Saturday afternoon was just lovely, not warm but sunny & the
predicted rain & hail didn't arrive. Lucky loves sitting on the
window sill in the study observing our neighbours.
Phoebe prefers crouching behind the flower pots observing Lucky & waiting for a chance to pounce.
I love winter, especially in Melbourne where we don't have the freezing temperatures, snow, sleet & general dramas of winter in the Northern hemisphere. We do have our fair share of frosty mornings & torrential rain though. We even had an
earthquake a couple of weeks ago. Fortunately it was about 10km under Moe so very little damage was done. We felt it here in Melbourne. Lucky, Phoebe & I were enjoying a quiet evening with a concert on the radio. I was reading & when the rumbling started, Lucky dug her claws into my knee & Phoebe woke up with a start & looked at me for an explanation. I said I thought it was an earthquake & we'd just have to sit tight which we did. It was all over in 30 secs although it felt much longer.
Then there's my vegie garden. I started it a little late for summer veg although my herbs did very well & I managed a few tomatoes. I planted broccoli & carrots in early autumn & I've just eaten my first broccoli which is very exciting. I was concerned when little green caterpillars attacked the leaves but I was out on caterpillar patrol every morning & evening picking the wretched things off & they don't seem to have done any harm. There's more broccoli on the way & I hope to be eating my carrots soon. I ate the broccoli on Saturday night with a trout recipe I saw on one of Nigel Slater's programs. The trout fillets were wrapped in bacon & baked in the oven & served with lemon juice & parsley.
I've also bought my one & only Jubilee souvenir. I was very taken with this Emma Bridgewater Jubilee teapot. I love the squat shape & the 50s design. It has the words Steadfast & True around the base which I think describes the Queen perfectly. It arrived last week & it's a good pourer so I've retired my $5 teapot that I've been using for at least the last 15 years & I have this lovely pot to look at & use every day. It was also my first eBay purchase. The Bridgewater shop were charging £50 postage so when I picked myself up off the floor, I thought of eBay as I couldn't find an Australian distributor. It's new & the same price as at the Bridgewater shop but much less for postage & it was here, safe & sound, in less than 2 weeks.
Sunday morning was chilly but the rain still hadn't arrived so I was off early to the farmer's market, stocked up with veg, lovely handmade soap & gorgeous gluten free biscuits that are perfect when I feel like a treat with a cup of tea from my Jubilee teapot.
I made a big pot of my favourite soup at the moment, carrot & potato with cumin. It's the cumin that makes it so delicious. I also made a
wholemeal chocolate hazelnut cake for morning tea at work today. It's a recipe I cut out of the newspaper & it has a very Eastern European feel about it with hazelnut meal, chopped chocolate & chopped hazelnuts sprinkled on top.
The afternoon was spent watching the rain pour down, reading Leo Walmsley's
Love in the Sun, listening to the
Goldner String Quartet playing Beethoven with two very contented cats sleeping their lives away. A lovely way to spend the weekend.
A lovely weekend it sounds. Nice to see pictures of the cats too. I do smile to myself when you mention Winter and have to remind myself that you are on the other side of the world.
ReplyDeleteAlthough to be honest we are not having a summer!
I do love the teapot - I am tempted at the moment for some sort of jubilee souvenir. However, I have just been given 4 coronation mugs from the last four coronations which were my grandmothers, her mothers etc so I am beaming with pride over these. I need to work out where I want to display them first!
Have a good week, stay safe with any more earthquakes.
It was a very peaceful weekend, we all enjoyed it. Your Coronation mugs sound wonderful. You might need a Jubilee mug to go with them. Our earthquake was minor. We're so lucky compared to the people in Christchurch & so many other places where earthquakes cause such tragedy.
DeleteLove the teapot! I nearly bought the 1pt mug of the same design for my son who is 21 this year, but when I looked at the price, I couldn't quite bring myself to do it! I ended up buying him the 1pt Union Jack mug which will still be the most expensive mug in the cupboard by a long way.
ReplyDeleteMy Jubilee memorabilia will be some commemorative tins from Marks and Spencer - they have done four or five different ones so I bought one each for my children and have a selection to keep too (luckily junior daughter currently works for M&S so her discount makes them more affordable - I will miss it when she leaves to go to university in the autumn dv!)
I hope you don't get any more earthquakes - we have only had a couple of tremors but they were a very strange feeling especially the one which happened in the early hours of the morning!
I think anything to do with the Jubilee will be nice to look back on & I'll use my teapot every day as I drink lots of tea. Our earthquakes are more like tremors fortunately. No real damage & over in seconds. It is disconcerting when it happens though.
DeleteYour cats are gorgeous. Our cats like to lie on us too when we read but really like swooping across the card table if a jigsaw is going. I was listening to ABC radio when the earthquake hit. The announcer w/out missing a beat stated the room was rocking and there was an earthquake and then the program went to pieces as many people rang up. Quite entertaining from Hobart where we didn't feel it here. Nice weekend. Relaxing just to read of it. You have shamed me into thinking about getting into the garden. Pam ;-)
ReplyDeleteI'm considering buying a 1 1/2 size armchair (if such a thing exists as Phoebe has suddenly decided she likes sleeping on my lap & is most put out if I move her so Lucky can sit there. Phoebe changes her sleeping spots nearly every week but Lucky has always had the same routine so she gets lap priority in the evenings. Phoebe & I watch the 7pm new together because Lucky's usually asleep under her blanket then & Phoebe likes to lay on my lap at the kitchen bench when I have breakfast so they do have equal time.
DeleteJust realised my earlier comment has disappeared, so am writing this again.
ReplyDeleteBoth Lucky & Phoebe are looking great for the camera as usual! I especially love the first pic. :) Glad they had you with them during the earthquake, or else they would have been even more distressed.
Love your pretty little teapot too! Must be a pleasure to look at it everyday and have your tea, too. My Jubilee souvenir will be a tea towel (compliments from Thomas at My Porch for his generous giveaway!). Am still waiting for my 'royal' mail to arrive anytime now. ;)
It is a lovely photo of Lucky, isn't it? I think Phoebe was more put out that the earthquake woke her up! Lucky's a more nervous cat, that's for sure. The teapot is lovely & your teatowel sounds special too. I collect teatowels but have too many so I've stopped. They were nice light things to buy when I was in the UK.
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