My first piece of art...

Click on photo to enlarge

Our time at home has been spent out of doors this weekend. We caught up on our gardening and did a couple of projects, plus Alastair had a good twenty mile cycle around nearby villages.

The project in the photo above has been on my mind for months but I've been slow to put it together... in fact, my first attempt failed as I overcompensated with the mitre saw which complicated things because I couldn't walk myself through the error. Thankfully Alastair repaired my attempt, was keen to play with my framing tacks, et voila!

Inside is a selection of sempervivum and a couple of other succulents that I've collected over the last couple of years. Behind it is layers of mesh, sphagnum moss and sisal. It hangs in our back garden on the far fence, but can be seen from the front gate. If you come for a barbecue, it's the first thing you'd see.

Had you been here last night...

Last night, had you lived nearby, we would have invited you to dinner. The weather was warm with little breeze, the barbecue was hot and the sweetcorn just pulled off the stalks in our garden.

Our menu was:
Grilled swordfish with salsa verde (pineapple sage, capers, lemon and mint)
Steamed corn on the cob
Green salad (mixed lettuces and tomatoes (from the garden) plus avocado and celery.

Fresh apple and blackbery crisp with oats

New Zealand Montana 2006 Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc

Missed you!

Summer Sun

Until Sunday, life here has been sunny and warm; even Squeak chose to find some shade. It's been lovely here, warm enough to eat outside and even barbecue. Things just changed and consequently, I think everyone on this island simultaneously shook their heads and sadly wrote off summer... not me though, I'm not British yet. I have tomatillos that still need a few more weeks of good weather to flourish.

More to come, promise.

So, these last few weeks have been filled with good news, sad news and waiting for a certain someone to make her debut. It's been bittersweet. All the while, the garden continues to grow, with Alastair and I dining on zucchini these last three nights and that's all from one plant. (I thought we'd learned from two plants last year, grin.) The tomatillos are madly producing their lovely little lanterns, the corn is doing its very best to mature two cobs per stalk and there are four pumpkins working hard to make this Halloween our very best. Soon, we'll be canning.

Happy Birthday, Casa Haggis!

Our little web log turned one year old a few days ago. My, my, how time flies. It's been fun to share news and experiences with you in this fashion. I hadn't planned to like it so much, which is good since I hope to continue it for a while. I mean I have to tell you about my vacation, don't I?

Some of you have taken the time to comment on the posts or email me directly about something on the blog. Thank you! It encourages me to write more. That's good, right?