A foggy walk

Day 25

For a Sunday, today has been busy! The weather has been very foggy again, and it lingered all day, with no let-up at all and no sign of the sun.

When Keith and I collected Mike from work we took him to McDonald's for a drive-thru breakfast as a treat. I think he deserved it after working both days this weekend! Back home we made our own breakfast, and after we'd eaten I suggested to Sophie that we start preparations for the evening meal - a chicken and pappardelle soup. We had to cook a whole chicken for about an hour and a half on the hob with garlic and onions, and then let it cool before taking off all the meat.

While that was cooking Sophie did some more prep - grating tomatoes, and peeling and slicing celery and carrots. We also managed to apply face masks, which is becoming a lovely habit on a Sunday! While they were setting we watched an episode of A Place in the Sun - this time a very fussy couple who turned down everything they were shown!

While Sophie had a quick shower I removed all the meat from the chicken carcass and put it in the fridge. Sophie put the rest of the ingredients into a saucepan and we let the soup come to the boil before setting it aside. This evening all we'll have to do is blitz it until it's smooth, add the chicken and pasta and warm it through.

We decided to set off for a walk into the village, and then down the rough track between the fields. The fog looked like it had become even denser!

We walked down the track, and it was eerily quiet, all sounds muffled by the fog. Sheep filled the fields to the right of us, and we stopped to say hello. They all stared at us curiously, and I think we saw a ram in with the ewes.

In the distance we could hear the muffled buzz of off-rode motorbikes, so we decided to turn around and head back to the village. The track was lonely and quite eerie in the fog! We walked to the "triangle" of grass and then headed back home.

We met Lynn who was doing some digging in one of the borders on the green and had a chat with her. She said that a couple of the residents had very kindly put up solar lights on the trees, but with the fog today, it was unlikely that they would be shining when it got dark. Even though it's not yet December, quite a few of our neighbours had already put up outside lights and decorations, which will cheer us all up!

We relaxed for a while before it was time to put the finishing touches to the meal. We blitzed the soup, Sophie made garlic bread and I added the chicken and pasta to the saucepan. There looked a lot of it, so that was a relief!

The meal was a success but I said to Sophie there was one ingredient in the recipe I wasn't keen on, which we discovered was thyme... I am not a fan for some reason!