Lightening Up

It is astonishing to find that finally, after what seems like years, it is lighter when we get up in the mornings.  In fact, we will rise in daylight every day from now on until late October, when the clocks go back again.  What a relief!  It feels like we've finally made it into the light after all these months of dark, cold, wet, miserable weather.  Yay for Spring!

Puppy woke me at 7.30 this morning, crying to go out.  I couldn't blame him, as there was a certain light in the sky that promised magical moments to be had by all.  The air was cool but there was a warmth in the sun that made me feel lighter and more relaxed; I too wanted to go outside.  A perfect day to hang washing out, I went round the house gathering clothes and school uniform and had a line full, flapping gently in the breeze by ten o'clock.  Pea felt the stirrings of Spring too and wanted to be doing stuff, so we decided to go for a walk. I went in search of the boys to deliver the good news and found H2 coming out of the garage with bits of wood tucked under his arm and hammer in hand.  He announced he was too busy to go for a walk as he had a major project in mind and wouldn't have time anyway.  Delighted to see him thus occupied, rather than zoned out playing cyber games, I agreed he could stay home.  H1 caught the tail end of the conversation and said that he couldn't go either as he had tons of homework and revision to do.  I have heard this excuse many times before from him, so I was a little suspicious to say the least.  He insisted that if he didn't revise and therefore failed his exams, he would be made to re-sit them and it would be my fault for making him go for a walk.  Highly unlikely, I said, but just make sure you do more than ten minutes revision then.

Having been completely taken in by the brightness of the sun, Pea and I had only put on jackets, rather than out big winter coats.  As soon as we turned up the lane we felt the stiffness of the chilly breeze, which made for rather a bracing walk.  It was so nice to be out in the countryside enjoying the sunshine rather than battling against all that horrid wind and rain.  We passed fields of heavily pregnant ewes, discovered swathes of bluebells pushing up through the earth along the verges and Pea had an excellent close view of a buzzard resting on a broken branch.

We walked down to the woods where quite a lot of trees had succumbed to the gales we have had over the last few months.  Most of them are Pine trees which seem to fall like skittles in the slightest breeze anyway, but it is still sad to see.  On our way home Pea and I just happened to turn our heads at the same time and we both saw something we have never seen before; a red squirrel.  I held my breath and watched it bounce across the lane in front of us, then it skipped up a bank and over the wall into the woods on the other side of the lane.  We both stood there with our jaws almost on the floor!  We know there are red squirrels on the island, but haven't heard of them this far North.  Sometimes the nasty grey squirrel can have a red-ish tint to it's coat, but this one was shining a brilliant red as the sun caught it and reds have a much lighter frame and little tufts on their ears, as did this one.  Wow, it was over in a few seconds but so exciting.  Almost at the same time we spied a Goldcrest flitting about on the wall near us.  Goldcrests are Britain's smallest bird; they have tiny needle like beaks that poke about in moss and under leaves looking for insects to eat, we were like children in a sweet shop and didn't know whether to wait to see if the squirrel would come back or watch the Goldcrest!  After a few minutes we began to breathe again and walked the rest of the way home in a slightly dazed state.

Pea was very keen to make a start on the vegetable garden after dinner, so as the boys were, for once, happily occupied in the garden (I didn't ask what they were doing but it seemed to involve bits of wood and saws), we all spent a few hours outside for the first time since we moved here in Autumn.  The dogs loved sniffing about and discovering new smells and things to scratch at.  Pea and I surveyed the slightly daunting task ahead of us and made a start.

This is the area we have chosen for our future veggie plot, mainly because the soil looks so good and we think it was used for growing veg in the past.  As you can see though there are an awful lot of weeds that need to be dug out first.  My back ached at the mere thought of all that work, but knowing one day soon we will be able to sow seeds and put plants in gave me the kick start I needed.  We worked hard between us and soon discovered that once upon a time, there were raised beds here; we dug up some well rotted planks of wood and found a weed suppressing membrane that covers almost the whole of our chosen plot.  Noooo!  This means we will have to first dig the weeds out and then scrape the top layer of soil off the membrane, cut it away in sections and scrape the soil back.  Not what I hoped for, I must admit.  It will be even more worth it after all that effort and I will make sure we eat something out of the garden every day of our lives!

