Entertaining our guests...

As I said yesterday there is a definite Autumnal feel in the air and it was, by recent standards, quite cool this morning.  We have got to that time of the year where I am not entirely sure whether or not the fan is needed overnight.  Regular readers will know that we have a vine in the garden but it is nothing more than a feeding station for the resident hawk moth caterpillars and so it is not pruned properly nor treated with chemicals so that the grapes grow and flourish as can be seen by the photograph!!!  Michelle I must tell you that the tiddly hawk moth caterpillar which was there when you were here and which was very small is no longer very small it is about to go brown and deposited a huge poo today which narrowly missed Stan's drink!!

I sent John on a mission to 'cut' some figs as Jacky and Janet like them and I was planning on baking them in the oven with honey, cinnamon and brandy.  This year there are loads - they must have liked the wet winter we had last year (wet Stan not cold).  John came back with loads so they will be able to take some back with them tonight.

John's Mum brought some fab things with her.  John is super excited about his beer in a bag kit which takes a mere three weeks to brew providing we can find it a home with the right conditions.  Really have to thank Janet for putting that in her suitcase as it weighed quite a bit.  I also have to say a big Thank You for my lovely perfume - Good Girl by Carolina Herrera which comes in a fabulous bottle in the shape of a stiletto - gone are the days when I can put my feet into something that sexy!!

We spent the morning getting ready for our guests who arrived early afternoon and we started with a dip in the pool which is currently at 26 degrees which really isn't a bad temperature although it is a bit chilly to get in but, as we always say, once you are in it is lovely.  There was quite a lot of squealing and sharp intakes of breath and that was just Stan!!!  

I cooked two full racks of ribs and some extra pork neck steaks - the racks were like two massive xylophones and I was impressed with how well they turned out.  Everyone seemed to enjoy them and John's mum even got to take a box of coleslaw home so that will keep her happy.  The figs went down well too - even with Stan who normally would say he didn't really like them.  It was a good start to their holiday I think.

We rounded off the evening with a bit of a gin fest - good old Stan was driver so we girlies could enjoy one of John's concoctions.  Janet and Jacky are something of gin buffs - they keep a book with a list of those they have sampled and what their opinion of them is.  We kept it simple tonight using good old Castelgy from Lidl which is a nice crisp ginny-gin.

We finished off the day by having a lounge on the day bed.  We are so lucky to have different areas to be able to relax in or escape from the sun.  We have a whole host of things on the list to do once they have settled in and as they have Kenny they are free to explore on their own if they want to.  I think we are going to have a lovely three weeks and I know John has been looking forward to having his mum here.