So much to show!

I've had two very busy weekends, and have a bit of catching up with the photos. 

Mouse has been busy too. In fact I think he is in a bit of a huff with me because he has eaten so much meat that I decided to pop some cat biscuits on his plate (the expensive kind) and he is not pleased at all. Right now he is curled up with Miss Dog, and pointedly ignoring me. 

As you can see, he gets on so well with Miss Dog. Or perhaps we could say, Miss Dog is extraordinarily tolerant. 

 He is all grown up now. Almost.

 What a loyal little man. He is supervising some sewing. I have to keep reminding him that the iron is hot and dangerous, the sewing machine is very dangerous when it is going, and scissors, pins, my rotary cutter and lots of other things on my sewing table are not toys. He doesn't believe me. I have a very boring ironing board cover, but it heats up and helps me to iron. I'd rather have a pretty one, but this one does a better job.

 Spring has brought some very changeable and unpredictable weather. Johnny got some shots of the lightening storm we had recently.

 It is very tricky to time photos of lightening, so I think he is very clever.

 While the storm was rumbling and crackling above I made an apple and apricot crumble. It was so good. I used canned apricots and some random apples that were lurking in the fridge.

We've got a street adorned with blossom. 

 Our silver pears are just about to join the display.

 I've got lots of colour.

 Oh, dear. Then we got hail. Lots of hail.

 My poor garden.

 Then snow. The lawn had a dusting of white one evening.

I don't know what we'll have next. It was supposed to rain all weekend and we had two ok days, including some sun today. Just as well because I had horsey plans again. Yesterday I popped out to see Zanny, and when I took her cover off I was rather surprised by her girth, and decided that our riding times may be at an end until the foal is born. Her tummy just looked too fat to top with a saddle, and me.
I gave her a good brush and grazed her in some longer grass, which she was thrilled about.

Today was the first One Day Event of the season. I do have some photos, but you'll have to wait for those. We had five horses to look after, and they were all such a pleasure. We had our friend Lewis, who is an old hand at competing. We had little Billy, who is just a cutie. Johnny (horse) made an appearance. I think of him as a miracle horse because he recovered from a patella fracture. I was at the event when he did it, and thinking of his pain and misery that day still makes me cringe. We also had TC and Hurrah, who are both new to me, and were lovely boys. I had a very happy day because I knew what was required and was able to be very organised and helpful. I started dabbling in grooming early last year (I think?), and am still learning, but can do what needs to be done without being asked. Possible future career if teaching falls through!

I have been enjoying Hugh F. W.'s Veg Everyday TV series. I have had the book of the series for a wee while, and have decided to try to cram lots of vegetables into every meal. Tonight, in honour of Hugh I invented my own little feast for one with no meat.

I cooked one medium potato and one small kumara (NZ sweet potato) cut into big chunks (skins on) then mashed lightly with a fork and added some olive oil and a sprinkle of turmeric plus salt and pepper. I tossed a pinch of cumin seeds into a heated, dry pan until fragrant, and tipped in the potato/kumara mix. While those browned I chopped up a handful of spinach, and once the veges in the pan were browning well I threw the spinach in to wilt. Then I made a space in the middle of the pan and cracked two eggs in. One would have been sufficient. Once the eggs were set, with runny yolks, I slid the whole lot out onto a plate. Very, very tasty. You could spice it up more with some chilli or maybe a touch of curry powder. Some chunks of tomato cooked among the veges would have been good, and any root veges would be ok for the base, I think. Or pumpkin.

I must report in during the week with more photos. XXX