Monday 24 May 2010

Sunshine o'clock



Well the sun finally came and boy did it shine! What a wonderful weekend - sunshine, lazy days and blue skies. On Saturday morning we visited a local plant sale which is held at the end of the festival and filled our bags and baskets with flowers and veg. By late morning we knew it was going to be a scorcher and made plans to lie low in the garden.



Even with the beach on our doorstep, the garden seemed the perfect place to be. Our new plants sat for a while on the garden table as we waited until early evening to plant them. Cushions, blankets, newspapers, books and games were scattered across the garden and all we had to do was sit and turn the pages, throw a dice and stagger in for a drink or two.



I found a recipe in the paper for a cake that sounded so tempting and, surprisingly for one that I found I had all the ingredients. I mustered enough energy to slink into the cool of the kitchen and make this very tasty cake, which was very easy to make, even on a sweltering day. Perfect for eating under the apple tree.



We took it turns to lie on the hammock. I looked up at the sky and marvelled at its colour next to the slowly returning leaves of the ash tree at the bottom of the garden.



At times it was just too hot and we all took shelter, the sky being even bluer than the parasol.



Little Sister reclaimed her favourite spot for reading, up in the apple tree. Big Sister managed to perfect her tan and revise (oh how I hated having to revise when I was younger, it was always on the hottest days, when all I really wanted to be doing was swimming or lying in the sun doing nothing at all).



And the sun brought out the Dr Dolittle in Mr Roses. Using the bird calls that I bought him for his birthday, he decided to "talk" to all the birds in the neighbourhood and it worked! Within minutes we had a semi circle of birds in the trees around us all chirping away, one very happy Mr Roses and two very bemused cats...
But what was best of all about Saturday was that it was a day that passed at its own pace - no rushing around, no shopping or crowds, no noise apart from the birds and Mr Roses and a sense that the day had been truly savoured and yet nothing much had been really "done".

10 comments:

bellaboo said...

Sounds like a perfect Summer's day.The sort you dream about all Winter!
The birds are SO noisy in the mornings...no chance of a lie-in round here!

Bellaboo ;0)

Cowboys and Custard Mercantile said...

I think Mr Roses must have been sat in the tree at the bottom of our garden the other day. I heard a bird song I have not heard before..it was so tuneful.. I managed to record it.

These hot languorous days are the best.

Dottie x

Piece by Piece said...

Yesterday, today and in fact, the balance of the week, in S. W. Ontario are going to be hot, hot, hot. Temps will be in the high 20's and low 30's with a lot of humidity, which makes for uncomfortable days.
Your Sat sounded just perfect.
Is'nt it strange how a smell or colour can transport you back in time. In my garden I have cowslips, the smell of the leaves remind me, when I was a child, the many hours my friends and I would walk the ditches near our home in Sussex, picking bunches of pale yellow primroses, to give to Mum and my Great Aunt.

My Mother used to have a lot of wallflowers in her garden, thanks for the memories.
Patricia.

Hannah Stoneham said...

What wonderful pictures - sounds perfect

happy Monday

Hannah

SWEDISH HOUSE said...

Oh...what a perfect day...
An idylic British summer's day ;-D
enJOY your week
LOVE, PEACE
Julie x

Lisa said...

Sounds like a perfect day, with a great cake too!
Lisa x

melanie said...

Sounds very much like our weekend, has'nt the weather been glorious! I really enjoyed just lazing in the garden, can not wait for the heat to return. :) xx

silverpebble said...

Oh what a dreamy, beautiful post Kim. It's brightened my morning. Did Mr R really have a little semi-circle of birdies? Like St Francis chatting away to the pigeons. That's brilliant.

BTW, it's Milly Molly Mandy for me, any day. I have always had a pair of MMM shoes.

Louise said...

It's very rare that I have all the ingredients necessary when baking! Let's hope for more lovely sunny weekends like this. x

Scented Sweetpeas said...

What a fab day and love the bird calling box - where did you get it from ?