Snow again and veggie bargains

After yesterday’s find of a euro bag of three large red peppers – I bought two of them - my usual early Saturday morning trip to the supermarket yielded some good bargains.  Each plastic bag costs a euro, this morning’s haul was – a large cauliflower, nine bananas and 1.075kg of mushrooms.  The fruit and veg are not spoiled and I am always ridiculously thrilled to find something I would like to eat – I am a born scavenger.  There were other things that I didn’t want – Savoy cabbage and green peppers.  I prefer red peppers, they are much sweeter.  Obviously, living alone I can’t eat six red peppers while they’re at their best so I prepare them and bag just the shell of the peppers cut in four to lie flat more easily in the freezer, then they’re all ready when I have a recipe for them.  I kept two whole so that I can stuff them for lunch or supper tomorrow. 

There was an icing sugar look to the village this morning on waking, but it will become deeper as the snow is now falling in larger flakes.   

Just look at this incredible build up of ice round individual iris leaves.  The fountain in the pond was paying onto the leaves during the bitterly cold temperatures of yesterday and completely surrounded each leaf.

I was amazed that the fountain hadn't frozen, but you can see it still working to the right of this photograph.

There are posters on every other lamppost in St Nicolas du Pélem advertising the circus for today and tomorrow.  I'm not sure exactly where it will be, but it will be very cold for the audience that's for sure whether outside or under canvas.

It’s very calm though after the strong and bitter winds of yesterday evening. By 10.00hrs all the animals were done, laundry on, dishwasher unloaded, floor swept, worksurfaces cleaned, shopping bought and put away sorted and I enjoyed my coffee and a lovely fresh chocolate fondant in the warmth of the woodburner.

Two friends from England Skyped me - I love Skype - it's just as if they're in the room with me.  One of them is trying to sort out dates and travel arrangements to come and stay in April so I'm really looking forward to her visit.

I now have just 80 pages of my Book Club book to read before Monday afternoon.  

I'm going to read 40 pages minimum today and the rest tomorrow to make sure I get it finished.  It's been a strange book to read - not madly exciting and I've found it quite difficult to keep going with it.  A bit like meeting someone and them telling you their life story in a few hours - not my favourite book by any means.

Three things I like:

1.   Talking to friends on Skype this morning.
2.   My gooey, very chocolatey fondant cake - big enough to share with someone and not feel deprived - I ate it all myself!
3.   Just enough snow to make it beautiful out there without making life difficult.