Sunday, January 29, 2023

Sacrificial rugs and 1950's French fashion.

Good morning from Sophie . After a brief start of day walk with a slow moving Angus she heads for a restorative nap on the floor by the porch door . We have to walk around her if we want to get outside but at least she's not trailing mud through the house. 'The last wee house before Denmark' has a  number of strategically located sacrificial rugs designed to absorb mud and water from getting too far inside. 


The farm shop has croissants ready to pop into the oven. It is to be hoped that these 'artisanal' ( and artisanally priced ) variants are better than the tasteless ones found in the supermarket frozen food section. They come with no indications of what temperature the oven should be set at to bake them. 


The supermarket has hyacinths by the bunch.


'The Font' goes shopping with Sophie and observes that Scottish east coast fashion offerings take their cue from 1950's French movies. St.Andrews maintains clothes shops that sell tweed caps to gentlemen farmers and resolutely impractical Audrey Hepburn clothing for their 'lady wives'. In defiance of progress ( and heated steering wheels )  this is a town where driving gloves can still be found - for those that want them. It is suggested to Angus that a trip to Stockholm for some new clothes might be in order.


12 comments:

WFT Nobby said...

I look forward to a report on the artisanal croissants and leave it to those commenters more expert on baking to suggest a heat setting.
Returning from a muddy walk with Nobby yesterday, I silently gave thanks that his furs are not excessively abundant and tend not to absorb water...
Cheers, Gail.

Jake of Florida said...

Did you have to forgo the Burns Supper?

Yamini MacLean said...

Hari OM
200'C/180'C with fan (450F). YAM xx

Coppa's girl said...

Artisanal croissants....interesting. If in doubt, with no instructions, it's trial and error so I usually set the oven at 180ºC and keep my fingers crossed. Perhaps someone in the farm shop will advise? Supermarkets locally sell packs of fresh chilled butter pastry for making croissants. The same supermarket sells packs of three ready to eat excellent croissants, just needing a quick reheat in the oven for a few minutes.
No walk yet for us today, it's raining, cold, (7ºC) and miserable. I usually put a large towel on the floor by the door when it's like this, and that seems to catch all the muddy paws marks. Easy to wash too. We're forecast for 0ºC tomorrow night - that will be interesting!

Angus said...

Jake of Florida - Yes. Sadly we missed the Burns Supper. The doctors in the family made it absolutely clear Angus was to avoid dancing, excessive exercise ( brief dog walks allowed ) and any imbibing of alcohol.

Jake of Florida said...

I know that was a disappointment...but the doctors in the family sound wise.

Travel said...

A shopping trip could be fun, and expensive.

Melinda from Ontario said...

Maybe I need sacrificial, strategically placed, dirt and water absorbing rugs. Mopping up dog prints seems so futile this time of year.

Lisa in France said...

That outfit really is Audrey Hepburn-evocative! The instructions on the frozen croissants from Picard recommend 20 minutes at 180C, which seems to work well. You were right, by the way - our 25-year old cockatiel Oliver got his microchip yesterday and seems none the worse for wear once the anaesthetic wore off. The trip to France will be the first international adventure for Oliver and Charlie, while the other birds are already world travelers - one came from California and the other from the Philippines. And Cherry will be with us in spirit, as we've named the company that will own our home SCI Cerise. (Actually, she may be with us in more than spirit, as my husband is planning to smuggle her ashes in his suitcase.)

Angus said...

Lisa in T - I take it that the documentation is now all in order and that the journey is now imminent ? Enjoy the adventure ! Great fun lies ahead .

Kippy said...

Well, you need to go to Stockholm to compare French, Scottish and Swedish croissant quality. Glad to hear you went for a short slow walk with Sophie. A sign you are feeling a wee bit better.

rottrover said...

Speaking of the doctors in the family, you've not visited the US since the pandemic, correct? We have some decent fashion here in the US as well! By the way, I've always found that a 'wee dram' can be quite helpful with a back issue.