Bike Ride

 

It was a beautiful morning when I took Rick out for his walk, still a bit misty with the sun just starting to break through. I planned to go for a leisurely bike ride after giving Rick his breakfast and Paul said he would cut his gym ride short and come with me.  I felt quite energetic as we set off and managed to get a personal best time climbing the steep Ahoy There! Hill out of the village. I did it in 55 seconds (Kat does it in 30!).

The cycling felt more like pleasure than exercise, although we had to to be careful to dodge potholes and loose gravel. It was still early so there wasn't much traffic about. Plenty of birdsong and crazy pheasants running around; we saw two hares in a field, they must have been mature males going by the size of them.  All was going well until, about 13 kms into the ride just north of Brandy Wharf, Paul got a puncture. “No problem,” he said, “I've got a spare tube with me.” But unfortunately he had forgotten his bicycle pump so that most definitely was a problem. 

missing bicycle pump

I left Paul at the roadside while I continued the ride towards home alone, another 13 kms or so, to collect the car so I could return and rescue him. Rick was delighted to see me so I decided to put him in his crate so that he could come for a ride in the car. It was only as I approached Brandy Wharf that I realised there wouldn't be enough room in the back of the car for both the bike and the crate!

No matter, the crate is collapsible and Rick was more than happy to sit in the footwell at the front of the car on the return journey. What a palaver!

Spring

This spell of cold weather is getting tiresome; a blast of Arctic air streaming from the north down the east coast has created bitterly cold conditions.  I am still wrapped up in winter gear when I take Rick out for his early morning walk and I just feel so sorry for the young lambs huddled up against their mums in the sheep field.  Still, we always knew that Lincolnshire was not going to be a tropical paradise when we moved here and, some consolation, I see that it's just as cold in the French Perigord this week.

Paul is having to cover all the Hostas and wrap things up in the greenhouse at night.  Tender new growth on the Fatsia Japonica has been burnt by the late frosts but there is abundant blossom on the apple trees so it looks like we shall have a bumper crop of apples later this year.

Wishing for some warm, dry weather so we can sit outside and enjoy the garden.

Nothing goes to waste

I had quite a lot of fabric left over from the re-covered chair (I ordered extra to allow for any mistakes!) so I decided to make a couple of cushions.  The zip fastenings were tricky but I was quite pleased with the result.

They are destined for the master bedroom that is getting a makeover in June.

After a glorious sunny morning the clouds have rolled in.  Hot cross buns and a cup of tea are being served as an antidote to this chilly, gloomy afternoon.

Lark or an Owl

 Are you a lark or an owl?  Up at dawn and early to bed or a late riser but still lively at night?

I am most definitely a lark.  Full of energy in the morning but flagging by mid afternoon and ready for bed at 10.00 p.m or earlier.  This morning I got up just after 6.00 and had cereal and a cup of tea, then out for Rick's morning walk around the village.  It was blissfully quiet apart from the dawn chorus (lots of blackbirds around here) and I didn't meet any other dog walkers today.

Back home I stripped the bed and put a load of washing on.  No rain forecast so I might get the sheets dry outside.  Then I boiled up a litre of milk and made a batch of yoghurt, I let the jars sit in the incubator for about 7 hours or so.  I love natural unsweetened yoghurt and this is so easy to make.  Then I chopped a whole load of bacon, onions, mushrooms and beef to go in the slow cooker for a Boeuf Bourguignon.  In France this would be typically served with a green salad and French fries but my English tribe prefer it with mashed potato and veg.  Whichever way it's a favourite in this household and the slow cooker ensures that the meat is always succulent with a rich and tasty sauce.

dinner bubbling away in the slow cooker

yoghurt doing its thing

By the time I had finished cooking the washing was ready to hang and it was coffee time.  Now what am I going to do for the rest of the day apart from write this blog?  Ah, just remembered.  I have a Dyson upright cleaner to re-assemble.  I took it apart yesterday to wash the filters and de-tangle the brush head.  I always have to get the handbook out to figure out where the filters are hiding, hate this task.

laundry day

By lunch time I shall be running out of steam.  Early afternoon I will do some core exercises for half an hour and then it will be time to sit down and relax with a book or watch some television and Rick will see that as a signal to jump on my lap for cuddles.  It also gives him a clear view of the driveway and he can look out for the postman.  What is it about a red post van that turns this mild mannered dog into a barking lunatic?  Never a dull moment!  (Rick is also a lark and likes to go to bed early).

Rick waiting for the postman

Yesterday

It was Mother's Day yesterday, or Mothering Sunday as some call it and originates from when women in service (maids and servants working in big houses) were released for the day to return home to visit their mother.  The day always conjures up mixed feelings for me because I had a difficult relationship with my mother and was estranged from her before she died.  

Anyway, I have always told my daughters not to make a fuss or waste their money on over priced bouquets for me.  Yesterday Sarah invited me over to the cottage for lunch and gave me chocolates and a card and we had a jolly time feasting around a magnificent 'grazing table'.  Rick thought it was wonderful.

 

Kat posted a card to me on Monday and was most upset that it hadn't arrived.  That may have something to do with the fact she had put an out of date stamp on the envelope. She doesn't use the mail very often!  Never mind Kat, it's the thought that counts.

putting my feet up after lunch

A leopard in the room

 

After a week of crawling around the floor and hammering in upholstery tacks (staples would have been easier but I like to do it the traditional way) the chair is finished.  

I think I'm getting too old for this lark.  Maybe I should take up knitting.

Work in progress

 

I spent a couple of hours scrabbling around the floor this morning getting to grips with re-covering the chair. Even with a cushion to kneel on it was tough on my knees and back. Getting the fabric to fit around the wooden arms was fraught with danger, one snip with the scissors too far and the whole thing would have been ruined. Constant stretching of the fabric, trying to get an even tension and checking that everything was straight was time consuming but I tried not to rush, I was just very relieved when that part of the process was finished.

The next stage will be the back of the chair, and then the front, and then I need to visit the haberdashery shop in our local town to try and find some trim to cover the tacks and give the chair a smart finish. Hopefully all completed in about a week.