Calamity Jane Strikes Again

This morning I put my ‘good housewife’ hat on and picked a load of parsley and basil from the garden to make pesto for the freezer.  I split the parsley into two piles to make two separate batches and scooped the leaves into the whizzer.  I added parmesan cheese, garlic, and nuts and carefully poured olive oil in while it whizzed.  I must confess the second batch sounded a bit clunky.  I spread both batches onto a shallow tray, put it in the freezer and started to clear up.  That’s when I discovered the plastic top for the olive oil bottle was missing.  I couldn’t have, could I?  Surely not! I retrieved the pesto from the freezer and on close inspection could see the tiny pieces of black plastic blended nicely into the mixture.  Pesto in the bin.

At least our potato harvesting was more successful.  Paul emptied his first ‘pot’of Charlotte potatoes and was delighted with the result.  One and a half kilos of lovely new potatoes.  He’s still got another ten plastic pots as well as one row in the vegetable plot.  That’s a whole lot of spuds.

Cider and Glitter Balls

Rick and I have just got home from his afternoon walk; we are feeling smug because we managed to get back before the wind and rain started. Storm Miguel is due to hit later today.  I really hope it doesn’t batter the roses and peonies too much.  Yesterday evening we sat in the garden enjoying the sunshine, the scent of roses and honeysuckle, and a bottle of Scrumpy that our neighbours brought us back from Cornwall.  It was most enjoyable.

Paul and I couldn’t ride our bikes this morning because we had dental appointments.  (My new dentist is a lovely young lady from Liverpool.  She is very friendly but made me feel like an historic building when she commented on my restoration work.)  Yesterday we had a lovely ride out along the River Ancholme.  You see some interesting sights when you’re out cycling, some stranger than others.  I’m still trying to figure out why there was a large, ballroom size glitter ball in the middle of the road outside Phoenix Manor (one very spooky house) in our neighbouring village.

Monday

Art class this morning.  Plastic sunflowers.  I shall be glad when we break up for the summer although I will miss the chocolate biscuits.

I took Rick for his afternoon walk, the scent of elderflower filled the lanes.  I put his blanket, towel and toy bunny in the washing machine when we got back.  Rick has chewed most of Mr Bunny’s ears but there was just enough left for me to peg him out to dry.

Paul planted out his climbing French beans yesterday.  This evening he’s discovered that most of the leaves have dropped off. It’s been very windy today, or it could be the pigeons.

Roses Grow On You

The previous gardeners here were apparently fond of their roses...

Unfortunately I don't know their names but I suspect there's a Queen Elizabeth amongst them somewhere.

Life on the Hedge

This morning we visited our local farm shop to buy a few things for lunch.  Paul had baked bread and we wanted to get some pâté and cheese to go with it. There were just too many tempting things on display!  Kat is at home this week so I blame her for persuading Paul to buy the bottle of Sloe Gin.  We had a tasting session when we got home – it packed quite a punch but was absolutely delicious.

the Wild Boar pâté was good too

Earlier in the day all three of us had gone out on our bikes. Kat was riding her traditional ladies bicycle and I was a bit worried that she wouldn't be able to keep up with us on our snazzy hybrids.  I should have known better, she cruised effortlessly along and left me standing!  Paul just about managed to stay with her but I had to play catch up all the way.  Give me another glass of that Sloe Gin!

A Model Dog

A cool and blustery Bank Holiday Monday.  No art class in Market Rasen today but I decided to get my paints out and do some painting at home.  Rick offered to be my model (much more fun than still life). 

not the best pose but at least he was still

preliminary colour wash

a bit more detail required (I never know when to finish) but it doesn't look scruffy enough to be Rick

Are You Mad?

Are you mad?  This was the question that went through people’s minds when Paul and I announced that we were leaving our beautiful house in south west France and moving back to the UK and to the county of Lincolnshire.  Before we came here I had visions of flat fens, cold easterly winds with mist rolling in from the North Sea and flat fields full of potatoes and turnips but the countryside in North Lincolnshire is a very different story.

For the past two mornings we have gone out early to cycle.  Extensive blue skies and warm sunshine have really showed the countryside in all its glory.  It has been a real joy cycling the lanes through the pretty villages.  Yesterday we headed south, through Normanby by Spital (pronounced Normby Spital by the locals) down to Spridlington, turned eastwards past the futuristic looking Sky Dock, and then north through the three Toft villages (Newton-by-Toft, Toft-next-Newton and Newtoft).  The roads were smooth and flat and we managed a good speed, the best this year.  We cycled past Gibbets Post Farm, a rather macabre place name but the site of an old gibbet tree. (Gibbeting was a common form of punishment in Britain up until 1832 when criminals were hung up to rot in gibbet irons by the roadside as a warning to others.)

the gibbet tree at Gibbet Post Farm

  
Today was a bit breezier.  We headed north to Waddingham and sat outside the pretty church to take a short break.  The wind must have been behind us coming home because I managed to hurtle up the hill without any help from Frogs A-Courtin.

St Mary and St Peter's Church, Waddingham

Our parsley in the herb patch is going bonkers so I picked a big bunch and mixed it with some basil leaves to make pesto for lunch.  I used salted peanuts instead of pine nuts because the price of pine nuts is ridiculous - £4.75 for a very small packet.  We ate outside, drinking red wine with pesto and pasta for lunch.  France seems very far away now.