Our weather is completely bonkers at the moment – cloudless sunny days, not quite with the heat of high summer but not far off. We have all been deceived into in fact thinking that it actually IS summer.

But it isn’t….and at over 2,000 feet in Switzerland in early April, snow is still a strong possibility and hard frosts pretty much a certainty.

Today I went to my local utterly amazing garden centre to pick up a few bits and pieces. To say it was seething with people would be an understatement – it was jam-packed with people buying plants and seedlings like there was no tomorrow.

I was so, so tempted…..but I’ve been there before and been disappointed when all my carefully tended babies got frozen to death…so I gritted my teeth and only bought these seeds, both of which can happily withstand a good frost….

…and some potting compost and new pots for my houseplants along with some sort of garlic plants which apparently smell so bad that itinerant mice (of which I seem to have many in the garden since Bumble Bee lost her teeth and got old and lazy) move elsewhere.

I’ve held myself back today, only repotting houseplants and emptying the compost heap (complete with a terrified mouse). The weather is supposed to change tomorrow, so I’m enjoying it while it lasts and opting for a low risk gardening strategy.

I’m quite surprised at my self and my newly acquired willpower!

Helen

and get yourself down to your nearest cinema to see this…. THE BEST EXOTIC MARIGOLD HOTEL

A group of elderly Brits move to live in a dilapidated cinema in Jaipur, India when their funds will no longer stretch to living in England. Starring Judi Dench, Maggie Smith, Bill Nighy, Penelope Wilton, Tom Wilkinson among others. Utterly, utterly charming, funny and delightful with the most fabulous cast imaginable….but you probably do need to appreciate the British sense of humour. One of the nicest films I’ve seen in a very,very long time.

Unfortunately it doesn’t open in the US until May.

Worth waiting for though!

Helen

The winter really does seem to have come to an end – much earlier than usual, but nonetheless very welcome. We had a very cold stretch and the warm weather, open windows and flowers bursting into bloom feel like a very sudden contrast.

We’ve been existing on winter comfort food for months – and to tell you the truth, although I love to cook, I’m bored. Bored with putting the same old things on the table week in and week out, bored with buying the same old things at the supermarket and the choice at the farm shop where I buy my fruit and vegetables has been pretty seasonal, meaning not a lot of choice.

Now things are starting to change. I don’t buy much in the way of exotic produce that has been shipped halfway round the world and has no flavour as  a result – which means that the seasons here at home are all the more real to me. This morning I picked up the first asparagus – not Swiss, but only from a stone’s throw away in Germany. I bought tulips fresh from the farm, which I swear really are completely different from what’s been available at the supermarket. I almost bought some local rhubarb too, but decided I’d wait a while and have it fresh from the garden in a week or two.

With change in sight I’ve pulled out three cookbooks, all of which come highly recommended, but none of which I’ve ever cooked much from. This week I’m going to make a concerted effort to try new things, preferably light meals only very little or no meat. We all need a change and a bit of a spring clean and I think a good injection of fresh veg would be no bad thing.

I’ll let you know how I get on!

Happy Saturday,

Helen

A lovely sunny spring evening, so warm that it feels like summer. I hope to goodness we haven’t been lured into a false sense of security as it isn’t inconceivable that we could get another load of snow (Please God noooooo!)

For the first time in living memory I’m home alone on a Friday evening. Not one member of the family will be showing up for dinner – they’re all out – one at a scout weekend, one at a church youth group Passover dinner, one just out (no, don’t ask, you won’t get an answer, she’s a teenager) and one at a drinks do at work for someone who is leaving.

So here I am contemplating making something delicious for myself for dinner – which will probably involve sweet potatoes and aubergines (which nobody else likes), sewing my Hopscotch triangles and feeling bowled over by how utterly faboolah they’re looking….and enjoying the peace and quiet. Really enjoying the peace and quiet…and not having to cook a family meal.

It feels completely self indulgent and delicious.

This should happen more often! (I think it may indicate that deep down I’m a deeply anti-social individual, but we won’t dwell on that)

Helen

with Hopscotch and Terrain (and Mr H too of course!)

I just knew that if I got my point colours right then this pattern would sing and really bring out all the pizzazz of Terrain. That’s why I got myself into such a dithering tizzy. Before I started I really thought that Kona coal would do the job, but it just didn’t. It made the terrain fabrics look drab and as I think I mentioned the white/dark grey combo in the stars looked like the chequerboard tiled hallway of a big posh house in England.

The purple on the other hand makes Terrain sing. The fabrics are seriously cool.

It’s making me deliriously deliciously happy. I LOVE these fabrics and I (quite) love the pattern. No, I take that back – I do love Hopscotch. I love the fact that it’s so different – I work with triangles all the time, but never, ever equilateral triangles. A word of warning though – this is not a beginner’s pattern. There are a phenomenal number of points to match all of which are at a 60 degree angle and because of the strong contrast from the white/purple combo if those babies aren’t a perfect match, then they really do stand out like a sore thumb. They really need to be absolutely nailed down perfect…..which they are, of course 😉

(Did I mention that I’m doing a LOT of ripping out!!)

I now have to make a zillion triangles. I won’t be getting into any other mischief for a fair while…

Helen

Helen