Thanks, I thought we were almost there last week, but the weather turned again... :/
Still, hopefully the summer will be decent (but not too hot or wet to damage your crops :) )

Well it looks like we might just be able to afford to do both. Still got a lot of bills and loans to pay off, which take priority, but I'll be putting some money aside when I can just in case the winter is slow again.
We'll definitely be having a holiday (probably a few nights at our favourite hotel in the Lake District) once things have picked up enough.

I'm intrigued... ;-)

I often have the impression that, at least in Germany, it is often neglected what great impact good food has on life quality. Everything seems to be catered to convenience or has to be cheap...
Yeah well, hot wine or cold beer (or Radler/Alster), I think that is what generates the cash flow (depending on the weather) here. From talking with restaurant owners I know that many of them say that goog food draws the people, but the drinks pay the bills.

I thought you were going to bed?

It's pretty much the same here to be honest... food quality is generally pretty awful. It's one of the big differences I noticed when I came here from Ireland. In Ireland you can pretty much walk down any street and find a cafe, pub or restaurant selling decent or good food. Here it's a struggle to find somewhere that even does half decent food... everything is a chain or a franchise...
And everyone is always talking about how overweight the population is and how we need to stop eating and lose weight, when really what people need to do is just learn to cook and eat proper fresh food...

Thank you, the weather sure can cause problems for us, especially if we get more flooding again. Depending on how things go this summer we will decide what to do about livestock, whether to keep it as we are now, or go back to keeping livestock for slaughter.

Well if things keep going well, I expect to see your own restaurant opening soon. With all the DRM free pizzas we can eat. And a delivery service, so Moon can get some of your pizza. :-)

I love the Lake District, such a beautiful place. But then I love being outside among nature and enjoying the lovely countryside, something Yorkshire and the Lake District have lots of.

Something I am thankful I have never had to deal with (except when I was at college and university). Growing up on a farm and in the countryside I am used to lots of good quality fresh food, not all the cheap stuff in supermarkets. But I am lucky in that regard, not everyone is as fortunate to live in a rural area. Many people can not afford to eat healthy and fresh food, sadly. Not that much of the "fresh" food in supermarkets is actually fresh.

I'm tired but fine. Calming down slowly in the quiet of the middle of the night.
There are a few things I would like to get done in my time off:

Meditate. This always helps me to cope with myself and my environment, and I gravely could use some inner peace right now. i just didn't have the time (for months) to properly practice it.

Get some gaming done. I've spent so much on games (for myself, I don't have a problem with gifts for other people) and got gifted so generously (i.e. by you :-)) that I really slowly develop a bad conscience not playing all these games. I mean, owning them is kind of a satisfaction in it's own right, but it really does not justice to them (and the gifters and my limited wallet).

Get creative again. I used to paint and write (and perform on stage, but I won't have time for that anymore until the kids are both at least in their teens). I hope to get some painting (or at least scribbling) done. The 7 days off won't probably be enough to get some serious writing done (and I have all the household to take care of too). Maybe a poem or two may emerge, if they come to me.

Most importantly: Kids time! At least this week. Starting tomorrow when there is Easter party in the big one's school where I will take the little one to. Should be fun.
Actually I'm in bed right now. I'm sleeping in the living room because I've got a clogged nose and that makes me snore like I'm sawing a whole forest down. :-)

Very nice not to annoy wife with snoring:-)

Exactly my observation. With quality food people will live more healthy because a) it has less fat and sugar to complement lacking taste and b) people are more satisfied with it and eat less.
Bad food tempts you to stuff yourself because you wait for that feeling of satisfaction to kick in. I've been to "stars" restaurants multiple times, and although the portions are tiny, you feel very comfortable afterwards because the tastes are so intense and complex that the craving for more is immediately stopped although it is extremely delicious.
I grew up in a rural area and my parents still live there. I'm always a little envious at the quality of their food (for half or 2/3 of the price where I live).

I love the quiet of the night. I sleep a lot less than my partner, so I often just sit in from of the fire and listen to some music, or read a book, or check the forum (or all three) for a while when she goes to bed. I have never been into meditation, I guess spending my days mostly outdoors enjoying the fresh air gives me a lot of time to myself and to keep a clear head. I hope you manage to get some rest and some relaxation, both physically and mentally.

I remember you telling me before about your love of painting, writing, and acting on stage. Maybe you could share what you write with the thread, I am sure we would be interested to read it. Only if you wanted to share, of course.

Spending some quality time with your kids sounds great, hopefully you will have a very fun and enjoyable week. You deserve it after all your hard work.

How is your wife doing? Is she still getting better?

Hey, everyone. =)

So nice to get errands done quickly for once. (Especially since it's frigging warm and painfully bright outside.)

Hello.
I would be happy if it would be a bit warmer where i ilve....

It can't be helped, sadly. Cities and built up areas are not able to get proper fresh food like rural areas are. There is also the question of supply and demand. Local growers just can't produce the quantity needed for built up areas, so the larger shops and supermarkets import a lot of the produce, which is sadly often low quality when compared to real fresh food. But it is cheaper, and for some that is what is important. More people in England are starting to prefer fresh food and are willing to pay a little extra to support local growers. They are also more interested in growing things for themselves. You just can't beat fresh food. :-)

Couldn't agree more.
The hotel we go to in the Lakes isn't Michelin starred or anything, but it serves really good top quality food. The portions are small, but because everything is so delicious you enjoy it and savour it more, and eat slower so you end up feeling just as full.
People need to stop worrying about dieting, or cutting out fat or carbohydrates, and just learn how to make food properly from scratch. It's healthier and more satisfying.

Anyway, I'm off to bed. Nice talking to you :)

See you all tomorrow.

I'll trade you happily, believe me.

Also, if you can make that happen, I'll keep the insanely high pollen levels here so you can actually breathe while enjoying the warmth.