“Is the spring coming?" he said. "What is it like?"... "It is the sun shining on the rain and the rain falling on the sunshine...” ― Frances Hodgson Burnett, The Secret Garden

Well haven't I been a slack blogger, my last post was a month ago! No real excuse for it other than a bad case of the can't be botheredness again. Never mind I shall try to bring you up to date, I'll try not to get too carried away.

Spring has sprung.......kind of. Signs of spring are everywhere although someone forget to tell the weather. We've had a few warm spring days but that rain soon starts falling again and it brings it's mate the wind. Give it a few weeks though and I'll be moaning it's too hot and that we need rain. ;-D

The first day of spring and I had to light the fire, someone wasn't complaining.

 The day started like this

But it got better

So there was nothing to do but bake.....

Marmalade Cake

6oz self raising flour .
6oz butter
6oz caster sugar
3 eggs
3 tbs marmalade
Peel from Grated orange
Couple handfuls of sultanas
Cream butter ,sugar then eggs little flour rest of flour add marmalade ,orange sultanas ,
In loaf tin. For 45 mins 180 / 190 degrees 

Boiled Pineapple and fruit cake 

Basically it's the same recipe as the boiled sultana cake

but instead of a cup of water substitute with a can of crushed pineapple 

Dinner that night was a huge bacon and egg pie with heaps of veggies.

Maxy moo xx

Outside there are signs of spring

Plum blossom

All of our three ewes lambed safely and with no intervention from us, which has to be a first.

Three sets of twins and all rams, good job we didn't want replacement ewes

The last ewe to lamb on Sunday 30th August

 The first born lambs are growing well

The second set looking pretty chilled

Joe made the most of some fine weather last weekend. He finally got around to putting in new posts and raising the height of the platform on which our mailbox, and that of Michael & Tash's, rest on.

It had to be at a certain height so that the postie can easily put the mail in the box from the comfort of her car! Being an ex Royal Mail Postie I have to say that NZ posties get it bloody easy, they don't even have to get out of their vehicles or, if in town, off their bikes. The mail boxes are easily accessible, I wish we'd had that option in the UK instead of lugging heavy bags of mail to every letterbox set in the front door, most of which were so ridiculously small or set so low to the ground that it was almost impossible to deliver the mail.

 Joe and his trusty 'ammer

On Thursday I made some marmalade using Seville oranges, grapefruits and lemons all from our own trees, the smell of citrus throughout the house was wonderful.

I made three small jars and took two down to craft and four large jars but this happened to one........

The bottom fell off!! Bugger!

At least I was able to tell if it set or not! 

Right I think that will do for tonight, I've got more to share but will save that for tomorrow. Joe's working away in Auckland so I've brought the laptop into the TV room. I don't like to do that, it's a bit anti social I feel, mind you Joe's generally nodded off by 9pm!!! hahah

As it's Friday it must be time for a funny, shared by Sue on my Facebook page

And on that note I shall wish you all a very pleasant evening or morning, 

depending on where you are.

I'll be back tomorrow

Toddle pip old beans

xx