Midweek Miscellany

It's been quite a while since I wrote one of these midweek miscellany posts. There's been much to tell you about and much to photograph: the village fete (gusty but good fun - and we bumped into lots of friends); a vast improvement in the weather (so plenty of walks. Sometimes we've managed to head out twice in one day); Joe getting some kind of stomach bug again (but he's getting better now)...

Please note that, as is often the case, the photos don't necessarily correspond with the writing. It kind of adds to the miscellaneous feel. Well, that's my excuse anyway. Jumping from this to that is just how these posts go so apologies if the whole thing seems a little disjointed. Probably reflects my current state of mind.

Is it just me who finds Punch and Judy vaguely disturbing? I know Mr Punch gets his come-uppance and all that. Perhaps it's those puppets. They're the sort of thing that gives me bad dreams.

I did take some good stuff away from the fete though. Despite being unable to indulge in either prosecco or a cream tea thanks to this eating plan, I did pick up an old set of weighing scales with weights for a fiver. And the lovely old wicker basket they were sitting in was included in the deal. I squeezed a cute little Royal Doulton set (£1) into said basket. There's something nice about kitchenalia; things that have been well-used and loved.

I'm picking up bits and pieces for our new kitchen. It's an extension built onto the back of the new house. The searches came back saying it doesn't have planning permission. Perfect!

But it's been there for thirty years so we can't be asked to take it down. We do want to get the quality of the building work checked out though; it's another delay but worth taking the extra week or two over. This house-buying lark can be extremely trying.

I've been drawing a lot of late. And painting. I'm working on a new project which might just blossom into something. It requires a lot of time and planning just now but hopefully it'll pay off. I'll share more as things progress.

Seasonal fruits: lovely apricots. They're the closest thing to sugary goodness for me right now. I've taken to standing and inhaling the aroma from the biscuit jar (Cadburys Chocolate Fingers combined with ginger nuts).

This whole eating plan is tough. I'm coping. But I genuinely didn't think it involved total elimination of anything; I'm a believer in 'Everything in moderation'. Have you ever given up sugar? It's dreadful. For the first three or four days I had awful headaches, followed by a few more days of complete and utter exhaustion. And now I just crave cake.

Moving swiftly on... The countryside is truly glorious at the moment. It's such a joy to walk in the hills, through the woods, by the riverbanks... And Joe loves it too. Freedom to run in the long grass and explore.

Today was very warm and sunny (I foolishly have the sunburn to prove it). We stayed home as Joe was really sick last night and I didn't fancy a repeat of that all over the church hall floor. Instead we called at the garden centre for some pots, then put up the play tent outside and he managed an ice lolly. He made a better job of it than he did with Saturday's ice cream.

We get lovely light coming in on sunny days; in the mornings it's around the back and the sun shines onto Gertie's table. In the evenings the study becomes (fleetingly) warm and golden.

I'm hoping to go strawberry picking soon at the farm near where we used to live. And in the meantime I'm keeping an eye out for elderflowers. They're not quite there just yet but the cordial bottles are at the ready. Elderflower cordial and sparkling wine is a match made in heaven.

We had a barbecue last night. Nothing big, just a back yard job with the three of us. If you have to eat healthy food (lean meat and vegetables) you might as well stick it on a skewer and get plenty of flavour from it. I suspect the barbecue will be seeing quite a lot of action over the next few weeks...

I hope you're enjoying the weather (and that it lasts - let's just ignore the forecast, shall we?) and that your week's a good one so far.