Yawn Yawn Wakey Wakey 2025

Good morning and Happy Easter everyone.

I have just rolled my HXB doughs for their final rise. They'll be ready for an unorthodox Easter lunch. Leg of lamb tonight but I'll bone it then rub it with rosemary and garlic and so on. The excess will make a good pasanda or rogan josh. Roast new potatoes and other veggies than avocado chocolate pots for pud - my new secret weapon for getting good oils and minerals into Possum.

We have had masses of rain in the night so I need to go and drain the saucers under all mu bulb pots in the veg plot. Had a disturbed night agaiin, coughing this time, then was woken up again at 6am by the visitor crying cos it was wet and hungry. It had already been in at midnight for its feed. I've seen it properly now and it's a long haired cat with Siamese brown and beige colouring. Not looking loved. Nervous too.

Your alpaca looks lovely @AuntyRach, so much prettier and friendlier than spitty llamas. Hope you get your meeting time sorted @Goldenlily26 and enjoy the games.

Lots of fun and laughter for everyone enjoying a feast with family or friends and peace for those just relaxing quietly.

 

Happy Easter!
Our cote meal was very, very good, despite the fact that hub forgot to add the truffle oil to the truffled corn veloute!
The lamb rump was meltingly tender and I ate it all, after he had sliced it for me!
We were too full for the financiers and we didn't open the wine, so they will be for tonight.
More lamb, this time on the bbq, weather permitting.
Family is off to Bluestone in Pembroke for a week.
I was messaging a friend at the caravan site yesterday and asked her to tell me when she first hears the cuckoo (too early at the moment).
She replied, 'what's a cuckoo?'
Hmmmmm...

 

Happy Easter everybody.
A glorious morning here, blue sky and sunshine so I've already walked down for the paper, leaving OH fast asleep. I do feel better today and he's not getting any worse so fingers crossed.
Sorry to hear you're poorly too @Obelix-Vendée, glad your various activities went well.

Think I'll take a trugfull of native primroses and plant them in the Community Orchard, whilst the ground is still damp. Then I might catch up on the weeding if I've enough energy left.
I trotted up the garden in my PJ's earlier on and the Broad beans are coming up, it's the first time we've grown them so it'll be interesting to see how they do.

No visitors for us today because of the bugs but we quite like the peace and quiet anyway.

Have a great day, whatever you're doing and enjoy your bowls @Goldenlily26.

 

Lovely walk today all the bluebells are out in the woods looking and smelling fantastic. Just had a couple of hot cross buns and a cuppa then it’s off round to see my grandchildren.

 

Happy Easter to everyone! Hope you are all able to celebrate in your own way.
We have been out for breakfast and a walk, and caught the best of the sunshine. There is a bit of cloud now, but it’s still bright and very pleasant. Lots of families out together, and quite a decent crowd spilling out of the local church as we passed by.
Just the two of us today, plus the dog. The turkey crown is in the oven, the sides are prepped and ready to go in. I was going to take advantage of having the oven on to make a batch of rock cakes, a favourite of OH. However, I appear to be out of dried mixed fruit, just half a bag of sultanas that were best before Nov 24. If they looked more appetising, I wouldn’t hesitate to use them, but they are a sorry sight. I think the birds might like them. Luckily I have a pack of dried cherries in the cupboard, so I’ll use those instead, maybe some chopped nuts as well.
I did forget to get the fizz into the fridge, so I’ll have to settle for some Italian red instead! Such a hardship!

 

@Ergates you could have plumped up the sultanas by soaking them in som ehot tea (no milk) or some rum or brandy.

My HCBs were made using a poolish - short cut version of sourdough - so a starter mix and then the added flour has had a long, slow rise before adding the fruits or choc chips and letting it rise again before finally being cut up and rolled into individual buns. i did all the final rolling very carefully but they've all come out misshapen. Other than that they look and smell good and will be perefct toasted for tea. Looks like a fat weekend.

It's grey, with a few sunny spells and some wet bits so as i'm still a bit crook I retreated to the polytunnel to pot on babies - lots of squash family, 7 cucumbers, 29 claret sunflowers. I've had to put som eof my FG babies outside on the table to make space and also bring in another old table to the PT for the new bairns.

I have potatoes coming thru now we've had some rain.

