Pie and printers!

A couple of days ago I was making spanakopita, opened the freezer to get some filo pastry and to my horror... there was none! The only thing I could find was puff pastry so, ever the pragmatist, I thought I'd give it a go.

Just out of the oven

What ensued was an enlightening lesson in making do. I discovered an even easier dish that P said he preferred. Win/win!!! All I did was defrost the pastry and line a pyrex dish with half of it. I cooked and drained about three quarters of a packet of frozen spinach, grated one packet of feta cheese et voilà... time to construct the pie.

Anticipation...

Half the cheese went on the bottom, then all the spinach seasoned with salt, pepper and a liberal sprinkling of freshly grated nutmeg, then the rest of the cheese on top. I then rolled out the pie lid, placed it on top and pricked around the outside with a fork. After I'd cut around the edges, I  couldn't bear to throw away the leftover pastry so I brushed a splash of milk over the top, cut out some litttle hearts and placed them in a circle. Into the oven at 180C/350F/Gas Mark 4 for 35 mins and there you have it.  With a mixed salad and a glass or two of white burgundy you have a fabulously easy and pretty decorative supper.

Yum yum...

Not everything has been so easy recently though. My printer has been on its last legs for months now, and the other day it decided enough was enough. Panic! P took it to the friendly print shop at the top of the road and it was duly pronounced dead on arrival.  So the hunt for the next printer began. First of all a replacement was found at said shop, but after installing the software, downloading the update for Mac OS 10.7.3 and asking it to print, guess what?  Right first time, no way would it print and on consulting tech support it turns out it's not compatible. Irritating but as my mother would say, these things are sent to try us.

Back to the drawing board. The next and current one was bought online after making sure it supported the Mac operating system and I now have this beast of a thing sitting on a table in my office, taunting me by also refusing to print. This one is a super-duper wireless printer/scanner/copier/fax. I've installed everything to the letter, done the wireless set-up and I must say it produces very good photocopies and scans. Haven't tested the fax yet, but I can see no reason why it won't be just as efficient at that task too. The only thing it doesn't seem to be able to manage at the moment is the one thing I want it to do which is PRINT A FEW PATTERNS. I'm tearing my hair out and speechless, even fave swear words cannot express how frustrated and powerless I feel.

So... I'm going to ignore it for a while - sometimes works, I'm convinced these machines do have minds of their own - go back to my pattern writing and hope that by the end of the day a miracle might have happened and the blasted thing WILL WORK!

Arlo about to give Django quick wash and brush up

The kitties are a good lesson in zen behaviour which is what I think I need in times like these. They've been racing around play-fighting and mischief-making all morning, but they always know when it's time for a rest. Django duly tucked into his chosen chair and was trying to get some shut-eye when ever-annoying (for Django) Arlo jumped on top of him and decided he needed sprucing up. Django got a compulsory wash and brush up before Arlo eventually tucked in and joined him for a nap.