Roses, Roasting, Playing Hooky & Seizing The Day

Late roses from our visits to beautiful gardens over the last few weeks.

My morning's work  - clearing out the fridge and roasting everything from the farmers' market that I can find, including two long pale mauve aubergines and a bag of brandy wine tomatoes - the only ones with any flavour at this time of year. Then I make a big sweetie jar of sauerkraut - huge quantities of grated carrot, chopped cabbage, celery and apple - enough to fill a washing up bowl - scrunched up with a tablespoon of salt and packed tightly into the jar. It'll take a while to turn into sauerkraut but I've been sold on the principle of fermented food as a great digestive aid and want to have my own supplies.

I change my lunch plans as Robin doesn't  want to eat when he gets back from his visit with a friend. I put the plates of salad I'd prepared back in the fridge and turn the left-over fish curry into a big bowl of fragrant soup with a jar of creamy homemade coconut yoghurt that my sister gave me. I've been putting fresh, or rather frozen, curry leaves into my Indian curries recently and they give them a particularly earthy authentic flavour. More what I need at the moment - spicy hot comfort food - keeping the creeping shorter days at bay.

This afternoon I play hooky - read my book on the sofa....put off planting all the spring bulbs I bought on Saturday - bags of tulips and daffodils that I haven't really got room for in the garden - even though it's perfect weather -  mild and not windy. When it's nearly dark I do go out and start mixing up a wheelbarrow full of compost, empty out the old soil from the patio pots, so at least I'll have something to plant the bulbs in - when I get round to it.  It's unusual for me to even be thinking about spring bulbs at the right time of year - I often leave it too late and plant in February.

Maybe I've been inspired by the book I'm reading The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry by Rachel Joyce.....a man who acts quite out of character .....seizes the day....starts following his heart... before it's too late.