I think we made a good start although we have quite a bit of work left to do.  We sat in the garden and surveyed our work with cups of tea in hand and a satisfying tightening of muscles!  The air was going chilly as the sun began to set over the sea, so I fetched the washing off the line while Pea and the boys tidied the garden and their bits of wood and tools.  We had a little wander around the garden and gleefully spotted tiny shoots, buds and bulbs popping up everywhere.  We don't know this garden yet so we are only working on a small part of it while we see what crops up over the next few months.  I think there will be new surprises almost every time we go out to look.

Enjoy your evening and thank you for reading.xxx

Spring and Winter

Yesterday saw at least two seasons in one day.  The morning dawned chilly and bright; it felt like a day for Spring cleaning so I stripped the beds, cleaned the insides of the windows and dusted, polished and hoovered.  The washing blew on the line in the Spring sunshine and I had high hopes of everything coming in dry.  At lunch time I took the dogs up Muddy Lane and to my surprise, it was actually really warm.  Gorgeous, in fact.  I got very warm in my layers of clothing, and slowed my pace a little to enjoy the sound of the birds singing and to notice the tiny bobbles of buds on branches of trees and hedges.  The breeze was a little keen though and snow covered the mountains, but it was a treat to be out there enjoying it all.

I worked up a bit of an appetite with all my activity and knew there was a slab of marzipan in the cupboard; well of course I knew it was there, I bought it.  It was meant for a Simnel cake, but weakness is a wicked mistress and she taunted me with the knowledge until I gave in (it didn't take much) and began nibbling.  In fact I nibbled most of it with a cup of tea.  I am a disgrace.  I forgave myself as I have a nice clean house and two worn out dogs.

  The sun stayed all day but as I was heading out of the house in the afternoon to fetch H2 from school, I noticed the sky over that part of the island was jet black.  MAL sat on the front seat, eyes wide as she stared ahead.  As we drove closer to school, a few spots of rain hit my windscreen but in moments had turned to sleet and then hail.  It hit the car like pebbles being flung sideways.  As the sky darkened the hail gave way to snow.  Yes, real snow!  It swept across the lanes, gathered on the windscreen wipers and blurred the landscape.  Within a few minutes the lane in front of me was white and snow kept falling.  I was really excited by now but also a little worried as the hill I had just come down would be an uphill one on the way back and my car can't cope with hills in slippy conditions.  I arrived at school and the mums were hopping about in anticipation of a day at home tomorrow, making snowmen, sitting by the fire with hot chocolate and wearing fluffy socks and slippers all day.  By the time H2 had come out it had stopped snowing and all but melted.  It took moments.  Noooo!  So disappointing, although I was pleased to be getting home safely without having to abandon my car and walk miles and miles home.  The temperature had dropped somewhat during the brief snow storm, so we were fully expecting more to come, but it didn't.  Instead we awoke this morning to yet another day of gales and heavy rain.  The noise is incredible; the bins in the yard are moving about by themselves and making quite a racket too.  The rain hits the windows and back door constantly and the wind rattles, moans and roars around the house and in the trees.  Thankfully the dogs have realised there is no hope of a walk today and have settled down in their cosy beds; I have watched a bit of the Winter Olympics with my cup of tea, cleaned the bathroom (what a joy) and plan to make some peanut cookies to have with rice pudding for tea.

