Recent Reading, Baking and Garden

 

Recent Reading

As you can see I am racing through the Fairacre Books - comfort reading still taking place! Sadly, Kindle don't always show the pretty covers.

Although written by the same author this not a Fair acre book but a one off about a newly qualified teacher who moves from a farm to take up her first post in a town. Again it is light and enjoyable charming reading.

Not the best crime/mystery series I find - but easy reading and enjoyable.

This non fiction Shire book on Church Curiosities is brilliant. It covers so many of the unusual artefacts found in churches from virgin garlands, to sanctuary knockers to dragon-slaying swords and dozens more. Stories, legends and folklore behind these objects are included and there are lots of examples and photos.  Just wish I had the "proper book"!!!

I was thrilled to find there is a new Nikki Galena book out in the Fen series which was not too expensive on Kindle. These books have lost none of their magic.

I have found Caroline Graham to be an excellent writer and author. The way she builds suspense and fear in this book is just incredible. I was hooked from the first page!  Sadly, I suspect I am now up to date with all her books.

I did try and read a book by Dorothy L Sayers but to be honest I gave up after a few chapters as it just was not holding my attention! It is unusual for me not to persevere a bit longer with a new author - perhaps I will try it again one day.

Baking

If I am honest I had done little baking or even cooking before marriage.  I am ashamed to say I did little at my parents and Home Economics as it was then called was dropped after the third year at grammar school so I could continue with Latin!  The first cookbook I bought was the Dairy Book of Home Cooking from the milkman which proved to be a useful book and was used for years along with Delia Smith recipes and many others.  These days I rely on old favourites and new recipes from Mary Berry books and BBC Good Food website.  B bought me last year for either birthday or Christmas a 50th Anniversary edition of the Dairy Book of Home Cooking and the other day I decided to make again one of the first biscuit recipes I tried over 40 years ago - Macaroons and they were as good as I remembered!

Thankfully D and E can cook and bake. Both have been making and decorating cakes since they were little and both did Food Technology (or whatever it is called these days!) for GCSE. D regular cooks us meals and E is always baking.

Garden

The strawberries are doing well!

In the pots are planted carrots, parsnips, beetroot and lettuce - the net is to deter squirrels and cats!

Red/pink azaleas and bluebells and forget me nots are flowering in the bed in the middle of the second lawn.

Cowslips have self seeded and spread throughout the wild flower "meadow". There are at least 70 new plants!!!

Wood anemone are still flowering as are Grape Hyacinths and

Periwinkles.

Red camellia and

another azalea by the pond. Sadly, we seem to have lost the one with the orange flowers.

Perennial wallflower

The last few photos were taken by my son over the last few months with the Canon SX50 bridge camera.

Fox on his daily walk.

Old fashioned pop corn maker that D bought for E for Christmas

Another jigsaw completed  this one is a historic county map of Warwickshire.

Mallard at Shustoke Reservoir

Rainbow and Hawthorn in flower.

With garden nests the 8 Blue Tit chicks are now down to 5 again this year there seems to be a shortage of caterpillars.  I am not sure about the Blackbird nest in the Holly but adults are feeding young tirelessly in another nest in the clematis on the patio house wall.

Looking for houses for sale locally in view of the thought of the huge rebuilding plans next door is proving difficult and fraught and I am afraid we have become guilty of dithering.  The main problem is that rural houses locally or in villages/towns are very expensive and you are paying an extra £150-200k more for a very average characterless house with little garden just because it is in a good area with excellent schools.  If we could use the same budget to buy a property in another county say Somerset, Norfolk, Worcestershire, Herefordshire, Shropshire you could purchase a really lovely detached rural cottage with a decent garden and not one sized like a pocket handkerchief!  And that really is the crux of the matter and what is causing the difficulty. At our age I certainly don't want to move twice!  

We still have no idea when building will start next door or when they will move out although they seem to have had visits from at least 3 sets of builders perhaps for quotes??

The Planning Officer who spoke to B said they should provide us with something called a Party Wall Agreement which basically gives us 28 days notice before work, lets us agree their hours of work and they need to take out insurance to protect us if for example they run out of money to finish something like the roof which is affecting our house then we can claim to have the job finished. But we have heard nothing and to make matters worse this agreement is not mandatory!!!!!!!  

In the mean time I shall continue to look for a local house that is not extortionate and characterless!!  

I hope everyone is staying safe and well.

Apart from final photos taken by D rest of photos taken by me with the Panasonic Lumix FZ330 bridge camera.