Sandwich time

 

Sandwich Time

Welcome once again to Toni Taddeo's Tuesday 4.

Sandwiches are a lunch time favorite.  

In the 1930s two favorite sandwiches were ham, pickles and mustard and tuna with rice, capers, pepper and paprika.  I think it probably needed mayo!

Sandwiches can be a  simple peanut butter and jelly or a classy Monte Cristo.

1. What is your favorite sandwich and how do you make it?

I'm not a very exciting sandwich maker and we tend to only have them in the summer. I like a tomato, lettuce, ham and cheese usually on white bread but not always. A little mayo on the lettuce as well. Otherwise lettuce and marmite or cheese and marmite. Marmite is a yeast based breakfast spread not to be confused with vegemite which is more common in Australia. Toasted sandwiches are always good too but not with lettuce.

 

2.  What is the best bread for making toast?  How about for making sandwiches?

We like Couplands Super thick toast bread for sandwiches and toast. It stays lovely and fresh longer than other bread we've found.

3.  If you go out to eat for lunch are you more likely to stay with a safe choice or be more adventurous?

No I'm not a very adventurous sandwich eater when out. Usually I look for an egg 

sandwich made with chopped chives and some mayo. I don't keep eggs at home as we don't eat them very often so enjoy a plain old egg sandwich if I'm out for lunch.

4. Dagwood, hoagie, submarine, Po boy, grinder. Whatever they are called where you are, do you like them and if so what do you want on it?

Pardon? I'm guessing, but don't know, that these are either filled rolls or similar to a subway. On the odd occasion when we go to Subway we tend to still go for the salad ingredients with cold meat but have occasionally become quite daring and tried some of the other ingredients. Usually in a toasted grain bread.

Have a good week.

blessings,

Diana

A different sort of week

It started out as a normal week.

On Monday I went out for a very enjoyable coffee date with a lady from church. I haven't known her long so it was a good opportunity to get to know each other a bit better and we found we had a few things in common. Like line dancing, she still goes, I don't. She also goes to an exercise group for older people that I am trying to get back into. Anyway there were other things as well and we'll probably catch up again but she lives in the city and I live in the burbs so possibly not too often.

On Tuesday my GKB and I finally got to go out for my birthday lunch and that was lovely too, even if the rain did decide to bucket down just as we arrived at the restaurant. We both had crumbed schnitzel with onion gravy and chips with salad. I don't know about you but I am not a fan of modern salads, I find them hard to eat unless I've something to mix them with - this time it was either chips or gravy! But don't get me wrong it was a thoroughly enjoyable meal apart from that :) Washed down with a cup of tea for me and a cold drink for my GKB.

Then Wednesday happened! 

I'd done my shift at the shop, come home and had just got changed and sat down to have a hot drink before tea and the phone went. It was one of my friends, she was at her doctors and needed to go to the Emergency Dept at the hospital urgently and would I be able to take her? So of course I did - but I really can't understand why they didn't call an ambulance for her.  Her nearest family are two hours away by car. I sat with her at the hospital until 9:30pm when they decided to admit her. She is a very sick little lady, with a pulmonary embolism on each lung.

I sat in the foyer waiting for my GKB to come back and pick me up, he'd driven us in but I didn't see the point in both of us sitting there with her and I didn't want to go home in case they decided not to admit her. I had the shop again the next day but I also needed to take things like toiletries into her as well as some clean underwear, so that was the morning taken care of.

 Friday I stayed home and caught up on sleep and then did my washing. I wasn't vey interested in doing anything else. Call me strange if you like but I quite enjoy washing and pegging it out on the line - relaxing in the warm sun. Today is Saturday, I've been in for a visit and caught up with friend's daughter who is hoping to take her home with her for a few days when she is discharged. I hope she's sensible and goes with her.

On the way home from the hospital we visited The Warehouse where they are starting to get ready for St Patrick's Day and of course Easter. One of my sisters in Aussie wants marshmallow eggs so we were looking for those for her.

