Saturday. Really Saturday this time!

A very good Saturday morning to you all!  It's been raining (boo) and I am so very glad I stirred myself to spray the tomatoes yesterday evening after reading that the weather was going to break.
Phew, that should hold off the dreaded blight for a few weeks more.
It was another beautifully sunny day yesterday but not that hot.  At one point I sat out in the garden but ended up looking for my cardigan as there was a cool breeze.  It was nice to sit out though.

I managed to pack in quite a lot.

First of all I went swimming with Beth.  we were both quite tired so took it easy, managing about 45 minutes and meeting our 20 length target but having plenty of rest and chat in between times.

Then I managed to get to the library at last.  Now I have a shiny new ticket and five books.  Typical for me, four of them are 'making' books and one is history.  I might pop in and pick up some fiction this morning.  I borrowed a Lorraine Pascale book and Paul Hollywood's 'Bread', both of which I have considered buying in the past but didn't as they were very expensive.  Now I'm glad I didn't because, although there are some super recipes, there's a lot I wouldn't use.
I can see the scanner working overtime!

After that Beth and I went down to her allotment.  She hasn't been able to do much with it this summer so it's rather overgrown but, dear me, some plants seem to thrive on neglect and we came home laden with potatoes, corn, courgettes and pears.  Beth was very pleased with how many pears there were and there's still spuds by the sackload to dig, more corn to mature and more courgettes coming along.  In terms of an allotment, not much, but in terms of reality, brilliant!  Thanks, Beth!

As a result, for lunch we had some corn on the cob for a starter before the soup and roll and, my word, they tasted fantastic!  It gave me a very warm and satisfied feeling.  Fresh corn on the cob followed by home made soup with a home made roll.  What could be nicer?

I'm afraid that, after dealing with the rest of the corn which is now blanched, shared and in our freezers, I sat down and had a snooze before Beth went.  Shocking!

Then the cleaners came so, to get out of their way and to avoid feeling guilty, I went out into the garden.  I read for a while and then decided to dig up the crocosmia.  That was hard work as they've been in that place for years and the corms (are they corms or bulbs - anyway, you know what I mean) went deep.  In fact, I will have to have another go as I left lots behind in the soil.  I was rather hampered by the cyclamen that has spread among the crocosmia stems and I think that I will just have to forget about them in order to dig out the corms properly.  I won't get them all, of course, but I ought to get most.
Beth said she will take them off my hands and I shall plant some in a couple of pots.
I then arranged the pots of plants I have bought to fill the space and it did look quite nice.  I will get them in soon and cross my fingers for next summer and a change of focus in the middle bed.

After that it was time to cook dinner and I had a couple of the allotment spuds with my tuna burger and salad - absolutely delicious!  After that, in between watching telly and reading, I went online and managed to get two of the recipes from Eat Well for Less that they haven't posted on their site yet - the microwave risotto and the beetroot chocolate cake - by watching through the programme on iPlayer and pausing again and again to get the ingredients and method written down.  I want to make them both at some point - maybe the risotto will do for tomorrow's lunch for Beth and me.  What do you think, Beth?

So all in all it was a great day!

Today.  Well, no swimming.  I have been swimming for four out of the five days this week and I did feel rather weary yesterday so today is a rest day and I will swim tomorrow.  That means I can get to Aldi early and do my shop and still have the rest of the day for other things.  I have a recipe for apple and pear jam and as I have both apples and pears I shall make it to share.  Some for Jackie who gave me the apples and some for Beth whose allotment provided the pears.

I found a recipe for 'winter spiced lemon curd with cinnamon and vanilla' in the Pascale book which sounds totally scrummy so I will give that a go and I also want to try the Hollywood recipe for baguettes.  I can see that Thermione will be earning her space today!

Well, I have rambled on far too much this morning so please forgive me and I will stop now.  Have a wonderful day, whatever the weather!

Food:
Breakfast:  toast and jam, apple or pear
Lunch: cream of tomato soup, baguette,
Dinner:  not really sure but I haven't had chicken for ages so maybe I will do a chicken leg in a barbecue sauce (home made, of course) with new potatoes, runner beans and cauliflower, followed by a yogurt.