Now isn’t that just the truth you can just be sitting, watching the world go by and something, anything no matter how small unfolds in front of you and you give an involuntarily smile, it makes you happy… we can all find those little moments on a daily basis and put them all together and looking back we have had a pretty happy day.
Something out of nothing, just a brief moment in time that made you happy, a child’s smile or when they put their little hand in yours, baby birds newly hatched… the wonders of nature, a lovely view or a pretty flower, when your cake rises and your dumplings are fluffy….me…I’m still working on that one!
So many moments in our day too numerous to mention but nevertheless make for a happy day. Sometimes it all gets caught up with our day-to-day chores or work what we think is mundane, boring, same ole, same ole.
That unexpected moment, those precious moments that catch you unawares smile and be happy.
The moral of this story is that happiness can be found in many guises, lots of small bursts of that happy feeling throughout your day however brief, are a bonus.
Happiness means something different to us all, doesn’t it? What gives you that warm, happy feeling Leave a comment and share yours.
See you tomorrow for my A-Z and it the letter I in the middle…Olive…is that OliveOil Or Popeyes Beau you will have to pop in to find out xxx
Welcome to Saturday Snippets where I indulge my whimsy and my passions… maybe a tune or two…something which has caught my eye this last week…just anything out of the ordinary or extraordinary…
Conservation Corner:
Conservation is high on my agenda…I often wish governments and big NO huge conglomerates would really take a stand and make an enormous difference… one we could all see…but methinks that is in cloud cuckoo land…
I will ask one thing of you before I tell you about a small, quiet conservation success story…
I watched a docu/film on Netflix it was also available for download on UTorrent…called “Seaspiracy“…
I will also tell you I prefer fish to meat…I will also tell you I am not under any circumstances unless we fish for it ourselves buy fish fresh or tinned fish AGAIN…
I will also tell you I am not donating to any wildlife or climate change organisations unless I have checked and checked again and again as to who they are in bed with…
My son has always thought I am a little zealous in some areas BUT I persuaded him to watch this docu/film…he was as shocked as I was…Please, please watch it to the end if you can…
Then tell me what you think the solution is…
I will be writing about this in the next week or two…it will not be pretty… my gloves are off…
Now for the Good News…
Often overlooked, small-scale conservation projects are having a big impact on wildlife and communities – even in conflict zones…
#1 March is the equivalent of September in the Southern Hemisphere.
#2 Every Year, March and June finish on the same day of the week.
#3 March is the time of the year when animals start waking up from hibernation.
Let’s Have a Tune:
It was today back in 1964 that “Funny Girl” opened at The Winter Garden Theatre NYC…one of the first films I was allowed to go and watch with my friends and when I fell in love with Omar Sharif and the music of Barbara Streisand…
Today would have been my fathers birthday...he would have been 93 yrs old…I miss my dad and miss him more as the years go by…I don’t know if it is my age or if it is now I realise the absolute finality of it…
What he would think of today’s goings-on I can only imagine… I miss our conversations as like me he had firm thoughts on many things and wasn’t afraid to air his views…lol…we did have some lively conversations as we sometimes had opposing views…Miss, you so much daddy xxx
Coffee…not something I drink often I am a green tea girl…however…I love candyfloss…or cotton candy as it is also known and would you believe it was invented by a dentist…
Why?
Because it contained less sugar than a Candy Apple…Promoted as “fairy floss” it was introduced to the St. Louis World’s Fair in 1904…it was an instant success and sold 68,655 boxes at 25¢ (equivalent to $7.11 in 2019) per box.
I have always loved candy floss since I was a small child and when my kids were children I bought a candy floss machine so I could make it at home…well it started off with my kids and then all the kids in the neighbourhood appeared at my door…Fun Times!
I saw this the other day and although I rarely drink coffee I would have this one just for the candy floss and the wow factor…I am still a kid at heart…x
How cool is that? I love it!