So I apologise that I haven't been visiting as I might, 

I've been a tad busy this week and haven't had the energy :)

Take care until next time.

Diana

Lunch at the gardens

 Yesterday dawned cool and crisp, just 5C when I climbed out of bed. A lovely sunny, autumn day but with a decided nip in the air. Just nice for a wander around the Botanic Gardens about lunch time.

If you zoom in you will see people sitting on benches enjoying the sun.

On Sunday my son usually takes me and a friend in to church but yesterday he and his wife were wanting to stay in town and do some shopping after the service. So my friend and I decided to take her car and go somewhere for lunch.

The rose gardens are getting a bit shabby.

We decided on the Gardens tea rooms as we were down that end of town anyway and parking wouldn't be such a problem as if we went into the CBD. After a nice relaxed lunch we decided to have a bit of a stroll around, it was such a nice day. 

Ducks on a small part of the pond.

We wandered through the tropical glasshouse, too hot in our winter coats and a relief to get back out into the cooler air :) Then through the rose gardens and past the duck pond. There were a lot of ducks around, maybe they knew it was the start of duck shooting season this weekend. Finally past the bandstand and the children's play area and it was up the hilly part to the car.

The children's play area.

I hope you've enjoyed this little stroll around a small part of the gardens with us. They really are rather lovely at any time of the year.

   We really enjoyed ourselves and have decided to have lunch out on a Sunday more often. 

Have a good week,

Diana

Diggers Tavern for lunch

Today our daughter in law shouted us out for lunch. So at midday we presented ourselves at Diggers Tavern which was formerly the RSA (Returned Services Association), and were shown to our table.

 Spitfire Restaurant was looking good with the tables set nicely, a table for two for us :) My GKB is looking a bit solemn but he was enjoying himself. The entertainment hadn't yet started.

There was only one course but it was well worth the money and filled us, so just a snack for tea tonight. We both ordered crumbed Schnitzel with gravy, chips and green salad. We managed to eat it all but I noticed some people took doggy bags home. And we didn't have to wait long for it, it was on the table about 10 minutes after ordering.

I'm also looking a bit serious but was distracted by the entertainers arriving. To eat or to watch them setting up? Eating won out :)

A lady I've known for about 30 years played background music while were dining. She is a beautiful pianist but unfortunately she was on a keyboard today and it sounded bit tinny but no one seemed to mind. It was also a little hard to hear her over all the background chatter, but that's a good thing - chatter usually means people are enjoying themselves in my experience.

Tea, coffee or something cold from the bar was available after the meal. I'm a tea drinker and my GKB went and got our drinks. He ordered me Earl Grey tea, not my favourite but I didn't mind today.

And then the Rhythmix started their turn. It was a wonderful hour and a half of 60's music, the Beatles, Beachboys and the like. Tom Jones. A bit of a singalong and finishing off with Vera Lynne's 'We'll meet again'.
 

We had a lovely time out and grateful thanks to daughter in law Sofi.

********

And just because I can, a photo of two of the great grandkids with feijoas the neighbour has just given them. Alice and Sitiveni.

That's it for today, 

until next time,

Diana

Lunch at The Village Green

 We slept in this morning! By the time we had finished breakfast and done our morning chores it was midday. The morning was dark and wet, which probably explains it. By early afternoon it was really quite dark and we put the lights on to make lunch and they're still on. It has been very wet and squally this afternoon and my GKB says hail is expected.

But it hasn't been like this all week, we had blue skies and warm temperatures earlier on. We also celebrated our 53rd wedding anniversary with lunch out at a nice wee cafe called The Village Green at the nearby soccer grounds. It doesn't look much in the photo but once you find your way in it is rather nice inside. The entrance is at the front of the pavillion, (not up the steps) through the door, down the corridor, up in the lift and along another corridor. A hidden gem  And the food is lovely.

