Monday

 Good morning, everyone.  The sun is shining and, unlike the last several days, it's not starting to cloud over.  It would be lovely to have a sunny day and a bit of warmth.  Yesterday gave us intermittent rain and, well, maybe it was just me but by the evening I felt so chilly I turned the heating up for a short time.

It was a happy-busy day yesterday.  A roast dinner is not difficult but it does take some time prepping so I got all that done first thing when I feel at my most energetic.  By the time Beth and Alex arrived, everything was ready and the house smelled wonderful.   I've just made a soup with the leftovers - roast beef, new potatoes (good old allotment), roasted butternut squash, carrots and broad beans (more allotment) with passata and stock, etc.  I love Sunday roast soup and, for just over 100 calories per portion, it's very SW friendly too.

After lunch and a tidy up, we drove Alex home and then stopped at the allotment.  It was drizzling but not to worry, we weren't there for very long.  We dug up several more potatoes and came home with quite a bagful; they're doing very well at the moment.  Beth also pulled a couple of baby corn - I had the first lot so those were hers.  The courgettes are doing OK, sending out new growth and some babies.  There are plenty of tiny runner beans coming along.  After a good start though, the dwarf French beans are not so great - quite a lot haven't come up yet and, when you consider that all the ones I've sown at home have germinated and are showing above the soil, you can't blame the seeds.  It could be wildlife - there's plenty at the allotment, for sure.  I have a few more seeds left so, if there's still gaps by the end of the week, I will re sow and see.

The seeds I ordered (mangetout and autumn cropping broad beans) should arrive today so I can get them out in the next few days.

Anyway, back to yesterday.  When we got home, we had a drink and a chat before Beth headed off back home.  It was a nice day.

Today, there are two things on the timetable.  The first is the weekly tuition and the other is that I need to go down to Robbins and Day and organise my car service and MOT.  Apart from that, it's just the usual - mow the allotment grass (assuming no rain), bit of weeding, talk to the plants and so on and so forth . . .
Quiet (apart from the mower), gentle and productive.  Just what I like.

Have a lovely day, whatever you have planned.  xx