I have neglected to take any more photos recently, due to either being busy or too cold to take my hands out of my pockets to use my camera.  I will rectify this for my next post.  I will go now and force myself to make cookies.  Have a good day, keep warm and dry and thank you for reading. xxx

Saturday Afternoon

Guess what?  Yup, it's raining again.  And it's very windy too.  There is very little that can be done on a day like this, but at least it is Saturday and we all had an extra hour in bed this morning; except Pea, who had an extra two hours.  After a lovely sunny day, the wind got up yesterday evening and it howled and made the trees groan and creak all night long.  The rain and hail hit my bedroom window for hours on end, but I just wriggled further under the covers and dragged my quilt over my head.  It was lovely to wake this morning and remember there was no need to be up and about early and instead to carry on dreaming, snuggled up in my lovely cosy bed.  That is until Puppy began whimpering and scratching to be let out into the garden.  Peace shattered, I forced myself into a vertical position, pushed my feet into my slippers and headed for the kitchen and the comfort of hot tea.

Not sure what happened to the cleaning fairies, but they failed to materialise last night (again) to do the washing up and so the kitchen looked like a chimp's tea party had taken place in my absence.  Just about every cup, mug, plate and glass we own had been used and left casually on the work tops and in the sink.  Actually if they were in the sink that wouldn't be too bad, but they were in the washing up bowl that was filled with now stone cold, dirty, grimy water.  Oh, YUK!  I hate that.  Why can my children not just rinse out their cups and put them away?  It doesn't take a minute and I have requested on many occasions that they do this, they always say they will but rarely do.  They will even go as far as to protest strongly against any of their actual involvement in such behaviour and H1 is excellent at displaying his disbelief at my suggestion by rolling his eyes heavenwards, dropping his shoulders and exclaiming 'God-uh!', as if I am an amoeba in a laboratory.  Despite this elaborate smoke screen, there are still dirty pots swimming in cold water on a daily basis.  This morning however, I needed a good mug of tea before I tackled the mess.

H2 was already up and snuggled under a blanket in the lounge watching the Winter Olympics, H1 came in and the three of us settled down to watch the snowboarding.  In total contrast to what was going on outside our own windows, in Russia the sun was shining, the snow covered the mountains and the sky was blue; beautiful.  The snowboarding action was pretty hot and H1 and I sat holding our breath when the two British men had their turn!  I always get really into this kind of thing, but don't bother with sport (apart from Wimbledon) usually and never play any myself.  Another cup of tea was required to watch the final and to calm my nerves when one of our boys dropped from Bronze medal position to 6th place.  Boooo!!!  It was really good though and a lovely start to my Saturday.

A bit later on I headed into the kitchen to start on the washing up and found H2 having his 'breakfast' at the table.  He had made two slices of toast with lemon curd and added a packet of mini Ryvita.  'You can't have that for breakfast,' I said.  H2 looked at me with a lovely, warm smile and said 'Course I can!' and proceeded to make Stone Henge with the Ryvita.  I decided this wasn't worth pursuing, so I left him to it and washed the pots, then dried them and put them away.  I don't know why I bothered putting them away as they will all be back on the draining board again, probably before I have left the kitchen.  I should just leave them all lying about and have some nice pictures on the walls instead of cupboards.

When everyone was finally up and dressed, we took the dogs out for a walk during a lull in the rainfall.  The wind pulled at hair and coats as we walked, heads bent, up the lane.  The rain began again before we had been going more than a few minutes.  We carried on as long as possible but I then thought of the two wet dogs and four wet coats we would have to get dry on reaching home; so we turned round and went back.  Short and not very sweet, but at least we'd all had some fresh air and a bit of a stretch.  We had yet more tea and raspberry buns to warm up, then I drove Pea to see her boyfriend.  The roads were quiet but there was a lot of water lying about which slowed things down a bit.  When I got home, the boys were messing about in the garden, trying to make a pull-up bar (don't ask, I didn't) but came in soon after in search of food and warmth.

