It’s March and here is this month’s planner from Action for Happiness.
Our walk was brief today in the returned bitter Easterly wind but we did spot a beautiful Camellia bloom on the path, a delicate pale pink among the russety brown of the decaying blooms.
and Heligan Pineapple Cake! Here’s the link to the very easy recipe for this delicious, fruity and moist loaf.
Another beautiful day to work at the allotment and now we can see progress.
28 February 2021. Beds and paths marked out in the ‘cage’
August 2021 The fruit cage full of weeds, brambles and very old fruit bushes which are now gone, given away or composted.
Dinner came out of the freezer tonight as pretty shattered again both from the work and the heat of the sun!
Rainbow Veg Pakora Picnic Pie by Nadiya Hussein
The bulbs in the new border are looking fabulous!
Sitting in the study this morning, I realised that the view from the window over the fields to the horizon was reflected in one of our paintings.
We felt a need for cake this afternoon so I made Blueberry Streusel Cake which is quite delicious and one of our favourites.
We ‘attended’ a brilliant talk this morning about one of our favourite artists, Andrew Wyeth. Art Historian Stella Grace Lyons, has such an accessible style of delivery and is so enthusiastic. It is a pleasure to spend an hour with her and to discover so much more about this artist. Next week, the talk is about Edward Hopper, another favourite of ours.
Wind From the Sea Andrew Wyeth 1947. Just look at the delicacy of the lace.
This afternoon, I baked with T, LiveWire No 3. She chose to make a Victoria Sponge and we spent a lovely couple of hours together ending up with a delicious cake in each household.
T’s cakes just out of the oven, photo taken of iPad screen.
There is no way that the lovely Mr S and I could (or should) eat all this cake so we enjoy sharing with Sue-next-door. We had a very socially distanced tea party, each bringing our own cup of tea and using disposable plates and enjoying a very good catch up. You can see the rain spots on the top of the cake. We don’t let the rain stop our fun!
Spring is really on its way when the lambs start appearing the field behind our house. This was taken on a very long zoom.
I found a recipe for Rainbow Veg Pakora Picnic Pie by Nadiya Hussein and liked the sound of it. I made it this afternoon, thinking I would make the whole mixture but a smaller pie so that we had some veg mix left over.
I needed the extra mixture because this afternoon, LiveWire No 2 wanted to bake on Skype and asked if I would like to make Flatbreads. As I had never made them before, J offered to teach me and a fine job he did of it. We had a really lovely afternoon. Sue-next-door always loves it when I bake with J as there is always too much for us and we share it with her.
Our walk was short and brisk dodging hailstorms. The sky over Carn Brea was threatening of more to come.
The lovely Mr S is very fond of Eccles Cakes as was my Dad, a Lancashire man. Dad liked them with a hunk of Lancashire cheese. I have never made them before and am delighted with today’s efforts!
While I was baking, I was listening to Poetry Please on BBC radio 4. The final poem by Murray Lachlan Young, ‘Negative Thoughts’ feels just perfect for these times as many people are struggling with their mental health. As the poet says, this poem is “An antidote to allowing things to spiral in the wrong direction.” The whole programme is worth listening to but you can find the poem at about 27 minutes using the link above. I found it very useful.
Murray Lachlan Young
Mince pies and our exchange of presents socially distant in the garden in the rain this morning. What a star our lovely neighbour is!
Savoury baking today, sausage rolls and cheesy angels!
I am delighted with our new ornament for the tree!
This came my way today and I share it with you for its wisdom.
Our walk today took us past a favourite Art Deco shop and this headband caught my eye, looks just the thing for our sparkly zoom Christmas parties with my choirs. 
This afternoon I used up three over-ripe bananas to make a Cinnamon and Raisin Banana Loaf – scrumptious warm with ice-cream!
Message for my cousin in Australia – I’ve lost your snail mail address, sorry. Please can you email it to me? xx
One of the joys of making a half of Granny’s fudge recipe is that it leaves half a can of condensed milk so, at the weekend I was also able to make two mini Lime and Ginger Cheesecakes, one to freeze and one to share tonight. Click the red link for the recipe for the fudge.
Hibernation
“And the people stayed home. And read books, and listened, and rested, and exercised, and made art, and played games, and learned new ways of being, and were still. And listened more deeply. Some meditated, some prayed, some danced. Some met their shadows. And the people began to think differently.
~Kitty O’Meara
I had a fancy for some Cheese Scones and so, here they are, delicious slightly warm with salty Cornish butter.
Cheese and Black Olive Scones
Commentator Award
