Cheesy whatsits

This morning I had a appointment at the dentist, then one at the opticians and then one for acupuncture at one. The first two were beset by delays and I ended trying to do my shopping after my treatment which is never a good plan as the warm fuzzy light in the head feeling is not conducive to anything very constructive. I'm grateful for the warm fuzziness, you understand, and for having the wherewithal to get some odds and ends but best to keep them separate! Luckily many of the local shopkeepers are used to me. Some know Rachel and some probably think I'm always like that, but they try to ensure I leave their premises with whatever I came in for plus whatever I brought with me. Nonetheless...the man in the cheese shop would have no way of knowing I meant gruyere when what I actually said was gorgonzola! It didn't dawn on me til I was almost home. Never mind...because I also meant to buy stilton (and forgot I hadn't) I did buy pears because they go so well together in a salad...so the gorgonzola will as well! I was grateful for the cute and practical'broccoli for one' size heads in the greengrocers and for the owner there and in the ironmongers both remarking on how bitterly cold it was, as it stopped me feeling such a wimp in hat and scarf and so on. I also give thanks, as ever, that I live somewhere with greengrocers, ironmongers and cheese shops and so on...and staff who talk to you.

Cooking for one you're often in the state of 'using things up', and sometimes when another singleton comes over I see if they'd like to share. I was trying to think what I could put half a tub of cream in to share with Laura (I'd ordered a small one and Tesco had 'substituted' double the quantity) when she started reminding me of all the things I could cook with it. I tend not to cook with cream but to pour it on things - cooked or raw fruit mostly. But of course I started thinking about Potatoes Dauphinoise. I've never actually made my own and would have been put off by the slicing with my damaged hands...until I remembered a so far unused blade on the food processor I bought last year. It's amazing how many recipes there are for such a simple dish but the one I'd intended to loosely base my first attempt on had gruyere in. Now it won't...but it will have immaculately sliced potatoes!

I give thanks for tennis 'back' on the BBC. I enjoy it so much more with Go Compare or EDF every few mins...

I'm grateful for Manfred Sauer sending me a pre-paid label to send my unused nephrostomy bags for use in demonstrations. I hate waste but I didn't think they'd actually pay for me not to!

I'm grateful that Carol has found the blog posts she was missing ('missing' is her word not mine!)

And for the fact that the sea yesterday that was actually blue...not grey or simply invisible. Yes, science buffs, I do know the sea isn't actually blue. But then again neither is gorgonzola!