After lunch we all began to settle down for the afternoon, or at least until I have to go out into the storm and fetch Pea.  The dogs managed to reach the settee before we did and had to be dragged off and persuaded that their cosy beds with warm blankets were a much better option.  They didn't seem convinced and sulked until we put the fire on.  Dogs.

Mum just sent me a text to tell me she was enjoying sitting down with a DVD and her knitting.  She thinks she was born to sit down, which would explain why she loves the Winter months so much, what else is there to do after all?  In weather like this, not a darn thing apart from read blogs and buy books (mum's idea).  For me it's the warmer part of the year that sees me at my best.  I am a mere shadow at other times and long to feel the heat of the sun seep into my bones; sit and read in the garden and wander about in flowery skirts and bare feet with a glass of homemade lemonade clinking with ice in my hand.  As I look out of the window, all that feels like a distant dream that will never come true.  It will be lovely to see the children just hanging about in the garden, busy doing nothing, lost in their own thoughts.  

But for now we are cosy indoors watching the Winter Olympics, leaving Lego lying about, playing games and day dreaming of a garden full of flowers, bees and butterflies.

  Keep calm and carry on! Thank you for reading. xxx

Winter's End...?

February is, in my opinion, the last month of Winter.  The days are lengthening ever so slightly, the birds sing a song of hopefulness and whatever the weather throws at us now, we at least know it can only get better.  Life stirs in the garden and countryside; the first lambs are in the fields, buds and tiny leaves warily emerge from dark branches and bare earth and when the sun makes a brief appearance it has a welcome warmth that speaks of the summer days to come.  We're almost there...the worst is over...it gets better from now on.

 I cannot believe the amount of rain we have had since before Christmas.  And it keeps coming.  I wonder how much more the land can take, but around here at least, it seems to be coping really well.  Pea and I went for a post tea time walk yesterday and for the first time in weeks, we could actually walk on the part of the lane that has been under water for ages.  Amazing!  That in itself was quite exciting and helped us to feel that things, weather wise are on the mend.  Today however, it has been hammering down for most of the morning and the winds have been quite strong too.  Oh, boredom how I loath thee!

In a feeble attempt to keep flagging spirits afloat, I had a poke about in my cupboards one afternoon for tea time inspiration and unearthed three almost-empty jars of stuff that needed using up.  I hate having jars hanging about like this as the children just shove them to the back of the cupboard and open new jars.  No one wants the dregs it seems and the lure of prising off a lid to hear that soft 'pop', is just too much for them to resist.  So I did a very make-do-and-mend thing, and made a tray of assorted tarts.

Jam, lemon curd and mincemeat topped with icing.  The children polished them off in no time and I made some space in my cupboard; everyone's happy.

For many years when the children were babies and toddlers, my only other passion in life was gardening.  I have kept gardening diaries for years with notes of what needs to be done when, what the weather was like and the results I achieved.  I still have those books and spent an evening flicking through some of them recently.  I was surprised at how much I knew back then!  It was nice to see I had written a note on H1's first birthday in February, that it had been snowing; still time then.  When I was going through my divorce I didn't feel much like gardening and as I was selling the house as well, I didn't have the heart for it.  While the children and I lived at the cottage, there wasn't a lot of opportunity for gardening as most of it was laid to lawn and the boarders were well stocked with shrubs, so we just enjoyed the views and spent time playing in the fields.  I did miss the act of gardening though; getting my hands in the soil, planting seeds, creating a boarder.  Our new home affords ample opportunity to do just that and it was one of the main reasons for moving here in the first place.  So after four years, I am finally able to start writing my gardening diary again.  I bought a new note pad, (always a joy!) and spent an hour at the kitchen table, surrounded by gardening books and packets of seeds.

