Payday

Had my salary paid today, most of it has gone already. Mortage, insurance (cars, house, forest), electricity and credit card, car tax. I don't usually use credit in my cards anymore, but I was on a overnight trip with my sister, and I thought it would be safer to pay hotel etc by credit. And then I had to take three youngest to shopping - new school year and all.
All 3 needed new school bags - they use backpacks because of the amount of stuff they have to haul to and from school every day. They have laptops (given by school), but they also have books, which seem to weight a ton or a bit more nowadays (I sometimes help them carry backpacks when we walk to the taxi in mornings). At least I don't have to do school run anymore.
New shoes (luckily on sale), some new clothes and of course all the little stuff - pencils, rubbers, rulers (stuff I used to get from school!), notebooks (for drawing)... And a pencil cases. I offered to sow new cases, but they all wanted to have shop bought ones - last year they had handmade ones. I think it's fair they sometimes get something shop bought.
I used credit because there were service disruptions with several cards. Didn't have that much cash with me and queues to cash machines were too long.
 Next big expenditure will be hb's car repairs. Our nearest garage went off business (it was cheap but maybe the owner didn't like to deal with business and red tapes). Then in September we will have air source heat pump (ashp) installed. I wasn't planning on installing one, all plans for the house and extension waere made thinking there will not be any ashp. So it's not ideal for us, but it helps keep the house cool during summers (heat waves will become more regular in future) and it also helps warm the house during autunm and spring - in coldest times it will not work (it consumes more electricity in freezing conditions than heating by other electrical means).
I need new wellies (someone ate my old ones) and a decent winter coat (I managed to burn my old coat's sleeve while having a bonfire). I'm afraid kids will need those also, and they most likely need new winter shoes. Then new tablets for kids, and I think at least three new phones. Oh dear.

But, I have some money left on my bank account. I'm not planning to buy anything for the garden or veg plot before next spring (ok, I need carlic bulbs to plant winter carlic, that would be about 5-10 euros).

I might need a budget.

Courgette pancakes

Courgette pancakes were better success than courgette fritters.
I don't measure my ingredients while making pancake batter, I make it by feel - it the batter is too thick, I'll add more milk, etc.
Roughly this way:

1 smallish courgette (about 400g), grated but not drained
leftover spinach soup (about 4dl)*
6 eggs
about 7,5dl milk (that's what was left in the carton)
1 tsp salt
0,5 dl sugar
0,5 dl wheat brans**
0,5 dl oats (crushed a bit)
about 3-4 dl of plain flour (not self-rising flour)
50g melted butter

I whisked eggs in a big bowl, added grated courgette and cold leftover soup (milk based) and mixed until smooth, Then salt, sugar, brans and oats. Finally flour - it took some mixing to get it smooth because of all of the extra stuff.
I left it to rest for about an hour (was still on holiday) and just before I started frying I added melted butter.
I fried the batter in two frying pans (blini pan and normal smallish frying pan). It took about an hour...

Served with sugar, jams and whipped cream. All was eaten.

* Not really spinach in it, but New Zealand Spinach and Swiss Chard 
** I got 1 kg bag of wheat brans from my co-worker - she had gotten it free when buying oats from a local farmer, her daughter is allergic to wheat so I got the bag. One kilo of brans goes a long way, that's why I add some of them in almost everything (buns, scones, cakes, cookies, pancakes...)

Courgette fritters

I made courgette fritters this week. I searched for a reciepe but finally decided to make my own version.
I used: 500g (a bit more to be honest) courgette, 2 eggs, about 1dl plan flour, a pinch of baking powder, salt, pepper and chilli flakes and a splash of cream. And about 1,5dl grated cheese (leftovers I found from the fridge).
I grated the courgette, put it in to the sieve and added some salt. Salt draws out extra moisture so finished product won't end up soggy mess. left it to drain for about 30-60 min (I'm on holiday, no idea about the clock).
Added eggs, cheese, flour and bp, salt, pepper and cream. Batter was loose but but a bit thicker than pancake batter. Mixed well and put to fridge to wait the dinner time.
Fried them in my blini frying pan in butter - everything is better with butter...
Hb liked them, kids didn't. They were ok, a bit too soft to my taste, still very much edible with sweet chilli sauce and fried fish fillets. I could have finished them in the oven to make them crispier, but I knew hb wouldn't like them that way.
Next I'll make courgette pancakes in hopes kids will like them better.

