A little grumpy?

I am a bit of a grumpy Pip this morning. I had promised my self some time out to garden with Isabella today, so naturally it is raining; an endless curtain of fine drizzle mists the garden and scuppers my plans...pooh! I have cleared a whole morning to do what needs doing and, more importantly, what I would like to do and it is raining, after the most beautiful day yesterday where I could do no more than look out the window and plan. No weeding and planting as I sit on the grass under a little apple tree dreaming away the time as Isabella plays with the cats and the hens gently chat ahead of me. Ah well, better think of things to lift my mood. The centre of this peony is a pretty good place to start.



She has the unfortunate name of Shirley Temple, but Raspberry Ripple would be far more appropriate. So creamy and soft, the light swirling the folds into a gentle lemon that deepens as your eye is drawn to the centre where a tiny raspberry pink budlet forms, yet never opens. And the perfume...delicate and evocative as it floats on the evening air, drifting away like a playful butterfly before you can quite catch it. Then there are the gooseberries and the fun of picking them for a lovely meal with a dear uncle and Dave's mum - more of that in a bit.



Thinking of that meal brings to mind the borage scattered all over the garden and now beginning to dot the beds with little blue stars. I used it for one of our favourite summer soups (though not a chilled one as I have to admit to not being a fan of these). Isn't it pretty? I love the way it self-seeds everywhere. Anything like this is such a bonus in the garden and can always be lifted out without much problem while still young, providing endless kitcheny possiblities along the way.



So to the meal - an evening of food and cribbage which we always do when Dave's uncle arrives for his month in Cornwall every year. I made pea & borage soup (quite possibly my favourite soup ever, though I say this with whichever soup I am currently obsessed with)with delicious homemade bread, followed by a lamb casserole and the whole rounded off with a gooseberry and elderflower fool accompanied by tiny scoops of eldeflower ice-cream. I am still working on my recipe for this one as I felt it was a little too sweet, though no-one else seemed to think so. When I am happy with it I'll pop it onto my website under the 'what we are doing' page along with the recipe for elderflower cordial - hurray, it's that time again and the hedgerows are positively lagged in the creamy umbels.



Other things to bring a note of cheer? Just take a look at this beautiful skirt which my lovely, lovely friend bought me from the carboot sale. We are both addicted to such things and are most upset that we can no longer have a day out at the local dump as the idiot council sold it off and now all the left-over goodies are sold abroad...argh!!! I do understand that not everyone's idea of a good day out is a trip to the dump, but you should see the things we both got there - beautiful windows which now adorn Davey's writing room, mirrors, cupboards...the list goes on. So much for the idea of councils supporting recycling. Off high horse now....so, this beautiful skirt which is the most gorgeous mix of flowers and raspberry reds which I just love (though the dullness of the day does it no justice). It swirls beguilingly around my ankles and goes so prettily with my gauzy rose camisole...sigh. I have seriously lived in it since she gave it to me. Thank you Lou x


Note those cute feet to one side? Little sweetie and another thing to be cheerful about. On that note, I will head off as I feel decidedly less grumpy and it is Friday after all. Gardener's World, knitting and wine...what could be better? A little of this over the weekend perhaps....



Have a lovely weekend x

Half term hols.

What a strange time this has been: a week or so of problems for friends and family which have taken the shine off of much that we have done and yet, perversely, has also made Dave and I take a long, hard look at the good things in our lives and feel thankful for them. I haven't felt like blogging, indeed I have only felt like doing what I always do when things are a bit grim - being at home, losing myself in work and being wth the children. Normality I guess. Still, life seems to be going back to where it was and here I am again, so let's have a cup of soothing mint tea made from the patch just outside our kitchen window and I will fill you in on the nicer things that have taken place.





The weather has been mostly dull and wet, yet in between we have had the most glorious, hot sunshine. Dave took advantage of this to take the children for one of our favourite walks from Mawnan Old Church through the fields down to Parson's Beach. Unfortunately, he didn't take the camera so this will mean little to most of you (though maybe Diana and Elizabethd may know it). I will have to do a trip myself to show you the beauty of the path that winds down to the sea through the most gorgeous uppy-downy fields bordered with brambles where we pick for sustenance and jam and sheer gluttony! On this occasion the older children ran on ahead where Sam led them into the sea while Dave, Isabella and Matzen picked elderflowers for cordial. Of course, once Isabella realised there was water to be had she was drenched! Here are the gorgeous, frothy flowers waiting to have sugar and water added...





and here is Dave's precious lemon - yes, THE lemon he has been growing for the past few years outside our bedroom window which Isabella walked up to and picked earlier in the week, handing it to him with about as much interest as if it were a rotten tomato! Poor Dave. And I didn't even think to take a decent photo of it!




and here is the sludgy mess which became the most lovely, fragrant cordial. Delicious.





Dave has been going through something of a cooking frenzy and has been making wonderful, soft loaves of bread which has to be one of the best comfort foods ever (as was the meal consisting of fried mashed potato, eggs and fried bread I served up for us last night - haven't eaten that sort of food for years and boy it was good!).





Work has been pleasingly busy with a new wholesale order for my Summer Days beach bags and quite a few new contacts which I haven't sought out. This always makes me happy as I must be doing something right for them to come across my work. The orders have been very steady with a range of my products being selected and an increase in feedback which I love. I have some new ideas for my website which I will share later in the week as I want to make the changes first, but essentially it will all remain the same with some tweaks to make it better!





Bye for now xx