The race with the weather is now on as we have to dig out a good sized plot, weed and prepare the soil for the first sowing of hardy salad leaves in mid March.  The potatoes and shallot sets will be ready to go in about then too, so I hope it dries up somewhat so we can get cracking with it.  Can't wait!  I have to admit that as much as I love being outside with nature and getting my hands dirty, I am a bit of a fair weather gardener.  I find no pleasure in digging out sodden earth with frozen hands and feet while the winds whip round my head and rain soaks me to the skin.  I would much rather be indoors with a cup of tea and a slab of cake.  I will wait until the sun warms the soil and my bones before I start doing serious stuff like that.  It is so much nicer to be sowing seeds with warm fingers in a warm poly tunnel, feeling the sun melt the tension and winter's chill from your back.

In reality I am getting a little ahead of myself; it is still Winter and there is still the possibility of snow before the Spring finally melts away that particular threat.  I am still bundled up in too many clothes and drinking too many cups of tea.  I still have to force myself to take the dogs out for their walks and we are still wanting to eat hearty meals and puddings.  But the seed has been sown in our minds of bird song, skirts and dresses blowing in a gentle breeze on the washing line, cucumber sandwiches and Victoria sponge for tea, daffodils in the garden and  lazy walks down lanes bursting with catkins and fresh leaves.

It's coming.  Hang in there!

Enjoy dreaming of Spring and sunshine and thank you for reading.xxx

January

I really don't like January.  This one seems to be dragging on a bit.  The relentless rain and wind are beginning to get everyone down and ten minutes at the school gates in an afternoon reveals that contempt for the month runs deep.  We are all tired, fed up and oh, so bored.  The mornings are getting darker, I'm sure of it and even though the weather man insists it is mild for the time of year, it still feels pretty chilly to me.  The damp seeps into my bones and makes me feel old and gloomy as I shuffle about dressed like a tramp in many layers, with a cup of scalding hot tea in my hands.  The only thing that keeps my spirits up is the certain knowledge that we are at least heading into the light side of the year.  Oh Spring, do hurry up!

On the whole, it has been a rubbish week.  H2 is unhappy at school, partly because he is getting emotionally ready for high school, although he has a while to go yet.  He is bored with the limitations of primary school and is desperate to spread his wings a little and learn more.  Pea is feeling bogged down with the amount of work she has.  Revision and homework is too much for anyone.  Young people need to have a bit of fun now and then, particularly if they are working hard at school, as all too soon they will be adults with all the joys of mortgages, bills to pay and families to care for.  Enjoy it while you're young I say.  H1 just hates school in general, but there's not much I can do about that, sadly.

The dogs spend a lot of their time pacing about, looking for some action to alleviate their boredom.  Not much to be had around here, I'm afraid.  They (and I) have endured some very damp walks this week, which are not joyful for anyone, especially with the amount of mud they bring back with them.  Brian the Blueberry is looking terribly unwell in the poly tunnel.  The cold has got to him, despite his layers of cosy fleece, and his frail twig-like branches have gone brown.  Oops, not good.  H1 covered him up with a bucket so hopefully that will save his little life and he will live to a ripe old age.  The snowdrops in the garden are in full bloom and look like a sprinkling of snow around the base of a possibly-but-not-quite-dead tree.  Something lovely happened during the week; for two days the rain clouds parted and the sun shone through, quite unexpectedly.  It was delightful and my mood and spirits soared like birds on a soft breeze.  While I was putting the washing out (yes, it dried!) I could feel the warmth of it's rays on my back and in those few moments I felt that life is really rather wonderful.  Funny how weather has such and impact on our lives.  All the mums at the school gate were smiling and chatting about how lovely it was to have a dry, sunny day.  We are all so desperate!

