Sunday Sevens #3

20160313_110739Last week, after a traumatic Saturday, in which my road witnessed a tragic, sad event. Sunday dawned bleakly. David and I decided it was time to sew the seeds I had bought. We planted sweet peppers, spring onions and green beans, in the hope that something will grow come summer. I am waiting for the frosts to end so I can plant maris bard potatoes and my dahlia tubers.

Now after a week of sitting in front of the window in the guest bedroom, we have shoots finally pushing through the soil! There is hope yet!

Mum decided to treat me on Tuesday with a little trip to Costa for a cappuccino and a toasted teacake. It was very restorative.

This was the final week of my Future Learn course: Literature and Mental Health. The six week course has been tremendous and I have loved reading an eclectic mix of poetry, novels and plays. The course has me reading again after a lull of some time and has inspired me to re-read Jean Rhys’s Wide Sargasso Sea.

DSC_1324-1

Aura by David Evans

It was decided that we should capture our elderly and much loved, Lady Gouldian Finch, Aura to clip his overgrowing beak. Last November Aura had the same problem and we don’t know if it was connected but he became very ill. He had fits and lay about the bottom of the cage looking exhausted. It was by fluke that his beak was sheered to its proper size and we started him on vitamin supplements. I put it down to David having healing hands and Aura was nursed back to life. Perhaps it was malnourishment due to an inability to eat with an over long beak? Either way I didn’t want a recurrence. So David captured Aura, not without some stress as the other finches were flying about the room! I held him and David clipped the tip of his beak. He seems much better now!

On Friday I didn’t have a clue what to make for the evening’s dinner. To be honest I am feeling a bit fed up with cooking. I find it exhausting looking for new recipes. So David defrosted the final serving of his curry base and made a vegetable karahi. It indeed had a kick to it!

20160311_182622

The weekend was spent doing the usual, shopping, cleaning, cooking. Artie was exhausted!

While Artie slept during the evening. I decided to dress up, even if it was just for a salad dinner at our house, Bistro No. 49!

What kind of foods do you enjoy? Have you read any good books recently?

Christine x

Sunday Sevens was devised by Threads and bobbins.

Ye Olde Valentine.

I’d like to think that I am quite romantic. Indeed more romantic than David.

I think the culmination of reading Charlotte Bronte’s Villette and Jean Rhys’s Wide Sargasso Sea while listening to Gustav Mahler and Sergi Rachmaninov symphonies when younger has effected my sensibilities.

This years Valentine’s Day was spent in our new home. It was supposed to be David who was to cook (to make me feel special) but it ended up being me cooking.

With little time to plan I opted to make a three course meal.

1) Carrot and Cumin soup

wpid-20140214_180208.jpg

2) Honey and mustard trout for main

20140214_182305

3) Chocolate strawberries for desert

wpid-20140214_191652.jpg

I started preparing at 1pm as I had a day off work. I slowly melted the chocolate and then dipped in the strawberries

After 5pm I cooked the vegetables for the soup (which I had peeled and chopped earlier) and the fish. All went well and we were well and truly satisfied.

After the pudding we listened to Classic FM and the concert recorded from the Liverpool Philharmonic, on romantic Spanish music. I loved it! Whether David liked it is another matter.

DSC07244

Happy Valentines to all you lovers out there!!!