That’s all for today thank you for dropping in I hope you enjoyed my whimsy… I would love to hear from you in comments as you know how I love to chat…Love Carol xx
Welcome to this week’s edition of my weekly roundup of posts…Especially for you just in case you missed a few posts during this last week…It a sunny but rather brisk and bracing morning here…The tree and everything Christmas has been packed away until next year…The last of the red cabbage has been eaten…I do love that as a vegetable and I always vow to cook it more often as it keeps so well and then I don’t but sometimes I just want foods that are special to the time of year …
So many foods which I remember as a child that we only ate at Christmas and on special days during the year are available all year round and they are not special anymore…The same as Hot Cross buns I remember the trip to the bakers on Good Friday Morning and those warm Hot Cross buns…such a treat…
They will be available in the shops very soon if not already in the UK…to me now they are just a bun with a cross on…Does anyone else feel like that ..that our traditions are becoming everyday occurrences and not special any more or is it just me???
I digress let’s look at last week and I am not even going to get started on what a week that was…
Normally I don’t partake in challenges or at least daily ones BUT I thought everyone needs a holiday and although its a virtual one it is a holiday none the less…It is a 10-day challenge just an image no words(unless) your name is John Rieber..hehe…x
Sharon at the awesome Gum trees and Galaxies blog, just the title which I think is so cool just makes me want to pop in for a read nominated me to participate in the Travel picture challenge. I mean do I have travel pictures…haha… Gum trees and galaxies blogs about travel, adventure, books, life and stuff especially if your passion is all of those plus the environment it then makes this blog a must-read who knows what little gems you may find…
The challenge is about visual images so we need to post a favourite travel picture for 10 days without explanation and nominate someone else to participate.
If I nominate you and you don’t want to participate, please do not feel obliged, but if you do, please link back to me so that I can see your post, in these curtailed times vicarious travel is a lovely escape, I would love to see what you choose to post.
Tuesday: The 1st Tuesday of the New Year 2020…
A New Year is always exciting a time when our thoughts look to what lies ahead…I will be doing no recaps on last year this year as while there have been many positives invariably the negatives always sneak in…
I am making no resolutions just lifestyle changes which will be determined as and when…and subject to change as and when…there will be many changes and hurdles a bit of an obstacle course ahead of us this year not all pleasant or without challenges but there will also be those special moments those once in a lifetime moments of joy and hope…
I am not going to dwell on what I cannot hope to ever change I am going to focus on what I can change and where I can make a difference however small that difference is I think we are going to have to play it by ear to make sudden decisions be spontaneous…Dance in the rain…
My this year’s diary cover reminds me of that every day… My word this year is …Improv…xx
Wednesday: The Culinary Alphabet with a little twist…P (soursoP)
I love this challenge set by Pete…It is fun and I am learning so much as I hope you are as well…How I am going to follow this Is anybody’s guess…Suggestions welcome…
Thursday was the day for Sally’s Health Column a look at how we can get the New Year off to a Healthy Start…
I love Sally’s no-nonsense approach to dieting it is non-judgemental and factual…not a diet but a lifestyle change and if you lose weight that’s a bonus…after all the Christmas Cake I am (still) consuming..no one is helping me…it will also be a miracle but hey…who doesn’t love a miracle and a piece of Chrismas Cake…hehe…
Fish Pie is a traditional British Dish and has a long history…it can be said that it has similarities to shepherds pie of which meat is the main ingredient and topped with potatoes…A fish pie or fisherman pie which it is often named can contain most sorts of fish a white or cheese sauce you may add hardboiled eggs or leeks there are very many regional versions…Cornwall’s traditional version is known as a stargazy pie decorated with the heads and tails of pilchards protruding through the crust…Looking at the sky…