I discovered this one morning.  The warmth of the sun had brought out tiny shoots of Hawthorn.  Real, zingy, fresh green.  Yippee!  A joy to see and confirmation that things are starting to change for the better.  The birds were singing like they meant it while the sun was out and some blue tits have been investigating Pea's bird box.  Buds are appearing on trees and tiny plants pop up in my unknown garden almost every day.  During a nasty rainy day this week, Postie dropped a small box through my door.  It contained the seed order I had placed only last weekend.  That certainly put a smile on my face!  How I love seeds.  The promise that is held in those tiny specks of dust and the garden you can create with them is only limited by your imagination - and your budget.  I wanted to buy all the seeds we need for the kitchen garden and a kind of cottage garden cutting meadow we want to create, for less than £35.00.  When Pea and I added it up, I'd potentially spent over £40.  Difficult decision, but I ruthlessly crossed off lavender and aubergines and brought the total down to £35.41.   Forty one pence over budget; I can live with that.

And I got such a lot too, look!

Next I sent for some seed potatoes (Pink Fir Apple) and some shallot sets.  They arrived two days later, so as you can imagine, I was a very happy bunny for a few days.  Now I need a new note pad and a few hours to sort out a planting plan for the kitchen garden and a seed sowing list.  The cottage garden meadow thingy will just evolve.  There are already some plants there, so I think it will be best to just fill in the gaps and see how things go.  Most of them are hardy annuals that we can collect the seed from and sow again next year and if we take lots of photos and write notes, we can make improvements as we need to.  So much fun!

Yesterday however, was again cold and wet.  I went to Welsh class and was delighted to see my former tutor back with us again after having a nasty accident in the Autumn.  To say she broke her wrist is an under statement; she basically mangled it and now has lots of bits of metal in it to hold it all together.  We all really missed her (although I loved having Babs teach us too) and it was lovely to have her back.  Those feelings of kindness towards here were, however, short lived as she proceeded to work us to death with a determination to get us all speaking Welsh if it is the last thing she ever does.  Knowing how we are as a class, it probably will be the last thing she does.  I don't believe she broke her arm at all.....

So after all that brain work and a horrid afternoon of wind and rain, I decided that today I would buy chocolate.  It has been the kind of week that needs a restful few days at the end of it with the pleasure of eating chocolate, knowing it is well deserved and not greedy at all.  So I bought a large (ish) Toblerone this morning and have only eaten two triangles so far.  I am saving the rest for tonight, when the curtains are drawn against the night, the fire is on and everyone is warm and cosy.  Apart from Pea though, as she has gone ice skating with her friends and won't be back until the 9.15pm train.  So I will have to leave my comfy nest and go and get her.  Bet she's having an amazing time.

Only one more week of January and then February will be upon us, thank goodness.  We will all feel better then, and won't have long to wait until the half term holidays.  The year will be underway and the better days just around the corner.  Tea, cake, good books and warm fires are the antidotes to January days and nights. Diets and exercise can wait a while!

Have a good weekend and beat the January blues! xxx

Home Comforts

Another dark, cold, wet and windy day has dawned.  H1 is still at home suffering with an ear infection.  Pea is still battling with a massive load of homework and revision and H2 talks about Lego from the moment he awakes until he finally snuggles down to sleep at night.  At 7 this morning he perched on the edge of my chair and began his monologue.  I sat with my legs curled under me, hands wrapped round a mug of steaming hot tea, trying to warm up and muster enthusiasm for the day ahead.  My mind was not yet in this world and I treasure those minutes of silence at the beginning of the day, before it's all systems go.  I gently persuaded him to go and toast some crumpets for his breakfast, then I let my mind go back to it's early morning wandering.

When I arrived back home after depositing H2 at school, the day seemed to be attempting to brighten up a bit.  Full of optimism, I loaded the washing machine and hung out a good line full to dry in the wind.  By mid morning the rain had set in and I had to dash out, in between cleaning the bathroom and making the beds, to fetch it all in again and drape it over the clothes horse in the hall way.  H1 had a shower and dressed while I made him a toasted hot cross bun for breakfast.  Well he's poorly so he deserves a treat.  Actually on a horrid, miserable day like this we all deserve a treat and I think there is only one thing that can hit the mark; jam roly poly. Yesss!

