Larks ascending

I occasionally get a comment from Anonymous, usually a judgemental one suggesting the way I behave isn't Christian.

I'm not sure if it's a serious comment or not, and I suspect Stu. 

Anyway, just saying it's interesting that people prefer to remain anonymous when criticising.

Now here is Lark Ascending, a fairly new rose in my garden, from David Austin.

And here's a very cute little lamb.

It's cooler today but still warm and sunny. I am psyching myself up to go and dig a hole to plant a hydrangea. Or get back to sieving stones.

Oh, and here's my first dahlia! If you remember I ordered four plants but two never grew, and one has been eaten away completely. This is my triumph! Albeit slightly snail-eaten.

A long round-up

It was GrandDaughter1's prom last night so I went along with her mum and dad to see her arrive at the venue - she'd got dressed at a friend's house. Ooh, she looked gorgeous. I felt quite weepy to see her so grown-up.

Back from there and it was straight to Slice for our day late anniversary meal. The food was as delicious as ever but I didn't enjoy it as much as it was so hot. We had a fan right next to our table but it didn't make much of an impact on the evening of the hottest day ever in Wales.

Sleeping wasn't good after a late meal and no air. I got up in the middle of the night and stuck my feet in the bathroom sink and ran cold water over them. (One at a time.) That didn't help either.

But I know you all want to see what we ate. We went for the taster menu as usual and both opted for the dressed white crab, brown meat panna cotta, avocado and watermelon juice.

Oh I forgot, that came after the amuse bouche of duck hash and quail egg.

Then we had sea bass, scallop, cauliflower and caper sauce but I forgot to take a photo. Followed by pork loin, belly shoulder, carrots, broad beans, and apple and fennel puree.

That was followed by lamb chop, braised shoulder and potato terrine, with apricot and pistachio.

Then it was time for dessert number one. Strawberry salad, sorbet, shortbread, cream, and pavlova.

And finally chocolate mousse in a chocolate shell, chocolate and cherry brownie, cherry ice cream.

Before all this we shared two mini loaves, one white, one wheatmeal, with salty butter, and brown butter. Quite honestly I could enjoy a meal of that.

* * * * *

Today the weather was cooler so I started in the garden, banking some of the potatoes before getting distracted by branches that needed lopping. Then off to Flexercise where I struggled to find the right arm to use.

Back and more gardening. I raked most of the stones off my my front bit of terrace sorting them into two bags: one reasonably clean stone, and one stone and earth mixed together.

I then levelled it off to my satisfaction (above) and was about to put down the weed suppressant material when I thought I'd better check with Husband if there were anything else I needed to do first.

"You've got to sieve out all the stones otherwise they make it easier for weeds to grow."

I am still not convinced by his explanation but I set to.

After completing about half I had filled a bag with stones and had half a wheelbarrow of sieved earth.

No, it's not perfect: there are still lots of pebbles but it's as good as I'm going to get it! So there.

I've raked the rest into a pile (far end of picture) and hope to persuade grandsons to do the rest of the sieving with the promise of monetary recompense.

I now have three bags of pebbles: one reasonably clean; one sieved but a bit dirty; and one - the biggest one - in need of sieving (not in picture).

And now I've had a swim, showered, and am blogging.

Oh yes, I had an email from my MP telling me what a wonderful job Keir Starmer did.

"This significant progress, which will benefit thousands of people across Swansea, too rarely gets the attention it deserves. However, a lack of press attention does not make it any less important on the ground."

Bleurgh. If he really felt that why didn't he say so and take a clear stand supporting Sir Keir before he was forced to resign.  

I emailed him back and told him, that as soon as it was confirmed that there would not be a leadership contest, I would be resigning from the Labour Party. I want to hang on in case I have a chance to vote for the next leader, which seems unlikely. Bleurgh again.

Just melting

I am wearing a strappy t-shirt with no bra, and short shorts. They're too small for me and I can't do them up but they are wedged firmly on so it's okay.

Feeling I should do something I wandered around the garden, picked sweet peas and courgettes, and admired the teeny weeny 'water lilies' on our pond.

Now I'm ready for a swim and then will try to find a shady not too hot spot and read.

We're going to Slice, our favourite restaurant, for an anniversary meal this evening. They phoned to check we were still coming. Husband said we were but then I phoned back and said we were happy to postpone if the kitchen would be too much like a sauna.

Sadly Slice is closing. Apparently one of the two boys who run it (chefs) has heart problems. So he shouldn't be getting hot. Yes, I am hoping they will postpone. 

My incessant mistyping ht when I mean th is driving me mad. 

Here's my latest article in Gower Community Magazine. It's a bit political! My article is also in the new Mumbles Community magazine. My reach is widening. Soon I will take over the world.

More about dung

I've been thinking about Ezekiel. It sounds a bit like a Monty Python sketch to me.

Ezekiel and another prophet comparing their experiences.
Other prophet, "God told me to walk in my donkey's dung."
"That's nothing. God told me to cook my dinner on burned human dung."

Maybe one day they'll find another Dead Sea scroll and, in this one, Ezekiel will have to eat dung.

* * * * *

Oh, yes, it's our 48th wedding anniversary today!

Take a bit of human excrement

So that's another face to add to my, "Turn it off!" list. Which may sound tame but is actually me screaming at the television and desperately looking for the remote to change channels.

Smirking Smug Arrogant Andy joins Tr**p and Fa***e there.

It seems there won't even be a contest for the Labour leadership and SSAA will just walk into position. So much for democracy. Still so angry.

* * * * *

Lovely gathering on the sea front for Zac's last night.

The other half were behind me. We're a mixed bunch of odd bods. Monty, the one lying down, was leading. When he arrived he asked me, "Who's leading?"

"You are."

"Really?! This week. I thought it was next week."

