{"id":5701,"date":"2014-01-19T07:05:35","date_gmt":"2014-01-19T07:05:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.stragnell.com\/befoulednews\/?p=5701"},"modified":"2014-01-18T09:53:15","modified_gmt":"2014-01-18T09:53:15","slug":"19-january-2014","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.stragnell.com\/befoulednews\/2014\/01\/19\/19-january-2014\/","title":{"rendered":"19 January 2014"},"content":{"rendered":"

Good morning to you all. Hope you\u2019ve all had a good week and that those of you who have been enduring unusual or extreme weather have seen its impact mitigated. We were intrigued to read Pam\u2019s weekly Whiner and reflect on the change in temperature at the Lake moving from minus a million to a balmy, spring-like 50o<\/sup> F in a few days. Crazy! We\u2019ve had a few chilly and frosty days but the latter part of the week has been relatively mild for the time of year, much to the disorientation of our local flora and fauna – the song birds are busily performing symphonies in an effort to attract a partner for the season and the buds on the trees, shrubs and bushes are beginning to show signs of action. I haven’t the heart to tell them it’s only mid-January and the worst is yet to come! Still, lots and lots of rain and continuing flooded rivers but not quite so bad as in the past few weeks \u2013 still every bit as muddy, though, much to Molly\u2019s chagrin.<\/p>\n

The big event of this past week was Pen\u2019s mother Beryl\u2019s 90th birthday party which we hosted here on Sunday. And what a grand affair it was too. There was a significant congregation of family & friends and representatives from each of four generations ranging from Oz and Beryl at the top of the tree, Pen and Jeremy, Jeremy\u2019s three children along with Nick & Lucy and Rebecca\u2019s boy Michael and then the great grandchildren of whom there were six. All told I think there were twenty-seven in attendance. Not quite up to XCstravaganza standards but a good turnout nevertheless. Not surprisingly, Penelope catered for about sixty.<\/p>\n

I did what little I could to avoid being a hindrance although I was instructed to set up the barbeque to incinerate Sandy\u2019s salmon with pesto. Fortunately, although it was cold, the weather co-operated and did not precipitate and the salmon was done to perfection.<\/p>\n

The two sides of salmon complemented the spicy pork dish and the glazed ham Ms Playchute had prepared along with Amy potatoes and spinach and butternut squash au gratin<\/i>. Not only was it all up to the exceedingly high standards we have come to expect from Penelope\u2019s Kitchen (i.e., outstandingly delicious) but we also had the distinct advantage of enjoying the left-overs for the next three days.<\/p>\n

The birthday cake was a masterpiece! Half chocolate and half lemon with an edible map of the world on the top into which were posted little flags of the countries where Beryl and Oz have lived at some point or other \u2013 the UK, France, Uganda, Nigeria, Australia, Jamaica, the US and Turkish Cyprus, not necessarily in that order.<\/p>\n

As well as the fantastic meal, everyone had a splendid time. Penny had cleared out the \u201cworkshop\u201d space over the Annexe and had deposited a collection of toys there for the younger generations to enjoy. So, while the \u201cold folk\u201d sat and chatted, the great-grandchildren (and many of their parents, aunts and uncles and grandparents) disappeared upstairs and commenced to have a whole lot of fun! There were foam balls, foam dice, a play parachute, a rocking horse and a couple of sit-in cars as well as a princess\u2019s castle and a whole stack of other stuff which Annabelle kindly lent us for the day. Several folks suggested that Penny should start her own playgroup; she replied that she\u2019s already been there and done that many, many years ago.<\/p>\n

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