This book is full of old-fashioned food.  You know, normal cooking that people have largely forgotten about nowadays.  Food that you cook then sit down at a table and eat with your family.  I think it's so sad that many children can't use a knife and fork properly because they have never had a family meal at a table and learnt how to eat.  Each evening the four of us all squash together round our small kitchen table and have dinner.  It's never anything fancy, sometimes it is just egg and chips or salad or lamb chops and veg.  I don't always make a pudding during the week so we have fruit, or if I've baked we will have some of that.  I try to save big meals for Sundays and keep things simpler mid week, that way we won't pile on too many unwanted pounds!  However, there are times when comfort food is needed and that's why jam roly poly is on the menu for tonight.  We will be having salad and Scotch eggs to begin and then we can really enjoy a good stodgy pudding.

Once made it needs two hours steaming then it just needs a jug of custard (Bird's will do nicely) and a spoon!  Mine is presently undergoing this process, neatly wrapped in it's coat of baking paper.

It looks a bit sad and anaemic before it is cooked, but the smell of hot raspberry jam when you unwrap it is so mouthwatering and you just know this will stick to your ribs and keep you going through a long, dark evening. Yum!

One of the many joys of my life is making compost.  I know it's a bit weird, but as I love Planet Earth and don't want to be responsible for causing any harm to it, I get an enormous amount of pleasure from composting things that otherwise would go in the bin and eventually to landfill.  When we lived in the cottage I couldn't really garden in the way I wanted to, as I knew we were only there temporarily and the garden was mainly looked after by the owner.  Moving to our tiny house in the woods has brought an opportunity to rescue a slightly neglected, but once very much loved, garden and with it the chance to sow seeds and be creative with nature.  And I can make compost!

At the back of the poly tunnel is a huge area of dead trees, nettles and brambles; perfect for wild life.  Among it all were two compost bins, perfectly usable and not full of rats or snakes.  Pea and I pulled them out and repositioned them in more useful places; one by what will be the kitchen garden and one next to the poly tunnel.  We had to dig one into the ground a bit as it kept blowing about the garden in all the storms.  It seems perfectly happy there and I quite enjoy trotting across the garden to empty my bucket of kitchen scraps into it.  By autumn we should have a bin full of well rotted compost to spread over the garden and all from things that would have been thrown away.  I seem to derive great pleasure from some of the most simple, seemingly mundane things in life; pudding for tea, home made compost and a walk with the dogs at the end of the day.  It is hard to believe that in mid January we are heading into the light half of the year.  Two minutes of extra light every day means that we can begin our post-tea time walks again.  And boy do I need to after eating that roly poly!

It was drizzling a bit, but the wind had dropped and the sun set was so gorgeous, it was worth forcing myself out into the fading light.

A flooded field made an impromptu home for ducks.

A water logged lane showed the sky her reflection as it wound like a pink ribbon between the blackened hedges.  It was getting dark and time to go home.  Waiting for me was a pile of tea time dishes, a very untidy kitchen and two dogs that would need the mud scraping off them before being fed and allowed back indoors.  Simple pleasures are the best!

Enjoy your home comforts and simple pleasures today. xxx

Springing Up

The first day of the first weekend of the first term of the new year bought the first day of Spring.  Well not really; it is still only January, but it sure did feel like Spring!  Pea and I were willing to fall in with Nature as she fooled us with her warm(ish) sunshine, blue skies and fluffy white clouds.  Hardly a breath of breeze ruffled the still bare branches of the trees and after weeks of gales and heavy rain, we were eager for a taste of things to come.  After a quick trip into town where we purchased a blueberry bush that we named Brian, after Brian Cox the Physicist and several bulbs of Stargazer lillies and dahlias, we spent the rest of the day outside.

