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.
