I must say that I am enjoying the feeling of being on holiday even though I still seem to have lots to do. For this week at least it does not matter when we get up, or when we eat, well qt least until Saturday.
My little cat spent a very happy night asleep on my bed and as I was rather restless I had plenty of time to stroke her pretty fur which of course she loved. She got up at six but I lazed about until eight before going downstairs to make the days bread, after which we had a breakfast of poached eggs on toast and the day began in earnest.
I had a loaf to deliver to a friend who works at the garden centre and this gave me the perfect excuse to have a browse among the plants to see what was new. I was looking for some red Mimulus but ended up buying a plant called Fox and cubs, it is really a weed but it is so pretty that I could not resist. Truth to tell I have quite a few weeds in my garden and although most of them are planted deliberately there are a few which I could well do without. I have been fighting a running battle with bindweed for years and I must say that the flowers are so lovely that I leave them alone if I can. The trouble is that they strangle the life out of anything the come in contact with inn an attempt to climb as high as possible. There is also the speedwell or mile a minute as it is commonly called, it certainly lives up to its name. Those pretty blue flowered plant is lethal if it gets amongst young seedling as it chokes them by growing much faster that they do and if you try to pull it out you drags the young seedlings out with it.
The leeks were ready to go out in to the garden and today I managed to plant out more than half of my stock. The ones I put out today will with luck see us through the winter months for soups and stews. Florence fennel, a favourite of mine went out today also along with some Russian Tarragon.
Florence fennel is green and has an edible bulb which is very good to eat, The more ornamental bronze fennel is grown in the flower garden, I do occasionally cook with it but I much prefer to let it flower, its wonderful frondy leaf , rich red bronze and its umbrella shaped flowers are a real feature of our garden in the summer time. I also grow the beautiful morning glory about which the less said the better.
We had a huge joint of beef left over from the Christmas neat order and as I needed to use it up we decided to have it for dinner tonight Medieval style served on trenchers of day old bread with all the lovely juices running through. It seem a rather decadent way of eating but none of us wanted the usual trimmings and so I brought in a salad from the garden and we had a feast. There is quite a lot of meat left and this will be eaten cold on Friday with some cheeses and bread and a pork pie. Pa loves roast beef and tonight he ate lots, keeping his weight up is such a problem but at least tonight he ate enough, he even had some fruit and fresh cream for afters so that should help too.
The pace of the days is slower and we are all beginning to relax, it is not a question of not having anything to do but one of not having to do anything that makes such a difference.
During my gardening activities I managed to get lots of twigs and bits of grass in my hair so I shall have to wash it before I go to bed, I hate it when my hair is not clean, and once that is done I shall let the cat find me, the perfect end to the day.
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