The self-same utensil jar

I'm sorry I couldn't make Tuesday,

but here is the self-same pot of utensils

as seen on Mise's blog,

(now restored to us after a lengthy hiatus).

My bottle of wine was just out of shot

and nearly as empty.

But don't just go for the pot,

there is a cheese biscuit recipe

and a novel way of measuring your daughters

to be found there too.

To the drier side of Britain

Big Bear was left out on the washing line

last night.

This was an unfortunate oversight

as it was raining quite heavily at 6 a.m.

He is sitting on a beach towel on the boiler now.

He hasn't said much.

But the poster seems to have caught his attention.

It has given him an idea.

A Note to Readers

Lucille has been advised by Specialists
that she has been overdoing things.
A rest cure has been recommended for her too.
She protested that people would miss her
useful or beautiful outpourings and that she must soldier on.
They told her that she was losing her grip 
(which she thought was pretty rude) and that bizarre 'recipes',
whimsical stories and dressed up bears 
were concrete evidence of this.

Big Bear

Big Bear has been in the garage

for twenty years.

He needs a bath.

 He is quite surprised.

He has never had a bath before.

He was not consulted.

He would have liked to decline.

In fact he would like to object

in the strongest possible terms.

He has been hung out to dry.

Paddington Bear is perturbed.

He has been resting under the bed

for a very long time.

It was darker than darkest Peru.

Now he is blinking in the bright August sun.

Why?

Important announcement

Empowered by Quince Tree creativity on the iced dessert front

I have here an absolute humdinger of an ice cream recipe

and I think it only right to share it.

Take one tub of decent ready made custard,

preferably with a classy speckle of Madagascan Vanilla seeds,

(not Bird's)

stir in some double cream,

then, and this is the genius bit,

swirl in some lightly whipped (not regular) Nutella

and chopped pecans.

Put it into an ice cream maker

or freeze it in a plastic box, stirring it around a bit

if you remember to before it has frozen solid.

I have used the quantity 'some' because

I didn't measure anything in my bid for

independence from the constraints of recipe books

which I have hitherto been in thrall to.

I wanted to call it Nuts and Pecs

but O. said better not.

The Marmite ad is for Old Black.

Covered in bees

Because we have a season ticket we are able to visit

Great Dixter much more frequently

and can observe the modulations in their planting plan

 as the summer progresses.

One plant in particular caught our eye.

It could hardly fail to for it was so massive -

a veritable forest of Inula Magnifica,

with flowers like raffia fringed yellow sunhats

covered in bees and Peacock butterflies.

The rake's progress

There was some lying in the long grass

but there was also an awful lot of

 raking.

The Retirement Home garden consists chiefly

of parched brown earth

and rocks and stones,

all of which have to be smoothed away

in time for the arrival of the turf.

Luckily there is always the chance that the rake will turn up 

a clay pipe, an old bottle, a button or some shards

of blue and white.

I find it quite therapeutic.

And when it gets too hot to be therapeutic

I go inside and eat cherries.

Tinker, tailor, soldier, raker,

rich man, poor man, beggar man,

thief.

Lazing in the long grass

on a sunny afternoon.

That's where I hope to be this

first weekend in August.

Basking blackbird

This bird is really into getting the rays.

We see him taking every opportunity to relax

but today is the first time I have been able to catch him

on camera, taking a brief siesta on next door's shed roof.

First he swivels round to catch the sun on his back,

then he slumps down and spreads first his tail 

and then his wings.

He fluffs up his feathers,

his eyes glaze over and if he is really zoned out

his beak gapes.

He will stay in this position for long enough to look

very vulnerable to attack,

but I am told that they are still on full alert and 

their acute hearing will warn them of danger.

The purpose of this behaviour is to help to spread

the preen oil throughout the feathers

and to drive the parasites out from the plumage,

but it is possible that they also just enjoy

the warmth of the sun.

The sun was rather elusive today

but I hear there will be a brief return

 to high temperatures later in the week.

It might be the last chance to top up the Vitamin D.

Food fight

 There's been a great deal of cooking round here lately.

It can seem like quite a battle to keep

ahead of the hungry hordes.

Especially in a hot kitchen.

I am always astonished by the ratio of time taken to

consult the recipe books, plan menus, make lists, buy ingredients,

assemble ingredients, cook the meals, clear away and wash up -

to the time it takes to eat said meals.

That is not to say that I don't enjoy cooking for

and feeding friends and family,

I do,

but maybe I should plan an orderly retreat

 in which for one week

 each meal consists of just three ingredients,

preferably eaten raw

with your fingers.

Then again,

where would we be without 

gooseberry purée meringues

with a custardy cream made as per Nigel's Delightful Trifle,

with egg yolk, sugar, mascarpone and cream.

Indeed why not go the whole hog

and make the trifle too now that

blackcurrants are coming in.

I'm my own worst enemy.

Do you  ever suffer from catering fatigue?

Fragments

During the course of works at the Retirement Home

I have unearthed many shards

of blue and white china.

Cathy has a few pieces missing from her collection
of willow pattern china.

Can I complete the jigsaw?