A Bit of a Long One!

Lovely weekend despite the upsy-downsy weather where rain took the place of bright sunshine which took the place of rain...you get the picture. So here's what we did:
bottled more elderflower champagne (no, they aren't giant sample bottles!)



Brought back more produce from the allotment. Dear little Isabella picked all the broad beans and the last very late picking of rhubarb after being shown how to twist & pull at the same time. She honestly was fantastic at it and I just steadied the plants for her. I think children really love to be shown how to do things properly and then just give it a go; it's just a shame there isn't always the time, but Friday morning there was all the time in the world for my sweet girl.



Such beautiful, vibrant marigolds. I love these flowers so as one of my earliest memories of gardening is of me following my wonderful Grandad around the garden dead-heading the orange flowers into a metal bucket. The smell of these flowers always takes me straight back to being a little girl dotingly trailing after him as he chattered away to his 'whippet', the nickname he gave this skinny legged child who worshipped the ground he walked on. Lucky me to be reminded of him often in the long marigold months.



We scoffed French Fancies in the shade of the wisteria...



and took Tiger-Lily for a ride in the trug



We left Sam, Lucy and Elias in the kitchen making pasta fully expecting to see devastation on our return, particularly as the sound of them shrieking and generally acting like loons kept floating through the window to the garden where I was hiding. More faith, Miss Pip - we found a clean kitchen, happy children and a great line full of pasta waiting to be cooked having used the pasta machine without help and no reminding of how to do it. Pretty cool really and delicious with freshly made pesto...yum. Davey also made pasties for Monday



and blackcurrant ice-cream,



and, as dear Sam made Sunday roast for eight of us (Tom and his girlfriend arrived too),



I felt moved to make meringues with rhubarb fool to accompany the ice-cream which I served like this:



Well, you didn't really think there wouldn't be a lot of food stuff going on did you?
I also made peapod wine - a tale for another day I think - and gooseberry, redcurrant and elderflower cordial which is nice but sweet and seems popular therefore with the two littles. Cards were played (when their dreadful mother assumed they were playing on the computer only to find this...)



and I tried to photograph the beauty of poppies blowing in the restless breeze; scarlet petals on a cloth of mid-summer blue



Well, that's it for now. Tuesday will hopefully be an exciting day as something is arriving after much deliberation, fear and anxiety. More about that later!



Have a good start to the week x