Strawberry fields forever...but the raspberries were better.

Yesterday we went to Horsforth Pick Your Own near Leeds, not too many miles away, collected our little plastic baskets and off we went into the strawberry field...

Spotted loads of ladybirds along the way...

We all picked and tested a few, the decent ones were quite hard to find as it's the end of the season and lots of the strawberries had gone to mush.  Then we ventured into the raspberry field, ahhhh rows and rows of delicious plump raspberries - they were the best raspberries I have ever tasted, but this was the first time I'd been to a PYO.

M and Ro loved picking (and eating) the raspberries.

 and me!..

We filled the basket to the brim...

And today I froze lots of raspberries and made strawberry jam...

While I was jamming, J took the kids back to the cherry tree round the corner...

Assessing the fruit situation

Ro you can reach the low ones

And M, you can sit in the tree and get the higher ones!  Still didn't get many, leave some for the birds hey...Nx

Harvesting at home

The Summer holidays have started...We've been lucky having J here in the mornings, so we all went swimming yesterday.  Today we/I decided on a quiet stay at home day.  It's turned out as a harvesting day.  

We nipped out on the bikes for eggs from the lady up the road, who sells 6 free range eggs for a quid.  All her proceeds go to Manorlands (a local hospice).  On the way home we stopped at a cherry tree (I noticed an old guy picking off it yesterday so thought we'd take a look)...

We didn't get many, all the ones left were all too high...

Lucky I'd bought a pound of cherries from the market this morning!  

I thought I'd planted radish seeds in the garden - but as they've grown, they're actually turnips so thought I'd let the kids pull some up.  They thought it was brilliant...

Choosing which to pull up

Rinsing

Splashing

The not so enormous turnips

I also picked a few broad beans that were ready, only a handful...

All this lovely sunshine we're having is working wonders in our garden, do you remember all my flower seeds I planted? Well they're doing well too...

I don't think I'm doing too badly this year.  Now what to do with those turnips?...Nx

Coconut Macaroons

Last week I made pastry, I don't make pastry, I buy pastry.  So I made pastry for a flan, then I had to make the pastry again because I used all the eggs for the flan IN the pastry! As a consequence I had a gazillion egg whites so I found a recipe for macaroons, actually they were double chocolate coconut macaroons...

I have to say it was all scrumptious.  Anyhow, I've made more of these macaroons since and we have devoured the lot.  Today, I wondered what else I can flavour these with? 

Tonight's experiment: Lemon (zest and juice) and coconut macaroons (ended up flat but tasted lovely), Chocolate and pecan macaroons (nice and nutty), and chocolate and fresh cherries (took a little longer to cook, but definitely tasted the best)...

That's all the egg whites used up, I'm so glad I tried to make pastry because it was so easy and tasty...Nx

A creative day - crochet mini bunting

I saw a photo on the Yarndale facebook page the other day and had one of those light-bulb moments, I NEEDED to Yarn-bomb my own bicycle.  I am a novice crocheter, so need the practise anyway, and this seems like the perfect little project.  I've started with some mini bunting, I found a great easy to follow pattern here, I obviously used a different yarn and hook, and those little tail ends were just crying out for some sort of embellishment, so I raided the craft cupboard and used some of Miss M's beads.  I couldn't wait to attach it to the basket of my bike, it's so cute, I love it...

Bike basket with crochet mini bunting

While I was busy crocheting, the world around me was in total chaos as usual, M played with the play-doh Ro had left out earlier...

and Ro was in the other room playing with his trains...

The house was a mess as we'd stayed in the park after school and both kids ended up knee deep in water playing in the beck with friends.  So glad I'd half made tea as we didn't get in 'til 5pm and that's usually 'meltdown time'.  Crazy days but, ahh all tidy now and both tired out and only a few more days left of the summer term...Nx

Little everyday things

I'm missing J today, he's away working. Back tomorrow and then we're going camping for the weekend, our first camp this year - yay, can't wait.

Today has all been about the little things, everyday things...
- Miss M and her picnic blanket breakfast she made
- a last minute hairdressers appointment
- a picnic in the park with a friend, I took a flask of tea and the elderflower buns Ro and his little friend made yesterday to share.
- Nasturtiums blooming, I saw a gorgeous little idea for glass jars with lace wrapped around them and tied up with twine on Pinterest the other day, I have a few dotted about the house (M keeps eating a couple of petals every now and then, just 'cause she can)...

- our first pickings of strawberries from the garden, the birds have nicked a few (a very awkward looking pose, he was about to lay down in front of the strawberries)...

- M ate her tea at the top of the slide in the garden

So I'll leave it there, my day of little things...Nx

Elderflower cordial and more

I'm feeling grumpy and warm today, the children are uncomfortably warm, too warm to sleep.  Anyway, now I've got that off my chest...we went out foraging yesterday after school, not far, just nipped through the garden gate at Ro's playgroup to pick some elderflowers...

A musical elderflower tree

Miss M collecting flowers from up the tree

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Pretty flowers in her hair

A picture of loveliness

We've made a few small bottles of elderflower cordial, some elderflower sugar - so I can make elderflower buns tomorrow, and elderflower lollies made with coconut yogurt, fresh strawberries and a dash of elderflower cordial.  They will hopefully cool them off after school tomorrow! Nx