I was surprised though how many of my US cousins had not eaten or heard of a fish pie…although it is popularly made with pastry topping in Baltic countries and made with salmon which I adore…very nice they are…
Today is also my favourite rockers birthday…Rod Stewart is 76 today…
Happy Birthday…Sir Rod…
Well, that’s it for today…I hope you have enjoyed the read…if you have please head over and leave a comment it makes my day to hear from you …Love Carol xx
Welcome to this weeks Saturday Snippets…in many ways my favourite post of the week as I can indulge my whimsy…Christmas and New Year are all now done and dusted…the tree and the decorations are all packed away until next year…
The healthy eating is..it is…starting slowly…I start the day with good intentions and then that dang Christmas cake calls me…saying eat me…it does it speaks to me…
This morning in my kitchen…
Morning Glory…which can mean many things to many people, in this case, it is a beautiful Water Spinach which I stir fry with garlic and chillies…
Thai Water Spinach
Stir Fry Morning Glory
Morning Glory
There is no second-guessing kids is there.?.. Our grandson Aston went to the local shop yesterday after school to get a treat for after his dinner…He came back with a big bunch of Morning Glory which is Thai water spinach which he had as an extra vegetable last night and requested it again today…who am I to argue with a kid who loves veggies over sweets…
Stir-fried Morning Gloryor Pad Pak Boon Fai Daeng is also known as water spinach…It is a very popular vegetable dish in Thailand and one I have for breakfast/brunch quite often with rice.
This is a very quick dish to cook once you have all your ingredients prepared..5 mins at the most. Ingredients:
1 bunch of Morning Glory
4-6 cloves of garlic
3 or more Thai Chillies
2 tbsp of Oyster Sauce
1 tbsp of Soy Sauce
1/2-1 tbsp of fermented soybean paste or oil with soya beans ( optional)
1/2 to 1 tbsp of oil
Water if req
Let’s Cook!
Wash and cut your morning-glory into 4-6 inch pieces.
Bash the chillies and garlic in a pestle and mortar
Heat the oil in a pan until very hot.
Add the garlic and chillies and stir-fry ( stirring) for 15-20 seconds being careful not to let the garlic burn.
Add morning-glory and all other ingredients except for the vegetable stock.
Stir-fry for 40 seconds and add vegetable stock and stir-fry for another 10 seconds.
That’s it…Done!
Serve with steamed rice or as a side dish.
Enjoy!
Tomorrow is Rod Stewarts Birthday he will be 76 years young…I have been a fan forever ever since those early days when he joined the Small Faces…Rod’s first single was “Good Morning Little Schoolgirl”
Controversy has always lurked in the shadows of the Blues and this song courted more than most…originally recorded on 5 May 1937 at The Leland Hotel in Aurora, Illinois by the John Lee Williamson, the original “Sonny Boy”
It was Sonny Boy’s first recording session for Bluebird and he was accompanied by Big Joe Williams and Robert Lee McCoy on guitars. On this version, it was billed as ‘Good Morning, School Girl’, whereas later versions have tended to insert that word “little’ in the title to reflect the lyrics of Sonny Boy’s version.
Although I love Rod Stewart…This version is my favourite by Muddy Waters…
Conservation Corner:
Muddy Waters: Clean drinking water should be a fundamental right …According to this damming report, it isn’t…I really cannot understand how man deliberately continues to pollute our beautiful world will there ever be the day when all this wanton pollution stops?
Written by Rod Stewart and Martin Quittenton, performed by Stewart. It uses an arrangement markedly similar to that of “Maggie May”, one of Stewart’s hits from the previous year.
Did you know?
Back in January 1660…Samuel Pepys began his famous diary in which he chronicled life in London including the Great Plague of 1664-65 and the Great Fire of 1666.
All those years ago and what have we learnt? Health and safety and so much more was unknown back then but with the advances of science so much more is known now and yet the incidence of virus and cross-contamination seems to be on the increase with more predicted in the future.
Where will it end?