I had planned to do an enormous amount of washing and take advantage of such a perfect drying day, but what happened?  I washed all the school uniform and some other items of clothing that I tripped over while picking up bits of uniform off the floor, and hung them out on the line.  Then we went to buy plants, then we went for a really long walk and then we had dinner.  By that time the sun was slowly sinking into the earth once more and the air was decidedly fresh.  Too late to get anything else dry and the uniform was getting damp.  Half a task completed is better than not bothering in the first place I suppose, so I had to content myself with that.

But to miss this would have been a crime, so I'm very glad we made the most of it.  The dogs had a brilliant time sniffing new places and really enjoyed a long walk.  Poor H1 missed it as he came home on Friday feeling poorly.  He spent most of the weekend in bed and hardly ate a thing, which is a real cause for concern.  H2 came with us but lagged behind and had a face like someone being dragged to the gallows instead of on a lovely country walk.  Misery.  The promise of a bacon and egg sandwich for lunch helped to put a spring in his step and he was home before we were.

Pea was bouncing about with excitement most of the day and would have had me buy everything Wilkos had to offer in the bulb and seed line, but I managed to restrain her and remind her (and myself) that it is still Winter and therefore too early to be planting seeds just yet.  Purchasing her blueberry twig (far too small to be called a bush) contented her for a while, until she saw the bulbs and corms.  I was having my usual amount of trouble deciding what to buy and indeed if I should buy anything at all this early.  I casually picked up a pack of dahlia corms and noticed that there was a tiny, green shoot growing inside the pack.  Pea saw my weak spot before I even realised I was displaying such behaviour and pounced like a jaguar on a shrew.  'You have to buy it,' she said.  'No I don't', I replied, carefully replacing the pack from whence it came.  'Look, it's growing!' she insisted, 'It's trying to live, it needs love and help.  Buy it!'  For crying out loud, she could persuade Eskimos to buy ice.  She is relentless (in a nice way) and won't give up until her victim has conceded her point and does her bidding.  Yes, I bought the struggling dahlias.  I was always going to, I just needed permission to blithely spend the money.  All £2.50 of it.  Oh the guilt!

Anyway, they are awaiting slightly warmer days before I can plant them in tubs and place them next to the bench in a sunny spot in the garden, where they will look pretty and the lilly will scent the entire garden with it's heady perfume.

It is a good job we took full advantage of Nature's gift as Sunday was a horrid day.  Cold, windy and wet.  We didn't mind too much as there were things to do indoors, like homework, hoovering and cooking Sunday dinner.  I made a toad-in-the-hole with thick pork and leek sausages and quartered apples and onions.  We had mashed potatoes and roasted parsnips with it, which may have been a mistake as we could barely move afterwards.  The steamed syrup sponge I made for pudding had to wait until mid afternoon before we could manage it.  It was lovely with a cup of tea after a brisk walk with the dogs.  H1 was still feeling poorly but managed some lunch then fell asleep in the lounge while watching Red Dwarf.  He always watches that when he doesn't feel well or is tired.  It's his comfort food.  This morning he woke feeling worse, so I took him to the doctor.  We sat in the waiting room for an hour before we were called in.  There was one doctor on duty and about 20 people had come and gone in the waiting room.  Finally the doctor came out and called our name.  She had a good look at H1 and said he has an ear infection and gave him some tablets.  Then we went home.  Thank goodness for that, it felt like we'd been away for days.  At least we know what it is and he can just rest and let the medicine do it's thing.  True to form, MAL is sleeping on the ill person's legs offering love and care and Puppy is pretending it's nothing to do with him.

The rain is still falling and the wind is blowing with intent and it feels cold.  No wonder the dogs are snuggled up.  I made some ginger biscuits on Friday night and drizzled melted dark chocolate over them.  As the last piece of Christmas cake has been eaten, (by me I must admit) I have nothing to nibble with my afternoon panad.  I wonder if there are any ginger biscuits left?  I must be mad, of course there aren't.  I doubt they even got to the end of Saturday.

Must make them in secret next time.

Hope you have a good day, wrap up warm and eat a biscuit! xxx