Back to normal for a Sunday...

So my sister arrived back in Good Old Blighty safe and sound even if it was in the wee small hours of the morning.  It seemed to be a successful trip and Mum seemed quite chipper this morning when she text before setting off for ours as she was coming for Sunday Lunch.

It was an amazing start to the day even though we have been forecast rain today.  I was up at 5.00am feeding Charlie and just nipped out to take a shot of the sun rising up and over the hills.  It was still save for the sound of the bullfrog which has been ousted from the pool next door by Jan and Derek and which seems to have moved across the road and into the pool next to Das.  He is vocal and loud - the bullfrog not Das although when Das is practicing his music you could say he is vocal and sometimes loud - not that we hear him much where we are.  Sadly we had to miss his performance in the village the other week.

I have a little project on the go at the moment - I want to try and grow some ginger from the stem I purchased yesterday in Paps.  I noticed it had a shoot on one 'finger' and I looked it up and apparently you have to soak the piece in water to remove any preservative on it and then wait for the cut end to heal before planting it.  I shall report back on the progress.

Lunch today was a pork dish as we were eating up some pork tenderloin which was in the freezer which I cooked with appleas, onions and mustard in a creamy sauce and served with baby hasselback new potatoes and fresh garden peas.  John was doing a fresh fruit salad for afters.  The pork was delicious - it had originally come from Shuks and I marinaded it overnight in some yoghurt to make sure it was tender.  Mum ate a good meal save for one potato which was fine by me.  We served her the sauce separately as I know she prefers her meals to be 'dry' which I don't understand at all - give me a nice sauce any day!!!

I took her round to meet our neighbours and for Mum to have a nosey as to what they are doing with the house because Mum has seen it standing empty and, like us, didn't think anyone would ever buy it so she was interested to see what they have been up to.  Jan very kindly took us on a guided tour.  We can begin to see quite a difference and it is good to see the house looking tidier and more loved.  I wasn't sure about having neighbours but they are lovely people and they aren't going to be there permanently at least for now.  I think John enjoys having a bit of banter with Derek about football and llife in the Navy as Derek was in the the Navy for a while too.

So Mum got home safe and sound - it had been an extremely windy day today and the weather quite cloudy.  Mum had had some spots of rain in Emba before she came up to us and then we had a few spots before lunch but then later in the evening Charlie shot in and when I picked him up he was wet so guessed it must have been raining outside.  That was good because it meant I didn't need to water!