I hope I am not being gaggingly sugary, but it has been such a lovely, ordinary Thursday that the only word for it is “glorious,” except for the pollen count. A morning spent pottering while Michael worked (!). Lunch on the deck. Afternoon in the garden, followed by weekly grocery shopping. Although I am not keeping a meticulous account of spending (I’ll resume that on July 1), I keep an eye on costs at the grocery store and everywhere else. I completed an analysis of some of our spending today, but am sorry to say no other paper work was done. –MJH.
While Michael held down the fort at home and worked on his professional projects, I went to Oakhurst for dentistry and errands. In the late afternoon he gardened while I recuperated and did household chores. –MJH.
Start with a standard-size can (10 3/4 oz.) of undiluted, ordinary tomato soup, such as Campbell’s. Instead of diluting the soup with water, add one small (14.5 oz.) can of “petite diced” tomatoes and just enough water to allow for easy mixing. Keep stirring the mixture as you heat it, to prevent it from sticking to the pan (corn syrup in most brands of tomato soup unfortunately makes it prone to scorching). Top each bowl with a sprig of rosemary or basil, and you’ll have a soup that looks and tastes freshly-made. (Three to four servings.)
Our day began with a visit from the tile-man, who made a repair in the shower downstairs. After that, Mike kept up with his professional work, while I washed clothes and worked downstairs. I set the mint bundles to dry in the downstairs porch. In the afternoon, Mike gardened, while I cleaned a storage cupboard downstairs. Favorites were on the menu for dinner– bangers and mash, baked beans, and for me, the ever-present Swiss chard. –MJH.
It was a day filled with small wonders– a walk on main street, planting seeds for the new garden, a quick trip to Blackberry Cottage for wood ash for the new potting soil. While Mike scooped the ash from the fire-place, I cut bundles of mint from beside the creek. Later we carefully planted vegetable seeds in one of our new trays. –MJH.
I don’t remember such a tender, lovely spring in the six years I have lived in Mariposa. Friday afternoon and night we had a gorgeous, pouring rain. Saturday there were specks of rain; today there were broken clouds… It was a beautiful weekend for us personally, and we were quietly busy here at Bullion Street (while the whole town buzzed for the Butterfly Festival, which didn’t seem much affected by the showers). Michael worked at his gardening projects, while keeping up with updates and other work for his network. I worked at my desk this morning and then helped a bit with the garden plans. Part of this afternoon we spent looking for our soils-testing kit, which we finally found on a cupboard shelf. The best part of the search was the serendipity. In the course of looking for the kit, we also found a garden sieve and an air filter that we needed. And we uncovered a reel lawn mower that should be perfect for the lawn here at Bullion Street. A simple dinner of chicken curry pie was followed by tea and our version of Jaffa cakes. I also splurged and made a few sort-of “Jaffa tarts,†with short pastry, orange filling and chocolate. Mmmmmmmm. I spent the evening adding up some recent expenses, doing the washing up, and working at my desk once again. –MJH.
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