Weird Thai Fruit:
Called lamut khamen in Thai but actually, few Thais know it, and even fewer have tasted it. I suspect that the first tree grown in Thailand came from the seed of fruit taken from across the border in Cambodia, and the grower named it “lamut khamen” after the country or its people (khamen is the Thai word for Cambodian), as he did not know its proper name.
It’s commonly known also as eggfruit or Canistel fruit, because of its flesh that is bright egg yolk-yellow colour and when ripe, is smooth and custardy, similar to a hard-boiled yolk.
The sweet, mousse-like flesh of the canistel makes a great sugar substitute in many recipes.
The most popular way to use canistel is in an eggfruit nog: simply peel a ripe canistel fruit, remove the seeds and combine the flesh in a blender along with milk, sugar, a touch of vanilla extract, and a pinch of grated nutmeg. Blend until smooth.
Canistel also works great in custards, ice cream, spreads, pie fillings, and baked into bread, cakes, and pancakes. Or try it simply blended in with some almond milk, oat milk, or regular old milk for a satisfying smoothie. Lime and honey pair well with the soft notes of canistel, so add a touch according to your taste.
Canistel was also used in an incredible 71-ingredient cocktail to celebrate the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow! Each ingredient was specially selected to represent each of the competing countries in the Games.
In China, only about two per cent of the population observes Christmas as a religious holiday, although it is gaining in popularity as a commercial event. However, the main winter festival in China is the New Year celebration that occurs at the end of January. Recently, it’s become known as the Spring Festival and is a time of gift-giving and feasting. A key aspect of the Chinese New Year is ancestor worship, and paintings and portraits are brought out and honoured in the family’s home.
For the first time, Chinese New Year has been recognised as a national public holiday here in Thailand.
Thailand is a traditional Chinese immigration country. Chinese account for about 12% of the country’s population. About 7 million Chinese live in Thailand, which is an important part of Thailand’s multiculturalism and ethnicity.
Each year in the Chinese calendar is represented by one of twelve animals in the Chinese Zodiac. 2021 will be the year of the Ox.
Here in Udon Thani where I live we have a big Chinese community..our neighbour’s are of Chinese Thai heritage…My grandson also learns Chinese as part of his school curriculum.
I love the Spring festival as it is very colourful and there is lots of lovely dim sum and other Chinese foods although I am not sure how the quarantine will affect the celebrations this year which are held on February 12th 2021.
As it is Rod’s birthday tomorrow I will finish will one of my favourite tracks …Enjoy!
Thank you for popping in today I hope you have enjoyed Saturday Snippets …as always I look forward to your comments as you all know I love to chat…Thanx Carol xx
Welcome to this week’s edition of my weekly roundup of posts…Especially for you just in case you missed any posts during the week… whatever your time zone grab a coffee or a glass of wine…Take a pew, get comfy… have a read…
I woke up this morning to the news… America has a new President Joe Biden…I am happy for all my friends for whom this was the outcome they desired. I do hope this brings back some dignity to the role of President and that bridges will be mended and for those for whom it wasn’t the expected outcome that you accept that and move on as you all live in the United States…one people under one flag who may have different opinions but who respect those whose opinions are different…
Tuesday…Time to make the Christmas Puddings, Cake and Sweet Mincemeat…
There are now only 49 sleeps until Christmas Eve…or 7 Fridays…Gulp…That will fly by…x
Wednesday: The Culinary Alphabet with a twist…The Letter I(chimichurrI)
I found quite a few ending in the letter I…Pete came up with Ravioli and Fetticinni which I hadn’t well done Pete…Dolly from Koolkosherkitchen gave me the translation for two ingredients which are toppings for the Blini… Smetana is sour cream, and tvorog is farmer cheese…Thank you, dear Dolly x
Food and culinary processes ending in the letter I…I am enjoying this challenge although J is certainly a challenge so any ideas peeps would be most gratefully received I only have 3 so far…
Next time I most likely will put J & K together in I post…
Thursday: The Medicine Woman’s Treasure Chest – #Aromatherapy – #Eucalyptus – Respiratory, Fevers and Pain by Sally Cronin.
