Wednesday, December 11, 2013

The smallest act of kindness is worth more than the grandest intention.




Caroline the new cleaning lady is very thorough. Every Tuesday and Thursday she toils away on the first floor thoroughly cleaning the 'snug ', the master bedroom, the summer kitchen and the drawing room. She also, despite the presence of two dishwashers, washes the dishes. This routine is repeated, without change, on each visit. The net result is that while parts of the house sparkle other parts are ignored. The whole of  downstairs and much of upstairs being quite simply forgotten. ' The font ' suggests that she might want to do upstairs on a Tuesday and downstairs on a Thursday. '' You should reflect on that " comes the determined reply. Angus foresees a collision between French and Swedish logic.

The lady who sells ducks and geese at the local market says the only way to cook a duck is pop it into an oven at 170 degrees for an hour and forty minutes. " No need for any preparation; just baste every ten or fifteen minutes while it's cooking ". This simple, although labour intensive, approach seems to work. The duck fat free and as tender as a chicken. While it's cooking Bob and Sophie steadfastly refuse to move from the downstairs kitchen. Bob is now 23 kilos. Sophie, appetite fully restored is back up to 20.


10 comments:

WFT Nobby said...

Hmmm. We like the look of that duck.
Gail and Bertie.

Bella Roxy & Macdui said...

We don't blame them. We'd be right there, too.

XXXOOO Daisy, Bella & Roxy

VirginiaC said...

Duck a l'orange for the PONS later I hope.....after all that patient waiting, they deserve to have some with their kibble.
I was wondering how Caroline was making out when you posted this. The Font is the lady of the house and Caroline should respect her wishes of cleaning duties in other areas of the house....hope it all works out okay.

VirginiaC said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
VirginiaC said...

Forgot to mention that I love today's quote....it rings true for me.

houndstooth said...

Hmm... Somehow, I see a new cleaning lady in your future. Perhaps you should sic Madame Bay on her...

I love today's quote!

Kari said...

Does a good cleaning lady even exist? The job seems to draw an " interesting" lot. All of them divas in their own way.
Duck looks perfect. Five degrees
above minimum safe cooking
temperature. All bacteria safely killed
and the meat not dried and stringy.
Excellent.

Julie said...

Mmmm, that duck does look good.
Mia, like the PONs loves duck but sadly as she's got older it's too rich for her.
Shame as I fancy trying your cooking tip

Katherine said...

Great duck cooking advice, thanks. Bob and Sophie are nearly fully grown! I hope the "Font" spends little time reflecting and makes her preferences clearly known.

Pamela Terry and Edward said...

One more kilo and Bob will have caught up with Edward.