Fortunately Monty is is the sort of man who can do an impromptu talk. We're doing a short series on favourite or interesting bible characters, so he talked about Ezekiel, who apparently had to lie on his side for 390 days and bake bread on a fire of human excrement. (Though when Ezekiel grumbled about defiled food God let him use cow dung instead.)

That led on to a discussion about what God had called any of us to do that intimidated us, that we didn't want to do.

* * * * *

Temperatures due to hit their highs in the next two days so schools have closed, and we'll be expecting grandchildren around to take advantage of the pool. I might suggest we head to the sea front for high tide for a swim there too.

Honestly, how does anyone do anything in this weather? 

Says she who's off to Rebound exercise class later. But you know, people who have to wear suits, or work outdoors. 

Bright Bee

Hmm, perhaps I should have left it as it was! But it's fine. There's a corner of garden where it's possible for dogs to get out so I'm going to put Mr Bee there to scare them!

Hygienist was okayish. At one point I was cringing so much she put away the drill and got out an old-fashioned hand scraper.

Exercise class this morning in the church hall at 26 degrees - I can't work out how to do superscript - but it was a very downgraded class to allow for the temperature. We seem to be leaping from being ridiculously hot (for this country) to being ridiculously cold (for the summer). All in the course of a day. 

And I'm just getting a funny eye for the second time today so I'm giving this a break.

Don't get in my way today!

I am in a bad mood.

My last appointment with the hygienist was canclled so I re-arranged it for this morning. I got there - a 25 minute drive - to be told it was cancelled.
"Yes, I know she cancelled my last one."
"No, this one is cancelled too."

Apparently she tried to phone me on Friday. I very rarely check my phone. I am going back this afternoon. She only works Mondays and Fridays as it is.

I come home to find Sir Keir Starmer has resigned. Driven out by a handful of MPs and the media. I don't blame him. Why put up with all the stress? He'll probably walk into a well-paid, less-mean job easily, but the country won't.

Okay, take more deep breaths.

Look at my latest posy.

I am taking the sweet pea principle of picking to encourage more flowers to bloom, and applying it to wallflowers and pinks. We shall see.

Pulling up outside the house I could see a retriever bouncing along the road. "Oh George!" I thought for an instant before remembering, well, it's been four years now.

It's been a long few days. Let's see how much I can remember of it.

Friday I was in Rough Edges for Day 2 of the closing down sale. Saturday morning I went along to an Eco Market where a young woman from church had a stall selling her paintings. From there I went straight to the art workshop.

I was sitting next to a chatty older man called Eric. He was very pleasant.

The more I look at my cockerel the less I like it. I needed to be freer in my expression. Eric's looked nothing like mine - or like anybody else's - but had so much life in it.

Home briefly then off to childmind for GrandSons 1 and 3. Took them for a curry then spent the evening playing snooker. I am proud to announce that I not only potted at least three red balls, I even potted a brown one! I should mention this was during the course of three games.

Sunday morning it was into the prison for the service. One of a group of visiting chaplains from the Caribbean told the men about how much he had hated his father. He'd even bought a machete and 9" blade knife to kill him with. I'd like to say it all ended well and it did, insofar as he did make a sort of peace with his father, but then his father died.

There was a good point to this story for Father's Day, about God's grace and love, and the men really appreciated it. It was an emotional time.

Then off to Rough Edges where I thought it might be quiet - but it wasn't. Before home for a family meal, and playing cricket with GrandSon3. I'm the only one who weakens and says, "Yes, okay, I'll play with you."

Rounded off the endless longest day cooling down with a swim that turned into a waterfight with GrandSon3.

Oh yes, somewhere along the way I brought home from RE a Lakeland cakebaker to try out. Cakes were ready in 15 minutes, start to finish, but were a bit chewy and heavy.

I also brought this little bee home.

I'm going to paint him and hide him in a corner.

P.S. I'm not in a bad mood any more. Though I will be when I have to drive through school traffic to get back to the dentist this afternoon.

George and the bird

Back in 2010 we used to scatter George's food all over the floor. (Why? I'll have to look that up. Was it after he'd seen the therapist?*)

And one day I watched as a bird walked behind his back and started eating his food. 

This is what happens when I start going through old photos.

* It was. She said he was very intelligent and needed challenges.

Rant incoming

So Andy Burnham won the by-election, as expected and I am irrationally angry.

Irrational because there's nothing I can do about it. I have emailed my MP asking for his assurance that he will be supporting Sir Keir Starmer but I don't think he will. The last time I wrote to him about it his reply was suitably vague. And as a Labour Party member I will be casting my vote for Keir Starmer, but, for now, I can only rant.

Burnham resigns his job as Mayor of Manchester, in order to stand for election to parliament in a by-election that needn't have happened, simply to challenge the sitting Prime Minister. Why? Because he is our self-proclaimed saviour. Only he can save the country.

It's just unbelievably arrogant. I could go on for ages about this but I'd only be repeating myself.

Strangely when Jesus came to the world it was not with a fanfare; he didn't proclaim himself as the saviour. Quite the opposite in fact. He came humbly. He did what he had to do so quietly that most of the world, even many his own countrymen, didn't know about him. 

And to be fair, even superheroes prefer anonymity.

I'm not the Prime Minister's biggest fan. I've not always agreed with his words or actions but he's getting the job done. And this performance by Burnham, designed to cause division, has me spitting.

It's a good job the first big 4-day closing down sale of Rough Edges is on today and I'm assisting. Get some proper stuff done actually helping people. Mutter, mutter.

I've also just messaged Sir Keir to support him.

If you want to see Count Binface in person follow this link.

I've calmed down a bit  now you'll be pleased to hear.

Now, for no reason other than I was going through old photos looking for one to post to brighten the page, me singing Delilah.