Shrove Tuesday…

OK, so it’s pancake day…but what does ‘Shrove’ mean?  Well it’s all about penitence…Christians confessing & having their sins absolved before Lent. The tradition of ‘Shriving’ is over 1000 years old & was recorded in Anglo Saxon monastery records.

These days, Shrove Tuesday is a day of celebration as well as penitence, because it's the last day before Lent. Lent is a time of abstinence, of giving things up. So Shrove Tuesday is the last chance to indulge yourself, and to use up the foods that aren't allowed in Lent.

Giving up foods: but not wasting them. In the old days there were many foods that observant Christians would not eat during Lent & so that no food was wasted, families would have a feast on the shriving Tuesday, and eat up all the foods that wouldn't last the forty days of Lent without going off.

The need to eat up the fats gave rise to the French name Mardi Gras; meaning fat Tuesday. Pancakes became associated with Shrove Tuesday as they were a dish that could use up all the eggs, fats and milk in the house with just the addition of flour.

Now, I love pancakes…but by their very nature & what you add to them, they are not exactly a ‘slimming’ food……my solution for not missing out?…….have a tiny one!!! While Lee & the oiks tucked into two full sized pancakes each, I made myself a token mini one…added lemon juice & Candarel & made it last as long as possible!!!

I didn’t get to weigh in this morning….after a week on track, I blew it on Sunday evening with my Valentine gift from Lee…he bought me a box of ‘Tobelles’…basically thin slices of Toblerone…there were 20 of them in the box & he thought that that would be a safer bet than a whole Toblerone bar & that I could have one now & again!!  After almost 24 years of marriage you’d think he’d know better!! They lasted less time than it took my after dinner cup of coffee to cool!!!  So, I decided not to risk another gain at the scales & will be tight to plan this week to repair any damage before it can be recorded!!!!

And that brings me back to it being Shrove Tuesday….tomorrow is Ash Wednesday…the first day of Lent. It’s been many years since I gave up anything for Lent, so this year I’m committing to abstaining from chocolate for the entire six weeks up to Easter…40 days & nights, not including Sundays!! It won’t be easy, but then again what would be the point if it was?!! Wish me luck!

I have one more thing to share with you today…I received a parcel this morning, my first ever pair of UGG boots!! I’m usually bringing up the rear when it comes to fashion trends…I’m a bit of an ‘I wear what I like’ kind of person & have ‘ummed & aaahed’ about UGGs for almost two years! A few weeks ago I saw a great deal on-line & went for it!        I put them on as soon as I unpacked them & they are still on my feet this evening!! You watch…now they’ll become ‘So Last Year Darling!!’…Ah well!!!

Anyhoo…I will leave you with a couple of funnies I received as part of an email, there was a whole list of genuine exam answers, but these two made me laugh out loud!!!

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks for dropping by!