Wednesday Medley - 27/2/19

These questions are provided by Terri at Your Friend from Florida.

Pop over there to join in or to check out who else is taking part.

 

NATIONAL STRAWBERRY DAY

We continue with February’s heart-shaped and red theme by observing National Strawberry Day on February 27. These juicy, sweet berries can brighten up any dish and are delicious all on their own.

1.  Given all that information* on this 🍓National Strawberry Day🍓, do you have a favorite recipe for strawberries?  Would you share it with us?
Shock horror - I'm not a big strawberry fan!  I do like them but I don't love them.  I'd either make a sponge flan with them or more likely an Eton Mess (crushed meringue, strawberries and whipped cream). 

Image courtesy of BBC Good Food

 

2.  Some people think the smaller, northern varieties are sweeter than the larger berries that grow in the south and in California.  What are your thoughts on that?
Never really checked where the strawberries were grown.  I get them from the supermarket.  But I have a sweet tooth so I'm guessing I'd prefer the ones from the north.

3.  There is a Strawberry Festival right here in Plant City, Florida (next town over from Lakeland) and it is a huge event that lasts 11 days with headliner acts each day.  Have you ever been to a Strawberry Festival?

No.

4.  Strawberries are grown in every US state.  Have you ever grown them in your garden?

I have tried but wasn't that successful.  Might have another go this year.

5.  Strawberry is the only fruit that has seeds on the outside, and technically it is not a berry but rather a fruit, and would you be surprised to learn that strawberries belong to the rose family?  Do you have any strawberry trivia to share with us?

Afraid not, although I did know about the rose connection.

6.  Tell us something random about your week!!

We were with Grandson Nathan on Monday this week instead of Tuesday and it's confusing me.  Feels like today should be Thursday and it's only Wednesday but being retired it doesn't really matter!

* see Terri's blog for the full information on National Strawberry Day

Review: The Search

The Search by Howard Linskey
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A killer with a secret to tell . . .

Little Susan Verity went missing during the heatwave of 1976. An unprecedented amount of police resources went into finding her, but to no avail. Until now.

Serial killer Adrian Wicklow was always the prime suspect. He's lied to the police about Susan's whereabouts repeatedly but this time, he says, he'll tell the truth. Because Wicklow is dying.

As the case re-opens DS Ian Bradshaw works with investigative journalists Tom Carney and Helen Norton to find Susan. But this is Wicklow's life's work. Would a killer on death's door give up his last secret so easily...? 

I seem to be reading this series backwards but it didn't detract from my enjoyment of this one. It's a crime thriller that kept me guessing. A cold case for Detective Ian Bradshaw to try and solve. Where are the bodies? And what really happened to Susan Verity? With the help of investigative journalists Norton & Carney, Bradshaw tries to piece together the events of a summer day back in 1976. In doing so he has to try and get inside the head of Adrian Wicklow a convicted serial killer.

Someone knows what happened that day. Was there a police cover up? What did Susan's friends really see?

Gradually all is revealed and of course not everything is as it seems.

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Tuesday Twaddle - 26/2/19

Well all my meandering yesterday revolved around Grandson Nathan.  We had a change of days this week so I was there yesterday.  We meandered up the hill to the shops in the morning and meandered around the park in the afternoon chasing after his football.  Actually not much chasing was required as he can't kick it very far yet and he was a bit unsure about the bumpy grass so he wasn't running very fast either.  But still, all that activity was tiring.  Add in the factor that the trains weren't running well yesterday so I had to drive there and back it's probably no surprise my blog was neglected yesterday.  My bed was not!

Anyway that meant a reprieve for today but we had a visit from Grandson Rory and my son instead.  He's crawling everywhere now so that means having to be more vigilant with him as, especially if he spots an open door, he seems to cover the floor very quickly!  It is lovely being so close to them and watching them grow up and thankfully, due to social media we can keep in touch with how Noah's doing too.  Although sometimes you get TMI (too much information) particularly on their bowel movements (or lack of them) lol.  Seriously I love all of it so if DIL #2 is reading this don't stop posting!

Talking of bowel movements reminded me of this picture spotted on Facebook today:

with of course the question which one are you?  

There was great debate amongst the comments.  Some people even referred to the patent application picture showing the paper hanging as in B.

Personally I'm a B but I don't get in a tizzy over it, especially as it's usually me that restocks the toilet rolls so it hangs how I like it and yes if hubby or anyone else gets it wrong I might change it around.  Although I'm more likely to do this if the two sheets aren't aligned properly and if you don't know what I mean by that you could watch this clip from YouTube
 

Yes really!  Sorry if you watched it.  That's 22 seconds of your life wasted. (Unless of course you didn't know how to fix it when the two layers don't align in which case I've just done you a favour.)

Well of course I'm reading the responses to the A or B dilemma and thinking why are these people getting so worked up over this let alone bothering to check out the patent application to reinforce their opinions?  After all changing the toilet roll doesn't cause brain damage according to many of the images I found when I googled it.  

Or maybe it does.  Why else would I be waffling on about toilet rolls on a lovely Tuesday afternoon?    Rhetorical question!

Review: The Curious Heart of Ailsa Rae

The Curious Heart of Ailsa Rae by Stephanie Butland
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Ailsa Rae is learning how to live.
She's only a few months past the heart transplant that - just in time - saved her life. Life should be a joyful adventure. But . . .

Her relationship with her mother is at breaking point.
She knows she needs to find her father.
She's missed so much that her friends have left her behind.
She's felt so helpless for so long that she's let polls on her blog make her decisions for her. And now she barely knows where to start on her own.

And then there's Lennox. Her best friend and one time lover. He was sick too. He didn't make it. And now she's supposed to face all of this without him.

But her new heart is a bold heart.

She just needs to learn to listen to it . . .

I really enjoyed this. It follows Ailsa's struggles to adapt to her life following a heart transplant. Having spent most of her 28 years being very unwell she is given a chance to actually live. But this requires a lot of adjustments. It's told in different ways, from flashbacks to life before the transplant, present time narrative plus e-mail exchanges and blog posts. This didn't detract from the story though. It's funny at times but also sad. Not everyone gets a happy ending when waiting for a transplant (not a spoiler - it's in the blurb). 

Ailsa is not the only one having to adapt. Her Mum also has to learn to cope with life after the transplant and how this changes their relationship. 

This is a work of fiction but hopefully anyone reading it who isn't on the donor register might actually put themselves on it.

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