Fly tipping gone wrong

Some time ago I noticed rubbish thrown to the side of the road I walk with 'Suma twice a day.

Someone had a field day tidying their garden

There was a large cupoard, planks, trellis, some dug up roots of unidentified plants etc. Pity for the guy who dropped them, because he drowe through our village and my relatives live right next to road and they are very curious about cars with hooded trailers. They got his licence plate number and old man even went to take pictures of that guy fly tipping!
Owner of that piece of land was away abroad, so it take some time before anything happened.

All gone

 Poor chap, he might have taken away more than he brought... But there is a lesson here: Never fly tip on a bright daylight to a land which is own by a policeman. Someone must feel like an idiot now.

This looks a bit different, too

We walk this road every morning and every evening, about 99% of days. This morning 'Suma refused to go for a walk. Sometimes she is very pig-headed for not going.

Like the other evening. She wouldn't budge until she saw a car. That's old man's sister's garage and some glimpse of her neighbour's yard. We had to wait only ten minutes.

We got in to the woods finally.

It's bone dry in nature atm. Even this dry forest is drier than usually - there's usually a lot of blueberries, now the bushes are empty.

This is the sight we see in the mornings. Still some mist lingering.

And I did manage to capture the lunar eclipse. Never claimed to know how to take photos...

it is so hot

I guess everyone has noticed this is a hot summer. We have had hotwave since May 5th, only occational days cooler with very little rain.

Car's thermometer said 32℃ in the sun and 29℃ in the shadows of deep forest. Not very funny.

I get up at 6 or 6.30 in the morning, brush my teeth an off we go with 'Suma. It was 20℃ at 6.20 and when we got back around eight it was already 24℃. She sleeps inside most of the day (as do cats), and in the evening we'll go for a walk after nine o'clock. Sun sets officially around ten, but it gets down behind trees, so it is somewhat cooler already by nine.
So I'm back around ten or half past ten, and get to bed around midnight. And up in the morning at six again...
I need a holiday after this holiday to recover.

I picked first courgettes last sunday, ys wanted to barbeque some hot dogs so I thought I would be wise to use those courgettes before they get too big - halved, grilled on the hot plate, and then some olive oil and salt. I just picked two moderate sized ones to make fritters (never done before...) F calls them zucchinis and thats what we call them nowadays too. Olive oil is from F's parents, they have olive tree forest! No olive trees here. It must be weird for her how different everything is.

I have never actually had a glut on my veg plot. Now I think I might get to see one this year! I should be looking for beans, they hiding behind thick foliage. I have never had thick foliage in my bean bushes before. I have harvested mange tout, freezer has been filling nicely. I also froze currants, blacks, reds and whites, blacks from my own garden/veg plot and reds and whites from neighbourgs garden. My mother has been boiling cordial, on Monday I got 4,5l to freeze. There's also 6,5 kg strawberries. (and a lot of ice cream, but it is disappearing fast).

For once we have use for the pool. Ys and sys have been swimming 2-5 times a day, and most times I'm with them. They find midnight swims especially funny.

On friday we managed to see the lunar eclipse, not the whole thing but when moon was completely in the shadow, clouds dissappeared and we could enjoy the show. And then to the pool, so it was almost four o'clock when we finally got to bed (you get really hungry when you swim... according to 10 years and 12 years old...) We saw Mars and then we saw someones drone (and satellites and planes and one meteorite).

I was back to work for eight days, drove about 1000km to meet clients and had our director general
 (yeas, really) with me one day... No pressure to drive carefully! Also had to use several languages during my visits, so I had fun.

'Suma is melting - she has some extrea skin and when she sleeps, it pools around her. It's really amusing, never seen a dog like that before.