40mm of rain overnight + 16mm yesterday and the grass is already looking green after being brown for weeks. They had 100mm at Nantes, just an hour further north.
Have been out on a garden visit with picnic afterwards. OH came too and we had a lovely time - lots of interesting plants, structures and mosaics and good people too. As forecast, we had sunshine in the end and it's now 18C but no pottering outside for me as I need to prepare for tomorrow's patch class. Can't do it tomorrow morning as I'm learning how to drive a defibrillator.
I made marmalade and walnut flapjacks to share at the picnic and they loved them. Recipe please. We were offered a Vendée speciality which turns out to be a custard tart without the nutmeg. Good tho. Also a loaf cake made with home-grown peaches. Got to love gardeners who can cook.
Vendée - 20kms from Atlantic coast.
"The price good men (and women) pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men (and women)."
Has been raining here since lunchtime, so very happy to lounge around inside the house. We headed down to the seafront mid morning in the hope of making the most of the dry weather. Had an enjoyable walk, and finally sat outside with a coffee and a sea view. Then the rain started, and we were lucky that there was a table free inside to finish our drinks. Any non dog lovers, look away now! Quite a celebratory mood in town, the summer dog ban finished at the end of September, so there were loads of dogs playing in the surf and digging in the sand. In past years, a local pet shop has sponsored what they called a ‘Pebble Dash’ with local pet owners gathering at a set time for a mass rush down to the surf. As you may have guessed, I am a confirmed dog lover. Don’t have one of our own at present, so I took the opportunity to say hello to lots of mutts this morning.
There are more on that site and I can recommend the cinnamon and cashew as well as the apricot and pistachio. Didn't like the coffee and walnut or the "healthy" ones with banana. Planning to try the savoury seeded ones next week.
Vendée - 20kms from Atlantic coast.
"The price good men (and women) pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men (and women)."
The orange walnut flapjacks sound delicious, if completely tooth rotting! I have all the ingredients in, but only soft/ easy spread unsalted butter. Do you think it would work with that, or do I need to get a block of the ‘hard’ stuff?
@Dovefromabove I think the peach cake was just a normal cake mix with chopped fresh peaches stirred in then baked in a loaf tin.
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Sounds good to me ... it'll probably work for those peaches you buy hoping they're going to 'ripen at home' as it says on the pack, but of course they never do. I do use Dan Lepard's Stone Fruit Yoghurt Cake for those ... but I don't always have enough yoghurt to spare.
Sorry @Ergates but I only ever have proper hard stuff here - demi-sel or with great chunks of Noirmoutier sea salt in it. I used demi-sel for the flapjacks. If I want spreadable butter I just get it out of the fridge ahead of time.
Oats are good for your ticker so make up for the tooth rot.
I might just have to try a yogurt cake @Dovefromabove. Thanks.
Vendée - 20kms from Atlantic coast.
"The price good men (and women) pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men (and women)."
Afternoon all, just back from our weekend away for our big family 'do' near Oxford. We think about 50 family members turned up including children. Unfortunately some of the others from much further away, including my brothers , were too worried about the petrol situation or had none to start with, so didn't make it. However two 86 years old did make it so we had four generations there, if not five, I lost count, and a good time was had by all. I had printed out the six family trees and additional family information with photos and invited everybody not my on trees to add their information, so I've more data to input.
Weatherwise it was horrendous though, torrential rain on the M4 and lasted until midnight. Sandals and a lace dress were not ideal in those conditions! Fortunately after a late breakfast this morning, the sun shone when we drove the scenic way home down the old A4.
How lovely @Lizzie27. We in our family keep saying we should have a big family do that is not a funeral for a change. My cousins and I are now the oldest generation but still in our 70s so perhaps we'll need to leave it a few years until the third generation spawns the fourth! On a much smaller scale, daughter and granddaughters popped round with OH's cards and prezzie and left with half the plum tart. Everyone stayed in the garden and I was still in my gardening togs having done battle with the nettles that had colonised 'over the back'. One even stung me on the cheek! But it's tidier now and the surrounding plants can breathe. I still am in my gardening togs. So - I'm getting in that shower now!
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Have been out on a garden visit with picnic afterwards. OH came too and we had a lovely time - lots of interesting plants, structures and mosaics and good people too. As forecast, we had sunshine in the end and it's now 18C but no pottering outside for me as I need to prepare for tomorrow's patch class. Can't do it tomorrow morning as I'm learning how to drive a defibrillator.
I made marmalade and walnut flapjacks to share at the picnic and they loved them. Recipe please. We were offered a Vendée speciality which turns out to be a custard tart without the nutmeg. Good tho. Also a loaf cake made with home-grown peaches. Got to love gardeners who can cook.
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
Any non dog lovers, look away now! Quite a celebratory mood in town, the summer dog ban finished at the end of September, so there were loads of dogs playing in the surf and digging in the sand. In past years, a local pet shop has sponsored what they called a ‘Pebble Dash’ with local pet owners gathering at a set time for a mass rush down to the surf. As you may have guessed, I am a confirmed dog lover. Don’t have one of our own at present, so I took the opportunity to say hello to lots of mutts this morning.
These are the flapjacks - https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/golden-orange-walnut-flapjacks I used home-made orange and pomelo marmalade and home grown walnuts.
There are more on that site and I can recommend the cinnamon and cashew as well as the apricot and pistachio. Didn't like the coffee and walnut or the "healthy" ones with banana. Planning to try the savoury seeded ones next week.
https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2009/sep/26/how-to-bake-stone-fruit-yogurt-cake
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
Oats are good for your ticker so make up for the tooth rot.
I might just have to try a yogurt cake @Dovefromabove. Thanks.
We think about 50 family members turned up including children. Unfortunately some of the others from much further away, including my brothers , were too worried about the petrol situation or had none to start with, so didn't make it. However two 86 years old did make it so we had four generations there, if not five, I lost count, and a good time was had by all. I had printed out the six family trees and additional family information with photos and invited everybody not my on trees to add their information, so I've more data to input.
Weatherwise it was horrendous though, torrential rain on the M4 and lasted until midnight. Sandals and a lace dress were not ideal in those conditions! Fortunately after a late breakfast this morning, the sun shone when we drove the scenic way home down the old A4.
On a much smaller scale, daughter and granddaughters popped round with OH's cards and prezzie and left with half the plum tart. Everyone stayed in the garden and I was still in my gardening togs having done battle with the nettles that had colonised 'over the back'. One even stung me on the cheek! But it's tidier now and the surrounding plants can breathe. I still am in my gardening togs. So - I'm getting in that shower now!