Wednesday 6 August 2014

Lazy summer days

Garden stuff.  Snacks on the bench.   Tennis over the wall.


Skate park.



The littlest boy on the middle bike.  His own little bike is too small and he is desperate for a bigger one.  We keep visiting the local bike shop in the hope that the perfect second-hand bike will appear.  At the moment they're all pink.  He's not that desperate.  Not quite.


Tree climbing.  There are two boys in there somewhere.  I try not to look when there's a slithering sound.


Tomatoes ripening.  The labels are lost, but this is the yellow one that Flighty sent me I think.


And little orange Sungolds.


I put them in a Greek salad with cucumbers and salad leaves from the garden.


And served it with homemade pita breads.


We tried popping the corn grown by the littlest boy, but it didn't work.  I think it needs to grow for longer, to get older and drier.


In the garden the deadly crab spider has been busy.  Another hapless bee has wandered into his clutches.


I feel I have to counter the scary spider pictures with pretty flowers.



I took the two smaller boys for a bike ride this morning after dropping the biggest at his friend's house.  We played by the stream for a while then went to inspect the community orchard.



Some of the apples are doing well.  We picked up a few windfalls and had them stewed with sultanas after tea.  I made a curry with borlotti beans from the garden as well.  Free food makes me happy.



A snippet of conversation as I passed by a heated swingball game.

Middle boy:  "It's not over till the fat lady sings."

Biggest boy:  "Mum, can you sing please." 

Lovely.

31 comments:

  1. How fun that you and I are both experiencing the skatepark in our own ways. I'll keep my fingers crossed for the littlest boy that a second-hand bike of his favorite color arrives at the shop soon. The greek lunch you made sounds like heaven. Everything about it! And I'm glad to hear some of the apples are doing well. Have a good night CJ.

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  2. Oh dear. That sounds like conversations they have around here too. I've had good luck with bikes on Craigslist, do you have that locally? I think popcorn needs to be very dry. I wonder if you could dry it in a very slow oven, or use a dehydrator.

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    1. I think the popping corn needed to be much older as well, not young and tender like sweetcorn. Alas when we visited the allotment this morning the badgers had decimated both the sweetcorn and the popping corn. Everyone told us that would happen! They haven't left so much as a niblet.

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  3. Some conversations are best not overheard! I like the sound of having a community orchard, free food is always good.

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  4. You summer looks dreamy and delicious. Those boys and their chatter... they love to make us the butt of their jokes, huh?

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  5. Community orchard? Now I REALLY want to live in England.

    Mmmm ... homemade pitas. And fresh tomatoes. Life is good. :)

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  6. Oh those boys!!! I am telling you your post just screams beautiful summer days! What a dream is that apple orchard with that old gate! And that spider is insane!!! And do you make the pitas??? They look delicious!!! Wishing you many more summer happies friend!!! Nicole xo

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  7. Those tomatoes look delicious. I've not had much luck with them ripening. I'm always wary of he sound of silence - it usually means LittleR is in the fridge biting chunks out of the cheese!!!

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  8. Another lovely day chez CJ by the look of it. That photo of the orchard gate with the two boys in the distance is beautiful. Shame that the spider has a taste for bees as there are few enough of them already but I guess a spider has to eat too!

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  9. Fat lady sings? Aha ha hahaha hahaha haha!!!
    Kids, eh?

    I, too, would be closing my eyes at the slithering noises from the tree; two broken arms in one year about 7 years ago was enough!

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  10. Can't you encourage the spider to move home.

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    1. It's okay, he's gone. We had a wild and windy night and this morning there was no sign of him nor of the dead bodies. He's probably off somewhere else, changing colour and biding his time...

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  11. I think you should do something about that spider to save the bee population.

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  12. Sooooooooooooooo did you sing to them, I think that I would have screeched and caterwauled until they begged me to stop. Mind you in the words of "the big yin" I sing like a goose farting in the fog so it would not have taken many seconds. Your boys sound just like my brothers were 50 years ago, some things never seem to change.. I would love access to an orchard, my small fruit garden is one of the few things that I miss.

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  13. Don't you just love kids conversations?! Your garden is looking lovely. Mine looks parched and there's very little colour. x

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  14. Cheeky boy, ha ha. Lovely summery days with leisurely pursuits, you can't beat them. That spider is getting well fed, I think he's got his stalking down to a fine art.

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  15. Well, he DID say please!!! ROFL

    Your garden pictures are so pretty. Food fresh from the garden is the BEST!

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  16. Haha , out of the mouth of babes, it funny what they say. When my daughter was little we sang 'Jelly on the plate, jelly on the plate, wibble, wobble, jelly on the plate ' At the wibble wobble bit she would wibble my tummy, lol

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  17. A lovely post and a wonderful selection of pictures. If those yellow tomatoes are seeds I sent you then they're Golden Sunrise, and they're doing better than mine! Flighty xx

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  18. Sounds like a perfect summer hols for you and the boys. And those pittas look amazing! Em xx

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  19. Oh, the talk of children - I bet it was said very lovingly! :) That homemade pita bread looks fantastic! Our Sungolds are starting to ripen also; the first year we have grown them, so I am excited to get even one a day! I had heirloom tomato salad with mozzarella today for lunch - so simple and yummy.

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  20. Gorgeous photos! And the one where you captured the crab spider and the bee, that's phenomenal! Now I'm worried what a crab spider is and I'll have to look that up!
    I hope you have a great weekend,
    Tammy

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  21. Hello lovely, so lovely to drop in and see some of your gorgeous photos. You really are so good with this camera my dear!! I also have to say those apples are looking pretty amazing. I have around 10 apples on my tree (which I planted last year) and it is so lovely to have some of your own apples. It looks like your holiday is going along much the same vein as ours. May I also add that the salad just looks devine!!! I hope you enjoy the rest of your holiday and that you manage to relax too. Thank you for all your lovely support on my blog and for always leaving such lovely comments, they always warm my heart!! xoxo

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  22. Ah, life is good the produce is flowing along with the insults. Oh children doesn't you just love 'em :)

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  23. Kids eh, gotta love 'em
    pleeeeeeeease can you share recipe for HM pitta breads? pretty please
    Jilxo

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  24. Ah, boys they make you laugh or scream in a matter of mere seconds. My son likes to remind me how old I am and said the other day I should do something to myself to fight the hands of time, I think he was suggesting coloring my hair, but it could have been much more.
    Hugs,
    Meredith

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  25. These apples trees look so bountiful. The flowers are so beautiful! Would you please to sharing me your pita bread recipe? These look so appetizing.

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  26. Just beautiful, a delight xxxx

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  27. That greek salad and especially the pita bread looks so amazing!

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  28. It looks idyllic. You are giving your boys the most amazing childhood, I hope you can see that. :-) xx

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