is also two days with no hot water, luckily I have decent showers at work! 

[The Dogmother]

So, do you need to take time off work then?