I love essential oils which is why I love this series BUT apart from the ones I use regularly I don’t know very much about the other oils so I find it both informative and fascinating. #recommended read
Did you know that worldwide 7,500 different varieties of apples are grown? My favourite apples are Bramley’s, Cox’s and Braeburn apples which ones are your favourite apples ???
As the saying goes an ” Apple a day keeps the doctor away” and that little round ball of goodness is 2/3 fibre has lots of anti-oxidants especially in the peel so do not peel it…please. They are also fat-free, sodium-free and cholesterol-free and come in all shades of red, green and yellow so many to choose from…Which apple or apples are your favourite????
We also…Lily and I had our first attempt at making toffee apples…They came ok…not as easy to coat as the tube videos have you to believe …practise make perfect here methinks…
Lots going on a bit about the work of Prince Charles, a unique cave home…Lots of music, recipes… its National Stuffing Month and as stuffing can be frozen if you make it now or in a few weeks it is one less dish to prepare on Xmas Eve…and so much more please pop over and have a read…
I think a nice tasty stuffing enhances that chicken or turkey into something special…I love a nice crunchy stuffing ball or dish of stuffing…hubby prefers his from the bird’s cavity it’s just softer but can also be very tasty as it absorbs the lovely meat juices. Sometimes I also put a layer of stuffing underneath the chicken or turkey skin just another layer of flavour…
That’s all for this week’s roundup … fewer posts has made my stats boom…go figure… I do hope you have enjoyed it and I look forward to your comments xx
God bless you all in these turbulent times…especially those of my readers who are facing new lockdowns…Please stay safe and wear your mask and practise social distancing or this virus will not go away…x
When this is all over my hope for the future is a cleaner world… I do want to see communities, and caring for your neighbour becoming the new norm…WORKING TOGETHER INSTEAD OF WORKING AGAINST EACH OTHER…Being kind to each other…Loving someone whatever their religion or skin colour…Can we make this happen? We have to but in the right way…Are we willing to make a stand? Personally, I would love to see lessons learned..realistically I have my doubts…
Thank you for reading be well and stay safe xxx
About Carol Taylor: Enjoying life in The Land Of Smiles I am having so much fun researching, finding new, authentic recipes both Thai and International to share with you. New recipes gleaned from those who I have met on my travels or are just passing through and stopped for a while. I hope you enjoy them.
I love shopping at the local markets, finding fresh, natural ingredients, new strange fruits and vegetable ones I have never seen or cooked with. I am generally the only European person and attract much attention and I love to try what I am offered and when I smile and say Aroy or Saab as it is here in the north I am met with much smiling.
Some of my recipes may not be in line with traditional ingredients and methods of cooking but are recipes I know and have become to love and maybe if you dare to try you will too. You will always get more than just a recipe from me as I love to research and find out what other properties the ingredients I use contain to improve our health and well being.
Exciting for me hence the title of my blog, Retired No One Told Me! I am having a wonderful ride and don’t want to get off, so if you wish to follow me on my adventures, then welcome! I hope you enjoy the ride also and if it encourages you to take a step into the unknown or untried, you know you want to…Then, I will be happy!