 

Should have checked in earlier, @Obelix-Vendée, I hadn’t thought of that! Never mind, the dried sour cherries have lots of flavour, and I blitzed some mixed nuts to add some texture.
The turkey is ‘resting’ and the rest of the stuff is now in the oven. Will probably eat around 4pm, so I've time to rest, and keep my eye on the nests in the garden. The blue tits are still popping in and out of the bird box, I wonder if this is a second brood. There is also a nest in the undergrowth on the bank, I think it might be a chiffchaff. They are very busy visiting the shrubs in the garden, and then heading straight back to their nest. No attempts to mislead any predators. I hope this nest survives.
I found a baby siskin down by the road yesterday, luckily didn’t tread on it. It was quite hard to catch, couldn’t fly but could flutter quite fast, and was chirping very noisily. Managed to pick it up and transfer it onto a branch in the woodland, where it clung on immediately. I’m sure its parents will be able to find it with all the racket it was making. They are regular visitors to our bird feeders.

 

Good evening everyone - just a quick hello and goodnight. I'll read through all your posts tomorrow. I am sure you will all have had super days today. Enjoy your evenings.

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Good morning one and all. I hope that you all have pleasant days today - yesterday was a real bonus. It was lovely catching up with a lot of the family members I haven't seen for a while. My youngest great nephew and his Mum didn't make it as he was taking part in some pony competition but for us, being able to sit outside in the sunshine, helped make it even more special.
There was a bitter ending for me though, as shortly after I got home I received a sad text from one of my friends to say her OH had passed away in the hospice where he has been since 11th April. He had been very poorly for a long time, often having to have several blood transfusions in a day. My heart really goes out to her. She is classed as blind although she does have a little sight and is one of my past Canasta buddies. She had to give up cards when her sight became even more problematic. Sorry - gloomy stuff over with now.

 

@Penny_Forthem - you just can't get the staff these days! Happy to read your meal was delicious though, despite the omission. Your HXB sound delicious @Obelix-Vendée and I'm sure that Possum will have enjoyed her's. @Ergates, well done on caring for that tiny feather duster. I am sure his parents will hear the racket! Today, I am going to be checking on bird feeders and baths as they are full of cherry blossom petals at the moment. My windows could do with a good clean. Its only when the sun is shining I realise how dirty they are. Well that is a possible 'to do' list for today.

 

Good morning to you all.

I hope this bank holiday is sunny and friendly for you all. Traditionally, asparagus omelette is on the menu today. A picnic after a walk and a glass of chilled white! It's called "Paquette".

 

Good morning all.

I cleaned windows yesterday @Ladybird4 but it's impossible to clean them all because English windows open outwards so I can't clean a lot of the upstairs ones. French windows open inwards. That means the window sills tend to be on the outside so no sills to put your plants on as they are outside! But maybe that is to leave a space between the windows and the shutters.

It's been raining here in south Norfolk. I hope it's enough for the garden. 2 water butts need filling.

I've seen in the Dordogne paper that there has been loads of rain, rivers are overflowing, roads closed, powercuts and houses evacuated. It's especially bad in the area around my old house.

 

When we had new windows installed in our last house, we specified that they had those openers that extend so you can get your hand round easily to the outside of the opening bit. It was very handy for cleaning.
Our current house doesn’t have ones that open so easily. Plus our bedroom window, which is one of the only windows that is ‘upstairs’, has a single pane of glass that is over six feet long, and mostly unreachable from the opening windows at each end. I have a long pole with a brush and scraper head that I use for that window, seems to work ok for the once or twice a year that I get round to it! A seagull has kindly deposited a large poo on the glass yesterday, but luckily it is within easy reach of the window. However, when I clean it, the rest will look filthy in comparison.

 

It seems we may finally have the long promised rain, it is of course traditional for a BH, so plans will need to be of the indoor variety. I might get into the office for a while and get ahead. Most of my immediate TTD list doesn’t relying on anyone else being in the office so I might as well.

We had a lovely lunch with my daughter’s little family. The parcels were delicious even if at say so myself and the chocolate cake and Easter chocolate bunnies were enjoyed by all. Back to normal today with a mushroom bolognaise out of the freezer.

We hear chiffchaffs a lot when we visit Sutton spark @Ergates but have never had one in the garden. We have seen some robin fledglings and there is a large blackbird fledgling bumbling around as well. Great tits are busy in and out of our nest box but I haven't heard any cheeping yet.

I have some asparagus in the fridge @Tui34 so you have given me an idea for lunch.

Sorry to hear about your friend’s OH @Ladybird4

 

Good morning,

A grey start here today, with showers forecast for later. A huge contrast to yesterday which turned into a beautiful day with blue sky and sunshine.

We did as planned, went to church then when I came back I prepared the lamb then did a spot of tidying and weeding in the garden before relaxing in the sunshine for an hour until it started to get a little chilly.

We are seeing some friends this afternoon.It will be nice to have a catch up as it’s a while since we were together.

Sorry to hear the news about your friends OH @Ladybird4.