29-04-25

Morning, everyone. Another warm and sunny day starts - it's already sunny, anyway, and it will feel warm soon. Yesterday, by half past nine, doing circuits in Lindsey's garden was a warming experience, for sure.

The garden is certainly sending out loads of growth.

The Autumn fruiting raspberries are doing nicely.

Look at all those buds on the clematis.  It's covered this year!

The flower bed looks a right mess hut nothing there is weeds (at least, I don't think so) - this is the early spring bulbs dying back while the summer stuff comes through and where there aren't growing up or back stuff, there's cyclamen leaves as ground cover.  They're going to die back soon too.

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Now I can see which are white bells, I MUST have them out.  I should never have put them there in the fist place.

On the other hand, my lovely English bluebells are gorgeous round the front.  They aren't invasive hut they're well established now.  They've been there well over a decade and a few years ago I split the clump so there's some at the edge and a little clump the other side of the bed.

My photo doesn't do the colour justice at all.

And here's the lily of the valley.  Mum loved this flower and she gave me a small clump from their garden at least twenty years ago.  I had them in a pot for ages before planting them round the front.  Now, they ARE invasive, but I dearly love both the sight and smell of them and they are a constant reminder of my lovely mum so, so far, I have let them be.  I might have some out and into a pot after this year's flowering though.  I don't want to throw any away if I can help it.

And this year there's going to be enough for picking too.  How lovely.

I have someone else to make sourdough for now - Lindsey says she loves it! So that's me, Beth and Lindsey. Opportunities to practise.
(I wonder about Diane. Must ask.)

I'm still not getting the loaves with wholegrain flours quite right. Like Carole said, they are delicious but they don't rise enough during the baking. Perhaps I should use a loaf tin rather than freeform or it could be that my shaping is not great yet. Something to ask about at that course, if I remember and get the opportunity. I'll keep trying!

Anyway, I am in the middle of a white loaf and I didn't have quite enough strong flour so I added some ordinary plain white flour to make up the amount and now I am wondering how a loaf made just with plain flour would work out - or even half and half.
Beth and I once did a sponsored challenge to eat for a pound a day and as part of it I made bread with the cheapest white flour we could get. While it came out very soft, it was perfectly edible, quite nice in fact, and rose fine (it was yeasted) so I just wondered.
Maybe I will give it a go with half quantities and see. Just for fun.

I did my end of month reckoning. Oh, dear, what a very spendy month April has been, what with teeth and glasses and holidays and deposits for outings and goodness knows what unnecessary but nice stuff (like yarn) and rather more necessary stuff (like replacing my broken mini-chopper).
Time to rein it right back. Well, after tomorrow anyway.
Come on, premium bonds, show me some love 
(Only joking!  I know I am very fortunate and I totally appreciate that.)

Today, being Tuesday, is Groove day with the walk there and back. This ensures that I go over 10,000 steps for the day, pretty much the only day it happens. I have one load to bake (the rest is done and it's in the fridge for its final proof), I have a couple of loaves to deliver (yay) and I have remembered that we have a local mill, Marriage's, that has a shop so I want to pop in and take a look. I've looked online and their prices for excellent quality flour, are pretty good.  Postage is horrendous though so if I can avoid that . . .

I think housework has to take second place today.  Oh, what a shame.  :-)

Have a great day, everyone.  Enjoy the fine weather (if you have it).  xx