Thank you once again for reading this post I hope you all stay safe and healthy xx
Good morning from sunny Thailand…not for long methinks as the chance of rain stands at 80% and the clouds are gathering which they did yesterday AM…the heavens opened…and it is the same forecast for the next 8 days at least but it is low season so expected and the rice fields love it…
Me… I love a walk in the rain and a lovely puddle to walk through…it also clears the air…
Welcome to Whimsical Wednesdays where I indulge my whimsy…
Seen first on Darlene’s FB page…What a lovely idea…Darlene has followed my blog since day one …Thank you, Darlene and she herself is the author of the very popular Amanda Books which are loved by many…The bear idea was started a while ago by a Paris cafe owner…
Teddy bears always make us smile, don’t they? Unlike clowns who scare the bejesus out of me…We are talking Stephen Kings IT here…
Did you know that fear of clowns is called Coulrophobia?… Neither did I…
One of Elvis Presley’s most embarrassing moments was when he appeared on the Steve Allen Show on July 1st, 1956 singing “Hound Dog” to a Bassett Hound…Elvis’s fans were not happy…
I love dogs and think they are very cute and intelligent…Zoom is something quite new to me and many others and has taken off during this pandemic…There have been some very moving moments and some funny ones and this one is quite funny…Enjoy!
It was however on July 6th, 1971 that one of the world’s most influential musicians sadly passed away but his legacy plays on…one of my favourite Louis Armstrong tracks is Mack The Knife…although Bobby Darin also comes a close second and recognised in the billboards top 100…I could write a whole post on the life of this track…and it’s birth in a Threepenny murder opera …Franks version is also high on my list…
Who loved to sleep under the stars as a child with a tent made by throwing a sheet/blanket over the clothes line? I know I did…it is a childhood dream that carries through to adulthood for many of us…
This secluded retreat in South Iceland caters to guests who want to be surrounded by nature—and you will be literally immersed in it, staying in your own private bubble nestled in the forest.
You can sleep under the vast sea of twinkling stars and be entirely enclosed in the glass bubble—and if you are lucky, you’ll get a once-in-a-lifetime view of the aurora borealis over your head.
Robert Robertsson, the owner and managing director of the Bubble project based in Reykjavík summed it up saying, “Some childhood dreams stay with us for our whole lives.”
“Sleeping under the stars or watching the aurora borealis dance is one of those lifelong dreams.”
This made me smile…everyone knows who Charlie Chaplin is…Don’t they?… Not everyone it seems because Charlie Chaplin once lost a Charlie Chaplin look-alike competition…In 1975, a few years before he passed away, Charlie Chaplin entered a look-alike contest in France. He came in third, not first. A theory as to why he didn’t win is that he has blue eyes that couldn’t be seen in black and white, so the judges didn’t recognise him. Whatever the case, though, he was apparently a good sport …
Lastly to all my American readers have a great July 4th...I know that usually as its a National Holiday that there are Fireworks, family reunions, concerts, barbecues, picnics, parades, baseball games some of which may not take place this year but however you safely celebrate wear masks and observe social distancing it does work look at Thailands figures…and enjoy!
That’s all for today…Be well and stay safe don’t forego those precautions too quickly as many areas are seeing an increase in Covid-19 cases…It ain’t over yet folks…Better to be safe than sorry…xx
About Carol Taylor:
Enjoying life in The Land Of Smiles I am having so much fun researching, finding new, authentic recipes both Thai and International to share with you. New recipes gleaned from those who I have met on my travels or are just passing through and stopped for a while. I hope you enjoy them.
I love shopping at the local markets, finding fresh, natural ingredients, new strange fruits and vegetable ones I have never seen or cooked with. I am generally the only European person and attract much attention and I love to try what I am offered and when I smile and say Aroy or Saab as it is here in the north I am met with much smiling.
Some of my recipes may not be in line with traditional ingredients and methods of cooking but are recipes I know and have become to love and maybe if you dare to try you will too. You will always get more than just a recipe from me as I love to research and find out what other properties the ingredients I use contain to improve our health and wellbeing.
Exciting for me hence the title of my blog, Retired No One Told Me! I am having a wonderful ride and don’t want to get off, so if you wish to follow me on my adventures, then welcome! I hope you enjoy the ride also and if it encourages you to take a step into the unknown or untried, you know you want to…….Then, I will be happy!
Thank you once again for reading this post I hope you all have a fabulous week and stay safe these are troubling times xx
Retired? No one told me! 