Everywhere green

May was a glorious month. Busy and intense at work (SATs!), while equally busy and intense at home (GCSE revision for Bella) but so many highlights, not least the unrelenting blue skies and everything opening up and unfurling outside. I always think May starts off quite quietly, very definitely spring, but by the end of the month every leaf is the deepest shade of bright green, the garden has started to bloom and it feels almost summery.

Angus turned fourteen. My baby, fourteen. 

 

He requested a stack of doughnuts for his cake which I was more than happy to oblige, much less work all round. I was touched that he asked for Lego too (along with techy things, clothes and books) and he was so engrossed in building it, it reminded me of a younger Angus.

We attempted No Mow May in the front garden. I was torn between loving it and thinking it looked untidy. 

For a while, the verges outside our house were a riot of colour and wild flowers, it was really stunning, but then the council came along and mowed them.

We had some beautiful walks locally in woods filled with wild garlic, or ransoms. I noticed that I picked this about a month earlier last year, in April, but it was much later this year. 

I used this recipe but substituted the pine nuts for peanuts because that's what I had in the cupboard and omitted the garlic cloves because when I made this last year I found it too fiery. This batch was much more mellow and the wild garlic came through beautifully. I made the best sandwich I have ever eaten (from a fridge stocked with better than usual leftovers because we'd had friends round for dinner the night before) with the pesto, chicken, mozzarella and salad on toasted white bread. Heaven.

Leaving behind the teenagers, John and I had a lovely walk around Bosham and the first 99 ice cream of the year. 

The houses and gardens in Bosham are something else (and ridiculously expensive) but so pretty.

I've been getting up earlier than usual lately, as Bella wants to revise before school and likes me to wake her. Obviously she has an alarm clock and is more than capable of getting herself up, but I like that she wants to say good morning. She is so incredibly organised and self-sufficient, it's nice to feel needed. Anyway, I tell you this because coming down to the kitchen filled with morning sunlight is a joy.

Since I'm up, I go on the rowing machine in the garage as I much prefer exercising first thing rather than when I get in from work, then I wander round the garden with the watering can before having a shower. It's a really nice way to start the day.

It is now the time of year for after-work dog walks. How lovely it is to walk through fields of buttercups as the sun is dropping in the sky. A good way to decompress after a day in the classroom.

The garden finally has some colour.

The two enormous rhododendrons have flowered and the ferns are opening up. The alliums are just finished but there are buds on the climbing rose and poppies about to come up.

We spent the weekends in May giving the garden a bit of attention, scrubbing the decking and giving everything a bit of a tidy up.

It's amazing what a jet wash and a few new plants can do, as well as some sunshine.

The outdoor sofa continue to be one of our best purchases ever. It is in constant use, even by the dog, hence the blanket.

There has been a lot of cooking, and from new books too, so I have lots of photos for future book review posts. But I recently bought this book when I saw it half price and I have used it lots. Very practical, easy family food with some nice ideas. This was turkey tacos with an amazing coleslaw made with green apple.  

Chocolate flapjacks, always good for lunchboxes and after school snacks. 

And the most perfect weekend breakfast - poached egg and avocado on toast covered in Sriracha hot chilli sauce.

I am still working on my Iceland holiday embroidery. I have found it hard to find time and enthusiasm and did not enjoy sewing this Northern Lights section.

However, this little cross stitch star, using water-soluble fabric, was much more enjoyable and I have found my mojo with this project again. 

Which is just as well, as I would like to finish it before the memories fade too much. 

Two Bank Holidays

Two bank holidays, two four day weeks, and two very different sorts of weather. The May Day weekend was warm and sunny and it was so nice to open the windows and kitchen door to the fresh air 

The sofa cushions were put on the sofa and wash after wash hung on the line. This one is always happy when it's warm enough to go outside. He is in and out all day long, sniffing the air and pricking his ears at every small sound.

John had to work so I had did a lot of pottering and spring cleaning which was very restorative after a busy few weeks at work. I stripped the beds, did washing, vacuumed and baked while listening to the radio or a podcast. 

I began the weekend in the best possible way: sitting down with a coffee and going through all my newest cookery books and making a list of what to cook, then writing a shopping list

I have been working my way through Home Cookery Year, above, and it has become one of my favourite recipe books. I'll do a proper post on it soon. I've also been dipping into the others (when time allows) and tried this vanilla tray bake from One Tin Bakes by Edd Kimber. Good packed lunch and pudding fare,

The weather really was gorgeous that weekend and I got carried away and promptly packed away all my winter things and moved my summer stuff back into the wardrobe. (Our wardrobe is tiny.) It was good to be reunited with my beloved Toms, they are like slippers. I think this is my third pair. 

We enjoyed our dog walks that weekend, and appreciated the warmth of the sun and the blossom everywhere after what has felt like quite a cold spring. 

I met up with my friend in Lyndhurst for the day which was lovely. I left the children behind (one of the upsides of having teenagers) and skipped off alone for a day of fun. I listened to my audiobook in the car (The Pursuit of Love by Nancy Mitford - excellent narration by Bessie Carter), caught up with my friend, did a bit of shopping, had a very nice pub lunch out and thoroughly enjoyed myself. Lyndhurst is very pretty indeed with lots of independent shops and cafes and a bustling, seaside feel. 

It wouldn't be a proper bank holiday weekend without a bit of gardening. We did a fair bit of tidying up and cutting back, and pulled up some dead plants. I surveyed the border, and tried to remember what was a weed and what was a plant and generally  reacquainted myself with our little garden. 

The currant bushes are looking promising - although, as always, more redcurrants than black, the opposite way to how I would like it - and the climbing rose has spread really well over the fence. I am optimistic for blooms. At the moment, the garden is looking very green, but there are tiny spots of colour appearing here and there - alliums just about to open, and pinky-purple buds on the rhododendron bushes. 

I picked a few bluebells and the last of the tulips to make a little posy for the house - they lasted well over a week. 

The following bank holiday was cold and wet. This was the coronation weekend, and we embraced the horrible weather by drinking coffee, eating cake, painting a cupboard and going to B&Q to look at wood for shelves. 

There was more baking, but this time of the royal variety. I made the coronation quiche (using this recipe) which worked out ok, although making pastry is always a very tense situation for me. I don't really know what I am doing so it could go either way.

Luckily this pastry was good. A bit rustic looking, and patched in places, but very short and with a lovely crisp bottom. The filling was delicious, although the kids turned their noses up at the broad beans. 

Keeping up the royal cookery theme, I also made a Victoria Sponge, probably one of the nicest cakes ever, especially if you eat it so freshly made it's still a little warm.

I haven't seen a really good bluebell display this year, but have enjoyed the woods regardless, They were magical last weekend, really damp and cool - chilly, even - after all the rain, and just bursting with life and greenery. You could almost hear the ferns unfurling and leaves opening. 

And now we are half way through May already, and there is cow parsley and wild garlic and a boy who just turned fourteen, a girl revising for GCSEs and a garden that is just about to burst into colour.