Gardening, Writing.

The sun's shining today. It's not too hot and there's pleasant breeze. I couldn't resist cutting an hour off my writing time and getting on in the garden. I transplanted hollyhocks grown from seed. They are biennials but if they are cut back to the ground after flowering they should thrive for several years.  I've planted them against the wall in two beds in the front garden. Their spires of flowers should make a splash of colour next summer. I also transplanted alpine strawberries grown from seed in the greenhouse.. I panted a double row which form a miniature hedge. The delicious  taste of their small fruit always lingers in the mouth.  I'll catch up with my writing schedule this evening.

Gardening, Rain, Mango Ice Cream, Recipe for Cous Cous, Delicious Lunch

By midday the rain poured down so I retreated indoors, having planted out lupins and sweet Williams I grew from seeds, which will flower next year. Unable to do any more gardening I made a batch of mango ice cream and put it in the freezer. After I emptied the dishwasher, cleaned and tidied the kitchen it was nearly time to have lunch. I had intended to make a salad but didn't brave the rain to forage in the garden. So I made cous cous. I put one third of a cup of cous cous in a saucepan and added one third of a cup plus a little extra of boiling water and a vegetarian stock cube. I stirred the mixture well. I then cut up the left over potato and runner beans from yesterday into small pieces and added two chopped, fresh apricots. After ten minutes I added this to the cous cous, heated it in the mircrowave and topped it with a generous helping of butter. For desert I couldn't resist some mango ice cream. As I say to small children. Yummy, yummy for the tummy.

Birthday, Editing, Mediaeval Novel, Tuesday's Child Regency Novel, Character Profile, Gardening

Yesterday was my twin son's birthday. I enjoyed lunch at The Loving Hut, in Edgeware, a vegan Chinese restaurant that serves delicious food.

This morning,  I got up at 5.45 a.m. I read through and edited a printed chapter of my mediaeval novel set in the reign of Edward II. Next, I lugged the hosepipe out to the front garden and turned on the hosepipe. Then I loaded the washing machine and turned it on. Back at the laptop, I completed the character profile for the hero in Tuesday's Child. I now have a clear vision of his appearance, background, character, what makes him tick etc.

After I turned off the tap and lugged the hosepipe to the back garden I hung out the clothes and then made a healthy breakfast - porridge with strawberries, black grapes and blueberries with almond milk and organic honey.

At ten o'clock, after another session on the laptop when I worked on the character profile of the heroine in Tuesday's Child, I turned off the laptop and worked in the garden. I swept the greenhouse floor, planted out French Beans and did much more.

Writing, Gardening, Cooking

Very successful writing session this morning. I wrote a thousand words and solved the problem of how to reveal the heroine's dilemma.

The weather forecast was bad but this morning it was mild and the rain held off. I'm growing first early new potatoes and second early potatoes in large containers. As I added covered them with more compost I remembered an incident with my late husband,  who knew nothing about growing fruit and vegetables.

I was chitting new potatoes i.e. waiting for them to sprout before I planted them. "Strange," I thought, "where are they?" So I asked my husband. He shifted from one foot to the other like a guilty schoolboy. He had cooked them for lunch.

Anyway, today I put my runner beans outside to harden off during the day before I return them to the   greenhouse for the night, re-planted my bay tree and stood the pot on the doorstep, I also planted
out a new hosta and put organic slug pellets around each of my hostas. Next I did some weeding and picked flowers for the house as well as  picking the first broad beans of the season and Swiss chard,
which has cropped since last year in the early summer.

I steamed the baby broad beans in their pods, and when the were ready cut them as I would cut French beans, and I steamed the Swiss Chard. I also cut the stalks into 3 quarter inch pieces, cooked them quickly and served them in a white sauce flavoured with parsley from the garden, salt, pepper and English mustard. Yummy.