Screechin’ n’ cookin’, an’ screechin’ wheels

This is what happens when there is an extra hour on a Sunday!

I’m daft enough at times to even try to fool myself about cause and effect. So when my eyes were watering while I was gently and so slowly heating mint, lime and red onion chutney I blamed the fumes of onion, chilli, lime and cider vinegar for my streaming eyes and sore throat.

It couldn’t have been the strain of singing ‘Angie’ along with Mick, but an octave higher, could it? I’ve never been a soprano, and now, with only sporadic singing attempts and 15 years after smoking for fifteen years, there is no way I’m going to hit these notes without tears.

Anyway, the reason for the so very slow cooking was to give the hemp oil protection from over heating so that the precious omegas of assorted numerals would be safe from destruction at higher temps. And the chutney is because of the success of my kiwi, mint and lime marmalade in a recent recipe experiment and another surfeit of mint and limes. Sensible souls would have plumped for the alternative use for limes and mint and made cocktails.

While all this was going on I was also making chocolate sponge pudding with free trade organic cocoa powder and raspberry jam through it. Absolutely scrumlicious. There was more of it than expected, so I’ll freeze it and keep it until I buy really good vanilla ice cream to go with it.

Further screechin’ (of gears) occurred as I went to forage for a new car. I took some little green coloured kind of car plus its intrepid salesperson for a spin round the Edinburgh by-pass while trying it out. Said salesperson was calm about my driving and entirely respectful of me and my requirements for a new car.

This was in stark contrast to the not-all-that-bothered salesperson I saw last week or the completely smarmy and patronising one of the week before. Guess which one got my business?

Upshot is I am, or will be when they get it delivered for me, the possessor of a new car. I am still waiting for the excitement to kick in, but as I find car buying one of the worst tasks in life, I am relieved just to have made a decision.

My existing vehicle is the bane of my life as I cannot drive it to my satisfaction because the seat is too low for me to see well enough to reverse. It also has me screechin’ and shrieking at it regularly as it never seems to work for long without expensive car-doctoring, which just gets me down. I want a mechanical object to work to the specifications it describes in the owners manual. I have to think optimistic thoughts that this latest vehicle will serve me long and faithfully.