Diabetes in dogs: The Contessa has just been diagnosed with this condition
We noticed that The Contessa was suddenly pencil thin, drinking a lot, having accidents around the house and generally off colour. She was eating well and responding with delight to cuddles and massages. But the weight loss was dramatic, fast and worrying. The Contessa is a sprightly 10 year old Min Pin. She is Danny’s secret favourite gem. And we’d both hate to lose her. Yesterday I crept down with her into the garden at dawn and managed to get a urine sample by slipping an old saucer under her. A dip stick test at our vet’s (Swayne...
read moreNew wheels
My first independent mode of transport was a red fairy cycle with cream wheels and a bell. This was my horse, my chariot and even my wings. At five years old I swooped about the park and relished the freedom and excitement of speed for the very first time. Jalopy is still snoozing in the drive. She has been there for the last eleven months. Her battery is flat and she needs a service. But we’ve decided to let her sleep on until I’m back to work again. She attracts a lot of attention. Every few days someone drops in wanting to buy her....
read moreSkirt of beef steaks recipe
“This is the first time ever that I’d be happy if you left your other shopping on the counter.” The pretty woman in TKMaxx joked. We had been talking about the skirt of beef that I had just bought. She had never heard of the cut but as you know it has become a bit of a mission for me to spread the word on the cheaper cuts. Her interest was really tweaked when I mentioned that we at it as steak. “It doesn’t cut like a fillet but it’s far better than a lot of sirloins that I’ve bought and at £6 for 800 grams it’s a...
read moreGreat Aunt Doris and Great Aunt Lillian. Flowers bring back old memories.
It must be 40 years since I last saw Aunt Doris and Aunt Lillian. When my mother married my stepfather he came with a great big pack of relations – Doris and Lillian were amongst my favourites. I first met these elderly aunts at the wedding reception. All I can remember about the event was that we ate Baked Alaska, I was wearing my first new shop bought dress and those Aunts. Aunt Doris peered at us and exclaimed “You are so thin – we’ll have to fatten you up!” From then on they were always referred to as The Thin Aunts. Both...
read moreHow to maximise your space for planting. Take a long hard look and think laterally.
“Danny I’m thinking of renting some more land. We just don’t have enough space for all our projects.” “I’m sure that you could rent some land very easily around here but let’s wait until we have maximised the space at home first. Our land is free.” “But we have maximised our space – increased the size of the borders and made the paths quite slim in the kitchen garden.” “Well the forsythia in the front could go for a start. I’m having problems getting out of my car.” He’s had it in for the forsythia for months...
read moreBottled fruit: enjoying the bounty seven months later
When I sat down to savour the superb third day of creamy Greek yoghurt and organic blackberries and blueberries bottled last October from our own garden, I just had to take a photo. This is now pasted on the kitchen wall to remind me how good bottled fruit is when I’m caught up in the bottling frenzy that dominates September and October. I do enjoy bottling fruit but sometimes it seems a bit of a palaver if I have other things to do. Sitting by the pond on a clear and sunny morning as the fruit and yoghurt combination burst in my mouth I...
read moreHeston Blumenthal’s recipe for Boerewors burgers: a review
Waitrose has teamed up with Delia Smith and Heston Blumenthal to produce recipes that customers can make at home. This is quite a clever promotion as you don’t have to rush about the shop looking for the specific ingredients as they are all on the display stand. Some of the ingredients had me goggle eyed – such as packs of dried breadcrumbs 125g for £1.25. But I suppose most people don’t make their own anymore. I was intrigued by Heston’s Boerewors burgers as they were made with a mix of Aberdeen Angus beef and pork. Apparently...
read moreHow to make potpourri: starting out
I’ve been interested in drying flowers since I started growing them in earnest this year. This would be a way of extending the ‘sales’ season and getting 100% out of the flowers. Recently a kind reader emailed me and suggested that I dried rose petals as confetti. This would be a great use of our old French climbing roses – these go over fairly quickly so I can only really sell them in bud. I had also been toying with they idea of making a range of really good potpourri – this could be sold all year and wouldn’t be expensive to...
read more
FD