I had a Thai salad and my GKB had battered blue cod with crispy potatoes and salad. Both meals were delicious. You can have a drink from the bar or tea and coffee to accompany it. We generally have a soft drink of some sort. Youngest daughter works here and she always jokingly warns us not to spill our food all over the floor when we go. 

When we arrived home we found this little bag of runner beans in the letterbox. Daughter had dropped them off, picked fresh from one of her friends' garden.

I think that is all. I'm going to do some reading and await this expected hail storm, which will probably be accompanied by thunder. Maybe I'm strange but I quite like a good thunder storm - as long as I'm inside!

Diana

A sociable day

 Yesterday dawned, cold wet and windy. Our high was 14C. It's the middle of summer for goodness sake. I wasn't impressed.

Regardless, we were due to meet my GKB's sister and her husband down in Port Chalmers for a lunch date, so we rugged up warm and headed away. The wind was howling down the main street when we arrived and really quite unpleasant, cutting through our layers.

There had been a cruise ship due in but the stopover was cancelled due to the high winds. But that worked in our favour as there was plenty of room in the cafe we chose. We still had a few minutes before SIL and her hubby arrived so we went inside to wait. When they arrived BIL was carrying a large brown grocery bag - my GKB laughingly said, 'he's brought his lunch with him'. But no, it was a bag of garden produce for us from his garden.

He has a big garden and he is very generous each time we visit, we always head home with veges freshly dug from the garden. It is never expected, I'm always surprised even after all these years, and it's always appreciated.

We had a lovely relaxed lunch and caught up with all the family news, we hadn't seen each other since well before Christmas.

Later in the evening my home study group was meeting again for the first time this year. It was to be a dessert and coffee evening and we all took a dessert. I have to admit to cheating as mine came from the supermarket, my excuse - I'd been out all day. 

It was the first time we'd met together as a group for about six weeks, so again a time to catch up and just enjoy each others company. 

Two hot, two cold, cream and icecream, some snacks and home made shortbread, Yum. And of course tea or coffee depending on your preference.

That's it for now.

Have a good week,

Diana

scavenger hunt

Lost/found

 Lost...and not yet found.

I was getting ready to go out a couple of weeks ago  and was changing my ear rings. I always stand over the bed when taking them out so that if they drop I don't lose them. Haha. One of my good pearl studs fell and disappeared. We have searched, the floor, the bedding and shaken out the bath robe that was on the bed. Nada. A mystery. 

Prints

I received a lovely Christmas card this year from my 

granddaughter and her husband. Granddaughter is quite 

arty crafty so she made her cards this year - with help

 from young Arlo. He played in paint and we all received 

cards with his handprints and footprints on them :) 

Something to treasure.

Lunch

Every now and then I go to a daytime concert with one of my friends.  A light lunch is included in the cost of the tickets. It's usually a sandwich and a muffin with tea and coffee. I had to take something out to the car between the end of the concert and lunch this week and when I got back all that was left were the sandwiches in the picture.

Starts with M

 Breakfast doesn't start with M but Marmite does. Yum. Nothing better than tea with marmite on toast for breakfast - unless of 

course you're an Aussie and you'd probably prefer Vegemite :)

Ends with T

Windfall walnuts are sometimes on the path where I walk along the Silverstream. This is one of them. I know because I couldn't work out what they were when I first saw them so I picked one to bits - and ended up with beautifully stained fingers :) Walnut.

My choice

A lone sheep, a lost sheep or just left behind. 

On the bank of the Silverstream one evening.

Joining Hawthorn for her photo scavenger hunt on:
http://livelovecraftme.blogspot.com/2020/01/januarys-link-up-party.html

Well my intention was to join up with Hawthorn but I have been away for a few days and the link wasn't up before I left and it was finished when I arrived home. Never mind, you can still
have a look at what others have done if you follow the link above. 

Diana