First bike ride of 2019

We had another fine and bright start to the day - this makes all the difference to how you feel and how you spend your day.  I had planned our meals for the next couple of days (they just needed preparing) so there was no need to go to the supermarket today so really the day was ours to do as we pleased.  The sun was warming up the conservatory nicely and Mr Boo was taking full advantage - you have to admit that nothing looks quite so cosy and comfortable as a pampered cat!!!


As I have said before we do not have resolutions simply hopes and aspirations this year and we hope to get our on our bikes more often this year.  They have been gathering dust in my shed so the sunshine and warm temperatures galvanised John into action and he got them out and checked them over so that we could go for a gentle spin.  I now have a couple of things on my birthday list - my padded cycling gloves are disintegrating but will last a little while longer and my helmet could probably do with replacing as some of the velcro seems loathe to stick - it was ok for today, once on it felt safe enough.

We set off enthusiastically with no real goals save to do some circuits of the village until we felt we had had enough.  This we did until John realised his back tyre had a slow puncture so we returned home before the wheel got knackered.  John got the maintenance stand out and sorted the issue by which time I was doing some gardening so he decided to go out for a second spin whilst I grappled with the passion flower on the garden wall.



It is a difficult thing as an amateur gardener to cut plants back when you can see them doing so well but many fare so much better having had a good haircut as it prevents them getting woody.  So many produce their flowers on new growth so cutting them back means that the flowers are closer to the original plant and not at the ends.  Case in point is the passion flower which still looks fabulous but the flowers next season will be on new growth and as a lot of the plant is making a bid for freedom over the wall that means we wouldn't get to see the flowers.  It got a severe haircut today!! - sorry that the before and after are the wrong way round but Blogger is a bit picky about how you post photographs.

The goats are back and they will be the main beneficiaries of the garden cuttings as I have put them over the wall so there is a veritable feast of greenery for them when they venture up this far.  It is lovely to see the goats back but with them comes the ticks and so far we have been lucky that the cats have avoided them.

I had promised to make Mum (and us) some breakfast pancakes and you can see the difference that having fresh baking powder has on the overall finish!!!  I was mid cook with pushbike helmet head when Di and Rob arrived - would you Adam and Eve it - it I had been perfectly coiffed we wouldn't have seen them but NOOOOOOOOOO they had to pitch up when I looked like the village bedlam!!



This afternoon John wanted to watch the Mighty Blades and I wasn't so bothered so I spent a couple of hours making some Christmas cards in readiness for this Christmas - I really want to get my crafting stuff down to a more manageable amount so I am using up things which have been sitting around for years.  Sometimes the simple designs are the most effective!  Not that I send or give many cards nowadays but it is a shame for all this stuff to be sitting in a box and not being used.

When I come back to this world another time I am most definitely coming back as a cat in a household like ours.  John had the woodburner kicking out some good heat and the cats were all in making the most of it.  Boris in particular was relaxed and chilled - not entirely sure exactly how he managed to remain on the sofa without falling off but he did.

I had two slow cookers on the go today - packed full of goodies.  One is for lunch tomorrow which we plan to take down to Mum as the weather forecast is dire and the other is for Monday when hopefully Mina will come and have supper with us.  The aroma was incredible - honey and mustard chicken casserole with apple, bacon, sweet potato, butternut squash, leek, carrot and potatoes with a slug of white wine for good measure.

To follow we are having spiced plum and apple crumble with custard when we are at mums and with cream when we are here.  We are to be a no food waste zone this year and a slow cooker casserole enables me to throw in just about anything that might be looking a little weary!!!